cause one of the kings happened to tread upon it as he paffed in a proceffion. From hence our conductor led us through several dark walks and winding ways, uttering lies, talking to himself, and flourishing a wand which he held in his hand. He reminded me of the black magicians of Kobi. After we had been almoft fatigued with a variety of objects, he, at laft, defired me to confider attentively a certain fuit of armour, which seemed to fhew nothing remarkable. This armour, faid he, belonged to general Monk. Very furprizing, that a general fhould wear armour! And pray, added he, obferve this cap, this is general Monk's cap. Very frange indeed, very strange, that a general fhould have a cap aljo! Pray friend, what might this cap have coft originally? That, Sir, fays he, I don't know; but this cap is all the wages I have for my trouble. A very small recompence, truly, faid I. Not fo very small replied he, for every gentleman puts fome money into it, and I fpend the money. What, more money! ftill more money! Every gentleman gives fomething, Sir. I'll give thee nothing, returned I; the guardians of the temple should pay you your wages, friend, and not permit you to fqueeze thus from every fpectator. When we pay our money at the door to fee a fhew, we never give more as we are going out. Sure, the guardians of the temple can never think they get enough. Shew me the gate; if I ftay longer, I may probably meet with more of thofe ecclefiaftical beggars. Thus leaving the temple precipitately, I returned to my lodgings, in order to ruminate over what was great, and to despise what was mean, in the occurrences of the day. LETTER LETTER XIV. FROM THE SAME. I WAS fome days ago agreeably surprised by a meffage from a lady of diftinction, who fent me word, that the moft paffionately defired the pleasure of my acquaintance; and, with the utmost impatience, expected an interview. I will not deny, my dear Fum Hoam, but that my vanity was raised at fuch an invitation; I flattered myself that she had feen me in fome public place, and had conceived an affection for my perfon, which thus induced her to deviate from the ufual decorums of the fex. My imagination painted her in all the bloom of youth and beauty. I fancied her attended by the Loves and Graces; and I fet out with the moft pleafing expectations of seeing the conqueft I had made. When I was introduced into her apartment, my expectations were quickly at an end; I perceived a little fhrivelled figure indolently reclined on a fofa, who nodded by way of approbation at my approach. This, as I was afterwards informed, was the lady herself, a woman equally diftinguished for rank, politeness, tafte, and understanding. As I was dreffed after the fashion of Europe, the had taken me for an Englishman, and confequently faluted me in her ordinary manner; but when the footman informed her grace that I was the gentleman from China, the inftantly lifted herself from the couch, while her eyes fparkled with unufual vivacity. "Blefs me! can this be the gentleman that was "born fo far from home? What an unusual share "of fomething nefs in his whole appearance! Lord! "how I am charmed with the outlandish cut of his "face! how bewitching the exotic breadth of his "forehead! 66 "forehead! I would give the world to fee him in "his own country drefs. Pray turn about, Sir, and "let me fee you behind. There! there's a travell'd "air for you. You that attend there, bring up "a plate of beef cut into small pieces; I have a vio"lent paffion to fee him eat. Pray, Sir, have you got "your chop fticks about you? It will be fo pretty "to fee the meat carried to the mouth with a jerk. Pray speak a little Chinese: I have learned fome "of the language myself. Lord, have you nothing pretty from China about you; fomething that one "does not know what to do with? I have got 66 twenty things from China that are of no use in the "world. Look at those jars, they are of the right pea-green: these are the furniture." Dear madam, faid I, thefe, though they may appear fine in your eyes, are but paltry to a Chinese; but, as they are useful utenfils, it is proper they should have a place in every apartment. Ufeful! Sir, replied the lady; fure you mistake, they are of no ufe in the world. What! are they not filled with an infufion of tea as in China? replied I. Quite empty, and useless upon my honour, Sir. Then they are the most cumbrous and clumfy furniture in the world, as nothing is truly elegant but what unites ufe with beauty. I proteft, fays the lady, I fhall begin to fufpect thee of being an actual barbarian. I fuppofe you hold my two beautiful pagods in contempt. What! cried I, bas Fobi fpread his grofs fuperftitions here alfo? Pagods of all kinds are my averfion. A Chinese, a traveller, and want tafte ! it furprizes me. Pray, Sir, examine the beauties of that Chinese temple which you see at the end of the garden. Is there any thing in China more beautiful? Where I ftand, I fee nothing, madam, at the end of thegarden, that may not as well be called an Egyption pyramid as a Chinese temple; for that little building in view is as like the one as t'other. What! Sir, is not that a Chinese temple! you must furely be mif taken. taken. Mr. Freeze, who defigned it, calls it one, and nobody disputes his pretenfions to tafte. I now found it vain to contradict the lady in any thing the thought fit to advance; fo was refolved rather to act the difciple than the inftructor. She took me through feveral rooms all furnished, as fhe told me, in the Chinese manner; fprawling dragons, fquatting pagods, and clumfy mandarines, were stuck upon every shelf: in turning round, one must have ufed caution not to demolish a part of the precarious furniture. In a houfe like this, thought I, one muft live continually upon the watch; the inhabitant muft refemble a knight in an enchanted castle, who expects to meet an adventure at every turning. But, madam, faid I, do no accidents ever happen to all this finery? Man, Sir, replied the lady, is born to misfortunes, and it is but fit I fhould have a fhare. Three weeks ago, a careless fervant snapped off the head of a favourite mandarine: I had fcarce done grieving for that, when a monkey broke a beautiful jar; this I took the more to heart, as the injury was done me by a friend: however, I furvived the calamity; when yesterday crafh went half a dozen dragons upon the marble hearth ftone; and yet I live; I furvive it all: you can't conceive what comfort I find under afflictions from philofophy. There is Seneca, and Bolingbroke, and fome others, who guide me through life, and teach me to fupport its calamities. I could not but fmile at a woman who makes her own misfortunes, and then deplores the miferies of her fituation. Wherefore, tired of act ing with diffimulation, and willing to indulge my meditations in folitude, I took leave juft as the fervant was bringing in a plate of beef, pursuant to the directions of his miftrefs. Adieu. LETTER LETTER XV. FROM THE SAME. THE better fort here pretend to the utmost compaffion for animals of every kind; to hear them peak, a ftranger would be apt to imagine they could hardly hurt the gnat that ftung them; they feem fo tender, and fo full of pity, that one would take them for the harmless friends of the whole creation; the protectors of the meaneft infect or reptile that was privileged with existence. And yet (would you believe it?) I have seen the very men who have thus boafted of their tenderness, at the fame time devouring the flesh of fix different animals toffed up in a fricaffee. Strange contrariety of conduct! they pity, and they eat the objects of their compaffion! The lion roars with terror over its captive; the tiger fends forth its hideous fhriek to intimidate its prey; no creature fhews any fondnefs for its fhort-lived prifoner, except a man and a cat. Man was born to live with innocence and fimplicity, but he has deviated from nature; he was born to fhare the bounties of heaven, but he has monopolized them; he was born to govern the brute cre→ ation, but he is become their tyrant. If an epicure now fhall happen to furfeit on his laft night's feast, twenty animals the next day are to undergo the most exquifite tortures in order to provoke his appetite to another guilty meal. Hail, O ye fimple, honeft bramins of the Eaft, ye inoffenfive friends of all that were born to happiness as well as you: you never fought a fhort-lived pleasure from the miferies of other creatures. You never ftudied the tormenting arts of ingenious refinement; you never furfeited upon a guilty meal. How much more purified and refined |