870 



ESSAYS. 



' There was here a lady who had received 

 an education of nine months in London; and 

 this gave her pretensions to taste, which 

 rendered her the indisputable mistress of 

 the ceremonies wherever she came. She 

 wan informed of my merits; every body prais- 

 ed me ; yet she refused at first going to see 

 me perform : she could not conceive, she 

 said, any thing but stuff" from a stroller ; talk- 

 ed something in praise of Garrick, and amazed 

 the ladies with her skill in enunciations, tones, 

 and cadences : she was at last, however, pre- 

 vailed upon to go; and it was privately 

 intimated to me what a judge was to be pre- 

 sent at my next exhibition : however, no way 

 intimidated, I came on as Sir Harry, one 

 hand stuck in my breeches, and the other in 

 my bosom, as is usual at Drury-lane ; but, in- 

 stead of looking at me, I perceived the whole 

 audience had their eyes turned upon the lady 



who had been nine months in London : from 

 her they expected the decision which was to 

 secure the general's truncheon in my hand, 

 or sink me down into a theatrical letter-car- 

 rier. I opened my snuff-box, took snuff; the 

 lady was solemn, and so were the rest ; I 

 broke the cudgel on alderman Smuggler's 

 back ; still gloomy, melancholy all, the lady 

 groaned and shrugged her shoulders ; I at- 

 tempted, by laughing myself, to excite at least 

 a smile; but the devil a cheek could I per- 

 ceive wrinkled into sympathy : I found it 

 would not do; all my good humour now be- 

 came forced ; my laughter was converted 

 into hysteric grinning ; and while I pretended 

 spirits, my eye showed the agony of my heart; 

 in short, the lady came with an intention to be 

 displeased, and displeased she was ; my 

 fame expired; I am here, and (the tankard 

 is no more !) 



ESSAY VI. 



NO observation is more common, and at 

 the same time more true, than that one half 

 of the world are ignorant how the other half 

 lives. The misfortunes of the great are held 

 up to engage our attention; are enlarged 

 upon in tones of declamation ; and the world 

 is called upon to gaze at the noble sufferers ; 

 the great, under the pressure of calamity, are 

 conscious of several others sympathizing with 

 their distress : and have the comfort of ad- 

 miration and pity. 



There is nothing magnanimous in bearing 

 misfortunes with fortitude, when the whole 

 world islooking on : men in such circumstances 

 will act bravely from motives of vanity ; but 

 he who, in the vale of obscurity, can brave 

 adversity; who, without friends to encourage, 

 acquaintances to pi'y, or even without hope, 

 to alleviate his misfortunes, can behave with 

 tranquillity and indifference, is truly great : 

 whether peasant or courtier, he deserves ad- 

 miration, and should be held up for our imi- 

 tation and respect. 



While the slightest inconveniences of the 

 great are magnified into calamities, while 



tragedy mouths out their sufferings in all the 

 strains of eloquence, the miseries of the poor 

 are entirely disregarded; and yet some of 

 the lower ranks of people undergo more real 

 hardships in one day, that those of a more 

 exalted station suffer in their whole lives. It 

 is inconceivable what difficulties the meanest 

 of our common sailors and soldiers endure 

 without murmuring or regret; without pas- 

 sionately declaiming against Providence, or 

 calling their fellows to be gazers on their 

 intrepidity. Every day is to them a day 

 of misery, and yet they entertain their hard 

 fate without repining. 



With what indignation do I hear an Ovid, 

 a Cicero, or a Rabutin, complain of their mis- 

 fortunes, and hardships, whose greatest 

 calamity was that of being unable to visit a 

 certain spot of earth, to which they had fool- 

 ishly attached an idea of happiness. Their 

 distrf-sses were pleasures, compared to what 

 manv of the adventuring poor every day en- 

 dure without murmuring. They ate. drank, 

 and slept ; thev hud slaves to attend thorn, 

 aud were sure of subsistence for life ; while 



