«Зритель, Том 2»

Footnote 1: 'It is in every body's observation with what disadvantage a Poor Man enters upon the most ordinary affairs,' &c.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2: clearing

return

Footnote 3: Henry IV

return

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 361

Thursday, April 24, 1712

Аддисон

Tartaream intendit vocem, quâ protinus omnis

Contremuit domus—

Virg.

Mr. Spectator,

'The Night before I left London I went to see a Play, called The Humorous Lieutenant1. Upon the Rising of the Curtain I was very much surprized with the great Consort of Cat-calls which was exhibited that Evening, and began to think with myself that I had made a Mistake, and gone to a Musick-Meeting, instead of the Play-house. It appeared indeed a little odd to me to see so many Persons of Quality of both Sexes assembled together at a kind of Catterwawling; for I cannot look upon that Performance to have been any thing better, whatever the Musicians themselves might think of it. As I had no Acquaintance in the House to ask Questions of, and was forced to go out of Town early the next Morning, I could not learn the Secret of this Matter. What I would therefore desire of you, is, to give some account of this strange Instrument, which I found the Company called a Cat-call; and particularly to let me know whether it be a piece of Musick lately come from Italy. For my own part, to be free with you, I would rather hear an English Fiddle; though I durst not shew my Dislike whilst I was in the Play-House, it being my Chance to sit the very next Man to one of the Performers. I am, Sir,

Your most affectionate Friend

and Servant,

John Shallow, Esq.

Shallow's Jubal

Thespis Momus

Orpheus

English British heard the 2 Drury-Lane

British Italian

Collier Essay upon Musick 3 I believe 'tis possible to invent an Instrument that shall have a quite contrary Effect to those Martial ones now in use: An Instrument that shall sink the Spirits, and shake the Nerves, and curdle the Blood, and inspire Despair, and Cowardice and Consternation, at a surprizing rate. 'Tis probable the Roaring of Lions, the Warbling of Cats and Scritch-Owls, together with a Mixture of the Howling of Dogs, judiciously imitated and compounded, might go a great way in this Invention. Whether such Anti-Musick as this might not be of Service in a Camp, I shall leave to the Military Men to consider.

Humorous Lieutenant Almanzor

L. 4

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2: that

return

Footnote 3: Essays upon several Moral Subjects Essays Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage

return

Footnote 4: Not being yet determined with whose Name to fill up the Gap in this Dissertation which is marked with ——, I shall defer it till this Paper appears with others in a Volume. L.

return

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 362

Friday, April 25, 1712

Стил

Laudibus arguitur Vini vinosus—

Hor.

Temple, Apr. 24.

Mr. Spectator,

Several of my Friends were this Morning got together over a Dish of Tea in very good Health, though we had celebrated Yesterday with more Glasses than we could have dispensed with, had we not been beholden to Brooke and Hillier. In Gratitude therefore to those good Citizens, I am, in the Name of the Company, to accuse you of great Negligence in overlooking their Merit, who have imported true and generous Wine, and taken care that it should not be adulterated by the Retailers before it comes to the Tables of private Families, or the Clubs of honest Fellows. I cannot imagine how a Spectator can be supposed to do his Duty, without frequent Resumption of such Subjects as concern our Health, the first thing to be regarded, if we have a mind to relish anything else. It would therefore very well become your Spectatorial Vigilance, to give it in Orders to your Officer for inspecting Signs, that in his March he would look into the Itinerants who deal in Provisions, and enquire where they buy their several Wares. Ever since the Decease of Cully1-Mully-Puff2 of agreeable and noisy Memory, I cannot say I have observed any thing sold in Carts, or carried by Horse or Ass, or in fine, in any moving Market, which is not perished or putrified; witness the Wheel-barrows of rotten Raisins, Almonds, Figs, and Currants, which you see vended by a Merchant dressed in a second-hand Suit of a Foot Soldier. You should consider that a Child may be poisoned for the Worth of a Farthing; but except his poor Parents send to one certain Doctor in Town3, they can have no advice for him under a Guinea. When Poisons are thus cheap, and Medicines thus dear, how can you be negligent in inspecting what we eat and drink, or take no Notice of such as the above-mentioned Citizens, who have been so serviceable to us of late in that particular? It was a Custom among the old Romans, to do him particular Honours who had saved the Life of a Citizen, how much more does the World owe to those who prevent the Death of Multitudes? As these Men deserve well of your Office, so such as act to the Detriment of our Health, you ought to represent to themselves and their Fellow-Subjects in the Colours which they deserve to wear. I think it would be for the publick Good, that all who vend Wines should be under oaths in that behalf. The Chairman at a Quarter Sessions should inform the Country, that the Vintner who mixes Wine to his Customers, shall (upon proof that the Drinker thereof died within a Year and a Day after taking it) be deemed guilty of Wilful Murder: and the Jury shall be instructed to enquire and present such Delinquents accordingly. It is no Mitigation of the Crime, nor will it be conceived that it can be brought in Chance-Medley or Man-Slaughter, upon Proof that it shall appear Wine joined to Wine, or right Herefordshire poured into Port O Port; but his selling it for one thing, knowing it to be another, must justly bear the foresaid Guilt of wilful Murder: For that he, the said Vintner, did an unlawful Act willingly in the false Mixture; and is therefore with Equity liable to all the Pains to which a Man would be, if it were proved he designed only to run a Man through the Arm, whom he whipped through the Lungs. This is my third Year at the Temple, and this is or should be Law. An ill Intention well proved should meet with no Alleviation, because it out-ran4 it self. There cannot be too great Severity used against the Injustice as well as Cruelty of those who play with Mens Lives, by preparing Liquors, whose Nature, for ought they know, may be noxious when mixed, tho innocent when apart: And Brooke and Hillier5, who have ensured our Safety at our Meals, and driven Jealousy from our Cups in Conversation, deserve the Custom and Thanks of the whole Town; and it is your Duty to remind them of the Obligation. I am, Sir,

Your Humble Servant,

Tom. Pottle.

Mr. Spectator,

I am a Person who was long immured in a College, read much, saw little; so that I knew no more of the World than what a Lecture or a View of the Map taught me. By this means I improved in my Study, but became unpleasant in Conversation. By conversing generally with the Dead, I grew almost unfit for the Society of the Living; so by a long Confinement I contracted an ungainly Aversion to Conversation, and ever discoursed with Pain to my self, and little Entertainment to others. At last I was in some measure made sensible of my failing, and the Mortification of never being spoke to, or speaking, unless the Discourse ran upon Books, put me upon forcing my self amongst Men. I immediately affected the politest Company, by the frequent use of which I hoped to wear off the Rust I had contracted; but by an uncouth Imitation of Men used to act in publick, I got no further than to discover I had a Mind to appear a finer thing than I really was.

Such I was, and such was my Condition, when I became an ardent Lover, and passionate Admirer of the beauteous Belinda: Then it was that I really began to improve. This Passion changed all my Fears and Diffidences in my general Behaviour, to the sole Concern of pleasing her. I had not now to study the Action of a Gentleman, but Love possessing all my Thoughts, made me truly be the thing I had a Mind to appear. My Thoughts grew free and generous, and the Ambition to be agreeable to her I admired, produced in my Carriage a faint Similitude of that disengaged Manner of my Belinda. The way we are in at present is, that she sees my Passion, and sees I at present forbear speaking of it through prudential Regards. This Respect to her she returns with much Civility, and makes my Value for her as little a Misfortune to me, as is consistent with Discretion. She sings very charmingly, and is readier to do so at my Request, because she knows I love her: She will dance with me rather than another, for the same Reason. My Fortune must alter from what it is, before I can speak my Heart to her; and her Circumstances are not considerable enough to make up for the Narrowness of mine. But I write to you now, only to give you the Character of Belinda, as a Woman that has Address enough to demonstrate a Gratitude to her Lover, without giving him Hopes of Success in his Passion. Belinda has from a great Wit, governed by as great Prudence, and both adorned with Innocence, the Happiness of always being ready to discover her real Thoughts. She has many of us, who now are her Admirers; but her Treatment of us is so just and proportioned to our Merit towards her, and what we are in our selves, that I protest to you I have neither Jealousy nor Hatred toward my Rivals. Such is her Goodness, and the Acknowledgment of every Man who admires her, that he thinks he ought to believe she will take him who best deserves her. I will not say that this Peace among us is not owing to Self-love, which prompts each to think himself the best Deserver: I think there is something uncommon and worthy of Imitation in this Lady's Character. If you will please to Print my Letter, you will oblige the little Fraternity of happy Rivals, and in a more particular Manner,

Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Will. Cymon.

Footnote 1: Mully

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2: No. 251 Biographical History of England.

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4: out-run

return

Footnote 5: 'This is to give Notice, That Brooke and Hellier have not all the New Port Wines this Year, nor above one half, the Vintners having bought 130 Pipes of Mr. Thomas Barlow and others, which are all natural, and shall remain Genuine, on which all Gentlemen and others may depend. Note.—Altho' Brooke and Hellier have asserted in several Papers that they had 140 Pipes of New Oporto Wines coming from Bristol, it now appears, since their landing, that they have only 133 Pipes, I Hhd. of the said Wines, which shews plainly how little what they say is to be credited.'

return

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 363

Saturday, April 26, 1712

Аддисон

—Crudelis ubique

Luctus, ubique pavor, et plurima Mortis

Imago.

Virg.

Milton —They forthwith to the place

Repairing where he judg'd them, prostrate fell

Before him Reverent, and both confess'd

Humbly their Faults, and Pardon begg'd, with Tears

Watering the Ground—

There is a Beauty of the same kind in a Tragedy of Sophocles, where Œdipus, after having put out his own Eyes, instead of breaking his Neck from the Palace-Battlements (which furnishes so elegant an Entertainment for our English Audience) desires that he may be conducted to Mount Cithoeron, in order to end his Life in that very Place where he was exposed in his Infancy, and where he should then have died, had the Will of his Parents been executed.

—To Heavn their Prayers

Flew up, nor miss'd the Way, by envious Winds

Blown vagabond or frustrate: in they pass'd

Dimensionless through heavnly Doors, then clad

With Incense, where the Golden Altar fumed,

By their great Intercessor, came in sight

Before the Father's Throne—

Messiah

Milton Ezekiel —The Cohort bright

Of watchful Cherubims, four Faces each

Had like a double Janus, all their Shape

Spangled with Eyes—

Michael —Yet lest they faint

At the sad Sentence rigorously urg'd,

For I behold them softned, and with Tears

Bewailing their Excess, all Terror hide,

Adam Eve —Why in the East

Darkness ere Days mid-course, and morning Light

More orient in that Western Cloud that draws

O'er the blue Firmament a radiant White,

And slow descends, with something Heavnly fraught?

He err'd not, for by this the heavenly Bands

Down from a Sky of Jasper lighted now

In Paradise, and on a Hill made halt;

A glorious Apparition—

Michael Raphael —Th' Archangel soon drew nigh,

Not in his Shape Celestial; but as Man

Clad to meet Man: over his lucid Arms

A Military Vest of Purple flow'd,

Livelier than Meliboean, or the Grain

Of Sarra, worn by Kings and Heroes old,

In time of Truce: Iris had dipt the Wooff:

His starry Helm, unbuckled, shew'd him prime

In Manhood where Youth ended; by his side,

As in a glistring Zodiack, hung the Sword,

Satan's dire dread, and in his Hand the Spear.

Adam bow'd low, he Kingly from his State

Inclined not, but his coming thus declared.

Eve's Must I then leave thee, Paradise? Thus leave

Thee, native Soil, these happy Walks and Shades,

Fit haunt of Gods? Where I had hope to spend

Quiet, though sad, the respite of that Day

That must be mortal to us both. O Flowrs,

That never will in other Climate grow,

My early Visitation, and my last

At Even, which I bred up with tender Hand

From the first opening Bud, and gave you Names;

Who now shall rear you to the Sun, or rank

Your Tribes, and water from th' ambrosial Fount?

Thee, lastly, nuptial Bower, by me adorn'd

With what to Sight or Smell was sweet; from thee

How shall I part, and whither wander down

Into a lower World, to this obscure

And wild? how shall we breathe in other Air

Less pure, accustomd to immortal Fruits?

Adam's This most afflicts me, that departing hence

As from his Face I shall be hid, deprived

His blessed Countnance: here I could frequent,

With Worship, place by place where he vouchsaf'd

Presence Divine; and to my Sons relate,

On this Mount he appear'd, under this Tree

Stood visible, among these Pines his Voice

I heard, here with him at this Fountain talk'd;

So many grateful Altars I would rear

Of grassy Turf, and pile up every Stone

Of lustre from the Brook, in memory

Or monument to Ages, and thereon

Offer sweet-smelling Gums and Fruits and Flowers.

In yonder nether World—where shall I seek

His bright Appearances, or Footsteps trace?

For though I fled him angry, yet recalled

To Life prolonged and promised Race, I now

Gladly behold though but his utmost Skirts

Of Glory, and far off his Steps adore.

Adam Milton's Iliad Æneid Virgil's Æneid Milton Adam's

Adam Cain Abel Adam But have I now seen Death? is this the way

I must return to native Dust? O Sight

Of Terror foul, and ugly to behold,

Horrid to think, how horrible to feel!

Dire was the tossing, deep the Groans. Despair

Tended the Sick, busy from Couch to Couch;

And over them triumphant Death his Dart

Shook, but delayed to strike, though oft invoked

With Vows, as their chief Good and final Hope.

Sight so deform, what Heart of Rock could long

Dry-eyed behold? Adam could not, but wept,

Tho' not of Woman born; Compassion quell'd

His best of Man, and gave him up to Tears.

Adam

Adam's For that fair female Troop thou sawst, that seemed

Of Goddesses, so Blithe, so Smooth, so Gay,

Yet empty of all Good wherein consists

Woman's domestick Honour and chief Praise;

Bred only and compleated to the taste

Of lustful Appetence, to sing, to dance,

To dress, and troule the Tongue, and roll the Eye:

To these that sober Race of Men, whose Lives

Religious titled them the Sons of God,

Shall yield up all their Virtue, all their Fame

Ignobly, to the Trains and to the Smiles

Of those fair Atheists—

Adam —O what are these!

Death's Ministers, not Men, who thus deal Death

Inhumanly to Men, and multiply

Ten Thousandfold the Sin of him who slew

His Brother: for of whom such Massacre

Make they but of their Brethren, Men of Men?

Milton

Ovid's Latin We Seneca 1 the 2 Ovid Ovid Milton Jamque mare et tellus nullum discrimen habebant,

Nil nisi pontus erat, deerant quoque littora ponto.

(Ovid)

—Sea cover'd Sea,

Sea without Shore—

(Milton.)

Milton English —And in their Palaces

Where Luxury late reign'd, Sea-Monsters whelp'd

And stabled—

Ovid Latin English —Then shall this Mount

Of Paradise by might of Waves be mov'd

Out of his Place, pushed by the horned Flood

With all his Verdure spoil'd, and Trees adrift

Down the great River to the opning Gulf,

And there take root, an Island salt and bare,

The haunt of Seals and Orcs and Sea-Mews clang.

Adam Virgil Ovid How didst thou grieve then, Adam, to behold

The End of all thy Offspring, End so sad,

Depopulation! thee another Flood

Of Tears and Sorrow, a Flood thee also drowned,

And sunk thee as thy Sons; till gently rear'd

By th' Angel, on thy Feet thou stoodst at last,

Tho' comfortless, as when a Father mourns

His Children, all in view destroyed at once.

Paradise Lost, Milton

Footnote 3: Nat. Quaest

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2: this

return

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 364

Monday, April 28, 1712

Стил

—Navibus1 atque

Quadrigis petimus bene vivere.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator2,

A Lady of my Acquaintance, for whom I have too much Respect to be easy while she is doing an indiscreet Action, has given occasion to this Trouble: She is a Widow, to whom the Indulgence of a tender Husband has entrusted the Management of a very great Fortune, and a Son about sixteen, both which she is extremely fond of. The Boy has Parts of the middle Size, neither shining nor despicable, and has passed the common Exercises of his Years with tolerable Advantage; but is withal what you would call a forward Youth: By the Help of this last Qualification, which serves as a Varnish to all the rest, he is enabled to make the best Use of his Learning, and display it at full length upon all Occasions. Last Summer he distinguished himself two or three times very remarkably, by puzzling the Vicar before an Assembly of most of the Ladies in the Neighbourhood; and from such weighty Considerations as these, as it too often unfortunately falls out, the Mother is become invincibly persuaded that her Son is a great Scholar; and that to chain him down to the ordinary Methods of Education with others of his Age, would be to cramp his Faculties, and do an irreparable Injury to his wonderful Capacity.

I happened to visit at the House last Week, and missing the young Gentleman at the Tea-Table, where he seldom fails to officiate, could not upon so extraordinary a Circumstance avoid inquiring after him. My Lady told me, he was gone out with her Woman, in order to make some Preparations for their Equipage; for that she intended very speedily to carry him to travel. The Oddness of the Expression shock'd me a little; however, I soon recovered my self enough to let her know, that all I was willing to understand by it was, that she designed this Summer to shew her Son his Estate in a distant County, in which he has never yet been: But she soon took care to rob me of that agreeable Mistake, and let me into the whole Affair. She enlarged upon young Master's prodigious Improvements, and his comprehensive Knowledge of all Book-Learning; concluding, that it was now high time he should be made acquainted with Men and Things; that she had resolved he should make the Tour of France and Italy, but could not bear to have him out of her Sight, and therefore intended to go along with him.

I was going to rally her for so extravagant a Resolution, but found my self not in fit Humour to meddle with a Subject that demanded the most soft and delicate Touch imaginable. I was afraid of dropping something that might seem to bear hard either upon the Son's Abilities, or the Mother's Discretion; being sensible that in both these Cases, tho' supported with all the Powers of Reason, I should, instead of gaining her Ladyship over to my Opinion, only expose my self to her Disesteem: I therefore immediately determined to refer the whole Matter to the Spectator.

When I came to reflect at Night, as my Custom is, upon the Occurrences of the Day, I could not but believe that this Humour of carrying a Boy to travel in his Mother's Lap, and that upon pretence of learning Men and Things, is a Case of an extraordinary Nature, and carries on it a particular Stamp of Folly. I did not remember to have met with its Parallel within the Compass of my Observation, tho' I could call to mind some not extremely unlike it. From hence my Thoughts took Occasion to ramble into the general Notion of Travelling, as it is now made a Part of Education. Nothing is more frequent than to take a Lad from Grammar and Taw, and under the Tuition of some poor Scholar, who is willing to be banished for thirty Pounds a Year, and a little Victuals, send him crying and snivelling into foreign Countries. Thus he spends his time as Children do at Puppet-Shows, and with much the same Advantage, in staring and gaping at an amazing Variety of strange things: strange indeed to one who is not prepared to comprehend the Reasons and Meaning of them; whilst he should be laying the solid Foundations of Knowledge in his Mind, and furnishing it with just Rules to direct his future Progress in Life under some skilful Master of the Art of Instruction.

Can there be a more astonishing Thought in Nature, than to consider how Men should fall into so palpable a Mistake? It is a large Field, and may very well exercise a sprightly Genius; but I don't remember you have yet taken a Turn in it. I wish, Sir, you would make People understand, that Travel is really the last Step to be taken in the Institution of Youth; and to set out with it, is to begin where they should end.

Certainly the true End of visiting Foreign Parts, is to look into their Customs and Policies, and observe in what Particulars they excel or come short of our own; to unlearn some odd Peculiarities in our Manners, and wear off such awkward Stiffnesses and Affectations in our Behaviour, as may possibly have been contracted from constantly associating with one Nation of Men, by a more free, general, and mixed Conversation. But how can any of these Advantages be attained by one who is a mere Stranger to the Custom sand Policies of his native Country, and has not yet fixed in his Mind the first Principles of Manners and Behaviour? To endeavour it, is to build a gawdy Structure without any Foundation; or, if I may be allow'd the Expression, to work a rich Embroidery upon a Cobweb.

Another End of travelling which deserves to be considerd, is the Improving our Taste of the best Authors of Antiquity, by seeing the Places where they lived, and of which they wrote; to compare the natural Face of the Country with the Descriptions they have given us, and observe how well the Picture agrees with the Original. This must certainly be a most charming Exercise to the Mind that is rightly turned for it; besides that it may in a good measure be made subservient to Morality, if the Person is capable of drawing just Conclusions concerning the Uncertainty of human things, from the ruinous Alterations Time and Barbarity have brought upon so many Palaces, Cities and whole Countries, which make the most illustrious Figures in History. And this Hint may be not a little improved by examining every Spot of Ground that we find celebrated as the Scene of some famous Action, or retaining any Footsteps of a Cato, Cicero or Brutus, or some such great virtuous Man. A nearer View of any such Particular, tho really little and trifling in it self, may serve the more powerfully to warm a generous Mind to an Emulation of their Virtues, and a greater Ardency of Ambition to imitate their bright Examples, if it comes duly temper'd and prepar'd for the Impression. But this I believe you'll hardly think those to be, who are so far from ent'ring into the Sense and Spirit of the Ancients, that they don't yet understand their Language with any Exactness3.

But I have wander'd from my Purpose, which was only to desire you to save, if possible, a fond English Mother, and Mother's own Son, from being shewn a ridiculous Spectacle thro' the most polite Part of Europe, Pray tell them, that though to be Sea-sick, or jumbled in an outlandish Stage-Coach, may perhaps be healthful for the Constitution of the Body, yet it is apt to cause such a Dizziness in young empty Heads, as too often lasts their Life-time.

I am, Sir,

Your most Humble Servant,

Philip Homebred.

Birchan-Lane.

Sir,

I was marry'd on Sunday last, and went peaceably to bed; but, to my Surprize, was awakend the next Morning by the Thunder of a Set of Drums. These warlike Sounds (methinks) are very improper in a Marriage-Consort, and give great Offence; they seem to insinuate, that the Joys of this State are short, and that Jars and Discord soon ensue. I fear they have been ominous to many Matches, and sometimes proved a Prelude to a Battel in the Honey-Moon. A Nod from you may hush them; therefore pray, Sir, let them be silenced, that for the future none but soft Airs may usher in the Morning of a Bridal Night, which will be a Favour not only to those who come after, but to me, who can still subscribe my self,

Your most humble

and most obedient Servant,

Robin Bridegroom.

Mr. Spectator,

I am one of that sort of Women whom the gayer Part of our Sex are apt to call a Prude. But to shew them that I have very little Regard to their Raillery, I shall be glad to see them all at The Amorous Widow, or the Wanton Wife, which is to be acted, for the Benefit of Mrs. Porter, on Monday the 28th Instant. I assure you I can laugh at an Amorous Widow, or Wanton Wife, with as little Temptation to imitate them, as I could at any other vicious Character. Mrs. Porter obliged me so very much in the exquisite Sense she seemed to have of the honourable Sentiments and noble Passions in the Character of Hermione, that I shall appear in her behalf at a Comedy, tho I have not great Relish for any Entertainments where the Mirth is not seasond with a certain Severity, which ought to recommend it to People who pretend to keep Reason and Authority over all their Actions.

I am, Sir,

Your frequent Reader,

Altamira.

Footnote 1: Strenua nos exercet inertia: Navibus...

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2: Spectator

return

Footnote 3: Exactness.

I cant quit this head without paying my Acknowledgments to one of the most entertaining Pieces this Age has produc'd, for the Pleasure it gave me. You will easily guess, that the Book I have in my head is Mr. A——'s Remarks upon Italy. That Ingenious gentleman has with so much Art and Judgment applied his exact Knowledge of all the Parts of Classical Learning to illustrate the several occurrences of his Travels, that his Work alone is a pregnant Proof of what I have said. No Body that has a Taste this way, can read him going from Rome to Naples, and making Horace and Silius Italicus his Chart, but he must feel some Uneasiness in himself to Reflect that he was not in his Retinue. I am sure I wish'd it Ten Times in every Page, and that not without a secret Vanity to think in what State I should have Travelled the Appian Road with Horace for a Guide, and in company with a Countryman of my own, who of all Men living knows best how to follow his Steps.

return

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 365

Tuesday, April 29, 1712

Баджелл

Vere magis, quia vere calor redit ossibus—

Virg.

Menagiana May May April

France British French

Winter However are 1

Tarpeia

Dryden Month For thee, sweet Month, the Groves green Livries wear,

If not the first, the fairest of the Year;

For thee the Graces lead the dancing Hours,

And Nature's ready Pencil paints the Flow'rs.

The sprightly May commands our Youth to keep

The Vigils of her Night, and breaks their Sleep;

Each gentle Breast with kindly Warmth she moves,

Inspires new Flames, revives extinguish'd Loves2.

Cupids Zephirs

Yorkshire Zelinda May

Proserpine a Maying Milton mentions

—That fair Field

Of Enna, where Proserpine gathering Flowers,

Herself a fairer Flower, by gloomy Dis

Was gathered—3

Virgil's Snake in the Grass

Gemini

May December

Footnote 1: is

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2: Knights Tale Palamon and Arcite

return

Footnote 3: Paradise Lost

return

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 366

Wednesday, April 30, 1712

Стил

Pone me pigris ubi nulla campis

Arbor æstiva recreatur aura,

Dulce ridentem Lalagen amabo,

Dulce loquentem.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

The following Verses are a Translation of a Lapland Love-Song, which I met with in Scheffer's History of that Country1. I was agreeably surprized to find a Spirit of Tenderness and Poetry in a Region which I never suspected for Delicacy. In hotter Climates, tho' altogether uncivilized, I had not wonder'd if I had found some sweet wild Notes among the Natives, where they live in Groves of Oranges, and hear the Melody of Birds about them: But a Lapland Lyric, breathing Sentiments of Love and Poetry, not unworthy old Greece or Rome; a regular Ode from a Climate pinched with Frost, and cursed with Darkness so great a Part of the Year; where 'tis amazing that the poor Natives should get Food, or be tempted to propagate their Species: this, I confess, seemed a greater Miracle to me, than the famous Stories of their Drums, their Winds and Inchantments.

I am the bolder in commending this Northern Song, because I have faithfully kept to the Sentiments, without adding or diminishing; and pretend to no greater Praise from my Translation, than they who smooth and clean the Furs of that Country which have suffered by Carriage. The Numbers in the Original are as loose and unequal, as those in which the British Ladies sport their Pindaricks; and perhaps the fairest of them might not think it a disagreeable Present from a Lover: But I have ventured to bind it in stricter Measures, as being more proper for our Tongue, tho perhaps wilder Graces may better suit the Genius of the Laponian Language.

It will be necessary to imagine, that the Author of this Song, not having the Liberty of visiting his Mistress at her Father's House, was in hopes of spying her at a Distance in the Fields.

I Thou rising Sun, whose gladsome Ray

Invites my Fair to Rural Play,

Dispel the Mist, and clear the Skies,

And bring my Orra to my Eyes.

II Oh! were I sure my Dear to view,

I'd climb that Pine-Trees topmost Bough,

Aloft in Air that quivering plays,

And round and round for ever gaze.

III My Orra Moor, where art thou laid?

What Wood conceals my sleeping Maid?

Fast by the Roots enrag'd I'll tear

The Trees that hide my promised Fair.

IV Oh! I cou'd ride the Clouds and Skies,

Or on the Raven's Pinions rise:

Ye Storks, ye Swans, a moment stay,

And waft a Lover on his Way.

V My Bliss too long my Bride denies,

Apace the wasting Summer flies:

Nor yet the wintry Blasts I fear,

Not Storms or Night shall keep me here.

VI What may for Strength with Steel compare?

Oh! Love has Fetters stronger far:

By Bolts of Steel are Limbs confin'd,

But cruel Love enchains the Mind.

VII No longer then perplex thy Breast,

When Thoughts torment, the first are best;

'Tis mad to go, 'tis Death to stay,

Away to Orra, haste away.

April the 10th.

Mr. Spectator,

I am one of those despicable Creatures called a Chamber-Maid, and have lived with a Mistress for some time, whom I love as my Life, which has made my Duty and Pleasure inseparable. My greatest Delight has been in being imploy'd about her Person; and indeed she is very seldom out of Humour for a Woman of her Quality: But here lies my Complaint, Sir; To bear with me is all the Encouragement she is pleased to bestow upon me; for she gives her cast-off Cloaths from me to others: some she is pleased to bestow in the House to those that neither wants nor wears them, and some to Hangers-on, that frequents the House daily, who comes dressed out in them. This, Sir, is a very mortifying Sight to me, who am a little necessitous for Cloaths, and loves to appear what I am, and causes an Uneasiness, so that I can't serve with that Chearfulness as formerly; which my Mistress takes notice of, and calls Envy and Ill-Temper at seeing others preferred before me. My Mistress has a younger Sister lives in the House with her, that is some Thousands below her in Estate, who is continually heaping her Favours on her Maid; so that she can appear every Sunday, for the first Quarter, in a fresh Suit of Cloaths of her Mistress's giving, with all other things suitable: All this I see without envying, but not without wishing my Mistress would a little consider what a Discouragement it is to me to have my Perquisites divided between Fawners and Jobbers, which others enjoy intire to themselves. I have spoke to my Mistress, but to little Purpose; I have desired to be discharged (for indeed I fret my self to nothing) but that she answers with Silence. I beg, Sir, your Direction what to do, for I am fully resolved to follow your Counsel; who am

Your Admirer and humble Servant,

Constantia Comb-brush.

I beg that you would put it in a better Dress, and let it come abroad; that my Mistress, who is an Admirer of your Speculations, may see it.

Footnote 1: Lapponia Spectator With brightest beams let the Sun shine

On Orra Moor.

Could I be sure

That from the top o' th' lofty Pine

I Orra Moor might see,

I to his highest Bough would climb,

And with industrious Labour try

Thence to descry

My Mistress if that there she be.

Could I but know amidst what Flowers

Or in what Shade she stays,

The gaudy Bowers,

With all their verdant Pride,

Their Blossoms and their Sprays,

Which make my Mistress disappear;

And her in envious Darkness hide,

I from the Roots and Beds of Earth would tear.

No. 406 Spectator

return to footnote mark

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 367

Thursday, May 1, 1712

Аддисон

—Perituræ parcite chartæ.

Juv.

Post-Men, Post-Boys, Daily-Courants, Reviews, Medleys Examiners Spectators Spectator

Spectators

s-

France Louvre Holland Venice Elziver Aldus

England Edition Cæsar's English 1 British

Footnote 1: Being and Attributes of God and the Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion Optics Cæsar Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity

return to footnote mark

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 368

Friday, May 2, 1712

Стил

Nos decebat

Lugere ubi esset aliquis in lucem editus

Humanæ vitæ varia reputantes mala;

At qui labores morte finisset graves

Omnes amices laude et lætitia exequi.

Eurip. apud Tull.

Paris, April 18, 1712.

Sir,

It is so many Years since you left your native Country, that I am to tell you the Characters of your nearest Relations as much as if you were an utter Stranger to them. The Occasion of this is to give you an account of the Death of Madam de Villacerfe, whose Departure out of this Life I know not whether a Man of your Philosophy will call unfortunate or not, since it was attended with some Circumstances as much to be desired as to be lamented. She was her whole Life happy in an uninterrupted Health, and was always honoured for an Evenness of Temper and Greatness of Mind. On the 10th instant that Lady was taken with an Indisposition which confined her to her Chamber, but was such as was too slight to make her take a sick Bed, and yet too grievous to admit of any Satisfaction in being out of it. It is notoriously known, that some Years ago Monsieur Festeau, one of the most considerable Surgeons in Paris, was desperately in love with this Lady: Her Quality placed her above any Application to her on the account of his Passion; but as a Woman always has some regard to the Person whom she believes to be her real Admirer, she now took it in her head (upon Advice of her Physicians to lose some of her Blood) to send for Monsieur Festeau on that occasion. I happened to be there at that time, and my near Relation gave me the Privilege to be present. As soon as her Arm was stripped bare, and he began to press it in order to raise the Vein, his Colour changed, and I observed him seized with a sudden Tremor, which made me take the liberty to speak of it to my Cousin with some Apprehension: She smiled, and said she knew Mr. Festeau had no Inclination to do her Injury. He seemed to recover himself, and smiling also proceeded in his Work. Immediately after the Operation he cried out, that he was the most unfortunate of all Men, for that he had open'd an Artery instead of a Vein. It is as impossible to express the Artist's Distraction as the Patient's Composure. I will not dwell on little Circumstances, but go on to inform you, that within three days time it was thought necessary to take off her Arm. She was so far from using Festeau as it would be natural to one of a lower Spirit to treat him, that she would not let him be absent from any Consultation about her present Condition, and on every occasion asked whether he was satisfy'd in the Measures that were taken about her. Before this last Operation she ordered her Will to be drawn, and after having been about a quarter of an hour alone, she bid the Surgeons, of whom poor Festeau was one, go on in their Work. I know not how to give you the Terms of Art, but there appeared such Symptoms after the Amputation of her Arm, that it was visible she could not live four and twenty hours. Her Behaviour was so magnanimous throughout this whole Affair, that I was particularly curious in taking Notice of what passed as her Fate approached nearer and nearer, and took Notes of what she said to all about her, particularly Word for Word what she spoke to Mr. Festeau, which was as follows.

"Sir, you give me inexpressible Sorrow for the Anguish with which I see you overwhelmed. I am removed to all Intents and Purposes from the Interests of human Life, therefore I am to begin to think like one wholly unconcerned in it. I do not consider you as one by whose Error I have lost my Life; no, you are my Benefactor, as you have hasten'd my Entrance into a happy Immortality. This is my Sense of this Accident; but the World in which you live may have Thoughts of it to your Disadvantage, I have therefore taken Care to provide for you in my Will, and have placed you above what you have to fear from their Ill-Nature."

While this excellent Woman spoke these Words, Festeau looked as if he received a Condemnation to die, instead of a Pension for his Life. Madam de Villacerfe lived till Eight of the Clock the next Night; and tho she must have laboured under the most exquisite Torments, she possessed her Mind with so wonderful a Patience, that one may rather say she ceased to breathe than she died at that hour. You who had not the happiness to be personally known to this Lady, have nothing but to rejoyce in the Honour you had of being related to so great Merit; but we who have lost her Conversation, cannot so easily resign our own Happiness by Reflection upon hers.

I am, Sir,

Your affectionate Kinsman,

and most obedient humble Servant,

Paul Regnaud.

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 369

Saturday, May 3, 1712

Аддисон

Segnius irritant animos demissa per aures

Quam quæ sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus—

Hor.

Milton Adam Milton's Babel Egypt —Thus with ten Wounds

The River-Dragon tamed at length submits

To let his Sojourners depart, and oft

Humbles his stubborn Heart; but still as Ice

More harden'd after Thaw, till in his Rage

Pursuing whom he late dismissed, the Sea

Swallows him with his Host, but them lets pass

As on dry Land between two Chrystal Walls,

Aw'd by the Rod of Moses so to stand

Divided—

Nile Egypt Ezekiel Thus saith the Lord God, behold I am against thee, Pharaoh King of Egypt, the great Dragon that lieth in the midst of his Rivers, which hath said, my River is mine own, and I have made it for my self. Milton Moses All Night he will pursue, but his Approach

Darkness defends between till morning Watch;

Then through the fiery Pillar and the Cloud

God looking forth, will trouble all his Host,

And craze their Chariot Wheels: when by command

Moses once more his potent Rod extends

Over the Sea: the Sea his Rod obeys:

On their embattell'd Ranks the Waves return

And overwhelm their War—

Adam Abraham Messiah Patriarch I see him, but thou canst not, with what Faith

He leaves his Gods, his Friends, his Native Soil,

Ur of Chaldæa, passing now the Ford

To Haran, after him a cumbrous Train

Of Herds and Flocks, and numerous Servitude,

Not wand'ring poor, but trusting all his Wealth

With God, who call'd him, in a Land unknown.

Canaan he now attains, I see his Tents

Pitch'd about Sechem, and the neighbouring Plain

Of Moreh, there by Promise he receives

Gifts to his Progeny of all that Land,

From Hamath Northward to the Desart South.

(Things by their Names I call, though yet unnamed.)

Virgil's Æneid Milton Anchises Hæc tum nomina erunt, nunc sunt sine nomine terræ.

Adam Messiah O Goodness infinite, Goodness immense!

That all this Good of Evil shall produce, &c.

Milton Milton's Satan Adam

Milton's Adam Eve Whence thou return'st, and whither went'st, I know;

For God is also in Sleep, and Dreams advise,

Which he hath sent propitious, some great Good

Presaging, since with Sorrow and Heart's Distress

Wearied I fell asleep: but now lead on;

In me is no delay: with thee to go,

Is to stay here; without thee here to stay,

Is to go hence unwilling: thou to me

Art all things under Heav'n, all Places thou,

Who for my wilful Crime art banish'd hence.

This farther Consolation yet secure

I carry hence; though all by me is lost,

Such Favour, I unworthy, am vouchsafed,

By me the promised Seed shall all restore.

Heliodorus Æthiopicks Milton So spake our Mother Eve, and Adam heard

Well pleas'd, but answered not; for now too nigh

Th' Archangel stood, and from the other Hill

To their fix'd Station, all in bright Array

The Cherubim descended; on the Ground

Gliding meteorous, as evening Mist

Ris'n from a River, o'er the Marish glides,

And gathers ground fast at the Lab'rer's Heel

Homeward returning. High in Front advanced,

The brandishd Sword of God before them blaz'd

Fierce as a Comet—

Lot In either Hand the hast'ning Angel caught

Our ling'ring Parents, and to th' Eastern Gate

Led them direct; and down the Cliff as fast

To the subjected Plain; then disappear'd.

They looking back, &c.

The 1 They looking back, all th' Eastern side beheld

Of Paradise, so late their happy Seat,

Wav'd over by that flaming Brand, the Gate

With dreadful Faces throng'd and fiery Arms:

Some natural Tears they dropped, but wiped them soon;

The World was all before them, where to chuse

Their Place of Rest, and Providence their Guide.

They hand in hand, with wandering Steps and slow,

Through Eden took their solitary Way.

The world was all before them, where to chuse

Their Place of Rest, and Providence their Guide.

Paradise Lost Æneid Virgil

Bossu Paradise Lost Milton Adam Eve

Odyssey Iliad Æneid Milton Adam's

English the Fable, the Characters, the Sentiments, and the Language Paradise Lost, Paper prove 2 Homer Virgil inserted Tasso has 3 Tasso Italian English

Footnote 1: Prospect

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2: shew

return

Footnote 3: has likewise

return

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 370

Monday, May 5, 1712

Стил

Totus Mundus agit Histrionem.

Latin Drury-Lane Spectator Mackbeth Harry the Fourth of Trip to the Jubilee, 1 Fox 2 Wilks Estcourt one Lord Foppington 3 Cibber the Dogget Johnson Corbacchio 4 The Mr. William Penkethman Fop's Fortune 5 Don Cholerick Snap Shorto de Testy Penkethman have Penkethman 6

Mrs. Bicknell Bicknell

Footnote 1: Farquhar's Constant Couple, or A Trip to the Jubilee

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2: Volpone

return

Footnote 3: Careless Husband.

return

Footnote 4: Volpone

return

Footnote 5: Love makes a Man, or The Fop's Fortune

return

Footnote 6: For the Benefit of Mr. Penkethman. At the Desire of Several Ladies of Quality. By Her Majesty's Company of Comedians. At the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, this present Monday, being the 5th of May, will be presented a Comedy called Love makes a Man, or The Fop's Fortune. The Part of Don Lewis, alias Don Choleric Snap Shorto de Testy, by Mr. Penkethman; Carlos, Mr. Wilks; Clodio, alias Don Dismallo Thick-Scullo de Half Witto, Mr. Cibber; and all the other Parts to the best Advantage. With a new Epilogue, spoken by Mr. Penkethman, riding on an Ass. By her Majesty's Command no Persons are to be admitted behind the Scenes. And To-Morrow, being Tuesday, will be presented, A Comedy call'd The Constant Couple, or A Trip to the Jubilee. For the Benefit of Mrs. Bicknell.

Essay

return

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 371

Tuesday, May 6, 1712

Аддисон

Jamne igitur laudas quod se sapientibus unus

Ridebat?

Juv.

Sir,

You know very well that our Nation is more famous for that sort of Men who are called Whims and Humourists, than any other Country in the World; for which reason it is observed that our English Comedy excells that of all other Nations in the Novelty and Variety of its Characters.

Among those innumerable Setts of Whims which our Country produces, there are none whom I have regarded with more Curiosity than those who have invented any particular kind of Diversion for the Entertainment of themselves or their Friends. My Letter shall single out those who take delight in sorting a Company that has something of Burlesque and Ridicule in its Appearance. I shall make my self understood by the following Example. One of the Wits of the last Age, who was a Man of a good Estate1, thought he never laid out his Money better than in a Jest. As he was one Year at the Bath, observing that in the great Confluence of fine People, there were several among them with long Chins, a part of the Visage by which he himself was very much distinguished, he invited to dinner half a Score of these remarkable Persons who had their Mouths in the Middle of their Faces. They had no sooner placed themselves about the Table, but they began to stare upon one another, not being able to imagine what had brought them together. Our English Proverb says,

Tis merry in the Hall,

When Beards wag all.

It proved so in the Assembly I am now speaking of, who seeing so many Peaks of Faces agitated with Eating, Drinking, and Discourse, and observing all the Chins that were present meeting together very often over the Center of the Table, every one grew sensible of the Jest, and came into it with so much Good-Humour, that they lived in strict Friendship and Alliance from that Day forward.

The same Gentleman some time after packed together a Set of Oglers, as he called them, consisting of such as had an unlucky Cast in their Eyes. His Diversion on this Occasion was to see the cross Bows, mistaken Signs, and wrong Connivances that passed amidst so many broken and refracted Rays of Sight.

The third Feast which this merry Gentleman exhibited was to the Stammerers, whom he got together in a sufficient Body to fill his Table. He had ordered one of his Servants, who was placed behind a Skreen, to write down their Table-Talk, which was very easie to be done without the help of Short-hand. It appears by the Notes which were taken, that tho' their Conversation never fell, there were not above twenty Words spoken during the first Course; that upon serving up the second, one of the Company was a quarter of an Hour in telling them, that the Ducklins and Asparagus2 were very good; and that another took up the same time in declaring himself of the same Opinion. This Jest did not, however, go off so well as the former; for one of the Guests being a brave Man, and fuller of Resentment than he knew how to express, went out of the Room, and sent the facetious Inviter a Challenge in Writing, which though it was afterwards dropp'd by the Interposition of Friends, put a Stop to these ludicrous Entertainments.

Now, Sir, I dare say you will agree with me, that as there is no Moral in these Jests, they ought to be discouraged, and looked upon rather as pieces of Unluckiness than Wit. However, as it is natural for one Man to refine upon the Thought of another, and impossible for any single Person, how great soever his Parts may be, to invent an Art, and bring it to its utmost Perfection; I shall here give you an account of an honest Gentleman of my Acquaintance who upon hearing the Character of the Wit above mentioned, has himself assumed it, and endeavoured to convert it to the Benefit of Mankind. He invited half a dozen of his Friends one day to Dinner, who were each of them famous for inserting several redundant Phrases in their Discourse, as d'y hear me, d'ye see, that is, and so Sir. Each of the Guests making frequent use of his particular Elegance, appeared so ridiculous to his Neighbour, that he could not but reflect upon himself as appearing equally ridiculous to the rest of the Company: By this means, before they had sat long together, every one talking with the greatest Circumspection, and carefully avoiding his favourite Expletive, the Conversation was cleared of its Redundancies, and had a greater Quantity of Sense, tho' less of Sound in it.

The same well-meaning Gentleman took occasion, at another time, to bring together such of his Friends as were addicted to a foolish habitual Custom of Swearing. In order to shew the Absurdity of the Practice, he had recourse to the Invention above mentioned, having placed an Amanuensis in a private part of the Room. After the second Bottle, when Men open their Minds without Reserve, my honest Friend began to take notice of the many sonorous but unnecessary Words that had passed in his House since their sitting down at Table, and how much good Conversation they had lost by giving way to such superfluous Phrases. What a Tax, says he, would they have raised for the Poor, had we put the Laws in Execution upon one another? Every one of them took this gentle Reproof in good part: Upon which he told them, that knowing their Conversation would have no Secrets in it, he had ordered it to be taken down in Writing, and for the humour sake would read it to them, if they pleased. There were ten Sheets of it, which might have been reduced to two, had there not been those abominable Interpolations I have before mentioned. Upon the reading of it in cold Blood, it looked rather like a Conference of Fiends than of Men. In short, every one trembled at himself upon hearing calmly what he had pronounced amidst the Heat and Inadvertency of Discourse.

I shall only mention another Occasion wherein he made use of the same Invention to cure a different kind of Men, who are the Pests of all polite Conversation, and murder Time as much as either of the two former, though they do it more innocently; I mean that dull Generation of Story-tellers. My Friend got together about half a dozen of his Acquaintance, who were infected with this strange Malady. The first Day one of them sitting down, entered upon the Siege of Namur, which lasted till four a-clock, their time of parting. The second Day a North-Britain took possession of the Discourse, which it was impossible to get out of his Hands so long as the Company staid together. The third Day was engrossed after the same manner by a Story of the same length. They at last began to reflect upon this barbarous way of treating one another, and by this means awakened out of that Lethargy with which each of them had been seized for several Years.

As you have somewhere declared, that extraordinary and uncommon Characters of Mankind are the Game which you delight in, and as I look upon you to be the greatest Sportsman, or, if you please, the Nimrod among this Species of Writers, I thought this Discovery would not be unacceptable to you.

I am,

Sir, &c.

Footnote 1: Zimri Rehearsal

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2: Sparrow-grass

return

Содержание Содержание, стр. 6

№ 372

Wednesday, May 7, 1712

Стил

Pudet hæc opprobria nobis

Et dici potuisse et non potuisse refelli.

Ovid.

May 6, 1712.

Mr. Spectator,

I am Sexton of the Parish of Covent-Garden, and complained to you some time ago, that as I was tolling in to Prayers at Eleven in the Morning, Crowds of People of Quality hastened to assemble at a Puppet-Show on the other Side of the Garden. I had at the same time a very great Disesteem for Mr. Powell and his little thoughtless Commonwealth, as if they had enticed the Gentry into those Wandrings: But let that be as it will, I now am convinced of the honest Intentions of the said Mr. Powell and Company; and send this to acquaint you, that he has given all the Profits which shall arise to-morrow Night by his Play to the use of the poor Charity-Children of this Parish. I have been informed, Sir, that in Holland all Persons who set up any Show, or act any Stage-Play, be the Actors either of Wood and Wire, or Flesh and Blood, are obliged to pay out of their Gain such a Proportion to the honest and industrious Poor in the Neighbourhood: By this means they make Diversion and Pleasure pay a Tax to Labour and Industry. I have been told also, that all the time of Lent, in Roman Catholick Countries, the Persons of Condition administred to the Necessities of the Poor, and attended the Beds of Lazars and diseased Persons. Our Protestant Ladies and Gentlemen are so much to seek for proper ways of passing Time, that they are obliged to Punchinello for knowing what to do with themselves. Since the Case is so, I desire only you would intreat our People of Quality, who are not to be interrupted in their Pleasure to think of the Practice of any moral Duty, that they would at least fine for their Sins, and give something to these poor Children; a little out of their Luxury and Superfluity, would attone, in some measure, for the wanton Use of the rest of their Fortunes. It would not, methinks, be amiss, if the Ladies who haunt the Cloysters and Passages of the Play-house, were upon every Offence obliged to pay to this excellent Institution of Schools of Charity: This Method would make Offenders themselves do Service to the Publick. But in the mean time I desire you would publish this voluntary Reparation which Mr. Powell does our Parish, for the Noise he has made in it by the constant rattling of Coaches, Drums, Trumpets, Triumphs, and Battels. The Destruction of Troy adorned with Highland Dances, are to make up the Entertainment of all who are so well disposed as not to forbear a light Entertainment, for no other Reason but that it is to do a good Action.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Ralph Bellfry.

I am credibly informed, that all the Insinuations which a certain Writer made against Mr. Powell at the Bath, are false and groundless.

Mr. Spectator,

My Employment, which is that of a Broker, leading me often into Taverns about the Exchange, has given me occasion to observe a certain Enormity, which I shall here submit to your Animadversion. In three or four of these Taverns, I have, at different times, taken notice of a precise Set of People with grave Countenances, short Wiggs, black Cloaths, or dark Camlet trimmd with Black, and mourning Gloves and Hatbands, who meet on certain Days at each Tavern successively, and keep a sort of moving Club. Having often met with their Faces, and observed a certain slinking Way in their dropping in one after another, I had the Curiosity to enquire into their Characters, being the rather moved to it by their agreeing in the Singularity of their Dress; and I find upon due Examination they are a Knot of Parish-Clarks, who have taken a fancy to one another, and perhaps settle the Bills of Mortality over their Half-pints. I have so great a Value and Veneration for any who have but even an assenting Amen in the Service of Religion, that I am afraid lest these Persons should incur some Scandal by this Practice; and would therefore have them, without Raillery, advised to send the Florence and Pullets home to their own Houses, and not pretend to live as well as the Overseers of the Poor.