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they will not read. We have feen with terror a winged phalanx of famifhed locufts each fingly contemptible, but from multitude become hideous, cover, like clouds, the face of day, and threaten the whole world with ruin. We have seen them fettling on the fertile plains of India and Egypt, deftroying in an inftant the labours and the hopes of nations; fparing neither the fruit of the earth nor the verdure of the fields, and changing into a frightful defert landscapes of once luxuriant beauty. We have feen myriads of ants iffuing together from the Southern defert, like a torrent whofe fource was inexhauftible, fucceeding each other without end, and renewing their deftroyed forces with unwearied perfeverance, bringing defolation wherever they came, banishing men and animals, and, when deftitute of all fubfiftence, in heaps infecting the wildernefs which they had made! Like these have been the migrations of men. When as yet favage, and alinoft refembling their brute partners in the forest, fubject like them only to the inftincts of Nature, and directed by hunger alone in the choice of an abode, how have we feen whole armies ftarting wild at once from their forefts and their dens; Goths, Huns, Vandals, Saracens, Turks, Tartars, myriads of men, animals in human form, without country, without name, without laws, out-powering by numbers all oppofition, ravaging cities, overturning empires, and, after having deftroyed whole nations, and spread extenfive defolation, how have we feen them fink oppreffed by fome new enemy, more barbarous and even more unknown than they!

Adieu.

LETTER

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From Lien Chi Altangi, to Fum Hoam, firft Prefident of the Ceremonial Academy at Pekin, in China.

As the inftruction of the fair fex in this country is entirely committed to the care of foreigners, as their language-mafters, mufic-mafters, hair-frizzers, and governefles, are all from abroad, I had fome in tentions of opening a female academy myself, and made no doubt, as I was quite a foreigner, of meeting a favourable reception.

In this I intended to inftruct the ladies in all the conjugal myfteries; wives fhould be taught the art of managing hufbands, and maids the fkill of properly chufing them; I would teach a wife how far The might venture to be fick without giving disguft; fhe fhould be acquainted with the great benefits of the cholic in the ftomach, and all the thorough-bred infolence of fashion; maids fhould learn the fecret of nicely diftinguishing every competitor; they fhould be able to know the difference between a pedant and a scholar, a citizen and a prig, a squire and his horse, a beau and his monkey; but chiefly they should be taught the art of managing their fmiles, from the contemptuous fimper to the long laborious laugh.

But I have difcontinued the project; for what would fignify teaching ladies the manner of governing or chufing hufbands, when marriage is at present fo much out of fashion, that a lady is very well off, who can get any hufband at all. Celibacy now prevails in every rank of life, the ftreets are crouded with old bachelors, and the houfes with ladies who have refufed

refused good offers, and are never likely to receive any for the future.

The only advice, therefore, I could give the fair fex, as things stand at prefent, is to get hufbands as faft as they can. There is certainly nothing in the whole creation, not even Babylon in ruins, more truly deplorable than a lady in the virgin bloom of fixty-three, nor a battered unmarried beau, who fquibs about from place to place, fhewing his pigtail wig and his ears. The one appears to my imagination in the form of a double night-cap, or a roll of pomatum, the other in the shape of an electuary, or a box of pills.

I would once more therefore advife the ladies to get husbands. I would defire them not to difcard an old lover without very fufficient reafons, nor treat the new with ill-nature till they know him falfe; let not prudes allege the falfenefs of the fex, coquets the pleafures of long courtship, or parents the neceffary preliminaries of penny for penny. I have reasons that would filence even a cafuift in this particular. In the first place, therefore, I divide the fubject into fifteen heads, and then fic argumentorbut not to give you and myfelf the fpleen, be contented at prefent with an Indian tale.

In a winding of the river Amidar, juft before it falls into the Cafpian fea, there lies an ifland unfrequented by the inhabitants of the Continent. In this feclufion, bleft with all that wild uncultivated Nature could bestow, lived a princefs and her two daughters. She had been wrecked upon the coast while her children as yet were infants, who of confequence, though grown up, were entirely unacquainted with man. Yet, unexperienced as the young ladies were in the oppofite fex, both early difcovered fymptoms, the one of prudery, the other of being a coquet. The eldeft was ever learning

maxims of wisdom and discretion from her mamma, while the youngest employed all her hours in gazing at her own face in a neighbouring fountain.

Their ufual amusement in this folitude was fishing: their mother had taught them all the fecrets of the art; the fhewed them which were the most likely places to throw out the line, what baits were moft proper for the various feafons, and the best manner to draw up the finny prey, when they had hooked it. In this manner they spent their time, eafy and innocent, till one day, the Princefs being indifpofed, defired them to go and catch her a fturgeon or a fhark for fupper, which the fancied might fit eafy on her ftomach. The daughters obeyed, and clapping on a gold fifh, the ufual bait on thofe occafions, went and fat upon one of the rocks, letting the gilded hook glide down with the ftream.

On the oppofite fhore, farther down, at the mouth of the river, lived a diver for pearls; a youth, who, by long habit in his trade, was almoft grown amphibious; fo that he could remain whole hours at the bottom of the water, without ever fetching breath. He happened to be at that very inftant diving when the ladies were fishing with the gilded hook. Seeing therefore the bait, which to him had the appearance of real gold, he was refolved to feize the prize, but both his hands being already filled with pearl oyfters, he found himfelf obliged to fnap at it with his mouth the confequence is eafily imagined; the hook, before unperceived, was inftantly fastened in his jaw, nor could he, with all his efforts, or his floundering, get free.

"Sifter," cries the youngest Princefs, "I have "certainly caught a monftrous fish; I never per"ceived any thing ftruggle fo at the end of my line "before; come, and help me to draw it in." They

both

both now therefore affifted in fishing up the diver on fhore; but nothing could equal their furprize upon feeing him. "Blefs my eyes," cries the prude, "what have we got here; this is a very odd

fifh to be fure; I never faw any thing in my life "look fo queer; what eyes, what terrible claws, "what a monftrous fnout; I have read of this mon❝fter fomewhere before, it certainly must be a Tanlang that eats women; let us throw it back into "the fea where we found it.'

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The diver in the mean time ftood upon the beach, at the end of the line, with the hook in his mouth, ufing every art that he thought could beft excite pity, and particularly looking extremely tender, which is ufual in fuch circumftances. The coquet therefore, in fome measure influenced by the innocence of his looks, ventured to contradict her companion. Upon my word, fifter," fays fhe, "I fee nothing in the animal fo very terrible as you "are pleafed to apprehend; I think it may ferve "well enough for a change. Always fharks, and fturgeons, and lobfters, and crawfish make me

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quite fick. I fancy a flice of this, nicely gril"laded, and dreffed up with fhrimp fauce, would "be very pretty eating. I fancy mamma would "like a bit with pickles above all things in the "world; and if it should not fit easy on her fto"mach, it will be time enough to difcontinue it "when found difagreeable, you know." "Hor"rid," cries the prude, "would the girl be poi"foned; I tell you it is a Tanlang; I have read of "it in twenty places. It is every where defcribed as the most pernicious animal that ever infefted "the ocean. I am certain it is the moft infidious, 66 ravenous creature in the world; and is certain "deftruction if taken internally." The youngeft

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