ver wanted rest lefs than at prefent; for that day and night were indifferent feafons to him, and that he commonly made ufe of the former for the time of his repofe, and of the latter for his walks and lucubrations. However,' faid he, it is now a most lovely morning, and if you can bear any longer to be without your own reft or food, I will gladly entertain you with the fight of fome very fine profpects, which I believe you have not yet seen.' Jones very readily embraced this offer, and they. immediately fet forward together from the cottage. As for Partridge, he had fallen into a profound repofe, juft as the ftranger had finifhed his ftory; for his curiofity was fatisfied, and the fubfequent difcourfe was not forcible enough in its operation to conjure down the charms of fleep. Jones therefore left him to enjoy his nap; and as the reader may perhaps be, at this feafon, glad of the fame favour, we will here put an end to the eighth book of our history. THE THE HISTORY OF A FOUNDLING. BOOK IX. Containing twelve hours. CHA P. I. Of those who lawfully may, and of those who may not write fuch hiftories as this. A MONG other good ufes for which I have thought proper to institute these several introductory chapters, I have confidered them as a kind of mark or stamp, which may hereafter enable a very indifferent reader to distinguish what is true and genuine in this hiftoric kind of writing, from what is false and counterfeit. Indeed it feems likely that fome fuch mark may fhortly become neceflary, fince the favourable reception which two or three authors have lately procured for their works of this nature from the public, will probably ferve as an encouragement to many others to undertake the like. Thus a fwarm of foolish novels, and monftrous romances will be produced, either to the great impoverishing of bookfellers, or to the great lofs of time, and depravation of morals in the reader; nay, often to the fpreading of fcandal fcandal and calumny, and to the prejudice of the characters of many worthy and honeft people. I queftion not but, the ingenious author of the Spectator was principally induced to prefix Greek and Latin mottos to every paper from the fame confideration of guarding against the pursuit of thofe fcribblers, who, having no talents of a writer but what is taught by the writing mafter, are yet nowife afraid nor afhamed to affume the fame titles with the greatest ge. nius, than their good-brother in the fable was of braying in the lion's kin. By the device therefore of his motto, it became impracticable for any man to prefume to imitate the Spectators, without understanding at least one fentence in the learned languages. In the fame manner I have now fecured myfelf from the imitation of those who are utterly incapable of any degree of reflection, and whofe learning is not equal to an effay. I would not be here understood to infinuate, that the greatest merit of fuch hiftorical productions can ever lie in these introductory chapters; but, in fact, thofe parts which contain mere narrative only, afford much more encouragement to the pen of an imitator, than those which are compofed of observation and re flection. Here I mean fuch imitators as Rowe was of Shakespear, or as Horace hints fome of the Romans were of Cato, by bare feet and four faces. To invent good stories, and to tell them well, are poffibly very rare talents, and yet I have obferved few perfons who have fcrupled to aim at both; and if we examine the romances and novels with which the world abounds, I think we may fairly conclude, that most of the authors would not have attempted to fhew their teeth (if the expreffion may be allowed me) in any other way of writing; nor could indeed have ftrung together a dozen fentences on any other subject whatever. Scribimus indocti doctique paffim*, may be more truly faid of the hiftorian and biographer, than of any other fpecies of writing for all the arts and sciences (even * -Each defperate blockhead dares to write, criticifm criticism itself) require fome little degree of learning and knowledge. Poetry indeed may perhaps be thought an exception; but then it demands numbers, or fomething like numbers; whereas to the compofition of novels and romances, nothing is neceffary but paper, pens, and ink, with the manual capacity of using them. This, I conceive, their productions fhew to be the opinion of the authors themfelves; and this must be the opinion of their readers, if indeed there be any fuch. Hence we are to derive that univerfal contempt, which the world, who always denominate the whole from the majority, have cast on all historical writers, who do not draw their materials from records. And it is the apprehenfion of this contempt, that hath made us fo cautiously avoid the term romance, a name with which we might otherwife have been well enough contented. Though as we have good authority for all our characters, no lefs indeed than the vaft authentic doomsday-book of nature, as is elfewhere hinted, our. labours have fufficient title to the name of hiftory. Certainly they deferve fome diftinction from those works, which one of the wittiest of men regarded only as proceeding from a Pruritus, or indeed rather from a loofenefs of the brain. But befides the difhonour which is thus caft on one of the most useful as well as entertaining of all kinds of writing, there is just reafon to apprehend, that by encouraging fuch authors, we fhall propagate much dishonour of another kind; I mean to the characters of many good and valuable members of fociety: for the dulleft writers no more than the dulleft companions are always inoffenfive. They have both enough of language to be indecent and abufive. And furely, if the opinion just above cited be true, we cannot wonder, that works fo naftily derived fhould be naty themselves, or make others fo. To prevent therefore for the future, fuch intemperate abuses of leifure, of letters, and of the liberty of the prefs, especially as the world feems at prefent to be more than ufually threatened with them, I fhall here venture to mention fome qualificatious, every one of which are in a pretty high degree neceffary to this order of hiftorians. The first is genius, without a full vein of which, no ftudy, fays Horace, can avail us. By genius 1 would understand that power, or rather thofe powers of the mind, which are capable of penetrating into all things within our reach and knowledge, and of diftinguishing their effential differences. These are no other than invention and judgment; and they are both called by the collective name of genius, as they are of thofe gifts of nature which we bring with us into the world. Concerning each of which many feem to have fallen into very great errors: for by invention, I believe, is generally understood a creative faculty; which would indeed prove most romance-writers to have the highest pretenfions to it; whereas by inven tion is really meant no more, (and fo the word fignifies) than difcovery, or finding out; or to explain it at large, a quick and fagacious penetration into the true effence of all the objects of our contemplation. This, I think, can rarely exift, without the concomitancy of judgment: for how we can be faid to have difcovered the true effence of two things, without dif cerning their difference, feems to me hard to conceive. Now this laft is the undisputed province of judgment, and yet fome few men of wit have agreed with all the dull fellows in the world, in representing thefe two to have been feldom or never the property of one and the fame perfon. But though they should be fo, they are not fufficient for our purpose, without a good fhare of learning; for which I could again cite the authority of Horace, and of many others, if any was neceflary to prove that tools are of no fervice to a workman, when they are not fharpened by art, or when he wants rules to direct him in his work, or hath no matter to work upon. All thefe ufes are fupplied by learning: for nature can only furnish us with capacity, or, as I have chofe to illuftrate it, with the tools of our profeffion; learning must fit them for use, must direct them in it; and laftly, muft contribute, part at least, of the materials. A competent knowledge of hiftory and of the Belles Lettres, |