proportions his stay at any place, to the beauties, elegancies, and curiofities which it affords., At Efhur, at Stow, at Wilton, at Eaftbury, and at Prior's Park, days are too short for the ravished imagination; while we admire the wondrous power of art in improving nature. In fome of these, art chiefly engages our admiration; in others, nature and art contend for our applause; but in the last, the former feems to triumph. Here nature appears in her richest attire, and art dreffed with the modefteft fimplicity attends her benignant Mistress. Here nature indeed pours forth the choiceft treasures which fhe has lavished on this world; and here human nature prefents you with an object which can only be exceeded in the other.

The fame taste, the fame imagination, which luxuriously riots in these elegant fcenes, can be amufed with objects of far inferior note. The woods, the rivers, the lawns of Devon and of Dorset, attract the eye of the ingenious traveller, and retard his pace, which delay he afterwards compenfates by fwiftly scouring over the gloomy heath of Bagshot, or that pleasant plain which extends itself Weftward from Stockbridge, where no other object than one fingle tree only in fixteen miles prefents itself to the view, unless the clouds, in compaffion to our tired fpirits, kindly open their variegated manfions to our profpect.

Not fo travels the money-meditating tradefman, the fagacious Juftice, the dignified Doctor, the warm

clad grazier, with all the numerous offspring of wealth and dulnefs. On they jogg, with equal pace, through the verdant meadows, or over the barren heath, their horses measuring four miles and a half per hour with the utmost exactnefs; the eyes of the beaft and of his Mafter being alike directed forwards, and employed in contemplating the fame objects in the fame manner. With equal rapture, the good rider furveys the proudest boasts of the architect, and thofe fair buildings, with which fome unknown name has adorned the rich clothing-town; where heaps of bricks are piled up as a kind of monument, to show that heaps of money have been piled there before.

And now, Reader, as we are in hafte to attend. our Heroine, we will leave to thy fagacity to apply all this to the Baotian writers, and to thofe authors who are their oppofites. This thou wilt be abundantly able to perform without our aid. Beftir thyfelf therefore on this occafion; for tho' we will always lend thee proper affiftance in difficult places, as we do not, like fome others, expect thee to use the arts of divination to difcover our meaning; yet we shall not indulge thy laziness where nothing but thy own attention is required; for thou art highly mistaken if thou doft imagine that we intended, when we began this great Work, to leave thy fagacity nothing to do; or that, without fometimes exercifing this talent, thou wilt be able to travel through our pages with any pleasure or profit to thyfelf.

CHAP. X.

Containing a Hint or two concerning Virtue, and a few more concerning Sufpicion.

OUR company being arrived at London, were

fet down at his Lordfhip's houfe, where while they refreshed themselves after the fatigue of their journey, fervants were dispatched to provide a lodging for the two Ladies; for as her Ladyfhip was not then in town, Mrs. Fitzpatrick would by no means confent to accept a bed in the manfion of the Peer.

Some Readers will perhaps condemn this extraordinary delicacy, as I may call it, of virtue, as too nice and fcrupulous; but we muft make allowances for her fituation, which must be owned to have been very ticklish; and when we confider the malice of cenforious tongues, we muft allow, if it was a fault, the fault was an excefs on the right fide, and which every woman who is in the self-fame fituation will do well to imitate. The most formal appearance of virtue, when it is only an appearance, may, perhaps, in very abstracted confiderations, seem to be rather lefs commendable than virtue itself without this formality; but it will, however, be always more commendable; and this, I believe, will be granted by all, that it is neceffary, unless in fome very particular cafes, for every woman to fupport either the one or the other.

A lodging being prepared, Sophia accompanied her coufin for that evening; but refolved early in the morning to inquire after the Lady, into whofe protection, as we have formerly mentioned, fhe had determined to throw herself, when fhe quitted her father's houfe. And this fhe was the more eager in doing, from fome obfervations fhe had made during her journey in the coach.

Now as we would by no means fix the odious character of fufpicion on Sophia, we are almost afraid to open to our Reader the conceits which filled her mind concerning Mrs. Fitzpatrick ; of whom fhe certainly at prefent entertained fome doubts; which, as they are very apt to enter into the bofoms of the worst of people, we think proper not to mention more plainly, till we have first fuggefted a word or two to our Reader touching fufpicion in general.

Of this there have always appeared to me to be two degrees. The first of these I chufe to derive from the heart; as the extreme velocity of its difcernment seems to denote fome previous inward impulfe, and the rather, as this fuperlative degree often forms its own objects; fees what is not, and always more than really exifts. This is that quickfighted penetration, whofe hawk's eyes no fymptom of evil can efcape; which obferves not only upon the actions, but upon the words and looks of men; and as it proceeds from the heart of the obferver, fo it dives into the heart of the obferved,

obferved, and there efpies evil, as it were, in the first embryo; nay fometimes before it can be faid to be conceived. An admirable faculty, if it were infallible; but as this degree of perfection is not even claimed by more than one mortal being; fo from the fallibility of fuch acute difcernment have arifen many fad mifchiefs and moft grievous heartachs to innocence and virtue. I cannot help therefore regarding this vaft quick-fightedness into evil as a vicious excefs, and as a very pernicious evil in itself. And I am the more inclined to this opinion, as I am afraid it always proceeds from a bad heart, for the reafons I have above mentioned, and for one more, namely, because I never knew it the property of a good one. Now from this degree of fufpicion I entirely and abfolutely acquit Sophia.

A fecond degree of this quality feems to arise. from the head. This is indeed no other than the faculty of seeing what is before your eyes, and of drawing conclufions from what you fee. The former of these is unavoidable by those who have any eyes, and the latter is perhaps no lefs certain and neceffary a confequence of our having any brains. This is altogether as bitter an enemy to guilt, as the former is to innocence; nor can I fee it in an unamiable light, even though, through human fallibility, it fhould be fometimes mistaken. For inftance, if a husband should accidentally furprife his wife in the lap or in the embraces of fome of those pretty young gentlemen who profefs the art of cuckold-making, I fhould not highly, I VOL. III.

K