laughter. But though these men may be for a time heard with applause and admiration, they feldom delight us long We enjoy them a little, and then retire to cafiness and good humour, as the eye gazes awhile on eminences glittering with the fun, but foon turns aching away to verdure and to flowers.

GAIETY is to good humour as animal perfumes to vegetable fragrance; the one overpowers weak spirits, and the other recreates and revives them. Gaiety feldom fails to give fome pain; the hearers either ftrain their faculties to accompany its towerings, or are left behind in envy and defpair. Good humour boafts no faculties which every one does not believe in his power, and pleafes principally by no offending.

Ir is well known, that the most certain way to give any man pleasure, is to perfuade him that you receive pleasure from him, to encourage him to freedom and confidence, and to avoid any such appearance of superiority as may overbear and deprefs him. We fee many that by this art only, spend their days in the midst of caresses, invitations, and civilities; and without any extraordinary qualities or attainments, are the univerfal favourites of both fexes, and certainly find a friend in every place. The darlings of the world will, indeed, be generally found fuch as excite neither jealousy nor fear; and are not confidered as candidates for any eminent degree of reputation, but content themselves with common accomplishments, and endeavour rather to folicit kindness than to raise esteem. Therefore in affemblies and places of refort it seldom fails to happen, that though at the entrance of fome particular perfon every face brightens with gladness, and every hand is extended in falutation, yet if you pursue him beyond the first exchange of civilities, you will find him

of

of very fmall importance, and only welcome to the company, as one by whom all conceive themselves admired, and with whom any one is at liberty to amufe himself when he can find no other auditor or companion; as one with whom all are at eafe, who will hear a jeft without criticism, and a narrative without contradiction; who laughs with every wit, and yields to every disputer.

THERE are many whofe vanity always inclines them to affociate with those from whom they have no reason to fear mortification ; and there are times in which the wife and the knowing are willing to receive praise without the labour of deferving it, in which the most elevated mind is willing to defcend, and the most active to be at reft. All therefore are at fome hour or another fond of companions who they can entertain upon eafy terms, and who will relieve them from folitude, without condemning them to vigilance and caution. We are most inclined to love when we have nothing to fear; and he that encourages us to please ourselves, will not be long without preference in our affection to those whose learning holds us at the diftance of pupils, or whofe wit calls all attention from us, and leave us without importance and without regard.

Ir is remarked by prince Henry, when he fees Falftaff lying on the ground, "that he could have better spared a better man." He was well acquainted with the vices and follies of him whom he lamented, but while his conviction compelled him to juftice to fuperior qualities, his tendernefs ftill broke out at the remembrance of Falstaff, of the chearful companion, the loud buffoon, with whom he had paffed his time in all the luxury of idlenefs, who had gladdened him with unenvied merriment, and whom he could at once enjoy and despise.

You

You may perhaps think this account of those who are diftinguished for their good humour, not very confiftent with the praises which I have beftowed upon it. But surely nothing can more evidently fhed the value of this quality, than that it recommends those who are deftitute of all other excellencies, and procures regard to the trifling, friendship to the worthlefs, and affection to the dull.

GOOD humour is indeed generally degraded by the characters in which it is found; for being confidered as a cheap and vulgar quality, we find it often neglected by those that having excellencies of higher reputation and brighter fplendor, perhaps imagine that they have fome right to gratify themselves at the expence of others, and are to demand compliance, rather than to practise it. It is by fome unfortunate mistake that almost all those who have any claim to esteem or love, prefs their pretenfions with too little confideration of others. This mistake my own intereft as well as my zeal for general happiness makes me defirous to rectify; for I have a friend, who because he knows his own fidelity and usefulness, is never willing to fink into a companion. I have a wife whose beauty first fubdued me, and whofe wit confirmed her conqueft; but whose beauty now ferves no other purpose than to entitle her to tyranny, and whofe wit is only used to justify perverseness.

SURELY nothing can be more unreasonable than to lose the will to please, when we are confcious of the power, or fhew more cruelty than to chuse any kind of influence before that of kindness. He that regards the welfare of others, fhould make his virtue approachable, that it may be loved and copied and he that confiders the wants which every man feels, or will feel, of external assistance, must rather wish to be furrounded by thofe that love him, than by thofe that

admire his excellencies, or folicit his favours; for admiration ceases with novelty, and intereft gains its end and retires. A man whofe great qualities want the ornament of fuperficial attractions, is like a naked mountain with mines of gold, which will be frequented only till the treasure is exhausted. RAMBLER.

С НА Р. VI.

ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD.

OTHING has fo much expofed men of learning to contempt and ridicule, as their ignorance of things which are known to all but themfelves. Those who have been taught to confider the inftitutions of the schools, as giving the last perfection to human abilities, are surprised to fee men wrinkled with study, yet wanting to be inftructed in the minute circumftances of propriety, or the neceffary forms of daily tranfaction; and quickly shake off their reverence for modes of education, which they find to produce no ability above the reft of mankind.

Books, fays Bacon, can never teach the use of books. The ftudent must learn by commerce with mankind to reduce his fpeculations to practice, and accommodate his knowledge to the purposes of life.

Ir is too common for those who have been bred to fcholaftic profeffions, aud paffed much of their time in academies, where nothing but learning confers honours, to disregard every other qualification, and to imagine that they shall find mankind ready to pay homage to their knowledge, and to crowd about them for inftruction. They therefore step out from their cells into the open world, with all the confidence

of

of authorityand dignity of importance; they look round about them at once with ignorance and fcorn on a race of beings to whom they are equally unknown and equally contemptible, but whofe manners they muft imitate, and with whofe opinions. they must comply, if they defire to pafs their time happily among them.

To leffen that difdain with which scholars are inclined to look on the common bufinefs of the world, and the unwillingnefs with which they condescend to learn what is not to be found in any fyftem of philofophy, it may be neceffary to confider, that though admiration is excited by abstruse refearches and remote difcoveries, yet pleafure is not given nor affection conciliated, but by fofter accomplishments, and qualities more easily communicable to thofe about us. He that can only converse upon questions, about which only a fmall part of mankind has knowledge fufficient to make them curious, muft lofe his days in unfocial filence, and live in the crowd of life without a companion. He that can only be useful in great occafions, may die without exerting his abilities, and stand a heplefs fpectator of a thousand vexations which fret away happiness, and which nothing is required to remove but a little dexterity of conduct and readi nefs of expedients.

No degree of knowledge attainable by man is able to fet him above the want of hourly affiflance, or to extinguish the defire of fond endearments, and tender officiousness ; and therefore no one should think it unneceffary to learn those arts by which friendship may be gained. Kindnefs is preférved by a conftant reciprocation of benefits or interchange of pleasures; but fuch benefits only can be bestowed as others are capable of receiving, and fuch pleasures only imparted, as others are qualified to enjoy.

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