cretion,” and has acted accordingly; for he has two or three times ventured his life on the immense ocean, to escape the fangs of the officers of justice. His common theme is self-praise; insomuch that even when he runs away he claims the merit of being the leader of the most ignorant and silly faction that ever disgraced Christendom. So consummate is his egotism, that had the ship he sailed in encountered a storm, he would doubtless have cheered the mariners with, "Fear not, thou carriest Cæsar!" nay, Hercules! the modern corrector of state errors, the fearless, honest, and disinterested champion of reform.

To a person in retirement, who perused this statesman's impartial record of public events, it doubtless would appear that he alone was qualified to regulate the political world, decide on the destiny of public men, and harmonize society in one general brotherhood. Yet what, in reality, are this egotist's motives for thus assuming public spirit? A malignant desire to calumniate those statesmen whom he envies; a vain effort to obtain temporary popularity with the common herd; and an avaricious eagerness to extract the last sixpence from the pockets of his dupes.

THE DWARF OF INNOVATION.

"Cunning little Isaac!"

Next to the political enlightener of England, may be mentioned his humble imitator; for it has ever been customary in romance, for a giant to have his attendant dwarf. In this instance, indeed, the imp seems almost as ingenious, and fully as mischievous as the master-demon; and they have both been wonderfully successful in persuading the people to buy their sixpenn'orth of misrepresentation. There is a natural aptitude among the bulk of mankind to be gratified with the ridicule of their superiors in rank and fortune; the satire, whether true or false, is sure to please; and the bold and unprincipled vilifier of religious and political institutions, may safely calculate on the success of his productions, while he laughs at the clergy, and the legislators of his country.

It certainly is amusing to contemplate the progress, and hear the pretensions of the political scribblers of the day. One of, them, from the humble situation of a common soldier, has, by the combination of ingenuity and impudence risen to the enviable pre-eminence of a common calumniator, and alternately loaded democrats,

and aristocrats, with every epithet of opprobrium that his venomous malevolence could supply. This Falstaff of Reform, equally remarkable for his cowardice and his violence, reminds us, by his temporising versatility, of the famous vicar of Bray. As for the Dwarf of Innovation, he has hitherto strutted his hour; but mortality must be his portion. His dupes cannot long afford to pay him sixpence, weekly, for his abortions of malice; and he probably must recur to the practice of the black art," cease to write and learn to think."

CA

IBLIOTH

THE CASTOR AND POLLUX OF BLASPHEMY.

They nobly take the high priori road,
And reason downward till they doubt of God.

POPE.

These aspiring descendants of that Jupiter Tonans, or rather, that British Beelzebub of audacious impiety, Thomas Paine, have come forward to amuse and inform the British public with a confidence never before exhibited in a court of justice.

CASTOR, by his contemptible parodies, delighted those myriads of infidels with which London abounds. With what glee did they laugh at the humorous application of the dogmas

of the church, to certain officers of the state How witty and how wise must Castor and his underling (Mills) appear to those judicious estimators of atheistical buffoonery! While the mania lasted, Castor was brought before his betters, and acquitted of any intention to ridicule the religion of his country; nay, money was collected for him, as if he had been a public benefactor, and certain senators were not ashamed to appear among his patrons!

The success of Castor prompted Pollax to try his talent at blasphemy. He wrote, published, was imprisoned, tried, and condemned! Hence these brethren in iniquity, however congenial in their sentiments and sympathies, have been very differently treated by a jury of their countrymen. Castor now holds the ascendancy, and continues to shine as a star of the first magnitude among the enlighteners of deism and atheism; while poor Pollux, like the fallen archangel, "his brow with thunder scarred," droops in the obscurity and incarceration, which presents an image of that eternal oblivion, that he seems so desirous should be the portion of all mankind!

SIMPLICITY AND REFINEMENT; OR, MODERN IMPROVEMENTS IN FEMALE EDUCATION: ILLUSTRATED IN A DIALOGUE BETWEEN MISS GAYTON AND MISS WOODLEY.

Miss Gayton. I suppose, Matilda, that you pass much of your time in the country, in reading. Miss Woodley. Yes, my dear, I delight in the study of our best authors.

Miss Gayton. Study! what an unfashionable expression. I do not mean study, but amusement. You have, I suppose, a taste for poetry?

Miss Woodley. Yes; I admire good poetry. Miss Gayton. So do I, especially amatory pieces, such as Hammond's Elegies, and the modern productions of a certain sonnetteer. But you know we must not mention these things in company.

Miss Woodley. I have made it a rule, never to peruse any production in the closet, which I should be ashamed to acknowledge in the drawing-room.

Miss Gayton. What a Gothic being! I protest, Miss Woodley, I'm shocked at your rusticity. You'll require a winter's polishing to qualify you for a participation in the amusements of fashionable company. You must know, my dear, that musty morality is nearly obsolete in high life.