"her face being pale, and marked with the small

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Lady Betty Tempest on the contrary had beauty, with fortune and family. But fond of conquest, she passed from triumph to triumph; "she had read plays and romances, and there had "learned that a plain man of common sense was "no better than a fool: such she refused, and sighed only for the gay, giddy, inconstant, and thoughtless; after she had thus rejected hun"dreds who liked her, and sighed for hundreds "who despised her, she found herself insensibly de"serted at present she is company only for her "aunts and cousins, and sometimes makes one in "a country-dance, with only one of the chairs for "a partner, casts off round a joint-stool, and sets "to a corner cupboard. In a word, she is treated "with civil contempt from every quarter, and "placed, like a piece of old-fashioned lumber, "merely to fill up a corner.

"But Sophronia, the sagacious Sophronia, how shall I mention her? She was taught to love "Greek, and hate the men from her very infancy: "she has rejected fine gentlemen because they were "not pedants, and pedants because they were not

fine gentlemen; her exquisite sensibility has "taught her to discover every fault in every lover, "and her inflexible justice has prevented her par"doning them: thus she rejected several offers, till the wrinkles of age had overtaken her; and "now, without one good feature in her face, she talks incessantly of the beauties of the mind."

Farewell.

LETTER

LETTER XXVIII.

FROM THE SAME.

WERE we to estimate the learning of the English by the number of books that are every day published among them, perhaps no country, not even China itself, could equal them in this particular. I have reckoned not less than twenty-three new books published in one day; which upon computation, makes eight thousand three hundred and ninety-five in one year. Most of these are not confined to one single science, but embrace the whole circle. History, politics, poetry, mathematics, metaphysics, and the philosophy of Nature are all comprised in a manual not larger than that in which our children are taught the letters. If then we suppose the learned of England to read but an eighth part of the works which daily come from the press (and surely none can pretend to learning upon less easy terms) at this rate every scholar will read a thousand books in one year. From such a calculation you may conjecture what an amazing fund of literature a man must be possessed of, who thus reads three new books every day, not one of which but contains all the good things that ever were said or written.

And yet I know not how it happens, but the English are not in reality so learned as would seem from this calculation. We meet but few who know all arts and sciences to perfection; whether it is that the generality are incapable of such extensive knowledge, or that the authors of those books are not adequate instructors. In China the emperor himself takes cognizance of all the doctors in the kingdom

*prake, I can be positive in that particular: * federand cholar; but as he se Hully apr de humse 1f before the fire, sucks S jp, talk little, drinks much, and is reckoned Very goal company. I'm told he writes indexes to toris tium, he maken уs on the origin of evil, jdukonphical enquiries upon any subject, and draws by an answer to any book upon twenty-four hours You may distinguish him from the rest

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of the company by his long grey wig, and the blue handkerchief round his neck.

The next to him in merit and esteem is Tim Syllabub, a droll creature; he sometimes shines as a star of the first magnitude among the choice spirits of the age: he is reckoned equally excellent at a rebus, a riddle, a bawdy song, and an hymn for the tabernacle. You will know him by his shabby finery, his powdered wig, dirty shirt, and broken silk stockings.

After him succeeds Mr. Tibs, a very useful hand; he writes receipts for the bite of a mad dog, and throws off an eastern tale to perfection: he understands the business of an author as well as any man, for no bookseller alive can cheat him. You may distinguish him by the peculiar clumsiness of his figure, and the coarseness of his coat: however, though it be coarse, (as he frequently tells the company) he has paid for it.

Lawyer Squint is the politician of the society; he makes speeches for parliament, writes addresses to his fellow-subjects, and letters to noble commanders; he gives the history of every new play, and finds seasonable thoughts upon every occasion. My companion was proceeding in his description, when the host came running-in with terror on his countenacne to tell us, that the door was beset with bailiffs. If that be the case then, says my companion, we had as good be going; for I am positive we shall not see one of the company this night. Wherefore disappointed we were both obliged to return home, he to enjoy the oddities which compose his character alone, and I to write as usual to my friend the occurrences of the day. Adieu.

LETTER

BY my last advices from Mosco, I find the caravan has not yet departed from China: I still continue to write, expecting that you may receive a large number of my letters at once. In them you will find rather a minute detail of English peculiarities, than a general picture of their manners or disposition. Happy it were for mankind if all travelfers would thus, instead of characterising a people in general terms, lead us into a detail of those minute circumstances which first influenced their opinion: the genius of a country should be investigated with a kind of experimental enquiry; by this means we should have more precise and just notions of foreign nations, and detect travellers themselves when they happened to form wrong conclusions.

My friend and I repeated our visit to the club of authors; where, upon our entrance, we found the members all assembled and engaged in a loud debate.

The poet, in shabby finery, holding a manuscript in his hand, was earnestly endeavouring to persuade the company to hear him read the first book of an heroic poem, which he had composed the day before. But against this all the members very warmly objected. They knew no reason why any member of the club should be indulged with a particular hearing, when many of them had published whole volumes which had never been looked-in. They insisted that the law should be observed, where reading in company was expressly noticed. It was in vain that the poet pleaded the peculiar merit

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