were laughed at: their dreffes were rich; their carriages were elegant, and their entertainments were fuperb; but their extravagance was exceffive: fo that while they were running from one end of the town to the other, in order to make an oftentatious display of their riches, they were, literally, running to ruin. When a man and his wife are both feized with a furious propenfity to make a flash in the world, when their youthful days are over, and with that propenfity, likewife, have a lofty difregard for economy, they are certainly not in their perfect fenfes: they are downright lunatics, and deferve ftrait-waistcoats as much as the infane inhabitants of Chelfea and Moorfields.

To

Mr. Clinton, foon after his return to B Square, found that his daughter had many admirers, among men of the firft fafhion in town. a man of quality, therefore, he determined, if poffible, to marry her.-Mrs. Clinton was equally defirous of having her daughter ennobled. An old debauched Lord paid his addreffes to her, married her, and in a fhort time afterwards gave her a blow upon the breaft, in a fit of jealoufy, which brought on a cancer; and that cancer, in less than a twelvemonth, during which her fufferings in body and mind, are not to be described, brought her to the grave.

Not

Not long after the decease of their daughter, which made very little impreffion upon them while they were carried along the ftream of high life, with an irresistible rapidity, they started as from a frightful dream, when they were informed by their fteward, that a fingle thousand only remained out of the five and thirty with which they came from their retirement at D.

With the interest arising from that folitary thoufand, after having fold off all their fuperfluities to pay their debts, they retired a fecond time.

They merely exifted during the remainder of their days: they were completely miferable, now confcious of having merited their misfortunes, perpetually upbraiding and reproaching each other in the fevereft terms.

AN ANECDOTE.

DURING the Emperor's voyage in Italy, one

of the wheels of his coach broke down on the road. With much difficulty he reached a poor village. On his arrival there, his Majefly got out at the door of a blackfinith, and defired him to repair the damaged wheel without delay.

"That

I would

I would very willingly, (replied the fmith) but it being holiday, all my men are at church: my very apprentice who blows the bellows, is not at home."

"An excellent method then prefents of warming one'self," replied the Emperor, ftill preferving the incognito; and the great Jofeph fet about blowing the bellows while the blacksmith forged the iron. The wheel being repaired, fix fols were demanded for the job; but the Emperor, instead of them, put into his hand fix ducats. The blackfmith, on feeing them, returned them to the traveller, faying, "Sir, you have undoubtedly made a mistake, owing to the darkness; inftead of fix fols, you have given me fix pieces of gold, which nobody in this village can change." Change them where you can (replied the Emperor) the overplus is for the pleasure of blowing the bellows." His Majefty then continued his journey without waiting for an answer.

ANECDOTE

· L

OF LADY G

ORD G

had by his irregularity

brought his health into a very critical state, and his phyficians recommended matrimony to him, as the moft certain method of living regularly: he

accordingly

accordingly formed a refolution of offering his hand to the first woman he could fancy; when being one day in the fpring, in Kensington-Gardens, and a heavy fhower falling, he was obliged to take shelter in the fame covered feat as two ladies, one of whom was Mifs V-ǹ. A converfation enfued, in which he asked the ladies if they had a carriage, to which they replied in the negative,-he intreated them to take part of his, to convey them to town, which, with little intreaty, they accepted. On their way to town, Mifs V-—faid, fhe thought it was the eafieft carriage fhe ever had been in, to which his Lordfhip politely replied, "fhe might be the miftrefs of it, whenever the pleafed" Mifs V- blufhed and thanked him, and they were married within a month from that day.

ANECDOTE OF EPAMINONDAS.

EPAMINONDAS, the Theban General, was

---

at first but in low circumftances, yet the greatness of his foul never fuffered him to stoop to gain: An agent from Xerxes, mentioning to him a vaft fum of money, he calmly answered, "Money, Sir, is a thing which must have nothing to do betwixt you and I.—If the King, your mas

ter,

ter, is inclined to do good, as an ally to Thebes, my friendship fhall coft him nothing; but if his defign has any other views, all the gold and filver he poffeffes will never purchase one who faffers not the whole riches of the world fo much as to enter into competition with the love of his country." So Thebes, by his merit only, was raised to the highest pitch of glory, as Athens was kept from deftruction folely by Demofthenes.

INDOLENCE

CHARACTERIZED.

NDOLENCE deprives men of all that activity which could call forth their virtues, and make them illuftrious. An indolent man is fcarcely a man; he wills and unwills at a breath: he may have good intentions of difcharging a duty, while that duty is at a diftance; let it but approach, let him but view the time of action near, and down drops his hands in languor. What can be done with fuch a man? He is abfolutely good for nothing: bufinefs tires him, reading fatigues him.If he is employed, moments are as hours to him: if he is amufed, hours are as moments. In general, his whole time eludes him: he lets it glide

away