7801. ] 
church, fo there alfo I muft vent my moft 
doleful complaints. I¢ is very unfortu- 
nate for me that my phyfiognomical {kill 
has proved fo painful to my feelings. I 
not only difcover in a man’s face-what he 
is, but what he ought to have been. 
With this fource of intormation, it grieves 
me to fay, that I have difcovered fome 
eminent dignitaries, and great props of 
the church, through the mean difguife of 
cathedral vergers and parifh beadles, and 
have evidently {een more talent in the man 
who opened the pulpit-door, than in him 
who entered in. Iwas humbly faluted the 
other day at‘a church in the city by an 
antient man, a pew-opener, in whole face 
I could eafily trace the prebendal ftall and 
the refidentiary manfion. I meet with 
many a half-ftarved curate, who has all 
the lineaments of a deanery, and J have in 
my eye at this moment a very worthy 
parith-prieft, who has a valuable living of 
6ol. per annum in the falubrious and 
champaign country of Lincoln, whofe face 
is as ftrongly cut into mitres, as ever a 
man’s face was feamed by the fmall-pox. 
I can difcern his claim to the lawn-fleeves 
through his worfted-ftockings, every darn 
of which befpeaks a di/penfation to hold. 
On the other hand, I am conftrained to 
add, that my friend, Dr. Suuc, who has 
nothing to complain of in the way of pro- 
motion, and who has more livings than he 
can name without taking breath, might 
have been a waft acquifition to fome noble- 
man who wanted a fkilful and expert 
game-keeper: and there are one or two 
more whom I could mention who have 
very ftrangely got out of place, and are 
icnocking their heads againfta pulpit, when, 
as I think Addifon fays, they might 
have done honour to their country at the 
plough. . 
Of the Law I fhall fpeak with becoming 
deference :— 
“* God blefs the King, the Commons,and the 
Peers, : 
And grant the Author long may wear his 
date?" 
The fubje& is delicate, I thall therefore 
only fay, that I have received a bow from 
a grave perfonage at the Tempie-ftairs, 
who has very much the look of a’ Prime- 
ferjeant, and it was only laft term I gave 
my great coat in charge to a door-keeper 
at Weftminfter-hall, who, if every man 
had his due, would perhaps at that mo- 
ment have been giving a charge to a jury. 
Thefe folecifms, however, occur much’ 
lefs frequently in this learned profeffion, 
than in that which I laft mentioned; and 
Genius in Olfcurity detected. 
317 
_I fuppofe it may be accounted for in this 
way.—It is held asa maxim, that merit, 
if not every thing, is at leaft fomething 
in matters of law; and that a man is nor 
the worle qualified for the higher depart- 
ments becaufe he happens to underftand 
the bufinefs annexed to them; and that no 
intcref? whatever can make a blockhead a 
good lawyer, or perfuade people to truit 
their affairs in the hands of a man who is 
move attentive to the emoluments than the 
duties of his profeffion, There is,.per- 
haps, another advantage which affords the 
public a ground of fecurity in Jaw affairs, 
namely, that zex-refidence is not known at 
the bar, that no counfellor will fay to 
his client, “‘I have provided you with an 
excellent and honeft attorney in my room,” 
and that there is no fuch thing as granting 
a difpenfation to a barrifter to plead a 
caufe at York, while at the very moment 
he is on his legs in Weftminfter-hali. 
With refpeét to phyfic, I cannot fay 
that I have been curious in my inquiries 
after geniufes ; I have felc¢om looked into 
Warwick-lane; its local fituation vis-a- 
wis the flaughtering-houfes of Newgate- 
market has a tendency to excite.a {mile 
which a perfon of my grave purfuitsis 
always unwilling toindulse. here have 
occurred, however, in my refearches, fome 
old women who have very pre(cribing 
faces, but at’ bett they could have avifen 
only to the honours of the ebftetric art. 
And as to ‘‘ chill penury”’ repreffing «the 
noble rage”’. of the faculty, they have one 
fure refource. If refufed admittance 
among the regulars, they find a wide field 
open among the empirics, where, although 
a little knowledge night be no difgracey 
it would perhaps be no great advantage, 
the loweft degree of that quality in the 
phyfcian of nervfpapers and hand.bills 
being always fuperior to the difcernment 
of thofe who apply for his afiiftance. Be- 
fides, we fin)l that the knowledge of thofe 
who have ‘¢ {tudied at all the univerfities,”” 
and prefcribed ‘to all the crawned heads 
of Europe,”” is feldom more than can be 
contained in an ounce vial or a- {mall 
pill box. 
But the greateft fuccefs I have had in 
difcovering buried geniufes, digging them 
up, reftoring the fufpended animation of 
mind, and bringing»it forth to the light 
of open day, has been among the poets. 
In this deoartment, Ihave found geniufes 
in all_poffible varieties of capability, from 
the ponderous and maffy epic, to the light 
goffamer fonnet, in-almoft every ftreet, 
court, and alley. Poetry, indeed, feems 
to bea talent sot fo eafily fuppreffed by 
** chill 
