Almighty. Do not you know, that God is equally benevolent in the ftorms of winter, as in the breezes of the fpring? Ought not your complaining to be against yourfelf, rather than againtt heaven? You lament that the calm of life is perpetually interrupt ed; that nothing is ftable; and that every day alters the mutable scene. Have you never yet made this obfer. vation, That our fouls can find no reft re; that the bloffoms of the fpring pafs away; and that the fun-fhine of fummer is interrupted by clouds that defcend in rain, or explode in thunder. If you have not, I do not wonder that the viciffitudes of life fit fo uneasy upon your thoughts. A undeferving. For this very reafon, Tirius, that riches are often bestowed in great plenty on the most worthless, you should be lefs anxious about them: Of what ufe do you think they are? You want to lead an idle life at the expence of other people's induftry, and lament, that your forefathers have not fufficiently provided for you; but obferve the rich, with a clofer at tention; how heavy does time lie upon their hands, while they find employment for half the world. When in ga leifure hour you fit down to reft yourself from your work, uneasy thoughts fteat upon you, you begin to imagine yourfelf better fitted for an idie fpectator of the work of others, than many of your rich neighbours. You hardly pats by a palace, without fecretly arraigning your fortune for hiding you under a humble roof: A nobleman's beautiful garden, inftead of fragrance, breathes difcontent into your breaft. The grand cascades and vocal groves fill your ears with tumult. Tirius! what a difficult mortal art throu to be pleafed! Nature perhaps ought to be wholly thy own to make herfelf agreable to thee? You were brought up in the bosom of a most affectionate mother, whofe tender care protected you against all dangers. Whilft you were under her tutelage, the vexations, troubles, cares, and even the most neceflary employments of this life were utterly tinknown by you. This very tendernef has fpoiled you: You imagined you were to live only for your felf, and that your bufinefs in this world, was D only to enjoy it. But heaven has in pity removed the covert that sheltered you, and now you ftand expofed to the inconveniencies of life, and feel that, of which it is necessary you thottd be fenfible, That you are made for fociety. Happy Tirius! How kind is Heaven to deliver you from a pernicious error E whilft you are young. If this falutary affiction had not come upon you till you had attained a riper age, the prime of your youth, which now you may improve, would have been intirely loft. Your mother left you an humble competence, yet you begin to F be afraid left you may want.-Do not you know that an apprehenfion of want is a call to industry? Enter therefore upon the businels of life; prepare yourself to tominence a member of fociety in the rank providence has affigned you. The most natural weapon to repulfe want is labour: Look around you through the whole creation all is action, there is no reft, no ftanding fill; a conftant activity. moves and preferves worms, infects, brutes, man, worlds and fpirits; every creature exifts for the good of another, and all work together for the prefervation of the whole; and will you alone remain idle? You imagine yourfelf unhappy, becaufe heaven has refufed you thofe riches which it often bestows on the G Do you know the fource whence all your diffatisfaction proceeds? I'll point it out to you: It is felf love mifguided by education: Combat this falfe felf love, crush it, and if it be poffible deftroy it. There will be no hap. pinefs for you in this world, unless you do fo; God himself cannot give it you. This depraved self love is in fact covetoufnefs, and a covetous temper is deftitute of joy. Cares Ipring up in it as abundantly and naturally as thiftles and weeds do in a ftony field; infinite wishes proceed from it, each with is followed by defire, defire extorts tears, and tears drown your tranquility. It ought not to be fo, Tirius; but t know the difpofition of your mind better than you do yourself.-What are your thoughts when in the fhadowy filence of the evening hour, your weary hands suit their labour to fupport your head, reclined in all the melancholy of penfive difcontent? Does not your felf-love cove leifure? Does not a fucceffion of reftles wishes efcape your foul? And does not our imagination aid your wishes? It doe in an instant you are transported into her enchanted regions. Caftles arife before you, and fields innumerable, covered with rifing harvefts and enclosed by the flowering thorn.-Here you fee a fich valley bounded on one 1 1 B fide with green hills, and on the other with fhady groves, where, in company with lovely Phyllis, you might take your evening walk.-From under yon rose bushes, a cooling brook runs pārling along its fhady banks, on whofe downy mofs you might take a foft repofe.-A garden now rifes to your imagination with cafcades, grottos, and bowers, wilderneffes, and alcoves; the palace now invites you from the hade, and the doors of the faloon are thrown open to receive you. In fcenes like thefe, your thoughts are bewildered. How happy thould you be in poffeffions like thefe ! To make your condition compleatly wretched, imagination at once changes the icene. The castle, the fields, the vallies, the garden, and the palace difappear, and your own dwelling fupplies their place. That inftant your difagreeable tua. C tion recurs to your mind; your daily employ, the care for your fubfiftance, approaching old age and poverty, fare you in the face; the fplendor of the former fcene throws a more melancholy gloom on this, and your real D condition becomes more and more unfupportable, by your comparing it with an imaginary one. To confirm yourself in the notion of your being unhappy, you always think how happy you might be. Dear Tirius be not fo much your own enemy as to torment yourself with delufive,dreams. The imagination is a faculty, which, under proper E regulation, may contribute much to make the foul happy. Man moves in too narrow a fphere to range through all the fields of actual pleafures. We are too fhort fighted to do fo, but imagination indeed may enlarge our view ad infinitum. What F part, or how much do you think you could enjoy of this world, fuppofing it were all your own? You dont want a world to fupply you with tood: A fingle field will answer the purpose as well as an univerfe. The wants of nature are fo few that your own hands may well fupply them, and as to G the reft, pray tell me what is it to you,' whether a feat, a garden, or a field, belongs to you, or to fomebody elfe, as long as the enjoyment of them confifts in their entertaing your fenfes ? Do you imagine a fine feat ministers more real pleasure to its owner than to his vifitor Affords the grotto cool. nefs to him only, does the murmuring brooks pleafe his fancy alone, do the birds warble from the groves folely for his entertainment or delight or throws a wood lef's shade upon your because it is not your own? You fee, Tirius, the beauties of nature are not created with a partial view, for the entertainment of fome only; they are offered to all. God, the benevolent father of nature, has refufed none of us the noble joys that arife from them; joys which the actual poffeffion of them can neither increate nor diminish. Endeavour to look for contentment in the fphere of life you are placed in, you will certainly find it there. Happiness is as common as the air: She does not live only in palaces and villas, the vifits the cottages of the poor, the accompanies the folitary fage through the fields of blooming nature, embraces the fwain by the brook, and walks at the fide of the whiftling clown while he guides the plough through the ftubborn glebe. Were the rich (whom you feem to envy) fo happy as you imagine they are, heaven would have been very unjust to the greatest part of mankind in the diftribution of its bleffings; bat happiness is not confined to this or that particular station of life, neither can we always pronounce people, happy by this outward appearance. Be advised: When the wants of nature are fupplied; do not think more neceffary; what you do not think neceffary you will not defire, and at the want of what you do not defire you will never repine. It is but reasonable, Tirius, we fhould conform to nature, and conduct ourfelves properly in the station affigned by providence. We, who are very fhort lived creatures, are not warranted to form any great expectations from the things of this world; and, fince nature is contented with little, why should we defire to have much? But alas! we are but too apt to create defires to which he is a stranger, and then complain of heaven for not gratifying them! Heaven is juftified in not gratifying the defires of creatures, who multiply withes upon wishes, and of whofe defires there would be no end. You know one of the terms upon which you received life, is, that you are to die; this decree is immutable. It would be the height of folly to pronounce life miferable because it is fiinite; or to defire immortality of heaven for a body that is made of clay. You cannot expect more than what is promifed you, without being both anjuft and ungrateful for what you 322 Irenæus Illustrated.-Bill of Mortality for Sheffield. A have; and are not the viciffitudes Collect your thoughts, and provide Mr URBAN, HE paffage which your corref from St Irenæus is only a piece of tradition which he received from one from the Apostle St John. But as for Papias, who pretends that he had it Papias, the only voucher of this tradition, Eufebius informs us, that he was a very fabulous writer, and a man of very fiender judgment; but that the antiquity of the man prevailed with many of the Ecclefiaftics to be of that* opinion, particularly Irenæus. Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. L. 3. C. 39. Befiles, this tradi-. tion is fo abufed in itself, that hardly any man of feufe can fuppofe it should: come from the mouth of an ApoAre. It i. e. Concerning the doftrine of the MLeniwe; which, Eufebies (ays, took its rile From Popias, F is probable therefore that Papias had it only from the converted Jews, in whofe writings, fome learned perfons have afferted that the words cited by Irenæus are to be found. It is well known, indeed, that the Fathers were impofed upon by feveral other traditionary accounts received from that quarter, fuch as the ftory of the feventy tranflators of the Old Tefiament from Hebrew into Greek, who though they were placed feverally in fo many faid to have performed this tranfla. different cells, yet, by infpiration, are tion all in the fame words. 2diy, That Elias the Tijbbite should appear in perfon before the fecond coming of Chrift; and, 3dly, That the fons of God, Gen. vi. were good angels, who were tranfported with the love of women, & begat of them giants and evil spirits. have been too credulous in matters of But though the fathers appear to tradition which they received from the Jews; yet this will not invalidate their authority in any thing delivered by them as witnefes of what they faw with their own eyes, or declared to have been the practice of the church The Bill of Mortality for the Parish of of Chrift. I am, yours, &c. E. G-N. Sheffield (See Vol. xxxiv. p. 161.) At Trinity Church Total Marriages 291 4 104 60 20 37 893 696 A PORTRAIT of POSTERITY; Or the Journal of a Nobleman in the Year 1965. OON-Two a clock-'Woke and hands with lilly of the valley water, hartfhorn-ordered Varole to wath my and to reach the cyprefs powder, which occafions an inftant removal of thofe horrid beards that cat fuch a difgrace upon the features of humanity-a pimple on my nofe as large as a mite-dispatched a meilens er imfyrup of roses, and advised me hy no mediately for Lazun, the phylician, who preferibed a dose of magna in N drank a difh of imperial tea and means to flir out for a week, as a temerity of that pature might be attended with the molt fatal consequences. Three o'clock-tock the mar na sud rofe. from Lazan-Mcm. Thetelow's hands were as brown as a buttock of beef-he having gone to bed a little inebriated over night without putting on his chicken gloves. Four-vifited by my friend Lord Languish the prime minifter-confulted him about an elegant pattern for the uniform of my regiment-and received five thousand pounds, being the first quarter of my penfion for fupporting the intereft of the government.Languifb's hair dressed in a most elegant manner, and a council to meet at his house that evening to fettle a bill for encouraging the manufacture of Naples dew in this kingdom. Five o'clock-finding myfelf inclinable to dose-fent to the feraglio for fix of my moft favourite women to watch me as I flept, and ordered them to contrive a new pattern lace for my vifiting night caps. Six-woke extremely amorous-ordered all the women away but Arpafia -kiffed her fingers twice, and picked her teeth with one of the Elyfian bodkins, just brought home from the jeweller's. tremely delicate in my white fatin fuit, embroidered with filver-and ordered Cabbage the taylor to be paid his bill immediately to atone for fetting him in the ftocks two or three days before, when he had the presumption to trouble me for money, without reAceiving the neceflary directions from my treasurer. B C Seven-Read the new treatife in defence of fenfuality-by the Archbishop of Canterbury-an exquifite D performance. The Christian heaven, like the Mahometan, inconteitably proved to exiit in women and wine-and the notion of trinity entirely confuted, as a heap of ignorant priestcraft and abfurdity. Eight-had a little Ortolan foup for dinner, and drank near two glaffes of E Burgundy-received a letter from my wife in the other part of the house, complaining that her lover was grown extremely indifferent of late, and requefting I would exert my influence over him, to procure an alteration in his behaviour.-Mem. To stop the rafcal's falary til he becomes a little more attentive in his duty to her Ladyhip. F Eleven-paid my compliments at court-received with an uncommon degree of favour, and asked to make one at a masked ball given to the first nobility at the Lord Chancellor's seraglio next evening. Twelve-returned home in great fpirits-my pimple almost gone.-Diverted myself with a burlesque of one of the pfalms,-and fent for the women to amufe me the remainder of the evening. G Nine-received a card from Lord Languish, informing me that I had juft that moment been appointed Chief Governor of Ireland by his majefty-Quite rejoiced at the news-and determined, let what would be the confequence of going abroad, to set out instantly in a litter to pay my compliments.-Mem. to order penfions of a thousand a year for each of my favourite women-and to give Billy Sleek, my chaplain, the first Bishopric-for his care in teaching my H two fons the art of marking a card without any hazard of detection. Ten-quite dreffed-looked ex One-a difagreeable affair,-my fifter, Lady Julia, difcovered to be with child by Will Sturdy the coachman, the only English fervant in the tamily,-Vexed at Julia's indifcretion in being with child-but determined, however, to get it a reverfionary grant, whether boy or girl, of a good employment in Ireland.-Mem.Ireland a very useful place in thus providing for the ftrumpets and bastards of our English noblity. Four o'clock went to bed-fix of the women as ufual fat up to take care of me while I flept-and to entertain me with their converfation in cafe I should have an indifferent night. Ridiculous and extraordinary as this portait may appear, yet I beg leave to ask, if there is any thing like the difference between us and posterity, as there is between us and our anceltors. If there is not, it is high time we should roufe from that luxury and floth, in which we have been hitherto unhappily abforbed, and prevent the poffibility of Great Britain's ever degenerating fo far as I have endeavoured to prove it inevitably mut, unless a different fyftem of conduct is adopted by its inhabitants. A DEMOCRITUS. The DREAM of IRU S. S Irus, who had been labouring in the field from the dawn of the day, was returning in the evening, fatigued and difpirited, fainting under all the wretchedness of poverty, and fecretly repining at his condition, he broke out into this exclamation: "O! Happiness! thou object of u"niverfal defire, thou unknown dei 324 Irus, concluding his exclamation with a figh, fate down at the foot of an oak, where he foon fell asleep, and the genius of inftruction imprefied the following images upon his mind in a dream. A D He beheld a mighty prince making B a triumphal entry into a magnificent city, furrounded by his nobles, and followed by an innumerable multitude, who filled the air with acelamations of praife. Irus remarked the grace and majefty with which he received this homage, and, touched at once with admiration and delight, he C faid to himself, "Surely this is a hapIf one tender and faithpy man. "ful friend can footh the infelicities and heighten the enjoyments of life, «how happy muft he be who has thus 66 won the hearts of a whole nation!” He then mixed among the crowd that clofed the proceffion, and foon after found himself at the palace, where the king fat at table in the midst of his court. He was fo gracious, and fo eafy of accefs, that every body was admitted without distinction. The pomp and elegance of the feafl was univerfally admired, and the eyes of the E prince fparkled with benevolence and joy, when he fuddenly cried out, like one in acute pain, and gave orders to be immediately removed into his chamber. Irus was greatly furprised, but he foon learnt that it was a fudden and violent access of the gout, that had interrupted the publick joy, and fent his najefty from table to bed. “Alas, faid Irus, furely this good "prince deferves a happiness that is "unmixed." F G' The fcene immediately changed, and Irus beheld an Afiatic fovereign who had not the gout; he was in the bloom of life, extremely handfome, and furrounded with whatever could adminifter delight. He was fitting befide his favourite lady, who was lovely beyond defcription; but there was a gloom in his countenance which neither love nor mufick could difpel; H there was a nameless kind of wildness in his eye, a mixture of ferocity and terror, and his whole air and deportment difcovered that his mind was not at relt. While Irus was contemplat ing this object with wonder and regret, he was alarmed with a confused found, which grew louder and louder every moment, all of a fudden the door of the apartment was burft open, and a man rushed in, followed by feveral others, armed with poignards and feymetars, who, in a moment, laid the Sultan dead on the ground. The whole palace was inftantly filled with confufion and horror, they tore the mangled carcals of the Sultan limb from heb, and his ftill quivering revorite that had been fitting by his mains were infulted, even by the fafide, and participating of his pleatures. "Alas, faid Irus, this man muit cer"tainly have been a moniter of wick. "edness. Happiness can never be "the portion of guilt !" All these objects then varighed, and Irns faw nothing but a little old woman, Arivelled and emaciated, who pulled him haftily by the fleeve, and cried, with a tone of importance and felf fatisfaction, Look at me. "I do look at you, faid Irus." Then, said the old woman, you fee Happiness itlelf. I am the moft fortunate of all " women. When I was about 15, 'my father told me, one day, that he ' intended to marry me.-As you please, Sir, faid L-The husband I intend for you is very rich, faid he ; -fo much the better, faid I:-but 'he is not young, faid my father What is that to me, faid I?-and he bas fomething of a hump, faid heAnd what have I to do with that faid I? he may be a very good man for all his huinp.-I appeared alto'gether indifferent about the matter, and wished for nothing but the plen fure of managing my good man as I thought fit: In short, we were mar. ried, and I was fo capricious, fo im'perious, fo humourtome, and so ob'ftinate, that I very foon broke his 'heart.' He left me mistress of a very large fortune, with a booby of a fon, whom I governed with the most defpotic tyranny, in common with my old cook, my monkey, and my parrot: My monkey and my parrot I had, indeed, fome affection for, but I loved nothing elfe in the world.'"I admire you infinitely, faid Trus; a person with such a head as yours ought to govern even fate itself : I do not, however, envy your happiness, for it feems to be rather that of a tyger or wolf, than of a human creature.' The old woman disappeared, and |