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LETTER XIII.
Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
POPE, Satires.
There are a sort of men whose visages
Do cream and mantle like a standing pool,
And do a wilful stillness entertain;
With purpose to be dress'd in an opinion,
As who should say, "I am Sir Oracle,
"And when I ope my lips let no dog bark."
SHAKESPEARE, Merchant of Venice.
Sum felix; quis enim neget? felixque manebo:
Hoc quoque quis dubitet? Tutum me copia fecit.
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THE ALMS-HOUSE AND TRUSTEES.
The frugal Merchant--Rivalship in Modes of Frugality--Private
Exceptions to the general Manners--Alms-house built--Its
Description--Founder dies--Six Trustees--Sir Denys Brand, a
Principal--His Eulogium in the Chronicles of the day--Truth reckoned
invidious on these Occasions--An explanation of the Magnanimity and
Wisdom of Sir Denys--His kinds of Moderation and Humility--Laughton,
his Successor, a planning, ambitious, wealthy Man--Advancement in
Life his perpetual Object, and all things make the means of it--His
Idea of Falsehood--His Resentment dangerous; how removed--Success
produces Love of Flattery: his daily Gratification--His Merits and
Acts of Kindness--His proper Choice of Almsmen--In this respect
meritorious--His Predecessor not so cautious.
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