perceptibly adopted the manners of their English neighbours, yet their characteristic sincerity is still perceptible to the reflecting observer.

Honest in the r dealings, proud of their ancestry, and inflated with an imaginary superiority which they feel as Ancient Britons, they are too apt to have a contemptuous opinion of the rest of mankind; but they are generally distinguished by that simple dignity of conduct which is ever the companion of integrity.

SCOTCHMEN.

THE principal motive of a North Briton's visit to London is a desire to profit by his industry and learning. Frugal, temperate, and religious, his natural sagacity is preserved amid the enervating allurements of the town; hence he pursues his avocations with steadiness, and appropriates the fruits of his industry with the strictest economy. His success is facilitated by that national partiality for which Scotchmen are remarkable.

With respect to their merit as authors. Scotchmen have often distinguished themselves as historians, critics, moralists, divines, and physicians.

The natives of Scotland now resident in this metropolis may be divided into four classes :-nobility and gentry; merchants and tradesmen; literary adventureis; and labourers: all of whom we shall describe indiscriminately under the general heads.

The Scotch nation has for many ages been remarkable for a steady adherence to Christianity. Their writers have indeed rather represented truth with the solemn air of a recluse, than the more animated de

meanour of a smiling grace, but the people have, nevertheless, proved their attachment to her dictates, even to martyrdom!

IRISHMEN.

No people of any nation now resident in London present such a curious diversity of character as the Irish.

We shall first classify and delineate those Irishmen most remarkable for their foibles, and conclude with the most estimable.

Among the other qualifications of young Irishmen who migrate to this city their eloquence is the most remarkable. From their constitutional vivacity they are generally possessed of such a superabundance of animal spirits, that their loquacity is astonishing. In almost every tavern or coffee-house you may meet with one or more of these orators, whose wit and fluency are exerted for the amusement of the company.

Whatever be the topic-philosophy, politics, or the news of the day-the Irish orator speaks with impressive energy; and this communicative disposition is, doubtless, sometimes pleasing and sometimes tiresome to his auditory.

Our most sensible poet observes, that

"Words are like leaves, and where they most abound Much fruit of sense beneath, is rarely found."

This is applicable to the Irish orator; but the true cause of his volubility, is the sprightliness of his imagination. This is also the reason why lively

I.

ishmen so often commit blunders, as they ge nerally speak without much reflection or arrangement of ideas. Were we to account physically for this flux of sounds, it might be asserted that it is necessary both for the health of the individual and the peace of society, that a volatile Irishman should be privileged to talk as much as he thinks proper-whether sense, nonsense, or as is too often the case, an intermixture of both. For it is probable that those vivid animal spirits, which when volatilised fly off from the tip of the tongue, would be taking another course, agitate the limbs, and discharge themselves in kicks and cuffs, to the great annoyance of the community? This hypothesis deserves the attention of the faculty; and if duly investigated by a Scotch or German medical writer, might form a valuable treatise of four or five hundred pages in quarto !

The foible of the Irish nobility and gentry resident in London is a passion for luxurious pleasures; and the virtues which they possess in an eminent degree are candour and generosity. These amiable traits of mind are indeed conspicuous among every class of the Irish nation; even their enemies confess the truth of the assertion. But undoubtedly their candour too often degenerates into insolence, and their generosity becomes profusion. Could they pursue the golden mean equally remote from extremes, they possess the social qualities of the heart, which conduce, in an eminent degree, to the happiness of society,

GENERAL COMPARISON OF THE ENGLISH, SCOTCH, AND IRISH NOW RESIDENT IN LONDON.

"Though black and white, blend, soften, and unite A thousand ways; are there no black and white?"

POPE.

It is amusing to develope the distinguishing traits of the natives of these three kingdoms, now united in one mighty empire.

The love of the Englishman, though often intense, is commonly influenced by some secondary consideration; such as riches, or the benefit of a respectable connection. The North Briton loves a bonny lassie dearly, and his affection is not diminished by wealth whilst the Hibernian, though often reproached as a fortune-hunter, generally loves his mistress for her beauty and accomplishments.

The friendship of the Englishman is cordial and consistent; the Scotchman is also a sincere friend: but the friendship of the Irishman, though more fervid, is like the blaze of a taper, too often liable to be extinguished by the first gust of his anger.

In religion the Englishman is as sytematic as in the regulation of his business; the Scotchman is still more strict in performing the duties of his faith; and the Irishman, who loves God and his neighbour as well as either, is but seldom solicitous to appear religious.

In literature as in commerce, the Englishman has a large capital, which he improves to the greatest advantage. The Scotchman, who derives part of his intellectual wealth from others as it were by inherice, applies the rich bequest of Homer, Virgil,

and other illustrious ancients, to his own use with propriety; but he rather lives on the interest than increases the stock. On the contrary, the Irishman inherits but little from the ancients. His literary wealth consists in the rich, but unrefined ore of his own genius, with which he adventures to almost every part of the globe, and is often unsuccessful, though sometime his bullion is coined into current money.

For solid learning, sound philosophy, and the hap piest flights of the epic and the dramatic muse, the English are superior to any other nation. The Scotch literati, with less claim to originality, successfully pursue the useful study of divinity, history, and criticism; while the Irish, without either the extensive knowledge of the former, or the discriminating sagacity of the latter, excel in genuine wit, ironical humour, and that pathos of sensibility which melts the heart. In support of this assertion, England has produced a Newton, a Milton, and a Shakespeare; Scotland can boast of a Blair, a Robertson, and a Beattie; and Ireland, as a proof of the justice of her pretensions, can bring forward a Swift, a Goldsmith, and a Sterne.

With respect to pride, the Englishman glories in the superiority of his country in wealth, trade, and civilization; and his opinion is confirmed by the appearance of merchants from all nations in London. The ambition of the North Briton is cherished by his learning and the antiquity of his family; and the pride of the Irishman is generally confined to his own endowments, the beauty of his mistress or wife, or the accomplishments of his friend.

Both the Scotch and Irish residents in London seem