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Politeness is a charming propensity, and I would with the fine ladies to indulge it, if it were only by way of contraft between themselves and the fine gentlemen they confort with. I do not think it is altogether becoming for a lady to plant herfelf in the centre of a circle with her back to the fire, and expect every body to be warmed by the contemplation of her figure or the reflection of her countenance; at the fame time I am free to confess it an attitude, by which the man of high breeding is confpicuously diftinguifhed, and is charming to behold, when fet off with the proper accompaniments of leather breeches, tight boots and a jockey waistcoat. I will not deny however but I have seen this practifed by ladies, who have acquitted themselves with great fpirit on the occafion; but then it cannot be done without certain male accoutrements, and prefuppofes a flouched hat, half-boots, fhort waistcoat and riding dress, not to omit broad metal buttons with great letters engraved upon them, or the fignature of fome hunt, with the indifpenfable appendage of two long dangling watch-chains, which ferve to mark the double value people of fashion put upon their time, and alfo fhew the encouragement they beftow upon the arts: With thefe implements the work may be done even by a female artift, but it is an art I wish no young lady to ftudy, and I hope the prefent profeffors will take no more pupils, whilst the academies of Humphries and Mendoza are kept open for accomplishments, which I think upon the whole are altogether as becoming. Politeness, as I conceive, confifts in putting people at their ease in your company, and being at your eafe in their's; modern practice I am afraid is apt to mifplace

place this process, for I obferve every body in fashionable life polite enough to ftudy their own ease, but I do not see much attention paid to that part of the rule, which ought to be firft obferved: It is well calculated for thofe, who are adepts in it, but if ever fuch an out-of-the-way thing as a modest perfon comes within its reach, the awkward novice is fure to be diftreffed, and whilft every body about him seems repofing on a bed of down, he alone is picketted upon a feat of thorns: Till this fhall be reformed by the ladies, who profefs to understand politenefs, I fhall turn back to my red-book of forty years ago, to fee what relicts of the old court are yet amongst us, and take the mothers for my models in preference to their daughters.

N° CXXV.

"WHAT good do you expect to do by your Obfervers?" faid a certain perfon to me t'other day: As I knew the man to be a notorious damper, I parried his queftion, as I have often parried other plump queftions, by anfwering nothing, without appearing to be mortified or offended: To fay the truth I do not well know what anfwer I could have given, had I been difpofed to attempt it: I fhall fpeak very ingenuously upon the fubject to my candid readers, of whofe indulgence I have had too many proofs to hesitate at committing to them all that is in my heart relative to our paft or future intercourse and connection.

When

When I first devoted myself to this work, I took it up at a time of leisure and a time of life, when I conceived myself in a capacity for the undertaking; I flattered myself I had talents and materials fufficient to furnish a collection of miscellaneous effays, which through a variety of amusing matter fhould convey instruction to fome, entertainment to moft, and difguft to none of my readers. To effect these purposes I ftudied in the first place to fimplify and familiarize my ftile by all means fhort of inelegance, taking care to avoid all pedantry and affectation, and never fuffering myself to be led aftray by the vanity of florid periods and laboured declamation: At the fame time I refolved not to give my morals an auftere complexion, nor convey reproof in a magifterial tone, for I did not hold it neceffary to be angry in order to perfuade the world that I was in earneft: As I am not the age's Cenfor either by office or profeffion, nor am poffeffed of any fuch fuperiorities over other men as might justify me in affuming a task to which nobody has invited me, I was fenfible I had no claim upon the public for their attention but what I could earn by zeal and diligence, nor any title to their candour and complacency but upon the evidence of thofe qualities on my own part. As I have never made particular injuries a caufe for general complaints, I am by no means out of humour with the world, and it has been my conftant aim throughout the progress of these papers to recommend and inftil a principle of univerfal benevolence; I have to the best of my power endeavoured to fupport the Christian character by occafional remarks upon the evidences and benefits of Revealed Religion; and as the fale and circulation of these

volumes

volumes have exceeded my moft fanguine hopes, I am encouraged to believe that my endeavours are accepted, and if fo, I trust there is no arrogance in prefuming fome good may have refulted from them.

I wish I could contribute to render men mild and merciful towards each other, tolerating every peaceable member, who mixes in our community without annoying its eftablished church: I wish I could infpire an ardent attachment to our beloved country, qualified however with the gentleft manners and a beaming charity towards the world at large: I wish I could perfuade contemporaries to live together as friends and fellow travellers, emulating each other without acrimony, and chearing even rivals in the fame purfuit with that liberal fpirit of patriotifm, which takes a generous intereft in the fuccefs of every art and fcience, that embellish or exalt the age and nation we belong to: I wish I could devife fome means to ridicule the proud man out of his folly, the voluptuary out of his falfe pleasures; if I could find one confpicuous example, only one, amongst the great and wealthy of an estate administered to my entire content, I fhould hold it up with exultation; but when I review their order from the wretch who hoards to the madman who fquanders, I fee no one to merit other praife than of a preference upon comparison; as for the domeftic bully, who is a brute within his own doors and a fycophant without, the malevolent defamer of mankind and the hardened reviler of religion, they are characters fo incorrigible and held in fuch univerfal deteftation, that there is little chance of making any impreffion upon their nature, and no need for provoking any greater contempt,

than

than the world is already difpofed to entertain for them: I am happy in believing that the time does not abound in fuch characters, for my obfervations in life have not been such as should difpofe me to deal in melancholy defcriptions and defponding lamentations over the enormities of the age; too many indeed may be found, who are languid in the practice of religion, and not a few, who are flippant in their conversation upon it; but let these fenfeless triflers call to mind, if they can, one fingle inftance of a man, however eminent for ingenuity, who either by what he has written, or by what he has faid, has been able to raise a wellfounded ridicule at the expence of true religion; enthufiafm, fuperftition and hypocrify may give occafion for raillery, but against pure religion the wit of the blafphemer carries no edge; the weapon, when ftruck upon that fhield, fhivers in the affaffin's hand, the point flies back upon his breaft and plunges to his heart.

I have not been inattentive to the interefts of the fair fex, and have done my best to laugh them out of their fictitious characters: On the plain ground of truth and nature they are the ornaments of creation, but in the maze of affectation all their charms are loft. Where vice corrupts one, vanity betrays an hundred; out of the many difgraceful inftances of nuptial infidelity upon record few have been the wretches, whom a natural depravity has made defperate, but many and various are the miferies, which have been produced by vanity, by refentment, by fashionable diffipation, by the corruption of bad example, and most of all by the fault and neglect of the husband.

They

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