Who else has any reason to complain? I bring no in, firmities upon you: they are not your spirits I exhaust: it is not your life that I shorten."

This is a specious, it is a sparkling, style. It has dazzled many a juvenile understanding. But attend a little. Await the sequel of the SOCIAL sensualist; of the BENEVOLENT voluptuary; the JUST, the GENEROUS, the HONOURABLE, lover of pleasure. He that loveth it too well, and too long, becomes a poor man. Profusion

reduces his store, so as to call for an immediate retrenchment of his expenses. His appetites, clamorous for their accustomed food, refuse to be pacified without it. They demand to be satisfied, with a voice, he wants the forti. tude to oppose. He can now no longer satisfy them, without proceeding to a breach of the social duties; without keeping back what he owes to those, who have supplied his luxurious accommodations; without applying to his own use what was trusted to his hand; without setting to sale, if he possess a seat, his suffrage, in the senate; without carrying that integrity, which cannot be gotten for gold,” to the political market; without taking the bread of his family to the table of fortune; without leaving it to the determination of a die, whether his posterity shall be beggars or not. In order to continue a sensualist, he must now become a robber, a traitor, a savage.

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DRAMATIC.

RULES FOR EXPRESSING ACCURATELY THE PRINCIPAL PASSIONS AND HUMOURS WHICH OCCUR IN THE FOL LOWING EXAMPLES.

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NATURE has given to every emotion of the mind its proper outward expression, in such manner, that what suits ONE, cannot, by any means, be accommodated to ANOTHER. Children at three years of age express their grief in a tone of voice, and with an action totally different from that which they use to express their anger, and they utter their joy in a manner different from both. Nor do they ever by mistake, apply one in place of another. From hence, that is, from nature, is to be de duced the whole art of speaking properly: what we mean does not so much depend upon the words we speak, as on our manner of speaking them; and accordingly in life, the greatest attention is paid to this, as expressive of what our words often give no indication of; thus nature fixes the outward expression of every intention or sentiment of the mind. Art only adds gracefulness to what nature leads to. As nature has determined that man shall walk on his feet, not his hands; art teaches him to walk gracefully.

Every part of the human frame contributes to express. the passions and emotions of the mind, and to shew in general its present state. The head is sometimes erected, sometimes hung down, sometimes drawn suddenly back with an air of disdain, sometimes shews by a nod a par ticular person, or object; gives assent or denial, by dif ferent motions; threatens by one sort of movement, ap. proves by another, and expresses suspicion by a third.

The arms are sometimes both thrown out, sometimes the right hand alone. Sometimes they are lifted up as high as the face, to express wonder, sometimes held out before the breast, to shew fear: spread forth with the hand open, to express desire or affection; the hand clapped in surprize, and in sudden joy and grief; the right hand clenched, and the arms brandished, to threaten; the two arms set a-kimbo, to look big, and express contempt or courage. With the hands, as Quintilian says, we solicit, we refuse, we promise, we threaten, we dismiss, we in. vite, we intreat, we express aversion, fear, doubting, denial, asking, affirmation, negation, joy, grief, confession, penitence. With the hands we describe and point out all circumstances of time, place, and manner of what we relate; we excite the passions of others and sooth them, we approve and disapprove, permit, or prohibit, admire, or despise. The hands serve us instead of many sorts of words, and where the language of the tongue is unknown, that of the hands is understood, being universal, and common to all nations.

The legs advance, or retreat, to express desire, or aversion, love, or hatred, courage, or fear, and produce exultation, or leaping in sudden joy; and the stamping of the foot expresses earnestness, anger, and threaten. ing.

Especially the face, being furnished with a variety of muscles, does more in expressing the passions of the nind, than the whole human frame besides. The change of colour (in white people) shews, by turns, anger by redness, and sometimes by paleness, fear likewise by paleness, and shame by blushing; every feature contributes its part. The mouth open, shews one state of the mind; shut, another; the gnashing of the teeth, another. The forehead smooth, and eyebrows arched and easy, shew tranquillity or joy. Mirth opens the mouth towards the ears, crisps the nose, half shuts the eyes, and sometimes fills them with tears. The front wrinkled into frowns and the eyebrows overhanging the eyes, like clouds, fraught with tempest, shew a mind agitated with fury. Above all, the eye shews the very spirit in a vi sible form. In every different state of the mind, it assumes a different appearance. Joy brightens and opens it. Grief half closes, and drowns it in tears. Hatred

and

anger flash from it like lightning. Love darts from it in glances, like the orient beam. Jealousy, and squinting envy, dart their contagious blasts from the eye. And devotion raises it to the skies, as if the soul of the holy man WERE GOING TO TAKE ITS FLIGHT to heaven.

The following are I believe the principal passions, humours, sentiments, and intentions, which are to be expressed by speech and action. And I hope it will be allowed by the reader, that it is nearly in the following manner, that nature expresses them.

TRANQUILLITY,

Or apathy, appears by the composure of the counte nance and general repose of the body and limbs without the exertion of any one muscle. The countenance open; the forehead smooth; the eyebrows arched; the mouth just not shut, and the eyes passing with an easy motion from object to object, but not dwelling long upon any

one.

Adds a smile, opening the mouth a little more.

MIRTH,

Or laughter, opens the mouth still more towards the cars; crisps the nose; lessens the aperture of the eyes, and sometimes fills them with tears; shakes and convulses the whole frame; giving considerable pain, which Occasions holding the sides.

RAILLERY,

In sport, without real animosity, puts on the aspect of cheerfulness. The tone of voice is sprightly. With contempt or disgust, it casts a look asquint from time to time at the object; and quits the cheerful aspect for one mixed between an affected grin and sourness. The upper lip is drawn up with an air of disdain. The arms are set a kimbo on the hips; and the right hand now and then thrown out towards the object, as if one were go ing to strike another a slight back-hand blow. The pitch of the voice rather loud, the tone arch and sneering; the sentences short; the expressions satyrical, with mockpraise intermixed.

BUFFOONERY

Assumes an arch, sly, leering gravity. Must not quit its serious aspect, though all should laugh to burst ribs

of steel. This command of face is somewhat difficult though not so hard, I should think, as to restrain the contrary sympathy, I mean of weeping with those who weep.

JOY,

When sudden and violent, expresses itself by clapping of hands, and exultation or leaping. The eyes are opened wide; perhaps filled with tears; often raised to heaven, especially by devout persons. The countenance is smiling, not composedly, but with features aggravated. The voice rises, from time to time, to very high notes.

DELIGHT,

Or pleasure, as when one is entertained, or ravished with music, painting, oratory, or any such elegancy, shews itself by the looks, gestures, and utterance of joy, but moderated.

GRAVITY,

Or seriousness, the mind fixed upon some important subject, draws down the eye-brows a little; casts down, or shuts, or raises the eyes to heaven; shuts the mouth, and pinches the lips close. The posture of the body and limbs is composed, and without much motion. speech, if any, slow and solemn; the tone unvarying.

ENQUIRY

The

Into an obscure subject, fixes the body in one posture, the head stooping, and the eye poring, the eyebrows drawn down.

ATTENTION

To an esteemed, or superior character, has the same "aspect; and requires silence; the eyes often cast down upon the ground, sometimes fixed on the face of the speaker, but not too pertly.

MODESTY,

Or submission, bends the body forward; levels the eyes to the breast, if not to the feet, of the superior character. The voice low; the tone submissive; and words few.

PERPLEXITY,

Or anxiety, which is always attended with some degree of fear and uneasiness, draws all the parts of the body together; gathers up the arms upon the breast, unfess one hand covers the eyes, or rubs the forehead;