A of the wife and good, and beft pre- young woman, while the cultivates that innocence and modefty, which, as I cannot but too often repeat, are the principal charm of beauty, will recollect, that there are other virtues, which, from felf-inspection, as well as from an attentive deference. to the inftructions of her fuperiors, and a select and fuitable courfe of reading, fhe, will not fail to acquire. The acquifition of thefe will conduce not only to her own happiness, but to the happiness of all with whom the is connected. Need I mention that piety toward the Supreme Being, which does not confist merely in certain periodical acts of devotion (though thefe are highly proper and becoming) but in a conftant folicitude to learn. and to do the Divine Will; to obey the laws of Virtue, not merely becaufe they are conformable to our ideas of what is beautiful and becoming, but because they are dictated by that Divine Will, obedience to which will ultimately meet with a celestial reward. Acquiefcence too in all the difpenfations of Heaven, mutual benevolence, an unceafing folicitude for all our connexions, as well as a more general fentiment of philanthrophy; with a ftrict attention to the various duties of our station-- thefe, though they will not form a perfect character (which, in this fleeting ftate of probation, is unattainable) will produce, however, that degree of excellence, Which will command the admiration Though Youth and Beauty different tasks That youth muft languish, and that beauty perfuade, fade.. Destructive years no graces leave behind, mind. On TRAVELLERS: With a curious Anecdote. [From A Dictionary of Literary Curiosities, Vol. I. ] CARTER. A FRENCH Writer remarks, that bles, of which it is compofed, affords < • Now Addison, in one of his papers him the means of expreffing his ideas in the Spectator, returns thank to with as little found as posible. Providence for being an Englishman; I,' continues our writer, ' also thank as the English language is more ana- the Almighty for having been born a logous to the taciturnity of his cha- Frenchman, because I am fond of ramracter; and the number of monofylla- bling about; and it is very agreeable and convenient to me, to find my language fpoken among all people throughout Europe; and this being the cafe, we never think of fludying any other language, as with our own we may travel any where.' The Parisians, in particular, are fo perfuaded this is the fact, that they imagine there is fcarcely a perfon on the face of the globe, but who underftands French. other obfervations of the fame kind, to which the Dutchman, not understanding them, made no reply. When he arrived at Amfterdam, he faw a moft beautiful woman on the quays, walking arm in arm with a gentleman; he afked a person that paffed him, who that charming lady was but the man, not understanding French, anfwered: Ik kan niet verfaan. What, fir," replied our traveller, is that Mr. Kaniferftane's wife, whofe houfe is near the canal? Indeed, this gentleman's lot is enviable; to poffefs fuch a noble houfe, and fo lovely a companion!' It is true, that in all the Chriftian countries, the nobility, literary perfons, and moft of thofe above the lower order, fudy the French language in particular, and in general fpeak it; but it is alfo true, that in every country in the world, the people fpeak their own language, or peculiar dialect; and in the provinces of France, particularly, it is difficult to make them understand when they are fpoken to, even in French. The confidence with which the French travel about, ftaan, Oh!' faid he, fpeaking their language indifcriminately to all nations, and the certainty with which they think they must be anderflood, has often been productive of laughable mistakes. The following is an example; and what renders it more really amufing, is, that we are affured it is a fact: The next day, when he was walking out, he faw fome trumpeters playing at a gentleman's door, who had got the largeft prize in the Dutch lottery. Our Parifian, wishing to be informed of the gentleman's name, was ftill anfwered; Ik kan niet verthis is too 6 A young Parifian, travelling to Amfterdam, was attracted by the remarkable beauty of a houfe fituate near the canal. He addreffed a Dutchman in French, who ftood near him in the veffel, with, Pray, fir, may I afk, to whom that houfe belongs?' The Hollander answered him in his own language, Ik kan niet verflaan,—I do not understand you.' The Parifian not doubting but that he was underftood, took the Dutchman's anfwer for the name of the proprietor. Oh! great an acceflion of good fortune! Mr. Kaniferftane proprietor of fuch a fine houfe, hufband to fuch a beautiful woman, and to get the largest prize in the lottery! It must be allowed that there are fome very fortunate men in the world.’ 6 About a week after this, our traveller walking about, faw a very fuperb funeral. He afked, whofe it was? Ik kan niet verstaan,' replied the perfon of whom he afked the question. Oh my God,' exclaimed he, 'poor Mr. Kaniferftane, who had such a noble houfe, fuch an angelic wife, and the largeft prize in the lottery. He muft have quitted this world with great regret; but I thought his happiness was too complete to be of long duration.' He then went home, reflecting all the way on the inftability of human affairs. From among fome fingularly happy thoughts of Balthazar Gratian, author of the Courtier, we felect the following: he defcribes his hero as travelling in fearch of a true friend. Among the most curious things that attracted his attention, thefe are diftinguished. A poor judge, with his wife, neither of whom had any fingers on their hands; a great lord, without any debts; a prince, who was never of fended at the truth being told him to his face; a poet, who became rich by the produce of his works; a monarch, who died without any fufpicion of having been poisoned; a humble Spani ard; a filent Frenchman; a lively Englishman; a German, who disliked wine; a learned man, recompenfed; a chafte widow; a madman difcontented; a fincere female; and, what was more extraordinary than all these fingularities, he meets a true friend. ON POPULAR MADNESS. It requires a nice eye to diftinguish between fome people's and other peo ple's madness.' Bishop PEARCE. Sir, To the Editor of the Univerfal Magazine. I HAVE often thought, that converfation would be far more inftructive, as well as entertaining, than we frequently find it, if we made a point of understanding the words we made ufe of. But it appears to me that a word; which when launched into the world, has a precife and fixed meaning, becomes in its progrefs perfectly unintelligible by mifapplication, and either acquires a meaning diametrically oppofite to what it originally bore, or is fo disfigured and perverted by ignorant employers, as fcarce to have any meaning left. Of words thus mifapplied and mifunderstood, I know none that has fuffered more than the words mad and madness, which, although in every body's mouth, and applied to ten thousand cafes, convey fo many different meanings, that when we want a definition, we cannot find two people who agree in terms, nor are we more fuccefsful in repairing to our dictionaries, for they give us only parallel words, fuch as mad-bereft of the fenfes, &c. The freedom with which we apply thefe words to the cafe of our friends and acquaintances ought, I fhould humbly prefume, to have made us a little delicate in the use of them, and very well fatisfied as to their real meaning, before we took liberties with others, which they might retaliate upon ourselves. My neighbour Aggreftis faid to me the other day; I have just been with Mr. Thomas Confol; I am forry to tell you, Mr. Meanwell, that he is qu'te mad. He had a very good trade a few years ago, but he fold all off, put his money into the funds, where he now shifts and changes it about with every variety of public news, and fpends half his day in waiting at the Stock Exchange to catch an eighth per cent. and the other half at his houfe at Hackney, entertaining himself and his friends with the great ftrokes he has done, and the vast fums he has received or is likely to receive: I am sorry to fay it, but the man is as mad as a March hare.' Scarcely had Agreftis left me, when Mr. Confol came up, and after a hearty shake of the hand, and a most fignificant and fly wink of the eyes, told me he had made a rare day's work of it. But,' added he, I fee you have been talking with Agreftis. Poor fellow; he is crazy; I remember him a very fubftantial man upon 'Change; but fince he took it in his noddle that he could be a farmer, he is become downright mad. He buys land without the leaft judgment, and knows, indeed, fo little of agriculture, that I queftion if he can tell corn from rye, or explain to you what a first and fecond crop means. His fervants eat him out of house and home; and do juft as they please, while all the advantage he reaps is to be able to tell his acquaintances that he is determined to raise his hay, and to plant B more potatoes. Why, I don't fuppofe that he eats a cabbage out of his garden, that does not coft him five hillings. Poor fellow! I pity him; he will certainly be ruined. Why does he not lay out his money in the funds, where he can always know where to find it-government fecurity, Mr. Meanwell; none of your blights and hurricanes; no grumbling about too much, or too little rain none of your worms eating out the profits, and the lord knows what- but the man's out of his fenfes, mad, Mr. Meanwell, mad, and there's an end on't.' How juftly therefore does the learn ed prelate, from whom I have borrowed a motto, fay that it requires a nice eye to diftinguish between fome people's and other people's madness !' Ned Freeman often tells me how happy he is fince he commenced houfekeeping upon a large fcale. It is fo comfortable, my dear friend, to have a party of friends about one, in one's own house, instead of being obliged to fubmit to all the impofitions and impertinencies of tavern-keepers and waiters. Now, there's our friend Dick Soaker. Dick's a warm man, worth money and yet how he muddles it away in taverns and public houses, keeping all forts of company, and fome, of course, not the very beft, and all kind of hours; drinking any fort of poifon that is fold under the name of wine. Mercy on us! why it is the life of a beat; but the fact is, there is no reasoning with Dickhe is mad, ftark mad, by heavens, and I should not wonder if he died in St. Luke's.' Dick's account is fomewhat different It is very true, as you fay, Mr. Meanwell; I might keep houfe, and I might fee company at home; but you know my means are rather narrow-I am in years-a widower, and I have no children. I go, it is true, every evening to our club, but then we never exceed three or four fhillings -and as to housekeeping, why, when I kept house, I was always robbed by my fervants. Now, here I have no plague of that kind; but now we talk of houfekeeping, there's Ned Freeman, a fellow that I once had a good opinion of; he would be a housekeeper, forfooth; why, if he had married and been regular, one would not mind it fo much; but he must keep a girl, forfooth; and what is his company compofed of? A fet of fellows without a fixpence in their pockets, who eat and drink at his expence, and will be the first to turn tail upon him, when he becomes poor, which I think cannot be at any great distance. For my part, I think he is mad, and have thought fo a long time. It is a maxim with me, that a man who keeps a town houfe, and a country houfe, a girl, and a ftud of horses, and fuch company as Ned keeps, must be mad, and fo I have told him an hundred times.' The distinction to be made between these two madmen afford another proof that it require a nice eye to distinguifh between fome people's and other people's madness.' In middling life we hear very fevere remarks made upon the manners of the great, who are concluded to be mad, because of their extravagance and gaming. Yet when we liften to the converfation of the great, we hear them exprefs their aftonifhment that little paultry cits will be fo mad as to imitate the follies of their fuperiors, to lofe more money at cards than they are able to pay, to hire expensive villas, and affect to give entertainments on a grand fcale. • Oh! they must be mad to think of fuch things!" In private life, indeed, we meet every day with ftriking inftances of the dif ficulty there is to diftinguish between fome people's madnefs and other people's madness.' Between the madnefs of him who borrows money out the means or intention of repaying it, and of him who lends it upon fecurity of fome abfurd and impracti cable fcheme. Between the daughter who falls in love with her father's footman; and the father who for es his daughter into the arms of an old dotard-Between one candidate wno with-` the is unsuccessful and ruins his fortune in a borough election, and another who fucceeds, and is all but ruined by the fame means. Between the gambler who rifks ten pounds more than he is worth, and him who rifks ten thoufand. Between the habitual drunkard who deftroys his conftitution by cheap, and him who effects the fame purpose by expenfive liquors. Between him, who spends all his time, to the injury of his trade and family, at a fkittle ground, or him who fquanders a noble patrimony, and the accumulations of his ancestors on Ascot-heath, or at Newmarket. Between him who attacks Christianity by a fet of flimfy arguments and forced witticifms, and fays he is convinced; and him who leads an irregular and profligate life, and boafts he is a Chriftian. Between him who fancies his old broken chair is a fuperb coach, and he who imagines that a fuperb coach can conceal deformity of mind, and wickedness of actions. To diftinguish between all these certainly requires a nice eye, and to pass evenly between them, requires a very firm, fteady, and correct step. It will follow, alfo, from what has been advanced, that it requires no fmall portion of felf-knowledge to be able to determine to what clafs of mad CER men our own actions principally tend, and it would be but fair to endeavour after fuch knowledge as we are so very apt to give judgment, without any ceremony, in the cafe of others. It appears that the fame term of reproach mad, is applied to actions of very different natures, and it would therefore be defirable to fix upon fome rules to determine us in our application. Dictionary-writers, as I have hinted give us but little information, and medical authors treat only of a very small portion of madmen; namely, those who are under confinement; but, according to the vulgar expreffion, if all be true that is told,' the majority of madmen are at liberty. I fhall, therefore, conclude with a hint, that if as much care were taken of the latter, as there is generally taken of the former, the diforder, at least in a great many fhapes, would disappear, and men would give their rational natures fair play, nor fhould we have fuch frequent occafion to repeat, with the dramatift: 'Tis a mad world, my mafters! At prefent, we may almoft fay with the chattering lord Polonius; To define true madness, what is't, but to be nothing elfe but mad ? ON A RAINY DAY. I pity unlearned gentlemen in a rainy day.' ERTAINLY, Mr. Editor, it is the duty of every man, as he advances toward the years of difcretion, to study the climate under which he lives, and to accommodate himself to all its viciffitudes, as much as poffible. Every nation has fomething peculiar in its climate, which feems to impart to the inhabitants a certain quality that is not to be found in thofe of other nations, and which ferves to form their diftinguishing characteristic. I am not to be told, indeed, that this doctrine has been carried too far, and that those who impute the valour and virtues of the Romans to the genial I am, fir, &c. R. MEANWELL. Lord FALKLAND. climate of Italy, have tumbled headlong into a difficulty from which they cannot extricate themselves, namely, to account for the degeneracy of the defcendants of those Romans, who live under the fame climate. But neverthelefs, we are convinced from experience both general and individual, that mankind are affected by weather, independent of every other thing which operates upon the body or mind, and that, in this country, particularly, the fpirits of the inhabitants are fenfibly affected by clear and genial funfhine, and by damp and foggy atmospheres, fo as to leave no doubt |