great pains not to appear a dunce. At the university he never failed attending his tutor's lectures, was conftant at prayers night and morning, never miffed gates, or the hall at meal-time, was regular in his academical exercifes, and took pride in appearing on all occafions with mafters of arts; and he was happy beyond meafure, in being acquainted with fome of the heads of the houfes, who were glad through him to know what paffed among the under graduates. Though he was not reckoned by the college to be a Newton, a Locke, or a Bacon, he was univerfally esteemed by the fenior part to be a mighty good kind of young man; and this even, placid turn of mind, has fince recommended him to no fmall preferment in the church. We may obferve, when thefe mighty good kind of young men come into the world, their attention to appearances and externals, beyond which the generality of people feldóm examine, procures them a much better fubfiftence, and a more reputable fituation in life, than ever their abilities or their merit could otherwife entitle them to. Though they are feldom advanced very high, yet if fuch a one is in orders, he gets a tolerable living, or is appointed tutor to a dunce of quality, or is made companion to him on his travels; and then, on his return, he is a mighty polite, as well as a mighty good kind of man. If he is to be a lawyer, his being fuch a mighty good kind of man, will make the attornies fupply him with fpecial pleading, or bills and anfwers to draw, as he is fufficiently qualified by his flow genius to be a drayhorfe of the law. But though he can never hope to be a chancellor, or an archbishop; yet if he is admitted of the medical college of Warwick-lane, he will have a good chance to be at the top of their profeffion, as the fuccefs of the faculty chiefly depends on old women, fanciful and hyfterical young ones, whimfical men, and young children, among the generality of whom nothing recommends a perfon fo much, as his being a mighty good kind of man. I must own, that a good man and a man of sense, certainly thould have every thing that this kind of man has: yet, if he poffeffes no more, much is wanting to finish and complete his character. Many are deceived by French pafte: it has the lutire and brilliancy of a real díamond: but the want of hardness, the effential property of this valuable jewel, difcovers the counterfeit, and fhews it to be of no intrific value whatfoever. If the head and the heart are left out in the character of any man, you might as well look for a perfect beauty in a female face without a nole, as expect to find a valuable man without fenfibility and underftanding. But it often happens, that thefe mighty good kind of men are wolves in theep's cloathing: and that their want of parts is fupplied by an abundance of cunning, and the outward behaviour and deportment calculated to entrap the thort-fighted and unweary, Where this is not the cafe, I cannot help thinking, thefe kind of men are no better than blanks in the creation: if they are not unjuft ftewards, they are certainly to be reckoned unprofitable fervants. Character Character of a good sort of woman. SIR, HE uncertainty and defects another quickly depreffed yet there was one in whofe favour almost all fuffrages concurred. Mifs Gentle was univerfally allowed to be a good Her fortune was Tof language have produced sort of woman. very frequent complaints among the learned; yet there ftill remain many words among us undefined, which are very neceflary to be rightly understood, and which produce very mischievous mistakes, when they are erroneously interpreted. I lived in a state of celibacy beyond the ufual time. In the hurry firft of pleasure, and afterwards of bufinefs, I felt no want of a domeftick companion; but becoming weary of labour, I foon grew more weary of idleness, and thought it reasonable to follow the cuftom of life, and to feek fome folace of my cares in female tenderness, and fome amufement of my leifure in female chearfulness. The choice which has been long delayed is commonly made at laft with great caution. My refolution was to keep my paffions neutral, and to marry only in compliance with my reafon. I drew up, on a page of my pocket book, a fcheme of all female virtues and vices, with the vices which border upon every virtue, and the virtues which are allied to every vice. I confidered that wit was farcaftic, and magnanimity imperious; that avarice was ceconomical, and ignorance obfequious; and having eftimated the good and evil of every quality, employed my own diligence, and that of my friends, to find the lady in whom nature and reafon had reached that happy mediocrity which is equally remote from exuberance and deficiency. Every woman had her admirers, and her cenfurers, and the expectations which one raifed were by not large, but fo prudently managed, that he wore finer cloaths, and faw more company, than many who were known to be twice as rich. Mifs Gentle's vifits were every where welcome, and whatever family the favoured with her company, the always left behind her fuch a degree of kindness as recommended her to others; every day extended her acquaintance, and all who knew her, declared that they never met with a better sort of woman. To Mifs Gentle I made my addreffes; and was received with great equality of temper. She did not, in the days of courtilip, affume the privilege of impofing rigorous commands, or refenting flight offences. If I forgot any of her injunctions. I was gently reminded; if I miffed the minute of appointment, I was eafily forgiven. I forefaw nothing. in marriage but a halcyon calm, and longed for the happinefs which was to be found in the infeparabie fociety of a good sort of woman, The jointure was foon fettled by the intervention of friends, and the day came in which Mifs Gentle was made mine for ever. The firft month was palled easily enough in receiving and repaying the civüities of our friends. The bride prac. tifed with great exactness all the niceties of ceremony, and diftributed her notice in the moft punc tilious proportions to the foends who furrounded us with their happy auguries. But the time foon came when we were left to ourselves, and were to receive our pleasures from each P3 other, other, and then I began to perceive that I was not formed to be much delighted by a good sort of woman. Her great principle is, that the orders of a family must not be broken. Every hour of the day has its employment inviolably appropriated, nor will any importunity perfuade her to walk in the garden, at the time which he has devoted to her needle-work, or to fit up ftairs in that part of the forenoon, which fhe has accustomed herself to fpend in the back parlour. She allows herself to fit half an hour after breakfast, and an hour after dinner; and while I am talking, or reading to her, keeps her eye upon her watch, and when the minute of departure comes, will leave an argument unfinished, or the intrigue of a play unravelled. She once called me to fupper when I was watching an eclipfe, and fummoned me at another time to bed when I was going to give directions at a fire. Her converfation is fo habitually cautious, that fhe never talks to me but in general terms, as to one whom it is dangerous to truft. For difcriminations of character fhe has no names; all whom the mentions are honest men and agreeable women. She fmiles not by fenfation, but by practice. Her laughter is never excited but by a joke, and her notion of a joke is not very delicate. The repetition of a good joke does not weaken its effect; if he has laughed once, fhe will laugh again. She is an enemy to nothing but ill-nature and pride, but he has frequent reafon to lament that they are fo frequent in the world. All who are not equally pleased with the good and bad, with the elegant and grofs, with the witty and the dull, all who diftinguish excellence from defect, the confiders as ill patured; and fhe condemns as proud all who reprefs impertinence or quell prefumption, or expect refpect from any other eminence than that of fortune, to which the is always willing to pay homage. There are none whom the openly hates; for if once the fuffers, or believes herself to fuffer, any contempt or infult, fhe never difmiffes it from her mind, but takes all opportunities to tell how eafily fhe can forgive. There are none whom the loves much better than others; for when any of her acquaintance decline in the opinion of the world, the always finds it inconvenient to vifit them; her affection continues unaltered, but it is impoffible to be intimate with the whole town. She daily exercifes her benevolence by pitying every misfortune that happens to every family within her circle of notice; the is in hourly terrors left one fhould catch cold in the rain, and another be frighted by the high wind. Her charity the fhews by lamenting that fo many poor wretches fhould languish in the fireets, and by wondering what the great can think on that they do fo little good with fuch large eftates. Her houfe is elegant, and her table dainty, though the has little tafte of elegance, and is wholly free from vicious luxury; but the comforts herfelf that no-body can fay that her houfe is dirty, or that her difhes are not well dreft. This, Mr. Idler, I have found by long experience to be the character of a good sort of woman, which I have fent you for the information of thofe by whom a good sort of woman and a good woman, may happen to be used as equivalent terms, and who may fuffer by the miftake like your's, &c. TIM WARNER. POETRY, POETRY. The concluding copy of the Oxford Verses on the death of his late, and accession of his present Majesty. Written by Mr. WARTON, Poetry Professor of that University. S To Mr. SECRETARY PITT. O ftream the forrows that embalm the brave, Yes, guide and guardian of thy country's caufe! Though princes claim'd her tributary lays, And fure if e'er the Mufe indulg'd her ftrains, Where could her glance a theme of triumph own Princes |