inquiring for "The Countess of Huntingdon's Hymn-book;" an old worn-out rake, for "Harris's Lift of Covent-garden Ladies ;* fimple Simon, for "The Art of writing Loveletters ;" and Dolly for a Dream-book; the lady of true taste and delicacy wants Louisa Mathews; and my lady's maid, "Ovid's Art of Love," a doubting Christian, calls for "The Crumbs of Comfort;" and a practical Antinomian, for "Eton's Honeycomb of Free Juftification;" the pious Churchwoman, for "The Week's Preparation ;' and the Atheist, for "Hammond's Letter to Dr. Prieftiey; Toulmin's Eternity of the World, and Hume's Dialogues on Natural Religion;" the Mathematician, for "Sanderfon's Fluxions ;" and the Beau, for "The Toilet of Flora ;" the Courtier, for "Machiavel's Prince," or "Burke on the Revolution in France;" and a Republican, for "Paine's Rights of Man ;" the tap-room Politician, wants " The Hiftory of Wat Tyler," or of "The Fisherman of Naples ;" and an old Chellea Penfioner, calls for "The History of the Wars of glorious Queen Anne;" the Critic

Cc 2

Critic calls for " Bayle's Hiftorical Dictionary-Blair's Lectures-Johnfon's Lives of the Poets, and the last month's reviews ;" and my Barber wants "The Seffions Paper," or "The Trial of John the Painter:" the Freethinker asks for "Hume's Effays," and the young Student, for "Leland's View of Deistical Writers ;" the Fortune-teller wants

66

Sibley's Tranflation of Placidus de Titus," or "Sanderfon's Secrets of Palmistry;" and the Sceptic wants "Cornelius Agrippa's Vanity of the Arts and Sciences;" an old bardened finner, wants "Bunyan's Good News for the vileft of Men ;" and a moral Chriftian wants "The Whole Duty of Man ;" the Roman Catholic wants "The Lives of the Saints;" the Proteftant wants "Fox's Book of Martyrs;" one afks for "An Account of Animal Magnetifm;" another for "The Victorious Philofopher's Stone difcovered;" one wants"The Death of Abel;" another defires to have "The Spanish Rogue;" one wants an "Ecclefiaftical History ;" another, "The Tyburn Chronicle;" one wants" Johnfon's Lives of the Highwaymen ;" another

wants

wants "Gibbons's Lives of pious Women ;" Mifs Wb calls for 66 Euclid in Greek ;" and a young divine for " Juliet Grenville, a novel ;" and the philofopher dips into every thing.

But it would be an endless task to set down the various and oppofite articles that are con ftantly called for in my fhop. To talk to these different purfuers after happiness, or amusement, has given me much pleasure, and afforded me fome knowledge of mankind, and also of books: and to hear the debates that frequently occur between the different purchasers is a fine amufement; fo that I have sometimes compared my shop to a ftage. And I affure you that a variety of characters, ftrongly marked, constantly made their appearance.

"Ye who push'd on by noble ardour aim
"In focial life to gain immortal fame,
"Obferve the various paffions of mankind,

"Gen'ral, peculiar, fingle and combin'd,
"How youth from manhood differ in its views,
"And how old age ftill other paths pursues;
"How zeal in Prifcus nothing more than heats,

"In Codex burns, and ruins all it meets;

"How freedom now a lovely face fhall wear,
"Now fhock us in the likeness of a bear,
"How jealoufy in some resembles hate,
"In others feems but love grown delicate;
"How modefty is often pride refin'd,
"And virtue but the canker of the mind;
"How love of riches, grandeur, life and fame,
"Wear diff'rent shapes, and yet are ftill the fame.

Effay on Converfation.

Would my health permit my constant attendance, I fhould prefer it, to every thing in life (reading excepted) and you may recollect that for fome years I fought no other amufement whatever. It was at a bookfeller's fhop at Athens, that Zeno, after his great lofs by fhipwreck, found confolation in reading Xenophon: there he foon forgot his lofs, where (fays he to the bookfeller) do these fort of men live; the philofopher Crates was at the door, whom Zeno followed, and from that hour became his difciple.

Having been long habituated to make remarks on whatever I faw or heard, is another reafon why I have fucceeded fo well in

my

my bufinefs. I have for the last seven years fucceffively told my acquaintances before the year began, how much money I should take in the course of it, without once failing of taking the fum mentioned. I formed my judgment by obferving what kind of stock in trade I had in hand, and by confidering how that stock was adapted to the different tastes and pursuits of the times; in doing this I was obliged to be pretty well informed of the state of politics in Europe, as I have always found that bookfelling is much affected by the political ftate of affairs. For as mankind are in fearch of amufement, they often embrace the firft that offers; fo that if there is any thing in the news-papers of confequence, that draws many to the coffee-house, where they chat away the evenings, inftead of visiting the fhops of bookfellers (as they ought to do, no doubt) or reading at home. The best time for bookfelling, is when there is no kind of news ftirring; then many of thofe who for months would have done nothing but talk of war or peace, revolutions, and counter revolutions, &c. &c. for want