the generous and amiable hero, and a scenes of the battle and the siege, and more dry, though more useful detail, of nomy; he rather wishes to exhibit pol than external splendour; the financier are his heroes. He unfolds the secret vernment, the intrigues of courts, th treaties, and all those complications of i arise from a rivalship, and a desire to neighbouring nations in commerce a tures. The views of the actors do no rise from their personal character, as t the government under which they live, litical theories which they embrace. history displays a quite different scene ; human nature undisguised by theory, led biases, and guided by the natural geniu In the one a political code predominates an nature, in the other again, nature predo in some measure forms the political co ceed in modern history, the most difficu dern historian must pofsefs equally the nius and a greater variety of learning; ledge of human characters, he must super ledge of national characters; he must so stract from a political, and sometimes fro character, he must have the enthusiasm and the cool discernment of art. The an rian addrefsed himself chiefly to the ma

and taste; but the modern historian, also to the philosopher, and the statesman; the one gives us more pleasure and the other more instruction. In reading ancient history we travel through a country rich with all the elegant embellishments of nature, but modern history is a field, which, though lefs splendid in its prospects, and lefs luxuriant in its growth, is of more uniform and better cultivation, and encumbered with fewer weeds.

PHILO.

SIR,

THE NECESSITY OF ROGUERY EXEMPLIFIED.

To the Editor of the Bee.

IN the present philosophical age, when one profound discovery succeeds another, and darkness, is as it were, converted into light; by which the old maxim, sanctimoniously revered in the cloudy age of our ancestors, is now discovered to be the effect of prejudice and error: The old adage, that "honesty is the best policy," is now become antiquated; and the present enlightened generation has discovered, policy to be the best honesty, and the best adapted to the age we live in. When we take a view of the world, as it now presents itself, and consider the different professions, and various pursuits of mankind; that their whole aim is to accumulate riches, then we shall be able to conceive the necefsity of roguery. We shall soon perceive that honesty is too illiberal, too scanty, too confined a system, to comprehend all the grand transactions of the world.

been honest.

If a nation was to be

nest, as to divest a prime minister of and secret-service money, what a str would it make at the fountain of tunes could be made; himself and far fer; and those creatures who depend favour, would be thrown on the worl starve. If a physician was to be s advise his patients to take air and ex of his prescriptions, he would soon fin mortification, that he would be obli himself on a diet of the same. If bor universally adopted, the honourable pr law would be totally swallowed up were to deal uprightly with each othe banished the world, it is plain the facu for ever, because we would have no f them. Besides, the inferior branches on perquisites of office, would all without the benefit of a pension. Th farmer, who gains his bread by the brow, dare not be so honest as appea lord's table with a good coat and cra fear of an addition to his rent; and if sincerely honest, his trade in cattle d unavoidably perish. The merchants, i ral departments, must suffer from the smuggling. could have no existence w he persevered in. From this view of

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appears, that one half of our present profefsions. would be annihilated, and that of starving become a trade in their stead.

It is no wonder, then, to see the bulk of mankind practising roguery, under so many different forms, when we consider the long period in which honesty has been attempted with so little succefs, that we are made to believe, the world judges it repugnant to the nature of man to be strictly so: And that honesty and poverty, are now grown so nearly synonimous, that an honest man is almost afhamed of being rich. If a scheme of universal roguery was to be received, it would have the general tendency to bring all mankind nearly on a level; the present set 'of rogues would find it difficult to add any more to their finances, because they would have to deal with people like themselves. Besides, when one rogue outwitted another, no honest man could be said to have received an injury, where none but rogues were concerned; and those murmurs and complaints about perfidy and mistrust, would drop into oblivion, when every individual was pre-informed of his dan ger; and, as the minds of men, are, for the most part, turned towards this system already, the diffi culty of completing it will be but trifling.

This scheme will probably be found fault with by a few antique gentlemen of the present century, who may fhew some reluctance in parting with their old friend honesty; but they will observe the scheme regards only this world, and as they will, in all probability, be but short time in it, they need give themselves very little trouble as to this particular.

VOL. vii.

Thomson

To the Editor of the Be

FOR the talent of drawing a natural an racter, Dr Smollet, of all English wri es nearest to a resemblance of our ini speare. What can be more chaste, am resting, than Random, Trunnion, Hat hago, Pallet, the pindarick physician, Farmer Prickle, Strap, Clinker, Pip Newcastle, and Timothy Crabtree ? deed a close imitation of Sancho Pand is partly borrowed from one of Shakes men; but still both are the imitations ter, not the tame copies of a common thew Bramble is a most estimable port try gentleman; and admirably contra sister Tabby. This novel was writ author was declining both in health and he displays all the spirit and vivacity Random; and in some passages, such as ing the Smith's widow, is irresistibly p which passes on board the Thunder, i almost unexampled excellence. The n bedlam, in Sir Launcelot Greaves, is dr common force of judgement and of fa same publication, the ruin of captain Cl

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