The pregnancy and births of those women would be thought very extraordinary among us, where the ladies fuffer to much, notwithstanding all the care and circumfpection used before and after labour. On the contrary, a Morlack woman neither changes her food nor interrupts her daily fatigue on account of her pregnancy; and is frequently delivered in the fields, or on the road, by herself; and takes the infant, washes it in the first water the finds, carries it home, and returns the day after to her ufual labour, or to feed her flock.

The little creatures, thus carelessly treated in their tendereft moments, are afterward wrapt in miferable rags, were they remain three or four months, under the fame ungentle management; and when that term is elapfed, they are fet at liberty, and left to crawl about the cottage and before the door, till they learn to walk upright by themselves; and at the fame time acquire that fingular degree of ftrength and health with which the Morlacchi are endowed, and are able, without the least inconvenience, to expose their naked breads to the feverett froits and fnow. The infants are allowed to fuck their mother's milk while he has any, or till he is with child again; and if that should not happen for three, four, or fix years, they continue all

that time to receive nourishment from the breaft. The prodigious length of the breafts of the Morlacchian women is fomewhat extraordinary; for it is very certain, that they can give the teat to their children over their shoulders, or under their arms. They let the boys run about, without breeches, in a fhirt that reaches only to the knee, till the age of thirteen or fourteen, following the custom of Boffina, fubject to the Porte, where no haraz or capitation-tax is paid for the boys till they wear breeches, they being confidered before that time as children, not capable of labouring, or of earning their bread. On the occafion of births, and especially of the first, all the relations and friends fend prefents of eatables to the woman in childbed, or rather to the woman delivered; and the family makes a fupper of all thofe prefents together. The women do not enter the church till forty days after child-birth.

The Morlacchi pafs their youth in the woods, attending their flocks and herds; and in that life of quiet and leifure they often become dexterous in carving with a fimple knife: they make wooden cups, and whittles adorned with fanciful baffe-reliefs, which are not void of merit, and at leaft show the genius of the people.

IN N the world, and even in the church, we live among perfons who keep a strict eye upon the whole tenour of our conduct, and fome from praife-worthy motives. Zealous paftors watch the fteps of their flocks; affectionate relations or friends obferve a mutual attention toward each other, in order to interfere, when neceffary, with their advice or affiftance: but laying afide all palliatives, the most common principle of the eager enquirers after the circumftances and behaviour of others, are of an inferior ftamp. It is neither more nor less than an idle curiofity,

envy, and malice, which ftuff the brains of fo many with the anecdotes of their town. Now, would these carping fpectators fee and relate things as they really are; would they, in doubtful cafes, vouchfafe to put the most gentle conftruction or fufpend their judgment; their prying into things (which, after all, do in no wife concern them) would be rather futile than criminal: but how milconftrued and exaggerated are our words, our actions, and even our geftures? Our very filence does not efcape animadverfion. Is it not a known truth, that the infectious breath

of

of flander tarnishes the pureft lives, affigns evil motives to lawful actions, and, much more, puts a bad conftruction on any, where there is the leaft equivocal appearance.

This is the fituation of every member of the church and community, and the more eminent his talents and virtues, the more is he expofed; the wicked being exceedingly indulgent to each other, but giving no quarter to the virtuous, they fift them with out mercy; they cannot bear any fhould be thought better than they themselves. Now, this being the cafe, how shall an honeft man or a good Christian behave? Shall he difcompofe himself to lend an ear to thefe inceffant rumours, these buzzings of the multitude? Shall he put on a new behaviour? Shall he alter the plan of his life upon every new cenfure of it? Experience tells him that this would be labour in vain, and that, to please every body, was never yet the lot of any one. We are under many duties to fociety; fo we are to ourfelves; and the latter muft take the lead. Society forbids us to introduce diforder, by behaviour of an offenfive appearance; but fociety (herein I include the church, as these two bodies make one) Society, I fay, treats us with an afperity to which it has no right, by giv.g an injurious turn to appearances. Muthey then be given up to it? Here I think lies the great ftrefs, the precife point of the queftion under hand, to the clearing up of which I offer the following diftinctions.

I diftinguish three forts of publics, or three claffes of perfons in the community and in the church, a judicious public, a weak public, and an unjust public. The judicious public, whofe decifions are ever fquared by equity, and which requires no further of us than the obfervance of our duty, has a right to our attention with all poffible regard. Its voice being no other than that of religion and reason, there is no need of dwelling on proofs of its juft claim to deference. If it pro

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nounces certain fteps to be inconfiderate, mifbecoming, or dangerous, its decree muft immediately take place: there is no pleading any ideal innocence, which might be at the bottom of thofe exceptionable proceedings; the excufe is frivolous; whatever is really a ftumbling-block to our rational neighbour, and gives him a fenfible offence, cannot be innocent; the precept of abflaining from all appearance of evil admits of no exception.

There is an unjuft public, rancorous fpies bent on injuring us, and who will be fure to work us continual trouble, while we fubmit our tranquillity to their notions. If mater of a plentiful fortune, you make a decent use of it in the conveniencies and entertainments of life, this is exclaimed against as luxury and epicurifm, which you must immediately retrench; and had you at first set out in the ftrict economy, which they require, then their cry would have been, Such ftinginefs! is this being a steward of God? This is nothing less than trampling the gifts of Providence under foot. Thefe, in fine, are a crew whom there is no fatisfying, nor fhould it have any fhare in our thoughts. Let this public talk on; it is the best way to get rid of them; finding their clamours difregarded, they have the wisdom to be filent; whereas any concern fhewn at their tattle, any endeavours to gratify it, are only fo much more matter for giving it a quicker circulation. It is even a kind of entertainment to a speculative man, who can command his temper, to fee and hear the machinations and bustles of thefe contemptible vermin; he is like one fitting on a lofty rock, who fees the waves breaking at his feet.

But there remains another public, ftill more vexatious, these are the weak public: actuated by prejudices and fuperftition, they make falvation to depend on a thoufand trifles, and are thrown into very painful agitations at mere nothings. With them a gnat is a camel. How are we to behave to

ward

ward fuch? Are we to conform to their mistakes?

In answer to this, which is properly the cafe of the question I would now clear up, I obferve first, that it is the immediate end of our Saviour's injunctions, not to find any of thefe little ones. If they are real weakneffes in our neighbours, though of themfelves they have not abfolutely a claim to be humoured, yet religion, and even natural equity, teaches us to condefcend to them. To be convinced of this, only reprefent to yourself the confequences of a different behaviour, and recollect an inttance in the apoftolic times. All foods are certainly equal as to any inherent facredness or pollution; meats facrificed to idols are expofed to fale, which I can buy and eat of without any remorse; but my weaker brother conceives this to be downright idolatry; and if I do fo in his prefence, he will conclude me guilty of that idolatry; or even his faith, from his opinion of me, will be ftaggered, fo that poffibly he may fall into a real idolatry. Is it a quel tion how we are to act in such a cafe?

Further, what we are pleafed to call an infupportable contraint, a grievous facrifice, are not fuch weighty matters as we may think. Upon any hint of a great man from whom we expect a warm poít, we are ready to fhew a much more trouble fome deference to his humour. The public imagines that you frequent a houfe of ill-repute: let it imagine fo, fay you, I am confcious of my purity. Not at all, let it not imagine fo; this alone hinders all the good effects of your virtues, and weakens the force of your example in the caufe of religion. Sure you cannot hesitate to break off a commerce which is an obftruction to fo much good, and whereby your character, otherwife fo excellent, becomes of no general ufe. Thus are many valuable perfons circumftanced toward the weak public, and it would be a kind of cruelty, not to fubmit in fome measure to its infirmities.

Different conditions, tempers, age, and a thousand other circumflances, may either increase or diminish this deference which is due to the weak public. There is not that person in the world, who is or ought to think himself above the world's tongue. But fome there are whom it more especially concerns to keep fair with it, I mean thofe who ftand high either in church or itate. For fuch to fay, What care I about the people's thoughts? Is little less than to fay, what care I whether I discharge my office, with honour to myfelf or advantage to the public? They who take upon themfelves important employments, are above all others called upon to prepare themselves for conftraints, to forego certain entertainments and pleasures, which, though in themfelves innocent, may be looked upon as of evil tendency.

Laftly, an inducement, and a very important one, to this condefcenfion to the weak, is the prefervation of our own virtues. If any one be wanting in a fenfe of what he owes to others, and of the precipices to which his indifcretion leads them, let him mind himfelf, let him fear for his own falvation. Whatever ftock of virtue he may have acquired, still it is poffible, it is natural, that the appearance of evil may betray him into the reality; the path is fo flippery, that not a few have found themselves plunged into the Faire of vice, who once, in their calm hours, would have ftartled at any step toward it.

It is faid of female chaflity, that it is a flower which fades irretrievably, and that fufpicion blafts it no less effectually than guilt itfelf: this is in no fmall meafure applicable to Chrif tian virtues. A good Chriftian fhould be accounted fuch; the natural effect of his amiable character being to dif fufe a charming fragrancy, inviting others to imitation. Now, wilfully to neglect fuch delightful, fuch beneficial confequences of his fanctity, is to deprive himfelf of one of the rewards which God has annexed to it;