and eats the bread of carefulness, till at length, by hard labour and perseverance, he has reached, if not outgone the object he had firft in view.-When he has got thus far-if he is a plain and fincere man, he will make no fcruple to acknowledge truly, what alteration he has found in himself-if you ask him-he will tell you, that his imagination painted fomething before his eyes, the reality of which he has not yet attained to: that with all the accumulation of his wealth, he neither lives the merrier, fleeps the founder, or has lefs care and anxiety upon his fpirits, than at his firft fetting out.

Oh!

Perhaps, you'll fay, fome dignity, honour, or title is only wanting could I accomplish that, as there would be nothing left then for me to wish, good GoD! how happy fhould I be?

'tis ftill the fame-the dignity or titlethough they crown his head with honor

add not one cubit to his happiness. Upon fumming up the account, all is found to be feated merely in the imagination The fafter he has pursued, the fafter the phantom fled before him, and to use the Satyrift's comparison of the chariot wheels, hafte as they will, they must for ever keep the fame distance.

But what? though I have been thus far difappointed in my expectations of happiness from the poffeffion of riches"Let me try, whether I shall not meet "with it, in the spending and fashion"able enjoyment of them."

Behold! I will get me down, and make me great works, and build me

VOL. I.

C.

houfes,

houses, and plant me vineyards, and make me gardens and pools of water. And I will get me fervants and maidens, and whatsoever my eyes defire, I will not keep from them.

In profecution of this he drops all gainful pursuits withdraws himself

from the bufy part of the world— reapulls down builds up again.

lizes

Buys ftatues, pictures - plants-and plucks up by the roots levels mountains and fills up vallies-turns rivers into dry ground, and dry ground into rivers. Says unto this man, go, and he goeth, and unto another, do this; and he doeth it,—and whatsoever his foul lufteth after of this kind, he withholds not from it. When every thing is thus planned by himself, and executed according to his wifh and direction, furely he

is arrived to the accomplishment of his wishes, and has got to the fummit of all human happiness?-Let the most fortunate adventurers in this way, answer the queftion for him, and fay-how often, it rifes higher than a bare and fimple amusement and well, if you can compound for that-fince 'tis often purchased at fo high a price, and foured by a mixture of other incidental vexations, as to become too often a work of repentance, which in the end will extort the fame forrowful confeffion from him, which it did from Solomon, in the like, cafe.-Lo! I looked on all the Works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do and behold all was vanity and vexation of and there was no profit to me

fpirit

under the fun.

To inflame this account the more 'twill be no miracle, if upon, cafting up he has gone further lengths than he first intended, run into expences which have entangled his fortune, and brought himfelf into fuch difficulties as to make way for the last experiment he can try to turn mifer with no happiness in view but what is to rife out of the little defigns. of a fordid mind, fet upon faving and fcraping up all he has injudiciously fpent. In this laft ftage behold him a poor trembling wretch, fhut up from all mankind- finking into utter contempt, spending careful days and sleeplefs nights in purfuit of what a narrow and contracted heart can never enjoy:

And here let us leave him to the conviction he will one day find That there is no end of his labour-That his eyes will never be fatisfied with riches, or will

fay