guinea; no Sir, I defpife money; it is "trash, it is dirt, and beneath the regard "of a wife man. It is one of the unfeel

ing inventions of artificial fociety. Sir, "I could talk to you for half a day on "the abuse of riches, and on my own 66 contempt of money."

Trueman. O pray do not give yourself the trouble; it will be an eafier way by half of vindicating yourself from one, and of proving the other, juft to put your hand in your pocket and give me a guinea, without faying a word about it: and then to you who value time so much, and mofo ney fo little, it will cut the matter fhort. But come now, (for I fee

you will give nothing,) I fhould be mighty glad to know what is the fort of good you do yourfelves, fince you always object to what is done by others. "Sir," faid Mr. Fantom, "the object of a true philofopher is "to diffufe light and knowledge. I wifh "to see the whole world enlightened."

Trueman. Amen! if you mean with the light of the Gospel. But if

you mean that one religion is as good as another, and that no religion is beft of all; and that we shall become wifer and better by fetting afide the very means which Providence bestowed to make us wife and good: in fhort, if you want to make the whole world philofophers, why they had better stay as they are. But as to the true light, I wish it to reach the very lowest, and I therefore blefs God for charity-schools, as inftruments of diffufing it among the

poor.

Fantom, who had no reason to expect that his friend was going to call upon him for a fubfcription on this account, ventured to praise them; faying, "I am no 6c enemy to thefe inftitutions. I would "indeed change the object of instruc❝tion, but I would have the whole world inftructed."

Here Mrs. Fantom, who, with her daughter, had quietly fat by at their work, ventured

ventured to put in a word, a liberty fhe feldom took with her husband; who, in his zeal to make the whole world free and happy, was too prudent to include his wife among the objects on whom he wished to confer freedom and happiness. "Then, my dear," said fhe, "I wonder you do .66 not let your own servants be taught a "little. The maids can fcarcely tell a "letter, or fay the Lord's Prayer; and 66 you know you will not allow them time "to learn. William too has never been at "church fince we came out of town. He

.66

was at first very orderly and obedient, "but now he is feldom fober of an even"ing; and in the morning when he fhould "be rubbing the tables in the parlour, he " is generally lolling upon them, and reading your little manual of the new philo"fophy.". -" Mrs. Fantom," faid her hufband angrily, "you you know that my labours "for the public good, leave me little time "to think of my own family. I must have

" a great

cr

a great field, I like to do good to hun. "dreds at once."

Mifs Polly;

"I am very glad of that, pappa," faid "for then I hope you will not "refuse to subscribe to all those pretty "children at the Sunday-fchool, as you "did yesterday, when the gentleman came "a begging, because that is the very thing you were wishing for; there are two or "three hundred to be done good to at " once."

Trueman. Well, Mr. Fantom, you are a wonderful man to keep up fuch a stock of benevolence at fo fmall an expence. To love mankind fo dearly, and yet avoid all opportunities of doing them good; to have fuch a noble zeal for the millions, and to feel fo little compaffion fot the units; to long to free empires and enlighten kingdoms; and yet deny inftruction to your own village, and comfort to your own family. Surely none but a philofopher could indulge fo much philanthropy and

fo

But

fo much frugality at the fame time. come, do affift me in a petition I am making in our poorhouse, between the old, whom I want to have better fed, and the young, whom I want to have more worked.

Fantom. Sir, my mind is fo engroffed with the partition of Poland, that I cannot bring it down to an object of fuch infignificance. I despise the man whose benevolence is swallowed up in the narrow concerns of his own family, or parifh, or country.

Trueman. Well, now I have a notion that it is as well to do one's own duty, as the duty of another man; and that to do good at home, is as well as to do good abroad. For my part, I had as lieve help Tom Saunders to freedom as a Pole or a South American, though I fhould be very glad to help them too. But one muft begin to love fomewhere, and to do good fomewhere; and I think it is as natural to love one's own family, and to do good.