eighteen or nineteen, or, may be, till they were one and twenty. This can be nothing in the world then but their own selfishness, that they may get the more by them the longer they 'ftay, and delight, as every young miss knows they do, to play the tyrant, not let them have their dear little inno cent wills in any thing, no not fo much as to send a Valentine with paperheart and key, and initial letters of her name, to the dear youth the wishes to have for a sweet-heart. A great hardship this! and feverely felt by the pretty miles of thefe kingdoms, called the realms of liberty alas! dear injured name, if the young innocent panting daughters thereof, cannot have fo much of it as this comes to. As fays the poet Freedom of choice is that which sweetens life, Makes the glad husband, and the happy wife. Now, as the boys have three years to chufe them fweethearts, and go a courting in, furely it can be no more than fair, that the girls fhould avail themselves of the advantages of the fourth. Leap-year at most comes but once in four years, and, as for time immemorial it has been known and reported, that the girls have a right established by long usage, and therefore a prefcriptive right to it; and fince it will be fo long, as I have obferved above, before another comes: and the war has made fuch terrible havock, that the land muft want replenishing with a new progeny; and as I know my fair countrywomen to be fincere friends to their country, and the best and most patriotic members of the community, I have kindly given them my most serious advice, how to proceed at this important crifis': because the happiness of their whole lives hereafter may depend upon it: and I hope they will not all be wanting to themfelves. I remember fome years fince to have read the following quere, Minerva's elected! I pray tell me true, Were not men to woo women, what would women do? Were the men not to woo us, you ask what we'd do? You should find we would woo, and better than you, There's a girl of spirit for you! this is like bufinefs, a thing well done is twice done; this is not like ftanding fhilly-fhally, this girl was no demurrer. Were all like her, fure we shortly should have a generation of heroes ---But have written a whole page here, I fee, upon this fubject, befides filling up eleven columns in the Calendar with it. And indeed it is fo very copious, that I hope my readers will pardon me. It muft needs give great pleasure to all the pretty miffes and mafters in the kingdom, to find that they have fuch an able hand as Poor Robin to be their advocate and advifer, especially in these weighty matters, which they take more pains and thought about, than every thing in the world befides. But now I must pass to something elfe. Befides all this, you have, and that in inimitable verfe too, an account of fome forry faints and fad finners. The catalogue might have been much more ample, fuch characters being far from rare; but having given you as many as my column would conveniently hold, you may make your best of them. I have not fo far exhaufted the fubject yet, but you need not fear, *there will be enough of them left for next year. In the profe column of the Calendar you will find as uful, an account of two ftars, which again ferves me as an introduction to any thing and every thing elfe contained therein, and many other things are therein contained. Befides fome nonfenfe about aftrology, astrologers, &c. you will find fome fober fenfe about aftronomy, that is, the science of the heavens, and the ufe we are to make of it. A fubject you would little expect to meet with in Poor Robin's Almanack, I fuppofe. It is therefore a notorious take-in. That thofe, who take up the book for the fake of laughing and giggling, may find their attention arrefted fuddenly and unexpectedly for more important matters. Yet I hope they'll not have any just reason of complaint, though they be thus taken in, efpecially if they be well and wifely difpofed. And they that are otherwife, I can tell in turn, that when I take up a fermon purporting to be preached by a minifter of the gospel of peace and love, and find it to be a feditious harangue, tending to inflame animofity, to make people difcontented with, and difaffected to the Government they live under; when I take up a newfpaper for the fake of a little innocent amusement, and find in it the praises of that pitiful apoftate from the chriftian religion, who, as he is the outcaft of my country, I shall not deign to name; in these, and too many other fimilar cafes, I find myfelf very difagreeably taken in indeed. If I happen to have retaliated upon any fuch as thefe, by the forementioned take-in, what I have to fay is, that fuch retaliation of injuries is not forbidden, even by the meek genius of the chriftian religion itself. Next follows fomething about apple pye, and a young nobleman, who, if he lives to have a few more years over his head, is likely to have an high opinion to be fure of his now advifers. The man who advertises for a wife, declares to all the world that he is actuated by the following confidertions of the poet. In marriage are two happy things allow'd, When the last day's as happy as the firft? Then follows fome account of the falubrious virtues of birch, when properly applied; with a word or two concerning flattery. All this, and more, you will find in part the first. In part the fecond, befides the ufual picture, which you are at full liberty to make your best of; befides a correct table of the moon's fouthing, and the times of high water for every day of the year, very useful to fea-faring people; you have a two-fold ftory about a fool and a nofe, not about a fool's nofe mind, though they too have noses (you will furely thank me for the information nor yet about a parfon's nofe, though that thefe have good nofes, I have the very refpectable authority of Dean Swift, who, being treated by a lady with a good dinner, when it was over, addrefs'd her in the following extempore lines. Madam! fuch dinners you give, No, it is about a gentleman's nofe; and the fool was none of those who attended to the following advice of one who was no fool, Know when to speak, and filent when to fit, per Day. 310 3 2 11021 ONION HMN - M N - M- 9 NONN I 9 9 3 10 2 II II I 7 3 I 1 2 I 6 6 10 70 16 84 I I 3 10 Ο 4 10 8 4 4 6 1 4 2 400 -6 8 5 12 I 14 1 3 5 6 8 15 16 17 18 I 10 1 17 8 13 4 19 20 55578TS N 8 4 16 8 18 1 TABLE to calculate Wages. per Month. 1. 1. S. d. 1. Per Week. S. per year. 1 18 4 2 If The months above are calculated at twelve in the year. the yearly wages be guineas inftead of pounds, for every guinea add one penny for each month, or one farthing to each week. 4 24 M And now, sind Readers, never fear, 525 Tu Old Chriftmas Day. And why fhould I go plague my head, 6 26 Wiphany 7 27 Th 8 28 F Lucian 9 29 S 10 30 1 Sand.. Epp 13 14 3 4 F S C2 Sza, aft. Epiph b 18 7 MQ. Char. birth d. k. 8 Tu 19 20 21 123456 22 23 9 W Fabian. B & M. 11 12 S Hilary Term begins 24 13 Septange ma Sand. 25 MCray, of St. Paul, 26 27 28 14 16 לי Tu With what muit mended be if faid? think 'twill not be very hot, If I can get enough to eat, Or fnow, or blow, or rain, or fair, To blunder on as heretofore : Who pictures armies, battles, flagons, them, His book would never fell without them; W Pr. Aug. Fred barn In 15 days of St. Hil. 2 ret. Th 29 18 F 30 19 S 31 20 K. Charl & I Mart. And furely he's a right to try them, Democracy triumphant. M Obiervatient in JANUARY. Let January now appear, It is the first month in the year, D. O fets rif. & fe. A. Begin we 11 a 5821 I Venus all this Spring will be an now with evening ftar, her greateft elongaBatches Ztion from the fun will be on the 27th of May. She will continue to be an evening ftar till the 5th day of Auguft, when the will arrive at her inferior conjunction at a quarter after four in the afternoon, 2227 Ah Bill! and then become a morning ftar to 28 thou'rt fure-the year's end. 19 29ly a fad fin2D fets Nner, a 15 25 25 26 I Jupiter will be an evening ftar till the Sth day of February, when As ever he will be in conjunction with the begg'd aSun-fun at 20 minutes paft feven at 2S 2 day dinner. night; afterwards he will be a thought morning ftar till the 30th day of thou'dit been Auguft, when he will be in oppofi thy fortune tion to the fun at 10 at night, after carving, that, he will again be an evening) Before thy ftar to the end of the year. 7 famous book 8on ftarving. Now ftarve thou must ΙΟ full well I 56 57 5 2 58 3 7 39 3 78 53 4 65 1651 So many lines, gentle readers. 11 237 3 25 8 26 9 29/18 31 morn. '21' |