eight more. The last five were communicated to Cafaubon from the Palatine library at Heidelberg.

• Permit me to obferve in this place, that our Author's imperfec tions feem rather owing to accidental circumftances, than to any defect in his own tafte or judgment. One fault however we muit not conceal, namely, an indelicacy and coarfenefs of ideas and expreffions, which to a modern reader would feem quite inexcufable. I shall not enquire with Dr. Gally, whether the delicacy of the prefent age does not proceed from an affected nicety, or a falfe taste, rather than the intrinfic nature of things; but only obferve, from the general character we have seen our Author bear for elegance, and a punctilious obfervance of decorum, that this fault was rather in the age, than in the man. Cafaubon argues, from his frequent mention of vociferation, that he had tender ears; and indeed every inftance of impropriety, which he produces, conveys at the fame time a fufficient evidence of his own difapprobation of it.

From what has been faid, the reader will have a competent idea of the difficulties which have attended the prefent work. To reconcile it to modern notions, to make the confufed characters confiftent, and to keep up a diftinction between the very fimilar ones, was a work of no fmall attention. I have not, however, taken fo great a liberty with the original, as to attempt a reduction of the feemingly misplaced inftances; nor are any of them totally omitted, though fome perhaps might have been fpared. Shall it be owned, that two or three whole characters were for fome time rejected, as incapable of being fuccefsfully handled, either on account of their obfcurity or coarfeness of manners? By the advice however of an excellent critic, in order to render the work complete, they have been new modelled and retained, without difgrace, it is hoped, to their fellows.

The learned reader will perceive, that new introductions are fubftituted in the room of the dry Ariftotelian definitions which are prefixed to all the original pieces. Many inftances are tranfpofed in the fame character, for the fake either of perfpicuity, or a better conclufion, or for fome other inferior reason. The word Imitations, in the title, is adopted, it must be owned, for want of a better, though the following ketches might almoft pafs for originals, fo total a change has been fometimes made, efpecially in the Sixteenth Character, where the nature of the fubject required it; and fo much new matter introduced, especially in the Third, where incoherence is the characteristic.

If either the language or ideas in the following fheets fhould feem to fall below the ftandard of modern refinement, it is hoped, that the nature of the perfons here introduced will apologise for the want of an extreme attention to a taste which, however laudable in itself, it may not always perhaps be poffible to comply with. It is requefied too, that if any thing fhould feem awkward or unneceffary, the Reader would not pafs an unfavourable judgment without first referring to the original paffage.

The manners in the original are certainly general, and confequently, it was apprehended, might appear with advantage at any other period, Our Clown, for inftance, is not exclufively the produce of this or that particular country, but only one who is removed

from

from fociety, and deftitute of all politeness; nor is our Courtier the attendant upon this or any other court, but a general favour-hunter (Apoxos): he is, in fhort, as the poet fings,

"The courtier fmooth, who forty years had fhin'd

"An humble fervant to all human kind."

The fame might be faid of the other characters. As to the customs indeed, which are widely different from the manners, as they refer to the exterior, and not interior conduct, thefe muft neceffarily have been local and particular; they are now therefore, in course, adapted to the age and nation to which they are at prefent addreffed.

Meffrs. Colman and Thornton did well in not attempting to modernife, or generalife, their authors. The laws of the drama would not have admitted fuch violence; nor could they have got rid of the customs upon which each plot, and perhaps every scene, is founded. Mr. Colman therefore fhould have faid, that the customs, and not the manners, prevailing in them all, are wholly Grecian. Manners, as Mr. Thornton acknowledges, will ever bé much alike, at leaft in civilized nations.

A great part of the following fheets have lain by, even a longer time than is prefcribed by the great critic; as appears indeed by fome names and circumstances which occur, though feveral others of later fame have occafionally crept in during the revisals they have from time to time undergone. Such as they are, I shall submit them to the candour of the Public, and conclude with the Proem prefixed by the author himself to the original work, and addreffed to a friend of his, named Polycles.'

Then follows the Proem of Theophraftus, well worthy of

attention :

PROEM OF THEOPHRASTUS.

'I have often wondered, when I confidered the fubject, and perhaps fhall never ceafe to wonder, how it happens, that fince we all partake of the fame air, and make ufe of the fame fyftem of education, we should nevertheless have fuch a diversity of manners. For my part, Polycles, having long ftudied human nature, being now ninetynine † years old, and having been converfant with many different people, among whom I have narrowly examined both the good and the bad, it seemed a duty incumbent on me, to give an accurate defcription of their different purfuits; for which purpose I shall carefully point out to you their respective peculiarities both of temper and conduct, FOR I AM OF OPINION, MY DEAR POLYCLES, THAT

OUR POSTERITY WILL BE BENEFITED BY HAVING SUCH EXAMPLES TO REFER TO. THESE CHARACTERS WILL ENABLE THEM TO DIS. CERN AND ATTACH THEMSELVES TO THE WORTHIEST, SO AS IN

THE END NOT TO BE INFERIOR TO THEM. Let us now proceed to the work before us, and let me befpeak your attention, and opinion

The original fays all Greece, but it seems to mean Attica, or at moft Græcia propria.'

+ There must certainly be fome mistake here, which is by no means accounted for by the critics; for Cafaubon's conjecture, that might have crept into the text inftead of 66', would make him an hundred and nine.

how

as /pecimens,

how far I have fucceeded. Without further preface, or circumlocution, I fhall begin with that fort of men called Dissemblers. I fhall define the Paffion, and then proceed to defcribe the Diffembler, what kind of man he is, and by what particular bias he is actuated. In like manner I fhall endeavour to explain and particularife the other characters, as I originally propofed.'

Of the manner in which these Imitations are executed, we fhall give only two CHARACTERS:

THE PRATE R.

• The Prater would outprove by far
E'en Serjeant BOTHERAM at the bar :
He might be faid abroad to walk,
Like Indian envoys, with a talk.
Should you attempt to tell a story,
The Prater jostles in before ye,
With-Sir, you seem to have forgot;
Why I was there upon the spot,
And if you'll favour me a little,
I can explain it to a tittle.

Should you refume it-Hold, fays he,
We'll fpeak of that, Sir, presently;
Or-Ay, that's well remember'd-now
I'll tell you when, and where, and how.
Or, wanting reafons for diffenting,
He ftops your mouth by complimenting-
You've faid enough, Sir, to evince
The ftrength of your superior sense :
You are indeed a nonpareil,
You comprehend a thing fo well.
It fomehow quite inspires a man—
Well, I'll inform you all I can.
Or sometimes he mistakes, and then
His ftumble helps him in again.
At Drury-Lane I beg your pardon,
I think it was at Covent-Garden-
No, faith! it was at Drury-Lane;
The fact however I'll explain.
So here again your worship's flung
By his fuperior flight of tongue:
Then, after making his attack
On you, or me, or Tom, or Jack,
He'll croud himfelf extremely free
Into fome pick'd society,

And fend amongst 'em fuch a volly
Of his impertinence and folly,

And make fo great a noife and hubbub,

That they're oblig'd to break their club up.
If by mischance this noify fool

Intrudes upon a public school,

Greek, Latin, Hebrew, quit the field;

All other tongues to his muft yield;

He

He talks the masters all away,
And gives the boys a holiday.
When you endeavour to take leave,
He's fure to stick upon your sleeve,
Defirous to procure by walking
An opportunity of talking.
He's vilely calculated for
A trufty privy-counsellor ;
For in his giddy thoughtless way
Your greatest fecrets he'll betray:
However his best field for tattle
Is certainly the field of battle,
If once he gets you on that ground,
By nice manœuvres wheeling round,
He talks away as glib as can be

Of FRED'RICK, FERDINAND, and GRANBY;
Pell-mell encounters fronts and rears,
And you he flanks at both your ears;
Till you yourself, you need not doubt it,
Muft fly, before the French are routed.
If he has made, on some occasion,

A long elaborate oration,

You, as a connoiffeur, and lover
Of eloquence, must hear it over :

For that fame vulgar herd, he'll fwear it,
Know little of rhetoric merit.

In gen❜ral most of those whose fate
It is to hear this parrot prate,
No manner of attention pay,
But fall asleep, or steal away.
If with his clack he interferes
In public courts, or theatres,
He feldom ftops, or feems to care
How often they cry "Silence there!"
He'll give you, when he makes a feast,
A belly-full-of talk at least ;
And having fairly drank his fill,
His tongue thus oil'd is glibber ftill;
And then he splutters like a beldam,
That's dipt for fcolding in a mill-dam.
He feems upon this head to be
Infenfible of raillery;

For laugh, and call him what you will,
He neither ftops, nor takes it ill;
Nor does he comprehend the fatire

When his own children, from pure nature,

Lifp out, as up his knees they creep,

Papa, do-ftory us to fleep.'

THE VULGAR

WA G.

For

The Vulgar Wag our fpleen provokes, The scavenger of vulgar jokes ;

For decent companies unfit,
Though he miftrusts that he's a wit.
With fome ftrange impudence he greets
A modeft woman in the streets,

And fwears, when he perceives her blushing,
She reddens like the parfon's cushion.
At plays he gives himself fuch airs,
He'll fit and counteract the play'rs ;
And juft when ev'ry one that's prefent
Remains attentive, he's so pleasant,
He'll grunt or whistle, till all eyes
Turn on the fool with ftrange furprise
To fee him play his part fo well,
Without his motley cap, and bell.
To people quite unknown he'll call,
Hip, Roger! or, How goes it, Moll?
And fetch a man of business back,

Half a ftreet's length, with, Hark ye, Jack.
A man that's crofs'd by adverfe fate

He's ready to congratulate;

Or, out of fun, he'll lead a stranger
Into fome foolish fcrape or danger.

Sometimes, as through the streets he reels,
With fools and fidlers at his heels,
He'll hold out liquors, or provifion,
To fome poor beggar, in derifion,
And cry, Look here, you ftarveling dog,
Don't your chaps water at this prog?
In barbers' fhops he fticks his face,
Proclaiming, without shame or grace,
That he shall be dead drunk by four,
With Captain CUTLACE and his whore ;
Both dev'lish honeft, one may swear-
But let this fellow's guests beware;
He'd play 'em fome ungracious tricks,
With drugs perhaps their liquors mix,
Or, to crown all his wondrous feats,
Clip horse-hair in between their sheets.
His ufual wit hath fomething in't,
That shows it coin'd in selfish mint;
He'll find fome means of making folks
Defray his reck'ning for his jokes,
And, when requir'd to pay his half,
Discharge it by a loud horfe-laugh.
He makes wry faces at the wines,
If in a coffee-house he dines,
Then begs of all the people round
To tafte if theirs be good and found.
He'll fquabble with an apple-woman,
That is not, we'll fuppofe, a dumb one,
And take advantage of the fray
To pick her nuts and pears away.

Should