POIET.—I am sorry to say I think the system carried too far in England. God forbid, that any useful light should be extinguished! Let persons who wish for education receive it; but it appears to me, that, in the great cities in England, it is, as it were, forced upon the population; and that sciences, which the lower classes can only very superficially acquire, are presented to them; in consequence of which they often become idle and conceited, and above their usual laborious occupations. The unripe fruit of the tree of knowledge is, I believe, always bitter or sour; and scepticism and discontent—sicknesses of the mind—are often the results of devouring it. HAL.—Surely you cannot have a more religious, more moral, or more improved population than that of Scotland? POIET.—Precisely so. In Scotland, education is not forced upon the people—it is sought for, and is connected with their forms of faith, acquired in the bosoms of their families, and generally pursued with a distinct object of prudence or interest: nor is that kind of education wanting in this country. PHYS.—Where a book is rarely seen, a newspaper never. POIET.—Pardon me—there is not a cottage without a prayer book; and I am not sorry, that these innocent and happy men are not made active and tumultuous subjects of _King Press_, whom I consider as the most capricious, depraved, and unprincipled tyrant, that ever existed in England. Depraved—for it is to be bought by great wealth; capricious—because it sometimes follows, and sometimes forms, the voice of the lowest mob; and unprincipled—because, when its interests are concerned, it sets at defiance private feeling and private character, and neither regards their virtue, dignity, nor purity. HAL.—My friends, you are growing warm. I know you differ essentially on this subject; but surely you will allow that the full liberty of the press, even though it sometimes degenerates into licentiousness, and though it may sometimes be improperly used by the influence of wealth, power, or private favour, is yet highly advantageous, and even essential to the existence of a free country; and, useful as it may be to the population, it is still more useful to the government, to whom, as expressing the voice of the people, though not always _vox Dei_, it may be regarded as oracular or prophetic.—But let us change our conversation, which is neither in time nor place. POIET.—This river must be inexhaustible for sport: I have nowhere seen so many fish.