bona, fua habere debent. "Now (fays he) the vulgar being ignorant of this rule in medicine, or this law of nature, impute the fudden tranfition from health to fickness in fuch children, to the evil eye of those who look upon them." Whether thefe two aphorifms be true or false, certain it is they are here mifapplied by Vallis ; firft, because neither Hippocrates, nor Celfus fays that, in this ftate of perfect health, the tranfition to diftemper is fudden; and fecondly, because both are equally applicable to adults and children, and thus are generally understood by physicians. Nor, in fact, do we believe that this fudden failure of health in children is frequent: if it hap pens oftener in them than in adults, it ought to be attributed to the tenderness and little strength of the fibres, which, being incapable of making much refiftance, may, from various caufes, internal as well as external, fuddenly lofe their tone. This, no doubt, is the most probable cause of thofe fudden changes; whereas that of the influence of evil eyes is totally improbable, not only for the reasons we have already given, but also for this we are going to add.

WERE the common notion true, those children would be the most frequently fascinated who are most likely to excite envy; I mean the children of noblemen

noblemen and opulent perfons, who generally appear the most neat, jolly, clean, handsome, and richly clothed: whereas the contrary is evident; for those who moft generally complain of their children being bewitched, are poor low creatures, Indeed the case is very plain. As they take less care of them, and frequently expose them to the weather, to extreme cold, and exceffive heat, as well as many other inconveniences, they must of course be more subject to those sudden accidents. Nevertheless, with refpect to the children of the gentry, other caufes may give rife to this fuperftitious belief. We have heard of a lady, who, in her childhood, never went to church without being taken with fome disorder. The reafon was, that, in dreffing her for the occafion, they tied her garments fo ftrait as to impede the circulation of the blood. This caufe, in a little time, produced the indifpofition we have mentioned; the reafon of which the very well knew, and did not fail to lament but it could never be driven out of the heads of the fervants, that when the appeared in public, with the additional circumstances of beauty and rich apparel, fhe always fuffered by an evil eye.

WE cannot help obferving, that the common precaution taken against an evil eye, by hanging round

round the necks of children a little hand made of jet, or other figure, fignifying derifion and contempt, in order to defend them from the evil influence of envious eyes, is inherited by lawful fucceffion from the fuperftition of the Gentiles.

AMONG the multitude of ridiculous deities which the Romans adored, there was one called FASCINO, upon whom they conferred that name, because they believed him capable of protecting perfons from the power of Fafcination. The image of this divinity, who was exceffively ugly and extremely ridiculous, they not only hung to the necks of their infants, but even fixed to their triumphal chariots; perfuaded that those who ap peared in all the glory of a triumph, were, as objects of the most rancorous envy, under the neceffity of having fome fuch protection. The conformity of the rites fhews, that the cuftom of these days took its origin from the practice of antiquity.

THE argument which the patrons of Fascination ufe in favour of this opinion, by alledging the fteams or noxious effluvia which proceed from Lome bodies, is of no weight nor confequence to the subject: first, because the motion of these effluvia does not depend upon the sense of seeing; for he that is poffeffed of thefe effluvia will not

fail

fail to fend them forth, whether he does or does not look upon any object: fecondly, because the course of them does not depend upon the affection of envy, or of love ; bút folely on the internal or external heat by which they are agitated, and exhaled from the body. It may be faid, perhaps, that there is one particular kind of poisonous ef Aluvia, which flows from the eyes only: but this is a new fyftem of phyfics, invented at pleasure, for no other purpose than to fupport the other fable. But, granting that the pores of the eyes arė the only conduits for these effluvia, as foon as they come forth, they must be dispersed in the circumambient air, like all other effluvia, inftead of going in a straight line to the object of view. The action of looking can never direct them to the object, because, as we have already hinted, that action is immanent, to use the terms of philofophy in other words, it has no effect outwards; but is wholly exerted within the organ of fight.

WITH respect to the other argument, founded on various examples of birds being killed, and mirrors broken, merely by being looked upon by those who poffefs this inherent venom, we shall anfwer them in the words of Vallis, mera nuge, mera fabulæ.

ESSAY

ESSAY X.

I TAKE the liberty to communicate to the public, a few loose thoughts upon a subject, which, though often handled, has not yet, in my opinion, been fully difcuffed: I mean National Concord, or Unanimity, which, in this kingdom, has been generally confidered as a bare poffibility, that exifted nowhere but in fpeculation. Such an union is, perhaps, neither to be expected nor wifhed for, in a country whofe liberty depends rather upon the genius of the people, than upon any precautions which they have taken in a conftitutional way for the guard and preservation of this ineftimable bleffing.

THERE is a very honeft gentleman with whom I have been acquainted thefe thirty years, during which there has not been one fpeech uttered against the Miniftry in parliament, nor a ftruggle at an election for a burgefs to ferve in the House of Commons, nor a pamphlet published in oppofition to any measure of the Administration, nor

even