they fall upon to diverfify their amusements, and to faunter away a tedious lifetime. Many of our young men of fashion seem to be fenfible of the juftnefs of this obfervation; for they do what they can to get the better of their conftitution, and to abridge their life to a duration more fuitable to the use which they make of it.

In this attempt, however, they are not always fufficiently expeditious; and, at any rate, it is always extremely unpleasant; moft men of fashion, like most other men, however difagreeable or useless they may find their lives, not chufing to die as long as they can eafily avoid it. It would therefore be more acceptable, if it were poffible to fupply them with fome means of paffing more tolerably the 13 or 14 hours which they cannot lose in sleeping.

Here to be fure a moralist might affume a high tone of declamation, and call on those gentlemen to remember the duties which their country requires. He might tell them, that the eyes of mankind were directed to their conduct, and expected, from their station and fortune, examples of active and difinterested patriotism. He might tell them, that, if they were unwilling to take a fhare in the legislature, or if the happy feason of peace gave them no opportunity to display their martial talents and gallantry in the field, yet they

could

could not be at a lofs for occafions to display their activity and enterprize, by employing their wealth and influence to diffufe civilization and comfort, industry and good morals, among all ranks of their fellow-citizens. He might tell them, that from fuch occupations they would derive the moft honourable, heartfelt and lafting pleasures, and be followed with the gratitude, the bleffings of thousands. He might likewife intreat them to confider the opportunities which their riches and leifure afforded them of extending their refearches into science, and' encourage them with the profpect of utility and reputation united with the most interesting and endless amufement. He might also point out the delightful relaxation from their labours and folace to their cares which literature would afford them; he might tell them how much it would contribute at once to polish and elevate the character, and how admirably it would fuperfede those frivolous or pernicious entertainments in which they waste their hours.

The

But it would be cruel to harrafs the poor gentlemen with thefe fchool-declamations. employments here pointed out require not only temporary exertions, but also continued industry, which we can scarcely expect from them. All that can be attempted with any reasonable hope of fuccefs, is to find fome occupations which are

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more

more innocent, but which require no greater labour than the bottle or the gaming table, than low profligacy or treacherous intrigue.

Now, I have known feveral idle perfons who contrived to amufe the vacant intervals between breakfast and dinner, and between dinner and fupper, in a very inoffenfive manner. According as the weather and feafon permitted, they employed all the firft part of the day either in angling, shooting, hunting or skaiting. When they could not go abroad with comfort, they always contrived work at home; fuch as weaving nets, plaiting lines, dreffing fifhing-flies, cleaning guns, looking after the horses, and playing on the fiddle. In this manner, with the help of the newspaper, dreffing for dinner, and now and then a game at whift or back-gammon for a trifle in the evening, I have known fome perfons of no great fortune, who spent their time in the country from year's end to year's end, without much extraordinary fleeping, without much extraordinary yawning, without much extraordinary drinking, without doing any harm, and even without thinking on the amufements of the town.

I should therefore imagine, that the men of fashion, confidering the accurate attention which it is proper for them to pay to their drefs, and the fuperior advantages which they enjoy from

the

the amufements of the town, excurfions to watering places, and trips to the Continent, might contrive to occupy their time without hanging out their melancholy faces at coffee-house doors or confectioners' fhops, without expofing their own fortunes to be pilfered, or trying to pilfer others, at the gaming table, without weakening their conftitutions, or injuring their fellow-creatures. It is true, their occupations would frequently be rather more infipid and lefs refpectable than might be wished. But fince by fome unaccountable irregularity in Nature, the lives of men of fashion, although they have fo much lefs to do than other men, are prolonged to 50 or 60 years; they might unquestionably contrive, by a fucceffion of thefe little occupations, to pass through this long term far lefs uncomfortably, than by dividing their time between downright idleness,, intemperance, and vice.

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N° 60. SATURDAY, March 25. 1786.

To the AUTHOR of the LOUNGER.

SIR,

A

ner.

S far as I can judge of myself, I am a man well entitled to your protection, My mind has been fo much employed in projecting fchemes for the benefit of mankind, and efpecially of my fellow-fubjects, that I have been totally indifferent to my own affairs. At present I am poor and ftudious, and yet content that a long life has not paffed in altogether an ufelefs manIn the year one thoufand feven hundred and forty-four, the year in which Dean Swift died, I had the honour to prefent to a great man a lift, confifting of three hundred and nineteen new taxes, the greater part of which I perceive have been adopted. I have in manufcript a number of treatifes, which might be a load to an ordinary fized porter, written in a small character, on a variety of subjects, with abundance of ease and fpirit. Having a great part of my life reflected,

that