will tell you; I wish to perform fome great actions, that the world may know fuch a prince as Vioulis exifts I wish to extend my fame." "How far would you wish it to extend ??? As far as poffible." "Would you be known to, and celebrated by all the inhabitants of the earth?”** "Yes, if poffible." "And what would you perform to attain this glory ""Actions which fhould aftouifh, by evincing courage-war and conqueft." "No doubt: you would dethrone kings and fubjugate nations." Surely, you can read hearts.-Advife me aged fage; I am devoured by a

fecret ardour."

"Arife," laid the old man: and he walked with him, for a time, penfive and filent. Vioulis was furprifed at his behaviour, but his heart was filled with refpect for his perfon, and confidence in his admonitions.

Vioulis," faid the old man, "I wifh to counfel and inftruct you. Look up to the heavens; behold yon glorious moon, and thofe refplendent conftellations; obferve that fmall ftar which is apparently almoft "clofe to Sirius; that far is neverthelefs fo far from Sirius, that the rays of light which at this moment iffur from that ftar cannot reach Sirius in lefs than a thousand years ac cording to our computation of time; that is, fhould that itar be one day extinguifhed, its extinction would not be perceived in Sirius until a thousand years after the failure of its light."

Vioulis, in aftonifhment, gazed and liftened.

high, have but fixteen fenfes, and do not live much above three times longer than the inhabitants of our world; whereas the inhabitants of the other fifty planets are generally two hundred ells high, and live twenty or thirty centuries. Yet, notwithtlanding, the poor Imbecilians imagine that the universe was created for them alone, and maintain that Haro, and the other forty-nine planets, their own eighteen moons, and the millions of ftars they are able to difcover by the affittance of their little telefcopes which are not more than about a quarter of a league long, were created and placed in the firmament merely to give them light. "There are in this wretched planet fome thousands of nations different from each other in their manners and customs, but all barbarous, Some of them call themselves civilifed people. These civilifed people, who gravely believe themfelves to be the most aftonishing work of creation, are, in fact, a very fingu lar fpecies of creatures. It would be in vain to attempt to recount all the abfurdities of which they are guilty. They have among them dervifes, who are divided into two fects, called Ida and Oda. These two words have no kind of meaning: yet in confequence of their difputes on the difference between them, have they maffacred, poifoned, and execrated each other for a long feries of ages. 1 hey have laws; but ten centuries are neceffary to acquire a knowledge of them all, twenty to understand them, and a thoufand to apply them to the purpofes of justice. Yet do they, my dear Vioulis, call all other nations barbarians, and modeftly ftyle themfelves the nobleft work of the creation.”

"This ftar, which is named Ha ro, is a fun, around which revolve fifty planety among thefe there is one named Imbecil, which has eighteen moons. The planet Imbecil is Vioulis liftened with eager atten nearly ten thousand times largertion, and no less aftonishment. thin our glob, and contains myriads of creatures who imagine themfelves to be rational. The Im-elves by a name analogous to the becilians are not more than fixty ells word human with us. These wished

Formerly in this planet there were a race of creatures who called them

to

in one cradle, and placed, apparenta ly, in the fame fituations, fome myfterious caufe, fome, to us, utter

the one to good and progreflive improvement, and the other to evil and continually increafing debatement.

to acquire what they called glory, and went forth, with fome millions of their fellows, to conquer all the nations of the planet. In the fhortly unknown propenity, fhall incline Ipace of two thoufand years, thefe conquerors were only able to make themselves known by fame, to a thousandth part of the Imbecilians; and to effect that, they carried-fire and fword, and all the horrors of devaftation through millions of fourithing cities, whofe only crime was that they had not fufficient ftrength or cunning to extirpate their invaders,

"In this planet, a good king is rarely feen, who, fatisfied with the limits of his dominion, defpifes hroifm as if the glory of kings were only to be derived from the milery of the people. But, O prince, be it thy aim and glory to be a good king; be jut, refpectable, the friend of the arts, and worthy to protect them, and thou shalt be called Vioulis the Beneficent."

Mr. John Afhton was a reputable farmer in Worcestershire, a man of fober diligence, probity, and good nature. He gained the eleem of all his neighbours by his quiet, inoffenfive and conceding manners; every one wifhed him well, and, what is more, every one was ready to fhew him friendship, and effectually to ferve him: for in fome of thole remote parts of the country, whence, whatever poets may feign, integrity of heart and fimplicity of manners have not yet taken their flight, honelty and good nature frequently receive the reward they

merit.

A feries of years employed in laborious, ineffenfive induftry, be The old man now, fuddenly af- itowed on this worthy man tome" fuming the form of a beautiful youth,thing more than competence; his embraced the prince and dilappear-tock continually increated, and he ed. was, at length, able to purchafe a confiderable part of the land he cultivated, which was freehold.

Vioulis, proftrate in humility, adored the creator of the fun and planets, and returned to Samarcand, where, no longer intoxicated with a pernicious paffion for fame and falfe honour, far from attempting to conquer, he laboured to give peace to the nations around him, infpiring confidence by his juftice, and by his humanity and generofity preferving

the lives of thousands.

Mr. Ashton had two fons, John and Henry, of characters fo diferent, that nature feemed to have intended to fhew in them how-variously the can work with apparently the fame materials. John was fullen, crafty, felf-intereited; Henry, oper, communicative, generous : John would fbmit to almoft every indignity for gain; while Henry fought every opportunity for liberality: John could diffemble, though naturally vindictive; Henry was warm and impetuous, though by nature friendly and benevolent.

They refided with their father, and affifted him in the, bufineis of his farm; at the fame time that from a fmall capital, which the father had prefented to each, they traded on their own account in certain articles,

that

that they might be habituated to | She endeavoured on every occasion

bulinefs. John watched every op-
portunity of gain, found many, and
increased his capital fatter and more
confiderably than could have been
expected: Henry, on the contrary,
met with much fewer opportunities
for profit, but many more to be li-
beral; he, therefore, rather dimi-profits of the family.
nifhed than augmented the fall
fum he originally poffeffed. And
entirely to preclude ail hopes of the
advancement of his fortune, he, as
the country phrafe is, fell in love
with, and married the daughter of
a neighbouring poor farmer, who
was not able to prefent the bride
with a penny on her wedding day.
His brother John fneered openly at
his fimplicity; and his father himself,
honeft man as he was, was for a
time a little out of humour; but at
length the natural goodness of his
heart fhone out through the clouds
of prejudice and felf-intereft, infir-
mities not natural to him, but a
tincture of which the beft of men
imbibe more or lefs from the con-
tagion of a felfish world. Indeed
the natural generofity and open
friendship of his nature could not
remain long unmoved by the humble
and conciliating demeanour, and the
graceful perfon and manners of his
new daughter-in-law, whom even
the envious and the fordid could ac-
rufe of no defect but the want of
that from which arife all violent
contentions and bafe paffions, the
root of all evil.

to pleafe him with the most unaffect-
ed fincerity, and confequently fuc-
ceeded. And as Mr. Afhton had
loft his wife fome years before, fhe
undertook the management of the
houfe, and by her economy and
good fenfe, added not a little to the

In the mean time, the other brother, John, purfued his narrow path to gain as before; he now, every year, added a confiderable fum to his heap. Sometimes, indeed, his eye glanced on the happiness of his brother, and, "he faw and," for a moment," pined." But when he reflected that his brother had nothing that he could exclufively call his own, and how much he himself poffeffed, he congratulated himself on having wifely made the better choice. His brother had now two children, and must at least wait the death of his father before he ceafed to fubfift on his bounty: his own generofity had indeed been fo great as to furnish him with fome trifling fums for which he was to pay him intereft, and return the principal with a large premium, if ever they fhould divide the inheritance.

It happened a year or two after, that the remainder of the farm which Mr. Afhton occupied, confifting of much the larger part, was to be difpofed of, and he found it might be purchafed at, to him, a very advantageous price; but the whole of the fum neceffary, he was unable Mr. Afhton, therefore, was foon to raife. John, ever watchful for reconciled to this, as the world calls his intereft, thought he perceived it, imprudent match; he perceived the ptibility of more than common the want of fortune was amply com- gain. gain. By borrowing a part-for as penfated by the many truly amiable his greedy and tenacious character qualities his fon's wife poffefied; and was well known, his credit was exthe, convinced of the liberality of his cellent he contrived to advance the difpofition, and the excellent quali- whole fum requifite, which he took ties of his heart, feit for him not care to have fecured to him on his merely the refpect due to the father father's property, with all the frictof her husband, but that warmer nefs of the law. In a fhort time, by efleem which amiable hearts natu- fume lucky fpeculations, he was rally feel for the good and virtuous.enabled to repay all the money he

had