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confider herself worthy of fitting in his prefence, while fhe fpurns from her own, the humble child of poverty, and affliction ?

I have juft returned from my first vifit to Doctor Severan, the gentleman to whofe attentions Grey has most particularly recommended me; nor could he, according to the opinion of Delomond, have done me a more effential fervice. My accomplished friend, who was, it seems, the companion of his youthful studies, tells me, that at the univerfity, it appeared evident that he was born to be the ornament of Science. Whilft other young men were pursuing the gaudy phantom of pleasure, his time was occupied in inveftigating the Laws of Nature, in tearing the choiceft fecrets from her reluct ant bofom, or, in tracing her foot-steps through the various phænomena of the material world.-Nor, continued Delomond, as we drove to this gentleman's houfe, is he lefs eftimable as a man, than respectable as a philofopher. But, indeed, the connection between philofophy and virtue, is "fo natural, that it is only their feparation that can excite furprise; for is not the very bafis of fcience, a fincere and difinterefted love of truth? An enlarged view of things cannot fail to deftroy the effects of prejudice and

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while it awakens in the mind, the moft fublime ideas of the great original cause, it promotes, moft neceffarily, a deteftation of every thing that is mean or bafe." We juft then stopped at the door of his friend, and were ufhered into an apartment furrounded with fhelves of books, arranged in no very good order; every table, and almost every feat, was occupied by numerous odd fhaped veffels, fome of glass, and others of metal, but for what ufe I could not poffibly comprehend. The philofopher himself, at length appeared. A tall thin man, of about forty years of age, his dress put on in a manner particularly careless; but his countenance, fo mild, and ferious! it was the very perfonification of benignity. He appeared rejoiced at feeing Delomond, who, if poffible, was exalted in my esteem, by feeing the degree of eftimation in which he was held by the philofopher. Myfelf he received in the moft gracious manner; and, by his kindnefs to me, he gave the moft convincing proof of his regard for my friend Grey, of whom, indeed, he spoke very handfomely. He informed me, that Lady Grey, widow to the brother of our friend, was then at her country refidence, but that her brother, Sir Caprice Ardent, for whom I had likewife a letter of intro

duction, was in London; and added, that he should do himself the pleature of accompanying me to the houfe of this gentleman, the day after to-morrow; and hoped that I would come to eat my breakfaft with him, before we went. You will fmile at the invitation: and, no doubt, be furprised to find this philofopher, whom one would expect to foar above the practices and notions of the vulgar, taking fuch a method of fhewing his hofpitality; but it is a difficult thing to get the better of early prejudice; nor does the generality of mankind in any country, enquire into the propriety of cuftoms, to which they have been rendered familiar by ufe. Though to us it appears highly abfurd, as well as grofsly indelicate, to fee people looking in each others' faces while they chew their food, and calling it fociable to swallow their morfel at the fame moment; it is poffible, that these Europeans may think our folitary manner of eating equally ridiculous, and if they abftain from cenfuring it, is it not a proof of their being more enlightened? Often have I obferved to you, and often do I fee reason to repeat the obfervation, that it is they only who have conquered the force of prejudice in themselves, that can make any allowance for the effects of it in others.

VOL. II.

C

Coffee-houses, fimilar to that defcribed in one of my letters from Calcutta, are to be met with in every quarter of this city. Thofe I have here seen, are fchools of politics, reforted to by all who take an intereft in public affairs; - a true and authentic statement of which is daily printed on large fheets of paper, and copies are, I am told, fent to every part of the island. In the Coffee-houses, thefe are handed about from politician to poliician, and furnifh matter for the general difcourfe. For my part, though poffeffed of a fufficient fhare of curiofity, I did not care to be too forward in feeking to pry into the ftate affairs of the country; but having accompanied Delomond, yefter day, into a neighbouring coffee-house, and hearing a gentleman who fat near me, declare, that the paper he was then perufing, was indubitably publifhed under the immediate direction of the Britifh minifter, I could not reftrain my impatience, to examine its contents-and the moment he laid it down, I eagerly flew to its perufal.

It is impoffible to defcribe to you, the admiration with which the reading of this paper infpired me, for the talents and virtues of this fapient noble, who prefides in the fupreme councils of this

happy nation. So extenfive! fo multifarious fo minute were the fubjects of his concerns, that one contemplates with aftonishment, the mind that is capable of grafping fuch an infinity of objects. In one paragraph, he reports to the nation, the account of a victory which their armies had obtained, or nearly obtained over the forces of their Chriftian enemies; tells the number of the flainof thofe who are ftill fuffering the agonies of pain, far from the foothing balm of affection! far from the healing confolations of friendship!-To the families of fuch as are in a fituation to afford the expenfive infignia of forrow, the names of their fallen friends are announced; but, to the poor, who can only afford to wear mourning in their hearts, there is no neceffity of giving fuch a particular. account of their friends; it is fufficient for them to know, that few, very few of them can ever again behold their native homes! In the next paragraph, this puiffant statesman informs the world of the fafe arrival in town of Sir Dapper Dawdle, in his phaeton and four; which, and many fimilar pieces of intelligence, are,, no doubt, given with the beneficent intention of informing the poor and wretched, where they may find their benefactors; thofe, who by their liberal and repeated

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