With ribbands and flippets between;

They fo noddle and tofs,
Juft like a fore horse,

With taffels, and bells in a team.
IV.

Then the fops are fo fine,
With a lank waifted chine,
And a little skimp bit of a hat;

Which from fun, wind and rain,

Will not shelter their brain,

Though there's no need to take care of that,
V.

Would you these creatures ape,
In looks and in fhape,
Teach a calf on his hind legs to go;

Let him waddle in gait,

A fkim-difh on his

pate,

And he'll look all the world like a Beau..
VI.

To keep my brains right,
My bones whole and tight,
To fpeak nor to look would I dare;

As they bake they shall brew,

Old Nick and his crew,

At London keep Vanity Fair.

The burthen of this fong, which is added to each stanza, is as follows.

ART. XVI. Bon Ton; or, High Life above Stairs. A Comedy, in Two Acts. As it is performed at the Theatre Royal in Drury-Lane. 8vo. 1s.

Becket.

It is the custom, with connoiffeurs in painting, to make choice of little pieces, for ornamental furniture, in pairs; that one may be a companion to the other. Bon Ton, or High Life above Stairs, is thus evidently defigned as a companion to the famous farce, called High Life below Stairs. The contraft, however, which should make it a counterpart of its companion, is not preferved; as, in that cafe, it fhould have been Low Life above Stairs. But, perhaps, this would have been too fevere a fatire on the great vulgar to have met with encouragement on the ftage. Certain it is that, from fome confideration or other, its parent has for fome time neglected his offspring; as we are informed in a prefixed advertisement, that "This little Drama, which had been thrown afide for many years, was brought out last season, with fome alterations, for the benefit of Mr. King, as a token of regard for one, who, during a long engagement, was never known, unless confined by real illnefs, to difappoint the pubVOL. II.

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lic, or distress the managers.-The author is fincerely apprehensive that the excellence of the performance upon the stage, will greatly leffen its credit with the readers in the clofet."

As to the fincerity of the author's apprehenfions, we might poffibly judge of it, if we well understood of what he was apprehenfive. But, out of the number of its readers in the closet, it is as probable that few will have any inclination to fee the excellence of the performance on the stage, as it is that, fuch as have seen the excellence of the performance on the stage will be able to go through with its perufal in the clofet. To fay the truth, this little drama is one of thofe little unfinished pieces with which performers are frequently complimented at their benefit. At the fame time, it must be owned, though it contains little bufinefs of plot, and as little delicacy of stile and character, it is one of the beft of them; as may be gathered from the following scene, between Sir John Trotley and Davy, a rusticated Baronet, and the bumpkin his fervant.

Enter Sir John Trotley and Davy.

Sir John. Hold your tongue, Davy, you talk like a fool.

Davy. It is a fine place, your honour, and I cou'd live here for ever!

Sir John. More fhame for you :-live here for ever!—what, among thieves and pick-pockets !-what a revolutton fince my time! the more I fee, the more I've cause for lamentation; what a dreadful change has time brought about in twenty years! I fhou'd not have known the place again, nor the people; all the figns that made fo noble an appearance, are all taken down ;-not a bob or tye-wig to be feen! all the degrees from the parade in St. James's Park, to the ftool and brush at the corner of every street, have their hair tied up the mafon laying bricks, the baker with his basket, and the post-boy crying newspapers, and the doctors prescribing phyfic, have all their hair ty'd up; and that's the reason fo many heads are tied up every month.

Davy. I fhall have my head tied up to-morrow ;-Mr. Wisp will do it for me your honour and I look like Philiftines among 'em.

Sir John. And I fhall break your head if it is tied up; I hate innovation ;-all confufion and no diftinction !-the streets are now as fmooth as a turnpike road? no rattling and exercife in the hackneycoaches; thofe who ride in 'em are all faft afleep; and they have ftrings in their hands, that the coachman must pull to waken 'em, when they are to be fet down-what luxury and abomination!

Davy. Is it fo, your honour? 'feckins, I lik'd it hugely.

Sir John. But you must hate and deteft London.

Davy. How can I manage that, your honour, when there is every thing to delight my eye, and cherish my heart.

Sir John. 'Tis all deceit and delufion.

Davy. Such crowding, coaching, carting and fqueezing, fuch a power of fine fights, fine fhops full of fine things, and then fuch fine illuminations all of a row! and fuch fine dainty ladies in the ftreets, fo civil and fo graceless-they talk of country girls, these here look more healthy and rofy by half.

Sir

Sir John. Sirrah, they are proftitutes, and are civil to delude and deftroy you; they are painted Jezabels, and they who hearken to 'em, like Jezabel of old will go to the dogs; if you dare to look at 'em, you will be tainted, and if you speak to 'em you are undone.

Day. Blefs us, blefs us!-how does your honour know all this! were they as bad in your

time?

Sir John. Not by half, Davy-In my time, there was a fort of decency in the worst of women ;-but the harlots now watch like tygers for their prey; and drag you to their dens of infamy-fee, Davy, how they have torn my neckcloth. (fhews his neckcloth) Davy. If you had gone civilly, your honour, they wou'd not have

hurt you.

Sir John. Well, we'll get away as faft as we can.

Davy. Not this month, I hope, for I have not had half my belly full yet.

Sir John. I'll knock you down, Davy, if you grow profligate; you fhan't go out again to-night, and to-morrow keep in my room, and stay till I can look over my things, and fee they don't cheat you.

Davy. Your honour then wont keep your word with me? (Sulkily) Sir John. Why, what did I promife you?

Davy. That I hou'd take fixpen❜oth of one of the theatres to-night, and a fhilling place at the other to-morrow.

Sir John. Well, well, fo I did: is it a moral piece, Davy?

Davy. O yes, and written by a clergyman; it is call'd the Rival Cannauites; or the tragedy of Braggadocia.

Sir John. Be a good lad, and I won't be worfe than my word ;there's money for you-(gives him some,) but come trait home, for I fhall want to go to bed:

Davy. To be fure, your honour-as I am to go fo foon, I'll make a night of it. (afide, and exit.)

Sir John. This fellow wou'd turn rake and macaroni if he was to ftay here a week longer-bless me, what dangers are in this town at every step! O, that I were once fettled fafe again at Trotley place!nothing but to fave my country fhou'd bring me back again; my niece Lucretia, is fo be-fashioned and be devill'd, that nothing I fear can fave her; however, to ease my conscience, I muft try: but what can be expected from the young women of these times, but fallow looks, wild fchemes, faucy words, and loofe morals! they lie a-bed all day, fit up all night; if they are filent, they are gaming, and if they "talk, 'tis either fcandal or infidelity; and that they may look what they are, their heads are all feather, and round their necks are twilled, rattle-fnake tippets-O TEMPORA, O MORES!

ART. XVII. Germanicus: a Tragedy. By a Gentleman of the Univer fity of Oxford. 8vo. 1s. 6d. Whitaker.

As we abominate impoftors, we are furprised that a member of any university, except of the first univerfity in the world, (London) fhould endeavour under an anonymous fignature, to reap credit from the place of his education. If afhamed of his father's name he has no right to that of his nurfe.-To the difcredit of thofe celebrated feminaries of Oxford and Cambridge, it may M m 2

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be faid that, though they have had the honour of educating fome great geniuses, they have not educated more or greater geniuses than other univerfities, particularly that above mentioned. To the credit of those univerfities, however, it may be obferved that they have well done the office of a private academy, in preparing a number of arch wags for the higher and more polite fchool of the town, in which thofe wags have fometimes turned wits and taken their degrees, as choice fpirits; to the wonder of Alma Mater and astonishment of the reft of the world. Of this the upper houfe, St. Stephen's chapel, the Robin-hood in the Butcher-row, and particularly the pit and upperboxes in the playhouses, afford ample teftimonial-We fear, notwithstanding, that our prefent tragical genius hath, between town and country, loft the advantages of both.-Had he ftayed longer at Oxford, he might have heard Horace's advice, to keep his piece nine years before publication, but, returning to town before that faving counfel was dropt in his ears, he published it, we fuppofe, in nine days after his arrival.-It will, therefore, be no more than a nine days wonder how fuch an abortion came into the world, at all. At the fame time, we must not conclude this article, without owning that fomething of an uncultivated genius appers in the writer; who has probably as much intgenuity, though not fo much modesty and learning, as fome of the heads of houses in either of our universities,

MISCELLANIE S. ART. XVIII. A fhort State of the Reafons for a late Refignation. To which are added, occafional Obfervations; and a Letter to the Right Reverend the Bishop of Norwich. By John Jebb, M. A. 8vo. 6d. Cambridge, Fletcher and Hodfon. London, Crowder. It is generally and reafonably enough fuppofed that a man can give no greater proof, of being in earnest as to his avowed principles, than that of facrificing his intereft to his conscience. Not but that pique and fometimes popularity induce men to prefer fingularity of fentiment to felf-intereft. Without any impeachment, however, of Mr. Jebb's fincerity, we cannot acquiefce in the validity of his reafons for diffenting from the church; tho' we fhould allow that diffent a good reafon for his refignation.Had Mr. Jebb, indeed, no other objection to the articles of the. established religion, than what he particularly mentions to his diocefan *, viz. the Athenafian doctrine of the Trinity, fomething In the following letter, which we infert verbatim:

My Lord,

To the Right Rev. the Bithop of Norwich,

I think it proper to give you this previous information, that I propofe to refign the rectory of Homersfield and vicarage of Flixton into your lordship's hands upon the 29th or 30th of the prefent month (September.)

As the motives which induce me to embrace this refolution may poffibly be mifconftrued, it will not I truft be thought impertinent if I ftate them to your lordship.

In the first place I think it neceffary to affure your lordship, that, although I cfteemed it to be my duty to take an active part in the late petition of the clergy, the principles maintained in that juft remonftrance do not, in my apprehenfion, appear to Jay me under any obligation to relinquith my prefent flation.

more

more might be faid in his favour than he appears at prefent entitled to. It is not only the divinity of our Saviour which feems

The author of the Confeffional, my lord, had convinced me of the unlawfulness and inexpediency of requiring a fubfcription to fyftematic articles of faith and doctrine, from the teachers of a gospel in the proteftant church.

My own obfervation in the univerfity of Cambridge further tended to fatisfy me with refpect to the impropriety of fuch a requifition and the vifible neglect of the tudy of the fcriptures in this age and country feemed in a great meafure to be derived from that reftraint of the exercife of private judgment, which is the unavoidable conTequence of this unedifying impofition.

With these convictions it was impoffible for me to decline engaging with thofe diftinguished friends of religious liberty, who aflociated for the purpose of folliciting, for themielves and their brethren of the church of England, an exemption from the obligation of declaring or fubfcribing their affent to any formulary of doctrine, which fhould be propofed as explanatory of the word of God."

It appeared to me to be a fufficient reafon for fuch application, that the doctrines, contained in the 39 articles, being the deductions of frail and fallible men, and expretfed in unfcriptural terms, were effentially differenced, in point of authority, from thofe holy fcriptures, to which we have profeffed an abfolute and unreferved fubmiffion as the only rule of religious faith and practice--and that the requifition of af fent to them was eventually fubverfive of the right of private judgment, a right, on which every proteftant church was founded, and the exercife of which our own church in particular, in one of her forms of ordination, not only ollows us, but enjoins.

It also appeared evident to me, that the enquiry, whether or no the 39 articles expreis the genuine fenfe of fcripture, was a queftion of a very different nature from that, to which the petitioners invited the attention of their brethren-that perfons of the most oppofite opinions, with refpect to the doctrine of the articles, might unite in a declaration, that every attempt to effect an uniformity of fentiment concerning the tenfe of fcripture, by other means than the force of argument, and rational conviction, was utterly unwarrantable and bore too friking, a refemblance to that spirit of intolerance, which forms the diftinguishing character of anti-chriftian Rome an, laftly, that many members of our church might be truly fenfible of the inexp diency of requiring this fubfcription-might address a competent tribunal with a Vev of effecting an abolition of the practice, and yet continue to hold and to accept preferment, without violating the dictates of confcience, and with great advantage to the chriftian caufe.

My objections, my lord, to the accepting and the holding of preferment in the church of England, bear no relation to the caufe of the petitioning clergy-the reafons which influenced me in the forming of the refolution, now communicated to your lordship, are intirely my own.

After the most ferious and difpaffionate enquiry, I am perfuaded, my lord, from the concurrent teftimony of reafon and revelation, that the SUPREME CAUSE of all things is, not merely in effence, but alfo in perfon, ONE.

By the force of the fame evidence I am convinced, that this almighty power is the on proper object of religion.

The liturgy of the church of England is obviously founded upon the idea, that in the divine nature is a TRINITY of perfons, to each of which every fpecies of religious 'adoration is addreffed, as well as fuch powers afcribed, as are the incommunicable attributes of God,

Under my perfuafion of the erroncoufnefs of this doctrine, I cannot any longer with fatisfaction to myfelf officiate in the effablished fervice: and as I certainly can have no claim to the emoluments of my profelion, unless I am willing to perform the duties of it, I therefore refign my preferment.

But, my lord, altho' I find myself under an obligation to relinquith my prefent flation in the church of England, I do not renounce the profeffion of a Chriftian. On the contrary, penetrated by the clearest convictions of the high importance, and divine authority of the gofpel, I will, labour to promote the advancement of fcriptural Anowledge with increasing zeal; and will ever be ready to unite, with heart and hand,