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  • Dec. 1, 1795
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The Freemasons' Magazine, Dec. 1, 1795: Page 7

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    Article COVETOUSNESS; A VISION. ← Page 2 of 5 →
Page 7

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Covetousness; A Vision.

time and patience at length brought the dawn to my relief . I got out of the dismal forest , where every thing terrified-me , only to enter another place where every thing astonished me . I perceived vast plains enriched with all the gifts of fruitful nature ; no prospect so charming had I ever beheld . I was tired , I was hungry ; the trees were loaded with the finest fruitsaud the

, vines rising under their branches encircled them with grapes , which hung in festoons . I sprang forward , overjoyed to allay my thirst , returning thanks from the bottom of my soul to God , the author of these blessings , when a man , very oddly drest , opposed my passage with an iron arm . "Simpleton , " said he , " I p lainly see thou art still a childand art a stranger to the customs of the world ;

, read on that stone portico ; its laws are engraved there ; thou must submit to them or die . " I read -with inexpressible astonishment , that all this vast fine country was either hired or sold ; that I was neither allowed to eat , drink , walk , nor even repose my head , without the express leave of the master : that he was the exclusive possessor of all those fruits my empty

stomach so much longed for : and that 1 had not a single spot of shelter on the whole globe , nor the property of an apple ; every thing was usurped before my arrival . I was likely to die of hunger , for want of certain little balls of

quicksilver , very apt to be lost on account of their subtilty , which this hard-hearted man demanded in exchange for the nourishing fruits the earth produced . I said to myself , " He has no better ri ght than I have to this ground ; he is certainl y a tyrant : but as I am the weaker I must submit . " I learned , that in order to get some of those gliding balls , a man was obliged to put a large iron chain round his bodyat the end of

, which there was stili to depend a leaden bullet , a hundred times heavier than all the little balls one could ever receive , and , indeed , I observed the man who had stopped me was according to order . He saw my distress , and told me in a tone charitably haughty , " If . thou wan test to eat , come hither ; I am good natured ; draw near ; put a ring of this great chain round thy neck , until thou art a little

used to it . "—As I was dying with hunger , I did not hesitate to comply . As he offered me something to eat , he accompanied his gift with a severe fillip on the nose . 1 murmured a good deal , and ate a good deal . I was still muttering between my teethwhen I was surprised to see another man

, , more heavily laden than the first , give him a box on the ear , which he received with great humility , kissing the hand that struck him ; however he received at the same time a great many of those little balls of quicksilver which he seemed to idolize .

Then forgetting my resentment , I could not avoid saying to him to whom I was fastened , " How can you bear such an affront ? Why had that man the insolence to insult you ? " He looked at me , and said with a sneer , " My friend , thou art still a novice ; but thou ,

“The Freemasons' Magazine: 1795-12-01, Page 7” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 9 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fmm/issues/fmm_01121795/page/7/.
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Title Category Page
Untitled Article 1
LONDON : Article 1
TO READERS, CORRESPONDENTS, &c. Article 2
Untitled Article 2
Untitled Article 4
WITH A PORTRAIT. Article 5
Untitled Article 5
COVETOUSNESS; A VISION. Article 6
HISTORY OF MASONRY. Article 11
TO THE EDITOR. Article 17
Untitled Article 17
ADVICE TO THE PUBLIC, Article 18
ACCOUNT OF THE SYBARITES. FROM ATHENAEUS. Article 19
COTYS. Article 19
ALCIBIADES. Article 20
FROM THE SAME. Article 22
ON THE ORIGIN OF COCK-FIGHTING. Article 22
FROM THE SAME. Article 22
FROM THE SAME. Article 23
FROM THE SAME. Article 23
FROM THE SAME. Article 23
FROM THE SAME. Article 23
FROM THE SAME. Article 23
FROM THE SAME. Article 24
A BILL OF FARE FOR FIFTY PEOPLE OF THE COMPANY OF SALTERS, A. D. 1506. Article 24
APOPLEXY. Article 24
THE STAGE. Article 25
ACCOUNT OF THE STOCKS OR PUBLIC FUNDS OF THIS KINGDOM. Article 26
BAD EFFECTS OF SPIRITOUS LIQUORS, ESPECIALLY AMONG THE LOWER RANKS. Article 29
TO THE EDITOR. ON THE EFFECTS OF TRAGEDY. Article 31
AN EXPLANATION OF THE FACULTYE OF ABRAC. Article 34
DETACHED SENTIMENTS. Article 35
CHARACTER OF GAVIN WILSON, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS INVENTIONS, Article 36
THOUGHTS ON QUACKS OF ALL DENOMINATIONS. Article 41
REFLECTIONS ON THE UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF TALENTS TO MANKIND. Article 43
ANECOTE OF SIR ROBERT WALPOLE. Article 45
OPINION OF THE THE GREAT JUDGE COKE, UPON THE ACT AGAINST FREEMASONS. Article 46
THE OPINION. Article 46
A FRAGMENT. Article 47
ANOTHER. Article 47
REMARKS ON THE IMITATIVE POWER OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC. Article 48
SKETCH OF THE CHARACTER OF Dr. ADAM SMITH. Article 50
ANECDOTE OF THE LATE EARL OF LAUDERDALE. Article 52
POETRY. Article 53
IMPOSSIBILITIES. Article 54
SIR PHILIP SYDNEY'S EPITAPH. Article 54
EPITAPH under Dr. JOHNSON's STATUE in St. PAUL's. Article 54
ON PLUCKING A ROSE INTENDED FOR A YOUNG LADY. Article 55
THE SOLDIER's PARTING; OR, JEMMY AND LUCY, A SONG. Article 56
EPITAPH on Dr. SACHEVEREL, and SALLY SALISBURY. Article 56
DESCRIPTION OF A PARISH WORKHOUSE. Article 57
TO MY LOVELY FRIEND. Article 57
Untitled Article 58
Untitled Article 58
LOVE WITHOUT SPIRIT. Article 58
STRICTURES ON PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 59
EPILOGUE Article 59
THE ARTS. Article 60
MASONIC INTELLIGENCE. Article 61
GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND. Article 62
UNTO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY, Article 63
MONTHLY CHRONICLE. Article 63
PROMOTIONS. Article 69
BANKRUPTS. Article 70
INDEX TO THE FIFTH VOLUME. Article 71
Untitled Article 74
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Covetousness; A Vision.

time and patience at length brought the dawn to my relief . I got out of the dismal forest , where every thing terrified-me , only to enter another place where every thing astonished me . I perceived vast plains enriched with all the gifts of fruitful nature ; no prospect so charming had I ever beheld . I was tired , I was hungry ; the trees were loaded with the finest fruitsaud the

, vines rising under their branches encircled them with grapes , which hung in festoons . I sprang forward , overjoyed to allay my thirst , returning thanks from the bottom of my soul to God , the author of these blessings , when a man , very oddly drest , opposed my passage with an iron arm . "Simpleton , " said he , " I p lainly see thou art still a childand art a stranger to the customs of the world ;

, read on that stone portico ; its laws are engraved there ; thou must submit to them or die . " I read -with inexpressible astonishment , that all this vast fine country was either hired or sold ; that I was neither allowed to eat , drink , walk , nor even repose my head , without the express leave of the master : that he was the exclusive possessor of all those fruits my empty

stomach so much longed for : and that 1 had not a single spot of shelter on the whole globe , nor the property of an apple ; every thing was usurped before my arrival . I was likely to die of hunger , for want of certain little balls of

quicksilver , very apt to be lost on account of their subtilty , which this hard-hearted man demanded in exchange for the nourishing fruits the earth produced . I said to myself , " He has no better ri ght than I have to this ground ; he is certainl y a tyrant : but as I am the weaker I must submit . " I learned , that in order to get some of those gliding balls , a man was obliged to put a large iron chain round his bodyat the end of

, which there was stili to depend a leaden bullet , a hundred times heavier than all the little balls one could ever receive , and , indeed , I observed the man who had stopped me was according to order . He saw my distress , and told me in a tone charitably haughty , " If . thou wan test to eat , come hither ; I am good natured ; draw near ; put a ring of this great chain round thy neck , until thou art a little

used to it . "—As I was dying with hunger , I did not hesitate to comply . As he offered me something to eat , he accompanied his gift with a severe fillip on the nose . 1 murmured a good deal , and ate a good deal . I was still muttering between my teethwhen I was surprised to see another man

, , more heavily laden than the first , give him a box on the ear , which he received with great humility , kissing the hand that struck him ; however he received at the same time a great many of those little balls of quicksilver which he seemed to idolize .

Then forgetting my resentment , I could not avoid saying to him to whom I was fastened , " How can you bear such an affront ? Why had that man the insolence to insult you ? " He looked at me , and said with a sneer , " My friend , thou art still a novice ; but thou ,

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