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walked on the bottom of it till he arofe on the other fide. At his approach Yaratilda flew into his arms, whilst Marraton wifhed himself difencumbered of that body which kept her from his embraces. After many queftions and endearments on both fides, fhe conducted him to a bower which he had dreffed with her own hands with all the ornaments that could be met with in those blooming regions. She had made it gay beyond imagination, and was every day adding something new to it. As Marraton ftood aftonifhed at the unfpeakable beauty of her habitation, and ravished with the fragrancy that came from every part of it, Yaratilda told him that he was preparing this bower for his reception, as well knowing that his piety to his god and his faithful dealing towards men, would certainly bring him to that happy place whenever his life fhould be at an end. She then brought two of her children to him, who died fome years before, and refided with her in the fame delightful bower, advifing him to breed up thofe others which were ftill with him, in fuch a manner that they might hereafter all of them meet together in this happy place.

The tradition tells us further, that he had afterwards a fight of thofe difmal habitations which are the portion of ill men after death; and mentions feveral molten feas of gold, in which were plunged the fouls of barbarous Europeans, who put to the fword fo many thousands of poor Indians for the fake of that precious metal; but having already touched upon the chief points of this tradition, and exceeded the measure of my paper, I fhall not give any further account of it.

C.

No.

No. LVII. SATURDAY, MAY 5.

Quem præftare poteft mulier galeata pudorem,

Quæ fugit a fexu?

Juv.

What fenfe of fhame in woman's breaft can lie,
Inur'd to arms, and her own fex to fly.

DRYDEN.

WHEN the wife of Hector, in Homer's Iliad, dif

courfes with her husband about the battle in which he was going to engage,-the hero, defiring her to leave that matter to his care, bids her go to her maids and mind her fpinning; by which the poet intimates, that men and women ought to bufy themfelves in their proper fpheres, and on fuch matters only as are fuitable to their refpective fex.

I am at this time acquainted with a young gentleman who has paffed a great part of his life in the nursery, and, upon occafion, can make a caudle or a fack-poffet better than any man in England. He is likewife a wonderful critic in cambric and muflins, and will talk an hour together upon a fiveet-meat. He entertains his mother every night with obfervations that he makes both in town and court; as what lady fhews the niceft fancy in her drefs; what man of quality wears the faireft wig; who has the finest linen, who the prettiest fnuff-box; with many other the like curious remarks, that may be made in good company,

On the other hand, I have very frequently the opportunity of fecing a rural Andromache, who came up to town laft winter, and is one of the greatest fox-hunters in the country. She talks of hounds and horfes, and makes nothing of leaping over a fix-bar gate. If a man tells her a waggifh ftory, the gives him a pufh with her hand in jeft, and calls him an impudent dog: and if her fervant ne lects his bufinefs, threatens to kick him out of the houfe. I have heard her, in her wrath, call a ful Fantial tradefiman a loufv cur; and remember one day, when the could not think of the name of a perfon,

fhe defcribed him, in a large company of men and ladies, by the fellow with the broad fhouliers.

If thofe fpeeches and actions, which in their own nature are indifferent, appear ridiculous when they proceed from a wrong fex, the faults and imperfections of one fex tranfplanted into another, appear black and monftrous. As for the men, I fhall not in this paper any further concern myself about them; but as I would fain contribute to make womankind, which is the most beautiful part of the creation, entirely amiable, and wear out all thofe little fpots and blemishes that are apt to rise among the charms which nature has poured out upon them, I fhall dedicate this paper to their service. The fpot which I would here endeavour to clear them of, is that party-rage which of late years has very much crept into their converfation. This is, in its nature, a male vice, and made up of many angry and cruel paffions that are altogether repugnant to the foftness, the modefty, and thofe other endearing qualities which are natural to the fair fex. Women were formed to temper mankind, and footh them into tendernefs and compaffion; not to fet an edge upon their minds, and blow up in them those paffions which are too apt to rife of their own accord. When I have feen a pretty mouth uttering calumnies and invectives, what would I not have given to have ftopt it! How have I been troubled to fee fome of the fineft features in the world grow pale, and tremble with party-rage ! Camilla is one of the greatest beauties in the British nation, and yet values herfelf more upon being the virago of one party, than upon being the toaft of both. The dear creature, about a week ago, encountered the fierce and beautiful Penthefilea across a teatable; but in the height of her anger, as her hand chanced to thake with the carneftnefs of the difpute, the fcalded her fingers, and spilt a dish of tea upon her petticoat. Had not this accident broke off the debate, nobody knows where it would have ended.

There is one confideration which I would earnestly recommend to all my female readers, and which, I hope, will have fome weight with them. In fhort, it is this,

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that there is nothing fo bad for the face as party-zeal。 It gives an ill-natured caft to the eye, and a difagreeable fournefs to the look; befid s that, it makes the lines too ftrong, and fluihes them worfe than brandy. I have feen a woman's face break out in heats as fhe has been talking against a great lord, whom he had never feen in her life; and indeed never knew a party woman that kept her beauty for a twelvemonth. I would therefore a ivife all my female readers, as they value their complexions, to let alone all disputes of this nature; though at the fame time I would give free liberty to all fuperannuated motherly partizans to be as violent as they pleafe, fince there will be no danger either of their spoiling their faces, or of their gaining converts.

For my own part, I think a man makes an odious and defpicable figure that is violent in a party; but a woman is too fincere to mitigate the fury of her principles with temper and difcretion, and to act with that caution and refervednefs which are requifite in our fex. When this unnatural zeal gets into them, it throws them into ten thousand heats and extravagancies; their generous fouls fet no bounds to their love or to their hatred; and whether a Whig or a Tory, a lap-dog or a gallant, an opera or puppet-fhow, be the object of it, the pallion, while it reigns, engroffes the whole woman.

I remember when Dr. Titus Oates was in all his glory, I accompanied my friend Will. Honeycomb in a vifit to a lady of his acquaintance. We were no fooner fat down, but upon cafting my eyes about the room, I found in almost every corner of it a print that reprefented the doctor in all magnitudes and dimenfions. A little after, as the lady was difcourfing my friend, and held her fouffbox in her hand, who fhould I fee in the lid of it but the doctor! It was not long after this when she had occafion for her handkerchief, which upon the first opening difcovered among the plaits of it the figure of the doctor. Upon this my friend Will, who loves raillery, told her, That if he was in Mr. Truelove's place, for that was the name of her husband, he should be made as uneafy by a handkerchief as ever Othello was. "I am afraid," faid

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fhe, "Mr. Honeycomb, you are a Tory; tell me truly, 66 are you a friend to the doctor or not?" Will, instead of making her a reply, fmiled in her face, for indeed the was very pretty, and told her that one of her patches was dropping off. She immediately adjusted it, and looking a little feriously, "Well," fays fhe, "I'll be hanged if you and your friend are not against the doctor in your "hearts. I fufpected as much by his faying nothing.” Upon this fhe took her fan into her hand, and upon the opening of it again difplayed to us the figure of the doctor, who was placed with great gravity among the flicks of it. In a word, I found that the doctor had taken poffeffion of her thoughts, her difcourfe, and most of her furniture; but finding myfelf preffed too clofe by her queftion, I winked upon my friend to take his leave; which he did accordingly.

No. LVIII. MONDAY, MAY 7.

Ut pictura pot fis erit

Poems like pictures are.

HOR.

C.

NOTHING is fo much admired, and fo little under

ftood, as wit. No author that I know of has written profeffedly upon it; and as for those who make any mention of it, they only treat on the fubject as it has accidentally fallen in their way, and that too in little short reflections, or in general declamatory flourishes, without entering into the bottom of the matter. I hope, therefore, I thall perform an acceptable work to my countrymen, if I treat at large upon this fubject; which I fhall endeavour to do in a manner fuitable to it, that I may not incur the cenfure which a famous critic bestows upon one who had written a treatife upon the Sublime in a low grovelling ftile. I intend to lay afide a whole week for this undertaking, that the fcheme of my thoughts may not be broken and interrupted; and I dare promise myfelf, if my readers will give me a week's attention, that

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