N° 306 Wednesday, February 20. Qua forma, ut fe tibi femper Imputet? She ftill infults? • Mr. Spectator, I Juv. Sat. 6. ver. 177.' DRYDEN. Write this to communicate to you a misfortune which frequently happens, and therefore deferves a confolatory difcourfe on the subject. I was within this half year in the poffeffion of as much beauty and as many lovers as any young lady in England. But my 'admirers have left me, and I cannot complain of their behaviour. I have within that time had the fmall-pox; and this face, which, according to many amorous epiftles which I have by me, was the feat of all thatis beautiful in woman, is now disfigured with fears. < It 6 goes to the very foul of me to speak what I really think of my face; and though I think I did not overrate my beauty while I had it, it has extremely advanced in its value with me now it is loft. There is one circumftance which makes my cafe very particular; the uglieft fellow that ever pretended to me, was and is most in my favour, and he treats me at prefent the most unreasonably. If you could make him return an obligation which he owes me, in liking a perfon that is not amiable; -but there is, I fear, no poffibility of making paffion move by the rules of reafon and gratitude. But fay what you can to one who has furvived herself, and knows not how to act in a new being. My lovers are at the feet of my rivals, my rivals are every day bewailing me, and I cannot en2 joy what I am, by reafon of the distracting reflexion upon what I was. Confider the woman I was did not die of old age, but I was taken off in the prime of K 6 youth, youth, and according to the course of nature may have forty years after-life to come. I have nothing of ¿ myfelf left, which I like, but that When Lewis of France had loft the battle of Ramillies, the addreffes to him at that time were full of his fortitude, and they turned his misfortune to his glory; in that, during his profperity, he could never have manifefted his heroic conftancy under diftreffes, and fo the world had loft the most eminent part of his character. Parthenifla's condition gives her the fame opportunity: and to refign conquests is a task as difficult in a beauty as an hero. In the very entrance upon this work fhe muft burn all her love-letters; or fince the is fo candid as not to call her lovers who followed her no longer unfaithful, it would be a very good beginning of a new life from that of a beauty, to fend them back to those who writ them, with this honeft infcription, "Articles of a marriage-treaty broken off by the fmall-pox." I have known but one inftance where a matter of this kind went on after a like misfortune, where the lady, whơ was a woman of spirit, writ this billet to her lover. " SIR, IF you flattered me before I had this terrible malady, pray come and fee me now: but if you fincerely liked me, ftay away; for I am not the fame • Corinna.? The lover thought there was fomething so sprightly in her behaviour, that he anfwered; I Madam, Am not obliged, fince you are not the fame woman, to let you know whether I flattered you or not; but I affure you I do not, when I tell you I now like you above all your fex, and hope you will bear what ⚫ may may befal me, when we are both one, as well as you do what happens to yourself now you are fingle; therefore I am ready to take fuch a fpirit for my companion as • foon as you please. Amilcar.' If Partheniffa can now poffefs her own mind, and think as little of her beauty as fhe ought to have done when she had it, there will be no great diminution of her charms; and if she was formerly affected too much with them, an eafy behaviour will more than make up for the lofs of them. Take the whole fex together, and you find those who have the strongest poffeffion of men's hearts are not eminent for their beauty: you fee it often happen that those who engage men to the greatest violence, are fuch as those who are ftrangers to them would take to be remarkably defective for that end. The fondeft lover I know, faid to me one day in a crowd of women at an entertainment of mufic, you have often heard me talk of my beloved; that woman there, continued he, fmiling when he had fixed my eye, is her very picture. The lady he fhewed me was by much the leaft remarkable for beauty of any in the whole affembly; but having my curiofity extremely raised, I could not keep my eyes off her. Her eyes at laft met mine, and with a fudden furprife the looked round her to fee who near her was reinarkably handfome that I was gazing at. This little act explained the fecret: fhe did not understand herself for the object of love, and therefore fhe was fo. The lover is a very honeft plain man; and what charmed him was a perfon that goes along with him in the cares and joys of life, not taken up with herself, but fincerely attentive with a ready and chearful mind, to accompany him in either. I can tell Partheniffa for her comfort, that the beauties, generally fpeaking, are the most impertinent and difagreeable of women. An apparent defire of admiration, a reflexion upon their own merit, and a precise behaviour in their general conduct, are almoft infeparable accidents in beauties. All you obtain of them, is -granted to importunity and folicitation for what did not not deserve so much of your time, and you recover from the poffeffion of it, as out of a dream. You are ashamed of the vagaries of fancy which fo ftrangely mifled you, and your admiration of a beauty, merely as fach, is inconfiftent with a tolerable reflexion upon yourself: the chearful good-humoured creatures into whofe heads it never entered that they could make any man unhappy, are the perfons formed for making: men happy. There is Mifs Liddy can dance a jig, raife. pafte, write a good hand, keep an account, give a reafonable answer, and do as fhe is bid; while her eldest fifter Madam Martha is out of humour, has the spleen, learns by reports of people of higher quality new ways of being uneafy and difpleafed. And this happens for no reason in the world, but that poor Liddy knows the has no fuch thing as a certain negligence" that is fo becoming," that there is not I know not what in her air: and that if she talks like a fool, there is no one will fay, Well! I know not what it is," but every thing pleases when she speaks it.' Afk Belinda Afk any of the hufbands of your great beauties, and they will tell you that they hate their wives nine hours of every day they pafs together. There is fuch a particularity for ever affected by them, that they are incumbered with their charms in all they fay or do. They pray at public devotions as they are beauties. They converse on ordinary occafions as they are beauties. what it is o'clock, and fhe is at a ftand whether fo greata beauty fhould anfwer you. In a word, I think, inftead of offering to adminifter confolation to Partheniffa, I fhould congratulate her metamorphofis; and however the thinks he was not the least infolent in the profperity of her charms, fhe was enough fo to find fhe may make herfelf a much more agreeable creature in her prefent adverfity. The endeavour to please is highly promoted by a confcioufnefs that the approbation of the perfon you would be agreeable to, is a favour you do not deferve; for in this cafe affurance of success is the most certain way to difappointment. Good-nature will always fupply the abfence of beauty, but beauty cannot long fupply the abfence of good-nature. P. S. P. S. February 19. I Madam, Have your's of this day, wherein you twice bid me not difoblige you, but you muft explain yourself farther before I know what to do. • Your most obedient fervant, • The Spectator." T N° 307 Thursday, February 21. -Verfate diu, quid ferre recufent, Quid valeant humeri I ... And what Hor. Ars Poet. ver. 39. Often try what weight you can fupport, ROSCOMMON. Am fo well pleased with the following letter, that I am in hopes it will not be a difagreeable prefent to the public. SIR, Hough I believe none of your readers more admire your agreeable manner of working up trifles than myfelf, yet as your fpeculations are now fwelling into volumes, and will in all probability pafs down to future ages, methinks I would have no fingle fubject in them, wherein the general good of mankind is concern'd, left unfinished. I have a long time expected with great impatience that you would enlarge upon the ordinary mistakes which are committed in the education of our children. I the more eafily flattered myself that you would one time or other refume this confideration, because you tell us that your 168th paper was only compofed of a few broken hints; but finding myself hitherto difappointed, I have ventured to send you my own thoughts on this fubject. I re |