the ways were mire, as Milton expreffeth it in one of his fonnets, a journey into the country was confidered almoft as great an undertaking as a voyage to the Indies. The old family coach was fure to be ftowed, according to Vanbrugh's admirable defcription of it, with all forts of luggage and provisions; and perhaps in the courfe of the journey, a whole village, together with their teams, were called in aid to dig the heavy vehicle out of the clay, and to drag it to the next place of wretched accommodation, which the road afforded. Thus they travelled, like a caravan over the deferts of Arabia, with every difagreeable circumftance of tedioufnefs and inconvenience. But now, the amendments of the roads, with the many other improvements of travelling, have, in a manner, opened a new communication between the feveral parts of our inland. The people venture forth, and find themfelves enabled to traverfe the country with eafe and expedition. Stagecoaches, machines, flys, and poftchaifes, are ready to tranfport paffengers to and fro, between the metropolis and the moft diftant parts of the kingdom. The lover now can almoft literally annihilate time and space, and be with his miftrefs, before the dreams of his arrival. Even a troop of geefe and turkies may be driven from the country to town in a fhorter time, than a nobleman and his family could have taken the journey heretofore; and the gamefter offers to bet, that he can go from London to Edinburgh in 12 hours. In fhort the manners, fashions, amufements, vices, and follies of the metropolis, now make their way to the remoteit corners of the land, as readily and

fpeedily, along the turnpike road, as, of old, Milton's Sin and Death, by means of their marvellous bridge over the Chaos, from the infernal regions to our world.

The effects of this eafy communication, have almoft daily grown more and more vifible. The feveral great cities, and we might add many poor country towns, feem to be univerfally infpired with an ambition of becoming the little Londons of the part of the kingdom wherein they are fituated: the notions of fplendour, luxury, and amufement, that prevail in town, are eagerly adopted; the various changes of the fafhion exactly copied; and the whole manner of life fludioufly imitated. The country ladies are as much devoted to the card-table, as the reft of the fex in London; and being equally tired of making puddings and tarts, or working fcreens and carpets, they too have their routs, and croud as many of their neighbours as they can get together, into their apartments; they too, have their balls and concerts by fubfcription: their theatres, their mall, and fometimes · their rural Ranelagh or Vauxhall. The reading female hires her novels from fome country circulating library, which coufifts of a bout an hundred volumes; and the merchant, or opulent hardwareman, has his villa three or four miles diftant from the great town. where he carries on his bufinefs. The nobleman and country 'fquire. no longer affect an old-fashioned hofpitality, or fuffer the locuft of the country to eat them up, while they keep open house, and difpenfe victuals and horns of beer, like the ancient convents, to all comers; but more fashionably, difplay the cle

gance

gance of their tafte by making genteel entertainments: the fame French cooks are employed, the fame wines are drank, the fame gaming practifed, the fame hours kept, and the fame courfe of life purfued, in the country as in town. The force of this illuftrious example influences the whole country; and every male and female wifes to think and fpeak, to eat and drink, and drefs, and live, after the manner of people of quality in London.

There is no popular fubject of fatire, on which the modern common places of wit and ridicule have been exhaufted with more fuccefs, than on that of a mere cockney af

fent communication between various quarters of our iflands, are fo far from being to be lamented, that it is only to be wifhed and recommended, that they may produce real refinements and improvements of a valuable nature. At the fame time let it be confidered by our country gentlemen and ladies, that no benefit can arise from changing one fet of follies for another; and that the vices of the town never appear fo truly ridiculous, or fo thoroughly contemptible, as when they are aukwardly practifed in the country.

out with much humour and juftice, but after all, it is not unnatural for a tradefman, who is continually pent up in the clofe ftreets and alleys of a populous city, to wifh for fresh air, or to attempt to indulge a leifure hour in fome rural occupation: and he who prevails on himself to give up the enjoyments which nature has thrown into our laps in the country, for a poor imitation of the follies of the town, is infintely more ridiculous. Lycurgus paffed a law in Sparta to prevent the importation of foreign vanities, and not only exprefsly forbad the continuance of ftrangers in the city, for fear of their corrupting the people, but for the fame reafons would not permit his own people to travel. Frequent intercourte will undoubtedly produce Amilarity of manners; but the pre

N

Geneva, 1761.

thofe days there will appear

in France a very extraordinary perfon*, come from the banks of alake. He will fay unto the people, I am poffeffed by the dæmon of enthufiafm; I have received from heaven the gift of inconfiftency; and the multitude fhall run after him, and many fhall believe in him; and he fhall fay unto them, Ye are all villains and rafcals; your women are all prostitutes; and I am come to live amongst you; and he will take advantage of the natural lenity of this country, to abuse the people: And he will add, all the men are virtuous in the country where I was born, and I will not ftay in the country where I was born; and he will maintain, that the fciences and the arts must neceffarily corrupt our morals, and he will treat of all forts of fciences and arts; and he will maintain, that the theatre is a fourca

of

of proftitution and corruption, and he will compofe operas and plays. He will publifh, that there is no virtue but among the favages, tho' he never was among them; he will advife mankind to go ftark naked, and he will wear laced cloaths when given him. He will employ his time in copying French mufic, and he I tell you there is no French mufic He will tell you, that it is impoffible to preferve your morals, if you read romances; and he will compofe a romance, and in this romance shall be seen vice in deeds, and virtue in words, and the actors in it shall be mad with love and with philofophy; and in this romance we shall learn how to feduce a young girl philofophically; and the difciple fhall lofe all fhame and all modefty: and the fhall practife folly, and raife maxims with her master, and the fhall be the firft to give him a kifs on the lips, and fhe fhall invite him to lie with her, and he fhall actually lie with her, and the fhall become pregnant with metaphyficks; and his love letters fhall be philofophical homilies. And he fhall get drunk with an English nobleman, who fhall infult him, and he fhall challenge him to fight; and his mistress, who hath loft the honour of her own fex, fhall decide with regard to that of men; and fhe fhall teach her master, who taught her every thing, that he ought not to fight. And he fhall go to Paris, where he fhall be introduced to fome ladies of pleafure; and he fhall get drunk like a fool, and fhall lie with thefe women of the town; and he shall write an account of this adventures to his miftrefs, and the fhall thank him for it. The man who fhall marry his miftrefs, fhall know that the is loved to diftraction VOL. IV.

by another, and, this good man, notwithstanding fhall be an Atheist, and immediately after the marriage, his wife fhall find herfelf happy, and the fhall write to her lover, that if the were again at liberty, fhe would wed her husband rather than him.

And the philofopher fhall have a mind to kill himself, and fhall compofe a long differtation to prove that a lover ought always to kill himself when he has loft his miltrefs: and her husband shall prove to him, that it is not worth his while; and he fhall not kill himself. Then he fhall fet out to make the tour of the world, in order to allow time for the children of his miftrefs to grow up, and that he may get to Switzerland time enough to be their preceptor, and to teach them virtue, as he had done their mother. And he fhall fee nothing in the tour of the world, and he fhall return to Europe, and when he fhall be ar rived there, they fhall ftill love one another with transport, and they shall squeeze each other's hands, and weep. And this fine lover being in a boat alone with his miftrefs, fhall have a mind to throw her into the water, and himself along with her ; and all this they fhall call philofophy and virtue, and they fhall talk fo much of philofophy and virtue, that nobody fhall know what philofophy and virtue is. And the miftrefs of the philofopher fhall have a few trees, and a rivulet in her garden, and fhe fhall call that her elyfium: and nobody shall be able to comprehend what that elyfium is; and every day he thall feed fparrows in her garden; and the fhall watch her domefticks, both males and females, to prevent their playing the fame foolish prank that the herself had played; and the

the weather is a principal and favourite topic of a mighty good kind of man, you may make him agree, that it is very hot, very cold, very cloudy, a fine fun fhine, or it rains, fnows, hails, or freezes, all in the fame hour. The wind may be high, or not blow at all; it may be eaft, weft, north, or fouth, fouth eaft and by east, or in any point in the compafs, or any point not in the compafs, juft as you pleafe. This, in a ftage-coach, makes him a mighty agreeable companion, as well as a mighty good kind of man. He is fo civil and well-bred, that he would keep you ftanding half an hour uncovered in the rain, rather than step into your chariot before you; and the dinner is in danger of growing cold, if you attempt to place him at the upper end of the table. He would not fuffer a glafs of wine to approach his lips, till he had drank the health of half the company, and would fooner rife hungry from table, than not drink the other half before dinner is over, left he should offend any by his neglect. He never forgets to hob or nob with the lady of the family, and by no means omits to toaft her fire-fide. He is fure to take notice of little mafter and mifs, when they appear after dinner, and is very afliduous to win their little hearts by almonds and raifins, which he never fails to carry about him for that purpose. This is fure of recommending him to mamma's efteem; and he is not only a mighty good kind of man, but he is certain he would make a mighty good husband.

No man is half fo happy in his friendships. Almoft every one he names is a friend of his, and every friend is a mighty good kind of man.

I had the honour of walking lately with one of thefe good creatures, from the Royal-Exchange to Piccadilly; and I believe he pulled off his hat to every third perfon we met, with a " How do you do, my dear fir?" Though I found he hardly knew the names of five of thefe intimate acquaintances. I was highly entertained with the greeting between my companion, and another mighty good kind of man, that we met in the Strand. You would have thought they were brothers, that had not feen one another for many years, by their mutual expreffions of joy at meeting. They both talked together; not with a defign of oppofing each other, but through eagerness to approve what each other faid. I caught them frequently crying "Yes," together, and "Very true." "You are very right, my dear fir;" and, at last, having exhaufted their favourite topic of what news and the weather, they concluded, with each begging to have the vast pleasure of an agreeable evening with the other very foon; but parted without naming either time or place.

I remember at Weftminster, a mighty good kind of boy, though he was generally hated by his fchoolfellows, was the darling of the dame where he boarded, as by his means fhe knew who did all the mifchief in the house. He always finifhed his exercife before he went to play you could never find a falfe concord in his profe, or a falfe quantity in his verfe: and he made huge amends for the want of fenfe and fpirit in his compofitions, by having very few grammatical errors. If you could not call him a fcholar, you must allow he took

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great