imagine a Happiness in Want and Wooden Shoes; and give them an Averfion to every thing manly, generous, and liberal.

IN things indifferent, which have no influence either on the Good or Hurt of Society, it is certainly Mens Wisdom, and may be fometimes their Virtue, to comply with it; to prevent the Odium of Singularity on the one hand, and the Confufions which may be occafioned by an endeavour to abolish antient Ufages on the other. And the Ufe which wife Men ought to make of vulgar Prejudices of this fort, is to make them fubfervient to useful and valuable Purposes. This is what, I believe, may be done by a great many things which will not bear the Teft of strict Reafon and good Senfe. Nature has in many cafes given us no fixed Standard, whereby to adjuft our external Demeanour, but left us to be guided in those things according to the Genius and Circumstances of the respective Communities into which Men happen to be incorporated.

But with respect to fuch Customs as either may, or actually have an ill tendency, by debauching Mens Minds, confounding the Understanding, or corrupting the Affections; it is the duty of every one, as far as his Influence extends, to ftem the Torrent, and oppose the prevailing Humour by all fair and juftifiable Methods. And in this cafe, it may be both reasonable and useful, to attack the Power of Custom itself, and fhew the abfurVol. II.

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dity of giving into any Ufages on that score alone, by inftancing, in other Nations, how it has given a Sanction to things which we look upon with Horror and Indignation. WHEN Men are got this length, to compare the Manners and Customs of other People with their own, there will arife this Advantage from it, that they will be lefs poffels'd in favour of themselves than formerly, and abate of that Haughtiness, and inhofpitable Contempt of Strangers for which fome Nations are fo remarkable. They will learn to have a Reverence for Mankind; to forbear making their own favourite Notions and Opinions a standard for all others; and to lay down fuch Maxims and Rules for their own Conduct, as may prevent the just Cenfure, or Ridicule of any part of the Hu man Species, from turning on themselves.

THE Inhabitants of Europe, who boast themselves the politest and most civilized part of Mankind, are, upon all occafions, exceedingly facetious on the Manners and Customs of the poor Barbarians, who pof fefs the other three great Continents. Yet thefe latter feem, for the most part, to follow Nature much more closely than we do. The many Volumes of Voyages and Adventures, of Itineraries and Pilgrimages, which have been publifhed among us, to difplay their Rudenefs and Barbarity, give us indeed a fair Occafion to pity them for their want of many Advantages which we enjoy, by the means

of

of Letters and Commerce; but afford us very little ground of triumphing over them, either as to the natural Superiority of our Understanding, or the Purity of our Virtue. Their Piety, however mistaken they are, as to the Object or Expreffion of it, is generally fervent and unaffected; and their Commerce with Mankind fair and honeft, without any Art or Difguife, except what they have acquired from fome Refinements the polite Europeans have imparted to them.

As for other Matters, I do not find that we greatly excel them, unlefs in this one Point, that we have a great many Inventions for fupplying Wants of our own making, concerning which thefe Savages have not the leaft notion. Their Habits indeed, their Forms of Salutation, their Methods of Gallantry and Courtship, and their Pastimes and Recreations, appear extremely uncouth and ridiculous to us. But they are more than even with us; for ours appear much more fo to them. The Question then is, Whether we or they have reafon to laugh? Indeed neither. For while fuch Customs are fo regulated, as to do no body hurt, and to anfwer the feveral innocent Ends of those who use them, there is nothing in any of them either unreasonable or ridiculous; and to de*fpife and contemn Men on account of them, is the effect only of Prejudice and Igno

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THE Cafe alters much, where any Custom either answers no End at all in Life, or an ill one. There the Ridicule is both just and useful. But then it ought not to be confined to one Side only. If we laugh at our Neighbours, we must allow them to laugh at us; and examine whether they may not have as much Reafon on their fide, as we on ours. The Sentiments of other Nations concerning us may be serviceable, in fetting us on comparing our Manners with Nature and Reason, and discovering our own Errors and Blindfides. Our Partiality to ourselves will nor fometimes fuffer us to fearch into this Matter, till others have given us the hint, by making the Ob fervation before us. Most Men are flow at finding out their own Faults, which they would keep concealed, if poffible, even from themselves. It gives us pain to behold our own Deformities; and the fear left we should find any fuch in our Portraiture, in fpite of our Vanity, often damps the Defire of having it drawn. It were therefore to be wished, that as our Language abounds with a multitude of Books containing Accounts of the Manners and Customs of moft Countries in the World, befides feveral others which are not to be found in it; fo thofe foreign Nations to whom we have done this Honour, would return us the Compliment, and after having fojourned among us, afford us an Opportunity of knowing their Opinion of fome of our favourite Customs and Amusements,

which are esteemed of the moft polite and agreeable kind; that by comparing them with the natural Notions of People of lefs Knowledge and Experience, we might form a Judgment of the Reasonable, or the Ridiculous, in the feveral parts of our Conduct.

SOME European Authors have done the British Islands this Honour already. But the Genius of most of the neighbouring Nations is fo near akin to our own, and our Customs fo nearly refemble each other, that we can receive little Inftruction from them, except in matters of leffer confequence. I fhould be more curious to read the Remarks made upon us by fome of thofe People whom we term barbarous. A Friend of mine informs me, he has fome Memoirs of this fort, written by a Siamese, who refided fome time in England. If I could prevail on him to publish the whole, I am perfuaded, it would be a useful and entertaining Present to the World. In the mean time, he has given me leave to communicate the following Paffage to the Publick, which feems to have a very fatirical meaning in it, tho fuch as I leave the Reader himself to unriddle.

THE Inhabitants of these two little Inlands (meaning Great Britain and Ireland) pretend to adore only one fupreme God, and to be intirely freed from all kinds of Superftition. But I cannot believe the Profeffions of these Infidels. For befides the living Deities, to whom they daily offer their Vows, they have a multi

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