contented with the literary credit I had now acquired, I had been happy; but I was ambitious of convincing the world I was not the idle owner of weapons, which I did not know the use of; I feized every safe opportunity of making my pretenfions refpected by fuch dabblers in the belles lettres, who paid court to me, and as I was ever cautious of stepping an inch beyond my tether on thefe occafions, I foon found myself credited for more learning, than my real stock amounted to. I received all vifitors in my library, affected a ftudious air, and took care to furnish my table with volumes of a select fort; upon these I was prepared to defcant, if by chance a curious friend took up any one of them, and as there is little fame to be got by treading in the beaten track of popular opinion, I fometimes took the liberty to be eccentric and paradoxical in my criticisms and cavils, which gained me great refpect from the ignorant, (for upon fuch only I took care to practife this chicanery) fo that in a short time I became a fovereign dictator within a certain fet, who looked up to me for fecond hand opinions in all matters of literary taste, and faw myself inaugurated by my Aatterers cenfor of all new publications. My trumpeters had now made fuch a noise in

the

the world, that I began to be in great request, and men of real literature laid out for my ac→ quaintance; but here I acted with a coldnefs, that was in me conftitutional as well as pru dential: I was refolved not to risk my laurels, and throw away the fruits of a triumph fo cheaply purchased: folicitations, that would have flattered others, only alarmed me; fuch was not the fociety I delighted in; against such attacks I entrenched myself with the most jealous caution: If however by accident I was drawn out of my faftneffes, and trapped unawares into an ambufcade of wicked wits, I armed myself to meet them with a triple tier of fmiles; I primed my lips with fuch a ready charge of flattery, that when I had once engaged them in the pleafing contemplation of their own merits, they were feldom difpofed to fcrutinize into mine, and thus in general I contrived to escape undetected. Though it was no eafy matter to extort an opinion from me in fuch companies, yet fometimes I was unavoidably entangled in converfation, and then I was forced to have recourse to all my addrefs; happily my features were habituated to a smile of the most convertible fort, for it would anfwer the purposes of affected humility as well as thofe of actual contempt, to which in truth it was more conge

nial: my opinion, therefore, upon any point of controversy flattered both parties and befriended neither; it was calculated to impress the company with an idea that I knew much more than I profest to know; it was in fhort fo infinuating, fo fubmitted, so hesitating, that a man must have had the heart of Nero to have perfecuted a being fo abfolutely inoffenfive: but thefe facrifices coft me dear, for they were foreign to my nature, and, as I hated my fuperiors, I avoided their fociety.

Having fufficiently distinguished myself as a critic, I now began to meditate fome fecret attempts as an author; but in these the fame caution attended me, and my performances did not rife above a little fonnet, or a parody, which I circulated through a few hands without a name, prepared to difavow it, if it was not applauded to my wishes: I also wrote occafional essays and paragraphs for the public prints, by way of trying my talents in various kinds of stile; by these experiments I acquired a certain facility of imitating other people's manner and disguifing my own, and fo far my point was gained; but as for the fecret fatisfaction I had promised myself in hearing my productions applauded, of that I was altogether disappointed; for though I tried both

praise

praife and difpraife for the purpofe of bringing them into notice, I never had the pleasure to be contradicted by any man in the latter cafe, or feconded by a living foul in the former: I had circulated a little poem, which coft me some pains, and as I had been flattered with the applause it gained from several of its readers, I put it one evening in my pocket, and went to the houfe of a certain perfon, who was much reforted to by men of genius: an opportunity luckily offered for producing my manuscript, which I was prepared to avow as soon as the company present had given sentence in its favour: it was put into the hands of a dramatic author of fome celebrity, who read it aloud, and in a manner as I thought that clearly anticipated his dif guft: as foon therefore as he had finished it and demanded of me if I knew the author, I had no hefitation to declare that I did not-Then I prefume, rejoined he, it is no offence to fay I think it the mereft trash I ever read-None in life, I replied, and from that moment held him in everlafting hatred.

Difgufted with the world I now began to dip my pen in gall, and as foon as I had singled out a proper object for my fpleen, I looked round him for his weak fide, where I could place a

blow

blow to best effect, and wound him undifcovered: the author abovementioned had a full thare of my attention; he was an irritable man, and I have seen him agonized with the pain, which my very shafts had given him, whilst I was foremost to arraign the fcurrility of the and encourage him to difregard it: the practife I had been in of masking my ftile facilitated my attacks upon every body, who either moved my envy, or provoked my spleen.

age

The meanest of all paffions had now taken entire poffeffion of my heart, and I furrendered myself to it without a struggle: ftill there was a consciousness about me, that sunk me in my own esteem, and when I met the eye of a man, whom I had fecretly defamed; I felt abashed society became painful to me; and I shrunk into retirement, for my felf-esteem was loft; though I had gratified my malice, I had destroyed my comfort; I now contemplated myself a folitary being at the very moment when I had every requifite of fortune, health and endowments to have recommended me to the world, and to those tender ties and engagements, which are natural to man and conftitute his best enjoyments.

The folitude, I reforted to, made me every day more morose, and supplied me with reflec