handfome, rich, ingenious nobleman, when an impertinent tinker paffing by, forbid the banns; and an hopeful youth who had been newly advanced to great honour and preferment, was forced by a neighbouring cobler to refign all for an old fong. It has been reprefented to me, that those inconfiderable rafcals do nothing but go about diffolving of marriages, and fpoiling of fortunes, impoverishing rich and ruining great people, interrupting beauties in the midst of their conquefts, and generals in the courfe of their victories. A boisterous peripatetic hardly goes through a street without waking half a dozen kings and princes to open their fhops or clean fhoes, frequently transforming fceptres into paring fhovels, and proclamations into bills. I have by me a letter from a young ftatesman, who in five or fix hours came to be Emperor of Europe, after which he made war upon the Great Turk, routed him horse and foot, and was crowned lord of the universe in Conftantinople: the conclufion of all his fucceffes is, that on the twelfth inftant, about feven in the morning, his imperial majesty was depofed by a chimneyfweeper.

On the other hand, I have epiftolary teftimonies of gratitude from many miferable people, who owe to this clamorous tribe frequent deliverances from great misfortunes. A fmall-coal-man, by waking one of these distreffed gentle men, faved him from ten years imprifonment, An honeft watchman bidding a loud good-morrow to another, freed him from the malice of many potent enemies, and brought all their defigns against him to nothing. A certain valetudinarian confeffes he has often been cured of a fore throat by the hoarfeness of a carman, and relieved from a fit of the gout by the found of old fhoes. A noify puppy, that plagued a fober gentleman all night long with his impertinence, was filenced by a cinder-wench with a word fpeaking.

Instead therefore of fuppreffing this

order of mortals, I would propofe it to my readers to make the best advantage of their morning falutations. A fa mous Macedonian prince, for fear of forgetting himself in the midst of his good fortune, had a youth to wait on him every morning, and bid him remember that he was a man. A citizen who is waked by one of these criers, may regard him as a kind of remembrancer, come to admonish him that it is time to return to the circumftances he has overlooked all the night-time, to leave off fancying himself what he is not, and prepare to act fuitably to the condition he is really placed in.

People may dream on as long as they please, but I shall take no notice of any imaginary adventures, that do not happen while the fun is on this fide the horizon. For which reafon I ftifle Fritilla's dream at church laft Sunday, who, while the rest of the audience were enjoying the benefit of an excellent difcourse, was losing her money and jewels to a gentleman at play, until after a ftrange run of ill luck the was reduced to pawn three lovely pretty children for her laft ftake. When the had thrown them away, her companion went off, discovering himself by his ufual tokens, a cloven foot and a strong fmell of brimftone; which last proved a bottle of spirits, which a good old lady applied to her nofe, to put her in a condition of hearing the preacher's third head concerning time.

4

If a man has no mind to pass abruptly from his imagined to his real circumftances, he may employ himself a while in that new kind of observation which my oneirocritical correfpondent has directed him to make of himself. Purfuing the imagination through all it's extravagancies, whether in fleeping or waking, is no improper method of correcting and bringing it to act in fubordinacy to reafon, fo as to be delighted only with fuch objects as will affect it with pleafure, when it is never fo cool and fedate.

Juv. SAT. X. VER. 28.

ANKIND may be divided into

M the merry and the ferious, who,

both of them, make a very good figure in the fpecies, fo long as they keep their refpective humours from degenerating into the neighbouring extreme; there being a natural tendency in the one to a melancholy morofenels, and in the other to a fantastic levity.

The merry part of the world are very amiable, while they diffuse a chearfulnefs through converfation at proper feafons and on proper occafions; but on the contrary, a great grievance to fociety, when they infect every difcourfe with infipid mirth, and turn into ridicule fuch fubjects as are not fuited to it. For though laughter is looked upon by the philofophers as the property of reafon, the excess of it has been always confidered as the mark of folly.

On the other fide, ferioufnefs has it's beauty whilst it is attended with chearfulness and humanity, and does not come in unfeasonably to pall the good humour of those with whom we converfe.

Thefe two fets of men, notwithstanding they each of them fhine in their refpective characters, are apt to bear a natural averfion and antipathy to one another.

What is more ufual, than to hear men of ferious tempers and auftere morals, enlarging upon the vanities and follies of the young and gay part of the fpecies; while they look with a kind of horror upon fuch pomps and diverfions as are innocent in themselves, and only culpable when they draw the mind too much?

I could not but fmile upon reading a paffage in the account which Mr. Baxter gives of his own life, wherein he represents it as a great blessing, that in his

DRYDEN.

youth he very narrowly escaped getting a place at court.

It must indeed be confeffed that levity of temper takes a man off his guard, and opens a país to his foul for any temptation that aflaults it. It favour all the approaches of vice, and weakens all the refiftance of virtue. For which reafon a renowned statesman in Queen Elizabeth's days, after having retired from court and public business, in order to give himself up to the duties of religion, when any of his old friends ufed to visit him, had still this word of advice in his mouth Be ferious.'

An eminent Italian author of this caft of mind, fpeaking of the great advantage of a fericus and compofed temper, withes very gravely, that for the benefit of mankind he had Trophonius's cave in his poffeffion; which,' fays he, would contribute more to the reformation of manners than all the work-houses and Bridewells in Europe."

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We have a very particular defcription of this cave in Paufanias, who tells us that it was made in the form of a huge oven, and had many particular circumftances, which difpofed the perfon who was in it to be more penfive and thoughtful than ordinary; infomuch, that no man was ever obferved to laugh all his life after, who had once made his entry into this cave. It was ufual in thofe times, when any one carried a more than ordinary gloominefs in his features, to tell him that he looked like one just come out of Trophonius's cave.

On the other hand, writers of a more merry complexion have been no lefs fevere on the oppofite party; and have had one advantage above them, that they have attacked them with more turns of wit and humour.

After all, if a man's temper were at

his

that he had a mighty mind to act Alex ander the Great, and fancied that he fhould fucceed very well in it, if he could ftrike two or three laughing fea tures out of his face; he tried the experiment, but contracted fo very folid a look by it, that I am afraid he will be fit for no part hereafter but a Timon of Athens, or a mute in the Funeral.

I then clapt up an empty fantastic citizen, in order to qualify him for an alderman. He was fucceeded by a young rake of the Middle Temple, who was brought to me by his grandmother; but, to her great forrow and furprize, he came out a Quaker. Seeing myself furrounded with a body of Free-thinkers, and fcoffers at religion, who were making themselves merry at the fober looks and thoughtful brows of thofe who had been in the cave, I thrust them all in, one after another, and locked the door upon them. Upon my opening it, they all looked as if they had been frighted out of their wits, and were marching away with ropes in their hands to a wood that was within fight of the place. I found they were not able to bear themfelves in their firft ferious thoughts; but knowing these would quickly bring them to a better frame of mind, I gave them into the custody of their friends until that happy change was wrought in them.

The laft that was brought to me was a young woman, who at the first fight of my fort face fell into an immoderate fit of laughter, and was forced to hold her fides all the while her mother was Speaking to me. Upon this I interrupt

ed the old lady, and taking her daughter by the hand Madam, faid I, be pleafed to retire into my clofet, while your mother tells me your cafe. T then put her into the mouth of the caves when the mother, after having begged pardon for the girl's rudeness, told me, that the often treated her father and the graveft of her relations in the fame manner; that he would fit giggling and laughing with her companions from one end of a tragedy to the other; nay, that he would fometimes burst out in the middle of a fermon, and fet the whole congregation à ftaring at her. The mother was going on, when the young lady came out of the cave to us with a compofed countenance, and a low curtfey. She was a girl of fuch exuberant mirth, that her visit to Trophonius only reduced her to a more than ordinary decency of behaviour, and made a very pretty prude of her. After having performed innumerable cures, I looked about me with great fatisfaction, and faw all my patients walking by themselves in a very penfive and muling posture, fo that the whole place feemed covered with philofophers. I was at length refolved to go into the cave myself, and fee what it was that had produced fach wonderfni effects upon the company; but as I was ftooping at the entrance, the door being fomewhat low, I gave fuch a nod in my chair, that I awaked. After having recovered myself from my first startle, I was very well pleafed at the accident which had befallen me, as not knowing but a litttle ftay in the place might have fpoiled my Spectators.

VIRG. EN, VI. VER, 641.

their notion of heaven, or of a future state of happiness, is this; that every thing we there with for will immediately prefent atfelf to us. We find, fay they, our fouls are of fuch a nature that they require variety, and are not capable of being always delighted with the fame objects. The Supreme Being, therefore, in compliance with this talle of happiness which he has planted in the foul of man, will raife up from time to time, fay they, every gra. tification which it is in the humour to be pleased with. If we wish to be in groves or bowers among running treams or falls of water, we fhall im mediately find ourselves in the midit of fuch a fcene as we defire. If we would be entertained with mufic and the melody of founds, the concert arifes upon our wifh, and the whole region about us is filled with har mony. In fhort, every defire will be followed by fruition, and whatever a man's inclination directs him to will be prefent with him. Nor is it ma terial whether the Supreme Power cre. ates in conformity to our wifes, or whether he only produces such a change in our imagination, as makes us be lieve ourfelves converfant among thole fcenes which delight us. Our hap pinefs will be the fame, whether it proceed from external objects, or from the impreffions of the Deity upon our ⚫ own private fancies. This is the account which I have received from my learned friend. Notwithstanding this fyftem of belief be in general very chi. merical and vifionary, there is fomething fublime in it's manner of confidering the influence of a Divine Being on a human foul. It has allo, like most other opinions of the heathen world upon thele important points, it has, I fay, its foundation in truth, as it fuppofes the fouls of good men after this life to be in a ftate of perfect happiness; that in this ftate there will be no barren hopes, nor fruitlefs wishes, and that we fhall enjoy every thing we can defire. But the particular circumstance which I am most pleased with in this fcheme, and which arifes from a juit reflection upon human nature, is that variety of pleasures which it fuppofes the fouls of good; men will be poffeffed of in another world. This I think highly probable, from the dictates both of realon and revelation. The foul consists of many faculties, as

the understanding, and the will, with all the fenfes both outward and inward; or, to speak more philofophically, the foul can exert herself in many different ways of action. She can understand, will, imagine, fee, and hear, love, and difcourfe, and apply herself to many other the like exercifes of different kinds and natures; but what is more to be confidered, the foul is capable of receiving a molt exquisite pleasure and fatif faction from the exercife of any of thefe it's powers, when they are gratified with their proper objects; the can be entirely happy by the fatisfaction of the memory, the fight, the hearing, or any other mode of perception. Every faculty is as a diftinct taste in the mind, and hath objects accommodated to it's proper relish. Doctor Tillotson · somewhere fays, that he will not prefume to determine in what confits the happiness of the bleffed, because God Almighty is capable of making the foul happy by ten thousand different ways. Besides thofe feveral avenues to pleasure which the foul is endowed with in this life, it is not impoffible, according to the opi nions of many eminent divines, but there may be new faculties in the fouls of good men made perfect, as well as new fenfes in their glorified bodies. This we are fure of, that there will be new objects offered to all thofe faculties which are effential to us, nga

We are likewife to take notice, that every particular faculty is capable of be ing employed on a very great variety of objects. The understanding, for ex ample, may be happy in the contem plation of moral, natural, mathematical, and other kinds of truth. The memory likewife may turn itself to an infinite multitude of objects, especially when the foul fhall have paffed through the fpace of many millions of years, and fhall reflect with pleasure on the days of eternity. Every other faculty may be confidered in the fame extent.