her own fex laugh at her affectation; and the men, who always enjoy an ill-natured pleafure in feeing an imperious beauty humbled and neglected, regard her with the fame fatisfaction that a free nation fees a tyrant in difgrace. Will Honeycomb, who is a great admirer of the gallantries in king Charles the fecond's reign, lately communicated to me a letter written by a wit of that age to his mistress, who it feems was a lady of Canidia's humour; and though I do not always approve of my friend Will's tafte, I liked this letter fo well, that I took a copy of it, with which I fhall here prefent my reader. Madam, To CHLO E. SINCE my waking thoughts have never been able to influence you in my favour, I am resolved to try * whether my dreams can make any impreffion on you. To this end I fhall give you an account of a very odd one which my fancy prefented to me last night, within a few hours after I left you. Methought I was unaccountably conveyed into the mof. delicious place mine eyes ever beheld: it was a large valley divided by a river of the pureft water I had ever feen. The ground on each fide of it rofe by an eafy afcent, and was covered with flowers of an infinite variety, which as they were reflected in the water dou⚫bled the beauties of the place, or rather formed an imaginary fcene more beautiful than the real. On each fide of the river was a range of lofty trees, whose boughs were loaded with almost as many birds as leaves. Every tree was full of harmony. I had not gone far in this pleasant valley, when I perceived that it was terminated by a moft magnificent temple. The ftructure was ancient, and regular. On the top of it was figured the god Saturn, in the fame fhape and drefs that the poets ufually reprefent Time. As I was advancing to fatisfy my curiofity by a nearer view, I was stopped by an object far more beautiful than ⚫any I had before difcovered in the whole place. I fancy, madam, madam, you will eafily guess that this could hardly be any thing but yourself; in reality it was fo; you lay extended on the flowers by the fide of the river, fo that your hands, which were thrown in a negligent posture, almoft touched the water. Your eyes were clofed; but if your fleep deprived me of the fatisfaction of feeing them, it left me at leifure to contemplate feveral other charms, which disappear when your eyes are open. I could not but admire the tranquillity you flept in, efpecially when I confidered the uneafinefs you produce in: • fo many others. While I was wholly taken up in these reflexions, the doors of the temple flew open, with a very great noise; and lifting up my eyes, I faw two figures, in human fhape, coming into the valley. Upon a nearer furvey, I found them to be Youth and Love. The first was incircled with a kind of purple light, that fpread a glory over all the place; the other held a flaming torch in his hand. I could obferve, that all the way as they came towards us, the colours of the flowers appeared more lively, the trees fhot out in bloffoms, the birds. 'threw themselves into pairs, and ferenaded them as they paffed the whole face of nature glowed with new beauties. They were no fooner arrived at the place where you lay, when they feated themselves on each fide of you. On their approach, methought I saw a new bloom arife in your face, and new charms diffufe themfelves over your whole perfon. You appeared more than mortal; but, to my great furprise, continued faft afleep, though the two deities made feveral gentle efforts to awaken you. : After a fhort time, Youth difplaying a pair of wings,, which I had not before taken notice of, flew off. 'Love still remained, and holding the torch which he ⚫ had in his hand before your face, you ftill appeared as beautiful as ever. The glaring of the light in your eyes at length awakened you; when, to my great furprife, inftead of acknowledging the favour of the deity,. you frowned upon him, and ftruck the torch out of his hand into the river. The god, after having regarded you with a look that fpoke at once his pity and difples- I6 fure, fure, flew away. Immediately a kind of gloom overfpread the whole place. At the fame time I faw an hideous fpectre enter at one end of the valley. His eyes were funk into his head, his face was pale and withered, and his fkin puckered up in wrinkles. As < he walked on the fides of the bank the river froze, the flowers faded, the trees fhed their bloffoms, the birds dropped from off the boughs, and fell dead at his feet. · By thefe marks I knew him to be Old-Age. You were • feized with the utmoft horror and amazement at his approach. You endeavoured to have fled, but the < phantom caught you in his arms. You may easily guefs at the change you fuffered in this embrace. For my own part, though I am ftill too full of the dreadful idea, I will not fhock you with a description of it. I was fo ftartled at the fight that my fleep immediately left me, and I found myself awake, at leisure to confider of a dream which feems too extraordinary to be • without a meaning. I am, madam, with the greatest paffion, X Your moft obedient, moft humble fervant, &c.' Friday, N° 302 I Friday, February 15. Lachrymæque decora, Gratior & pulchro veniens in corpore virtus. Virg. Æn. 5. ver. 343 Becoming forrows, and a virtuous mind Read what I give for the entertainment of this day with a great deal of pleasure, and publish it just as it came to my hands. I fhall be very glad to find there are many gueffed at for Emilia. • Mr. Spectator, I F this paper has the good fortune to be honoured with a place in your writings, I fhall be the more pleafed, because the character of Emilia is not an imaginary but a real one. I have industriously obfcured the whole by the addition of one or two circumstances of no confequence, that the perfon it is drawn from might still be concealed; and that the writer of it might not be in the leaft fufpected, and for fome other reafons, I choofe not to give it the form of a letter but if, befides the faults of the compofition, there be any thing in it more proper for a correfpondent than the Spectator himself to write, I fubmit it to your better judgment, to receive any other model $ you think fit. : : • I am, Sir, Your very humble fervant.' There is nothing which gives one fo pleafing a profpect of human nature, as the contemplation of wifdom and beauty the latter is the peculiar portion of that fex which is therefore called fair; but the happy concurrence of both these excellencies in the fame perfon, is a character too celeftial to be frequently met with. Beauty is an over-weaning felf-fufficient thing, careless of providing itfelf itself any more fubftantial ornaments; nay fo little does it confult its own interefts, that it too often defeats itfelf by betraying that innocence which renders it lovely and defirable. As therefore virtue makes a beautiful woman appear more beautiful, fo beauty makes a virtuous woman really more virtuous. Whilst I am confidering these two perfections gloriously united in one perfon, I cannot help reprefenting to my mind the image of Emilia. Who ever beheld the charming Emilia, without feeling in his breast at once the glow of love and the tenderness of virtuous friendship? The unftudied graces of her behaviour, and the pleafing accents of her tongue, infenfibly draw you on to with for a nearer enjoyment of them; but even her fmiles carry in them a filent reproof to the impulfes of licentious love. Thus, though the attractives of her beauty play almoft irrefiftibly upon you and create defire, you immediately ftand corrected not by the severity but the decency of her virtue. That sweetness and goodhumour which is fo vifible in her face, naturally diffufes itself into every word and action: a man must be a favage, who at the fight of Emilia, is not more inclined to do her good than gratify himself. Her perfon, as it is thus ftudioufly embellifhed by nature, thus adorned with unpremeditated graces, is a fit lodging for a mind fo fair and lovely; there dwell rational piety, modeft hope, and chearful refignation. Many of the prevailing paffions of mankind do undefervedly pafs under the name of religion; which is thus made to exprefs itself in action, according to the nature of the conftitution in which it refides: fo that were we to make a judgment from appearances, one would imagine religion in fome is little better than fullennefs and reserve, in many fear, in others the defpondings of a melancholy complexion, in others the formality of infignificant unaffecting obfervances, in others feverity, in others oftentation. In Emilia it is a principle founded in reafon and enlivened with hope; it does not break forth into irregular fits and fallies cf devotion, but is an uniform and confiftent tenour of action: it is ftrict without severity, compaffionate without weakness; it is the perfection of. that good-humour which proceeds from the understanding, not the effect of an easy constitution. By |