which illuminated the inside. I am sorry to say, that among the various virtues which an intercourse with our neighbours has produced, hospitality has been neglected; with grief I have beheld the closed portals and rusty hinges of the present race of noblemen, and have observed, that it is now more difficult to get admittance to a baron, than it formerly was to approach a king. Let my countrymen remember, as steel too highly polished becomes brittle, to take care, whilst they emulate the refinements of their neighbours, not to neglect the sterling virtues which have rendered England the admiration of the world. I may, perhaps, appear a little selfish in this advice, since it is decreed, that I am to maintain my present situation, till the generosity of our nobles may render it unnecessary for any man of worth to dine with Duke Humphrey; but it also must be considered, that I now affirm (where falsehood would be useless), that the love of my country is the principle which actuates my conduct, and that the rest are but secondary motives. Should my rhetoric be insufficient to induce the noblemen to make their liberality adequate to their revenues, I hope it will, at least, have the effect of rendering the

lower orders of mankind more grateful to their benefactor, and cause them to think some sort

of civility due to

DUKE HUMPHREY.

THE TRIFLER, No. 36, January 31, 1789.

No. CXXXIII.

O pulchra ista pars quæ actiones vitamque bene formet

ac dirigit.

TACITUS.

That institution should be encouraged, which promotes virtue, and educates future members of society.

Sir,

IT has somewhere been observed, that the intrinsic goodness of a cause not unfrequently conceals the weakness of its advocates. To my humble yet honest endeavours, I hope the candour of your readers will apply my confidence in the truth of this remark, as an extenuation of their errors.

I was born in a country town, of poor and reputable parents, and am indebted for my small portion of knowledge to a blue-coat education. Though my veins boast not of noble blood, yet, with modesty, I may claim the praise of gratitude; excited by this strong impulse, I am tempted to expose, by a short narrative of my life, the futility of those observations, which prejudice or malevolence have made against the institution of Sunday schools. In doing this, I shall make no scruple of considering a

Charity or Sunday-school as differing in little else than name; to both, the same arguments are applicable, as both have the diffusion of knowledge as their object; if any difference exists, it is, that the latter has more particularly in view the interests of virtue and the increase of religion.

On my leaving school my friends advised me to hire myself as a servant to a single gentleman, or in a private family: and, in consequence of some favourable recommendation, it was not long before I obtained a situation agreeable to my wishes.

A mercer, his wife, and four children, in London, composed the whole family in which

I passed my noviciate year. For a considerable

time my expectations of comfort were not deceived, my employment was neither considerable nor difficult, and, as from my childhood I had been bred up in a habit of industry, I experienced nothing either unexpected or intolerable. The maid servant, to whom the children and the cookery had been the only care, and with whom the first sixteen months of my service had elapsed, was dismissed for some trifling offence, and succeeded by another, whose dexterity was quickly the cause of my departure. As my learning had not escaped

unnoticed by my master, he frequently em ployed me, in the shop, to enter on the books his concerns in trade. Thus situated, it was not extraordinary that the loss of many handkerchiefs, ribbons, &c. should be charged upon me, and that the stronger temptations of my fellow-servant should be overlooked in the more presumptive evidence of my guilt. But it was not in the power of my feelings to bear, with patience, the hints of suspicion, and the questions of hypocrisy. My own conscience was pure; and since I was unwilling to purchase peace of mind by the destruction of another's, happiness, which might have happened had I preferred a rash accusation, I bade adieu to the house, and left, with pleasure, a master who looked upon my presence as his greatest misfortune.

ས

I then supported myself on my wages for two months; and, at the end of that time, accepted with joy the offer of an aged antiquarian, to live with him as footman. This was one of the happiest periods of my life; my master, unless when discoursing or questioned on his profession, was unprejudiced, reasonable, and dispassionate. He required but little attendance, and I had, consequently, many opportunities of consulting a library, which, with much