To advise the ignorant, relieve the needy, | lie beyond the grave, and that our whole eterconfort the afflicted, are duties that fall in our nity is to take its colour from those hours way almoft every day of our lives. A man which we here employ in virtue or in vice, the has frequent opportunities of mitigating the argument redoubles upon us, for putting in hercencts of a party; of doing juftice to the practice this method of paffing away our character of a deferving man; of foftening the time. envious, quieting the angry, and rectifying the prejudiced: which are all of them employments fuitable to a reasonable nature, and bring great fatisfaction to the perfon who can bufy himself in them with difcrezion.

When a man has but a little ftock to improve, and has opportunities of turning it all to good account, what fhall we think of him if he fuffers nineteen parts of it to lie dead, and perhaps employs even the twentieth to his ruin or difadvantage?--But because the mind cannot be always in its fervours, nor strained up to a pitch of virtue, it is neceffary to find out proper employments for it, in its relaxations.

There is another kind of virtue that may find employment for thofe retired hours in which we are altogether left to ourselves, and deffitute of company and converfation; I mean that intercourfe and communication The next method therefore that I would which every reasonable creature ought to main- propofe to fill up our time, fhould be useful tain with the great Author of his being. The and innocent diverfions. I must confefs 1 man who lives under an habitual fenfe of the think it below reasonable creatures to be altodivine prefence, keeps up a perpetual chear-gether converfant in fuch diverfions as are fuinefs of temper, and enjoys every moment the fatisfaction of thinking himself in company with his dearest and beft of friends. The time never lies heavy upon him: it is impoffible for him to be alone. His thoughts and pations are the most bufied at fuch hours when thofe of other men are the most unactive. He no fooner steps out of the world but his hearts burns with devotion, fwells with hope, and triumphs in the consciousness of that prefence which every where furrounds him; or, on the contrary, pours out its fears, its forrows, its apprehenfions, to the great Supporter of its existence.

merely innocent, and have nothing else to recommend them, but that there is no hurt in them. Whether any kind of gaming has even thus much to fay for itself, I fhall not determine; but I think it is very wonderful to fee perfons of the beft fenfe paffing away a dozen hours together in thuffling and dividing a pack of cards, with no other converfation but what is made up of a few game phrases, and no other ideas but those of black or red fpots ranged together in different figures. Would not a man laugh to hear any one of this fpecies complaining that life is fhort.

The ftage might be made a perpetual fource of the most noble and useful entertainments, were it under proper regulations.

I have here only confidered the neceffity of a man's being virtuous, that he may have fomething to do; but if we confider further, But the mind never unbinds itfelf fo agreethat the exercife of virtue is not only an amuse-ably as in the converfation of a well-chofen meat for the time it lafts, but that its influence friend. There is indeed no bleffing of life extends to those parts of our existence which that is any way comparable to the enjoyment

of

of a difcreet and virtuous friend. It eafes and unloads the mind, clears and improves the understanding, engenders thought and knowledge, animates virtue and good refoJution, fooths and allays the paffions, and finds employment for most of the vacant hours of life.

other creatures are not capable of. Beafts of prey, and I believe all other kinds, in their natural state of being, divide their time between action and reft. They are always at work or afleep, In fhort, their waking hours are wholly taken up in feeking after their food, or in confuming it. The human fpecies only, to the great reproach of our natures, are filled with complaints, that "The day hangs heavy on them," that "They do not know what to do with themselves," that

Next to fuch an intimacy with a particular perfon, one would endeavour after a more general converfation with fuch as are capable of edifying and entertaining thofe with whom they converfc, which are qualities that feldom" They are at 'a lofs how to pafs away theis afunder. time," with many of the like fhameful murThere are many other useful amusements murs, which we often find in the mouths of of life, which one would endeavour to multi-those who are stiled reasonable beings. How ply, that one might, on all occafions, have re- monftrous are fuch expreffions among creacourfe to fomething rather than fuffer the tures who have the labours of the mind, as mind to lie idle, or run adrift with any paf-well as thofe of the body, to furnish them with hon that chances to rife in it. proper employments; who, befides the bufinefs of their proper callings and profeffions, can apply themselves to the duties of religion, to meditation, to the reading of useful books, to difcourfe; in a word, who may exercife themselves in the unbounded pursuits of knowledge and virtue, and every hour of their lives make themfelves wifer or better than they were before!

A man that has a tafte in mufic, painting, or architecture, is like one that has another fenfe, when compared with fuch as have no relish of thofe arts. The florift, the planter, the gardener, the husbandman, when they are only as accomplishments to the man of fortune, are great reliefs to a country life, and many ways useful to thofe who are poffeffed of them. Spectator.

$7. Mif-fpent Time, how punished.

After having being taken up for fome time in this courfe of thought, I diverted myself with a book, according to my ufual custom, I was yesterday comparing the industry in order to unbend my mind before I went to of man with that of other creatures; in fleep. The book I made use of on this ocwhich I could not but obferve, that notwith-cafion was Lucian, where I amused my ftanding we are obliged by duty to keep our- thoughts for about an hour among the diafelves in conftant employ, after the fame man-logues of the dead, which in all probability ner as inferior animals are prompted to it by produced the following dream. instinct, we fall very fhort of them in this particular. We are here the more inexcufabic, because there is a greater variety of bufinefs to which we may apply ourfelves. Reafon ens to us a large field of affairs, which

I was conveyed, methought, into the en trance of the infernal regions, where I faw Rhadamanthus, one of the judges of the dead, feated on his tribunal. On his left-hand flood the keeper of Erebus, on his right the

keeper

and ordered the keeper of Elyfium to take her into his care. And you, fair lady, fays he, what have you been doing thefe five-and-thirty years? I have being doing no hurt, I affure you, fir, faid fhe. That is well, faid he, but what good have you been doing? The lady was in great confufion at this queftion, and not knowing what to anfwer, the two keepers leaped out to feize her at the fame time; the

Elyfium, the other caught hold of her to carry her away to Erebus. But Rhadamanthus obferving an ingenuous modefty in her countenance and behaviour, bid them both let her loofe, and fet her afide for a re-examination when he was more at leifure. An old woman, of a proud and four look, prefented

keeper of Elyfium. I was told he fat upon women that day, there being feveral of the fex lately arrived, who had not yet their manfons affigned them. I was furprised to hear him afk every one of them the fame queftion, namely, "What they had been doing" Upon this question being propofed to the whole affembly, they stared one upon another, as not knowing what to anfwer. He then interrogated each of them feparately. Ma-one took her by the hand to convey her to dam, fays he to the first of them, you have been upon the earth about fifty years; what have you been doing there all this while? Doing! fays fhe, really I do not know what I have been doing: 1 defire I may have time given me to recollect. After about half an hour's paufe, fhe told him that she had been playing at crimp; upon which Rhadaman-herself next to the bar, and being asked what thus beckoned to the keeper on his left hand, he had been doing? Truly, faid the, I lived to take her into cuftody. And you, madam, threefcore-and-ten years in a very wicked fays the judge, that look with fuch a foft and world, and was fo angry at the behaviour of languishing air; I think you fet out for this a parcel of young flirts, that I paffed most of place in your nine-and-twentieth year, what my laft years in condemning the follies of the have you been doing all this while? I had a times; I was every day blaming the filly congreat deal of bufinefs on my hands, fays fhe, duct of people about me, in order to deter being taken up the first twelve years of my thofe I converfed with from falling into the life in dreffing a jointed baby, and all the like errors and mifcarriages. Very well, fays remaining part of it in reading plays and ro- Rhadamanthus; but did you keep the fame mances. Very well, fays he, you have em- watchful eye over your own actions? Why ployed your time to good purpose. Away truly, fays the, I was fo taken up with pubwith her. The next was a plain country-lishing the faults of others, that I had no woman: Well, mistress, fays Rhadamanthus, time to confider my own. Madam, says and what have you been doing? An't pleafe Rhadamanthus, be pleafed to file off to the your worthip, fays fhe, I did not live quite left, and make room for the venerable matron forty years; and in that time brought my that ftands behind you. Old gentlewoman, husband feven daughters, made him nine fays he, I think you are fourscore: you thoufand chcefes, and left my eldeft girl with have heard the question, what have you been him to look after his houfe in my abfence, and doing fo long in the world? Ah, Sir! fays who, I may venture to fay, is as pretty a houfe-the, I have been doing what should not wife as any in the country. Rhadamanthus have done, but I had made a firm refolution. miled at the fimplicity of the good woman, to have changed my life, if I had not ben

fnatched

9. On Truth and Sincerity,

Truth and reality have all the advantages of appearance, and many more. If the fhew of any thing be good for any thing, I am fure fincerity is better: for why does any man diffemble, or feem to be that which he is not, but because he thinks it good to have fuch a quality as he pretends to for to coun terfeit or diffemble, is to put on the appearance of fome real excellency. Now the heft way in the world for a man to feem to be any

the fleetness of time. The fun-dials, likewife, | I promise you, upon my word, that, if you all over Europe, have fome ingenious infcrip- will do every thing that I would have you do, tion to that effect; fo that nobody fquanders till you are eighteen, I will do every thing away their time, without hearing and feeing, that you would have me do ever afterwards. daily, how neceffary it is to employ it well, Lord Chesterfield. and how irrecoverable it is if loft. But all these admonitions are ufelefs, where there is not a fund of good fenfe and reafon to fuggeft them, rather than receive them. By the manner in which you now tell me that you employ your time, I flatter myself, that you have that fund: that is the fund which will make you rich indeed. I do not, therefore, mean to give you a critical effay upon the ufc and abufe of time; I will only give you fome hints, with regard to the ufe of one particular period of that long time which, I hope, you have before you; I mean the next two years.. Re-thing, is really to be what he would feem to member, then, that whatever knowledge you do not folidly lay the foundation of before you are eighteen, you will never be mafter of while you breathe. Knowledge is a comfortable and neceffary retreat and thelter for us in an advanced age; and if we do not plant it while young, it will give us no fhade when we grow old. I neither require nor expect from you great application to books, after you are once thrown out into the great world. I know it is impoffible; and it may even, in fome cafes, be improper: this, therefore, is your time, and your only time, for unwearied and uninterrupted application. If you should fometimes think it a little laborious, confider, that labour is the unavoidable fatigue of a neceffary journey. The more hours a day you travel, the fooner you will be at your journey's end. The fooner you are qualified for your liberty, the fooner you thall have it; and your manurithm will entirely depend upon the manner in which you employ the intermediate time. I think I offer you a very good bargain, when

be. Befides, that it is many times as troublefome to make good the pretence of a good quality, as to have it; and if a man have it not, it is ten to one but he is discovered to want it, and then all his pains and labour to feem to have it is loft. There is something unnatural in painting, which a skilful eye will cafily difcern from native beauty and complexion.

It is hard to perfonate and act a part long; for where truth is not at the bottom, nature will always be endeavouring to return, and will peep out and betray herself one time or other. Therefore, if any man think it convenient to feem good, let him be fo indeed, and then his goodnefs will appear to every body's fatisfaction; fo that, upon all ac counts, fincerity is true wildom. Particularly as to the affairs of this world, integrity hath many advantages over all the fine and artificial ways of dillimulation and deceit; it is much the plainer and cafier, much the fafer and more fecure way of dealing in the world;

it