The mirror: a periodical paper, published at Edinburgh in the

But, while I venture to fuggeft thofe hints to fuch gentlemen as may be in a fituation to afford tutors for their children, 1 would recommend the perufal of, Mr B.'s letter to per-, fons in that condition from which

\be has fprung. I have of late remarked, with regret, in this country, a difpofition in many,, who, from their ftation and circumftances, ought to have been bred farmers or manufacturers, to become fcholars, and men of learned profeffions. Let fuch perfons and, their parents be affured, that, though there may be a few Angular inftances to the contrary, there

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is no purfuit which requires a competency, in point of fortunei more than that of a pia'n of learning. A young man who has pot enough to make him eafy» and to bear the expebce xequifite for carrying on his education^ can Juardly be expelled to rife to any eminence* The meannefs of his fituation will humble and 4cprcfshim, and render him unfit for any thing elegant or great} or if this.fhould not ))e the cafe, there is much danger of his becoming a {frey to anxiety and chagrip, and perhaps paifing a negle£led and a miferabl^life. K. B. feems to

have fuffered much; he may .ftiil have much to fuffer; had he foilowcd his father's profeiOion, he might have been both liappy and ufeful.

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N°8p. TaESDAY, March 14. 178a* .

To the Author of the Mirror.

S I R,

IW^s lately one of a pretty numerous company of both fexes, when a lady then going to be married was the fubjeft of convcrfaiion, and was mentioned* by a gentlemaa prcfent, as a very accomplijbed ivoman, to vhlch the company in general aflented. One lady remarked, flic bad often heard that phrafe made ufe of,. without being able pre* cifely to underftand what was meant by it; that fhe doubted not it was beftowed with pro

priety on Mifs ; but, as fhe was not of

her acquaintance, flie wifhcd to know, whether, when one was* faid to be an accomplifhcd woman, we were to underftand fuch accamplilhments as mufic, dancing, French, Sec. which a boardingfchool affords, or thofc higher attainments which the mind is fuppofed to acquire by reading and refleftion ? Reading and refleftion, repeated,, with an iro* L z nical

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nical fnecr, a very fine gentleman, who fat oppofite to her; I wonder how any one caa fill girls' heads with fuch ridiculous nonfenfc* I am fure I never faw a woman's learning have any other eflFeft than to make her conceited of hcrfelf, and a plague to her neighbours. •Were I to enter the Jbackles^ I have too much regard to my own eafe to

chufe a lady of r^fleElion \ and, had I any daughters, I fhould probably have plague enough with them, without their being readers.

Another lady, Without taking the frhalleft notice of what the gentleman had faid, obfcrv^d, that fhe did not wonder young ladies were difcouraged from taking much pains in improving. their minds, as, whatever a girl's underftanding or mental accomplifliments might be, they wer6 ^ univerfally oeglefted, at leaft by the gentlemen } and the company of any fool, provided (he was handfome, preferred to theirs.—But, as this lady was rather homely, I durft not rely on her opinion.— An elderly gentleman then faid, he did not fee that reading could do a woman any harm, provided they confined themfslves to books fit for them, and did . not meddle with fubjefts they could not underftandj fuch as religion, and politics. As ta the

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the firft, he faid, that, if a woman went regularly to church, faid her prayers, read her Bible, and did as fhe was bid, he thought it all that was neceflary ; and as for politics, it wasa fubjeft far beyond the reach of any female capacity. This gentleman had a little before given a very circumAantial (and I am fure I thought a very tirefome) account of the me* thod of making votes for the next general eleftion, to which the company feemed to pay very little attention; and, if that was what he meant by politics^ he was certainly in the right \ for I acknowledge I did not underhand one word of it i nor did any of the ladies prefcnt,. as I afterwards found,, comprehend it morcthaa myfelf^

A young gentleman, whoj from his correft^ manner of fpeaking, I fuppofe, belonged to* the law, and who had hitherto liftened with great attention, then took upon him to be our fex's advocate, and was proceeding to fhow (in a very fenfible manner, as I thought) the little danger that was to be feared, and thegreat advantage that might be reaped from a young lady's appropriating a confiderable

part of her time to reading, provided her ftudies were ^properly direfted> when the arrival of L 3, " fome Digitized by Google

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fome ceremonious Vifitors put an end to the converfation'; and the company fat down to cards.

When I came home, I could not help rcflefting, with a good deal of uneafinefs, on what I had heard. - For, if there is really no fuch thing as mental accomplifhment rendering a young lady more amiable, or, if reading is to be of no real fervice to U8» I have certainly employed a great part of my paft life to very little purpofe. I was brought up in the country, where reading was not only my greateft amufement, but I was always told> that, by that, and making proper reflections on what I read, I {hoyld become contented with myfclf, and be beloved and refpefted by all who knew me \ and, by thefe improvements alone, could hope to equal my iiAer» who is a great deal handibmer than I, but who could feldom be perfuaded to open a book.

But the converfation above menjtioaed^ wbich happened, very foon after I came to town, has raifed many doubts in my mind, as to the real importance of my former fiudies. I have mentioned my uneaiinefs to Several of my female companions^, who are all (efpecial

1?

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ly iucli as are not handfome) very much interefted in it, and would be very happy to-fee a Mirror on this fnbjeft, though they were much furprifed at my courage in propoiing to write to you ; which, indeed, I

never could have done, had I been able to find any other way tb communicate my diftrefs*

If you think this letter worthy your attention> I intreat you to give us, as foon as pof* fible, your opinion as to what fort of acconw pliihments a young lady ought to be moft anxious to acquire, and whether there is not fome real advantage to be derived from reading I for, I would fain think the young gei>tleman was in the right, though I am forrj I have never feen him iince, to hear what he had further to fay on the fubje£t.

But if, on the contrary, you convince mc^ that I either cannot, or need not aim at any mental accompliihments, I fhall lay by my book, and proceed to finifli fome ornamental pieces.of work, which have hitherto advanced very flowly, as I was always more folicitous to improve my mind, than to adorn my perfon* I am^ Sir, your conftant reader and admirer^

EMILIA*

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In doubts of fuch momenti I ain;cautipu« of giving an opinion, except, like Tome crafty lawyers, hj other doubts» In anfwer, therefore, to my fair correfpondent, I wilifubjoin* another letter from one of her gvyn fex, who> though of infei;ior rank, feems, in the latter part of her epiftle, to judge fenfibly enou^^ of perfonal and meatal accompliihments.

To the Author o£ the Mirror*

Sir,

1 Ani juft going to commence bufinefs as a: MilUn£r^ and am refolved to beftow more' than common pains in furnifhing out as ele-^

gant a fliopr-lift as poflible, being of opi« nion, that much of the

employment a fhopfaeper gets, is owing to the attraftion of a happy-fancified fign,. advertifemeht, or fliop bill. In executing this intention, I have met with feveral difGculties ; and, therefore, am induced to trouble you for a folution of rhem. A friend of mine, whom I confulted, (bccaufe, as he was often reading, I imagined him to be a wife and learned man), advifed me to look into a book called JohnforCs Dictionary^

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tionary^ which he faid would fpcll, explain^ and defci ibe to me, any thing I was at a lofs about. Accordingly, after foihe difficulty, I procured a fight of this book from a relation, who was acquainted with a bookfeller. But, as this fame Johnfon explains his words in a foreign language, I am as much at a lofs as ever \ becaufe I am totally ignorant what language It i^, and, therefore, cannot judge«

whether vfhkt he fays be fuch a defcription of my commodities, as will bring me cuftomers. Upon my looking, for inftance, at his explanation of net-work^ I find it to be, ** any ** thing reticulated or decuflated with inter" ftices betwixt the interfeftions.** Now, Mr Mirror, I beg the favout- of you to tell mc what language this is. You certainly can ca* fily do it, when you have obtained fuch a charafter in town for wifdom and learning. If it fhould be French, be fo good as tranflate it to me ; and, if it proves to be fuch a defcription as I think fuits the net-work I have on hand, I (hall moft gladly infert it in my bilk But, if it fhould turn out to be Latin, Greek, Hebrew, or Dutch, or any other Heathen language, I would ftot meddle with it for all the world i for no pcrfou Aen would come

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near my (hop. I am advifcd by all my friends to put as much French into my bills and adver^fements as poiBble ; and, indeed, I be'lievc the advice is good ; for I have a relation a Perruquier^ as he calls himfelf, who has told me, that he believed he owed almoft all his bufinefs (and a great deal he had) to an advertifcment in the newspapers interlarded with French words. It began thus ; for I copied it letter for letter, " Perruques jui dernier */ gout^ made to fit the head, avec une air bien ** ^^g^g^f to be had," &c. This wigmakcr informed me, that there was fcarcely a young beau in town who wore a wig that could reilft his advertifement.

I fhould beg pardon for the freedom I am uiing, in thus taking up your time about a matter which muft appear fo trifling to you } but, if you are a benevolent man, (and fuch I have heard you are), it will readily occur to you, that, though my requeft appears of a trivial nature, yet it treats of an afl^air of very great cgnfequence to me* This conjideration has emboldened me to apply to you } and, if you take the trouble to give me your afliftance on this occafion, I promife you to take in your Mirror to my (hop for the amufc mcDt

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ment of ray cuftoraers; though, upon fecond thoughts, I am doubtful whether it may not rather hurt my bufinefs. A itiirror is a$ ne-* ceflary to a milliner's fhop, as the goods that arc in it 5 but then it muft be a mirror for the body. Now, yours is one for the mind j and my beft cuftomers, in all prob.abHily, will confift of a fet of ladies who feldom ot ne- * ver look into their minds at all: for thofc ladies,. Mr EIikRaR, •

>|rho dfecorate their perfons in the higheft extravagance of the fafhion, and who, of confequence, are the beft cuftomers to the milliners, are generally fuch, I am told, as have their minds word dreiTed and leaft ornamented. Beiides, the ladies generally find fomething in the bodily mirror which pleafes them; but your mental looking'glafs is one of fuch juft refleftion, that, if my ladies fhould view

themfelves in it, I am afraid they would be fo diflatisficd and difpleafed with feeing their minds fo unadorned as they really are, that they would go away in very bad humour, and without laying out a iixpence in ornaments for their perfons.

I muft, therefore, before I venture upon this ftep, confider further of it, and have the opinion of my friends on the matter. I have ft

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a good mindj Sir, to confult yourfelf upon it. I think fo highly of you,.

that I fcruplc not to abide by your determination. Be fo good, therefore, as to tell me in youranfwer, whether you think I ought to venture to take ki your Mirror to lie on my counter.

I am. Sir,

Your very humble fervant,

LETITIA LAPPET.

H^f^

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V^rum etiam amicum qui intuetur tanquam eX' emplar aliquod intuetur fui, ^iocirca et abfentes adfunt^ et egentes abundant^ et im-*

hecilks valenty et^ quod difficilius di^fu ejl^ mortui vivunt: t ant us eos honos^ memoria^ dejiderium profequitur amicorum. Ex quo z7lorum beata mors videtur^ horum vita lauda^ hilts. Cicero,

** T Ipe,'' fays Sir IVilliam Templcy '* is like *' JLi wine \ who would drink it pure, muft ** not draw it to the dregs." Such, I confefs, has

ever been my opinion, although, in reckoning up the good things of this world, long life is commonly eftimated as one of its chief blcffings.

I am ready to allow, that an old man, look* ing back op a well-fpent life, in which he finds nothing to regret, and nothing to be aihamed of, and waiting with dignity for that event which is to put a period to his exiftence, Is one of the moft venerable and rcfpeftable of VoL.IIL M all

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all objefls. The idea that he is foon to quit the bufy fcenes of life, throws a tendernefs around him fimilar to that we feel in bidding adieu to a friend who is to leave us for a long time.

There is, however, fomething wonderfully unpleafant in the decay of the powers of mind and body, the neceflary confequence of extreme old age. To thofe around them, particularly to thofe with whom they are more nearly connefted, the imbecility which almofl: always attends perfons in a very advanced period of life, aflFords one of the moft affcfting fpeAacles that can well be conceived. It is a iituation truly interefting ; and, while it teaches us to make every allowance for the weakncfs of age, it difpofes us, by every attention, by every mark of obfervance, to fmooth the fieps of the aged, and to remove, as much as poffible, thofe clouds that hang on the evening of life.

It muft, at the fame time, be admitted, that there are men who live to a very great age, in the full poffeffion of their faculties, and, what is ftill more, with all the affeAions of the mind

[alive and unabated. Yet, even where this is

the

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the cafe, I cannot, for my part, confider long life as an objeA much to be defired.

There is one circumftance, which, with me, is alone fufficient to decide the queftion. If there be any thing that can compenfate the unavoidable evils with which this life is attended, and the numberlefs calamities to which mankind are fubjed):, it is the plcafures arifing from the lociety of thofe we love and efteem* Fricndftiip is the cordial of life. Without it, who would wifh to exift an hour ? But every one who arrives at extreme old age, muft make his account with furviving the greater part, perhaps the whole, of his friends. He muft fee them fall from him by degrees, while he is left alone, fingle and unfupported, like a leaflefs trunk, ex^pofed to every ftorm, and flirinking from every blaft,

I have been led to thefe reflexions by a lofi^ I lately fuftained in the fudden and unlocked* for death of a friend, to whom, from my earlieft youth, I had been attached by every tie of the moft tender affeftion.

Such was the confidencfe that fubfifted between us, that, in his bofom, I was won't to repofe every thought of my mind, and every weaknefs of my heart. Poffeflcd of excellent natural parts, and of eM

z very

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Tery accompliflimcnt education could beftow, he pleafed ftill more by the gentlenefs of his xnanners, and the uncommon fweetnefs of his di/pofition.

It is not many months fince I paid him a vifit at his feat in a remote part of the kingdom. I found him engaged in cmBellifhing a place, of which I had often heard him talk with rapture, and the beauties of which I found his partiality had not exaggerated. He ihowed me all the improvements he had made, and pointed out thofe he meant to make. He told me all his fchemes, and all his projefts. And, while I livej, I muft ever retain a warm remembrance of the pleafure I then enjoyed in his ibciety.

The day I meant to fet out on my return, h. >vas fcized with a flight indifpofition, which he fccmed to think fomewhat ferious; and, indeed, if he had a weaknefs, it confifted in ' rather too great anxiety with regard to his health I remained with him till he thought himfelf almoll; perfeftly recovered ; and, in order to avoid the unpleafant ceremony of taking leave, I refolved to fleal away early in *the morning, before any of the family fhould be aftir. About daybreak, I got up, and let niyfelf

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jnyfelf out. At the door I found an old and favourite dog of my friends, who immediately came and fawned upon me. He walked with me through the park. At the gate he flopped} and looked up wifhfully in my face \ and, though I do not well know how to account for it, I felt, at that moment when I parted with the faithful animal, a degree of tendernefs,. joined with a melancholy fo plea« fing, that I had no inclination to check it. In that frame of mind I walked on (for I had ordered my horfes to wait me at the £r{i fiage) till I reached the fummit of a hill, which 1 knew commanded the laft view I ihould have of the habitation of my friend. I turned to^ look back on the delightful fcene. As I looked, the idea of the owner came full into my mind; and, while I contemplated his many vir**tues and numberlefs amiable qualities, a fugge<» ftion arofe, if he fhould be cut off, what an ir-reparable lofs it would be to his family, to his> friends, and to fociety. In vain I endeavour* ed to combat this melancholy

foreboding, by reilefting on the uncommon vigour of hisconftitution, and the fair profpe£l it afforded of his enjoying many days. The impreffion Ml recurred, and it was feme confiderable M 3. tame Digitized by Google

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time before I had ftrength of mind fufficient to conquer it.

I had not been long at home when I recci* ved accounts of his being attacked by a violent diftemper, and in a few days after I learned that it had put an end to his life.

This blow, for a time, unmanned me quite. Even now, the chief confolation I find is m the fociety of a few chofen friends. Should they alfo be torn from me, the world would to me be as a defert; and, though I fhould ftiil endeavour to difchargc my duty in that {Ration which providence has afBgned me in life, I Ihould never ceafe to look forward, not without impatience, to thofe peaceful maniions where the weary are at reft, and where only we can hope to meet again whh thofc from whom we have been parted by the inexorable hand of death..

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Non quia, Macenas, Lydorum, quidguid £•

tru/cos Incoluit finesy nemo generajior eft te; Nee quod avus iibi maiemus fuit afque pater-*

nus Olim qui tnagnis legionibus imperitdrint, Ut plerique 'foknfy nafo fufpendis adunco Ignotai. HoRr

IN eftimating the conduA of men^ we natn* rally take into account not only the merit or blame of their afUons^ abftraAedly confidered^

but alfo that portion of either which thofe aftions derive from the fituation of the perfons performing them. Befides the great moral laws by which every man is bound, particular ranks and circumftances have their peculiar obligations ; and he who attains eleva« tion of place or extent of fortune, increafes not only the pleafures he has to enjoy, but the duties he has to perform. This, however^ moralifts have always ^omplaiaed, is apt to

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to be forgotten j the great are ever ready ta cxercife power, and the rich to pufchafe pleafore ; but the firft are not always mindfut of benignity, nor the latter of beneficence.

In the lighter duties of life, the fame rule takes place, and is, in the fame manner^ but little attended to. In thefe, indeed, it i& more liable to be difregarded from an idea of its un/importance. Yet, to the little and the poor,, the behaviour of the great or the rich is often as eflential as their conduft. There may be tyranny and injuftice.in the one as well as ia the other; n^y, I have known many men who could forgive the oppreffion of the powerful' and the encroachments of the wcahhy in more material inftances, who never could pardoa the haughtinefs of their demeanour, and thc^ faftidioufnefs of their air.

It is ftrange,. mcthinks, that the defire of dcpreffing the humble, and overawing the moacft, fliould be fo common as it is among thofe on whom birth or ftation has conferred foperiority. One might wonder how it (hould ever happen, that people fhould prefer being, feared to being loved, to fpread around them the chilnefs of unfocial grandeur, rather than the warmth of reciprocal attachment.. Yet,, frgiBi

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from the pride of folly, or of education, wc find this is often the cafe; there is fcarce any one who cannot rccolleft inftances of perfons who feem to have exchanged all the pleafurcs of fociety, all intercourfe of the affeftions, for the cold pre-eminence of ftate and place.

But, in the ideas of their power, it is proper to inform fuch perfons, they are frequently miftaken. It muft be on a mind very contemptible indeed, that mere greatnefs can have the effefts they are apt to afcribe to it. They cannot blaft with a frown or elevate with a fmile, from rank or ftation alone, without fome other qualities attending them. Tis with rank and ftation, as an acquaintance of mine, fomewhat of a cpxcomb, though a better thing from nature, obfcrved to me of drefs, " Every man,*' faid he, looking at himfdf in a mirror, "

every man can put on a " fine coat; but it is not every man who can "

wear one.'*

It is, by no means, fo eafy to do the honours of a high ftation as many who attain high ftations are apt to imagine. The importance of a man to himfelf is a feeling common to all i] to fettle with propriety the claims of others, as well as of ourfelves, requires na inconfiderable

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iaconCderable degree of difcernment; and the jealoufy of inferior ftations in this matter, will criticife with the utmoft nicety the determinations of their fuperiors. In proportion as the great claim refpeft or adulation, the fpirit of thofe beneath .them will commonly refufe it. We fee daily examples of men, who go on arrogating dignity, and procuring contempt j who meet with flights where they

demand rcfpedt, and are refufcd even the attention to which they are intitled, bccaufc they would impofe attention rather than receive it.

But it is not always by haughtinefs of de« demeanour that people fhew themfelves mod haughty. There is a claim of fuperiority, amidft the condefcenfion of fome men infinitely more difgufting than the diftant dignity of ordinary pride. Somebody has called the part which the, inferiors of (uch people play, ** holding the lower end of familiarity." OrgiJius kcQ^s dipack of thpfe end-holders conftantly about him. He calls them by their names, as he does his hounds \ they open at his jefts, follow the fcent of every obfervation he makes, and run down every charafter he attacks. For all this he rewards them exaftly

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as Jie does his favourite dogs^ by allowing tliem to dirty his parlour, and feed at his table; and, like the mafter of many a pack^ he is defpifed by all his neighbours who have underftanding, and hated by all thofc who want it.

Nothing is more difEcult than the art of a patron ; the power of patronifing is bat one ingredient in its compofition. A patron muft be able to read mankind, and, to.conciliate their affections j he muft be fo deferving of praife as to be independent of it; yet receive it as if he had no claim, and give it value v^here it is juft, by refifting adulation.

He muft have that dignity of demeanour which may keep his place in the circle j yet that gentlenefs whict may not overpower the moft timid, or overawe the meaneft. If he patroiiift the arts, he muft know and feel them ; yet he muft fpeak to the learned as a learner, and often fubmit. the correftncfs of his tafte to the errors of genius. With fo many qualifications requifite for a patron, it is not wonderful that fo few (hould arife; or that the bunglers whom we fee attempt the part, ihould fo frequently make enemies by offices of friend

{hip.

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fhip^ and purchafe a lampoon at the price of a panegyric.

There is a fort of female patronage, of which I cannot forbear taking notice, though it be fomewhat out of place here. It is confidered as of little importance, though, I am apt to believe, its confequences are fometimes of a very ferious nature. In fomc great houfes. My-Lady^

as well as My-Lord, has a train of followers, who contend for that honour which her intimacy is held to confer, and emulate thofe manners which her rank and faQiion are fuppofed to fanftify. Let the humanity of fuch a patronefs lead her to bewai'e, left her patronage be fatal to her favourites. If the glare of grandeur, or the luxuries of wealth, deprive them of the relifh of fober enjoyments; if the eafc of fafhionable behaviour feduce them fi-om the fimplicity of purer manner?,* they will have dearly purchafed the friendfhip which they court, or the notice which they envy. Let fuch noble perfons confider, that to the young ladies they are pleafed to call their friends, thofe fober pleafures, thofe untainted manners, are to bte the fupport of celibacy, the dower of marriage^ the comfort and happinefs of a future

life.

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life. It were cruel, indeed, if, by any idh fringement of tho£b manners, any contempt for thofe pleafures, (too cafily copied by their bfcriors), they fhould render the little tracH fient diftinfbions which they beftow in kind-^ nefs, a fource of lafting mifery to thofe who receive them. '

To the behaviour' of the rich, the above obfervations may apply; wealth, in a com* mercial country like ours* conferring, in a great meafure, the dignity of title or of birtlu There are, however^ fome

particular errors^ . into which the poffeflbrs of fuddenly-acquU Kd fortunes are apt to fall, that defeat the ends at which they aim, thac difguft where they meant to dazzle, and only create envy where they wiihed to excite admiration. When LucuUuSi at a dinner to which he has invited half a dozen of his old acquaintance^, fliowsi his

{ide*board loaded with plate, and brmgs in feven or eight laced fervants to wait at table, I do not reckon the dinner given, but fold. I am expe£ked to pay my reckoning as much as in a tavern ; only here I am to give; my admiration, and there my money ; and it Is certain, that many men, and fome very narrow ones too, will fooner part with the laft

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'than with the fonEier. I have fometimcs feen a high-fpirited poor nran at LucitUus*s table, affronted by the produftion of Burgnn* Sy, and xcfufe Cframpaigme, beiaufe it had the lorachio of our landlord's fburfcore thoufand pounds on't> This was honeft, and Lucvllus had not much title to complain; but he knows not how often his Burgundy and Cfaampaigne are drunk by fellows^ who teH all the world, next day, of their former dinners with Jbim at a ihiHing ordinary, with fixpennyworth of punch, by way of regale, irpoti holi» days.

There is an obligation to complacency, I had a:lmoft faid humiRty, of manners, which Ae acquifition of wealth or ftation lays on c^ very man, though it has often, efpecially on weak minds, a direftly-oppofite effeft* A certain degree of inattention, or even rudenefs, which, from an equal, we oiay eafily pardon, from a fuperior, becomes a ferious injury. When mj fchool-companion, Marcus^ was a plain fellow like myfelf, I could have waited him half an hour after the time of appointment, and laughed at his want of an apology when w€ met. But now that he is become a

great

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great maoi I cpuDt the minutes of my attendance with impatience ; and, when he fwag« gers up to his elbow-chair without an acknowledgemjent, I hate him for that arrogance which I think he affumes, and almoft hate myfelf for bearing it as I do. The truth is,

'Marcus was born in the rank, but without the fenilbilities of a gentleman 5 a want, which no office in the ftate, no patent of dignity, can ever fupply. If the term were rightly un« derftood, I might confine my admonitions on the fubjeft of this paper to three words, •* Be ** 2, gentleman.^^ The. feelings of this character, which, in point of manners, is the moft refpeftable of any, will be as immediately hurt by the idea of giving uneafinefs by his own behaviour, as of fuffering uneaiinefs from the behaviour of another.

N 2 No^ 92i

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N^92. ' Saturday, March2$. 178a

LOOKING from the window of a houfe where I was vifiting fomc mornings ago, r obfervcd, on the oppofite fide of the ftrcer> a fignpoft, indicating a pcrfon to Kve thcrc^ by trade a Figure^maker. On remarking to a gentleman who flood near me, that this was a profeilion I did not recoiled having heard of before, my friend, whohas a knack of drawing obfervations from trifles, and, I muft confefs, is a little inclined to take things on their weak fide, replied, with a farcaftic fmile, that it was one of the moft common in life. While he fpoke, a fmart young man, who has lately fet up a very fliowy equipage, paflcd by in his carriage at a brifk trot, and bowed to me, who have the honour of a flight acquaintance with him, with that air of civil confe* quence which puts one in mind of the notice a man thinks himfelf ihtitled to^ *• That ** young gentleman," faid my friend,

•* is a " Figure^maker^ and the chariot he drives in " ]» his Jign-poft^

You might trace the bre

" thrcn.

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**thren of this irade through every ftrect,. ** fquare, and houie in town. Figure-ma* ** king is common to all ranks| ages, tem-^ *^ pers, and iituations : there are rich and** poor, extravagant and narrow, wife and " foolifh, witty and ridiculous, eloquent and ** filent, beautiful and ugly Figure-makers* la ** fbort, there is fcarce any body fuch a Qjf** pher from Nature, as not to form fome f^ preteniion&^to making a figure in fpite of " her.**

" The young man who bowed to you is aa^ •' extravagant Figure-maker, more remarkable •^from being fucceflbr to a narrow one I •*

knew his father well, and have often vifited. ** him, in the courfe of money-iranfaftions,, " at his office, as it was called, in the garret**

ftory of a dark airlefs houfe, where he fat,, •^ like the genius of lucre, brooding, in his *^ hole, over the wealth his parfimony had ac« "

quired him, .The very ink with which he ** wrote was adulterated with water, and he " delayed mending his pen till the charaftera <' it formed were almoft illegible. Yet he too ** had great part of his enjoyment from the " opinion of others, and was notinfenfible tO' 'J

the pleafurcs of Figure-making. I have ofN 3. ten*

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♦* ten feen him in his thread-bare brown coat,» ** ftop on the ftreet to wait the pafEng of ** fome of his weU-drcffed debtors, that He **

might have the pleafurc of infulting them ^ with the mtimacy to which their fituations " intitled him j and I once knew him aftuaF^* ly lend

»large fum on terms lefs advanta** geous than it was his cuftom to ihfiff upon, •* merely becaufe it wa» a Peer who wanted •* to borrow, and that he had applied in vaiiXi ** tp two right honourable relations of hnv ** menfe fortune.

** His fon has juft the feme defire of fhe^ ** ing his wealth that the father had ; but he •* takes a very different method of difplaying ^ it.

Both, however,- difplay, not enjoy,. •« their wealth, and draw equal fatisfaftioiri " from the confequence derived from it in the ** opinion of others. The father kept guineas^ ♦^ in his coffers which he never ufed V the fonr ♦< changes, indeed'^ the fpecies oF property,, ^ but has jiift as littfe the power of ufing it. « He keeps horfes in. his ftable, miilreflfea iix. «* lodgings/ and fervants in livery^ to no bc^cr *<*

purpofe than his father did guineas. He ♦* gives dinners, at which he eats made difhes y that he detj^fls, and drinks Champaigpe ^nd

^[ Burguady,

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•* BtiTgrmrfy, inftead of his old beverage of ^ port and punch, tiU he isiick, becaufethey ** are the diOies and drink of great and rich **

men. The Ton V fituation has the advantage " of twillancy, but the father'^ was more liko**ly ta be permanent; he was daily growmg "

richer with the afpedt of poverty j his fon ** h daily growing poorer with the appear** ance of wealth..

*^ It is impoffible to enumerate the prankr ^ which the fudden acquifition of riches, joinr« •* ed to this defire of Figure^making, fets peopte " !i||)laying. There is. nothing fo abfurd or ^ extravagant, which riches^, in the hands of ** a weak man^ will not tempt him to commit •* from the mere idea of enjoying his money " in the way of exhibition^ Nay, thb wilT •* happen to perfons of whofe fenfe and dif«

" cretion the world had formerly a high opi•* nion, even where that opinion was a juft " one J for wealth often makes fools where ** it does not find them.**—My friend happen* ing to caft his eye towards me at that mo* xnent, difcovered a fmile on my countenance^ •* You are thinking now,'* faid he, " that *^ you and I could endure being left twenty or ^ (hirty thoufand pounds^ notwithAanding

*« the

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I5Z The ST r r r o r; N^pz;

** the truth of my obfervation.^'—*^ It would •• f^il youf lefture, I replied ; but you may ** go on in the mean time."— He took the pinch of fnuff which my remark had flopped in its progrefs towards his nofe, and went cm " From this motive of Figure-making^'^ continued he, turning to the ladies of the companyi ** beauty puts on her airs, and

.\fit la* *' bours for a Bon-Mot, till thb iirft becomes ** ugly, and the latter tirefome. You may ^^ have frequently obfcrvcd Betfey Ogle, in a ** company of her ordinary acquaintance, look ** charmingly, becaufe fhe did not care how " {he looked, till the appearance of a gentle«^ man, with a fine coat or a title, has fet her «* a-tofiing her head, rolling her eyes, biting •* her lips, twifting her neck, and bringing ?* her whole figure to bear upon him, till the ^* expreflion of her countenance became per" feft folly, and her attitudes downright dif** tortion. In the fame way, our friend Ned •* Glibi (who has more wit than any man I *^ know, could he but learn the economy of ** it), when fome happy ftrokes of humour ** have given him credit with himfelf and the *^ company, will fet out full tilt, mimickingi •^

caricaturing, punniog, and fiory-telling,

«tUl

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*«tift every body prefent wifhes him dumb, " abcPlooks grave in proportion as he laughs.

" That wit and beauty fhouM be defirous of *' making a figure is not to be wondered at, " admiration being the very province they " contend for. That folly and uglinefs fhould " thruft thentfelves forward to public" notice, " might be matter of furprife, did we not rc" colfeft that their owners moft probaby think " themfelves witty and handfoqie. In thefe, " indeed, as in many other inftances, it un* ^* fortunately

happens, that people are ftrangc** ly bent upon making a figure in thofe very " departments where they have leaflr chance " of fucceeding.

" But thei^e is a fpecies of animal, feveral " of whom muft have fallen under the notice " of every body prefent, which it is diflficult' " to clafs either among the witty or the fool** ifh, the clever or the dull, the wife or the ^' mad, who, of all others, have the greateft *' propenfity x.o figure-making. Nature feems ** to have made them up in hafte, and to have " put the different ingredients, above referred ** to, into their compofition at random. They '* are more common in fi^ch a place as this, ** than in a more extenfivc fphere, like fomc

. *• vermin,

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154 The Mirror. N^pz.

*' vermin, that breed in ponds and rivulets, ** which a larger ftream or lake would de'* fti'oy. Our circle is juft large enough to ** give their talents room, and fmall enough ** to be ajfdfted by their exertion*

Here,. *• therefore, there is never wanting a junto ** of thwn of both fexes, who are liked or ha** ted, admired or dcfpifed, who make people ** laoigh, or fet them afleep, according to the ** ^Oiiop of the time, or the humour pf their ** audience, but who have always the fatisfec** tion of talking themfelves, and of being *^ talked of by others. With us, indeed, a *• very nioderate degree of genius is fufficient ** for this purpofe; in fmall focieties, folks *f arc fet agape by fmall circumftances. I *^ have known a lady here contrive to make a

•* figure for half the winter, on the ftrength ** of a plume of feathers, or the trimming of ** a petticoat; and a gentleman make fliift to <* be thought a fine -fellow, only by outdoing ** every body elfe in the thicknefs of his qu^ue^ ** or the height of his foretop.

*• But people will not only make themfelves ** fools; I have known inftances of their be** coming knaves, or, at leaft, boafting of *• their being fo^ from this defire oi figure-

^ making.

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** making. You £haU hear a fellow, who has " once got thecharafter of being a {harp man, *' tell things of himfelf, for which, if thej ** had been true, he dcferved to be hanged, '* merely becaufc his line of figure-making " lies in trick and chicane ; hence, too, pro* "cced allthofe hiftories of their own profll"gacy and vice, which fome young men of ** fpirit are perpetually relating, who are'wili" ing to * record them/elves villains,* rathef '^ than not be recorded at alL

" In the arts, as well as in the characters of ** men, this fame propenfity is produftive of " ftrange diforders. Hence proceed the bom** baft of poetry, the tumor of profe, the ga** rifh light of fome paintings, the unnatural " chiarojcuro of others 5 hence, in ciufic, the

" abfurd mixture of difcordant movements, and " the fqueak of high-ftrainefl cadences; in ** fliort, all thofe fins againft nature and fim"

plicity, which artifts of inferior merit are " glad to praftife, in order to extort the no** tice of the public, and to make a figure, by ** furprife and ffngularity.'*

The accidental interruption of a new vifitor now Hopped the current of my friend's dif

courfe;

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t^6 The Mirror. N^^pt.

courfe; he had, indeed, begun to tire mok of the company J who were not all difpofed to liften quite fo long as he feemed inclined to ipeak. In truth, he had forgot that the very reproof he meant to give his neighbours^, applied pretty flrongly to himfelf, and that, though

he might fuppofe he was ledluring from the defire of reformation, he was, ia xeajjty,, haranguing in the fjpirit oi Jiguu-m^ king.

I

N^93»

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I

N® 93. Tuesday, Manh 28. i*jZ^ Parva leva capiunt animos. Ovio.

THat life confifts, in a great meafure, of trifling ^occurrences and little occu« pationSy there needs no uncommon fagacity or attention to difcover, Notwithftanding the importance we are apt to afcribe to the employments and the time, even of the grcateft and moft illuftrious, were we to trace fuch perfons to the end of their labours and the clofe of their purfuits, we fhould frequently difcover, that trifles were the folace of the one, and the purpofe of the other. Public bufinefs and political arrangement, are oftea only the conftrained employments to which accident or education has devoted their hours, while their willing moments are deflined, perhapS| to light amufements and to carelefs mirth.

It is not, then, furprifing, that trifles fliould form the chief gratification of ordinary men, on whom the public has no claim, and indivi Vol. III. O duals

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158 The Mirror. N°93.

duals have little dependence. But, of thofe trifles the nature will commonly mark the man, as much as circumftances of greater importance. A mind capable of high exertion or delicate fentiment, will (loop with a certain confcioufnefs of its defcent, that will not al-'

low it to wanton into abfurdity, or fink into groflhefs. There is, in fliort,

a difference, ^vhich fenfe and feeling will not eafily forget, between the little and the mean, the fimple and the rude, the playful and the foolifli.

But the fureft mark of a weak mind is an affeftation of importance amidft the enjoyment of trifles, a buftle of ferious bufinefs amidft the mod infignificant concerns. The bringing forward of little things to the rank of great ones, is the true burlefque in ^charafter as well as in ftyle ; yet fuch- charaders are not uncommon, even among men who have acquired fome cflimation in the world. In this particular, the world is eafily deceived ; dullnefs may often ape folemnity, and arrogate importance, where brighter talents would have drawn but little regard; as objefts are magnified by mifl:s, and made awful by darknefs.

Of a charafter of this fort I received, fome time

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1^^93' The Mirro^. 159

time ago, the foliowiag ikecchy from a young ladf, who fometimes honours me with her correfpondence, whofc vivacity can give intcre(l to trifles^ and entertainment to abfurdity.

Dear Sir,

'XT'OU made me promife, on leaving town^ that I would write to you whenever th^ country afforded any thing worth writing about. The country, at prefent, merely a» country, prefents no landfcape but one undi£tingui(hed traA of fnow ^ vegetation i$ locked »p Jn froft, and we arc locked up within doors; but fomething might be traced within doors, had I a good pencil for the purpofc.—* Mine hoft, of whom you have heard a good deal, is no bad fubje£l: Suppole I make himh fit for his piAure.

Believe me, he is not quite the fenfible intelligent man we were told he was,—So much the better; I like bddities — even now and then, in town ; ftlll better in the country j — -but in froft and fnow, and all the dreary confinement of winter,—Oh ! your battledore and Jbuttlecoch are a joke to them.

You remember, a long while ago, (fo long,

that I have forgot every part of the book but O ^ the

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itfo The Mirror. N*=^93".

the name), we read Nature dlfplayed together. Tou then told me of a certain Mr Leeuweri' hoeky I think you called him, whofe microfcope (hewed the circulation of frog's blood, the fcales of the fcales of fifties, the briftles of mites, and every other tiny thing in the world.

Now, my worthy landlord, Mr G. R. has always fuch a glafs as LeewwenhoecVs in his noddle; every little thing is fo great to him, and. he does little things, and talks of little things, with an air of fuch importance !—but I hate definitions ; piftures are ten times better \ and now for a few Iketches of my wiXiter-quarters, and of the good man under whofe government I live.

I difcovered, on my firft entry into his houfe, that evei'y thing was in exaft order, and every place inviolably appropriated to its refpeftive ufc. The gentlemen were to put their hats and fticks in one corner, and the ladies their clogs in another. The very day of my arrival, I heard the family-apothecary get a fevere rebuke for violating the chaftity of the clog-corner with his rattan. I have hitherto efcaped much cenfure on this fcore: Luckily I have attrafted the regard of Mr R/s youngeft fifter^ a grave, confideratc, orderly youngs

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young lady. I don't know how it is, but 1 have often got into favour with thofe grave ladies.—God knows, I little deferve it.—Mifi Sophia R. therefore keeps me right in many impoj^tant particulars, or covers my deviations with fome apology; or, if all won't do, I laugh, as is my way ; Mr R. calls me Rattleicull, fay* he (hall bring me into prder by and by, and there's an end on't.

By that attention to trifles, for which, froia his earlieft daysi he was remarkable, Mr R. made himfelf commodious to feme perfons of confiderable influence, and procured many advantages, to which, neither from birth nor fortune, he was any wife intitled. He travelled in company with a gentleman of very high rank and diftinguiflied abilities, by whofc means he procured an introduftion to many eminent men in foreign countries; and, when he returned from abroad, was often in the ibcicty of the eminent men of our own. But his brain, poor man ! was like a gauze fearce,. it admitted nothing of any magnitude : A-midil great men and great things,, it took ia os*ly the duft that fell from them.

He-was reading, in the news-papers, the o

iherlmprning, of the marriage of the Honour O 3. able

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able Mifs W to Sir H. S . <« Ah f*

faid he, " to think how time pafles I I re