But when men in trade are men of honour, they will in general be treated as fuch; and were it otherwise, "One felf-approving hour whole years outweighs, my foul POPE. I pity from many poor wretches which I obferve bartering away their conftitutions, and what few liberal sentiments they may poffefs; rifing early and fitting up late, exerting all the powers of body and mind, to get what they call a competency, no matter by what means this is effected; thousands actually destroy themselves in accomplishing their grand defign: others, live to obtain the long-wished for country retreat. But, alas! the promised happiness is as far from them as ever, often farther. The busy bustling scene of bufinefs being over, a vacuity in the mind takes place, fpleen and vapors fucceed, which encrease bodily infirmities, death ftares them in the face. The mean dirty ways by which much of their wealth has been obtained make retrofpect retrospect reflections intolerable. Philofophy ftands aloof, nor ever deigns to vifit the fordid foul. Gardens and pleasure grounds become dreary deferts; the miserable poffeffors linger out a wretched existence, or put a period to it with a halter or pistol. "Were this not common would it not be strange? The profits of my bufinefs the prefent year 1791, (as near as can be computed before the expiration of it) will amount to FOUR THOUSAND POUNDS. What it will increase to I know not; but if my health will permit me to carry it on a few years longer, there is very great probability, confidering the rapid increase which each fucceeding year has produced, that the profits will be double what they now are; for I here pledge my reputation as a tradefman, never to deviate from my old plan of giving as much for libraries as it is poffible for a tradesman to give, and felling them and new publications alfo, for the fame SMALL PROFITS that have been attended with fuch astonishing success for for fome years paft. And I hope that my affistants will also persevere in that attentive obliging mode of conduct which has so long diftinguished No. 46 and 47, Chiswell-street, Moorfields; confcious, that should I ever be weak enough to adopt an oppofite line of conduct, or permit those who act under my direction fo to do, I fhould no longer meet with the very extraordinary encouragement and support which I have hitherto experienced; neither fhould I have the smallest claim to a continuance of it under fuch circumstances. 1 am, Dear Friend, Yours. LETTER LETTER XL. But by your revenue measure your expence, YOUNG'S Love of Fame. "Learn what thou ow'ft thy country and thy friend, DRYDEN'S Perfius. DEAR FRIEND, THE open manner of stating my profits will no doubt appear strange to many who are not acquainted with my fingular conduct in that and other respects. But you, Sir, know that I have for fourteen years past kept a strict account of my profits. Every book in my poffeffion, before it is offered to fale is marked with a private mark, what it coft me, and with a public mark of what it is to be fold for; and every article, whether the price is fix-pence or fixty pounds, is entered in a day-book as it is fold, with the price it coft and the money it fold for: and each night the profits of the day are cast up by one of my fhopmen, as every one of them understands my private marks. Every Saturday night the profits of the week are added together and mentioned before all my fhopmen, &c. the week's profits, and alfo the expences of the week are then entered one oppofite the other, in a book kept for the purpose: the whole fum taken in the week is alfo fet down, and the fum that has been paid for books bought. These accounts are kept publickly in my fhop, and ever have been fo, as I never faw any reafon for concealing them, nor was ever jealous of any of my men's profiting by my example and taking away any of my business, as I always found that fuch of them as did fet up for themselves came to my fhop and purchafed to the amount of ten times more than they hindered me from felling. By keeping an account of my profits, and alfo of my expences, I have always known how to regulate the latter by the former; and I have done that, without the trifling way of fetting down a halfpenny-worth of matches, or a penny |