gional cility 5 % = a f Q tym- I I X. <_^ I ^ ^ 1 \ i iJJ ^ HY^ ^ ^,,__ s |\/>A| 1 1 (rY I e? ^^115 ^ ^ I 1 < _ ' ^ %1]QNV-S01^ ^*" rlj O Or i I , Its 25 s > g < ^ i o E = -_xJ . contained in it, were moflly ftarted in my agreeable Walks in your County. Where the Game is fprting, fome ac- knowledgment is due to the Lord of the Manour. / am, with Ji?icerity> My Lords and Gentlemen, 'tour much obliged and mo/l ajfeftionate Wellwijher, JOHN HOPE. The PREFACE. WHEN we recoiled the number of diftin- guUhed Perfons, of both Sexes, who have, within thefe few years, publifhed their names with their Writings; and when we call to mind the many Societies lately inftituted for our improvement in eloquence ; we may fafely pronounce, this is par- ticularly the Age, in which "our Pride in Reafoning, not in A&ing, lies," and that Timidity cannot be termed one of our moft fafhionable Defects. Be That as it may, the character of an Author has cer- tainly gained a confideration, of late, that makes one no longer afhamed of it. There was formerly connected with it an idea of Poverty, of which it feems now to be itript. But though a man may not be afharaed of being called a good Author, he would not, unneceffarily, hazard the acquiring the reputation of a bad one, I muft therefore declare, that I did not determine to put my name to this Book, until I read in the Parliamentary Debates, that, of the thirty- three Scotch Members, who were prefcnt in the Houfe of Commons, when Mr. Dunning's motion was put to the Vote, "that the Influence of the Crown has encreafed, is encreafing, and ought to be diminimed," twenty eight of them voted againfl it. As one who had once the honour of fitting in that Houfc, f viii ) Houfe, I now willingly rifk the acquiring the name of a bad Author, that I may encreafe the fmall number of conftitutional Scbtfmen. I am aware that, by fo doing I mail have a charge of Imprudence fully exhibited againft me; but this is no time when any friend to freedom mould be hid. The Voice of no one Individual can fave the State; but/ the collective body is compofed of Individuals; and the People, "at this conjuncture, fhould know on whom they may fafely depend.- Refpecting what -I have faid of the twenty-eight Gentlemen mentioned above, 1 mean not either to depreciate their private characters, or to arrogate any praife to myfelf. I firmly believe, that our difference, in political Sen- timents, proceeds entirely from the different educa- tions we have received in our youth, i was early uftd to the Cuftomsof a Republic, and I have fince looked a little into the Laws of England, to which I give the preference, in many refpects. They, on the contrary, have chiefly ftudied the imperial Law, and have been educated in a country, where it is re- garded as a kind of Treafon to fpeak of the meafures of Government with the fmalleft contempt, i know, too, it is the opinion of many well-meaning men, that, as the people have loft their virtue, the hands of Government muft be ftrengthened, to prelervn peace and order in the State. But, unfortunately, Jome of thele tnen have feen little but the Luxury and Diffipation ot a. metropolis ; nor do they leem to know more of the morals of their Countrymen, than what they may have learnt at St. James's, or the Court of King's- Bench. The late Petitions, how- ever, mould teach them, that much virtue frill re- mains with the People, though it be not fo common withifl the precincls of a Court. There is another argument argument commonly ufed with Gentlemen in Parlia- ment, to prevail on them to give their friends, at any- time, a Vote: "Can your Jingle Vote, it is faid, be of any benefit to your Country ? Or, if it be in danger, can it fave the finking State ? Why, then, hurt yourfelf and your family, by incurring the dif- pleafure of Government, in oppofing the Motion that is made ?" This may indeed, quiet the confcicnce of fome Cafuift ? but will it exculpate arm before his God ? or even in any criminal Court? I v/ould afk the Lord Chief Jufti'ce of England himfelf, (for the Cafe cannot be brought into the Chancellor's Court,) whether, if a Perfon were found murdered by a gang of Ruffians, his i^ordmip would not pronounce every man to be guilty, who had given the Deceafed but a fingle Stab? Or would his Lordlhip humane- ly recommend it to the Jury, to bring in their Ver* diet Chance-medley; becaufe, forfooth ! it could not be proved againft any one particular man, that he gave a mortal Wound, and the Deceafed died only from a Lofs of Blood. But let the Influence of the Crown prevail in Par- liament ; let King, Lords, and Commons againft the People unite , let the Machinations of the Cabinet be never fo tyrannical, Defpotifnl will prove impo- tent, without Inftruments wherewith to execute its Plans. Now, thefe (as the American War has fhewn us) cannot, among Britons, very eafily, be found. The Promoters of that War, among other things, certainly forgot, that all generofity and love of free- dom mult be banifhed the bread of a Britilh Soldier, before he will opprefs his fellow-citizen. They for- got, too, that War has now loft, among Chriftians, the barbarity and fiercenefs formerly infpired by bigotry and fanaticifm. An Army ufd formerly to A fubdue ( * ) conquer a whole Country and keep it in Subje&iori by the terrors of fire and fword. The Inhabitants, left behind it in its march, were intimidated from revolting, by the frequent exemplary Maflacrcs that were made. But, now, no country can be effectu- ally fubdued, unlefs you can garriforr it ; for the Conquered are ever ready to rife again in the abfence of their Oppreffbrs, while military executions againft Infurgepts are no longer pra&iled j the Spirit of freedom, among the people, has encreafed, in pro- portion as cruelty and rapine have beendifcountenan- ced in the art of war. Though the Americans were every where hoftile, fome of our braveft Generals, Howe, Grey and Erjkine difdained to injure any, but them who had arms in their hands. General Bur- goyne too declares, that, by the violent Proclamation which he publifhed, he meaned only to intimidate; and that he never had an idea of putting the unarm'd to the Sword, or of fetting fire to the Houfes of the helplefs Inhabitants. That Humanity can dwell in the breaft of a Soldier, will hardly be credited by barbarous and tyrannical Statefmen i yet, more hu- mane is even the Executioner, than the Judge by whom the Innocent are, coolly, condemned. At this place, I thought to have finifhed my po- litics ; but, in the parliamentary Phrafe, now that 1 am upon my Legs, (and fome of my Readers will think them fufEciendy long) I cannot help taking notice of two oppofite extremes, into which my Countrymen have frequently run. When once we are engaged in a War, nothing is thought of but War, as if we fhould never have Peace again. On the contrary, when we are at Peace, our Seamen are difmifled, and our Ships are left to rot in the Har- bours, as if we never more Ihould have an enemy on the the ocean. The French and Spaniards have acted in a far different manner ; and if example cannot teach us wifdom, Adverfny furcly can. Let us, therefore, in future, keep our Fleet in repair, and be careful to fupport a ftronger (landing body of Seamen. All the Powers of Europe, now, perceive the utility of preferving the balance of Power in the empire of the Sea, as well as in the Dominions on land. For that purpofe, a confederacy fcems to be forming, if we may judge from the Memorial lately prefented from the Emprefs of Ruffia to the Stares-General of the United Provinces ; and the meaning of it, in plain Englifh, is, that they all intend to come in for a mare of the North- American Trade, even a- gainft our Will. As then, " Le Jeu ne vaut plus Ja Chandelle," let us, in God's name, leave the Americans to a<5b for themfclves. Our fly neigh- bours the Dutch, have, in this bufmefs, imitated the fagacity of the little Terrier-Dog, mentioned in page 47 of my Thoughts. Our furly Englifh Bull-Dog fell on them, laft year, in a manner which they could not then properly refent , " maar ik zal het U wel betaalen " but I will be revenged on you, lays Pug; then, away he trots to the great Ruffian Bear, and entreats of him to take up the quarrel for him, and make a common Caufe of it. The Bear, again, improves upon my Staffordfhire Maftiff, and brings along with him two or three little vindic- tive Curs; fo that, among them all, our noble Britifh Bull-Dog runs the riik of being worried, if he fhould only happen to growl. We venture, how- ever, to publifh a growling Proclamation. " Ay! but, fays the Dutch Pug, I am a match for you BOW, my Lad. I have got two or three good friends, here, at my back j and as you dare not bite, you A a may may mew me your blunted teeth, you furly Dog, as much as you will. 1 lhall gain as much, by the American Beaver, in one year, as ever I got by you in my whole life ; fo that, I value your friendfhip not a fingle pin." 'Tis a melancholy confideration, when we ferwufly reflect, how we are fallen from that glorious State, in which the Britifh Navy, laft War, was able to have ftood againft all the Fleets of Europe combined. But as the prefent firft Lord of the Ad- miralty is confeffedly a man of bufmefs, we can im- pute to him no farther blame, than as he may prove himfelf to be one of an infatuated, unfortunate, and dim fighted Cabal. Although I cannot clear myfelf of the charge of Imprudence, in putting my name here to feveral political Truths-, nor yet of Self-importance, in fup- pofing the example can be of any ufe ; my Readers will find, (in pages 7, 187 and 188,) that I have entered my ptotefc againft the imputation of Vanity and Sdr-ponceit Some apology, too, fhould be made for the defultory manner in which 1 commonly write. My health not permitting me to fit, for any long.contmuance, with my bread at the deik, I can rever undertake, in profe, any thing of a regular Difiertation ; and as to my Rhimes, (or, as my Printer has been pleafed to call them, my mifcella- neous Poetry,) I could never fit down, with the Pen in my hand, to compofe'one Couplet; they are all the productions of my folitary Walks. My Readers will foon perceive, my Language is not ftudicd, and that I deal not in fefquipedalian words. 1 hope too, that, in my Exprtffions, I have feldom occafion to explain myfelf. I recollect but one Couplet, in my Khimes, where 1 am apprehenfive of beicg mifun- derftood : ( xiii ) ** But flill a murmur, from the neighboring Shore, Difturb'd the Ear with harm-refounding Roar." (Page 276.) founds a little uncouth , for a Mrwr.cannot, at the fame time, be termed a Roar; unleis it be granted me, that the noife of the Sea, on the fubfiding of a Storm, may be comparatively called a murmur of the Sea; although, when conveyed to the Ear, it may ftili be denominated a Roar. Contrariwife, I con- ceive that the roaring of the Sea, at a great diflance, may be called only a murmur to the ar; on the propriety of which the Critics will bell decide. I have, however, the opinion of one good Writer on my fide; I mean, of William Falconer, Author of the Shipwreck. He even commended my Paftoral fo far, as to f^y, [here were fome Line* in it, (where the Sound is intended to be expreffive of the Senfe,) vvhicn he wished he had compofed himfelf. His friendship may have made him partial to me, but he had a fpirit above flattering any man. He wrote part of his Poem under my roofj and, to compre- hend his Virtues in a few Words, I knew him to be " an hone ft Man, the nobleft Work of God !" His excellence as a Poet is fufficiently known ; but I can attefr what may not be fo certain to every one, (altho* he alludes to it in the exordium of his Shipwreck,) that he had received but a ihort grammar-fchool Education, and that his Youth had been patted in a lea- faring life. Yet, the Enthufiafm of the Bard, which he fully polTeffed, furmounted every obftacle to writing, and produced us a Poem by few modern Poems furpafled. He took his Paffage, a few years ago, for the Eaft- Indies, on board of the Aurora Frigate, in which, it is believed, he fuffered a real Shipwreck ; Shipwreck; fatal too, 'tis feared : for he has not been heard of more ! So much, at lead, is due to the memory of a departed Friend ! If my Book mould not meet with a ready Sale, I have, to thofc of the Critics, two reafons to add, which will favc my Vanity fomc little pain. The frft is, that my Printer could not provide me with as good paper as I wifhed for, without my waiting a longer time, for it, than I meaned to remain at Stockton. The fecond deferves to be generally known : there is in London a certain combination of Bookfellers who difcourage every thing that comes from a country Prefs, and would willingly make a monopoly of their Own. But though I would al- ways (hew a proper refpect to polite company, by introducing myfelf to them in my be ft Suit, I am never difpleafed at obtruding myfelf on a parcel of purfe-proud Fellows, with my rufty Coat on. I have, in my Preface, made ufc of the freedom, with which an Author is commonly indulged, of faying a great deal concerning myfelf, and my Wri- tings. 1 muft, however, beg pardon of the Public^ for being fo m,uch of the egotift in the body of my Book. My Readers, unknown, will be fo kind as to fuppofe, that it is the Leveller, An Advocate in the Caufe of the People, or any other perfon than myfelf, who is writing ; for moft of thele Mifcellanies have already Seen well received, under fuch fiftitious Names. And my Readers, who know me, are de- fired to figure to themfelves, their old acquaintance featedbefide them, in his eafy Chair, and thence fa* miliarly relating what he thought of in the Fields. April 24^, 1780. CONTENTS CONTENTS. l HE Leveller's Curfory Thoughts page i The Leveller, No. I. His Introductory Paper 49 - * No. II. On Pride, with rules for polite beha- viour 53 , , . . No. III. On Patriotifm 62 No. IV. On Horfemanfhip 65 , .... . No. V. On Painting *- 70 , No. VI. On Architecture 79 . No. VII. On the fame ... 85 No. VIII. On Love 90 - No IX. On the fame 100 No. X. His Defence ot Laughter, againftLord Chefterfield's unwarrantable attack loj . No. XI. An Effay on the Nature and Mutability of Stiles >> * 115 . No. XII. Another Eflay on the fame 124 _ No. XIII. A Ihort Diflertation on Mafks 134 No. XIV. Another Diflertation on Maiks 144 No. XV. His Anfwer to Scrutator's Remarks on his laft Leveller 151 , -No. XVI. Some Thoughts on Mufic and Dancing 161 . No. XVII. Addrefled to the Officers of the Militia, on that part of our national defence 168 , No. XVIII. His Salutiferous Creed 179 . . No. XIX. Continuation of it 187 . . No. XX. Conclufion of it 196 No. XXI. His Speech to the Benches in both Houfes of Parliament . 205 Letten on Credit . . . page 214 Supplement to the Leveller's Curfory Thoughts 311 Letters on theCuftojn of imprefling Seamen, with Jurtiui's Let- ter to the Author on the lame Subjeft 3 1 7 Three ( XVI ) Three Letters from a Merchant in London to tyis Friend at Am- fterdam ; containing a Sketch of Britifli Politics in the year '779 336 MISCELLANEOUS POETRY. An Epiftle to Dr. ******, on his changing the Fafhion of his Wig 247 An Epiftic concerning Tatlers; efpecially thofe in a country Town 250 The Difconfolate Widow - 253 A Broil, between ibme Men offended, That was bigun t but never end-:d 258 The Provoked Steed 263 Lines with the Prefent of a Nofegay - 266 Lines with the Prefent of a Pocket-book, &c. 267 Lines written on the Canvas of a half-finifh'd Portrait of Mrs. Crewe "267 An Aniwer to Eliza's Choice of a Hulband, &c. 268" Maria's Epitaph 2?0 legy on the Death of a Turtle-dove 271 A Cunfolatory Elegy on the DeatU of another 272 VerfesfenttoaLa !y with the Prefent of a Landfkip-drawing 274 /V Northern Paftoral, on the Death of the Earl and Countefs of Sutherland ' *. 275 An Epitaph for Michael Uttely of Enfield 282 On the Death of Mr. Sterne 282 Epitaph for an old Servant at Hopetoun can, with equal facility and correctnefs, either write or Ipeak -, and befides him I recoiled: none other, who have lately diiiinguijhed themfelves as public writers, excepting; my Lord Cheflcrfield, the late Lord Lyctclton, and Mr. Edmund Burke. Innumerable are the Orators, both ia the Senate and at the Bar, who are known to make but contemptible Jcribes. XVhen, therefore, I hear of any one that Iptaks much, it is no proof with me that lie has more fcnlc or learning than the filent manj but only that his imagination is more lively, and that he has a greater command of words. Nor would I be willing to pronounce a man void of underilandiog, even tho* he could not, either by fpeakinej or writing, prrfeftly exprefs his thoughts; for, though Mr. Locke fome- whcre fays, .that a man cannot think without think- ing in words, I am fenfible I can have an idea, and at the fame time be at a loj's for a word by which to exp.elj iiiy. "li. If, then, that can happen at all to #.v, why may it not frequently happen to any body elic? Or, fnall we lay, that a child has no ideas tiU he acquire jm fpcech , and that a man, who hos been deaf and dumb from his birth, has n-j re- flations of his own for want of words? Charles the Twelfth of Sweden, was a monarch fo little en- coved wiLh forcch, that he was accounted aimoft an i-.li ot before he commenced the great actions of his IL\-. O.omw.ij, too, .vvas molt incoherent in thede- li^cry c: hiswr;rd<; nor have we ever heard, that v/hat he wrou- was e.ther elegant or correct.. Yet every one will allow, that both thele great men < ',}., on mrny occr.fions, an uncommon preience 'OJL n:i;:d, and a furprifmg depth of thought. SINCE;, C SINCE, with man, the want of words, n j or evrri the total deprivation of ipeech, does not imply a de- fault of fcnfe, why mould we deny all reaion to the dumb brutes ? We are certain that the underttand- ing or many of them can he improved, though they cannot go Beyond the limics by nature prefcribed; but to ailedge, that, becaufe they cannot go beyond that pitch, they have no reaion at alJ, is as much. as to lay, every man is an ideot, whole judgment is not as perfect as that of a Maa^field, a Gambden, or a Burke. And if the gift of fpcccli is to be the teil of reaion, and my poor dog is to be allowed no re- flections ot his own, until he fhall have the talent of fommunicatiag his ideas in \yords; then muit his mailer be reckoned a fool, until he be as great an Orator as any of the great men mentioned above ; -which is not yet clenibnitrated, and which I am very unwilling to grant. A friend of mine has two dogs-, the one named Toby^ the other Om'tah. 'Ihcjfrft, I fometunes figure to myfclf to be an Engli&man; die laft y a native of Otaheite. They have no com- mon language by which they can make taemfeives. to each other utuiertloodi but they have Jigns an4 looks, which, as they reciprocally give, they feem- jrngly compreliend j and which, by cuflom, I can very well uncierfland myfelf. They alfo improve by ijmtation.. If they are not capable or greater im- provement, it is becaufe they have not the faculty of fpeech. Heaven, by denying them that, hati placed them far beneath mankind j yet are they much above others in the fcale of created be- ings upon earth.. NOTHINQ ( 6 ) NOTHING is more common in mixed compa^ nies, than to' fee men of a ready utterance, gain the afcendant over thofe of better undedtandmg, though of few words; and, with puns, quibbles, and fatirical ftrokes, pafs among the mallow think- ers for men of real wit. It happens in converfation x as in the tranfaftions of a bufy life: as a man of cunning, who regards neither jultice nor honefty, will, in many cafes, outwit the man of wifdom, whofe principles allow him not to deviate from the rule of right; fo will a wag, who pays no attention to the laws of good-nature, frequently outmine the confidcrate wit, who will fupprefs many a good thought, through fear of hurting or giving his neighbour offence. But the firft will cut and thruft at friend or foe, wherever he fees an opening; and provided he can mew his dexterity, will give little heed what objecl he happens to hit. The beft me- thod of dealing with thefe practitioners in the cut- and-thruft, is, to keep yourfelf entirely on the de- fenfive, till, by fome unlucky ftroke, they throw themfelves oft their guard ; if you will then aim a blow at them that perhaps will lay the fcull open, and expofe its contents; or if you will make a thruft, which, if they are not callous, will pierce them to the heart, they will fall mod abject at your feet, and will fcldom have the courage to renew the attack upon fuch a dangerous foe. Such wits I look upon as far inferior to a thrumber of wire, or a fcraper of catgut, who can tickle my ear without doing mifchief to any one. But when I meet with a man of learning and undemanding that is com- municative, I court his friendfhipj and I liflen to him ( f > -tt) him With fo much the more pleafure, as I can ac- quire knowledge from him, without impairing my fight by the reading of books. I AM no enemy to a Pun, provided it have pretenfions to Wit, and be not a mere Play upon Words. A Gentleman of fomc Confequence in Ca- nada, did me once the honour of a vifit of Conge, on his return to that Country. He obferved a. Pitch- fork y as I call it, (which Mrs. H. made ufe of to tune her Mandoline) lying on the parlour-table. It was then a new invention -, and, on enquiring the ufe of it, he could not help exprefiing a defire to have one to carry with him to Canada. Mrs. H. immediately defired he would accept of that, and keep it in remembrance of her. He received it with a refpecliful bow, and gallantly exclaimed: "Madame fa donner le Ton a 1'Amerique." THE timidity which men often mew in delivering their fentiments in fpeaking, and the repugnance which fomc authors feel to fubrait their writings to a public perufal, proceed not always from modefty, nor from a diffidence of their own judgment. With an inward conviction of his own merit, a man may- dread cenfure; though fccmingly humble, he may* in faft, through vanity, tremble under the appre- henfion of lofmg applaufe. This remark I once made, when I had not leifurc to inlarge upon it. But now, to purfue the thought a little farther: I honeilly confcf^ that I make no fcruplc of mewing my ( 6 j hiy mSgniftcant produ&ions to any of my old ac- quaintances-, nor do I in the leaft hefitate m delive- ring my opinion in private to them; becaufe I ima- gine they muft already have fathomed my capacity, and found whether it was extenfive or narrow. But I never could get. over that tremor, which affects me on making any public oration; becaufe I aox unwil- ling to diicover rny ignorance to Grangers, nor do ( like to expofe my folly unnecefTarily among people, who, if 1 had remained fdent, might have miftakeri inc. for a ruan of a better underftanding;. As little ihould I chcofe to put my name-, without neceflity, to any Literary Publication , be cauie that would alfo fubjeft me to the cenfure of ftrangers; and it would have the appearance, too, of my being perfectly well pleaied with my own corapoiitions. This is far from b> .ng the cafe, however; for, though I would ncve'f put pen to paper, if 1 did Jiot amuie myfclf by m^ writing?, I have feldom been fatisfied, but rather wifhed to exprefs myfelf in a better manner. A't the fame time that I am fo bafhful, with regard to the public exhibition of any thing that hazards the ex- pofing of my underftanding > I have not the leatt dread on me in performing any of the exercifes which 1 learnt at the Academy. I can dance a minuet with the utmoft unconcern, before the moft genteel af- fembly j I can fcrape a fiddle, with perfect facility, before the moft numerous audience, provided always they be previoufly acquainted that 1 am no profc'fled mufician ; I have rode in the manege, and praftifed in the fencing- fchool, without any tremor upon me, before the moft beautiful female fpe&ators ; and I never made a difficulty of (hewing, to any body, the wretched productions of rny pencil. All this I do, becaufe I dare. I confider it as a matter of indiffe- rence, ( 9 ) *, whether I ex-eel or not in any of thefe ciefei* fes. They are not inental accomplifliinents. 1 hey are things which a genrleman may learn for their private utility, or merely for his own amufement. Whether he knows them o'r not, I e(leem him neither th- better nor the worfe man for it. If, on the con- trary, he learns them. with a view of jhinlrig in pub- lic, it wi;l coil him infinite labour to arrive at the requifite perfection; and, after all his trouble, the anxiety aoc-Jt gaining applaufe will not, perhaps, ailo'.v him to p." norm with that eafe \\hich is h in a graceful execution. IT is aft on idling to me, how many 'enT'- )e Rea- ders f u fife r their opinion of books to be guided by the judgment of others, I have known fcverai learned men who never dared acknowledge they were pltafed with anew publication, till they had firft ken the fentence puffed on it by the Gentlemen Review *rs. So tar as their c en fare goes, it mull: be aliowed tlrey acquit thernillves in a moft mafterly and judi- cious manner ; but their pniifes at other times, arc io partially good-natured, that \ - wfeutd not always ijeiiow my money at their friendly recommendation.' Tis eafy to find defects in the beft compofvtions i and a detect being or*ce expoied, (unltfs iome beau- ties of the lame book be a!fo given) it may damn thei author of it as a bad writer for ever". It rnuir, on the other band, be an execrable performance in which nothing is found that is worthy of ccfarnendation. If, then, we get but one good extract from it, the Uentlemen- Reviewers, by luppreffinp; the reft, and giving a doubtful opinion on tiie fubjeft, may eafily C favour favour their friend the publifher. T do not, there- fore, truil to them entirely. Concerning books of great value* i wait for the opinion of the public j and in finall-priced publications, I iometimes venture to purchafe, even contrary to the verdict of a critical Jury. If there is any thing good in a book, I am, like Mofiere's Houfekeeper, (truck with it immedi- ately. Heaven has given me a tafte and feelings, to which I owe great enjoyment in the reading of Poetry, and particularly of dramatic pieces. 1 was once, in a fpecial manner, diverted with a friend of mine, who had read to me Mr. Goldfmith's Comedy, She Stoops to Conquer, when it was firll publifhed. He was highly delighted with it, and laughed at the reading or' it as heartily as I did; but unluckily, within a few days after the pcrufal, a tolerable au- thor and a great dramatic critic, of his acquaintance^ happened to pay him a vifit, and deliver his opinion of this new Comedy. I then heard my friend every where running it down as a mere Farce, replete with improbabilities* extravagance, and buffoonery j and when 1 took the occafion to remind him of the enter- tainment it afforded us both, when he was fo kind as to read it to me: True, faid he, I was certainly diverted, but it was at the extravagance of the Author I laughed, not at his wit nor his humour. Come, conftc* my friend, faid I, confcfs that you was highly entertained with this fame Come die outree; and that you never found thofe faults with it, ,till you heard the opinion of your friend the Ranter. I have read it twice over, fince I faw you, and { can boldly fay, it toft nothing with me in the reading. There are many ftrokes of genuine humour in it; the incidenti are truly comical $ there is not a cha- ra&er in it but what I hare known in real life; there is Ol ) is not one circumftance beyond probability, excepting that of Tony Lumpkin's carrying his mother rather too long a journey, in bail roads, for the time allowed him to perform it in ; and as for the miftaking a gentleman's houle for an inn, the thing might hap. pen to any man who had ever travelled the Bath-road, or who, in his rambles, had never been off the poft- roads of England. THE Republic of Letters is a common phrafe; but, trom what 1 have obiervcd above, there appears to be as much a Tyrtnny of Letters as a Republic. t,et fome great critic fend forth his learned edict, and all opinion is borne down before it. To diffcnt from it, as often implies folly and ignorance, as it is accounted treafon to rebel agninil the King, or he*- refy at Rome to ciffer with the Holy Pontiff. ONE day, as I fat reding myfelf on a ftile, -with a field of ripe wheat before me, I imagined a man could not take a bef tcr pattern for a genteel bow and a hand- iomc recovery, than from one of the rtalks as it bent beneath the breeze that blew upon it. The ftalk, or body, firlt inclined, and the ear, or head, next fol- lowed its flow motion. The ftalk then gently rcie again, and the ear recovered in fuccdlion. 1 lat like a King upon his throne, and I could not help fancy- ing, 1 faw fo many of my loving fnbjefts bowing, with Addreffes, before me. When my Readers re- coiled, that the great Homer himfeft compares the l^ears of an army to a field of corn, no lefs than C ? three three different times in his fiift Book of the Uiad, they will readily forgive me for one poor fimile which 1 ir.ade o; the ftanding corn, although reeds have more irequently been ufcd in the like comparif<--.ns But reeds bting a little ftiff in the back, represent not fo properlv the eafy graceful motions of a Cour- tier's body. To that of the bending corn, I will oppofe another fimile of the ftubborn oak; and both may be applied to the addreflbrs and non addrcffors at feme future meeting of Parliament. "When Nobles bow, and bring, in humble tone, .An abject vote before the Monarch's Throne, They yield to breaths of indolence and eafe, And bend, like corn, beneath the fragrant breeze. IN 01 lo, the ftuiciy oak withftands the blaft Of fou eft frorm; 'tis ftubborn to the laft: Yet, Tree of freedom! O majcftic head! Thy leaves off wither while thy branches fpread. ALL poetry, and indeed all literary compofitions whatfcever, mult be allowed to be proportionably di- ftant from perfection, as they Hand in need of addi- pcnal notes and explanations to enable their readers to comprehend them. For, in other words of my own; fl A v. ell- written book ('tis a rule that fome quote) " Should be undecftopd without comment or note." 'Tis therefore, with all due fubmiffion, I ftand cor- reeled, ior not making mylelf iufilciently under- itoou in the allvUiou of the hit line in the follow- ^ Not * s Not fo, the fturdy oak withstands the blaft ' Of fouleit itorin-, 'tis ftubborn to the laft: 11 Yet, Tree of Freedom 1 U majeltic head! *' Thy leaves oft wither 'while thy branches fpread." That is to fay, in Mr. Bayes's ftile, altho' indivi- duals may iuffcr in their lives or fo. tunes, by with- Handing the fouleft blaft of corruption, yet the pub- lic will reap the benefit ot a formidable refiftancej their rights will, in coniequen.ee of it, be extended-, the Tree of Liberty will liourilh and fpread in a fu- ture more luxuriant verdure. Though a Ruffel aiid a Sidney fell, and many leaves of the tree dropt off in the laft century, yet the branches fuffered neither fracture nor amputation j the majeftic head enlarged, and this generation enjoy its protection. To pu(h the allegory no farther, i cannot bat acknowledge mat my lines 'flood much more in net-d cf an explanation than many of Pope's plain puflages, on which dull notes are written by iome ot his learned Commen- tators. I WOULD not have it underftood, that I regard the genteel exerciles learnt at the Academy, as tend- ing folely to the amujement of a gentleman. They are often of fingular ufc to him. Mufic indeed may lead a man into low company ^ but then, as the mind rhuft fometimes be unbent, after any neceflary ap- plication to bufmefs, it is a great happinefs for him to have fome mufical inftrumcnt to apply to, inftead of hazarding his purle'at the gamine-table, or im- pairing his cort ft i tut ion in the debaucheries of a ta- yci:n> Painting and Drawing may bi; learnt by gen- tlemen tlcmen of independent fortunes, for the fame good purpofe of relaxation. But they may be hurtful, rather than of fervice, to people whofe neceflary oc- cupations are of a fedeutary kind. Fencing may prove of infinite ufe to a gentleman, on fome unfor- tunate occafions; and the more any humane, conii- dcrate man knows of that fcience, the more cautioully will he avoid a quarrel j for, though he might have the advantage of an unikilful adverfary, and might with perfect facility run him through the body, yet he would not willingly put a man to death for a trifle \ or if, to favc his own life, he few it abfolutely ne- cefiary to difable his adveriary, he would find it a very difficult matter, without imminent danger to himfelf, to make a home thruft at a man of courage, who found a Tword in his hand, and was determi- ned, at all hazards, to advance upon him. The af- fair of Lord Byron and Mr. Chaworth is a cafe in point, which I cannot help mentioning : The latter was an excellent fwordfmanj and feemed to have prefumed too much on his dexterity} the former, be* ing acquainted with his antagonift's fuperiority, was the more precipitate in difabling him for ever, as the furefl method of preferring his own exiftence. As quarrels, however, cannot always be avoided, it is of great imporar.cc to a man to be able to farry, and (if necc/Tary to terminate the difference) to be %\>\t to draw blood at no very dangerous part of the body. -To attend the riding-fchool is allo of great advantage to a gentleman ; jfor, befides the acquiring, by it, a graceful ieat onhorfeback, it may alfo favc him ma- ny a diflocated joint, or many a fractured member. The riding a race, or a fox-chafe, is the leaft part of the art. A boy will do thit with almoft as little praftice as refieclion; but a gentleman ought to know ( '5 ) know how to manage any vicious horfe he may be accidentally mounted upon for want of which knowledge, I have feen even Officers of Dragoons, who were the boldeft fox-hunters, make no figure at all with their regiments. Dancing is certainly of lervice to form the limbs, and to make a man genteel and active in walking; but moft exercifes within doors being relaxing to the body, I recommend it for its utility only to the Gentlemen of the Army. In what lhape it is ttfeful to 1 htm, in particular, may require fome explanation. I would not be thought to mention it ludicroufly, but I will venture to af- firm, that no expert figure-dancer would be at a lols in learning any of the evolutions of the army ; for nothing teaches a man to keep his mouth ihot, and his eyes and ears open, more readily than dancing : now thefc arc qualifications of acknowledge^ impor- tance in a ibldier upon duty , and though aft Officer has a greater privilege in ufing his tongue, the lefs he opens hi* mouth unneceflarily, the more he will be attended to on neceflary occafions. For the fame reafon of accuftoming the eyes and ears to be atten- tiye, the practice of muftc is of advantage to an Offi- cer ; for, while he is reading and playing his own part, he muft alfo liften to the inftrumcnts of the other performers. Landjklp- drawing is of acknow- ledged ufe to an Engineer; and by cxercifing the eye, is worthy of the notice of all Officers. Riding^ as I above hinted, is an exercifc to be recommended par- ticularly to the Gentlemen of the Army. Fencing^ and the ufe of the broad-fword, is of fmgular utility ifi cxercifing the attention of the eye, and improving the activity of the body : but the knowledge of them, excepting to the Horfe and Dragoon Officers, is not fo requifitc as it ufcd to br, when man was fre- quently quently pppQ&d'to man., in battk-, of now that cart- BOIK and the as-merciful firelocks, have put dole fighting out of falKioD, the rifle-gun is the chief wea- pon tor practice. Since I have been drawn into the Subject of- amuSements that arc attended with utility to the Gentlemen of the Army, 1 muil not: omit mentioning my favotinte Game cfCbcfs- \Yho- ever can with a glance of the eve. command every move that can be played on the Chefs- board, mighs, with equal facility, diicern the whole diipofition of an army, arid be prepared for every attack which, an enemy could make upon him. Hunting ^iid Shooting are alfo amufemenis ot acknowledged utility to an Officer-, by improving the quicknefs of his eye, they give nim a readineSs in perceiving every inch of ground around him; ar-d he acquires, in time, a tolerable certainty ia guefliiig at tl.e face of' the ad- joining country, from the appearance of the field immediately within his . profpedt. ^ NOTWITHSTANDING thefe thoughts ard written in a moft fiormy n;p;ht I will venture the Communicating an observation on the weather, which- may give foine comfort to the under- writers in London* and for which I (liall expect their acknowledgements,. accompanied with a hanciibme -premium* 1 have heard it once obfcrved, as I have found it by expe- rience, for theic three lad years, to be zjuft oblerva- tion, that, as the weather rules for about a week before, and after the equinoxial day, it will, in ge* neral, be the fame kind of wrather for three or four months next enining : Thap is to fay, if the fortnight above named fhoulU be ftormy weather, the ionr. months months after will, for the mod part, be dorrny too$ but if that fortnight iliouid prove fine, mild weather, (as it lately did) we may expect a continuance of the fame for the greater part of the four months to corner MAN was certainly formed for exercifc and labo- rious employment-, and unnatural to him mud be the occupations of a fedentary life. I cannot there- fore but think, it will turnout greatly to the ad vantage of the male fex, the. women haf ing taken fo much to reading and writing of late, . The honed profef- fion of a taylof, fo generally derided, for its effemi- nacy, could not, with propriety, have been committed to the truft of a female hand ; for it would be indecent in a woman to be conftantly fumbling about a man's breeches, and to be neceflarily feeling his ribs, of tickling his fide?, while (he was taking his meafare for a fuit of clothes. But various are the oth'^r em- ployments, which the learned part of the fair-fex can now take off our hands ! By changing the cu- ftom of flogging the pofteriors, to the flagellating fome other part of as exquifite feeling, the Ladies may teach our youth the ancient and modern langua^ ges as properly as the men can. For the frft^ the \vorhen have generally moft excellent memories, ca- pable of retaining the minuted and mod particular circumftance credent; for the /*/?, it will be feaciily allowed, that their tongues are fnfficiently pliant and voluble to acquire the mod difficult twids* The Spanifh, German, and Dutch gutturals,- indeed, would not be fo eafily managed, unlefs thefsir teach- trs were Northumberland or Scotch. In the Serial 'tj at the Bar, the loquacity of the womea would & be be of extraordinary ufe. And, in the Pulpit \ how would their fwect perfuafion, and their winning looks make converts to the truth! As to trade and manu* failures, 'tis very Well known, that a widow in Hol- land and Flanders continues her traffic, with little in- convenience, after her hufband's death ; and I truft that our Englilli widows are clever enough to do the tame with us. In the practice of rhyjic, I doubt not but the Ladies would be very expert. The fight, I grant, of a beautiful woman might fometimes difor- der a man's pulfe* and the feel of her delicate hand would naturally accelerate the courfe of his blood; but then, how many patients would revive at the mere fight of their doctor! or be reltored to all their priftine vigour, at her very magical tcuch! As cu- ilom reconciles us to every thing, old King David's method of ptolonging his days might come again into vogue:- a man might have a handfome female doc- tor on each fide of him all night, and difmifs them in the morning (with their guinea a-piece\ without m's giving the world the leaft fcandal or offence Certain disorders would be difficult to treat, without rutting the furgeon to the blufh. But, in thefe cafes, think the Ladies might eafily get over their delicacy ; for, confidering the liberties which thcmtn-midwivet have already taken with the fair fex, I fee no harm in the women ufmg the fame freedoms with us. If any there be, the examiner and examined fharing the reproach, there is but half the immodefly in it. I will tell it in Italian: for my Latin I have partly forgot, plain Englifh would be vulgar, and almolt as well uuderftcod would be the original French : Un fervitiale mollificante^ fer rinfrefcar le Vifcere del Si^nor, would give infinite 1 relief, when adminiftered by the hand? of a pretty female apothecary; \\kereas* in ( 19 ) in the prcfent way, by being frequently left to the care of an old nurfe, it is not ib likely to have ail its proper and benign effects. THERE is a rule to beobferved in converfat>on, that a man ought to confuler, whether his compani- ons fhew a willingnefs to liften to his difrourfe, or would like better that he mould hear them fpeak. And, fimilar to that, is a maxim in politics, to which every wifeStatcl'man attends: Toavo:d, as much a pot- fible, the making any innovations in the laws of a na- tion, but iuch as the people are already predifpofed to receive. 1 think, therefore, that our Legiflature might take into ferious confideration the hint I have offered above. The Ladies having already met us halt way, Government would not find it difficult to eaforce the oblervance of any law which the omnipo- tence of Parliament (a phra{c v however, which Hea- ven feems to relent; mould think proper, for the wife purpofes hereafter named, to enact, viz, to ob- lige the women in general to attend our grammar- fchools and academies ; and to finifh their ftudies at our two untverfities of Oxford and Cambridge. Thofe intended for phyfic, mould have liberty to re- fort to Edinburgh. I am certain that the Ladies would fwallow fuch a law more readily, than the Americans ever will do thole Acts and Refolutions which we are endeavouring to cram down their throats. My reafon for propofing fuch a law is evi- dently this: That men being fo much wanted for our warlike operations abroad, they ought by no means to be encouraged in the occupations of a IV- dentary life. 1 cannot bear to'think ferioufly of the D 2 -blood blood that has been Ihed ; and I am extremely affaidl that many more lives will be loft before there is ai\ e;>d to this (hire. For fuppofing that General Howe ihould force the lines at iNew-York, it is a. doubt \i he wiii be able to leave his mips, and march up the country, to meet the little army coming from the Lakes abu;ste. My private intelligence of 2$d June, 1776, from Montreal, laid, that our troops in Canada had then no vcfiels ready to carry them acrofs the .jtkes, And, perhaps, it was lucky they had not , unlefs the Grand Array under General Howe could jiaye niarched up the copntry to meet them, they jypuld probably hgve been cut off by a much fupe* rior force. AJJ which makes it appear to me that Affairs will not, by the /word, be fettled this cam^ paignj that more men will be wanted for recruits-, and that four millings in the pound Land-tax y/ill be agair r.equefted of the landed Gentry, who have been fo greedily iVangling their hen with her golden eggs. If I law my brother in a quarrel, in which ij thought him to blame, I would certainly not aflift him in his injuftice; yet I could not willi him to loe beat. In no other (entimcnts do 1 find my felt with fegitrd to this American difpute. happens in the affairs of this ld, we nvuu acknowledge to be permitted by the ynll of Gocjj \Vp cannot pretend to account for the expediency' of every ev^nt we are y/itneffes of. If, however, \ve examine the Records of Hiftory, we Ihail nr;j. thdt though many bloody battles have l.-cea iotiuht, which, tor unknown purposes, have whole iViillions off the face of the earth. Pro- vidence ( if ) \idence has ieklom permitted the entire coriqueft of * nation, but for its punifnmciit under vice ana cor- ruption, or for its civilization and improvement from a barbarous Stace. The Americans being equally virtuous, and equally civilized with us i I cannot perfuade myfelf that our coercive meal arcs againft them will ever fucceed. OUR paffions and judgment being equally the gifts of God, 1 cannot but think it borders on im- piety to treat the impetu'oiity of Man's paifions, or the defect of his judgment, with ridicule or con- tempt: it is fnecring at God's Providence for the Unequal djftribution he has made. Yet, when a man is at no pains to controul his paffions, or to improve his underttanding, ridicule may be permitted, when it is employed with the well- meaning intent of lhaming 3perfon into a reformation of life. I hope never to ule it in any other thought. Perfectly fenfible of my own defects, I fhall never fpeak contemptuoufly of other's faults, nor arrogantly attempt to write a fatirc on the human race. The humiliating idiotifm ot the once-humourous Dean Swift ihould ferve as an awl til example, to deter all prefumcrs to wit from wantonly ridiculing the wonderful works of that Deity, whofc defigns are unaccountable to us. I HAVE met with fome lines in the Whitehall Evening- poll, addrefled to a Gentleman who hap- pened always to vote on the Miniftcrial fide in Parlia- mj?nt, and which finifl>4 w ^ tn this flanza: *f Yet wife the men may be, " With whom you ever did agree, 44 With whom you e'er did vote ; " Or elfe this inference I draw : " You neither heard, nor evcrfaw, " But held by Cooper's coat." I hope there are not many fuch in the Houfe of Commons* who fuffer themielves to be led by the Trea- furer, or his Secretary, like blind beggars following their Dogs : yet, (if fuch there are) 1 think an apo- logy might be penned for them, which few of them would be bold enough to make : " You, Gentlemen, who flyle yourfclvcs Patriots, you obftrucT: the wheels of Government by oppofmg the Minifter in every thing; and you juttify this oppofition by faying, you are perfuaded he is an enemy to the conftitution, and that our ancient rights are in danger, till you have turned him out of place. Now, We of the Majo- rity, having a confidence in the integrity and abilities of this fame Minitler, think it incumbent upon us to keep him in; for which reafon, and to counteract your icheme, we give him our conftant iupport." The argument is of equal weight for every one who choofes to go through the dirty work of either fide. The man, however, who fupports the Premier in every thing, will oftener be in the right, than he who thwarts every meafure of government, merely to turn a bad Minifter out. OF all the fuperftitious tenets of the Church of Rome, the Belief of the Infallibility of the Pope is one of the mod ridiculous^ yet, from the King to the Cobler, Cobler, there is not a Proteflant among us, who docs not, at times, believe himfelf to be infallible. This conceit of our own infallibility is, perhaps a greater caufe of ftrife among mankind, than any thing elie we can imagine; for, rather than we will allow, in ibme favourite opinions, the pofTibility of our judgment being erroneous, we politively pro- nounce our opponents to be ignorant; or, guided by felf-intereft, to be utterly infmcere in their pro- ftffions. Hence it is, that we fo often conceive a hatred or diflike of them who differ from us in fen- timent. The King's fcrvants brand, with the oppro- brious name of a fcditious and deteflable oppofition, every party of men who diflent from their opinions ; whilil, on the other hand, the Gentlemen in oppofi- tion imagine, that no man can be honeft in his principles who can give his fupport to certain mea- fures of Government, which unfortunately incur their difpleafure. -In like manner, we may fee our Counties, Towns, and Villages torn with diflentions, or divided by party and faction, where almoft every man expefts that you mall fide with him, and quar- rel with his neighbour-, becaufe only they have hap- pened to differ in opinion, and each would have you believe him to be a man of an infallible judgment. THERE are two things in life, which I frequently meet with, and which, as often as they happen to me, give me inexpreflible pain, The firft is, when I fee a poor drudge of a waiter made the fport of a. company at a tavern, and obliged to fubmit to the arrogance of every haughty or unthinking fellow, whoaflumes the authority to abufe him on any little, trifling trifling concern. The next is, when' Gentlemen take upon them to fcold and reprimand their iervants be- fore any company of vifnors whom they entertain, In both thefc cafes. 1 bring the condition of the waiter and the fervant home to myfelf, and, by my feelings, I find, i could never be able to endure the ill-ufage they rauft fo often fuftain. To the proud and haughty, whatever I could fay on the fubject would be of little avail. But I mutt beg leave to remind the giddy part or. men, (who, from wanton'* ncfs or thoughtleffnefc, ibmetimes act againft the known humanity of their own minds) that nothing is fo mean as to give ill knguage to any man, whofc condition in life renders it unfafe for him to return the abufe ; and that nothing can be more ill-mannered to a company, than to addrefs one's wit to a waiter, when there are gentlemen to converfe with in the room. Nor, at one's own tnble, can any thing be more ill-mannered to guefts, thaft to give Tent to one's anger or ill-humour before them; becaufe it muft proportionably fpoil their entertainment, as they partake of their Envitor's concern. MUCH has been written for and againft the in- clofing the open fields in England; but one plain obfervation muft ftrike any man of reflection, in the County where I refide: That if the fields, which lie fallow for a whole fummcr, were inclofed, they would certainly produce fome thing more profitable than the fcanty pittance of food which the fheep that browfc on them at prefent receive. When, from an, eminence, one beholds the third part of the land co- vered, in the midft oHfae fumm-er, with the winter's rwfieC ( 25 ) rihTet brown, it immediately occurs to his that a very Jmali portion of that fame land, ii" laid down in grafs, would ferve as pafture for its ufual ftock of trxrrp ; and that the reil of the product: of thefe fallow fields, when cultivated every year, would be fo much of public advantage gained". A large crop, indeed, may be expected from a field that has lain fallow for a whole fummer; but the farm.-r, by changing every year the feed that is fown in the fame foil, or by manuring it wel!, makes the inclofcd land yield an additional produce, for which he is ever ready to give an advanced rent. Whenever a country can be brought to yield an additional produce, the inhabitants mull, in general, be benefited by it. It is not, therefore, by the act of incloiing, but by the manner of it, that we fee fo many individuals fuffer in the cafe. If the fmall tenants were not turned a-drift on the world by fome of their avaricious land- lords j if the value and extent of a farm were to be fixed by A& of Parliament; and if an adequate com- penfation were always given to the poor, who have a right of common on the open fields -then would the vallies fmile, and every one would rejoice at the daily improvements that are made. But as matters now Hand, though the Public reap advantage by an increafe of produce, individuals are frequently op- preffed, and muft too often curfe that power that deprived them of their bread. One national be- nefit, however, arifing from large farms, muft be candidly confefled. They ferve the purpofes of pub- lic granaiies-, for when a year of fcarcity arrives, the great farmer has generally a (tore in rcferve, which fupplies the deficiency of a bad crop; and though the hoarding of his corn may fometimes make it high priced, we fhall not, as formerly, experience thole lad times of famine and general diftrefs. THF.P.E is a well-known {lory of a failor, who, coming off a cruize with his pocket full of prize- money, admired the Admiral's velvet waiftcoat fo much, that nothing could fatisfy him, till he had one made for himielf of the very lame fluff. He ac- cordingly inquired for the Admiral's taylor, of whom he went to beijpeak his veil. The taylor, after ha- ving taken his meafure, afked him what he mould make the back of. "Why, of the fame fluff, to be fure!" qucth Jack. "Tis not ufual, laid the taylor, to make the back of thofe rich waiftcoats of the fame fluff with the front; the Admiral had the back of his made of common cloth." " No matter for that, quoth Jack; mike mine ALL velvet; I'll have no foam about me, by G !" Scon after, when Jack had got his waiftcoat on, he met the Admiral in the ilreet; but intiead of taking off his hat (for which he ft It himfelf too great), he held his coat- lappets up with one hand, and with the other he clapped his back " No iham here. Admiral ! no fham about me; 'tis all velvet, by G !" No lefs abfurd is the modern ufte of lome of our Nobility and Gen- try in the building of their country-feats. It leems to be a prevailing lalhion among them, to build the front of a houie towards a place whence it cannot be feen, unlefs one is at the pains to ride fome miles round it ; which is juft as troublefome a manoeuvre as that of Jack's pulling up the lappets of his coat to {hew us his Tclvet bade. A man may furnilh the the injidttfhit houfe to plcafc himfelf and his friends who vifit him, and he may place the windows cf the principal rooms towards the moil beautiful profptc^j but, lurely, if I were to bellow any money on the ornamenting the outfide of my houfe, I would choole to have it as confpicuous as poiTible ; cthervrife the expence of the fine front might as well have been fa- ved to my purfe. I have often fecn an honeft, plain Citizen with a gold- laced waiftcoat, which he endea- voured, by buttoning his coat, to keep carefully hid; yet, by a bit of the binding peeping out, I couid dif- cover the finery he was aihamed of. I mould h*ve made this comparifon at the firft; but 1 hsd many doubts whether I could lay to the account of a bafli- ful modcfty in our great folks, their late cuftom of concealing their ornamented fronts. I need net bar a pun here, for my Readers will perceive there is not affinity enough. This cuftom, 1 take it, has arifcn from an obicrvation on the proximity of Citizens' boxes to the duft and noife of a London road j and fo, to avoid the inconveniences attending fuch a fitua- tion, or the indignity of having a noble manfion com- pared to a Citizen's box, our gentry have run into the other extreme, and will not have their houfes feen at all, unlefs it be at the diftance of a mile and a half. I leave it to any architecl: to judge, what a grand figure his works will cut, v/hcn viewed in the diminutive fcale which fuch a profpeft would make. There is a certain point of view, beyond which all grandeur, as well as richncfs. is loft': as the minute ornaments will not befeen at too grest a diftance, fo the building itfclf will be diminijfeed ceo much. If . a houfe be fo near a road that may lock into ir, I would certainly fhut it up en that quarter, and ti rn my front to feme otb place. But if it be E 2 far far enough not to he overlooked, nor to be incom- moded by the noife and duft of a high-road, I would prefer to run my front parallel with the princi- pal road, from whence it will ofteneft be viewed. A houie ought alfo to humour the ground on which it is placed, it ought to fquare with the flope of the lawn, and not diagonally to run it acrofs, I LATELY remarked on the fulky cuftom among our Gentry of concealing their houfes from the notice of travellers j but I muft here animadvert a little on their iullen manner of keeping themfehes too clofely fhut up from the knowledge of flrangers. 1 am confident that no mortal would fuffer lefs by having a window in his breaft, than an Englishman; and yet a ftranger would leldom be able to prevail on him to fit with his blinds open. His window- fhut- tcrs would be eternally barred and bolted againft every unknown corner that approached him, as if he muft Certainly be a thief or a pickpocket. Such a cautious conduct in bufincfs is prudent and commendable; for the fureit method of preventing all confequent mif- undtrilanding, is, to tranfact every affair of intereft, even with one's own brother, as if one was guarding againft the trick? of a fharpcr. But, in the common intcrcourie of lire, Chrilvian charity fhouid teach us to fuppoie every man honeff, till we fhall have re- ceitt-d a contrary information. Initead of this chari- table bf-haviour, nothing is more common than to fee two veil drclVcd people fit the whole evening next each other, a ; the Opera or the Playhouie, without Jo much as excr "n f ring one evil word about the beauties or the detects of the performance. This fhynels, fliynefs, I am perfuaded, proceeds from ?. certain in- bred haughtinels of fpirit, that hinders each party from condefcending to make thefirft advances. T:s partly from my own experience 1 fay it; for havl ; fpent feven years of my youth, in a foreign country, 1 was, on my return to Britain, as totally unac- quainted with its cuftoms as if I had never feen it; 1 had no conception of any (hynefs between one gen- teel perfon and another; fo that, wherever I feated myfelf at a public entertainment, I never failed to lay fome civil thing between the Acts, to my next neighbours, and to mew them my willingnefs to be- gin a converfation. As it is a compliment due to every company where one is not intimately acquaint- ed, to put on a better drefs than ordinary, in which to appear before them, and as I always made a point of complying with that rule of politcnefs, ( never ventured into public (after the manner of fome of ur Englifa Bucks) in a drefs that would make a ftranger afhamed of my acquaintance. I have, ac- cordingly never found, that either the Gentlemen or the Ladies were offended at my fpeaking to them; but, on the contrary, my civility has frequently re- commended me to the fricndihip of people, whom, unknown, I had fociably accofted, and to whom I had afterwards the opportunity ot a formal introduction. BESIDES the referred behaviour above mention- ed, to ftrangers, I have often heard my countrymen reproached for their ingratitude to foreigners. An Jingliihman, after receiving many civilities from a Gentleman abroad, will frequently mew but little attention to him in London. This I can account for no ( 3 ) no otherwifc, than from the multiplicity of engage- ments which people generally have who come to re- fide only a few weeks in London; and from our Nobility and Gentry not looking upon themfclvcs as at home in Town, but rather as temporary rcfidcnts, as well as the foreign travellers. This behaviour, which is fometimes imputed to political difTenfions, may pafs among ourfclres; and I can the mere rea- dily forgive it, as I have myfelf experienced the greateft civilities in many parts of England, front Gentlemen, whofc Parliamentary bufmcis, or family engagements, would fcarcely allow them time to accept of the lead return from me in London. Yet I could wifh my countrymen would facrificc a little more of their own convenience to the hofpitable reception of foreigners-, becaufe their ingratitude to them is really become a national reproach. THERE is no greater obflaclcto the introduction into good company, than a non conformity with the cuftom of card-playing. From what we can learn in the annals ot the Polite World, this fafhion has prevailed in London, with little variation, for a whole century; but, within my own memory (and I am not a very old fellow), it has gained fuch confi- derablc ground in the country, that it has intircly banilhed bowls, cricket, and other manly games, with which the Gentlemen ufed to amufe themfelves in the fummer-erenings. Nay, there is not fo much as a butt to moot an arrow at, in any of the gardens, in Scotland; and the cir Writings) "Now, 'the Devil confound thole Ancients, for they have ftolen all ray good thoughts from ( 33 5 from me!" -A man, who has read little and thought much, ought indeed to be very cautious how he lays claim to originality; for (excepting in the Arts and Sciences) it is difficult- to i'trike out a thought, but what one may find already cxp^effed in fome an- cient Author, and with fewer words than it can be con- veyed in by any Modern. What brings thchmman's Jpceeh into my head at piefcnt, is the fight of Sir John Hawkins's ridvertifement of a fpcedy Publica- tion ot Five Quarto Volumes on the fubjeS of Mufic. 1 have fome thoughts of my own on the fame fubject, which I am rcfolved to put foon into fome kind of order ; left, peradrenturc, they mould be too late in their publication, and 1 fhould find that Sir John " nad iloien fome of my good Thoughts from me.'* I HAVE fcldom met with a native of any foreign country, I am acquainted with, who had never tra- velled till he had attained the age of manhood, but I could tell the nation he belonged to, by the cadence, or accent, in which he fpoke the Englifh language. Let his pronunciation be never fo perfect, he will ftill retain fomcthing of the fame cadence in which he was accuftomed to fpcak in his youth, and of which, in his riper years, it will be impoffible for him, by any delicacy of ear, or pliability of tongue, to become totally divefted. The reafon ot it I take to be this: The voice having been long exerted in fpeaking in the fame national cadence, fome particu- lar parts which form the voice, and whofc function it immediately is to found that cadence, become thereby more ftrengthened than others ; and this may occafion, for ever, a cadence in fpeaking as involun- F tary, ( 3+ ) tsry, as arc the various natural notes in the corf- vulfion of laughter. Anatomids may give a better account of it; although to me it appears, that it is neither the Larynx, nor any one fingle part, that forms the voice, but the combined powers of three; and thefe are, the throat, the bread, and the lungs. The /aft, like the bellows of an organ, are the fine qua non; without which there would be no found. The other two ferve to modify the voice ; that is, to give it the manner of its exiftence. The throat feems to prefide over the function of modulation in finging; and to the bread is fpecially affigned the power of giving the emphafis in fpeaking. Accordingly, we find many accomplifhed fingers, who have no com- mand of their voice in fpeaking-, and, on the other hand, many great orators and theatrical fpeakers^ who can fcarcely found a note of mufic with their voice ; though they may perhaps mew us their mu- fical capacity, by whiftling any tune that has been fung to them. IT is by fome maintained, that the mufic of each country bears an affinity to the cadence of its lan- guage. However that may be, this at lead is cer- tain, that as, by cudom, we can be brought to admire the rant of the Stage at Paris or at London fa rant, which, at firft hearing, appears unnatural to us), fo we become enamoured of any drain of mufic we have been long ufed to, and give it the preference to every other kind cf compofition. An untravelled, unindructed Frenchman imagines, there is no mufic comparable to the Airs of 'his country. An untaught Isiorth-Briton will have a fimilar prepofTefJIon in fa- vour ( 35 ) vour of the Scotch tunes. But any. on?, who has practiced mafic from his youth, and who has not al- ways refided in his native country, will give the pre- ference to the Italian mufic, on account of its variety; although he will, at the lame time, learn to relifh what is agreeable in the mufic of every nation. Thus will heincreafe his tafte and enjoyment of mufic, by an unprejudiced pra&ice of every kind of compofuion, in the fame manner as a man may get rid of all ca- dence in fpcaking, by an early intercourfe with the natives of many different countries. When 1 firft learned the violin and violoncello, I played, for fe- veral years, nothing but Italian compoiition. 1 then met with fome French Airs, and their words and tunes together gave me infinite pleafure. I next heard Handel's Oratorios; fomc pieces of which, when I knew the words they meant to exprefs, charmed me beyond any thing of the Italian. Mr. Robert Bremner's Collection of Scotch Songs came lail in my way, and though he has given me no di- rections how the tunes are to be played, I think I have gueffed both the tafte and the time of the mufic, by the ftrain of the words for which it is compofed. The following is my manner of playing iome of rhem; and if 1 have not hit on their true meaning, I hope Mr. Bremner, in the next impreflion of his book, will be fo obliging as to correct me. Mournful and tender* Adagio. Gilderoy. An' thou wert mji%ain thing. The Bum aboon Traquair. The Broom of Cowdeaknows. I'll never leave thee. Peggie, I mull love thee. \V oe's my heart that we fhould funder. F 2 Plaintive Plaint i-ve and tender. Largo, Katherine Ogie. The laft time { came o'er the Moor. She role and let me in. For the lack of gold me left me. My Apron dearie. Sae merry as we twa hae been. Graceful and tender. Andante. The Birks of hivermay. The Lais of Patie's Mill. Low do,wn in the Broom. Nancy's to the Greenwood gane. Tweed Side. Corn Riggs are bonny. The Yellow-hair'd Laddie. Chearful and tender. Andantino, BeiTy Bell and Mary Grey. Fee him, Father, fee him. The Boatman. There's my thumb, I'll ne'er beguile thee. ChearfuL Allegretto. The Blathric o't. Hooly and fairly. How expreflive of rapture arc the notes to the line, ct 'lhen I would clafp thce in my arms," in the Song of Ah 1 thou wert my am thing! Hoxv plaintive the notes to '* A Lafs that was laden with care,", in the bong oi Sae merry as we twa bae been! How mourn- ful the notes to "Hear me, ye Nymphs, and every Swain!" in the Eujh aboon "Tr*fuair! How mourn- ful, too, the notes to kt As from a rock, part ail re- hei," with the whole firil ftanza in Pegie y I muft love thee! And how expreflive the fall in ''He's low down in the Broom!" But my limits will not allow ( 37 ) .allow me to quote every favourite paflage in thefe longs, which, 1 think, equal in expreilion the molt admired competitions oi the Italian matters. To Antiquarians i fhaii leave it to determine, which particular Scotch times were cornpoicd by David R.iz zio, or which are the productions ot the couniiy. Among thole above mentioned, I am willing to re- linquiih Tweed Side, and the Teiiow-balr'd Laddie which have much ot the Italian Air in them. [ would allb give up the Lafs of Patie's Mill, u-ilefs it has the original words to it; for, in that cafe, it can- not be above a century and a half old ; * Hopeteun's, high mountains," which the ibng mentions, having not been mucn longer in the pofleilion of that family; and then 1 luppofe the pofieifor to be called by the name ot his eitate (atter the Scotch manner), as the Peerage of that name is no older than from the be- ginning or this century. 1 can fcarceiy pick out another tune in the book before me, cut mi; it either be originally Scotch, or purpofely compound by P.iz- zio after the Scotch manner. They could not other- wife have been introduced among the vulgar, by whom they have been chiefly t ran knitted \as from them they have been generally collected;; for, let the bell modern finger, at this day, execute any favourite Italian Air to the common people in Scotland, it would be lolt upon them intirely; or they would (till give the preference to that itrain of mufic which they have ever been ufed to. I cannot conclude without obferving, that, as many of the Scotch tunes run the notes almoft'-to two QRaves, it muft require a greater compafs of voice to fmg them, than we generally expcft to find among the inhabitants of thefc northern countries. AT ( 38 ) AT the battle of Lafelt, when the gyth regiment of foot had been thrice broken and rallied again, and when, at the fourth attack, they were totally defeated, Dijan, a French refugee Officer, who ftood among the laft in that regiment, found himfelf at the fide of one Kerr, a bold, intrepid grenadier, whom re- joicing to meet, he inftantly accofted in theie words, " Bee garre ! me be very glad to fee you, Kerr , 1 know you vill follow me." <; That I will, faid Kerr, I will follow your honour to the bottom of Hell." " Hold, hold, Kerr, not fo far, eider ; me vill only lead you to de gate, and dere me be obliged to leave you." So, away thy both went over a hedge and ditch, and continued the battle at the fide of a Ha- noverian regiment. Though I would wifh to banilh, as much as polfible, from the mind of the foldier, the recolleftion of his own danger, the want of reflection I would defire in him, is not of that dif- folute, abandoned kind which the Grenadier above mentioned fliewed in his anfwer. I would have no man, in a good caufe, forget, that he fights in the prefence of his Creator ; for Hiflory mews us, that no armies have been more fuccefsful than thofe who fought under a religious infpiration; nor have any men been pofieffed of greater bravery in combat than thofe who had the fear of God conftantly before them. We fee, indeed, that a want of all Religion has of- ten the fame effect of rendering men fearlefs of dan- ger; yet is the thoughtlefs, mechanical courage of the wicked not always to be relied on -, for, if a tem- porary ray of reafon mould ftrike them, they will ihudder at death, and the approach of a future retri- bution. A remarkable in-flanceof this I can give, in another ( 39 ) another ftory that at prefent occurs to me. An En- glim gentleman-traveller happened to be dining at a Table d'Hote, at the Hague, in company with fome others, who had been concerned in the laft Rebellion. In his difcourfe at table, he ufed great freedom with the Chriftian Religion, and went Ib far as to utter blafphemy againft his Almighty God. He next at- tacked the character of the Pretender, and at lad be- came fo fcurrilous on the fubjeft, that one of the company, no longer able to contain himfelf, defired him to walk into the garden. *Now, Sir, faid the challenger, your blafphemy againft my God, I leave him to punifh, for He was prefent, and did certainly hear you. But for your fcurrilous abufe of my Prince, who is abfent, and cannot relent it, I demand inilant fatisfaction. Draw, Sir, or you lhall afk his pardon*" Thefe words were delivered in fuch a de- termined manner, that the offending gentleman ima- gined he heard the voice of an avenging Angel, fenc from Heaven topunifli him for all his wicked aftions. Though as an officer in the army he had often diftin- guifhed himfelf in battle ; though he had as often proved his courage in fingle combat; and though he now drew his fword with apparent refolution, yet his heart failed him on this occafion; and, after a few thrufts, his antagonift difarmed him, and obliged him to beg his pardon. THERE is an exprefiion in General Howe's letter of 3oth November, that would be very character! ft ic of the cool courage of the German foldiers, bad we not been previoufly informed, that four Britilh regi- ments had icrambled up the hill like cats, and effec- tually tually cleared the way for them : " The Hefllan grenadiers alib coming up, and paiTing the Brunx, attended the height with the greactft alacrity, and in the bet? order." I can, however, conceive all this 10 be very true, without derogating in the leaii t. om the bravery ot the Hefiians. A German and a Dutchman are naturally flow in their motions-, and, in the face of danger, within the reach of a cannon or a mutket, it would he unreafonable to expect them to be uncommonly active in marching. Let, us fi- } .- to ou> fdves a man with head erect, Ihouiders 'ack. cheft puihed out, his back ftreight, s knets fiiir. This man knows no other me- " walking up a hiii, and 'tis with difficulty he i:a;i perform it, If, again, he attempts to go down the hill, 'tis ten to one but he will fall on his back ; s may be tried any day on a ilope, with our own ioidiers in drilling. Commend me, then to the na- tural loofe walk, and the acquired agility of a South or North Briton; for, a man, to be an active ibl- dier, ought to be able to walk on all- four when there is occafion for it. Reading, in an old Newfpaper^ a paragraph about feme depredations which Mr. Wi [dwarfs Bees had made in a Confectioner's Shop, it recalled to my mind an affair that happened fame years ago at Enjield, and that was equitably fettled by .Mr. Smart) an hone/I Attorney of that place In what manner it was fettled by him, I Jhall leave it to my Readers to guefs. But the fubjed occafioning no lit- tle mirth in the neighbourhood^ a club cf friends, who fat as judge and jury^ defired me to ferfonate Mr. Afr. Dort?>?cf-'f, ard to pl^i before tbem on both ftJes of the caff. The following as far an ( cat tecvllcci^ iveiethe chief points on which 1 enlarged* COUNSEL for the PLAINTIFF. My Lord^ and Gentlemen of the Jury ^ I A.M Counlel, in thiscaufe, for William Whits- . bread, the PlakitifF. As my brief ftates the cafe, John Fenton, in the p.ariih of Enfield, Midiiidcjc county, is the proprietor of an orchard, iying'and being in the forefaid parilh of Enfieid, the fruit of which orchard lie let, for the term of one vcar, to Benjamin BlofTorn, the Defendant, and the pasture lie reserved for his own ule. The Plaintiff was the owner of a fovv and nine pigs-, which low and nine pigs being one morning, as it was their natural cu- llom, in quell of the acorns, crab-apples, hip to the Divine Will, and a becoming Confcioufnefs of the D^g'n'i^y of the Hurran Race. There are three things which gain the porTerlbrs of them the confederation of the World: Honour, Riches, and Parts. I have placed them 'according to their cftablimed and accuftomed rank; but in my own mind I fliould reverfe their order, or fhould efteem (hem in proportion to their connexion with Virtue and Worth. To give an example of the firfl rank : The Em- peror of Germany, tor a Speech he made, was once yery high in my efteem. A Friend of mine, who had been introduced to' him at Florence, and to whom lie'fhewed a particular regard, met with him again again at Naples, fome months after their firft ac- quaintance. " Well, Sir, faid the Emperor, how do you like Italy ? Has the country anfwered your ex- pectations ?" O, .perfectly, Sir; no Country more agreeable ; no journey more delightfully entertaining. " As for me, continued the Emperor, you lee how I travel-, with very few attendants; three or fonr Gentlemen, my intimate Friends, in the day-time we ieparate, to make our rounds of the Town, and at night we meet to communicate our intelligence and o:/lcrvations to each other. In this manner I have travelled through Italy; and, i may fay, I have made a gjonous campaign, without its having colt one drop of human blood." There was a Speech worthy of an Emperor indeed ! But., mark his falling off: he has joined in the plunder and partition of a Free State. Having thus given an inftance ho\* a Pcrfon of the highcit hlevrcion may, in my opinion, debafe him- feif, I (hall next relate in what manner two miferable Beings, of the loweft State, railed themfelves to a Level with his Majefty King George the Third and' his Royal Mate. One day, as I was coming home to dinner, I perceived a poor Man and Woman flanding near my door, in earneft difcourfc together. They did not obfervc me; and while I was fcraping the dirt off my fhoes, I overheard the Man uttering thcfc affectionate words : " Do eat it, my Dear" (Ihe was prcfling him to accept of a piece of bread, that Ihe held out to him with both her hands). ' Do eat it yourfclf indeed I will not take it it will do more good to you, for I can fad." Here my knock- ing at the door difturbed them, and they withdrew a few paces from me. I put my hand into my pock- et to relieve their diftrefs. " There, good people, H 2 faiS ( 52 ) faid I, there is a (hilling for yon ; you feem to be in v/ant." They received it with bieflings and thanks. "When I went into the parlour, curicfity led me to the window, to Ice what was become oi" that mifetable Pair. 1 then beheld the Man devouring the morlei of bread like a Wolf; like a Wolf, driven by cold and hunger from his forefts. to prey on the flocks of the plain. No conjugal afFeclion retrained him; no feelings for the diitrefs of his Mate; fhe had now got wherewithal to purchafe a dinner, and he could make his rneal en the cruft of bread. I called my I\-ar Friend (my Wife^ \ mean.) to the window; there. Mary, behold that fight. 1 told her the ftory, and the tears guflied from her eyes in a flood. The Scene being too affecling for her compafficnate heart, I kd her by the hand to the firefide. " You fee, My dear Mary, to what mifery we mortals are at times reduced; you have been bred up in affluence and cafe in your father's houfe, and have fren nothing but plenty in the country around. The fields, at the vvorft, exhibited to you the Labourer, toiling to earn, with the fweat of his brow, his pittance of bread : but irt the cjty you will behold real iorrow and dif- trcfs. "Were you, like me, to walk the ftreets of this metropolis at night, you would behold yourfei- ]ow-creatures, Men, Women, and Children, formed by the lame hand or God, deititute of every neceffary of Life; bereft of cloathing, wanting food, without a home in the cold and chilling frolt. they are fain to take fhelter under the porches of the Rich, and at the doors of their fellow-citizens to paf? the blesk^ft nights Who knows but fuch may be the the lot, this very night, of that miferable Pair? ,And yet, by their wkkednefs. they cannot have de- itrvcd it; ihey have ihcwn me inch greatnefs of mind, ( 53 ) m'rnd, fuch noblenels of fentiment, in that fhort de- bate about their only Cruit of Bread, that I am cer- tain their lives have not been governed by vice. Perhaps bred up in a virtuous and affluent date, they are, for unknown purpofes, by the hand of Heaven thus levelled with the Poor. But let us af- fift them as much as we can^' 1 ran to the door, to give them a guinea; bur they were gone, and were loft in a croud of paffengeis in the ftreet. The LEVELLER. N. II. On PRIDE. EVERY one, who has travelled this country, muft have perceived, that at moft of the great Manfion-houfes he had vifited, he was firft admitted into a fpacious hail, large enough for the drawing of a public Lottery, and fufficientiy capacious to incar- cerate therein the whole Commons of England , after which he was, perhaps, in due form, ulhered into an adjoining apartment. In the days of old Kn- gliih Hofpitality, thefe Halls were of material fer- vice: they were intended to contain a numerous company, at any grand and extraordinary entertain- ment; to hold any necclTary meeting of Vaffals and Dependents; and to have in them hung up and dif- played ( J4 ) played the whole mew of the Family Armour. But in thcfe modern Times, when generous Hofpitality, familiar Society, and free, convivial Good-humour, are giving place to a ftiff ceremony, and a vain, yet parfimonious oftentation, I can discover no other ufe a Hall is of in any Manfion, but to ferve as a conve- nient Ventilator to the reft of the building. It has, on the contrary, one great inconvenience, to which few people have paid any attention : the Hall is com- monly fo large and fo lofty, that, compared to it, the grandeft Rooms in the houfe appear like diminu- tive Clofets. I mould therefore prefer to enter a houfe at a handfome, neat veftibulc, in order that, when I was fhewn further into the building, I mould find the apartments improve in their appearance, and, in elegance and fize, rather exceed my expecta- tions. Now, this tafte of mine with regard to the apartments of a Houfe, I thought it prudent to keep in remembrance at my beginning thcfe periodical Ef- fays which I have undertaken. Had I, peradventure, fet off with a long, elaborate, ornamented difierta- tion, I mould have raifed my Readers hopes of me far above my intention, and beyond the power of my ordinary abilities to anfwcr. He would, in that cafe, have ferved my Competitions as many a Tra- veller does fome of our Gothic Manfionsj he thrufts his nofc into a room or two, with the doors half open; takes a hafty peep at them; then, fuddenly wheeling round to his companion, he whifpers in his car, "There is nothing worth feeing, but the Hall and the ruity Armour/' My Readers will, in due time, difcover whether this was a needlcfs preamble. Tho* the word Pride certainly conveys to us the idea of a 'vicious quality of the mind, yet there is a fort of Pride, or greatnefs ot fpirit, which, in fome inftances, ( 55 > inftanccs, appears to be commend able. The Pride I mean, is that which deters a man from committing a mean or difhonourable action, and prevents him from (looping unworthily, or unneceffarily, to men of a fuperior ftation. It is eafy for a tall, lufty fellow^ in a croud, to make a confiderable ftoop without any danger of falling; but if a little, infignifkant figure of a man mould debafe himfelf one inch of his ftature, the elbow ot the tall varlet will inftantly be upon him; he will inevitably be borne down; he will be contemptuoufly trod under foot ; and the whole fcof- fing croud will pafs over his belly *. Let every one, therefore, retain in his mind a juft fenfe of the im- portance of a Man to himfelf, and of the dignity of Human Nature-, but let him banifh from his thoughts an ungovernable fe If- conceit, which would prompt him to arrogate the fubmiffion and extraor- dinary refpect of his neighbours. As Lord Mansfield once publicly declared with regard to popularity, fo ought a man to be fatisfied with the re/ptfl which follows him, and not prefumptuoufly to expe& that which he claims, or wifh anxiety runs after. I ve- nerate the Archbifhop of Yorkf, for his unaffe&ed Piety, his Learning, his Judgment, his Affability, and Good- nature; but, with a mixture of pity and contempt, I liften to an aufterc, proud pedant of a Parfon, who is ever ftunning my cars with his cant, and his learned quotations. I rcfpccl: and admire Mr. David Hume and Dr. Robertfon as much for their modcfty as for the excellency of their writings; while I cannot fubmit to flatter the vanity of fome other Authors, who, on the fuccefs of a new Play, or * Tho' iliis is & foreign Phrafe expreflive of Contempt, I have rentured to ufe it iu my own Language, t Drumnrond. 6t the Publication of fomc Pamphlet or Poem off their writing, will afTume the a"irs and confcquence of the greateft Wit that ever put pen to paper. Iff fhort, that kind of pride and felf- conceit which prompts a man to claim reipeft, as it were a tribute, from his neighbours, will only procure him the out- ward fhew of it from his dependents , the reft of the" World will yield 'him but their civility and fecrct contempt. A Man pofleffed of the pride of not Hooping unwortlr.ly to thoie above him, ought to be cautious to whom hs lays himfelf under obligation; for he may happen ro receive benefits of a perfon of whom he has been deceived in his opinion, and to whom he muft afterwards pay deference and rcfpectj or he muft cife appear, in the eyes of the world, to , be unaccountably ungrateful and unfeeling. Yet, to- fcorn receiving benefits from a perfon one cfteems, is to have a fpirit too haughty for the Society of Man. For my own part, 1 think Gratitude, next to Love t (of which, in fact, it is the moft durable compo(ition) is the moft agreeable Senhtion of the Heart ; and far from being afhamed of the favours 1 have received from iry friends, I icel a iatisfadion in the thought, that, it I had not been in fome degree worthy of eileem, I mould never have received them. 1 do not know that the folly and ridiculoufncls of Pride is any where, fhewn in a ftronger light than in Gulliver's Travels to Brobdingnag. Hut, in ft. ad of the gigantic Natives of. that Country, I can figure to myfelf " millions of fpiritual creatures that walk the earth unfeen" millions of iuperior beings, with which i- *od has peopled other more glorious parts of the Univerfe : I can figure to myfelf one of Thefe talking of us infignificant Mortals on earth, in the words of the King of B'rstidijignagi u What a con- temptible ( Sj ) teniptible thing is Human Grandeur! Thefe dimi- nutive infects! thefe fhort-fighted, mortal creatures, that have but a few hours to live! give themieives titles and diftinctions of honour; they contrive little nefts and burrows, which they call Houfes and Ci- ties ; they make a figure in drefs and equipage-, they love,: they right-, they difpute; they cheat-, they be- tray!" But of all the people in the World whole vanity and felf-conceit deierve reprehenfion, the idle Drones of bocitty are, in their affumed airs of im- portance, the moil ridiculous and contemptible: I mean thofe of our Nobility and Gentry, who giving themfelves no concern about the welfare of the Com- munity in which they live, wafte their d.iys in idle- ncfs and eale, or in a criminal and ruinous difiipation. "Who but mult fmiie, when he beholds thefe uielefs beings giving themlclves the airs of men of real con- it-quence a id worth, when they are folcly indebted to ijhance ;not to puzzle them with Providence) for t;ieir large pofHrrnons, or for their luperiority in rank above their fellow-creatures? Who but mu ft Imile to fee them behaving with fuperlative infolence and contempt to every honeft, ufeful Member ot Society, whofe circumstances cannot afford an equal Ihew of of Drefs and Lquipagewith them? With thefenfiblc part of mankind, indeed, Virtue and a Liberal Edu- cation will gain a man efteem, and make him be reckoned fit company for a Duke -, but as our Pub- lic Meetings of Fafhionable People are not entirely compofed of Men of Senfe and Difcretion, I mult here beg. leave to offer my Readers a few Uules and Directions, by which any virtuous honell man may foon rival the politeft people of the Ton; and in con- iequence and importance raife himielf to a level with the proudcft and moil conceited. 1 RULES , by which One may eafily gain the outward Ri- fpeft and Confideration of his Neighbours; or, DIRECTIONS to all GENTLEMEN and LADIES hoitf to make thetnfelves mofl confpicuous and remarkable at the various PLACES of public AMUSEMENT. i.TF you fhould happen to be elefted Mafter of the Ceremonies, at any Country Ball or AfTemhiy, take no notice at all of Strangers, (not even of his Majcfty's Officers) for they are people that nobody kncwf* Notwithftanding it is the cuttom in the po- lite Countries of Europe, to inquire for the Stran- gers at a Ball, and to pay them the Compliment of taking them out to dance the firft Minuets, you are flot bound by foreign Laws. Strangers can have nei- ther votes nor intereft in your Country, and it would therefore be highly abfurd to give them the prece- dence of Gentlemen of Property in it. II. If you are a Man of Quality, fpend at leaf! tw6 r thirds of the year, and the beft part of the income of your eftate, in London. Your refidence in the Country muft only be a kind of Cantonment ', to re- cruit as much as youpombry em for your next Cam- paign at Court; for which parpofe you muft live quite retired and fecluded from the Society of the neighbouring Gentlemen of tltc County y or, if you 1 ehufe to honour any of them with a fight of you, keep two or three public Days, and ape his Majefty at St. James's. You will by that means* (of feeing them all in a croud together) fave yourfelf a world of trouble, and keep your neighbours in proper rc- fpet. They will know their due diftance, when you never receive them but in form; and by not returning their vifits till you are juft going to Town, you are fure to fee none of them, above once at your Houie, in a Seaibn-. IV.- If ( 59 ) III. If you happen to live near any large countryr town, pay no attention to any of the inhabitants, left you ihould have the whole town come iwarming about your houfe. Yet, before you leave the neigh?- bourhood of thofe Cits, and return to your amufe* ments in London, it may not be amifs, juft to join them for once in a Ball or a Concert, in order to mew them your fuperiority in Drefs, and to have a laugh at the Country Putts before you fet off for London. N. B. The above Three Rules I particularly re- commend, at this time, to all who wiih to be po- pular at the next General Election. IV. It will, however, be impoffible for you, fome^ times to live entirely for yourftlf. Good- breeding requites you mould pay fome attention to any of his Majefty's Officers that are quartered in your neigh- bourhood, or to any Gentleman who has retired to the Country for the benefit of his health. You may, in that cafe, pay them one formal vifit, if you pleafe, and give them a general invitation to your houfe; but I would advife you not to fix a day for them to wait on you, if you want them to keep their proper dif tance, and not to become too intimately acquainted ; and if they have any good-manners themfelves, they will be furc never to come near you at dinner time, left you fhould happen to have your houfe full of company, or left you mould have a particular defirc to be alone \ in either of which cafes you would think them curfedly familiar, and wiih them at the Devil for their pains. V. On your arrival at any place of public enter- tainment, be fure to make acquaintance with the beft company only j fuch as Peers, Peerefles, Stars, Gar- ters, and the like. This will certainly gain' you I 2' fomc fome confidcration and refptr, whether you arc in- titled to any or not. VI. If you a;e a Perfon of Quality, it behoves you of all things to make a Pa ty at Cards; for to be at an AffemMy without playing at Cards, would be to d' chic that you could arrufe yourfelf in ratioral ccnvcrfation with any of the company; than which nothing ran be accounted more impolite. Vli. When you have made your Party, you muft obferve to ailemble together every right. The fame perfons ieated exaftly in the fame corner of the room every evening, cannot fail to make you confpicuous; and after you have made yourfelf thus remarkable, you need give yourfelf no trouble to fpcak to the reit of the company. You will be fufficieLtly known without it ; and all one defires, you fee, is to. be known; as little matters it whether for civility or incivility, as for virtue or vice. VIII. Remember, on a Ball night, never to come to the rooms at the hour when the company ufualiy tneet. Come in after the Minuets are begun, and buftle thro' the company till you grt at the top of the room. That cannot fail of attracting the eyes of every body upon you ; efpecially if the top of the room fhould not be the place properly belonging to your rank. Obierve the like Rule when you go to a Play. Never come into the Houfe till the iecond or third Aft is nearly over; and then the opening and {hutting of the Box-doors, the flapping of the Benches, and the adjulling yourfelves to the beft ad- vantage, cannot but draw the eyes of the Audience, and their mod devout benedictions upon you. You may alfo, in like manner, obtain the bieffings of a \vhoie pious congregation, if you take care never to go to Church till the Service is half over. IX. If TX. If you dance Cosntry-danccs, take c;:re to pulli yourieif in. at the top of the Dance, whether you flood up in time or not-, ard when you have idanced down the Dance, fit down with your Partner iw mediately, for nothing is fo vulgar as to dance a Dance up again; few Gentlemen can fubmit to the drudgery or it; and really when one has danced it down with fpirit With an agreeable Partner, there is no ftanding conveniently after it. X. At the time of Tea-drinking, you muft, by all means, endeavour to make up a inug party in a cor- ner by yourielves; for you will never be looked upon as any- body ', if you drink Tea at the Long-table with the Mob. i'hc fame rule obferve en the public tea- drinking Nights; with this addition, however, that you mult not appear in the Rooms till the main Bo- dy of the Company have drank Tea, and are arifen from table. Nothing is then fo glorious, fo delight- fully entertaining^ as to form aCiiclecf fckcl Fiicnds, to lerenade the company with bawling for Coffee, Tea, Cakes, and Bread- and- Butter, and to keep half a dozen Waiters employed in running through the rooms with kettles of boiling water! It gives pio- digious life to the company, it any of them Ihould be accidentally icalded ; and adds infinite fpirit to the conyerfation, (houid any of the Ladies get their gowns fpoiled by the unlucky encounter of fome read-and- Butter. XI. Soon after your appearance in public, (fup- pofe at Brighthelmitone, Scarborough, or Margate) pay your relpefts to the handibmeft Woman in the Polite Circle; and be fure to remain conftantly at her elbow during the whole time of your flay in the Country. This will often "gain you the reputation of having an Intrigue, though, from your difability of of intriguing, the Phyficians may have ordered you to dip in the Salt-water. XII. I addrefs myfelf particularly to the Ladies. You muft be careful to encourage the attendance of the men who confpicuoufly attach themfelvcs to you i not only for the above-mentioned reafon, pf making the World belieyeyou have an Intrigue, (than which nothing can make you more notorious and remarka- ble) but alfo to awaken your Hufbands to a thorough fenfe ot your extraordinary Perfections. But the greatell Purpofe herein anfwered, is, to mew t^c World that you are above its cenfure. The L EV E L L E R. N. III. On PATRIOTISM. IN poring over the Records of Antiquity^ nothing, among the learned, is more common, than to\ neglect the ftudy of Modern Hiftory, and to contemn the knowledge of recent events. Through a profound veneration for their ancient Heroes, or through ignorance of actions of latter date, they will extol the magnanimous feats of a Greek or a Roman above all that a Briton could ef- fect ; and will celebrate the vain achievements of a Heathen Heathen Commander, as furpaffing the courage, cori- ilancy, or virtue of any Chriftian Chief. Bur, efteeming the merit of every action according to the motives which produced it, what, for the mod pare, were the ancient heroifms of which we have read? What, the diftnterefted Fatriotifm fo much boafted of? Decius daftardly drowned (or properly fujfocattd) himfelf in a marfh, to efcape the fhamc and infamy of being taken by the enemy ; whereas, after having to the utmoft done his duty, he ought, with patient fortitude, to have fubmitted to the will of God- Mere pride and vanity were, therefore, the occafion of his death. Pride and vanity, too, (the love of glory taught them in their youth) actu- ated Fabitts and Camillas in their heroic deeds. Could we have read Brutus' s heart, implacable revenge again ft Tarquin animated him, perhaps, as much againft the favourers of that Tyrant, as any real con. cern for the liberties of Rome, any ardent zeal for the profperity of the Commonwealth. The jcaloufy of power, and the refentment of a brutal, proud, imperious parent, may have provoked Brutus to put his fons to death; may have fo much enraged the inhuman Manlius againft a haughty and undutiful child, ts to order oh fon to be decapitated. In fhort, where ambition, the love of fame, an ungo- vernable thirft after praife, or any other motive than a dcfire to pleale his Creator, excites a man to ac- tion, he may gain his earthly reward; but it is not patriotifniy it is not virtue. He may, indeed, be literally called a Patriot, who profcfles, and even mews a regard for the interefts of his country ; but the conftancy, fincerity, and difmtereftednefs of that patriotifm, can never be depended upon, which pro- ceeds not from a motive of religious duty. Nor, Nor, in the days of the primitive Romans, wa-s thef merit of difmtereited Patrictifm fo fuperlatively great. What inducements had >a Quintius Ciniinnatus, 2 Marcus Curius, the Elder Cato, Scipio Africa nus^ what inducements had they, 1 lay, to plunder their country, pr raifc themfelves en the ruins of it, when they could happily amufe themfelyes in labouring in a turnip-field, and place their chief enjoyment in a country retreat ? But as .we proceed in our knowledge of the Ancients, and read of. the growth of luxury among them, how fevr do w ^1 I believe you will agree with me, Sir, that nothing teaches the force of Light and bhade, and the Art of giving a Relief, fo much as drawing in black and white. I would therefore recommend to the Undents of the Academy to make themfelves perfect in dr.vju- ing before they attempt to paint, 1 have, in Flan- ders and Holland, feen imitations of fculpture that would deceive the keened light ; and Mr. Berens, ot Southgate, has a piece of that kind, by a mailer of Antwerp, which might be exhibited as a model of L the ( 74 ) the Relief. If, then, fuch an extraordinary efrecl can be produced by plain black and w/jife, it would furely be more cafy to effect the deception when the artift has the powers of all the colours to his aid. There is a cuflom of fome of the great mafters of antiquity, which is adopted by many of our modern Painters, and which is often very unnatural and ab- jurdj that is, of painting a dark back-ground, in order to give their figures a Relief. This may be very proper, if the back ground be a dead wall, a curtain, a hanging canopy, or the wainfcot of a room; but when it happens to be the Iky, as frequently is the cafe, -nothing fo much offends my fight. 1 do not remember to have fcen fuch a remarkable in- /lancc of a blunder of this kind, as in a picture painted by Mr. D. when he was at Rome. I mention it becaufe the piece is in other refpects unexceptiona- bly good. Mr. D. will doubtlefs recollect to have painted a young nobleman who was then on his tra- vels*, who was in a deep confumption at the time, and whofe features were ftrongly exprcflive of his difeafe. He is drawn leaning with his back againft a. tree, his gun in his hand and refted on the ground, his dog couched panting at his feet, his waiflcoat en- tirely unbuttoned to give him air, and the whole of his countenance and figure moil inimitably exprefiive of exceflive fatigue from the Iport of the day. So far the judgment of the artift was great, But the fportfman and his dog are both painted in glaring daylight, while the objects around them, and the fky above their heads, reprefent the darknefs of night. I muft confefs I was much at a lofs to guefs what could poilibly have thrown light on the figures in the picture, till I recollected an old diveifion I en- joyed * The late Lord Hope. 75 joyed at fchool, called Bat fowling; which I imagi- ned my young travelling friend in Italy had improved upon, and had gone ouc.a-fhooting by the light of a lanthorh or a lamp. We arc told, that to a pcrfon feverely attacked with the jaundice, every objecT: appears as if irKvcie tiaftured with yellow. From what caui'e h:* fight is fo affecled, 1 have never heard it determine.] , but I am led to imagine, that, from a fimilar law in op- tics, fome particular colours predominate in the fight of many of our painters. Who, for inftancc, viev/s a painting of Mr. G.'s, but muft acknowledges that he throws a dafti of the. purple into every colour from his pencil: which mu't proceed either from his not cleaning it fufEcient- ly, or from a reflection of the purple colour from his eye. I remember having feen a portrait by him, of a certain nobleman, remarkable for the fobricty of his life, and who was never known to have been drunk; but his Lordfhip having naturally a very flo- rid complexion, the addition of Mr. G.'s purple to the colour of his nofe and his cheeks, will probably make him pali with pofterity, as the damnedett drunken dog that ever lived. Mr. O. will recollect the portrait I mean, when I tell him, that the Lady he has painted for its companion, is drawn working a net; and that particular pains have been taken in polifhing the mahogany table at which me fits. I cannot fay that Mr. C.'s painting is entirely free from this tinge of the purple tincl. There are other painters again, whofc fight, and (of courfe) their pencil give every thing a caft of the brown. Among thefe our fo- much- admired hiftorical painter, Mr. H. at Rome, is one of the firft; every one muil acknowledge ir, who remembers thole pic- L i turcs tures of his which have been exhibited in this town. And here, by the bye, I cannot help remarking, how effective he is in that moil tflential art of a painter, towards producing a deception the giving a Belief. Let Mr. 11. 's drawing be ever fo gracefully- elegant and corrrcl:, unlefs he fludy more the giving a relief, his paintings ^as I have before obferved, will ever be but coloured flans. But, from the laft per- formance of his, the Death of Lucrctia, which 1 have ken, 1 have great expectations that his talk will im- prove. Mr. K. is another, who always paints in a brown Jiudy, if I may fay fo, and be forgiven the pun. There are others who incline to the b/ue t the grey^ or the green. 1 will inftance but one. Mr. H.'s painting can be diftinguifhed by the colouring from among a thoufand pictures. But what of that (I mall be toid)? Is not the painting of almoft all the great mailers in the Italian or Flemiih fchools, equally known by lome peculiar tints in which they took de- light ? So much the worfe for them, Sir. Like French dramatic writers, they laid themfelves down rules of the Graceful and Beautiful in compofuion, but forgot* to ftudy nature and to copy it, as our im- mortal Sbakefpear did. For my part, if I were a Brother of the Brum, I mould think it no compliment at all to my art, were any body to tell me, t; 1 hat piece is inimitably well painted ; the colouring is beautiful indeed ! one needs no other mark to know by whole pencil it is." In oppofition to thefc painters in pur pie ', brown^ blue, grey, and green^ I fliall only place forward Mr. Wright of Derby, who, of all eur moderns, has fljetvn the molt exacl: obfervance of the propriety of tints, becaufe none other has exhibited paintings in luch ( 77 ) fuch a variety of lights : but though others had at- tempted that vaiiety, perhaps he would dill have re- mained unequalled in the juitnefs with which he imi- tates the natural colours of every object which he re- prefents. Take his famous Blacklmith's, Shop, one of his candlc-lignt pieces, and one of his landikips ; place them together in one room, and 1 defy any man to fay, that, by the colouring, he could difcern them to be the productions of the fame hand. Of how many of your ancient mailers can you fay as much? place three capital pieces of any great painter pro- mifcuouily, in a collection of pictures, and it is a hundred to one but you will difcovcr them to be painted by the fame hand. And even at the exhibi- tions of our Moderns, cannot every little connoifleur tell, without a catalogue, the paintings that belong to their reipective painters, and the name of the ma- fler that painted any capital piece? 1 therefore ven- turc to pronounce it a great defect in the art of any painter, to have his painting known to be his^ by any peculiarity of manner or colouring, and not by the perfection of his drawing, and his luperior excei- Jence in imitating the natural tints. Some others of our modern painters, who have exhibited hiftorical pieces, mew a wonderful attach- ment to a particular fet of features, and give fuch a family-likenefs to all the faces in the fame picture, that one could, without much hefitation, pronounce them to be the offspring of the fame line. I am forry to bring in Mr. H. again ; but I promifed to animad- vert on the productions of no man who could be any ways hurt by my remarks. Every one mull be fcn- fible that he is furprifingly fond of round features ; in almoft every face of his painting, there are the fame arched eye-brows, the farte open, round eyes, the ( 78 ) the fame rounded termination of the nofe, the fame round chin, and the whole of every countenance ex- actly lhapcd in the fame round mold. In contra ft \vith his laces are thofe of Mr. P. -You may fee prints from his hiftorical pieces in almoft every itreetj you will perceive that he has fhaped the features of his faces in a kind of fquare form j the fame flraight line runs along the eyebrows of every face-, an ex- act parallel one to that runs acrofs the eyes ; another at the noftrils; and a fourth at the mouth. Mr. P. has, however, great merit-, his colours are rery goodj they are natural; and they will {land the teft of time. Mr. W. fhcws too great a fondncfs for a Grecian face, in his hiftorical painting. All his young women appear to be related to the fame family. I cannot help taking notice of a fafhion which fome late portraits have helped to introduce, called the Vandyke manner of wearing the hair. It certainly faves the trouble of painting the likenefs of the fore- head of a child, to bring down the hair almoft to the eyes ; but 1 maintain it to be a moft barbarous talle, to conceal the fincft feature of the face, and make every boy and girl look like a wild bull. If to give to the face the look of furly pride be your aim, continue combing down the hair. If you want to cxpreis innocence and fimplicity, part the hair at the top of the forehead, and let it gradually feparate as it fulls down to the ear. But if you defire to behold an open, noble countenance, that deceits all guile, ihew the forehead in all its glory, and let not the neighbouring nations of Europe continue to our chil- dren the character of ferocity and pride, under the ridiculous, figurative appellation of a John Bull. Nor can 1 conclude without recommending to the amufement of the ladies, two manners of drawing, which ( 79 ) which are far preferable to their foiling their fair hands with painting in colours in oil. Thcjirft is, Mr. Hamilton in Pall-mall's manner of taking like- neffes with crayons, which ftand the weather perfectly well. The fecond is for drawing landfkips, by firlt fhading them lightly with Indian ink, and then jvainting'them over with thin water- colours ; in the manner I have fccn fome drawings at Lord Bateman's y remarkably well executed by a young Lady whofc merit deferves this applaufe from a difintercfted ano- nymous writer, though fhe may reap more honour from the judgment of a founder critic, or a wifer man. The LEVE L L E R. N. VI. On ARCHITECTURE. A RCHITECTS, like Portrait-painters, are of- jf"\. ten > by tnc bad ta ^ e f ^ r employers, cir- cumlcribcd in their operations. I ihould, therefore, firft chufe to be informed, whether the plan or de- fign of any building had been left to the free choice of the Architect, before I would venture to call his Tafte in queftion. Some Gentlemen arc fond of a houfe as fquat as a barn, others of a dwelling as ele- vated as a church-fteeple; fome prefer windows from the the floors to the ceilings, and. following the Taftc of France and Holland, make of their dwellings the likcnefTej of grecn-houfes or lanthorns. Others, again, chufe to have their windows appear like the holes of a pigeon-houfe, or the port-holes of an armed vefTel: In fhort, there is no pleafing thefe people with any thing in true tafte or proportion, Yet the tye of a perfon of Tafte cannot be pieafcd, without an obfervance of due proportion in building. Who views from the field? the North front of Bedford- houfe, without wiihing, for the fake of grandeur, that another ftory had been added to its elevation ? And would not the neighbouring houfc of the late Lord Baltimore have appeared in better proportion, if, in raifmg it, the bricklayers had been fpared a little of their labour? As, therefore, a certain pro- portion is required to be obfcryed between the height and length of the front of any building, io is thtie a rcquifitc proportion between the elevation and extent of that front, and the number and fize of the windows which it fhould contain. That proportion I have feen nowhere more juftly obferved than in the front of the Queen's Palace. I could quote too Hopetoun- houfe in Scotland: but few of my Readers will have feen it. In both buildings, however, there is fuch an agreement between their fronts and the windows which they contain, that each, at the proper point of view, diminifh the magnitude of the other, with- out leflening in the mind of the Beholder the idea of grandeur. In like manner, we may have fometimes feen a very tall man fo cxaftly well-proportioned, that, at a few yards 4iftancc, he appeared nothing beyond the common fize; but, as we drew nearer, and examined him limb by limb, we were furprifed at his prodigious ftaturc. From From the Queen's Palace, it is but a (liort walk to that row of houfcs which overlook her gardens, and where the Duke of Athol's houle ftands. You will there fee fornc of thofc lanthorn-houies I have before mentioned, and by them you may judge, if my remarks on French windows arc agreeable to rea- fon. Many of the hofpitals in and about London* will gire you an idea of the pigcon-houfe fafhion, which was in general followed in the private build- ings or twenty or thirty years (landing. I do not know any ftreet in London where the windows are better proportioned thnn they arc in Cumbcrland- ftrcet, near Tyburn. Whoever was the Architect or Builder of ibme of the houfes in that ftreet, de- fervcs my acknowledgement of fo much as I have leen of his good Taftc in building. A former publication of Critical Obfcrvations on the Buildings and Improvements of London, has left me little to add on the fubjccl: of their Outjldes; but I will beg leave to take a look at them within. Here the firfl: great innovation of our modern Taile that ftrikes me, is the gaudy painted cieling ; and yet it was but by accident that I firft difcovcred it, as I was one day leaning back in my chair, to have a bone taken out of my throat at dinner : it happened to be at a certain Great Koufe, where I had fomething clfe to mindi than> like a country. booby, to be gazing at the cieling. A couch, indeed, is the only place from whence .one can get a convenient view of thofe gaudy ciclings. I have feveral times attempted to admire the cielirigs at the Pantheon, but have always been fo unlucky as to make fomebody fuffcr by my attempts. One 7 time, I trode upon the toes of a tall fellow of a Horfc Officer, who was near making me fwallow the hilt of hisfwordj another time I ran my M chin, chin, f>1nmp, into the eye (fortunately for me his only one) of a Captain of a Man of War, who damned me moft bitterly for taking my obftrvation to the pre- judice of his fight; and a third time, I ran foul of a big- bellied lady, who mildly reproved me, byaiking Hie if I came there to play at htlndman* s-%itjf? The loadifig a cieling with a profufion of expenfive deco- rations, is like fqnandering fo many ornaments on a certain ftool, which is commonly placed in that part of a room the leaft confpicuous to the fight j with this difference, however, that to examine a fine ciel- ing is often attended with much pain or inconvenience to one's neck ; whereas the looping to admire the or- namented fhrine of Cloacina, would contribute very conficlerabljr to the cafe of the body, as well as to the temporary amufement of the mind. I have juft now bethought myfelf, however, of one good rcafon for painted cielings being in fafhion in the houfes of the Great: That as it is reckoned ex- tremely vulgar to take notice of any thing beneath one, it certainly muft be the fummit of pofitcnefs to fix one's attention on thofc objects which occupy the htghcfl places in the room. But the greatcfl objec- tion that occurs to me againft thelc painted cielings, is this: They are generally ornamented with fuch beautiful colours, that they make the fides of a room look comparatively dirty and mean; fo much fo, that on feeing a plain dull room with a painted cieling to it, I could not but compare it to a chimney- fweeper dreft out on the firft of May, with Jhis face bedaubed with flour, hii wig fluck full of ribbons, and his hat bound round with gilt leather by way of coftly lace. In this chimney fweeper's Tafle is the library at Woburn-abbey ; the 'fides of the room are all cover- ed with books, in appearance as dirty as a chimaey- fweeper's f weeper's coat, and its deling is loaded with a profufion of gilding and paint. Yet the Architect in this may have had a very judicious dcfign : reflecting that few people, now-a-days, go into a library to look into the books, and confidering, that to look at their muSly covers is, at the beft, but adifnul fight; he perhaps imagined it was highly becoming the dignity of his Grace the Duke of Bedford, to fuffer no vifitor to enter his library without fome elevation of thought, without feeling his ideas ennobled and raifed to things above. If Sir William Chambers gave the de- figa for this cieliag, as I have been informed he did, it is but juftice to his Tafte in Architecture (however I might differ with him in Oriental Gardening} to add, that the Mufic-room in the fame houfe, which, I was alfo afl'ured, was finifhed from his defigns, is really beautiful and elegant, and is far fuperior in tafte to the tawdry French cabinet-work in that other room, where hangs the portrait of the French King. I cannot conclude without making one more ob- fervation on many of the painted cielines which I have feen : The painters or defigners of them fre- quently forget the diftance from whence they are to be viewed. What is very beautiful and ftriking at the diftance of a yard, may be nothing but confufion or intricacy of defign, when beheld at the diftance of twenty feet. The fame remark might be made on other modern ornaments about ourhoufes, which fecm to approach too near to the diminutive minute- nefs of the Gothic fcale. They are like the finifliing of a Dutch picture, which commands our admiration of the curious induftry of its painter, but which leaves no impreffion on the mind of the Sublime. Thofe artifts who work at the cielings by the help of a fcaffold, would do well to follow Sir Jofhua M 2 Reynold's Reynolds's method of painting, who, after every few ftrokes of his pencil, retires fome paces from the canvas, to fee what effect his painting has at that distance. The exercife of running up and down a ladder, from the cicling to the floor; and from the floor to the deling, would certainly retard their oper- ations ; but then it would contribute greatly to the health of their bodies, and (it is to be hoped) to the improvement of their minds. This, at leaft, I am certain of-, Dr, Cadogan himielf could notprefcribc a better preventive for the gout, to which painters in general are very tributary fubjects; and their Tafte could not but be corrcc~letl by their placing themfelves fometimes in the fituation of thpfe for whofe amufement their minutely ornamented ciclings are defigned. I would neither make choice of a wife nor a fnufF-box from theoppofite fide of a ftrect, bc- caufe they are, in their ufe, intended for a nearer infpeclion'i but a pair of buckles that arc not defign- ed to be examined in the hand, 1 would try in my Jhoes before I bought them; and I would keep my nofc from offence by chuflng the external ornaments of a certain temple at the full extent of my garde** walk. The The L E V E L L L . VII. On the SAM E. I CONSIDER thefc curfory Obfcryation- of mine as practical Effays on Taile^ in con trad idinftion to the theory or fyitematical writings of others. I have, therefore, avoided entering into any examination of the nature or principles of Tail e, already r. iuliy confidered by more ingenious Authors, and have been fatisfied with laying before my Readers fome few examples, which fu-fficientrjr prove that there is no defining, to any kind of purpoie, the principles fet a thing, of which every man, by his fenfes, his imagination, or his judgment, may have a different notion. What does it' fignify to fay, chat we all agree in our Tafte of things that are lour, bitter, or -Jweet, when there are a thoufand dimes, which to as many thoufand people will have a different rclifh ? What better purpoie can it ferve, to advance, that the principle of pltafure derived from fight is the fame in all ? that what appears light to one eye is light to another? and that light is more pleafing than darknefs? It will not convince another man that my miftrefs is handfome, though I mould admire her above all other women, But I will fplit the matter with thofe fyftematical writers. I v/ill allow there are things in which we all agree in Tafte, and the definition of which is certain: I will allow that four, tyttcr, and fweet, ar four, bitter, and fweet to every every natural palate-, and that light is more agreeable to every eye than darknefs ; if they, on their parts, will be fo obliging as not to fkrew their mouths up at any plain diih that may be agreeable to my palate; nor to ftop their nofes at any fcent that may plcafe me, however uncommon or offenfive to their fmell ; nor to Chut their eyes to the many ftrange objects which are cvtry-where to be feen around them, and which, but from the uncertainty of Tafte, would ne- ver have been feen at all. They muft alfo allow me, that as habit or cuftom has a principal mare in form- ing our Tafte tor almoft every thing in tnis world, I may be permitted, without imputation of felf-con- ceit, to give my own retfons for not relifhing any fuch particular cuftoms, however highly rclifhcd, or enthufiaftically followed by others. Having faid thus much by way of apology for any Singularity in thefe my obfervations, I muft now beg leave to make fome remarks on our houfes in the country. By what I have obferved in the courfc of my travels in England, it fecms to have been the fafhion, among the Gentry, fomc centuries ago, to build their houfes in the bottom of the vallies. Whe- ther for the convenience of fim-ponds and potable water, or to be hid from the diftant view of an ene- my, they chofc this fituation, I will not pretend to determine ; but, in general, the old houfes fo fituatcd have a dull and melancholy appearance; and from being placed in a ftagnated air muft be very unwhole- fome. In oppofition to this Tafte is the fituation of many of our modern-built houfes in the country, which are generally placed on the fummit of fome hill, to command an extenfive profpcct. I would avoid that extreme as much as the other; for,when I can behold, from my windows, the whole beauties of of the country around me, I have nothing new to entertain me; no new profpects, in my walks, to give me pleafure ; and I ?iew, with indifference, thofe fields which my eye has already fo often travelled over. I would therefore place my houfe on fome fmall eminence, with a brook or river a few hundred paces below it : on the oppolite fide of the water fhould be a hanging field, at fuch a diftance from me, that every object in it mould be perfectly difting- uifhable. This fituation, however, fhould be in the neighbourhood of high lands, from whence, when I chofe it, I could enjoy a grand and extenfive pro- fpect, which from its rarity would afford me double pleafure. If conftantly beheld from my windows, it would, as I have before obfcrved, foon lofe its no- velty, and would appear as dead as if the landlkip was in miniature painting, A near profpect, on the contrary, is occasionally enlivened with cattle graz- ing, ploughs going, carts driving, corn-reapers, hay- makers, and a variety of other moving objects. A houfe, placed aloft on an open lawn, has a very diminutive appearance, when contrafted with the wide Iky, and fpacious bare field around it: I would therefore confine the eye, as I approached the build- ing, within a fhort, broad avenue of trees, and have the top of a grove to be feen towering at a proper diftance behind it. People of Tafte all agree, that a building mould be concealed from the fight till one has approached it to the proper fituation, where the view of it will ftrikc the beholder with admira- tion. The approach to Hopetoua- houfe (mentioned in my laft Efiay) is; in this refpect admirably well di- rected. At the diftance of two miles you have a view of the houfe, from whence, indeed, it appears no- thing extraordinary, and feemingly fo near, that you expect- ( 88 ) expect to be at it immediately : you then lofe fighf of it intirely, and fee nothing of the building again till you are within a quarter of a mile of it, where the ground rifes with an eafy afcent, aad is levelled in fuch a manner, tb^t the horizon before you, and the top of the building, run exactly in two parallel lines; fo that, as' you approach the houfe, it feems gradually to rife out of ,the ground, and prefents to you a front far exceeding your expectation. A houfe placed at the very bottom of a hill may be beautiful but it can never be magnificent. The view of fuch a vail natural objet befid.e it, mud make it appear comparatively fmall and snfignificant. I will give but one inflance of fuch an injudicious choice of a fituation ; 'tis that of the houfe at Wo- burn-abbey. Immediately behind the building rifes a hill covered with lofty trees; and oppofite to each angle of its front, within piftol-fhot of the windows, are two eminences, one of which overtops the houfe by many feet; by which means it refembles a ciftern, or refcrvoir, intended to collect the water from all the heights and woods that furround it: To appear like any thing elfe the houfe mould be at leaft a (lory higher. The recollection of this houfe puts me in mind of the inattention of many Architects to conceal their chimneys. When they are ihewn on the top of a building, they mould certainly fcrve as much for ornament as poilible, and not be left like fo many nine-pins among which the bowl has made a devtftation. The mention of chimneys, again, /re- minds me of a hint I have to offer to all Architects and Builders, to prevent a chimney from fmoking; they mall have it gratis , though I well deferve a Pa- tent for the difcovery. I deferve, at leaft, the thanks f all fober houfekeepers j for if I deliver them from a frnokins a fmoking chimney, it was perhaps the fecond plague in thiir houfe; againft the firfl there is no remedy but patience. My obfervation is this: That it ha been loft for ever, unlcfs me could have fubmitted to ha/e given me fuch encouragement as / could not have mifunderfioou. 1 doubt if ever \ fhould have thought her ferious again, till the Paifon had joined our hands in holy wedlock, and the old-iafhioned Hocking was on our bed. I have known fome Women make, of their filial duty, a cloak to their own inconilancy , and to one of th-m, if flie were fincere, i would beg leave to declare, that until fhe could transfer her love from her Parents to the Man whom fhe choie for the part- ner of her fortunes, fhe was not fit to enter into the married (late. 1 have known too fatal effects of di- vided affc&ions, to counlbl any Woman to leave father and Mother and cleave to her Hufband, /'as the Scripture faith) unlefs me can "dived herfeif in- tirciy or her infantine attachments. Yet 1 would not be undtrftood to advife a Child to commit an action that would render a tender and worthy Parent unhappy; a Parent endeared to her by the treatment and behaviour of the friend, and to whom gratitude is due, not for being merely the inflrumen: oi: her earthly exigence, but for an education calculated or intended to promote her fubftantial happinels ; i only mean to fay, that a bale compliance with the wi;l of a proud or ambitious parent, in marrying con- trary to one's own inclinitioiis, is an action offensive to the laws of God and Nature, and can be called by no fofter name than ProftitUttoft; for a marriage con- trailed to gratify Pride, Vanity, or Ambition, is lii rely as culpable in the eye of the Almighty, as the forced proititution of the VV retch whom misfortunes have reduced to want. If thefe fcntimt'nts fhould prove disagreeable to any friends to arbitrary and despotic rheafufvS of Family Government, I hive bui: O this this apology to make them : That my Father never- taught me to look on myfelf as his property, to be difpofed of like an African Slave; and that I at pre- fent regard him as the befl friend and companion I nave upon earth. I have alfo the pleafure to obferve, that, my own Son feems to think he has found no harih Monitor in me; nor do I think that either of us is more wicked or lefs happy than many of our neighbours, whom their Parents have taught to tremble at their nod. But 'tis not on Platonic Love I am writing; 'tis drt a tenderer Senfation, and I have not yet finished my tafk. Young Women fometimcs perfunde thern- felves they are really in love with a Man, when per- haps Gratitude only for favours received is miftaken for the fofter paffion : I have alfo known a heart melting with pity and companion for the misfortunes of a friend, which felt not one fpark of its celeftial fire. Yet the Ladies cannot fo eafily deceive them- felve"s, as they can impofc upon us, poor credulous Men. I will not awaken jealoufy by quoting exam- ples of deceit; for, as it is a pleafing deception, the fincerity of a Woman's atrachmcnt ought not readily to be fufpefted ; excepting indeed, when* in licentious amours, it is evidently for her intereft and advantage to profefs the molt ardent affection. I cannot omit this farther advice to my young Readers: A Man who has any value for his own happinefs, ought to be cautious how he attaches hirhfelf to a young Wo- man", who, in the lefs confequential puriuits of life, appears fo be Volatile or inconftant, and is not miftrefe of her refolutions for any long duration ; and far lefs ought he to form a connection with that wo- man, if fiie has ieen but little of the world ; for he citijer may be dcferted before his wifhcs are accorh- pli filed f ( 99 ) plifhed, or me may afterwards repent of her choice^ when, alas! it is too late. And yet one might, with- out much vanity, venture to unite himfelf to fuch a Lady for life, if, from his former connections with other women, he had experienced that, by intimacy and long acquaintance, he had gained on their love. Since it is fcisntifieally \ write, and not in a reli- gious fenfc, any thing feemingly indelicate, in this Effay, mult be charitably underftood. As an Ana- tomift is permitted to call every part of the Human Body by its proper name, why may not a Moralift be allowed the fame freedom in defcribing the feel- ings of the Human Heart? Our Pride alone forbids it. Should therefore that Pride, from my definitions above given, revolt at the name of Love, i beg my fair countrywomen will, in future, give it the fubli- mer appellation of Electrical Fire. I mall then make no manner of doubt, it will in time become as fa- Ihionable to fay, " My dear friend, you have quite electrified me;"- as it is now thought indelicate by fome Women to avow their Love, or indecent in a Man to aik a Lady to undrefs. Having now fpun out my EfTay to a tolerable length, 1 in a kind of incoherent, unconnected ftyle, perfectly correfpondent with the fubjeft on which I wrote; I muft beg leave to conclude with an Epitaph, which I formerly compofed for a young Lady, and which, if notfufficiently expreflive, or poetically good, has at leail the recommendatory merit of being mort: Here, funk in Earth, O juftly funk in dirt! Lies taftelefs, fickle, cold, unfeeling Flirt: Each Youth admir'd her, but admir'd in vain j Her folc delight to aggrandize her Train; She fmil'd on All, to All denied her charms, Till Death, indignant, dragg'd her to his arms. Th and bt thankful." And ( "9 ) And my readers, I think, will not be unthankful for giving them a reft. 1 have produced an extract fufficient for them to judge, if this kind of writing is really, what the pedants call, enriching our language. As for my own part, where words are multiplied without adding to the idea ; or whene'er a polyiylla- ble is ufed for what a monofy liable could equally exprefs, I deem it an unneceflary circumlocution, that ought ever to be difcountenanced. We fee no fuch art or falfe tafte in the compofitions of Mr. Pope : fome of his mod beautiful lines confift of the plain- ed and fliortcft words. Hark ! a glad voice the lonely defart chears ; Prepare the way ! a God, a God appears : Lo, earth receives him from the bending fkies! Sink down, ye mountains, and ye vallies, rife! With heads declin'd, ye cedars! homage pay, Be fmooth, ye rocks! ye rapid floods! give way; The Saviour comes! by ancient Bards foretold; Hear him, ye deaf ! and, all ye blind ! behold. The MESSIAH. 'Tis not enough no harflinefs gives offence ; The found mud feem an echo to thefenie: Soft is the drain when Zephyr gently blows, And the fmooth dream in fmoother numbers flows; But when loud furges ladi the founding Ihore, The hoarfe, rough verfe diould like the torrent roar. When Ajax drives fomc rock's vad weight to throw, The line too labours, and the words move flow; Not fo, when fwift Camilla fcours the plain, Flies o'er th' unbending corn, and Jkims along the main. ESSAY on CRITICISM. Next ( 120 } Next hear, in foftcr ftrain, a few of Eloifa's lines to Abelard. Yet write, oh write me all ! that I may join Griefs to thy griefs, and echo fighs to thine. Tears ft ill are mine, and thofe I need not fpare; Love but demands what elfe were fried in pray'r; No happier talk thefe faded eyes purfue , To read and weep is all they now can do. Then marc thy pain, allow that fad relief: Ah! more than iharc it, give me all thy grief. . Thou know'ft how guiltlels firft I met thy flame, When Love approach'd me under Friendfhip's name. Guiltleis I gaz'd; Heav'n liften'd while you fung; And Truths divine came mended from that tongue. From lips like thofc what precept fail'd to move ; Too foon they taught me, 'twas no fin to love : Back thro* the paths of pleafing fenfc I ran, Nor wifti'd an Angel whom I lov'd a Man Come, with thy looks, thy words, relieve my \voe! Thofe ftill, at lead, are left thee to bcftow No; fly me, fly me, far as Pole from Pole; Rife, Alps! between us, and whole Oceans roll! Ah: come not, write not, think not once of me, Nor fhare one pang or all I felt for thee. Thy oaths I quit, thy memory refign ; Forget, renounce me, hate whatc'er was mine. Fair eyes, and tempting looks ! (which yet I view) Long lov'd, ador'd ideas, all adieu ! I am afraid I have already tired the patience of fomc of my readers, unufed to the melting mood; and yet I cannot forbear tranfcribing the pathetic defcription that follows next. See, ( til ) See, m her cell, fad EloYfa fpread, Propc on fome tomb, a neighbour of the dead. In each low wind, methinks, afpirit cal-ls-, And more than echoes talk along the walls. Here, as I watch'd the dying lamps around,' From yonder mrine 1 heard a hollow found : Come, Sifter, come! (it laid, or fccm'd to fay) Thy place is here; fad Sifter, come away ! Once, like thy felt, I trembled, wept, and pray'd; Love's victim then, tho' now a fainted maid : But all is calm in this eternal deep -, Here Grief forgets to groan, and Love to weep , Kv'n Superftition lofcs cv'rjr fear; For God, not Man, abfolvesour trailtics here. I could dwell for erer on fome of Pope's Poetry, where the fmoothnefs, force, and dignity of our lan- guage is occalionally fhewn, without having recourfe to words a foot and a half long. Yet, fome maybe of opinion they could make richer language of thofe lines above quoted, by writing, "Hark, a loud ac- cbim the foiitary defart exhilarates," and fo forth; but { mould anfwer them in the words of Boileau; which, as every common reader, now- a days, undcr- ftands a little French, I hope I may venture to quote, without {talking upon Itilts myfelf. J'aimerois micux qn'il declinat fon nom, tt dit, Je fuis Oreftc, ou bien Agamemnon ; Que d'aller, p'ar un tas dc confutes merveilles, Sans rien dire a 1'Efprit, etourdir les oreilles. Lc fujet n'eftjamais afles tot explique. L'AKT POETIQUE. R I Jhall ( m ) I mall now difmifs our Author upon Stilts with a card I lately wrote to an admirer oi his Journey, in anfwer to a common invitation to play at cards and fpend the evening. It will ferve as a further fpect- men of the true manner of writing on a familiar fub- jtct in pompous diction , and will prove that nothing is moieeafy than to adopt the /lilt ic ftile, if one will but take a little time to employ his memory or recol- lection. " At an hour fomcwhat late, your mofl beneyolent *' invitation 1 received. As I deleft indecifion, ab- " hor irrefolution, and abominate a declaration in- u explicit, referved, or incomplete, rather than re- *' ply to you, that I will attend you tf I pojjlbly can^ * 1 muft inform you, I will not come at all. My 44 head, now tortured with rheumatic pain, is as un- ** fit for the intricacies of whift, the required atten- ct tion to the game, or the expected folicitude about ' your betts, as it is incapable of enduring thetur- <; bulent vociferation of convivial mirth." After your Writers upon Stilts^ of which I have touched but upon one clafs, the next, who take a pride in s eltvating themfeives above the common level of mankind, are your Speakers upon Stilts; aod thefe are a very numerous race. Since it is impcfli- ble to fpeak of them in this paper as diftinctly as I could wifh, I fhall only mention a few of them as a fample of therelt. A man who is continually itun- ning my ears with citations from the books he has read, I readily allow to have ftudied hard; but then his ftudy is oftentatioufly fupported by Stilts. A man, who, in difcourfe, takes every opportunity ot throwing in a fcrap of Latin or Greek, (of which your (little Authors are equally guilty) may be both an ( "3 ) an orator and a fcholar ; but he talks from a roftrum, which his vanity has mounted on ftilts. A man who is eternally tormenting me with his baftard Italian, or broken French, I allow to have travelled , but I willingly ftop him from making a fecond Grand Tour upon ftilts. My method of levelling thefe Gentry is by rumbling out a bit of German or Dutch; by which, as thefe are languages in this country but fel- dom underftood, they inftantly perceive 1 have tra- velled, for their comprebenfion, a little too far North. In fhort, aftedtation of every kind is walking upon ftilts. The ufmg terms of art, for inftance, which ferve not to diftinguifti or explain, or techni- cal words which contribute nothing towards making yourfelf underftood, are only fo many elevating ftilts. From the frequent mention of the Bagpipes, in the Journey above quoted, Mufic, of all things, comes firft into my head at prefent. The words made ufe of here, to fignify the length of time in the notes of mufic, as femibrcves, minums, crotchets, quavers, and femiquavers, are, in other countries, as properly defcribcd by a whole note, half a note, a fourth , an eighth, and" a fixteenth. And, applicable to that, a itory occurs to me, with which I lhall conclude; warmly recommending it to the Author of the late Journey to infert it in the next edition of his book. A Highland Piper, having a fcholar to teach, dif- dained, with the ftilts of femibreves, minums, crotch- ets, and Quavers, to break his head. Here, Donald, quoth he, tak yere pipes, mon, and gie us a blaft. (But as 1 cannot make him, in character, fpeak Erff, he may as well talk Englifh, and his leflbn will be the better underftood.) Here, Donald, faid he, take your pipes, my lad, and give us a blaft. So, very well blown, indeed! But what is found, Donald, R ? without ( 124 ) without fenfe? You may blow on to all eternity, without making a tune of it, If I do not tell you how the queer things on that paper muft help: you fee that fellow with the white, round, open face (point- ing to a femibrcve between the two lines of a bar) ; he moves flowiy from that line to this, while you beat one \\ith your foot, and take a long blaft: if, DOW, you put a leg to him, you make two of him, and he'll move twice as i aft. If you blacken his face, thus, he'll run four times fafter than the firft fellow with the white face. But if, after blackening his face, you bend his knee, or tic his legs, he will ho.p you ftill eight times fafter than the white-faced fellow I fhewed you firft. Now, whene'er you blow ycur pipes, Donald, remember this the tighter thofe fel- lows' legs are tied, the fafter they will run, and the quicker they are fure to dance. The LEVELLER. N. XII. ' Another ESSAY on the SAME. Media tutij/imus ibis OVID. Metam. Lib. II. THOUGH the Journty to the Weflcrn Jflands of Scotland led me into the immediate confidera- tion of the elevating powers of .Affectation; Pride, Vanity, ( "5 ) Vanity, and Ambition, are the grand Stilts which invite men to mount above the level of their fellow- creaiures. Inftances of thefe are too numerous to be particularly mentioned, I will not therefore pre- tend to enumerate them ; nor will I range the few, which readied ftrike me, into any kind of order. Let them iialk about in the fame irregular manner in which my imagination ftarts them. Half the Nation, at this moment,* are mounted on the Stilts of Pride and Ambition, and are, in idea, wading the Great Atlantic, to kick down the antient and accuftomed Liberties of America. But they will poffibly exchange them, before the expiration of the enfuing fummer, for thofe of Vanity and Affectation. Upon thefe we may foon expect to fee them mounted -, for, ever fince the laft Treaty of Peace, when the neglect of a grand fire- work occafioned fo much na- tional diflatisf action, it has been the conftant practice of the Cabinet to contrive fomething to amufe the people, and to give them and their reprefentatives a harmlefs lubject of converfation at their refpective retreats during the fummer feafon : " I have nothing to recommend to you, but that you will carry into your rcfpective counties the fame affectionate attach- ment to Luxury and Dijfipation, and the fame uncon- cern for the public welfare, which have diftinguifhed all your proceedings :" And fo they are diimiflcd with a farce or an entertainment, immediately defrayed or powerfully patronized by a Great Perlbn: a Co- ronation, real and repreiented ; a Jubilee at Strat- ford, conducted by Mr. Garrick, Mafter of the Revels, and acted again at his Theatre; an Jnjlalla- tion at Windfor, and another at Weftminfter ; befides the fecond Exhibition of the Knights on the Theatre; Cox's * April, 177?. Cost's Mufettm, which terminating foon, will be a Raree-Jfyew no longer , a Rovaj Expedition to Portf- mouth ; aMinifterialw#72/tf at Oxford-, and, laftly, a Fete Cbampstre ; which, however, was fo far pre- mature as to flop for a day the more weighty proceed- ings of the Houfe of Commons. Befides thele, there are every Spring Mafquerades and Bals-pares with- out number ; which help to keep the Nation elevated and in good-humour the whole Summer; for fliltic amufements are the more perfect, as we enjoy them under a preternatural or imprdper figure. As I do not recollect that any ot our modern writers have made mention of thefc Political Stilts of Vanity, I muft here claim the honour of detecting them, who- ever has the merit of their invention. But of all Stilt-walkers, none cut a more ridicu- lous figure than your Lovers upon Stilts ; thoie, I mean, who heartily wilh to come together, but whofe pride and dignity will not allow the Gentleman to make the leaft.conceffion ; nor the Lady, (without the mod abject demeanour and the moft earneft fup- plication of her Lover,) the fmalleft furrcnder. Hono- r/j's Love for Gloriana was founded on reafon, and not on a doating fondnefs, which difgraces a man of prudence. He confidered her perfon as an object he ihould be foon tired of in the poffdlion, were fhe not endowed with good-nature, and an underftanding which rendered her a moft delirable companion. But Honorius would never (loop to fawn and flatter, and uied the freedom to tell her of her failings. This proceeding difguftedG/<3n'fl;;, who naturally imagin- ed that the man who could talk in that undifguiied ftrain to her when fhewas.free, would be an abiblute tyrant to her if he had her in his power. Nor would ihe ever acknowledge that ihc felt the lead inclination for for him, or for any of his fex. Though (he would on every occafion fhew her affe&ion for Honorius^ 'twas mere Platonic Love ; her dignity was hurt, if he prefumed to conftrue it into any other. And that her behaviour towards him might not be underftood to proceed from any tenderer fenfation, me always took care that her words fhould be delivered like the words of an Oracle, which none but a Prieft mould ever interpret into a declaration fixed and certain. In morn, their courtihip was like the courtfhip of cats; an eternal fcratching and caterwauling: the more preffing Honorius was, the more fqualling noife Jbe made about her friend/hip, and the more averring f creams that Ihe could never love. As Honorius would not fubmit to fupplicate, he was on the point of giv- ing the purfuit -entirely up. He began to confidcr, however qualified Glorlana was for a friend, that flic who would think it humiliating to allow a hufbaad any freedoms, would, in his arms, be found to be but a cold and indifferent wife. But happily, one evening that he had the charge of her at Ranelagh, inftead of conducting her into her own coach, he handed her into his. With a fpecial Licence in his pocket, he then hurried her away to his friend Parfon tiefaft ; and this was the laft force which he ever ufed ; the laft refinance fbe ever made. How very different the character of Glorlana from that of Conftance. in the Comedy of Le Fils Natu- re/ of Monjieur Diderot ! The Lady, there, reafons with her Lover on the procreation of their fpecies (not with the calmnefs indeed, but) with all the chatte confidence of a Philofopher. And me puflies her arguments fo clofely to the Gentleman, (who rather wants to (him an engagement) that he is at laft obli- ged in plain terms to tell her, that he fhuddcrs at the very ( 128 ) very thoughts of having children : ?, Suifti and Arbuthnot^ in the Memoirs of Martious Scriblerus, jointly began a Satire on the Abufes of Human Learning. One muft therefore have a (mat- tering of every thing, thoroughly to underftand him. He is, moreover, in his endeavours on all occafions to be witty, not a little guilty of playing upon words ; but, when he does lay earneft hold of a fubject, it mud be acknowledged he treats it in a manner inimi- table by any body elfe. I wifh, for that reafon, he had left lefs to the imagination of his reader concern- ing the fubject which 1 have now taken in hand ; my friends would then have been better entertained with his obfervations, than they can poflibly be pleafed with mine. Not excepting the Savage of the Woods, which of us, almoft from his cradle to his grave, wears not the Mafl at times ? We all wifh to appear better than we are j and our very endeavours fo to appear have often, in example, the effects of real Virtue. I would not, therefore, unma/k the whole human fpecies. It is, befides, an invidious tafk to attempt pulling the maJkoff thole who wifh to be concealed ; and though the C '3<* ) the Author of the Fable of the Bees had only expa- tiated on this text of Scripture " ii: we fay we have no fin, we deceive ourfeives, and the truth is not in us;" though he had allowed us fome virtue, he would ftiil have acquired a character or iii- nature, which I mould be furry to get by my Vrirings. I am no enemy to a -A1.7,#, as long as it is put on with a good intention, A Clergyman is, by kis pro- feffion, entitled to wear one ; for, with the appearance of an extraordinary iandky of manners, he is to en- force his precepts by a good example. When h- is to fay grace at table, lie is not to mutter a few hafty words, as if he were afhamed of the office ; nor is he to rife up, in the middle of his ilory, to return thanks,, and, ioftead of the Amen, to conclude his thankigiv- ing with, " This is by way of parentheiis." Nor is he, in reading prayers at church, to fmcll at his nofe- gay, to pufti back his wig, and wipe his fweaty brow with his handkerchief -, to loll lazily with both elbows on the defk; to recline with his cheek on one hand ; nor to be continually fcratching his head. He is to addreis his God with iblernn voice and lerious demean- our, that he may not, by hiscarelefs manner, flrength- en the incredulity of unbelievers. A Judge is another that ought undoubtedly to be mafked during the time h,e is executing the duties of his office ; for he is to imprcls the minds of his be- holders with the higheil notions of the aufterity of the Law again ft its offenders, and of its due admini- ftration with the aid and interpretation of his own fuperior wifdom. When he pronounces ientence of death on a criminal, he ought to deliver himfelf with the moil awful dignity, with the mod compofed and ferious countenance. A Judge on the Bench ought not fuddenly to interrupt his jocular diicourfe with the i: ''$7 ) the ladies v. ho fit near him, to put on his cap fmilin^ and pronounce fentence of death as a thing ot tnc leatt importance. An Alderman, for the reafong affigned above, is alib entitled to wear the Maik , and fo is every Country Juitice. As for a Phyfician, I am not quite fo certain if a grave wife face is always of as much fervice to his patients, as it is of ufe to himfelf, in procuring the public opinion of his experience and learning. If he be to wear a Mafk, then, let it rather be of the comic kind; for the cheerful, good-natured looks of forne Doctors are an antidote 10 low fpints -, whereas the fad foierrm features of others may (in hypochondriacal cafes) be as bad as the Undertaker's. It is generally allowed, that the Members of the Houfe or Commons would receive confiderable ad- dition to the dignity of their appearance, were they to attend the Houfe in ferious Malks and Dominos ; I mean, that ii they were never to fit there but in robes and graver faces, more rcfpcct would be (hewn to the Keprefentatives of" a great people, and Icfs tri- fling would be fome of their Speakers, than when > many of them attend in boots and leather bteechcs. But no one has certainly greater occafion to wear a Maik, than the Sovereign of a mighty Empire. Yet our good and gracious King wears the Maik butfel- clorn-, and I verily believe it proceeds from his utter diliike to one, or the being obliged to put a rellraint upon his features, that he paffcs his life in that reel ufe, ciomcitic manner. Were I, however, of his Majefty's favourite Council, I mould advife him to put on the Maik much ofcencr ; and, being fo malked, I mould alfo advife him to invite the principal men of the kingdom, now and then, to partake of a family din- ner. Were his Majefty in that familiar way to have, T in ( '38 ) in rotation, at his table, the chief of the Clergy, the Army, the Navy, and the Law, he would in time be acquainted with every man's chara6ter 4 from his own experience and obfervation, intlead of having it upon truft from the partial report of thefo-nameri King's friends who immediately furrcund him. Self-defence juftifics the ufe of a Mafk at any time. When I perceive a man fpeaking to me with a item- ing fmccrity and candour, at the fame time .thst he is only tf mp:ing,rae to lay myfelf open to him, that he may ridicule me in my abfence, or take fome private advantage of what I difclofe' to him -, I immediately maik myielf too, and let him fee no more of me than I defire fnould be fcen by the whole world. As my two lail EfTays were levelled at thofe who from pride, arkclation, vantiy, or ambition, are rcft- lefsly endeavouring to render thcmfelves conipicuoui in the world ; 1 would, in this, willingly expoie thofe felfiih or mean-fpirited wretches who live in an eternal dread of what men might fay of them, or in a con- tinued hypocritical difguife, with the folc purpofe of ferving their own private intereil. 'Tis certainly a mod laudable defire to wilh to ftand well in the e- ftecm of our fellow-creatures ; and, in trifling con- cerns or amufements, 1 would cheerfully give up my own tafteor opinions, rather than I would forfeit the good-will of my neighbours; but, in the great and important tranfaclions of life, a man ought to be "guided by the noble motive alone of pleafmg his Cre- ator ; and the fear of offending Him Ihouid be the only rcftraint upon his adions. One had better be born to a mild fcrvhude or flavery, than live under a conitant appreheniion'^ of his neighbour's cenfure. I have an ample fortune, which enables me to live in affluent and independent circumftances , fhall I marry ( '39 ) marry Pamela, born of honefl and worthy parent 1 ?, and blciled with every virtue and accompliihrnem to render our marriage happy ? N r o; I mn(t not chink of it : rhc is but a Partner or a Tradesman's d us^h- ter, and I fnould be the ridicule of all my : : quaintances.-^-l cannot join in every prayer of the Church lervice, and I ciiiapprove of its forms and repemions^but I muir attend the .'Church ; for if I diilcnt, and go to the Meeting, I (hall b~ laughed at by my epifcopal neighbours. Or, perhaps, though educated a Prefbytemn, I (hould wifti to join in fome form of prayer, rather than endure the abfurdifcy of my Minifter, who will fometimes, at p'.cafure, (ask is left to him} invoke God for me in impertinent non- fcnfe. Yet I mu(t bs nufk-jd, and attend the Meet- ing, or I lhall pais for a gracelefs apoflate, among a congregation of very religious people. Nay, if I am born among Roman Catholics,.! m uft be doubly ma/ked; (as Mr. B- T - e tells me in his Tour to Siciiy and Malta) and I mult kneel, however againit my opinion, to the Hoft and to all the faintly images ; and I mult pay adoration to the Virgin Mary. That confiderate gentleman even blames a blunt tfnglifli- man for (landing up unmafked, one day, when the Hod pafifed him ; at the fame time, he is fo ill-man- nered himfelf, as to publifh to all the world a book ridiculing the J^oman Catholic religion at almoft every ftage of his journey. I cannot forbear making another remark on the maiked conduct recommended by the fame Writer. If every good Chriftian in the Proteftant countries had formerly been ot his opinion, we Ibould never have feen any religious reformation. To which 1 may add, that if the great and learned, (indead of being inilrumental in opening their eyes) aflat dcfigning i^riefts in blinding the vulgar and il- T ? . literatQ literate people, they will hereafter have to anfwer for every evil cooiequcnce attending fuch confirmed fuperitition. This would naturally lead us into the confideration of forms and ceremonies of every denomination ^ but 1 mull confine my obfervations within the limits of a periodical paper. Forms and ceremonies arc often- times but Mafks, which the crafty make* ufe of to on the ignorance and credulity of mankind j and ft far as they tend to maintain the peace and good order of fociecy, they ought undoubtedly to be fup- ported : but when they are employed, by tiie great and opulent,, to keep the poor in the groifeil ignorance, and in the molt abject itate of dependence, the Mailc fhouid be p'uilcd off, the cheats detected, the ccre- nio,':i s levelled, and the forms abolifhed. Every man's obfervation mud make him fenfible how cautioufly religious ceremonies ought to be put in practice. In the Roman Catholic Church, they have eminently the afcendant over the moral duties, and the true ipirit of Chriilian adoration. Baptifm the Papifls look upon as effentially neceffary to Sal- vation , and the Holy Communion, which commemo- rates the fuffcrings of our Saviour, they have actually dcincd by their belief in Tranfubftantiation. What profound veneration is even paid to the laft by many of the ProteftantsJ fome of whom regard it as a fign by which they enter into.a covenant never to commit a fin. Vain, piefumptuous men, to pretend to-pro- mife they will never (in! But their refolution feldom continues for any long duration; for after much preaching and praying in weekly preparations, no looncr have many of them fwallowed the Bread and XVinc, than tliey return again to their old courfes. in our own Church, jome ceremonies remain, which which the fuperftitious regard with the fame reverence as the moft elTeutial parts of their Religion. As ano- ther inftance: How many good people imagine their friend would be damned to all eternity, were they to luffer his corpfe to be buried without the previous reading of the funeral fervice? No time, iureiy, could be more proper to convey admonition to {he Living, than at the burial of the Dead, when the minds of the mourners are fadly affected at the lofs of a dear and valuable friend or acquaintance. The cuftom, therefore, however miftaken by igno- rance and Superftition, had for its inflitution a moft laudable purpofe. So had the cuftom of congrega- tions of people alTembling once a-week in Church, to perform public worlhip to their Creator ; yet ma- ny pious Chriftians feem now to think, that in the mere frequenting the Church confifts the chief merit of their devotion. What numbers of devont old women do we fee trotting, every day in the week, to the tinkling of the mattin-bell ! as if the Almighty would not liften to their prayers, unlefs they were fpoken before witneffes, or offered up for them by a man in a white furplice. I have no quarrel with thofe acts of fupererogation, if their incentives be pure and upright. But When I perceive no fruits produced by them, no a not drink, they will not whore, they will not fwear, all pcrfe&ly commendable. But what good have they done to their fellow- creatures ? Their virtue, therefore, centers in felf : but the virtue ot the noble and generous, iike the light of the fun, diffufcs it- felf on every one around them. J would not be underftood to ciifcourage the at- tending Church on the Sunday. As that is the only day of the week in which the laborious part of man- kind have opportunity to improve their underiland- irtg, the rich (were it only for example's fake) ought to keep it holy. Nor would I be thought to caft any reflections againfr frequent private prayer to the Almighty. On the contrary, theeffuiionsof a grate- ful heart heighten the enjoyment of every bleffing in life : and a due refignatton to the Divine Will, with a firm confidence in the goodnefs of the All-wife Difpofer of events, are the beft comforts under every misfortune that may befal us. Befides, no ingenuous mind can be conftandy humbling itfelf before God, without as conftantly recoUefting, and forming a re- foiution to amend itfelf. I once knew a Gentleman fo well perfindcd of the truth of that remark, as even, in a dangerous fick- nd~s, to be deterred by it from praying for the reco- very ot his health. Going one day to fee him when he was feverely attacked, J a/Iced him how he found himfelf? **Oh! very ill, indeed! I never had fuch an inclination to pray in my life." " ^nd why don't you pray, then?" laid I. *' To fay the truth, my friend," replied he, iC I could not bring myfclf to promife never to (in again; without which I thought my prayers would have little cflVct." I knew another Gentleman as little given to im- plore the daily protection of God. He belonged to the ( M3 ) the Array ; and happened to be fifhing with another Officer in one of the rivers which empty themlelves into the St. Laurence, not a great dittance from Que- bec. They were in a little canoe, which they had furlered to float fo long with the dream, that, with- out perceiving it, they were got into a ftrong current, and were precipitately driving to a cataract : there they muft have been daihed againfl rhc rocks, funk, and inevitably perifhed. They tugged and laboured at the oars, as foon as they faw their danger; but they were (till approaching the fall, and could not get out of the current. One of them then, de- fpairing, threw down his oar, and fell on his knees in devout invocation to God. The other ftuck to his oar, perfectly afhamed, in his perilous fituation, to implore the Omnipotent afliftance. "I thought,*' faid he to me, when he told me the (lory, *' than as ic had been a long time fince I had prayed to God be- fore, he would look down on me with utter contempt: I thought I heard his tremendous voice reproaching me in thefc words : ' Arc riot you a pitiful, cowardly ' rafcal, to be praying to me now you are going to 4 death? -You, who forgot me in the days of your * profpcrity, what expectation can you have that I ' mould prolong your exigence?' So I took both the oars, added he, and while cr/ companion prayed, I rowed with all my might; arid I tugged fo tight, that at laft, with the bIdSing of God, I got the ca- noe fate into a creek." Thefc men had fouls above diffeoibling virtue-, and deplorable as their fituations were, I leave it to C^fniffs to determine, whether their kiward conviction of unwocthpiifcfs v.'onid not lead as readily to falvation, as 'the feigned .fnnctity of Ibmc Methodifts, or the ufelefs malted- life of a Monk. The ( '44 ) The L E V E L L E R. N. XIV. Another DISSERTATION on MASKS. There's no art To find the mind's condruftion in the face. MACBETH, Aft I. Scene 6. SHAKESPEARE is perfectly in the right, with regard to the faculties of the nnder- ftanding. A man, with a mod ftupid, dull look, may neverthclefs be a very clever fellow-, while ano- ther, with a mod fprightly countenance, will be found to be exceedingly (hallow. But, in the mind's con- flruftion, as to the tyranny of the Paffions^ there is certainly an Art to find it, and I think it is attaina- ble by any man of common obfervation. I have fel^ dom found it fail, that the perlbn -whofc features re- femblcd thofe of a man perfectly known to me, was more or lefs governed by the like paffions as ruled that well-known charafter. Let a continued habit of hypocrify ever fo much mafk the countenance, I mall difcern its natural lineaments in fome unguarded minute of anger, grief, or laughter. "What face, for inftance can be more thoroughly maiked than that of a Dutch Parfon ? Yet, if he is at all capable of feeling, the difcompofurc of his features mud Ibme- times difcover to me his true charafter. Nothing has been more entertaining to me than the fight of one of. thofe Hypocrites, when he has fuddenly recol- lefted I 145 ) ieded himfelf in his laughter, and w":th a figh refum? ed his faintly look, as it he would have faid, i; God k< lorgive me ! what a finful mortal I am to laugh " in this manner !" Next to a Dutch Clergyman's, the moft fettled countenance in the world is that of a Prudifh Woman; and yet the very manner, of her turning her eyes from an object (for thsm the maik cannot conceal) will often mew us the bent of her inclination. As, then, there are moments in which a good Phyfiognomiit can, from the cxpreilion of the features, pronounce which of the paffions bears the greater! fway in the bofom, and the maJk of diflimu- lation is of little more uie than to impofc upon the ignorant o,r unobferving ; it were to be wilhed we would give lefs attention to appearances in the world, and pjiy greater regard to the practice of real and in- trinfic virtue. But, on the contrary^ it does often feem as if a fin confided not fo much in the comm'if- Jion, as in the difco-oery of it. I zm led to make this remark by having lately feen a woman do penance in church for an cccafional wcakncfs. It is a common obfervation with hiftorians, that no men are fo fond of power as the clergy, and that no men are worfe politicians. Can it otherwife be conceited that fuch a power mould be continued in the Spiritual Court, as that of publishing a woman's lhame to a whole congregation of people? It cannot, fure, by the Clergy be confidered as a punilhment, for they are in Scripture exprefsly prohibited from infliifling any: He that /j it it bout Jin among/} you, let him fiift cdft a (lone at her, arc the words of our Saviour ; and, with an exhortation to fin no more^ he difmilTed the Adulterefs. But I ihall be told that public penance is intended as an example In terror em to oiher women. It might with as much plaufibility be laid, that the U cries cries of a woman in labour would terrify all maideiij from venturing on matrimonial pleafurcs. Few peo- ple, who yield to the tender impulfes of a natural af- fection, can coolly reflect on the bad coniequences that may follow ; and the more cautious who are pof- fefTcd of that cool deliberation, are but indebted for it to the phlegm of their conftitution, or to a certain prudence and circumfpcction, which only render them the more guarded in their conduct the more hypocritical in their character. The good pr6ceeding from this cuftom is at the beft but problematical ; the evils refulting from it muft be acknowledged by every confiderate perfon. It has feldom been found, in the parimes where the cuftom has been moftly con- tinued, that the women were more chaile than the reft of their country neighbours ; but, on the con- trary, it is a melancholy truth, that the murder of baflard children has, on that account, happened to be more frequent ; and thus women, to conceal one fin, have inhumanly been guilty of a greater. The dread of punifliment cannot amend the heart (which alone fhould be the province of the Clergy), nor prevent* the commiflion of any one fin that can be fafely committed in fccret. Inftead of amending an unfortunate girl, the publiihing her fliame but acce- lerates her ruin. A young woman, with no other fault in her compofition than the having a too tender and fufceptible heart, has yielded (I fhall fupppfe) to the importunities of a man pofleffed of her eileemj her \veaknefs is perhaps known but to one family, or to * few friends : fome relentlefs Pried or Church- warden mail drag her from her obfcurity, prefent her to the Spiritual Court, arid cxpofe her character to a whole town. From the hour fhe has done public penance Pne becomes defperate ; fhe either flies the country, country to faun the contempt of her neighbours, o-, heed left of what farther can be faid of her, flic pro- ititutes her perfon, becomes totally abandoned, and thoroughly praftifed in every Wickednefs. But ' where we ought to expect the moft tender indulgence, the greateit rancour is frequently found : her own fex have been the moft inveterate againft her ; the mode ft women have turned their backs upon her j and the unfortunate girl, having found hericlf Ihut out from the fociety of the virtuous, was it to have been expected, that in the company of the vicious, into which from folitude (he had fled, that in a repetition of her follies, flic mould ever have been reclaimed ? Bigots, indeed, may imagine that fuch a conduct, to- wards a young fmner, will produce her reformation, and that they do a thing well pleafing to the Almigh- ty in making themfelves the inftrurnents of his ven- geance j but every one, the lead acquainted with the world, knows it to be a melancholy truth, that more women become proftituted and abandoned, in confe- quencc of the contempt of their own fex, than from the treachery or inconftancy of our's. But for one woman who, out of a falfc zeal for the interefls of religion and virtue, mews her rcfentment againft the conduft of the frail -hearted, there are twenty who, from far different motives, affect to be equally fincer^ in their detellation. Of thefc, the moft violent in their exprefTions of contempt and abhorrence of the filthy creatures, are many of the poor, neglected old maids, who would willingly make us believe that a difguft of the joys of wedlock had been the occafion of rheir celibacy, and not any defect or deformity of their own perfons. A lecond fet of abhorrers are your ladies of /ufpetfed virtue, who induftrioufly at- tempt to render lefs confpicuous the ftain on their U 2 own. ( 148 ) own chara&ers, by blackening or painting hideotifly the conduct of their neighbours. And a third clafs of avowed enemies to fcnfual pleafures, are your prudes or devotees ; women who hare fee up for a charaftcr of eminency in religion, who are ambitious of being efteemed in the world as the very patterns of piety, and who, by Ihewing any indulgence to a -woman that had a flaw in her repuntion, would dread any diminution of their fame, anyexpofure of their own maiked virtue. But as thefe, by their conduct, (hew themfelves only apprehenfive left the maik of fanctity mould be disfigured which they had fo carefully put on, fo will they, who are virtuous for Virtue's fake they, whofe actions are governed by motives alone of plcafing their Creator, and not by the cenfure or applaufe of men they will ever, with Chriftian charity, compaffionate their neigh- bour's failings, and be ready to forgive and amend. They will reflect, that there are ftages or degrees of vice ; that no one becomes inftantly abandoned; that the lois of chaftity implies not the want of every vir- tue; and, inftead of driving a weak woman to defpair, they will humanely ufe every method to reclaim. The want of fellow-feeling is not, however, pecu- liar to the Women; by thofe who wear the mafk, imprudence of conduct is as little forgiven among the Men. How many promifing young fellows fet out in the "world, befriended and protected by their relations for no other reafon than becaufe they wifh to make them rich or eminent! As their aggrandife- mc-nt Houid reflect honour on their family, their friends ftrive emuloufly to pufh them on. Some, perhaps, depending more on expectancies than on the fortune which they actually .pofleffed, have lived beyond their income, and in a few years have been totally ( U9 ) totally undone. Their friends, thus difappointed in their views, regard their want of oeconomy as the greateft of fins, believe them for ever void of indu- ilry, and incapable to afc in bufinefs again ; then drop them and forfake them as the molt vicious and molt profligate of men. Not fo fared it with the gallant, gay Lothario, related to Lord Maynard, who is lately dead and gone. Lothario, in ibme difficul- ties, applied to his relation for his affiftance and adt- vice. His fituation he difclofed to his Lordlhip by a letter, to which he received the following anfwer by the return of the port : Dear , 11 AS my eyes are very weak*, and can bear but " little writing, and as the corrcfpondence between " us, at this time, is of a private and fecret nature, " I think it moft advifeable for you to haften down " hither, even at the time fixed for your journey to 1 whereby we may be able to talk over your " affairs privately between ourfelves. " 1 am very faithfully your's, Ea!lon lodge, I MAYNARD." April 7th, 177 5- 5 The fame cover tranfmittcd a bank note to defray Lothario's travelling expences, and pay his little debts in town. He repaired immediately to Eafton Lodge, where Lord Maynard received him as the Father did his Prodigal Son. Waving all reproaches on the imprudence of his paft conduct, which had been fo oppofite to his Lordlhip'x plan, Lord May- nard invited Lothario to live with him, and fettled on him for life a Tery handfomc income. Lord Maynard * His Lordfhip was then about ninety years old. Maynard in this letter flicws fuch a delicacy of fen- timent, fo much generality of mind, and fuch cha- ritable indulgence for the frailties of mankind, that few examples of the like will be found. One would imagine that the bufinefs of it concerned his Lord- fhip alone; that fome affair was depending in which he had a fole intercft, and not that he had a benefit to confer. The fight or recital of a noble action will often force tears of joy from my eyes, in exultation at the thought of fo much goodnefs in a fellow- man ! Thus, at the firft reading of this letter, my heart overflowed with benevolence towards the generous Lord by whom it was penned. My mind was fud- denly impreiTed with the higheft veneration for his character. I was refolved to record this inftance of his beneficence (his many\ noble acts bejng then to me unknown); and, for the honour of true religion, I gladly now proclaim, that in Charles Lord Vif count Maynard much piety, much virtue, without a malic, was found. The f I have been fince informed that his Lordflup expended in charitable donations 3000!. per annum. The L E V E L L E R. N. XV. His ANSWER to SCRUTATORS Remarks on his laft LEVELLER. SIR, I AM but an anonymous writer, and have little concern about the fate of my Levellers ; fomc anfweris, however, required to your ftrictures ; be- caufe the character of my friend is at flake, and the reputation of the Weftminfter Magazine. It might eafiiy have happened, that Mr. Wright, in the multiplicity of affairs, fliould have iffucd from his prefs an improper publication ; and two or three other Printers might have been equally inadvertent, who have done me the honour to reprint the Leveller you have fo critically cenfured. But I am unwilling that inadvertency fhould be any excufe for their hav- ing committed, in your eyes, an ad of evil tendency. I fubmit to defend my writings; and, in the explana- tion I (hall give you, I hope to make it appear, that a Printer, even in the hurry of his bufinefs, is no incompetent judge of morality. If your zeal had not blinded you, Sir, you mud certainly have perceived, that we were both writing in the fame caufe of virtue. However grofsly, and in general terms, you have mifreprcfentcd me as an immoral writer, if you will defcend to particulars, I beiieve you will find it difficult to prove any thing either ( 152 ) cither impious or immoral in my compofitions. You may, indeed, call me irreligious : for the religion I profefs is Chriftianlty* according to the gofpel, and not according to your belief ot the infallibility of the Church difcipline. 1 confefs to have fneer'd a little at the oflentation of devotion, at the parade of fome people trotting every morning in the week to church ; bccaufe I have remarked the generality of the people in Holland, Scotland, and Geneva, who arc fuppofed to fay prayers in their clofets, to be e- qually virtuous with the reft of mankind. I have alfo been fo free as to give my opinion on fomc of the ceremonies of the Church, without the obfervance of which I have known fo many good Chriftians live and die in the hope of falvation. But, in delivering thefe fentiments, you will be plcafcd to remember, than I glanced only at thofe defigning Hypocrites who wifh to impole on the world by thzjheiv of Religion , or at thofe well-mean- ing people who deceive themfelves, by vainly imagin- ing, that, in repeating like parrots a ftring of prayers at church, they are before God fuperlatively virtuous. I was far from faying any thing againft keeping holy the Sabbath-day, or privately lifting up our thoughts to heaven in devout meditations, On the contrary, Sir, were I difpofed to entertain my readers with a fermon, 1 mould recommend prayer to them in a much more ferious manner than you ima- gine. I fliould exhort them never to addrefs the Deity, without compofing their minds, and baniming as much as poffible all earthly confiderations -, without con- lidering the importance of the occafion, or without the utmoft awe and reverence of expreflion. A man, who entertains that juft idea of prayer, and who has any worldly concerns to occupy his time and reflexion,' cannot f 153 ) cannot kneel to God at the (hiking of a clock, or at tiie tinkling of a bell from a church itecple Evtn at the hour of relaxation from bufinefs, at perodic.il family prayer, feme time is neceflary for pious pre- paration. One night, as I flipped with a friend, whole cuftoms had undergone fome alteration, juit as the clock (truck ten, and in the middle of a merry difcourfe that had raifed the whole company's laugh- ter the fervants fuddenly appeared in the room, -formed in a, line, and kneeled before me in regular order. I (tared ; but looked to the right like a Ibldier a drilling, and took from my friend the mechanical motion. My friend then opening a prayer-book, compoied his countenance to a lerious expreffion of features, and went through ihe prayers with the great- eft decorum. When the fervants retired, he relumed his jocular humour: *' Well! my friend, did not I " take you nicely iri; for a bit of prayer ?" True, faid I, it was the fartheft from my thoughts at that mo- ment. Your ciiftom, however commendable, over a bottle a little furprized me. But as I am one of thofe giddy mortals who cannot always command their attention-, as I cannot inftantly jurrip from your wittv diicourfe, your table and your fire- fide, to invoke the Great God that made me, I beg that, the next time 1 attend you, my friend, you will read me a previous chapter or two, to prepare my mind for adoration. Though thus particular, to the Public, in the ex- planation of fome of my late expreffions, I fhall not be furprized, Sir, if you and I, fhould continue to differ. For one man, who, in (earch of truth, ex- erts the powers of his. own underftanding there are a thoufand who give implicit faith to the doctrines and opinions of others. For one Pritflley, for one X Lindfey, t 154 ) ^ there arc twenty fuperftitious Parfons. Toil may have been taught to revere fome of the ordinan- ces of men as facrtd and indefpenfible, which / clif- cern to be inftituted either to impofe on, or, for wife purpofes, to govern the illiterate and vulgar. Tou may, therefore, regard me as a reprobate; and fo would a Monk, if I refuied to worlhip his Wafer. But pronounce not a man to be wicked, becaufc he difsgrees with you in the Church discipline ; nor yet from the integrity of your own heart, judge of the good intentions of other people. The Clergy are hot immaculate-, relentlefs Priefts exift not alone in my imagination ; 1 could name you rclentleis Priefls ; if I were given to be personal, I could name you a relentlefs Prelate. Say not, then, in fuppcrt of. that power which may be abufed by a bigotted Trieft, <4 I * hope his authority would not be employed on im- 11 proper objects ;" for, on the fame prefumption that the King would do no wrong, we might inveft him with unlimitted authority. However theft expreflions may offend you. Sir, I mean not the leaft diirefpect for the Clergy. J know many valuable men in the Church, who teach Chriftianity to their flocks thro' the exam- ple ot their every action; men, xvho endeavour to amend finners, by eating and converting with them, and not by punifhments and perlecution ; men * who put not on a forrowful countenance, for to be leen of men," but. ' in this World fo light and trifling," can fliew themfelves cheerful and happy. J fhall now, Sir, more immediately reply to yo-ur ftrictures on my laft Leveller.* You muft be very ig- norant of the proftflional arts of a Printer's bufmefs, not to perceive, that An ' Apology for Prcftitutc s was merely a catching Title. J fuppofe Mr. Wright ima- gined, fuch a Title would naturally awaken the curiofitv ( '55 ) curiofity of fome people who might accidentally look an his Magazine, and would induce them to purchale it, that they might read what could be fuid on the fubject. But nothing was certainly farther irom my intention, than to apologize either for Proftitutes or Prol'titution. On the contrary, Sir, I deteii the fin, though I moft compaffionately pity the fmncr. In- ftead of an Apology for Proftitution, I gave you a natural defcription of a woman, who, after the lots of her character, by a common gradation in vice, becomes totally abandoned. I faid, thrre were de- grees in vice, and I made an exprefs diftinftion between an occafional Weaknefs and Proftituticn. An accafional Weaknefs I define to be, the yielding, as opportunity offers, to a powerful impulfe of nature, in favour of a beloved object, without a confcioulhefs of fin, or any reflection on its confequences. Surely, Sir, fuch a fmner is not equally guilty, in the fight of God, with the loofe woman who proftitures her perfon. Nay, mould me continue faithfully attached to one object, without having received the Paribn's blcffing, 1 believe her to be lefs fmful than the woman, who, marrying, gives up her body to a huiband for the fake of lucre. However fanctified by cullom, the ecclefiaftical ceremony of marriage is but the confir- mation of a civil contract. In the union of the minds or the two fexes, after a folemn vow of conftancy made before God, is comprifed the real holinefs of its inftitution. That vow, that contraft, 'till of late , years, could in England be made before a private perfon , in Scotland, it can ftill be made before a Juf- tice of the Peace ; and, in Holland, no marriage is valid that is not folemnized by the Civil Magiftrate, It was not, Sir, 'till the time of Pope Innocent the Third, that the intervention of a Prieft to folemnizc X 2 a con- a cohtjacl: of marriage, was deemed either juris na- turalis aut divini But 1 am attacking again the authority of the Church, and fhall draw down more of its thunder upon me. Yet, 'tis fome comfort to have the right reverend Bifhops on my fide ; who, in all Bills of Divorce, certainly confider the Cere* many of marriage as no divine, indifpenfible part of its inftitution. They would never conlent to put afun-, der thofe whom God hath joined together, did they not confider the Vow as the Spirit of the union, and en the breach of which alone the Gofpel permits a Separation. Though I have faid thus much to remove that hor- ror you exprcfs at an cccafional weaknefe , I repeat my deteitation of prornifcuous amours, and I would by no means be underftood to recommend particular illicit attachments. I acknowledge the wickedncfs of proftitution^ and fully admit the inexpediency of keeping ; but I think thefinfulnefs of the la ft may be reafonably doubted, where a mutual vow of constancy is made, and faithfully kept, before the God that heard it. With him, it muft be the vow thatconlti- tutes the union, and not the prefence of any parti- cular people who adminifter the oath, or by whom it is Mitneifcd If, therefore, the parties fo living together, w thout the Pai ion's blefling, can provide a fufficicnt maintenance for their children, the Clergy may deem it a fin, but Civilians will fcarcely call ic an offence againft their law, wifely inflituted to afcr- tain and make known the father who is bound to pro- vice for his ofF-fprmg. Leave it then to the Civil Magifi rate to be judge in fuch wanton offences. When a Trril v/oman can fhew no honeft way of getting her livelihood tbeie is a Bridewell, or a Houfe of Cor- rection. Jf fhe follows any lawful profeflion, and demeans ( '57 ) Demeans heffdf decently in public,, the law .humanely winks at her fins, (for'fuch imsft inevitably be} and reckons thoic only as her crimes, which hurt the community by idlenefs and a difiblute example. In addition to my lad- Leveller ^ it is unncceflary to fay any thing more about the inexpediency of making a woman do penance in church to? an oceafional weak- nefs ; excepting that, notwithstanding the boldnefs of your affirmation to the contrary, I have known the cafe happen, and I have known it to be attended with all its evil confequences. But I cannot help animad- verting alittle on thepropriety, you maintain, of bring- ing a wo-nan of an abandoned charaftet to do penance^ at .an example, in tenorcin, to the modeft womeo. What! Sir. do you make fo flight of a folemn pro- rnife of ammJment uttered before God r as to oblige a woman to make it in the pretence of a whole con* gregation of people, who arc fully perfuaded that fhe will continue to earn her bread by prollitution ? Is not that adding one fin more to her wickednefs, by tempting her to fpqit with God Almighty ? And mult it not leflen the folemnity of an <^ath ia the minds of thr people? Surely. Sir, you could not be ferious in the propofal, unlefs, like Httdibras^ you thought to take off the fin of perjury trom her : He that im'pofeth an Oath, makes it; Wot He that, for conyenience, takes it. I am very much .afraid, Sir, that the cuftom of obliging only proftitutes to do penance, would an- fwer little other purpofe thaa to render fome others of the Sex more guarded and hypocritical in their conducl. It would be a mere bugbear to frighten children j for the grown girls would foon be cun- ning ning enough to fee, that, if they faved but appear- ances with the world, they would never be exhibited on the (tool of repentance. Once more, then, let me recommend it to you, to leave the judgment of the criminality of the frailty in queftion to the Civil Ma- giftrate-, for, as to thejinfu/nefs of it, our Saviour, when he fuff ended the fentcnce of the law agai.nft the Adulterefs, virtually prohibited puniftiment. Nor am I very fingular in this' charitable induU gence to human weaknefs : the Magdalen Hofpital, projected by that excellent good man Mr. Jonas Hanivay, and fupported by fuch liberal benefactions, plainly demonftrates, that a. very different fpirit pre- vails with many Chriftians, in confidering the infir- mities of our nature, than that of puniflbmcnt or perfecution. Men educated with Monks, or confined to their clofets, aufterely judge the world as it ought to be; men, bred in the world, indulgently rate it as, by experience, they find it realty is. It happens a little unluckily, Sir, that the only two quotations you give from me, you have totally mifapprehended. tc It does often feem, as if a fin " confifted not fo much in the Commijjion as in the *' Difcovery of it," evidently implies, that an unfor- tunate woman, who had given birth to an illegiti- mate child, (which conftitutes the Difcovery of her weaknefs) was often brought to public fhamej when many others, who were reputed to be more vicious, would, for want of proof, efcapc the punimment. We know that nobody, by the civil law, can be con- victed of a Crime, unlefs it can be proved upon evi- dence ; but we alfo know, that molt of us have com- mitted Sin in private ; againft the repetition of which the fureft preventive is, for the Clergy to continue preaching amendment. ' Nam ( '59 ) " Nam quidfaciet Is Homo, in tfnebris, qui nihil " timet nifi teftem et judiccm" Cicero. In the other quotation I find an error of the pen, or an error of the prefs, which the whole of the fen- tence plainly evinces. For virtuous read cautious, and my meaning, Sir, is fufficicntly obvious : that * few people, who yield to the tender impulfcs of " natural affc&ion, can coolly reflect on the confe- " quenccs that may follow; and the more cautious, " who are poflefTed of that cool deliberation," (and >\ho y never thelcfs, yield to thofe tender impulfes; not the rigidly virtuous, who refift them) ct are but * c indebted for it to a certain prudence and circum- " fpedtion, which only reode-r.them the more guard- " in their conduct, the more hypocritical in their * character." If I had that levelling idea of the Sex which you impute to me, I fhpuld mew very little thankfulnefs indeed for mypafl happinefs, and no fmall difrefpect to many valuable friends at this moment. 1 have been married to a moft amiable and virtuous woman, and 1 am acquainted with feve- ral of her Sex, who, though they poflefs not my love, equally command my efteem. 1 agree with you, Sir, that virtue doth not confift in an apathy of mind, but in a firm, efficacious refinance againft tempta- tion ; but while I acknowledge that, I abjure ihe levelling principle which you ieem to retain, That, becaufe a woman has yielded to the man (he had an affection for, (he would give her embraces to any in- different perfon that mould alk her. Carrying with us my definition of an occafional lueakntj** and the gcneial received idea of profticution, I muft ftill maintain, that more women become proftituted and abandoned, in confcquence of the contempt of their wn Sex, than from the treachery or inconstancy of our's. our's. If I had faid, t: than from the Sedutiioh of " our Sex," your objection would have had greater weight. Where a man, to gain a woman, employs affiduity, entreaties, pcrfuafion and art, I call that, Seduflion ; and he will have much to anfwer for, if that woman mould be drawn deeper into vice. But where two people unpremeditately meet, and by the force of attraction mutually embrace; -to lay the whole blame of the woman's future wickednefs on the man, is like loading the tree with reproaches of which our mother Eve did eat the fruit. I fhall now take my leave of you, Sir, for I muft decline anfwering any more of your remarks. He is a bad writer who cannot intelligibly exprefs himfclf ; and I would much rather be reckoned liich, than, by repeated explanations, be drawn into a dry difpute. I cannot, however, conclude without prefenting you with fome lines, which 1 formerly wrote in a young Lady's Bible, and which, you may think, could be as properly addreffed to any Bigot, who finds him- felf difpofed to preach. [teach? Read'ft thou this book, as Monks and Abbots As Calvin taught us, or as Lutherans preach? Doeft thou torment thy brain, or beat thy head, To find two -meanings to what here is faid ? Expounding Texts, to common- fenfc moil clear, Explain'ft tor types, where none in fact appear ? Or, paffivc in th' opinions of thy mind, In Tenets treading as are led the blind, Believ'it in fuch, (howe'cr abfurd, abhorr'd,) Bccaufe a Parent taught, or pricilly Lord? Doeft thou neglect our Saviour's words and rules For Creeds, for rites, for forms of wrangling Schools ? fife Hit name forgetting for a Sett's, doeft hope And trull in Calvin, Luther, or the Tope? If fo thou fbrm'ft thy mind, perufe no more This facred Book, for fhuc's true Wifdom'sftore; By -no proud fed: her learned treafure's found - y Who feeks ior truth > his faith in none muft ground ; i.uch hath it's errors, to this Book unknown ; Mark then its precepts, common- fen fe hath (hewn, Thole lead to Hcav'n ; all elfe beyond our reach, } (Which deep Divines dogmatically preach) Man may believe^ but Cod alone can teach, j The L E V E L L E R. N. XVI; Some THOUGHTS on MUSIC and DANCING. THOUGH no pcrfon can be fonder of Mufic than J am, I confefs, I never fat out an Opera or an Oratorio without being heartily tired of it. A man muft certainly have few ideas of his own, or at leaft have a pcrre6t command of his attention, to be &ble to liften, during the greater part of three long Hours, to the tirefome twing-tivang of the Red fat i- vo. It is more than. probable, that the inventors of this mufical accent (if ( may fo call it) borrowed the firil thought of it from the chanting in thelVrvice o{ the cathedral churches. They may have imaginedj Y that that if it were natural and becoming to chant a Prayer or Petition to God Almighty, it would furcly be al- lowable, if not entertaining, to make their Heroes on the Scage fpeak in Recitati'vo. But they miftook the cafe entirely; the fimilitudc will not hold: for when a heavy, dull Pricft, with a drowfy, drawling drone of a voice, has, in the tedious repetition of ceremonious prayers, read his congregation half afieep a chant of the Litany, of a Pfalm, or even of the Lord's Prayer, is a happy relief. In the Ope- ra, on the contrary, Mufic is that for which the au- dience are afTembled ; and they impatiently expect a fong : their organs ot hearing ought not, therefore, to be fatigued with the continued found of the Keci- tativo, before the fong is begun. The hearing, like our other fcnfes, is palled by long enjoyment, and recovers its vigour by relaxation. Would not then the Songs of an Opera have a flronger effect, were the reft of the piece to be a&ed and fpoken, and the Recitative to be dropt? It is, undoubtedly, nothing but cuftom that continues the Recitative in Taftc. The Englifh and French, in their Comic Operas, have properly omitted it ; and, I think, with very good fuccefs. If the number of Songs in Low in a Village had been burdened with a Rccitativo, I dare fay no one would have had patience to have heard them to the End. I lhall perhaps be told, that there are, very judicioufly regulated, two paufes in an Opera, between the Afls. Very true; but my ears, for all that, have no mercy mewn them-^not the leaft relaxation. There is the mufic for the Dancing as noify as the Opera itfelf ; and there the vain Cat- gut Scrapers exult; having no longer any competi- tors whofe voices they would willingly drown with the inilruments of their numerous band. Each Each voice now hufh'd; fave in the Orcheftre loud, 'tis filence all, and plea (ing expectation. Hei- nel^ Jo! on (lilt-like tip-toe, makes her grand ap- proach. Behold her ftaud with arms outflretch'd, as when we fee a broom-ftick, acrofs the (boulders of a fcarc-crow tied, refining every wind! And now, her petticoats forming a Pantheon dome, celerous (he whirls, on thin (hank fpindling round ; a folitary fhank it (lands, yet gains the applaufe, the admira- tion, eke it's fifter*s due, and which between the twain more juftljr 1 would deal. So have I feen arch, little Mifs open her rufty fciffars wide, and, one point fixing on fome polifh'd board, turn them, ah! fwiftly round, to make her fport. But that is Grace, and it is fafhionable Grace. Mr. Slingfby, with all your cafe and agility, unlefs you can im- prove your Taftc, you will (hortly lofe your bread : you will, at leaft, be foon difcharged the Opera- houie, if you will not learn to dance a little more a la Heintl. You can, indeed, throw your legs and arms about pretty fufficiently already-, but you have not yet learnt to ftiffen your back-bone, and reft on one leg like a goofe the great perfections of French dancing. Next to thefe, you have to obfcrve few other Graces in dancing, except to jump up and down, in a perpendicular Direction, like the Jacks of a harpuchord -r-l (hall never be a fond Spectator of dancing, till I am paft dancing myfelf , and then I (hall admire a grave folemn dance on the Theatre, as I would a Parfon dancing a Hornpipe at a Burial, while the Funeral-fervice was read by his Clerk. At prefent, I mud own, t would rather join in a fa- vourite Country-dance myfelf, than be a looker-on at the bed caper that two legs (male or female) ever Y, w e We will therefore leave Madame Heinel to fpindlc away unnvailed, on her ftilts ; and before we quit the fubjtcl: of dancing, will juft drop a hint to the Cotillon-dancers at our falhionable aflemblies. They forget themielves greatly when they imagine, that people fubfcribe to Balls to fee four couple figure it away before them like fo many Stage-dancers. It is highly impolite for fuch a fmall number to rake up the Mufic, and the whole floor of a Room, from the reft ot the Company ; and let them dance everfo well (which to. them, perhaps, may appear the high- eft accompl'fhment ' they will ftill, in my opinion, be ill-bred people. Cuilom, indeed, and the tacit confent o: feated aflemblies, have made it legal, in the rules or politenefs, for a Gentleman and Lady to take a walk *n the figure of what is commonly called a Minuer. within a circle of idle Spectators ; but we hold, that a --Otilion cannot be danced at a public aflembly, without tranfg r efling the Law of Civility, (which we acknowledge is fometimes oppugnant to that of modern politcnels or good-breeding) unlefs a Boom be appropriated for the ufc and conveniency of iut,,} . v'tiiion-dancers, in like manner as is provided at the Great Pantheon, Of all our Mufical Entertainments, Bach and Abel's Concert,' to my Tafte, is the- mod agreeable. There is a variety in their Concert, and there are be- fides two-paufes for converfation and chit chat. As for that matter, truly, I never found that Converfa- tion was wanting either there or at the Opera, if I had an inclination to divert rnyfelf, to the annoyance of thofe good people who ; wifhed to be mufically en- fmained. I hope', however, that Meffrs, Bach and Abel will provide themfeives with a capital Performer On the Violin, and, in future, give us lefs of their Piano Forte^ and VioldeGambe. I have not attended them this year, but they uied formerly to give us a great deal too much of thelc two inftrumcnts, for fbch a. fpacious room as Almack's. The firft time 1 had the pleafure of hearing Mr. Abel, was, fomc years ago, at an Inn abroad. He had heard me, from his room, fcraping fome of Tartini's Solos on the Violin ; and judging, from my attempts, that I was fond of Mufic, he obligingly fent his compliments with an offer of bringing his Inflrument, if it would be agreeable, to play, with me. 1 had accordingly the honour of accompanying him while he played me a few Solo's , and I muft acknowledge, nothing could found Tr.ore delightfully fweet than did then his Viol de Gambe. I dare fay I mould receive the fame plea- fure from it now, in any private room; but it is ut- terly loft at Almact'a. Mr. Bach's Piano Forte is thrown away too, for it is not heard by one half of the people in the Room.- -1 recommended to their coniidcration, the providing themfelves with fome excellent Violin-player; but who iliall they have? Let them choofe which Violin-player they pleafe, I hope they will pitch upon none of thofe new-fafhioned Fidlers from France, who, whatever Mufic they play, fcem to think, that the whole excellence of a Matter confifts in playing with life and fpirit, and in fawing at the firings till they crack. Let them remember, that each piece of Mufic has its peculiar Tafte-, that the firft excellence to be attained is to flop in tune; and conieqnently that all their tricks, at the top of the board, will not compenfate for the many fcratch- cs and difcordant fqueaks, with Which they are inter- mixed ; and let them alfo have in mind, that the fe- cond excellence to be attended to, is the Tone, or Sound produced by the drawing of the Bow. With- out ( 166 ) out thcfe two accomplilhments, I think no man ought to prefume to play a Solo on the Violin, or any other inltrument founded with the bow. As for the ViolencellO) it is a very pleafing Inllrument, when confined to grave, folemn, or plaintive Mufic; but, in the hands of the firft Mafter, it fails under any thing quick -, it is no longer a Violencelh, and its beauty is loft. The fame remark I might have made on Mr. Abel's Viol de Gambe; and the fame re- mark, with additional obfervations, I mail now make on the Bajfoon. Let the performers on that inftru- ment take my advice, and never attempt at any mu- fic of too quick a movement j for, when they do t they feldom fail to expofe themfelves. I remember it fo happened to the Sieur Comi^ when he played us a. Solo on the Bajfoon^ at a Concert laft winter at Bath. The flow Movement went perfectly well-, but when he came to the quick Time, he gave us fuch a variety of windy notes, in fo many furprizing ancj unexpected tones, that the whole Company v/ere in a titter, and the Ladies were obliged to have recourfc to their fans. There are, indeed, fome Inftruments that are not at all calculated for cheerful Mufic, and that Ihew their impotence in attempting the exprcf- fion of it. A Baflbon and a Violencello give a folemn and grave tone, as I obferved above, whatever Mufic you play upon them ; and the German Flute and the Guittar are ever foft, plaintive, or melancholy. I can never hear a Jig or a Hornpipe played on the Guittar, without thinking of an old woman fing- ing a jolly merry fong, with a voice half broken, and expreffive of difeafe and pain. What pretty mufic, too, a man would 'make of Nancy Dawfon, were he, in a fit of the gout, to tune his Ah! Oh ! Oh's ! to the notes of that fong ! I do 1 do not recollect ever to have heard the various In- ftruments of an Orchcftrc employed with a more fur- prizing good effect, than in a folemn March in the Oratorio of Ruth y compofed by Giardini, which is performed once a-year in the Chapel of the Lock- Hofpital. There is fuppofed to be a Funeral Procef- fion preceded by a Chorus of Singers j and the In- ftruments which play the Dead March, as a prelude to the Chorus, are fo judicioufly varied, that any one, with a fancy lefs lively than mine, would ima- gine he heard voices, at feparate diftances, taking up the tune in fucceffion, and continuing the funcral- fong *. The Written in the year 177}. The LEVELLER. N. XVIL ADDRESSED to the NOBLEMEN and GENTLE- MEN who have accepted COMMISSIONS in the MILITIA, eftablifhed for our NATIONAL DEFENCE.* My Lords and Gentlemen ! WHEN, in hiftory, we read how innumerably the Te Deum has been fung, in gratitude for the conquefts of frantic kings ; when it is related by his biographer, that Charles XII. of Sweden, with a pious regularity, attended the public worfhip of his Creator, during thofe victories that deluged the one half of Europe with innocent blood \ we may believe the devotion of princes to be fincere; but we muft deplore their miftakcn method of pieafmg the Deity, and, fighing, drop a tear on many a cruel and unchriftian deed. If the flaying our fellow-creatures be at any \\mejuflifiable.. it is on the principle alone of lelf-detence ; if the profcflion of arms be at all honourable, it is only fo when we bear them for the prote&ioit * This Addrefs was written in the Year 1776 ; and it will be allowed there was occafion for it, if we recollect how indiffer- ently the Militia was then officer'd. Nor will the Republicatioii of it, at prefent, be deemed unnecefTarv , when we are told that the Militia, in fome Counties, is ftill negledled by the Country Gentlemen. To their Indolence we mart principally afcribe it, if fuch a noble Inftitutiou Ihould ever be perverted- protection of our king, our country, and our owti rights. The officers or our national militia arc, there- fore-, the moil honourable of all military men. Thcv are neither under the arbitrary commands or a delpo* tic King nor arc th^y lia^L- to be lent abroad to fight the battles of a haughty or avaritious Co -union - wealth^ They fight not,, they flay not, but on ibme juilanj neceffary call. Th it neceffary occasion for your fervices, my Lords and Gentlemen, may arrive much iboner than ibme or you imagine. Our natural enemies regret the lofs or Canada; they regret the dimunition of thuir trade to the Eait-lndies. It would alfo be a mod definable object for them, to have a tree commerce with our American Colonies. The French Iflands Hand great- ly in need of the lumber., fiour, and live ftock, with v/h-ch the Colonies could fupply them , and except- ing the Birmingham and Staffordshire ware, there is icirctriy one article of the European manufacture, wish which the French could not fcrve the Coloniits a: an eafier rate than the Englifh can ; and thofe pro- ducts of our Colonies which the French conlume, they would certainly receive cheaper, if tranfported c;;vcl'iy Jrom the American lands. THUS, from their mutual wants, an intercourfe b.t^ecn France and our American Colonies will na- turally begin Merchants wiil be meddling wherever thrrc is a profit to be gained. French adventurers will be fmujgling their manufa&uies into our Colo- nies-, our cruizers will intercept iomc of their ihips, and as lawful prizes they will be condemned. France will relent thefe captures, 'and a rupture will enluc. Tho' 'lie ma-/ be unwilling to encourage a ipint of rciiftance in the Colonies againft their Parent State ; tiio' ihe may deny the Americans an open and avowed Z fupport j fupport ; to ferve her own ends, flie may endeavour to prevent the fuccefs of our arms in 4merica, aod draw our attention to a war at home, while fo many of our forces are employed abroad. Under whatever pretence me may quarrel with us, it is certain that France could not harrafs us more, than by the inva- fion of an army of thirty or forty thoufand men. They would put a Hop to every branch of manufac- tures, wherever they carried their arms , the people would be reduced to that unlettled, unprotected ftate, into which they were often brought by the invafions of the Scots, before the union ot the two Crowns ; the credit of our funds would be loft for many years, both abroad and at home; and they would ruin our navy and our trade, by deflroying the docks and har- bours of our fca-port towns. Let not the Lords of theAdmiralty give me here a contemptuous fmilc. My apprehenfions are too well grounded. I have fpokcn with feveral experienced French Officers, and with many able commanders in our navy, who have all agreed, that a landing in England could not be pre- vented, if our enemies choie to execute the plan. - The fame ftorm that would blow our fleet of obfcr- vation off their coaft, would, when abated, waft their mips to our fliore before our fleet could return. How the French are to get off again, is another quef- tion-, but if they fight their way well, we fhall be glad to let them depart the country, on a capitula- tion little difhonourable to them. The practicability and probability of an invafion being granted, it behoves the Militia of England to Hand to their arms. It is, however, with real con- cern I learn, that, in fonre counties 1 could name, the gentlemen who have the largeft property to defend, have the mod difguft to the militia fervice. 1 ho' I truft, truft, when the hour of danger comes, men of fpiritj will abundantly Ihew themfelves , yet gentlemen ought to confider, that to learn the duty of an officer requires fomc practice, without which they will at leaft be as aukward in the evolutions of the army, as they would be perplex'd with the figure of a country-dance, had they never received inductions in the art of dancing. This unwillingnefs in our modern gentlemen, to the military fervice of their country, demonftrat.es more than any thing,- to me, the neceffity for having an eftablifhed Militia in England. Eafe and luxury, already fo prevalent amongft us, would render us at lail fo effeminate, that, like many other nations be- fore us, we fhould become a prey to the firft foreign invaders. The cafe is not fimilar in Scotland. The Scots are feveral centuries behind us in their trade, manufactures, and agriculture. They have the re- cent ufe of arms to forget, and they have much to improve in, their induftry. But fo different a fpirit prevails among the Englifh, that I knew a regiment of militia difbanded laft year, out ot which the re- cruiting officers of the regulars got but three men ; and all the reft, to the number of 637, returned peace- ably to their former vocations at home. This circum- ftance I mention, becaufe it is a great argument with the oppofers of the militia, that its fervice gives the men a habit of idlenefs and diffipation. I can alfo add, to the honour of the fame regiment, that, du- ring the three years I knew them, but one man was confined for druokennefs, or irregularity of beha- viour.* As, to fecure victory, a mutual confidence ought to fubfift between the officer and foldier; -7 C an Z i opinion^ * The Northamptonfliire Regiment. ( 172 ) opinion of the abilities of the one, and a fufficient de- pendence on the courage of the.other ;) lei not, my jL,ords and Gentlemen, this vulgar notion have any weight with you : " That the foldiers of a (landing army mull have the fuperiority, in courage, over the loldiers of a militia becaufe the militia men are tirawn by ballot, from among the herd of mankind; whereas the foldiers of regular troops are volunteers, men who offer to ferve their king and country, feel- ing themfelves bold, and imagining they can beat an enemy." Whoever adopts that argument, rouit know as little of human nature as he fhews himfelf ignorant of the arts of the recruiting fervice. An unwillingnefs to broils and bloodfhed is as little a fign of cowardice as a bullying, he<5toring fpirit is a de- monftration of true courage; and of the men who are eniifted bv the regulars, there is not one in twenty that is not elevated beyond the pitch of fober reafon at the time of enlifting. Let us not deipife our militia as unfit for our pro- te6t'on. Tho' they fhould be defective in military discipline; with a few experienced generals at their head, (of whom we arerot deftitute at home) I ihould think them able to cope with the beft regular troops of the French King. Perfonal courage, an implaca- ble hatred of the enemy, and a mutual confidence between the officers and loldiers of a new- railed army, have often defeated the mechanical motions of well- difciplined men. Have we not heard how the militia of Sweden, under General Steinbock, in the year 1710, defeated and cut to pieces the beft difciplined regimems of bcmr.ark? Did not the united militia of the I ,ow Coumres repeatedly defeat the Spanilh armies, then complied of the beft infantry in Europe? Have we not heard what a few ragged Highlanders ' . effected ( 173 ) effefted in the year 1 745 ? Have we not heard what Klliot's light-horfe performed, the very firfl engage- ment they were in ? And has not our own army been kept at bay, and cooped up at Bofton, by the militia of the American Colonies.* I repeat it, then, let us not defpife our militia ; but let us rather confider by what means it can be brought to do us molt effectual iervice. In the firft place, my Lords and Gentlemen, I would advife you, by no means to attempt to render your men equal to the regular troops, in all the tricks of their manual exercile. Since the regulars, in time of peace, have more leifure on their hands than they know what to do with, it may be proper, in tbem y to contrive as much employment as they can for their ibldiers ; in order to add grace to their appear- ance, and to preferve them from a habit of idlenefi 1 . But as you have only one month in the year, in which to exercife your men, you ought to curtail every thing in the exercife, that is not really ufcrful in the day of battle. 1 mean not to wage war with the Adjutant-General, and far lefs to increafe the num- ber of volumes that have been written on military difcipline. I only intend to throw out a few hints for the confideration of the rnilitia-ofEcers. With regard, tiien, to the manual exercife, I would hum- bly propofe to have nothing done in three motions, that can be done in two; and nothing in tivo that can be performed in one. Officers will agree with me, how material it is to make the men load and fire regularly, and with ex- pedition, without incommoding each other in the ranks * Another unfortunate inftance has been fince given us in General Burgoyne's defeat. ( 174 ) ranks as they fland. But that regularity and djfpatch cannot be attained without much pradice-, and it is for that reafon I am fo ftrenuous for curtailing the exercife of all unneceffary motions, and words of com- mand. The more a man is confined to any particular motion of the hands, the more expert he will daily become in performing it. ' He will be found to per- form that motion with corifiderable more dexterity than another man, whofehand is fpoilt for expedition in any one thing, by pradifing many motions of a different kmd. A clock, or any other complex ma- chine, could not be finimed in half the time it is, if k were to be the workmanfhip but of one man ; and the very making of a needle or a pin is the employment of fevcral hands, Unlefs, however, the loading and firing exercife be performed with powder, the men will be fo aukward with their cartridges in the field, that they will have half their talk to learn. I cannot approve of the pofture in which a foldier is firft ordered to ftand. He is directed to join his knees, to keep clofe his heels, and at the fame time to hold himfelf perfectly eafy, and without conftraint. How can this be expected of a baw-legg'd man? The ftrongeft men and I may fay the generality of men) are bow-legg'd, and cannot clofe their knees without forcing their whole frame. I havefeen feme recruits fo conitrained by it, that their bodies totter- ed as they ftood, and one might have pufhed them down with the lead touch of the hand. Nor is it more eafy for an in- kneed man to clofe his heels, than for a bow-legg'd man to keep his knees joined. And, as for the few ftraight-legged foldiers, the compref- fing the thick of the legs disfigures the fhape of them in any man. I therefore maintain, that the ftanding with the legs clofed, is only the pofture of a woman too ( 175 ) too modeft to be fecn with open thighs. A man mould ftand firm on his feet, with a fpace of at leaft four inches between them. Every man's leg would fhew bed in that pofturr; and tho' he might iofe, ia appearance, a little of his height, he would certainly find himfelf more at his eafe ; and his body would be more graceful, by deviating a little from the lliff, ilraight line. But, provided a foldier does not turn his back in action, it fignifies little in what pofture he flands. More attention, however, ought to be paid in teaching the foldiers to move} and, after the firing exerciie, the evolutions are what I would par- ticularly recommend. In tbefe the militia ought to emulate the regulars, as being more within the com- pafs of their time. Inftead of mifpcnding fo- many days, my Lords and Gentlemen, in teaching your men a number of monkey-tricks, that would be of little ufe to them in actual fervice, let them practife all poflible evolutions, in companies and divilions, in the open field, When I fee a battalion drawn up on a fmooth plain, where all mole-hills have been level- led with the fpade; when I fee the men drefled in their ranks, according to ftraight lines marked paral- lel on the ground where they ftand ; when 1 fee.them excrcifcd by words of command, following in accuf- tomed order, like the queftions of a Cate.chifm; it brings no grander idea to my mind, than the difcom- fiture of Mr. Footed Commijfary^ or of the Burgeeis Gentllbomme of Moliere, who was prepared to receive his adverfary's fword in quart, when, to his utter aftonifhment, he was hit with a tierce thruil. What a farce it is, to fee a regiment firing in di~ vijions and fubdhifani, alternately to the right and left, when we know that, in action, the officers think themfclvcs happy, if, after the firft difchargc, they can ( 'IS ) can make their men fire regularly in platoons! -What a parade, in marching and forming, according to the order of the Major's notes, when the officers and fol- diers ought to be taught to be prepared, as much as it is poffible, for every thing unexpected and unforc- feen ! Will that man ever have a firm feat on horfe- back, who has never mounted an" unruly horfe ? No; the rider who has always been accufcomed to pace it round the jnancge, on a tame animal of adref- fed horfe, would be confounded with the tricks of a vicious brute, that obeyed neither his hand nor his heel. As much perplexed, too, would a gentleman be, to parry his antagbnift's thrufts in open fencing, who had never practiled but the regular leflons againft his mailer's breaft, or in puihing quart and tierce at a brick wall. -It will, indeed, be neceffary, in the firft teaching the evolution?, to keep to the fame following rules ; but, after they are once learnt, I would never let either the foldicrs or fubaltern offi- cers know, after one evolution, what was to be the fucceeding one. I would tome times form the batta- lion into two divilions, that iliould e, ch act under a fcparate command; they iliould be oppofcd to each other like two fencers, each ignorant of the other's intentions ; they fliould march and countermarch, prepared to pan*/, ready at fronting wherever an at- tack was made, wherever the enemy unexpectedly af- faiied. It is the common attempt of Generals to attack their enemy before his troops are formed ; and had not the French been alert in (hewing a front before Quebec,. General -Murray would have beat them off the field. The battalion might fometimes be dif- perfed too, as if it were broken by an attack of the horfe or dragoons \ and the men Iliould then rally themfclves ( 177 ) themfeives as well as they could, under whichever officers were nearell to command therri. Should you be called out on actual fervice, my Lords and Gentlemen, the aids of courage mult by no means be neglected. It is a known truth, that few men are to be found, who, in cool blood, can face danger with the fame bravery with which they would encounter it if they were heated. This many gentlemen mult have experienced, even in a foxchace; and fome favage nations are fo much convinced of it, that they inflame themfelves by dancing, before they venture to attack their enemies. The affailants have 4n general the advantage of their adverfaries; for, by- marching brifldy up to the attack, they acquire in the exercife fuch an uncommon flow of fpirit<;, that it banillies the recollection of their own danger. Mod of our conqutfts lait war were gained by fuch precipitate attacks, as inipired our own foldiers and intimidated the enemy Nay, fo eager were our troops at the taking of the Moro Gallic that nv ny of the very men who, m the aflault, ran nimbly alon -r the narrow, dangerous rock that led to the breach, durft not aftcry/ards crofs it, in cool blood, but by creeping on their hands and knees. Good feeding is another requifite to make an Englimman fight, and, if procurable, mould never be omitted. Some hif- tonans have been fo much of my opinion, with regard to the effects of a good meal in giving a temporary courage, that they have not fcrupled to affirm, the Canh^mian General gained his victory at Trebia, by oruenng his foldiers a warm mefs and by attack- ing the Romans in a cold morning before they had their breakfaft. Philofophers may fmile at thefe remarks -, but officers, who have Co deal with many Of the unthinking part of mankind, muff, know that A a courage ( '78 ) courage often borders upon mechanifm; and they will confefs, that howmuchfoever reafon may teach us to face death in the clofet, we (hall encounter it in the field as refolutely by baniming thought and re- fle&ion, or by raifing the proper paffions. The love and efteem of the foldier ought of all things to be courted by his officer. 'I hey have ever, with Englifhmen, been the greatdl incentives in the day of battle; and they are obtained with a^very little trou- ble. As authority, among freemen, is better iup- ported by love than by fear, give your orders, my Lords and Gentlemen, with firmnefs , but avoid all haughtinefs of words and behaviour. Shew that you command, by virtue of the powers vefted in you by your commiffion, and not through any conceit of your own dignity, or through any contempt of the foldier's inferior ftation. Be not above affigning a reafon, to a young foldier, for eyery inftruction which you may give him , for the more he knows the utility of any motion'of the manual exercife, or of any part of the evolutions, the more attentive will he be to his duty, and the more refpectful to that officer who gives himfelf the trouble of an explanation. In ftiort, give not way to the infolence of office \ but, in all your commands to the foldier, remember he is your fellow-citizen. What carried Alexander and Cjefar, through all their conquefts, more effectually than their foldiers love? What was Charles XII. of Sweden's bed fhield, in all his battles, but the love his foldiers bore him ? What ftronger incentives had the Highlanders to fight, in the lalt rebellion, than the love and veneration each man felt for his chief- tain ? What rallied our troops fo foon at the late at- tack on Bunker's Hill ? Superior to the thought of felf-prefervation, fuperior to all fentiments of honour, compalEon ( '79 ) companion arofe in the bread of every man, when he faw the general he loved in danger of being left on the field. The L E V E L L E R. N. XVIII, His SALUTIFEROUS CREED, or His WASSAIL* for the Year 1776. SITTING at my fire-fide one evening in the drea- ry month of December, an account was brought to me of the death of a young man in the neighbour- hood, who accidentally mot himfclf under the violent A a 2 effects * Waffails are New- Year's Wifhes, faid or fung by fome of the poorer people, in the country, to get money out of the pock- ets of their betters. To this vulgar but antient cuftom the court/y JVew Tear's Ode probably owes its institution. I mean not, by this fuppofition, either to affront the Poet-Laureat, or to dero- gate from the dignity of his character The word Wa frail, fays Bailey's Dictionary, is taken fiom the old Saxon Wai hael, and iignifies Good health to you ! But the meaning of it is as well ex- plained to me by the two modern Saxon words Was heil, Some welfare, or profperiry. Or, perhaps, it is of Low-Dutch origin ; for Was hsel in that language fignifies, Become whole, or grow healthy ; Wafs coming from Wafftn y to grow or become as it isufed in Wafs goed, V/afi ryk, Wafi magtig, Grow good, grow rich, grow powerful or mighty As by omitting only the al'piration of the h I have retained the pronunciation of Wafrail, the Antiquaries cannot think me too far-fetch'd in my derivation. efTe&s of intoxication. An event, To melancholy and unexpected, could not but afford employment to my mind for that evening. 1 could not help reflecting how many lives were loft, and how many conftitu- tions were impaired, by the intemperate indulgence of one fenfe that vulgar fenfe of Tailing. H gave me pain to think that, to fatisfy a. brutal appetite, fo many heedleis beings fhould facrifice a thoufand pleafures and enjoyments, which, from their other fenfes, they are capable of receiving. For my part, though I hope never to be afraid of hazarding my life in a good caufe, I am not afhamed to own, that t \vilh to enjoy a perfect ftate of health, and to re- tain the full ufe of my faculties, as long as I am def tined to live in this earthly habitation. In this train of thinking, my Headers will fuppofe me feated again in my eafy-chair, where the fight of a warm fire- fide contrafts the appearance of a moil horrible ftorm. For thefe twelve days paft I have not feen the face of the fun ; nor have 1 been able to take any bodily ex- ercife, excepting on a road- where, through drifts of thick-fallen fnow, fome peafant- pioneers have dug a flippery path, (trennenduous to behold!) ten feet, at times, in depth. I mull, of courfe, be uncommonly ftupid. Uniefs with hoar and icicles at my head, f and they, too, would foon thaw at the fire-fide) it is impofiible, under thefe circumitances, forme tofhine, who, at no time, am aliow'd to be mining. i fhall not then attempt it; I fhall only prefcnt my readers with a few dull remarks, in the form of my ^alutiferous Creed : and I fincercly wifh that their health may be pieierved until the fatal difeale, when n.y writing can do them no fervice. 1 believe that Phyficians are very much at a lofs 10 account for the manner in which the ftomach per- forms forms its Digeftion. Tho* many explanations of it have been attempted, fome of the moft learned and experienced of the Faculty candidly confefs. they arc yet much in the dark with regard to that fubject. I believe that it is fallacious to judge of the conic- quences of a mixture of aliments in the ftomach, from their vifible effects upon each other when commixM in the air. There is ibrae hidden property in the fto- mach, which changes as it were the very nature of things, by making one ingredient often aflift in di- gefting another, thatotherwile would have prefer ved it in the open air. Thus, filh and fleih will, with moft people, digeft better after a glais of Brandy and Wine, than after a draught of cold water ; altho' we find that, out of the ftomach, they are in the former longeft preferved, and in the latter fooneft corrupted I believe that thefirft aft, intheprocefs of digeftion, is to reduce to acidity the nutriment we have taken. In oppofition therefore to Dr. Cadogan's opinion, I believe that Bread and other aliments which become fooncft four in corrupting, are, for that very reafon, if not always the moft healthful, at leaft the moft eafy of digeftion. They muft, in their efftft?, materially differ from vinegar, lemons andothei things, which, in their natural ftate, the palate diftinguifhes to be acid. Thefe no man can fafely take, in any great quantity, unlefs they are properly corrected , but 'tis not yet proved that unadulterated bread can do injury to any one. When, to this uncertainty of the con- fcqucnces of mixture, we add the difference of Con- ftitutions in men, and the difference of digeftive power in the ftomach, I believe that to advife every man to the fame kind of Diet, would be acting like any Quack that (liould prescribe the fame Medicine to every one who confulted him. As every man of fenfe ( 1*2 ) fenfe and obfervation is, by experience, capable of judging what are the Aliments that beft agree with him; he ought not to eat of any thing, accounted never fo innocent in its nature, if he finds it to dif- agree with his ftomach ; for that which does not pro- perly digeft, can never be wholelbme for the perfon who takes it. I believe that a regular diet is necef- iary for one who has a weak ftomach, and can tell what beft will fuit it ; but I would not advife a per- ibn in a perfect ftate of health, to flick to any kind of regimen. A variety of food is certainly what na- ture intended for the human fpecies ; yet, from the uncertainty of the agreement of mixtures, I believe that variety to be moft wholeforne when taken at ieparate meals. I believe that Fim, Flefh, Beer and Wine, nourim the blood and recruit the fpirits-, but that Bread and Vegetables more certainly harden the finews, and fupply us with mufcular vigour. The Scots, the Irilh, and the Dutch, who live perhaps on porridge, potatoes or falads, are, in general, ilouter- built men, and will liftwith an Englimman any weight; but they will want fpirits to continue the work of a coal-heaver, unlefs they have ftrong beer and Porter to drink, and can dine on their beef or mutton. This difad vantage, however, attends the Englimman's food: If you deprive him of it, he will under labour be- come languid and faint-, whereas the other-named Countrymen (if you give them but time) will, on their poorer food, be able to go thro' with their work. 1 believe that the. natural food fora child, 'till a little time before it is wean'd, is its mother's or its nurfe's milk, provided that either have a fufficient fupply for it. I am blefs'd with three blooming Boys, who never tafted any thing but the milk from the bread, 'till they got a cruit of bread to mumble a few days before they were wean'd. I believe I believe that feeding children entirely on animal food, as I have feen practifed by the advice of the Phyfician, in fome families in London, was the certain caufe that I feldom faw the Phyfician out of the houie. I believe that the proper food for children, immediately after they are wean'd, fliould confift of milk, with flour, or bread, 'till they are, by degrees, accufcomed to the addition of vegetable, and a fmal- ler proportion of animal food* which laft, thro* the whole life of man, I think not mould ever prevail. I believe, that keeping young people too long on farinaceous and vegetable food, as is frequently the prattife in Scotland, is too often the caufe of their being carried off by Conformations ; for, when grown up, they come to a change of animal food, the blood- veffcls become fuddenly overcharged, and the lungs are greatly obftrufted in their operation. I believe that the dipping of children every day in cold water, is the caufe, by flopping the pores, of moft of their cutaneous diforders ; but as it braces their nerves, and adds to their mufcular ftrehgth, the cuftom is certainly of ufe in hardening them, when they arc intended to live in the camp or the country. It, on the contrary, they are dcfigned for fome bufmefs or life of confinement, they ought neither to be too long accudomed to the country air, nor will the harden- ing their bodies be found of any material fervice. The inuring children to that kind of life tor which they are intended, when adults, is principally ufeful in guarding againft the fudden tranfition from one manner of life to another; for otherwife, after the firft feafoning is over, we find, that, making allow- ance for the difference of conftitutions, all bodies are foon rendered equally hardy or equally tender, accor- ding to any continuance of a rough or delicate treat- b ment. ment. Bring a hardened Conn try- gentlemen io London, and after a (hort refidence there, in a life of inactivity and confinement, he will become as fuf- ceptible of cold, and will fuffer as much from the inclemencies cf the weather, as any Citizen who has been born and educated within the found of the bells of Bow iteeple un the other hand, carry that Citizen to the camp, and if he furvives the firft fea- foning, he will endure any hardihip of the field as fafely . tho' perhaps not fo eafily to himfelf, as the hardened Countryman. One ought not, therefore, to let any manner of life become fo habitual to the body, that the difufe of it fliould be dangerous or hurtful , for, tho' excefs of all kinds be prejudicial to the health, I believe that any uniformity or regu- larity in air, diet, or exercife, is productive of many inconveniencies, and cxpofes men to many confequen- tial difl.cmpers.-~ I fpeak of mankind in the bulkj for as to men of independent fortunes, who may have it always in their choice to continue in the fame even track, there is no doubt but the country air is preferable to that of the city j that the nutriment which is reckoned moll inn6ccnt, and is found to a- gree beft with the itomach, is the mofl eligible food; and that moderate and regular exercife is more health- ful to the body than hard labour, or afedentary life. I believe that the fafhionabic practice of fca-bath- ing ought to be ufed with more precaution than it is. A thin, mufcular man, as I am, may ufe freedoms with cold water, which a fat, corpulent man Ihould not. I have frequently gone into the water in a pro- fufe perfpiration, after two or three hours exercife but then I flaid no longer in the water than I would remain in a cold bat.'i. It fometimcs gave me the lenfation of fo many pins fluck into every pore of my ftin; ( 185 ) fkin ; when, drefitng myfelf immediately, artel refu- rmng my. cxerciie, I foon .recovered my former hear* I took thefe liberties with my felt, becaule I did m-t apprehend, th.t what an old Roman., or a favage American, could lately bear, would do a temperate Englifhmaa any hurt. Having always bathed for my pleafure, and not for my health, I mail own I deviate a little from the common track : i never go into the cold bath in Winter, as the Phyiicians pic- fcribe. bccaufe 1 have not the leaft inclination for it and I find myfelf, by the cold air, fufficiently braced. But, in hot weather, when, like any amphibious ani- mal, 1 feel a longing defire to be in the water I baihe to the height of my wiih. I have fometimel gone thrice a-day into the lea at Brighthelmftone, which fo effectually cooled me, that I have had the moil profound and refreihing deep at night, while every one eife was complaining that he could not (hut his eyes for the heat. Tho* t am only telling what a lean, temperate man has fafely pradtifed on him- felf, I btlieve that moft men might iave themfcivcs from fevers, if they were to bathe in cold water wlieii t-.ey feel a defire for it, and feel themfelves, without excrcife, intolerably hot, A Director of the Eaft- India Company told me, that when he commanded a Company's Jhip, he ordered every, man aboard to bathe once a-day-, at leaft, after they came into a warm climate-, to which cuflom he alcribed it that heioil very few men in any voyage, while other Ihips fuffered-a confiderable lofs. I laid that the pradice of fea- bathing ought to be ufed with more precaution than- it is, principally on this account- Becaufe I believe the cuitom, if diur- nal, is dangerous when it is fuddenly left off. I am confirmed in this belief, not only from my own B b experience, ( 1*6 ) experience, but from the inconvenience or misfortune vhich others have felt. The firft year I was at Brighthelmftone, I bathed, for two months, con- flantly every day, after which I was called to Lon- don in fon-e hade. On the firft and fecond day after 1 - 1 came to Town, I had a violent headach, felt a fick- hefs at my ftomach, and an intolerable heat. M/ elded Boy, who had been with me at Brighthelm- ftone, and had bathed as conftantly as myfeif, felt the very fame complaints, but in a much ftronger de- gree i and was affected in the fame manner as I have known fome Natives of Greenland to be, who were brought to this warmer climate by our Fiihing Ships: He vomited^ bled at the nofe, and complained very much of his head, it prefently occurred to me, that thefea bathing having become fo habitual to us, the leaving it off too fucdenly was the caufe of thefe complaints. I carried him therefore to the River : but I plunged in firft, to try the experiment upon myfeif. After drefiing, and finding myfeif perfectly right, 1 turn'd my Boy in next, and it cured him of all his complaints. Not that he was drowned ; but that, after this remedy, he neither vomited, bled at the nofe, nor complained of his head. Common- fenfe told me to continue that courfe, every tvvo or three days, till we were from the bathing totally dif- u.fed. -l-told this to a friend of mine, whofe wife had been fome weeks at Margate ; and I dcfired him to caution her not to leave off the bathing all at onca. But, having neglected this advice, me fevered in three days after coming to Town, and in ten days more {he was carried to her grave. As the cold bathing, in hot weather, is beneficial, fo, in cold weather, I believe the hot bath can, to many conftitutions, do no injury, and will, to moft, ( >*7 ) moft, be of infinite ufe. With regard to myfelf, I found that it removed all obft ruction in the perfpira*- tion, and revived my natural heat. I ufed to taks it for my pleafure, as, in a different feafon, I took the cold bath. .1 have, for feveral weeks together, in the fevereft winters we have had, gone into the Kingfton-bath every other night, and I found not the leaft inconvenience in walking, the morning after it, two or three hours in the coldeft froft. I believe that, for fuch a dry fubject, I have at prefent wrote enough , I mail therefore poftponc the reft of my Salutiferous Creed till next month; when (I believe that) if I can get out of my eafy chair, I fliall write lefs like an old woman, and be more ori- ginal in my thoughts. The LEVELLER. N. XIX, Continuation of His SALUTIFEROUS CREED IT is a mortifying confideration. to an Author, to think, that he has fo little opportunity, in thefe days, of writing any thing that has not already, in other words, been written by fome fuperior Wri- ter. The Arts and Sciences, indeed, will ever be productive of new conceits; and new intelligence will be procured from Policy, Biography, Hutory, Bb2 or ( 188 ) or the narration of events. But from other fubje&s no greater novelty can be expedited, than what is pro- duced from the feven notes of Mufic, varioufly found- ed to different luncs ; while the notes, taken iepa- rateiy, remain in their nature for ever the lame. Yet, after ail the fine compofitions of a Corelli, a Handel, a Bach, or an Abel, the capricious Cadenza will often pleafe of a fhallow, fantaftical Kidlcr. Whatever, therefore, mall come from my pen, in future, I defire may not be underftood as proceeding from any great notion I have of my own underftand- ing; but from the opinion I entertain, that words, or expreflions of the lame thoughts, may, like the feven notes of mufic, be rung in changes ad infini- tum. This reflection I had in mind when I began my Saiutirerous Creed. I was aware that I fhculd fay many things that had already, in other words, been laid before me ; and I was unwilling to'deliver, in a pofitive, dogmatical manner, as> my own fentiments entirely, what might be found to be the prior and original" opinions of others. A fimilar caution would be requifite in many of my brother-writers, if they would notpafs for being too felf conceited in their publications, or expofe to the world their want of learning. A man, indeed, xnay imagine a thing, and deferve all the honour of it's invention, altho', unknown to him, it has already been thought of and exprefled by fome other perion; but the mcrciiefs critics will never allow him that originality; and his fancied endowments, he will find difputed by them, of an extraordinary folidity of judgment, or of an imagination uncommonly fertile. Begging pardon for iny numerous egoiilms, wh.cli, in an anonymous writer, are readily pardoned, 1 ( i8 9 ) I fhall proceed in my Salutiferous Creed, founded chiefly OD experiments fieely made on my own con- flittuion. It a conclude" .nay be drawn from our obferva- tions on the irrationai Inhabitants of this Globe I believe that, in the cloathing of their Children, the Britons, in general, act a^ainft the intention of Na- ture. - The Dam of every anini:!, that brings its young into the world in a helplefs or inactive Itate, is at peculiar pains to cherifh it. and to protect it from the inclemency of the air, till fuch time as it is grown ihons;, and can with exerciie fufficiently warm itielf. The toal, the lamb, and the calf need little nurfing; becaufe, foon after their birth, they are enabled to Jkip about, and thereby to aflifl the circulation of their blood. Bat the puppy, the kit- ten, and the pig are carefully nurfed, till, at leaft, they can walk on their legs. The fame we may ob- ferve in the feathered race ; the pigeon, the crow, r and the finch, are affiduoufly covered till they are fledged; but the partridge and chicken, that, from thefhell, can nimbly run about, are but occafionally under the fhelter of their mother's wing-, and the gofling, the duckling, and the coote, intended, if I may ufe the phrafe, Tor a hardy, feafaring life, arc betimes inured to it, by fwimming in the river, or enjoying the pleafureof the cold bath. Why, then > Ihould a human child, that for twelve long months cannot fupport himfelf, be clothed or dreffed lefs warmly, than he optionally will clothe himfelf when he is grown up ? 1 appeal to every man of common obfervation, whether he does not remember to have felt the excels, both of heat and cold, more fcverely when he was a child, than when he became a youth r a grown man, I believe, therefore, it is by nature defigned, ( '9 ) defigncd, that we mould be comfortably cloathecl when we are young ; and that we Ihould afterwards be gradually ufed to that kind of drefs which we are, in our manhood, intended to wear. A man that lives temperately, is foon habituated to any drefs, as well as to any manner of life. A brother of mine, who, at fchool, was always fitting at his book, and would fcarcely ftir from the firefide, was the laft man, either officer or private, of a whole regiment of dra- goons, that, in Germany, were attacked with the flux -, while a coufm of his, who was not allowed to wear either fhoc or (locking till he was four years old, was, by that difeafe, unfortunately cut off. I have known gentlemen taken and ftnpt naked by the Al- gerines, who, by feeding on nothing but bread and water, have lived feveral weeks in their buff, with- out any prejudice to their health. And Commodore Byron, in his travels, relates, that he and his com- panions, when (hipwreck'd on the American coafi, Were foon accuftomed to all the hardincfs of afavagc Jife. It may be here objected to me, ** Why,cannot tc we fafely go naked, or thinly cloathed, like thofe *' of our fellow-creatures who live in a favage date?" For this plain reafon, I think, we cannot Tafely live as thinly clad as they : We eat more luxuriant food; which certainly breeds humours in the body, in pro- portion as the perfpiration is flopt ; add to this, that living within doors, we are lefs expofed to the air than thofc Savages, and muft, therefore, the more prudently guard againft the weather when we walk out ; and hence I infer it to be a certain rule of health, That the richer one feeds, and the lefs one is accuftomed to air and exercife, fo much the warm- er he ought to clothe himfelf. This rule the Dutch have, by experience, found to be prudent and ne- ceflary r 1*1 ) CcfTary in their domcftic way of life ; and it is re- markable of the Englifh who refide in Holland, and will not go fufficicntly clad, that more coughing will be heard, in winter, in one of their churches, where the congregation confifts not, perhips, of above an hundred people, ,than in a croudcd Dutch church of two or three thoufand. The churches being of a fize proportionable to the number of their congrega- tions, I fuppofe them equally warmed -, and that the coughs wcrcjixed on the people, and not occafionaliy produced by a greater coldnefs in the atmofphere. I believe it to be highly dangerous, after any vio- lent exercife, to put on clothes that are damp, or have not been fufficiently aired. Few conftitutions are ftrong enough, in fuch a cafe, to repel the cold, and prevent the pcrfpiration being fuddenly ftoptj altho' the continuing one's exercife in wet clothes, or the putting on damp clothes before the pores are opened, and the blood is hot, may be done with no inconve- nience to a perfon in good health ; provided always, in the lad cafe, that a man is not to fit ftill, but in- tends immediately to put himfelf in motion. It is the cold damp that endangers the conftitution. Warm damp, inftead of obftrufting the perfpiration, will promote it, in the manner of a fomentation* I frequently leave my wet (hoes and (lockings to dry on my feet, at my own fire-fide, when I intend repeat- ing my walk in the morning; but I fhould avoid fit- ting down with wet feet, to be chilled, at a ftranger's formal table. Neither fevers, agues, or rheumatifms need be dreaded from wet clothes, while one can con- tinue the natural heat of the body ; but that heat ought to be effected by moderate exercife; for im- moderate exercife would put the blood into a ferment, and, (hould the perfpiration be impeded, would ren- der C 192 ) der the cafe more pregnant with evil. It is, therefore; a wrong notion in a man, when iurprized on the road by a ftorm, to put himfclf into too great a hurry; unlefs he be already over-heated, let him not haitcn his pace, but continue the fame jog-trot Mil he gets to the end of his ftage ; and then let him do fome- thing effectual to promote perfpiration. It is the common remark of Divines, that the en- joyment of our unlawful or irrational pieafures is generally followed even by their temporal punifli- ments; and it is alfo oneconfolatory reflection afford- ed the poor, in their indigence, that the riches and honours of the great have frequently their attendant evils. Hence, 1 believe, that our immoderate par- ticipation of public amufements, and our neceffary attendance at places of public bufmefs, have the evil confequence of contributing towards the debility or flertility of many of our modern married people. A free healthful air is the greateft incentive of love-, but, as Dr. Armftrong fays, vt It is not air that, " from a thoufand lungs, reeks back to thine;" in a crouded place of public entertainment, we reipire nothing but a mciit, foetid, putrid (team, ariiing from a number of human bodies fqueezed into as fmall a compafs as thty poilibly can be flowed , a fteam void of that electrical, elementary fire which we breathe in our exercifes in the open field. I believe, therefore, that all our exercifes ought to be taken in the open air ; for f rc(h air invigorates our bodies, and adts as areilorative, when we have fatigued ourlelves with exercife, and carried off, by perfpiration, thofe humours that would gather by repletion or a ieden- tary life. 1 believe, that perfpiration is the fureft preventive of all our diforders-, and that fudorifks, purgatives, emetics, ( '93 ) . ^redi the moll fafe and certain remedies ibr every difeale incident to the human body, thole inward and latent complaints always excepted, which lo frequently coniound the Doctors, and baffle the power ot all their medicines. I would not, however, be un.icr- ftood to depreciate the virtues ot alteratives; I only would fay, that, from the difference of the digcilion and conititution of patients, thole virtues muft be uncertain, and mud leave the pbyfician, for fume time* -to aft in the dark. , I believe, that one principal caufe of the gout, is the eating heartily immediately after fome violent ex- ercile. Gentlemen, ufed to the turf or the riding- fchooK know, that horfes, after any fevere exercile, are commonly led about for fome time, or tied witu their tails to the manger-, and the reafon* given by the grooms for this treatment, is, that if the nodes v;ers allowed to feed when their blood was in a fer- ment, their bodies might contract fueh humouis a* would render them totally unfit for lervicc. 1'h-j fame reasoning may be applied to the human body ; for, within the circle of my own acquaintance, i have known feveral Ibber fporting gentlemen ailLdteJ witiv the gout, which I could impure to no other caulc than the eating heartily immediately alter hunting. I be- lieve that the complaints, which many [porting gen- tlemen feel in their itomachs, proceed from hard i kling. r gives a preter natural heat to the itomacn, that produces a lethargic diipoiit ion : or occasions too i acidity in the proeefs of digestion. The ex- . liking I therefore believe to be bell fora weak itomach -, and flow riding to be moll advifeablc C e tui' for a perfon that is feeble, and is afflicted with any diforderol his lungs, or any difficulty in breathing. The rowing of a boat, or the digging the foil of a garden, I would recommend to gentlemen that wifh. to Jlrengthen their voices for public fpeaking. The ringing of a dumb bell may be equally flrengthen- ing to the chefc ; but, not being practifed in the open air, it cannot certainly be fo beneficial to the confti- tution. I believe that the extraordinary circulation of the blood, by exercife, is the beft prefervaticn of the memory. I have for many years remembered every minute circumftance of a chace, when things of greater moment, and that intereiled me more deeply, have totally efcaped me. But, perhaps, the reafon of this may be, that in proportion as the blood is heated, the memory is the more capable of receiv- ing any lafting impreflion of furrounding objects. I believe, that a man who, in early life, has been ac- cuftomed to matrimony, muft continue in that ftate ; or, to preferve his health, muft daily fatigue himfelf with exercife or hard labour. I believe, that confining and nurfing myfelf for a cold, is the certain way to get a frefh one as foon as I quit my confinement. It may be proper, indeed, to be more cautious with a fore throat ; but I have frequently rode away a cough, a hoarfenefs, or a run- ning at the head. And by treating many horfes in the fame manner, with gentle cxercife, I have always fpeedily recovered them from colds; when feveral horfes confined in the fame livery-ftable have died of the fame diftempers. Contrary to the opinion of Dr. Cadogan, I have good reafon to believe, thac getting drunk once in the week or the fortnight, is much more prejudicial to the health, than the drinking of wine every day la ( 19$ ) in a moderate quantity. An excefs of wine, that difbrders . the body for feveral days together, mull certainly be hurtful to the conftitution ; and I have leen the nerves affected of many of my acquaintances by fuch a practice ; whereas I myfelf, who never was drunk in my life, and who, for many years, have never drank lefs than a pint of port at my dinner, am blefled with ftrdng nerves, and know not yet what is the gout, the (tone, or the gravel. I would not, however, recommend it to every one, to drink the fame quantity. I have certainly a cold ftomach that requires it. Before I kept houfe, and was obliged to put round the bottle, I ufed to drink very little wine ; becaufe I really did not like it, and the cuftom was long exploded of preffing a man to drink againft his inclination. I then had, generally, a violent third after dinner, and a feeming difficulty of digeftion. On the contrary, now, when fometimes I drink my bottle -or three pints of wine at table, I feel no difa- greeablc internal heat, and (my readers will readily believe me) as little do I complain of any third after dinner. If I were to drink any thing elfe immediately after my wine, it Ihould be fome Jlron^er liquor j efpecially after fmall wines, which even the French, tho' accuftomed to them, find it neceflary to qualify with liqueurs. I am fpeaking here of a large dofe of wine, that requires to be properly digcfted. In that cafe, I have always found that tea and coffee, taken immediately after my wine, bring an acidity on my ftomach, which, previous to the fwallowing that warn, felt no manner of inconvenience. As for other people, when a man finds himfelf confiderably heated with wine, and has, in conlequencc of it, an intole- rable third upon him, 'tis a certain fymptom of a feverifli difpofitton in his constitution ; and the wine C c 2 being being too ftrong a drink for him, lie ought to dilute it into a beverage of fmaller liquor. IV'iy readers will perceive that I am for enjoying all the gifts of God, all the bit-flings of this life, only in moderation. I even hold the excefs of lawful wed- ded love, to be fmful ; tho' in matters of love I for- inerly laid fo little (irefs upon the parlon's blelTmg. And I reckon intoxication (as equally abufing the body) to be no Ids linful , tho\ for i\\t ftomach^fake^ I would, occafionally, allow a bottle of wine, or a elafs of brandy. The LEVELLER. N. XX. TheConclufion of His SALUTIFEROUS CREED. TH E Head and Literary Charader of Monfleur de BufFon, given in our lail Magazine, recal to my mind a whimfical notion of his, wkh regard to the variety in fhape or figure of that common ani- mal call'd a Dog, As Prior would have exprefsM himfdf : This Buffcn had an odd conceit, As ever enter'd Frenchman's pate. f 197 ) He fuppofes, that the Dogs which we vulgarly diP- tinguilli by the names of Maftiffs, Buli-]")ogs, Grey- hounds, Houuds, Spaniels, Warer-dogs, Dutch Pugs, and fo forth, are all fprung from the Shepherd's Dog, or Village Cur , an animal (according to the drawing which he gives of it | reiembling the Pomeranian Dog, or that kind, good-natured, civil creature, in Scot- land, call'd a Colly. Whoever has travelled that country, on horieback, mutt have been particularly obliged to the Colly for the favour of his company on the 'oad, -;;nd tor the alacrity with which he expedi- ted the j >urney. To a traveller there, the whip and fpur are totally ufelefs. A company of Collies meet him at the entrance to the firft village, and cicort him, barking all the way at his horfe's heels, until they are relieved by a party "from the next lordfliip. He may thus, in Dr. Johnfon's phrafe, peragratethc \\-.> c denuded country, without being under the cruel neceffity of praclifing either incitation or fla- gellation on his trully fteed. To return to the fingular hypothefis of Monfieur de Buffon. As far as I can recollect, it is built on this ftngle obfervation That the hair of a Dog's fldn grows fhorter or longer, according to the hot or cold climate which the animal is uled to. I allow, too, that the difference of climate may enlarge or di- miniih the fize of the breed; but I believe it would be as difficult for Monfieur de Buffon to prove, that a curl'd-hair Water-dog, or a fhagged Village Cur, would ever, by tranfportation, become a Grey hound, as that a Sheep, by growing hairy in the Weft-Indies, is an animal of the fame fpecies with a Goat. Much eafier would it have been to have allowed the differ- ent kinds of Dogs, as vulgarly denominated, and to have accounted for the variety of mongrels, from the the natural incontinency of brutes. A Sportfman would have told him, at what pains he is, to prefervc the blood of his Hounds, or his Pointers, from being contaminated with that of a Cur; from which lait no Hound or Pointer was ever bred. And he would alfo have allured him, that, in no fcries of genera- tions, a Hound would ever acquire the fhape of a Grey-hound, unlefs he allowed them to crofs their breed. When I perceive an eminent Philofopher, like Monfieur de Buffbn, lofing himfelf in the depth of his refearches, aad the fagacity of his remarks, and forming conjectures fo much againft experience and common fenle, I dread the conlequences of div- ing into profundity myfelf; I am fortified in my resolution of abiding by obfcrvatioris arifing from ex- perience alone, and of drawing no conclusions con- trary to the evidence of plain matter of fact. Confidering the changeable weather of this cli- mate, I believe it is difficult to lay down any certain rules, either with regard to clothing, or the moderate life of wine, which I have fo much recommended. Inthe'ufe of both, one mufl be guided according to his feelings. Cold, damp weather generally requires an additional coat, and an extraordinary glais of wins ; while one can enjoy a mild, dry day in a thin- ner drefs, and with a drink of fmaller liquor. I have ever bsen an advocate for Claret fmce the benign effects it once had upon me. I had travelled to a village in Scotland to drink the Goat- milk whey, after a melancholy event that had confiderably affec- ted my health. The Phyfician, who attended the invalids of that place, inftantly perceiving ray com- plaint to be nothing but a dejection of fpirits, gave me this friendly advice,' inftead of prefcribing any medicine: " The Goat- milk whey," faid he, "will do ( '99 ) do you no injury; take it, morning and evening, as is the cuftom of the place; but, befidcs that, I would prelcribe to you a more pleafant remedy : drink a pint of Claret at your dinner, and, as we fup early, you may repeat the dofe at night." I did it accordingly ; and in ten days time I had fpirits to have climbed the mountain like a Goat, and bounded from rock to rock. Another inftance of the virtue of Claret was given me by a very eminent Phyficiari in London, In recommending his wine to me at his own table, he bad me not be afraid of it ; " for," added he, " it faved the life of my fon, there, after he was given over by my Brother-phyficians. He was reduced to extremity by a violent fever, but I re- tovered him with this Claret. After taking the chill off it, I gave it him at intervals in fpoonfuls ; though, before he was revived by it, he drank me at leaft two bottles a-day." Thus we fee, that many a poor creature may be fuffercd to go out of the world for want of fomething, as the vulgar would fay, only to keep body and foul together; and I believe, that weakening medicines are often given, when a cordial or reftorati?e is all that Nature requires of us. [ believe that Claret, Burgundy, and other fmall wines, are the moft enlivening for the fpirits ; but, to forti- fy the itomach, I would recommend Port, Madeira, and Strong beer. Thefe laft are certainly the liquors moft proper to be drank in raw, damp weather; yet we fhould be cautious left, by the immoderate ufe of them, we do not cloud our understandings, in attempting to correct the atmofphere, and render ic, toonr perception, ferene. Ale and Strong-beer cer- tainly nourifli the Bi!e. I have feldom known a Beer-drinker, but who, after his firft tankard, was pcevilh, dull, or heavy. Let people lay as much to ( 200 ) to the account of our climate as they pleafe. I 3rrt pcrfuaded that moft of our hypochondria;,'.!. ^Ues, irt England, are owing to our grois animal rood, ^\:d the intemperate life of Ale, or clammy Strong beer I am, however, no enemy to Beer ; for, from the oc- cafional rife of it. i have often found much benefit. During the lad fevere froil, I got a complaint in my ftomach, by failing too long. As I uied to be out in the cold two or three hours every morning, and did not dine till four o'clock, in the afternoon, 1 was at laft vulgar enough to ftop at any houle, in my walk, and to take a draught of v/arm'd Ale. The firit day I tried this remedy, the complaint was removed, and my appetite returned. But, as foon as the froft cea- fed, 1 difcontinucd the cuftom of the warm'd Ale, left I mould acquire a bad habit of drinking in the forenoon. In curing a cold in my ftomach, I have frequently experienced the good effects of Strong, beer. Once, in particular, I was lo imprudent as to travel in an open chaife, in a very cold day, from Calais to Dunkerquc, immediately after a twelve hours confinement to my bed on (hip-board, and be- fore I had lined my ftomach v/ith any thing, after the compleat fcouring it had undergone. The con- fequences were, that I loft my appetite entirely, and had ftrong fymptoms of an ague at night. An ho- neft friend of mine at Dunkerque, though lefs practif- ed in phyfic than in fortification, had the good ienfe to make me fwallow a bottle of his Engliih Stroug- beer before I went to bed ; and, as nothing isio g*ate- ful to my palate after a fea.ficknefs, it was a potion I perfectly liked. I enjoyed after it a moft profound and refreshing fleep ; and arofe in the morning hear- ty as a Buck, and as ravenous as any Wolf on the plain. Having Having mentioned a cold in theftomach, I cannot help obferving, that it mufl, for many people, be un- wholefome to go om failing into the raw morning air. i am peri'uadc-d that frequent complaints in ths ftomach arife from it; and the lame opinion our fore- fathers muft have entertained ; for to this day a cuf- tom prevails among the inhabitants of fome parts of the ifland, never to go out before they have their breaktatt, or without taking what they call a Morn- ing-drink either a glafs of fpirits, or a draught of fomething warm'd. As for myfelf, if I go out, even in a Summer's morning, without lining my flo- mach with fomcthing (which I would rather do with a cruft cf bread, than with any liquor that is ftrong), 1 feel, that without violent exerciie, I cannot keep rnyfelf warm. 1 believe, then, that no perfbn in health mould faft in the morning: but, to avoid head- achs, tooth-achs, fore eyes, the ftone, the gravel, and the gout let him faft at night, if he will. I entertain a itrange notion about ghofts and appa- ritions, which, as it arifcs from my remarks on the diforders of the human frame, may properly bs in- cluded in my Salutiferous Creed. I believe that all the ftories we have heard of them, have either fprung from fiction and impofition ; or during the more fin of * delirium, have originated in the brain. It has happened to rne twice in my life, (when I was very young) that, being quite awake, and without any other fymptom of a fever upon me, 1 fancied I law the Day of Judgment, with all its dreadful circum- ftances, before me. Though 1 had few fins to an- fwcr for then, the appearance of a general relurredion and conflagration terrified me to fuch a degree, that I fet up a moll hideous fcrcara. The whole family, that heard me, were foon convened. I knew every D d one ( 202 ) one around me perfectly well -, but ftill I faw the frightful vifion, and, till it difappcarcd, nothing could pcrfuade me that it exifted only in my own brain. As this vifion, exaftly fimilar at both times, and which happened within an interval of two or three years, did not laft above five minutes at a time, I naturally infer, that the like fhort delirium may have feized other people, apparently healthy in body, and who, without witnefies of their folly, could not have been convicted of any diforder of their mind. If any body had been prefent (as in my cak), thefe vifionaries would have been foon periuaded, that all. was an illufion which they had feen ; but it would otherwife be difficult to convince a man, that though broad awake he could have the vifions of a dream. Of this nature muft have been the remarkable appear- ance of our Saviour to Colonel Gardener, as related in his Life, by Dr. Doddridge; and to which (to the beft of my recollection) that learned man gives entire credit. It is true, the Colonel is faid to have heard a vcice, as proceeding from the apparition ; but that, I believe, is no more than what is common with people in a mania, who will talk as if they heard ftrange voices, as well as they fancy they fee ftrange things; and when 'tis God's pleafure, by an extra- ordinary vifitation, to convert a finner, whether it be by the real or imaginary appearance of a meiTen- ger, 'tis equally poffible to him. The lad method, however, being Ids out of the common courfe of nature, is what we might reaibnably fuppofe would be employed. But that fuits not 'with the felf-im- portance and ideal dignity of Man, or with the con- fequential place in the creation which he has affumed. Certain it is (however unaccountable to thofe conceited Philofophers who will believe nothing which ( 203 ) which they cannot account for and explain), thatws are frequently forewarned of misfortunes in our dreams. I myfelf have, by a dream, been prepared for a fhcck, which, had it come totally unexpected, would have harrowed up my foul. 1 dream'd, that thieves had broke into my houfe in ths country, and had murdered my wife before my eyes. No dream but that had ever made any impreffion on me; nor has any fmce (though I dream every night) given me the leaft concern. I told my vifion in the morning to a Gentleman that was with me in town ^ and though he endeavoured to laugh me out of it, I could not be eafy until I mounted my horfc, in or- der to go and fatisfy myfelf that every thing in the country \vas well. My dream had not been occafioncd by any ftrong impreffion which the thoughts of the preceding day had made upon my mind-, for I had left my wife in perfect health, and then doubted not the leaft of her fafety at home, i found her, ac- cordingly, in the fame (late at my return. I then ridiculed my own fuperftition; but, before the day expired, the tragical event happened which brought her to her end. For one inftance of a real foreboding like this, the credulity of old women will fpread a hundred (lories of vnaglnary warnings. Yet,, tho* the fuperftitious fears of fome, and the vanity and felf-importancc of others, may have given rife to many a legendary tale, it is no reafon with me not to believe, that monitory vifions, or preparatory fore- bodings, have actually cxifted at fomc time. For what purpofes God has permitted thefe vifions, to foretel misfortunes which his Omnipotence could as eafily prevent, or in what manner they are occafion- ed, may be difficult to determine i but many people, when broad awake, have had forebodings of what D d 2 was, ( 204 ) was to happen, without being able to account for it her*' they are produced. I remember, in particular, flopping one day under a gateway on Snowhill, when I could not help taking a particular furvey of the wall in my front; and the thought inftantly flruck me. that it was in imminent danger of tumbling down. On the very fame day, the houfe above this gateway fell in. Several perfons were buried in the ruins of it ; and tho' i have been under many a cra- zy, old wall in my life, I never had any apprchenfion of being cruihed, but the time above-named. Whe- ther my foreboding, or my knowledge in building, was then the greater, the Wits will beft explain. I believe it is not derogating from the honour of God (nor yet adopting materialifm), to fay, that the foul is incapable of acting without the organs of the body ; for the one, as well as the other, we receive from the hand of the Almighty. If it mould be alked mc > Where then docs the foul refide, between the time of death and the rcfurrection ? I mall an- fwer, I cannot tell ; but I fuppofc it returns from whence it came before I was cocfcious of cxiftcnce. It is as poffible for me to be unconfcious of exigence after my death, as that I knew nothing of my Being before 1 was born, or before I acquired fbme degree of underftanding. We fee that children gradually acquire their reafon, and improve in judgment, as they advance to manhood; and that men's intellects uiuaiiy fail, as they become burthened with years, and their bodies perceptibly decay. We alfo per- ceive, that, from fome inexplicable formation of the brain, one man's intellects are more perfect than ai.oti.er's ; and that moil of us have it in our power to improve our underftand'ing v by exercifing it, and by kctpingourfclves temperate and fober. And we may may further obfervc, that any Diforder, occafioned by accident in the Brain, will bring our Reafon at once beneath the InftincT: of a Brute. From all thefe confiderations I muft infer, that my Soul receives it's conic ioufnefs of Exiftence, and the Gift ot it's rational Faculties, through the Medium of the Body ; and that 1 mall know no future State, until the Day of it's Kefurreclion. Let no one, therefore, defpife this his earthly tenement ; it is the workmanmip of a beneficent Creator ; for man's happinefs it is grant- ed to him ; it is his duty to keep it in repair; it is his inte reft, if he wifhcs to live comfortably, and to continue long in the poflcflion. The LEVELLER. N. XXI. His SPEECH to the BENCHES in both HOUSES of PARLIAMENT.* Ye Right Honourable and Honourable Seats ! IT gives me much concern that I am obliged to con- dole with you on the fubjecl: of a Speech lately deli- vered to your fuperiors. 1 would prepare ;'0 to receive it * The fame reafons fubfifting againft the continuing the War in America, as formerly did againlt the beginning it, the Re- publication of this Speech may not be deemed ill-tinjed. ( 206 )' it with that fubordi nation and paffive obedience be* corning your ftation ; but a fpirit of refiftance and difobedicncc to its mandates dill unhappily prevails in the breads of fome of your fuperiors, which (as they rife in the violence of exertion) may, from di- verfe parts, f break forth in irruptions of a very foetid, malignant, and cadaverous nature. It (hall, how- ever he my conftant aim and endeavour to prevent the ^breaking out of thefe \ frejb difturbanees, or of any of their peccant, itchy, or fcorburic humours ; 2nd I cannot but flatter myfelf I (hall fucceed, as I have received the ftrongcft affurances from other well- wifn'ers to your tranquility, thar they are equally dif- poled to preferve you from breaking. A great Mini- iter has got a compleat lift of Ring's Friends ; trufty good conftabks, moft willingly \ difpofed to prefcr-vc the peace! and an augmentation of the Civil Lift will be granted, to enable me to reward them for their faithful endeavours. A few, indeed, may rife in op- pofition, and may be the occafion to you of fome noify trouble: Wilkes and Glynn may impeach; a pro- ceeding which will doubtlefs be produ&ive of frefh irruptions : but I (hall depend on your firm andfled- faft refolution. to vvithfland every attempt to weaken or impair your excellent conftruclion ; and while you Hand on fure and lolid principles, you will never fail to prefcnt a fare and eafy fupport to the pofteriors of any Briton. I truft in your folidity and firmnefs never to fufFer yonrielves to be disjointed, or pulled to pieces, by any mortrj whatfoever. Heaven may hereafter reward your union with a quiet and honour- able retreat ; carried off whole and entire, you may be fafely depofited 'in fome lumber-room of St. James's. For, f- ExprefBons in tlie King*s Speech. For, fince the We and the Our have, in certain Speeches, been changed for / and Mine, a fpirit of appropriation prevails in the Cabinet of that palace. According to the interpretation of phrafcs, you are no longer the feats of the Nobles and of the Repre- fentativcs of the People you arc now become the property of a greater, of a mighty and fuperlativc Creature. It it be my Parliament, my Dominions, my People, it is alfo my Benches, or my Foot-ftool. The language of the French Monarch is aiTumed -, every thing feems to belong to the King; and the idea of a common intereft is loft in words expreflive of a private and particular appropriation. If I had the honour of a feat among you, 1 fhould be willing to impeach the firft advifer of thofe alterations. The minds of men are powerfully influenced by forms and cuftomary titles. The Gentlemen of the Army, fo long (tiled bit Majeflfs Officers and Soldiers, confi- dcr thumfelves, more immediately as the King's Troops than as the Servants of the State ; the forces hired to defend the lives and properties of their fellow- citizens. So, in time, will the People demean thern- ielves as the abjcft yaffals of the Crown, inflead of regarding the King, (fworn to fulfil the Laws) as the Head of the Executive Power, and the hereditary Heprefcnrative of the Nation. The fame fpirit of Appropriation prevails in our conduft towards the Americans . *Jbe genera/ tranquillty of Europe gives the great eft fatis faction'.* But does that fatisfaction proceed from a benevolence of reflection on the peace and happinefs of mankind j or from the confideration that we mail, on that account, have the fuller op- portunity to inforce our arbitrary and innovating Laws with the blood of many Britons ? Our ancient Rights we might have fupported with juftice, and might might have in forced the long accuftomed and received Laws without danger of incurring the Divine dil- pleafure. But will the Almighty blefs the arms of opprefiion ? or will he grant a temporal fuccefs with- out exacting a future retribution ? " Vengeance is " mine, 1 will repay, faith the Lord:" And that very repayment may be the confequence of our fuc- cefs againft the Americans. If the Parliament mould obtain the power of taxing them, places and pcnii- ons will be diftributcd at plcafure ; the influence of the Crown will be irrefiftible , and, in proportion as the means of bribery encreafc, our Liberties will diminifh, till they are loll in the fink of Corruption for ever. The effects of an ungovernable Pride cannot be" more dangerous to an individual, than a haughty, infulting fpirit of government, in a State, may be prejudicial to its interefts. Not to multiply examples from HiPcory, did not the Emperor Albert the Firft lofe the dominion of the Swifs Cantons, by the tyranny of his laws, and the cruel adminiftration of his governors ? By his ar- bitrary and innovating edicts, did not Philip II. of Spain forfeit the allegiance of the Low Countries ? And it mud be acknowledged, that Great-Britain, with regard to her American Colonies, is precipitately falling into the fame mifconduct *. It is natural in great and mighty States, as well as in the rich and noble individual, to forget the fober rules of pru- dence and moderation, in the vain contemplation of their own grandeur. In the conceited notion of their own importance, the councils of Albert and of Phi- lip did imagine, that, with armies which could oppofe the force of any mighty Empire, they could have crumed * oacber, 1774- t * 1 trufhed at once thofe little rebel State?, and nave made their fubjecbs (laves for ever. Little did they forefee the fpirit, the courage, and perfevering ar- dour, with which men would fight, who thought themfelves injured ; nor did they confided the advan- tage fuch troops evidently poifcfs over foldiers, whofe paiTions are not engagtd in the caule ior which they combat. The Stvtfs, tho* trained to war, as a trad.; by which they profit, have ever been efleemed as a good-natured, inoffenfive people. The Dutch are harmlcfs and peaceable to a degree that makes therm to the ignorant, appear incapable of feeling; and many year* have not elapfed fince the American Ca- Jonifls were reckoned fo unwarlike, fo patient, and long-jTurferinar, that Officers have declared, they could, with three regiments, march from North to South, and fubduc their whole caunrry. Yet we have fcen that the tameft may be roufed, the meck- c:l may be enraged by oppreftion. It matters not what the provocation is, if a people but imagiile themfclves injured; as little boots it to fay, they are rebellious, or that they are ungrateful. Few men are grateful for the favours conferred ori tneir proge- nitors. No people with the longeft fword will ever acknowledge themfelves to be rebels. James IT. Jhay have reproached the majority of our forefathers with being traitors, and rebelling againft his govern- ment; but by their fuccefs they proved thenifelvcs to be the true fupporters of Public Freedom. And fo it may happen in the event between Great- Britain and her Colonifts. i mean not to enter into the tight of our procedure; it is not the la^fulnefs, but the expediency, of meafurcs for which I am contend- ing. The right has already been fufHcicntly canvafiuh A long paper- war has been carried on with our Co- E e loniitsj ( 210 ) lonifts, in which, if we have not been worfted, we have been grievoufly infulteci. Hoftilities have not yet ceafed; and, mortifying to our pride, we muft ftill bear with this infolent defiance, to which all their behaviour amounts: ** Have you the power to " keep us in fubjection ? If not, we fhall deny the tc right, and vigorouily oppofe It." Yet, in the ar- rogance of their conduct, they are. in fome measure, juftificd by precedents : from the beginning of the world to the prefent time, every fubordinate nation would aficrt its freedom, when it felt itfclf in a ilate of independence. It therefore becomes us to droo the invt'fligation of the right of fovereignty, and to confider maturely what future conduct, towards our Colonifts, would be moil conducive to the inccrcils of Great- Britain. If we have the power, we have undoubtedly the tyrannical right to rule them, and tax them at our pleafure. But if, in the trial of that power, u'cfhould fail; inftead of receiving the taxes we mean to impofe, we fhall perhaps lofe the revenue tb which, by cuftom, we are intitled ; I mean the duties paid at our Cuftom-houfe on the products of the American Colonies. If, inftead of allowing our Colonifts the fame freedom which every Britou claims as his birth-right in his Mother-country, we fhould, with hoftile arm, with-hold it from them, and they fhould flubbornly perfift in their attempts to wrefl it from us; I dread the contcfl will not terminate in our favour. Whenever we fhall draw fwords with the Colonifts, France may either quarrel with us, or join our fly neighbours, the Dutch, in granting them an underhand afHilance. Jt is certainly the in- tereft of both thole nations, to render the Colonies independent States, for the fake of fupplying them with manufactures, in many of which their fmuggling trade trade evinces they can underlell our merchants. I am grounded in my conjectures of what may happen, by what has already come to pafs. Nor am I fingu- lar in my opinion. Tho* the majority of 'the late Parliament did not forefee the fpirit of oppofiiion, which their haughty refolutions would raife in the ^Colonies; they were foretold it, at the time, by many well-meaning and moderate people. A friend of mine, among the reft, who is neither a prophet nor a conjuror, has printed it in thcfe remarkable words, with which, for the prefent, I fhall conclude my Addrefs to you. " The Houfc then refolved itfelf into a Committee to confider of the American papers ; and it being moved, that the Committee fhould agree to the feve- ral refolutions of the Lords, fent down for our con- currence, it was carried in the affirmative. The votes were about two to one. Thefc feveral refolutions de- clared all the proceedings, at the late meetings of the inhabitants of our Colonies, affembled without au- thority of the governors, to be illegal; the circular letters from the different Proyinces, to be unwarrant- able and unjuftifiable; the late riots and difturbances in the Colonies, to be fubvcrlive of all order and government ; with many further declarations equally indifputable by any -body born on this fide of the Atlantic, and too long for me to trouble you with at prefent. To thefe refolutions was added an addrcfs to bis Majefly, to indrucT: his governors and com- manding officers in America, to apprehend all per- fons fufpected of treafonormifprifion of treafon, and to fend them over to Great Britain, to be tried before the Lord Chief Jufticc. If I had fpokcn in the Houfe, I mould have touched on none of the argu- ments againft this laft patriotic mcalure, which were E e 2 advanced ( 212 ) Advanced by much more learned and refpedable Members ; but I iliould. have begged leave to obferve, that it would not be improper, before we gave our cor.currer.ee lo the Addrcft, to conlider maturely of this previous queftion ; Whether, to all human ap- pearance, we were moft likely to preferve the Colo- nifts united to us, for a longer ipace of time, by allowing them all the privileges of Britcns, and by treating them mildly as feilow-fubjeds, than by governing them defpotically as a conquered people? That, by nature, that extcnfive country of North America has never been ordained to be ultimately ru- led by this little ifland. In a few ycats we mull expe<5t to fee the Americans become independant, and (Lake us off; That no one can doubt, that, with an army lately oppofed to half the power of Europe, we are not at prefent able to keep the Colonies in fubje&ion ; but whether we mall be fufficiently flrcng to do it, when we (hall have the unitrd forces of France and Spain armed again for our defiruftion, is a confidera- t:r;n that (hould make us paufc. That, in my hum- ble opinion, inilead of fending out a Star Chamber order, we ought to addrefs his Majefly, to inftruft the governors of the feveral Colonies, to fignify to the Aflemblies (when they were again afiembled, for, at prefent. there is not one of them but what has been haftily difToived) that it was his Majcfty's de- fire, they fhould fend Commiffioners to treat with his Parliament, to reprefent their grievances, and to confuit in what manner they mould be hereafter go- verned by Great Britain. That tho' the late meafures pf the Miniftry may be iuftifiable by precedent, and the antient method of ruling the Colonies , yet nq one can imagine they will long prevail, after riches, cncreaftd population, and amicable confederacies '( "3 ) 41) all have united the Americans to oppofe them; and mall have emboldened thofc defendants of Prcfby- terians, Puritans, Dutch Republicans, and Indepcn- dants, to ftand forth and affrrt thofe principles of liberty which lie latent in their breads. That all the petitions and remonftranccs fent over from them are fcarcely as yet, overt marks of what we may expres, and in the iupporting our forces abroad, the fum borrowed by Guvu'nincni is circulated by our army and navy ar.:ong our hufoandmen and manufacturers at home. Our foldiers, indeed, arc, to appearance, drones in the State, becaufc they do no labour for the wages they are paid j but they protect the inciuf- triouo in their work, and are therefore ufcful to the conmvjnjty at large. Let not then E. M. fo much lament the enormous amount of the national debt, as the deplorable ftatc of human nature, that we cannot all inhabit this world in peace. War ij, at one time or ether, una- yoida^le j and the rnoft cafy and convenient method of carrying it on, is, by railing the iupplies in loans, from dioic who have a fuperfiuity of money, and think ic is iafcr to truft it to governincnt-fecurity, thar| to venture it with a merchant's trade. Thofc loans have certainly occafioncd a karcity of money among the trading pare of the nation, becaufc, if we had been at peace,. I take it for granted, much of their amount would have been lent out in trade; but then I confidcr, that raifing the fupplies within the year would bring on the trading people confiderablc more diflrcfs. By the firft means you only detain from ( 222 ) from them what they never obtained , by the fecond you deprive them of what they actually poffeflcd. As I have mentioned the difproportionatc quantity of money to the increasing trade and manufactures of this country, I cannot help communicating to E. M. a conceit of mine, that, i believe, with his no- tions of public credk, will make him flare. It is brie% this : That I have long wiflicd all the one hundred and thirty millions of national debt were owing to the Dutch, and our other good neighbours abroad ; not becaule I would erafe the account, or commit the Bank-books to the flames; but becaufc, with this fum employed in our national trade, which would be fo mi?ch more money brought into the king- dom, we mould make a profit of eight or ten per cent, ourlelves, and could very well afford to pay three one half per cent, to foreign dates *. This will feem a Jittie abfurd to them who only view the inter- eft of the money owing to Foreigners, as fo much mo- ney loft to the kingdom ; but by them who have any knowledge of our general and extenfive Trade, I flat- ter mvfclt I fliall be perfectly underilood. At all events, I will not attempt at prefent to add any thing by way of illuftration. I have already exceeded the extent of the Column you allow me; but, if you like my reafoning, I may perhaps continue this fub- jet another Time. Before I conclude, however, in- dulge me with a few words more to your correfpon- dent If.. M. I would not have him imagine that the extraordi- nary fall of the Stocks during the war, was owing to * Since tbefe Letters were firft publifhed, the legiflature has adopted the fame idea, in puffing an at which empoweis the proprietors of lands, in Tome of the Weft-India Ifland*, to bor- row money, on mortgages to the fubje&s of foreign ftates. to a diffidence of government fccurity : It proceeded entirely from the incrcafe of the Funds or national debt, which at crery fubfcription brought annually fo many more fellers of Stock to market ; and as Idle money became fcarce, and the Purchafers decreaied in number, the prices proportionately fell. Add to i ;ns tiie number of timid Stock- holders, who, at every occafional fall of the Stocks, will, at all haz- ards, fell out, and realize their mare of the Public Funds, through the dread of a greater fall. Thefc temporary fails in the prices of Stocks are certainly injurious to the fortunes of them who, by contracts or agreements previous to the falls, are neceffitated to fell; hut, on the other hand, they who bought in, during the low prices of the Stocks, now reap the benefit of their rife ; they enjoy perhaps five per cent, for their money, betides the ceitainty of a great pro- fit on their capital, when they chufc to fell out of the Funds. It was the profpeft of this high profit and intereft, that tempted fo many Foreigners to buy. into our Funds during the war -, and their continuing fince to feil out, has acted upon the prices like fo much new fubfcription brought to market, for which there has not been a proportionate demand. But when the increafe of our wealth, by commerce, fiiall * have exceeded the amount of the Stocks fo forced into the market by the Foreigners' precipitate fale, we have great reafon to expect, that the prices of the Stocks will rife as high as ever they were at any paft time. Tedious as I have been, I canfiot quit my fubject without dropping a hint, which, if adopted by Go- vernment, might hereafter prevent much public con- fufion and diftrefs. In cafe of the Books of the Bank being deftroyed, how are the Creditors of the State to ( 224- 5 to prove their claims ? That confideration T knot* prevents many monied people abroad from invefting their property in our Funds, and I therefore humbly conceive, it would add confiderabiy to the public credit, if, inftead of the Receipts now delivered at the Transfer Office, (which are of little ufe. as being never called in) Certificates, Bonds or Receipts wer delivered to the Purchafcrs, which ihould be produ- ced and exchanged for others at every new Transfer. This additional fccurity from Government., to the Proprietors of our funds, would, I confefs,. be at- tended with its inconveniences, which ir would be iitjpoffible to prevent. It would make the transfer- ring of Stock more tedious and formal, which of courfe would be a great lofs of time to our induf- trious Stock-jobbers, and would at the Bank occafiori an expence of falaries to many additional clerks. But both E. M. and I have proved, that, fooner or later, the inconveniencics confequent on war, every Man muft feel. LETTER LETTER III. On G R E D I T. To the PRINTER of the PUBLIC ADVERTISER. S 1 R, is a Duty incumbent on every one, to be ufe- ful, in fomefnapeor other, to the Community in which he lives. As he, who follows any proftffion or trade, is benefiting the public at the time he is earning his bread ; fo he, whom Fortune has placed above the necdfity of gaining a livelihood bv his own Labour, ought to dedicate his time to the Service of the State. With this view, Sir, I have occafionally troubled you with m? correfpondence : Tho' placed not in the iaft-mentioned fuuation of life, I have lei- fure enough to allot fome hours to the fervice of my neighbours, if there is any thing in mv reflections that can be of ufe. The uprightntfs of my intentions, which I believe you can fufficiently atreft, and the naii'Hial importance of the fubject on which 1 write, ought to gain me the attention ot my readers. Their confidence I would not ulk : Let their own judgments enquire if my reafoning is right. I proceed to fome explanation of whit I wrote you Lift. I have faid, that as war is at one time or other un- avoidable, it is lefs diltrefsful to carry it on, by bor- rowing money of them who have abundance to lend, G g than than by raifingthe fupplies on them who have occa- fion for their money in trade. This led me next to affert, that as, by thefe frequent loans to the public, much money had been witn-held irom the traoe of thefc kingdoms, which otherwife might hav/ been lent to the merchant or manufacturer, it would have been for the general intereft of this couniry, if the whole of the national debt had been owing to the in- habitants of other dates. The Government r^r ex- ample, inftead of accepting the loan of icool. from a landholder in Lancashire, borrows tnat ium troni a gentleman at Antwerp or Amfterdam. The gentle- man in Lancafhire, difappointcd or the government- fecurity, lends his loool to a merchant at Liverpool, who immediately gives Employment to the manufac- turer, by in veiling it in goods for the coalt of Africa. Thofe goods are fold, or rather, at a prodigious ad- vantage, exchanged for flaves -, the {lives ag^in, are fent to the Weft Indies vhere they are fold tor bills cf exchange on London, And -hus a chain of traffic has been carried on, a: a conliderable profit, which the Liverpool merchant could not elfe have under- taken, for want of the neceflary funds. Suppofe, on the whole, he has made a profit but of ten per cent. deduct the intereft of the 1000). borrowed of the t'lercrng or Dutchman, and the remainder is fo much gained to Great-Britain. But che gain may poffibly be more-, for, obferve, the bills given on London ire for the proceeds of fugar, coffee, cotton, and other produds of our iflands. lent to London, which, without the purchafe of thofe flaves, would never have been cultivated, and great part of which pro- ducts are exported again to foreign potts, are there fold, and are paid for by fpecie or remittances from abroad, Should another icool. wanted by govern- ment. ( 22 7 ) menr, be borrowed abroad, and another landholder, intlcad of knding to the fapplies, fhould lend that fun to a proprietor of lands in on^ of our new illands; with that money the proprietor buys (laves (locks h:s plantation, and cultivates a tra<5t of laud that would otherwiif have lain wafte. The maintenance of thefe flavcs adds to the confumption of the iait- beef and butter of Ireland : their flight clothing, and lirtle lilt ot h ufchold furniture, arc iupplied by the Britifh mam fcicturcrs; and the produce of their la- bour is advanta^toufly difpofed of, a:> already men- tioned The lame u!e would be made of loool. lent to a Carolina o Virginia planter. Much of the rice or tobacco, cultivated by him, would be fold in fo- reign ports, and the remittances for the neat proceeds would be fo much profit to the nation, after deduct- ing (he intereft of the loool. borrowed by Govern- ment of the Gentleman or Merchant abroad. Again, if another loool. were lent by a landholder to a merchant trading to Quebec; the merchant, with that nr.o.ie-y, purchafcs an aflbrtment of goods of our manufacturers at home; thofe goods are fen t by the merchants of Quebec into the inland parts of North-Ame ici, and are bartered for furs with the natives, or are paid for by corn fent to foreign ports. This exportation of corn from Quebec, bci 'g but an infant trade, deferves but curibry notice: the furs, however, are moftly exported after they come to Kngland and are fold for the mon-ry of the inha- bitants of other dates. In fupport of my argument, I need produce no more examples ; ^ For when one's proofs are aptly chofcn, " Fowr are as valid as four dozen." PRIOR'S ALUA. G g 2 From the above I believe it will be fufficiently plain, that whatever lum of money is lent to our Government, by Foreigners, is fo much money Itrit to the nation to trade with, fur which we can afford to pay a rcafonable intercft, with great profit, and advantage to ourfl-lves. it is alfo evident, that, as the national debt has not been fo borrowed of foreign ftates, it has been borrowed of our monied people at home, and has been with held from our manufactures and trade. This has naturally occafioned a fcarcity of money air.ong our merchants and manufacturers ; and that fcarcity or money, again, has naturally caufed all credit to ftretch. By draining the cord it will feme- times break ; but let us not reafon againft the uie of a thmg from its occafional abufe. 1' very man is a judge with hitnfelf of i^s proper ufe; he is to detfr- minc if the paper that is offered him is gootr ; he is to remember not to throw too much of his ftock into one channel; and he ought to be provided againft difappointment of payment in cafe of need. Among the ieveral cauics of the extenfion of cre- dit in theie kingdoms, I have omitted one, that, I think, does particular honour to the generous and un- fufpicious minds of the natives : They are, of all nations, the kail difficult to treat with, and the raoft averir, through motives of ptrional intereft, from diitrtfling their neighbours; and thence partly their unbounded trult to one another. 1 intended next to ihew, that, excepting what fic- titious bills or notes are discounted, there is a real property, fomewhere, for the value of all the paper- currency of the kingdom; but this, in the language pf the pulpit, 1 defer to another opportunity. LETTER ( "9 ) LETTER IV. On CREDIT. To the PRINTER of the PUBLIC ADVERTISER. S I R, WHKN Mr. Locke fit down to write his Ff- fay on the Human Understanding, he t.-lia US, he imagined he {humid have comprehended his fubjed in a few meets. But an t.ff.ty- writer is in the ftate of a traveller in a wood. If his aim fhould be to get thro 1 h'is Jubjcct with the moft cafe and con- venicncy to himlejf, he will be contented to follow the beaten track, as knowing that path mufl foon come to an end , if, on the contrary, hi* journey be in the fearch of truth, he muft be careful that he dots not pafs it in his way; and, in this his lease k after truth, he will have fo many bufhes to beat, fo many briars to remove, and fo many (loughs to wade through, that it will be impolfiblc for him to gncfs when hi (hall reach the plain Happy, if he does not bewilder himfeif", or impatiently leave truth behind ! With this apology for being fo tr^ ublefome to you, Sir. and fo tircfomc to your readers, I continue the fubjea of my letter of 'htt Week. I faid in my laft, that, excepting for fSithits draughts, prom iffpry notes, or bills of exchange, was a real property for all the paper currency in the Kingdom. Before I proceed to the proof ot this af- fertion, it will not be improper to define, to thofc not converfant in trade, what is meant by fftilious paper. If A. gives his note to B. at 12 days date, in exchange for B.'s note, payable at 14 days date, and goes with this note of B.'s to discount it, or get money for it from G. that is a fi6tir.io.us tranfaftion between A. and 13. neither of whom may have pro- perty wherewith to repay G. his money ; and fa far it is of jilitious value ; but if G a man ot real pro- perty, pays this note to D. for goods bought of him, it is then ot real value ; for C. in cafe ot A. and B.'s failure, can tak* up the note with bis money. In like manner, A may make a draught on B. payable to ni'D'tlf, or order j B. to ferve his friend, accepts it x though he has no property of A.'s in his p'.fTeffion ; A indorfes it to G. and difcounts it with him for mo- ney. Ihat again is fftitious paper. So likewife is a hi 1 of exchange which A. draws upon himielf in the feigned name of a merchant at Ldinburgh. , he n>akes it payable to his friend B, and, aft r accepting it. he gives it to B. to get it difcounted with G. and to bring him the mouey for his or their com- mon ufe. Thole are three cafes of fictitious paper, by which perfons of real property may be defrauded out of their money, but if the fecurity of either A. or B. be good, any one of thofe tranfa&ions I regard in the light of a loan on a man's promiflbry note ; for which, if it ihould go through a hundred hands, there is a real value, as Iong 4 as there is a property fubfifting to anfwer the note when it is due ; however, law and form and equity require, that, for every paper given in payment, value lhall have been received j and that when when C. lends hfe money on the fecurity of two or three perfons, he (hall not find he has lent it on the fecnrity but of one. Such fflitious paper has been of late but too much circulated and it is certainly a preat abuie ot credit ; but, from the dread of that abufe to want to abo- liih the ufe of erf dit, is little leis than to defire to ft >p the circulation or the coin current in the King, dom, from an apprehenfion, that coin may be count- erfeited by fo:ne. of our Birmingham coiners. I come now to that paper currency of this Kingdom, for the value of which there is, fomewhereor oiher, a real property existing , I mean not all in Ipt-cie or money, buc in money, lands, produces, manufac- tures, and all kinds of faleable commodities. I begin with a Bank Note. A. brings jool. to the bank in fpecie, for which he receives a note of that value, No. i : C. brings a bill of exchange to be difcounted at the bank (B) who having a' ready difcounted to the amount of its capital, gives him nearly the whole fum received of A. 1 hus the value of the note. No. i, remains no longer with B. in fpecie ; it is in the hands of C. or of them to whom he has paid the money. Another Merchant D. brings a bill oF icol. to difcountwith B. for which, infteadof money, he receives a note, No. 2 , where is the real property lodged for the va- lue of this note? Not in the bank, B. for we have fuppofed it to be nearly run out of fpecie, but in pro- duds and manufactures, in the pofleflion of E. who had bought them of P. and for the value of which he had given a draught on F. or elfe the raluc is in F. who trufts E wi^th the a'mount of the draught till he fells the goods and remits the money. But it the ioo 1. which D. difcounted Ihould only have been E.' E.'s pro "niffory note, then the real property for the bank note, No. 2. is in the goods 1 old to t'.. or ul- timately in money paid by I), to his labourers (if the goods fhould have bec-n products of the Country) or to his manufacturers, a:id the feil-TS of the raw materials, it the goods were m-mufactur.d. This iponey, again, paid to the labourer or manufacturer^ is ultimately repaid by the pu r cha!er and coniurner ; and wno ever viexvs the harvefts of our ncids, the flocks of our meadows, and the rich ftores of manu- factures in our opulent cities, c^n never doubt the re.l value 01 our current paper. He will indeed from the above cafe perceive, that the bank, itfcif, from imprudence, might happen to flop payment; but that would be but a temporary inconvenience, which- other conveniences abundantly repay. 1 fay a tempo- rary inconvenience : for though the bank might (top payment, from the Directors having been fo imj.Tu- 4ent as to have iffued too many notes of the r.utu.e of note No. t, and from a run being made upo,n it for the payment of thofe and other notes which they had iflued ; yet, I take it for granted, it will ever be in poflcilion of real property, though not of ipecie, fufficicnt to anfwer all claims chat can be made upon it. We fee, then, the Bank of England, by being poffeffcd of the confidence, and much of the proper- ty of the nation, is become a kind of intermediate agent between the purchaier and manufacturer, and between the labourer and confumcr; fupplying the manufacturer with money to proceed in his bufmcfs, till he can find a ready fale for his goods ; and pro- viding the labourer, landholder, or cultivator of the land, with the means of improving and, cultivating his eftace, until it can produce wherewithal to repay the ( '33 ) tke debt. Of this laft nature, chiefly,- is the bnfnefs" of the banks in Scotland, which I meant to ccmlider next-, but my plan is broke in : upon by two of your corrcfpondcnts, who dcfcrve fome anfvver baore I finiih this letter. E. M. miftakes me when he fuppofes, I looked down on him with pity and contempt, becaufe only he -differed in opinion with me. -Grateful to my Creator for the reafon he has given me, I afTurne no merit to myfelf, nor do I defpiie any mau for differ- ing in his judgment with mine. it was the (elf-fufHcient manner in which E. M. delivered his thoughts, that made me behold him with iome pity and contempt. As he no\7 fays, he will not oppole me in the field of. credir, I retract my charge (which he fo fcrioufly takes up) of his be* ing d. traitor to the Scate. I will e?en join my forces t > his, to attack luxury, fo far as it .con lifts in ex- travagance, diflipation, and \vafte, which the abufe or credit greatly fupplies. E. M. will not allow, that any landholder will, now-a-day*, truft a merchant or manufacturer with money. From many inftances, within my knowledge, I am Certain of the contrary. But fuppofe the land- holder himfelf will not lend the money, his banker will do it for him; clfe little would be got by his banking bufmefs. Your correfpondent H. L. is very much furprifed I mould affirm, " that the opinion of mankind, and the difficulty of their acguifition, make gold and filvcr cf more eftimation than copper or tin." He would certainly have been more amazed, if, inftead bf the word opinion, I had made ulc of certain know- ledge; and, inilead of cjlimation, I had written / trinfic worth. But he will be p leafed to recoiled, H h that t *34 1 that every man, who receives a guinea or a is not a gold-refiner or filvtrfmith. He takes the mo- ney, through an opinion he has formed of its value, from the knowledge and judgment of other people. Jmprefs him with a belief that the met.il or coin is bale, and that he may get any quantify tcr a fc\v apples, and the eftimation of it will be r.o longer high in his opinion. By difficulty of acquifition i mcanr, that a man mull do fo much labour, or part with fucii a quantity of goods, to obtain the pofltflicu ot a cer- tain piece of metal in exchange. Not conuMering, then, in this received rpinion of gMd and filver, the certain knowledge of their fupe- rior ufes to copper and tin, I believe my compari- fon, with regard to the public funds, will be allow- ed to hold good. As long as we have an opin'on of the good Faith and ftcunty of government, a fhare in any public fund is a real property, becaufe convertible, at our will, into any other property'or poflcflion, which, by fale, we can receive of our neighbours. In like man- ner are bank ftock and bank-notes real properties, as long as they are currently fold , from the opinion univerially received of the folidky of the bank, wh?ch none but the bank -directors ran certainly know. I have faid^ real property, in oppofition to an imaginary worth ; for I have (hewn, that the value ot bank-papei, though founded on opinion, has, in reality, a property in the kingdom to anfwer it, which, as much as gold and fiiver, makes that value good. LETTER LETTER V. On C K D I T. To the PRINTER of the PUBLIC ADVERTISER. S I R, THERE is one great inducement to a Writer, to com-nunicate his thoughts to the Public, thro* the channel of your Paper, rather than in any Pub- lication of his own ; the certainty of having Headers, or at lead of being in the way of being read. But this manner of publication, I find, has alfo its incon- veniences, which render perodical Efiays, on the fame fubject, not fo eafily underftood. Some Readers have neither attention nor memory fufEcient to retain the reafoning on anv argument, continued from week to week; others, again, are poffefied ot fo little patience, to follow out the rea- ibning themfclves, or fo little candour to allow th Writer has capacity enough to do it for them, thac if he mould aflert any thing bcvond their immediate conception, they confidently affirm it to be talfe, becaufe he has not inftantly produced hi* proof. A Writer in this fituation muft be pardoned repeti- tions ; for, without them, he would be too liable to be mifreprefented or mifunderftood. By my lalt Letter it will have appeared, I admit- ted that the circulation, exchange, or transfer of pro- H h 2 pcrty prrty in bills, or in notes, may be greatly abufrd ; but, excepting in thofc abufes, which amougft a tr-i- ding people it is impoffible to prevent, I affirmed, that a real property exifted, fomewhere, equ valcnt to all the paper currency of the Kingdom; >nd this aiTcrtion I began to prove in the inftancc of the cir- culat on of a Bank Note. It will have alfo appeared, that I did not mean, the real property above-mentioned cxifted all in fpecie, but in money, lands, products, manufactures, and all kinds of faleable goods ; but I will make myfelf ftill better undcrftood by the following proof: A Farmer of Norfolk, F. feuds a cargo of wheat to Rotterdam, and orders his eorref- pondent there, R. to remit the neat proceeds of it to his friend L. at London; when the remittances come, L. difcounts the bills at the bank for which he gets bank notes, with which notes he anfwers F.'s draughts on him for the remittance for the wheat. There is therefore a circulation of notes, fuppofe to the a- rnoutit of loool. for the value of which no fpecie appears until R.'s remittances become due; M. the Merchant on whom the bills from Rotterdam were drawn, muft then find the fpecie to pay the draughts on him in the hands of tlie bank ; but inftead of fpe- cie he has only bills remitted to him by R. being draughts from A. at Amsterdam, on H. at London, for a cargo of he-mp ordered from Ruffia, and paid for by A. Theic bills in the haads of M. being not yet due at the time he muft pay R.'s draughts, he gets them dilcounted at the bank, who give him notes for them, and with thofc notes he difcharges R.'s draughts; thus 1000 1. of bank nores- ftill remain in circula- tion, for which no fpecie has been paid, and the only property to anfwer them is A. 's draughts on H. in the p-.,iilfiion of the bank ; if H. has fpecie, with that that he will difchar^e A.'s bills on him, but if he ha not, the c;i(h muft be railed by a new circulation, which" will laft for fcveral months, as the cred.t given at the fale of hemp is fo long, and he will not receive, till the expirarion of that credit, the payment for its fale. During this new circulation, the hemp remains the ultimate real property to anfwer the paper current on that account \ or elfe, if we muft have fpecie, we muft look for it from the purchafers of the cordage or fail cloth, into which it was worked. We fee, however, by this tranfaction, that fpecie has neither gone out nor come into the Kingdom. The exporta- tion of the wheat, paid for the importation of the hemp-, but as that exportation of wheat is now be- come a trade but little practifed, we muft expect fpecie from another quarter ; we mult expect it from Spain, in return for our woollen manufactures ; and we muft give time for our rice, tobacco, and other products of our plantations to come to market, and be fold and exported again to Europe (all which is an cxtenfion of credit) until payment is actually made in fpecie. In this account I do not include the exportation of our lead and tin, and of our fteel manufacture; for our importation of wine, flax, hemp, timber, &c. perhaps exceeds the amount of all that is demanded, in the produce and manufactures of this count, y, from moft Hates of Europe, excrpting Spain. My prefent d^fign is to enquire no farther into the balance of our national trade, than to Ihew from whence we muft expect the ultimate payment, or return, for our manufactures in fpecie; and by this and my former Letter, 1 think, it has been lufficiently (hewn, that we muft expect that ultimate payment from Spain, at the returns o/ her builion-fh*ps from America j or from ( 23* ) from the products of onr colonies and plantation*, after they are fold here, and exported to other parts of Hurope. Thefe returns, every one will perceive, muft take up fome time in complcatmg and the nccclTary trade to obtain the n, muit be carried on with an extenfive credit, as there is not fufficicnt Ipecic in the Kingdom. A quellion here will naturally be a/ked mr, Why is there not fufficicnt Ipecie in the Kingdom ? If the Trader will rec >lle6t, I allowed in a former Letter, th.it though the whole of the national debt was n~t fo much money loft to the Nation yet part of it had been p.iiJ away in fupplying ouriclves with naval ft ores, and in fupp rt ng our troops that were on Service out of the country At the furn fo paid away mu ft have, for feveral years, confiderably exceeded the bahnc: due to Britain from the reft of Europe, it mult ultimately have been remitted from this coun- try in fpecic or in bullion, which, as I have before obfci ved, muft take feveral years in returning. I do not add, to this account, the fhare of our Funds, which Foreigners have fold out fmce the peace, and which would appear to have been alfo paid in fpecie or in bullion. //&.--// is not fo much calh fpent out of the Kingdom. It w s money lent us, and all of it that exceeded the amount of our remittances for our iroops and naval (tores, muft have been formerly brought into this country in fpecie or in bullion. This we muft fuppofe to have been the cafe, from the variation in the courfe of exchange between Lon- don and Holland j at the latter end of the war it was confidcrably in our favour, notwithftanding the fums we had to pay to Germany and the Baltic ; but fince the peace it has fallen againft us, altho' we have no unulual Onufual expences on the Continent. I may, add another caufe of the Icarcity of iptcic the fums that have been exported to nulia; hut we mult expcdl to lee them foon ret.urn to i.s, fincc if not the trade, the revenue of that country is in our favour. I might alfo acid, the fpeoethat iscxp<-itcd t- land for the fake of the pn fits on our gold a i'i coin; but as the Quantity, f>exp>rced, wh A h exo. _ s the balince owing to Holland, and o>!i.!' couuti , paid by the* exchange to Holland, mull iUu i: to ingland in bullion, to be coin'd again; or, accord- ing as t ie' exchange may vary, will p. i haps be fc: t back t.> i 1 upland in the fume identical coin, I ftate, to the account of the fpecie loft to the Natipn, only the Profit* on this hfr cx.y-rted money. Haviiio traced the civculatio.i or transfer of pro- perty, in a note of the Rank of I-'ngland, 1 netd noc enlarge on the inJifpenfiblc ufe of crcuit. in the cir- culation of property, by means of the notes of other banks, and other trading companies, in this country. I mall only obferve, that the notes of each of them are as current as gold and fiiver, ,\vi:hin that parti- cular circle where their rcfpcclive folidity is known, by fome, or, through belici, received in the opinion of others. I come now to the confideration of the paper currency of the Banks of Scotland. Having admitted that th.-re was not a property, in fpecie, equivalent to a:l the paper-currency of England, no one can be founnafonable as toexpedt it, in the po:>r and barren country of Scotland No fuch property, in fpecie, can there poffibly exift. 1 hough the ba- lance of trade, between England and Scotland, is luppofed to be in favour of the latter, yet other caules drain thar country of its money. Much fpe- cie muft originally have come from Scotland, for the purchafe ( HO ) purchafe of many eftates in the New Iflands, paicj for on the 'Change of London. The grand under- taking of buildings at the Adelphi mult have fwal- lowed up another confiderable fum. The Sixteen Peers, and Forty-five Members of Parliament, are not all placed or penfioned ; the expences, therefore, ot their annual journey to London muH: principally be defrayed by the income of their own eitates. Other noolemen and gentlemen of that country, who come to England, or go 'to the continent, for their amufement or improvement, muft have their incomes remitted, for the expences of their journies -, and fo muchot the taxes of the country, as exceeds the pay- ment ot the civil and military expences of it. muft alfo be remitted to England -, fo that, on the whole, the courieof exchange is conttantly againft that coun- try. But this is not all : It is fallacious to fuppoie, that when the premium given for a bill on London (deducting* the merchant's commiffion) is remitted in fpecie to England, the account between the two na- tions is entirely fettled ; that Premium is only aftan- dard by which is Ihcwn what paffes, in bills, among the commercial people. It remains to know, whe- ther the cam colledted in Scotland, by the Englifli Riders, in payment of the deb, s due to their mailers, (the Engliih grocers, manufacturers, and the like) does not amount to a fum, larger than what is car- red out of England by the Drovers, in payment for the Scotch cattle. I would alfo have the Ian- led gen- tlemen of Scotland confider, that all the cam they bring up in their pockets to England, is fo much money entirely loft to their country. It no where ap- pears in the account between the two nations, the , balance of which has, hitherto, fo crroneonfly been calculated by the premium, or courfc of exchange. They C 44i ) They give no value for this cam ; they levy it on fcheir tenants, who, by that means, become tributary to England, as much as if they were a conquered people. The farm reflection is applicable to the journ.'cs of our Englifh travellers through Europe. What is fpent in the improvement of their minds may be regained to their country , but the fums that arc fqu.mdcred in pkafures, being much more confi- derabie, I ought to have included them in the account of fpecie exported, and to this kingdom totally loft* England, however, has refources which Scotland has hot. Scotland has neither produce nor manufactures lufficient to feed and clothe, for any long duratioa of time, the inhabitants of" other States. It is already drained of fpecic j thus a real property to anfwer the Scotch bank-notes, we muft feek for in lands and ef- fefts. Tne effects, by which I undcrftand ail kinds of faleablc goods, may be found as we traced them in the Engliih notes; The lands appear anfwerabSe to the notes, in a praftice which England has not. Some landed gentlemen, of unintailcd eftates, by binding that property, join with a few monied peo- ple in forming a bank; They iflue notes in Eheco!ft- man courk of bufinefs, fimilar to thofc in England, and of which, therefore, we need not treat : but they alib iflue notes to psrfons, who have a crcait or per- miiUon given them to draw on the bank, to a certain extent beyond the balance due to them on their ac- counts. As one man may have money in the bank while another draws out , this, well-directed, might be of general ufe j but it remains with the directors to tell if this is the whole ftate of the cafe. May we not fuppofc, they have iffued io many notes above the balance of fpecie in their hands, and fo many peo- ple have failed to whom they had advanced money on credit, that they have brought themfelfes lnf<* diflrels". In iV.ch a foliation, the notes cannot be immediately paid; the ultimate payment mull be ex- pected from the fale of their manufactures, and of fome of thfir landed ettater. In the mean while, a number of the noblemen and gentlemen agree to re- ceive thole notes in payment, and, by the concurrence of i he people, they pals every where in the country as before. Here we lee but an inftant inconvenience, for the want of Ipecie, in the internal commerce of Scotland. After the fir ft difappointment, every thing goes on as it ufually did. Certain pieces of paper, authenticated and refiiftered at a public office, to have their value in the land and eftatcs of the country, are by the farmers received, in payment of corn or cattle, from the miller and grazitr, becaufe their landlord had promiled to accept them in payment of their rent ; the miller and grazier received the notes from the baker and butcher, becaufe they knew the farm- ers would accept them ; the baker and butcher re- ceived them of the {hopkeeper or manufacturer, be- caufe they knew the miller and grazier would accept them, or the notes could be given in payment for goods to the manufacturer and (hopkeeper again, who are under the necefiity of accepting them of their cuftomefs, or of wanting the provifions of life. As long, then, as the trade of a country is confined within itfclf, we fee no great inconvenience in fubOi- tuting paper- currency inftead of gold or filvcrcoin*j but that is not the cafe with Scotland / for, though the balance of trade be not againft her, yet we have fcen that, from other caufes, the balance on the im- portation and exportation of fpecie muft be confider- ably * Since this was written, the paper-currency in North-Ame- rica has proved the pofiibilhy of the cafe. ( '43 ) ably in favour of England ; and fuppofing the fpecie to be now almoft entirely exported from Sc.t;.ind, how is the friendly or commercial intercourfe here- after to be carried on between the two nations? No man can carry Scotch notes to England (at leaft not farther thanNewcaftle), becaufe they are not current there; and yet many gentlemen will be travelling up to London, who will want money to bear their expen- ces, and many EnpTifli riJers will come with note:* to the banks of Scotland, to receive paymen; tor them, and carry the cam to England. 1 hus, tho' no im- mediate diftrefs is felt in that country, an univerfal flop of payment muft in the end enfue, if fome pre- cautions are not taken, and every man has not a littls patience with his neighbour , and if this flop of pay- ment fhou'd take place, the eftates of lome of the landed gentry muft come to fale, to anfwcr the pay- ment of their current paper j and the cftares pf others muft alfo come to market^ if their banks .muft call in the credits given them, and which the gentlemen made ufe of to improve their lands. If the money is alfo called in. which the banks lent on credits to the merchants and manufacturers, it will bring on the lat- ter immediate diftrefs, without bringing to the former any relief till the merchants and manufacturers have fold their effects. . Thus, tho' the failing of one link is likely to bring the whole chain of credit to the ground, we lhali find the original caufe of its fall in the negligence of the workmen, who had undertaken to keep it in repair, not in the badnels of the materials of which that chain was made. I mall now fum up the argument and conclude. I hare allowed that Credit has been abufed; but I ljuve alfo fhewn that the ufe of credit cannot, in this I i 2 J ( 244 ) Kingdom, be abolifhed, as long as it proceeds from a Icarcity of fptcie-, our large exportation of manu- factures to our Colonies ; and the income of many of our purchafers and confumers, at home, confiding in rents received at periodical payments. If. aiming at bj'cvicv, I have exprefied myfelf in a manner not to' be thoroughly underftood, I hope the following companion -will iecure my meaning from all mifrepre-' fcntation. Credit is to this Nation, at prefect, what a crutch is to a Soldier crippled in the wars ; part of themoney, wh'ich he earned in the fervice, he has fpenc Abroad ; the reft is in the hands of the butcher, baker, Jhoemaker, and taylor, to whom he paid it fmce hi* return irom war, for the provifions or common ne- ccffaries ot life; he is lame of one leg, but (till he 1 as the entire ufe of his hands, with which he can tarn his bread-, if you deprive him of his crutch (bccaufe a drunken fellow of an impoftor may make ufe of the fame artificial fupport to lead a lazy lite and beg) the poor honeit veteran will fall to the ground at once; you rob him of the means of fupporting liimfirlf till he recovers his former ftrength ; you rob him of his prelent livelihood, and the profpeft of recovering the fortune he has fpent ; he may never be cured of his lamenefs as long as he crawls on the earth ; he is liable to be trod upon by every pafTen- ger in the ilreet; he cannot defend himfelf ; he can never defend his country, or hmd againit its encnikf whiie he lives. LETTER ( '45 > LETTER VI. On C K E D I T. To the PRINTER of the PUBLIC ADVERTISE*. 5 I R, GIVE me leave to trouble you with a few lines, in anfwer to a very proper queftion, put to me by your corrcfpondent J. S. in your Paper of the *3<1 inftant. " How I could prove that a real pro- perty, fomewherc cxifted, to anlVcr all the paper cur- yency of the Kingdom, without I knew the exact quantity ot that paper?" Though I have already given fome examples applicable to the fubjecl:, yet 1 ihould have made it more clear, by making a diilinc- tion between property to anfwer a note, or bill, by which every one recovers what is his due, and pro- perty to anfwer a note, or bill, by which fome one muft fuffer a lofs in the traniaftion. By excepting fictitious notes and bills in my former Letters, I cer- tainly did not mean to include them in the firlt clafs of papc/, although I might then have made the remark, that as foon as value has been received for a note, and it has paflfed current, there is fome- where a property to anfwer it, even if the pcrfon who gave the note was not worth a milling. For inftance: A gives a note to B, and when it becomes due A is found to be infolventj B then lofes the amount amount of the note-, but the value of it, or the property to anfwerit, remains in the hands of thofe to whoti A has paid the money away; if, on the contrary, A had only flopped payment when the note was due, and has debts to (hew, which are owing to him, for a fum above the amount of that note, then the property is in the hands of thofc debtors to A-, and B fuffers but a temporary in- convenience, by the payment of the note being delayed. Thus it will be fccn, that though the great quan- tity of paper currency is a certain mark of the fear- city of fpecie, and fome individuals may lofe their praperty in its circulation j yet is it alfo a fign of the general opulence of the Kingdom in lands, ma- nufaftures, aod all kinds of faleablc commodities j for no paper can pafs in that circulation without a real property having been exchanged for it, and a real property mud therefore foniewhere cxift, equal to the amount of all the paper currency in the Kingdom. MISCELLANEOUS MISCELLANEOUS POETRY. An EPISTLE to Dr. * * * * * *, on his changing the Falhion of his WIG. Dear Do&or, T. IS with great concern, With much regret I've chanc'd to learn, That you are dubb'd an arrant prig, Becaufe you've cafe your bulky Wig.- The Wife, indeed, put no great ftrefs On Man's appearance, or his drefs; They hold, a Pried could fay a pray'r Without his gown, in elbow-chair ; Or read a Sermon in his fhirt j For what is man but dud or dirt? And, deck him o'er as well's you can, Before the Lord but fuch is Man. Ihey hold a juilice, on the Bench, Would be as wife in garb of wench, And, in an apron and a cap, With as much cafe could take a nap, As in his robe and lion wig, Which puff him up fo wond'rous big. The Honoured Speaker of the Houfe Makes them, but recoiled the Moufe, That 'that from a Mountain came forth fqueakingj When ^y's and JVo's are all his fpeaking, Which he could utter, in his jacket, With much more eafe and much lefs racket, Than when, from robe, he iurly roars In concert with the jarring doors. They hold, a Coun-fel, at the Bar, In Law and Senfs would go as far, And have of Brafs fufficieat Hock, Tho' be mould plead in fullian frock.- They hold, that mm may know a Icience Who puts formaTty at defiance : They think, good Doctor, you cou'd write Prefcriptions juft, and fit, and right, To any patient that wou'd fee you, Tho' with bald noddle he fhou'd fee you. But fmall the number of the ivife To them who wear but W if dent* gutfe ; To thefe (whofe wifdom's all pretence) You give, alas ! fevere offence : Should you fucceed in your new mode* You'll drag them o'er a rugged road, (For Hobes and Perriwigs, 1 wot, Than learned ftore are Iboner got,) Each fool muft ftudy o'er his books, To be as wife as now he looks j The wife ev'n wear a ivifer face; If Wigs are brought into difgrace, And, all formality thrown down, You ftrip the robe' or learned gown. * When ufed to ornaments, dcfcry How much plain Nature hurts the eye : Lay bare, for once, great Camderfs ikull, 1 dread, he'd look confounded dull ; And, fhou'd you give his \Vig a pull, Wife Mansfield, too, wou'd feem a fool } Mild Mild George himfelf appears net wife, XVhen ftript of all his regal guife; He fmiles a mere good-natured Man! (For King difccrn him, if you can ;) And but his Royal Robes and (Town Now make us heed his laugh or frown In Blackftonis Commentaries look, You'll find it faid, in his fourth Book: A man may whore, and lie, and drink, 'Till into hell his foul he fink; Provided always ', no offence Be given to his neighbour's fenfc; And, of his lire-, no pi{blic fample Snail fet the world a bad example. So, h.id you turn'd it infide out, ( This Vv r ig we've heard fo much about,) And worn it, Doctor, in your Houfe, No creature would have car'd a louiej You might have made a night-cap o' it* Or, pukir.g, fpit your phlegm into it ; For a - .y iiich as private life HaJ fiived you, Doctor, much abafe. But, no-, in fpite of all I fay, You wear it in the face of day; You wear it in the public itreet. And trample f-.tm beneath your feet. Now, who concemns old forms, will find Few partifaris among mankind ; Forms are but cheats, (thou unbeliever !) "Which pleafe deceived ?nd deceiver ; So, th^-j, ciifturbing other's pleafure, Art meted with thy meddling meafurc : Siy Cant' on fneers, tnean Prejudice will rail, \Vhen learned Doclor ilruts in fpruce Kk Art An EPISTLE concerning TATTLERS; efpecial'y THOSE in a COUNTRY TOWN. THAT I, who liv'd fo chafte in Town, Should for a Rake be, here, run down ; That I, who ne'er, in all my Life, With love attack'd Another's Wife-, That I, who ne'er debauch'd a Virgin, Should now be rank'd with Major Sturgeon, Is hard; dear Tom, you'll think it odd* You do, by that aiienting Nod. Then liflen, Tom, while 1 rehearfe The caufe, in ttudibraftlc Verfc ; And, Ihould you at my folly frnile, Yet own, at lea, my want of guile. I, who have liv'd fo long abroad, Am ufcd to travel ev'ry Hoad ; Am iifed to caft my Eyes about, To find each curious Object out -, But none fo fine in curious Art, Like natural Objects touch my Heart-, And, Tom, of ail thofe Things in Nature^ None pleafe me like a Woman-Creature. Now, when a comely One 1 meet, By Day, or in the open Street, Tho' prim She be as any Quaker, I've e'er fomc civil fpeech to make her. This honour to the Sex is fhewn In -every Nation, but our own ; Addrefs but, here, a Female Stranger, You're look'd on as a fecond Ranger ; Tho' not the Virtuous, but the Prude Itepulfc you molt, or think you rude. This This mode of mine t' accoft a Put half our good Town in a Flame ; From Youth to narrative Old-Age, Put cv'ry Goffip in a rage \ " A rage, egad ! and who, fo (tern ?" Be ftill, dear Tom, and you fhall learn. Intending me fbme wicked harm, Twas Prattle founded the alarm; Prattle, (whofe eyes are daring wide In fearch of fights on ey'ry fide, Whofe lips and tongue, with talking big, Out-do in Dirt, his dirty Wig,) To fee the plainer all things pafs, Hath got a Houfe where two Streets crofs ; And thence, he faid, in all his Bile, He* faw me on a Maiden fmile l Addrefs her with familiar Air, In words that made e'en Prattle flare ;. (What rais'd fufpicion ftill the more, I've learnt this Damfel was a ; ) All this he faw, with good intent, To give me, as a Friend, a hint; All this he faw, (he'll roundly fwear) But whifper'd in Another's car ; Another's, and Another's ftill; Now, Prattle, tattle out thy fill, Thou Clapper to a Water Mill ! Since thou forgot'ft that I, the firfl, Should, with thy tattle, have been curs'd; If for my Honour was thy fear, Thou fhould'ft have whifper'd in my ear. This Story, Tom, and twenty more, Flew thro* the Town, from door to door. Each Gull, who kept a little Doxv, KQW quak'd left I fhould prove his Proxy; Kk 2 Xo> t 252 ) To fpoil my fport, proclaim'd me, to her, A dang'rous, fickle, gcn'ral Wooer j Each Eufiand to appeafe his Wife, In praiie of chaile, and holy life, Ddcrib'd me as a flthy Bea/l, That kept nine Miilrefics at leaft ; Tho* well they know, I am fo poor, I can't afford to pay a , And then, ye Fair, fo great's my pride, J hate to give a Lafs a bribe: No charms for me, without the heart, The faircft Form's moft beauteous part! And Jure I am, as God's above, Where Int'reft fways there's little Lore. The Tabbies next began to tattle., Full fader than rny neighbour Prattle; They pursM their lips, turn'd up their nofts, I -ike parch'd Tearleaves, or C abbage- roles j Held up their Fans, as I did pafs 'em, As if afraid I mould harrafs 'em ; Declar'd to each that had a Daughter, To truft her with me was Maid-flaughtcr; For that [ had. with artful wooing. Of thoufand Virgins been th* undoing. 41 All this, my friend, you'd better fink; ' Some Fots, when ftirr'd, the dronger ilink." If Pink I mufl, before I rot, Some'Tabby, too, fiia^l (lir a pot. For, 'mong thefe Maids of holy life, Who fcorn the raptures of a Wife, T| I'm mofb provok'd at. R-inttr's airs; > Ranter, to manage her affairs, Jjl 1 o Fam'ly-diity, as icaci pray'rs, J t c-jetcra -(dear Tom, rtmatk.J Keeps in her houfc a bouncing Clsrk^ And And brawny Footman, on occafion, To give his Clerkfhip a vacation. I fay not, Tom, there*s any harm In keeping Clerk or Valet warm ; (They're ied for fervice, or protection) I only mean to hint corre&ion : Who bawl for Virtue and Decorum, Should e'er have Decency before 'em j And ere abroad for Scandal roam, Tncy furtly ought to look at home. But what gives hypocrites a price, I ike railing loud at Neighbour's vice ? "Wast turni the eyes of Folk from Tou, Like pointing out what Others do? Who' will fuppofc that e'er you know, One fin, you thus, lamenting, mew ? Or, irorh your foul, you do not hate The deeds you blame at bitter rate ; Say, Torn, but no; you'd make it longs E'en (ing. in chorus to my fong : . Old Women ! prattle while you can ; Ye Young! but think me a good Man! The DISCONSOLATE WIDOW. A Chriftmas Tale. TH E (hock I hardly can fuftain To fee my Neighbour fuffer pain j I could not bear that ev'n my Foe Should live in mifcry and woe 5 But But him, I view, who lofes life, As freed from trouble, freed from ftrifej At lead from mortal care at reft, It number'd not among the blefs'd. So, when I mourn, in fable clad, *Tis but my lofs that makes me fad : A Patron, dead ! whofe firm fupport Secur'd me finecures at Court ; A Friend! whofe foothing fpecch and fmile Could well the haplefs hour beguile ; A Miftrefs! or a loving Wife! " ** Who was the comfort of my life." In fliort, 'tis on * felfi.fi fcore, That folks the death of friends deplore; And this I fairly mean to fhew, In ftory ot a widow's woe. A buxom Widow of Ampthill, Who e'er was us'd to have her will, A notion took into her head, That, tho* her Dear was furcly dead, At Hufband's lofs the lefs (he'd grieve, Nay, fome delight would ftill receive, (Sweet comfort !) if fhe only ccu'd Get Tommys imacje cut in wood. The image got, fke drefs'd it out With Ihirt, and cap, and tooth-ach clout; In bfd rhen laid it-, and, undre(s'd t She hugg'd the image to her bread. For two long months, as goflips fay, She, conftant, with this image lay ; And to her maid, young B^tty, fworc, Her Tommy's death llie'd e'er deplore. Now Bet (a blab as ever'breath'd, In whom no fecrct could be fheath'd, But But out it flew like Quixotc-fword) Unto her Serjeant gave the word; To him fhc told her lady's fancy ; He told it to his fav'rite Nancy; This, Nancy, with the tidings fraught, Unto her Love, the Corfral, brought; (No French or Spanim foul difafter, Thro* Britifh corps, e'er travel'd falter ;) The Corporal, for his very life, Could not with-hold it from his Wife; His faithful Wife the Captain told it, And he the myft'ry foon unfolded. The Captain, vers'd in widows' cant, Guefi'd all this buxom Widow's want; With rev'rence due, and low fubmifiion, To Bet he thus preferr'd petition: That Ihe, moft gracious, would allow The cap, pulPd off from Tommy's brow, To be transferr'd unto his head ; ^ Then lay him gently in the bed, (Said Captain meant) in Tommy's (lead. J As lovers' fuits are often gain'd, fie, with a bribe, hit fuit obtain'd ; Straight to the chamber was convey'd, And fnug beneath the blankets laid ; On pillow grac'd the very fpot Of Tommy's nightcap and its knot; And panting lay, but clok -nd Hill As any thief could in a mill. Whereas fomc Critic- wits may think, We wrote that line to fill a chink, (For Critics oft arc curfcd bitter) We'll give a fimilc that's fitter: By which they'll fee, our own free will Here introduc'd both thief and mill - 3 Not Not dearth of rhime, for, on occafion, We can embelli/b our narration. * Have you ne'er fcen a hungry Cat, Forbear, for once, her wonted fquut -, Lie all along, and ieeming dead, Till Bird hopp'd near, in little dread , When up fprang Pufs, poor Sparrow kiz'd; With riot-paw its bofom fqueez'd - 3 Plagu'd it with toffing and with tumbling; Then ftopp'd its pipe with fairly mumbling? So Captain lay ; but, you (hall hear, Not fo quite ended Widow's fear. At lait, into her chamber came The long- expected blooming Pame. O ! how the Captain's courage rofe, As, gradual, fhe unpinn'd her clo'es ! Struck was the Hero with delight, When he beheld the beauteous fight ! A fight, ye Gods, what words can tell ? A bofom ! ftjap'd in gentle fweJl ! A coral lip ! a fparkling eye ! ~ An arm ! but foft, the minute's nigh, We pafs her ether beauties by. j As into bed the Widow crope, She flrait for lorn began to grope ; Then gave, with circling arms, a clafp So tight, it made the Captain gafp. ** In life again, my pride and boaft ; (The Widow fcream'd) a ghoft. ! a ghoft !" For foon fhe fully underftood, The Captain was not made of wood. Our * To do juO'ce to this fiinile, thou wilt be pleafed, hind Rea- der, to rchearfe it in the molt tragical Manner. <5ttf Widow's heart was not fo hardened, But greater crimes could well be pardori'cl; jOa marriage- vow, then made 'fore Hcay'n, His bold intrufion was forgiven ; '** With this provifo (cry'd the Prude) " You {hall lie ftill, and not be rude ;'* Yet, here the wits have flirewdly guefs'd* The Captain was comn'eatly bleis'd. The morning dawn'd, when Bet aroftf, And, hafty, huddled on her clo'es j Curious, (he, to know the fate Of Widow, with her loving Mate * '(For much it would have eas'd her mind, T' have known the Widow had been kind i) She lightly tript along the floor, To Hften at the chamber-door. But, hufli'd was all, not (lirr'd a moufe, Dull filence reign'd throughout the houfe j So, to the key-hole ihe apply 'd Her mouth, and to her Millrefs cryM : (But truth mu(l here narrate the whole, Her eager eye fi-ril try'd the hole :) " O Madam! fuch a fall of fnow, ** No mortal, fure, did ever know! " I faw it, as below I ftoodj " Full five feet thick upon our wood; ** I f\vept till I did fume and fret, " But not one faggot could I get; * e The patience of a Job to tire, " I've nought, a!as i to light a fire." " O ! Bet* (cry'd Dame, and bit her lips,) *' Take Tommy '; cut him into chips ; " Some better comfort I require, f * i>o Tommy now may lig'ht your fire." L 1 A BROIL 8 A BROIL, between fome Men offended, That was BEGUN, but never ENDED. YOU afk me, Tom, what curfed fpleen, Infedis the Members ot our * Green? And why, inftead of ibcial life, Nought "rules the Club but hellifh ftrife ? To pleafe a Friend, I'll frec.rchearfc Dry, fcoried fats, in crabbed verfe j Although the tafk will tire, indeed, For / muft ivrite what you muft read. Now, left my tale fhould prove deficient, (For ev'ry fad hath Cauje efficient} \ muft, in this poetic finning, Sing all th' affray, from the beginning. * Duces (I mean the Gentry} fat In judgment o'er their Ven'fon fatf, Condemning, as a kvrrid "Treaf, What they had moft devoutly eat ; But " Vu'gi ftanti nm Corona," For fruit- was fcnt by fair Pomona ; And all the waiters were retir'd, When difcord fell the council fir*d. Old Culioms^ ftrong as Statutes, bind, In wholcfome laws, the human kind ; And not unwkolefome Thofe, 1 wot, Which ceitain jolly folk have got : Such as, a bumper to the King, (While moves the bottle round the ring-,) AJecbnd * A Bowling-green Club; where a little *fray happened, which I thought the parties ought to turn into mirth. The flory, I confefs, is local ; but I have given it a r^publication, becaufe it contains fome admonition to our elubs of jolty fellows, and be- caufe, too, our politicians may find in it fome truths, f Twas the Ven'fun-fealt Day. Afecond to his royal Dame ; A third to ev'ry fellow's flame ; The Prefident (grand Monarchy's lafs, Next claims another bumper-glafs ; All which we drink, and grow the fatter, Or clfe aredrench'd with falt-and-water *. Now Som-?, who dill deny'd their fault, Drank Water, here, without the Salt, Nor would acknowledge, nor obey, The Prefident's defpotic fwa v \ Whom ev'ry Club, that we have fecn, SubmhTive v : ew as King or Queen. The Cohnifls fir it kick'd and fpurn'd Becaufe OldCuftcws were o'crturn'd ; But thde obflrep'rous Sons of Water, In their revolt, reyers'd the matter; Overturning Cuftom's ancient Hule, That Each commands to play the Fool ; To fire his brain till madnefs border, And drink, as PrefiJents fhall order. To numbers four, I think I hinted, The bumper-toafts fhould e'er be ftinted & And had the rebels drank them all, I mould efteem their fault but fmall ; (Since fov'reign rule, by bounteous Heav'n, For purpofe good was folely giv'n f ; ) But they refus'd to drink the four^ Which made our Monarch wond'rous fore; He argu*d, reafon'd. jeer'd or jok'd, Was nettled firft, and then provok'd; Till words arofe, which caus'd the breach, And, moft of all, Bob Lucid's fpeech. L 1 2 Now * The common punifhment for mutiny, in thefe Cafes, is a Bumper of SaJc-and- water. f See a moft excellent Sermon, preached before the Univcr fity of Cambridge, by Dr. Wacfon. r *> ) Now Franky * fuppofing It to mean, That He fbou'd be cxpell'd the Green, Difcharg'd, forthwith, the total mefs Of Negus red. in Robert's face ; Such was t'n' Intent -, but Fate commanded To fing on whom the liquor landed ; And much we feel when we muft note, It Jpotted all poor Percy's coat; (But let not Percy make a pother, He can afford to buy another ;) $ob us'd his hands ; but mcfl his In ufmg which 1 deem it wrong; (Fonl language only ftains the Speaker, Nor makes the taker worfc, nor weaker ;) But Robert thought, as I did think, The bowl had followed faft the drink; Now, bowl or bottle, at his head. Might maim a Man, or lay h;m dead; And though " a Man was mad with anger," Makes nor, in law, his guilt the ftronger, A gen'rous foul, howe'er in rage, Bnou'd warn defence, ere war it wage. 8o *fttad of giving nofe a twitch, C.r ufing vulgar kick o* breech, 3 old Frank on honour's- law relied, And with the Negus but defad. \\ hat fooner to defiance led, frank' l black coat formerly was red ; JJc was to fwords (ill-luck to heap on !) Ivlore us'd than to the Par/en's Weapon. He had not read fly Jenyns* creed, liat m4kes o^" valour- Jktlc ncedjj Nor The Prefide nt of tbe Day. \ See bis Interna/ Evidence oj the CkriJIian Religiutf Nor had good Robert great afiurance \\\ tajjive courage^ or endurance; Nor can they yet, perhaps, agree, That fnendjhip may not always be A chriiJian virtue, when, with hear, One makes a neighbour's broil corrpleat. Yet, I muft choofe to give applaufe, Ere I efpoufe Another's caule ; And, till I found the caufe was I'd fcruple much to fpill my blood. Now, let us take another look, Before we fhut fly Jenyns* book ; And let him note, for winter's feflion, My Ihrcwvi remarks in this digreffioq. In Parliament, a tedious year, I next him fat., and thought it queer, Jie e'er obey'd the Treas'rer't nod j But now it feems no longer odd ; For here thou fay'ft, my tittle quiz! (How could \ read it in thy phiz?) ' A P at i lot deed no. Virtue iV.'* >T was thi^- tha^ made thee ne'er divide "With Savt/e, on thy Country's fide; But, right or wrong, give firm fupport To ev'ry raeafure of the Court. Yet, faffing wife! the Men may be With whom you ever did agree ; Or, clfe,' this inference 1 draw : You neither heard nor ever faw, Save when the " gueftion.'" rous'd to votej And then, you held by Cooper** * Coat. The '* Secretary to the Treafury. It is to be feared, there arc many indolent, well-meaning Members of both Houfes of Par liament, who make little ufe of their own underftanding, bul follow (like blind Beggars) thofe^Leaders in whom they hay* put their truft. \ The Men I fiog, were men of fpirit, Tho, Cbriftians, both, of modern merit ; They both were warm ; but why Ihould others, W 10 calm beheld, not live like Brothers ? Why Ihould, on this, the Club divide? Let reafon cool the caufe decide : In all this nighty great affair, -^ (Tho* Percy at nis coat may ftare) C Nought fuffcr'd but the earthen-ware - y j For, 'tis with forrow, we muft fay, The bowl return'd to mot her. clay , Frank paid the bowl\ and, for the liquor, Let's fcorn it, till he's made a Vicar. Our Tale has fuch a Moral in't, We need but clofe it with a hint -,- Of Britain's broils, then, be it faid : . We wiih the coils as ready paid ! The -NOTE. I fhould not have taken notice of Mr. J *s parlia- mentary conduft, were it not to make a diftinction, whichf in his Jntern.il Evidence of th; GJiUfftita Religion, he lias unluckily for. gotten. I join with him in blaming that ambitious Patriotifm, which prompts us to wish the profperity of our own Country- men, at ths expence of the profperity and happinefs of other Nations. But I muft ever praife that generous Patriotifra, pro. ceeding from a motive ot univerfal benevolence, which fires us into a refinance again.lt the Fsw t in tlieir tyranny, or opprcffion of the Many. In this lafl.kind of P-itrioVifin, our Author ieenied a Jittle defective. For the reft, Valour, Fricndjhip and Patri' tt'ifm are certainly not Virtues inculcated by ChrifHanity, to tke exclafion of an univerfal good- will towards our fellow- cre-nrure 1 ;. And when they are. employed offenfoely, in a War of Depredation, they a6t totally againft the Spirit of our Reli- gion But as thi? Globe is not inhabited by perfect, inojfenfive Creatures we muft prelumc that thefe pagan Virtues (as he calls their:) were impl-tn'ed in our breafts, for the- wife pur pofe of Defence, in the many unavoidable encounters with fublunary Evil. The PROVOKED STEED*. THE Man that plann'd the Chariot-pinft Of praife I would not ftrip; He faves the necks of them, within, Who wildly wield the whip. Yet, equal praife to them, I give, Who Pins need never ufc ; Who kindly with their cattle live, Nor Natural Rights abufe. To Him dill greater praifes be, Who firft contriv'd the art To fcratch a brute, (where bit a flea) And taught it not to ftart. ,., By maddeft Bull that ever roar'd,. Or leapt o'er fence ot thorn, He dreads no danger to be gor'dj But leads him by the horn. A country- * Thefe Lines aljude to the Defection in America, occ^fioned bv our wrong management. The Stud (America) carried his Rider (the King) very well, in the old beaten track of accnf- tomed Government, till the unufual appearance of the Paf.-r- Kite (cnmpofed of Stamp Atft, Resolutions. &c.) ftartlcd him. Inftead, then, of foothing him to go on, the unltickjr Boys of Minifters, with their cotrcive Meafures, provoked him to bring his Pvider to his fad Catalirophe. The Americans threw off their Allegiance a few Months after that Event was here prnpljecied. f A new-invented Pin, to detach the Horfes from a Carriage V'hen they run away with it ; alluding to Dean Tucker's Pl^n for emancipating our American Colonies. C 2$ 4 ) A country-wight*, of gen'rous foul, Thus bear-, a mild command : Firft courts his herd with friendly pole, Then feeds them from the hand. Of him a Irately Steed I bought, And mounted on Ins back ; On way, no untry'a path I fought, .But kept the fatten track. We traveH*d long both fafe and quick, Till, fudden, in a fright, Started my Steed, and aim'd a kick At ft Doping Paper-kite. I ftrok'd his neck, and fcratch'd his car 5 So ! fo'd ! him well, of courfc ; For that curs'd Kite had caus'd hia fear ; No fault was in the Hdrfe. No rider^ fure, (unlefs in fpitc) Would lafh a ftartled fteed ; Mine calm'd fo foon, and fac'd the Kite, 1 could its papers read ; Some Refolutions of the Hwfe, Son e /Ms of a blind Tiat.on, Down, in the fwamp, fome Slamfs fell foUfc! And eke a Proclamation. For, * An eminent Grazier in Leicefterfhire, who tames all his Cattle by the means ot a long Pole, with which he fcratches the-.-n; and, by fh -rtening it gradually, he comes at length to feel them with his hand. F6r,.lo! 'twas but a puff of wind That gave this kite fupport; Now pufs dece'ivc, as oft we find, And Ipoil the g-azer's fport. The youths, to whom this kite belong'd, Came running up foon sifter; Firtt, round me, in a circle, throng'd, And, next, began their laughter: " JVhatfnghtens, Sir, that nag of thine? " Tne kite can do no harm-, " In dreadful hue though it may mine, " 'Tis but a Fa/fe Alarm, " Are you, great Sir, afraid to chide , kfc To ulc your whip or fpur? " Come, we Hull teach you how to ride, " And ibon fhall make hirtv ftir. l He kickM our kite, and there's for that; 'By Jove ! he (hall leap o'er it; " Kare fun, my lads ! now, t'other pati" Not long my proud itced bore it; The imps their fvvitches ply'd fo well, My horie grew iurious quite; Then plung'U, and threw me (fad to tell!) In cli; , with Paper kite. Now profper long our noble King I Our lives and fafeties all! And grant, that GEORGE regain his feat, Should He get fuch a FalU Mm 1 ( itt ) to the Honourable Mifs S E Y M O U R, with the Prefcnt of a NOSEGAY. GAY flowers, fair Seymour, oft convey, This moral to fome maid : The days of youth muft pafs away ; Like flowers all beauty fade. But th?e I need not thus remind Of beauty's fading ftate ; Tho' Heav'n to thee has been full kind, Thy heart is not elate. Thy parents form'd thy mind to prize What lafls when beauty's gone , With theie few flowers, in fimple guife I teach thee this alone : The fwain that deals too near thy heart, (Let thefe 'poor fprigs now reft,) With foft furprife will make it dart, And flutter in thy bread. Ah ! gay his look and fwect his fmilc, When fird that fwain appears ; His heart thou'lt think, is void of guile; But try * him a few years ; A fecond try ; another, too j The bad will keep but ill ; The cor\ftant bloom mud prove him true, To whom thou yield'll thy will. LINES * The Author would not here be updcrftood to recommend Coquetry. A 1-dy may try and afcertain the tempers and dif- potitions of feveral lovers, \vitkout encouraging the addrefles Jif anjr. LINES fcnt to a YOUNG LADY, with the Pre- fent ot a DOCKET-BOOK, and fome GENUINE COURT PLAISTER to heal a CUT in her FINGER. WHILE you, Maria, here indofc My. {trolls, with cautious look, Yourfecrets in your breafl repofe, But mine within this book. Now tell, fweet balm ! fo kindly fpread On this foft fiik I lend, How I would heal, (tho' each vein bled) The forrows of my friend. Yet, may fhe ne'er a thought conceive She woul.d from me conceal ! Maria ne'er, one pain aggrieve, Should give me pain to heal ! SEMPER EADEM. LINES written on the Canvas of a half- fin ifhed PORTRAIT of Mrs. CREW*. SURE, lorely maid ! no ills of life To you were ever known ; No lofs of friends, nor wedlock's ftrife, Yet caus'd you e'er to moan. M m 2 Then * The Lady, whofe countenance exprefTes the rooft perietf ferenity of mind, was drawn with her head refling^on her h*nd,. and her eyes fixed attentively on ihe ground. ( 268 ) Then eye not, with that thoughtful look, The duft from whence you fprung ; With pangs of woe, too iil to brook, Your heart was never wrung. An ANSWER to ELIZA's Choice of a Hufband, and of the Manner in which fhe would pafs her Life, THY choice, ELIZA, proves thy mind, To be for tender Love, For Friendfhip form'd of pureft kind, Chaile as the fpotlefs Dove. But vain thy choice ! for, he re below There is no lajling peace ; And blifs, once known, imbitters woe, If e'er that blifs ftiould ceafe. Thy frfl fond wifh * fhould'ft thou obtain, And Heaven deny to laft; The HuCband gone! alas ! the pain, To figh for blciTings pad ! Then pray not for a mortal mate ; J^e happy as thou art-, Contentment's known in ev'ry (late, If grateful be the heart. ' Praiic '' * For a Hufband. C a*9 ) Praife Heaven for all thy days of peace-, but fhould that peace be fmall, Pray Heaven thy vivtues to encreafe, And Heaven may grant 'em all. If more thou aflc, thou canft not know What evils may eniue ; Thy boon might end in deepeft wocj And ever make thec rue. The truths I fmg are not lefs flrong, Howe'er my numbers tail ; Mars precept yet conveys my fong : O ! hear my own fad Tale ! Three years I lov'd ; three years I figh'd For fair Maria's hand -, Three years my biifs me Itill denied, By Parents dread command. Till threaten'd, by their tyrant will, To f proftitute her charms, (To fiiun a certain, future ill) bhe fled into my arms. Five years of fweet delight did roll, Such ! fuch thou halt not fung ! To tell the joy poflcfs'd ray foul, Exceeds all human tongue. Three f All the Sentimental Poets agree, that the woman who mar- ries without a proper fi iendfliip and affeftion for the man whom Ibe weds, is but a proilitute licenced by the Church. As the Manner of MARIA'S death is generally known, I ima- gined it wotild do no injury to her memory, the difclofing the motive* that urged her to her laft defperate deed. Three blooming boys, with cherub face, Were offspring of our love ; But, ah ! fhe fear'd a num'rous race A weight on me fliould prove : She fear'd fome dark Misfortune's ftorm, Should wreck me in its fall ; In virtuous mind and beauteous form. She'd brought to me her All. Her generous foul it fuited ill, That Heaven denied the power My coffers with her wealth to fill, To gild the golden hour. She bad me,- " live; be happy ftill ;" She faid, ct I die ere long ; " Forgive, my friend, forgive this ill; " My infants can no wrong.'* Then, from me fprurg with frantic ftart, With dauntlefs fury fir'd, She plung'd a dagger to her heart ; .Repented, and expir'd. ******** Her EPITAPH; Infcribcd on a plain Marble Slab, between the Duke of A R G Y L E's and Mr. H A N DE L's Monu- ments, in WESTMINSTER Abbey. THO* low in earth, her beauteous Form decay'd. My faithful Wife, my lov'd Maria's laid, In f -271 ? In fad remembrance the Affli&ed raife No pompous tomb, infcrib'd with venal praife. To Sutefmen, Warriors, and to Kings belting The trophied fculpturc and the Poet's fong; And thcfe the Proud, expiring, often claim, Their wealth bequeathing to record their name j But humble Virtue, ftealing to the duft, Heeds not our lays or monumental bud. To name her virtues, ill befits my grief; What was my Blifs can now give no relief; A Hitjband mourns ! the reft let Friendfhip tell ; Fame ! fpread her worth ! a Hufband knew it well. ELEGY on the Death of a favourite TURTLE -DOVE.' BE hufh'd, ye winds ! yc billows! ceafctoroar; Ye white-crown'd lilies! droop your gaudy heads ; And all ye flow'rs ! that bloom on Forth's fad Ihore: For fair Eliza mourns her turtle dead. " O Julia! Julia! lovely Julia! hear; " Hear the known found of thy Eliza's voice; " Come, pick thy meal ; thy little bill draw near; " Swell thy full creit, with flutt'ring wing rejoice. refnVe of the fenfe, I take no exception againit the fnarl- zng R t or any other letter of the alphabet. ( 275 ) Full many a prickly thorn and bramble tall Obftruft their pafiage, like an armed foe; The arch may crack, then headlong down they fall; Plung'd in the flood, they're fwept to feas of woe. A NORTHERN PASTORAL. On the Death of the Earl and Countefs of SUTHERLAND. Addrefs'd to the Reverend Mr. ANDREW KINROSS,! at whofe Academy, at Knfield, the late Earl and the Author of this Paftoral pafs'd fome years, very happily, together. Fortunati ambo! fi quid mea Carmina poffunt, Nulla dies unquam memori vos eximet sevo. THE fun was funk beneath the * weflern hill; Fall'nwas the breeze; the chilling ev'ning (till; No leaf now ruftled on the tailed tree ; No fly was feen j nor heard the humming bee; Nn i But f Much honour is due to this Gentleman for the fhare he has had in my fon Charles's education; tho* he may gain little by the produtftions of my brain. * The feafon is fuppofed 10 be the Autumnal Equinox v But dill a murmur, from the neighb'iing fhore, jpifturb'd the ear with harfh-refounding roar; J Tho' calm the wind, the waves yet heav'd on high, And, with their foaming, pleas'd the fhepherd's eyej Their foam alone was to the vifion free, For hazy twilight blended Iky and fea; But, when the fun fhone bright upon the tide, Blue iVem'd the billows from the mountain's fide j The azure iky reflecled, then, was feen, And as it ice, obfcur'd the ocean's green. The buzzing beetle, wing'd now with his fhield, Through dewy vapour, /kirns along the field ; And, here and there, regardlefs of his courfe, The flumb'ring iheep he itrikes, or fiartled horfe. Up bounds the timid fheep, and (lamps the ground ; His wak'ning mates, all wond'ring, rife around - 9 Then as a hoft, with daftard panic flruck, Within the * fold runs, fcar'd, the num'rous flock. The oxen, loofen'd from the clay-mod plough, Cropt their green food befide the favour'd cow; The cow, iadulg'd, becaufe to man flic yields, In milky ftore, the pafture of his fields, Was, by Corinna, guided to the mead, And left to wardtr where (he lift to feed: \VIjen old Menalcas, wearied with the day, 8at by hJs fire, and doz'd the hours away. Young Colin, wont to pracbfe to' his Iheep, Play'd pn his pipe, and lulPd his fire afleep ; Whilft fair Corinna deck'd the fcanty board j 4^d fpread fuch fare 45 cottagers afford -, Then, t As the moft bcauriful Lan^fkips, in the north, are in the reighbonrlrood of me fea, the Author will tie forgiven for giving a peen of it in his paftoral. ? "She folds in the north are large enough to admit of fnch a ( 277 ) Then, all impatient, from the neighb'ring town, Awaits gay Damon with her bridal gown. But good Mena/cas, in his anticnt chair, Kcpos'd not long his mind from world y care; For foon he ftarted in his fleep, and cried, With voice of horror : '- Set how iwirt they glide, " Pale fpcdres both ! ah ! trace t.iem as they fly ;" With that he breath'd, and gave a deep-heav'd iigh. Co/in, appall'd, his pipe dropt on the floor, Then ghaftly ftar'd, aod fhuu'd the half- ft- ut door. The Icar'd Corinna, trembling, totrer'd near, And fought, in light, a vain relief from fear. Menalcas woke : M E N A L C A S. My children, did you fee Two fpeftres pafs ? but, fool? it cannot be; It was a vifion tear'd me, in my dream ; And what I thought I faw, did furely feem. COLIN. Nought have we feen ; but grant, ye pow'rs who know! No ills may fill our father's houfc with woe ; For when, lad night, I led my fheep to fold. Stiff flood my dog, as chill'd with fro ft and cold; I tall'd him to me; foreward fliil he ftar'd ; Stopt was rny flock, and feem'd at fomething fcar'd. Some fight, portentous, they did fure dcfcry j .Sjrne fight impervious to the human eye.* C O R I N N A. O father ! hear what I have to relate ; (I dread there's fomething, darkn'ing, in our fate,) I told * Some of the country people have a notion, that brutes fee ta$ny ftrange things which the human eye can not discover. ( 278 ) J told it not ; for, when of ghofls I fpeak, You gravely chide me, for a mind fo weak : As, late laft night, I lefc our neighbour's door, And crofb'd the yard*thick-itock'd with all your ilore, Pale mone the moon, and, awful! to my light Expbs'd a figure, or a {talking fpright ; 'I ftood aghaft ; when, lo ! another came, In white apparell'd, and in mape, the fame; It look'd around ; and, with a wond'ring air, A gefture made exprefiive of defpair ; It paus'd and liften'd ; fudden, looking back, It view'd its mate turn round the wheaten ftack j But, ere its mate flow-glided from my fight, It (topp'd and beckon'd to its lifter fpright j With Iblemn ftep the fecond follow'd near, And wrung its hands and wip'd a falling tear. Ha ! Damon comes ; my brother, welcome home ; But why fo fad? and why that difmal gloom! Why on that front, fo fmooth of late, a frown ? L Pie-ball dead ? or have you loft my gown ? DAMON. Alas! my fifter, what I have to mourn Exceeds all loffcs you or I have borne; The caufe of forrow, which you read fo well, Exceeds your guefs, alm'oft my pow'r to tell : Our chieftain's dead! but, firft, his gentle mate Fled to the ikies, refolv'd to mare his iate.f CORJNNA. * The monopolizing of farms being not yet fo general in the Korth- Country, as it is in the South, it is no uncommon thing, jn Scotland, to fee a cottager, poflels'd of a very comfortable farm-yard. f The Earl died a few hours after his Countefs, who was brought to Ler grave by a long and tender attendance on him during his lait iilnels. C C o R i N N A: f'iJe/ia dead ! my lov'd, my honour'd friend ! Then, farewell peace; contentment's at an end. My friend ihe was (he gave me e'er that name, As to our cot, with girts, (he daily came; Yet not with thele Corlnna 1 ^ love ihe won ; With female counfeis, with her fmiles alone. When oft,- at eve, I fed my feather'd flock, She by me fat and held her little Jock ; Reprov'd him, gently, if he dar'd to bark; Each rareft chicken, by its curious mark, She told me next , then, from my wooden bowl A handful took, to feed her fav'rite fowl ; Even fueh fmall gifts denote a generous foul. \ COLIN. Fidelia gain'd my rev'rence and eftcem ; So fv/eet her voice ! fo mild her eyes did beam ! She footh'd my mufic, when me liften'd nearj My pipe was loiter, and its notes more clear. Then, howfhefmil'd! when oft ray lambkins ftray'd, And ikipp'd around her, as they wanton play'd, Of her light flep, nor little Jock afraid. But her lov'd lord ! for him a tear muft flow ; Courage forgives fuch weaknefs in our woe ; Courage, unmov'd, its own misfortune bears, Tho' ror a friend it drop fome trickling tears. Beneath my woe my mind, alas ! muft bend : I've loft a chieftain, and a noble friend ; A fccond fire; he promised fuch to be, If you, my father, luckkfs, died '/ore me. When f Cenftance led his m$n to Britain's war, I too, tho' young, his itandard follow'd far ; Peace f The Earl was Colonel of the Sutherland feiicible men. ( 2*0 ) Peace blefs'd our ifle ere we had fcen a foe ; The band difmifs'd, home tides of fhcp'herct's flow 1 Conftance, in friendmip, as in judgment, ripe, Call'd as I went, " Here, Colin, take this pipe ; *' With notes melodious cheer our native fhore, *' And glad your foul, when I fnall be no more/' D A M o N. That pledge, dear Colin + of our chieftain's love, Mud now your padime and our comfort prove. Sound it aloft, while I forget my grief, And in its mufic feek a ihort relief. O ftun the horrid billows of that fhore, That fink my fpirit with their hollow roar ; All notes, now founding in a foltmn tone, Awake my woe, and move me but to moan. That roar was wont to glad our mountain's fide/ But, now, more grateful is the dittant tide; When loud the furge in waves came rolling in, Large gifts it floated* for our foil fo thin % But could it halt, and e'er at low-tide roar, I'd fhun the rock 5 nor fea-weed gather more, M E N A L c A s. Your grief, my children, I, too well, approve, For much to grieve arraigns the God above ; Yet, when, in duft, a long-lov'd friend is laid, By fudden impulfe nature's well obey'd ; A tear will flart; the firmed foul will feel ; Each heart mud bleed, that is not hard as fleel. Aias! they're gone-, by heav'n's high will they fped; Juil is that doom by which they, dying, bled. But * "^he Tea-weeds, which the tide throws upon the fhore, at ford the farmers, along the toaft, a rich manure for iheir fend. But dry your tears; we're nor of hope bereft: A.thild they had, an infant th.ry hive left; I hat helpicfs orphan now demands our care, Demands the love we to each ether bear; The parents dead, be all the joy we 'hive To fave the daughter fro .11 a greedy grave ; Q'jrpaft regard, for t.herri, we beft fhail prove, Their infant tending with our fondeft love. Connna! you (for now the winds blow cold) Shall work a cloak,, her tender limbs t'mfold.; W.t.h flowing ftream, from fulleit udder preil Of fav'rite ewe, fupply the mother's brealt -, Soon as, with fhouts and far-refounding horn, The jolly huntfmen hail the ruddy morn, (Your daily gift fupporting on your head) With cautious ftep to yonder city tread. And you, niy fons! each day you trudge to town^ Soft lamb : wool carry-, (healthier far than, down!) Be that her bed, with that her, cradle lines A healthful bed exceeds , a golden mine! Cull, too, at morn, the fragrant herbs, thdt grow Where feeds your flock upon the mountain's brow; Their juice, to babes, more p leafing far mult be Than Indian coffee, or than Chinefe tea. Be mine the, talk, as. at the hearth I fit, Thr foft"(l mittens, for her arms, to knit-}- ; Or, if you'll drip fome willow-twigs, with care, I'll work a cradle and a wicker-chair. Pleas'dwith the thought, theold man gave abound, And with his ftaff, tranfported, (truck the ground. With that he cheer'd his children to their meal - t Then kneel'd to God to blefs the common -weal, To bJefs the orphan, and their board to blefs , And pray'd t'avcrt, in grief or joy, Excels. O o /.n . f fCnitti^r; :s a common employment among the fhepherds in Scotland, An EPITAPH intended for MICHAEL UTTELY, of Who having, by the Benefaction cf Friend?,, puf- chafed his Tombilcne, and la-d it in the Church- yard of that Place, continued to pay a daily Viflc to the Spot ot his future Abode. U'NthinkSng mortalst Hop, and mark this {lone; No darling fon, no daughter, loft, 1 moan ; No bones of a dead father, claim a tear; JNo honour'd reliques of a monarch, here; In this dark vault, his debt to nature paid, Michael, a poor, but honeft man, is laid; Michael {till liv'tl when friendfliip laid this ilonej A Friend infcribcs it now, a friend unknown; Who means, of all his worth, alone to tell One goodly practice : ere by age he fell, Serenely fad, he courted eft the dead, And, to his tomb, a daily vifit made. Ye great, ye proud, ye rich, ye poor, attend ', This leffon follow : fearlefs view your end. On the DEATH of the Reverend Mr. L, STERNE, Author of the SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, &c. MOURN, Britons! mourn; your fatal lofs de- plore; Mirth's fled your ifle, for Sterne is now no more ; Sterne, who, toman, this leflbn left below: He moft is bleft, whofe/^///zg-.r overflow. EPITAPH EPITAPH for an c If not the -4#0r, - fure, you'll praife the Man. A PROLOGUE, fpoken to fome favourite PaiTages, from the moil celebrated EN.GLISH AUTHORS, re- hcarfed, to a numerous Audience, by the Young Gentlemen educated at a public Academy. WHO ftudies Nature, thinks not, fure, to find A clofe attention in a giddy mind. To hear dull precepts can we Youngfters fit ? No; mix your maxims with fome fun or wit j Such keep us fix'd In Sermons would you teach? Snore then we mutt, tho' Stonehoufe 'felf fhould preach. Treat us with travels, or fome new drefs'd fable All nail'd you'll find us 'round the defk or table ! At tales of woe, too, we can give an car, And learn to drop, at others' grief, a tear ; Can learn from y?ry, as we greedy read, How beft the pa,ths of rugged life to tread ; To fhun oppreffion ; aid the meek and mild ; Befriend the widow, or the orphan- child. So giddy youth, by MoralifU we're told, Are caft to goodnefs in a cunning mold; Are famion'd into any fhape you lay ; Amufe our minds, we're work'd like Potter's clay. Our Mafter, thus, with kind intention fraught/ Meant, with a Play, t' have pleas'd as well as taught ; *' To raife the Genius and to mend the heart," (i) Cato was nam'd, and each aflignM his part. Fir'd at the name, I gave my hearty votcj But none fo tame, to wear the petticoat ! " To wake the foul by tender ftrokes of art," (2) No hardy youth would play the woman's part. Mount Me, quoth Tom, upon their wooden pegs! Lud ! I mou'd trip,f and break my fpindle legs."- My head, quoth Dick, is worth their's all together; It ne'er mall noddle with an Oft rich Feather. Mayhap, hereafter, they may ornament it ; But, by their leave, they mall not now torment it; - Drcfs it, like bull or ram, with curling force; Or give it Blinkers,} like a vicious hprfe; With greafe and powder bake it to a cruft, While iron pins ftick in it, till they ruft ; Force o'er my nofe their fulky hat, and then " Cock up my pecker, like a tippling hen!" " Shall I, cried Jack, expofe my tawny bread ? " Firft, with fat feeding iwell my fcraggy cheft ; " With beef and pudding plump me up at pleafure; t{ In acting, then, you'll find me quite a trcafure ! < Fatftaf, (i & 2) Lines from Pope's Prologue to the Tragedy of Cato. f Imitating on tip-toe a Lady's ftep. J Drawing his handkerchief over his head into the foape of a French night- cap. $ Forcing a round hat ovef his nofe, and imitating a hen drinking. ( 288 ) i or Sc'rub, or any part but lafs's ; " In woman's clothes ! I'd fright the very glades."-- The Drama, thus, was partly laid afide; Since none would aft the widow, wife, or bride ; Some fpeeches yet, from Shakcfpeare, we retain, And, here and there, a thought from Milton gain - 9 Pope's Chaplet, too, and thofe of ether Bards "We vc robb'd, t'amufe you with, inftead of cards-. Spadille, Manille, and Baiio. fwif't be gone ! The Mufcs hero mail drag you from your throne : A milder rule the Fair have chofcn now; Sparkled each eye* and fmooth'd is every .brow; While dimpled cheeks the bofom's peace. 'proclaim, A fofter fway fucceeds your tyrant-reign! But (hould the agents o-f the Mgfes* will their high behefts imperfectly fulfill ; Aw'd by your prefence, i.atiies, mould we fail, "ViTe truft your candour will us here avail ; We truft you'll judge.us as you wptild your Swains,' Who faukcr mod as mofl they feel their pains. Smile on us.flo 1 ^, and, if we meet when older, Plainer we'll fpeak, I warrant you, and bolder. An OCCASIONAL EPILOGUE to the MOURN- ING BUIDE. Spoken by ALMLRIA, at the Theatre at NORTHAMPTON. A Gothic tafte hath rcign'd, in latter Age. To raife the dead, to ipout upon the Stage; ; Here murder'd Kings, ftabb'd Wives, and poifon'ci Maids, Start up to life, afld hail you from the (hades. Thus* Thus, We tarn:: Players, when our Authors bid, Tho' flain mull rife, (our Coffin has no lid !) [PohfttKg to the floor. And, courting praife, but dressing more offence, "With ghoflly fpeecb oft mock all common fenfe. But Ms the Bard, by favour and protection, Hath here exempted from a Re'furreftion ; tie killM riot .Me\ and meant by that to tell, A Mourning Bride hath feen nor Hsav'n nor Hsll\ Unknown the joys , of Matrimonial life! To her unknown, its troubles and its ftrife! Yer, tho' Pm left a Bride, I know full well \Vh?re, on this earth, is plac'd my Heav'n or Hell j If vou but finile, I think my faults forgiven, And bkff\l then! my foul is all in Heaven ! But (hou)d JQU fro-wny I need no deeper go, To feel the torments of the Damrfd below, No more behold me, tho' in fable gown, A Mourning Bride, I'm wedded to your Town j I'm pledg'd to pleafeyou, and riiy little charms Are all to win you. Take me to your arms; Protect me, cheer me, place me by your If 'you afplaud) I am a Happy Bride. The SAILORS and the STONE IMAGES ; a Parable. QUOTHtarr'dJ^uhtoTcm,aspaffingSt.PauI, They were viewing the ftatues* plac'd high on its wall : Pp *' But * On the North fide of the church, where there are five fla- tiu-s; and the one on the corner of the front makes the lixtll poitle in view. ( 29 ) But fix'poftlesl fee, blaft the builder! fee's ort." Quoth Tom : " the reft fleep j watch anci watch, mate ! about." My talc has a meaning ; you'll guefs it j 'tis fhort: You need but to name our divifions at Court; Sleep half of our Rulers, as owls in old walls. The rcft t they keep watch, like th' Afoftles on Paul's. CONTENTMENT within the common Reach ; or, a PICTURE of WY FAMILY. Written in the Year 1767. O mille voice fortunato, e mille, Chi fa por meta a' fuoi penfieri, in tanto, Che, per vana fpcranza immoderata, Di moderate* Ben non perde il frutto ! 11 PASTOR FIDO. WHEN, daub'd and befpatter'd with rnud and with mire, In riding from town to my own country fire, I enter the houfe, (in like dirty condition As was fatty S/op> the Shandyan phyfician, When he fell from his poney, with projectile force, At the terrible fight of Qb dial's coach-horfe) My two ftouteft lads, with a thundering din, Come galloping to me, to welcome me in. In each hand a pratler, I march to the parlour; There madam fits fuckling her dear little fnarler ; The youngeft, I mean, who's got fnuffling his nofe, Where I my dull noddle would, gladly, repofe. The' Tho* dirty I Icok'd as the doctor 'forefai j, Pray, let not the fimile farther be read ; For, in grandeur, I fecm'd as the arms of this land, That 'tween two fapporners, iiluftrioufly, (land: A fierce, noble lion, and his unicorn mate, Prance, proudly erect,' and attend them in ftate. A kind kifs having had, (afweet welcome to home!) I forthwith begin to diforder the room. I pull off my boots j but not fuck as fly Trim, To plcafe uncle Toby, in humorous whim, Converted to mortars ; butfuch as he might Make field-pieces of, full as dread in a fight. Yet notfuch as Hudibras ftufPd bread and cheefe in, p The rats and the mice with the fcent fo well pleafmg, > That oft they their nofes attempted to fqueeze in; -> But, not with comparifons longer to tire, Thefe boots, as they are, I fct up at the fire. Quick, arch looking John pops the dog into one^ As the dwarf thruft Gulliver into the bone^ And Charles, who is ever as keen at a joke, With matter combuflible makes t'other finoke. Having, farther, my furtout thrown down or* a chair, And haul'd out my flippers from under the flair, I'm challeng'd by madam, to walk out and play With the fweet, little Cupid* \ while yet it is day. Then out we all fally, with loud-fhouting noife And joyful acclaim from the two elder boys ; With her fuckling Maria trips lightly along; Leads, fmiling, the van, as me hums us a fong. Nc*t follows the kitten, purfu'd by the dog, (For teazing poor kitten there's ne'er fuch a rogue,) She fqualling and mewing, he barking before us, Affift, in our mufic, to fill up the chorus. But how you would laugh, to behold, in the rear* The fcene we exhibit, -(a fccne the mpit queer!) P p 2 In In Holland, I doubt not, with wonder you've fcen, Traii'd on by one nag, needy doctor's machine j A carriage have we, full as light to the feel, That runs without horfe, and that has but one wheel; With pompous, big phrafe I e'er fcorn'd to beguile : A barrow 'tis called in plain, vulgar ftyle; In which having (lowed my two Ihout.ng boys, And fill'd up the bottom with hay and with toys, I put to my hand, and, on wheeling the barrow, Cry, " who'll buy my puddings ? nice puddings of marrow !" As the children then chuckle, I furely am pleas'd : Thus fee, by how little from care I am eas'd 5 Hence learn to contain, in a fpace full as narrow, 4-nd^axry your wifhes *U in ^wheel-ban oiv v The 'ill OJ r II E N E V BRIGHTHELMSTONB DIRECTORY, A D V E R T I S E M E N T. It was the cuftom at Brighthelnftone, fome years ago, for rlie Gentlemen and Ldies to go'into the water at the fame place of dipping. The Parfon of t'ie Parifh at lad remonftratec againft the indeli- cacy (not to fay indecency) of this cuftom ; for, tho' the Ladies dipt in their lannel gowns, the Gentlemen bathed all naked, ancraight conlequent- ly be viewed at the Women's cifcretion. He ac- cordingly prevailed on the G ides, to affign to each Sex a feparate bathing-plac\ However, when I arrived at Brighthelmftone, 1 found the whole .Aflbciadon of Guides ripe for re ellion, and threat- ening to bring the Men and Vomcn together a- gain. even in defpite of the hoeft Parfon. The Gentlemen, to be lure, could ha^c no objections to the alteration ; but as the Ladie: fecm'd to be ra- ther neutral in the queftion, I /as really appre- henfive it would have been carrid againft him. It was, therefore, principally to lai^h the Company into the Doctor's opinion, that I cribbled the fol- lowing Letters. They firft appared in a Pam- phlet, now out of print, and totflovenly written to to undergo a fccond Impreflion ? but, having cor- re&ed them as rruch as my time would admit, I here prcfent then to my Readers, as, to forne o them, ray little rdicule on the Subject may ftill be of fervice. Thccuftom of promiscuous bathing, I underftand, is Hill continued at Scarborough. Being not bleflec with either a Wife or a Daugh- ter, I am, not fwiyed, in this matter, by motives of felf-intercft. But I profefs myfelf to be a fm- cere friend to th< Fair Sex ; and, as Such, I ever confidered that, icxt to the fear of God, the chief guard on a Wonan's Virtue is her Medefty. We daily fee the Chatity of a Woman fubdued, whilft her IVlodefty remjns unconquer'd ; but when ojtice the Latter is oxrcome, the Former muft fall in the c,QB(|ueft. INTRODUCTORY ( =95 > INTRODUCTORY LETTER. From London, July 22, 1765. I'M told, my dear friend, you continue to lav<, For the fake of your health, in the Brigbthjm ftone wave ; Any int'rcft had I with thofe half-fifhy legions, Who ramble below in fubaquean regions, I'd not fail to indite a poetical treatife, To Neptune addrefs'd, and his wife, MadamTfou Who, deep twenty fathom the fubmarine gulph h, Keep the fign of (as poets have told us) the Dolpin And who furnim their cuflomers, as they can beait With fea-water bumpers, inftead of good claret ;Pd call upon them, as juft now I was faying, That for you a large flock of good health they wale lay in ; By fending their Nymphs, and their NereidiTo gren (Cookwenches and chambermaids of the faid inn) With Triton their oftler, who, as old Homer fap, Blows his horn too as poftboy, and drives the pft- chaife, I'd get them to cull all the fimples that grow In the valleys and coral plantations below ; To impregnate the waters, above we refer to, With quantity double of fanative virtue ; That my friend I might meet when returned, as I wifh, As bonny and plump, as a briik healthy fifh ; But int'reft, alas! in thefe realms having none, I muft hope that, without it, your job will be done. Mean time, my dear friend', when you take your fca lotion, Without drawers ne'er venture to dip in the ocean ; For, 'or, as Virgil, and all the old poets affirm, 'he Nereids like fury, will bite at a worm; Lrd, truly, deplorable would be your fate, tould they fnatch at, and then run away with your bait -, nfuch a fad plight, you'd look blank as December, kid your houfe* be depriv'd of a very good member. Jve the fame good advice to your friend, jolly'.M/Y/J$ r guard himfelf well 'gainft fuch terrible ills ; "6 the wile, faith the proverb, fufficiedt's a word,) > what is a foldier, depriv'd of his fword ? row difmally fad would his hardmip be reckon'd, i r hen, thcjir/l being loft, he could ne'er get afecond. in your abtence I join'd an agreeable band, ind rambled half over the fouth of the land -, ^ fortnight ago I return'd in good cafe 'b this great, noify, fmoaky, deleftable place ; Thence, with fervour that friertdfhip fuggefts and fee u res, I^ive it you under my hand, I am Tour's. B. S. L E T T E R . II. Saturday, from Brighthelmftone. INCE then, my good friend, youVe provok'd me to write, I'll take up the pen, and will fcribble thro* fpite ; I'tt * Houfe of Commons. < '97 ) I'll plsgiis you with rhime, and will teaze you with letters, To wifh both my finders and fills were in fetters. .Yet, now you're from home, and have nothing t:> do, Twill doubtkfs amufc you to read- fo.ncth ing new, And new things, to write ybu t are noc hard to light on, As you ne'er was to dip in the water at Brighton. So call'd they this town of Brigbtbelmftone of old, 1 Pis hers fit to tell, left the critics might fold , A well- written book, ('tis a rule they would quote,) Should be underftood without comment or note. Digreffwns are granted; aad thofc, when there's need, I'll ufe at discretion; and fj, I proceed; "Proceed in my Letter, but not in my Story ; For that, in due time, fhall be laid down before ye. I hate the otd mode of beginning a tale, .Bv which fads that follow are re. id r'd quite Jlale; Witi'i which epic poets, in ft'>n:es unnumber'd, heavenly Gc Jdefs ! finj." In O'iyfff'v too, as begina the tranflation, Ulyffes'* feats are foretlall'd in narration : " I'ne man, for wifdom's various arts renown' 1, ' Long exercis'd in woos, O Mu(e! refound." To fiid bill of fare 1 fhould make no objection; (' T would certainly fave both my fight and reflection;) Provided Provided the author would tell me what's geod, And what he had drefs'd as my bejl mental food ; For my difh I could choofe at the very "fir ft look. Then ikip o'er the Trifles, and fhut up the book. Perhaps now you wifh, (and 'twould give you no pain,) I'd Jldrn off the cream from my poor, mallow brain; And dilhing it up, in one good, folid meis, Shou'd feaft you at once, without fear of excefs, Or cloy to your ftomach, by fwallowing of tralh, Prepar'd by the pen of a rhimer fo ram. But I, in my letters thus hobbling in verfe, Bccaule I forefee that true wit will be fcarce, And would fain make a meW at fmall colt of reflec- tion,^- Shall oft write you trifles, by way of connection, To fill up the fpaces 'twixt humour and wit, 1fhe two Handing di flies of comical writ. As when, at Lord's dinner, roaft mutton is ferv'd, To fide-board 'tis fent, and there left to be carv'd j You may thank your kind ftars, I mall not fetafide, My fmall dilh of wit to be wifhfully ey'd : You might perhaps find, 'twas not eafy to reach it > So, rather than trouble your perfon to fetch it, Contented you'd dine on nonfenfical trafh, That coft me, in writing, as cheap as a dam. Yet dames, my worthy, good Sir, I muft tell ye, Help often to furnifh a hungry man's belly ; My friend Vriftram Shandy would cut a fad figure, If, from his Opinions, with critical rigour, We lopt off the daflies, which lengthen his chapters, And ierve to prolong his digreflive, odd raptures. His book of thofe dames we muft not curtail ; They fed the droll author, by helping its fale; His His bookfellers too, have been blefs'd with paunch A fuller, / Than if, from his judgment, he had written cooler, v Or lets he had drawn of thole lines without ruler. -^ Allow me then dafhes -, - allow me digreffion j Forgive my bad metre, and want of e%preflion - t I warrant I'll give you, in proccis of time, With matters of fact ^ a full volume of rhyme. But now, 1 lhall follow rhetorical laws, And, as other great orators, here make a pcmft. For this proverb thofc orators well underftood : " Too much of a thing is for nothing thought good." So, true as my pen e'er to fingers and hand, Your fervant I am, Sir, at ev'ry command. L E T T E R HI. Monday. WITH fea and fca- bathing, dear Sir, in my head, This morning I rofe in good time from my bed : Perceiving machines with fome people go in, I ran to the Creek at the end of the Stene ; I ran in fuch hurry to be at the fea, man, I was, ere I wot, among all the fine women. 'Gad! how lucky, thought I, to time it fo pat! So, making a bow, as I took off my hat, I begg'd an old Beldam that flood dripping there, (While me and the women all gave me a flare) TO ( 3 > To fhew. me a water machine that was empty ; 44 What Daemon, quoth {he, brought you hither to tempt ye ? What buiinels expect ye ? What thing fcek ye a tt i ? 'Tis here that the Ladies retreih in the water. Jjevcted, this place, to their innocent pleafure! "You cannot dip here, tho' you offer'd a trtaiure ; So take yourfelf off, for I have no more leiiure." 1 thought myfclf happy (he did her fpeech bitak c.{fj 1 or the women, provok'd, might have twilled my neck off; So, making the ladies another low -bow, 1 put fliip about, and I follow'd her prow. I coafted the land to the Weft of the town. Where men I perceiv'd, in their flippers, walk down; Their footfteps I follow'd, when loon 1 dcfcried The Carts, in which Gentlemen to the fea ride; But fo fnug! and fo clofe ! (admiring them much) How many to Tyburn would gladly have fuch ! For holes are in thefe (tho' above cover'd in) Thro* which you can fee, and can never be fcen. And that is the cauie, as ] afterwards leard. Jrrom bathing the Men^ by the Women were fear'd; 1'or in plung'd the former as naked as born ; l:ut in wool dipp'd the latter^ like {beep when they're fnorn. It therefore did fright/ n forr.e few modc/l men, T'have women fo near them in flannel Ib thin ; And fome lik'd as little the Ladies fhou'd peep, Whilfl they all tkeir beauties fo hidden did keep.- I aik'd for a ("art, and a good civil Guide Handed me into one, as he would do a Bride ; r e.le a Bridegroom that -came there to be wedded^ .ike Venice's Doge) and to Thetis be bedded. lmprefs'i ( 3 l J Imprefs'd with late danger, and narrow efeape 1 r -m barbarous maiming, or mercilels rape, I aik'd of the Guide, fas the minutes did pafs, While he flood at the door to await myundrefs,) What man firil advis'd 'em, and who was that rafli one Bade the Ladies to dip it in lonely queer famion ? Who bade them to lave., in thofe waves clear as cryftal, With ah the prude airs of a Nun or a Vcftal ? For the men ail in buff, but the women in facks, Did bathe once together like hounds in full packs. ' Ahs! my good m after, no great revolution E'er bred in a kingdom fuch horrid contunon, As hath, in our town, this iare curs'd innovation ; What good, Sir, at beft, can it bring to the Nation ? My three Fellow-guides, there, and 1 (to our colt,) Experience what fusns, by this change, here are loft j For Storks thin as you, and decrepit old age, Are now ail the Birds tint e'er hop to our Cage ; For one that dips naw^ there us'd once to dip ten^ And moil of them too, flout, (trong, able men. It did my heart good, (tho' it made my teeth chatter,) To fee them flounce, tumble, and kick in the water; To fwim 'fore the women they were all fo willing, A pint they oft gave me along with my * milling ! The old women, too, at the Eaft of the Town, (The Guides you faw dripping, each in her rough gown,) Have loudly complain'd that their falt-dipping trade, Since the late innoration, is greatly decay'd. The Parfon, of whom we fufpected the leaft, (For where there is mifchicr. thou'd ne'er be a Priell) 'Twas * A (hilling is the common fare of a bathing machine, and a Guide to attend it, at Brighthelmftone. 'Twas He firft propounded this curs'd innovation ; He went to the Doctor, on deep confultation :-^ Quoth he, ' My good Doctor, I find that my health, And ftrength of my limbs are departed by (lealth j When firft I did dip, or did dive in the fea, I flood briik and hearty, and ftiff as a tree j A pleafare to fee me ! I lik'd to be feen ; I car'd not if thoufands beheld me go in. Lamentable change ! In my gait 1 now ftoop ; Tho* often I dip it, (my head) it will droop , No more the huge parfon ! whofe diving all prais'd, At whofe flouncing and plunging the women fo gaz'd; The word of the matter, the older I'm grown, Their glee is the greater to have my tricks fhewn ; They want, in my ftrokes, at the age that I be, The fame feats of flouncing and plunging to fee : With children by dozens f, (all by the fame woman) In me they expect the great ftrength of a Roman. Now, worthy, good friend, I confcfs to my fhame, I dread to outlive (as fome Heroes) my fame -, Then give me advice (you've the belt in the nation) Till death, to prderve this my great reputation.' " The advice, quoth the Doctor, is eafy co give; I'll tell you, my friend, how your fame may (till live: We'll counfel (tho* fome it mould grieve to the heart) The men and the women to dip it apart; Then laving unfeen by the eyes of the Fair, Tho' you dip as old Gaffer, no mortal will care.' " So planning the feparate oaths that you've feen, They banim'd the men from the end of the Stene. But )- The Parfon was certainly an excellent fwimmer, and the legal father of many children. For the reft, though but a maker of rhymes, I claim the Poet's privilege of decorating* my flpry with lift ion. But Parfon and Do&or their trade have miftaken, For Brighton the dippers have moftly forfaken ; Thence all the confufion of which I complain, And greater confufion I'll ne'er fee again." Enoilgh my good fellow j 'twould make a Saint fcold; Enough of your tale ; for I'm fhiv'ring with cold. With that he retir'd, and return'd with a horfe, To drag my machine to the ocean, per force; He bade me fit fait; and then (hutting the door, He tugg'd me along, as the billows did roar; He tugg'd me along, with fuch noife and fuch clatter, (While prated the people all round in the water) I could nor but think of the wonderful knocks Which Gulliver heard on his great, wooden box, When dropt in the fea by the eagles in fight, He was haui'd by a cable, and by a mip-wright So flunn'd above hatches, he could not guefs where The tumult would end that erefted his hair. Now, having a fimile juft at try hand, My friend, I will ufe it, and then make a (land: Take me, in my cart, for the brain in your bead-, The guide and his horfc for thefe rhymes you have read ; They have lugg'd it on flow, in a pace that did creep, Into a fea frothy, and not very deep ; But truft me, dear Sir, as your flave or dog-keeper, I wiih you to dip in fome thing that is deeper. LETTER L E T T E K IV. I Found, fas to Sermon one morning I were,) The Church, on a hill cf an eaty afcer.cj Yet not quite fo eafv, bat, ere rc^ch'd the tip; To breathe, your tat people, mull, r.owand then, (lop. This makes folk the temple fo eagerly ii ; . (All claiming great merit in climbing this hill.) Arid I, thb* my carcafe is fparing arv.i tiiui. With th* utmoft exertion did fqueeze rnyfelf in ; But, orice f, 1 prcteit L would lofe my belt blood, Than not fee the people, at 'Brighton* fo good, So civil, fo kind, and withal fo polite! When enters -a perfon, attracting their fight, They paufe in their pray'r, or they (top in their VOW ; Then make a low courtefy, or ftill lower bow They think it is pleafing, perhaps, to their God, Whilfl praying, to deign a pcor mortal a nod. From this civil cuftom, at lealt, 'we defcry, They're humble 'fore God, and their minds are not high. My mind on a walk being fully intent, Tot-he Stene, after break fafr, this m-jrning T went'-, This Stene, or this green, I found cover'd with nets, Kound which fate the ladies in parties, or fets. Oft having difcover'd the wiles and the arts. Made ufe of by women t' entrap people's hearts, Quoth I to myfelf, who can tell but thofe fnares By women are laid, to catch m?n unawares? So, manning the nets, I went round to a (land ; The high, wooden ftage of our mufical. band ; Such, Such, rev'rend, dear Sir, as you've feen in the North, From which, as from pulpit, the parfon holds forth, When his kirk is too little -, the good, wot thy people Then cough in the wind, 'round his thin, 'wooden . ftceple. Hut when to this white-painted (land I drew n?ar, Notes warlike, loud-founding, were blown co my ear; Jnltead of the voice of proud parfon, pronouncing jP^w/'sfermbns to mortals, and hell- fire denouncing, . Balloons, clarinets, with flute. haut')oy\ and horn, (Their like have not pleas'd me fince e'er I was born) Piay'd a march, Sir> that made me to flrut on the green, With the air and the ftep of theatrical queen. ,.I marvell'd to hear, from this muficai (land, No fcraping of cat-gut, to (Irengthcn the band ; So, afkiag a friend the good caufe there was none, And why the wind-mufic thus pip'd it alone, He told me, the ladies thought none but a brute Preferr'd a Ury bit of a gut to a flute ; Them, therefore, to pleale, ev'ry pipe, from its throat, ] ;v.;ts its r>rc mulk iri rapturous note. Tnole hogs, replied I, grunting loud in the corn Round the Hand, ! fuppofe, are to aid the French- horn : Thofe pigs and thofe children, all trotting before us, Affiit, with their fqueaking, to fill up the chorus; Thole greyhounds and petts, Skipping round with blithe heart, T' enliven our mufic, each barks out his parr. Let the dice, which from yonder fmall houles rough rattle, For kettle-drums found in a march to a battle; Whilit thatSwitzer cur, (with his vifage demure, Attending his matter in fea-dippmg cure, K r And, And, following his Lordfhip, you never faw fail, On the ladies' clean garments, to wipe his fox-tail, )-- Shall beat with his paw, nod his head at his leifure, Of each novel tune to denote us the meafure. Such a band, I defy, now, both Abel and Bach, Of noify muficians together to pack. Of all the true things, my dear friend, I do write on, In rhiming Epiftles from this town of Brighton, I like beft the fubjecl: of eating and drinking, Becaufe 'tis a topic that cofts me no thinking ; No thinking to write of, but much to enjoy, For eating and drinking is, here, my employ. My breakiaft, made after young widow's receipt, Is nicer than ever weak dipper did eat : Pray take a neat's foot, friend, or elfe a fat calf's, And cut it in bits, when you've fplit it in halves ; In four quarts of milk then well boil'd let it be, Till the four quarts of milk are boil'd down into three. Whilft you boil it, remember to fkim off the fat ; Each fcullion can give you his reafons for that : It cloys the beft ftomach, with fat to be fed* "\ Fat cumbers the members, and weakens the head, > And makes one do nothing, but fleep, in his bed. j And thence, the fly Frenchmen this confequencc draw : Eons cocs, (and keen dippers,) nefontjamaisgras. With myfiupe a la veuve, (clean'd well with a Ikira,) I'm friiky, awake, and awake when I dream. Each morn, after dipping, I make it then fmart j With bread in proportion, I eat up a quart; Now, friend, as you wifh to look big in your clo'es, I beg, for your breakfaft; you'll take the fame dofe. On ending my meal, with fome horfemen I troop, And take a long ride, to digeil widow's foupe. So So pleafant the ride on a turf that's To green ! Kefrefhing the breeze ! and the air is fo keen ! To fill my void ftomach, I never can wait Till dinner-bell tingles, my hunger's fo great ; So, lighting from horfe, as the clock has ftruck one, To bait at the Ship, Sir, I inftantly run. A proof of the juftice of this antient faying, ** The looks of the phyz are not, always, betraying.'* At the Old Ship, in Ship-ftreet, is now to be feen In the face of the Lady who keeps the faid inn ; I vow Mrs. Hicks is a lump of good nature, Tho* not to be notic'd in any one feature. From the looks of her daughters, alas ! I muft own, Are inward fenfations, Sir, as little known j Tho* pretty, and civil in outward behaviour, They ne'er granted, inward, one complaifant favour; They've fed me with coffee, with bread and with^ butter, f With choc'late and jellies, and more I could utter; V Yet all from their hands, only forc'd me to mutter :~- ' " Your fmiles, my fweet fair ! are but femblance *' and art; " And fo are your gifts, --if you give not your heart." At Sbergo/d's I dine with a club, or a meeting Of damn'd bineft fellowr, who deal injbort eating ; That name they but give to forae delicate diih ; For, in faci y they eat long, and they drink like dry fifh. But not for their eating or drinking, I fwear, When e'er I make one, I am glad to be there ; Their good-fenfe and breeding brings me to their table, To Iharc in their dinner as oft as I'm able ; Their affable tempers have gain'd my efteem ; Their gay converfation has banifh'd my fplccn 5 R r 2 For, ( 30.8 ) For, tho' for the vapours I came to be dipt, (For lofs of Maria y you know, I was hipt,) To their converfation, I think it is fu e, And not to the bathing, I owe my late cure. As from dinner till fupper's a long time to faft, I treat myfelf oft with an interim-repaft : For cards in the rooms when the weather's too hot, Some evenings, on horfeback, to Shoreham \ trot: Kegale myfelf their, Sir, as any dry drunkard, "With the frent of thefhore, and zjpicy cool tankard; At Rottendean often, with loving intent, Drink tea with the ladies fair under the tent; But oft'ner I trip it with fomc laughing maid, To Prefton's green grove ; there partake, in cool made, Of the cooled refrefliment I ever ftiall fee, A fweet frothy fyllabub under the tree ! The SYLLABUB under the Tree. A NEW SONG. I. FL O W joy to the fouls of my friends, in full ' tide; * Sit each merry fwain with a nymph at his fide, With fmiles on their cheeks to betoken their glee, While I fing of my fyllabub, under the tree ! II. The wit of the bean, arid the flights of the belle j. The gay conventions, in which they excel ; ' ' ( 309 ) The /mart things they fay, and Compare with my fyllabub under the tree. III. The joys of a court, and the blifs of a king; The liar on his breaft, with its ribbon, or firing; Though folid they ieem, alas ! if you fee, They're too like my fyllabub under the tree. IV. Moft fpeeches we hear, fo fonorous and ftrong, In the fenate declaim'd by the patriot throng, (What lurks at the bottom? the froth we but fee,) Are too like my fyllabub under the tree. V. The prieft when he talks of his piety moft ; When foldier and failor their feats often boaft ; Merchant and lawyer, vaunting loud honefty, Compare with my fyllabub under the tree. VI. Hard words of the fcholar, in Latin or Greek, Seeking thoughts of the learrfd^ when his own he fhould Ipeak, (His thoughts mould feck words, critics all muft agree,) Compare with my fyllabub under the tree. VII. When fops count us vainly the fair they have won; How many they've kifs'd fmce the laft fctting fun; Snorting praifes, the prude, of her own challity, Compare with my fyllabub under the tree. - When VIII. When John kiffe$ Margery in guife of true love, And vows, as he kiffes, he'll conftant e'er profe -, His vows and his kiffes from froth are not free, They form but a fyllabub, under the tree. SUPPLEMENT SUPPLEMENT TO T H LEVELLER's CURSORY THOUGHTS. The two following Fragments were in the hands of a di/iant friend, at the time the Curfory Thoughts went to the Prefs. I cannot, however, omit (htm in this Publication. My political readers^ having al- ready feen how truly a cool, difpaj/ionate man could divine the Event of the American Taxes, will not, perhaps, be difpleafed to read his Sentiments on fame Subjecls, agitated in the late Petitions, as he pub- lijbedthem nine years ago in /^Public Advertifer. The quotation from Mr. Macpherjon will have its proper weight, thai 1 he has not drawn the paral- lel I kave wrote to it. When the Julian Family reduced the Roman Re- public into an Empire for themfclves, they did not change, in appearance, the ancient form of government. Though a new power flarted up in the State, all the old offices remained. Dcfpotifm had the decency to cover oppreflion with ( 3" ) with a mafk, and to execute its moft rigorous plans thro' channels neither unknown nor formi- dable in the days of freedom. I be power of the f\ft Ctsfars confided in i NFLU EN c e ; and an over- awed and VENAL SENATE were the obvious in- Jlruments of their tyranny,' Macpherfon's Introduction to the Hiilory of Great -Britain, page 261. SO likewife ft all fall the fabric of our Britifh conflitution. When fome future King mall aipire at ruling the Nation according to his fovereign will and plealure, he mall effect his purpofes of defpotifm, through the means of a venal Senate. He fliall bribe a majorit)% in both Houfes of Parliament, with money, which they (hall vote him unaccounted for by the Keepers of tlie public treafure. That ma- jority of votes being fecured, they fliall, by ex poft fafto refolutions, expel whatever Mtmber fliall be- come offenfive to the King; they fliall for ever ex- clude that Member from the houfe, and in his place admit another againft the voice of the people , agahll the written laws of the land. They fliall behold their Countrymen butchered, by the military in the hands of the executive power, and fhall fapprefs all inquiry into the caufe cf that bloody maffacre ; they fliall with vengeance feize upon and commit to prifon who ever fliali give information of their Debates, or their fecret Proceedings ; they fliall alfo imprifon whatever Magistrate fliall prefume to act agreeable with the law, in oppofition to their fenatornl refolutions; they fliall avail themlelves of the privileges, firft al- fumed to protect them from the power of the Crown, in order to opprefs their Conftituents, the People. Jn fhort, the King fliall have but to iffue his Royal Mandates ( 3-3 ) Mandates from the mouth of his Minifter, arid ne ihall find a Parliament willing^ and an Army able^ to enforce his cortimands throughout his kingdoms ; and when thcfc things (hall come to pafs, and tht- people ftiall fee that "every wanton and caufeleis reflraint of the will of the fubject, whether fsraftiicd by a Monarch, a Nobility, or a popular AlTembly, is a degree df tyranny," they (hall lofe all refpect for their Rcprefentatives ; they fhill revile them, abufe them, and wifh them to be no more-, they will fuffcr the King, in his turn, to tread on their Senate as on a footftool, which, deprived of its fujpport, will be trodden like a rotten plank to the ground. All thefe fhall come to pafs; but the time is not at hand. Virtue and Independence is yet with the People; and great muft be the ftruggle before they will fab* rnit to the tyranny of a nobility and gentry, fo vicious* profligate, and abandoned ! AjprH, 1771. 4 As for Parliaments, they are but the Shadows of what they were, or rather worfe; by which [ * mean that they are now become the Inftruments * of that Power they were inftituted to reftrain'* Prcfent State of ur6fe, $d Edit. P. * 90. WW O E V H reflects ort the pad and prefcnt ftate of France, muft tremble for the liber- ties of Great Britain. Our prefect Sovereign is A good man, and, in all his fpcechcs, feems to \viih well to the Britith Conftitution ; but if ever a wicked enterprifing Prince fhould afcecd the Throne df thete Sf kingdoms* ( 3H ) Kingdoms, either a revolution muft take place, or the^ conftitution will be entirely altered. A violent convulfion, however, muft precede. The body of the Nobility, the bench of Bifhops, and the majority of the landed Gentry, will adhere to the Crown. The Nobility, becaufe needy, profligate, or abandon- ed, will expect their loyal attachment to be reward- ed with places and pcnfions , the Bifliops and the generality tf the Clergy, from principle, willadino- nifh us to fubmiffion and obedience to the will ot him, whom Providence hath appointed to rule over us ; and the majority of the Gentlemen of landed proper- ty will naturally, pay their court to the head of the executive power, as being poffefled of the belt means of providing for the nccdfities of their younger chil- dren; for as the law ot inheritance now {lands, what readier provision is left for the younger fprouts of the nobility and gentry, than the employments in the army, the navy, and the different departments of government. But, on the other hand, the ancient conftitution will be contended for by all the trading and manu- facturing cities in the kingdom ; by the whole mo- nied intereft in the nation-, and by thofe gentlemen of landed property who (till retain a fpirit of inde- pendence. Thus, while fome, from intereft or prin- ciple, will fupport the arbitrary will of the King; others, from the fame motives, will contend that eve- ry Jaw and every meafure of government fhould be formed from the fenfe, or for the benefit of the peo- ple. The King's Friends, not daring openly to dif- avow this pofltion, will attempt to bribe a majority of votes in the Parliament of Great-Britain ; they will then maintain that every act is, in reality, the act of the people, tho* perhaps under the fanction of that that venal Parliament, the will of .the King alone mall rule the nation. The free and independent part of the people, however, will behold this farce with a noble indignation-, and, from forefeeing, their re- fentment of it, proceeds, too, my apprehcnfion of" a revolution. That, indeed, may happen in fome future reign. Butour prefent gracious Sovereign, intending nothing againft the interefts of his kingdoms, will never meet but with obedience and affection from all his people. He has no occafion to employ the means of bribery and corruption to influence a Senate in his favour-, and fhould his favourite counfellors advife him to it, they would bring; upon him much unnecefTary trou- ble. Had I his Majefty's confidence, I fhould direct him a far different conduct. I mould advife him to begin his firft 1'peech to his Parliament in the follow- ing manner : ' My Lords and Gentlemen, * Having no private purpolc of my own to fcrve, in the affent 1 mail give to any bills you may pre- fent for my approbation, I defire you will, in all your deliberations, have nothing in view but the immediate good of my people. Sufficient to me is my prerogative of refufmg my afient to any law, you might propofe, contrary to their intereft; and fhould you meditate any act contrary to mine, I {hall ref life my afient to that alfo ; being confident I mall ever meet with the fupport of my loyal and affectionate people. As you have already fettled a revenue fufficient for the expences of my family, J will not have the debt of the civil lift increafed, to the oppreffion of my poorer fubjects. I mean not to influence the deliberations of Parliament S f s * with * with a long lift of fmccurc places and penfions, by t which the induftrious arc burthcncd with the fup- * port of the indolent and abandoned. In thcfe len- * timents I am happy to find I am fupported by the * votes and refolutions of my faithful Commons of * Ireland ; and I doubt not you will alfo concur with their opinion, when I declare I mean to leave you, as you have ever been, free Agents, to act for the t welfare of my people. I lhall look on none as ene- ' mies to my family and government, who confult * not my will in the fcntiments which they lhall think f proper to deliver. I mail regard none as my Friends , * who arc enemies to our noble conftitution.' January, 1772. LETTERS LET E R S ON THE CUSTOM of IMPRESSING SEAMEN. ADVERTISEMENT. The fallowing Letters were firft publifhed at the time, when the affair of Falkland's ifland threaten- ed us with a war with Spain. The farcaftical Ju nlus then took notice of them in a Letter addrefTed to their Author ; and, tho' I pretend not to fay that Junluf thought himfelf in the argument roil- ed, certain it is, he deemed them not equally de- ferving of a republication with the Letters of Sir William Draper* and the Reverend Mr. Horne. Yet, however inferior in compofition, or how much foever beneath the entertainment of the Public, they may be eftcemed, their fubjeft dcferves it* Attention; it merits the notice of every man who to Humanity his any claim. LETTER L E T T E R I. To the PRINTER of the PUBLIC ADVERTISER. S I R, WHEN the dreadful apprchenfion of any dan- ger is paft, we are often furprifed, if not diverted, at the effects of our fear. When, there- fore, the prefent alarm (hall have fubfided, and the Navv mail be fufficiendy manned for our national fafety, I hope my countrymen will be in a temper to give the Prefs Warrants all due and attentive confi- ckration. >Impreffing feamen into his Majefty's fer- vioe, by a Warrant from the King, or his Commii- fioners of the Admiralty, has been pra&ifed fo long, that the memory of man runneth not to the contrary; and having been received as a cuftom by the tacit confcnt of our forefathers, it is therefore in a manner become one of the Leges nonfcripta of thefe realms. But {malus vf us abolendus eft) if it be not a good cuf- tow, it ought to be no longer ufed ; it ought to be abolimed; the Lcgiflature ought to declare k net to If the law of the land. And fuch a declaration ought to foe pafled, before we can truly call ourfelves a free people ; for the natives of that country can never be ca'led free, where one innocent man, maintaining himfelf by his own induftry, can be imprifoned or rc- flrained by the arbitrary will of a few. The Liberties of a Briton confift in the right cf perfonal fecurity j the right of perfonal liberty ; and - the ( 3-9 ) the right of private property. All thefc arc wan- tonly violated in the execution of a Prefs- War rant. An honeft induftrious man is attacked in the public ftreet by a Prefs-gang; if he refift, he is maimed, wounded, or killed , his perfonal fecurity is then gone: if he is overpowered, he is dragged on board a tender, is hurried away to fea, and is perhaps never heard of more. Adieu then to his perTonal Liber- ty ' it travels with him to the bottom of the fea. But how can his perfonal property be affefted ? What property can a low mechanic, or a day labourer have ? "What hardlhip, pray, on him, to make him change his trade for a good birth on board of a man of war?" I anfwer, that the wages of his labour are his proper- ty, and they ought to be as much at his difpofai, as the great houfe in tfloomfbury fquare is at the dif- poial of the moft noble and moft puiffant Duke of Bedford. They are dearer to him. for they are his all. Set fire to the Duke of Bedford's houfe, and you burn but one of a thoufand houfes he is rrufter of; His Grace can put his head into another the very next moment; but drag a labouring man from his work, and you leave his family expofed to mifery and want, or to become a burden on their parifh, than which nothing can be a greater hardfhip to a truly Britim mind It may perhaps be called pride; but it is a noble and a commendable pride: The fame man that difdains to take alms of his neighbour, would, in the ftation of Peer, fcorn to receive a penfion out of the revenue of this indebted State. 'Tis the foul that makes the free man in whatfoever degree. The fame noble fpirit of Independence, which has brought our Liberties to what they now are, burns in the brcaft of the mechanic as much as in that of the Lord. Have we not feen a Peer of the ( 3* ) the realm, mot dead by Mungo Campbell, for fet- ing to difarm him of his gun ? And have we not heard of the undaunted behaviour of a failor on board of an Eaft-lndia fhip, who, rather than be prefTed into a fervice that he abhorred, finglyopp- fed him- felf to the force of a whoh Prefs gang, and in the unequal conflict met with his untimely end ? Think* Sir,what thefemen muft have fuffered, at the thoughts of having their inclinations forced, contrary to the natural Liberties of mankind, limited by no deter- minate law. Agreeable then to the dictates of humanity, agree- able to the principles of civil Liberty, the practice of Prefs- warrants cannot be continued in this coun- try. In what manner, without them, to man our navy, I do not prefume to prefcribe. I mall only remark, that notwithftanding the late incefiant ufe of them for thcfc fix weeks paft, there are not found icamen enough to man twenty {hips of the line. This circumftaoce ought to be a fufficient hint to Govern- ment, to propofc fomc plan for keeping up a ftand- ing navy. Every argument is for it that can be ufed in favour of zftanding army^ and with fo much the greater force, as our enemies muftfirft crofs the feas, and encounter our navy, before their landing in this I (land can render the army of material fervice ; and becaufc too, much longer time and experience is re- quifite to train an able leaman, than to make a com- mon foldier complete. Many are the duties of the former ; the latter needs but to have a natural cour- age and ftrength of body, and his trade is then learnt in the firing of a Gun. The Highlanders in the year 1745, and General Elliot's light- horfe in the laft war, have fhewn us what 'raw foldiers can do that have but Officers to lead them to (laughter. The laft defeat ( 3" ) Defeat of the Fren'ch fleet by Sir Edward Hawke, fcas, on the contrary, mewn of v/hat little uie a iaiior is that has not been taught his bufmcis at lea. AN ADVOCATE IN THE CAUSE OF THE PEOPLE, LETTER II, S I R, H EN I troubled you laft on the fubje& of Prcfs Warrants, little did I imagine I mould have chree fuch able lawyers as Mr. Clynn, Mr. Dun- ning, and Mr. Weddcrburn, to agree with me in opinion, that the cuftom of imprefiing men for his Majefty's Navy was, by long ufagc, and the tacit confent of the people, become part of the law of the land. I own it is very flattering to my vanity, to find my fentiments have fo far coincided with thofe of the three learned Gentlemen. But, at the fame time, it greatly mortifies me, as a Briton, to think what foreign nations will fay of the freedom of our glorious Constitution, when they read the opinion of thofe Gentlemen on the legality of prdling, as it is delivered to us in your Paper. They have been told by the great Montefquieu, in his Eilay on the I3rit- ifh Conilitution, (Efprit des Loix, Lib 11, Ch. 5.) T t " II ( 3*2 } " II y a auffi une Nation dans le monde, qui i ct pour objet direft de fa Conftitution la LibertJ " politique-," and again, at the end of Chap. 6. of the fame Book, " Ce n'eft point a moi a exami- tL ner fi les Anglois jouiiTent adluellement de cette *' Liberte, on non. 11 me fuffit de dire, qu'elle eft " etabliepar leiir Loix, et je n'cn cherchepas d'avan- l > tage." They are there affured by that great Law- yer, that Civil Liberty is ellablifhed in Ln^land by its laws. They are now informed by three of our firft Civilians, that the perfonal libm^ of a Briton is {till left, on the old plea of State neceffity, at the arbitrary Will of the King. Will foreign Nations, with rcafon, rot exclaim, *' Where, Britons! is your 'boafted Freedom ? In what is it greater th^n our's, wht-n the rich and the powerful are only to be free? Where, your fo much vaunted patriotifm, that for- mer 'y oppofed the arbitrary taxation ot fhip money, and aboiilhcd the Star-Chamber, and but lately de- clared General Warrants illegal? Shall we fay that feli in te re It alone animated your Patriots to t ; ;ofe noble deeds ? Yes, 'twas nought but vile felt-interefl that moved them to oppofe the will of their Kings : The (hip money aftefted the pur les of the rich as well as the poor-, and the Star- Chamber and the ufe of General Warrants endangered the life and property of the Peer, alike with thofe of the common man. If it be a love for the natural rights of mankind that fires the breads of your Patriots, Why do they not ftand forth? Why do they not now raile their voices in the Senate apainft the inhuman oppreffion of the poor againft the cruel, unconftitutional cuftom of preffing men? No, it is fordid felf-intereft or ambiti- on that animates them to aclion; for the rights of their fellow-creatures they can have but little regard. They ( 3*3 ) They arc, on the contiary, making daily facrifices of them to their own ambkious defigns. by enac- ting laws, which declare actions, in their nature inoffenfive, to be crimes, and which direct tlu per- fons offending againft fuch laws, to be tried ojher- wifc than by a jury of their Peers. Ye fhort lighted generation of men ! your own avarice'and ambition will bring you to flavery in the end. You are daily depopulating the country by railing your rents, and enlarging your farms. You will thereby lofe that weight in the State which accompanies a body of tenants, attached, by aflfc&ion or dependence, to the interefts of their Lords Thefe ties on the com- mon people gone, which enfured you their fupport, ho 'i will you withftand the power of any arbitrary King? Self-intereft and felr-prefervation (if a vene- ration for the natural rights of mankind guides you no more) ought to inflruct you, to make it the in- tcreft of the pooreft member of the community, to contend for the general good, and to fupport, with his life, the Liberties of his Country, and the fafety of the Common-wealth. " The fame fpirit which invigorated the armies of Rome, ought to animate the people of a free State. The Great Montefquieu makes this remark on the difference of a Roman army, from a modern band of mercenary troops : Each ttoman trufted to the ftrength of his own arm, and put little confidence in the affiftance of his neighbour ; a modern foldier confides in the number and bravery of his compani- ons, and the experience of his leaders. The firll conquered -, the latter is ignominioufly put to flight. Then take not from your common people by un- necefTary oppreflion, the power and inclination to Hand in the fupport of Freedom. Remember the T t i 1 a*- fate of Denmark : The Commons, rather than fub-, mit to the tyranny of the Great, furrcndercd their liberties to the the King. Such may too loon he the cafe in Britain. But you will fay, this cuftom of preffing men is only praclifed in cafe of neceflity ; in the nrr.e of war, when our enemies come unexpect- edly upon us. And who caufe that neceffity but you, the very inhuman oppreflbrs of whom we complain? You deal out places and penfions among yourielves, and plunder the State of that revenue which ought to he employed in its defence. Nay, fome of your vile pensioners are not afhamed publicly to affert the legality and neceffity of opprefling the poor. They openly declare, that the public fafety depends on the continued cuftom of impreffing men: But they fhould have coniidered, how many ferviceable feamen, a penfion of two or three thoufand pounds a year could have maintained ! how many brave men, for that Aim, would have fought for the liberties of the State ! They mould have confidered too, how much money could be faved, and the number of men that could be fpared to the Navy, by difbanding part of that army that ferVes chiefly to garrifon your ter- ritories abroad; and may hereafter be employed to awe the people into an obedience to laws, enacled agairift their reat welfare by a corrupt Legiflature, that frail be bribed into a compliance with the will of their King."" Such may be the fentiments of foreign Nations with regard to 'the boafted Liberty of the Britifh Conititution ; and with an envious und malignant fatisfaftion, they will behold the Britons fall from that Freedom, to which they themfelvcs could never Attain. ' Junius Junius having exp re/fed himfelf, on tie fubjecl of Prefs Warrants, in the following terms y drew from me the Letter adarejfed. to him : " T REGARD the legal liberty of the meanefl man " .1. in Britain, as much as my own, and would " defend it with the fame zeal. 1 know we muft (land equip his fleet; the remedy, though found by him, being noc ytt applied to the grievances of which tha uauua would complain. .. To an ADVOCATE in the CAUSE of the PEOPLE* S I R, 18. October, 1771. Y.OTJ do not treat Junius fairly. You v/ou'4 not have condemned him fo haltily, if you had ever read Judge Feftfr's argument upon the legality of pivffing ieamcn. A man who has not read that arira.i ent. is not qualified to fpeak accurately upon the lub)e6t. In anfwer to itrong fafts and fair rea- ioning, ,you produce nothing but a vague companion between two things, which have little or no rcfem- blancc to each other. General Warranty it is true, had been often iffued, but they had never been regu- larly questioned or refilled, until the cafe ot JVfr,' Wilkes. He brought them to trial, and the moment tliey were tried, they were declared illegal. This is" U u hot the cafe of Prtfs Warrants. They have been complained of queftioned, and refilled in a thouland inftances; but ftiil the legillature have never inter- pofed nor has there ever been a formal decifion againft them in any of the fuperior courts. On the contrary, they have been frequently recognized and admitted by Parliament, and there are judicial opi- nions given in their favour, by Judges of the firft character. Under the -various circumftances, ftated by Junius, he has a right to conclude, for himfelf y that there is no remedy. If you have a good one to propoie, you may depend upon the afliftance and ap- plaufe of Junius. The magiftrate, who guards the liberty of the individual, deferves to be commended. But let him remember that it is alfo his duty to pro- vide for, or at leaft not to hazard, the fafety of the community. If, in cafe of a foreign war and the ex- peftation of an invafion, you would rather keep your fleet in harbour, than man it by preffing feamcnj who refufe the bounty, I have done. You talk of difbanding the army with wonderful cafe and indifference. If a wifer man held fuch Ian- guage, I mould be apt to fufpect his fincerity. As for keeping up a much greater number of fea- ttien in time of peace, it is not to be done. You will opprefs the merchant, you will diftrefs trade, and deftroy the nurfery of your feamen. He muft be a miferable ftatefman, who, voluntarily, by the fame aft incrcafes the public expence, and leflcns the means of fupporting it. PHILO JUNIUS.* LETTER * See Junius's Letters, Vol. ii. page 290, ( 33' ) LETTER IV. To J U N I U S. S I R, SINCE you have confefTcd yourfclf to be the writer of Philo Junius, I mail make no apo- logy for addrefling you again. You accufe me with treating you unfairly. I (hall retort the accufation, and prove your want of candour to me. It was the necfffity of a Prefs Warrant, and not its legality 9 which I denied. , I never called in queftion the legality of prefling feamcn -, on the contrary, I have in a former letter admitted the cuftom, as now become, by ufage im- memorial, part of the common law of the land. I had therefore nothing to do with Judge Fofter's argu- ment upon the legality of preffing feamen, unlefs Ju- nius, in his former Letter, had thus exprefied him- felf: " I have read Judge Fofter's argument on the " legality of preffing feamen; and I am fo much con- " vinced by it of the legality of the cuftom, and the ** inexpediency of abolifhing it, that I conclude there " is no remedy, in the nature of things, for the " grievance complained of.'* Had you delivered yourfelf to that effecT:, you might, for your jollifica- tion, have referred me to Judge Fofter : but you rea- foned in a far different manner; you faid '* I ; the *' right founded on a neceffity, which f jperledts all IJ u 2 4 f argun-.cnc. ( 33* ) f f argument. I fee it eitablifhed by ufagc immemo- " riali and admitted by more than a tacit affcnt of *" the legiflature. 1 conclude there is no remedy, in ?* the nature of things, tor the grievance complained ** of; for if there were, it muft long fmce have been " redrefied." It was in anfwer tothefe words that I affirmed, you cftd not mean to inveftigate the truth. You ought to have Ihewn the neccflhy was real* and could not be prevented ; you ought to have proved, that no cuf- toms, tranfmitted to us from the ancient arbitrary government of our kings, had been lately declaied illegal before you made your hafty conciuiion. 1 agree with you, Sir in your afll-rtion, that (Gene- ral Warrants and Prefs Warrants have little or no refemblance to each other. The firft affected' the perfons and property of the rich, as well as of the poor; every Member of the Houie of Commons brought the cafe of Mr. Wilkes home to bimfctt ; and General Warrants were coniequentiy, on the re- firtance, declared illegal. But the cafe of a Prd's Wai rant is entirely different; that affects but the perfonal liberty of a poor mechanic, or the very Scum cf the Earth . and it is fupported by the rich, on two principles,, the firtl is, that if they do not raife men by force, they rnuft procure them by pecuni- ary means, and pay a bounty out of their purfe; the feconcl is, that no rich man forefees in the cuf- tom any danger to himieif: and, therefore, though 1'rels Warrants have been, as you iay, complained of queitioi)cvJ, and refilled, in a thouland initanccs, it does not follow, that they have ever met with a fair trial." No prfciTed man was ever tried by his .Peers : 1 me^n by free men, eqiul to him in his fta* f'ion of life 1 ; he is tried and condemned by Juftices, Judges, ( 333 ) Judges, and Senators, who can rinvc no feelings for his Itate. i except, hu\vewr, fome truly patriotic iyiagiiirates or London, \vi.o h. ;o nobiy flood forth the defenders or" the lihcities or , ieiiow-citizens 'I heir conduce proved, tliat Prefs Warrants can be tlTeciual.y re lilted, by thole aie willing to grant protection to .the injured and bpprtfll-d. If then we aaa.it tue tile or' them, from ancient cuftom, to be legal ;. v.e mull aifo acknow- ledge, i: i* repugnant to the modern notions or the rights of man. Our modern^ and ( may a.id, our juji ideas of" liberty, do net admit of force or vio- lence to be ufcd againil the meaneft or our fellow- iubje&s, to detain him, but by the exprcis declara- tion of the written law of the hnd, or by cuitoms received as laws, by the long continued aifent and non re fill an cc of the people. We-camon fay thac ^rcfs Warrants have entirely that fahdiou now. A m:in, detained by a Prefs Wa r ranr, has not for- feited his liberty by the cornmifSon or any crime: he IMS tranf ieiTed againit n-j r-j:e of conduc?: iaid ilown to him; he is a prilbner ar ti,e ^r-iitrary wiil of the king; but he is poor, and ih.it i ac-joLiiitcii to him a fufficient critne. The l^giflatiirc, at icalr, overlook him as urnvorthy of attention-, no dtcl.ira- tory law is made for his rcl'.ef - t and the Oppixifion of an ancient arbitrary government is continued to thefe times. How then mail he hope for prot ictiun? A difcontinuance and rtliilancc cf ihe cuitorn, ; as were practifcd by the patriotic MagiflraWsof Lon- don, would protect him, and would Joon render a Prels Warrant both ineffectual and ill. But Junius will tell me, this is ail but idle ( mation, unlefs I propofe to him fome remedy againit !he grievance complained of, or a preventive for the ijectility ( 334 ) neceffity of the cafe. I fhould propolc it to him, i* a Newfpaper fche'me was the mod ready to meet with countenance and fupport, But Junius muft know, how averfe Minifters are to adopt any fcheme, that does not come forth as if projected by themfelves. Does any propofed law, even in the Senate, meet with fuccefs, until it be firft approved of by a nod of minifterial afient ? And to obtain that too, it muft be countenanced and fupported by fome great man. I cannot, however, conclude, without obferving, (in reply to the laft paragraph of your letter) that a, body of ieamen, kept in conflant pay, would opprefs. the merchants, and diftrefs trade, far lefs, than does the occafional fudden prefs of all their failors, when their (hips are ready to put to fea. In the firft: inftance ; the burthen on trade, towards defraying the expence, would, in this opulent king- dom, be but fmall; and, in a very fhort time, the frft demand for feamen for the royal fleet, would not be felt by the mercantile mips at all. In the fecond inftance ; the ftroke is unexpected, and relief unprovided for. The mips are then detain- ed in port at an extraordinary, unforefeen expence \ their cargoes, by that expence, are raifed in their ori- ginal coft ; the market, for the fale of thofe cargoes, is perhaps loft by the detention of the fhips ; and if thofe mips are bound to parts, to which they cari fail only at particular feafons of the yeir, their voya- ges are entirely loft j and both the {hips and their cargoes, with the intereft on their prime coft, remain dead weights in t,he merchant's hands. A few Words more, Sir, and I have done. You mifreprefent me again, when you fay, I talk with wonderful indifference about di(bandmg the army. 1 only affirmed, that a body of feamen, kept in ( 335 ) ftant pay, was more necefiary than a Handing army, for the defence of our iflej except what is abfolutely requ iite for our garrifons abroad, and to guard the body of our king, the reft of the army, I itill main- tain, might give place to an additional number of men for our fleet. I trufl. in our militia as much as in raw recruits, or in foldiers unaccuftomed to action. What better, after a long peace, would the regular troops be found? Their fupcriority would exift but in the experience of their vetran officers ; and in the advantage of that experience the militia might be made to participate ; as, at fome future opportunity lhall (incur theory^} be fufficiently fhewn. Three Thr^e LETT E R S From -a'MKKCITANT in-LoNDoy, to his FK'F.ND at AMSTERDAM ; containins a Sketch of BRITISH JPOLITleS in the year 7779. LETTER 1. Afy dear Friend, I A M happy to learn, you are returned in gooe! health to Amfterdam. It was io long fince i had any accounts of you, that I was really apprehenfive ibm.e misfortune had prevented you from writing; but how agreeably was I furprized to find, you had t laft fettled y->ur affairs at Batavia, and were come to pafs the remainder of your days in your native country! You tell me, 1 have been mofl punctual in acknowledging the receipt of your remittances, and in my advices about the execution of your orders; yet vou cannot help reproaching me for my total omiilion of public occurrences, and particularly for my unpardonable filence on the fubjecT; of Britifli Politics. ' For what purpofe, my dear friend, was I to trouble yon, on the other fide of the Globe, with the vile, delpicable deeds of your antipodes? As long as their High Mightinefles, your States, preferr- ed their neutrality, and lived in Chriftian peace and chanty -,. ( 337 ) charity with the reft of mankind, you had no more to do with the Politics of Europe than an inhabitant of the Moon. But you will tell me, Homo fit m, &c. that you are a Man, and that nothing, which con- cerns the happinds of mankind, can be uninctrciling to you. Cor.fidering the matter in that light, I imut own myfclf to blame; for ftirely nothing, in the hii- tory ot mankind, has ever happened more interfil- ing t'5 a generous mind, than this cruel and unnatural War with our American Colonies. What man of feeling, what friend to freedom can, without emo- tion, behold thoufands of lives facririced, to deprive iellow citizens of their liberties, and creel: a dominion or the (word * ? I fpeak as a Citizen of the World> which you know 1 have ever confidered myielf to be, fince thofcfevca years of my youth 1 fo pleafantly palTed on the Con- tinent. An early and long refidence abroad* will generally (trip a man of all prejudice in favour of his native country. The fpot where lie was borii mult, in time, be forgotten for the place where he has formed his connexions. But a man, guided by the true ipirit of the Chriliian Religion, though he had never let his foot out of Britain, will regard all mankind as his kindred, to whom no injury muft be done, even for the benefit of himfelf or his children. J mall perhaps be- told, the fcripture has particularly enjoined us to provide for our cff-fpring. True -, but though a man with a numerous family be ftarving, he is in no fhape permitted to (teal from his neighbour, in order to fupport them. If then an individual is X x not * Such was certainly the objeft of the War at the beginning of it, and one iuccefsful Campaign would make us avow it asialn. ( 33* ) hot allowed to mantain his family by theft or rob- bery, why fhould we fuppofe it lawful for one Nation to rob and plunder another, with a view to aggran- dize itlelf, and debafe its rival ? In the eye of the Almighty, the one deed muft be as finful as the other, although cuftom, with mankind, has not rendered them equally criminal. The num- ber of aflbciates, in guilt, tends to dhninim the confcioufnefs of it; but, were we to be early and generally inltrudled in the principles of univerial benevolence, peace, juftice and indiiftry would reign on the earth, nor would barbarous War fweep off to death fo many of its inhabitants. The fault lies not in our Religion, as fome Authors have in- finuated; the blame of thofe maffacres is with us, who do not follow its inftruftions. Obferve, my friend, the people called Quakers; obferve your own Nation, who, next to them, live neareft to the pure principles of our Religion : Are they not more temperate, iober, induftrious, peaceable and juft. than the reft of mankind ? And are they, on that ac- count the lefs happy and contented wi:h their prefcnt earthly condition? The misfortune then is, that all Nation?? are not Chriftians ; and War is become at times unavoidable, on the juftifiable plea of felf- defence, or refiftance. I am making a fermon of a letter -, but to prove that I am tolerably well qualified to give you an im- p rtial account of our American difpute, it was not improper to exprefs thefe fentiments of univerfcl benevolence. I fhall not take up your time in arguing, which Party has juilice on its fide; for that queftion is now loft in the natural rancour, or bitter hatred, confe- quent on a long contefl. I (hall endeavour to trace out ( 339 ) out the expediency, or inexpediency of the meafures puffued to fubjugate America, and the probable ad- vantages or difadvantages that would accrue to this country from fuch a conqueft. In the mean time, the means employed to obtain the end, itrongly remind me of a ftory I have heard of one of your Country- men, which, though it be not new, I cannot but re- late to you, as you have never heard it. " A Dutch Merchant, on a vifit to his Friend in Yorkfhire, was taken out one morning on horfeback to fhew him the diverfion of hunting. He faw a very fine run with fome excellent Harriers, and the Hare at laft was killed. But when he got in at the death, inftead of demonftrating any facisfadion at the fport, (of which he had not the lead conception) he gravely alked the Matter of the Pack, how much each Horfe coft him ? What were the wages he paid to his Huntfman and Whippers-in? And what was the charge of keeping fo many Horfes and Hounds ? On being told the exorbitant fum, What! cried he, fo much money fpent in killing a poor animal of a Hare! Why, give me an order, my friend, and 1 will fend you from Holland as many Hares as you, pleafe, and'they mail cofc you no more than a mil- ling a-piece, delivered at vou.r own houfein town." If the glory of hunting and worrying our fellow- creatures be our fport,, thirty millions of money has been properly expended; if, on the contrary, our real object be to -fill the pot, \ think I mall make it appear, that inftead of * fubjlantial dim, we are providing for ourfelves a very dear and a very bitter, but intoxicating Cup of Comfort. I am, &c. May 13, j 7 79' Xx i. LETTER; ( 340 } LETTER II. God loves from Whole to Parts ; but human foul IVIuft rife frpm Individual to the Whole. Selt-love but ferves the virtuous mind to wake, As the fmall pebble ftirs the peaceful lake : The center mov'd, a circle flrait fucceeds, Another Hill, and ftill another fpreads ; Friend, parent, neighbour, firft it will embrace ; His country next; and next all human race. POPE'S EJfay on Man, Ep. 4th. YO U fee, my friend, I have not yet done wf nothing but temporary fubjedls, or the mere Idle- talk of the day. But writing to you, my friend, who are defirous to form an opinion of what is likely to happen, from your judgment of what has already paft, I will refer you, for recent occurrences, to other informants, and will endeavour to give you a little,* abridged account, or Htftotrc raifonnee^ of fome pad events connected with our American affairs. Nor would this be-altogether ufelefs in any of our public papers; for, fince the commencement of this Ameri- can war, thoufands of my rellow-fubjefts are grown up to manhood, and" are entered into life, who can have no other conception of the original difpute, tharj what they were taught, by their parents or teachers, implicitly to believe, Add to this, the Englifh arc a people who, in public as well as in private concerns, are univerfally allowed to be too generally guided by the caprice of the day.. It is therefore be- come requiiite, frequently to remind them of their true interefts, and as earneftly to perfuade them to a deliberate ( 345 ) deliberate review'of every occurrence in their national affairs. To roufe the p affion.r of the people is but ta wifh to break the windows of a Minifterj to con- vince their reafcn, is to raife an effectual oppoiitioa to his wicked meafures. If you were to caft your eye, my friend, over the lift of our privy counfellors, you would be afionifh- cd,to think that our affairs have, for fome years pad, been fo very unfortunate. But your furprile will ceafe, when I tell you, that every matter of national importance is fcrft canvafTed in a fecret cabinet of King's Friendi^ who luffer none to be fummoned to the privy council, but fuch as are known Co be well affected to their government. I muft further inform you, that thefe King's Friends are Tories to a man ; and you will remember, in my laft letter, my defi- nition of a Tory, to be a perfon who not only ele- vates the prerogative of his King, to the debaiement of the rights of the people, but who would willingly enflave the whole human race, and make them to be fubfcrvicnt to his own will and pleafure. Thefe men (tick faithfully together j and whatever is done by any of them, is acknowledged only as the aft of the whole council. The King can do no wrong ; fo fayeth the law, and he muft not becenfured. Nay, for fo much as falls under his immediate infpe&ion, his Majefly is greatly to be commended. I mean for the regulation of the army, which, in no reign, has had more attention paid to it. We have it under the hand of one of his Majefty's lory Miniflers, that every officer who diftinguiihes himfelf, and is the " means of advancing the glory f his Majefty's arms, " may be certain that his ferviccs will not pals un- " noticed by his moft gracious matter *." To teach Y y an * See Lord George Germaine't Letter to Sir William Howe, March 3, 1777, iu the Parliamentary Regtfier, lor i;79; P- 593* ( 34*. ) an army to maiTacre at the will of their Sovereign, the Grand Monarch himfelf could not fpeak in terms of better encouragement. Thus do we fee, that., with a true Tory, the fafety of the ftate, and the fervicc cf his country, are objects not worth the mentioning. The glory cf bis Maje fly's arms is difplayed as the only fhmdard or a Britiih ioldier. Liberty and Pro- ferty, ye old, tattered, but honourable colours ! ye fliall not be entirely deferted ! there is (till areferve for you in the militia oi England. The King, then, being fo commendably attentive to the profperity cf the army, 'tis prefumed that his Majelty trulls the management of his civil affairs en- tirely to his mil-utters : but has the Firft Lord of the Treafury done any thing amifs ? He declares himfelf to be but a Clerk of the Council. Have the Secrcta. ries of State, the Secretary of War, the Firft Lord of the Admiralty, been charged with any mifconduct? Not one of them will acknowledge that he acts ot himfelf. They are all the mere tools of the fame council. Formerly, my friend, a Minifter could be im- peached and punifhed for the mifmanagement of his own department; it being then allowed, that as the King .could do no wrong, no wrong could ever be done, unlefs by his inftruments, the Minifters; but now the cafe is altered; no Minifter will confefs that he acts of himfelf, or that he is refponfible for any thing. So that if you lodge an accufation againft any one man, no redrefs can be obtained ; for he is furc to play againft you the old-fafhioned game of hunting the flipper. When, therefore, you underftand that our affairs are governed by a Cabal, and are not con- certed by the free, unbiased opinions of the Members of the Privy Council, your wonder will ceafe at be- holding holding them fo badly concluded. But what has become, you'll fay, of the grand inqiieft of the Na- tion, that ought to controul or rectify every tiling ! Alas! it is a pitiful Parliament that has approved of every meafure, out of compaffion to an unfortu- nate Minifler. When you fhall have farther exami- ned the principles of thefe Tories, who have got both the legiflative and executive powers into their ma- nagement, you will be lefs furprized that no reforma- tion or amendment has yet been effected. Far from confidering himfelf to be only the Steward of the public, a Tory Minifter, with unparalleled fclffuf- foiency, erects himfelf into a mighty and infallible Ruler of the People, who are iubmiffively to obey Him, as the properefl Judge of whatever is requifite for their public happinefs According to him, who- foever pretends to have an opinion of his own in po- litics, and to differ from him in his ideas of govern- ment, is a fa&ious or rebellious fubjed - 9 an enemy to his King and country. Into the hands offucb men did our good King fall, in his youth; and the confequence has been, that, transferring the patriarchial power of a parent, over his own family, to the government of a free and high- fpirited people, he has, fince the firft three years of his reign, had a conftant ftruggle between the will of his Cabinet and the oppofite opinions of his Subjects, who as conftantly cxcrcifed their old ac- cuftomed rights 6f fcrutinizing the meafures judged the moft expedient for the public benefit. It will fave me much writing, my dear friend, if you will take leifure to read the two volumes of jfunius's Letters^ which I have fcnt you by the lad ^London Trader; for nothing, that I or any other fcribbler can offer, will give fuch a complete notion of ( 348 ; of the Politics of this reign. When you have acquU red a proper knowledge of thofc Politics, we will then proceed to the rife and progrefs of our American Difpute; which will appear to you as natural as that a fhower mall fall after a fquall of wind. 1 cannot, however, conclude this Letter without replying to your obfervation, " that I muft be un- " grateful, indeed, to the Government that protects '* me, no, to wim fucceis to its arms in every pur- * 4 fuit." I acknowledge no gratitude to be due for a protection which is my right. Every member of a community furrenders to Government a part of his natural liberty, to be protected in the free exercifc of the re/I ; and if the perfons entrufted with the adminifleringthat protection, mould prove either neg- ligent, incapable, or unjuft, I may, agreeable to the law of nature, at my peril refift; firit, with my pen -, and, when opinions are collected, as readily with my fword. The Revolution mews this to be juftifiable doctrine; and I am not yet difpofed to relinquifh my right. But why fhould I not be a friend to Great Britain, unlefs I wim profperity to every mad enterprise of its Minifters of State? As their wifdom is not infallible. I may be allowed to diffcnt from their opinions, and may fhew the love of my country equally clear in wifhing well to any : provemenf which an individual mail undertake. fames Lowcher, forinftance, is employing above 'M'.dred me.n, in banking out the fcafrom two ; acres of land, at the mouth of the river As a. friend to my country, I muft wifli his :; erst to fpccced; for there will be anacqui- ib marv. acres of valuable land to the King- r nout one drop of humap blood being Iai4 o h:S charge. If, on the contrary, his projeft ftould. fail, the labour of fo many people, being loft, is fo much money thrown ufelefs into the fea. But we have this comfort left, that thcfe four hundred men are flill faved to the State, and may, at any other work, be uiefully employed. Mark the difference, my friend, in our American plan. Many thoufand* of men have been employed, in an attempt to con- quer a Country that we could never keep, and to enilave a people who had never done us harm. We have not only loft that Country, but, in the death of the Soldiers who are (lain, as well as in the vain occupation of them who are left, we have loft the ufeful labour of fo many men. I wifh they had been employed in embanking the Goodwin Sands ! Auguft gd, 1779; I N I S. ERRATA. 59> Line 15, for requites read requires 104, 24, for premiditafed read premeditated 106, 34, erafe / private Lift^ 115, 23, for #^r read upon 1 J $5> 9> erafe //&> 138, 16, for van fy read vanity 141, 1 8, for devont read devout ! 53> 3 tor per odi cat read periodical -169, F2, for d'lmumtlon read diminution 235, 7, for perodical read periodical -308, 9, for /> read there 326, 6, for but read while ~ \j fa \\\L'I \J i 4? s V b University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 Box 951388 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 i \ y Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. ^\\EUNIVER% %1]ONYS01^ %Ji3AINn-3\\V N %OJITV3-JO^ %)JI1VD-JO : A 000000775 7 \\H)N1VE VTR% ^P* S = S5 = > i s S\_H i 151 j ir 4 - i * I tf-LIBKARftjf. v 1 ir'l - C "^. ^ ' * ^ > -<^UA !ITVV IfX^K -')-J S 5 I I *TO \w\w. ^OF-CAlll I ^. 'owm " s ^ ^El'NIV ,^\El'N!\