them to read and pray without any attention, even when they are afterwards capable of understanding what they read and pray for. This ill-timed method had been complained of by many à one who have fince felt the fad effects of it, as well as the almost infurmountable difficulty of maftering a defect fo early contracted and fo deeply rooted, as it were, in our nature, and none háth had more reason to bewail it than I.

But what did me in particular the moft hurt, in my education abroad, was the great admiration which my more than common readiness at learning whatever came in my way had gained me, and the imprudent fondness and partiality which my mafters fhewed to me on that account. I was hardly turned of fix years when I was fent to a free-fchool taught by two Francifcan monks, the eldest of whom perceiving my uncommon genius for languages, took it into his head to put me to the Latin form, though all my friends thought me much too young for it, especially as I was to be ranked and claffed among other boys of twice my years, and who had already been at it a year or two, and fome more; however he depended fo much on his judgment, about my genius and application, that he doubted not, he faid, but to fee me out-top all the reft in lefs than a year or two. He was not miftaken, and though it put me to great difficulties and hard ftudy to reach them, I began to feel fuch emotions of vanity at the quick progress I made, and the commendations he gave me upon it, that I rested not fatisfied till I had gained the firft rank in the form, as well as in his affection, for as he fpared neither careffes nor encouragement to me, I foon became fenfible both by his behaviour, as well as by the deference which the other boys paid to me, how much I was got in his favour.

Our school was often vifited by priefts, monks, gentlemen, and other perfons that paffed through our city, and though we had in it feveral boys whofe parents were in a much higher ftation, yet I was always fingled out as the flower of the flock, and as the most ready to anfwer fuch questions as were fuitable

to our form.

• Many fuch inftances of his partial fondness I could name, which all tended to make me ftill more affuming and arrogant; one however I cannot pafs by, which fhall ferve as a specimen : as I never was guilty of a fault at fchool, fo let me do what I would out of it, I was never punifhed for it, as the other boys were, but had, perhaps, a foft reprimand or fome eafy task affigned me by way of penance, for I cannot call to mind that I ever had a blow or crofs word from him. One day in particular, fome ftrangers, who vifited us after dinner, obtained us a dif

Bb 2

charge

T

charge for the rest of the day. We were no fooner got out but I told my fchool-fellows, that we ought to go and procure the fame releafe to the girls of another fchool. Accordingly we went and broke into the houfe, and drove the mistress and fcholars out, and then locked the doors, that they might not be obliged to come in again, and fent her the key at night. On the next day a fevere complaint was brought against us for the affault, and I charged as the ringleader of the reft, upon which à fuitable punishment was promifed, and foon after put in execution, in which I not only expected to have a fhare, but to be the first called down to it, and yet by what partial motive I know not, I had no other punishment than a feeming fevere reprimand, and fome cafy tafk, whilft all the reft were forced to fubmit to the difcipline of the school.

Thus I went on learning of Latin apace, I could tranflate out of it, write and fpeak it with great readiness, as far as I had been taught, which was thought furprifing, confidering I had hardly attained my ninth year, and been but two years under his care. The misfortune was, that he made us only converfant with common school-books, and but with few of any of the old claffics either in profe or verfe, fo that I was quite unacquainted with their ftile till I came into better hands, as I foon after did; for our good father being fhortly after chofen head, or, as they ftile it, guardian of another convent, about twenty-four miles from this, and in an archiepifcopal city, where was alfo a college of Jefuits for the education of youth, he eafily prevailed upon my mother to let me go with him thither, and to board at the monaftery under his eye, whilst I went on with my ftudies at the college, where he also promised to recommend me to the care of those fathers. He likewise promised her that he would, in the evening, make me repeat and explain what I had learned in the day, and by that means push me fo forward in my learning that I fhould out-top all my age, all which proved fuch powerful perfuafives to my mother, that the easily agreed to it, efpecially as he took four or five more youths with him to be on the fame foot with me both at the college and in the convent. We fet out accordingly with him for the place, and when I was introduced into the Jefuits college, there was no fmall ftrife what clafs I fhould be admitted into at firft.'

Here our Author proceeds to inform us of the method of education in the Jefuits colleges, and of the manner in which they divide and diftinguifh their forms: with the progrefs which he made in this new feminary. Growing, however, diffatisfied with this college, he was, in about a year's time, removed to

a convent

a convent of Dominicans; where he spent fome time, very unprofitably, bewilder'd in the mazes of Ariftotle's Phyfics, with the commentaries of Thomas Aquinas. Having thus murdered another year of his time, the Dominicans difmified him, with great applaufe of his parts and proficiency; and he then commenced ftudent in Theology at a neighbouring university; where every thing appeared to him like a new world. Here he was looked upon as a little raw ftripling, too young to herd among the rest of the ftudents, fome of whom were twice his age, and none by many years fo young as he was; and here he began to fink under the weight of the feveral difcouragements he now met with, not only in regard to his progrefs in the road towards real and ufeful learning, but in various other refpects.

I may fairly, fays he, date the completion of my ruin from the time of my coming to this populous place, on more accounts than one for first, the city was a noble, great one, full of gentry and nobility, of coaches, and all kinds of grandeur, all which did greatly affect me, who had never feen fo much by far of the beau monde, neither in my native city, nor in the archiepifcopal one, where I had ftudied under the Jesuits. 2dly, I had been already cloyed with Aquinas's philofophy, when I had no fuch bright tempting objects dancing before my eyes, what likelihood could there be that such a school as this, fhould reconcile me to the more refined and unintelligible fubtilties of his theology, efpecially confidering the difadvantages we late comers were forced to labour under, and the high ftate which our two rectors took upon them? for here was no room for objecting, or even defiring a point or a term to be explained, and we had nothing to do but to write what they dictated, and take their expofitions for found doctrine. Even those who had ftudied longeft under them, and were looked upon as the brightest, were not indulged to start a difficulty, though the occafion was ever fo fair; all which damped my fpirits, who had never been ufed to fuch a reftraint, and had, moreover, the mortification to see myself placed in the lowest rank, who had, till then, been moftly at the head, that I grew by degrees quite out of conceit both with myself and with the school. What added still more to my difcontentedness was, that I boarded at fome near relations in one of the suburbs of the city, and at a great distance from the convent, and thefe commonly dined fo late, that I must either take up with an irregular meal, or come near an hour after the reft to the school. I did indeed prefer the first for some time, but grew by degrees weary of it, as the ftudy I was upon grew lefs engaging to me; fo that though I took up as little time as I could at my dinner, yet one half hour, at least, was loft by it, and our rector had dictated fome pages of matter to

Bb3

the

the reft, which, after school was over, I used to copy out of the manufcripts of fome of my school-fellows. Our rector having more than once obferved what irregular hours I kept, was fo kind as to give me a civil reprimand, and not expecting, perhaps, a reply to it, was going on with his lecture, but I had been fo little used to make anfwers to it in dumb fhow, as I obferved many of his hearers were forced to do, that I bluntly told him the occafion, affuring him, that I had not influence enough in the family to prevail on them to alter their hours.

The good father not approving of my excufe, which plainly fhewed that I could not forego my dinner for his leffons, and might be an ill precedent to iome of the reft, feemed rather incined to lay the fault on my being better pleased with those late hours of dining, or else he thought I might eafily perfuade my relations to alter their method on my account. But whether fo or not, he infifted, and reafonably enough, that I fhould conform to the fchool-hours, whatever inconveniency it might put me as to my dinner. I was fenfible of the juftnefs of his reproof, and after having been often at high words with my relations (for they were fully paid for my board) to no purpose, and tried to conform to the fchool-hours for fome time, I grew weary of it, and having nobody to controul me, which proved my greatest misfortune, I quite forfook the afternoon lectures, and ipent that time in fauntring about the city and country adjacent, viewing the buildings, and fometimes taking plans and viftoes of fuch places as pleafed me, but without any other defign than to divert myself. I was, however, furprised foon after, to find myfelf interrogated by our morning profeffor, about the reafon of my not coming to the afternoon lectures. Whether my quondam mafter of philofophy had wrote any thing particularly concerning his expectation of getting me into their order or not, I knew not, but I was in a genteel manner given to understand by this, that I ought to look on it as a fingular favour that they fo far concerned themfelves about me. What anfwer I made him, befides my thanking him for his care, I cannot recoll&t; but though we parted good friends, I foon after forfook his lecture alfo, and from that time minded little elfe but my own pleafures, which, though al ogether of the innocent kind, fometimes with the fair fex, at other times in viewing the curiosities of the place, or making folitary excurfions, and the like; yet were not without fome pungent remorfe, as they tended to little elfe than to enure me to a habit of indolence and careless inactivity. At fome intervals, indeed, I tried to read over all my manufcripts both in philofophy and theology, but still so difgufted with them, that I never had the patience to go through them.

I had

I had before this fent fome complaining letters to my mother, as well as meflages by word of mouth by fome of my townfmen, who had been witneffes of the bad hours we kept, and to whom I had related the inconveniency it had put me to, with relation to my ftudies; and fhe, good woman, thinking that I took it more to heart than I did, fent me a fmall fupply to convey me to Avignon, where I was to meet an old rich counfellor of our town, who was gone to spend some time in that famed city. He had no children of his own, but fome nephews, one of which he defigned to breed up a scholar under me, in confideration of which I was to lodge and board with the uncle, till I could better provide for myfelf. As this was likely to be a kind of change for the better for me, as well as an easement to my mother, whofe ftrait circumstances could hardly permit her to be at fuch expence for my education, I made no delay to go down to Avignon, where I found the old gentleman ready to receive me, and, a day or two after, entered into my new office of tutor to his nephew, who had already made fome progrefs in the Latin Grammar. I had not been long there before I got acquainted with a young abbé, or candidate for prieftly orders, a countryman of mine, and an ingenious young man, cf fome learning: and he finding that I had ftudied philofophy and theology under the Dominicans, introduced me to one of their profeffors in this city, by whom I was courteously received, and foon after admitted to be one of his difciples. This father, who was a man of fingular modefty and humanity, and was reputed a faint, paid me an uncommon regard upon my firft admiflion to his lectures, and made an apology to the rest of his fcholars for recapitulating fome of his former leffons and expofitions, in gratiam, as he was pleafed to word it, chariffimi noftri novi discipuli, that I might the better underftand what he was then, and afterwards, to deliver to us. This great condefcenfion, which had not been fhewed to me by either of the profeffors of the laft univerfity, and which I fince understood was not, ufual among them, did highly oblige me, and I would have been glad to have made fuch a profciency under him, as might have, in fome meafure, anfwered his fingular kindness to me, which he fill continued to exprefs all the time I went to hear him, but my misfortune was, that I was ftill fo unacquainted as well as difgufted at the fubtilties of the school, and met with fuch crampt diftinctions and technical terms I was ftill a ftranger to, and was afhamed to afk the meaning of from any of the fcholars, who were far enough from thinking me fo great a novice to the language of the Thomifts, that I began again, in fpite of all his careffes, and my own eager defires, to defpair of ever becoming a theologian; Bb 4

and