XI.

Never call a man rogue, or bluntly charge him with dishonesty; few men can bear either: if thou believe a man to be dishonest, coolly and clearly state thy reasons against him, and leave him to draw the conclusion: thou wilt be in danger of hurting thyself by doing otherwise, and of making him worse.

XII.

If thou rashly say a thing which ought not to have been said, confess thy fault as soon as thou canst: it is the least atonement thou canst make. If thou rashly engage to do a thing which ought not to be done, do nor make bad worse by persisting to do it for thy word's sake.

་

The cares of this life being necessarily many, is it not wise to make them as few as possible by contentment in a little business?

XIV.

Much business bringeth much worldly care; and what can compensate for the loss of time, that is voluntarily and unnecessarily incumbered?

XV.

If we let the inward instructor speak, and be obeyed in little things, we shall never want a guide in great ones.

XVI.

Guard against hastily becoming a surety for thy supposed friend, and thou shalt have the fewer enemies, and the fewer troubles.

XVII...

Well did the wise man say, "Riches certainly make themselves wings, and fly away as an eagle towards heaven!" Prov. xxiii. 5. And the royal Psalmist, "He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul!" Psa. cvi. 15.

XVIII.

All true riches centre in the mind; but the love of outward grandeur and pleasure makes the poverty of the spirit!

XIX.

Sweet are those thoughts into which neither the lust of the eye, the Just of the flesh, nor the pride of life, enter!

XX.

Be not over-earnest in the pursuit even of those outward objects that may seem the most proper for thee; for steadiness and calmness of mind make a present good, which over-earnestness of desire may destroy.

ESSAY ON FRIENDSHIP,

DELIVERED

AT THE PANTHEON, EDINBROUGH,

April 12, 1792.

BY R. CUMMING.

NOT noisy war, which fires the hero's soul,

Nor ineek-ey'd Peace, nor commerce, source of wealth,

Nor gold, nor pow'r, boast of th'ambitious great,
Nor rights of man, which warms the patriot's breast,
Nor Science fair, nor poet's fame, I sing;

As once when here* the laurel due entwin'd
Its fairest blossoms round a Ramsay's brow,
And deck'd the temples of Edina's bard †;
But sacred FRIENDSHIP, with her angel form,
Who to the mind gives dignity and worth,
And through society spreads the richest sweets.
High her descent-fair daughter of the skies,
And brightest image of her Sire divine.
Nature, new-born, beheld her fair approach,
Immortal flowers strew'd her etherial path;
The muses in her train their golden lyres
Attun'd to notes sweet as seraphic song:
The smiling earth, receiv'd her radiant steps,
And mankind hail'd her with enraptur'd joy :

With them she wander'd through those pristine scenes,
Th' abodes of Freedom, Innocence, and Peace,
Mild and serene as their unsullied minds,
Whose passions (unto discord strangers) mov'd
In harmony divine. When vice appear'd,
She from his horrid form recoil'd; she fled
The once-lov'd haunts of men, nor since return'd,
Except to those whom VIRTUE's gentle pow'r
Has rais'd sublime above the giddy crowd.

Not wealth nor pleasure e'er could court her hence,
Nor pow'r, though midst the splendours of a throne,
Nor wit, nor beauty, if devoid of truth,

Can once allure her from her sacred fane.

Too pure to mix with vice, th'invidious mind

Alluding to a former poetical debate in the Pantheon.

† R. Ferguson.

Her heav'nly beauties ne'er with pleasure view'd,
Nor felt her pow'r. She never warm'd the breast
Of grov'ling Avarice, nor gently thaw'd

The sordid miser's callous frozen soul;
'Tis only with pure minds she will reside;
'Tis only hearts congenial she unites.

The pow'r of Friendship on the human mind
Is uniform in kind, but acts in modes
Which vary oft, as circumstance directs.
Her inspiration 's not the sudden flow
Of fancy unrestrain'd, allur'd by shew
Or incidents of chance, but founded deep
On intimacy, observation close
On similar virtues, dispositions such

As move harmonic. Hence this living flame
Acts and re-acts with mutual force; inspires
Alike our motives, movements, and our ends;
Minds mix alike with minds, alike receive
Her sacred eddies, and her influence pure.
From the rude touch of meanness, cold neglect,
The breath of falsehood, still this power shrinks,
Like as the bud, just opening to the view,
Before the nipping frost. This flame, if quench'd,
Will ne'er again with mutual ardor rise :
This union close and chaste, if once dissolv'd,
Will ne'er with mutual confidence rejoin.

This heav'nly principle is not that pow'r
Which melts the bosom at the tale of woe,
Nor that which stimulates the gen'rous mind
To aid distress: nor yet that gentle flame
Which warms the youthful lover, when his eyes
Enraptur'd gaze on those bewitching charms
Which grace with elegance the female form,
Which glow in living beauties on the mien,
And from the fair one's eyes their lustre dart.
However pure those pow'rs or passions be,
Friendship must nearer to perfection rise :
Motives and ends the former may excite,
To which alloy in some degree adheres;
This Friendship still rejects, and still repels,
As incompatible with her pure laws.
She through the soul sensations doth diffuse

Sweet as the breath of morn, or balm of spring;

Sorrow she sooths, the wounds of anguish heals,

Excites that pleasure which must ever rise

From unity of hearts without reserve,

From mutual confidence and conscious worth.

TO BE CONTINUED.