MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS: 
And stript of its lettefing and 
gilding), 
Lies here, food for worms. 
Yet the work itself shall not be 
lost: 
For it will (as he believes) appear 
once more 
In 
Anew and more beautiful Edition, 
Correéted and Amended 
By 
The Author.” 
New England Man. “ Well, sir! 
and what objection can you make to 
this ? Does it not breathe humility ? 
Is it not a leéture on morality ?” 
Virginian. ‘ Sir, it was not ho- 
nestlycome by. Franklin robbed a 
little boy of it. The very words, 
sir, are taken from a Latin epitaph, 
written on a bookseller, by an Eton 
scholar. Mr. Meadows, do, sir, 
read the epitaph which I have pasted 
on the other cover.*” 
Mr. Meadows (reads). 
¢ Vits volumine peratto: 
Hic finis Jacobi Tonson, 
Perpoliti Sosiorum principis 
. Qui, velut obstetrix musarum 
In lucem edidit 
Felices ingenii partus. 
Lugete, scripterum chorus, 
Et frangite calamos ; 
Ile vester, margine erasus, deleter! 
Sed hee postrema inscriptio. 
Huic prime mortis pagine 
Imprimatur, 
Ne prelo sepulchri commissus, 
Ipse editor careat titulo : 
Hic jacet bibliopola, 
Fotio vite delapso, 
Expectans Novam Editionem 
Auctiorem et Emendatiorem. 
901 
Virginian, ** Well, Mr. Meadows, 
what say you ? 
Is this accidental or studied simi- 
litude? What say you, Mr. Mea- 
dows 2” 
Mr, Meadows. ‘‘ The saddle, sing 
is yours !”? 
On hearing this laconic, but deci- 
sive sentence pronounced by his 
friend, the New England Man grew 
outrageous—which served only to 
augment the triumph of the Virgi- 
nian. ‘* Be pacified,” cried he, ‘+ will 
give you another chance. I wiil lay 
you my boots against yours, that 
Franklin’s pretended discovery of 
calming troubled waters, by pour. 
ing upon them.oil, may be found in 
the third book of Bede’s History of 
the Church; or that his facetious 
essay on the air bath, is poached 
word for word from Aubrey’s Mis- 
cellanies. What say you?” _ 
“Why, Isay,”’ returned the New 
England Man, “‘ that I should be 
sorry to go bootless home, and, there- 
fore, I will layno more wagers about 
doctor Franklin’s originality.” 
Letter of the late Mr. Cowper, on 
the Subject of Face Painting, from 
Hayley’s “ Life of Cowper.” 
May 3, 1784. 
My dear Friend, ; 
HE subject of face-painting 
may be considered (1 think) in 
two points of view. First, there is 
room for dispute with respeét to the 
consistency of the practice with 
good morals ; and, secondly, whether 
it be on the whole convenient or not, 
may be a matter worthy of agita- 
tion. I set out with all the forma- 
3M 3 lity, 
* Tfit should be objected that Franklin was ignorant of Latin, let it be told thar 
‘an English translation of this epitaph may be found in the Gentleman’s Magazine 
for Feb, 1736. The source, probably, from which Franklin got his thought. . 
