When I meet a man of pleasure, facrificing every laudable improvement of the mind, or of his fortune, to mere corporeal fenfations; Mistaken man, fays I, you are providing pain for yourself, inftead of pleafure: you give too much for your whijile.

If I fee one fond of fine clothes, fine furniture, fine equipages, all above his fortune, for which he contracts debts, and ends his career in prifon; Alas, fays I, he has paid dear, very dear, for his while.

When I fee a beautiful, fweet-tempered girl, married to an ill-natured brate of a husband: What a pity it is, fays I, that fhe has paid fo much for a whistle.

In short, I conceive that great part of the miseries of mankind were brought upon them by the false estimates they had made of the value of things, and by their giving too much for their whistles.

L

A PETITION to thofe who have the fuperinten dency of EDUCATION,

I ADDRESS

ADDRESS myfelf to all the friends of youth, and conjure them to direct their compaffionate regards to my unhappy fate, in order to remove the prejudices of which I am the victim. There are twin fifters of us: and the two eyes of man do not more resemble, nor are capable of being upon better terms with each other, than my fif ter and myself, were it not for the partiality of our parents, who make the moft injurious dif tinctions between us. From my infancy I have

been led to confider my fifter as a being of a more elevated rank. I was fuffered to grow up without the leaft inftruction, while nothing was fpared in her education, She had masters ta teach her writing, drawing, mufic, and other accomplishments; but if by chance I touched a pencil, a pen, or a needle, I was bitterly rebuked; and more than once I have been beaten for being aukward, and wanting a graceful manner. true, my fifter associated me with her upon fome occafions; but she always made a point of taking the lead, calling upon me only from neceffity, or to figure by her fide.

It is

But conceive not, Sirs, that my complaints are inftigated merely by vanity-No; my uneafinefs is occafioned by one object much more serious. It is the practice in our family, that the whole business of providing for its fubfiftence falls upon my fifter and myself. If any indifpofition fhouid attack my fifter-and I mention it in confidence, upon this occafion, that she is fubject to the gout, the rheumatism and cramp, without making mention of other accidents-what would be the fate of our poor family? Muft not the regret of our parents be excessive, at having placed fo great a difference between fifters who are so perfectly equal? Alas! we must perish from distress; for it would not be in my power even to scrawl a fuppliant petition for relief, having been obliged to employ the hand of another in tranfcribing the request which I have how the honour to prefer to you.

Condefcend, Sirs, to make my parents fenfie of the injuftice of an exclufive tendernefs,

and of the neceffity of diftributing their care and affection among all their children equally. I am, with a profound respect, Sirs, your obedient servant,

THE LEFT HAND.

The HANDSOME and DEFORMED LEG.

THERE are two forts of people in the world,

who with equal degrees of health and wealth, and the other comforts of life, becomes the one happy, and the other miferable. This arifes very much from the different views in which they confider things, perfons, and events; and the effect of those different views upon their own minds.

In whatever fituation men can be placed, they may find conveniencies and inconveniencies: in whatever company, they may find perfons and conversation more or less pleasing: at whatever table, they may meet with meats and drinks of better and worfe tafte, difhes better and worfe dreffed in whatever climate, they will find good and bad weather: under whatever government, they may find good and bad laws, and good and bad administration of those laws in whatever poem, or work of genius, they may fee faults and beauties: in almost every face, and every person, they may difcover fine features and defects, good and bad qualities.

Under these circumstances, the two forts of people above-mentioned, fix their attention thofe who are difpofed to be happy, on the conveniences of things, the pleasant parts of conver

fation, the well dressed dishes, the goodness of the wines, the fine weather, &c. and enjoy all with chearfulness. Those who are to be unhappy, think and fpeak only of the contraries: Hence they are continually difcontented themfelves, and, by their remarks, four the pleasures of fociety; offend perfonally many people, and make themselves every where difagreeable. If this turn of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy perfons would be the more to be pitied. But as the difpofition to criticife, and to be difguiled, is perhaps taken up originally by imitation, and is, unawares, grown into a habit, which, though at prefent strong, may nevertheless be tured, when thofe who have it are convinced of its bad effects on their felicity; I hope this little admonition may be of fervice to them, and put them on changing a habit, which, though in the exercife it is chiefly an act of imagination, yet has ferious confequences in life, as it brings on real griefs and misfortunes. For as many are offended by, and nobody loves this fort of people; no one fhews them more than the most common civility and respect, and fcarcely that; and this frequently puts them out of humour, and draws them into disputes and contentions. If they aim at obtaining fome advantage in rank or fortune, nobody wishes them fuccefs, or will ftir a ftep, or speak a word to favour their pretenfions. If they incur public cenfure or difgrace, no one will defend or excufe, and many join to aggravate their mifconduct, and render them completely odious: If thefe people will not change this bad habit, and condefcend to be

pleafed with what is pleafing, without fretting themselves and others about the contraries, it is good for others to avoid an acquaintance with them; which is always difagreeable, and sometimes very inconvenient, efpecially when one finds one's felf entangled in their quarrels.

An old philofophical friend of mine was grown from experience, very cautious in this particular, and carefully avoided any intimacy with fuch people. He had, like other philofophers, a thermometer to fhew him the heat of the weather; and a barometer, to mark when it was likely to prove good or bad; but there being no inftrument invented to discover, at first fight, this unpleafing difpofition in a perfon, he, for that purpose, made ufe of his legs; one of which was remarkably handfome, the other, by fome accident, crooked and deformed. If a ftranger, at the first interview, regarded his ugly leg more than his handsome one, he doubted him. If he fpoke of it, and took no notice of the handfome leg, that was fufficient to determine my philosopher to have no further acquaintance with him. Every body has not this two legged inftrument; but every one, with a little attention, may obferve figns of that carping, fault-finding difpofition, and take the same resolution of avoiding the acquaintance of thofe infected with it. I therefore advife thofe critical, querulous, difcontented, unhappy people, that if they wifh to be reípected and beloved by others, and happy in themfelves, they fhould leave of looking at the ugly leg.