I have already said, that I do not mean to deny that Dormer is sincere in what he professes, in having the real good of the Public at heart; but yet this admission which I have made must be taken with some allowance. His regard for the Public, the concern which he takes in projects of advancement in agriculture, manufactures, and public works, does not so much proceed from a feeling of the happiness which this advancement will produce, as from a love of theory, of what is calculated to promote that theory, from a fondness for order, and for every thing conspiring to one great and general end. Were his views directed by a concern for the happiness produced by his plans, he would in some cases allow the comfort of individuals to enter into his regards.

A very ingenious philosopher, who possesses a singular power of illustration, joined to an uncommon depth of thinking, in speaking of the reason why utility pleases, has remarked, That the fitness, the happy contrivance of any production of art is often more valued than the very end for which it was iutended; and that the exact adjustment of the means for attaining any conveniency or pleasure, is frequently more regarded than that very conveniency or pleasure, in the attainment of which their whole merit would seem to consist.

• When a person,' continues this author, comes into his chamber, and finds the chairs all standing in the middle of the room, he is angry with his servant; and rather than see them continue in that disorder, perhaps takes the trouble himself to set them all in their places, with their backs to the wall. The whole propriety of this new situation arises from its superior conveniency in leaving the floor free and disengaged. To attain this conveniency, he voluntarily puts himself to more trouble than all he could have suffered from the want of it, since nothing was more

easy than to have set himself down upon one of them, which is probably what he does when his labour is over. What he wanted, therefore, it seems, was not so much this conveniency, as that arrangement of things which promotes it; yet it is this conveniency which ultimately recommends that arrangement, and bestows upon it the whole of its propriety and beauty.

'A watch, in the same manner, that falls behind above two minutes in a day, is despised by one curious in watches. He sells it perhaps for a couple of guineas, and purchases another at fifty, which will not lose above a minute in a fortnight. The sole use of watches, however, is to tell us what o'clock it is, and to hinder us from breaking any engagement, or suffering any other inconveniency, by our ignorance in that particular point. But the person so nice with regard to this machine, will not always be found either more scrupulously punctual than other men, or more anxiously concerned upon any other account to know precisely what time of day it is. What interests him is not so much the attainment of this piece of knowledge, as the perfection of the machine which serves to attain it.'

The same author afterwards observes, that it is a similar principle which frequently serves to recommend those institutions that tend to promote the public welfare.

Something of this kind may afford the key to Dormer's character. In all his schemes, in all his projects, it is not so much the end which he has in view, as the mode of producing that end. For this he sacrifices the happiness of individuals; nay, the aggregate happiness f a whole society does not fill or interest his mind so much, as the fitness of the measure by which, after many hardships and oppressions, that object may be produced. I am, &c.

T. L.

If the account which is given by my correspon dent of Dormer's character be a just one, and I am persuaded by my own observation, that it is not out of nature, several useful lessons may be learned from it. We may be taught the danger of suffering attention to one part of our conduct to swallow up our regard for every other; we may perceive the hazard of allowing notions of public utility to extinguish private virtues. These last are indeed indispensably necessary to constitute the perfection of any character, and to all of us, except a very few, are the only virtues within our reach.

It may be told those men, who, like Dormer, arrogate to themselves the praise of public spirit, and look down with contempt on the humbler virtue of such as are occupied in the private concerns of life, that they are not quite so remote from selfishness as they would sometimes have the world to believe. The theories of Dormer are as much his children, as that son and daughter, whom perhaps he will call it virtue to disregard, in his violent attention to the good of his country; and when he canvasses with success at county-meetings for the family of his projects, he feels as much selfish satisfaction, and much more selfish vanity, than if he obtained a pension for his wife, or an appointment for his unfortunate relation. From Dormer's, and other such ostentatious characters, we may learn, that there may be often much pretension to virtue, and even some virtuous conduct, without much humanity, or much virtuous feeling.

N° 89. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1786.

a

I READ with infinite satisfaction your 87th number on the Pleasures of the Country, and the moral use of that rural sentiment,' the effects of which you know so well how to paint. But thus it is that brilliant fiction ever delights us; while you were describing in town, I was witnessing in the country. I have just returned from an excursion into a distant county, a hundred miles from town, its inhabitants and its business.' 'Twas at the house of Mr. L— relation and intimate acquaintance of mine, where I have been pressingly invited these several years past, to spend a month or two of the autumn; to leave the thick air and unwholesome streets, the bustle, cares, and dissipation of the town, for the pure breeze, the healthful walk, the quiet, the peacefulness, and sobriety of the country. I had often heard of my friend L's charming place, his excellent house, his every thing, in short, that great wealth (for he is a man of a very large estate) could bestow, and taste (for every body talked of his and Mrs. L's taste) could adorn. I pictured his groves, his lawns, and his water-falls, with somewhat of that enthusiasm for country-scenery which you seem to feel; and I thought of his daughters (two elegant girls, whom I had just seen for a few minutes in their way from London) as the wood

VOL. XXXVII.

nymphs of the scene. All this rural sentiment' I set out with; and the sight of my friend's country-seat and beautiful grounds, which I reached on the third evening did not belie it. How it has improved by my stay there, you shall judge by a short sketch of the country-life people lead at LHall.

The party there, which my relation had told me was to be a select one, and which made him doubly urgent in his desire to have me there this autumn, consisted of an elderly dowager of rank and fortune, and her two unmarried daughters; a member of parliament, and his brother a clergyman from Engfand; and two young officers of family, companions of Mr. L- -'s eldest son, who has been about a year in the army. These, with your humble servant, in addition to Mr. L's own family, made up the standing establishment of the house. There were besides, every day, numerous occasional visitors from the neighbourhood; Mr. L-representing the county in parliament, and receiving the instructions of his constituents at this time of the year only.

The night of my arrival I took the liberty of retiring before the rest of the company, being a good deal fatigued with my journey. Next morning, however, I got up betimes to enjoy the beauties of the season, and of the calm clear landscape around me. But when I would have gone out, I found the house door locked. After various unsuccessful attempts to discover the retreat of the servants, I met a ragged little fellow, who told me he was boy to the porter's man, and the only creature beside myself stirring in the house; for that Mr. L's gentleman had given a supper to the servants who had lately arrived from town, and they had all sat up at cards till five in the morning. By