prove to be little more than this,-that the rich man had the more meat, but the poor man the better stomach; -the one had more luxury,-more able phyficians to attend and fet him to rights;-the other, more health and foundness in his bones, and lefs occafion for their help; that, after these two articles betwixt them were balanced,-in all other things they stood upon a level:-that the fun fhines as warm, the air blows as fresh, and the earth breathes as fragrant, upon the one as the other; and that they have an equal share in all the beauties and real benefits of nature.-These hints may be fufficient to fhew what I propofed from them, -the difficulties which attend us in judging truly either of the happinefs or the mifery of the bulk of mankind, -the evidence being ftill more defective in this cafe (as the matter of fact is too hard to come at)—than even in that of judging of their true characters; of both which, in general, we have fuch imperfect knowledge, as will teach us candour in our determinations upon each other.

But the main purport of this difcourfe, is, to teach us humility in our reafonings upon the ways of the Almighty.

That things are dealt unequally in this world, is one of the strongest natural arguments for a future ftate,and therefore is not to be overthrown; nevertheless, I am perfuaded the charge is far from being as great as at first fight it may appear;—or if it is, that our views of things are so narrow and confined, that it is not in our power to make it good.

But fuppofe it otherwife, that the happiness and profperity of bad men were as great as our general complaints make them ;-and, what is not the cafe,that we were able to clear up the matter, or anfwer it reconcileably with God's juftice and providence,what fhall we infer ?Why, the most becoming con. clufion is,that it is one instance more, out of many others, of our ignorance:why fhould this, or any other religious difficulty he cannot comprehend,-why fhould it alarm him more than ten thousand other diffi. culties which every day elude his most exact and attentive fearch? Does not the meanest flower in the field, or the smallest blade of grafs, baffle the understanding of the most penetrating mind?Can the deepest inquiries after nature tell us, upon what particular size and motion of parts the various colours and taftes of vegetables depend;-why one fhrub is laxative,another reftringent ;-why arfenic or hellebore fhould lay wafte this noble frame of ours,--or opium lock up all the inroads to our fenfes,-and plunder us, in fo merciless a manner, of reason and understanding ?Nay, have not the most obvious things, that come in our way, dark fides, which the quickest fight cannot penetrate into; and do not the clearest and most exalted understandings find themfelves puzzled, and at a lofs, in every particle of matter?

Go then,-proud man!-and when thy head turns giddy with opinions of thy own wisdom, that thouwculdft correct the measures of the Almighty,-go then,-take a full view of thyself in this glass;-confider thy own

faculties, how narrow and imperfect;-how much they are chequered with truth and falfehood ;-how little arrives at thy knowledge, and how darkly and confufedly thou discernest even that little as in a glass:confider the beginnings and endings of things, the greatest and the fmalleft, how they all confpire to baffle thee; and which way ever thou profecuteft thy inquiries,what fresh subjects of amazement,—and what fresh reafons to believe there are more yet behind which thou canst never comprehend.-Confider,these are but part of his ways;-how little a portion is heard of him? Canft thou, by searching, find out God? wouldst thou know the Almighty to perfection?—'Tis as high as heaven, what canft thou do?-'tis deeper than hell, how canst thou know it?

Could we but fee the mysterious workings of Providence, and were we able to comprehend the whole plan of his infinite wisdom and goodness, which poffibly may be the cafe in the final confummation of all things ;— thofe events, which we are now fo perplexed to account for, would probably exalt and magnify his wisdom, and make us cry out with the Apostle, in that rapturous exclamation,-O! the depth of the riches both of the goodness and wisdom of God!-how unsearchable are his ways, and his paths past finding out!

Now to GOD, &C.

THE HISTORY OF A WATCH.COAT.

"For fome time Mr. Sterne lived, in a retired manner, upon a small curacy in Yorkshire, and probably would have remained in the fame obfcurity, if his lively genius had not displayed itself upon an occafion which fecured him a friend, and paved the way for his promotion. A perfon who filled a lucrative benefice, was not fatisfied with enjoying it during his own life-time, but exerted all his interest to have it entailed on his wife and fon after his decease the gentleman that expected the reverfion of this poft was Mr. Sterne's friend, who had not, however, fufficient influence to prevent the fuccefs of his adverfary. At this time Sterne's fatirical pen operated fo ftrongly, that the intended monopolizer informed him, if he would fupprefs the publication of his farcafm, he would refign his pretenfions to the next candidate.

The title of this piece, it appears, was to have been,

"The history of a good warm Watch-Coat, with "which the present poffeffor is not content to cover "his own shoulders, unless he can cut out of it a "petticoat for his wife, and a pair of breeches for "his fon." *

A LETTER FROM MR. STERNE, TO ****.

IN

my laft, for want of fomething better to write about, I told you what a world of 'fending and

*It was written in a letter to a friend.

proving we have had of late, in this little village of ours, about an old pair of black plush breeches, which John †, our parish clerk, about ten years ago, it seems, had made a promise of to one Trim ‡, who is our fexton and dog-whipper.-To this you write me word, that you have had more than either one or two occafions to know a good deal of the shifty behaviour of the faid Master Trim-and that you are astonished, nor can you for your foul conceive, how fo worthless a fellow, and fo worthlefs a thing into the bargain, could become the occafion of fo much racket as I have reprefented.

Now, though you do not fay exprefsly, you could wish to hear any more about it, yet I fee plainly enough I have raised your curiofity; and therefore, from the fame motive that I flightly mentioned it at all in my laft letter, I will in this give you a full and very circumftantial account of the whole affair.

But, before I begin, I must first set you right in one very material point, in which I have mifled you, as to the true caufe of all this uproar amongst us-which does not take its rife, as 1 then told you, from the affair of the breeches, but, on the contrary, the whole affair of the breeches has taken its rife from it.-To understand which you must know, that the firft beginning of the fquabble was not between John the parish clerk and Trim the fexton, but betwixt the

* York.

† Dr. Fount-n, Dean of York.

Dr. T-ph-m.