expected from a reformation founded on such princi ples, the reader must judge for himself.

By the account, with which the authors of it have furnished us, thus much is certain, that nothing can be more unnatural: and yet, say these philosophers, at other times, "Whatever you do, follow nature;" a precept, which, in general, they seem very well disposed to practise, to the best of their abilities. A child naturally goes on all four; and we know how difficult a matter it is, to set him an end, or to keep him so. He has not even the stability of a ninepin, which will stand, till it be bowled down. For my own part, I never see a child's forehead with a great bump upon it, or swathed up in a blackpudding, lest it should receive one, but I am irresistibly impelled to bewail this pretended reformation, as a most notorious and melancholy defection from our primitive condition.

When the two children brought up to man's estate, apart from all human beings, by the command of a king of Egypt, who imagined, that the language which they should speak must necessarily be the original language of the world—When these children, I say, had the honour to be introduced at court, amidst a circle of all the learned and wise, and noble personages of that celebrated country;

history bears her testimony, that they proceeded up the drawing-room, and made their way to the royal presence, upon all four. I am aware, that some have thought, they threw themselves into that attitude from the dread and awe inspired into them by the sight of Majesty; others, still more refined, have supposed they might have done so, to adapt themselves to the employment of those whom they found assembled in that place, and be prepared either to creep, or to climb, or both, as opportunity offered. But I cannot apprehend, that the course of their education could have qualified them for speculations so abstruse as these; and, therefore, I must take leave to say, I look upon the fact to be good evidence, that such was the attitude proper to

man.

I am still farther confirmed in my opinion, from that strong propensity visible in mankind, to return to it again. The posture, into which we have been seduced, is productive of constant uneasiness. We are in a fidget from morning to night; to relieve us from which, the expence of chairs and sophas is a very considerable tax upon our property; and, after all, we cannot compose ourselves perfectly to rest, but when recumbent upon our beds. That our aole business is with earth, universal practice seems

འབཎྜ བ པ འ ག ཉ བ ཀཾ ན བ བ ས་འནན

to determine. Why then should we look after any thing else? or why be reproached with, O curve in terras anima! especially when we recollect the fate of the poor astronomer, who, while he was gazing at the stars, fell into a ditch.

It deserves notice, that some of our most distinguished titles of honour are borrowed from our fellow-creatures, the quadrupeds, whose virtues we are ambitious to emulate. An accomplished young gentleman of family, fortune, and fashion, glories in the name, style, and title, of a BUCK. You cannot pay him a greater compliment, than by bestowing on him this appellation; and indeed, no one reason in the world can be assigned, why he should walk upon two.

The opinion of a great commercial nation, like our own, cannot with more certainty be collected from any circumstance than from the management of the most important article of finance. Now, we find that article entrusted to the care of BULLS and BEARS. And although a BEAR, which is a quadruped, by a metamorphosis no less sudden and surprising than any in Ovid, be at times transformed into a DUCK, which is a biped, yet it is observed, that there is a somewhat aukward about him ever after. He moves, indeed, but his motions are not

as they should be, and he is from thenceforth said not to walk, but to waddle. It may be added, that we never hear of a Duck commencing dancing-master; whereas Captain King informs us, "the Kamtchadales are not only obliged to the "Bears for what little advancement they have "hitherto made in the sciences or polite arts, as also "the use of simples both internal and external; but "they acknowledge them likewise for their dancing, "masters; the Bear-dance among them being au "exact counterpart of every attitude and gesture * peculiar to this animal, through its various func ❝tions. And this dance is the foundation and "groundwork of all their other dances, and what "they value themselves most upon."

I could have wished, that one of these Siberian teachers had been present the other day, to have bestowed a lecture upon a friend of mine, who had been instructed to marshal his feet in a tolerably decent way; to move forward by advancing one before the other, and backward by sliding one behind another; in short, he had attained some profi ciency in what Dr. South stiles, "that whimsical

"

manner of shaking the legs, called dancing;" when, all at once, holding up his hands in an angle of forty-five degrees, with a countenance full of

ineffable distress, and a most lamentable accent, he exclaimed to the master, "But, Sir! What shall "I do with THESE?"

Nor is the complaint of my friend at all singular. For the truth is, (and why should I dissemble it?) that since we have left off to put our arms to their due and proper use of fore-legs, they are ever in the way, and we know not what upon earth to do with them. Some let them dangle, at will, in a perpendicular line parallel with their sides; some fold them across their bosoms, to look free and easy; some stick them a-kimbo, in defiance: some are continually moving them up and down, and throwing them about, so as to be at variance with their legs, and every other part of their bodies; as was the case with Dr. Johnson, when Lord Chesterfield had like to have fallen into a deliquium, by looking at him, and could consider the author of the English dictionary in no other light than that of an ill-taught posture-master. Some thrust their hands, as far as they can, into their breeches pockets. This last is a bad habit enough; because they who find nothing in their own pockets (which perhaps pretty generally happens) may be tempted to try what they can find in those of others. While fore-legs were in