SATURDAY, April 10, 1779. N° 22. Sincerum cupimus vas incruftarė. HOR. To the AUTHOR of the MIRROR, SIR, You OUR MIRROR, it feems, poffeffes uncommon virtues, and you generously hold it out to the public, that we may drefs our characters at it. I truft it is, at least, a faithful glafs, and will give a juft reprefentation of those lurking imperfections or excellencies which we distinguish with difficulty, or fometimes altogether overlook. I ftruggle, therefore, to get forward in the crowd, and to fet before your moral MIRROR a perfonage who has long embarraffed me. The obfervation of character, when I first looked beyond a college for happiness, formed not only my amufement, but, for fome years, my favourite ftudy. I had been fo fortunate as early to imbibe strict notions of morality and religion, and to arrive at manhood in perfect ignorance of vicious pleasure. My heart was, therefore, led to place its hopes of happiness in love and friendship: But books had taught me to dread mifplacing 'my affections. On this account, anxious to gratify the foif d'aimer that engroffed me, I bent the whole of my little talents to difcern the characters of my acquaintance; and, blending fentiments of religion with high notions of moral excellence, and the refined intercourse of cultivated minds, I fondly hoped, that, where I once formed an attachment, it would laft for ever. In this ftate of mind I became acquainted with Cleone. She was young and beautiful, but without that dimpling play of features which indicates, in fome women, a mind of extreme fenfibility. Her eye bespoke good fenfe, and was fometimes lighted up with vivacity, but never fparkled with the keenne fs of unrestrained joy, nor melted with the fuffufion of indulged forrow. Her manner and address had no tendency to familiarity; it was genteel, rather than graceful. Her voice in conversation was fuited to her manner; it poffeffed thofe level tones which never offend, but seldom give pleasure, and feldomer emotion. Her Her converfation was plain and fenfible. Never attempting wit or humour, fhe contented herself with expreffing, in correct and unaffected language, just sentiments on manners, and on works of tafte: And the genius. fhe difplayed in compofitions becoming her fex, and the propriety of her own conduct, did honour to her criticisms. She fung with uncommon excellence. Her voice feemed to unfold itself in finging, to fuit every musical expreffion, and to affume every tone of paffion fhe wifhed to utter. I never felt the power of fimple melody in agitating, affecting, and pleafing, more strongly than from her performance. In company fhe was attentive, prevenante, but not infinuating; and, though the feemed to court the fociety of men of letters and tafte, and to profefs having intimate friendships with fome individuals among them, I never could perceive that she was subject to the common weakness of making a parade of this kind of intercourse. Most people would fuppofe that I had found in Cleone the friend I was feeking; for both of us knew we could never be nearer than friends to each other, and fhe treated me with fome diftinction. I found it, however, impoffible to know her fo well as to place in her the complete confidence effential to friendship. The minuteft attention to every circumftance in her appearance and behaviour, and studying her for years in all the little varieties of fituation that an intimate acquaintance gave access to observe, proved unequal to discover with certainty the genuine character of her difpofition or temper. No caprice betrayed her: No predominant fhade could be marked in her tears, in her laugh, or in her smiles. Sometimes, however, I have thought the breathed a foftness of foul that tempted me to believe her generous; but, when I confidered a little, the inner receffes of her heart appeared ftill fhut against the obferver; and I well knew, that even poignant fenfibility is not inconfiftent with predominant felfishness. When contemplating Cleone, I have often thought of that beautiful trait in the defcription of Petrarca's Laura: "Il lampeggiar dell' angelico rifo *." Thefe flashes of affection breaking from the foul, alone difplay the truth, generofity, and tenderness, that de The lightning of her angel fmile.. ferve a friend. Thefe gleams from the heart fhow us all its intricacies, its weakness and its vigour, and expofe it naked and undisguised to the spectator. A fingle minute will, in this way, give more knowledge of a character, and juftly, therefore, attract more confidence, than twenty years experience of refinement of taste and propriety of conduct. I am willing to believe it was fome error in education which had wrapt up Cleone's character in so much obfcurity, and not any natural defect that rendered it prudent to be invifible. If there is an error of this kind, I hope your Mirror will expofe it, and prevent it from robbing fuperior minds of their beft reward-the confidence of each other. In the prefent ftate of fociety, we have few opportunities of exhibiting our true characters by our actions; and the habits of the world foon throw upon our manners a veil that is impenetrable to others, and nearly fo to ourfelves. Hence the only period when we can form friendships is a few years in youth; for there is a reserve in the deportment, and a certain felfishness in the occupations of manhood, unfavourable to the forming of warm attachments. It is, therefore, fatal to the very fource I 4 |