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Chace from your mind this volunary defpair, manfully struggle with the calamity that oppreffes you, and let a well-grounded hope fortify you against all fear and uneafinefs. The inquietude which now preys upon you, may be one day converted into a pleafing tranquillity; you may confider it as a troublesome dream, difpelled by the return of a joyful morning. Hope always, let your courage never be caft down. If the pilot dreads a ftorm, when Neptune ruffles the face of the deep, the hopes of a calm confole him, tho' the winds and the thick darknefs fill the failors with confternation. I am aware, that the wife man, when attacked by misfortunes, may wish that his virtue were attended with profperity; but in a courfe of uninterrupted happiness, virtue often degenerates into languor. Unfeeling wealth is ufually accompanied by pride, infolence, and hardness of heart. I would not infinuate that your wifdom, lulled to fleep by good fortune, ever had occafion for fo fevere a remedy, or that you ever took for your model, that wretch who fwelled with an unweening pride, never knew any

other misfortune, but that of having lived in conftant profperity. But if grief and ill fuccefs afford us no inftruction, when our happiness has not made us pass the bounds of virtue, one good effect they always have; they render our fucceeding felicity more exquifite, when we compare it to our paft afflictions; and their tragical inflence roufes us from that lethargy of mind, which a conftant tranquillity always produces.

What purpose can it serve to fatigue the heavens with never-ceafing complaints? All things in the univerfe are fubjected to the cruel reverses of fortune. Mortal man refembles the Twins ranked by the antients amongst their deities, who alternately inhabited the abyss of hell, and the loftieft regions of heaven. Thus Fortune, according to her capricious will, leads us from the most exquifite pleasures, to the most insupportable misery; our only remedy is to meet all her turns with fteadiness, and to confider her in the fame light as an inconftant harlot, unworthy of a serious attachment, who lightly forfakes us, and returns thro' meer inconftancy, when we think leaft about her.

The Subftance of a Memoir, read by Mr. Gleditsch, to the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin.

MR

R. Gleditfch fome time fince read to the royal academy of fciences at Berlin, a memoir, the fubftance of which may not be difagreeable to your readers, efpecially the rural clafs, as explaining a phænomenon which they may have often obferved: it is, that a dead mole being left on the ground, after a few days is no longer to be feen,

and this fooner or latter, according to the feafon and the nature of the foil.

Mr. Gleditfch, in the month of May, left in his garden a mole, on a moist, soft, and black earth; two days after he found it a hand's breadth deep in the ground, and the day following this cavity was half filled up; examining further,

under

under the corpfe he found four beetles, which he immediately conjectured to be the gravediggers; this was further confirmed about a week after, when, within the mole, he faw three or fourfcore whitish maggots, unquestionably the iffue of the beetles, who had there provided them with plenty of fuftenance in their infantine ftate. Further, by repeated experiences, this indefatigable naturalift has been frequently entertained with the fight of beetles, from the fame parental forge, interring moles, frogs, birds, fishes, &c. and concludes with this pious obfervation: that animals, when become unfit for the uses annexed to their life, immediately after their death acquire others; and thus even in their deftruction, concur to the univerfal defign of the Creator, whofe wifdom and good

Give

nefs is over all his works.
me leave, Sir, to add, that the read-
ing the hiftory and memoirs of fo-
reign academies of sciences, must
neceffarily remove a conceit too
common of the vaft fuperiority of
the English in fcientific abilities and
improvements, to a contempt of
foreigners, like the narrow question
of Nathanael, Can there any good thing
come out of Nazareth? On the other
hand, as there may be foreigners,
though I believe very few, infected
with like national prejudices, I
would refer them to our tranfactions
and other publications, as fhining
proofs that the poet did not flatter
his country when he fays, its na-
tives are

In genius and fubftantial learn-
ing high,
Her fons of glory many.
I am, Sir, &c.

Some Account of the New Farce, acted at Drury-Lane, called the Register-Office.

MR; a gentley,anav fults his friend Mr. Frankly, who

R. Harwood, a gentleman of At a loss how to find her, he con

ing on the death of his wife, taken as a houfe-keeper a young gentlewoman, named Maria, who had been deprived of a fortune of 5000l. by a will, which there was reason to fufpect was far from being genuine, is ftrongly attached to her; but pride hinders his marrying a woman without money, his fervant too. He makes use of every artifice to feduce her, but in vain. At length, having one night proceeded to unwarrantable liberties, Maria the next morning leaves his houfe. His paffion being now more violent than ever, he follows her to town, with a determination to make her his wife

hints to him, that as she is out of money and a ftranger, fhe may poffibly be feeking out for a service, and that a Regifter-Office will be no improbable place to hear of her. They accordingly repair to one Gullwell's office, where, by means of one Williams, the chief clerk, a fchoolfellow of Mr. Harwood's, they are fecreted in a place, where they over-hear all the proceedings of the Register-Office.

The firft fcence that paffes here is between Gullwell and Williams, in which the latter, who is on the point of leaving the former, in a feries of remonstrances lays open Hh2

fome

fome schemes of villany (more efpecially the deluding numbers of poor innocent girls to ruin, under the idea of helping them to places) which have been purfued in the of fice. This over, feveral characters enter to Gullwell as follow:

The first is a Frenchman (Mr. Blakes) who with all the appearance of poverty, affuming the title of an Homme de Qualité, is defirous of being recommended as a master of languages, but happening to hint that he has formerly dreffed hair and cut corns, he is advised by Guilwell to purfue that as the more eligible plan, and the certain means of making a large fortune in a few years in this country. On Gullwell's demanding a depofite of two or three guineas, for drawing up a pompous advertisement, and other wife promoting his advantage; the Frenchman is found to have no more money than thirteen-pence half-penny, which, however, after an obfervation on the criticalnefs of the fum, Gullwell accepts in part of payment, and promifes to ferve him.

The next is an Irishman, who wants a fervice (performed by Mr. Moody) but Gullwell obferving him to be a lufty sturdy young fellow, and that he may fetch a good price in America, claims kindred with him, and pretending to have the greatest defire to serve him, appoints him to come the next morning, at which time he determines to have him kidnapped, and carried away.

The third character is a young enfign, of the name of Brufh, who having been formerly a footman, and for fecret fervices promoted to a pair of colours, and having fince married an old woman with 3000l.

fortune, is defirous of laying it all out in the purchase of a cornecy, or a company of foot, leaving the lady (to whom he is indebted for the whole, and whofe heart he has been endeavouring to break, in hopes of marrying her niece with a ftill larger fortune) to fubfift on the generous allowance of 15 1. per annum. This character is that of a male Slip-flop, who from an admixture of ignorance and impudence is perpetually speaking words which he does not understand, and at the fame time is too hardened to feel any confufion on the detection of his abfurdity.

The fourth character, which is played by Mr. Foote, is that of a Scotch pedlar, who having been robbed, and stripped, is defirous of fome employment, wherein learning may be neceffary, and in particular hints a defire of becoming fecretary to fome foreign minifter.-Gullwell, whofe bufinefs it is not to difcourage any, ftrips him of his last sbilling, and promifes him fuccefs, letting him know moreover, that characters are also to be purchased at that office, like pedigrees at the herald's, from half a crown to five guineas.

The next perfon who enters is a nobleman, whofe houfe-keeper being on the point of leaving him, in confequence of a commerce with him, which it is neceffary to conceal by a marriage with the chaplain, he not only wants a new housekeeper, but the purchase of an advowfon in favour of the faid chaplain.-As to the former, Gullwellacquaints him that he has lately feen a young woman that would do for him, but has promised her to a certain barrifter for 100 guineas;

yet

1

yet on a hint from my lord of doubling that fum, if he should like her on fight, the nobleman is defired to amufe himself in another room, till fhe comes.

The young woman next appears, to whom Gullwell introduces his lordship, and under a pretence of the coming of more company, puts them into a room together to fettle the terms of her engagement.-In the interim, one Tricket enters in apparent confufion, and mentioning a letter which he had fent to Gullwell in the morning, but which had not come to hand, acquaints the audience by his converfation, that he and Gullwell had been concerned in the forging of a will, for the discovery of which he is now alarmed.-Gullwell however makes him fomewhat eafy on that head, when the young woman runs in fhrieking and calling for help from

the affaults of the nobleman; on which Harwood, Frankly, and Wil. liams, who had been concealed in the adjacent room, come to her refcue, and discover her to be Maria, and Tricket to be her uncle, who, by means of the forged will abovementioned, of which villany more ample proofs have appeared in the letter delivered by mistake to Williams, had defrauded her out of 5000l. Of this fum Gullwell, the adviser of this act of baseness, appears for his affiftance in it to have received 1000l.-But on both con. fenting to refund the money to the lady, in confideration of Tricket's relationship to her, and the impoffibility of punishing Gullwell, without expofing the uncle, they both are fuffered to escape unhurt. And the farce concludes with the union of Harwood and Maria.

The different EFFECTS of the SOCIAL GLASS, on different MEN.

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reftraint is removed, runs into greater lengths of extravagance than thofe who have always had a fufficient fhare of wealth; fo thefe fparks who come late to the exercife of their wit, lay about them with greater vigour, and fquander it away more profufely, than those who have been used to husband a regular competency. It is the greatest pleasure of Dick Sly, to obferve the motions of Ned Flasker's parts, which he takes care to quicken by whispering his neighbour to fill about briskly; for "Ned, (fays he) is coming into a vein of mirth, and don't let us flip the opportunity of feeing him difplay himfelf for the want of a critical bum

per."

per." The glass moves, Ned catches the firft fubject that offers, and diverts the whole company for the next two hours.

There are other topers whofe wit partly depends upon the wine, and partly upon their time of meeting. Some, what quantity foever they drink, cannot be merry till the clock is turned of twelve; and others, who have fat in a fort of lethargy all night, are roused into an air of extreme gaiety, by a thundering bounce at the tavern-door, and the exhilirating voice of past two 'clock. The morning watchman has the fame effects upon the parts of these people, as the liberal glass has upon others; their fenfes, that feemed to have been fled, rally at the call of the staff, and they feldom leave the field without a complete victory. Wine is said to be a great betrayer of fecrets, and in no cafe more apparently than in this, that you may keep company with some men of referved tempers for the space of many years, without ever fufpecting that they have any thing in them, and after a hearty bottle discover them to be wits.

Such are the obligations one fex has to the powers of this juice, and the fashion of our country does not permit us to know whether it might not have the fame effect upon female understandings. However, I cannot help taking notice of an obfervation I lately heard in company with fome ladies; they were talking very civil things, as they usually do of their abfent acquaintance; when one of them faid, that, "Lady Harriot the other day was mighty fatirical after the tenth difh of tea, and that Mifs Betty, whom she ever looked upon as a

pretty piece of uninformed machinery, or mute puppet, after drinking three dishes more spoke like an angel; and rallied even lady Harriot with fuch a spirit and delicacy, that he was the admiration of the whole company."

When I left them, I fell into a variety of reflections upon this fpeech; trying if I could refolve it into fome natural caufe or reason. I begin to confider that the animal fpirits in the fofter fex might be of a finer and more delicate texture, than thofe in the male part of our fpecies; and therefore did not require fuch fpirituous liquors to exalt them as ours do, but received • that brisk and lively turn, which difpofes the brain to mirth and wit, from more gentle and temperate vapours. I was confirmed in my notion by confidering the different operations of wines upon different conftitutions among our own fex; the middle part of mankind are not to be excited to their gaieties but by the ftrength of Port, over which a beau would languifh with the head-ach; the polite and elegant are obliged to the French vineyards for all their humour, and the robuft failor fcorns to be moved to his rough gallantries by any li quor that has not suffered a distillation.

But of the tribe of wine-bibbers none are more indebted to the grape, and none have been more grateful to their benefactor, than the poets. Horace, who was himfelf a great lover of his glass, infinuates by way of excufe, that it was impoffible to be a good poet without it, and lays it down as a maxim, that the works of a waterdrinker must be as poor and spirit

lefs

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