** member her grandfiither Lord W welhj

that I muft pafs through a crowd of fervants, who were laughing at my reception, 1 thought it might be juft as good to go on, and fo followed, them into the great hall. This was a large room, wainfcotted with oak, and decorated with feme portaits, a\map of the eftate, a tree of the family-defcent, befide a fpear and acrofsbow, which had been borne, I fuppofe, by

fome

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2y6 T fl E M I u R o R» N^ 103.

fame of the knight's progenitors. Here wc were received by Mifs Primrofe Holdencourt^ his fifter, a maiden lady of fifty-five, who, ever iince the death of bis wife^ has done the honours of his table. To her t made a profound bow, of which (he took no Jiotice, unlefs by bridling up her head, and toiling a look of difdain at me.

Our prefent company, befidc the perfons already mentioned, confifted of the Kuight's agent op attorjiey, and the parfon of the parifli. The two latter, who, for fome reafoa 01: other, had all along kept (landing together by one of the windows near the door, were baniflied, upon the appearance of dinner, to a by-table in a xrorher of the rooraj where, I likewife, finding no place unoccupied at the other table, was obliged to take my feat. But, for this di(grace, I was foon comforted by the good-humour and facetioufnefs of the attorney, (who feemed to take a liking for me), as well as by fome excellent ale, in which wc both, along with the parfon, participated pretty liberally. We had no communication with the other table, unlcfs by an overture of mine towards a reconciliation with Mifs Primr'rfif bj drinking her health, which met with a vrry

ungracious

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N^to3* The MiRRox. 277

ungracious reception. Wc had. however, no great caufe to envy their converfation, as it xonfifted chiefly of fome annotations by her upon the table-linen^ in which the heads of the twelve apoftles, and fome worthies of tlic family, w^c woven; befides a hiftory from the Knight, of fome exploits performed by the latter. Dinner being removed, and the ladies retiring along with it, the other table was naturally compelled to an union with ours I which, however, did not take place without ftrong marks of repugnance on the part of the Knight, Thefe became ftill more and more manifeft, as the liquor elevated his pjnde: lie pufhed the bottle paft me, negleft<d to require my toaft, and every now and then eyed me over his (houlder with a look of the utmoft jealoufy and averlion. I did not value the looks, of him or any other man a farthing; fo I kept my feat manfully. la s fliort time, my friend Mr B. having, for fome purpofe or other, left the room, the at«

torney, with an appearance of great candour^nd cordiality, inquired of me, whether that unhappy conteft relative to the farm of Oxentown were drawing to an iflue ? •* Nothing ' *♦ tiat def£nds on my will for that ftirpojd^jhalt Vol. III.' A a *'ht

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278 The Mirror. N° 103.

^^^ be luanting^ anfwered I. ** You allows ** tfjen,*^ immediately interpofed the Knight, *^ that the lands of Harrow'Jield make part of

** my barony of Acredale: you are at laft be** come fenjible of the jujlice of my claims,^ I *' am glad of it, heartily glad of it^ rejoined the attorney ; '* but^ indeed, it isimpojible to ** doubt ofity for "— and here he began a long diflertation, fo full of law-terms and bad Latin, that I did not underftand a word on't, which he finifhcd with, ** From all which, it *' // luce clarius, that the lands belong to Sir '* Ralph:^

Mojl affuredlyl^ echoed the parfon. ** And when, my dear Sir^ do you mean to *• renounce your claim^ refumed the attorney? All this, Mr Mirror, pafTcd with fo much rapidity, that I had do time for recollection or reply. Nothing could be farther ^from my intention, than totally to furrender my claim: an amicable accommodation was all that I meant to hint at. But what could I do, Mr Mirror ? My friend, who might have

fupported me, had left the room: I had no anfwer ready to the attorney's argument : the whole company concurred in regarding my claim as groundlefs ; my meaning had been mifunderflood, and an explanation, beGdcs expoCng

mc

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N^i03^ The Mirror. 275^

.me to their refentment, (but that I did not value a ftraw), would have fubjefted me ta the fufpicion of infincerity and loofc dealing. Still, however, I was loath thus to play away fa confiJerable a part of my inheritance. After hedtating a little while, aukward and embarrafled, between thefe oppofite motives, I did, at laft, refolve to undeceive them, and had actually begun to meditate ^an adJrefs for; that purpofe, which, I do believe, I ihould have delivered, when the attorney, flapping me on the (houlder with one hand, and ftrctching out. the other to me, with an air of the grcatcft cordiality, cut mC

iharL|. ** JVhat fay yoUy Mr Softly ? fajl bind, fijl ^^findi what fay you to finfbing the matter " immediately F" This propofal, being quite unexpc£ted, utterly difconccrted me. J3etwccn furprifc, embarraflment, and the defire; of relieving myfelf by a decifion one way or other, feeing them, at the fame time, full of cxpeftation, 1

haftily, almoft without knowing what I did, took him by the hand,. and.

anfwered, iS/r, with all my heart. In Ihort, Mr Mirror, paper, pen, and ink, were called for, and a deed drawn out, which I inftantly executed.

The Knight, immediately after, A. a. ^ coming,

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affo The M i r r o a. N® loj.

coming up to me, (hook me by the hand, and commanding a bumper to my health, defired and infifted to fee me often at Caftle Holdenr court*

Being naturally of an cafy temper, and feeing that the matter could not be mended, touched at the fame time with the fatisfiiAion It had dtffufed, 1 foon^ in fome degree, regained my good humour. More wine was called for repeatedly $ and next morning, I found myfclf at my friend Mr B.'s houfc, without knowing how or when I had beca tranfported to it*

Upon ferlous deliberation^ however, and ftfter fome coaverfation upon the fubjcAwith my wife, I am really vexed and difpirhed with thiis ;ifiair. In making application to you, I. have three views; the fir ft merely to difburden my mind by telling the ftory, (I fear it is a dull and tedlout (me) \ the fecond, to learn from any of your readers who is at the bar, whether my facility be a ground for reducing my confcnt; the third, to warn perfons of a fimilar difpofition from going into company with their adverfaries in a law-fuic.

I am. Sir, yours, &c.

SIMON SOFTLY.

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N^ioj. The Mirror/ aSi?

As I fincerely fympathife with Mr Softly inhis diftrefs, I have publifhed his letter for the firft purpofe mentioned in its conclufion, to difburden his mind of the ftory. -As to the fecond, I am afraid I can be of little ufe to him, as a law-opinion, delivered through the channel of the Mirror would be delHtute of feme of the pre-requifites, without which it would be dangerous to rely on it as the groundof legal proceedings. The third, which is avery diUnterefted motive, is, I believe, more charitable in him, that it will be ufeful ^o hisreaders.

There is^ I fancy, very little occafion for warning people againfl: going into the company of thofe with whom they are at law,, left they fhould be furprifed into improper* conccffions ; I have generally obferved, that,, r being in company with an adverfary in a lawfuit, has a greater tendency to make a maoi tenacious of his rights, than to difpofe him to> relinquilli them.

Z.

A- a 3 N° 1041b

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K*^i04. Saturday, -May 6. l^B^

IT has been remarked^ that the cauntry-ltfiprevails more in Great Britaia than in any civilized nation in Europe. However true this obfervation may be in the general, thereis one fet o£ men among us^

to whom^ in the prefent times, it will by no means apply: I Qiean our great nobles, and. men of high fortune i It is indeed vaia to expcft,, that perfons in that i^nk of life ihoiild be able to withftand:the attra£lions. of a courtj^. and the. fedu£lions of a luxurious capital.

It is, neverthelefs, a melancholy circumilance, in ti-aveliing through thh ifland, ta find fo many noble palaces deferted by their illuffrious owners, even in that feafon of the year when, to every man of tafte^

the country muft afford true pleafure. How mortifying is it to hear a great man tell you, that he cannot afford to live at his country-feat, and to. iie him, after pai&ng a winter in London, and lofing thoufands in a week, reduced ta ihfi neQqiTity of murdering the fummer, by lounging

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1^ ro4* The M i r r a- r. 28J

lounging from watering-place to wateringw pfece, or retiring with two or three humblefriends to a villa in the environs of London,, kiftead of living with a becoming dignity ia the manfion of his anceftors i To fuch mca I would beg leave to recommend the advice o^ King James I. who, as Lord Bacon tells us,«• was worn to be very earneft with the coun** try-gentlcnaen to go from London to their " country-feats; and fometimes would fay to •^ them, Gentlemen^ at Londmi^you are like'

^^Jhips in the fea^ luhiclr Jbe-w like nothing t *^ But^ in your

cmintry^villagesy you are like **'Jbips in a river^ -which look like great things.*^

t do not mean, however, to fay, that a great man fhould lite always in the country.. The duties of his ftation, and the r^nk heholds in fociety, require^ that he fliould pafs part of the year in- the capital 5 and, inde* pendent of thofe confiderations, I- believe it will be allowed, that a man of high rank, whohas pafled his whole life immured within the walls of his- own chateau^ and conftantly furrounded by a circle who look up to him, is, of all mortalsj the moft infupportable.

Nayi I will go farther 5 I am difpofed to believe, that it is aa improper and a hurtful

thing,

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thing* even for. a private gentleman of moderate fortune, to retire from the world, jand betake himfelf altogether to a country'life.

A'remarkable inftance of the bad confequeoces of abandoning fociety, I lately met with in a vifit I had occaiion to pay to a gentleniaa, with whom I had become acquainted at college, and whofe real name I fhall conceal wider that of Acafio, Soon after he quitted the univerfity, where he had been diftinguiflicd by an ardent love of literature, Acajlo retired to his eflate in the coiintry, which, tho' not great, was fuUy fufiicient for all his wants.. There he had refided ever fince ; aqd, either from inclination or indolence* had remained a bachelor. I had not feen him for many ypars. Time had made fome alteration on his figure; but that was little when compared, whh the change I found in him in. all othcr refpeAs. In his drefs and manners he was ij^deed completely rufticated; and, by living much alone, he had contraAed an indifier^ epce to that decorum, and to thofe little attentions, without which no man can be agreeable in fociety. The

day I arrived at his houfe, I found him fauniering in his garden,, waiting a call to dinner^ dreflcd in an old coat,.

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N« 104. The MtRftOK. 2^5

coat» which had once been black, a flouched hat of the fame complexion, with a long polr in his hand, and with a beard that did not ap* pear to have felt a razor for many days.

After a hearty welcome, he carried me in to dinner. In his converfation, I' fouord as great a change as in his outward api^arancc . and deportment. From living in a narrow circle, he had contracted a peculiarity in his notionsj which fometimes amufed, from its oddity i and, from converting chiefly wiih perfons rather of an inferior ftation to him^ felf, he had become as tenacious of his opl*

nions, as if they had been lelf-evidcnt truths^ 2nd as impatient of contradidlion^ as if to di£* fer from him had been a crime. .

From the fame caufes^ the verieft trifle^ particularly if it concerned himfelf, had become to him an obje£b of importance. A country'gentleman he confidered as the meft refpe£tabte chara£ter in nature ; and he talked as if honour, truth, and fincerity, were con«

fined to them alone. Every man who lived in the world, he confldered as a villain; and every woman who pafied much of her time in town, he made no fcruple to fay, was no bet'^ terthan^Jbe Jbould be. At firft, it aftonilfied

ma

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286 The M-i r r o r. N® 104.

me to hear a man of his good fenfe and benevolent drfpofitions, talk of fome of the moft amiable charafters of the age in the moft difrefpeftful terms. When I endeavoured to put hiiii tolrights, he at once cut me fliort, by faying, he could have no doubt of the truth of w^hat he advanced, as he had been told fuch and fuch a thing by his friend and neighbour Mr Doivnright, who fcorned to flatter any man, or to telV.any thing but t;he truth. : I foon had an opportunity of judging how far the country-g^ntlexnen were incitkd to the high chara^t^er my friend had given them for honour and integrity. The morning after V arrived, my hoft informed m^ he was oblige4 to attend a county-meeting, where ther^ was ^0 be bufinefs qf confiderabie importance, itt which he was deeply interefted; and^ as he could not ftay at home with me, I readily confented to accompany him. He had drefled }iimfelf for the occaiion ^ that is, bs had fhaved his beard, and put on a clean ihirt. It . remained to determine how we fhould traveU At firft, he propofed to go a horfeback i but the appearance of a black cloud made him thiuk of the carriage. It then occurred, that taking the carriage would ftop the plough j aiiwl

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If^ 104. The Mirror. 287

and it was determined we fliould ride. But, as we were going to mount, the recolleftion of a cold, attended with fome threatenings of a fore throat he had had the week before, made him again refolve upon the carriage. In fliort, I found, that my poor friend, naturally of an undecifive tempdr, and having no proper objeft to fill his mind, had accuftonled himfelf to deliberate on every trifle, as if it had been an affair of the greateft confequcnce. At length, we fet out-in the carriage; but not till repeated inftruftions were given to yohn to drive only two miles the firft hour, and not more than three, or three and a quarter, afterwards.

On the road, we met with fome incidents that were amufing enougti.

In the midft of a fcrious converfation on the ^ate of the nationy in

which Acafto was propofing plans of reformation, and tracing all our prefent calamities to the prevalence of the mercantile intereft in parliament, and the (hameful negleft of the country-gentlemen, we happened to pafs the houfe of a cottager, who had laid down a load of coals rather too near the high-road ; Which Acafio no fooner perceived than he (lopped the carriage, and calling out the poor man.

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man, began to rate him as if he had been guilty of the grofleft offence. Not fatisfied with ordering the nuifance to be removed, he thought it neceflaiy to reprefent, in Arong colours, all the poflible mifchiefs that might have enfued from it, " What might have **

happened," faid he, " if my horfes had " ftartled, God only knows ! —

Had we bcea ** overturned, my carriage might have been ** broken, or my horfes killed, and even I *' myfelf might have been hurt."

This circumftance, trifling as it was, ruffled my friend fo much, that it was fome time before he could refume the thread of his converfation.

Some other incidents of the fame kind gave him an opportunity of difplaying his attention to the police of the country, and of impreffing me with an idea of the obligations he had thereby conferred on his fellowcitizens. At length we arrived at the countytown, and immediately drove to the courthoufe, where we found a very numerous meeting.

I foon found, that the important bufinefs which had brought fo many gentlemen from their own houfes, was to determine whether a bridge fhould be built at one end of a village

or

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N® 104. The Mirror. 28^

cyr the other. From the rourfe of the argumeaty if argument it could be called| I plain* ly perceived, that, to the public, it was a matter of the moft perfcft indifference. But, if executed in one way, it would accommodate a gentleman who had acquired a large fortune in the courfe of trade, and had lately purchafed an eftate in the neighbourhood, on which he had built an elegant • houfe. Acajlo^

and his friend Mr Downright, ftrenuoufly oppofed the plan of accommodating this novm ho' nto, who had prefumed to buy one of the beft, . eftates in the county, from the heir of an an» cicnt family, at a higher price than any body . elfe would have given for it. For my owa part, i was truly mortified to obferve in both parties as much trick and chicane as mighty , when properly varnifhed, have done honour to the moft finifhed ftatefmen. In one thing only I difcovered that open plainnefs on which country-gentlemen are fo apt to value them*

felves, and that was in the language in which they, addrefled each other. There, indeed, they were fufficiently pLiin; and no where did I ever obferve a more total negleft of the favourite maxim of Lord Chellerfield, fortiter iit re, fuaviter in modo^ Vol. III. B b Oa Digitized by Google

ft^o The M I r & o a. N°io4.

On our way home, Acafto entertained me with the charaAers of the gentlemen we had feen; but he might have faved himfelf the trouble ; for, by recoUefUng how they voted^ I ihould immediately haye known which of them were honeft and fincere, and which dean time-ferving fycophants.

I fball not trouble my readers with any reflexions on Jcaftis charader.

It is pbin, thai the little peculiarities which, with all his natural good fenfe and benevolence, expofe him hourly to ridicule or to cenfure, have been occafioned by his retreat from the world, and by that folitude in which he has lived fo long. Seldom, indeed, have I known any ^ne that did not, in fome degree, fuffer from it; that did not, more or leis, become felfifli an4. contraAed, conceited and opinionative. I

never fee a young heir fluttering about town in the circle of gaiety, without feeling an emotion of compaflion. In a few years, when he comes to be fupplanted in that circle by a younger fct, no refource remains for him but a retreat to the country, where he muft pafs his days either in a ftatc of liftlefs inaftivity, or in purfuits unworthy of a rational being. I would, therefore, earaeftly recommend it to every

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N® 104. The Mirror. 291

every parent, ta educate the heir of his fortune to fome profeffion j to fct before hinr Tome object that may fill his mind, may roufe him to action, and may make him at once » happy and refpe^ble member of fociety.

M

ft b 2 VP los^

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N° I05« TuESDAT, May 9. 17S0.

THE winter, which', like an untaught vifitor, had prolonged its ftay witkus to a very unreafonable length, has, at hift, given place to vernal breezes and a more indulgent Iky 5 and many of my readers will now leave the bufinefs or amufements of the tovjnf for the purer air and lefs tumultuous enjoyments of the country. As I have, now and then, ventured fome obfervations on the manners and fafliions of the former, I could not forbear, from a friendly concern for thofe whom the ieafon now calls into the latter, to ofitr a few remarks on certain errors which are more generally prevalent in the country* My laft j^apcr was intended for the ferious perufal of country'gentlemen. I mean, in this,, to make a few lighter obfervations on fome little fail*

ings, in point of manners, to which I have feen a propenfity in

country-gentlemen, country-ladies, and in thofe who, though of the town for the greateft part of the year, make their appearance, like the cuckoiv^ (I mean

aa

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lff° lag. The M r k r o r; , %yy

no offence by the cooiparifon), when the trees* have put on their leaves^ and the meadows * their yerdore.

In the/irfi place^, I would beg of thofe who> migrate from the city, not to carry too much^ . of the town.with-them into* the country, I will allow a-lady to exhibit theneweft-fafliion* ed cut in her riding-habit, or to aftontih a^ country«congregation with the height of her' head-drefs; and a gentleman, in like manner^^ to fport^ as tliey term it, a grotefque pattera< of a waiftcoat, or ta fet the children agape by.' the enormous £2c of his buckles. Theic atpc^ privileges to which gentlemen and ladies may. be thought to have intitled themfelves by the ezpence and trouble of a winter's re&m^ dence in the capital. But there is a provo«»king, .though a civil fort of confequence fudu people are apt to aillime in conver/atiDUya which, I think, goes beyond the jiift prero* gative of town/bip, and is a very unfair en-oroachment on the natural rights of thei^* friends and. relations in the country. Thej^/ (hould confider, that, though there are cer-*' tain fubjefts of ton and fafbion, on which thej^' may pronounce ex cathedra^ (if I may be allowed ib pedamica phrafc), yet that, even in,i B b J: the-Digitized by Google

%^^ The M 1 r k a Ri N®io5:.

the country, the fenfcs of hearing, feeing Caftingy and fmcUing, may be enjoyed toacer*tain extent, and that a perfon may like or di£Uke a new fong, a new lutftring-, a French difh, or an Italian perfume^

though fuch perfon has been unfortunate enough U)'pafs,-laft winter, at a hundred miles diAance from the snetropoli^

. On the other hand,, it is but fair to ihform the ladies and gentlemen of. the couotry, that there is a certain d£ fere nee whkh ought to be paid, in thofe matters, to the enlightened judgement of their friends who are newly arrived from the feat of information and of knowledge.

I have heard a lady tn the couatry, when her coufin from Edinburgh had been very obligingly communicating fome ex- traordinary piece of intelligence, or exhibiting fome remarkable piece of drefs or finery, cut her fhort, by faying, lyith all the coolnefs, in the world, '* That is lingular-enough, but « it is nothing to what I heard from Mifs V B*—-

^, with whom I have correfponded ^^ ever fince (he went to London j"

or, " This ** is very pretty, to be fure, but not ta W

** compared to Mrs C ^s, which flic had

>* fent her in a prefent from Paris.** This for?

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N°i(5y. The Mirror. 295

fort of brag playing ia convcrfation I have fometimes hieard carried to a very difagreeable length) \^ich would be in a great mea« fure prevented, ^if people were not to be allowed credit for what they may have heard, or have been told, but to take confequence only from what they have feen. If we townspeople are to be thus out-wondered on report, there is an end of all order and fubordination in the matter.

To borrow another allufioa from the game above mentioned, I think it is but reafonable» that the wonders of perfonsi from town fhould take the fame pr^cedenc^' . of the wonders of the people in the country, that natural cards do o£ makers.

But it is fometimes from the oppofite feel*ing, from too high an idea of the importance of their town-vifitors, that the good people of the

country are apt to fall into improprieties. It is wonderful to fee the confufion into which the appearance of the new-fafljioned carriage of a gentleman juft arrived from towa throws the family, efpecially the female part of it, of- his rural neighbour. Such a peeping from windows, fuch a running backwards and forwards of bare-headed boys, and girls to fetch their mafter from the field, and- their miftrcfs

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19* T » B AT r ft a O' m. NP icj5^

mftrefi from the waft-houfe ! Then, aften waiting ft long white.in the parlouv» which the chamber-maid ha»'had but time tpput half i»

•tder, comes the old lady wkh fome aukwa^d ^V^^^Tf fcillowed bf a^fcold to die maid lor leaving her rubber or hearth'-bru(h? in view of

%hr company. By attdbf appears the maftee of the houfe, with*

another apology for ap» pearing before ladies- in his-farmer's drefsi After a long feries of common inquiries^ a. frequent pulling out of watches on the part of the vifitorS) and two or three mel^gcs up*

ftairs from the miftrefs of the family }. downt come the young ladies, with their caps awry^. dieir long pins but half ftuck in, their hair powdered ia patches, and their aprons ftiff from the folds. Here follows a fecond courfi. of the fame queftions and anfwerS|. which beting cloied by an obfervation of the late hont fii*om the one fide, and fome ftri£tures on-the ftortnefs of town-vifits from the odier, the company are fuffcred to depart, who, it is ten^ to one, laugh all the way home at the good, people who were at Aich pains to make them* ielves fit, as they thought, to be feen by them*. Let thefe laft remember, that there is a ftyle^ as it is.called, prx>per to every thing}

decent

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cy and cleanlinefs they owe to themfelves ; an imitation of the fafhionablc fineries of the town they owe to nobody j moft of thefe, indeed, are quite prepofterous in the couritry.; it is only when people get hito crowds that they are at liberty to make fools of themfelves> As I have, rn the beginning of this paper, defired the city-emigrants not to carry the town into the country, fo I muft intreat their country-friends not to forget that the cfthers have but lately arrived there.

Their relifhfor draining, ditching,. hedging, horfe-hoeing, liming, and marling, and fuch other branches of the fine arts as an afternoon^s converfation at a gentleman farmer's frequent-' Jy runs into, has been a good deal blunted by feven months refidcnce in the region of amufement and diiSpation. The like caution will apply to thofe female orators who occupy the intervals of tea-drinking with difiertatioFM on the cow-houfc, the dairy, and the poultryyard.

There are fome topics which may be introduced at that feafon, in which both town and country ladies ai*e qualified to join, though even of them I would recommend a fparing

and

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2nd moderate ufe $ I mean thofe little leftares on moralicyy fometimes known by the name of fcandal. In thefe the town ladies, however, have fome advantage^ as their fubjeAs are often fuch as may be reckoned fair game, pei-fODS of whom the world has a right to talk, and who feem" to aft as if they wifhed to be talked of. Thefe notorious offenders 9gaini]t decency ^nd decorum, of which there are always fome inftances in great towns, may be compared to certain atrocious cripiinals, whom the law has ordered to be fern, aftec execution, to Surgeons Hall: their characters, may be difle£ted at all tea-tables, withoiK aoy dangec of the crime of defamation. Bat the beauty of a country town or village i$ xarely fo unguarded, in her condu&j as toi give this licence to the tongues of her neighbours, who are, therefore, geneially obliged to refprt to the whifpering of little private anecdotes and family-fccrets, which I very much doubt if

they be legally imitled to dOf at leaft except in cafes of great neceffity, as on a rainy Sunday, or where the party conr fifts but of two, who can neither play crib* bage, pici^uet, or backgammon.

Somewhat

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N« f o^. ^The Mirror. 19^

Somewhat akin to the lovers of detraction are the effence-takers^ a fpecies of people I ftavc obfervcd more common in the country than in popular cities. They are deeply vcrftd in the fcience of precedency, in the etiquette of paying and returning vifits, in the ceremonial of drinking healths, and of ac« knowledging bows and curtfies. I have been aftoniihed to find the cu'cle of my acquaint* ance (b circumfcribed as I have fometimes ex* perienced, when I have happened to take up. my head-quarters at a gentleman's who could , only accompany me to the houfes of one half the neighbourhood, having contrived to be totally eftranged from the other by negle^ of himfelf, affronts to his wife, fquabbles a* bout dancing at annual balls, or toafts at county-meetings after the fecond bottle.

This difeafe of ofience* taking is particular* ly epidemic in fome places every feventh yea'r, or fometimes it returns a little fooner by royal proclamation. As this fummer may probably be the feafon of its recurring with violence, I take the prefent opportunity of warn* ing my readers againft the company of the infeAed ; and even to thefe a regimen of temper and good*manner2 may be found a very powerful

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joo The Mirror. N® 105.

powerful and (klutary alterative. The feelings of an oflfence-taker are always very difagreeabki and, as to the external ede£ts of this

mental malady, whether it go oflF in oblique refleftions, or break out into fcurrility and abufe, I need not, I fancy, enlarge on the danger of their confequences. To gentlemen concerned in politics and elefVione^ring, I would particularly obferve, that the period of their canvafs is not the proper time for indulging any fuch freedoms in converfation or behaviour. When the conteft is determined, the lofers have fomc fort of privilege for railing ; the fuccefsful candidates, as things go now-a-days, fhould keep all theur foul language for that place to which the fuffrages of their conftituents are to fend them.

N*io(5,

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.N^io6. Saturday, May ij. 1780V

4)i //ii divitias dederdntf ariemque fruendu HOR.

THE importance of education to fit mtfk for the world, has been univcrfally ieen and acknowledged ; but I rhink it has not been always fufficiently attended to as neceffary to fit men for retiring from the world ; as qualifying them to aft their .pan with pro*^ priety when they retreat from the bufinefs of life, and to enjo.y themfelvcs when enjoyment becomes their objeft. There is a certain time eflife, when almoft every man wifhes to e^ foape from the hurry and buftie of the world) and to tafte the fweets of retirement and re* pofe \ but how few are th&re, who^ when they have arrived at that period whi^h they fiisced for this retreat, and have put their de«> l\gas in execution, meet with that enjoyment which they looked for ! Inftead of plcafure, they find fatiety, wcarinefs, and difgnft } time • becomes a heavy burden, upon them, and in Vol. III. C c what Digitized by Google

30^ The M i e e o e. N® io6«

vrhat way they may kill the tedious hours, grows, at lengthy their only objeA* But, had thefe men received a good education, they .would never he at a lofs how to fill up their time } rich fields of entertainment would o« pen to them from various fources. Company and converfation would receive a finer relifh; books would give perpetual enjoyment ; the gay profpefts of the country, the romantic Icenes which it afiTords, the adorning and beautifying thofe fccnes, and the culture of all the elegant arts, would make that fortune, which many poflefs without knowing how to ufe, the minifter of every thing that can afford delight.

I believe it may be true, that neither learntng, nor a tafte for the elegant arts, is requifite to enable a perfon engaged in the ordiaary bufinefs of life, to fucceed in his profeffion I and, while fo engaged, the occupatipns of that profeifion will prevent his feeling any vacuity, or fufFeriog any inconvenience from his ignorance, and want of refinement. But when fuch a perfon has acquired a fortune, and given up bdfinefs, I have often obferved, that, from this uncultivated ftate of mind, he is at a lofs how to enjoy himfelf or his riches.

• He

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N° ic6. The M i r it o t* 303

He either becomes a prey to chagrin and en^ nut^ or he gives himfelf up to the coarfeft in* temperance ; or, fhould he wifh to figure as a man of tafte or fafliion, he receives but little entertainment himfelf, and his attempts are fo abfurd and prepofterous, as to make him the objedl of icoff and ridicule to others*

Dnxelius was put early to buiinefs: liit whole learning coniifted in being able to read EngUfh, to writei and keep accounts* lie got foon into a very good branch of trade; hb attention was unremitted \ and his economyr :was equal to his attention. His labours, far from being a burden upon him, only gvfc him an exertion of mind, which kept him in an equal and \inceafing flow of fpirits. By the time he was fifty,

Drexelius had acquired |t fortune equal to that pf the richeft of hif feUow^citiaens. He now began to think fe* fioyfly of enjoying it* The refolution which he had early formed of retiring to the coun* try when be ihould have acquired a fortune*^ find which i^d fupported hiin during tb,e la<» ^xmrs of acquiring it» he now determined to put in praftice. He, therefore, wound up his bufinefs, fold off his dock, and purchafed ^ eftate in dn^ country. Tbe novelty of the C c a fituation^

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304 The M i r r o r. N* ioA.

fituation, and the flattering thought that he was proprietor of fo many acres, fupportcd bim for a while. Bt^t he fooa began to find, that the fields, and woods, and rivers, gave him no fort of pleafure. He could receive no amufement from farming, and books he was unable to enjoy. A volume of the Spe^atoPi recommended te him by the clergyman of the parifh, lay half-read upon the chimney*piece) and the profpeds which he heard others admire, appeared to him. not more beautiful than the front of the Exchange, or Ac pavement of the ftreet on-which he ufed to treads Tired, rherefore, ©f the country, and weary of every thing, he began to long for the town which he had abandoned', and to become agaii> a frequenter of the Change.

According^ ly he hired a houfe in town, and refolved to ipend in k the winter-mooths at leaft. But the town had now alfo kift its charms, and he found it impoifible to recover chem. H« had ho longer bufinefs'to occupy his mind: when he rofe in the morning he kn^w not what to do; he had no bargains to fettle^ and no fliips to infure. His acquaintance around him were bufy, while he was idle ; he found himself alone ia. the nudft of a crowds

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Ko f 06. The M i r r o^ rv joy

an unkitereftcd/pedator of what ufed to em^t>lo7 him. Change of fituation,. therefore,, gave him no relief ^ for the town was now as dull as the countr]^ The purchafe he had made was a dear one :

upon his ejiate^ which had cofl him more than at iirft he intended to*

.give for it, he was obliged to build a houfe, and to make fome other hnprovements, the expence of which, like that of all other buildings and improvements, greatly exceeded what their owner had made his account with. This, however, was little to one of Dr^xeliush fortune.

On former occafions, he had loft more upon one adventure in trade, w_ithout. being much affeAed by the lofs ; but then he had different obje^ to intereft him, and he expedled to make up by other adventures what he had loft upon one ; now he had nothing clfe to think of but the daily expenditure. This took poflefllon of his imagination ; he* thought he faw poverty and ruin before him 5 and his health began to fink under the vexation of his mind. In vain did his friends re* prefent to him the greatnefs of his fortune \ that the money he was laying out was a trifle to what he poiTeiTed \ and that, after all his . plans were finifhed^ he would ftiU have more C c 3

than>

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3o6 The M i it r o a. N^ loA.

than he could'fpend. It is to no pttrpofeto*

• reafon with a difeafed imaginanon r the onlf thing which can relieve it, is a change of objefts, and a variety of amufements. But this method could- not be followed by Drexelius-: there was no objcA to intereft him ; andJKs mind was incapable of amufemcnt. His dif*

cafe, thereforCj increafcd upon him every day. The proprietor of a fine place, pofleflcd of a

' great fortune, infhort, with all the means of

• pleafure and enjoyment, he was haiinted with the demon of poverty, and actually believed, that, if he lived many years, he flbould die of wanr^

Clavius was a partner in tradie whh Drexc* liuS) whofe example he followed in the fchemc of en}oying a retreat in the country. Biit his

mind was as empty and uneducated as th^t of DrexeliuSi equally incapable of amufing itfelf in fblitude, or of receiving pleafure from thofc enjoyments which a country-life is calculated to beftow. He was, however, a man of greater natural fpiriis, and was not, therefore, fb apt to become a prey to liftkffhefs, ^r to the efFedb of gloomy avarice. Company was his refource j and, that the hours might not lie heavy upon hiixi| he took care never to> be ^•

lone.

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N^iod. »T H E Mi R R OR. 3507

lone. But a& be had no talent for converfi^^ tion, every fort of company was equally weU come to him; andt where converfation was not the objefti it became necefiary to fupport the focrety by foine adventitious aid. The tattle, therefore, was had rccourfc to. This was the employment during the fineft fummerevenings; and the morning-fun often roie upon thb fakne company on which it had gone down.

Men flocked to Clavius\ country-feat, not to enjoy the charms of the country, but the charms of fociety, and what they called

• good fellowfhip. Thus were Clavius^s nights fpent in getting intoxicated, and his mornings

- in ileeping off* that intoxication. His conii:!tution was not long able to fupport this courfc of life; he died, a few years after he had quitted bufinefs, a martyr to that fortune

' which his wiihes had formerly reprefented as the certain fource of felicity.

Pamponius took a. different turn from the perfons I have mentioned.

He was equally Ignorant and uneducated as;. they \ but, when he had acquired his fortune,' as he had heard much of tajfte, of elegance, and of refinement, he refolved to be a man of tajie. The eftate he purchafed bad been the old hereditary

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3o8 T H B JM I R R O^ ft. . N® lOfS.

ttxy pofieiSon of a man^ of cbnfidicfflible ruok^ Pompbnius gave ieveral years purchafe more tjian ks vatue, that he might be poflefied of ri&c demefne of an ancient family, and haTc ' the pleafure of adding ta his name *^ Efijuire, •< of ■ ".**' When he came to live at $i|i» eftate, he found, the old' manfion-hpTtTe muib be pulled down, and a new one ereAed^ fiut^ mftead of trufting to the ikill and tafte of his^ architeA, the plan muft be his own. £q this he heaped ornament upon oroameot,. and pillar upon pillaf. The columns are large e*

nough to have fupported a Gothic cathedral \ the infide is crowded with painted compartments ; and every pannel and window \s bedaubed with gilding*. His fields are laid out in the moft abfurd tafte.

A clay»coloured ditch, which he calls a canal^ made at an exorbitant expence, runs parallel with the froAt of his houfe ; at each end, is a circular puddle, called a ha/on \ in which is a little bank of rubbifh, dignified with die name of ijland. Not a walk but is fiuck full of ftacues; and temples and grottoes appear in every field, in &ewing you his grounds, be tells you the price of every ftatue; and every temple is honoured with the account of what it cofi. . ^ Not Digitized by Google

N° lokJ. T » E M I R R a R. 309?

Not fatisfied with being a man of tafte out of doors, he pretends co connoifTeurfhip and to literature withia. He fhews pidures, painted^

as he thinks, by maders, whofe names he has not learned to pronounce. If doubts are ftartcd ei their originality, Pompdnius ftops all further queftion by the mention of the fum he paid £or them. His library has its ftatues like his fields; It is furnifhed with a profufion of bronzes an4 tujis \ and the books are as liberally gilded as the reft of his furniture. In talking of them (for he run^.ail rifks to be thought a man o£ learning) he gets into the moft ridiculous blun* ders. He miftakes a Greek for a Roman aa*. thor; and, to fhow himfelf a philofopher^. praifes a writer, in the belief that he is an iafidel, when,

in facA, his books are written ia defence of religion. The other day, fomebody happening to mention the Worlds, he aikcd if the author Mr Fitzadam was ftiU alive^ and if he had written any other book.

Drexelius and Clavius were miferable in the HiidA of their wealth ; Pomponius is ridiculous in the enjoyment of his.

How much is it to be regretted, that thefc perfons liad not, in their earlier years, received the benefit of a liberaj education ? Had thcii?

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J10 T H B M I R B. O H. N<» 10^

^

their minds been cultivated in their yotitb» bad they then acquired the firft principles of elegance and taftci they would have been en* .

abledi After attaining a fortunre, to have en* joyed it with propriety and dignity t. whik they were reaping the fruits of their honeft indudry and Aii^cefB^ they might have beeti ttfeful to othtsrii tkni j^roved ornamemi tp their cottiitry»

S

N« 107.

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N^ 107. Tuesday, May 16. 1780.

And love and war take turns like day and night.

RowE.

IN every art and fcience, pra£litioncrs com-^ plain-how often they arc deceived by fpc- * c«ous theories and dclufivc jpcculation. Learned

men, in the folitude of their ftudies, are apt to ixnaginei that nothing which they can reconcile to their own ideas upon paper, caa' fail to be evinced by aAual experimenti or to be reduced into eafy and conAant practice. But thofe who are to apply the doArine to the fa£b, too often find, that what was infallible in.the brain of the demonftrator, is fadly faU lacious in the hands of him who is to execute^ it.

There is fomething, however, fo delightful in this art of theory building, that the experience of a thoufand difappointments will never be able to exttnguiih it. Nor, indeed, ihould any body wiih for its extindlion, when it is rememberedj that the perfon who builds is