left hand,) exactly proportioned to the evil produced. The weights thus marked belonging to the fame man, are kept always in two different parcels, during the life of the man; and immediately on his death, are brought before Jupiter, and put into thofe fcales. If the gold weights are the heaviest, he is adjudged worthy of blifs; and if the brafs, the contrary. 'Tis but too evident even to one's eye, in this cafe, that the brafs weights are the most numerous and the most ponderous."

As Mercury was faying this, Jupiter called out to the spirit, to turn his face towards him and receive his fentenge. On his turning it, Minos immediately knew him to be Sebaftor, the rich Cretan, and one of the chief citizens of Gnoffus, the capital of Crete, where Minos and his court refided: on which he could not conceal the greatnefs of his aftonishment." What, (cried he,) is Sebaftor going to be condemned by Jupiter! that Sebaftor, who paffed fo many hours every day before his fhrine, and who offered up an hundred oxen on his altars on our laft great feftival! Why, he was looked upon as the most devout man in all the ifland of Crete !" "If you will fufpend your wonder a little, (fays Mercury,) we may hear his fentence."— All this while, Jupiter looked upon him with a mixture of fternnefs and compaffion. "Unhappy mortal, (fays he,) you fee how widely you are mistaken! The unerring weights are against you. Had you done more real good with the riches entrusted to your care, the right fcale would have prevailed; but, instead of doing good to man, you only thought of making prefents to the Gods. 'Tis now too late for you to learn that the Gods are not to be bribed; and as you have done fo very little that has been beneficial to mankind, your lot must be to go to thofe who have been useless in their generation."-After thus giving his fentence, Jupiter turned towards Minos, and difmiffed him with the following words: "Minos, you have seen our way of judg ing your juftice and good actions are all marked down on golden weights here, and they are more than I ever yet faw for any prince upon earth. It is for this reason that I intend hereafter to conftitute you as my deputy, and to make you the chief difpofer of all the fpirits that come from your world. Go on to follow the laws of juftice and virtue, while you live; and when you die, and arrive to the dignity I have affured to you, remember my ways of judgement, and place every one in more blifs or unhappinefs hereafter, in exact proportion to the overbalance of happiness or mifery that he may have occafioned in the whole course of his life. Let this be your rule, and then you will judge men in the fame manner that they are judged by Jupiter himself.

ΤΟ

SIR,

TH

To the PRINTE R.

HE following letter was wrote in January laft, from a certain town in Devonshire, to a friend at a distance.you think it may have any tendency to discountenance that infipid and formal manner of celebrating Christmas, which now too much prevails, to the exclufion of ancient mirth and hospita lity, the inferting it as foon as poffible will oblige

Your humble fervant,

OLD ENGLISH. /

December 20, 1783.

DEAR JACK,

I WISH the cards were with the D-1, to whom they are faid to belong; and I should not care if the tumblers, rummers, and tea-fpoons, were thrown after them! They are the deftruction of all convivial mirth and focial jollity, fo congenial to the feafon." Fill up the mighty flowing bowl!"-" Brifkly push the circling glafs ;"-" and let each honeft blade fing a fong !"-Such was the manner in which Christmas was once celebrated but now, "What a woeful alteration !"-The mighty bowl (which, like the organ at St. Peter's, infpires, even by its mere appearance, the moft fublime ideas,) is diffipated into a fet of infignificant half-pint tumblers, and the handfome filver punch-ladle is fhivered into tea-fpoons!-The argument in defence of this unfociable fashion is, that every person is thereby enabled exactly to fuit his tafte.-But I prefume that a glafs of real good punch is what very few are known to have an objection to, and the tumblers, &c. are only neceffary for those few who have. However, the modern cuftom in this refpect might be put up with, if no other fashionable folly interfered to fpoil the pleafures of fociety.-But, alas! after fupper, when the king has been drank round, and then the queen and royal family, and perhaps fome other toaft hath just been given, and the company is beginning to ftrike into fprightly mirth and gaiety, one or other of the ladies, (who all the while has fat on a cushion of furze,) unable to hold out any longer, begins a motion, which communicates itself inftantly to all the females at the table. The other fex, though unwillingly, are bound in complaifance to iwim with the fame ftream.-The business of the feafon will not, it seems, admit of any longer intermiffion; all hands are fummoned to it, and within a few minutes, behold!

the

the scene is changed, and Pam, instead of Comus, is the prefiding deity at a Christmas entertainment.-For my part, I think he is the god of difcord; for there are continually arifing altercations and jealoufies concerning the fairness of playing, and the rules of the game, which feem to be never completely fettled. This fcene of uneafinefs continues generally 'till fomething paft midnight, except on Saturday evenings, when it is fcrupulously broke off a little short of twelve, to avoid playing at cards on Sunday, which would be thought an unpardonable fin; though cheating at cards, on any other day, is confidered only as an exertion of fuperior talents!-When the spirit begins to move towards breaking up, (and ten to one but feveral of the company are affronted with each other for real or fuppofed foul play,) on the fignal given as before, another general motion commences the ladies proteft they did not think it was fo latethat time flides away, &c. and fome one among them expreffes how happy the fhall be to fee the company at her house (to enjoy the fame felicities) on day next.

This, without the leaft exaggeration, is the prefent mode of keeping Christmas in our neighbourhood.-I hope your's has been more fociable; for really I can fee very little fociety in a whole evening spent in turning over a handful of spotted papers: not that I have any ill opinion of, or diflike to the amusement, when ufed with moderation; but let any reasonable perfon judge, whether, after the ladies have enjoyed this diverfion all the space between tea and fupper, they might not be very well content to allow the small remains of the evening to that feftive mirth and chearfulness which was ever the characteristic of this season.

I am, &c.

REFLECTION S.

HE firft ftep towards vice, is to make a mystery of what is innocent. Whoever loves to hide, will foon or late

TH

have reason to hide.

Hypocrify is a homage that vice pays to virtue.

It is more difficult to diffemble the fentiments one has, than to feign thofe one has not.

It is harder, than is commonly thought, to diffemble with those we despise.

Whoever appears to have much cunning has in reality very little, being deficient in the effential article, which is, to hide cunning.

A proud man is like Nebuchadnezzar! He fets up his image to be worshipped by all.

ANECDOTE of CHRISTOPHER ATKINSON, Elq; abo has lately been expelled the House of Commons for wilful and corrupt Perjury.

M

R. Atkinson was a contractor to fupply the VictuallingOffice with grain, for which he was to charge the original price, and was then to receive two and an half per cent. for his commiffion; the price at which he bought the grain he was to deliver in upon oath. He did deliver in his price upon oath, but the Victualling-Office has fince proved, by evidence in the court of King's Bench, that Mr. Atkinson was guilty of perjury, having charged the grain at a greater price than he gave for it. This discovery was attended with fome remarkable circumstances: Another contractor, from whom Mr. Atkinson had taken fome good bargain, determined to be revenged, and went down into that part of the country where he knew Atkinson had purchased a quantity of wheat. He found the farmer who had fold the wheat, and told him, that a friend of his had made a bet of ten guineas, that the wheat was fold at fuch a price. "No, Sir (faid the farmer), it was not; it was fold at fuch a price." "Why, then (fays the gentleman), the wager is loft; but for mutual fatisfaction, will you do me the favour to authenticate the price under your hand." The farmer complied; and with this information he apprized the Victualling-Office of Mr. Atkinson's conduct; and a profecution being commenced against him in the court of King's Bench, he has been convicted of wilful and corrupt perjury,and he is fled to the continent to avoid the fentence of the law.

T

A REMARKABLE ANECDOTE.

HE widow of Sir Walter Long, of Draycot, in Wilt fhire, made him a folemn promife that he would not marry after his deceafe; but not long after, one Sir-Fox, an ingenious young gentleman, gained her affections, fo that, notwithstanding the aforefaid promife, fhe married him. The nuptial ceremony was performed at South- Wraxall, where the picture of Sir Walter happened to hang over the parlour door : As Sir Fox was leading the bride by the hand from the church (which was near the house) into the parlour, the string of the picture broke, and the picture fell on her fhoulder, and cracked in the fall, it being painted on wood, as the fashion was in those days. This accident made her ladyship reflect on the breach of her promife, and imbittered the remainder of her cays. VOL. II. 52. 4 I A cheap

T

A cheap and very excellent Mefs.

HREE pounds of lean beef cut into fmall pieces, and put into three gallons of water, with one pound of turnips, one pound of potatoes, one pound of rice, two pounds of onions or leeks, pariley, thyme, falt, and pepper, according to your tafte. Let it stew gently five hours.

Arbitrary Manner of recruiting the Ruffian Army.

WH

HEN any regiment wants recruiting, or when new levies are to be raised, the officers who are appointed to that bufinefs go into the chief towns and villages of the feveral provinces, where a herald, by found of trumpet, fummonfes all the inhabitants together, at which meeting a day at no great distance is appointed for all the men from 18 to 40 years of age to meet at a particular place. When the day is arrived, the officer looks over the men, who ftand in ranks for the purpose, and fuch as he likes he marks, just as a butcher at Smithfield marks fuch cattle as he chufes to buy. When he has procured as many as he chufes, the relt go to their refpective homes, whilft the recruits are immediately marched to fome diftant place without being permitted to take leave of their friends or to go back again. When they ar rive at the place of deftination they are clothed and put into difcipline, and after a month spent in fchooling them thus, they are then fent to join the armies which are on real service. Should a man defert, his own relations are obliged to find him; if caught he is knouted; if not, the family muft fupply two men in his place.

A remarkable Incident in the Hiftory of Winchefter.

TN the year 1346, Roger de Wighton affaulted one Bramfon,

in the cafle, for

he was indicted, and being brought to trial, he pleaded not guilty. The jury, however, brought in a verdict for the plain tiff, which to confounded the judges (this being the first precedent of an affault of that kind), that they were obliged to refer to the king's council for inftruction, who empowered them to pronounce against him, that his right hand fhould be cut off,

and