nity; a cause to which we must attribute the prolix catalogue of Scotish monarchs, and the milefian colony of the Irish antiquaries. The fecond, as the malice of my enquiry does not war with the dead, I shall not examine; the very existence of fuch an opinion may in time become doubtful.

There are perhaps few popular opinions, so repugnant as the former to truth and reafon, which may not be traced to their origin, in an inventive mind, occupied rather in palliating its omiffions by ingenious excufes, than in avoiding them by a determined activity; and the most specious are feldom recurred to but as the lenitives of reflection, on the painful retrofpect of wafted time, and abilities mifapplied.

D

NOTES to CORRESPONDENTS.

I cannot comply with the request of NUMA, as it would be highly prefumptuous in me to engage in any religious controverfy.--ALFRED shall be attended to,--but may depend upon proper enquiry being made at the Herald's-Office, with regard to the performance of his promife.---CHRISTOPHER CUTJOKE shall appear.

A a

No.

No. XXVI.

OF THE

MICROCOSM.

MONDAY, May 14, 1787.

Fabula nullius veneris, fine pondere, et arte.-HOR. A filly flory, without weight, or art.

N

OVEL-WRITING has by fome late authors been aptly enough ftyled the younger fifter of ROMANCE. A family likeness indeed is very evident; and in their leading features, though in the one on a more enlarged, and in the other on a more contracted fcale, a strong refemblance is easily discoverable between them.

An eminent characteristic of each is Fiction; a quality, which they poffefs, however, in very different

different degrees. The Fiction of ROMANCE is reftricted by no fetters of reafon, or of truth; but gives a loose to lawlefs imagination, and tranfgreffes at will the bounds of time and place, of nature, and poffibility. The fiction of the other on the contrary is fhackled with a thousand restraints; is checked in her moft rapid progrefs by the barriers of reafon; and bounded in her moft excurfive flights by the limits of probability.

To drop our metaphors: we fhall not indeed find in NOVELS, as in ROMANCES, the Hero fighing respectfully at the feet of his mistress, during a ten years courtship in a wildernefs; nor fhall we be entertained with the hiftory of fuch a tour, as that of Saint George; who, mounting his horse one morning in Cappadocia, takes his way through Mefopotamia, then turns to his right into Illyria, and fo by way of Grecia and Thracia, arrives in the afternoon in England. To fuch glorious violations as thefe of time and place, ROMANCE writers have an exclufive claim. NOVELISTS ufually find it more convenient to change the scene of courtship from a defart to adrawing-room; and far from thinking it neceffary to lay a ten years fiege to the affections of their heroine, they contrive

contrive to carry their point in an hour or two; as well for the fake of enhancing the character of their hero, as for establishing their favourite maxim af love at first fight; and their Hero, who feldom, extends his travels beyond the turnpike-road, is commonly content to chufe the fafer, though less expeditious, conveyance of a poft-chaise, in preference to fuch a horse as that of Saint George,

But these peculiarities of abfurdity alone excepted, we shall find, that the NOVEL is but a more modern modification of the fame ingredients which constitute the ROMANCE; and that a recipe for the one may be equally ferviceable for the com pofition of the other.

A ROMANCE (generally fpeaking) confifts of a number of strange events, with a Hero in the middle of them; who, being an adventurous Knight, wades through them to one grand design, namely, the emancipation of fome captive Princefs, from the oppreffion of a merciless Giant; for the accomplishment of which purpose he must set at nought the incantations of the caitiff magician; muft fcale the ramparts of his caftle; and baffle

the

the vigilance of the female dragon, to whose cuftody his Heroine is committed.

Foreign as they may at first fight feem from the purposes of a NOVEL, we shall find, upon a little examination, that these are in fact the very circumstances, upon which the generality of them are built; modernized indeed in fome degree by the trifling transformations of mercilefs Giants into auftere Guardians, and of fhe-dragons into Maiden Aunts. We must be contented also that the Heroine, though retaining her tenderness, be divested of her royalty; and in the Hero we muft give up the Knight-errant for the acomplished Fine Gentleman.

Still, however, though the performers are changed, the characters themselves remain nearly the fame. In the Guardian we trace all the qualities which distinguish his ferocious predeceffor; fubftituting only, in the room of magical incantations, a little plain curfing and fwearing; and the Maiden Aunt retains all the prying vigilance, and fufpicious malignity; in fhort, every endowment, but the claws, which characterize her romantic counterpart. The Hero of a NOVEL has

not