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most exalted heroes of antiquity-I mean Seneca indeed has talked to us in very perance. lofty terms of the abstinence of some of the earlier worthies of his own country, and those of Lacedæmon; the diet of the former was such as would, at this day, be esteemed a luxury by thousands, and as for the black broth of the latter, I do not recollect, amidst all the ingredients which composed it, that melted lead, sealing-wax, and brimstone were ever included. As a patriot, I consider Mr. Powel as one of the greatest that this century can boast of; for though I do not recollect that he was ever called out, by any particular emergency, to take an active part in the defence of his country, who can believe that a person, to whom fire had been literally meat, drink, and clothing, would not naturally fly where war grew hottest, and would consequently be most congenial to his disposition and occupations in life? Now, if we sum up our evidence, we shall find that the sublimer virtues of patience, temperance, and patriotism, together with the softer and more amiable ones of philanthropy and friendship, were of course included in the art which Mr. Powel professed. We shall not hesitate, therefore, a moment in pronouncing the object of his ambition to have been compatible with the character of a wise and good

man.

"I cannot conclude this paper without regretting my inability to perpetuate the memory of this illustrious phenomenon of salamandership and virtue. This, however, I can assure him, if my feeble endeavours could effect it, his name should flourish in the mouths of men.' "L."

No. 22. MONDAY, APRIL 9, 1787.

Tantum de medio sumptis accedit honoris.

Such honour common subjects may receive.

HORACE.

"SIR-It must no doubt often have occurred to a writer of your penetration, that there is nothing more unjust and illiberal, than those ill-grounded prejudices, which confound, in general censure or undistinguishing contempt, any particular class or description of men. And yet these prejudices, however sensible we cannot but be of their improper tendency, we are all too apt to indulge, till, nourished by long habit, they take as deep a root in our minds as if they had been implanted there by nature, and acquire such strength, as enables them to withstand the most forcible arguments-to resist the most probable conviction.

"There are, in Turkey, a body of men, against whom universal contempt is indiscriminately as well as undeservedly directed; and these are the worshipful company of grocers: insomuch, that should any member of a noble family have disgraced himself and his connexions by living a life of tranquillity, or, what is worse, dying in his bed, that is, a natural death, his name is never pronounced by his relations but with disapprobation and disgust, and his memory is consigned to infamy, for having, as they say, lived and died like a raccal, or grocer.

"The person who has now the honour to address you, is a member of a community, who, by the courtesy of England, are, like the raccals of Turkey, collectively involved in the most indiscriminate ridicule -the most comprehensive contempt; I say collect

I

ively, sir, because, individually, we are allowed to have no existence; the wicked waggery of the world judging nine weavers and nine tailors requisite to the formation of the man. Yes, sir, to so high a pitch have they carried the disrespect in which these professions are held, that, in the eyes of the many,' (as the poet calls them) to address a man by the appellation either of a weaver or tailor, implies not only, as formerly, a reflection on his horsemanship, but on his personal courage, and even his personal existence.

;

"I, sir, am a weaver; I feel for the injured dignity of my profession; and since, thanks to my own genius and two years and a half of education at an academy on Tower-hill, I have a very decent acquaintance with the classics; that is, I know them all by name, and can tell Greek when I see it, any day in the week and since, as far as Shakspeare's plays and the Monthly Magazines go, I have a very pretty share of English book-learning;-from these considerations, Mr. Griffin, I think myself qualified to contend, not for the utility and respectability only, but for the honour of the art of weaving. Tailoring, as it is secondary to weaving, will, of course, partake of the fruits of my labours; as, in asserting the dignity of the one, I maintain the credit of the other.

"To this end, Mr. Griffin, I shall not appeal to the candour of my readers, but shall provoke their judgment; I shall not solicit their indulgence, but, by the force of demonstration, will claim their assent to my opinion.

Poetry, sir, is universally allowed to be the first and noblest of the arts and sciences; insomuch, that it is the opinion of critics that an epic poem is the

greatest work the human mind is capable of bringing to perfection. If, then, I can prove that the art of weaving is, in any degree, analogous to the art of poetry;-if this analogy has been allowed by the whole tribe of critics; so far that, in speaking of the latter, they have used the terms of the former, and have passed judgment on the works of the poet in the language of the manufacturer ;-nay, if Poetry herself has condescended to imitate the expressions, and to adopt the technical terms into her own vocabulary; -then may I surely hope, that the sanction of criticism may challenge the respect, and the flattery of poetry (for imitation is the highest degree of flattery) may claim the admiration, of mankind.

"First, then, with regard to criticism. To select a few examples from a multitude of others, are we not entertained, in the works of Longinus and the Gentleman's Magazine, with delectable dissertations on the weaving of plots and the interweaving of episodes? Are we not continually informed, that the author unravels the web of his intrigue, or breaks the thread of his narration? Besides these, a friend of mine, a great etymologist, has assured me that bombast and bombasin originally sprung from the same root; and fustian, every body knows, is a term applied indifferently to passages in poetry or materials for a pair of breeches. So similar is considered the skill employed in the texture of the epic poem and a piece of broad cloth; so parallel the qualifications requisite to throw the shuttle and guide the pen.

"I was not a little pleased, the other day, to find, in the critique of one of the most eminent writers of the present day, the works of a favourite poet stiled a, tissue. An idea then occurred to me, suggested

perhaps by my partiality for my profession, which I am not without some faint hope of one day seeing accomplished.

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By a little labour and ingenuity, it might surely be discovered that the works of different authors bear a considerable affinity, like this of the tissue, to the different productions of the loom. Thus, to enumerate a few instances, without any regard to chronological order, might not the flowery smoothness of Pope be aptly enough compared to flowered satin? Might not the compositions of all the poets laureate, ancient and modern, very properly be termed Prince's stuff? And who would dispute the title of Homer to everlasting? For Shakspeare, indeed, I am at a loss for a comparison, unless I should liken him to those shot silks, which vary the brightness of their hues into a multitude of different lights and shades. And, would orthography allow of the pun, I might say that there are few poets but would be proud to be thought worthy of the green bays.

For proof of the use which poetry makes of the weaver's dictionary, vide ten thousand odes on Spring, where you may catch the fragrance of the damask rose, listen to the rustling of the silken foliage, or lie extended, with a listless languor, pillowing your head upon the velvet mead; to say nothing of nature's loom, which is set to work regularly on the first of May, to weave variegated carpets for the lawns and landscapes. Now, Mr. Griffin, these similitudes, though very pretty and very apropos, I own I am not perfectly satisfied with. The Genoese certainly excel us in the article of velvets; and the French silks are, by many people, far preferred for elegance to any of English manufacture. I appeal,