allied to excellence, and does not the excefs of its good qualities, bear so strong an affinity to imperfection, as to require a more matured judgment, a more accurate penetration, to point out the line where virtue ends, and vice begins? The arguments urged in oppofition to this are, that it is a faithful copy of Nature.-Undoubtedly it is but is Nature to be held up to the view of childhood, in every light, however unamiable; to be exhibited in every attitude, however unbecoming? The Hero's connexion with Mifs Seagrim, for inftance, and the fuppofed confequences of it are very natural no doubt; are they therefore objects worthy of imitation? But that a Child muft admire the character, is certain; that he fhould wish to imitate what he admires, follows of course; and that it is much more eafy to imitate faults, than excellencies, is an obferyation too trite, I fear, not to be well founded. A character virtuous and amiable in the aggregate, but vicious in particular parts, is much more dangerous to a mind, prone to imitation, as that of youth naturally is, than one wicked and vicious in the extreme. The one is an open affault of an avowed enemy, which every one has judgment to fee, and consequently fortitude to refift; the other is the the treacherous

attack

1

attack of an infidious invader; who makes the paffions his agents to blind the judgment, and bribes the understanding to betray the heart.Such is the character of Jones. He interefts our affections at the moment that his actions revolt against our ideas of propriety; nor can even his infidelity to Sophia, however ungrateful, nor his connexion with Lady Bellafton, though perhaps the most degrading situation in which human nature can be viewed, materially leffen him in our esteem and admiration. On thefe grounds therefore, though there cannot be a more partial admirer of the work itself, I cannot hesitate a moment to confider that "faultlefs monster" Sir Charles Grandifon, whofe infipid uniformity of goodness it is so fashionable to decry, far the more preferable to be held up to a child, as an object of imitation. The only objection urged to this is, that Grandifon is too perfect to be imitated with fuccefs. And to what does this argument amount truly this it tends to prove, that an imitator cannot come up to his original; consequently, the furest way to become a Jones, is to aim at being a Grandifon : for according to that argument, let a man rate his virtue at the highest price, and the natural biafs of his paffions will

make

make him bate fomething of his valuation.Hence therefore the character of Grandifon is affuredly the properer pattern of the two. An attempt at the imitation of that must neceffarily be productive of fome attainment in virtue. The character of Jones can neither operate as an incitement to virtue,or a discouragement from vice. He is too faulty for the one, and too excellent for the other, Even his good qualities must, on an undiscerning mind, have a bad effect; fince, by fascinating its affections, they render it blind to his foibles; and the Character becomes the more dangerous, in proportion as it is the more amiable.

But to return from this long digreffion, to the confideration of NOVELS in general.-Some of my fellow-citizens may perhaps conjecture, that I have affected to undervalue them from interested motives; and that I would wean them from their ftudy of them, for the purpose only of increafing the demand for my own lucubrations. To wipe off any fufpicions of the kind, and to prove to them that my only motives are a view to their advantage, I promife, in the course of a few Numbers, to point out to the observation, and reCommend to the perufal of profeffed NOVELreaders,

readers, a fet of books, which they now treat with undeserved contempt;but from which Iwill prove, that they may derive at least, as much entertainment, and certainly much more useful inftruction, than from the dull details of unmeaning fentiment, and infipid converfation; of incidents the molt highly unnatural, and events the most totally uninteresting. B

NOTES to CORRESPONDENTS. VERNACULUS's account of the First of May is all very true. ---TOGATUS must have entered very dully into the spirit of the Numbers he objects to; I shall exemplify my power of rejection, in the non-infertion of his Letter.---I fhall be happy in the future correfpondence of SIMON SNUBNOSE; at prefent I fear he glances too much on Politics for admiffion.---L. is received, and will, I truft, find himself satisfied, I will ensure his nose, and VIR BONUS.

No. XXVII.

OF

THE

MICROCOSM.

MONDAY, May 21, 1787.

Virtutem incolumen odimus,

Sublatam ex oculis quærimus invidi.-HOR.

Though living Virtue we defpife,

We follow her when dead with envious eyes.

I

FRANCIS.

T has generally been the fate of illuftrious merit, to be perfecuted and reviled, neglected and oppreffed, ****when living; and exposed to the derifion of the ignorant, and the wanton infults of the unfeeling. The brave has been stigmatized as a coward, the patriot has been accused of treachery, the philofopher of atheism, the poet and the hiftorian of plagiarism, infidelity, and parti