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deprive yourself of them, and even your plain-faced fifter may pretend to vie with you. However weak the confeflion, I myfelf have frequently been delighted to trace the gaiety of your heart in every fpeaking feature; and when I thought it my duty to chide you for fome little impropriety in your fentiments, or expreffions, thofe lines of Mr. Pope have officiously fuggefted themselves;

If to her share fome female errors fall,

Lock on her face, and you'll forget them all;

notwithstanding they have been fo vilely proftituted, at a vicious fhrine. But, my dear, though, in the overflowings of my affection, I could thus excufe follies that I confidered as having no other fource than youth, and a chearful unreftrained imagination, I should not have the leaft charity for practical error; but I have hope that, like the coward, your big words proceeded merely from confcious fecurity.

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Under the paternal roof, and at a happy distance from the men, how have you bluftered !-You was for leading all in chains; and, like Congreve's Millamant, making lovers when you pleased, letting them live as long as you pleased; and when you was fo weary of them as to fuffer them to die, in order to please yourself, making more. But remember, man is not a creature to be played with, meek and harmless though he may appear: can the lamb escape the lion's paw unhurt?Their natures are callous, impatient of controul, enterprising, revengeful :-they have defign in every action, their expreffions are the refult of premeditation; and all connexion with them is as dangerous as the eye of the bafilifk.

• Admiration is a tribute we involuntarily pay to beauty gratitude is a noble fentiment; but as it is ever attended with a fenfe of cbligation, is fometimes painful :---but efteem is a lively, yet deliberate, approbation; has its foundation in good opinion, is increafed by obfervation, and confirmed by every newly difco vered perfection; it is the only fenfation we mortals are capable of feeling juftly, as it is free from all the prejudice and violence of paffion, the heat of ambition, the narrow hopes and fears of felf-love, and the folid anxiety of felf-intereft. Be it your bufinefs, your glory, to cultivate friendship upon this bafis only, as it is the only one that can promife permanence; for the attachment of a day, give it what name you pleafe, is neither more nor lefs than idle caprice.

You are now just entering into life; and have it as yet in your power to establish that kind of reputation that appears most eligible in your fight; but it is a work that must be ever effecting, from the impoffibility of its ever being wholly ac

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complished; one neglect, one drowfy interval, may unravel the labour of years; and though, like Syfiphus, you may by inde fatigable induftry get the ftone once to the top, yet will it roll back with the utmost impetuofity, unless you are perpetually upon your guard.

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I tremble for your future fate; your open, unreserved, latile difpofition, will expofe you to a thousand inconveniences from both fexes; thofe who are practifed in deceit, will be apt to confider even the amiable dictates of your heart as proceeding from the fame unworthy fource; and the quickness of your fenfibility, by exciting warm attachments and warm refentments, will be ever producing you unavailing repentance and mortifi. cation.

Can you, for the fake of our paft friendship, have patience to read this long lecture, that has no other end in view than your happiness and advantage? and, with all humility, would caution you at this critical juncture (as your good genius) to beware.'

The courtship between Mifs Pittborough and the colonel continues; and though Mifs Hutchens practifes many little arts to thwart it, their intimacy ripens into a mutual paffion. A dapgerous fever into which Mifs Pittborough falls, and from which The recovers, confirms the lovers affection for each other, but proves unable to cure her of her giddy, diffipated, turn; which is fo violent, that the colonel and Mrs. Hutchens concert a private fcheme for bringing about the marriage, to which our heroine expreffes no averfion. Her pride, however, is alarmed by the fecret machinations of Mifs Hutchens; and when the difcovers the colonel's and her aunt's design, she refents it as an infult upon her understanding.

Sir Matthew Sanxsey, an old battered beau, poffeffed of a good eftate, but in every refpect the reverse of colone! Dingley, profeffes himfelf an admirer of Mifs Pittborough; and though fhe hates and detefts him, yet from pride and caprice, the refolves to punith the colonel by giving her hand to Sir Matthew. They accordingly make an elopement, and drive down to Scotland; but finding fome qualms rifing upon her during the journey, fhe cafts many a longing look behind, in hopes of being purfued and refcued. Her expectations, however, prove vain, for they arrive at Edinburgh without any interruption, where the matrimonial noofe is tied. Mifs Hutchens, who had a fneaking kindnefs for the colonel, in the mean time, manages fo artfully, that he comes to the knowledge of the elopement when it is too late. He inftantly fts out for Edinburgh; but, before his arrival there, he finds his iniftrefs converted into lady Sanxfey.

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The horror the feels at this change of her fituation, as well as her bitter reflections on her own conduct, are pathetically defcribed. The colonel narrowly efcapes fhooting her husband; but though she loves the former as paffionately as ever, fhé refolves to accommodate herfelf to the duties of a virtuous wife; and ashamed to appear again in the gay world, fhe perfuades Sir Matthew to carry her to his old inhofpitable feat in the Weft of England. Here he difplays his true plexion of peevishnefs, jealoufy, and ill-nature. During his abfence lady Sanxfey strolls carelefly into the country in a postchaife, which being accidentally overturned, the lady is delivered from danger by an adventurous knight, who cuts the braces, and who we need not tell the reader proves to be the colonel in propriâ perfonâ. The lover carries her into an adjoining cottage, where their converfation is very tender and fentimential. A furgeon arrives, who falls in love with lady Sanxfey; and the interview, through his imprudence, reaches the ears of Sir Matthew, who puts the worst construction upon every circumftance. Lady Sanxfey is confined and maltreated; the colonel goes abroad with his regiment, but returns hoine, and by the help of a difguife getting admittance into her house, faves our heroine from being ravifhed by the furgeon. She falls fick, her life is defpaired of, but Sir Matthew dies before Afterwards, with great difficulty, fhe recovers, and is

perfuaded to marry the colonel.

Such is the ftory of this virtuous novel, which chastity may read without a blufh, and the moft intelligent may perufe with improvement. We are forry that the author, by confining herself to two volumes, has crowded too many incidents into the fecond towards the conclufion, in order to do poetical jufficé upon Mifs Hutchens, who is fufficiently expofed and punished. However, we cannot fufficiently recommend the moral of this performance, which feems to be, That little paffions, by being indulged, or rather played with, may become indocile and intractable; and not only swallow up all the reft, but destroy the most precious bleffings of life.

VII. The Life and Opinions of Triftram Shandy, Gentleman. Vol. IX. 8vo. Pr. 2s. Becket.

OF all the comical devices contained in this volume, none is fo diverting as that of printing blank leaves, two lined pages, and the flourish of a cudgel expreffed in a long ferpentine line.- -I don't understand you, faid my father. Print the flourish of a cudgel.- -Yes, please your honour, faid Trim, and I'll fhew you the very flourish. -Upon this the

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corporal began to exercife his ftick, which in one of his chie manoeuvres came to near Dr. Slop's nofe, that my father failed, my mother chuckled, uncle Toby frowned, and the doctor ducked his head.- -Weil but, fays my father, how could he print blank pages?—Trim, cried my uncle Toby.→ Your honour-Step home and bring the book:- -Trim was not half-way down ftairs, when returning, Did not your honour lock it up with the map of Lifle which we brought back from the widow. Wadman's?- Well remembered, Trim; take the key: I remember I committed fuch another mistake at the fiege of Mons, when I forgot a demi-culverin which I locked up in a butter-firkin.My father ftared at uncle Toby, but by this time Trim came back with the book. Pfhaw or pish, faid my father (we cannot be certain which) when opening it, it appeared to be as my uncle Toby faid. See pages 69 and 70.

Uncle Toby's courtship of widow Wadman is the chief fubject of this volume. The widow had an inkling of an ugly wound uncle Toby had got at a fiege, in a very inconvenient place.

Mrs. Bridget had pawn'd all the little flock of honour a poor chambermaid was worth in the world, that he would get to the bottom of the affair in ten days; and it was built upon one of the most conceffible poftulatum in nature: namely, that whilft my uncle Toby was making love to her mistress, the corporal could find nothing better to do, than make love to her "And I'll let him as much as he will," faid Bridget, "to get it out of him.”

Friendship has two garments; an outer and an under one. Bridget was ferving her miftrefs's interefts in the one-and doing the thing which moft pleafed herfelf in the other; fo had as many takes depending upon my uncle Toby's wound, as the devil himfelf-Mrs. Wadman had but one-and as it poffibly might be her laft (without difcouraging Mrs. Bridget, or dif crediting her talents) was determined to play her cards herself.

She wanted not encouragement: a child might have look'd into his hand-there was fuch a plainnefs and fimplicity in his playing out what trumps he had-with fuch an unmiftrufting ignorance of the ten-ace--and fo naked and defenceless did he fit upon the fame fopha with widow Wadman, that a generous heart would have wept to have won the game of him, Let us drop the metaphor.

It is natural for a perfect ftranger who is going from London to Edinburgh, to enquire before he fets out, how many miles to York; which is about the half way- nor does any body wonder, if he goes on and aiks about the corporation, &c.

It was just as natural for Mrs. Wadman, whose first hufband was all his time afflicted with a fciatica, to wish to know how far from the hip to the groin; and how far fhe was likely 'to fuffer more or lefs in her feelings, in the one case than in the other.

She had accordingly read Drake's anatomy from one end to the other. She had peeped into Wharton upon the brain, and borrowed Graaf upon the bones and mufcles; but could make nothing of it.

She had reafon'd likewife from her own powers-laid down theorems-drawn confequences, and come to no conclufion.

To clear up all, fhe had twice afked doctor Slop, "if poor captain Shandy was ever likely to recover of his wound

-He is recovered, doctor Slop would fay

What! quite ?

-Quite: madam

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• But what do you mean by a recovery? Mrs. Wadman would fay.

• Doctor Slop was the worst man alive at definitions; and fo Mrs. Wadman could get no knowledge: in fhort, there was no way to extract it, but from my uncle Toby himself.

• There is an accent of humanity in an enquiry of this kind which lulls fufpicion to rest—and I am half perfuaded the -ferpent got pretty near it, in his difcourfe with Eve; for the propensity in the fex to be deceived could not be so great, that fhe should have boldness to hold chat with the devil, without it- -But there is an accent of humanity-how fhall I defcribe it 'tis an accent which covers the part with a garment, and gives the enquirer a right to be as particular with it, as your body-furgeon.

Was it without remiffion ?

Was it more tolerable in bed?

Could he lie on both fides alike with it?

-Was he able to mount a horse?

-Was motion bad for it? et cætera. were fo tenderly fpoke to, and fo directed towards my uncle Toby's heart, that every item of them funk ten times deeper into it than the evils themselves-but when Mrs. Wadman went round about by Namur to get at my uncle Toby's groin, and engaged him to attack the point of the advanced counterfcarp, and pêle mêle with the Dutch to take the counterguard of St. Roch fword in hand

-and then with tender notes playing upon his ear, led him all bleeding by the hand out of the trench, wiping her eye as he was carried to his tent- -Heaven! Earth! Sea!— lifted up the fprings of nature rofe above her levels

-all was

-an

angel

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