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aunts have eyes like other people, and I am every day told, that nothing but blindness can efcape the influence of my charms. Their whole, account of that world which they pretend to know fo well, has been only one fiction entangled with another; and though the modes of life oblige me to continue fome appear they, who have been fo clearly detected ances of respect, I cannot think that in ignorance or impofture, have any right to the esteem, veneration, or obedience of, Sir, yours,

BELLARIA.

STR,

ANACREON.

TO THE RAMBLER.

Am the fon of a gentleman, whofe ancestors, for many ages, held the firit rank in the county; till at last one of them, too defirous of popularity, fet his houfe open, kept a table covered with continual profufion, and diftributed his beef and ale to fuch as chofe rather to Jive upon the folly of others than their own labour, with fuch thoughtless liberality, that he left a third part of his eftate mortgaged. His fucceffor, a man of fpirit, fcorned to impair his dignity by parfimonious retrenchments, or to admit, by a fale of his lands, any participation of the rights of his manor; he therefore made another mortgage to pay

F. LEWIS.

the intereft of the former, and pleafed himself with the reflection, that his fon would have the hereditary estate without the diminution of an acre.

tice of my wife progenitors for many Nearly refembling this was the pracages. Every man boafted the antiquity of his family, refolved to fupport the dignity of his birth, and lived in splendour and plenty at the expence of his heir, who, fometimes by a wealthy marriage, and fometimes by lucky legacies, discharged part of the incumbrances, and thought himself intitled to contract new debts, and to leave to his children the fame inheritance of embarrassment and diftrefs.

the woods were felled by one, the park Thus the eftate perpetually decayed; ploughed

Lucius either perceived my paffion, or Flavilla betrayed it; care was taken, that our private meetings fhould be lefs frequent, and my charmer confeffed by her eyes how much pain she suffered from our restraint. I renewed my vifit upon every pretence, but was not allowed one interview without witness; at last I declared my paffion to Lucius, who received me as a lover worthy of his daughter, and told me that nothing was wanting to his confent, but that my uncle fhould fettle his eftate upon me. I objected the indecency of encroaching on his life, and the danger of provok. ing him by fuch an unfeasonable demand. Lucius feemed not to think decency of much importance, but admitted the danger of difpleafing, and concluded, that as he was now old and fick ly, we might, without any inconvenience, wait for his death.

With this refolution I was better contented, as it procured me the company of Flavilla, in which the days paffed away amidit continual rapture; but in time I began to be ashamed of fitting idle, in expectation of growing rich by the death of my benefactor, and proposed to Lucius many schemes of railing my own fortune by fuch affistance as I knew

my uncle willing to give me, Lucins afraid left I fhould change my affection in abfence, diverted me from my defign by diffuafives to which my paffion eafily liftened. At last my uncle died, and confidering himself as neglected by me from the time that Flavilla took poffeffion of my heart, left his eftate to my younger brother, who was always ho vering about his bed, and relating fto, ries of my pranks and extravagance, my contempt of the commercial dialect, and my impatience to be felling stock.

My condition was foon known, and I was no longer admitted by the father of Flavilla. I repeated the proteftations of regard, which had been formerly res turned with so much ardour, in a letter which the received privately, but returned by her father's footman, Contempt has driven out my love, and I iam content to have purchased, by the lofs of fortune, an escape from a harpy, who has joined the artifices of age to the allurements of youth. I am now going to purfue my former projects with a le gacy which my uncle bequeathed me, and, if I fucceed, shall expect to hear of the repentance of Flavilla,

I am, Sir, yours, &c.
CONSTANTIUS.

HOR.

}

CREICH,

defired, will be fought by induftry and artifice, by merit and crimes, by means good and bad, rational and abfurd, according to the prevalence of virtue or vice, of wifdom or folly. Some will always miftake the degree of their own defert, and fome will defire that others may mistake it. The cunning will have recourfe to ftratagem, and the powerful to violence, for the attain ment of their wifhes; fome will stoop to theft, and others venture upon plunder. Praife is fo pleafing to the mind of man, that it is the original motive of almost all our actions. The defire of commendation, as of every thing elfe, is

ences of temper, capacity, and know ledge; fome have no higher with than for the applause of a club; fome expect the acclamations of a county; and fome have hoped to fill the mouths of all ages and nations with their names. Every man pants for the highest eminence within his view; none, however mean, ever finks below the hope of being dif tinguifhed by his fellow-beings; and very few have, by magnanimity or piety, been fo raised above it, as to act wholly without regard to censure or opinion.

To be praised, therefore, every man refolves; but resolutions will not exe

cute

cute ourselves. That which all think too parfimonioufly diftributed to their own claims, they will not gratuitoully fquander upon others, and fome expedient must be tried, by which praise may be gained before it can be enjoyed. Among the innumerable bidders for praife, fome are willing to purchase at the highest rate, and offer eafe and health, fortune and life. Yet even of thefe only a small part have gained what they fo earnestly defired; the ftudent wastes away in meditation, and the soldier perifhes on the ramparts; but unlefs fome accidental advantage co-operates with merit, neither perfeverance noradventure attract attention,and learning and bravery fink into the grave without honour or remembrance.

-But ambition and vanity generally expect to be gratified or eafier terms. It has been long obferved, that what is procured by skill or labour to the first poffeffor, may be afterwards transferred for money; and that the man of wealth may partake all the acquifitions of courage without hazard, and all the products of industry without fatigue. It was easily discovered, that riches would obtain praise among other conveniencies, and that he whofe pride was unluckily affociated with lazinefs, ignorance, or cowardice, needed only to pay the hire of a panegyrift, and he might be regaled with periodical eulogies; might determine, at leifure, what virtue or fcience he would be pleased to appropriate, and be lulled in the evening with foothing ferenades, or waked in the morning by fprightly gratulations.

The happiness which mortals receive from the celebration of beneficence which never relieved, eloquence which never perfuaded, or elegance which never pleased, ought not to be envied or difturbed, when they are known honeftly to pay for their entertainment. But there are unmerciful exactors of adulation, who withold the wages of venality; retain their encomiast from year to year by general promifes and ambiguous blandithments; and when be has run through the whole compass of flattery, difmifs him with contempt, because his vein of fiction is exhausted.

A continual feaft of commendation is only to be obtained by merit or by wealth; many are therefore obliged to content themselves with fingle morfels, and recompence the infrequency of

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merchant.

Others there are yet more open and artless, who, inftead of fuborning a flatterer, are content to supply his place, and, as fome animals impregnate themfelves, fwell with the praifes which they hear from their own tongues. Rette is • dicitur laudare fefe, cui nemo alius con

tigit laudator.It is right,' fays Erafmus, that he whom no one else will

commend fhould beltow commenda⚫tions on himfelf. Of all the fons of vanity, these are furely the happiest and greatest; for what is greatnefs for happinefs but independence on external influences, exemption from hope or fear, and the power of supplying every want from the common ftores of nature, which can neither be exhaufted nor prohibited? Such is the wife man of the ftoicks; fuch is the divinity of the epicureans; and fuch is the flatterer of himself. Every other enjoyment malice may deftroy; every other panegyrick envy may withold; but no human power can deprive the boafter of his own encomiums. Infamy may hifs, or con tempt may growl, the hirelings of the great may follow fortune, and the vo taries of truth may attend on virtue; but his pleafures ftill remain the fame; he can always liften with rapture to himself, and leave those who dare not repose upon their own attestation, to be elated or depreffed by chance, and toil on in the hopeless task of fixing caprice, and propitiating malice.

This art of happiness has been long practifed by periodical writers, with litde apparent violation of decency. When

we

we think our excellencies overlooked by the world, or defire to recall the attention of the publick to fome particular performance, we fit down with great compofure and write a letter to ourselves. The correfpondent, whose character we affume, always addreffes us with the deference due to a fuperior intelligence; propofes his doubts with a proper fenfe of his own inability; offers an objection with trembling diffidence; and at laft has no other pretenfions to our notice than his profundity of refpect, and fincerity of admiration, his fubmiffion to our dictates, and zeal for our fuccefs. To fuch a reader it is impoffible to refufe regard, nor can it easily be imagined with how much alacrity we fnatch up the pen which indignation or defpair had condemned to inactivity, when we find fuch candour and judgment yet remaining in the world.

A letter of this kind I had lately the honour of perufing, in which, though

fome of the periods were - negligently clofed, and fome expreffions of famili arity were used, which I thought might teach others to addrefs me with too little reverence, I was fo much delighted with the paffages in which mention was made of univerfal learning-unbounded ge nius-foul of Homer, Pythagoras, and Plato-folidity of thought-accuracy of diftinction-elegance of combinationvigour of fancy-ftrength of reafonand regularity of compofition-that I had once determined to lay it before the publick. Three times I fent it to the printer, and three times I fetched it back. My modefty was on the point of yielding, when reflecting that I was about to waste panegyricks on myself, which might be more profitably referved for my patron, I locked it up for a better hour, in compliance with the fare mer's principle, who never eats at home what he can carry to the market.

Juv.

SIR,

THA

TO THE RAMBLER.

HAT vanity which keeps every man important in his own eyes, inclines me to believe that neither you nor your readers have yet forgotten the name of Eumathes, who fent you a few months ago an account of his arrival at London with a young nobleman his pupil. I fhall therefore continue my narrative without preface or recapitulation.

My pupil, in a very fhort time, by his mother's countenance and direction, accomplished himself with all thofe qualifications which conftitute puerile politeness. He became in a few days a perfect mafter of his hat, which with a careless nicety he could put off or on, without any need to adjust it by a fecond motion. This was not attained but by frequent confultations with his dancing mafter; and conftant practice before the

J. DRYDEN, JUN. glafs, for he had fome ruftick habits to overcome; but, what will not time and induftry perform? A fortnight more furnished him with all the airs and forms: of familiar and respectful falutation, from the clap on the fhoulder to the humble bow; he practises the ftare of ftrangeness, and the fmile of condefcenfion, the folemnity of promife, and the graciousness of encouragement, as if he had been nurfed at a levee; pronounces, with no lefs propriety than his father, the monofyllables of coldnefs, and fonorous periods of respectful profeffion.

and

He immediately loft the referve and timidity which folitude and study are apt to imprefs upon the most courtly genius; was able to enter a crowded room with airy civility; to meet the glances of a hundred eyes without perturbation; and addrefs those whom he never faw before with eafe and confidence. In less than a month his mother declared her fatif

faction