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of man. Dr. Johnson said well of cowards, that they were scoundrels, and were afraid of the consequences of truth and plain dealing, and tried to fly from them. Dr. Johnson was a lover of truth, and a man of great personal courage.

A Phaeton and One-horse Chaise.

How many friends every man has, and who are accounted good kind of men, who would shake our hands more cordially should they find us seated in a "well-appointed" phaeton, than when couching snugly in a one-horse chaise! The friend feels some rays of consequence reflected on him from a splendid vehicle; but a one-horse chaise is an opaque body, from which no light can be sent forth. In the same spirit, these dull, good kind of men, as they are called, are very obsequious to the wealthy, and very cool towards the more moderately endowed.

A New Source of Nobility: suggested to the
Agricultural Societies.

To encourage industry in China, it is related by travellers, that every year the Emperor in person bolds the plough, and opens a certain quantity of soil, to set an example to his people of the use of

agriculture. A still greater encouragement is given by the Emperor of China, by conferring a title of the high orders on the best husbandman in the country. Surely he who enriches his native soil by extraordinary skill and diligence is as much, in the eye of reason, entitled to letters of nobility, as he who has defended it gallantly by sea or land, or protected the rights of his fellowcitizens by his knowledge of law, or his skill in legislation; and a "landlord" would then be a title of great esteem and utility.

A Judge properly attired.

Ælian, in his "Various History," b. xiv. c. 34, speaking of the Egyptians, relates, that the supreme judge in their civil courts (who was also their chief priest) wore about his neck, by a golden chain, an ornament of precious stones, called Truth; and that a cause was not opened, tilk the supreme judge had put on this ornament. Did such a custom prevail in our Courts, the counsel would then have a proper object to fix their eyes and attention; and truth would then, in more instances than at present, prevail in their pleadings over the interests of the clients, or even their own reputation, for gaining the cause by. ingenuity and finesse.

Learning of Shakespeare.

The doubt which has arisen on the question of this great poet's learning must have proceeded, like many other absurd disputes, from ambiguous terms, and loose definitions of learning. John Dennis, the critic, in his three letters on the genius and writings of Shakespeare, strongly sup❤ ported the learning of the poet; and the question has been lately put to rest for ever by the sagacity and erudition of the late Dr. Farmer, Master of Emanuel College, Cambridge. The learning of Shakespeare is well described in the lines of a contemporary bard:

His learning favours not the school-like gloss,
That most consists in echoing words and terms,
And soonest wins a man an empty name :
Nor only long or far-fetch'd circumstance,
Wrapp'd in the curious generalties of arts:
But a direct and analytic sum

Of the true worth and first effects of arts.

B. Jonson's Poetaster.

The great Lord Chatham.

The amusements of a man of genius deserve our notice. Lord Chatham in early life shewed great taste and talents in laying out grounds. En

field Chase and Hayes, both near the metropolis, were the scenes in which his imagination and skill created beautiful views. The power to see beforehand the effect of fresh plantations in their progress and termination in full growth on the scenery which they were intended to adorn, Lord Chatham possessed in an eminent degree. He with equal felicity expressed the nature and seat of this faculty, by calling it the prophetic eye of taste.

Haughty Looks.

It has been observed by foreigners, that the women in England, if at all handsome, are apt to diminish the effect of their beauty by haughtiness of demeanour, unless when the admirer is a man of rank or opulence. This double charge of avarice and pride I would willingly confute univer. sally, as I certainly can generally. Yet I would have my fair country women recollect, that virtue and severity of manner are as little connected, as austerity of conduct is with our religion. Classical admirers can inform them, that, among the polished nations of antiquity, the Goddess of Love was known for her enchanting smiles and affability. A great admirer of the fair sex, and a great favourite with them, has spoken his thoughts

on this subject in a very gay poem, where every stanza ends with this appropriate burden against cruelty:

Vostre bouche, et vós beaux yeux,

Les rois de ma vie,

Et votre ris gracieux,

Avoient mon ame asservie.

Vous m'aviez gagné le cœur,

Mais quand on a trop de rigueur

Ma foi je m'en ennuyé.

Poesies de M. Voiture, 1665.

Love.

The poets, one after another, describe this passion under the figure of a flame, as if they were advising the reader to beware the burning of his fingers, should he come in contact with it. Shakespeare, who could make a metaphor out of the smallest matter, has singularly protracted this figure of speech, and illustrated its brevity of existence,

There lives within the flame of love

A kind of wick and snuff, that will abate it.

Hamlet.

Quarles, in one of his Centuries, has made a happy distinction of this passion, when it possesses a wise or a foolish lover-" It is a wise man's

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bonfire, and a fool's furnace."-Century iii. ch. 9.

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