the pests of society. Such persons meet with frequent disappointments, because they expect from the world a tame compliance with all their capricious humours; and deserve to meet with them, because their expectations are unreasonable. When a man's temper, indeed, has been foured by fickness, and a feries of real calamities, he is not an object of contempt but of pity; and his little starts of choler, pishes, pshaws, and difcontented interjections, should be patiently borne with. But the majority of wayward, waspish people, are not entitled to the leaft indulgence. They ought to be thwarted whenever their petulant humour makes them troublesome. Peevishness, tho' it may perhaps be ranked among the troubles to which we frail mortals are liable, fometimes prompts us to commit criminal actions, and then becomes a vice. I have seen so many of my fellow creatures of hoth sexes suffer for the gratification of this foible, that when I make my morning and evening addresses to the giver of all good things, I never fail to reckon a contented mind among the bleffings which he vouchsafes to bestow upon me. I received yesterday morning an early, and very unexpected visit from an old acquaintance, about my own age, who retired to his manfion houfe house in Berkshire thirty years ago, , in a pet; where he has led, till within this fortnight, a fullen, folitary life, disgusted with himself and every body around him. When he entered, my apartment I surveyed him with astonishment, and could not help faluting him abruptly; - "Good God, Sir, what has brought you to London!" "Nothing, said he, but absolute neceffity, 1 af" sure you, should have brought me hither, and I "heartily hope I shall not be long detained here; 66 66 4 for this confounded town, master Babble, is " very much altered for the worse, I can tell "you, fince I left it. A man can't now-a-days "walk along the streets quietly, without running "a risque of having his skull fractured; his limbs " broken, or at least his hat knocked off, and his "cloaths torn. Things were not so bad, I can " tell you, thirty years ago. Why now this " morning I met with several provoking acci"dents. Before I turned the corner of the street " I lodge in, I was overtaken by two rascally " barbers boys, who jammed me between theni, " and besmeared me with powder; and while I " was endeavouring to brush it off, a fon of a " gun of a chimney sweeper, covered one fide of 6 my coat with foot. I verily believe the im"pudent young dogs take a pleasure in teazing " me, for on my looking fiercely at one of "them, and rebuking him warmly for his info F5 "lence, 66 "lence," he reply'd in a furly tone, and with a glouting look. Curse your eyes, you old "cuff you'; what, are you purblind?" "A little farther, four or five labourers spread "themselves across the foot path, and would not "budge an inch, tho I very civilly intreated "them not to stand so thick; so that I was o bliged to go without the posts in order to avoid "them, by which means I was splashed from "head to foot by a pair of mettlesome coach " horfes, who trotted by me as fast as they "could. About twenty yards farther I unlucki"ly trod on a loose stone; and caused a great " deal of dirty water (for you know it rained hard "last night) to fly into my face, and almost close " up my peepers." - Things were not so bad, I can tell you, thirty years ago, when I lived in London. Times are strangely altered fince the year twenty-fix. There is now a total depravation of manners. I meet with nothing but infults whereever I go. 11 1 I was yesterday at a coffeehouse near the Temple. and could not be furnished with the news papers till every body in the room had read them; and I moreover received a gross affront from one of the pragmatical waiters, who not only brought my chocolate quite cold, but had also the affurance to offer it to me with a large beetle swimming د ! 1 ming in it: and I overheard a coxcomb in the next box fay to one of his priggish companions, "Smoke the old gentleman, Jack, what a for"lorn wretch it is!" " My cloaths are not cut, my hat is not cock'd, nor is my wig curled according to the taste in vogue; but must a man be infulted because he dresses as he likes? Plague on the fashions, say I? - Every wife man will have a fashion of his own, and not make himfelf look like a monkey to please any body.-And then people have got a trick now a days, of pushing along, and shoving one in the rudest manner imaginable.- Last Friday - no, I tell a story,I mean last Monday, a blundering blockhead rushed by me with fuch violence, that I was within a foot of falling into one of those abominable cellars which are open in all quarters of the town, like traps to catch people who go too near them. While I was 'venting my fpleen against this fellow, another who followed me feized me by the arm in fuch a manner, that if I had been in debt, I should have fancied myself within the gripe of a bailiff: and who should it be but an impertinent jackanapes in a livery, whơ wanted me to make way for him because he was in a hurry forsooth; could not the fellow. have faid, with your leave, or by your leave? -Things were not so bad, I can tell you, thirty years ago." - I could not help smiling here at my F.6 my friend's vehement exclamations against the present times, and interrupting him in the midft. of them, "You forget, faid I, that you were then a young man in high spirits, and did not mind a push or two in the street; but now the things which you took little notice of then are magnified, and become less bearable."-" Poo, poo, said he, do you think I don't know how things were, and how they are altered for the worse?-God send me safe and found out of this corrupted city, and I will never fet foot in it again."" Well, replied I, I am glad to fee you fafe arrived at my lodgings after all your troubles."" Safe? said he, Safe? ay, ay, I am indeed safe at present, as you call it, but how, long shall I remain so ;-will you insure me from all cross accidents, and perilous adventures while I stay in town?"-" You must walk with more circumspection, faid I, and then I hope you will not meet with so many misfortunes: you must consider, my friend, that you don't tread quite so firmly, as you did in your juvenile days. "Firmly, faid he, - What fignifies a man's treading firmly when brutal carmen, chairmen, and barrow-women are suffered to block up the footway, and abuse you if you don't make room for them; a pack of bullying scoundrels, and brazen fac'd, jades." - "Indeed, my friend, faid I, 'tis not worth while to be in a paffion about |