fantastic, or out of character, are an undoubted sign of a wrong head: for such a one is so kind, as always to hang out on his sign what sort of furniture he has in his shop, to save you the trouble of asking questions about him; so that one may as easily know by his outward appearance what he is, as one can know a widow by her

weeds.

Such a person as I have thus negatively described, may be found without very much difficulty perhaps, because some of these requisites are personal, and others are such as are obvious at first sight to a common penetration; or, where not so, may be found out, by inquiry into his general character and behaviour: and to the care of such a one, dear sir, let me for the present suppose your Billy is committed and so we acquit ourselves of the first difficulty as well as we can, that of the tutor; who, to make himself more perfect, may form himself, as to what he wants, by Mr. Locke's excellent rules on that head.

But before I quit this subject, will you give me leave, sir, to remind you of your own opinion upon it, in a conversation that passed between you and Sir George Stuart, and his nephew, in London; in which you seemed to prefer a Scottish gentleman for a tutor, to those of your own nation, and still more than to those of France? Don't you remember it, dear sir? And how much those gentlemen were pleased with your facetious freedom with their country, and said you made them amends for that, in the preference you gave to their learned and travelled youth? If you have forgot it, I will here transcribe it from my records, as I call my book of memorandums; for every time I am pleased with a conversation, and have leisure before it goes out of my memory, I enter it down as near the very words as I can; and now you have made me your correspondent, I shall sometimes perhaps give you back some valuables from your own treasure.

Miss Darnford, and Mr. Turner, and Mr. Fanshawe were present, I well remember. These are your words, as I have written them down:

Since the union of the two kingdoms, we have many persons of condition, who have taken tutors for their 'sons from Scotland; which practice, to speak impartially, has been attended with some advantageous circumstances that should not be overlooked. For, Sir George, it must be confessed that, notwithstanding your narrow and stiff manner of education in Scotland, a spirit ' of manly learning, a kind of poetic liberty, as I may call 'it, has begun to exert itself in that part of the island. The blustering north, forgive me, gentlemen, seems to have hardened the foreheads of her hungry sons; and 'the keenness with which they set out for preferment in 'the kindlier south, has taught them to know a good deal ' of the world betimes. Through the easy terms on which 'learning is generally attained there, as it is earlier inculcated, so it may probably take deeper root: and since ''tis hardly possible (forgive me, dear Sir George, and 'Mr. Stuart) they can go to a worse country on this side 'Greenland, than some of the northern parts of Scotland, 6 so their education, with a view to travel, and to better themselves by settlements in other countries, may perhaps be so many reasons for them to take greater pains 'to qualify themselves for this employment, and may 'make them succeed better in it; especially when they ' have been able to shake off the fetters which are riveted upon them under the narrow influences of a too tyran'nical kirk-discipline, which you, Sir George, have just now so freely censured.

To these considerations, when we add the necessity 'which these remote tutors lie under, of behaving well, 'because, in the first place, they seldom wish to return to 'their own country; and in the next, because that cannot 'prefer them, if it would; and, thirdly, because it would

not, if it could, if the gentleman be of an enlarged genius, ' and generous way of thinking; I say, when we add to 'the premises these considerations, they all make a kind ' of security for their good behaviour: while those of our own country have often friends or acquaintance on

whose favour they are apt to depend, and for that reason give less attention to the duties requisite for this impor'tant office.

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Besides, as their kind friend Æolus, who is accustomed to spread and strengthen the bold muscles of the strongfeatured Scot, has generally blown away that inauspicious 'bashfulness which hangs a much longer time, commonly, on the faces of the southern students; such a one (if he 'fall not too egregiously into the contrary extreme, so as 'to become insufferable) may still be the more eligible person for a tutor, as he may teach a young gentleman, betimes, that necessary presence of mind, which those who ' are confined to a private education sometimes want.

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'But, after all, if a gentleman of this nation be chosen for this employment, it may be necessary that he should 'be one who has had as genteel and free an education 'himself, as his country and opportunities will afford; and has had, moreover, the native roughness of his climate 'filed off and polished by travel and conversation; who has made, at least, the tour of France and Italy, and has a taste for the politeness of the former nation; for, from 'the natural boisterousness of a North Briton, and the 'fantastic politeness of a Frenchman, if happily blended, such a mixture may result as may furnish out a more complete tutor than either of the two nations, singly, may 'be able to produce. But it ought to be remembered, 'that this person should by all means have conquered his 'native brogue, as I may call it, and be a master of the English pronunciation: otherwise his conversation will be ' very disagreeable to an English ear.

And permit me, gentlemen, to add, that as an acquaintance with the muses contributes not a little to soften the manners, and to give a graceful and delicate turn to the 'imagination, and a kind of polish to severer studies, I 'believe it would not be amiss that he should have a taste 'for poetry, although perhaps it were not to be wished he had such strong inclinations that way, as to make that ' lively and delectable amusement his predominant passion :

'for we see very few poets whose warm imaginations do 'not run away with their judgments. And yet, in order to learn the dead languages in their purity, it will be necessary, as I apprehend, to inculcate both the love and 'the study of the ancient poets, which cannot fail of giving 'the youth a taste for poetry in general.'

Permit me, dear sir, to ask you whether you advanced this for argument-sake, as sometimes you love to amuse and entertain your friends in an uncommon way? ? For I should imagine that our two universities, which you have been so good as to show me, and for which I have ever since had even a greater reverence than I had before, are capable of furnishing as good tutors as any nation in the world for here the young gentlemen seem to me to live both in the world and in the university; and we saw several gentlemen who had not only fine parts, but polite behaviour, and deep learning, as you assured me; some of whom you entertained, and were entertained by, in so elegant a manner, that no travelled gentleman, if I may be allowed to judge, could excel them? And besides, my dear Mr. B——, I know who is reckoned one of the politest and best bred gentlemen in England by everybody, and learned, as well as polite, and yet had his education in one of those celebrated seats of learning. I wish your Billy never may fall short of the gentleman I mean, in all these acquirements; and he will be a very happy creature, I am sure!

But how I wander again from my subject!-I have no other way to recover myself, when I thus ramble, but by bringing back myself to that one delightful point of reflection, that I have the honour to be, dearest sir,

Your ever dutiful and obliged

P. B

LETTER XCIV.

Mrs. B-- to Mr. B

DEAREST SIR,-I now resume my subject. I had gone through the article of the tutor as well as I could; and now let me trouble you with a few lines upon what Mr. Locke says, that children are wholly, if possible, to be kept from the conversation of the meaner servants; whom he suppoes to be, as too frequently they are, unbred and debauched, to use his own words.

Now, sir, let me observe on this head, that I think it is very difficult to keep children from the conversation of servants at all times. The care of personal attendance, especially in the child's early age, must fall upon servants of one denomination or other, who, little or much, must be conversant with the inferior servants, and so be liable to be tainted by their conversation; and it will be difficult in this case to prevent the taint being communicated to the child. Wherefore it will be a surer, as well as a more laudable method, to insist upon the regular behaviour of the whole family, than to expect the child, and its immediate attendant or tutor, should be the only good ones in it.

Nor is this so difficult a thing to bring about as may be imagined. Your family, dear sir, affords an eminent instance of it: the good have been confirmed, the remiss have been reformed, the passionate have been tamed; and there is not a family in the kingdom, I will venture to say, to the honour of every individual of it, more uniform, more regular, and freer from evil, and more regardful of what they say and do, than yours. And I believe, sir, you will allow, that though they were always honest, yet they were not always so laudably, so exemplarily virtuous, as of late which I mention only to show the practicableness of a reformation, even where bad habits have taken place

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