lead; and that, sometimes, is among sunken rocks, in deep whirlpools, and over thundering cataracts. CCXXIV. WHO SWIM AT ONCE. HUET, bishop of Avranches, gives a remarkable instance of this faculty:- Being, like other boys, accustomed in the hot weather to bathe several times a day,' says he, it happened that I ventured into a 'stream, without first trying its depth, and immediately 'sunk to the bottom; when being roused to the utmost 'exertion by the urgency of the danger, I struggled so "hard with my hands and feet, as to raise myself to the 'surface of the water; and having thus discovered that 'I possessed a faculty with which I was before unacquainted, I swam across a deep river on that very day*, How many thousand men have been drowned in all parts of the world! Nine in ten of these might, doubtless, have been saved, had they possessed the force of character here described; and the remark may be extended to many of the general affairs of life; since many of them often depend on nothing more than the will. CCXXV. WHO ARE EVER GRASPING AT INDEPENDENCE. PAUSANIAS mentions † a picture in one of the cities of Greece, which delineated Tityus as no longer under* Mémoires, vol. i. p. 50. † Lib. x. c. 29. going pain; he being entirely wearied out with the severity of uninterrupted punishment. I remembered this when I read, in one of Rousseau's letters * to the Countess de Boufflers, the following passage :-' As long as 'my feet shall be able to drag me along, I will not 'be led anywhere by task-masters; and when they 'shall bear me no longer, I would prefer dying on 'the spot.' I, too, have been ever cursed with a love of independence. It has been the source of many trials: yet even now, with all the experience I have had, I would rather live on biscuit and cheese, being my own master, than on burgundy and venison, to endure the caprice of another. I would almost prefer living in caverns within the bowels of the earth! 6 My mind to me an empire is!' and I thank God, that it is so. Had it been otherwise, I had-long ago!- slept with my fathers.' Fortunate, perhaps, had it been, had Nature produced for our use a fluid of an agreeable flavour; a food, growing in the fields, of an agreeable taste; clothed us with the fur of the ermine, or the down of the swan; so that all our anxieties should have merely a reference to the increase of enjoyment; none whatever to objects of absolute necessity. How many cares, how many tears, how many crimes, had been spared! * Motiers Travers. Aug. 20, 1762. CCXXVI. WHO ACCOMMODATE THEMSELVES EASILY TO ILL FORTUNE. No one ever accommodated himself more easily to ill fortune and to good fortune than Charles II. He was so courteous, that it seemed, at all times, difficult for him to guard against relapsing into a subject. Indeed, most of his faults, and many of his vices, arose out of this ease and indolence of temper. Hence the Duke of Buckingham declared, that he might do well if he would. Lord Rochester having said of him, that he never uttered a foolish thing or did a wise one; 'it ' is all true,' answered his Majesty to the courtier who reported this sally; but the reason is obvious; my deeds are my ministers'; my speech is my own.' It was a shrewd saying of the Duchess of Burgundy to Madame de Maintenon, and not inapplicable to the reign of this prince, that in England queens governed better than kings, because, under kings, women are accustomed to govern; under queens,- -men. Charles could not only accommodate himself to all persons, but almost to all circumstances; and, perhaps, he was quite as happy in his exile as he was afterwards on his throne. CCXXVII. WHO HAVE HEARTY, YET DECEPTIVE, MANNERS. SUPPOSE We compare the characters of Lord Townsend and Sir Robert Walpole. If we take Chesterfield, who knew them both, for our guide, we cannot be much mistaken. The manners of Lord Townsend were rustic, coarse, and apparently brutal; yet to both his wives he was a kind husband; he was, also, an indulgent father, and a benevolent master. Walpole was, also, a kind husband, an indulgent father, and a good master. But we must not stop there. He had a hearty frankness of manner, nearly allied to impudence, which made men believe that he had let them into his secrets. An impoliteness of manner attested his sincerity. But nothing could be more really deceptive than all this. He let no one into his secrets. But he would make a small secret, impart it in a half whisper, and then smile in his sleeve, at the pride and exultation of heart he had engendered in the listener. Oh, man!-thou shalt verily have thy reward! CCXXVIII. MEN OF GUILE AND SUSPICION. WITH those, who are combinations, as it were, of shrewd but false conclusions, it is almost necessary for almost all others to measure their looks, and place locks upon their hearts. It is, nevertheless, certain, that the surest method of action, even with these, is to preserve the dignity of justice and truth. The excess of distrust is peculiar to weak minds; the least suspicious being best informed. I would say something of guile; but Shakspeare having sketched her figure at full-length, who shall presume afterwards? 'She throws her eyes about the painted round, And whom she finds forlorn, she doth lament. That piteous looks to Phrygian shepherds lent; To hide deceit, and give the harmless show; Tarquin and Lucrece. This is the fiend, which leads men from labyrinth to labyrinth; leaving them, at last, in the midst of an avenue, that leads to disappointment and error, mortification and disgrace. CCXXIX. WHO ARE TRIED BEYOND THEIR STRENGTH. IN judging a person, who commits a small theft to save himself or his children from starvation, we should remember the argument of Imogen, when she ate the food she had found in the cave near Milford Haven. 'Know, if you kill me for my fault, I should Have died, had I not made it.' D Some poor men are tried almost beyond the power of |