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with the leaft fhow and the leaft expence poffible; you may at your pleasure increase both, but you cannot easily diminish them. Do not think your eftate your own while any man can call upon you for money which you cannot pay; therefore, begin with timorous. parfimony. Let it be your first care not to be in any man's debt.

"When the thoughts are extended to a future ftate, the prefent life feems hardly worthy of all thofe principles of conduct and maxims of prudence which one generation of men has tranfmitted to another; but upon a clofer view, when it is perceived how much evil is produced, and how much good is impeded by embarraffinent and diftrefs, and how little room the expedients of poverty leave for the exercife of virtue, it grows manifeft that the boundlefs importance of the next life enforces fome attention to the interefts of this.

"Be kind to old fervants, and fecure the kindnefs of the agents and factors: do not difguft them by afperity, or unwelcome gaiety, or apparent fufpicion. From them From them you must learn the real ftate of your affairs, the characters of your tenants, and the value of your lands.

"You have now a new character and new duties; think on them, and practise them.

"Make

"Make an impartial eftimate of your re venue; and whatever it is, live upon lefs. Refolve never to be poor. Frugality is not only the bafis of quiet, but of beneficence. No man can help others that wants help himself; we must have enough before we have to spare.

"Poverty is a great enemy to human happinefs; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes fome virtues impracticable, and others extremely difficult."

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Upon its being mentioned, that an opulent and very indolent Scotch nobleman, who totally refigned the management of his affairs man of knowledge and abilities, had claimed some merit by faying, "The next best thing to managing a man's own affairs. well, is being fenfible of incapacity, and not attempting it, but having full confidence in one who can do it," Johnson faid, "Nay, Sir, this is paltry. There is a middle courfe. Let a man give application; and depend upon it he will foon get above a defpicable state of helplessness, and attain the power of acting for himfelf.".

MANNERS.

1.

MANNERS.

JOHNSON had an utter abhorrence of affectation. Talking of old Mr. Langton, he faid, "Sir, you will feldom fee fuch a gentleman; fuch are his ftores of literature; fuch his knowledge in divinity; and fuch his exemplary life and, Sir (added he), he has no grimace, no gefticulation, no bursts of admiration on trivial occafions; he never embraces you with an overacted cordiality."

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Being in company with a gentleman who affected to maintain Dr. Berkeley's ftrange pofition," That nothing exifts but as perceived by fome mind;" when the gentleman. was going away, Johnfon faid to him, " Pray, Sir, don't leave us; for we may, perhaps, forget to think of you, and then you will cease to

exift."

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An impudent fellow from Scotland was defcribed to him, as affecting to be a favage, and railing at all established fyftems:- Johnson obferved, "There is nothing furprizing in this. He wants to make himself confpicuous. He would tumble in a hogftye, as long as you looked at him and called to him to come out.

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But let him alone, never mind him, and he'll foon give it over."

It was added, that the fame perfon maintained that there was no diftinction between virtue and vice.-7. Why, Sir, if the fellow does not think as he speaks he is lying; and I fee not what honour he can propofe to himself from having the character of a liar. But if he does really think that there is no distinction between virtue and vice, why, Sir, when he leaves our houfes, let us count our fpoons. There is (faid he) in human nature. a general inclination to make people ftare; and every wife man has himself to cure of it, and does cure himself. If you wish to make people ftare by doing better than others, why, make them ftare till they ftare their eyes out. But confider how eafy it is to make people ftare by being abfurd. I may do it by going into a drawing-room without my fhoes. You remember the gentleman in the Spectator, who had a commiffion of lunacy taken against hin for his extreme fingularity, fuch as never wearing a wig, but a night-cap. Now, Sir, abftractedly the night-cap was beft; but, `relatively, the advantage was overbalanced by his making the boys run after him."

Talking of our feeling for the diftreffes of others, Johnfon faid, "Why, Sir, there is

much

much noife made about it, but it is greatly exaggerated. No, Sir, we have a certain degree of feeling to prompt us to do good; more than that Providence does not intend. It would be mifery to no purpose."-B. "But fup. pofe now, Sir, that one of your intimate friends were apprehended for an offence for which he might be hanged."-7. "I fhould do what I could to bail him, and give him any other affiftance; but if he were once fairly hanged, I fhould not suffer."-B. "Would you eat your dinner that day, Sir?"-7. "Yes, Sir; and eat it as if he were eating it with me. Why, there's Baretti, who is to be tried for his life to-morrow, friends have rifen up for him on every fide; yet if he should be hanged, none of them will eat a flice of plumb pudding the lefs. Sir, that fympathetic feeling goes a very little way in depreffing the mind."

"I told him (fays Mr. B.) that I had dined lately at Foote's, who fhewed me a letter to him from Tom Davies, telling him that he had not been able to fleep from the concern which he felt on account of "this fad affair of Baretti," begging of him to try if he could fuggeft any thing that might be of fervice; and, at the fame time, recommending to him an induftrious young man who kept a pickle-fhop.-J. Aye, Sir, here you have a fpecimen of human fympathy;

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