young man,' adds the fame author, is afraid to deny any body going to a tavern to dinner; or, after being gorged there, to repeat the fame with another company at fupper, or to drink exceffively, it defied, or to go to any other place, to commit any other extravagancy propofed. The fear of being thought covetous, to have no money, or to be under the dominion or fear of his parents and friends, hinders him from the free exercife of his undertanding, and affirming boldly the true reafon, which is, his real diflike of what is defired. If you could cure this flavih facility, it would fave abundance at their firft entrance into the world.' There is, however, an extreme which fome people run into, and which it is but far to mention; which is, an affected fingularity, and a petulant habit of object ng to all common modes and forms. This, although probably it is not likely to be general, is not the lefs difgufting when we meet with it. A man of this difpofition is the most difagreeable companion, and the leaft ufeful friend. Compliance in things not immoral, or in things indifferent, is one of the duties we owe to fociety, from which if we receive benefits, we mut naturally be expected to contribute fomething. True politenefs confifts in making thofe we are in company with, happy, as far as depends upon ourselves. This may be done without our conceding any principle of ferious importance, or countenancing any practice of acknowledged pernicioufnefs. Men, on the contrary, who aim at fingularity in little things, ad fuperior wildom in trifles, generally be tray a mind nowife formed to produce great and manly actions. With the exception of this affected fingularity, it will be found a very important duty never to take the practices of others for granted, nor to comply where confcience or reflection ras pointed out the neceflity of objecting. When manners change they utually change from one extreme to another; a fure proof of the thoughtleffaets to which inodern manners owe their nie. To find out the mean between thefe two extremes will not be difficult, and to adhere to it will not be difre(peciful. Extravagance in drefs or manners, although adopted by the majority, cannot laft long; familiarity renders it difgufting; but decency and temperance are permanent, and can never be laughed into contempt. Manners, fimply as fuch, can feldom become the objects of fericus confideration. The colour of a ribbon, or the fhape of a coat, are things of little confequence; but when the cuftoms of the world trench upon morals, they acquire importance enough to engage our mot ferious thoughts. And we thall profit little by the vigour or capacity of our minds, and hall have ftill lefs to boat our fpirit and independence, if, in matters of that kind, we are content to fubmit our understandings to the caprice of the ignorant, the giddy, and the infenfible. They who have no other excufe for their actions than that others do the fame, will never want an excufe ta palliate any folly, however ridiculous, or any crime, however base. CHARACTERISTIC ANECDOTES. HE late celebrated martial THE Laudohn would have entered, when young, into the fervice of the great Frederic, king of Pruffia; but that monarch, with all his penetration, formed a very erroneous judgment of the young officer (as he him CAIUS. felf found in the fequel) and pronounced that he would never do; in confequence of which Laudohn entered into the fervice of the empress queen Maria-Therefa, and became one of the moft formidable opponents of his Prufian majesty.—Marshal Tu senne renne was much more accurate in his tears and lamentation: Pfammenitus opinion of our illuftrious John duke o ly, with a downc ft eye, remained of Marlborough, whofe future greatnefs he predicted, when he was ferving in the French army as enign Churchill, and known by the unmilitary name of the handfome Englithman.'-In the fine arts, moreover, we have feen no less accurate predictions of future eminence. As the fcholars of Rubens were jefting and playing with each other, in the abfence of their master, one of them was accidentally thrown against a piece, on which Rubens had just been working; and a confiderable part of it was ent rely disfigured. Another of the pupils fet himself immediately to repair it, and completed the deliga before his master returned. Rubens, on reviewing his work, obferved a change, and a difference that furprised and embarraffed him. At laft, fufpecting that fome one had been busy, he demanded an explanation; adding, that the execution was in fo masterly a manner, that he would pardon the impertinence on account of its merit. Encouraged by this declaration, the young artist confeffed, and explained the whole, pleading, that his officioufnefs was merely to fcreen a comrade from his mafter's anger. Rubens anfwered,If any one of my difciples fhall excel me, it will be yourself."-1 his pupil was the great Vandyck. WHEN grief fubfides, it then, and no fooner, finds a tongue. We complain, becaufe complaining is an effort to disburden the mind of its diftrefs. This obfervation is finely illustrated by a story which Herodotus records. Cambyfes, when he conquered Egypt, made Pfammenitus the king prifoner; and, for the trial of his conftancy, he ordered his daughter to be dreffed in the habit of a flave, and to be employed in bringing water from the river: his fon alfo was led to execution with a halter about his neck. The Egyptians vented their forrow in filent. Afterward, meeting one of his companions, a man advanced in years, who, being plundered of all, was begging alms, he wept bitterly, calling him by hs naine. Cambyfes, ftruck with wonder, demanded an antwer to the following queftion: Pfammeni us, thy matter Cambyfes is defirous to know why, after thou hadit feen thy daughter fo ignominioully treated, and thy fon led to execution, without exclaiming or weeping, thou fhould it be fo highly concerned for a poor man no way related to thee?'-Pfammenitus returned the following anfwer: Son of Cyrus, the calamities of my family are too great to leave me the power of weeping; but the misfortunes of a companion, reduced in his old age to want of bread, is a fit fubject for lamentation.' THE following ftriking anecdote of prodigality reduced to poverty and want, yet keeping up its character in the very hour of defpair, is thus related by Mrs. Piozzi, in the first volume of her British Synonymy: Two gentlemen of Italy were walking leifurely up the Haymarket, fome time in the year 1749, lamenting the fate of the famous Cuzzona, an ac trefs who fome time before had been in high vogue, but was then, as they heard, in a very pitiable fituation. Let us go and visit her, faid one of them; the lives but over the way. The other confented; and calling at the door, they were fhewn up ftairs, but found the faded beauty dull and fpiritless, unable or unwilling to converle on any fubject. How's this, cried one of her confolers, are you ill? or is it but low fpirits chains your tongue lo ?-Neither, answered the; 'tis hunger, I fuppofe; I ate nothing yesterday, and now 'tis pat fix o'clock, and not one penny have I in the world to buy me any food.-Come with us inftantly to a tavern ; we fo, from hearing one fide of the question only, and not candidly and patiently enquiring into the evidence which the friends of Christianity adduce in its favour. Yet in other fubjects, of the deepest and most abftule nature, they may make the greatet proficiency. This was the cafe of the celebrated Dr. Halley, to whom fir Ifaac Newton, on fome occafion that called for it, made the following pointed anfwer: Dr. Halley, I am always glad to hear you, when you fpeak about aftronomy, or other parts of mathematics, becaufe that is a fubjeft avhich you have ftudied, and well underland; but you should not talk of Christianity, for you have not ftudied it: I have, and know you know no thing of the matter.' we will treat you with the beft roaft fowls and port wine that London can produce.-But I will have neither my dinner, nor my place of eating it, prefcribed to me, replied Cuzzona, in a harper tone; elfe I need never have wanted. Forgive me, cries the friend; do your own way; but ear, in the name of God, and rellore fainting nature. -She thanked him then, and calling to her a friendly wretch who inhabited the fame theatre of mifery, gave him the guinea with which the visitor accompanied his last words; and run with this money, faid the, to fuch a wine merchant, naming him he's the only perfon that keeps good tokay by him; 'tis a guinea a bottle, mind you, to the boy-and bid the gentleman you buy it of give you a loaf into the bargain-he won't refufe. In half an hour, the lad returned with the tokay. But where, DURING the times of the religious cries Cuzzona, is the lonf I spoke wars in France, René of Champagne, for?-The merchant would give me lord of Pechereul, invited to h:s no loaf, replies her meffenger; he cattle, under the mask of hofpitality, drove me from the door, and afked all thofe whom he fufpected to have me if I took him for a baker.- Block- a propenfity to the new opinions, and head, exclaimed fhe, why I must have cauled them to be drowned in a fifbbread to my wine, you know, and I pond which he had at the gate of the have not a penny to purchase any. caftle. This he called, making his Go beg me a loaf directly.-The fel- guests drink out of his great cup. low returns once more, with a loaf in Who would imagine that Charles the his hand, and a halfpenny, telling ninth had the curiofity to fee a calle them the gentleman threw him three fo famous for thefe atrocious cruelties? halfpence, and laughed at his impu- Thither came that Charles the ninth : dence. She gave her Mercury the he faw this pond in which fuch numhalfpenny, broke the bread into bers of his faithful subjects had pewash hand bafin that flood rear, rihed. How many,' faid he, laughpoured the tokay over it, and de-ing, to the vile René, have you made voured the whole with eagerness. drink out of your great cup?'-I This was, indeed, a heroine in have not troubled my memory with fufion. Some active well-wishers pro- thofe wretches,' anfwered the other. cured her a benefit after this: the Here let it be recollected, that during gained about 350l. tis faid, and laid the maffacre of St. Bartholomew at cut two hundred of the money in- Paris, this inhuman Charles the ninth ftantly in a bell cap!' was at one of the windows of the Louvre, whence he amufed himfelf with hooting at the poor fugitives, as they were endeavouring to efcape by fwimming across the Seine. pro Or perfons who avow to be freethinkers or infidels, it has been fre. quently oblerved, that they become 5 a |