To forsake his ale-house companions, and spend his leisure hours in his own family circle is, surely, in his power, and he has the greater and stronger inducement to do this, because the rising virtues of his amiable daughters promise an abundant harvest of excellence, if cherished by the sun-shine of paternal tenderness and love.

As those who are guilty of any flagrant misdemeanour are generally more willing to quarrel with their Instructor than to amend their own lives, perhaps, Dilatorio may be rather inclined to be angry with me for having pointed out his errors, than to be desirous of discharging his duty: I would, therefore, wish him, first, to answer these two questions, fairly and honestly; and, then, to be as furious and inveterate against me as he pleases.

If a man looks into a mirror, and sees that his face is dirty, is it his business to dash the mirror to pieces or to wash his face?

If any one sees in my book a faulty and vicious character, which applies to himself, is it his duty to wish the Author at the devil, and throw the book into the fire; or by al

fering and correcting his manners, to shew, that the character no longer appertaineth unto him?

ESSAY CXXXIX.

ON DELICACY.

In the most interesting and important of all human transactions, the attachment of the sexes, upon the prosperous or unfortunate event of which depends all the happiness or misery of the individuals concerned, seldom is any delicacy shewn by parents to their chil dren. This subject, indeed, opens upon me such an extensive field of observation, that I must refrain from entering far into it, and content myself, with, merely, instancing one example, and offering a few observations on the conduct of the example adduced.

A merchant, who is wealthy, and ignorant, and looked upon as a very good sort of man by all those, who are never guilty of thinking and reasoning, and, consequently, are mere machines, without any steady and virtuous principle of action, observed, some few years since, that a lieutenant in the navy, a young gentleman of unimpeached character, and untarnished honour, was enamoured of his second daughter. The father could give the girl a few thousand pounds; the Lieutenant was guilty of having no pecuniary support, save what a respectable and dignified profession offered to him.

The benevolent Mr. Traffic never once at tempted to prevent the formation of an attachment between the youthful pair; but, (when the young gentleman, soon after he left the house of his fair one's father, where he had been on a long visit, and returned home,) sent an epistle to the object of his affections containing a full declaration of his love, he opened the letter, read it, put it into the fire, and never said a word about it to his daughter. Some time after this speci

men of parental delicacy and liberality, he took occasion, one evening, to inform his daughter, in the most coarse and abrupt manner, that if ever she married the Lieute ́nant, he would abandon her entirely, and turn her out destitute and a beggar upon the wide world; that he had no other objection to the young gentleman, than his want of property, which, however, was an insuperable obstacle.

The poor girl well knew, that her father had never shewn any foolish propensity to humanity and kindness, that he would, certainly, without scruple, and with great selfgratulation, expose his child to inevitable ruin and desolation, for daring to unite herself with a youth, whose virtues were eminently calculated to form and to establish her happiness, and, therefore, acquiesced, in silence, and bowed to the storm in hopeless agony.

Her lover was, also, sorely wounded by the barbarity of Traffic; his affection, however, was too pure and disinterested to wish to involve her, whom his soul loved, in all the miseries of penury and want; he, therefore, bade

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her farewell, and endeavoured to stifle the remembrance of his anguish in the most active exertions, to which his perilous service exposed him.

It so happened, that the ship, to which he belonged, took a richly-laden vessel of the enemy, and his share of the prize-money amounted to ten thousand pounds. As soon as he returned to England he immediately renewed his declarations of attachment to Traffic's daughter, and the father declared, that now, Mr.'s fortune was better than his daughter had a right to expect, he would give his consent.

Accordingly, they were both married, and a more happy couple I know not, this day, existing in the empire of Great-Britain; two little ones have come to twist the links of affection more closely round their hearts; and I sincerely hope, that they may be permitted to enjoy a full and uninterrupted flow of hap piness through the whole period of their exis tence on earth.

A word or two with Traffic, and I have done, should not this sniveling, callous, powder-pated blockhead have known, that