Authors. Pag.
Hume. 201
Smollett. 207

Hume. 207

Smollett. 208
Hume, 208
Smollett. 209

Hume. 209

Smollett, 210
Hume. 210
Smollett. 311
Hume. 212

Smollett. 212

Herry. 212
Hume. 213
Smollett. 214
Hume. 214

Smollett. 214

Hume. 215

Hume. 216

2. Curt. 186

49 Another

Middl. 186

51 Another

Salluft. 188

188

Hooke. 190

55 Death of Henry VI.

Smollett. 215

Saluft. 192

56 Character of Edward IV.

Livy. 19257 Another

Smollett. 216

2. Curt. 193

58 Another

Livy. 194

59 Edward V.

Salluft. 195

60 Character of Richard III.

20 Scythian Ambaff. to Alexander 21 Junius Brutus over Lucretia 22 Adherbal to the Roman Senate 23 Canuleius to the Roman Confuls 24 Character of William the Cong. 25 Another 26 Another

27 Character of William Rufus 28 Another

29 Character of Henry I.

30 Another

31 Character of Stephen

32 Another

33 Character of Henry II. 34 Another

35 Character of Richard I. Another

Smollet, 202 66 Character of Edward VI..

Hums. 203

67 Another

Smollett. 203 68 Another

Hame. 204 69 Character of Mary

Smollett. 204

70 Another

Smollett. 205

72 Another

Rapin. 216 217 Hume. 217 Smollett. 217

Hume. 218

Hume, 221

Smollett. 222 Rapin. 222 Hume. 224

Smollett. 225 Macauley. 225 75 Another

§ 1. The Vifion of Mirza, exhibiting a Picture of Human Life.

N cording to the custom of my forefathers, I always kept holy, after having washed myfelf, and offered up my morning devotions, I afcended the high hills of Bagdat, in order to pass the reft of the day in meditation and prayer. As I was here, airing myself on the tops of the mountains, I fell into a profound contemplation on the vanity of human life; and, paffing from one thought to another, Surely, faid I, man is but a fhadow, and life a dream. Whilft I was thus mufing, I caft my eyes towards the fummit of a rock that was not far from me, where I difcovered one in the habit of a fhepherd, with a little mufical inftrument in his hand. As I looked upon him, he applied it to his lips, and began to play upon it. The found of it was exceeding fweet, and wrought into a variety of tunes that were inexpreffibly melodious, and altogether different from any thing I had ever heard: they put me in mind of those heavenly airs that are played to the departed fouls of good men upon their first arrival in Paradife, to wear out the impreffions of the last agonies, and qualify

On the fifth day of the moon, which, ac

them for the pleasures of that happy place. My heart melted away in fecret raptures.

I had been often told, that the rock before me was the haunt of a genius; and that fe veral had been entertained with that music, who had paffed by it, but never heard that the musician had before made himself vifible. When he had raised my thoughts, by those tranfporting airs which he played, to taste the pleafures of his converfation, as I looked upon him like one aftonished, he beckoned to me, and, by the waving of his hand, directed me to approach the place where he fat. I drew near with that reverence which is due to a fuperior nature; and as my heart was entirely fubdued by the captivating ftrains I had heard, I fell down at his feet, and wept. The genius fmiled upon me with a look of compaffion and affability that familiarized him to my imagination, and at once difpelled all the fears and apprehenfions with which I approached him. He lifted me from the ground, and taking me by the hand, Mirza, said he, Í have heard thee in thy foliloquies; follow me.

He then led me to the highest pinnacle of the rock, and placing me on the top of it, Caft thy eyes caftward, faid he, and tell me what thou feeft. I fee, said I, a huge valley, and a proB

digious

digious tide of water rolling through it. The valley that thou feeft, faid he, is the vale of mifery; and the tide of water that thou seeft, is part of the great tide of eternity. What is the reafon, faid I, that the tide I fee rifes out of a thick mift at one end, and again lofes itself in a thick mift at the other? What thou fecft, faid he, is that portion of eternity which is called Time, measured out by the fun, and reaching from the beginning of the world to its confummation. Examine now, faid he, this fea that is bounded with darkness at both ends, and tell me what thou discovereft in it. I fee a bridge, faid I, standing in the midft of the tide. The bridge, thou feeft, fays he, is human life; confider it attentively. Upon a more leifurely furvey of it, I found that it confifted of threefcore and ten entire arches, with feveral broken arches, which, added to thofe that were entire, made up the number about an hundred. As I was counting the arches, the genius told me that this bridge confifted at first of a thousand arches; but that a great flood fwept away the reft, and left the bridge in the ruinous condition I now beheld it. But tell me further, faid he, what thou difcovereft on it. I fee multitudes of people pa ffing over it,faid I, and a black cloud hanging on each end of it. As I looked more attentively, I faw feveral of the paffengers dropping through the bridge into the great tide that flowed underneath it; and upon further examination, perceived there were innumerable trap-doors that lay concealed in the bridge, which the paffengers no fooner trod upon, but they fell through them into the tide, and immediately difappeared. Thefe hidden pit-falls were fet very thick at the entrance of the bridge, fo that throngs of people no fooner broke through the cloud, but many of them fell into them. They grew thinner towards the

middle, but multiplied and lay closer together towards the end of the arches that were entire. There were indeed fome perfons, but their number was very small, that continued a kind of hobbling march on the broken arches, but fell through one after another, being quite tired and spent with so long a walk.

I paffed fome time in the contemplation of this wonderful structure, and the great variety of objects which it prefented. My heart was filled with a deep melancholy, to fee feveral dropping unexpectedly in the midst of mirth and jollity, and catching at every thing that ftood by them, to fave themfelves. Some were looking up towards the heavens in a thoughtful pofture, and, in the midst of a fpeculation, ftumbled, and fell out of fight. Multitudes were very bufy in the purfuit of bubbles that glittered in their eyes, and danced before them; but often, when they thought themfelves within the reach of them, their footing failed, and down they funk. In this confufion of objects, I obferved fome with fcimetars in their hands, and others with urinals, who ran to and fro upon the bridge, thrufting feveral perfons on trap-doors which did not feem to lie in their way, and which they might have escaped, had they not been thus forced upon them.

The genius fecing me indulge myfelf in this melancholy profpect, told me I had dwelt long enough upon it: Take thine eyes off the bridge, faid he, and tell me if thou feeft any thing thou doft not comprehend. Upon looking up, What mean, faid I, thofe great flights of birds that are perpetually hovering about the bridge, and fettling upon it from time to time? Ifee vultures, harpies, ravens, cormorants, and, among many other feathered creatures, feveral little winged boys, that perch in great numbers upon the middle arches. Thefe,