Promise, large Promise, is the soul of an Advertisement. I remember a Wash-ball that had a quality truly wonderful; it gave an exquisite edge to the razor. And there are now to be sold, for ready money only, some Duvets for bedcoverings, of down, beyond comparison superior to what is called Otter Down, and indeed such, that its many excellencies cannot be here set forth. With one excellence we are made acquainted. It is warmer than four or five blankets, and lighter than one.

There are some, however, that know the prejudice of mankind in favour of modest sincerity. The vender of the Beautifying Fluid sells a Lotion that repels pimples, washes away freckles, smooths the skin, and plumps the flesh; and yet, with a generous abhorrence of the ostentation, confesses, that it will not restore the bloom of fifteen to a Lady of fifty.

The true pathos of Advertisements must have sunk deep into the heart of every man that remembers the zeal shewn by the Seller of the Anodyne Necklace, for the ease and safety of poor toothing infants, and the affection with which he warned every mother, that she would never forgive herself if her infant should perish without a Necklace.

I cannot but remark to the celebrated Author who gave, in his notifications of the Camel and Dromedary, so many specimens of the genuine sublime, that there is now arrived another subject yet more worthy of his pen. A famous Mohawk Indian Warrior, who took Dieskaw, the French General, prisoner, dressed in the same manner with the native Indians when they go to war, with his face and body painted, with his scalping knife, tom-ax, and all other implements of war; a sight worthy the curiosity of every true Briton! This is a very powerful description; but a Critic of great refinement would say that it conveys rather horror and

terror. An Indian, dressed as he goes to war, may bring company together, but if he carries the scalping knife and tom-ax, there are many true Britons that will never be persuaded to see him but through a grate.

It has been remarked by the severer judges, that the salutary sorrow of tragic scenes is too soon effaced by the merriment of the Epilogue; the same inconveniences arise from the improper disposition of Advertisements. The noblest objects may be so associated as to be made ridiculous. The Camel and Dromedary themselves might have lost much of their dignity between The true Flower of Mustard and The Original Daffy's Elixir; and I could not but feel some indignation when I found this illustrious Indian Warrior immediately succeeded by A fresh parcel of Dublin Butter.

The trade of Advertising is now so near to perfection, that it is not easy to propose any improvement. But as every art ought to be exercised in due subordination to the public good, I cannot but propose it as a moral question to these matters of the public ear, Whether they do not sometimes play too wantonly with our passions, as when the Registrar of Lottery Tickets invites us to shop by an account of the prize which he sold last year; and whether the advertising Controvertists do not indulge asperity of language without any adequate provocation; as in the dispute about Straps for Razors, now happily subsided, and in the altercation which at present subsists concerning Eau de Luce.

In an Advertisement it is allowed to every man to speak well of himself; but I know not why he should assume the privilege of censuring his neighbour. He may proclaim his own virtue or skill, but ought not to exclude others from the same pretensions.

Every man that advertises his own excellence, should write with some consciousness of a character which dares to

call the attention of the Public. He should remember that his name is to stand in the same Paper with those of the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Germany, and endeavour to make himself worthy of such association.

Some regard is likewise to be paid to posterity. There are men of diligence and curiosity who treasure up the Papers of the Day merely because others neglect them, and in time they will be scarce. When these collections shall be read in another century, how will numberless contradictions be reconciled? and how shall Fame be possibly distributed among the Taylors and Bodice-makers of the present age?

Surely these things deserve consideration. It is enough for me to have hinted my desire that these abuses may be rectified; but such is the state of nature, that what all have the right of doing, many will attempt without sufficient care or due qualifications.

The Idler No. 40. Saturday, January 20, 1759.

TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE EARL OF BUTE

MY LORD:

1

When the bills were yesterday delivered to me by Mr. Wedderburne, I was informed by him of the future favors which his Majesty has, by your Lordship's recommendation, been induced to intend for me.

Bounty always receives part of its value from the manner in which it is bestowed; your Lordship's kindness includes every circumstance that can gratify delicacy, or enforce obligation. You have conferred your favors on a man who has neither alliance nor interest, who has not merited them by services, nor courted them by officiousness; you have spared him the shame of solicitation, and the anxiety of

suspense.

What has been thus elegantly given, will, I hope, not be reproachfully enjoyed; I shall endeavor to give your Lordship the only recompense which generosity desires-the gratification of finding that your benefits are not improperly bestowed. I am, my Lord,

Your Lordship's most obliged,

Most obedient, and most humble servant,
SAM. JOHNSON.

July 20, 1762.

IN

LAWRENCE STERNE (1713-1768)

N his vocation of a clergyman Lawrence Sterne was a complete failure. Even with the small congregations of the obscure Yorkshire churches which he served, he was unpopular. In his avocation of a clown he was, however, an eminent success. Life to him was an infinite jest. The title page of one of his books reads A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy by Mr. Yorick. Thus he identified himself with the court jester of Hamlet's father. If he had lived in the fourteenth century instead of the eighteenth, he would have amused the society of some court in an official capacity as he entertained the society of London in an unofficial one. After the publication of the first part of Tristram Shandy he had engagements for months in advance. No fashionable party was complete without Yorick.

Sterne's books are a jumble of more or less unrelated incidents. He seldom finished what he began. In fact, the Sentimental Journey stops in the middle of a sentence. He left much to the imagination of his readers, for he was an artist in the use of suggestion. He omitted all the non-essentials. When you read Sterne, you are bewildered, for you keep wondering what you have missed. He irritates you, but he amuses you. He appeals to your sympathy by a most heart-rending story and then laughs at you for being affected. He always is willing to mislead his readers or play a practical joke on them. In this section on the gloves he compliments himself on his small hands and then shows you how effectively the girl sold the gloves. Underlying all his jesting there seems to be a bit of mild satire of human frailties.

THE GLOVES

1

Paris

The beautiful Grisset 1 rose up when I said this, and going behind the counter, reach'd down a parcel and untied it: