to the coffee-house, where his venerable figure drew upon us the eyes of the whole room. He had no sooner seated himself at the upper end of the high table, but he called for a clean pipe, a paper of tobacco, a dish of coffee, a wax candle, and the Supplement, with such an air of cheerfulness and goodhumour, that all the boys in the coffee-room (who seemed to take pleasure in serving him) were at once employed on his several errands, insomuch that nobody else could come at a dish of tea till the knight had got all his conveniences about him. ADDISON.

CRITICS.

Ir is, I think, the sentiment of Quintilian, that no man is capable of becoming a good critic on a great poet, but he who is himself a great poct. This would, indeed, confine the critics on poetry, at least, to a very small number; and would, indeed, strike all the ancients, except only Horace and Longinus, off the roll; of the latter of whom, though he was no poet, Mr. Pope finely says,

The great Longinus, all the Nine inspire,
And bless their critic with a poet's fire.

But with respect to so great a name as Quintilian, this rule appears to me much too rigid. It seems, indeed, to be little less severe than an injunction, that no man should criticise on cookery but he who was himself a cook.

To require what is generally called learning in a critic, is altogether as absurd as to require genius. Why should a man in this case, any more than in all others, be bound by any opinions but his own? Or, why should he read by rule any more than eat

by it? If I delight in a slice of bullock's liver, or of Oldmixon, why should I be confined to turtle or to Swift?

The only learning, therefore, that I insist upon is, that my critic be able to read; and this is surely very reasonable; for I do not see how he can otherwise be called a reader; and if I include every reader in the name of critic, it is surely very just to confine every critic within the number of readers.

Nor do I only require the capacity of reading, but the actual exercise of that capacity; I do here strictly forbid any persons whatever to pass a definitive sentence on a book before they have read at least ten pages in it, under the penalty of being for ever rendered incapable of admission to the order of critics.

Thirdly, all critics who, from and after the first day of February next, shall condemn any book, shall be ready to give some reason for their judg ment; nor shall it be sufficient for such critic to drivel out, "I don't know, not I, but all that I know is, I don't like it." Provided nevertheless, that any reason, how foolish or frivolous soever, shall be allowed a good and full justification; except only the words poor stuff, wretched stuff, bad stuff, low stuff, paltry stuff. All which stuffs I do for ever banish from the mouths of all critics.

Provided also, that the last-mentioned clause do extend only to such critics as openly proclaim their censures; for it is our intention, that all persons shall be at liberty to dislike privately whatever book they please, without understanding or reading one word of it, any thing therein or herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

But as it is reasonable to extend this power of

judging for themselves no farther in this case of criticism than it is allowed to men in some others, I do here declare that I shall not, for the future, admit any males to the office of criticism till they be of the full age of eighteen, that being the age when the laws allow them to have a capacity of disposing of personal chattels; for before that time they have only the power of disposing of themselves in the trifling article of marriage. Females, perhaps, I shall admit somewhat earlier, provided they be either witty or handsome, or have a fortune of five thousand pounds and upwards.

Together with childhood I exclude all other civil incapacities; and here I mean not only legal, but real lunatics, and idiots. In this number I include all persons, who from the whole tenor of their conduct appear to be incapable of discerning good from bad, right from wrong, or wisdom from folly, in any instance whatever.

There are again some persons whom I shall admit only to a partial exercise of this office; as, for instance, rakes, beaux, sharpers, and fine ladies, are strictly forbidden, under penalty of perpetual exclusion, to presume to criticise on any works of religion or morality. All lawyers, physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries, are strictly forbidden to pass any judgment on those authors who attempt any reformation in law or physic. Officers of state, and would-be officers of state (honest men only excepted), with all their attendants and dependants, their placemen and would-be placemen, pimps, spies, parasites, informers, and agents, are forbidden, under the penalty aforesaid, to give their opinions of any work in which the good of the kingdom in general is designed to be advanced; but as for all pamphlets which anywise concern

the great cause of Woodall Out, and Takeall Inn, esqrs. full liberty is left to both parties; and the one may universally cry up and commend, and the other may universally censure and condemn, as usual. All critics offending against this clause are to be deemed infamous, and their several criticisms are hereby declared to be entirely void, and of none effect.

No author is to be admitted into the order of critics, until he hath read over, and understood, Aristotle, Horace, and Longinus, in their original language; nor, then, without a testimonial that he hath spoken well of some living author besides himself.

FIELDING.

THE PLEASURE ARISING FROM THE CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE.

SOME minds there are, who, even in the early part of life, receive from the contemplation of nature a species of delight which they would hardly exchange for any other; and who, as avarice and ambition are not the infirmities of that period, would, with equal sincerity and rapture, exclaim,

I care not, Fortune, what you me deny ;
You cannot rob me of free Nature's grace;
You cannot shut the windows of the sky,
Through which Aurora shows her brightening face;
You cannot bar my constant feet to trace

The woods and lawns by living stream at eve.*.

Such minds have always in them the seeds of true taste, and frequently of imitative genius. At least, though their enthusiastic or visionary turn

*Castle of Indolence.

of mind (as the man of the world would call it) should not always incline them to practise poetry or painting, we need not scruple to affirm, that without some portion of this enthusiasm, no person ever became a true poet or painter. For he who would imitate the works of nature, must first accurately observe them; and accurate observation is to be expected from those only who take great pleasure in it.

To a mind thus disposed, no part of creation is indifferent. In the crowded city, and howling wilderness; in the cultivated province, and solitary isle; in the flowery lawn, and craggy mountain; in the murmur of the rivulet, and in the uproar of the ocean; in the radiance of summer, and gloom of winter; in the thunder of heaven, and in the whisper of the breeze; he still finds something to rouse or to soothe his imagination, to draw forth his affections, or to employ his understanding. And from every mental energy that is not attended with pain, and even from some of those that are, as moderate terror and pity, a sound mind derives satisfaction; exercise being equally necessary to the body and the soul, and to both equally productive of health and pleasure.

This happy sensibility to the beauties of nature should be cherished in young persons. It engages them to contemplate the Creator in his wonderful works; it purifies and harmonizes the soul, and prepares it for moral and intellectual discipline; it supplies an endless source of amusement; it contributes even to bodily health; and, as a strict analogy subsists between material and moral beauty, it leads the heart by an easy transition from the one to the other; and thus recommends virtue for its transcendent loveliness, and makes vice appear