which they at firft are unwilling to believe, renders it familiar to
their thoughts, and in the end commands the belief o f the ere*
dulous. The whole aggregate o f fociety is made up o f wife men
and fools. T he wife men proudly rejed a dodrine which cannot
furniih reafons for pretended f a d s ; a dodrine, the reality o f which
can be referred to no known caufe, and fenfible to what a pitch
e f refinement impofture may be carried, they are prone to doubt
every thing, and are for ever afraid o f being duped. T he halfwife
are in many eales more fceptical than even the wife;
“ a little knowledge is a dangerous thing they will never talk or
reafon on their belief: it is a maxim with them to believe as little
as poffible, and thus they fet afide from levity what the former
difapproved from depth o f underilanding. The fools, however,
are adually the moll dangerous to all founders o f new dodrine^
fuch as we have had under our confideration: they fondly embrace
whatever addreffes itfelf more to the imagination than to the powers
o f reafon ; they have a greater relilh for what is fupernatural than
for what is philofophical: but ihould they take it into their heads
to afcribe the phenomena that refult from the experiments before
them, to the agency of the devil, the naturalift, whether he be a
magnetifer or philofopher, w ill be judged worthy o f damnation,
and pafs all the reft o f his life for a magician. It is probable the
Baron Silfverkielm was not difpleafed at the arrival o f a number
o f ftrangers, who furniihed him w ith a pretext for reviving his doctrine
», as well as for repeating his experiments on different inhabitants,
who, but to oblige us, would not have fubmitted to his
difcipline.
In provincial towns there are a number o f circumftances in the
traveller’s favour, which afford him ample compenfation for the
privation he fuffers in refped o f thofe amufements fo common in
the capital. Hofpitality' exifts there in a much greater degree ;
the ftranger is treated as a perion o f the firft diftindion ; every
body is defirous o f ihewing attention to him, partly from vanity,
no doubt, and partly to fill their own time by an agreeable variety.
T he cheapnefs o f provifions doubles the traveller’s pecuniary re-
fources, infomuch, that he is in a condition to play the firft part
with the fame means that would be neceffary to his ading the
laft in a great metropolis: in ihort, every thing is at his difpofal,
every thing bends before h im ; and his partiality for himfelf, as
well as his natural fentiments, will influence him to prefer an eafy
and peaceful life, in the bofom o f a fmall circle, to the noify plea-
fures and diflipation o f large iocieties.
T h e tafte for focial entertainment at Uleaborg is not very general.
The merchants are a diftind clafs o f themfelves, whom
you never meet in other company : thefe are the moft unfavour-
*able to friendly intercourfe, and alio the leaft informed. The
perfons who compofe the ufual fociety o f the place, are fuch as
are in the employment o f government, from the governor down
to the judges o f the tribunal. The governors o f provinces, in
Sweden, are inftruded to invite and entertain at their houfes all
ftrangers o f any diftindion. General Carpelan not only obeys his
inftrudions, but adds to the offices o f politenefs and hofpitality
the moft flattering marks o f perfonal friendihip, infomuch, that
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