• fure in a thoufand there is hardly one real instanee ; ⚫ for if a woman does but know that her husband can spare about three or fix fhillings a week extraordinary, (although this is but feldom confidered) fhe certainly, with the affiftance of her goffips, will foon perfuade the good man to fend the child to nurse, and easily impofe upon him by pretending indifpofition. This cruelty is fupported by fashion, and nature gives place to cuftom.

T*

SIR, your humble fervant.' * By STEELE, tranfcribed or compofed from the letter-box.

N° 247 Thursday, December 13, 1711.

Τῶν δ' ἀκάματο ρέει αὐγὴ

Ἐκ ςομάτων ἡδεῖα

Hefiod.

"Their untired lips a wordy torrent pour."`

E are told by fome ancient authors, that So

W crates was inftructed in eloquence by a wo

man, whofe name, if I am not mistaken,, was Afpafia. I have indeed very often looked upon that art as the most proper for the female fex, and I think the Univerfities would do well to confider whether they should not fill the rhetoric chairs with SHE Profeffors.

It has been faid in the praife of fome men, that they could talk whole hours together upon any thing; but it must be owned to the honour of the other fex, that there are many among them who can talk whole hours together upon nothing. I have known a woman branch out into a long extempore differtation upon the edging of a petticoat, and chide her fervant for breaking a china cup, in all the figures of rhetoric.

Were women admitted to plead in courts of Judicature, I am perfuaded they would carry the eloquence of the bar to greater heights than it has yet arrived at. If any one doubts this, let him but be prefent at those debates which frequently arife among the ladies of the "British Fifhery:"

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That

The first kind therefore of Female Orators which I fhall take notice of, are thofe who are employed in ftirring up the paffions, a part of rhetoric in which Socrates his wife had perhaps made a greater proficiency than his above-mentioned teacher.

The fecond kind of Female Orators are those who deal in invectives, and who are commonly known by the name of the CENSORIOUS. The imagination and elocution of this fet of rhetoricians is wonderful. With what a fluency of invention, and copioufnefs of expreffion, will they enlarge upon every little flip in the behaviour of another? With how many different circumftances, and with what variety of phrafes, will they tell over the fame ftory? I have known an old lady make an unhappy marriage the fubject of a month's converfation. She blamed the bride in one place; pitied her in another; laughed at her in a third; wondered at her in a fourth; was angry with her in a fifth ; and in short, wore out a pair of coach-horfes in expressing her concern for her. At length, after having quite exhausted the fubject on this fide, fhe made a visit to the new-married pair, praised the wife for the prudent choice fhe had made, told her the unreasonable reflections which fome malicious people had caft upon her, and defired that they might be better acquainted. The cenfure and approbation of this kind of women are therefore only to be confidered as helps to difcourfe.

A third kind of Female Orators may be compréhended under the word Gossips. Mrs. Fiddle Faddle is perfectly accomplished in this fort of eloquence; fhe launches out into defcriptions of christenings, runs divifions upon an head-drefs, knows every difh of meat that is ferved up in her neighbourhood, and entertains her company a whole afternoon together with the wit of her little boy, before he is able to fpeak.

The COQUETTE may be looked upon as a fourth kind of Female Orator. To give herself the larger field for difcourfe, the hates and loves in the fame breath, talks to her lap-dog or parrot, is uneafy in all kinds of weather, and in every part of the room. She has falfe quarrels and feigned obligations to all the men of her acquaintance; fighs when he is not fad, and laughs

when

when she is not merry. The Coquette is in particular a great mistress of that part of Oratory which is called Action, and indeed feems to fpeak for no other purpose, but as it gives her an opportunity of stirring a limb, or varying a feature, of glancing her eyes, or playing with her fan.

As for news-mongers, politicians, mimics, ftorytellers, with other characters of that nature, which give birth to loquacity, they are as commonly found among the men as the women; for which reafon I shall pass them over in filence.

1

I have often been puzzled to affign a caufe why women should have this talent of a ready utterance in fo much greater perfection than men. I have fometimes fancied that they have not a retentive power, or the faculty of fuppreffing their thoughts, as men have, but that they are neceffitated to speak every thing they think, and if fo, it would perhaps furnish a very strong argument to the Cartefians, for the fupporting of their doctrine, that the foul always thinks. But as feveral are of opinion that the fair fex are not altogether strangers to the art of diffembling and concealing their thoughts, I have been forced to relinquish that opinion, and have therefore endeavoured to feek after fome better reafon. In order to it, a friend of mine, who is an excellent anatomift, has promifed me by the first opportunity to diffect a woman's Tongue, and to examine whether there may not be in it certain juices which render it fo wonderfully voluble or flippant, or whether the fibres of it may not be made up of a finer or more pliant thread, or whether there are not in it fome particular mufcles which dart it up and down by fuch fudden glances and vibrations; or whether in the last place, there may not be certain undiscovered channels running from the head and the heart, to this little inftrument of loquacity, and conveying into it a perpetual affluence of animal fpirits. Nor must 1 omit the reafon which Hudibras has given, why thofe who can talk on trifles speak with the greatest fluency; namely, that the tongue is like a racehorfe*, which runs the fafter the leffer weight it carries.

*Part III. Canto 2. ver. 443.

-Still his tongue ran on, the lefs
Of weight it bore, with greater eafe.
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Which

Which of thefe reafons foever may be looked upon as the most probable, I think the Irishman's thought was very natural, who after fome hours converfation with a Female Orator, told her, that he believed her tongue was very glad when fhe was afleep, for that it had not a moment's reft all the while fhe was awake.

That excellent old Ballad of THE WANTON WIFE OF BATH, has the following remarkable lines.

I think, quoth Thomas, womens tongues

Of afpen leaves are made.

the

And Ovid, though in the defcription of a very barbarous circumftance, tells us, That when the tongue of a beautiful female was cut out, and thrown upon ground, it could not forbear muttering even in that posture.

-Comprenfam forcipe linguam

Abftulit enfe fero, Radix micat ultima linguæ.
Ipfa jacet, terraque tremens immurmurat atræ ;
Utque falire folet inutilata cauda colubræ

Palpitat

Met. vi. 556.

"The blade had cut

"Her tongue fheer of, clofe to the trembling root: "The mangled part ftill quiver'd on the ground, "Murmuring with a faint imperfect found; "And, as a ferpent writhes his wounded train, "Uneafy, panting, and poffefs'd with pain."

CROXALL.

If a tongue would be talking without a mouth, what could it have done when it had all its organs of speech, and accomplices of found about it; I might here mention the ftory of the Pippin Woman, had not 1 fome reafon to look upon it as fabulous †.

* See "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry," Vol. III. p. 148, &c. 2d Edit.

This is a fine ftroke of humour, after having admitted Ovid's Tale of Philomel without any objections to its veracity. The ftory here referred to, is of an APPLE-Woman, who when, the Thames was frozen over, was faid to have her head cut off by the ice: It is humourously told in Gay's Trivia.

"The cracking cryftal yields, fhe finks, the dies,
"Her head chopt off, from her loft fhoulders flies,
"Pippins fhe cry'd, but death her voice confounds,
And pip-pip-pip along the ice refounds.”

Book II. v. 375, &c.

P.

I must confefs I am fo wonderfully charmed with the mufic of this little inftrument, that I would by no means difcourage it. All that I aim at by this differtation is, to cure it of feveral difagreeable notes, and in particular of thofe little jarrings and diffonances which arife from Anger, Cenforioufnefs, Goffiping and Coquetry.. In fhort, I would always have it tuned by good-nature, truth, difcretion and fincerity. *C

*By ADDISON, dated, it feems, from Chelsea.

N° 248 Friday, December 14, 1711.

Tull.

Hoc maximè officii eft, ut quifque maximè opis indigeat, ita ei potiffimum opitulari. "It is a principal point of duty, to affift another most,. "when he stands moft in need of affiftance."

T

HERE are none who deferve fuperiority over others in the esteem of mankind, who do not make it their endeavour to be beneficial to fociety; and who upon all occafions which their circumftances of life can adminifter, do not take a certain. unfeigned pleasure in conferring benefits of one kind. or other. Thofe whofe great talents and high birth. have placed them in confpicuous ftations of life, are indifpenfably obliged to exert fome noble inclinations for the fervice of the world, or elfe fuch advantages become misfortunes, and fhade and privacy are a more eligible portion. Where opportunities and inclinations are given to the fame perfon, we fometimes fee sublime: inftances of virtue, which fo dazzle our imaginations, that we look with fcorn on all which in lower fcenes of life we may ourselves be able to practife. But this is a vicious way of thinking; and it bears fome fpice of romantic madness, for a man to imagine that he muft grow ambitious, or feek adventures to be able to do great actions. It is in every man's power in the world who is above mere poverty, not only to do things worthy,,

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