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equally distant from the truth. One thing, however, muft be allowed for the honour of Barton, he never breaks out into illiberal abufe, far lefs endeavours, by infamous calumnies, to blast the moral character of any individual on the other fide.

EVER fince we came hither, he has been remarkably affiduous in his attention to our family; an attention, which, in a man of his indolence and avocations, I fhould have thought altogether odd, and even unnatural, had not I perceived that my fifter Liddy has made fome impreffion upon his heart. I can't say that I have any objection to his trying his fortune in this purfuit; if an opulent estate and a great stock of goodnature are fufficient qualifications in a husband, to render the marriage-ftate happy for life, the may be happy with Barton: But, I imagine, there is fomething elfe required to engage and fecure the affection of a woman of fenfe and delicacy; fomething which Nature has denied our friend-Liddy feems to be of the fame opinion. When he addreffes himself to her in difcourfe, fhe feems to liften with reluctance, and induftriously avoids all particular communication; but in proportion to her coynefs, our aunt is coming. Mrs Tabitha goes more than half way to meet his advances; fhe mistakes, or affects to mistake, the meaning of his courtefy, which is rather formal and fulfome; she returns his compliments with hyperbolical intereft, fhe perfecutes him with her civilities at table, fhe appeals to him for ever in converfation, fhe fighs, and flirts, and ogles, and by her hideous affectation and impertinence, drives the poor courtier to the very extremity of his complaifance: In fhort, fhe feems to have undertaken the fiege of Barton's heart, and carries on her approaches in fuch a desperate manner, that I don't know whether he will not be obliged to capitulate. In the mean time, his averfion to this inamorata ftruggling with his acquired affability, and his natural fear of giving offence, throws him into a kind of diftrefs which is extremely ridiculous.

Two days ago, he perfuaded my uncle and me to accompany him to St James's, where he undertook to make us acquainted with the perfons of all the great

men in the kingdom; and, indeed, there was a great affemblage of distinguished characters, for it was a high feftival at court. Our conductor performed his promife with great punctuality. He pointed out almost every individual of both fexes, and generally introduced them to our notice with a flourish of panegyric-Seeing the king approach, "There comes (faid he) the most amiable fovereign that ever swayed the fceptre of England; the delicia humani generis; Auguftus, in patronizing merit; Titus Vespasian in generosity; Trajan in beneficence; and Marcus Aurelius in philosophy." "A very honest, kind-hearted gentleman (added my uncle); he's too good for the times. A king of England should have a fpice of the devil in his compofition." Barton then turning to the Duke of C-, proceeded-" You know the Duke; that illuftrious hero, who trod rebellion under his feet, and fecured us in poffeffion of every thing we ought to hold dear as Englishmen and Chriftians. Mark what an eye, how penetrating, yet pacific! what dignity in his mien! what humanity in his afpect-Even malice must own, that he is one of the greatest officers in Christendom." "I think he be (faid Mr Bramble); but who are these young gentlemen that ftand befide him ?" "Thofe! (cried our friend) thofe are his royal nephews; the princes of the blood. Sweet young princes! the facred pledges of the proteftant line; fo fpirited, fo fenfible, fo princely-" "Yes; very fenfible! very fpirited! (faid my uncle interrupting him) but fee the queen! ha, there's the queen! There's the queen let me fee-let me fee-Where are my glaffes? ha! there's meaning in that eye-There's fentiment-There's expreffion. Well, Mr Barton, what figure do you call next?" The next person he pointed out was the favourite yearl; who ftood folitary by one of the windows" Behold yon northern star (faid he), fhorn of his beams" "What! the Caledonian luminary, that lately blazed fo bright in our hemifphere! methinks, at prefent, it glimmers through a fog; like Saturn without his ring, bleak and dim, and distantHa, there's the other great phenomenon, the grand penfionary, that weather-cock of patriotifm that veers. about in every point of the political compafs, and still

-n,

feels the wind of popularity in his tail. He too, like a portentous comet, has risen again above the court horizon; but how long he will continue to ascend, it is not eafy to foretel, confidering his great eccentricity-Who are those two fatellites that attend his motions?" When Barton told him their names, "To their characters (faid Mr Bramble) I am no ftranger. One of them, without a drop of red blood in his veins, has a cold, intoxicating vapour in his head; and rancour enough in his heart to inoculate and affect a whole nation. The other is (I hear) intended for a fhare in the adand the penfionary vouches for his being duly qualified. The only inftance I ever heard of his fagacity, was his deferting his former patron, when he found him declining in power, and in difgrace with the people. Without principle, talent, or intelligence, he is ungracious as a hog, greedy as a vulture, and thievifh as a jackdaw; but, it must be owned, he is no hypocrite. He pretends to no virtue, and takes no pains to disguise his character-His miniftry will be attended with one advantage; no man will be disappointed by his breach of promife, as no mortal ever trufted to his word. I wonder how Lord firft difcovered this happy genius, and for what purpofe Lord - has now adopted him: But one would think, that as amber has a power to attract dirt, and ftraws, and chaff, a minifter is endued with the fame kind of faculty, to lick up every knave and blockhead in his way-" His eulogium was interrupted by the arrival of the old Duke of N

who, fqueezing into the circle with a bufy face of importance, thruft his head into every countenance, as if he had been in search of fomebody, to whom he wanted to impart fomething cf great confequence-My uncle, who had been formerly known to him, bowed as he paffed, and the Duke, feeing himself faluted fo refpectfully by a well-dreffed perfon, was not flow in returning the courtesy-He even came up, and, taking him cordially by the hand, "My dear friend, Mr A(faid he), I am rejoiced to see you-How long have you been come from abroad?-How did you leave our good friends the Dutch? The King of Pruffia don't think of another war, ah?-He's a great king! a great con

queror! a very great conqueror: Your Alexanders and Hannibals were nothing at all to him, Sir-Corporals! drummers! drofs! mere trash-Damn'd trash, heh ?” His Grace being by this time out of breath, my uncle took the opportunity to tell him he had not been out of England, that his name was Bramble, and that he had the honour to fit in the last parliament but one of the late king, as representative for the borough of Dymkymraig. "Odfo! (cried the duke), I remember you perfectly well, my dear Mr Bramble-You was always a good and loyal fubject-a ftaunch friend to adminiftration-I made your brother an Irish Bifhop"Pardon me, my lord (faid the fquire), I once had a brother, but he was a captain in the army-" "Ha! (faid his Grace), he was fo-He was indeed! But who was the bishop then? Bishop Blackberry-Sure it was Bishop Blackberry-Perhaps fome relation of yours-" "Very likely, my lord (replied my uncle), the Blackberry is the fruit of the Bramble-But, I believe the bishop is not a berry of our bufh-” "No more he is, no more he is, ha, ha, ha! (exclaimed the duke) there you give me a fcratch, good Mr Bramble, ha, ha, ha !-Well, I fhall be glad to see you at Lincoln's-innfields--You know the way-Times are altered. Though I have loft the power, I retain the inclination-Your very humble fervant, good Mr Blackberry-" So faying, he fhoved to another corner of the room. "What a fine old gentleman! (cried Mr Barton) what fpirits! what a memory!-He never forgets an old friend.". "He does me too much honour (obferved our fquire), to rank me among the number-Whilft I fat in parlia ment, I never voted with the miniftry but three times, when my confcience told me they were in the right: However, if he ftill keeps levee, I will carry my nephew thither, that he may fee, and learn to avoid the fcene; for I think an English gentleman never appears to fuch difadvantage, as at the levee of a minifter Of his grace I fhall fay nothing at prefent, but that for thirty years he was the conftant and common butt of ridicule and execration. He was generally laughed at as an ape in politics, whofe office and influence ferved only to render his folly the more notorious; and the oppofition

curfed him, as the indefatigable drudge of a firft mover, who was justly ftiled and ftigmatized as the father of corruption: But this ridiculous ape, this venal drudge, no fooner loft the places he was fo ill qualified to fill, and unfurled the banners of faction, than he was metamorphofed into a pattern of public virtue; the very people who reviled him before, now extolled him to the fkies, as a wife, experienced ftatesman, chief pillar of the proteftant fucceffion, and corner-ftone of English liberty. I fhould be glad to know how Mr Barton reconciles these contradictions, without obliging us to refign all title to the privilege of common fenfe." "My dear Sir (anfwered Barton), I don't pretend to justify the extravagancies of the multitude, who I fuppofe were as wild in their former cenfure, as in their prefent praife; but I fhall be very glad to attend you on Thurfday next to his grace's levee; where, I am afraid, we fhall not be crouded with company; for, you know, there's a wide difference between his prefent office of prefident of the council, and his former post of first lord commiffioner of the treasury."

THIS Communicative friend having announced all the remarkable characters of both fexes that appeared at court, we refolved to adjourn, and retired. At the foot of the ftair-cafe, there was a croud of lacqueys and chairmen, and in the midst of them ftood Humphry Clinker, exalted upon a ftool, with his hat in one hand, and a paper in the other, in the act of holding forth to the people.-Before we could enquire into the meaning of this exhibition, he perceived his mafter, thrust the paper into his pocket, defcended from his elevation, bolted through the croud, and brought up the carriage to the gate.

My uncle faid nothing till we were feated, when, after having looked at me earneftly for fome time, he burft out a laughing, and afked me if I knew upon what fubject Clinker was holding forth to the mob?"If (faid he) the fellow is turned mountebank, I muft turn him out of my fervice, otherwife he'll make Merry Andrews of us all."-I obferved, that, in all probability, he had studied phyfic under his mafter, who was a farrier.