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Mr. SPECTATOR,

Am a country gentleman, of a good plentiful eftate, and live as the rest of my neighbours with great hofpitality. I have been ever reckoned among the ladies the beft company in the world, and have access as a fort of favourite. I never came in public but I faluted them, though in great affemblies, all around; where it was feen how genteelly I avoided hampering my fpurs in their petticoats, whilft I moved amongst them; and on the other fide how prettily they curtfied and received me, standing in proper rows, and advancing as faft as they faw their elders, or their betters, difpatched by me. But fo it is, Mr. SPECTATOR, that all our good-breeding is of late loft by the unhappy arrival of a courtier, or town gentleman, who came lately among us. This perfon wherever he came into a room made a profound • bow, and fell back, then recovered with a foft air, and made a bow to the next, and fo to one or two more, and then took the grofs of the room, by paffing by them in a continual bow until he arrived at the perfon he thought proper particularly to entertain. This he did with fo good a grace and affurance, that it is taken for the prefent fashion; and there is no young gentlewoman within feveral miles of this place has been kiffed ever fince his first appearance among · us. We country gentlemen cannot begin again and learn these fine and referved airs; and our converfa⚫tion is at a stand, until we have your judgment for or against KISSING by way of civility or falutation; which is impatiently expected by your friends of both fexes, but by none fo much as

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• Your humble fervant, RUSTIC SPRIGHTLY.' December 3, 1711.

Mr. SPECTATOR, Was the other night at PHILASTER *, where I expected to hear your famous Trunk-maker, but was unhappily disappointed of his company, and faw

Acted Friday, Nov. 30, as appears from the advertisements.

⚫ another

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another person who had the like ambition to diftinguifh himself in a noify manner, partly by vociferation or talking loud, and partly by his bold agility. This was a very lufty fellow, but withal a fort of beau, who getting into one of the fide-boxes on the ftage before the curtain drew, was difpofed to shew. the whole audience his activity by leaping over the spikes; he paffed from thence to one of the entering doors, where he took fnuff with a tolerable good grace, difplayed his fine cloaths, made two or three feint paffes · at the curtain with his cane, then faced about and appeared at t' other door. Here he affected to furvey ⚫ the whole houfe, bowed and fmiled at random, and 'then fhewed his teeth, which were fome of them indeed very white. After this he retired behind the curtain, and obliged us with feveral views of his perfon from every opening.

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During the time of acting, he appeared frequently in the prince's apartment, made one at the huntingmatch, and was very forward in the rebellion *. if there were no injunctions to the contrary, yet this practice must be confeffed to diminish the pleasure of the audience, and for that reafon to be prefumptuous and unwarrantable: But fince her majefty's late com• mand has made it criminalt, you have authority to take notice of it.

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"

Sir, your humble fervant,

* Different scenes in the play of Philafter.

CHARLES EASY."

In the play-bills about this time, there was this claufe, "By her majefty's command no perfon to be admitted behind the fcenes."

By STEELE, compofed or communicated from the letter-box. N. B. At the conclufion of the penult paragraph of N° 235, for force and partition, read fence and partition. SPECT. in folio.

ADVERTISEMENT.

ttt The Houfe [late Mr. Clinch's] in Epfom, is now a Boarding-School, being very large and convenient for the purpose, fituate in an healthful air near the Downs, where Latin, French, Writing, &c. are taught by J. Crew, A. M. Ibidem.

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N° 241 Thurfday, December 6, 1711.

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Semperque relinqui

Sola fibi, femper longam incomitata videtur
Ire viam-

Virg. Æn. iv. 466.

"All fad the feems, forfaken, and alone: "And left to wander wide thro' paths unknown. P.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

T

Hough you have confidered virtuous love in most of its diftreffes, I do not remember that you have given us any differtation upon the ⚫ abfence of lovers, or laid down any methods how they should fupport themselves under thofe long feparations which they are fometimes forced to undergo. I am at prefent in this unhappy circumftance, having parted with the best of husbands, who is abroad in the ⚫ fervice of his country, and may not poffibly return for fome years. His warm and generous affection while we were together, with the tendernefs which he expreffed to me at parting, make his abfence almost infupportable. I think of him every moment of the day, and meet him every night in my dreams. Every thing I fee puts me in mind of him. I apply myself with more than ordinary diligence to the care of his family and his eftate; but this, inftead of relieving me, gives me but fo many occafions of wifhing for ⚫ his return. I frequent the rooms where I used to con⚫ verfe with him, and not meeting him there, fit down in his chair, and fall a weeping. I love to read the books he delighted in, and to converfe with the perfons whom he esteemed. I vifit his picture a hundred times a day, and place myself over-againft it whole hours together. I pafs a great part of my time in the walks where I ufed to lean upon his arm, and recol⚫lect in my mind the difcourfes which have there paffed • between

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between us: I look over the feveral profpects and points of view which we used to furvey together, fix my eye upon the objects which he has made me take notice of, and call to mind a thousand agreeable re• marks which he has made on those occafions. I write to him by every conveyance, and contrary to other people, am always in good-hamour when an ealtwind blows, because it feldom fails of bringing me a letter from him. Let me intreat you, Sir, to give me your advice upon this occafion, and to let me know how I may relieve myself in this my widowhood.

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I am, Sir, your very humble fervant,

• ASTERIA.'

ABSENCE is what the poets call death in love, and has given occafion to abundance of beautiful complaints in those authors who have treated of this paffion in verfe. OVID'S Epiftles" are full of them. Otway's Monimia talks very tenderly upon this fubject.

"It was not kind

"To leave me like a turtle, here alone,
"To droop and mourn the absence of my mate.
"When thou art from me, every place is defert:
"And I, methinks, am favage and forlorn.

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Thy prefence only 'tis can make me bleft, "Heal my unquiet mind, and tune my foul." ORPHAN, A& II.

The confolations of lovers on thefe occafions are very extraordinary. Befides thofe mentioned by Afteria, there are many other motives of comfort, which are made ufe of by abfent lovers.

I remember in one of SCUDERY's "Romances,” a couple of honourable lovers agreed at their parting to fet afide one half hour in the day to think of each other during a tedious abfence. The Romance tells us, that they both of them punctually obferved the time thus agreed upon; and that whatever company or bufinefs they were engaged in, they left it abruptly as foon as the clock warned them to retire. The Romance further adds, That the lovers expected the return of this ftated hour 0 4

with

with as much impatience, as if it had been a real affignation, and enjoyed an imaginary happiness that was almoft as pleafing to them as what they would have found from a real meeting. It was an inexpreffible fatisfaction to thefe divided lovers, to be affured that each was at the fame time employed in the fame kind of contemplation, and making equal returns of tenderness and affection.

If I may be allowed to mention a more ferious expedient for the alleviating of abfence, I fhall take notice of one which I have known two perfons practife, who joined religion to that elegance of fentiments with which the paffion of love generally inspires its votaries. This was, at the return of fuch an hour, to offer up a certain prayer for each other, which they had agreed upon before their parting. The husband, who is a man that makes a figure in the polite world, as well as in his own family, has often told me, that he could not have fupported an abfence of three years without this expedient.

STRADA, in one of his " Profufions*," gives an account of a chimerical correfpondence between two friends by the help of a certain loadstone, which had fuch virtue in it, that if it touched two feveral needles, when one of the needles fo touched began to move, the other, though at never fo great a distance, moved at the fame time, and in the fame manner. He tells us, that the two friends, being each of them poffeffed of one of thefe needles, made a kind of a dial-plate, infcribing it with the four and twenty letters, in the fame manner as the hours of the day are marked upon the ordinary dialplate. They then fixed one of the needles on each of thefe plates in fuch a manner, that it could move round without impediment, fo as to touch any of the four and twenty letters. Upon their feparating from one another into diftant countries, they agreed to withdraw themselves punctually into their clofets at a certain hour of the day, and to converfe with one another by means of this their invention. Accordingly when they were fome hundred miles afunder, each of them shut Lib. II. Prol. 6. See the Guardian, Vol. II. N° 115, 119,

122.

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