WISDOM AND FOLLY.

LATELY happened to be reading a performance of Fielding, in which he represents Signor Opera, Mifs Novel, Monfieur Pantomime, and other perfonages, as in high favour at the court of Queen Nonfenfe, and avowed enemies of Queen Common Senfe. Reflecting on Fielding's defeription, I regretted, that the difcerning mind and fertile genius of that author had not purfued the votaries of Nonfenfe through a greater variety of fituations. I could not help amufing myself with fancying his talents employed in tracing and exhibiting the manifold characters, practices, and purfuits, at variance with Common Senfe.

Mufing on this fubject, in an eafy chair, I fell asleep; and the impreflions of the evening being ftrong upon my mind, I dreamed the following dream.

Methought I was in fight of a range of very high mountains, rifing from a deep valley, covered with a thick fog. Whilft I was contemplating the ftupendous height of the mountains, a perfon of a mild, penetrating aspect, approaching, accofted me with great complacency, in the English language. Anticipating intended queftion, "Friend," he said, "the mountains which you fee are the Mountains of Wisdom; and the plain is the Vale of Folly, a country very extenfive, and at prefent ftill more populous. The principal provinces are Frivolity, Silliness, and Stupidity.

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Adjoining to it are the dynasties of Vanity and Obftinacy. The inhabitants of Fool-Land are far from being all natives: many of them are emigrants from the neighbouring country of Wifdom, allured by the acceffibility of her facred Majefty Queen Folly. Her Majefty is indeed eminently diftinguifhed for the affability of her manners, refufing admittance to no one who defires to vifit her court. The aliens generally pitch their abode in the province of Frivolity;-Silli

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nefs and Stupidity being occupied by indigenous fubjects.

"Adjoining to the region of Folly is a neutral territory, frequently in alliance with Fool-Land, called Dull-Land. This joins on one fide the loweft diftri&t of Wife-Land, called Plain-Senfe. The Dullanders are often very useful to their upper neighbours; unless they have been spoiled by vifiting the adjacent domains of Vanity and Obstinacy, and from thence paffing into Fool-Land. As they are generally very plódding and exact, as far as their comprehenfion reaches, they are ferviceable drudges to the Wifelanders (or, as, for brevity fake, they are called, the Wife) in thofe details to which thefe will not deign to fubmit themselves. The :Dullanders (or Dull) are particularly fuccefsful as miners; they can dig with much more patience, through dirty rubbish, for the precious metals, than the Wife. The Wife are, indeed, very fharp-fighted at difcovering the best places for digging, as well as at dif-covering every thing elfe; but the Dull are the diggers. The Wile form the projects, the Dull get the gold. Dull-Land is alfo bleffed with an excellent reed of beafts of burden; and particularly famous for - thofe very useful animals, Affes."

My guide now touched my eyes with a falve, which inftantaneously enabled them to fee to an infinitely "greater difiance than they could have done before through the fineft telescope, and, as I afterwards found, tofee through the fog.

Surveying the mountainous country, now that my eyes were cleared and ftrengthened, I perceived that, like Etna, it rofe gradually, but for a much greater fpace. I obferved that it was divided into different regions or compartments, increafing in the two diffimilar qualities of fteepness and fruitfulnefs, as the afcent rofe.

One phenomenon ftruck me, which was, that it was indented by a number of dens, which participated of

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the fog that overspread the valley below." Thefe," faid my guide, " are dangerous paffages, through which inhabitants even of the higher regions of Wifdom often either infenfibly glide, or rapidly plunge into the valley below-an eafy defcent, but a difficult recovery.. Many, however, of the fubjects of Wisdom, who have occafionally vifited her Stultan Majefty, or even fojourn ed fome time at her court, do, by their innate and habitual vigour, regain the regions of Wisdom.”—“What is the qualification required," faid I, "to become a fabject of Wifdom?""Seeing," anfwered my guide, "and purfuing the most useful and pleasant ends, and applying the moft adequate means. The qualification of a fubject of Folly is habitually either to purfue ufeless ends, or to apply inadequate means.

Turn your eyes to the right of the country you have been contemplating, and tell me what you difcover.""I fee," faid I, " another mountain almost as high, and more fteep, than Wife-Land. Heavens, what a grand and beautiful profpect! what woods, and lawns, and ftreams! what delightful verdure! The top appears to be fublime, the middle exquifitely beautiful but the lower part is grotefque, and feems to lofe itfelf in the confines of Frivolity."-"That," faid my guide, "is Mount Fancy. Here are the vineyards and flowergardens of Wife-Land. Obferve their eminences, which fo join Mount Faney and Wife-Land, that it is difficult to fay to which they belong. These are called the diftricts of Wit and Humour.

"Straight down from Wit and Humour, but at a great diftance, is the region of Quibbles and Puns; - thither the Dull refort when they get frisky, for the Duli are very fond of jokes, but can mount no higher than to the parts juft mentioned. Formerly the Wife ufed very often to vifit Pun-Land; but now generally keep to the upper regions of Wit and Humour, and. leave the lower parts as a play-ground to the honest Dull, knowing that they can go no where else.

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"Turn now to the left, and tell me what you fee?” -" I fee a gentle acclivity, but rifing to a great height; abounding in corn of all forts; paftures well stocked; kitchen-gardens, orchards, fruit-trees of every kind; oak, elm, afh, fir, and all trees moft valuable for timber; horfes, cows, sheep, hogs, deer, poultry, game of all kinds: in fhort, a vast variety of productions, animal and vegetable."-"Thefe are the Hills of Knowledge, Jefs picturefque and romantic than the Mountains of Fancy, but more ufeful. There are the farms of Wife Land, her grazings, her forefts, her fish-ponds.

"The food from the upper regions is extremely nutritious and favoury; its excellence, however, is relative to the strength of the eater's ftomach, as the very fame quantity and quality which nourishes and invigo rates one, will overload another, and be vomited up erude, to the great annoyance of all that are near.

"The wines of the upper vineyards of Fancy are extremely high flavoured and ftrong, fo potent indeed as often to intoxicate the very ftrongest head in WifeLand, after a most plentiful meal of the best productions of the farm. From the middle vineyards the wine is alfo very fine, but more mild. From the lower it is brifk and bouncing, but without strength: it will ficken the drinker (who is accustomed to good wine) fo foon as to prevent any danger of intoxication."

"I obferve," I faid, " a fog adjoining the lower region of Knowledge, much more thifting than that over Fool-Land."-"That is the fog of Ignorance, a waste land, now decreafing and as the ground is cultivated, and the marthes drained, the vapours are fewer, and the fog lefs."

"What a fine air and bright atmosphere do these inhabitants of Wife-Land enjoy! I with I were one of them.""I fhall make you acquainted with the moft diftinguished perfonages: but that you may, from the contraft, more fully know their value, I fhall first take

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you to the Court of Queen Folly. This is a levee-day, and her Majefty's levees never fail to be numerously attended. You will find her Majefty's native fubjects much lefs amufing than naturalized foreigners, who, from having fojourned in other countries, have much greater variety than the aborigines of Stupidity."

He then transported me into the court-yard of a spacious palace, apparently of very flimfy materials, of a moft irregular form, with an immenfe variety of heterogeneous decorations.

Over the principal gate a group of figures were engraved, of harlequins, monkies, opera-fingers, cats, coffee-houfe politicians, owls, field-preachers, dancingdogs, lecture-mongers, parrots, common-council men, fed geefe, attornies, fharks, courtiers, prostitutes, borough-mongers, pimps, fpouters, magpies; a fine woman liftening to a ftupid fop, a beautiful mare gallanted by a jack-afs; with many other affociations to be met no where else.

We entered an antechamber, where there was a great crowd of people, liftening, with marks of very great delight, to a variegated treble of an Italian overture, as an accompaniment to the fqueaking of a Spadone. Among thofe who manifefted their delight with the greateft diftortions of countenance, was one perfon, who, my guide told me, was quite deaf; another, who having devoted his attention exclufively to mufic for two years, found that Bobbing Joan and Water parted from the Sea" were different tunes. I was furprifed at the pleafure produced by the mufic, as it appeared to me merely quick shifting of fingers-not melody of found, harmonious combination, or pathetic expreffion,

My guide told me that the Wife relifhed mufic more than the Fools, but that the Fools affected to relifh it more than the Wife. The Fools, really ignorant of mufic, regard merely difficulty of execution: the Wife, the expreflion and effect on their own cars and hearts; BB 3.

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