UNIVERSITY OF CALIFOR1 AT LOS ANGELES FAMILIAR E S S A Y S r O N INTERESTING SUBJECTS. c C^UI CAPIT ILLE FACIT.' H R. LONDON: PRINTED FOR LEIGH AND SOTHEBY, YORK-STREET, COVENT-GARDEN. AI.DCC.LXXXVII. For Heading Koofti ' A iii 3 TO THE 1 K I N G'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. A * S I R, "T T is with the moil humble ^ fubmiflion that I dedicate, to the Father of his people, thefe Eflays. A 2 THB 181688 IV DEDICATION* THE glare of Majefiy bar- not attraded me. Too obfcure in my fituation ever to hope that. my name may reach your royal ear , and partial, as I may be, to the offspring of my fancy ; I am not fufficiently Vain, to think my book worthy your ferious attention. To the man. Sir, I addrefs tnyfelf, and not to the mo- narch ; and as I write profef- fedly DEDICATION. V fedly for the benefit of my fellow-creatures, could I have found a better hufband, a better father, or a more exemplary character, to him, let his fitua- tion have been what it would, I mould have infcribed the Work. THAT a life fo precious, fo invaluable, may be long pre- ferved, not only to blefs your amiable confort, and your royal A 3 offspring, Tl DEDICATION. offspring, but to give peace and lafting happinefs to your people, is the moil ardent pray- er of Your faithful fubjeft, and fervant, The AUTHOR. PREFACE. [ vii ] PREFACE. delineate the working: of the human to develope the deep-laid fchemes ef 'the villain and the hypocrite ; tofet up a light to enable the young and the unthink- ing to Jleer clear of the rocks by which they are ever fur rounded j to give them a chart, by which they may fafely bend their courfe, and to mark on its furface the different points^ where danger lurks unfeen^ where quickfands may intcrfett their deviating way i this is, or ought ta be^ the motive with Vlll PREFACE. with which every man, iv.ho takes up the pen for the feruice of the public, Jhould feel himfelf infpired. When we look up to a Rolcrtfcn and a Watfon, when we perufe the clajjical pages of a Johnfon, when we are acquainted with the pleafmgjlyle of a Goldfmith, &c. does it not appear prefumpticn, in a young author, to attempt to wield the pen ? To the works of thefc men, indeed, this country is more indebted than they are well aware ; and I am perfectly convinced^ that their utility would be more extenfive, wert they read in our academies, as they would blend inJlrucJion and entertainment together* The pupil, induced by the pkaftng recital, would find his manner of writing impercep- tibly improve ; and whilft, ly thefe means, he became acquainted with fome of the fir/1 PREFACE. IX perfonages that ever appeared an the lite* rary theatre of the world, and flared his, mind with the wijl valuable parts of hijlory, he would imbibe the jlyle of the authors^ and, in a Jhor-t time, clothe his ideas in a drefs more elegantly perfefi, than he would tiberiuifc, perhaps, attain far many years to Sift while we advert to-fuch great men as tbefe, iti us not lofe fight of many, who have Li-en brilliant ornaments in the humbler walks of life. It is not alone the reciter- of the aftiens of kings and heroes, of the great: deftroyers of the human fpecies, who is wor- thy of our notice, or who alone merits praife ; there are many who deferve highly of man- kind, from their well-directed 'aiews ; which^ though various in their efforts, yet verge to the fame point the great caufe of virtue. This noble caufe, whether defended by the 2 Jhort, X PREFACE. Jhort, but expreffive e/ayi/t, -who, like Mr. Vicefimus KnoXj defer ibes with accuracy^ and by fmall detached pieces gives us y by in- tervals y every precept that can be wanted for the conduct of human life j cr by a recital ef living manners^ fuch as we find in the works of the verfatile Fielding^ or in thofe of the all-comprehenfive Richardfon ; in Jhort^ whatever be the injlrument, by what- ever vehicle the mental phyjic is conveyed, if the vejffeh are cleared from obJirucHon, and the habit reftored to its original tone, the phyftcian, who prefcribes^ is equally entitled to a reward for his time and trouble. The writer of the prefent fleets, is the reclor of an obfcure country village; and has employed his leifure hours injketching out different views of men and things^ with this ardent wijb y that Jhould they prove be- neath PREFACE. XI Keath the attention of men in the prft walks of literature andfcience, yet to thofe, whofe reading is not fe extenjive, and particularly to the youth of both fexes, they may operate in Jl or ing the mind with what is jujl and praife - worthy ; that aimfiment and in- ftruftion being blended together, they may introduce the readers to a very inti- mate acquaintance with religion and virtue. Emolument is by no means an objeff* Vanity can have no fhare, as the Author knows himfelfto Le concealed behind an im- penetrable majk : and, thus Jituated, he can fafely declare, that the improvement of his fellow-creatures, and the mojl difinterefted philanthropy alone, lead him forward to public notice. He would feel nobly grati- fied for hi) well-meant endeavors, could he ever Anew, that one young mind toot a right 3 bias^ XII PREFACE. or avoided a deep-laid fnare, ly the perufal of what the anther here mojl humbly. J>refints to. the public* FAMILIAR FAMILIAR ESSAYS. ON METHOD. WHERE lives the man who has not found the moft be- neficial effects from an attention to mstbcd? Let the ftation.of the in- dividual be what it will, from the firft duke, nay from the monarch on the throne down to the humble cottager, who goes forth in the morning to his labor and earns his bread by the fweat of his brow ; all, in this long- extended chain, either B feel t * ] feel the good effects of method, or by a want of it, are perpetually em- barraffed both in time and circum- ftances. A s I was ever partial to method, and have acquired habits of atten- tion, which I have found exceed- ingly ufeful, I have fometimes, when in the company of the young, the gay, and the inconfiderate, made it the fubject of converfation. I WAS one day expatiating on my favorite topic to a beautiful and lively girl, who, as is too often the cafe with young ladies, from a flow of good fpints, and an abfence of care, was too animated, and too volatile, C 3 3 volatile, to trouble herfelf about any thing; and who often ftrewed the room, from end to end, with the various articles of her drefs, work, &c. I told her, that, would Ihe but give fome little attention to method, fhe would find it of the moft wonderful ufe throughout life. She laughed at me for my anti- quated notions, and told me, that fhe even now found it fometimes impoffible to reach the parlour when the dinner-bell rang, and if every thing was to be put exactly in its place, fne fliould never reach it at all. A s' fhe poflefTed great good-na- ture, I preffed her to follow my di- B 2 redtiom [ 4 ] reftions for one week ; viz. never to leave any of her things out of order, but to have a fixed place for each of them. She promifed com- pliance, and perfifted with a perfe- verance I little expected. For the firft day or two fhe found fome dif- ficulty, but it gradually wore off, and, after the week was at an end, Ihe acknowledged that method, fo far from occafioning hurry, had a contrary effect ; and, as Ihe poffeff- ed a good underftanding, I am happy to fay, that, being now a mother of a numerous family, every part of it is managed with fuch re- gularity as enfures lading latisfac- tion both to herfelf and her huf- band. WAS WAS I to write a volume upon this fubjed:, I could ftill bring for- ward inftances to recommend this ftiiutary pradice. Who ever faw a family well conducted where me- thod was a ftranger ? A friend of mine, who is a man of folid under- ftanding, has that peculiar attention to order amongft his domeftics, that, go when you will, you never fee the leaft buftle or confufion. All goes on like a well-conftrufted piece of machinery. No bickering is heard amongft the fervants ; be- caufe their bufmefs is feparate, and want of employ never occaiions in- terruption arifmg from idienefs. Go and Hay with my friend by the month together,/and you never hear B i, him [ 6 ] him {forming at, or angry with, his fervants. He takes his ufual rounds to fee that all perform their refpec- tive duties, which are rigidly at- tended to, becaufe the neglect can- not efcape the eye of the mafter. Has he occafion to rebuke, his ac- cent is mild, yet firm ; uniformly Heady, and having judgment never to find fault without reafon, he is implicitly obeyed. T o what then is he indebted for the comforts he experiences in the excellent plan he has adopted ? Some will fay, perhaps to his good underftanding and temper. This I deny, for thefe alone could not pro- duce the pidure I have drawn. It is [ 7 ] is method, that enables all his fer- vants to perform their work with fo much eafe to themfelves, and comfort to thofe around them : it is the common parent of uniformity and regularity, it has alfo amongfl its offspring plan and confiftency, and wherever it appears difarder is- banifned, as it can no more exift where method prevails, than the hoar-froft on the bough, when the rays of the fun are confpicuous above the horizon. I HAVE another friend, who is a good-natured, but a paflionate man (a very common character); the manners of whofc family form a finking contraft to the other. B 4 [ 8 ] PAY a morning vifit to this gen- tleman, and, nine times out of ten, although his eftablifhment is large, there is not one out of all his nu- merous fervants ready to announce you i and you will ftand, perhaps, fhivering in the rain or cold, till at length, after hearing the parlour- bell ring for fome minutes violent- ly, you are admitted by the fcul- lion in a greafy garb. My friend cxhaufted by the oaths he has fworn, and the pafiion he is in, and for which he begs your pardon, takes you by the hand, obferving, at the fame time, that no man was ever ferved by fuch a fet of d d fcoundrels as he is ! and then voci- feroufly cries out Who's there ? THE [ 9 ] THE butler now makes his ap- pearance, and fays, f Sir, you fent * me to the poft-houfe, and I am c but this moment returned.' < Where is William?' f Sir, you f fent him to enquire after the * health of Mrs. , who was * brought-to-bed yefterday.' 'Well, c but where is the boy ? ' c Sir, he c is gone to air the pointers, be- c caufe you fent the game-keeper * out with the fick horfe to the ' farrier/ ' Well, well, leave the * room.' Thus does my poor friend for ever harrafs himfelf, injure his temper, and diftrefs all his inti- mates, when, could he be con- vinced of it, the fault is entirely his own. It is the mafter of a fa- mily, mily, who muft pay a proper at- tention, and, if I may fb term it, do his duty, or he can never rea- fbnably expect that his dependents, were they ever fo difpofed, fhould be able to do theirs, fubjecl:, as thofe of my friend are, from morning till night, to contradictory orders. I - could relate a thoufand inftances of the embarraffments under which I have feen him labor, for want of that forecaft and method, which are fo indubitably effentiaL to a well- regulated family. I remember din- ing with him one day, when, by his want of metbcd, he had fent his butler and footman different ways, his coachman was ill, and there re- mained only the boy to wait, when, unfortunately [ II ] unfortunately aifo, feveral gentle- men dropped in accidentally. Till we entered the dining-parlour, he never once recollected the circum- ftance, and was furprized not to fee the butler and footman in their places; and I hope I fhall never fit down again to fuch a meal as that of which I then partook. My friend worked himfelf into one of his unfortunate pafiions, for which he begged our pardon, complain- ing, poor man ! of the infirmity of his nature. Thefe circumftances put him out of conceit with his dinner, although no man entertains more hofpitably or elegantly. This difh was badly cooked that was over- done another was underdone in [ I* ] in fhort, nothing could pleafe him ; and his lady, who is a very amiable woman, and who was exceedingly hurt at his behaviour, attempting to foothe him (which, by the by, as it moftly does, only added fuel to the flame) he began to quarrel with her, and fhe left the table in tears. The cloth was foon removed. During the remainder of the after- noon, my friend, exhaufted by his paffion, hurt at, and afhamed of, his behaviour to his wife, in vain endeavored to force his fpirits into a temporary vivacity ; and the whole company, inftead of enjoying the focial pleafures of the table with chearfulnefs, pleading fome excufe or other, took an early leave and departed. I WAS [ IJ ] I WA s once told an anecdote of a captain of a man of war, who is an honor to the fervice, which fo pleafed me at the time, that I have ever remembered it. He was one day vifited by the captain of another fhip in the fame fleet ; and, in the courfe of the vifit, his friend could not help remarking the rea- dinefs and exaclnefs with which all his commands were executed ; and, being what is called a good-natured eafy man (by no means calculated for a difciplinarian) f Zounds, ' Dick,' fays he, c how do you con- f trive to be obeyed fo readily, and ' with fo little trouble ? my d n'd ' rafcals are fo perverfe, that I c fometimes bawl till I am hoarfe, * before H ] * before I can be attended to.' c My * good friend,' replied the other, * the mighty fecret confifts only in * this ; I do my duty, and there- * fore have reafon to expect that * every fubordinate officer in the e Ihip does bis ; they all know that c they cannot neglect their bufmefs < without its being obferved by * me ; I never punilh an accidental * or trifling fault, and I never over- * look a great one/ IN commercial and mercantile life, method is neceffary to its very cxiftence, as trade cannot be pro- perly carried on without a very in- timate acquaintance with it. It is by method) and its appendages, or- der E '5 1 der and regularity, that the tradef- man, the merchant, and the banker conduct bufmefs fo varied, fo com- plicated, and fo intricate. ' Never f leave till to-morrow, what may * be executed to-day/ is a very ex- prefiive and comprehenfive adage. Afcertain in the morning what is to be your employment for the en- fuing day ; methodize your time with a critical exaftnefs ; portion out every hour; adhere to your plan, and, when you betake your- felf to reft in the evening and lay your head on your pillow, you can- not have a more pleating fource of fatisfa&ion, than to trace back the routine of your employments, and to reflect, that you have fpent the day 7 [ 16 ] day ufcfully j and, as a member of the community, have performed your part towards the public good. SEE that regiment, how it moves ! with what wonderful exactnefs does the whole body advance, or retire, at the word of command ! See the manual exercife performed ! Is it not almoft incredible to believe, that men, who perhaps, a year ago, followed the plough, and were com- paratively unable to walk, who then had not one idea of the manage- ment of the mufquet, or of any movement to the found of the * fpirit - flirring drum,' or f ear- ' piercing fife,' now perform evo- lutions, that are furprifing to the eye [ 17- ] eye of the obferver ? Method con- quers their almoft invincible habits of rufticity. The drill-ferjeant, at the ftated period, takes the recruits into the field, and by method makes the raw lad quit the roll in his gait, contracted in the furrowed field; and, in a fliort time, as Nature has given him a good fhape and proper limbs, you fee a fmart fellow erect from the drill, and fo altered, that, was he now to appear amongft his former companions, there would be few traces left by which they would at firft recognife him. Happy would it be, if corruption of morals did not work quicker in the alteration of his conduct, than the ferjeant's cane in the improvement of his carriage ! C BY [ 18 ] BY method, the algebraift folves the longed problems} by method, the mathematician climbs from the fimple propofitions of Euclid to the Principia of our immortal Newton, and all the abftrufe learning com- prehended by the ingenious few. By method, the laborious fchool- mafter leads forward the pupils com- mitted to his charge, and prepares them for the different walks, to which they are deftined in future life. By method, the man who has but a fcanty pittance of this world's goods, avoids debts, and brings up his children to earn their bread, and to become ufeful mem- bers of fociety. And, by the want of method, and of what is al-. 7 moft t 9 1 moft always a confequence, the want of teconomy, the moft. opu- lent peers are diffipating their im- menfe property ; and fome future period may, perhaps, fee their de- fcendants in abfolute want of that which is fquandered by them on courtezans, race-horfes, or at the gaming-table. SHALL I fay, as a clergyman, that method is conducive to mora- lity and religion ? Let not the au- ftere moralift condemn the maxim. The man of method will fet apart a portion of his income for the re- lief of the poor and needy, which, by afcertaining his yearly expences, he will be enabled to do ; the man C 2 Of [ *0 J of method is rarely a bad man ; for he, who gives himfelf time to re- fled upon, and to balance with pre- cifion his temporal affairs, can hard- ly fail of cafting a thought upon eternity. He will therefore become religious by method, addrefs his maker with thankfulnefs, when he arifes invigorated in the morning, for his prefervation through the dangers of the night ; and he will, from the fame caufe, bow before our heavenly Father in the evening, when he retires to reft, from a con- fcioufnefs of the unmerited favor of being preferved through the perils of the day, as well as for the blef- fings he enjoys. By method, in- ftead of fpurring forward the almoft fainting fainting poft-horfes, from the morn- ing till the evening of the Sabbath (blufh, ye mighty, at the profanation of that day, now fo faihionable, and your breach of the decalogue !) he will find time to attend to the du- ties of religion ; and, by appearing at his parifli-church, aid the caufe of virtue by the influence of his example. By method too, he will always have his temporal affairs in fuch order, that, whenever he may be called away, a time which he well knows muft be ever uncertain, he may prevent confufion to thofe he leaves behind. THUS have I proved the necef- fity of method. We fee its confe- C 3 quer.cf, [ 22 ] quence, its utility, we fee its in- fluence on the affairs of thofe, who will fuffer thernfelves to be guided by its dictates. A want of it pro- duces conflant hurry and confufion, a diffracted ftate of mind and of cir- cumftances, bankruptcy to the com- mercial part of mankind, irremedi- able diforder and ruin to profeflional men and to the higher orders of the ftate ; whilft thofe, who are happy enough to be in pofieflion of fuch a treafure, or who are wife enough to acquire it, fee their affairs profper, and regularity efrablifhed in every department under them, arifing from fuch habits of reflection, as will en- fure, not only prefent but everlaft- ing felicity. MEANNESS MEANNESS CONTRASTED WITH INGENUOUSNESS. THERE are few things of more confequence, in the education of youth, than their im- bibing, in early life, that firmnefs of mind, which will lead them frankly to confefs a fault commit- ted, even fhouki they be certain that puniihment will be the confe- quence i rather than, by mean eva- fion and daftardly fubterfuge, at- tempt to hide, what, perhaps, arofe from youthful levity alone, not from a bad head, or a vitiated heart. C 4 HERE [ H ] HERE much depends upon the parent. Surely the boy, who, after being led into the commiflion of fome fault, or having accidentally broken ordeftroyed fomething which he was forbidden to touch, comes with a noble, manly frame of mind, which is above deceit, yet with re- Ipectful diffidence, and tells, in lan- guage at once fimple and affecting, the crime he has committed, or the accident that has befallen him, and entreats forgivenefs, is entitled ra- ther to reward than punifhment, and to the moil expreflive eulogium on his behaviour, accompanied with this friendly caution that you truft to his own reflexions, upox the difa- greeable Jenjatlom he has now drawn vpon t *5 1 upcn himfelfj by his careleffnefs and want of thought ; and that for his own fake, you hope he will, hereafter , be more attentive. I WAS led into this train of think- ing by fome events, which I have lately more particularly attended to, and which prove what I have juft advanced pretty forcibly. The law- yers hold it an excellence to be able to ftate a cafe in point, and, as an example from living characters often works ftronger upon the imagina- tion than precept (however clofe the argument is drawn) fo I fhall likewife ftate, as counfel in the caufe of ingenuoufnefs, a cafe in point, fo ftrong and weighty, as, I hope, hope, will entirely overturn a pof- fibility of reply from my adverfa- ries, who are retained in the behalf of meanmjs. A GENTLEMAN, with whom I have been long acquainted, who is porTefied of a good eilate, and is really a refpectable character, was blefied with three children by his lady, two fons and a daughter. In domeftic affairs, and in the cecono- my of her family, no woman could acquit herfelf with more eclat, nor with more addrefs and polite atten- tion to her. neighbours whom fhe vifited. But, unfortunately for the happinefs of herfelf and all her fa- mily, fhe had taken fuch a predi- lection [ 27 ] le&ion in favor of Philip, the eldeft fon, that Harry, her fecond, who was two years younger, and Sophia, who was a year younger than him, often fmarted for faults which Phi- lip had committed, as he had it ever in his power to perfnade his fond mamma, that it was brother or lifter who broke whatever was. the caufe of enquiry j and no atteftation from the others, however true, had any effect to caufe the blame to fall upon the proper perfon. I KNOW not how it happened, but the heir to the eftate, whether from the improper indulgence he received, or from fome inherent difference in his difpofition, had a remarkable remarkable turn for mifchief, for evafion, and fubterfuge, by which means his brother or fitter were often feverely whipped for the tricks of their elder brother. ONE day, in the fpring, when I was upon a vifit to my friend, and the children were playing in the garden, Philip contrived to run againft his brother fo violently, when near a very large cucumber- frame, that Harry fell backwards on the glafs, and, before he could recover himfelf, had deftroyed many of the panes ; Harry, however, who was a lad of great fpirit, foon overtook Philip, and thralhed his cowardly brother for liis frolic. I WAS [ 19 3 I WAS walking very near, in a clofe part of the garden, and, im- obferved by the children, faw the whole tranfaction. The gardener, coming foon after to vifit his plants, and difcovering the accident, went immediately, to avoid blame to himfelf, and informed his mafter of it, adding, as the children had juft been there, he fuppofed they muft know fomething about it. MY friend, on this report, fent for the children into the itudy : Philip came in blubbering and crying vio- lently, conducted by his fond mam- ma, to whom he had related a ftory far from the truth, which fhe im- plicitly believed $ and Her rage in- creafed [ 3 1 creafed at the fight of Harry, who entered the room with that firm but apprehenfive look, which faid, 1 know the partiality of my judges too well to hope for a fair trial, I have done myjelf juftice^ and am prepared for the worft. I had accompanied my friend into his ftudy; and al- though I had determined to vin- dicate my favorite Harry, yet I was likewife determined to be filent, till I faw how far interference was neceiTary. Philip was interrogated, if he knew any thing about the cucumber-frame ? When, raifing his fobbing face from his mother's bo- fom, he faid, c that Harry broke ' the glafs, and that, becaufe he would not promife him to tell a 'ftory [ 3' 1 c ftory about it, and fay the dog c Csefar ran over the frame and c broke it, Harry had beaten him t very fadly. ' The mother now again hugged her darling to her bread, and Harry was called upon for his defence. ' Well, firrah,' faid my friend (who, poor man ! was entirely governed by his wife) c and did you dare to beat your el- c der brother ; and that too becaufe c he would not tell lies for you ? ' < Yes,' replied Harry, < I did thrafh c him, and fo I would again, if he c ufed me as he does now ; though ( not becaufe I want him to tell c lies for me, but becaufe he tells ' lies of me ; for he drove me back- c wards upon the frame, by running againft r againft me for which I beat c him.' The outcry was now vio- lent, both from the heir and his partial mother ; Harry flood as if he had too long been acquainted, that he could not expect juftice in fuch a court, and determined to brave the punifhment. The rod was called for, and an order im- mediately given, that he fhould be horfed on the footman's back. I T was now my turn to fpeak ; I begged to be heard, and declared, that 1 was clofe by when the affair happened, and that it exactly cor- refponded with the account which Harry had given of it. This made a material alteration, and juftice demanded [ 33 1 demanded that Philip fhould oc- cupy the place which was intended for Harry, whilft my hero received fome warm praifes from his father. And, to our no fmall furprife, though but nine years old, he was fo much affected on his brother's account, that he entreated his father to forgive him this once ; adding,, that he himfelf had beaten him too much, and was fbrry for it after- wards, and that one beating was enough for one fault. I faw my friend's eye gliften, in defiance of partiality, whilft mine overflowed; I clafped the dear boy ta my bo- fom, told him no praife was too much for him, and that I fhould ever love him as long as I lived, D I fear [ 34 ] I fear I am too prolix. I have been witnefs to a thoufand other proofs of manly fpirit in the one, and meannefs in the other. The one, the darling of every fervant and dependant; the other, hated and defpifed. I once took the liberty of telling my friend, that time alone would convince him how wrong his conduct was in the education of his children, and that, whilft Harry would prove a blefling to him, Phi- lip would be ever a fource of un- eafmefs. I therefore now come to the circumftance which occafioned this recital; for I liavejuft heard that Philip, after being an idle, dif- folute, and extravagant fellow-com- moner at Cambridge, has lately fallen [ 35 ] fallen a facrifice at Venice to his numerous debaucheries, to the great grief of his fimply indulgent pa- rents. Harry, my noble Harry, on the other hand, who was fent to the ftudy of the law, with rather a fcanty pittance, and told, that as a younger brother, his fortune muil depend upon himfelf, bids fair to be an ornament to the profeffion in whicli he has engaged. On the death of his brother, he was deeply affected, and never mentions poor Philip, as he calls him, but with the tendereft regard j and throws in ex- cufes for his conduct, which no- thing but the fmcereft affection could invent. His father, now Harry is the heir to the family eftate, would D 2 have t 3 3 have perfuaded him to decline his profefiion, but he could not accede to the propofal ; and fays he fhould be miferable not to have his time employed, after the habits of in- duftry he has contracted;, and is re- folved to perfevere. THE moral to be drawn from this recital is, I fhould hope, too ob- vious to all my readers, to require any comment. [ 37 ] ON THE PRESENT FASHION- ABLE MODE OF EDUCATING YOUNG LADIES. THERE is no rock fo likely to be deftructive to my fair countrywomen, particularly the un- married part of them, as the want of that maidenly referve, which heretofore was acknowledged by fo- reigners, as well as natives, to be fo peculiarly their due. I N this particular we are indeed making hafty ftrides, and promife, in a fhort time, to vie with, if not go beyond, the utmoft efforts in re- D finement; 88 [ 33 ] finement of our more poliflicd neighbours on the continent. Lee us take a fketch of a modern young lady. It is by no means certain that fhe has the flighteft idea of the fuperintendance of a family, or the management of domeflic cares -, and fhe would langh in your face, were you to afk her if fhe ever under- took to make any paftry. But how docs {he fpend her time ? Perhaps ihe is better employed in works of tafte, or of embroidery. To the common ufe of the needle I fear fhe is nearly as much a ftranger, as to the performance of any domef- tic duty. But furely, Mr. S adrift, you will not deny her bocks ? there y at lead, fhe may feek refuge from the [ 39 ] the gall of your pen. Oh ! to be fare, if a new novel comes out, replete with modern fentiment, de- fcriptive of a young lady, who, from her extreme fenfibility, and uncon- querable affection for the hero of the work, could not refufe his feli- citations for a trip to Scotland, big with wonderful vicifiitudes, taking care, however, that all fhould end happily at laft, and be palliated by the foothing idea, that, let the lady do what fhe will, \\zrfenfibility is to be a full excufe then, I will grant you, the hours will be Ipent in the morning with books j and ihe will fkim the deftruftive cream of fuch an author, with an avidity that is lurprifing. D 4 , IF [ 40 ] IF no work of this fort claims her attention, perhaps a walk with a female friend helps to kill thofe dull hours j and the walk is enli- vened by the company of that fweet fellow the captain, or fome effenced puppy, who is quite accompllfhed in fuch kind of converfation as ge- nerally amufes the younger part of the fex. not my fair countrywomen be offended, when I affirm, that not imfrequently,. when I hays met lit- tle parties of this kind, attended by men of the ftvord, in the Park, and other places of public refort, I have been at a lofs to diftinguifh whether :they were women of virtue, or jbme of [ 41 ] of thofe frail and unfortunate females, who perhaps were at firft betrayed by their great fenfibility , and are at length become real objects of pity. I. am myfelf .a very referved man, and have more than once been put to the bluih, by that ftare, that for- ward ftep, that vacant laugh, and that inattention to decorum, which mark the prefent race of females ; and I have concluded them to be demireps, till fome friend has, upon enquiry, undeceived me, when, al- though I was glad to find my mif- take, yet have I grieved at the too near refemblance. AT noon a hurry home o drefs is ufual j and the lady is then at- tended [ 4* ] tended by her hair-drefier, who, for two hours, whilft he tortures her beautiful trefTes into every fhape but that for which nature intended them, entertains her with the fcan- dal of the day -, and often hangs over her in an attitude and drefs, the defcripticn of which alone would be indelicate j and if he is a hand- fome fellow, and has been long ini- tiated into the myfteries of his art, I think the lady's virtue is in no fmall danger. THIS, forfooth, is to be called improvement in our manners ! I have often thought what wretched fools our great grandmothers muft liave been, who, fo far from admit- ting C 43 1 ting a difiblute, idle, impudent young dog of a hair-drefTer to their toilet, when they themfelves were in fuch a difhabille as mufl give rile to improper defires in the man, were (poor fouls !) fo timid and ap- prehenfive, that they would hardly fuffer even a hufband to fee them without a cap. B u T we will fuppofe the article of drefs adjufted, and the dinner difpatched. The reft of the night is fpent either at the play, the opera, the mafquerade, or at fome deli- cious rout, where the females of this enlightened age are early introdu- ced into the definitive art of gam- ing, which may bid fair to be the future [ 44 ] future ruin of fome bated huf- band. LET me (ketch the reverfe of this picture, equally true, as I am happy in knowing feveral young la- dies, who have a juft claim to fit for the portrait. LET me fuppofe a young lady educated in fome diftant part of the country, and far from the baneful influence of the metropolis, whofe father is able to give her a genteel fortune, and with a mother quali- fied and willing to fuperintend her education. I will imagine her to. have been at fome neighbouring fchool, to acquire thofe necefiary accompiifh- C 45 3 accomplifhments, mulic, French, dancing, &c. I WILL conceive her to have kept good company, under the eye of her mother, and yet not fo timid as to make her afraid to anfwer a queftion from an agreeable man, though at the fame time pofleffed of that innate modefty and diffi- dence, that bafhful blufhing fweet- nefs, which wins all beholders. I will not fuppofe her mind tainted by thofe books which preach^up the uncontroulable influence of the paffions over morality and virtue ; nor vitiated, as is too often the cafe, by the corrupting ftyle of the generality of novels to be found in that that convenient repofitory, a circu- lating library ! or by the inflamma- tory converfation of thofe fafhionable females, fuch as I have before de- fcribed, And thus, c bearing her < blufhing honors thick upon her/ her perfon remarkable, as to drefs, in nothing but thejimplex munditm of Horace, not lofmg fight of the .fafhion, but far from going beyond it; her mind pure and uncorrupt- ed, ftored with all thofe requifites which make a good wife, and a good mother j I appeal then to my fellow - citizens, nay even to the moft abandoned libertine, whether he would not prefer, in his ferious mo- ments of reflection, fuch a partner .in marriage, to the modern, fafliion- able, [ 47 ] able, and accomplifhed female, with all her airs, affefted graces, for- wardnefs, unbluiliing confidence, and fovereign contempt for every thing domeltic. SUCH then is that amiable mai- den, who, under the plaftic hand of a well-known female writer, emi- nent for her abilities, and her fin- cere attachment to the caufe of vir- tue, reforms the modern and fa- fhionable Florio. I REMEMBER once being upon a journey, and arriving late in the evening at an inn in a country town, where the inhabitants were celebrating their annual aflembly. There [ 48 ] There was no room where I could lodge but one, which adjoined to that in which fome young bucks were to enjoy themfelves, when the afTembly was over. I went to bed late, but not to fleep j for the par- tition being thin, the noify jollity of Kiy neighbours precluded all hopes of repofe. Their converfa- tion turned upon the beauty and accomplifhments of their fair part- ners. To my great furprife, they ran over their different characters with fuch pointed remarks, and the features of each were fo ftrikingly pourtrayed, that I perfuaded myfelf I could almoft have identified the ladies, could I have feen them, by the defcriptions to which I was ear- witnefs. [ 49 ] witnefs : One was tall, but gawky j another too fond of admiration -, a third remarkable for her art, and for her every movement being the confequence of defign ; in fhort, they went almoft through the room, and fome farcafm or other was patted upon the greater part of the whole fet : for although they allowed many to be fine women, beautiful women, &c. yet, from what I could learn, even at a country aflembly a hun- dred miles from the metropolis, the too great freedom of deportment feemed to give general diflike. They were joined, at length, by another companion, who had been to wait upon his partner home. An univerfal clamour, the refult of envy, burft E forth. I 50 ] forth. D n it, Jack, cried one, how happy you have been ! I never faw fo bewitching a girl. All joined in the warmeft eulogium upon his partner, and their praife originated from the very caufe I have been, I hope, fuccefsfully pleading. Her blufhing, unaffected fmiles, her ele- gant neatnefs, and her innate mo- defty, won the hearts of the com- pany, and they unanimoufly de- clared, that, could they obtain pof- feflion of fuch a prize, they fhould be infinitely more blefied than with any of thofe who had been fuccef- fively the fubjeft of their difcourfe ; although they acknowledged feve- ral to exceed her in beauty. LET f 5* 1 LET it not be faid, ladies, in your ex.cufe (for excufe you cannot have) that the manners of the men Co far influence thofe of the female world, that the fault, if there is any, originated with them. Be it yours to reform that lordly fex j fhew, once or twice, your total abhorrence of the double entendre, your ex- treme averfion to the fmalleft ten- dency to a breach of the rules of true politenefs, and you ftrike the Reclaimer dumb. It is yours to guide and direct the turn of the converfation, and your talk is by no means difficult. No gentleman. will ever infult the ears of a modeft woman with the leaft indelicate fuggeftion, unlefs by the turn of E a the [ 5* ] the lady's eye, or fome other cer- tain prefages, he difcovers that it will not be totally difagreeable to her. IT is from you that our moil lafting pleafures muft arife; it is your own fault if you make them tranfitory. Too true is it, that the increafing evil of fedudtion and proftitution gives our fex fo eafy an accefs to the indulgence of every criminal pafiion, that men feel great unwillingnefs to encumber themfelves with the care and expence of a family. But the prefent mode of educating fe- males, aids this caufe more than people [ 53 1 people are aware of. For whilft men fee the other fex fo unac- quainted with domeftic and every valuable duty, tricked out merely to catch the eye^ like the painted gingerbread on the chapman's ftall, and oftener upheld from frailty by pride, than by more praifeworthy motives, we cannot wonder at their diflike to a matrimonial connection. IT is to be feared, likewife, that the univerfal diflemination of no- vels, fraught with every delufive, yet captivating idea, and calculated to make the fair one melt, to ren- der her all nerve, and thus leave her an eafy prey to the artful and defigning villain, has added more E victims [ 54 ] victims to feduction, than any other caufe whatever. LAY afide then, my fair friends, fuch confident affurance, and dif- gufting manners, in exchange for native innocence and unafpiring modefty ; for rely upon it, that the former, fo far from creating efteem and regard, ever) in your warmed admirers, will in the end generate contempt. THE fops, and men of fafhion y will delight to trifle with you in aa idle hour, but they will never ven- ture a ftep farther. The fimple un- affected maiden, artlefs as the lifp- ing infant, and adorned with native virgin [ ss I virgin modefty alone, who fhuns the public eye, and muft be fought like the lily of the valley, will ever infpire the fincereit and moft lively efteem -, whilft the artificial charms of the bold and forward, like the more gaudy colours of the tulip, although they may occafion a tranfient praife, yet will be foon forgotten, and leave no trace upon the mind, that they have ever been the fubjed of the flighteft obferva- tion. E 4 SECOND SECOND THOUGHTS ARE BEST. THERE is hardly a man living but would find, was he to turn his thoughts on this fub- jec~b, innumerable inftances wherein he would have been a gainer by an attention to the adage which is the fubjecl: of this eflay j than which no one is more common, even amongfl the loweft orders of the people. In fhort, it is what every one talks about, though but few attend to and pra&ife. THE [ 57 1 THE young, the gay, and the inconfiderate, would do well to en- grave it on the tablet of their hearts. I MUST confefs, that when I look back upon my former life, I can find numerous cafes wherein I fhould have avoided lois of time and of money, trouble, anxious care, nay even fliame, had I but at- tended properly to this maxim, and given mature reflection an oppor- tunity to come to my aflifrance, How many youths are there now fmarting under the confequences of precipitate folly (to adduce nothing worfe) who feel the truth of what I advance, t 58 ] advance, and repine in vain at what they now fee, which, had they per- mitted themfelves to think twice, might with fo much eafe have been avoided ? THE ftreets of the metropolis abound with numerous inflances to prove this fact, in thofe unhappy outcafts of fociety, who, had they well weighed the confequences of that fmgle rafh ftep, which finks them for ever in the opinion of the world, might ftill have been a fource of comfort to their aged parents, whofe ' grey hairs they ' now bring down with forrow to c the grave. ' Alas ! at the fame moment when juftice calls for ven- 4 geance [ 59 ] geance on their crimes, pity fteps in between the culprit and the aven- ger with fo mild an afpect, and pleads fo ftrongly for the wretched criminals, that the ftroke is with- held, and they are left to what is in itfelf punifhment fevere, the pangs of guilt, with its ufual ap- pendages, want and mifery. DID the felf- willed youth, in his own opinion all-fufficient to the management of himfelf, and like the unbridled courfer above con- troul, give himfelf time for reflec- tion, he would then fee how indif- putably neceifary for his guidance through the mazes of this treacher- ous world, arc the well-meant ad- monitions [ 60 ] monitions of his anxious parent. He would then fee, that the refult of a father's long experience is an invaluable acquifition, calculated to affift his own infufficiency and in- experience. He would then fee (what obftinacy and weak pertina- city of opinion makes him blind to) that here no motives actuate the breaft of this his real friend, but fuch as lead in the end to his wel- fare and profperity, fhould they at prefent be unpalatable to his tafte. He would then fee, that no envy, no rivalfhip fubfifts (as among the af- fociates of his own age); but, on the other hand, that the parent would be happy to be himfelf excelled by his fon, that every nerve is ftrained for t 61 1 for him alone, and that the father's greateft and moft ardent wifh is to make him ultimately happy. He would then fee, when he has loft his indulgent parent, and reflection comes too late (not to his affiftance but to his punifhment) that the defpifing the admonitions, advice, expoftulations, nay entreaties, of his father, will be for ever to him a fource of difquietude, which I can alone compare to the ' worm that f dieth not, and to the confuming * fire which will never be quench- ed.' IN trade, in that walk of life, where we find more phlegmatic characters than in any other, many a one [ 62 ] a one has feen his name in the gazette, from fome rafh and preci- pitate ftep, which he could never afterwards retrieve, and which, had he attended to the adage I have chofen, might with eafe have been avoided, and his own life, together with that of a numerous family, have been profperous and happy. How many married people do we behold dragging about a mife- rable exiftence, becoming plagues and torments to each other, who, had they well confidered the folem- nity of the engagement into which they fo precipitately entered, and how unlikely their different difpo- fitions were to contribute to mutual comfort, [ 63 ] comfort, might have avoided that mifery which they have entailed upon themfelves for life ? MANY a man, who has been de- coyed to a gaming-table, and there initiated into that accurfed fcience of play, has been led on, till in one night he has ruined himfelf, an ami- able partner, and a family, who had the firft claim upon his property. Could he have broken away, and faid, he would confider of it till the morrow, would he not, when he awoke in the morning, and re- flected on the gulf, into whofe abyfs he was fo near falling, have lifted up his eyes in fpeechlefs thankful- nefs, inftead of execrating himfelf his [ 64 ] his Maker, and all around him, at his precipitation and inexcufable folly ? WHEN the brifk wine fparkles in the glafs, could the drunkard but reflect, that it leads to difeafes and the grave, he would furely de- cline the prefent jovial moment, to avoid future and irremediable mi- fery. AND how many bigots to falfe honor do we fee in our places of public refort, who carry about with them that ' atra cura,' that corroding anguifh, which arifes from having taken away the life of another, and which no amufement, no diverfions, in in fhort, no invention of any kind can poffibly difpel ? It mult ever line their couch with thorns, and make the bed of down to them more uneafy, and by far lefs defir- able than that of Shakefpeare's ce- lebrated cabin-boy. How many victims to that dreadful crime of fuicide, tempted by fome fudden difguft or difap- pointment, fome fit of anger, or of caufelefs jealoufy (could they have reflected with coolnefs and temper on their fituation) might have been at this tioie alive and happy in them- fclvesj and at the fame time di- penfmg felicity to their relative* and friends around them ? t 66 1 I f were endlefs to enumerate : the fatal confequences of precipi- tancy, or the many evils which are ,ever arifing from a neglect of the falutary practice of reflection. MY young friends in particular (and there are thoufands in the world, who are paft a irate of pu- pillage, to whom the advice will be of equal ufe) would do well, when they are aflailed by fudden felicita- tion of any kind, to give this eafy anfwer, which, like the fpeech of Shakefpeare's clown, will ferve for almoft every queftion, c I will con- ' fider of it.' This will gain them time, time will bring reflection to their aid ; and, I will venture to af- firm, C 6? 1 Srm, would they follow this ufefu! precaution, they would, nineteen times out of twenty, efcape the wily fnares fo often laid for youth ami inexperience. To the volatile and gay fuch advice is more parti- cularly addrefied, the grave and ferious being lefs likely to want counfel on this head; but as the former ckfs is, I fear, very nume- rous, wherein good health, great fpirits, and an exemption from care, too often- overbalance all the atten* tion of tKe parent or the guardian, it. is the part of the moralift to aid their work> and to throw his. weight into that fcale, which is u>a often overturned by vanity, thought- kffnefs, and felf-conceit. To the F a incorrigible [ 3 incorrigible it would be in vain to addrefs myfelf ; but, as I hope this clafs is not large, by the fame rule I truft there may be the more, upon whom this advice may not be loft ; and when they confider that an at- tention to it will be productive of lading and folid fatisfaftion, as will the reverfe, of endlefs mifery, I hope they will learn to accept the one and refufe the other. A CON- A CONTENTED MIND ONI OF THE GREATEST BLESSING* PROVIDENCE CAN BESTOW. IT is often a melancholy reflec- tion, that, although Providence difpenfes its blefiings with fo boun- tiful a hand, we feldom find man- kind contented with their fituations in life. THERE is no fubjecl: which has been more canvalTed than this among the claflics, and by Horace in particular ; and in our own lan- guage, many are the authors who F 3 have t 7 3 have written ably upon it, with a view to calm the difcontented, and too often caufelefsly unhappy mind, A great * .writer, lately deceafed, fays, f that the aim of every author * ought to be, either the making * new difcoveries for the ufe and c advantage of his fellow-creatures, * or fetting well-known truths in a ' new and attractive light/ THIS laft then I profefs to be my wifh and defign, in hopes to aflift in allaying thofe felf- torment- ing pafiionSj which find fo eafy an accefs to the human heart. WHERE lives the mortal, who, * Dr. Johnfon, did [ 7* T did he fit down purpofely to find out caufes of difquiet, might not create abundant mifery for himfelf, and ever embitter his hours with unavailing anguilh ? For it is far from true, that our chiefeft mifery arifes from real pain and bodily difeafes.. SUPPOSE we thefe for a while non-exiftent, and yet what a nume- rous train remains, in the hypo- chondriac, the difappointed, and the envious T In Ihort, it would exceed the bounds I have prefcribed to myfelfj accurately to delineate the whole group, which, having all the real comforts of life in pofleflion, are ftill undelerving of them, from shut froward. difcontent in. which F 4 they [ 7* ] they fo freely indulge themfelves. I would have people of this clafs, could I bring the powers of tranf- migration to my aid, for a time re- moved into one of the more labo- rious ftations, and obliged to ftrug- gle with the difficulties which are daily and hourly encountered in them. FOR inftance, I would have the hypochondriac, who fours his mind by the apprehenfion of imaginary diitempers, for a time put into the place of an honcft mechanic, who has a numerous family to provide for by the labour of his hands ; and when, after having been fo long oc- cupied in his new employment as to [ 73 1 to work off the obftructions which a want of exercife too often occafions> he would be happy to return to his former ftation, of which he would then know the real blefimg, by hav- ing experienced the lofs of it. ALAS! alas ! would the com- plaining difTatisfied fons of plenty, inftead of looking upward and repining, that their lot has not fallen in a ftill fairer ground, and their own over- rated merits were not more amply rewarded j would they but look downwards, and fee the millions of their fellow-crea- tures pining under real want, real care, and real mifery, accompanied too often by excruciating pain and incurable t 74 ] incurable difeafe could they be- hold even a tenth part of what the^ pooreft clafs in the metropolis and our great cities fuffer fo far from nourifhing criminal, becaufe eaufe- lefs, difcontent, they would lift up their hearts in thankfulnefs, 1 that their fituation is fo comfortable, their fubftantial happinefs fo great. DID one half of mankind know what the other half endures, grati- tude for the blefTings enjoyed by the former, would infpire them with a fpirit of charity, by which the mi- feries of the latter would be greatly alleviated. SopRRONissA loft her parent* [ 75 3 . when in early infancy, and devolved to the care of a friend of her father, whofe afiiduity and tendernefs to her could not be exceeded by that of any one, except a parent. The greateft part of her fortune was to defcend to her on the death of a diftant relation, and Ihe waited fome years, after her arrival at woman's eftate, before that event took place. When it happened, upon the invef- tigation of fome writings, it ap- peared, that, from the neglect of her father in executing fome law concerns, the whole of SophronifTa's. property was claimed by a ftranger > and that, unlels fhe engaged in a law-fuit, which would moft likely fwallow up the whole, there was no profpe& [ 76 ] profpeft for her but of a total lofs of what was her chief dependance. I N what a melancholy fituation, and how much an object of pity, does Sophronifia appear under fuch calamitous circumftances ! She was, however, extricated from this dread- ful embarrafiment by a friend, who found out, that the other claimant was as averfe to law as (he could be, and effected a compromife, which fecured to her fuch a (hare of her property as provides her an income fully anfwerable to moderate wifhes. What a fource of joy and of exul- tation to all the true friends of SophronifTa ! and is it not to be fuppofed that Ihe muft feel happy indeed, [ 77 1 indeed, thus relieved from fo pain- ful a dilemma ? Not fo : fhe yet feeds unavailing difquiet j and, had not her friends been urgent, would have declined that compromife,. which has enfured to her every real comfort. She pines after the en- joyment of what certainly was in- tended for her, but which* by an unfortunate train of occurrences, is totally out of her reach; and, though pofieffed of a good and much-im- proved imderflanding, amiable man- ners, and fuch univerfal good-na- ture, as renders her almoft adored by her intimates, not only makes herfelf unhappy, but gives great pain to all thole who are anxious for her welfare, ETHELINDA, ETHELINDA, on the other hand, was bred up in all the grandeur which wealth and opulence can be- llow. Her father was a courtier, and had a large income, arifmg from the places he poffeffed under government. Ethelinda was con- tracled to a noble fuitor, and a few weeks would have feen her in po- feffion of a title, and of all thofe iplendid appendages which the world fuppofes fo much conducive to hap- pinefs. At this period, a fit of an apoplexy robbed her of her father, and, as his income depended chiefly on his places, and her fuitor proved fo mercenary as to have been at- tracted folely by the hope of emo- lument- from the influence her fa- 3 ther [ 79 3 ther poffeffed, he took his leave with the moft cutting indifference. Ethelinda was obliged to retire, with her mother, to a fmall and obfcure village, on a fcanty pittance, which however they hufbanded fo as to be ever above want, and above obliga- tion. Her mother, in a few years, followed her father. Grief, preying upon her conftitution, proved more than a match for a frame naturally weak. Ethelinda ftill lives admir- ed and refpefted by the few who have the pleafure of her acquaint- ance ; though neglected and for- gotten by the fair-weather friends who once flattered her in her life of grandeur. Yet Ethelinda never fends forth one murmur or complaint. It [ 8 1 It is but feldom Ihe will converfc about her affairs, or choofes to un- bofom herfelf. If Ihe ever touches upon the fubjeft, it is but to de- clare that Ihe is perfectly contented, and much happier than Ihe could have been, had fhe married the man who fo meanly forfook her that fhe is thankful to Providence, which faved her from the precipice down which fhe was fo near falling that Ihe has learnt to contract her every wifh into her prefent fphere and that, when fhe looks abroad into the world, and fees thoufands ilrug- gling with want and mifery, it would be the higheft ingratitude in her to, bs fretful and diffatisfied. Would to Heaven that thofc who pine iix plenty, [ 3 plenty, .and murmur only for want of real afflictions, to bring them to a proper fenfe of their duty, could take example by this fair maiden, and, without a tenth part of her ex* cufe for complaint, learn to fet a proper value upon what they fo un- gratefully pofTefs ! DOES it not appear that I have rambled far from my fubject ? Ma- thematicians and philofophers fome- times attempt to prove the truth of what they have in hand, by fliow- ing what it is not; and thus, by holding up to my fellow mortals, I fear too true a picture of them- felves, I hope to eilablifh the truth of the principle I advanced, and to G perfuade [ 8a 3 perfuade them to put it in prac- tice. I HAVE heard of a venerable divine, eminent for his piety as well as his abilities and learning, who was grievoufly afflicted with thofe two terrible maladies, the gout and the ftone. His fufferings were long and fevere, yet was he never heard to murmur ; and, when laboring under the pangs of the gout, would thank his Maker, that he was not afflicted by the ftone ; and, when the excruciating pains of the ftone were upon him, would lift up his eyes in gratitude to his. Maker, that he had not the gout. Learn from this good man, ye funs of unavail- ing C *3-3 ing complaint, to eftimate truly the blefiings ye have in poffeffion, left Heaven, wearied by your ingrati- tude (to call it nothing worfe) fhould treat you as, Sacred Wrk informs us, he treated the favorite, of the great Ahafuerus, FROM what has been advanced* k may be fairly collected, that a contented mind is one of the great eft blejjings Providence can beftow ; as a want of it produces anxiety, ideal pain, imaginary woe,, with all that difquieting train of apprehenfions and terrors which are the bane of the comforts and bleffings of this life. The man who views things through a proper medium, although. G 2 he he jfhculd feel (as all muft in this world of care and forrow) his hap- pincfs not quite compleat, yet, when he fees the good fo far out- weigh the evil, will thankfully en- joy what is given, nor repine at what is wanting, fo as to lofe the relifh for what he potteries ; whilft the envious, the difappointed, and the ungrateful, with all that nume- rous train, who balk in the fun- fhine of profperity, are ftill angry, becaufe, now and then, a light cloud overfhadows the dilk of the lumi- nary. They are hardly fo excufable in their behaviour as an infant who rejects his play-things and accuf- tomed amufements, becaufe his ever watchful parents refufe him fomc 6 improper E 85 1 improper implement for fport, the poffeffion of which might occafion him much mifchief, and with which they well know it is not proper for him to be trufted. G 3 THS t 36 ] THE LOVE OF PRAISE AND A SPIRIT OF EMULATION, IN YOUTH, MUCH MORE EFFI- CACIOUS THAN BODILY CORRECTION. IT is of the greateft confequence, and ought to be the firft object with thofe who have the care of young people, whether parents, guardians, or fchoolmafters, to in- fpire them with a fpirit of emula- tion. ' Without this ftimulus, youth will make but a flow progrefs, and, finking too often into a ftate of apathy, will look upon the whole plan t 87 ] plan of their lives as mere drudgery, and then all hopes of excellence are at an end. THERE is an ardor in young men, and a defire of meriting praife from thofe to whom they look up as the arbiters of their conduct, which, if increafed by gentle degrees, like the latent fpark amongft the em- bers, will at fome time arife to a flame ; which, if properly managed, will produce fuch effects as mult enfure fuccefs, and make them, in all probability, Ihining characters. MANY a youth, timid, and ap- prehenfive, perhaps v/ith nerves weak, from a fickly infancy, though G 4 with [ 88 ] with good parts (were they properly called forth) has ftirunk under the chaftifmg hand of an imperious pe- dagogue, and alfo under the re- peated oppreffion and cruelty of his more healthy and hardened fchool- fellows ; who, had he been placed in a private academy, where he could have been treated with ten- dernefs and humanity, would have made a rapid progrefs, and amply repaid the kindnefs with which he was indulged. IT has been much difputed, by thofe who are certainly much more able to decide a queftion of fuch great importance than myfelf, whe- ther more may not be done by fo- menting [ 89 ] menting a fpirit of emulation in youth, and bringing them to reflect for themfelves, than by ufmg one indifcriminate mode of corporal pu- nifhment for every offence. 1 AM happy in having fome great men on my fide, and therefore de- clare the more freely, that I have not a doubt but youth, in general,, will make a more rapid progrefs under the man who ftudies their dif- pofitions, and who, at the fame time that he corrects the refractory,, encourages and treats with parental indulgence the timid and the ap- prehenfive. I REMEMBER a melancholy in- ftance^. [ 9 ] ftance, particularly adapted to prove what I have advanced. I went to fchool under a mafter of fo irritable a temper, that the leaft offence was fure to incur bodily corre&ion. There was one of my fchool-fel- lows whofe difpofition was remark- ably timid, and his nerves wonder- fully weak. This boy, from a con- iiant courfe of fevere correffion, at length arrived at that melancholy ftate of mind, that he gave up all his ufual recreations and fports, and would fit, in a ftupid attitude, while the reft of his play-mates were en+ joying themfelves ; and when he has had a leffon to fay by heart to his mafter, although I have known him quite perfect before he went up to repeat [ 9' ] repeat it (for not one of us took more pains) yet, when he began, fo great was his apprehenfion, that he fcrgot every iyllable ; and fo much were his nerves affected, that, the leaves of the book being loofe, I have feen them fhake off, and lie fpread on the floor, from his ex- treme agitation. I am forry to add, that, although this boy by no means wanted natural abilities, a long courfe of improper feverity made fuch an imprefiion upon him, that he has never recovered from its effects. I RECOLLECT alfo another cafe, cf two lads, who, from conflant flogging, were fo hardened to all fenfe of pain and difgrace, that they would, [ 9* 3 would, at any time, for a fmall gra- tuity, take the fault, and the confe- quent correction, of another boy, who was not fo courageous or fa devoid of fhame. Ira lad's reflection cannot be affected, by pointing out to him r that he has a character to fupport, and by treating him as if you really thought him of fome confequence ; if he is not infpired with a love of praife and emulation, by pitting him, if I may fo term it, againft his comrades , if, inilead of this, no other method is thought of but corporal punifhment for every of- fence, you blunt all thofe fine feel- j which might be made of fuch infinite: t 93 ] infinite ufe in the formation of the man. You thereby render him cal- lous to every degree of Ihame, he becomes hardened againfl your moft fanguine efforts, and is at length fent into the world with a mind but (lightly improved j and his original boaft of a contempt for bodily pain, terminates in a like contempt for all kinds of mental fenfibility. Yet can I by no means Hand forth a candidate for that fort of indulgence which arifes from the fond partiality of a weak mother for an only fon. This is perjiaps more baneful than the other, and kails to that ridi- culous vanity, totally different from the love of praile, without which no [ 94 1 no youth can ever make a good figure in the world. It is certainly true, that vanity will become the companion of that bread where ig- norance, puffed up by undeferved applaufe, is alfo an inmate. The well-informed and cultivated mind,. fo far from boafling of the progrefs already made, looks forward into the boundlefs tracts of fcience, and, feeling its own diminutivenefs, hum- bly recedes from public view. It is left for thofe who know little, yet have been flattered into a great opi- nion of themfelves, who are vain from ignorance and felf- conceit, to court applaufe, and to become ul- timately devoted objects of ridicule. 5 Some [ 95 1 Some minds are more particular!/ difpofed to vanity, the greater care is therefore neceffary to damp fo pernicious a paffion ; and if ever corporal punifhment may be ad- mitted, it fhould be exercifed on the proud and the oftentatious. To thefe> an acquaintance with fhame will be of ufe ; whilft the timid re- femble thofe tender exotics which, fo long as the gardener nurfes with care and attention, under cover of the green-houfe, flourish and prof- per ; but fhould he ever wantonly expofe them to the cutting blafts of the ice-impregnate north, would droop their tender heads, and no longer expand their leaves, or add> by [ 9S ] by look or odour, to the beautiful appearance or balmy fragrance of the fituation in which they arc placed. o tf [ 97 ] ON DOMESTIC PEACE AND HAPPINESS. FROM the earlieft antiquity, writers, of aimoft every de- nomination, have treated in exalted terms of the comforts of domeftic life ; and the greateft heroes, ftatef- men, lawgivers, and politicians, have looked forward to the pleafures of their own fire-fide, as the ultimate reward of all their cares and anxie- ties. CINCINNATI^, after command- ing armies, returned with redoubled energy to the care of his humble H farm x [ 9 1 farm, and felt, I have no doubt, a degree of happinefs, when feated with his family around him, far fu- perior to any of which the moft re- fined debauchee and voluptuary could ever form an idea. IT is in fuch a fpot as this, that the man, no longer on the public theatre, but behind the fcenes, un- bends, and throws afide the cum- brous robe and ornaments he is too often obliged to wear. Here, enlivened by the prattle of his in- fants, and by the carefles of his amiable partner, he feels how great, how real, thefe bleflings are, and how light, when put in the fcale and weighed againil them, are aH thofe 7 [ 99 ] thofe honors upon which the world, the ambitious world, fets fo high a value. ' I F, from the moft remote anti- quity down to the prefent time, the moralift, and the friend to virtue, have enforced with the ftrongeft ar- guments the blifs of domeftic hap- pinefs, to what are we to attribute its declining influence over the man- ners of the prefent age ? I fear too often to the improper indulgences young men meet with from fimpiy fond parents, and the great and eafy indifference with which they indulge themfelves in every grofs and cri- minal defire when they come for- warder into life. Thus are the finer H 2 fenfadons fenfations of the mind all blunted ; and, after becoming connected only with the moft vile of the other fex, they look up with abhorrence to a connection with a beautiful and chafte woman, dreading what they term reftraint, and the reproofs of virtue, too confcious of their own acquired depravity. MR. Vicefimus Knox, who fo ably, as well as learnedly, exercifes the pen of a moralift and a fatirifl, inculcates in die ftrongeft terms the utility, the good effects, nay the neceflity, of early marriages. c Dare ' to marry,' fays this writer, addref- fmg himfelf to the young man ; and his arguments on this head are too, good good to receive any aid from what I might advance in fupport or cor- roboration of them. BUT are there not other caufes, which eftrange our youth from that inclination they would otherwife en- tertain for domeftic enjoyments ? In a former paper I have adduced one caufe, whofe influence, I fear, is too prevalent. But do our married couples evince their real fenfe of that peace and happinefs which I have defcribed as fo defirable ? Here the reafoning, which the abandoned youth may bring forward, has but too much weight j for the contra- riety of tempers, the fullennefs of the hufeand, the waywardnefs of H 3 the [ 101 ] the wife, with the univerfal air of difcontent, which too often charac- terizes thofe who firft united with all the ardor of love, and with vows of eternal affection, aid the argu- ments of the profligate, and en- courage that celibacy, which flrikes at the very vitals, the very exiftence of the ftate. BUT let not the libertine triumph. Domeftic happinefs is ftill as deii- rable, is ftill to be acquired, and ftill pofleffes all thofe real comforts which have been d and which, perhaps, every effort of his amiable partner could never after- wards extract. And you, * ye fair f married dames,' ever liflen to this one [ "7 ] one piece of advice, fo well en- forced by the dramatic poet let your every nerve be ftrained to make home comfortable and en- gaging to your hufbands. Remem- ber, he comes to you to unbend from the weightier cares of life, which furrow his brow, with a prof- peel; of providing for you and his children. There are little peculia- rities, perhaps, in which he places fome of his pleafures : anticipate that indulgence; nay, make it a point of the firft confequence, that he is never thwarted in fuch inno- cent recreations. There may be, perhaps, difhes to which he is par- tial : let them be often drefifed with I 3 your [ "8 ] your every attention ; and, above all, drefs your countenance in fmiles, and let no trivial and accidental caufe of difquiet make that face lour with difcontent, which he ex- pects, nay, has a right to expect, to behold adorned with chearfulnefs upon his return. Remember, the ftrongeft tie you can ever have upon your hufband, muft arife from un- affected and artlefs gaiety, which he is certain takes its rife from your fmcere affection for him. It is not enough to gain your conqueft, un- lefs you make ufe of thefe mea- fures to fecure it, A fmall part alone is done when you have obtain- ed a hufband. The talk remains to 10 keep t "9 1 keep pofleflion ; nor is it difficult, if you prove your regard by con- jugal fidelity, and a delicate and tender attachment. Let not love of admiration, or inherent vanity, or wayward wifhes of any kind, ever lead you to difplay a difpofi- tion, which may crpfs your huf- band's views, or four his temper. Remember, and this remark is mu- tual, that the only way to be happy yourfelves, is to make each other happy : that, linked in an indiflb- luble chain, you will hereafter give an account at that tribunal where fubterfuge and hypocrify will not avail, whether ye have reciprocally fomented the fatisfaction, eafe, com- I 4 fort, fort, and happinefs of each other, or, by the reverfe, have become your own tormentors j and, what is worfe, have, by example, en- tailed milery on your pofterity. [ 1*1 ] ON THE CAUSES OF THE DEPOPU- LATION OF THE COUNTRY. TO O true it is, that the par- tiality for populous cities, and the refinements, without which mankind, in their prefent improved ftate, cannot even exifl, tend very much to the depopulation of the country. FROM the higheft to the lowed, this rage prevails ; and, in my re- tired frtuation, I have often had it objected by the fervants I have been in treaty with, that they, having been been ufed to a town, fhould be moped to death in fuch a folitude. All this, in every clafs, is a vitiated idea, and a falfe tafte, grafted upon principles which will not bear mi- nute inveftigation. THE man of fifhion, whether titled or not, quits the feat of his anceftors. The tufted lawn, the meandring ftream, the verdant grove, the gay parterre, with all the beau- tifully diverfified fcenery of wood and dale, are exchanged for the lefs healthful, though more enchanting, region of St. James's. THERE, immerfed in fmoke, in noife, and diffipation, he no longer [ "3 1 longer feels a relifh for the beau- ties of nature, for the mufic of the fongfters on the bough, or for the pleafures of retirement. Whirling round in the vortex of fafhion, ftun- ned by the buftle of the f bufy hum f of men/ he hears not the * frill c fmall voice' of reflection, and often neglects to think at all, till the turn of the dice (more direful in effect than the furious tempeft which may perchance root up a fmgle oak, too ponderous to bear its own weight) at once difmantles the woods and the groves, and robs him for ever of that feat heretofore, through a long line of illuftrious anceftors, the manfion of rural chearfulnefs and hofpitality. Is [ 4 1 I s not this then a falfe tafte ? Can its principles be defended ? while the country languifhes under the lofs of thofe who are its natural guardians and protestors, from whom are expected ufeful improvements > productive of fuch effects as will provide the poor with bread, and. preferve them from their greatefl bane, idlenefs, and, in the end, prove lading advantages to the pof- feflbrs, as well as ornaments to the face of the country. How many fmall families are fupported by living in the neigh- bourhood of fome great man ! Trade becomes brifk, and the faces of the inhabitants wear a continual fmile. And [ "5 ] And if the great man fhould for- tunately prove alfo a good man, he then brings neglected morality and religion into credit by his example and influence. I F all thefe things are in the power of the great and opulent, do they not almoft wear the appear- ance of a duty ? and will not the wealthy hereafter be obliged to give an account, how they have difpofed of the talents committed to their care ? Are we not told, in an old- fafhioned book, that ' to whom 4 much is given, of him much fhall * be required ? ' AND here let me pay the tri- bute [ 1*6 I bute of gratitude to thee, my friend from eailieft youth. Reader, were- there many fuch characters, they would refcue human nature from the ftigma of that almoft univerfal depravity which now prevails. Be- nevolus was the Squire of the vil- lage where I pafied my juvenile days. He pofiefled a good eftate, amply fufficient to have enabled him to fhare in the diffipation of the capital, had he been fo difpofed. But Benevolus had fuch a partiality for his native feat, that he feldom left it. He was the idol of his neighbours: he was the uniform friend of the poor and needy : he was a juft and upright magiftrate. How have I heard the poor call down down bleffings on his head ! and yet the idle and the indolent were ever certain of meeting with their deferts. See him on a Sunday en- ter the church (from which nothing but ficknefs ever kept him) between a double row of his tenants, faluting him with the profoundeft refpecl: ; his ftep firm and manly his exterior noble and engaging yet with fuch humility thrown into his features, which nothing but a knowledge that he was then in the prefence of the King of Kings could have infpired. During the whole fervice his deportment was devout, and a model for thofe around him ; which has often put me in mind of Ad^ difon's Sir Roger de C overly. Long [ 128 ] Long will the parifh mourn thy re- moval, Benevolus ; and, without the leaft affront to thy fuccefibr, thy dependants will rarely, if ever, again meet with fuch a guardian, protector, and guide ! How often haft thou invited me to thy feftive board, attended, as thy hofpitality ever was, by fobriety and decency f How often didft thou call me to afiift at thy concerts, and taught my young and unfkilful hand to form thofe founds which have occafion- ally become my folace through all the chequered fcenes of life, even to this very hour ! Happy, happy days, never half valued till more weighty cares, more ferious occu- pations, and the confequent remo- val val from the venerated fpot, have taught me to prize, as they deferved, fuch great bleflings. ANOTHER caufe, Hill more de- trimental, prevails, towards the de- population of the country, than that which I have mentioned : I mean the demolition of fmall farms, by laying them into large ones. Too late, when the evil has obtained deep root, may our governors deplore that fome ftep was not taken to re- medy this plan, fo deftructive to population ; too late may the land- ed gentlemen lament their error, by deftroying what may be fairly deemed the very fmews of the Hate. K IT [ '30 ] IT would take fome time to fketch a part of the pernicious effects of this miftaken policy; to defcribe them all would exceed the bounds to which I have limited myfelf. Take one inftance, which will efta- blilh the fad:. A GENTLEMAN has a large eftate round his country feat ; but, un- fortunately, there are five or fix fmall farms in the parifli, which do not belong to him, and he is wretch- ed, and not to be fatisfied, till he has purchafed them. The fteward is confulted, and, obfequious to the nod of his matter, fets about it, and at length, by offering a great price, and by making the pofiefiion of t i3\ 1 of their little eftates uneafy to the owners, obtains the purchafe. He informs his mafter of his fuccefs, and tells him, that, however large the price, he can enable him ftill to make good intereft of his money, which may be effected alone, by letting all thefe farms to one of his prefent tenants, whofe lands ap- proximate, and who certainly can, by making cottages of the houfes j or, what is ftill better, by their being pulled down, and the expence of repairs thus rendered unneceflary, give a greater rent than the poor but induftrious man, who has a numerous family to maintain out of the labours of his hands> and the fmall ftock he is enabled to keep* K 2 This, This, reader, I have been a witnefs to. I have feen the great tenant of the great man take pofleffion of the fmall farms ; and, what is more, have feen the care-furrowed poor man, with his infant family, his weeping partner, with his little #//, loaded on his only cart ; his cows, his geefe, and his fwine, take a long farewell of that jfpot on which the difconfo- late pair had fondly hoped, by mu- tual toil, to have fupported them- felves j and, by an early initiation to labour, have made their children ufeful, and, in their line, praife- worthy. I have feen the mufcles of the poor man's face convulfed with feelings too ftrong for concealment. But what muft be their future lot ! No [ 133 3 No other fmall farm is to be pro- cured, fo general is this deftruftive plan ! Some wretched cottage muft receive them, and perhaps, ulti- mately, the poor - houfe ! Thus they who, had they been continued on their farm, would, by unceafing toil, have contributed to defray the burthens of the parifh, would be obliged to become penfioners them- felves. BUT much farther does the evil extend. Was it to flop here, al- though pernicious in its confe- quences to fociety, yet it wduld not be fo definitive, as in ieveral re- fpefts yet to be defcribed ; for fome young man, who by frugality had feved a few pounds in fervice, and K 3 who [ '34 ] who had connected himfelf with a maiden, equally prudent, might have ftept into one of thefe farms, and by fuch means have been enabled, with- out a crime, to enrich the country with inhabitants, by virtue of thofe natural propenfities we all poffefs. Take away from fuch the profpedl of marrying and maintaining a wife and family, they lofe their fenfe of religion and morality, and look alone to chance fruition, till time difcovers the confequences, when die poor fellow leaves the fpot and flees, while the haplefs unwary girl, dread- ing fharrie, and the ftruggle of pro- viding fmgly for her helplefs infant, flrangles it at the birth. Direful, tremendous event ! J appeal to the moft [ '35 ] moft learned in the annals of this country, whether thefe evils were fo numerous when the number of fmall farms was great, and held forth a profpeft of a comfortable home, where every honeft defire between the fexes might be indulged. I'ben was there fome inducement to the fervant to be parfimonious in the expenditure of his money, becaufe he had this objecl: invariably in view. Now the object has vanifhed, the man is indifferent as to matrimony, and too often the alehoufe carries off all, or perhaps more than he has to fpare, to the injury not only of his morals, but of his in- tegrity, K 4 How [ 136 I How many broods of poultry, and how many litters of pigs, did each fuch little family rear up, and produce for fale, at the neareft town ! whereas, now, the fatted ftately fleers alone (doomed for the London market) ftalk over the folitary and half- inhabited land. Mr. Paley, in his admirable work, fays, ' that in- f creafing population, and the num- ' bers of the people, are the real f riches of any Hate.' Every one muft acknowledge the juftnefs of the remark, which is well worthy of the attention of you, the natural guardians of the country, who pof- fefs landed eftates. SURELY, if ever ye vifit your rural [ '37 ] rural feats, if ever ye take a circuit round your domains, the fmiling look of an infant peafantry, and the enlivening face of a populous, when compared with a folitary, country, would amply compenfate the diminution, which (if your de- fires are at all bounded) can be hardly felt in your income. I am told there is an act of parliament, which inflicts penalties on the hold- ers of more than fuch a number of acres. Why then do the laws fleep ? If it once was thought expedient to make fuch a law, I am certain it is equally fo to enforce it. And if our governors wifh to preferve a numerous peafantry, and ftop the corruption of morals, increafmg with [ 138 ] with rapid ftrides amongft the loweft ranks of the people, let them turn their thoughts to this fubject, and begin, at home, that reformation which can alone enfure lofting peace, and the means of future Jecurity from treacherous foes, to this itill happy and envied ifle. O N [ '39 ] ON EXERCISE AND TEM- PERANCE. TO the opulent, who are too often the indolent, few things are of more confequence than a due attention to exercife. WHEN that memorable curfe was paffed upon our firft parents, ' In the fweat of thy face fhalt ' thou eat bread,' it alfo entailed a necefiity of exercife upon thofe, who, being by their fituation re- lieved from manual labour, would otherwife have been exempted from this [ 140 ]' this univerfal fentence. Even in paradife, where all things, but man's perverfe will, were perfect, labour was neceffary j for we are told of our firft parents, by the divine Mil- ton, that ' Under a tuft of fnade, that on a green ' Stood whifp'ring foft, by a frefh foun- ' tain fide ' They fat them down ; and after no more < toil f Of their fweet gard'ning labour, than fuffic'd ' To recommend cool zephyr, and made eafe e More eafy, that Ihe was in a continual agitation. t IJ6 ] Rgitation, by thofe unavoidable ac- cidents which animals experience ; but this fo rarely happens, that the danger lies on the other fide, and there is little fear of fuch a quality being carried too far. This ten- dency to cruelty, fo direful in its effects to young minds, c grows with ' their growth, and ftrengthens with 1 their ftrength,' till, by the time boys^rrive at manhood, they have loft all thofe fenfitive perceptions, which do honor to human nature. Young matter muft have a little horfe to ride, and a favorite fpaniel to accompany him ; thefe alter- nately commit, what he terms faults, and, becaufe they are his, he is to chaftife them as he thinks proper. If [ -57 ] If the young gentleman is heir to a good eftate, the domeftics look up to him as their future mailer, and> not daring to difpleafe him, he is foon initiated by the fervants into the ' art of ingeniouQy tormenting' all forts of animals, fueh as tying cats together by their tails, which irritates them to fight, or by Ihoe- ing them with walnut - fhells j an owl is to be attached to the back of a duck, which of courfe dives in hopes of exonerating itfelf, and the owl follows, and when both return to the furface, the wet, but tor- tured owl, affords wonderful fat if-; faction to the young fquire and his aflbciates. Badger-baiting is fuc- ceeded by bull-baiting, and our hero [ 158 ] hero is at length ulhered into thai noble diverfion, the folace of fome of our nobility, yet the difgrace of this kingdom, the cock-pit, where, amidft dreadful oaths and execra- tions, he compleats a character which is above all fear of fhame or humanity. He is fo well taught to laugh at the diftrefies and infirmi- ties of his fellow-creatures, that he would look upon it as a glorious act 'to drive over an old woman, fhould. fhe happen to be too decrepit to efcape the career of his phaeton j and his fupreme delight is to fee two human beings expofed naked upon a ftage, and ufmg the moll Jkilful efforts to knock each other on the head. What a fhout rends 10 the [ '59 ] the air when 'one has laid his anta*- gonift, for a time, breathlefs on the ilage, with the blood ftreaming from the wound! In vain do we, who are not initiated into the fu- preme felicity of fuch fcenes, look around to find out that pleafure of which we can form no idea. But furely, amongft the fofter difpofi- tions of the other fex, we fhall never find the leaft tendency to cruelty. Yet are the ladies of this ifland not exempt, although I am proud to boaft, that there are no women in the known world, who poffefs fb much delicacy and fenfibility ; and yet, in fome inftances, I cannot ex- culpate them. Do they not con- fine the feathered warblers in a cage, E >6o ] cage, barring them from freedom:, their inherent right, and from thofe employments to which inftindtive nature fo ftrongly impels them ? Will the lark carol with that energy, on one poor fod in his wire prifon, as when he foars into the fky till his flight is imperceptible ? I have known feveral of my female friends ambitious of a curious collection of infefts. What was the confequence ? In the courfe of the fummer you fee their dreffing- rooms adorned with a number of thofe beautiful fluttcrers, ftuck through with large pins j and I have feen my fair friends exulting in having caught one with variegated colours, holding his wings after he was impaled, left the die agonies of expiring life fhould injure his beauty after death. Is the lady fond of angling ? fhe takes her ftation by the fide of the mur- muring dream, and., with the ut- moft -unconcern, forces the barbed hook through the defencelefs bod/ of the writhing worm, and there ic rrruft remain, in torture, as a bait for the fifti ; for, fhould death put a period to its existence, it is no longer fit for ufe, and muft be fuc- ceeded by another fufferer. Can there be a more dreadful, a more ingenious piece of torture contrived than this? yet will they tell you, with a laugh, it is only a worm. Is pain then confined to beings of a larger bulk ? Has not the worm a M body, I 162 ] body, in all its parts exquifitely formed by the hand of Providence ? Shajceipeare fays, * ' Whilft the poor worm, which we * tread upon, * In corporal fuff 'ranee feels a pang as great * As when a giant dies.' IT is furely unpleafant to reflect, that there are hardly any of thofe fports which gentlemen purfue, but are purchafed at the expence of fome animal or another. The hawk flies at the trembling pigeon ; the quick- fcented hound purfues the timid hare through all her doubles , the .pointer, with inflated noftril, finds the partridge in the ftubble, and man t i3 J man muft be gratified by nothing kfs than the death of the animals fubmitted to his will. The race- horfe drains his every mufcle, ever to torment, and fleets over the courfe with a fpeed almoft incre- dible ; but his aftoniihing fwiftnels is of no ufe to the fober part of mankind. The fums allowed by our former fovereigns, granted from a wile motive, to improve the breed of horfes, no longer are ex- pended with that view ; but, on the other hand, to train up an expen- five breed, calculated only to ruin thofe who have not been initiated into the myfteries of the turf. Whiift the animals themfelves, kept in an tmnatural ftate, inftead of ranging M 2 abroad [ '64 ] abroad in the fields, pafs a ufsleft exigence, and are kept in health by phyfic, and by periodical returns of exercife, the only employment for boys, brought up in wickednefc, and idlenefs, and gaming. THERE is another fpecies of in- humanity, which all ranks, except the poor and indigent, (land accufed of: This is the cuftom of travel- ling poft. How have I feen the trembling chaife-horfe panting for breath, every limb (battered by the hardnefs of the road, come reeking into the inn-yard, and nearly ex- piring uoder the extreme exertion to which he has been driven ! his fides bleeding with the fpurs or lafhes lafhes of the unfeeling poft-boyst every mufcle and tendon quivering with convulfive agony ! In vain is he offered food -, his mouth is parched with thirft and duft, he refufes fuf- tenance, water he is denied, becaufe it would probably put an end to his exiftence, and he is preferved for future and conftant torment. But there muft be fome great caufe, a flranger would lay, fbme very good reafon, why horfes have been driven fo unmercifully. On the contrary, it is the conftant cuftom of thofe, who by their fituations can afford it, to tip the poftillion an extraor- dinary gratuity, for which fum he would, at any time, flog his horles, who muft fuffer in proportion, till they [ i6 J they nearly expire under the torture. Inhuman cuftom ! barbarous polite- nefs ! dreadful effect tfpolijbed man- ners ! I have myfelf no doubt, that we muft inevitably hereafter give an account of the expenditure of our time, and the motives upon which we adted, and that thofe who thus unfeelingly indulge them- fclves in fuch procedures towards the brutal creation, when no caufe of moment demands fuch exertions, will be called upon to anfwer for thofe mercilefs lafhes, and for thofc excruciating pangs,, wantonly in- flicted upon the uncomplain-ing ani- mals, by whom they are fo fwiftly drawn. THESE THESE poor creatures, alas ! ex- perience no advantage from the prohibition contained in the fourth . commandment , but, by the force of all-ruling fafhion, are doomed tp fuf&r more on that day than on any other. But Ihall not this double breach of the laws of Hea- ven and humanity meet with doubly retribution, in the future difpenfa- ,tion of rewards and punifhments ? "While .the gentleman turns with horror from the brutal carman, inflicting unmerited punifhment v-on his faithful horfes, let him re- flect, that he is himfelf more cul- pable in the practice above-men- j becaufe his education ought to to have inculcated better princi- ples. LET not thefe reflections be called too ftrong, or too fevere the caufe of humanity (the caufe of every thinking and confederate man} demands it. So various, fo complicated arc the evils under which the domeftic animals fuffer by the hand of man, that no expreffion can be too forcible to refcue them from the cruelties under which they fo often Ian- guifh. IN the preface to this book, I declared that I had no motive but the good of mankind in view, when I took [ i9 3 I took up my pen the fame mo- tive has conducted me through the \vhole. I have not the leaft idea of perfonality, my aim alone being, if poflible, to ftem the current of vice and folly. IF! have deferved well of my fellow - citizens, and fhould the voice of the public applaud my little labours, I lhall be amply gra- tified. SHOULD I have over-rated my trifling abilities, I lhall ftill have my motives for my confolation. Unknown, and therefore concealed from perfonal contempt, I lhall ever N make make my own heart eafy, with the reflection, that as my ible objed was the good of others, no felf- reproach can ever harrafs my bo- fom, or give me one moment's dif- quiet. F I tf I S, This book is DUE on the last date stamped below !TBfKO Ml 10m-ll,'50 (2555)470 A 000 000 967 UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES LIBRARY