** member her grandfiither Lord W welhj

In this fituationy Sir, what lliall I do ? By my boafted education, I have only unlearned the language and loft the manners of that fociety in which I am to live. —If you can put me on any method of biioging my friends up to me, or of letting myfclf down to them, you vill much oblige,

- * Yours, &c.

MARY MUSLIN. R 3 T(>

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To the AuTHxxR of the Mirror.

'Sir,.

A S you are very fuccefsful iq delineatixig the tnanoers of modern times, it might add^ perhaps., to the cffeft of your piftures,. if you fometimes gave a view of former manners. The contraft would be agreeable;. and, if I may ufe the expreffion, would give a certain reiUf to your other delineations. I oflfer you a fmall fketch of an incident, fuppofed to have happened ia the times of our forefathers. I flatter myfelf you have no obje<Elion to it on account of its being in verfe. It is merely an outline $ yet, I hope, it is fo marked, as that concomitant circumftances, though not ex* preiTed, may readily be conceived.

MONT ANUS.

iTic MAURI AGE of EVAL.

L

Loud from Jura's rocky fliore-, Heard ye the tum«kuous roar ?—

SoddcD

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N^96. T H B M t R E a R. 19^

Sudden from the bridal feaft^

By impetuous ire poflcfs*<J^

Fury flaChittg in their eyes,

Kinfmen agatnft kinfmen rife:

And ifluing to the fetal field.

Bend the bow, the falchion wield.—^»

From her eyry, with cUfmay^

The towVing eagle foars away^

The wild-decr from their dofe retreat. Start with terror and amaze, Down on the furious confliA gaze,

The» to deep forcfts bend their nimble feet.

n.

Ah ! that recklefs fpeech fhould fire

Kinfmen with inhuman ire !—

Goaded by Tindiftive rage

Lo ! the martial clans engage.

Now the feathered arrows ling j

Now the boffy targets ring.

With rav'hing fwords the fudden foes^

Now in fierce encounter clofe.

Lo ! the blade horrific gleams i

And now the purple torrent ftreams :

The torrent ftreams from Eval^s fide. Tinging, with his flowing gore The white foam on the fca-beat fhore.

Ah I who will fuccour his affiled bride,?

HI.

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lEL

Lo ! fhe ffies with beadlong fpeed;,

'* Bloodjr, bloody was the deed •^

Wild With piteous W'^ilf flie crks^

Treiles torn and ftpeamiag eyesr)^

*< lifCj OI gently lif( his^ head ;,

•* Lay him on the bridal bed i

•* My kinfmctt I — cuiacl kiafinea ye ^

^ Th«fe your kindJkft deeds to me !*—

•* Yes, the day-cold bed prepare,

*^ The willing, bride and bridegroom there

** Will taarry ; will for eter dwell.—-—

** Now, inhuman men, depart;

** Go, triumph iii my broken* heart-.'rr: She faid, fhe figh'd, a breathlefs corfe fht fclL

K^97.

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To the Author of the Mi&ror.

S 1 R,

YOuR correfpondient K; B; has well dc« fcribed the calamitous condition of aprh vate tutors without money or fciends. Pcr^ haps it will- affiDrd him fome confolation, ta hear of one who needlefsly entangled himfel£ in difficulties of a like nature.

My father bred me to the ftudy of letters, and^ at hisdeath, left, me in pofleiSon of a for* tune, not fufficient to check my induftry in the purfuit of knowledge^ but more than fu& ficient toiecure mc from fervile dependence.

Through, the intercft of his friends, I ohtalned an honourable and lucrative office;, but there were certain arrangements to be made, which delayed my. admiffion to it for a twelvemonth. While I was confidering in what way I might beft fill up this interval of life, an acquaintance of mine requefled, as.a particular favour^ that I would beftow the

year

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year which I could call mine^ in reading with the only fon of the rich Mr Flint. The conditions offered were uncommonly advantageouffi and fsch as indeed Mattered the vanity of a young man.

For underftanding my ftory, it is fit that you (hould be informed of the characters of that family into which I was received with To many marks of favour and diftinAion.

Rowland Flint, Efq; was borp of poor but honeft parents; they made a hard (hift to havr him inftrtifted in reading, and even in writing and arithmetic, and then they left bim to find his way throiigh the world a& he beft could. The young man, like a philofophcr, carried about with him all that was truly his own, his quill and his ink-holder; he attached himfelf to one of the fuhordtnate departments of the law, in which his drudgery was great and his profits fcanty. After having toiled for many years in this humble^ contented, and happy Tocation, he was fuddenly raifed to opulence by the death of an uncle. ' Tfn$

uncle went abroad! at a very early pc*nod of life, with the fixed refolution of acquiriiig a competency, and then of enjoying k at howes. But that cmpn^ncy^ wkicli filled

up

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up the meafure of the ambition of a bare Scotch lad, proved far (bore of the defircs of an emivent Foreign merchant. He imperceptibly became ** in eafy circumfiance&, well in the ** world, of great credit^

a man to be relied ^^ on, and to be advifed with, and even one '

fuperioT to all ihocks, calls, and runs."

While engaged in making his fortune, he thought it needlefs to inquire after his poor Tciations, whom he could not affift i and, after he had made his fortune, he thot:^ht it equally needlefs, as he was to iee them fo fooa in Scotland. Yet, a multitude'of unforefeen obftacles retarded his return: Some new mortgage was to be fettled, fome companyconcerns to be wound op« or fome bottomry* account to be adjufted; a^nd thus, year glided along after year, till at le ngth, death fuprifed him at the age of three fcore and ten.

Bufied in making money, he had never be* flowed a thought on providing an heir to it: that he left to the impartial determination of the laws of his country ^ and, dying inteftate, he was fucceeded by his nephew, Rcnuland Flint.

This gentleman, on his becoming rich, difcovered himfdf to be eminently ikilled in the

fcieuce

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/cience of law, the ftudy, as he boafted, of •his earlier years; and this knowledge engaged ^im in three or four law-Aiits, which the <:ourt uniformlj determined againft him, with •cofts.

But of every other fcicnce he honeftly aTowed his want of knowledge y and he did not even pretend to underftand painting or politics; but he had a mighty veneration fdr literature and its profeflbrs, and he was refolded to make his fon a great fcholar^ although it Jbouldjiand him in ten thwfand pounds Sterling.

My pupil is in his fifteenth year, Thcf Jbad taken him^fi-om ichool before it was difcovered that his proficiency in literature did aot qualify him for college; and it became any talk to bring him forward, that is, to teach him what he ought to have known already.

The youth is of a docile difpofition, and of moderate talents ; .his memory good^ and his application fuch as is generally to be found a« mong thofe who, having no particular incentives to ftudy, perform their taiks merely as taflts.

- I have little to fay concerning his mother: her mind was wholly abforbed in the cod

emplatiofl

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-templation of her hufband's riches, and in the eve of her fon's health and her own. Baron Bieljield, an eminent German author, obferves^

thatj in our ifland, there is a difeafe called U catch'coldy of which the natives are exceedingly apprehenfive. Mrs Fiint lived under the perpetual terror of that difeafe.

Being thus rendered iiicapable of the* adive duties of houfe-keepingy (he committed them to her brother. Captain Winter bottom, who, as he was wont to fay, *' could bear a hand at *' any thing.** But his chief excellence lay in the condud of the ftew-pan and the nation. He had long commanded a veiTel in the Baltit trade ; and it having been once employed as a tranfport in the fcrvice of government, he aCfe£ted to wear a cockade, and wifhed to have it undcrftood that he belonged to the navy. The captain had dealt occafionally in boroughs* politics, belonged to feveral refpedable clubs in London, and was one of the original members of the Robin-Hood focicty.

The laft of the family that I fliall mention is Mifs Juliana IVinterbottom^ a maiden fitter of Mrs Flint. Her original name was Judith % but, when fhe arrived at the years of difcre Vol. III. S tion.

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lioD, (he changed it to Juliana^ as being more genteel.

Many years ago Lady — was advifed to pafe -a winter at Nice^ for recovery of her health) worn out by the vigils and diffipation of- a London winter ; and flie eafily prevailed on Mifs Juliana to go as her companion. The htat of the climat/, and the cold blafts from the Alps, foon completed what the corrupted ^ir of tgood company, and the damps from the Thames, had begun, and Lady — lived nor to re-fee her Bricifh phyficians. ..rMifs Juliana^ on her return home, paffed by the caftle of Fernay^ and got a peep of M» de P'cltciir^i in his furred cap and night-gown. At Pavis, ihe chanced to be in company with Count Buffon for half an hour; and fhe actually purchafed a volume of mufic written by the great Roujfeau himfelf. Having thus become acquainted with the foreign literati, (he commenced a fort of literata in her own pcrfon. She frequently advances tliofe opinions in hiftory, morals, and phyfics, which, as fhe imagines, are to be found in the writings t£ the French philofophers. But, whether through the habits of education, or through confcious ignorance, it muft be confeiTed, that

ihe

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Ae dogmatizes with diffidences and is a very ftammerer in infidelity.'

Having feen Paris, and having picked up a good many French words in the courfc of her' travels, (he thinks that £he is authorifed, and,in fome fort, obliged to fpeak French. No-* thing can be more grotefque than her travelled language. When (he left Scotland, ** her. "

fpeech," to ufe a phrafe of Lord Bacorif " was in the full dialeiSl: of her nation." At Nice ihe- converfcd with EngliQi and Iriih; and, by imitating the language of each, ihe has, 4n her pronupciation, completed the union of the three kingdoms. But ft III her own

country-language predominates ; for, during her refidence abroad, flie ha4 an oppor* tunity of preferving, and even of imprdviog it, by daily conferences with the houfe^maid,; who was born and educated in the county of Banf.

In pronouncing French, flie blends the tone of all thofe dialefts: and her phrafcology is as Angular as her pronunciation ; for' Ilic faithfully trapflates every word from her ow« mother-tongue. An example of this prefent^ itfelf, which I fliall never forget. One day, addrcffing her difcourfc to me, fhe faid, ** y^

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**^ doute pas que vous av^z peruse les ouvraiges ** A Mongfccr le CounU de Bavffan; que uit •* charmang creature I il. met philofophes et di" vins />flr A-/ oreilles.*' That is, ** I doubt *' not that you have read the works of Count ** Buffon \ what a charming creature I he fets ** philofophers and divines by the cars." I anfwered her, that I had never read the works of that renowned author, but that I had read the Principia of Sir IJaac Nevxtmt* Why, indeed, replied fhe, Sir Ifaac may have been a man of better principlesy but afjbeurement the theories of the Count are wittier*

It is a happy circumQaxKe that Mifs JVintef'^ bottom did not make the grand touir. Had ihe vifited Italy, fhe would have proved as great an adept in ftatuary and in painting, as fhe is at prcfcnt in philofopy.

But Mifs iVinterbot* torn cannot, in conference, talk of her having vifited Italy, while her travels were limited to the borders of Piedmont.

I never heard her mention Italy but once, and then flie got no great encouragement to proceed in her remarks. At dinner flie fald, *• I remember that, in Italy, they have fomc«* thing very like our veal, which they call « viielh:' " Well, Sifter Juddy,'' cried Captain Digitized by Google

N^97' The Mirror. 209

tain fFinteriottom, •«* and why fliould they not^ •* for if vitello means veal in their lingo^ what ** elfe would you have the poor dfcyih call

"it?''

It was refolved to poftpone nay lefTons for a wliile, " that/' as Mr Flint exprei&d it, *« T " might come to know the ways of the houft': Mifs Jtdiana conftantly teafed me with quefiions about my plan for her nephew's educa* tion. To puzzle her a little, I faid, that, fome*

weeks hence, I propofed to teach him to make' ** nonfenfe verfes. •*

Mifericorde^^ cried fhe^' ** nonfenfe verf£Si^^ Is that part of the tf//quaitte ?

*' Let the boy alone," added Captain Win-'terbottonif " when he is old enough to be in ** love, he will make nonfenfe verfes^ I warn't *' you, without any help of your's; ay, al^ though it fliould be on Mamma's dairy«< maid." Mr Flint laughed loud, and Mrs Flint faid gent»y, ** Oh

\ fy, brother.'* •

• Perceiving that, on ihisenccuiagement, the'

captain was ubv.au to be mors \\^Itty, I recallej^'

the conveiTatiou to nonfenfe verfes, cndca-*

voured to exphtm thi:Ir nature, and obferVed, S 3 that

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that their mala ufe was to Inftruft one ia the quantity of fyUablcs.

*' Quantity of fyllaHes,** exclaimed the captain, *' there is modern education for you! " Boys have thfir heads lumbered with great **

quantities of Latin fyllables and words, whcft *^ they ihQuld be taught to underftand things^ ** to fpeak their own language rough and *'

round, and fo cut 2l figure in parliament. " I remember WitL Fitzdriver

^ but he is ** gone ! Honeft JVilL knew no topgue ex** cept a little of his. owd> and yet he would ^* talk to you for an hour, and you would

**. have thought that he had fcarcely entered ** on the fubjeft at all.

He never valued anj *^ of your ouilandifh lingoJi i^o'^ ^c l**

I faid, that, if my pupil were of an age to go into parliament, I fhould be apt to advife him to follow the precepts of Pjitkago^aSySini be filent for feven years. ** He muft have **- been a fure card, that Mr Pythagoras^'^ obferved the captain, •* and I do fuppofe that *[ he lived up to his own precepts ; for I ne«* ver heard of any fpeaker of that name; no,. *f nqt even in eommitteeSf People, to be •^ fure, ipay hold their tongues, and have a •^ flice of the great pudding 5 but this is not a

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*• time for your dumb fenators. No, wc muft" have bold, wcll-fpoken men, to tcH poor '^ Britannia, that (he is beggared, and bleed** ing^

and expiring, ay, and dead coo, for ** ought that fome folks care.**

He rounded this pathetical period with one of his beft oaths*

" Were all men: to make fpecches,**' ftid I^ " what time would there be left for doing bu* " finefs ? *• " Bufinefs," cried the captain^ " is not oratory bufinefs ? and why cannot " they fet to it, ivatch and watch^

as we do at*

Mrs Flint exprefled her hope, that I would not load her poor boy's memory, by making, him get a deal by heart.

" When I firft got the 'multipltcation-table ** by heart,*' faid Mr Flint,, who generally falls, in the rear of converfation, " it was a plaguy *^

troubleibme job \ but now that I am mafter " of it, I don't perceive that it loads my mci*' raory at alL**

** Learned men have remarked^" faid MHV

Juliana^ *• that it is not the getting by heart

" that is ccnfurable, but the getting by rote,.

" as one does one's catechifm.*'

** There fhe goes, the travelled lady," cried the

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the captain; '* fhc muft always have a fling at ** her catechifou''

" Mr Winterhottom^ replied Mifs Juliana^ with exceeding . dignity, **

you. wrong me *' much. I am Aire that I fhould: be the laft ** woman alive to fay any thing, efpecially in *' mixed companies, to the difparagementof *' the religion of the ftate, which I have al•* ways confidered as the great fyeng [AVn] of « fociety."

'* You have always confidered religion as **: great lying \ and who taught you that, fitter •* Juddy ? your god-fathers and your god<'

mothers ! No, fure.'* ; Here I was laid under the necefllty of interpofing, and of afluring Captain Winterhnttmy that he miftook his fifter, and that flie had inadvertently ufed a French word to exprefs bcr own tdea^ ** that religion was the great tie of *' fociety." Perhaps 1 prevaricated a litde in my office of interpreter.

*< Well, well," faid the captain, <* if her •* tongue was tied^ fociety would be no lofer." - To divert the ftorm. which feemed gathering! I fpoke of my purpofe to explain the tenth fatu-e of Juvenal^ a poem, for method,

compofition,

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compoiitioD^ and animated language, univer{My admired.

" What does that Juvenal write about ? ** faid Mifs JuHana; ♦* I am not acquainted " with his works : was he a member of the " French academy ?^—" Perhaps,* replied I, fmiling, " he would be no favourite with you, ** Mifs Juliana ; he has been very fevcre upon **

the Roman ladies."

" Ay, they were Papifts,** faid * Captain ** Winterbottom^ " and they are all wh——.** " Give me leave to tell you," cried Wits Juliana^ in a higher key, *^ when I was abroad, I had " the honour of being known to feveral ladies '* of the Roman perfuafion,. and they were **

perfons of the ftrifteft virtup." •[

** I fuppofe you aikcd them whether they " were wh——, and they faid they were not. " Poor fitter Juddy ! it is true, I never was *' in the gallies at Nice^ as you have been \ ** but I have touched at Mar/eilles, and have " laid clofe oflf the mole of Genoa, and that *' is farther than ever you travelled j and I ** fay they are all wh--—."

How this wonderful controverfy would have ended, I know not j but happily we were called to coffee^ which feparated the combatants*

I

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I was now pretty well acquainted with the nuays of a houfe^ in which ignorance^ felf-conceit, and illiberality of fentiment and manners, had fixed their refidence. It was agreed| Uiat, on the Monday following, I ihould begin my lefibns. Appearances, I muft acknowledge, were not very favourable. My pupil had been generally prefcnt at the

converfations of which I have given you a fpecimen, and', indeed, they were not fuch as could either enlarge his mind, or improve his underftanding. I flattered myfelf, however,' that he would be left to profecutc his fiudies under my dircftion, and that every new acquifition in knowledge would increafe his love for letters.

In what way our ftudies were conduced, will beft appear from a faithful journal of the progrefs which we made during the firft: we<;k.

But of this hereafter. Meanwhile, I am, Sir, &c.

HYPODIt)ASCALUS.

N^pS.

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N^9** Saturday, y^T/r/V 15, 1780.

To the Author of the Mirror.

Sir,

I Now fend you a faithful narrative of the progrefs of our ftudics in Mr Flinfs family, from Mondy morning to Saturday at bedtime, carefully diftinguifhing the proficiency made in each day.

MONDAY.

Mrs Flint had previoufly informed me, that her fon's conflitution did not agree with much ftudy before breakfaft, and that, whenever he read on an empty ftomach, he was apt to be difturbcd with uneafy yawnwgs; we therefore refolved that he ihould have a fliort Icffon (Xnly at eight in the morning,

. After waiting in the parlour till within a quarter of nine, I learned from Mrs Flint, that her fon had been obferved 'to. turn himfelf twice or thrice during the night, and that

he

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he feemed to be threatened with a fort of Jiuffing and viheejing: and that, by way of prevention, fhe judged it beft to give him a liule fenna, and confine him to his chamber for a few hours *, but that, in the evening, we might profecute our ftudies without farther interruption.

Accordingly, at fix, my pupil and I prepared to read the tenth fatire of Juvenal. After having explained t!0 him the general fcope and method of the fatirift, I began.

Omnibus in terrh qua funt a Cadihus ufqut^ Auroram et Gangem.

V

At that moment I heard a gentle tap at the door, and then entered Mifs Juliana and her fitter, with Mr Flint and the captain, a little behind, walking on tiptoe. " Tou muft par** don oyxvfsmelle curiofite^

faid Mifs Jul^naf «< we come to fee Jemmy take his firft leflbn ** from you. What have you got here ? I ^ fancy, from my knowledge of French, that *' I could pick out the meaning of fome part ** of it. Oh! I underftand; there is auroram^ f* docs noyt that mean, break of day ?

" Que Vaurore

" Nous trouve encore.

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*' I learned it in a French Chanfong a boar% •« What is that hoar fong^ demanded Captain Winterbottcm^ "bit a hunting one f** •* Oh

•* fy, no,'* faid Mifs JuViana^ " it is a drinking ** fong.** ** And vjho taught you drinking "** fongs," fifter Juddy ; •* did you learn them ^*

from your outlandish ladies of honour ?" A tremendous aflUuk on the knocker an* fiounced the approach of a perfon of quality.

— *« The Counters of ^^ On this joyful news the ladies hurried to the drawing-room. Mrs Flint prcfcntly returned, *• I muft ^* make an apology,*' faid fhe, ** for thug **

interrupting the conrfe of my fon's ftudiesj ^ but the Coantefs has made a flying vific to ** tell me, that there is a meeting of young *^

people at her houfe this evening, and that

* there will be a dance and a little fuppcr,

* and (heinfifts to have Jemmy oi the p^rty; •* but I would not engage, for any thing, ** without afking yom* leate, as you have the

•• whole charge of his education. There will ** be many rich folks, and many fine folks ; ** and there will be Mifs Pimdife^ the great "

heirefs ; fhe has a vaft improveable eftate, " hard by the borough of Jyno^ and who can •* tell.*'—The good woman was bufy In Weaving the web of futurities, when I reminded

Vol. III. T her

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her that her fon had taken mediciDe that moi*ning» and that, poffibljr, he might catch cold. At another time» the mention of r^/^A cold would have awakened all her feelings; but, at prefcnt, Mrs Flint was elevated above the region of alarms. ** Never fear," faid fte, ** we are going to.a clofe warm houfe, '' without a breath of aiir in it. Come away^ *' Jemmyf and put on a pair of white filk '* (lockings as fafl: as you can \ the Countefs *' waits us."

TUESDAY.

My pupil had been kept out of bed To much beyond his ufual hour^

that he did not make i {lis appearance till after breakfaft. ** Chear **

up, my boy/' cried Mrs Flinty " you look 1 ** as if you had been dreaming all night of 1 •' your partner Mifs Punai/e .• -come^ let us **

take an airing, and refrefh ourfclves after «* the fatigues of the ball.

Thefe late fittings '• don*t anfwer with my old bones. You fee, <« Mr

—, that I have been as good as my •* word, and that Jemmyy poor man, has caught '* no cold. You ihall go along with us oa ^' our airing j there is room for you in Mr

" Flint's

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^' Flint^s carriage and (ix, and you may talk " over your leflbns by the way ^ for you will " find the carriage quite eafy.** Nothing, indeed, could be more admirably calculated ta elude every jolt; and there wanted only folitude and independence to make it refemble a down-bed. ** We muft, firft of all, fliut out •* the common enemy, the eaft wind,** faid Mrs Flint, pulling up the glaflcs. The wca« thcr was warm, and Mrs Flint grew eloquent on the fund of knowledge (he had acquired the night before. She gave me tie catalogue and charaRer of the company: fhe dwelt moft on her fon^s looks and dancing. " A "

gentleman at the Countcfs*s, who faid he " was lately come from Paris^ told mc, Jemmy '• was vaftly like the Count de Provencf^ the "

King of France's brother* particularly in " the minuet i but remember^

Jemmy, that, ^' to be a great fcholar, is a much finer thing ^^ than to be a great dancer. I am fure, Mr

** , that my boy will profit by your in

** ftruAions t he has a charming memory,. '^ and he will take in his learning as faft a^ *' you can give it him; and I am fure that is **

faying a great deal 5 for, from all that I caii " difcover, Mr Flint could riot have beftowi. T 2 « ed

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" cd his money better.** — She was going onj but, alas, flattery vibrated faintly on my ear : we had got above pineapple heat, and I became fick and oppreiTed^ I a&ed leave to get out^ and walk home, as I felt myfelf not well. ** Oh, to be furc," laid fhe :. " 1 have knowa

•* people fick ia carriages for want of prac*' tice J don't he alarmed, Mr ■ : but

M here. Jemmy^ do you wrap this handkcr'* chief about your neck, before the coach^ ** door is opened."

1 walked home in great fpiwts, animated by every gak around me j.

and 1 forgot, for a while, .tha:t I was not my own mafter..

In the evening, my pupil caH>e to me dreffed out and powdered : "

Mamma,*' faid ho IheepifhVy, ^^has made me engage to drink tea **

with Mifs Pwiaife^ my lift. nightV partQer* *• I don't much like her neither \ £or flic is ** pijtted with the fmall-pox, has a yeUow ikiD) "

and a bleared eye \ aqd, befides, (he dances ** put of tirnc,—There was a Mifs with black •'hair"—Not inclining to become his coofif dent, I faid, <* Mafter/'//>2f, all engagements •* that canht kept with honour, mtf^ be kept j <^ and, therefore, you muji go." *« Nay,** faid iLe» ** ^hei:e is not any muft in the matter}

« for,

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*^ for, I believe, the Mtfs with the black: Hair •* lives with tbeir Mifs Punaife. However, I ^* can do a* double talk to-morrow; and my ^

aunt is wont to fay, that a young man ought ^ not to be always at his books." He feemed ho have treafured up this precious apophthegm ki his memory.

WEDNESDAY.

My pupil was punihial to bis hour. But we had hardly feated ourfelves, when Captain Winterbottom arrived. " No leflbns to-day,!*

roared he ; " Thii is my Lady*s ivedding-day^ ^ and tberifore we keep holiday y and c<mtefor to. ** be merry*. Why, you young dog, if it had

'* not been for this day, you would either ^ have not been at all, or have been a ba** ftard/' It was indeed, a day of fcftivity and. idot.

T H IT R S D A,.Y.

All the fervants having dutifully got drunlc: over night, my pupil was not called, and fo he overflept himfelf. He came down to the parlour about eleven, and we refumed the fatal T 3. firft Digitized by Google

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firft line of the tenth fatire of Juvenal. •« The *• French mafVer is here,** faid a fcrvant. I begged that he might return in about an hour; but I' fbon learned that that was impoffiblc, without deranging the fyftcm of education m alt parts of the city. •* It is no great matter •* for an hour," faid Mifs Julia?m, •• yon •* have always mj^nephew at your command*, •* but poor Signor Bergamefca is much hur** riedj and his time is not his own." Signor •* Rergamefco^ cried I, •* is your French ma•* ftcr an Italian ?'* «« Yes," faid flie, " of a *' Noble family in the dominions of the Bog " of Venice, but a younger brother, wFth a f* fmall. patrimony, which he unfortunately •* con fumed en travailtant par V'Europe^ It *' was a fancy of my own; I thought that, *'

after the Signor had taught my nephew ** French, he might teach him Italian alfo; ** for you know that it is a great lofs to «* change preceptors, and that young men *• who have not feen much of the world, arc ** fliy with ftrangers.**

The talk impofed on my pupil by S. Bergamefco occupied all his leifure till dinner-time j but I thought that I ihould have the abfolute command of the evening. I was beginDing to

read,

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read, Omnilms in terris^ when a fervant faid*, " Here is the French maftcr.'* « What," " cried I, ** can S. BergamefcOy who is fo •* much hurried, affoed lo give two leflbns in *^ one day to the fame fcholar

?'* " It is an•* other Frcnth matter, whom they have got •* for me,**'

faid my pupil, I applied to Mift Juliana for the explanation of this phanome^ non. ^* It was none of my advifing,*' faid flie J *' but my brother knew Mr O^CaHachan ** when linguift to Commodore FirebracCy and •* he wijhed to throw a good fob-in the poor />A **

low*! ivay ; thefe were his very words ; and ♦* fo Mr O^Cailachan came ta be employed: ♦* but, indeed, after rccolleftion, I thought ft "

would anfwer well enough, as both matters ^< tanght by the fame grammar) and both of " them read TelemaeJ*

The linguift of Commodore Firebrace had jutt taken his leave, wlien a faiart young fellow burft into the room, with an air of much hurry and importance, •• What," cried I, •• more French matters ?'* ** Don't be alarm•* ed,'* faid Mrs Flinty who accompanied hiin 5 *• it is only the Frifeur^ who comes to put up *^ my boy's hair in papers. Pray don't aik me

•• vfhjf^

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•* nvhy^ for it is a great fecret y but you (hall ^ know it all io-nu>rrow:.''

FRIDAY.

•* You muft know,** faid Mrs FRnt at breakfaft, '^ that 1 am affiired that Jemmy '^ •* very like the Count de Provence^ the King " of France^s own brother. Now Jemmy is •* fitting for his picture to

Martin \ and I •* thought it would be right to get the frifeur^ " whom you faw laft night, [he is juft arri** ved from Paris], to drcfs his hair like the *• Count de Provence^ that Mr Martin xm^i *< make the refemblance more complete. Jem* ** my has been under his hands fince fevcn ** o'clock — Oh, here he comes.** " Is it not «< charmang?^* exclaimed Mifs Juliana. ** I V wifti Mifs Punaife faw you," added ihe happy mother. My pupil, loft in the labyrinth of crofs curls,- feemed to look about for hlmfelf. ** What a powdered fheepVhead «* have we got here ?** cried Captain Winter* bottom.—

We all went to Mr Martinis to affift him in drawing Jemmyh pi^re. On our return^) Mrs Flint difcovered that her fon had got an inflammation in his right eye, by looking

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ing ftedfaftly on the painter. She ordered a poultice of bread and milk, and' put him to bed; fo there was no more talk of '^ Omnibut *^

in terris*^ for that evening..

SATURDAY.

My pupil Game down to breakfaft in a complete fuit of black, with wccpersjj and a long mourning-cravat. The Count de Provence^

curls were, all demoliflied, and there remained not a veftige of powder on his hair. ** Bleft " me," cried I, ** what is the matter ?*' "

Oh, *' nothing,'* faid Mrs Flint \ ** a relation o£ ** mine is to be interred at twelve, an3 Jemmyt •* has got a burial-letter. We ought to ac^* knowledge our friends on fuch melancholy ** occafions. I mean to fend Jemmy with the •^ coach and fix.. It will teach him how to bc«

have, himfelf in public places."

At dinner, my pupil exprefled a vehement defire to goto the play.

"There is to be •* ffarUquin Highlander^ and-the blowing up «*of the St Domingo man of war/* faid he \ <« it will be vaftly comical and curious." "Why, Jemmyj^ faid Mrs Flintt " fince ^« tl^s is Saturday, I fuppofc your tutor wilt

«« have

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** have no objeAton ; but be fure to put oa <« your great coat, and to take a chair in go** ming home.*' «« I thought,'* faid I» « that ** we might have made fome progreft at our •* books this evening." •*

Books on Satur" day afternoon," cried the whole company, ** It was never heard of." I yielded to conviction \ for, indeed, it would have beea tery unreafonable to expeA, that he who bad fpent the whole week in idlenefs, (bould be« gin to apply himfelf to bis fiudies on the evening of Saturday.

I am^ Sir, &c.

HYPODIDASCALUS.

N^9^

n-i

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N°99. Tuesday, April i8. I'jio.

Juvat^ aut impelUt ad iram^ Aut ad humumt mcerore gravis deducit et angit*

HoR. *

CRITICISM, like every thing, elfe, is fub^ jeA to the prejudices of oar education or of our country. National prejudice, in** deed, is, of all deviations from juftice, the moft common, and themoft allo^vable^ it is a near, though perhaps an illegitimates relation of that patriotifm which has been ranked a« mong the firft virtues of charaders the moft eminent and illuftrious. To authors, however, of a rank fo ele^vated as to afpire to uni*! verfi^l fame, the paniality of their

countrymen has been fomctimes prejudicial i in proportion as they have 9inreafonably applauded, the cri« tics of other countries, from a very common fort of feeling, have unreafonably cenfured;. and there are few great writers, whom preju^ dice on either fide may not, from a partial view of theit" works, find fome ground for eftimating

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cftimating at a rate much abov€ or much below the (landard of juftice.

No author, perhaps, ever cxifted, of whom opinion has been fo various as Shdkefpeare, Endowed with all the fublimity and fubje^ to all the irregularities of genius, his advocates have room for unbounded praife, and their opponents for frequent blame. His departure from all the common rules which critkifm, fomewhat arbttrarily, perhaps, has impofedy leaves no legal code by which the deciiion can be regulated 4 and, in the feelings of different readers, the fame pafTage may appear iiinple tjr mean, natural or prepofterous, may excite admiration, or create difguft.

But it is not, I apprehend, from particular paflages or incidents that Shakefp€ar^ is to be judged. Though his admirers frequently contend for beauty in the moft diftorted of the former, and probability in the moft unaceountable of the latter; yet, it muft be owned, that, in both^ there are often grofs ilefefts, which crhicifm cannot juftify, though the fituation of the poet, and the times in which he v^rote, may eafily excufe. But we are to look for the fuperiority of Shakefpeare i%i the aftonifhing, and almoft fupernatural, powers

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pov^ers of his invention, his abfolate commaad over the paffions, and his wonderful, knowledge of Nature. Of the ftrufturc of his ftories, or the probability of his incidents, he is frequently carelefs; thefe he took, at random, frqm the legendary tale, or the extravagant romance

; but his intimate acquaintance with the human mind feldom or never forfakes him, and, amidft the mod fantaftic and improbable ficuations, the perfons of his drama fpeak in the language of the heart, and in the ftylc of their charafters.

Of all the char?wkllers of Shakefpeariy that of Hamtei has been generally thought the moft difficult to be reduced to any fixed or fettled principle. With the ftrongeft purpofes of revenge, he is irrefolute and ina^ive; amidft the gloom of the deepeft melancholy, he is gay and jocular; and, while he is defcribed as a paffionate lover, he fcems iadiffercnt about the objedi of his afieftions. It may be worth while to inquire whether any leading idea can be found, upon which thefe apparent contradidlions may be reconciled, and a charafter fo pleafing in the clofet, and (o much applauded on the ftage, rendered as unambiguous in the general as it is ftriking in ' Vol. III. U detail.

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detail. I will venture to lay before my readers feme obfervations on this fubjeA^ though with l^he diffidence due to a queftion of which the public has doubted* and much abler criucs have already written.

The bails of Hamlefs charaAer feems to be an extreme fenfibility of mijid, apt to be ftrongly imprefied by its fituation, and overpowered by the feelings which that fituadon excites. Naturally of the moft virtuous and n)oft amiable difpoiitions, the circumftances in which he was placed unhinged tbofe prioi:iples of aiflion which, in another fituation, would have delighted mankind, and made himfelf happy. That kind of diftrefs which he fuffered was, beyond all others* calculated to produce this efie£t. His misfortunes were not the misfortunes of

accident, which, tho' they may overwhelm at firfV, the mind will foon call up refleflions to alleviate, and hopes to cheer j they were fuch as rcfleftion only ferves to irritate, fuch as rankle in the foul's tendered: part, her fenfe of virtue, and ktV ings of natural affeclion ; they arofe from an uncle's villany, a mother's guilt, a father's murder ! — Tct, amidft the gloom o£ melancholy> and the agitation of paffion, in which

bis

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his calamities involve him, there are occafiona! breakings-out of a mind, richly endowed by nature, and tultivated by education. We perceive gentlenefs in his demeanour, wit in his Gonverlation, tafte in his amufements, and wiiHom in his reflections.

That Hamlefs charafter, thus formed by Nature, and thus modelled by fituation, is often variable and uncertain, 1 am not difpofed to deny. I will content myfelf with the fiippofition, that this is the vtry charaftef which Shakefpeare meant to allot him. Finding fuch a charafter in real life, of a perfon endowed with feelings fo delicate as to border on weaknefs, with fexifibility too exquifitc to allow of determined adiion, he has placed it where it could be beft exhibited, in fcenes of wonder, of terror, and of indignation, where its varying emotions might be moft ftrongly marked amidft the workings of imagination, and the war of the paffions.

This is the very management of the character by which, above all others, we could be interefte4 in its behalf. Had Shakefpeare made Hamlet purfue his vengeance with a fteady determined purpofe, had he led him through difficulties arifing from accidental caufes, and U

% not

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not from the doubts and hefitation of his owa znlndy the anxiety of the fpeftator might have been highly raifed; but it would have been anxiety for the event, not for the perfon. As it is, we feel not only the virtues, but the weaknefles of Hamlety as our own; we fee a man who, in other circumftances, would have exercifed all the moral ai^

focial virtues^ one whom Nature had formed to be

" Th' Expeaancy and Rofc of the fair State, ■ " The Glafs of Fafiilon, and the Mold of Form, " Th' obfcrv'd of all Obfervers/

placed in a fltuation in which even the amiable qualities of his mind ferve but to aggravate his diftrcfs, and to perplex his condudl. Our compaiBon for the firft, and our anxiety for the latter, arc excited in the ftrongeft manner 5 and hence arifes that indefcribable charm in Hamlet which attrafts every reader and cvery fpeftator, which the more perfeft charafters of other tragedies never difpofe us to feel.

The Orejles of the Greek poet, who, at his .firft appearance, lays down a plan of vengeance which he refolutely purfues, intcrcfts tas for the accomplifhment of bis purpofej

but

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but of him wc think only as the inOrument of that juftice which we wifh to overtake the murderers of .Agamemnon. We feel with ^reftes, (or rather with Sophocles^ for in fuch paflages we always hear the poet in his hero), that ** it is fit that fuch grofs infringements ** of the moral law fhould be puniihed with " death, in order to render wickednefs lefs *' frequent;" but when Horatio exclaims oa the death of his friend,

" Now crack'd a noble heart I '*'

wc forget the murder of the King, the villany of Claudiusf the guilt of Gertrude 5 our recol* leftion dwells only on the memory of that

*^fweet princey^ the delicacy of whofe feel* ings a milder planet ihould have ruled, whofe gentle virtues fhould have bloomed through a^ life of felicity and of ufefulnefs.

Hamlet^ from the very opening of the piece, is delineated as one under the dominion of melancholy, whofe fpirits were overborn by V\s feelings. Grief for his father's death, and^ difpleafure at his mother's marriage, prey on Kis-mind, and he feems, with the weaknefs natural to fuch a difpofition, to yield to their U i controuU

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controul. He does not attempt to refift or combat thefe imprcffions, but is willing to fly from the conteft, though it were kite the grave i

" Oh ! that this too tao fblid flcfli would melt,"

Even after his father's ghoft has informe J hm of his murder, and commiffioned him to avenge it, we find him complaining of that fituation in which his fate had placed him.

f* The time is out of joint; oh ! curfed fpiglit, ** That eVer 1 was born to fet it nght! **

And afterwards, in the perplexity of his condition, meditating oa the expediency of fuicide,.

" To be, or not to be, that is the queftion."

The account he gives of his own feelings to* Hozincratz and Cuilderifterni which is evidently fpoken in earncft, though fomewhat covered with the mift of his affefted diftraftion, is exaftly dcfcriptive of a mind full of that wca* rinefs of life which is charafteriftic of low fg^

ritsi

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** This goodly frame the earth, feems to me » " ftcril promontory,'*

&c»

And^ indeed, he exprersly delineates bis owa charaAer as of the kind above mentioned, vben, befitating on the evidence of his uncie'a villany^ be fays^

" The fplrft that I have {ecu

*^ May be the Devil, and the Devil hath power

" T'affumc a plcafing fliapc ; yea, and pcrhapai.

•* Out of my njjeaknefs and my melancholy

" Abufes me to damn mc"

This doubt of the grounds on which our purpo(e is founded, is as often the effefk, as the caufe of irrefolmioni which firft bcrfitates^ and then feeks out ah excufe foF its heiita« tion.

It may, perhaps, be doing Siakefpeare no mjufiice to fuppofe, that he fometimes began a play, without having fixed in his mind, in any determined manner, the plan or eondu^ of his piece. The character of fome principal perfon of the drama might fir ike his imagination ftrongly in the opening fcenes; as he went on, this charaAer would continue to hnprefs itfdf on the condud as well as tho difcourfe

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difibourfe of that pcrfdn, and| it is po£b1e, might afFeA the £tu^tions and incidents, efpecially iti thofe romantic or legendary fubjeftsi^

Where hiftory did nOt confine Kim to certain unchangeable events'.

In the ftory o£ Amlethi the fon of Horwondil, told by Saxo-'Grammati-'

cus, from which the tragedy of Hamlet is taken, the young prince, who is to, revenge the death of his father, murdered by his uncle Fengay counterfeits madnefs, that he may be allowed to remain about the court in.fafety and without fufpicion. He never forgets his purpofed vengeance, and aAs with much m9re cunning towards its accompllfhment t]^an the Hamkt of Shakefpeare. But Shakefpearey wifhing toelevate the hero of hi^ tragedy, and at the f^me tim.^ to intereft the audience in his behalf, throws around him, from the begin* Qiagi the majefty of melancholy, along, with that fort of weaknje& and irrefolution which frequently attends it* The incident pf the Chojiy which is entirely the poet^s own, and not to be found in the Daniih legend, not onn ly produces the happieft ftagc-effeft, but is al* to of the greateft advantage in unfolding that charafter which is ftamped on the you^g prince at the opening of the play. In the communications