SECT. IV.] IN REGARD TO OURSELVES', 495 tyrants in their own little dominions, and if they have but one inferior that belons.to them, he shall know and feel that they are lords and masters. If their will be crossed in somecommon affair oflife, their laud còmplaints shall break out at the windows and the doors : The walls of the house shall echo with' the sound of their indignation, till the neighbours are alarmed and enquire into the do- mestic mischief. You shall see these sons of humour rise from their table in a fury and renounce their food. The breast swells with inward passion and leaves no room for the refreshments of nature : The servants fly scattering into corners for fear : The peace of their dearest relatives is broken, the order of the family thrown intowild confusion, and the tempest rises so high in their own bosom, that it will require some hours to calm and compose it.. Pride and humour have raised a storm, and it is no small labour to reduce the passions to peace, to smooth all the billows that roar and roll within, and to make the countenance serene again. And after all, what is the cause of this tumult ? What gross and unpardonable crime gave occasion for such resentment and violence ? Perhaps dinner was not set upon the table. exactly at the appointed moment, the clock has struck five minutes and the table is not co- vered ; or it may be the cook has not performed her part to such a precise degree. of nicety and elegance as the master expected, or as the mistress had taught her. " This dish is so insipid and seasoned so low, it is impos- sible to eat it, and the other is nothing but salt and fire." It is strange that for both these reasons the passions must burn and the heart broil with fury. " What, saith he, shall I never be gratified at my own table ?" Or it is frosty weather, and the plates are not quite warm enough, and therefore the master kindles; " must I still be served so ? Have ye all conspired that I shall eat a cold dinner to day ?" And yet this man professes to be a philoso- pher, a man of virtue ; he disdains to be led by that mean and brutal thing called appetite, and talks much of subduing the passions. I wish he could hilt suppose-he had any to be subdued. Or perhaps a word is inadvertently spoken in the dining-room which used to be forbidden there ; perhaps some grave and seri©us theme is started in ajovial hour,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=