2 2. ESSAYS, No. 119. "given to reading godly books, whenever he could "steal a moment from the lap-stone and the last. "As I was the only child, he took great delight in "me, and used frequently to say, that he hoped in time to see me archbishop of Canterbury, and no "such great matters neither; for as to my paren66 tage, I was as good as many a one that had worn a mitre; and he would make me as good a scholard ❝too, or it should go hard with him. 66 66 My destination to the church was thus unalter"ably fixed before I was five years old; and in con"sequence of it, I was put to a grammar-school in "the city, whence, after a thousand perils of the "cane, and perils of the rod, I went to the univer"sity on an exhibition of fifteen pounds a year, "which my father obtained from one of the city "companies, with no small difficulty. So scanty "an allowance would by no means defray the 66 enormous expence of university education; and my father, whose pride would not let me appear "meaner than my companions, very readily agreed "to pay me forty pounds out of the yearly profits "of his trade, and to debar himself many innocent "gratifications, in order to accomplish in me the "grand object of all his ambition. 66 "In consequence of my father's desire, that I "should complete the full term of academical edu❝cation, I did not go into orders till I was of seven 66 years standing, and had taken the degree of Mas"ter of Arts. I was therefore incapable of receiv❝ing any pecuniary emoluments from my studies, "till I was six-and-twenty. Then, however, I was "resolved to make a bold push, and to free my fa "ther from the burthen of supporting me with half The old man was "the profits of his labours. eager that I should attempt to get some kind of "preferment; not, as he would generously say, "that he wanted to withdraw his assistance, but "that he thought it was high time to begin to "look up at the bishoprick. “I hastened to London as the most ample field “for the display of my abilities, and the acquisition "of money and fame. Soon after my arrival, I “heard of a vacant lectureship; and though I was 86 an entire stranger to every one of the parishion66 ers, I resolved to trust my cause to honest endea66 vours, and a sedulous canvas. I shall not trouble you with an enumeration of the several indignities "I suffered (for I had not lost my university pride), "from being under the necessity to address, with "the most abject supplication, chandlers, barbers, "and green grocers. Suffice it to acquaint you, "that myself, and another young clergyman of re gular education, appeared, on the day of election, "to have but seventeen votes between us; and that a methodistical enthusiast, who had once been a carpenter, bore away the prize with a majority of 66 hundred and twenty. 66 a 66 Though disappointed, I was not dejected; and "I applied to a certain rector for his curacy, the "duty of which consisted in prayers twice a day, a sermon on Sundays, and innumerable burials, christenings, and weddings. I thought myself happy, however, in being offered forty guineas a year, without surplice, or surplice fees; but how 66 86 66 "was I chagrined, on being told by the rector, on "the very first Sunday I went to officiate, that "I need not trouble myself, as another gentle"man had undertaken the whole duty at forty ❝pounds! “I waited a considerable time in expectation that "something else would fall; but heard of nothing <in which there was the least probability of success, "unsupported, as I was, by friends, and unknown' "to fame. At last, I was informed by an acquaint"ance, that a certain clergyman in the city was "about to resign his lectureship, and that he would "probably resign in my favour, if I were early "enough in my application. I made all the haste "I possibly could to reach this gentleman before "his resignation; and found very little difficulty in persuading him to intercede in my favour. In short, his endeavours, joined to my own, secured "the lectureship, and I was unanimously chosen. “The electors, however, expressed a desire that I "would quit my place of residence, which was at a distance, and live in the parish. To this request "I consented; and immediately fixed myself in a "decent family, where I lodged and boarded for "fifty pounds a year; and as I was not so ambi tious as my father, I congratulated myself on the "happy event, and sat down contented and satis"fied. But alas! how was I confounded, when "my collectors brought the annual contribution, to "find it amount to no more than the exact sum of "twenty-one pounds two shillings and three pence "three farthings! I was under an immediate necessi "ty of discharging my lodging, resigning my prefer "ment, and quietly decamping with the loss of no "inconsiderable sum out of my pittance. 66 "Thus, Sir," said he, "I have now for these twenty years been tossed about in the world with out any fixed residence, and without any certain 26 prospect of my bread, I must not, however, com"plain, as I am well assured there are many in the " metropolis in situations very similar to mine. Yet "sometimes, I own, I cannot help being foolish enough to imagine, that I might, perhaps, have ↔ been happier, and I am sure I could have been "richer, had I been been brought up to my paternal awl and last. My poor father died about two years ago, and I have reason to think, his disap pointment and sorrow for my ill-success hastened "his dissolution. 66 "I now support myself tolerably well in the ca. "pacity of, what the world ludicrously calls, a "Hackney Parson. And though I do not get quite 66 so much as a journeyman shoemaker, I make "shift to keep soul and body together; and I thank "God for that. If, Sir, you could recommend mẻ "to read prayers occasionally, or bury a corpse, "here is my address, up four pair of stairs." He was proceeding, but he had too powerfully excited my sympathy; and after consoling him to the best of my power, 1 took my leave of him, not with. out severe reflections on those parents, who, to in dulge a childish vanity, bring up their offspring to misery and want. NO. CXX. ON DECENCY AS THE ONLY MOTIVE OF OUR APPARENT VIRTUES, AND PARTICULARLY age, it WHATEVER may be the vices of this cannot be said to be particularly distinguished by hypocrisy. Selfishness reigns triumphant; and men, for the most part, pursue whatever they think conducive to their own pleasure or interest, without regarding appearances, or the opinions of others, except, indeed, when their interest or their pleasure are immediately concerned. Even they who fill offices of confidence and honour in the community, are, in this age, fond of divesting themselves of that external dignity with which the wisdom of our ancestors judged it right to surround them. They descend with a peculiar kind of pride from their natural or political eminence, and will not even display the appearance of those virtues and abilities which are absolutely necessary in their offices and stations. They ostentatiously exhibit a carelessness and profligacy in their conversation and behaviour, which, if they really possess, ought to’displace them from their rank, and strip them of their blushing honours. In those who fill public offices, or who are fixed in the more important professions, a regard to external decency is itself a virtue. But, in truth, if the present disordered state of things would permit, none ought to fill those offices and professions, whose regard to decency does not arise from a regard to vir tue. There are, indeed, many who are esteemed good |
