end he aimed at. Let this man confine himself to a private ftation, and inclination alone is a fufficient qualification to enable him to do good; but from the desire of rifing to a more confiderable sphere, we are apt to reject that wherein we might laudably acquit ourselves. That I fee the extent of my powers. I confider as my greatest happiness, as I am thereby admonished to continue in a fituation to which I am equal, and wherein I find very full employment both for my time and thoughts; if many who seek admiffion into the Houfe of Commons, to the ruin of their fortunes and happiness, would reconcile themselves to the fame humble lot, it would be far better for the nation, as well as for themfelves. • However, I confess I have another reafon for declining the honour you would confer. The manner in which it is offered would indeed fave me from the neceffity of abfolute bribery, and fo far I might avoid perjury, and the confciousness of having broken a law of the greateft importance to the conftitution, and violated the legislative power, in order to procure a share in the legislature; but still my constituents, who are obliged to swear they are uninfluenced by mercenary temptations in their choice of me, muft many of them be perjured, fince to their fear of disobliging their landlords I should owe the votes of the major part; and I cannot see the taking an immediate fum of money, and the continued poffeffion of a farm on which their livelihood depends, in any very different light: in either cafe the influence is undue; they would not chufe me as the perfon most likely to ferve their country, but as one by voting for whom they should best promote their private interefts. Neither would I act the ufual part of candidates, and introduce fuch a courfe of drunkenness, as is generally done to. fo pernicious a degree, that the people have fcarcely time to be reformed before the next election renews the vice. How many perfons, who before were fober and induftrious, are corrupted by thofe feafons of revelry and intoxication? I should feel myself answerable for all the evil that arose from my election; and as I have always beheld with horror the dreadful confequences attending what ought to be the great bulwark of ourliberty, and beft part of our conftitution, I fhould be inexcufable if I were myself an aggreffor, and took advantage of my friends doing for me what I would do for no one, as will appear; for the utmost use I shall make of my fortune at the enfuing election, is to tell my tenants and tradefpeople my opinion of the candidates, as many of them may not be able to form a judgment on their different merits, affuring them at the fame time, that they are perfectly at liberty to give their votes where they think they are beft deserved, and have no refentment to fear fear from me, though they should reject him whom I prefer, except I find they are induced thereto by interested or vicious motives.' Upon the demife of Sir William Ellison, Mr. Ellison fucceeds him in title and eftate, Some time before Sir William died, his brain was turned; but his heir, so far from taking out a statute of lunacy againg him, indulged him in all his extravagances and caprices, thinking it highly criminal even to mortify a madman. Upon the death of Dr. Tunftall, who had ruined his family and his own conftitution by his debauched life, Sir George declares himself once more a fuitor of Mrs. Tunstall, who, after fome few female fcruples, confents to accept of his hand. But just before the happy union, the knight is thrown from his horse, in a journey taken to relieve distress; his thigh is broke, and a mortification enfues. His life is now despaired of, but he unexpectedly recovers, and, at length, is united to his still lovely mistress. The history concludes with a most amiable picture. of domestic felicity and focial happiness. Though rigid criticifm may point out many faults, imperfections, and overfights, in this production, we may venture to recommend it to the perusal of every man of fortune, who has more money than he can rationally employ, except in generous and beneficent acts; and those who do not recollect Mr. Richardfon's Grandifon, will discover great merit in it, as the ftyle is in general elegant, and often pathetic. XI. The Picture. A Novel. By the Mifs Minifies, of Fairwater in Somersetshire. In III. Volumes, 12mo. Price gs. bound. Johnson. A S these ladies have before made their appearance in print, in quality of the authors of the Hiftory of Lady Franses S-, and Lady Caroline S-, we may confider them as writers of some reputation in the Republic of Letters, especially as they inform us in their preface, "that flushed with the reception of their first attempt, they have dared to venture on a fecond." We should be forry to fay any thing fevere upon female productions, as we would rather prompt than fuppress any attempts of the ladies that may tend to amufe, if not to inftruct, the gay circle of their acquaintance, which the miss Minifies (or their book feller) feem to have particularly ftudied, as these volumes are peculiarly calculated to gratify a certain fet of readers who pique themfelves more upon the number of the the pages they perufe, than the knowledge they obtain from them. This work derives its title from the following occurrence: Mrs. Stanley, her daughter, and niece, with Mrs. Berkely, be ing upon a tour at Hampton Lodge in Derbyshire, they vifited lord Eafly's feat, when mifs Stanley was found to be miffing: -Mrs. Stanley seeing the door of another room open, imagined she might be there, ftept back, and found it a little library which had been paffed over in furveying fo many other fplendid apartments.-Here then the found her daughter,--but found her with her attention fo profoundly fixed on a picture which stood over the chimney, that she might be said at that moment to have resembled a fine statue of the goddess Contemplation:-At the entrance of Mrs. Stanley and the other la dies, the started from her reverie, and stepping to the former, cried out with emotion-Ah! madam, had not chance brought me hither, we had loft this moft charming reprefentation:Saying which, fhe took her by the hand, and drew her nearer to the picture. In this picture were two principal figures, the one a fine old man with filver locks, which feemed to infpire veneration; the other, a beautiful youth in whofe arms he was fupported. -Mifs Stanley obferved, that but for their pofition, they might have been taken for Mentor and Telemachus.-You say right, my dear, returned Mrs. Berkley.-Obferve, continued fhe, pointing to the young man, what nobleness in his air! what majefty! what fweetnefs! what expreffion in his looks!—If the countenance be an index of the foul, in his I read every godlike virtue of that heroe.-Mrs. Stanley, turning to the housekeeper, begged to know for whom it was intended. The woman replied, that it was occafioned by a very extraordinary accident, adding, if the ladies would pleafe to repose themfelves, she would readily relate the circumstances;-though, continued fhe, I know them only from report, as it happened three years fince, and I have lived only one in my lord's family. In compliance with her request her fair audience placed themselves oppofite the picture, which they kept continually in their eyes, whilft their ears were agreeably entertained with the following particulars. • That old man, ladies, faid their informant, ferved my prefent lord and his father, in the capacity, of a butler upwards of forty years; in which office he behaved fo well that my lord always used to call him his faithful Ifaac:-It happened that his lordship was one and twenty, three years fince, on which event the house was filled with nobility, and orders were given for the cellar doors to be thrown open, that poor as well as VOL. XXI. April, 1766. U rich rich might rejoice on the occafion:-In fhort, ladies, Mr. Ifaac made himself so merry with pledging his lord's health, that going out to take the fresh air, his foot flipped, and he fell into a very deep river.-In this fituation he must have perished ; but a friend of my lord, paffing that inftant in his way hither, had goodness enough to plunge in and bring him to the bank, where, ladies, in that picture you may fee him fupporting the old man in his arms;-nor would he fuffer any care to be taken of himself, till he had feen him reftored to life, being brought back to the house half expiring. This piece of humanity had like to have coft him dear, for foon after he was taken ill of a dangerous fever ;—and when my lord expreffed his fear that it was owing to this accident, he replied,—that man is not worthy of life who would not risque it in the prefervation of a fellow creature. Unperceived even by herself, tears of admiration filled the charming eyes of Emily-Louifa's in fparkling transports spoke her approbation.-Both were filent ;-and both filently applauded an act of that humanity in another, which from their most early infancy had been familiar to themselves.- -Mrs. Stanley having made the language of the eyes her study, in order to discover when the virtues or paffions were most predominant in the minds of her pupils, was pleased to see on this occafion fuch warm and tender fenfibility; for theirs being perfectly intelligent, as perfectly fhe understood them.— Thefe, ladies, faid the good woman, who feemed happy in their attention, are the particulars which occasioned that picture. Mrs. Stanley then enquired, by whom it was executed, and the name of the young gentleman.-As for the firft, the informed her, it was done by one of her lord's friends who was on a vifit to him when the affair happened,—but in regard to the latter, fhe could give no intelligence. 3 Mrs. Stanley looking at her watch, declared it would be too late to take any but a curfory view of the gardens.-This hint was understood by Mrs. Berkley, who, for reasons with which our readers are acquainted, always diftributed her friend's liberality, with which their obliging conductress had great reafon to be satisfied.-Juft as they were leaving the room, she afked pardon for having omitted one circumftance, which was that the butler at his death left the young gentleman two thoufand pounds, which legacy he foon after ordered to be returned. amongst his poor relations.-This laft inftance raised him greatly in their esteem; and quite enraptured with his character, they purfued their journey, in the remainder of which, not all the mafterly paintings they faw, could efface from their memories the pleasing portraits of old Ifaac and his generous preferver.. Here, candid reader, give us leave to conclude our chapter with a few poetical questions and one short remark. Has foft humanity thy actions fway'd? Does to her plaints thy ready ear attend? If, O reader, thy heart anfwers thefe queries in the affirmative, thou wilt alfo allow the juftnefs of this obfervation,That next to being the author of a beneficent action, is the pleasure of being told it of another.' The reader may, perhaps, fhrewdly guefs that the young gentleman here mentioned was afterwards mifs Stanley's lovernay her husband, in the perfon of lord Richmond. Juftice compels us to acknowledge, that the outlines of many characters are very prettily drawn, and that when the mifs Minifies will take a little more pains in the finishing of their portraits, novelty, tafte, and fentiment, in which their productions are not deficient, will appear to far greater advantage. We would also recommend them to employ a more skilful corrector of the prefs; for though false orthography often occurring no ways impeaches the writers judgment, it may nevertheless give occafion to fome hypercritics to cenfure them, and, perhaps, be pernicious in its example to a few of their fair readers. XII. Mifcellanies in Profe and Verfe. By Anna Williams. 4to. Pr. 55. Davis. A HINT dropt by the author in her preface, concerning the misfortunes of her life, would have interefted us in her favour, even if she had poffeffed less merit as a writer. The least we can fay both of her profe and poetical compofitions is, that they are correct, easy, and humorous; and, what is feldom found in publications of this kind, even her trifles have their meaning. The moral of the tale of the Three Warnings, as well as the compofition, is excellent; we shall therefore lay it before our readers, as a fufficient fpecimen and recommendation of thefe Mifcellanies. The THREE WARNINGS. A Tale. The tree of deepest root is found This |