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London in his fur-gown and gold chain, and make a respectable figure in fome city hall, I am willing to difpofe of him to any fuch at an eafy price.

As I have alfo preserved a sketch of my famous Ourong-Outong, a thought has ftruck me that with a few finishing touches he might eafily be converted into a Caliban for the Tempest, and, when that is done, I fhall not totally defpair of his obtaining a niche in the Shakspere gallery.

It has been common with the great masters Rubens, Vandyke, Sir Joshua Reynolds and others, when they paint a warrior, or other great perfonage, on horseback, to throw a dwarf, or fome fuch contrafted figure, into the back-ground: Should any artist be in want of fuch a thing, I can very readily supply him with my hare-lipped boy; if otherwise, I am not totally without hopes that he may fuit fome Spanish grandee, when any fuch shall vifit this country upon his travels, or in the character of ambaffador from that illuftrious court.

Before I conclude I fhall beg leave to observe, that I have a compleat fet of ready-made devils, that would do honour to Saint Antony, or any other perfon, who may be in want of fuch accompaniments to set off the self-denying virtues

of his character: I have alfo a fine parcel of murdered innocents, which I meant to have filled up with the ftory of Herod; but if any gentleman thinks fit to lay the scene in Ghent, and make a modern compofition of it, I am bold to say my pretty babes will not disgrace the pathos of the subject, nor violate the Costuma. I took a notable sketch of a man hanging, and seized him just in the dying twitches, before the last stretch gave a stiffness and rigidity unfavour able to the human figure; this I would willingly accommodate to the wishes of any lady, who is defirous of preferving a portrait of her lover, friend or husband in that interefting attitude.

Thefe, cum multis aliis, are part of my stock on hand, and I hope, upon my arrival at my lodgings in Blood-bowl-alley, to exhibit them with much credit to myself, and to the entire fatisfaction of fuch of my neighbours in that quarter, as may incline to patronize the fine arts, and réftore the credit of this drooping

country.

Your's,

GORGON,

No

N° CXXXVI.

Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτως ἡδὺ ἀνθρώποις ἔφυ

Ως τὸ λαλέειν τ' αλλότρια.

(MENANDER.)

"Still to be tattling, ftill to prate,
"No luxury in life fo great.".

HE humours and characters of a popu

I lous

lous county town at a diftance from the

capital furnish matter of much amusement to a curious obferver. I have now been fome weeks refident in a place of this defcription, where I have been continually treated with the private lives and little fcandalizing anecdotes of almost every person of any note in it. Having paffed most of my days in the capital, I could not but remark the striking difference between it and thefe fubordinate capitals in this particular: in London we are in the habit of looking to our own affairs, and caring little about thofe, with whom we have no dealings: here every body's bufinefs feems to be no lefs his neighbour's concern than his own: A fet of tating goffips (including all the idlers in the place male as well

as

as female) seem to have no other employment for their time or tongue, but to run from house to house, and circulate their filly ftories up and down. A few of these contemptible impertinents I fhall now describe.

Mifs Penelope Tabby is an antiquated maiden of at least forty years standing, a great obferver of decorum, and particularly hurt by the behaviour of two young ladies, who are her next-door neighbours, for a custom they have of lolling out of their windows and talking to fellows in the ftreet: The charge cannot be denied, for it is certainly a practice these young ladies indulge themfelves in very freely; but on the other hand it must be owned Miss Pen Tabby is also in the habit of lolling out of her window at the same time to ftare at them, and put them to fhame for the levity of their conduct: They have alfo the crime proved upon them of being unpardonably handsome, and this they neither can nor will attempt to contradict. Mifs Pen Tabby is extremely regular at morning prayers, but she complains heavily of a young staring fellow in the pew next to her own, who violates the folemnity of the service by ogling her at her devotions: He has a way of leaning over the pew, and dangling a white hand ornamented with a flaming paste ring, which fometimes

fometimes plays the lights in her eyes, so as to make them water with the reflection, and Mifs Pen has this very natural remark ever ready on the occafion" Such things, you know, are apt to take off one's attention.".

Another of this illuftrious junto is Billy Bachelor, an old unmarried petit-maitre: Billy is a courter of antient ftanding; he abounds in anecdotes not of the fresheft date, nor altogether of the most interefting fort; for he will tell you how such and such a lady was dressed, when he had the honour of handing her into the drawingroom; he has a court-atalantis of his own, from which he can favour you with fome hints of fly doings amongst maids of honour, particularly of a certain dubious duchefs now deceafed, (for he names no names) who appeared at a certain mafquerade in puris naturalibus, and other wonderful discoveries, which all the world has long ago known, and long ago been tired of. Billy has a smattering in the fine arts, for he can nett purfes and make admirable coffee and write fonnets; he has the best receipt in nature for a dentifrice, which he makes up with his own hands, and gives to fuch ladies, as are in his favour and have an even row of teeth: He can boast some skill in mufic, for he plays Barberini's 'minuet

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