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are new or foreign. Men who are indifpofed to a due exertion of their higher parts, are driven to fuch purfuits as these from the reftleffness of the mind, and the fenfitive appetites being easily satisfied. It is, in fome fort, owing to the bounty of Providence, that, difdaining a cheap and vulgar happiness, they frame to themselves imaginary goods, in which there is nothing can raise defire, but the difficulty of obtaining them. Thus men become the contrivers of their own mifery, as a punishment on themselves for departing from the measures of nature. Having by an habitual reflection on these truths made them familiar, the effect is, that I, among a number of perfons who have debauched their natural taste, fee things in a peculiar light, which I have arrived at, not by any uncommon force of genius or acquired knowledge, but only by unlearning the falfe notions inftilled by custom and education.

The various objects that compofe the world were by nature formed to delight our senses; and as it is this alone that makes them defirable to an uncorrupted taste, a man may be faid naturally to poffefs them, when he poffeffeth those enjoyments which they are fitted by nature to yield. Hence it is ufual with me to confider myfelf as having a natural property in every object that adminifters pleasure to me. When I am in the country, all the fine feats near the place of my refidence, and to which I have accefs, I regard as mine. The fame I think of the groves and fields, where I walk, and muse on the folly of the civil landlord in London, who has the fantastical pleasure of draining dry rent into his coffers, but is a stranger to the fresh air and rural enjoy. ments. By these principles I am poffeffed of half a dozen of the finest feats in England, which in the eye of the law belong to certain of my acquaintance, who being men of bufinefs choofe to live near the court.

In fome great families, where I choose to pass my time, a ftranger would be apt to rank me with the other domestics; but in my own thoughts, and natural judge. ment, I am mafter of the house, and he who goes by that name is my steward, who eafes me of the care of providing for myself the conveniencies and pleasures of

life.

When

When I walk the streets, I use the foregoing natural maxim, (viz. That he is the true poffeffor of a thing who enjoys it, and not he that owns it without the enjoyment of it) to convince myself that I have a property in the gay part of all the gilt chariots that I meet, which I regard as amusements defigned to delight my eyes, and the imagination of thofe kind people who fit in them gaily attired only to please me. I have a real, and they only an imaginary pleasure from their exterior embellishments. Upon the fame principle, I have discovered that I am the natural proprietor of all the diamond necklaces, the croffes, ftars, brocades, and embroidered clothes, which I fee at play or birth-night, as giving more natural delight to the fpectator, than to thole that wear them. And I look on the beaus and ladies as fo many paroquets in an aviary, or tulips in a garden, defigned purely for my diverfron. A gallery of pictures, a cabinet or library that I have free access to, I think my own. In a word, all that I defire is the ufe of things, let who will have the keeping of them: by which maxim I am grown one of the richest men in Great Britain; with this difference, that I am not a prey to my own cares, or the envy of others.

The fame principles I find of great ufe in my pri vate œconomy. As I cannot go to the price of hiftorypainting, I have purchased at eafy rates feveral beautifully defigned pieces of landfkip and perfpective, which are much more. pleafing to a natural taste than unknown faces or Dutch gambols, though done by the best masters: my couches, beds, and window-curtains are of Irish stuff, which those of that nation work very fine, and with a delightful mixture of colours. There is not a piece of china in my houfe; but I have glaffes of all forts, and fome tinged with the finest colours, which are not the less pleafing, because they are domeftic, and cheaper than foreign toys. Every thing is neat, entire and clean, and fitted to the taste of one who would rather be happy than be thought rich.

Every day, numberlefs innocent and natural gratifications occur to me, while I behold my fellow-creatures labouring in a toilfome and abfurd pursuit of trifles: one that he may be called by a particular appella

tion; another, that he may wear à particular ornament, which I regard as a bit of ribband that has an agreeable effect on my fight, but is fo far from fupplying the place of merit, where it is not, that it ferves only to inake the want of it more confpicuous. Fair weather is the joy of my foul: about noon I behold a blue fky with rapture, and receive great confolation from the rofy dashes of light which adorn the clouds of the morning and evening. When I am loft among the green trees, I do not envy a great man with a great crowd at his levee. And I often lay afide thoughts of going to an opera, that I may enjoy the filent pleafure of walking by moon light, or viewing the ftars fparkle in their azure ground; which I look upon as a part of my poffeffions, not without a fecret indignation at the tasteleffness of mortal men, who, in their race through life, overlook the real enjoyments of it.

But the pleasure which naturally affects a human mind with the most lively and tranfporting touches, I take to be the fenfe that we act in the eye of infinite wisdom, power and goodness, that will crown our virtuous endeavours here, with a happiness hereafter, large as our defires, and lafting as our immortal fouls. This is a per petual fpring of gladnefs in the mind. This leffens our calamities, and doubles our joys. Without this the highest state of life is infipid, and with it the lowest is a paradife.

IV. The Folly and Madness of Ambition illuftrated. AMONG the variety of fubjects with which you have

entertained and instructed the public, I do not remember that you have any where touched upon the fol ly and madness of ambition; which, for the benefit of thofe who are diffatisfied with their prefent fituations, I beg leave to illuftrate by giving the hiftory of my own life.

I am the fon of a younger brother of a good family, who at his deceafe left me a little fortune of a hundred pounds a year. I was put early to Eton fchool, where I learnt Latin and Greek; from which I went to the univerfity, where I learnt not-totally to forget them. I came to my fortune while I was at college; and ha

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ving no inclination to follow any profeffion, I removed myself to town, and lived for fome time as most young gentlemen do, by spending four times my income. But it was my happiness, before it was too late, to fall in love, and to marry a very amiable young creature, whofe fortune was just fufficient to repair the breach made in my own. With this agreeable companion I retreated to the country, and endeavoured as well as I was able to fquare my wishes to my circumstances. In this endeavour I fucceeded fo well, that except a few private hankerings after a little more than I poffeffed, and now-and-then a figh when a coach-and-fix happened to drive by me in my walks, I was a very happy

man.

I can truly affure you, Mr Fitz-Adam, that though our family œconomy was not much to be boasted of, and in confequence of it, we were frequently driven to great ftraits and difficulties, I experienced more real fatisfaction in this humble fituation, than I have ever done fince in more enviable circumftances. We were fometimes a little in debt, but when money came in, the pleafure of discharging what we owed was more than equivalent for the pain it put us to: and though the narrownefs of our circumftances fubjected us to many cares and anxieties, it ferved to keep the body in action as well as the mind; for, as our garden was fomewhat large, and required more hands to keep it in order, than we could aford to hire, we laboured daily in it ourfelves, and drew health from our neceffities.

I had a little boy who was the delight of my heart, and who probably might have been fpoilt by nurfing, if the attention of his parents had not been otherwise employed. His mother was naturally of a fickly conftitution; but the affairs of her family, as they engroffed all her thoughts, gave her no time for complaint. The ordinary troubles of life, which, to thofe who have nothing elfe to think of, are almost infupportable, were less terrible to us than to perfons in eafier circumstances; for it is a certain truth, however your readers may please to receive it, that where the mind is divided between many cares, the anxiety is lighter than where there is only one to contend with. And even in the happiest fi

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tuation,

tuation, in the midst of eafe, health, and affluence, the mind is generally ingenious at tormenting itself; losing the immediate enjoyment of thofe invaluable bleffings, by the painful fuggeftion that they are too great for continuance.

These are the reflections that I have made fince: for I do not attempt to deny that I fighed frequently for an addition to my fortune. The death of a distant relation, which happened five years after our marriage, gave me this addition, and made me for a time the happieft man living. My income was now increased to fix hundred a-year; and I hoped, with a little economy, to be able to make a figure with it. But the ill health of my wife, which in lefs eafy circumftances had not touched me fo nearly, was now conftantly in my thoughts, and foured all my enjoyments. The conscioulnefs too of having fuch an eftate to leave my boy, made me fo anxious to preferve him, that inftead of fuffering him to run at pleafure where he pleafed, and to grow hardy by exercife, I almoft deftroyed him by confinement. We now did nothing in our garden, because we were in circumftances to have it kept by others: but as air and exercise were neceffary for our healths, we refolved to abridge ourselves in fome unneceffary articles, and to fet up an equipage. This in time brought with it a train of expences which we had neither prudence to forefee, nor courage to prevent. For as it enabled us to extend the circuit of our vifits, it greatly increa fed our acquaintance, and subjected us to the neceffity of making continual entertainments at home, in return for all thofe which we were invited to abroad. The charges that attended this new manner of living were much too great for the income we poffeffed; infomuch that we found ourselves in a very fhort time more neceffitous than ever. Pride would not fuffer us to lay down our equipage; and to live in a manner unfuitable to it, was what we could not bear to think of. To pay the debts I had contracted I was foon forced to mortgage, and at last to fell, the best part of my estate; and as it was utterly impoffible to keep up the parade any longer, we thought it adviseable to remove of a fudden,

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