who is honeft and faithful in all his Thoughts and Actions. Every thing which is falfe, vicious, or unworthy, is defpicable to him, though all the World fhould approve it. At the fame time he has the moft lively Senfibility in all Enjoyments and Sufferings which it is proper for him to haye, where any Duty of Life is concerned. To want Sorrow when you in Decency and Truth fhould be afflicted, is, I fhould think, a greater Inftance of a Man's being a Blockhead, than not to know the Beauty of any Paffage in Virgil. You have not yet obferved, Mr. SPECTATOR, that the fine Gentlemen of this Age fet up for hardness of "Heart, and Humanity has very little fhare in their Pretences. He is a ¿ brave Fellow who is always ready> to kill a Man he hates, but he does " not stand in the fame degree of E'fteem who laments for the Woman he loves. I fhould fancy you might work up a thousand pretty Thoughts, by reflecting upon the Perfons moft fufceptible of the fort of Sorrow I have spoken of; and I dare fay you ⚫ will find upon Examination, that they'

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are the wifeft and the braveft of Mankind who are moft capable of it.

Vera-redit facies, dissimülata perit. P. Arb

Mr. SPECTATOR,

Have been for many Years

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loud in this Affertion, That there are very few that can fee or hear, I mean that can report what "they have seen or heard, and this through Incapacity of Prejudice, one of which disables almost every Man "who talks to you from reprefenting things as he ought. For which rea• fon I am come to a Resolution of be⚫lieving nothing I hears and I conG temn

temn the Men given to Narrations under the Appellation of a Mátter-ofFact Man: And according to me, a Matter of Fact) Man is one whofe Life and Converfation is in the Report' of what is not Máttér-of-Fact.

"I remember when Prince Eugene was here, there was no knowing his "Height or Figure, till you, Mr. SPECTATOR, gave the Publick Satisfaction in that Matter. In Relations, the Force of the Expreffion lies very of"ten more in the Look, the Tone of "Voice, or the Gefture, than the • Words themselves; which being repeated in any other manner by the undifcerning, bear a very different Interpretation from their original Meaning. I must confefs, I formerly have "turned this Humour of mine to very good account; for whenever I heard any Narration utter'd with extraordinary Vehemence, and grounded upon confiderable Authority, I was always "ready to lay any Wager that it was not fo. Indeed I never pretended to be fo rafh, as to fix the matter any "particular way in oppofition to theirs; but as there are an hundred ways of • any thing happening, befides that it

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happened, I only controverted its falling out in that one manner as they fettled it, and left it to the ninety nine other ways, and confequently had more Probability of Succefs. I had arrived at a particular Skill in warming a Man fo far in his Narration, as to make him throw in a little of the Marvelous, and then, if he has much Fire, the next Degree is the Impoffi ble. Now this is always the Time for fixing the Wager. But this requires the niceft Management, other wife very probably the Dispute may arife to the old Determination by Battel. In these Conceits I have been very fortunate, and have won fome Wagers of those who have profeffedly valued themselves upon Intelligence, and have put themfelves to great Charge and Expence to be mifinform'd confiderably fooner than the reft of the World..

HAVING got a comfortable Sum by this my oppofition to publick Report, I have brought my felf now to fo great a Perfection in Inattention, more efpecially to Party-Relations, that at the fame time I feem with greedy Ears to devour up the

• Difcourfe,

'Difcourfe, I certainly don't know C one Word of it, but pursue my own 'courfe of Thought, whether upon Bu'finefs or Amusement, with much Tranquillity: I fay Inattention, because a late Act of Parliament has fecur'd all Party-Lyars from the Penalty of a Wager, and confequently made it unpro 'fitable to attend to them. However, 'Good-breeding obliges a Man to maintain the Figure of the keenest • Attention, the true Pofture of which in a Coffee-houfe I take to confift in leaning over a Table, with the edge of it preffing hard upon your Sto mach: for the more Pain the Narra⚫tion is received with, the more gracious is your bending over: Befides that the Narrator thinks you forget your Pain, by the Pleasure of hearing • him.

FORT Knock has occafioned feveral very perplexed and inelegant Heats and Animofities; and there was one t'other Day in a Coffee-house ' where I was, that took upon him to clear that Business to me, for he faid he was there. I knew him to be that 'fort of Man that had not Strength of Capacity to be inform'd of any thing VOL. XIV.

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