morality of the men, is only to be equalled by their humility! I will not conceal from you, that in thefe true and faithful pictures of the manners and morals of the people of England, I see much that appears to me extraordinary, and incomprehenfible. Here, it is faid by our philofophers, that, "in this life (compounded of good and evil) *fickness, and health; opulence, and calamity; fruition, and difappointment, are bound up together; thus every thing is produced with a companion which fball deftroy it. By this fcheme of things, the wounds of affliction are ever within the reach of fome cordial balm, which, if it does not heal, may at least ferve to alleviate its anguish. While, in the pureft cup of felicity, is mingled fuch particles, as may ferve to remind the mortal to whom it is prefented, of the fublunary fource from whence it flowed.-In England, on the contrary (if I am to believe thefe hiftories) happiness and mifery are known only in extremes; there the tide of adverfity fets in with fuch deftructive fury, that the bare recital of the unheard-of calamities, it occafions, is fufficient to melt the hardeft heart! Nor when the flood of fortune comes, is * Heetopades. the torrent of profperity which it produces, less extraordinary and amazing! In its refiftless career, every barrier to happiness is broken down. The undeferving husband, the cruel father, and the malicious aunt, are all carried off by death while riches, honours, titles, fine clothes, and fpotlefs character, complete the felicity of the beautiful and loving pair, who are defigned to be overwhelmed in this fea of lifs. From the authority of thefe authentic memoirs, it appears, that marriage in Europe is never contracted but from the moft pure and difinterefted motives. Every young woman who is handsome and accomplished, however bumble her birth, or fmall her fortune, is there certain of attracting the love and admiration of numbers of the highest rank in the community. What a glorious encouragement is held forth to the females of that happy ifland, who must be blind indeed not to perceive that it is their own obftinacy and folly, that alone can poffibly prevent their advancement to the very fummit of felicity! For fuch folly and obftinacy, whenever it occurs, a very peculiar and extraor dinary punishment is referved. After a few years, spent, as it is generally believed, in vain repentance, and useless re gret, they all at once, without any exceptions in favour of virtue, merit, ufeful or ornamental accomplishments, undergo a certain change, and incomprehenfible transformation, and become what is termed OLD MAIDS. From all that I have hitherto been able to learn of thefe creatures, the Old Maid is a fort of venemous animal, fo wicked in its temper, and fo mifchievous in its difpofition, that one is furprifed that its very exif tence fhould be tolerated in a civilized fociety. After having spent many days in the ftudy of thofe authors, fo warmly recommended by the young Bibby, I began to apprehend that though to more enlightened minds, they might doubtless prove a fource of inftruction and delight, they were not fufficiently adapted to my weak capacity, to afford any recompence for the time spent in their perufal. Never before did my heart refufe its fympathy to human mifery; but the diftreffes of the Lady Hariots, and the Lady Charlottes, which called forth the overflowings of compaffion, in the breafts of their fair correfpondents, were of a nature too refined and delicate, to be difcernable to any fave the Microscopic eye of European fenfibility! The change which according to these fage writers of Novels, has taken place in human nature, must have been as fudden as it appears unaccountable. In the days of their great Dramatic Poet, the Calidas of Europe, it was certainly unknown; in his mafterly delineations of the paffions, it is every where, and at every of his works, one would be tempted to imagine (notwithstanding the evidence of thefe authentic memoirs to the contrary) that though manners may differ, and local customs fall into oblivion, the traits of kindred likeness, which the Creator has been pleased to imprefs on the great family of the human race, may, by a dif cerning eye, be traced through every clime, and in every period of its exiftence! How otherwife fhould the immortal Calidas, who flourished two thoufand period the fame: and from a peruery years ago, and the Bard of Eng Calidas, the celebrated dramatic poet of India, flourished, according to Sir William Jones, in the firft century before Chrift; he was one of the nine men of genius, commonly called the Nine Gems, who were favoured with the patronage and fplendidly fupported by the bounty of Vicramadityes, a Monarch eminently diftinguished by his tafte for literature. (See the preface to Sir Willian Jones's tranfla tion of Sac.ntala.) land, who was cotemporary with Ackbar, teach the heart to vibrate with the fame fenfations? The Sacontala of the one, and the Defdemona of the other, speak fo nearly the fame language, that did I not believe the foul of the Indian poet to have been long abforbed in the regions of felicity, I fhould undoubtedly imagine, that it was Calidas himself, who, under the name of Shakspeare, again vouchfafed to enlighten and delight the world!It is at leaft evident that they have both copied from the fame original-Unchanging, everlasting Nature! A chafm of many weeks has taken. place in my journal. Alas! When I undertook to write it, I was not aware of, the tedious uniformity of a fea voyage. But though void of incident, the fcene has not been deftitute of inftruction. By time, and increafing intimacy, the characers of my companions have been more fully developed. The first sketch that was drawn by the hafty pencil of imagination, I confidently pronounced to be a ftriking likenefs; but very different now appears the picture, that has been delineated by flow-working obfer vation. In my letter from Madrafs*, I informed you of the acquifition I expected from *This letter is not to be found. |