who were fet on each fide of two long tables, I could not observe that their eyes difcovered the leaft fymptoms of jollity, that their faces were mere blanks, and they seemed most earnestly looking about, as if they wanted fomething they could not defcribe, like curiofity in diftrefs, and appeared more like mourners at Mirth's funeral, than companions fit for fun and merriment. I told this to my conductor, who whispered me to have a little patience, that the ftars did not appear foon that night, but I should see them shine, or at least twinkle, by and by; that the company I faw there did not meet to make one another merry, but to be made merry by others. That these Comus Court meetings were of the fame defign as Sadlers, where people might fit and fmoke, and drink and hear finging, and fee all the posturemafters and tumblers, and only pay fo much for liquor, and have all these comical fancies into the bargain. I enquired who those stars were, that we should fee by and by. He gave me their history, as follows. "There are a fet of people about this town, who, from attending to every thing but what they should do, have made themselves mafters of fome particular tones, or oddities, that are by thofe, who know no better, admired as fine qualifications. These people are invited, from club to club, by the keepers of the publichoufes, to play off their fools tricks to all the guests the landlord can jumble together, one plays with a rowling pin up on a falt box, another can grunt like a hog, a third makes his teeth chatter like a monkey, and thus they each have fomething to make the million laugh, and put common fenfe out of counte tenance. But here, here, they come-take notice of their figures as they come in; that fellow was originally a journeyman shoemaker, and had the name of the finging cobbler; then he turned ftroling player, then publican, and is now, I believe, a publican again.-He lately published a volume of fongs, feveral very obfcene ones, and at the top had the effrontery to put his name, as if they were his fongs. The next is the grunting genius, and broomstickfiddler; when he fings, I beg, as I know you can write fhort-hand, you will write down, in your pocket-book with your pencil, the words of each verfe as he pronounces them. The next is a very fine German flute player, a good honeft fellow, means no harm, friendly as far as he can, but has an odd whim: he fancies himself to have been a great traveller, and imagines madam Pompadour and he have been tete a tete together, and that the grand monarch took a great liking to him, and made him great offers, provided he would embrace the catholic religion. That fresh-coloured fellow that fol lows him, is an unaccountable being; he has wrote fome tolerable drole songs, but spoils them by his attemping to fing them; he has belonged to both theatres, and never could make himself of any confequence in either; he has too much fenfe for a fool, and too little to be prudent. He might be either better or worse than he is, if he would take any pains to bring it about. But George is either unable or unwilling to think as he fhould do, but lets things come or go, just as it may happen; too careless to confider of any moment but the prefent, and, grafhopper like, merry one half the year, the other half miferable." I obferved to my companion, that none of these ftars paid as they came in. He told me, the landlord always franked them, for the tricks they did to divert the customers. Now, filence, filence, was bawled out by every one almost in the room, and every body stood up upon the prefident's rifing, who was a very wealthy tradefinan formerly, but had ruined himself by attending upon thefe, and fuch meetings as thefe, merely to get the name of a clever fellow. After most deliberately hitting three flrokes upon the table with his ham mer, he began, told the company that that he had a toast or two to propofe, and that then Mr. Grunter fhould either give them the organ, the broomftick, a French horn tune, or a song firft; but that if he might take the liberty of fpeaking before a set of such gentlemen of merit as he faw there, he prefumed, that if Mr. Grunter opened with a fong, it would be most agreeable. This fpeechifying was applauded most vehemently, and a fong, a fong, a song, from my Lord, a fong from my Lord, called out for. The prefident once more took upon him to inform the company, that a gen W HEN Phœbe the tops of the hills do adorn, Oh! fee now again, how his ears and his head, Scotus. A Political Dialogue between Earl Scotus and Lord English. A LAS! if Wilkes, quoth Of so extravagant a creature, If he immoral be, and lewd, S. 'Tis true, the fellow's ardent zeal, Who, while his furious zeal uncheck'd is, Where presently I made a fhift In principle as well as practice, Moft diffolutely is pursuing Is nothing to the point in hand; To turn my enemies a-drift; E. And was not this, my lord, suf ficient, To think, that at your lordship's motion, Will, questionless, be fill'd with grum- But what of that? these murmuring elves, With all their noise, can't help them- But after all they've wrote and spoke, In weekly piece began to rave, S. In this, my lord, you are mistaken, And prov'd me I mean call'd me May ever M-n-r of S-e, knave; Expos'd my schemes in every part, E. But furely had your cause been You might, my lord, a friend have found, That could in writing have excell'd him, For certainly you'd gain the day, S. You may, my lord, fpare this re- For I'm above being in fubjection E. Indeed, from this I should imagine Who'd show his power to be of weight, And may each one that contradicts him E. folus. Proud lord, farewell, you've faid enough To show that you are scandal proof; A power which would to bondage drive us, And of our chiefeft good deprive us! To write in the defence of freedom, EPIGRAM. J. D. Wrote at Dublin on a late Addrefs, wherein the Peace was filed honour-' able and advantageous.. SA AYS Teague to Paddy," in a tone outrageous, The d-1 burn their h-fs- advantageous. When, full of energy divine, And measures wit by line and rule, Yet while they spatter mutual dirt, The prefatory matter past A candle ftuck in flaring state Paddy, more cool, They know in En. (For, virgin yet of amputation, ̈ gland, brother, We frith Speak one thing, and mean another.' No force had check'd ́its inclination.) "Shews as the counterfeit of gloom, I "You "You shine but as a beggar's link, "To burn away, and die in stink, "No merit waits unsteady light, "You must burn true as well as bright", Poets like candles all are puffers, And critics are the candle fnuffers. XXXXXX From the St. JAMES'S MAGAZINE. An Account of a curious oriental Manu fcript, lately prejented by Mr. de Voltaire, to the French king's library; and fuppofed to be one of the most antient, in the world. T HE celebrated M. de Voltaire, in treating of the religion of the Indian Bramins (in the fupplement to his works lately published) informs us of his being poffeffed of a tranflation of one of the most ancient manuscripts in the world. "This, fays he, is not the Wedam, which is fo much talk'd of in India, and hath never been communicated to the literati of Europe. It is the Ezourwedam, an antient commentary on the Wedam, composed by the great Chumontou. The Wedam itself is a facred book, which the Bramins pretend to have been dictated by God, for the inftruction of mankind. The commentary was digefted and written by a very learned Bramin, who was oc-. cafionally of great fervice to our India company, and who translated it from the facred language into the French tongue. "In this commentary, Chumontou, its author, combats idolatry, and quotes, the exprefs words of the Wedam. "God is that fupreme being, who hath created all things, animate and inanimate; he hath formed four different ages; every thing perishes at the end of each age; all is fubmerged, and the paffage from one age to another is by a deluge,&c." "When God existed alone, and no other being existed with him, be formed the defign of creating the world at first he created time, afterwards water and earth; and out of the mixture of the five elements, viz. earth, water, fire, light and air, he conftitu ted different bodies, and gave them the earth for their fupport. He made the globe, which we inhabit, in an oval form, like an egg. In the midst of the earth he placed the highest of all mountains, called Merou (that is Immaus.) Adimo was the name of the first man that came out of the hands of God. Procriti was the name of his wife. A dimo begot Brama, who was the first legislator, of nations, and the father of the Bramins. How many curious things are here contained in a few words! We are firft informed of this great truth, that God is the creator of the world. We next discover the origin of the ancient fable of the four ages, of gold, filver, brass and iron. All the principles of the ancient theology are evidently contained in the Wedam. We fee there the deluge of Deucalion, which represents no thing more than the vaft pains which have been taken in all ages to drain the marshes, which the negligence of mankind have fo long permitted to lie under water. Indeed all the citations made from the Wedam, in this manu. fcript, are astonishing. Among the reft, are the following admirable fentences. "God never created vice, he cannot be the author of it. God, who is all wisdom and goodness, could be the author of nothing but virtue." But one of the moft fingular paffages in the Wedam is the following, "The first man, when he came out of the hands of God, faid this to his Maker. As there will neceffarily be different occupations for mankind on earth, and, as all will not be equally formed for each, how are they to be distinguished and adapted? To this the creator replied, those who are born with the greatest understanding, and with a greater inclination to virtue than others, will become Bramins. Those who have the greater fhare of Rofogoun, that is to fay of ambition, will be warriors. Those who share most of the Tomogun, or avarice, will be merchants; and those whole |