built by Pericles. I took an emetick yesterday, he fays; and pray what day of the month is it to-day?*

In short, if you have patience to liften to him, you will never get rid of him; but if you would avoid a fever, make your escape from fuch fellows with all poffible speed, for there is no bearing with people, who have not sense to diftinguish between seasons of business and of leifure.

Of DISTRUST;

OR,

A SUSPICIOUS TEMPER.

THIS fufpicious temper inclines us to suspect every one of an intention to impose upon us. A man of this temper, if he fends his fervant to market to buy provifions, will dispatch another servant, to enquire how much he paid for them. If he travels with a fum of money in his pocket, he will stop every half mile to reckon how much it is. As he lies in bed, he afks his

wife

*He alludes to feveral other feftivals, and exemplifies St. Paul's opinion of them. "Ye men of Athens! I perceive that in all things ye are too fuperftitious."

wife whether she has shut the great cheft, and locked the trunk carefully; and whether the bar was put to the outward-door? And, though she affures him that all is fafe, he nevertheless will leap out of his bed, and without his cloaths, and bare-footed, light a lamp, and go all round the house, and examine every particular; and even then can hardly compose himself to sleep.

When he goes to receive the interest of those who owe him money, he takes witnesses with him, that they may not deny the debt for the future: if he fends his coat to be scoured, he never enquires for the most skilful workman, but one that will give him the best fecurity for returning it again: if a neighbour comes to borrow fome drinking glaffes* of him, he is very unwilling to lend them; or if he does, he is never at rest till he has got them returned: he bids his flave that attends him walk in his fight before him, to prevent his running away: if a gentleman buys any thing of him, and bids him place it to his account; "No, fir, please to lay down the money, for I shall not be at leifure to fend after it."

* Εκπωμαία.

OF

OF

UNPLEASANT MANNERS;

OR,

TROUBLESOME FELLOWS.

THIS is a kind of intercourse, though not abfolutely injurious, yet extremely irksome and fatiguing. A troublesome fellow is one who will go into your chamber, when you are just fallen to fleep, and awake you, merely to have fome idle converfation with him. And when a friend is going a voyage, and just ready to set fail, he will go to him, and beg him to stay till they have taken a little walk together. He will take a child from its nurse, chew some meat and feed it, dandle it in his arms, and talk nonsense to it; and, in the midst of dinner, tells you that he took a dose of hellebore, which operated powerfully upward and downwards;* and that after taking a little broth, he voided a great deal of black bile. He frequently asks+ his mother before company, what day she brought him into the world? He tells you what fine cool water he has in his ciftern; and that his garden produces great plenty

άνω και κάλα. † Aavos, a terrible fellow.

of

of excellent and tender cabbages; and that his house is as open to all strangers, as an inn upon the road; and when he has company, he introduces his parafite as a facetious fellow, and during the entertainment, bids him exert himself and divert the company."

As the manners of the Athenians, at this period, were highly polished, Theophraftus must have taken many of these characters from the lower circles: he was turned of ninety (it is supposed) when he wrote them: he was the scholar and fucceffor of Ariftotle, in his school. Menander availed himself of these characters.

METRO-MANIA;

OR,

ON A RAGE FOR RHYMING.

"The graveft bird that wings the sky,

"His talents at a fong will try."

ANONYM. (See the title-page.)

IN every civilized (and perhaps uncivilized) nation of

the world, there has fprung up once in an age, fuppofe, fome exalted genius; who, conscious of his own powers, has professed himself a priest of the Muses ;* devoted himself to their service, boldly laid claim to their inspiration, and has been universally honoured with the respectable name of poet; fuch were Homer, Virgil, Taffo, Milton, and fome few others.

There have likewife been, in every age, men of parts; who, making peotry their chief study, without aspiring to the fummit of Parnaffus, have entertained and in

ftructed

* Mufarum Sacerdos. HOR.