I fhall confider it as an additional to infult the bench with impunity. obligation, if Mr. Elmy will like- I fhall therefore imprifon you for wife fuperintend this retribution." contempt; and you fhall remain in At the close of this address, the jail, until you can find bail on the whole yard and gate-way rung with other profecutions.” acclamation: while honeft Crowe, whofe generofity was not inferior even to that of the accomplished Greaves, pulled out his purfe, and declared that as he had begun the engagement, he would at leaft go fhare and fhare alike in new caulking their feams and repairing their timbers. The knight, rather than enter into a difpute with his novice, told him he confidered the twenty guineas as given by them both in conjunction, and that they would confer together on that fubject hereafter. This point being adjufted, Mr. Elmy affumed all the folemnity of the magiftrate, and addreffed himself to Prickle in these words: "Farmer Prickle, I am both forry and afhamed to fee a man of your years and circumstances fo little refpected, that you cannot find fufficient bail for forty pounds; a fure teftimony that you have neither cultivated the friendship, nor deferved the goodwill of your neighbours. I have heard of your quarrels and your riots, your infolence, and litigious difpofition; and often wished for an opportunity of giving you a proper tafte of the law's correction. That opportunity now offers-You have in the hearing of all thefe people poured forth a torrent of abufe against me, both in the character of a gentleman and of a magistrate: your abufing me perfonally, perhaps I fhould have overlooked with the contempt it deferves; but I fhould ill vindicate the dignity of my office as magiftrate, by fuffering you Prickle, the first transports of his anger having fubfided, began to be pricked with the thorns of compunction. He was indeed exceedingly mortified at the prospect of being fent to jail fo difgracefully. His countenance fell, and, after a hard internal ftruggle while the clerk was employed in writing the mittimus, he faid he hoped his worship would not fend him to prifon. He begged pardon of him and our adventurers for having abused them in his paffion, and obferved, that as he had received a broken head, and payed two and twenty guineas for his folly, he could not be faid to have efcaped altogether without punishment, even if the plaintiff should agree to exchange releases. Sir Launcelot, feeing this ftubborn ruftic effectually humbled, became an advocate in his favour with Mr. Elmy and Tom Clarke, who forgave him at his requeft, and a mutual releafe being executed, the farmer, was permitted to depart. The populace were regaled at our adventurer's expence; and the men, women, and children, who had been wounded or bruifed in the battle, to the number of ten or dozen, were defired to wait upon Mr. Elmy in the morning to receive the knight's bounty. The juftice was prevailed upon to spend the evening with Sir Launcelot and his two companions, for whom fupper was bespoke; but the first thing the cook prepared was a poultice for Crowe's head, which was now enlarged to a monstrous exhibition. Our knight, who was all all kindness and complacency, fhook Mr. Clarke by the hand, expreffing his fatisfaction at meeting with his old friends again, and told him foftly that he had compliments for him from Mrs. Dolly Cowflip, who now lived with his Aurelia. Clarke was confounded at this intelligence, and after some hesitation, "Lord blefs my foul! (cried he) I'll be shot then if the pretended mifs Meadows wa'n't the fame as mils Darnel!" he then declared himfelf extremely glad that poor Dolly had got into fuch an agrecable fituation, paffed many warm encomiums on her goodness of heart and virtuous inclinations, and concluded with appealing to the knight whether he did not look very pretty in her green Jofeph. In the mean TH time, he procured a plaifter for his own head, and helped to apply the poultice to that of his uncle, who was fent to bed betimes with a moderate dofe of fack-whey to promote perfpiration. The other three paffed the evening to their mutual fatisfaction; and the juftice in particular grew enamoured of the knight's character, dashed as it was with extravagance. Let us now leave them to the enjoyment of a fober and rational converfation; and give fome account of other guests who arrived late in the evening, and here fixed their night-quarters-But as we have already trefpaffed on the reader's patience, we fhall give him a fhort refpite until the next chapter makes its appearance. 252 The BIRDS. An Idyllium upon Spring. HICK fogs no more obfcure the face of day: the meads delight the eye with colours of the liveliest hue: no more the jailor Winter confines the captive Naiads to their cryftal grotts. The fhepherds tune their ruftic minftrelly, and beat the fpringing grafs with nimble feet the flocks are from their falls released: a thousand warbling birds, with fongs renewed, awake the Echoes, which in the woods and groves long time have flept; and roles fpring where ice conftrained the glebe. What god difpels the horrors of stern Winter's reign? What god embellishes our plains? The leaft of all the gods effects this wonderous change. 'Tis he that in these charms arrays the Spring. Should Love his influence withdraw, all Nature foon would perish. Love, the pervading foul of the vast universe, now triumphs o'er the Winter, which long made defolate our plains: he thaws the ice of cold indifference, that chills the human heart, as froft benumbs the earth. But to what purpose ferve thefe pleafing leffons, annually renewed? We learn, foon as we breathe the vital air, fair Nature's precepts to reject. Ungrateful as we are! we rather chufe to follow the dictates of caprice. Ye winged chorifters, whofe notes inchant my foul, how much more happy is your fate! Without controul ye love; without conftraint you flit from grove to grove, and tempt on vagrant wing the blue expanfe of heaven! Ye live, by inftinct fure, in happy ignorance of virtue, and of vice, cloathed in the varied plumes plumes that Nature's hand beftows, unknown to envy, uninflamed by pride; for never in the woods did Crows affect to counterfeit fweet Philomel. Cuftom, duty, and auftere decorum, bear fovereign fway o'er man the hearts of faithlefs men are all by falfe appearances concealed. Nature, incensed at human pride, affords us nothing without pain. We cultivate the fields and orchards; whilft for you, ye happy feathered race, Nature herfelf provides. The fnares, by art ful man prepared, are all the miferies which you have cause to fear. We too are by our fellow-creatures doomed to the fame perils: a thoufand fchemes are planned, a thoufand fpringes fet, to captivate the unwary mind, expofed to all the arts of treacherous deceit, intent to hang dire fetters on the freeborn foul. Thus in danger we are allied to you, ye little painted warblers, whom we earnestly exhort to fhun the wiles of deceitful man; FOR, IN CONSTRAINT TO LIVE, IS MISERY. The HISTORY of HINDBAD the Merchant. An Eastern Tale. HINDBAD, INDBAD, the fon of Almamon, was born in Ormus, a city upon the gulph of Arabia, famous for its wealth and commerce. From his father Almamon he inherited great riches, and Nature had been as bountiful to him as Fortune, by beftowing upon him a healthy conftitution, a graceful perfon, and a penetrating understanding. By his induftry he foon confiderably encreased his inheritance, and fuccefsful love rendered his lot as happy as mortal man can prefume to hope for. The youthful Zenderhoud, whose beauty refembled that of one of the Houris of Paradise, heard his amorous vows with pleasure; and their mutual paffion was crowned by an union, which feemed to promife a blifs that could not end but with the life of one or both. Hindbad had been educated in a ftrict obfervance of all the precepts of the alcoran, and in his early youth was inftructed in the mystery of predeftination by his father Almamon. But at length, intoxicated with his happiness, he deviated from April 1761. the faith of true believers, and adopted the impious doctrine of Xaca, who denied the existence of feparate fpirits in a future ftate. His prefent happiness appeared to him fo great, that he could not believe that the joys of Paradife itself could equal it; and what he no longer defired to be true, he was eafily in duced to believe falfe. Add to this, that the doctrines of the khoran greatly mortified his vanity. highly valued himself upon his skill in traffic, by which he had amaffed immenfe riches; and chofe rather to afcribe his fuccefs to his own abilities, than to look upon his wealth as a gift of the holy prophet. He conftantly obferved a ftrict integrity in all his dealings, but he neglected going to the moiques; or if he went thither, it was only to prevent cenfure: his heart did not join in the prayers offered up by true believers,. and he heard the book of glory, which was dictated to the holy prophet by an angel, with a heart untouched. Notwithstanding his impiety, he lived for a long time in a state of perfect happiness, and fhared his profperity with Zenderhoud, the idol of his heart. This happiness was, however, foon after disturbed by a vifion, in which he beheld a venerable old man, who earnestly exhorted him to make a pilgrimage to Medina, and offer up his prayers at the tomb of the holy prophet; telling him at the fame time, that if he neglected to obey that injunction, the vengeance of heaven would certainly overtake him. This admonition he at first neglected, and attributed to the prejudices which he had imbibed in his infancy; but the fame advice being reiterated in three fubfequent dreams, he at length began to hesitate, and his mind was filled with fcruples. Coining a few days afterwards from a caravanfera, where he had treated with some Egyptian merchants concerning an affair in which they were all equally interested, he was feized with the utmoft horror and furprize to find, upon his return home, that his house was robbed he fearched for his dear Zenderhoud, and not being able to find her, after having enquired all over Ormus, he left the city in defpair. For fome time he wandered about, not knowing whither to direct his fteps; but at length, meeting with a company of faquirs, who told him they were upon a journey to Medina, he recounted to them his dream; and he, yielding to their united folicitations, agreed to accompany them to Medina. Being arrived there, they all devoutly paid their adorations at the tomb of the holy prophet; and Hindbad, who had now entirely renounced the errors of the fect of Xaca, fet out with them for Hpahan. Upon his arrival at that place, he met with a vaft concourse of people affembled before the house of a cadi; and having enquired the caufe thereof, was informed that feveral perfons were then examining before him, who were found poffeffed of immenfe wealth, which they could not fatisfactorily make appear how they came by; and which a woman, named Zenderhoud, who was found in their company, claimed as the property of her husband Hindbad, a merchant at Ormus, whofe houfe they had rifled, and carried her off at the fame time. Hindbad, overjoyed at this intelligence, intreated to be heard; and being admitted to the prefence of the cadi, was immediately known by Zenderhoud, who embraced him with a tranfport of joy inexpreffible. The cadi, after interrogating them. was fo fully convinced of their veracity, that he caused the robbers to make inftant restitution, and ordered them to receive the baltinado upon the spot. Hindbad and Zenderhoud immediately returned to Ormus, where they ever after lived in perfect felicity; the former acknowledging his folly in having forfook the doctrine of God's prophet for the impious fest of Xaca, and the latter making it her only study to please a husband who loved her with unabated affection. An A An ESSAY upon the Uncertainty of the SCIENCES. Man of the most profound erudition, after having paffed his whole life in ftudy and meditation, will not, if he be wife, offer me the explanation of any phenomenon as certain: he will content himself with representing it as poffible; and it feems highly probable, that amongst all the poffible fyftems that have been found, there is not one in every respect conformable to truth. How vain a purfuit is it to ftudy during the whole courfe of one's life, merely to know what may poflibly exift! Philofophy is faid to be nearer perfection in the prefent age, than ever it was before, yet men were never more thoroughly convinced that all fyftems are merely fictions of the imagination; fome more ingenious than others, but all falfe, or highly uncertain. I have, fays a celebrated modern author, attached myself to philofophy these thirty or forty years paft, fully convinced of the truth of fome things; but now I begin to doubt concerning them. This is not the worst: there are many things concerning which I no longer doubt, as I defpair of being ever able to comprehend them.' The ignorant are fenfible of their ignorance by a fort of infting. The learned know, to a demonftration, that they know nothing, and that is all the advantage they have over them. It is a very important queftion, and very hard to be decided, whether the fciences have contributed to promote or obftru&t the intereft of religion and government. They have been made ufe of both to at tack and defend them; fo that we cannot entirely adopt the opinion of the celebrated philofopher of Geneva, who maintains, that they are rather pernicious than ufeful. They are in themselves indifferent, and do harm or good according to the ufe that is made of them. A gentleman of great parts and learning happening one day to affert, that the enormous depravity of the prefent age was owing to its being too knowing; was fully anfwered by another, who proved, by the most folid arguments, that it was owing to its not being fufficiently fo. It has been juftly obferved by Mr. Pope, that a little learning is a dangerous thing; and certain it is, that shallow draughts of the Pierian spring have an equal tendency to corrupt the heart, as to intoxicate the brain. The greateft ignorance is often disguised by the moft infolent prefumption; and how few are capable of detecting it when it is masked with art? How many ignorant pretenders are believed upon their word, when they affirm themfelves to be learned? How many men of real learning live and die unnoticed through an excess of modefty? It has been juftly obferved, that men of learning contribute to render the fciences contemptible, each being strongly attached to that whereof he makes profefiion, and defpifing all the reft. A chymift infatuated with his philofopher's ftone, holds in the utmost contempt whatever has no connexion with his furnaces and his mercury. An aftronomer thinks nothing worth his notice but the celeftial Bbz |