Shun riotous connexions.

There is an inconsistency of friendship among young fellows who are associated by their mutual pleasures only, which has, very frequently, bad consequences. A parcel of warm hearts and unexperienced heads, heated by convivial mirth, and possibly a little too much wine, vow, and really mean at the time, eternal friendship to each other, and indiscreetly pour out their whole souls in common, and without the least reserve. These confi. dences are as indiscreetly repealed as they were made; for new pleasures and new places soon dissolve this ill-cemented connexion, and then very ill uses are made of these rash confidences. Bear your part, however, in young companies; nay, excel, if you can, in all the social and convivial joy and festivity that become youth. Trust them with your love-tales, if you plcase; but keep your serious views secret. Trust those only to some tried friend, more experienced than yourself, and who, being in a different walk of life from you, is not likely to become your rival; for I would not advise you to depend so much upon the heroic virtue of mankind, as to hope, or believe, that your competitor will ever be your friend, as to the object of that competition.

A seeming ignorance often necessary.

A seeming ignorance is very often a most necessary part of worldly knowledge. It is for instance, commonly advisable to seem ignorant of what people offer to tell you; and when they say, 'Have not you heard of such a thing? to answer, "No;' and to let them go on, though you know it already. Some have a pleasure in telling it, because they

think they tell it well; others have a pride in it, as being the sagacious discoverers; and many have a vanity in showing that they have been, though very undeservedly, trusted; all these would be disappointed, and consequently displeased, if you said, 'Yes.' Seem always ignorant (unless to one most intimate friend) of all matters of private scandal and defamation, though you should hear them a thousand times, for the parties affected always look upon the receiver to be almost as bad as the thief; and whenever they become the topic of conversation, seem to be a sceptic, though you are really a serious believer; and always take the extenuating part. But all this seeming ignorance should be joined to thorough and extensive private informations; and, indeed, it is the best method of procuring them; for most people have such a vanity in showing a superiority over others, though but for a moment, and in the merest trifles, that they will tell you what they should not, rather than not show that they can tell what you did not know; besides that such seeming ignorance will make you pass for incurious, and consequently undesigning. However, fish for facts, and take pains to be well informed of every thing that passes; but fish judiciously, and not always, nor indeed often, in the shape of direct questions; which always put people upon their guard, and, often repeated, grow tiresome. But sometimes take the things that you would know for granted; upon which somebody will, kindly and officiously, set you right; sometimes say, that you have heard so and so; and at other times seem to know more than you do, in order to know all that you want; but avoid direct questioning as much as you can.

Flexibility of manners very useful.

Human nature is the same all over the world; but its operations are so varied by education and habit, that one must see it in all its dresses, in order to be intimately acquainted with it. The passion of ambition, for instance, is the same in a courtier, a soldier, or an ecclesiastic; but, from their different educations and habits, they will take very different methods to gratify it. Civility, which is a disposition to accommodate and oblige others, is essentially the same in every country; but good breeding, as it is called, which is the manner of exerting that disposition, is different in almost every country, and merely local; and every man of sense imitates and conforms to that local good breeding of the place which he is at. A conformity and flexibility of manners is necessary in the course of the world; that is, with regard to all things which are not wrong in themselves. The versatile ingenium is the most useful of all. It can turn itself instantly from one object to another, assuming the proper manner for each. It can be serious with the grave, cheerful with the gay, and trifling with the frivolous.

Indeed, nothing is more engaging than a cheerful and easy conformity to people's particular manners, habits, and even weaknesses; nothing (to use a vulgar expression) should come amiss to a young fellow. He should be, for good purposes, what Alcibiades was commonly for bad ones,-a Proteus, assuming with ease, and wearing wi.h cheerfulness, any shape. Heat, cold, luxury, abstinence, gravity, gaiety, ceremony, easiness, learning, trifling, business, and pleasure, are modes which he

should be able to take, lay aside, or change occasionally, with as much ease as he would take or lay aside his hat.

Spirit.

Young men are apt to think that every thing is to be carried by spirit and vigour; that art is meanness, and that versatility and complaisance are the refuge of pusillanimity and weakness. This most mistaken opinion gives an indelicacy, an abruptness and a roughness to the manners. Fools, who can never be undeceived, retain them as long as they live; reflection with a little experience, inakes men of sense shake them off soon. When they come to be a little better acquainted with themselves, and with their own species, they discover, that plain right reason is, nine times in ten, the fettered and shackled attendant of the triumph of the heart and the passions; consequently, they address them. selves nine times in ten to the conqueror, not to the conquered and conquerors, you know, must be applied to in the gentlest, the most engaging and the most insinuating manner.

But, unfortunately, young men are as apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are to think themselves sober enough. They look upon spirit to be a much better thing than experience which they call coldness. They are but half mis taken; for, though spirit without experience is dan gerous, experience without spirit is languid and de fective. Their union, which is very rare, is perfection: you may join them, if you please; for all my experience is at your service; and I do not desire one grain of your spirit in return. Use them both, and let them reciprocally animate and check each E

other. I mean here, by the spirit of youth only the vivacity and presumption of youth, which hinder them from seeing the difficulties or dangers of an undertaking: but I do not mean what the silly vul gar call spirit, by which they are captious, jealous of their rank, suspicious of being undervalued, and tart (as they call it) in their repartees upon the slightest occasion. This is an evil and a very silly spirit, which should be driven out, and transferred to a herd of swine.

Never neglect old acquaintance.

To conclude: never neglect or despise old, for the sake of new or more shining acquaintance; which would be ungrateful on your part, and never forgiven on theirs. Take care to make as many personal friends, and as few personal enemies, as possible. I do not mean by personal friends, intimate and confidential friends, of which no man can hope to have half-a-dozen in the whole course of his life; but I mean friends, in the cominon accep tation of the word; that is, people who speak well of you, and who would rather do you good than harm, consistently with their own interest, and no farther.

LYING.*

NOTHING is more criminal, mean, or ridiculous, than lying. It is the production either of malice,

Though lies may sometimes be received for truths; yet, after a time, their authors not only forfeit their credit, and nobody believes a word that they say, but no one can bear to hear them with patience, as being men whose words are void of all substance, and to whom no more regard ought to be paid, than if they did not speak at all, but only vented so much breath in the empty air Galates.