our great moralist were to be taken from topics he has defended, or contradicted in company, he must be considered as the most abfurd of mortals-this might be sport to him, but it was death to others: the worshippers of this idol confidering him as a real divinity, and his words as oracles.

These circumstances, and many others not enumerated, very much difqualify conversation from being a school of inftruction. If we wish for real information, we must undoubtedly feek it from its old fource.

As converfation is furnished from the impulse of the moment; books confift of digested thoughts, which are felected from many others--these are improved, added to, or curtailed, upon mature and frequent deliberation-the author is hurried into nothing, but whatever his ideas are upon the fubject he has chofen,

he may give them that order and expreffion which will fhew his meaning clearest and best. And furely it cannot admit of a moment's doubt, whether mature conceptions, put into form, are not fuperior to expreffions from accident, and momentary impulse-not to mention the multitude of fubjects, which, in company, will not admit of any difcuffion.

We may then venture to affert the fuperiority of books over conversation, where inftruction is the object; without having the leaft intention of depreciating the pleasures of fociety.

Character

Character of Gainsborough.

IN the early part of my life I became

acquainted with Thomas Gainsborough the painter; and as his character was, perhaps, better known to me than to any other perfon, I will endeavour to divest myself of every partiality, and fpeak of him as he really was. I am the rather induced to this, by feeing accounts of him and his works given by people who were unacquainted with either, and, confequently, have been mistaken in both.

Gainsborough's profeffion was painting, and mufic was his amufement-yet, there were times when music feemed to be his employment, and painting his diverfion. As his fkill in mufic has been celebrated, I will, before I fpeak of him as a painter,

mention what degree of merit he profeffed as a musician.

When I firft knew him he lived at Bath, where Giardini had been exhibiting his then unrivalled powers on the violin. His excellent performance made Gainsborough enamoured of that instrument; and conceiving, like the Servantmaid in the Spectator, that the mufic lay in the fiddle, he was frantic until he poffeffed the very inftrument which had given him so much pleasure-but seemed much furprized that the music of it remained behind with Giardini !

He had scarcely recovered this fhock (for it was a great one to him) when he heard Abel on the viol-di-gamba. The violin was hung on the willow-Abel's viol-di-gamba was purchased, and the house refounded with melodious thirds and fifths from "morn to dewy eve!" Many an Adagio and many a Minuet were begun

begun, but none compleated-this was wonderful, as it was Abel's own inftrument, and therefore ought to have produced Abel's own mufic!

Fortunately, my friend's paffion had now a fresh object-Fischer's hautboybut I do not recollect that he deprived Fischer of his inftrument: and though he procured a hautboy, I never heard him make the least attempt on it. Probably his ear was too delicate to bear the disagreeable founds which neceffarily attend the first beginnings on a wind-inftrument. He feemed to content himself with what he heard in public, and getting Fischer to play to him in private-not on the hautboy, but the violin-but this was a profound fecret, for Fifcher knew that his reputation was in danger if he pretended to excel on two inftruments. * The

It was at this time that I heard Fischer play a folo on the violin, and accompany himself on the