220. State of Manners, Se. ofthe Metropolis of England.. [October 1, 
gle with the fii-difant patrons of the 
Mules. The cabinets of our ftatefinen 
are clofed againft the ariftocracy of genius ; 
the habitations of our nobles are alfo un- 
frequented by artifis of every defcription, 
excepting when they are daily employed 
in the labours of their profeffion. Even 
in public they are feldom acknowledged ; 
and ii by chance they are recognized, it is 
by a nod of condefcenfion, which mortt- 
fies and degrades the perfon whom it often- 
tatiouily aims to diftinguifh. 
Books pretent the abftradts of the mind. 
Fhe author breathes in his works—lives 
in their fpirit, and is immortalized by 
their reputation. The exalted orders of 
the community read, approve, admire: 
the preduétion of the brain is extolled and 
cherifhed; but the heart of the writer 
often is a prey to poverty and forrow. It 
is acknowledged that men of letters are 
the ornaments of fociety ; yet how rarely 
are they to be feenin the circles of patron- 
ace; in the habitations of fplendour ! 
Men as well as women of talents are 
fhut out from the abodes of the high-born, 
and rather avoided than courted by the 
powerfully wealthy. In all the gaudy 
fcenes of feftivity which annually are ex- 
hibited in the metropolis, how few, how 
very few, perfons of acknowledged lite- 
rary fame are to be met with! England 
may enumerate, at the prefunt era, a 
phalanx of enlightened women, fuch as no 
other nation ever boafted. Their writings 
adorn the literature of the country ; they 
are its ornaments, as they ought to be its 
pride! But they are neglected, unfought, 
alienated from fociety; and fecluded in 
the abodes of ftudy; or condemned to 
mingle with the vulgar. For even among 
themf{clves there appears no. fympathetic 
afiociation of foul; no genuine impulfe of 
affeGtion, originating in congeniality of 
mind, Each is ardent in the purfuit of 
fame ; and every new honour which is be- 
ftowed on a fifter votary, is.deemed a par- 
tia! privation of what fhe confiders as her 
exclufive birth-right. How much is ge- 
nius deceived when it feeks this fingle, 
this unconnected {pecies of gratification! 
How powerful might fuch a phalanx be-- 
come, wereit to act in union of fentiment, 
and {ympathy of feeling; an& bya parti- 
cipation of public fame fecure, to the end 
of time, the admiration of pofterity. - 
It is not only the cuftom of the prefent 
day to exclude men and women of letters 
from the fociety of the high-born ; that 
tyrannical {pecies of opprefh: is alfo ex- 
t-nded to painters, ators, attrefies, and 
the molt diftinguithed ornaments of {cience. 
‘ 
The pictures of our moft celebrated mafters 
are purchaled at an inordinate price; and 
confidered as the embellifhments. of our 
moft magnificent manfions. But the 
painter is unknown, excepting in his 
works! The actor *, or the actrefs, is ap- 
plauded in public; but, in private, they 
are feldom honoured by the moft trivial 
mark of approbation. Our nobles make 
mufic their ftudy; fome of them are to- 
lerable performers; they dedicate whole 
years to the acquirement of a maderatede- 
gree’ of {kill; while their mafters, who 
have attained the utmoft altitude of -per- 
feftion, are confidered as unworthy of 
their friendfhip and fociety. 
Thefe miferable difcriminations are the 
offspring of the prefent age: the monfters 
of this ifland. In France, even in the 
days of de!poti{m, genius was deemed the 
ornament of courts; and men as well as 
women of letters were honoured with the 
moft brilliant diftin€tions. Verfatlles had 
its female conftellations ; and, though the 
brilliant fallies of wit predominated in the 
fcale of popularity, the genuine fplendour 
of literarere was looked up to, and wor- 
fhipped with unbounded adoration. 
Among the many nuifances which dif- 
grace the metropolis, there is not perhaps’ 
one which excites nidre horror than the 
frequency of public executions. The num- 
bers of unhappy culprits that annually 
forfeit their exiftence by a violation of the 
laws, afford fufficient proofs that an ig- 
nominious death is no longer our fate~ 
guard, Six, eight, and ten criminals 
executed in the public ftreet, even in the 
heart of the metropolis, in the broad light 
of day, before the eyes of the multitude, 
now (the {cene become familiar by repeti- — 
tion) fcarcely excites emotion. ‘The popu- 
jace rather confider the new-drop as a 
raree-foowz, than as the fatal inftrument 
af termination to all earthly offences. Still 
more odious to the reflecting mind, is the 
gibbet, which difgraces our moft public 
roads. Ina _polifhed nation, in the very 
fight of the humane and philanthropic 
traveller, a filthy offenfive example of pub- 
lic juftice is difplayed, at the expence of 
public decency! The robberies frequently 
committed within fight of thefe hideous 
{carecrows, {fufnciently prove that they 
harden, more than they deter, the thief; 
while, by exciting the attention of the 
traveller, they render him lefs guarded 
againft the peril that awaits him. 
A certain fpecies of refinement feems 

* With the exceptions of Sir Jofhua Rey~ 
-nelds and Garrick. 
now 
_ 
