Such was female credulity in the days of Addifon. At prefent, the mode is altered. The old maid of this day bufies herfelf with matter more than with fpirit. Inftead of feeing apparitions in the vacant air, the fees a lover in every man by whom fhe is civilly accofted. She finds a hint of marriage in every compliment. She builds caftles in the air; and as fait as one fabric of amorous illufion is destroyed, fhe is fure to erect another in its place. Her memory is ftored with hiftories of love at first fight. She tells you of conquefts made by accidentally looking. out at a window, and this confequently becomes her favourite amufement. On a Lord Mayor's day, the is fure of wounding an Alderman or a Sheriff. By this turn of mind, the ancient lady is always in danger of falling a prey to the race of men called fortune-hunters. A ftory is related of Flaccilla, who ran away with an Irish footman. The Author fays, he needs not dwell on this kind of credulity, as it has been exhibited in a ludicrous and lively manner in Mr. Murphy's comedy of two Acts, called "THE OLD MAID." In that piece, however, it is treated with ridicule, whereas it may fairly be confidered as an object of compaffion. It proceeds from the most natural of human wishes, the wifh of being beloved. But this amiable defire, when the bloom of life is over, is always feen in a ridiculous light; and men find a ftrong degree of pleasure in sporting with a weakness, which, at leaft, is innocent. To illuftrate this pofition, the ftory of Harriot Afpin, a maiden lady near the age of fifty, is told in an elegant manner, and with circumftances highly tender and pathetic.

The Affectation of old maids is the next foible that paffes in review. This folly, in whatever form it appears, is fure to defeat its own end. It renders even youth and beauty difgufting; and what must be its effect, when it obtrudes itself in the ftiff figure, and with the hard features, of the antiquated virgin? In ladies of that defcription, there are three kinds of affectation; namely, affectation of youth, affectation of a certain cenforial importance, and affectation of extreme fenfibility. The first is the most common: it is feen in all affemblies: you there often perceive the wing of the beetle, with the fportive motions of the butterAy; but unfeafonable attempts to please produce nothing but difguft; when the juvenile old maid hangs out falfe colours, the is like a fhip difplaying fignals of diftrefs. Cofmelia, when young and handfome, neglected her perfon, preferring the character of a learned lady; but all fhe got by it was the ftupid wonder of an old fchoolmafter, who was aftonished at her marvellous intimacy with the dialects of Greece. At the age of forty-feven, this lady affects to be young, and undervalues her learning. She thinks more of a smooth skin, than a lively imagination. Her reading is confined to advertisements of lotions to beautify REV. Sept. 1787.

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tincture of envy is, in this cafe, natural, and therefore in fome degree pardonable. When envy fwells to too great a fize, it is then not only vicious, but abfurd and odious; abfurd, because it pursues torment for pleafure; and odious, as the enemy of all focial delight. As the beft Burgundy, when spoiled, produces the most poignant vinegar; fo the fuperannuated beauty turns into the harpeft and moft acrimonious old maid, and her illnature, in the decline of life, is proportioned to the vanity of her youth.

A country town is the proper theatre of the envious old maid. She deals in anonymous letters, and the mifchief which the occafions in families is her fupreme delight. She does her bufinefs very often without uttering a word: a fignificant glance of her eye, and an artful shake of the head, will often ruin a fair reputation. This is fully exemplified in the character of Mrs. Winifred Wormwood. This lady looked like the innocent flower, but was the ferpent under it. Her various artifices to gratify her fell difpofition are painted in ftrong colours, and the ftory of Nelfon and Amelia, interwoven with the hiftory of Mrs. Wormwood, is beautifully told. The moral, drawn from the narrative, is in the words of the ancient philofopher, who used to fay, "As ruft confumes iron, fo does envy the envious perfon." The ladies are, therefore, cautioned to improve their features by the exercise of good-nature.

The second part of the firft volume proceeds to the AMIABLE qualities of ancient maids. Their Ingenuity is the first topic. While other antiquaries are employed in finding old ruins of Gothic architecture, our Author travels the country in purfuit of curious characters among fuperannuated maids. Having given. this information concerning himself, he relates the hiftory of Doctor Coral, and his daughter, Theodora. He has the art of killing two birds with one ftone; for though his purpose be to produce an extraordinary old maid, he prefents us, in his account of the Doctor, with a fly fatire on thofe who profefs the character of Antiquaries. The daughter, as fhe defcended into the vale of years, became the greatest rarity in her father's collection. She was a contented old maid, endeavouring, by filial tenderness, and elegant ingenuity, to adminifter every comfort to a father in the decline of life. Mr. Hayley feems, generally, beft pleased when giving a tale, that carries with it an imitation of life and manners. He is often happy upon thefe occafions, but in none more so than in the account of Doctor Coral and his family.

The Patience of old maids comes next under confideration. Of this virtue, the virgin martyrs who fuffered in the firft ages of Christianity are mentioned as bright examples. But he, who had the Hiftory of Conftantia to relate, and could find for his nar

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rative fo many graces of ftyle, had no occafion to go back to ancient times. The entire paffage would draw us into great length; and to give it piece-meal, or condensed into an abridg ment, would be an injury to a very interefting and beautiful ftory. The conclufion gives us reafon to imagine that this pleafing tale has its foundation in truth. Having acquainted us with the manner of Conftantia's death, the Author thus addrefies her departed foul:

Farewell! thou gentle and benevolent fpirit. If, in thy prefent fcene of happier existence, thou art confcious of fublunary occur. rences, difdain not this imperfect memorial of thy fufferings and thy virtues! and if the pages I am now writing fhould fall into the hand of any indigent and dejected maiden, whofe ill fortune may be fimilar to thine, may they footh and diminish the difquietude of her life, and prepare her to meet the clofe of it with piety and compofure.'

The Charity of old maids, in the next place, attracts the author's notice, and, in this chapter, he has given a view of fome very agreeable scenes in human life. Such reprefentations are, as Dryden expreffts it, the theft of the poets from mankind. We with it were confiftent with the limits of our review to lay this whole chapter before our Readers; but fince that cannot be conveniently done, we will not do fo much injuftice to the Author, as to give the broken members of his work. Whoever has a mind to enjoy the pleature arifing from the contemplation of amiable characters, drawn with truth and elegance, is referred to the original for the account of Charieffa, the portrait of Meletina, and, above all, the exquifite hiftory of Angelica. The power of charity and benevolent affections, to fill the mind with folid enjoyments and true happinefs, is here difplayed in the most beautiful colouring:

Mr. Hayley concludes his firft volume with faying,

Perhaps, if a juft chronicle of old maids had been kept fince the creation, it would have prefented to us many examples of virtue and benevolence. But of the ancient virgins of a remoter period I fhall fpeak at large in the fubfequent part of this Effay. I fhail, to the utmost of my abilities, collect all the fcattered rays of light, with which antiquity can fupply me, for the illuftration of fo interefting a fubject. To rival the curious researches of our prefent most celebrated antiquaries, and in the wide field, which I have chofen, to Jeave no buth or bramble unexplored, I fhall enquire in the first chapter of the fecond volume, if there ever exifted an ANTEDILU VIAN OLD MAID.'

The Author keeps his promife, and, indeed, with great humour; having given, in a vein of ferious pleafantry, his profound researches concerning virgins before the Deluge, he goes on, in several subfequent chapters, to enquire into the ftate of old maidifm among the Jews, the Agyptians, the Greeks, the

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Roman Veftals before the Chriftian æra, and the increase of old maids after that period. This part of the work is a pleasant frolic of imagination, and a lively fatire on the learned labours of thofe profound antiquarians, who fpend their lives in the inveftigation of important matters which nobody values but themfelves. The opinions of feveral of the fathers, fuch as Saint Gregory of Nya, St. Ambrofe, and Chryfoftom, are placed in a ridiculous light. The monaftic old maids, who diftinguished themselves by their talents, are here recorded, and fome old maids of the new world are added to the lift. Thefe materials, with fome other mifcellaneous obfervations, and a fermon to old maids, compose the second and third volumes of this ferio-comic performance.

The firft volume coming more home to men's bufinefs and bofoms, is the moft interefting; and fhews that the Author has talents for that fpecies of compofition, called the comic novel. In the fubfequent parts, he difplays his reading, and at the fame time laughs at the antiquarians in a pleafing ftyle of ironical gravity. The whole is interfperfed with curious paffages from ancient authors, and the reader is occafionally relieved with agreeable compositions in verse. Were we to hint a fault, we fhould fay that the enquiry into antiquity is carried to too great a length. It is a part of the Author's plan, which, from its nature, cannot be interefting to the generality of readers. The first volume, we repeat, is interefting, and fhews that the Author is not only an attentive obferver of life, but that he has the talents which conftitute an elegant moral painter.

ART. XIX. Der Zustand des Staats, der Religeon, der Gelehrsamkeit, and der Kunft in Gros Britannien, gegen das Ende des Achtzehnten Jahr Hunderts. Von D. Gebh. Friedr. Aug. Wendeborn, Prediger in London. The State of Government, Religion, Literature, and the Arts, in Great Britain, towards the Clofe of the 18th Century. By D. G. F. Aug. Wendeborn, Minifter of a German Church in London. 3 Vols. 12mo. Berlin.

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EW works are read with more eagerness, or afford more rational amusement, than those which defcribe the customs, manners, laws, political conftitution, &c. of foreign countries. It is however to be lamented that the popularity of the fubject tempts fo many to undertake it who are difqualified for the bufinefs. Indeed, from the nature of the fubject itself, very few travellers can be fuppofed competent to the task. It requires free access to the genuine fources of information and capacity to make a due improvement of this advantage: it requires an extenfive knowledge of various countries, in order to

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