gardener has tied his hair behind, and stolen my flour to powder it, ever since he saw Mr. Papillot; and yesterday he gave me warning that he should leave me next term, if I did not take him into the house, and provide another hand for the work in the garden. I found a great hoyden, who washes my daughters' linens, sitting, the other afternoon, dressed in one of their cast fly-caps, entertaining this same oaf of a gardener, and the wives of two of my farm-servants, with tea, forsooth; and when I quarrelled with her for it, she replied, that Mrs. Dimity, my Lady gentlewoman, told her all the maids at tea, and saw company of an afternoon.

-'s

had

But I am resolved on a reformation, Mr. MIRROR, and shall let my wife and daughters know that I will be master of my own house and my own expenses, and will neither be made a fool or a beggar, though it were after the manner of the greatest lord in Christendom. Yet I confess I am always for trying gentle methods first. I beg, therefore, that you will insert this in your next paper, and add to it some exhortations of your own to prevail on them, if possible, to give over a behaviour, which I think, under favour, is rather improper even in great folks, but is certainly ruinous to little ones.

Mr. Homespun's relation, too valuable to be shortened, leaves me not room at present for any observations. But I have seen the change of manners among some of my countrywomen, for several years past, with the most sensible regret ; and I intend soon to devote a paper to a serious remonstrance with them on the subject.

Z.

No. 26. SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 1779.

NOTHING can give a truer picture of the manners of any particular age, or point out more strongly those circumstances which distinguish it from others, than the change that takes place in the rules established as to the external conduct of men in society, or in what may be called the system of politeness.

It were absurd to say, that, from a man's external conduct, we are always to judge of the feelings of his mind; but, certainly, when there are rules laid down for men's external behaviour to one another, we may conclude that there are some general feelings prevalent among the people which dictate those rules, and make a deviation from them to be considered as improper. When at any time, therefore, an alteration in those general rules takes place, it is reasonable to suppose that the change has been produced by some alteration in the feelings, and in the ideas of propriety and impropriety of the people.

Whoever considers the rules of external behaviour established about a century ago must be convinced, that much less attention was then paid by men of high rank to the feelings of those beneath them than in the present age. In that æra, a man used to measure out his complaisance to others according to the degree of rank in which they stood, compared with his own. A peer had a certain manner of address and salutation to a peer of equal rank, a different one to a peer of an inferior order, and, to a

commoner, the mode of address was diversified according to the antiquity of his family, or the extent of his possessions; so that a stranger, who happened to be present at the leveè of a great man, could with tolerable certainty, by examining his features, or attending to the lowness of his bow, judge of the different degrees of dignity among his visitors.

Were it the purpose of the present paper, this might be traced back to a very remote period. By the Earl of Northumberland's household book, begun in the year 1512, it appears that my lord's boardend, that is to say, the end of the table where he and his principal guests were seated, was served with a different and more delicate sort of viands than those

allotted to the lower end. 'It is thought good,' says that curious record, that no pluvers be brought at no time but only in Christmas, and principal feasts, and my lord to be served therewith, and his board-end, and no other.'-The line of distinction was marked by a large salt-cellar, placed in the middle of the table; above which, at my lord's board-end, sat the distinguished guests, and below it those of an inferior

class.

In this country, and in a period nearer our own times, we have heard of a Highland chieftain, who died not half a century ago, remarkable for his hospitality, and for having his table constantly crowded with a number of guests; possessing a high idea of the dignity of his family, and warmly attached to ancient manners, he was in use very nicely to discriminate by his behaviour to them the ranks of the different persons he entertained. The head of the table was occupied by himself, and the rest of the company sat nearer or more remote from him according to their respective ranks. All, indeed, were allowed to partake of the same food; but when the liquor was produced, which was, at that

VOL. I.

N

time, and perhaps still is, in some parts of Scotland, accounted the principal part of a feast, a different sort of beverage was assigned to the guests, according to their different dignities. The chieftain himself, and his family, or near relations, drank wine of the best kind; to persons next in degree was allotted wine of an inferior sort; and to guests of a still lower rank were allowed only those liquors which were the natural produce of the country. This distinction was agreeable to the rules of politeness at that time established: the entertainer did not feel any thing disagreeable in making it, nor did any of the entertained think themselves entitled to take this treatment amiss.

It must be admitted, that a behaviour of this sort would not be consonant to the rules of politeness established in the present age. A man of good breeding now considers the same degree of attention to be due to every man in the rank of a gentleman, be his fortune, or the antiquity of his family, what it may; nay, a man of real politeness will feel it

rather more incumbent on him to be attentive and complaisant to his inferiors in these respects than to his equals. The idea which in modern times is entertained of politeness points out such a conduct. It is founded on this, that a man of a cultivated mind is taught to feel a greater degree of pleasure in attending to the ease and happiness of people with whom he mixes in society than in studying his own. On this account he gives up what would be agreeable to his own taste, because he finds more satisfaction in humouring the taste of others. Thus a gentleman now-a-days takes the lowest place at his own table; and, if there be any delicacy there, it is set apart for his guests. The entertainer finds a much more sensible pleasure in bestowing it on them than in taking it to himself.

From the same cause, if a gentleman be in company with another not so opulent as himself, or, however worthy, not possessed of the same degree of those adventitious honours which are held in esteem by the world, politeness will teach the former to pay peculiar attention and observation to the latter. Men, even of the highest minds, when they are first introduced into company with their superiors in rank or fortune, are apt to feel a certain degree of awkwardness and uneasiness, which it requires some time and habit to wear off. A man of fortune or of rank, if possessed of a sensible mind and real politeness, will feel, and be at particular pains to remove this. Hence he will be led to be rather more attentive to those who, in the eyes of the multitude, are reckoned his inferiors than to others who are more upon a footing with him.

It is not proposed, in this paper, to inquire what are the causes of the difference of men's ideas, as to the rules of politeness in this and the former age. It is sufficient to observe, and the reflection is a very pleasant one, that the modern rules of good-breeding must give us a higher idea of the humanity and refinement of this age than of the former: and, though the mode of behaviour above mentioned may not be universally observed in practice, yet it is hoped it will not be disputed that it is consonant to the rules which are now pretty generally established.

It ought, however, to be observed, that when we speak, even at this day, of good-breeding, of politeness, of complaisance, these expressions are always confined to our behaviour towards those who are considered to be in the rank of gentlemen; but no system of politeness or of complaisance is established, at least in this country, for our behaviour to those of a lower station. The rules of good-breeding do not