Knick-knack, what did you give for that stuffed owl, which stands over the chimney piece, in a glass case, in your room?" "The owl, case, and all the appendages, cost me five guineas." "Five guineas!!" rejoined Potion, "five guineas!! now, do you think, Mr. Knick-nack, that the owl would have given half five guineas for you, if you had been stuffed twice over, and put into two glass cases?" At this sally Mr. Knick-knack was quite disconcerted and mortified; most of the company laughed, and the Dr. grew so valiant and full of spirits, that he, very liberally, dealt out his witticisms upon us all; but as his jokes were all of the same kind, it is needless to repeat any more of them.

After a while, the Seulptor, sung a blackguard Irish song, containing a sufficient. quantity of smut; the surgeon's, wife, also,.. sung a love song, which was smutty enough in all conscience. Then, the little Surgeon entertained us with an account of how, one evening last week, after he had parted from his brother officers, for the animal is an army. surgeon, as well as a knight of the scalpel in street, where his house.

stands, as he was going along one of the streets leading off from Covent-garden, two women of the town seized upon, and dragged him into a bagnio, stripped him of all his. clothes, saving his shirt, and shoes, beat him barbarously, and turned him out into the street. After this severe encounter, quoth Caustic, I crawled home how I could.

This delicate story being ended, silence ensued for some minutes; after which a general gabble commenced, consisting of such nonsense as generally issues from empty heads,. and sterile understandings, and the whole concluded with general and individual invitations from each other; and I was shaken by the hand and invited to the house of the Statuary and Surgeon, both of whom hoped, soon, to be very intimately acquainted with

me.

I returned a distant bow to all their speeches, and took an opportunity, during the confusion of all their cackling and preparations for departure, to steal away unperceived, and made the best of my way home, resolving, never again, to be detected among a set of people, who met together in order to pass a pleasant evening

I forbear from animadverting on the conduct of this worthy company; I shall onlyobserve, that the generality of those, who spend their time in visiting, consume it to no better purpose, than they, who exhibited themselves this evening.-Perhaps, the conversation and manner may be less indelicate among some assemblages of congregated visi tants, but it is, for the most part, fully as unproductive of amusement or instruction.

Neither, do these unfortunate beings, who waste their time in visiting, and, conse quently, remain ignorant and contemptible all their days, obtain that pleasure, which they profess to seek in company; for they, generally, return to their own habitations, after an evening so spent, with a wearied frame, and a lacerated mind, a mind torn with envy, with vexation, and disquietude, on account of something said or done, which militated against a darling prejudice, or mor tified some favourite passion.

As was eminently the case this evening, which was productive of nothing but discontent and misery to the whole party assembled; the virtuoso was sadly cut down and galled

by the keenness of the Doctor's sarcasm; the Dr. wished Miss Lutestring at the devil for having lent him such a deplorable box on the ear; Miss Lutestring earnestly prayed that the Dr. might, one day, be hanged for having nearly demolished her toe; the one-eyed Mercer was sadly vexed, because he had been allowed no opportunity to descant upon the variety of silks and ribbons, which his shop contained; the Surgeon was woefully discomfited, on account of the virtuoso's plying his wife so warmly; and the wife was angry at being interrupted in her privacy with dear, sweet Mr. Knick-knack; the Sculptor was displeased, that he had not more opportunity of being vulgar, smutty, and black-guardly in his discourse and manner; and his wife was offended, that she was not treated with more respect by the rest of the company; and I was disturbed at being compelled to witness such a humiliating degradation of human nature; the philosopher was the only one, that remained unmoved and unhurt; he viewed the whole scene with the most placid indifference, and, I verily believe, was not conscious of what was going forward, except

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at the moment, in which he swallowed some oysters himself, and ingurgitated some vinous potation.

May I, never again, be so unfortunate as to pass an evening among animals, who outrage all understanding and sense, trample under foot the precepts of decorum, and violate all the laws of delicacy!!!'

ESSAY CXXXV.

ON DELICACY.

I HAVE observed among some very petty, weak, ignorant, uneducated, and impudent people, particularly women, a species of indelicacy, which ought to be removed. -I mean, an impertinent prying into, and audacious animadversion upon the dress of those who may chance to be present. Surely, this behaviour is insufferable; because it denotes