OR, ACTIVE RETIREMENT. BY THE AUTHOR OF AN ANTIDOTE TO THE MISERIES OF HUMAN LIFE; TALENTS IMPROVED, &c. TWO VOLUMES IN ONE. VOL. I. "Familiar histories may perhaps be made of greater use than the BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY WEST & RICHARDSON, NO. 75, CORN- HILL; NEW-YORK. E. G. House, Painter, Court Street. 1813. COTTAGE SKETCHES. CHAP. I. THE truth of the poet's assertion, Honour and shame from no condition rise," is generally acknow ledged. In the introduction, then, of a respectable. hatter and hosier of the city of London to the ac quaintance of the Reader, we fear no repulsive feelings from his superiors in life, who may honour these pages with a perusal: especially when we define the full meaning of the word respectable, as applied to the person in question, Mr. Wilson. It did not signify merely his possession of a large and well furnished shop, but chiefly referred to the honest and liberal manner in which his trade was conducted. He scorned the mean artifices of too many of his neighbours, who hasting to become rich, fell into labyrinths of snares and disgrace. Success, it is true, is not always the result of diligence and circumspection. Providence sometimes sees fit to disappoint the wisest and fairest wishes; yet it never designs to bless those tradesmen who are deficient in either of these two qualifications. Mr. Wilson was remarkable for both; and the consequences were, that he enjoyed a fair reputation and a flourishing |