1798.] 
Happy awhile in Paradife they lay, © 
But quickly woman long’d to go aitray ; 
Some foolifh new adventure needs mutt prove, 
And the firft devil the faw, fhe chang’d her 
love: 
To his temptations lewdly fhe inclin’d 
Her foul, and for an apple damn’d mankind. 
with this paflage in ** The New Mcetamor- 
phofis, or. Pleafant Traasformation of the 
Golden Afs of L. Apuleius of Meadaura.” 
Book iv. chap. 7. “* Where {prung theten 
years war of Troy, but trom. Helen? 
Whence the expulfion of the Roman 
kings, but the pride and cruelty of Tullia? 
Who betray’d the fecret of Sampfon’s 
ftrencth but Dalilah? Rebecca deceived 
her hufband; Hippodamia her tather ; 
Deianira deftroyed Hercules by her gift, 
whom all the labours of Hercules could 
net overcome; Scyila betray’d her own 
father; Brifeis drew Achilles out of the 
field; and Eveall mankind out of Para- 
mide 7 
~ Compare alfo his defcription of an old 
hag in the fame play : 
Through aclofe laneasI purfued my journey, 
And meditated on the laft night’s vifion, 
J {py’da wrinkled hag, with age grown double, 
Picking dry ticks, and mumbling to herfelf; 
Her eyes with fcalding rheum were gall’d and 
red 5 
Cold palfy fhook her head, her hands feem’d 
wither’d, 
And on her crooked fhoulders had fhe wrapt 
The tatter’d remnant of anold ftrip’d hanging, 
Which ferv’d to keep her carcafe from the 
cold; 
So there was nothing of a piece about her : 
Her lower weeds were all o’er coarfely patch’d 
With diffrent colour’d rags, black, red, 
white, yellow, 
And feem’d to {peak variety of wretchedneis.** 
withthis of the witch in Book II. chap. 10. 
of the above-mentioned work <¢ fhe feem’d 
with age and weakne(s bent almoft double; 
her head and her arms trembled with the 
palicy; from her eyes there fell a falt 
vheum that had eaten gutters down her 
cheeks, while her mounting fhoulders, in 
an irregular orb, overlooking her head, 
feemed a burthen too great fer legs fo 
feeble to fupport’’ And a little after « the 
wretched appearance of my hofteis, all 
patches and rags,” 
The firft edition of this work was 
‘printed in 1708, long after the Orphan 
‘had appeared, It profeffes to bea tran- 
flation from the Italian of Carlo Monte 
Socio, fellow of the academy of Humo- 
rifti, in Rome; but this js apparently a 
tom de gucrre, and I fhould be obliged 
by any further information concerning it. 
Otway might have feen it in Italian. D. 

Plagiarifms and Imitations....Tax on Income. 
407 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine, 
SIR, 
“] ‘HE new meafure of finance which is 
about to be adopted, muit no doubt 
excite very general attention, and opinions 
will probably differ confiderably, both in 
regard to the principle and the mode of 
its application, though much lefs in re- 
{pect to the farmer than the latter. . It is 
a maxim not to be difputed, that every 
member of a ftate ought to contribute to 
its fupport and defence in proportion to 
his ability ; bat income is not, in all cafes, 
a fair criterion of this ability, though in 
general it may be thought iufficiently fo 
tor the purpofe of taxation; whether it is 
a principle adapted to the prefent circum- 
ftances otf the country, is almoft unnecef- 
fary to inquire, as it will probably be 
{oon determined by experiment. 
It would very foon derange the finances 
of the moft flourifhing nation that ever 
exifted, if taxes of the enormous magni- 
tude of that now propofed were impofed 
without a certainty that their efficient 
produce would at any rate not be much 
fhort of the tum eftimated; and how far 
a tax agrees with the eftimate, is to be 
found not from the nominal produce of 
fuch particular tax, but from a compari- 
fon of the other branches of the public 
revenue, and the increafe of the general 
revenue beyond its amount previous to the 
impofition of the new tax. Whether this 
country can pay an additional tax cf ten 
millions per annum, is not to be afcer- 
tained’by merely fhewing that this fum is 
atenth part of the general income, but 
by deducting the very great part of this 
income, which is already abforbed by 
taxes, and fhewing not only that out of’ 
the remainder the people will pay this 
fum without being guilty of perjury or 
refiftance, but that this remainder actually 
affords fuch afurplus beyond what is ab- 
folutely neceffary tor procuring what are 
generally confidered as the neceflaries and 
comforts of focial life. In order to believe 
that this is the cafe, we mutt admit that 
the people of this country at prefent lay 
by, or add to their fteck, at leaft ten mil- 
lions every year; and if fuch an accumu- 
lating furplus is taken from individuals 
into the unproduétive hands of govern- 
ment, it muft furely greatly check, if 
not put an entize {top to the increafe of 
our national wealth. But I apprehend 
few perfons will fuppofe that a furplus to 
this amount actually exifts, in which cafe, 
it isevident that the new tax can only be 
paid by a retrenchment of fome part of 
the prefent expenditure of individuals, and 
eonfequently 
