and war, health, sickness, death, and life;
Of loss and gain, of famine and of store;
Of storms at sea, and travels on the shore;
Of prodigies and portents seen in air;
Of fires and plagues, and stars with blazing hair;
Of turns of fortune, changes in the state,
The falls of favourites, projects of the great."

"It is a bill of fare, containing all the luxuries as well as
necessaries, of life. Politics, for instance, are the roast beef of the
times; essays, the plum pudding; and poetry the fritters, confections,
custards, and all the _et cotera_ of the table, usually denominated
trifles. Yet the four winds are not liable to more mutability than
the vehicles of these entertainments; for instance, on Monday, it
is whispered--on Tuesday, it is rumoured--on Wednesday, it is
conjectured--on Thursday, it is probable--on Friday, it is positively
asserted--and, on Saturday, it is premature. But notwithstanding this,
some how or other, all are eventually pleased; for, as the affections
of all are divided among wit, anecdote, poetry, prices of stocks, the
arrival of ships, &c. a Newspaper is a repository where every one has
his hobby-horse; without it, coffee-houses, &c. would be depopulated,
and the country squire, the curate, the exciseman, and the barber, and
many others, would lose those golden opportunities of appearing so very
wise as they do.

A Newspaper may also be compared to the Seasons. Its information varies
on the roll of Time, and much of it passes away as a Winter, giving many
a bitter pang of the death of a relative or hopeful lover; it is as a
Spring, for, in the time of war and civil commotion, its luminary, the
editor, like the morning sun, leads Hope forward to milder days and
happier prospects--the smiles of peace; it is the heart's Summer
calendar, giving news of marriages and births for heirs and patrons;
it is the Autumn of joy, giving accounts of plenty, and guarding the
avaricious against the snares of self-love, and offering arguments in
favour of humanity. It is more; a Newspaper is one of the most faithful
lessons that can be represented to our reflections, for, while it is the
interpreter ~214~of the general economy of nature, it is a most kind and
able instructress to improve ourselves.

What are our lives but as the ephemeral appearance of an advertisement?
Our actions but as the actions of a popular contest? Our hopes, fears,
exultat