MiSCELLANEO U S ESSAYSI

rendered more agreeable in being
rendered more fenfible, and with-
outgiving any harlhnefs to the
fong, add a lively energy to the
expreffion. It is by means of this
the mufician, pafiingfuddenly from
one key or mode to another, and
fupprelling, when neceiiary, the in-
termediate and pedantic tranfitions,
is capable of exprefling thofe re-
ferves, interruptions, and paren-
thefes, which are the language
of the impetuous pallions; and
which the glowing Metaltafio,
Porpora, Galuppi, Cocchi, Ju-
mella, Perez, and Terra-Deglia
have f0 often and f0 fucccfisfully
employed; while our lyric poets
know juli as little of them as our
mulicians.

The third advantage, and that
which gives to melody its greatefi

‘effect, is the extreme exattnefs of

time which is obfervable in the
gravefi as well as the liveliefi move.
rnents: an exaétnefs which renders
the {inging animated and intercit-
ing, the accotnpanyments lively
and flowing, which really multi-
plies the tunes, by making in one
combination of {ounds as many
diflerent melodies as there are me-
thods of (canning them: an exact-
nefs which ccnveys every {entiment
to the heart, and every image to
the underlianding; which furnifhes
the muiician with the means of
giving to words all imaginable
characters, many ofwhich we have
no idea of, and which renders the
movements proper to exprefs all
tbofe charatlers, or a {ingle move-
‘ment proper to contrafi: and change

the charaéter at the pleafure of the
pompofer.

QQI
Tb; brflmy of [Von/en/e.

H E R E is no race of people
that has been more confpi-
cuous, in almufi every relation of
life, than the illultrious family of
Nonienfe. in every age of the
world they have {hone forth with
uncommon lullre, and have made
awonderful prcgrels in all the arts
and {ciences. ‘They have, at dif-
ferent fealons, delivered fpeeches
from the throne, harangued at the
bar, debated in parliament, and
gone amazing lengths in philofo-
phical enquiries and metaphyfical
diiquititions.

In a word, the whole hifiory of
the world, moral and political, is
but a Cyclopedia ofNonfenfe. For
which reafon, confidering the dig,-
nity and importance of the family,
and the infinite {ervice it has been
of to me and many of my contem-
poraries, I have relolved to oblige
the public with a kind of ablirafl’.
of the hiliory of Nonllsnfe.

Nonfenle was the daughter of
ignorance, begot on falthood, many
years ago, in a dark cavern in
Boetia. As {he grew up, {he in.
hented all the quaiaies of her pa.
rents; {he difcovered too warm a
genius to require being ftnt to
fchool; but, while other dull brats
were poring over an horn-book,
{he amuled herfelf with fpreading
fantaliical lies, taught her by her
mamma, and which have, in latter
ages, been familiarly known to u;
under the names of iham, banter,
and humbug.

When {he grew up, {he received
the addrelfes, and foon became the
wife, ofimpudence. Who he was,
or of what profeflion, is uncertain:
fome fay he was the {on of igno-
rance by another venter, and was

fuffered