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than my sister and myself, were it not for the partiality of our parents, who make the most injurious distinctions between us. From my infancy I have been led to consider my sister as a being of more elevated rank. was suffered to grow up without the least instruction, while nothing was spared in her education. She had masters to teach her writing, drawing, music, and other accomplishments; but if by chance I touched a pencil, a pen or a needle, I was bitterly rebuked: and more than once I have been beaten for being aukward, and wanting a graceful manner. It is true, my sister associated me with her upon some occasions; but she always made a point of taking the lead, calling upon me only from necessity, or to figure by her side.

But conceive not, sirs, that my complaints are insti gated merely by vanity-No; my uneasiness is occa sioned by an object much more serious. It is the

practice in our family, that the whole business of providing for its subsistence falls upon my sister and myself. If any indisposition should attack my sister-and I mention it in confidence, upon this occasion, that she is subject to the gout, the rheumatism and cramp, without making mention of other accidents-what would be the fate of our poor family? Must not the regret of our parents be excessive at having placed so great a distance between sisters who are so perfectly equal? Alas! we must perish from distress: for it would not be in my power even to scrawl a suppliant petition for relief, having been obliged to employ the hand of another in transcribing the request which I have now the honor to prefer to you.

Condescend, sirs, to make my parents sensible of the injustice of an exclusive tenderness, and of the necessity of distributing their care and affection among all their children equally.

I am, with profound respect,

SIKS,

Your obedient servant,

THE LEFT HAND

The handsome and deformed Leg.

THERE are two sorts of people in the world, who, with equal degrees of health and wealth and the other comforts of life, becomes the one happy, and the other miserable. This arises very much from the different views in which they consider things, persons and events; and the effect of those different views upon their own minds.

In whatever situation men can be placed, they may find conveniences and inconveniences: in whatever company, they may find persons and conversation more or less pleasing: at whatever table, they may meet with meats and drinks of better and worse taste, dishes better and worse dressed: in whatever climate, they will find good and bad weather: under whatever government, they may find good and bad laws, and a good and bad administration of those laws: in whatever poem, or work of genius, they may see faults and beauties; in almost every face, and every person, they may discover fine features and defects, good and bad qualities.

Under these circumstances, the two sorts of people above mentioned, fix their attention--those who are disposed to be happy, on the conveniences of things, the pleasant parts of conversation, the well dressed dishes, the goodness of the wines, the fine weather, &c. and enjoy ali with cheerfulness. those who are to be unhappy, think and speak only of the contraries. Hence they are continually discontented themselves, and, by their remarks, sour the pleasures of society; offend personally many people, and make themselves every where disagreeable. If this turn of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would the more to be pitied. But as the disposition to criticise, and to be disgusted, is, perhaps, taken up originally by imitation," and is unawares grown into a habit, which, though at present strong, may nevertheless be cured, when those who have it are convinced of its bad effects on their feficity; I hope this little admonition may be of service

to them, and put them on changing a habit, which, tho' in the exercise it is chiefly an act of imagination, yet has serious consequences in life, as it brings on real griefs and, misfortunes. For as many are offended by, and nobody loves, this sort of people; no one shews them more than the most common civility and respect, and scarcely that; and this frequently puts them out of humor, and draws them into disputes and contentions. If they aim at obtaining some advantage in rank or fortune, nobody wishes them success, O will stir a step, or speak a word to favor their pretensious. If they incur public censure or disgrace, no one will defend or excuse, and many join to aggravate their misconduct, and render them completely odious. If these people will not change this bad habit, condescend to be pleased with what is pleasing, without fretting themselves and others about the contraries, it is good for others to avoid an acquaintance with them; which is always disagreeable, and sometimes very i couveni ent, especially when one finds one's self entangled in their quarrels.

An old philosophical friend of mine was grown, from ́experience, very cautious in this particular, and carefully avoided any intimacy with such people. He had, like other philosophers, a thermometer, to shew him the heat of the weather; and a barometer, to mark when it was likely to prove good or bad; but there being no instrument invented to discover, at first sight, this unpleasing disposition in a person, he, for that purpose, made use of his legs; one of which was remarkably handsome, the other, by some accident, crooked and deformed. If a stranger, at the first interview, regarded his ugly leg more than the handsome one, he doubted him. If he spoke of it, and took no notice of the handsome leg, that was sufficient to determine my philosopher to have no further acquaintance with him. Every body has not this two-legged mstrument; but every one with a little attention, may observe signs of that carping, fault-finding disposition, and take the same

d and beloved by others, and happy in themhey should leave off looking at the ugly leg.

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ersation of a Company of Ephemera; the Soliloquy of one advanced in age.

To MADAME BrillianT.

may remember, my dear friend, that when we ent that happy day, in the delightful garden aud ciety of the Moulin Joly, I stopt a little in one alks and staid some time behind the company. I been shewn numberless skeletons of a kind of called an Ephemera, whose successive genewe were told, were bred and expired within

I happened to see a living company of them f, who appeared to be engaged in conversation. w I understand all the inferior animal tongues: great application to the study of them, is the cuse I can give for the little progress I have your charming language. I listened through to the discourse of these little creatures; but in their natural vivacity, spoke three or four , I could make but little of their conversation.

however, by some broken expressions that I ow and then, they were disputing warmly on the two foreign musicians, the one a cousin, the muscheto; in which dispute they spent their eemingly as regardless of the shortness of life ey had been sure of living a month. Happy thought I, you live certainly under a wise, just, government, since you have no public grevcomplain of, nor any subject of contention, but ections or imperfections of foreign music. I ny head from them to an old grey-headed one,

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menis, her delicious company, and heavenly ha

"It was," says he, the opinion of learned p phers of our race, who lived and flourished long my time, that this vast world the Moulin July co itself consist more than eighteen hours: and I thin was some foundation for that opinion; since, by parent motion of the great luminary, that gives lif nature, and which in my time has evidently d considerably towards the ocean at the end of our it must then finish its course, be extinguished waters that surround us, and leave the world and darkness, necessarily producing universal and destruction. I have lived seven of those ho great age, being no less than 420 minutes of How very few of us continue so long! I hav generations born, flourish, and expire. My I friends are the children and grand-children friends of my youth, who are now, alas, no more I must soon follow them; for, by the course of though still in health, I cannot expect to live seven or eight minutes longer. What now av my toil and labor, in amassing honey-dew on th which I cannot live to enjoy! What the political gles I have been engaged in, for the good of m patriot inhabitants of this bush, or my philos studies for the benefit of our race in general! politics (what can laws do without morals?) o sent race of ephemera will in a course of minu come corrupt, like those of other and older bush consequently as wretched: And in philosoph small our progress! Alas! art is long and life is My friends would comfort me with the idea of a they say, I shall leave behind me; and they tel have lived long enough to nature and to glory what will fame be to an ephemera who no long

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