But to confider them on their own ground: The word treafonable was added to the defcription of the paper. Why? because fuch is the nature of that paper. Buc, fay the defences of the minority, if it was treasonable it could not be a libel, for whatever is treasonable is treason. If there is any force in this objection it would prove the existence of a treasonable libel impoffible. Yet various refolutions of parliament feem to declare their opinion that a libel may be treasonable, though not amounting to actual treafon *: And if on thofe au A thorities I can fupport the exiftence of a B The propriety of the other amendment, I hope thefe obfervations are fufficient to convince the impartial mind of the propriety of conduct followed by the majority, in throwing out the motion; they amended it, that, in case it should pafs, it might be in a form moft fuitable to the nature of the cafe, and moft becoming the justice and dignity of parliament, they rejected it finally, because they thought a refolution of the fort to be neither confiftent with the principles of the confiitution, nor the usage of parliament; and because they knew it would have the law at least as indeterminate as before; they would not confent to betray the hoBour of the houfe, and the confidence of their conftituents, by imposing upon them. If a fecurity to freedom was neceffary, they wifhed to make it effectual, and not to confine them(elves to a mere resolution, which, with every amiable appearance of public * Here feveral cafes are cited. (Gent, Mag, March 1765.) F G H zeal, would leave the mischief in full force. But the gentlemen of the minority, or at leaft those who were their leaders in this matter, wished not for any real impediment to the future exercife of fuch warrants, they would agree only to a fpecies of remedy, to Cheat the deluded people with a fhew Of liberty, which yet they ne'er muft taste of. But, fays the Reply, "If the majority really intended a bill, why did they not carry it through ?" The answer is, because though to calm the alarms of the agitated two hundred and twenty members, they people, and in reverence to the opinion of would have confented to a parliamentary regulation of general warrants, yet in their own minds they ever difapproved of such a step. Credo pudicitiam, faturno rege, moratam In terris. Mr URBAN, virtue fo amiable as 'T'Chaltity, and fo neceffary to the perfection of human nature,fhould be fo generally neglected. I have long imagined temporal profperity to be particularly annexed to the practice of this virtue. What first induced me to think fo might be that elegant and affecting history in holy Scripture of Jofeph; fold by his brethren into Egypt; follicited in vain by a lady of diftinction; and afterwards raised to the higheft dignity and emPloyment in the kingdom and court of Pharaoh. Befides the expences neceffarily attending upon luft and lewdness, nothing more debafes the fpirit, nothing more diffipates all ferious thought and reflection, and confequently nothing renders a man more unfit for every great and worthy purpose of life. Chastity, on the contrary, like a cold bath, gives new motion to the blood and fpirits, adds fresh beauty to the countenance, invigorates the conftitution, condenfes (if I may use the expreffion) our too volatile and wandering thoughts, and renders us fit for daring and momentous enterprizes. Behold yon chate and temperate man! his looks bloom with health; he feems perfectly cool and deliberate; and yet both speaks and acts with fpirit and vivacity. here just rifen from the bed of luft; Turn now your eyes; view the rake how pale and haggard! how languid and lifeless how dull and stupid! He is, in fhort, but the fhadow of a man; or, if you please, but "The ghoft of what he was.” Were Were the English ladies as pure as they are fair, and the gentlemen as chalte as they are naturally brave, I fhould entertain greater hopes of national profperity from thence than from the late accumulated fucceffes of our arms by fea and land. Certainly, A however, we fhould be more capable of enjoying the bleffings of peace and plenty, after we had first learned to refift and overcome our own vicious appetites and inclinations. With what chearfulness, eafe, and content, fhould we then live! An Englishman would have a ferene look even in December, whilst a race of heroes would defcend from our loins, the bulwark of these kingdoms, and the fcourge of our ambitious enemies. narrate pofferis; ut fciant; inter gladios JEANOT and COLIN: A Story now first tranflated from the French of M. VOLTAIRE. M have feen Jeanet and Colin at WANY perfons worthy of credit fchool at the town of Iffair in Auvergne, Ba place celebrated through the whole world for its college and its kettles. Jeanot was the son of a horfe dealer of high renown, and Colin derived his birth from an able hufbandman, who, with the help of four horfes, cultivated a neighbouring farm, and who, after he had paid the poll tax, the fubfidy, the excife, the falt-tax, the poundage, the capitation, and the twentieth penny, was not fuperabundantly rich at the year's end. The intrinfic amiableness of this virtue is fhewn by that approbation it meets with in the mind of even the moft profligate and abandoned, fuch C generally feeling a fecret regard and reverence for those they believe fincerely chafte: Whereas, on the other hand, you will but too often find it extremely difficult to induce the libertine to marry the woman he hath corrupted. What then? Is it noble to be unchafte? No; un chastity degrades our nature, and affimilates us to the brutal race. Is it polite and genteel to give away our virtue, and furrender every worthy accomplishment into the arms of lewdnefs? Far be it from the good fenfe of Britons to affirm this. Who admires not the determination of the young hero in Prodicus? Had we the fame refolution to defpife fenfual pleafures, we should find continence not void of charms, nor Chaftity deftitute of gratifications. Her ways at first are rugged, but afterwards fmooth and delightful. Τρηχὺς τοπρώτον ἐπὴν δ ̓ εἰς ἄκρον ἵκηαι, Ρηϊδίη δήπελα πέλεια An experimental acquaintance with this virtue would more recommend it than all I can say upon it, or even than Milton, though he extols it in moft charming trains of poetry: So dear to Heaven is faintly Chastity, Some fay no evil thing that walks by night D E F Jeanot and Colin were comely lads for Auvergnese, and had great friendship for each other; they had their little fchemes and tete a-tetes by themselves, upon which they reflected with great pleafure when they were together in other company. The time of their being at school was near expired when a taylor brot Jeanot a fuit of figured velvet, and a rich waistcoat made up in a very good tafte, with a letter directed to Monf. de la Jeanotiere. Colin admired the cloaths without envy, but Jeanot affumed an air of fuperiority, which grieved him to the heart. From this moment Jeanot threw afide his book, was continually gazing in the looking-glafs, and defpifed all the world. Some time after a valet-de-chambre came poft with another letter directed to Monf. the Marquifs de la Janotiere, which contained an order from Monf. his father for his coming to Paris. Jeanot, as he got into the chaife, took Colin by the hand and gave him a fmile G of protection with as much of the air of a great man as could be expected: Colin, touched with a sense of his own inferiority, melted into tears, and Jeanot drove away in all the glory of his new dignity. It is fit that those readers who love to comprehend every thing as they go H on, should be informed that Jeanot the father had fuddenly acquired an immenfe fortune; if it fhould be asked how immenfe fortunes are acquired, the the answer is ready, By being fortu owing to their not having learnt Latin,” "Very well, (fays Madam) am I not then in the right? I would have my fon a man of wit, I would have him make a figure in the world, and you fee plainly that if he learns Latin he will be undone. Are operas and plays. I'd fain know, performed in Latin? Do the lawyers (peak Latin at the bar? or do young gentlemen make love in Latin ?" Monf. de la Janotiere being wholly unable to relift this amazing force of argument, immediately paffed fentence, and it was concluded that the young Marquifs fhould not iofe his time in getting acquainted with Cicero, Horace, and Virgil. But then what fhall he learn, for certainly he muft learn fomething. May he not be taught a little Geography? Of what fervice will that be," C fays the tutor? When the Marquils fhall think proper to visit his estates, do you think the poftilions will not know the road; take my word for it there is no danger of their lofing their way. A man of fashion can travel very well without a quadrant, & go with great conveniency from Paris to Auvergne without knowing what latitude he is in.' D Colin, who ftill remembered his old school-fellow with a tender fenfibility, wrote him thefe few lines to congratulate him: The new Marquifs fent him no E anfwer, and Colin fell fick with grief. In the mean time the father and mother procured a tutor for their fon; this tutor was a man of a genteel appearance, who knew nothing, and confequently could teach nothing. The father was defirous the fon fhould learn Latin, but the mother opposed it; after much debate it was agreed that the question should be referred to an author who was celebrated for many agreeable performances. He was therefore invited to dinner, and the master of the houfe began, by faying, * Sir, as you are a Latin fcholar, and a man of the world'-"I a Latin fcholar," fays the Bel Efprit, "I don't know one word of the language, and fo much the better for me; thofe people certainly speak their own language heft, whofe attention is not divided between that and others. Confider only the ladies, how much more pleafing is their wit than ours! their letters are written with infinitely more elegance, and this fuperiority is entirely You are certainly right, fays the Father, but I have heard fomething of a fine fcience which I think they call Aftronomy.'- 'Tis pity, fays the tutor, you ever heard of it at all; what occafion is there for people in this world to regulate their motions by the ftars? Is it fit that the young Marquis fhould be fatigued to death by the calculation of an eclipfe, when he may find the time exactly by confulting an almanack, which will also acquaint him with all the moveable feafts, the age of the moon, and of all the fovereign princes in Europe?' Madam entirely agreed with the tutor in this particular, the young Marquifs her fon was overjoyed, and the father was in fufpenfe. What then, fays he, muft my fon learn? To be Gamiable,' replied the friend they had H confulted; if he knows the art of pleafing, he knows all that is worthy to be known; and this art he cannot fail of learning under his mother's eye, though neither the nor you should give yourfelves the leaft trouble about it. Madam was fo delighted with this complement that the embrac'd the plerfing dunce who had paid it: 'Ah! Sir, faid the, it is ealy to difcover that you are wiler than all the world befides; my fon fon will be wholly indebted to you for his education; but, perhaps, after all, it would not be amifs for him to learn a little hiftory.'-Alas, Madam, replied the oracle, what good can that do him? certainly no history is either ufeful or pleafing but that of the day. All ancient hiftories, as one of our bel A efprits has very juftly observed, are nothing more than fables artfully put together; and as for modern hiftories they are a chaos which it is impoffible to reduce to order. Of what importance is it to your fon that Charlemagne inftituted the twelve peers of France? B and that his fon had an impediment in his speech? Never was observation more juft, cried the tutor; the young mind is too often buried under a load of ufelefs learning, by which its native pow ers are first restrained and then deftroyed; but of all that is abfurd a-C mong what are called the fciences, the moft abfurd is Geometry. The objects of geometry are furfaces, lines, and points, which have no existence in nature; and a hundred curve lines are fancied between a circle and a D ftrait line that touches it, though in reality there is not room for a straw. In fhort, Geometry is no better than a dull joke.' Monfieur and Madam scarce underftood one word of this ingenious ar gument against geometry, which, notwithstanding, made a great impreffion E upon them, and they declared themfelves entirely of the tutor's mind. command, and for which they pay. The mafter of the art of pleafing then interpofed, You have obferv. ed, Madam, fays he, that the great purpose of life is to fucceed in the world, but will any man pretend that this purpose can be answered by the fciences? Who is there that would think of mentioning geometry in good company? Would any body ask a gentleman what star rofe in the morning with the fun? Or enquire at an entertainment whether Clovis the hairy paffed the Rhine ? Certainly not,' replied the Marchionefs de la Janotiere, whofe charms had given her fome introduction to the beau monde, and it is by no means fit that the Marquifs my fon fhould cramp his genius by the study of all this trumpery; but at last what fhall we teach him? for certainly, as his father has obferved, a young gentleman ought to be qualified to fhine upon occafion. I remember to have heard an Abbe fay that there was one fcience extremely agreeable and genteel; I cannot recollect the name of it, but it began with a B. With a B, Madam? fays the genius, it could not be Botany!'-No,' replied Madam, it was not Botany, yet it ended fomething like that too.' I know what it was, fays he, it was Blafonry; but I affure you that it is by no means the mode at present: It has been wholly laid afide ever fince painting coats of arms upon coaches went out of fashion; it was, to be fure, at that time the moft ufeful know. ledge in the world, but the case is altered now; befides, at prefent the ftu dy of heraldry would be infinite, for there is not a barber at prefent that has not his coat of arms, and when a thing becomes common, you know people of fashion fhould always difregard it. Upon the whole, this faga. cious and illuftrious fociety having fairly difcuffed all the fciences, it was G at last determined that Monfieur the Marquis de la Janotiere fhould learn to dance. A great lord (continued he) like Monfieur the Marquifs, ought not to puzzle his brains with vain fpeculations. If he should ever have occafion for the moft fublime part of this fci- F ence to lay down a plan of his eftates, he may have them furveyed for his money; if he would trace his nobility back to the most remote ages, he may, without difficulty, find a Benedictine Monk that will do it: The fame may be faid of all the arts; a young lord of illuftrious birth is neither a painter, a mufician, an architect, nor a statuary; but he makes all these arts flourish by his munificence; and it is certainly better to patronife than practice them. It is enough for the Marquifs to have tafte; it is the duty of artists to exert their skill for his pleasure and advantage, and it is therefore well faid that perfons of quality, I mean those who are very rich, know all things without learning any; their tafte enables them to judge of every thing which they H old by a different combination of the phrases and figures that he was contiBually repeating; but as all his verses had a foot too little or too much, he got them corrected at the rate of 20 louifdores a fong, and he at last got into the annals of literature, and was claffed with the La Fairs, the Chaulieus, the Hamiltons, the Sarrazines, and the Voitures of the time. The Marchionefs then confidering herself as the mother of wit, gave fuppers to the wits of the town; the young man's head was turned; he acquired the art of speaking without knowing what he would fay, and became perfect by habit in being fit for nothing. When his father found him thus amazingly eloquent, he very much regretted that he had not taught him Latin, as he then might have bought him a confiderable place in the law. His mother, who looked ftill higher, undertook to get him a regiment, and in the mean time the young gentleman himself thought fit to make love. Love fometimes cofts more than a regiment; his expences were very great, and his parents run out their fortune very faft by living like people of the first quality. But as the ftate of their finances was known only to themselves, a young widow of great rank but of middling fortune in the neighbourhood, fuppofing them to be very rich, refolved to fecure their fortune to herself by making the young Marquis her husband. and the wedding cloaths and verses were making. He was kneeling one morning at the feet of the dear angel whom love, efteem, and friendship, were foon to make his own for ever; they were enjoying, in a converfation that touched every fpring of tenderness and fenfibility, a foretaste of their approaching A felicity, and laying out a fcheme of life in which one delight should perpetually fucceed another, when a fervant of the Marchionefs his mother arrived in great hafte, and with looks as wild as if he had seen an apparition: 'I come, fays he, with news very dif. Bfheriff's Officers are in poffeffion of ferent from what you think of; the my lord's houfe, they have feized all the goods already, they talk of fecuring his perfon, and as I have not ' a moment to lose, I am going to secure my wages.' Don't be in fuch a violent hurry,' fays the Marquis, Let us fee a little what this affair is.' Do, fays the widow, run this inftant, and punish the wretches for their infolence.' The Marquis accordingly went home in all hafte; he found that his father was already carried to prison, and that all the fervants were gone off, Deach having carried away what he could lay his hands upon. He found his mother totally deferted, without fuccour and without comfort, fitting on the floor, and drowned in tears, with nothing left but the remembrance of her fortune and her beauty, her follies, and her faults. She accordingly threw out a lure E that brought him to her houfe; the fuffered herself to be loved, and convinced him that he was not indifferent to her; fhe led him on by degrees; he was at length altogether fafcinated by her wiles and her charms, so that her conqueft was compleat: At the fame time she gave him fo many com mendations, and fo much good advice, that the father and mother confidered her as the best friend they had in the world. F After her fon had wept with her till the tumult of his mind a little fubfided, and he was able to speak, he endeavoured to alleviate her distress by a reflection that had foothed his own; 'Do not let us defpair, fays he, the young widow whom I was about to marry, is yet more generous than rich, I will answer for all that is in her power, I'll fly to her this moment and bring her hither." He then returned to his mistress with a speed and impatience natural to his fituation, and he found her tete-atete with a very handsome young officer of the army. What is it you, Monf. de la Fangtiere, fays fhe, what in the name of wonder have you to do here? How could you think of leavHing your poor mother? Go back, to her, for Heaven's fake, and tell her how forry I am for her misfortune; I always wished her well; and upon my word as my woman is going away, I An old lady in the neighbourhood proposed the marriage on the part of the widow, and the Marquis and Mar- G chioness de la Janotiere, dazzled with the fplendor of such an alliance, accepted the propofition with joy. They gave their only fon to their deareit friend, the youth was on the point of marrying a lady whom he adored, and who returned his paffion; he received the congratulations of his friends, the marriage articles were drawing up, |