Through the intereft of his friends, I obtained 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 requested, as a particular favour, that I would bestow the year which I could call mine, in reading with the only fon of the rich Mr. Flint. The conditions offered were uncommonly advantageous, and fuch as indeed flattered the vanity of a young man.

For understanding my ftory, it is not improper to describe the characters of the family into which I was received with fo many marks of favour and distinction.

Rowland Flint, Efq; was born of poor, but honeft parents. They made a hard fhift to have him instructed in reading, and even in writing and arithmetic, and then they left him to find his way through the world as he beft could. The young man, like a philofopher, carried about with him all that was truly his own, his quill and his ink-horn. He attached himself to one of the fubordinate departments of the law, in which his drudgery was great, and his profits were fcanty. After having toiled for many years in this humble, contented, and happy vocation, he was fuddenly raised to opulence by the death of an uncle.

This uncle went abroad at a very early period of life, with the fixed refolution of acquiring a competency, and then of enjoying it at home. But that competency, which filled up the meafure of the ambition of a bare Scotch lad, proved far short of the defires of an eminent foreign merchant. He imperceptibly became in eafy circumftances, well in the world, of great credit, a man to be relied on, and be advised with, and even one fuperior to all fhocks, calls, and runs."

While engaged in making his fortune, he thought it needlefs to enquire after his poor relations, whom he could not affift; and, after he had made his fortune, he thought it equally needlefs, as he was to fee them fo foon in Scotland. Yet, a multitude of unforeseen obftacles retarded his return: fome new mortgage was to be fettled, fome company concerns to be wound up, or fome bottomry account to be adjufted; and thus year glided along after year, till, at length, death furprized him at the age of threescore and ten.

Bufied in making money, he had never beftowed 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, Rowland Flint.

This gentleman, on his becoming rich, discovered himself to be eminently skilled in the fcience of law; the ftudy, as he

boasted,

boafted, of his earlier years; and this knowledge engaged him in three or four law-fuits, which the court uniformly determined against him, with cofts.

1

But, of every other science, he honeftly avowed his want of knowledge, and he did not even pretend to understand painting or politics; but he had a mighty veneration for literature and its profeffors, and he was refolved to make his fon a great scholar, although it fhould ftand him in ten thousand pounds fterling.

My pupil is in his fifteenth year. They had taken him from fchool before it was difcovered that his proficiency in literature did not qualify him for college; and it became my 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 among those who, having no particular incentives to study, perform their tasks merely as tasks.

I have little to fay concerning his mother: her mind was wholly abforbed in the contemplation of her husband's riches, and in the care of her fon's health and her own. Baron Bielfield, an eminent German author, obferves, that in our island there is a disease called le catch-cold, of which the natives are exceedingly apprehenfive. Mrs. Flint lived under the perpetual terror of that disease.

Being thus rendered incapable of the active duties of houfekeeping, the committed them to her brother, captain Winterbottom, who, as he was wont to fay, "could bear a hand at any thing." But his chief excellence lay in the conduct of the nation, and of the ftew-pan. He had long commanded a vessel in the Baltic trade; and it having been once employed as a tranfport in the fervice of government, he affected to wear a cockade, and wished to have it understood that he belonged to the navy. The captain had dealt occafionally in borough politics, belonged to feveral refpectable clubs in London, and was one of the original members of the Robin Hood fcciety.

The laft of the family that I fhall mention, is Mifs Juliana Winterbottom, a maiden fifter of Mrs. Flint. Her original name was Judith; but when the arrived at the years of difcretion, the changed it to Juliana, as being more gentee!.

Many years ago, Lady L was advifed to pass a winter at Nice, for the recovery of her health, worn out by the vigils and diffipation of a London winter; and the eafily prevailed on Mifs Juliana to go as her companion. The heat of the climate, and the cold blafts from the Alps, foon completed what

the

the corrupted air of good company, and the damps from the Thames, had begun, and Lady L lived not to re-fee her British phyficians.

Mifs Juliana, on her return home, paffed by the caftle of Fernay, and got a peep at Voltaire, in his furred cap and nightgown. At Paris, the chanced to be in company with Count Buffon for half an hour; and she actually purchased a volume of mufic, writter by the great Rouffeau himself. Having thus become acquainted with the foreign literati, fhe commenced a fort of literata in her own perfon. She frequently advances those opinions in hiftory, morals, and phyfics, which, as the imagines, are to be found in the writings of the French philo fophers. But, whether through the habits of education, or through confcious ignorance, it must be confeffed that the dog. matizes with diffidence, and is a very stammerer in infidelity.

Having feen Paris, and having picked up a good many French words in the courfe of her travels, fhe thinks that he is authorised, and, in fome fort, obliged to fpeak French. Nothing can be more grotefque than her travelled language. When fhe left Scotland," her fpeech (to ufe a phrase of Lord Bacon) was in the full dialect of her nation." At Nice the converfed with English and Irish; and, by imitating the language of each, the has, in her pronunciation, completed the union of the three kingdoms. But ftill her own country language predominates; for, during her refidence abroad, fhe had an opportunity of preferving, and even of improving it, by daily conferences with the houfe-maid, who was born and educated in the county of Bamff.

:

In pronouncing French, fhe blends the tone of all thofe dialects and her phrafeology is as fingular as her pronunciation ; for the faithfully tranflates every word from her mother-tongue. An example of this prefents itself, which I fhall never forget One day, addreffing her difcourfe to me, she said, Je doute pa que vous avez perusé les ouvraiges de Mong feer le Counte de Boufon; que un charmaing creature! il met philofophes et divins par les oreilles. That is, I doubt not that you have read the works of Count Buffon; what a charming creature! He fets philofophers and divines by the ears," I answered her, that I had never read the works of that renowned author, but that I had read the Principia of Sir Ifaac Newton. "Why, indeed, (replied the,) Sir Ifaac may have been a man of better principles, but affheurement the theories of the Count are wittier."

It is a happy circumftance that Mifs Winterbottom did not make the grand tour. Had the vifited Italy, fhe would have proved as great an adept in ftatuary, and in painting, as she is

at prefent in philofophy. But Mifs Winterbottom cannot, in confcience, talk of her having visited Italy, while her travels were limited to the borders of Piedmont.

I never heard her mention Italy but once, and then she got no great encouragement to proceed in her remarks. At dinner the faid, "I remember that, in Italy, they have fomething very like our veal, which they call vitello." "Well, fifter Juddy," cried captain Winterbottom," and why should they not? For if witallo means veal in their lingo, what elfe would you have the poor devils call it ?”

It was refolved to postpone my leffons for a while, that, as Mr. Flint expreffes it," I might come to know the ways of the house first."

Mifs Juliana conftantly teazed me with questions about my plan for her nephew's education. To puzzle her a little, I faid that fome weeks hence I proposed to teach him to make nonfense verses." Mifericorde, (cried she,) nonsense verses! Is that part of the etiquailte ?"

"Let the boy alone," added captain Winterbottom," when he is old enough to be in love, he will make nonfenfe verfes, I warrant you, without any help of your's; aye, although it fhould be on mamma's dairy-maid." Mr. Flint laughed loud, and Mrs. Flint faid gently, "Oh! fye brother."

Perceiving that, on this encouragement, the captain was about to be more witty, I recalled the converfation to nonsense verses, endeavoured to explain their nature, and obferved that their main use was to inftruct one in the quantity of fyllables.

"Quantity of fyllables !" exclaimed the captain, "there is modern education for you! Boys have their heads lumbered with great quantities of Latin fyllables and words, when they fhould be taught to understand things, to fpeak their own lan guage rough and round, and fo cut a figure in parliament. I remember Will Fitzdriver; but he is gone; Honeft Will knew no tongue except a little of his own, and yet he would talk to you for an hour, and you would have thought that he had fcarcely entered on the subject at all. He never valued any of your outlandish lingos, not he."

I faid, that if my pupil was of an age to go into parliament, I should be apt to advise him to follow the precepts of Pythago ras, and be filent for feven years. "That Mr. Pythagoras muft have been a fure card," obferved the captain, " and I do fuppofe that he lived up to his own precepts; for I never heard of any fpeaker of that name; no, not even in committees. People, to be fure, may hold their tongues, and have a flice of the great padding; but this is not a time for your dumb fenaVOL. I. I.

B

tors.

tors. No; we must have bold, well-fpoken men, to tell poor Britannia that the is beggared, and bleeding, and expiring, aye, and dead too, for aught that fome folks care." He rounded this pathetic period with one of his best oaths.:

"Were all men to make speeches," faid I, "what time would there be left for doing business?" "Business !" cried the captain," Is not oratory bufinefs? And why cannot they set to watch and watch, as we do at fea?"

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

"When I first got the multiplication-table by heart," faid Mr. Flint, who generally falls in in the rear of converfation," it was a plaguy troublesome job; but now that I am master of it, I don't perceive that it loads my memory at all."

"Learned men have remarked (faid Mifs Juliana) that it is not the getting by heart that is cenfurable, but the getting by rote, as one does one's catechifm."

"There fhe goes, the travelled lady," cried the captain; "The must always have a fling at her catechism."

"Mr. Winterbottom," replied Mifs Juliana, with exceeding dignity, " you wrong me much I am fure that I fhould be the laft woman alive to lay any thing, efpecially in mixed companies, to the difparagement of the religion of the ftate, which I have always confidered as the great lyeng [lien] of fociety."

You have always confidered religion as great lying; and who taught you that, fifter Juddy? Your god-fathers and your god-mothers! No, fure."

Here I was laid under the neceffity of interpofing, and of affuring captain Winterbottom that he miftook his filter, and that he had inadvertently used a French word to exprefs her own idea, that religion was the great tie of fociety. Perhaps I prevaricated a little 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 purpose to explain the tenth fatire of Juvenal; a poem for method, compofition, and animated language, univerfally admired.

What does that Juvenal write about?" faid Mifs Juliana; 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 fevere upon the Roman ladies."

Aye, they were Papifts," faid captain Winterbottom," and they are all wh--." "Give me leave to tell you," cried Mifs Juliana, in a higher key," when I was abroad, I had the

honour