may ferve to inculcate, that moderation, in point of wealth, is productive of the greatest comfort and the pureft felicity. Had Mr Truman returned from India with the enormous fortune of fome other Afiatic adventurers, he would probably have been much lefs happy than he is, even without confidering the means by which it is poffible fuch a fortune might have been acquired. In the poffeffion of fuch overgrown wealth, however attained, there is generally more oftentation than pleafure; more pride than enjoyment: I can but guess at the feelings which accompany it, when reaped from defolated provinces, when covered with the blood of flaughtered myriads.

No 45. SATURDAY, Dec. 10. 1785.

To the AUTHOR of the LOUNGER.

SIR,

PERE

ERHAPS it is vanity in me to suppose that you have been expecting to hear from me, and it is poffible, from my firft account of myself, may have fuppofed that there were very melancholy reafons for my filence. But I am, Sir, thank God! returned to my native country in no worfe condition, with refpect to health, than when I left it. As to peace and happinefs, I can't fay; my wife thinks her health much the better for our expedition.

Perhaps, Sir, I may in time learn to be reconciled to noife and disturbance, and forget my old habits of quiet and care of my health, which my dear deceafed friend Dr Deddipoll had taught me, And yet I do not find that my journey has reconciled me much to the change, though I have had fome practice in the way of buftle and adventure,

as

as you will find from a fhort account of our excurfion.

As the motive of our journey was profeffedly the re-establishment of my health, I had reafon to imagine that it would be conducted in the manner best suited for that purpose. I had made out a little Pharmacopeia of things neceffary to be taken along with us on the road; but would you believe it, Sir, our new family-phyfician declared them altogether unneceffary, and our whole medicine-cheft was made up of one phial, containing two drachms of fpirit of hartfhorn, and a bottle holding about as many pounds of French brandy. But my wife found room in the carriage for her favourite maid, her Spanish lapdog, and three band boxes. Her monkey, who arrived juft before we fet out, fhe was with difficulty prevailed on to leave behind under the care of the housekeeper; an acquaintance, indeed, who met us a few miles out of town on the road to England, rode up to my wife's fide of the carriage, faid he fapposed Mr Dy-foon was following, and, pointing to the corner where I was stuck among the band boxes, told her he was glad to find she had taken little Mafter Jackoo along with her.

up

Though Harrowgate was the place of our deftination, yet my wife (who was general of this H 2

expe

expedition), thought it might be proper to ftop at one of the more private watering places in Cumberland, to initiate us as it were into that fort of life; as young recruits, I am told, are taught to stand their own fire by first flashing their muskets in the pan. We accordingly made a halt at one of thofe places, with the intention of staying some weeks; but we very foon tired of it, as the fociety was by no means genteel enough for my wife to mix in with any degree of fatisfaction. The only people fhe would allow us to confort with were the family of Sir John Dumplin, a London merchant, who had been knighted for his eminence in commerce, who had arrived a few days before us with his Lady and three daughters, and a Captain in the army, who had come thither to recover the fatigues he had fuffered during the fiege of Gibraltar, and whom Mrs Dy-foon took great delight in hearing recount his adven

tures.

We amufed ourfelves during our stay by making the other members of the party ridiculous, though they did not want for jokės against us too. They called me and my wife "Death and Sin ;" the first I could understand from my feeblenefs and bad health; but how they applied the fecond, neither the Captain nor I could ever comprehend ;-they had feveral jefts equally low and unjust against the family of Sir

John

John Dumplin, who they pretended was only a fugar-boiler in Wapping, and had been knighted on occafion of fome city addrefs. Sir John himfelf, to do him juftice, behaved in a very civil manner to every body, and, except fometimes when he fnored after dinner, never gave the fmalleft offence to the rest of the company; and as for me, I was always, both in mind and body, inclined to peace and quietnefs. But Lady Dumplin and her daughters, with my Angelica and the Captain, were conftantly at war with the other end of the table, which was divided into two hoftile and irreconcileable provinces. Their differences might, indeed, have proceeded very difagreeable lengths, had we not contrived to erect a fort of barrier against hoftilities, by placing between them Sir David Dumplin on one fide, and a Mrs Dough, wife of a rich baker of Liverpool, on the other, who was naturally of as placid a difpofition as Sir David, and had the advantage of being deaf into the bargain. By this politic interpofition, the peace was tolerably well preferved; but as the oppofite party, the ungenteels, increafed daily by new arrivals, and ours, the genteels, got no acceffion that we were difpofed to allow of, the place became at last fo disagreeable, and the laugh so much louder against than for us, that we were obliged to leave it a good