other many this county; let me tell I and you, worthy gentlemen Freeholders, have been scandalized; but truth in time will, I doubt not, be triumphant; and then the world will fee, which is the best citizen; which the beft fubject; the plain, difinterefted, unintriguing, man; or the dirty, double, and corrupt wretch; who like a mere machine, has no movement but what he receives from the leaden hand of his imperious director. NEVERTHELESS, it is hard, very hard, Britannicus, to be used fo bafely. How hard, Ofellus? have not worthy citizens in all states been thus treated, ever fince government existed? but by whom, I beseech you? By perfons who reprefent patriotism as a jeft; and patriots, as fo many Don Quixots; that is, by the worst of men. Suppofe fuch inen spoke well of you; would not that hurt your fame more than all their blackening. Be patient then, my friend, and let them go on; the reign of falfhood and corruption, tho' the hands fhould be changed to ferve prefent purposes, cannot be immortal. THERE are many worthy men in the prefent parliament; men of fortune, ability, integrity; and withal men of a fpirit, that nothing but truth can fubdue: I'll anfwer for them, they will keep a fharp look-out; and be as zealous and active in pulling down our domeftic foes, as they are in repelling our foreign enemies. You You revive me, my dear Britannicus; pray God, it may prove fo: may their virtuous attempts be crowned with fuccefs; but I am afraid, I am jealous: you know, how often we have been gulled; what renegadoes we have had. Some of them are in their graves; I'll not disturb them: fome are still living; let them ftink above ground; I ask no punishment, but the pangs of their own reflections. WE are got, Ofellus, into a large field, and time wears away.--Britannicus then pulled out his watch-blefs me; it is ten o'clock, your ufual hour: I won't break in upon it. Paugh! what talk you of hours? I could fet up the whole night, could we finish the fubject, and it would do any good. BRITANNICUS was rifing; Sir; you sha'nt ftir an inch, till the bottle be out; there is but a glafs or two left: but if we must keep up old customs, use your liberty, on this condition, that as you have promised to spend to-morrow with me, we take up the subject, at the point, we leave off: agreed: --- - and after the usual compliment each retired to bed. D. N. B. The Freeholder, as he is determined to court the regard of the public, upon no other terms than real merit, or in proportion to the Spirit of his writings, hopes his friendly correfpondent will not be displeased with a candid declaration, that if his ingenious dialogue could could have been connected properly, without that part containing his encomium on the Monitor, it would have been all omitted, to avoid, as much as poffible, the imputation of that common deception, called a puff, or self-commen dation, invented and used by bookfellers, to promote the fale of the worst performances. No. 10. SATURDAY, October 11, 1755. — ̓Αλλὰ συ σῇσιν ἔχε φρεσὶ, μηδέσε λήθη Αἱράτω, εὖτ ̓ HOM. II. 2. Awake, but waking this advice approve, O РОРЕ. FELLUS rofe at fix, Britannicus about eight; for being a little fatigued with his journey the day before, he lay longer than his common hour. WHEN he came down, he found Ofellus in the parlour :-Good-morrow, Ofellus ;Sir, the like to you; I hope you are well, and flept well; never better, I affure you; and befides, I fpent the night in the beft company I ever met with in my whole life. BE-LIKE then you had an entertaining dream; that, I fuppofe, is your meaning. The very. very thing; not entertaining only, but very interesting and inftructive. Well; but you don't intend to ingrofs the whole pleasure and benefit to yourself; I hope, I may have the honour, and as your friend, I think, I have a kind of right to fhare in it. IT is a pretty long narrative, Ofellus; but after breakfast it is at your fervice. THE tea and bread and butter were foon introduced; and curiofity did not a little accelerate the meal. When it was over, Ofellus! cries Britannicus, it is a fine morning; fuppofe you and I take a walk in your paftures, and pay a vifit to your fine nurfery of oaks; my night adventures may poffibly amufe us by the way. Up ftarts Ofellus; and feizing his ftick, prefented Britannicus with another. Out they fally; and before they had passed the first close, Britannicus thus begins: You cannot be ignorant, my good friend, when any conversation paffes in the evening, that warms and engages the heart, how the ideas of it haunt us in our night flumbers. The outward fenfes being then all shut up, the imagination has its full fcope and liberty to play; and taking up the ball again, toffes it up and down, to and fro, as you have feen a racket; though for the most part, in an odd, irregular and romantic manner; intermixing withal many abfurd phantoms that have no existence in nature, and which never deform and diftürb our waking thoughts. NE its Nevertheless the cafe last night was very different. No fooner was I compofed into a found fleep, than the vifion of the night made appearance. It was not a delufive one, like that my motto refers to; but a dream, methinks, sent and inspired by fome good angel; perhaps the guardian genius of our British ifle.-Be that, as it may : I was carried on a fudden, as I thought, into a spacious room, decently furnished with tables, chairs, and fconces, which were all lighted. There were in the room feveral gentlemen, handfomely dreffed others dropped in, two or three at a time; fo that in less than an hour the affembly amounted to above an hundred. : AFTER a little chit-chat, and compliments of course, they all fat down: then a young man ftood up, and made a motion, that one should take the chair, which was an elbow one, and placed a little higher than the reft, at the upper end of the room. It was put to the vote, who the perfon fhould be: and they unanimoufly pitcht upon Cato, their old prolocutor.—Cato obeyed, mounted the chair, and, will you believe me, began his fpeech at the very point, where you and I broke off laft night. Do you recollect, Ofellus, what that was? perfectly well; you were faying, there were many worthy patriots in the prefent parliament: Ishook my head and cried; pray God, there may! but you know how often our credulity has been abused; how many under the mask of popula rity, |