Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1802-11-20

HoR.
SIfany perfon fhoud have the aaurance
10 exhibit fet of briaol fones to the pub
lie as real diamonds, or if another ihould
call himfelfa Chinarnan, and deliver tohis
cufomers fome of the viiett eartaenware as
the real production of Chinaor D efden, the
consequence il fuch cafes is certain. The
impohtion would be TOO grofs to deceive
fingle individual, and the underwriters
would immediately become the objects of
universal ridicule and contempt.
Again, lhould any man pretend to be
aconnoilleur, go about the town and abuie
the fne& jewels as mere counterfeits would
not fucha perfon prefently gain the repu--
ta,ion of mailman, and be foon afhau,ed
of flowing his ridiculous face in public?
This, however, is not the cafe with the
dealers of letters. The truelt brilliant Of
ten lies overlooked and neglected on the
book fellers fhelves, while the more I'M
pudent counterfeits are received, admired
and encouraged. Milton himielf Il am
alharned of my country when I fay it, We
ry narrowly efcaped from the jaws. of OBJ
livion: and inaead of filming forever with
I, thofe great lights Of antiquity, in Whole
confellation he is now admitted, was like
to have been bundled up with thoie Ephe-
meran infect authors, of whom every day
almoft fees the birth and the funeral.
Now may we not-hepce conclude, that
m the diainefion of diamonds, china, ans
fuch like, from their connterfeits, there are
fome certain well known criterions to form
and direct our Judgment; and that in
matteis Of invention and learning, either
there are no rules to guide our opinion, or
that fuch rules are but weakly etablifhed,
and that we are in general very ignorant
of them.
Hence mutt arile thofe different notions,
whichwe 70 often find among men of til.
fame author, and the fame work and
which Horace allegorically points at, when
he fays-
Tres mibi CoaVive 5vape d1Sati re vidsa-
fHr, &c.
Thus, in one company il is very com
mon to hear the fame book extolled to the
Gies, with the epithets of fine, excellent,
inirnitable, and 70 forth which in ano-
Their is vili6ed and run down, as the low
eft, and the faddef fluff that ever was
written.
OF all kinds of writing, there is none
on which this variety of cp;nlonl IS 10 COM
mon as in thofe of humour, as perhaps there
IS no word in our language of which men
have in general 70 vague and undetermin-
ed an idea. | am apt to quefion whether
the greater part of mankipd have any idea
at all in their heads when this word drops
(perhaps accidentally from their tongue.
| remember gentleman who uied to
have this word frequently in his mouth,
and beRowed it with great liberallty on
mott of his acquaintance. ! was lone
times inclined TO wonder at his tate, TILL
happened TO be on board chip with him,
when he rapt out a great oath, and fwere
thar the fhip had a great deal OF hunor In
it. was now fasisfed that with my
friend this word had no meaning at all.
What can we to,netirnes conceive OF an
audience at a play houfe, whse ! have
heard the dullea chit-chat between gentle
men and ladies, called humor, and aPplau
ded as fuch On TIE other hde, Alouma-
ger, Ia comedy revived by Garrick) was
but coldly received, and the little French
lawyer of Fletcher was hii1sd off the fage.
And here / cannot omit pleafant fact,
TO which was myielf a witnefs. A GER
tain comic author produced piece on
Drury Lane Gsge, called the Highland
Fair, in which he intended to dF2lay the
conical humeurs Of the Highlanders. The
audience who had for three nights together
Fat Raring at each other, icaree knowing