the beft inns,-instructed where there is the the difappointed youth feeks an cafer fociety; beft wine, and fup a livre cheaper, than if and, as bad company is always ready, and the youth had been left to make the tour and ever laying in wait-the carcer is foon finithbargain himself. Look at our governor! Ied; and the poor prodigal returns the fame befeech you :-fee, he is an inch taller as he object of pity, with the prodigal in the gospel." relates the advantages.Sterne's Sermons. -And here endeth his pride-his knowledge, and his use. But when your fon gets abroad, he will be taken out of his hand, by his fociety with men of rank and letters, with whom he will pafs the greatest part of his time. Let me obferve, in the first place, that company which is really good is very rareand very fhy: but you have furmounted this difficulty, and procured him the bet letters of recommendation to the most eminent and refpectable in every capital. And I answer, that he will obtain all by them, which courtesy strictly stands obliged to pay on fuch occafions, but no more. There is nothing in which we are fo much deceived, as in the advantages propofed from our connections and difcourfe with the literati, &c. in foreign parts; especially if the experiment is made before we are matured by years or ftudy. Sir, $43. On Pedantry. To difplay the leaft fymptom of learning, or to feem to know more than your footman, is become an offence against the rules of politenefs, and is branded with the name of pedantry and ill-breeding. The very found of a Roman or a Grecian name, or a hard name, as the ladies call it, though their own perhaps are harder by half, is enough to difconcert the temper of a dozen countetles, and to strike a whole affembly of fine gentlenen dumb with amazement. This fqueamishnefs of theirs is owing to their averfion to pedantry, which they underftand to be a fort of muttinefs, that can only be contracted in a reclufe and ftudious life, and a foible peculiar to men of letters. But if a strong attachment to a particular fubject, a total ignorance of every other, an eagerness to introduce that fubject upon all occafions, and a confirmed habit of declaiming upon it without either wit or diferetion, be the marks of a pedantic character, as they certainly are, it belongs to the illiterate as well as the learned; and St. James's itfelf may boaft of producing as arrant pedants as were ever fent forth from a college. Converfation is a traffic; and if you enter into it without some stock of knowledge, to balance the account perpetually betwixt you, -the trade drops at once: and this is the reafon, however it may be boafted to the contrary, why travellers have fo little (efpecially good) converfation with natives, owing to their fufpicion, or perhaps conviction, that there is nothing to be extracted from the I know a woman of fashion, who is per converfation of young itinerants, worth the perually employed in remarks upon the weatrouble of their bad language, or the inter-ther, who obferves from morning to noon, ruption of their vifits. that it is likely to rain, and from noon to The pain on thefe occafions is ufually re-night, that it fpits, that it mifles, that it is fet ciprocal, the confequence of which is, that in for a wet evening; and,being incapable of P 6 any any other difcourfe, is as infipid a companion and just as pedantic as he who quotes Aristotle over his tea, or talks Greek at a card-table. humming an air, or, if he speaks, expreffes himself in the language of the orchestra; the Newmarket pedant, who has no knowledge A gentleman of my acquaintance is a con- but what he gathers upon the turf; the fee ftant attendant upon parliamentary bufinefs, pedant, who is an adept in noning buttre and I have heard him entertain a large circle, patterns of filks and flounces; and the coteca by the hour, with the fpeeches that were made houfe pedant, whofe whole cruciti a he in a debate upon mum and peary. He has a within the ma gin of a news-paper, are nuiwonderful memory, and a kind of oratorical fances fo extremely common, that it is almoft tune in his el cution, that ferves him inftead unneceffary to mention them. Yet, pedants of an emphafis. By thole means he has ac- as they are, they thelter themfelves under the quired the reputation of having a deal to fay fathionablenefs of their foible, and with all the for himself; but as it confiits entirely of what properties of the character, generally cfcape' others have faid for themfelves before him, the imputation of it. In my opinion, however, and if he fhould be deaf during the Seffions, they deferve our cenfure more than the mereft he would certainly be dumb in the inter-book-worm imaginable. The man of letters vals, I muft needs fer him down for a pedant. But the most troublesome, as well as most dangerous character of this fort that I am fo unhappy as to be connected with, is a tripling who fpends his whole life in a fencing-fchool. This athletic young pedant is, indeed, a moft formidable creature; his whole converfation lies in Reart and Tierce; if you meet him in the street, he falutes you in the gymnaftic manner, throws himself back upon his left hip, levels his cain at the pit of your stomach, and looks as fierce as a prize-fighter. In the midst of a difcourfe upon politics, he farts from the table on a fudden, and fplits himfelf into a monstrous lounge against the wainflot; immediately he puts a foil into your hand, infifts upon teaching you his murthering thruft, and if, in the course of his inftructions, he puthes out an eye or a forctooth, he tells you, that you flapp'd your point, or dropp'd your rift, and imputes all the mifchief to the awkwardness of his pupil. The mufical pedant, who, inftead of attending to the difcourfe, diverts himself with is ufually confined to his ftudy; aud having but little pleafure in converfing with men of the world, does not often intrude himself into their company: thefe unlearned pedants, on the contrary, are to be met with every where: they have nothing to do but to run about and be troublefore, and are univerfally the bane of agreeable converfation. I am, &c. B. Thornton. $44. The faint-hearted Lover. Sir. I do not doubt but every one of your read. ers will be able to judge of my cafe, as without question, every one of them either has been, or is at prefent, as much in love as your humble fervant. You must know, Sir, I am the very Mr. Faint-heart defcribed in the proverb, who never won fair larly: for though I have paid my addreffes to feveral of the fex, I have gone about it in fo meek and pitiful a manner, that it might fairly be a question, whether I was in catneft. One of my Dulcineas was taken, as we catch mackerel, by a bit of fcarlet; another was feduced from We are as much at diftance from one another at dinner, as if we were really man and wife, whom cuftom has directed to keep afunder the whole length of the table; and when we drink tea, the would fooser run the risk of having the contents fpilt over her, than take the cup and faucer from me any nearer than at both our arms length. If I mention a fyllable that in the leaft borders upon love, the immediately reddens at it as much as if I had let drop a loofe or indelicate expreffion; and when I defire to have a little private converfation with her, the wonders at my impudence, to think that he could truft herself with a man alone. In fhort, Sir, I begin to defpair of ever coming to clofe contact with her but what is ftillmore provoking, though fhe keeps me at fo refpectful a diftance, the tamely permits a ftrapping fellow of the guards to pat her on the check, play with her hand, and even approach her lips, and that too in my prefence. If you, or any of your readers, can advise me what to do in this cafe, it will be a lafting obligation conferred on from me by a fuit of embroidery; and another ( our knees may not meet. furrendered, at the firft attack, to the long fword of an Irifhman. My prefent fuit and fervice is paid to a certain lady who is as fearful of receiving any tokens of my affection as I am of offering them. I am only permitted to admire her at a diftance; an ogle or a leer are all the advances I dare make: if I move but a finger, it puts her all in a fweat; and, like the fenfitive plant, fhe would fhrink and die away at a touch. During our long courtship, never offered to falute her but once; and then the made fuch a wriggling with her body, fuch a ftruggling with her arms, and fuch a toffing and twirling of her head to and fro, that, instead of touching her lips, I was nearly in danger of carrying off the tip of her nofe. I even dared at another time to take her round the waift; but the bounced away from me, and fereained out as if I had actually been going to commit a rape upon her. I alfo once plucked up courage fufficient to attempt fqueezing her by the hand, but the refifted my attack by fo clofe a clench of her fift, that my grafp was prefented with nothing but fharp-pointed knuckles, and a long thumb-nail; and I was directly after faluted with a violent ftroke on my jaw-bone. If I walk out with her, I ufe all my endeavours to keep close at her fide; but the whifks § 45. A Letter from a successful Adventurer away from me as though I had fome catching diffemper about me: if there are but three of us, the cludes my defign by fkipping fometimes on one fide and fonetintes on t'other, as I approach her; but when there are more of us in company, the takes care to be sheltered from me, by placing herself the very midmoft of the rank. If we ride in a coach together, I am not only debarred from fitting on the fame fide, but I must be feated on the furthermoft corner of the feat oppofite to her, that Sir, Your very humble fervant in the Lottery. You will not be at all surprised when I tell you that I have had very ill luck in the lottery; but you will ftare when I further tell you, it is because unluckily I have got a confiderable prize in it. I received the glad tidings of my misfortune last Saturday night from your Chronicle, when, on looking over the lift of the prizes, as I was got behind my pipe at the club, I found that my ticket was come conic up a zocol. In the pride as well as joy bring fome more friends, and have another of my heart, I could not help proclaiming to jolly evening with me on this happy occafion. the company-my good luck, as I then fool- When they were gone, I made fhift to get thly thought it, and as the company thought a fittle ret, though I was often difturbed by it too, by infifting that I fhould treat them my wife talking in her fleep. Her head, it that evening. Friends are never fo merry, feems, literally ran upon wheels, that is, the or ftay longer, than when they have nothing lottery-wheels; fhe frequently called out chat to pay they never care top how extravagant the had got the ten thousand pounds; the they are on fuch an occation. Bottle after muttered feveral wild and incoherent exprefbottle was therefore called for, and that too fions about gowns, and rufiles, and ear-rings, of claret, though not one of us, I believe, but | and necklaces; and I once heard her mention had rather had port. In fhort, I reeled home the word coach. In the morning, when I gət as well as I could, about four in the morning; up, how was I furprised to find my good forwhen thinking to pacify my wife, who began tune published to all the world in the newsto rate me (as ufual) for ftaying out fo long, paper! though I could nor but smile (and I told her the occation of it; but inftead of madam was greatly pleafed) at the printer's rejoicing, as I thought the would, the cried exalting me to the dignity of Efquire, having Pith, ONLY two thoufand pounds!" been nothing but plain Mr. all my life before. However, he was at laft reconciled to it, And now the misfortunes arifing from my taking care to remind me, that the had chofen good fortune began to pour in thick upon me. the ticket herself, and the was all along fure In confequence of the information given in it woukl come up a prize, because the number the news-paper, we were no fooner fat down was an odd one. We neither of us got a to breakfast, than we were complimented with wink of fleep, though I was heartily inclined a rat-a-tatoo from the drums, as if we had to it; for my wife kept me awake-by tell- been juft married: after thefe had been filening me of this, that, and t'other thing which ced by the ufual method, another band of the wanted, and which he would now por-mufic faluted us with a peo from the marrowchafe, as we could afford it. bones and cleavers to the fame tune. I was I know not how the news of my fuccefs harraffed the whole day with petitions from Spread fo foon among my other acquaintance, the hofpital-boys who drew the ticket, the except that my wife told it to every one the commitlioners clerks who wrote down the knew, or not know, at church. The conie-ticket, and the clerks of the office where I quence was, that I had no less than feven very hearty friends came to dine with us by way of withing us joy; and the number of thefe hearty friends was encreafed to above a dozen by fupper-time. It kind in one's friends to be willing to partake of one's fuccefs; they made themfelve very merry, literally at my expence; and, at parting, told me they would bought the ticket; all of them praying, "That my Honour would confider them." I fhould be glad you would inform me what thofe people would have given me if I had had a blank. My acquaintance in general called to know, when they fhould wait upon me to wet my good fortune. My own relations, and my wife's relations, came in fuch thoals to congratulate me, that I hardly knew the faces of many of them. One infifted on my giving a piece of plate to his wife; another recommended to me to put his little boy (my twoand-fortieth confin) out 'prentice; another, lately white-washed, propofed to me my fetting him up again in bufinefs; and feveral of them very kindly told me, they would borrow three or four hundred pounds of me, as they knew I could now fpare it. My wife, in the mean time, you may be Ture, was not idle in contriving P. 5. I am just going to club-I hope they won't define me to treat them again. B. Thornton. § 46. Characters of CAMILLA 373 FLORA Camilla is really what writers have so often imagined; or rather, the polletes a combination of delicacies, which they have feldom had minutenefs of virtue and tafte enough to conceive: to fay fhe is beautiful, the is accomplished, the is generous, he is tender, is to dif-talking in general, and it is the particular I pofe of this new acquifition. She found out, would defcribe. In her perfon the is almoft in the first place (according to the complaint tall, and almost thin; graceful, commanding, of moff women), that fhe had not got a gwn and infpiring a kind of tender refpect; the to her back, at least not one fit for her no rone of her voice is melodious; and the can to appear in. Her wardrobe of linen was neither look nor move without expreffing no lefs deficient; and the difcovered feveral fomething to her advantage. Poffeffed of chafms in our furniture, especially in the almost every excellence, the is unconfcious of articles of plate and china. She is alfo de-any, and this heightens them all: the is motermined to fee a little pleafure, as the calls it, deft and diffident of her own opinion, yet and has actually made a party to go to the always perfectly comprehends the fubject on next opera. Now, in order to fupply thefe which the gives it, and fees the question in its Immediate wants and neceffities, the has pre-true light he has neither pride, prejudice, vailed on me (though at a great lofs) to turn the prize into ready money; which I dared not refufe her, becaufe the number was her own choofing and the has further perfuaded me (as we have had fuch good luck) to lay out a great part of the produce in purchafing more tickets, all of her own chooling. To me it is indifferent which way the money goes; for, upon my making out the balance, I already find I fhall be a lofer by my gains: and all my fear is, that one of the tickets may come up a five thousand or ten thousand. I am Your very humble fervant, nor precipitancy, to mifguide her; the is true, and therefore fudges truly. If there are fubjects too intricate, too complicated for the feminine fimplicity of her foul, her ignorance of them ferves only to difplay a new beauty in her character, which refults from her ac knowledging, nay, perhaps from her poffeffing that very ignorance. The great characteristic of Camilla's underft in ling is tafte; but when the fays moft upon a fubject, the ftill thews that he has much more to fay; and by this unwillingness to triumph, the perfuades the more. With the most refined fentiments, the poffeffes the fofreft fenfibility, and it lives and peaks in every feature of her face. Is Camilla |