351

Present efficient force of the House Of the 332 lay Peers, 51 have become ennobled as courtiers; 13 as younger branches of nobility; 23 as statesmen ; 13 by naval services; 24 by military; 7 by diplomatic; 30 by legal; 32 by marriage; and 139 chiefly on account of their wealth.

There are 54 bachelors, 41 widowers, and 237 married men of the 278 married and widowers, 60 are without chil dren; the remaining 218 have, among them, 1068.

The incomes of 14 of the Peers are supposed to exceed 50,000l. per annum; and 54 can trace their ancestry to the Conquest.

The most recent Peerage is that of Lord Colchester, the late Speaker of the Commons, created in 1817; and the most ancient, that of the Marquess of Lansdowne. whose ancestors, the Barons of Kerry, were first ennobled in

1181.

The youngest Peer is the Earl of Lindsay, whose age is but 5 years; and the oldest the Marquess of Drogheda, who is 90.

have so just a knowledge of other states and countries, tell me if there can be any thing more ridiculous than the idiot prejudices of our home-bred gentlemen; which shew themselves whenever their own dear island comes in any res pect to be the topic of conversation. What wondrous conceits of their own prowess, wisdom, nay, of their manners and politeness! With what disdain is a foreigner mentioned by them, and with what apparent signs of aversion is his very person treated! They scarcely give you leave to suppose that any vir tuous quality can thrive out of their own air, or that good sense can be expressed in any foreign language. Nay, their foolish prepossession extends to their very soil and climate. Such warm patriots are they, such furious lovers of their country, that they will have it to be the theatre of all convenience, delight, and beauty."

In answer to which Locke replies— "Prejudice, my Lord, is an equivocal term, and may as well mean right opinions, taken upon trust, and deeply rooted in the mind, as false and absurd opinions so derived grown into it. The former of these will do no hurt; on the contrary, the very best part of education is employed in the culture of them. But admit they are of the latter sort, still they may be only the excesses of right principles and notions, which will soon be moderated by reflection and experience,

As many of your readers may not possess Dr. Hurd's works, I have given this specimen of the manner in which the dialogue is supported. The great aim of the arguments which are used by Locke against-foreign travel, -applica

only to its being pursued at too early an age, and continued too long to the loss of much valuable time which might be better spent in study at home. Travelling certainly gives an opening to a commerce of morals as well as of commodities; the result of which, if wholly free, will ever be beneficial to mankind at large, and not necessarily attended with loss to any party. If our travellers acquire a taste for foreign arts, they import the means of employing artists at home; they export a taste for neatness and comforts, which is acquired by foreigners, who consequently seek the machinery and the produce which is necessary for such comforts from mer. chants in England. Our travellers either export more religion and morals than they find in France and Italy, or they go abroad with so small a stock of either that they have nothing to lose. If they go well stocked, they may diffuse good, and may benefit their country by exhibiting a good example to their neigh. bours. Vice only tempts the vicious; and Paris, Vienna, Rome, and Naples, present no temptations not to be found in an equal or greater degree in London. As for religion or politics, the traveller must be supposed to be an idiot, who, on comparison of the sober religion of the English Church with the pitiable puerilities and abilities of Popery, can be seduced by traditions barely fitted for a modern English nursery, and ceremonies suited to days of mere barbarism; or who, comparing our system of equal representation with the military government of most other states, can prefer submission to the commands of a mere soldier to the equal operation of laws devised for common advantage by the wisest and best citizens of the community.

LETTER FROM THE BISHOP OF B TO HIS SON, ON ENTERING COLLEGE.— 1807.

MY DEAR CHARLES,

You are now entered on a new scene of life, on a new scene of duties. You are amongst a community of young men, some of whom are expecting to be ornaments to the nation. You, I trust, will not prove any disgrace to it. You are treated as a man by being put into this situation: and I hope you will not abuse the confidence I have placed in you. You have now attained the

For

age of nineteen, and are old enough to have some care of yourself. your general behaviour I proceed to give you some rules which will be useful to you, if you will follow them. I shall commence with Religion; that great fountain of our bliss-that spring from whence our happiness arises. I trust you are convinced of the duty of morning and evening prayer, and will never omit this short sacrifice to our Almighty Father. We are told in the bible, that the sinners pray in the open streets, choosing no private place for the exercise. These are hypocrites. Let your prayers be addressed to the Throne of Grace in your own chamber, and on your bended knees-that being the most abject posture we can make use of, to humble ourselves before God.

And do not let your

thoughts be employed on other things; while you heedlessly run over the form of words; but let your whole attention be engaged in adoration and contem plation of the Supreme Being. I hope a short time in the day is put by to peruse the Holy Scriptures. From them you will derive much profit and pleasure. Chapel cannot be omitted; but your thoughts must attend the clergyman. Drunkenness is a beastly crime, a horrid sin, to which many are addicted: never indulge in this disgrace to civilized society: it puts men on the footing of beasts; it degrades them; it ruins their health; and it ruins their morals.-Cursing and swearing are also dreadful wickednesses, and their consequences are terrible: "The Lord will not hold him guiltless who taketh his name in vain:" and of what use, or of what advantage, is cursing and swearing? None at all. I have now warned you from some of the most common sins, which I hope, my beloved son, you will keep free from; though it will require some steadiness to do so, when almost all around you are involved in them but the idea that your pleasing both your Heavenly and Earthly Father will be a comfort to you, a never-failing source of pleasure to you; and when, for their sakes, you have refused to join some riotous scheme, or some drunken frolic, you consider this, it will make you full amends for the party you have given up; nay, it will make you more than amends. I wish to say something about Study. You went to Oxford to study, and to be improved,

:

so that, if Gon should spare your life, you may in time improve others. The which your college residence money costs, you will not throw away. I hope, but endeavour to make yourself clever. But do not study too much: do not go into the extreme: keep the medium. There is another subject I shall touch on. There is a good old maxim-“ Endeavour to please, and you will." "Tis every man's wish to be liked. Follow this rule, and you will succeed in your wish. It is the duty of every man to contribute his share to the amusement of the Society into which he mingles. I hope you will be mindful of this rule, and do your best to make yourself liked; but do not be discouraged when you find you have enemies, for every person who has friends has enemies. Conceit and vanity you are not par ticularly addicted to: as to dress remember to be always neat and clean, but do not think about it too much. You are to be brought up a clergyman, and, when you take orders, you will be obliged to confine yourself to one particular colour: so do not set your heart upon your clothes, for if you do, your vanity will be deeply wounded when you put on black. My dear Charles, young enthusiasts in religion are apt to think they must attend to nothing else. Beware of this fault. Do not make religion gloomy: paths are the paths of pleasantness." Amuse yourself, but do not indulge in guilty ainusements. By going into the contrary extreme you injure the cause yon adinire, and make people think religion is a dull and disagreeable thing. Do you think the bigotry and enthu siasm of Mary Queen of England gained more converts to her side than the gentleness of Cardinal Pole? On the contrary, she disgusted instead of per suading, and, luckily for all good men, her cruelty paved the way for the Glorious Reformation. I consider myself as your friend, and I hope you do too : but never neglect the respect due to your parents: my beloved son, you never have. Continue to be the comfort and pride of them, as you have hitherto been. Write when you please; and when you have something to say, open your heart to your father. Conceal nothing. I do not ask this from curiosity, but from the ardent desire to be useful to you. Do not even conceal your faults: every body has them; and without your friends know, how can

Her

As you express a wish to hear from me again on the same subject on which 1 last addressed you, I willingly take up my pen to do so. I trust I need not say how rejoiced I shall be if any reformation should be made in your heart by my letters. You well know that duelling is expressly forbid both by the laws of GoD and by those of man. The sixth commandment says,

Thou shalt do no murder." I am not conversaut in law matters, nor do I know what statute it is that forbids duelling, but I know there is one to that purport; and thus you have broken both the laws of God and of man. I am almost sure that, had you reflected on this at that unhappy hour, the idea of revenge would have fled-your hand, lifted up to fire against your adversary, would have dropped lifeless by your side, or been stretched out, not to extend your opponent a breathless corpse, but to implore bis pardon for the challenge given, to grant forgiveness for his offence, and to give the testimony of men that you were re conciled. But, even before this had taken place, I trust you would have fallen on your knees to beg Gon A1MIGHTY'S pardon for the crime you were going to commit. But, alas! no such ideas occupied your mind at that moment. Hurried on by the madness of your passion, you left no time for reflection: if you had, I hope what has happened would have been avoided. I see, in yesterday's paper, a paragraph from your seconds, stating that every thing was "fair and honorable." No doubt, in worldly eyes, it was so. But will GoD consider your conduct fair and honorable ?" I fear not. He will not see it in the light most men do. He will not think it right that one of his creatures should take aim at another, with the horrible intention to kill and to wound. He will not think it right that two of his creatures should bate one another so much, that their hatred can only be satiated by blood-by murder. And it is not their adversary alone they plunge into sudden torment,

pain, and despair, from whom they cut off at one blow, as unexpected as terrible, all hopes of happiness in this world, and, perhaps, in the next too. No: this will not satisfy their hate: their revenge will not be full. The parents, the wife, the children, the relations, are included in the widely extended mischief. And all the atonement for this sorrow, ruin, and disgrace is, that the conqueror is very sorry. is, perhaps, punished (which does not restore the happiness of the other family), or, perhaps, lies abroad. Oh, my dear brother, what a precipice have you escaped! Remember, there's no repentance in the grave." Thank your Almighty God for the mercy you have experienced, and resolve to amend your life. I sincerely hope that this may be a new turn in your life, and that this Duel may be the happy means of bringing my brother back to the salvation he had forgotten. Pray to God, my dear

William, night and morning, pray without ceasing, for grace to strengthen you in any resolution you make to be religious. You will, indeed, require the armour of Faith. Since you have been confined to your room, you have probably had time to reflect a little on the sinfulness of your life, and to desire to amend it. By reading the bible you will be much encouraged in the boly work. Almost without your knowing it, the bible interests you so, that you feel an unwillingness to put it down when you have once taken it up. I heard to day a good account of your arm: I hope it will soon be well. I trust the interest I have shown for your welfare is not displeasing to you; if it is, let me again entreat you to believe that it proceeds from the love I bear to you; and 1 remain your ever-affertionate friend and brother, G——— B*****,

GAY'S CHAIR.- Poems never before printed, written by John Goy, Author of the "Beggars' Opera," &c. &c. with a Sketch of his Life, &c. &c. To which are added Two New Tales by the Editor. Edited by Henry Lee, Author of Poetic Impressions.

COMFORTABLE loll in the

4s.

truth, these poems of Gay are the characteristic companions of an easy chair; scribbled in a fit of laziness; and thrown by, probably, without the slightest intention that they should ever be arrayed in print. Chance, however, has discovered them, and they have been sent into the world accompanied with a slight life,

can be no unpleasant recreation-though a portion of his natural gaiety and sprightliness should be sacrificed to the shrine of ease.-The slightest productions of genius have always some peculiar feature that evidences the hand they came from; for though a star of the sixth magnitude possesses not an equal share of brilliancy with one of the first, it is nevertheless an emanation of divine power and beauty. To say the

Europ. Mag. Vol. LXXVII, July 1820.

they were written. It is a venerable piece of furniture, and as far as fashion goes-a solid mass of antiquatedness, remarkable for its nice construction, for its encouragement of indolent habits, and for its having been the principal cradle of Gay's fanciful