of Sir John Chardin; that Gentleman after having told us, that the inns which receive the caravans in Perfia, and the Eaftern countries, are called by the name of Caravanfaries, gives us a relation to the following purpose. A Dervife, travelling through Tartary, being arrived at the town of Balk, went into the King's palace by miftake, as thinking it to be a publick Inn or Caravanfary. Having looked about him for fome time, he entered into a long gallery, where he laid down his wallet, and spread bis carpet, in order to repose himself upon it, after the manner of the Eaftern nations. He had not been long in this pofture before he was discovered by fome of the guards, who asked him what was his bufinefs in that place? The Dervife told them he intended to take up his night's lodging in that Caravansary. The guards let him know, in a very angry manner, that the house he was in was not a Caravanfary, but the King's palace. It happened that the King himself paffed through the gallery during this debate, and smiling at the mistake of the Dervise, asked him how he could poffibly be fo dull as not to diftinguish a palace from a Caravanfary? Sir, fays the Dervife, give me leave to ask your Majesty a queftion or two. Who were the perfons that lodged in this houfe when it was firft built? The King replied, His Ancestors. And who, fays the Dervife, was the last perfon that lodged here? The King replied, His Father. And who is it, fays the Dervife, that lodges here at prefent? The King told him, that it was he himself. And who, fays the Dervife, will be here after you? The King anfwered, The young Prince his fon. Ah, Sir, faid the Dervife, a houfe that changes its inhabitants fo often, and receives fuch a perpetual fucceffion of guefts, is 'not a palace but a Caravanfary,' L Projicit ampullas & fefquipedalia verba. Hor. Ars Poet. ver. 97. Forgets his fwelling and gigantick words. TH ROSCOMMON. HE players, who know I am very much their friend, take all opportunities to exprefs a gratitude to me for being fo. They could not have a better occafion of obliging me, than one which they lately took hold of. They defired my friend WILL HONEYCOMB to bring me to the reading of a new tragedy; it is called The Diftreffed Mother. I must confefs, though fome days are paffed fince I enjoyed that entertainment, the paffions of the feveral characters dwell frongly upon my imagination; and I congratulate to the age, that they are at laft to fee truth and human life reprefented in the incidents which concern heroes and heroines. The ftile of the play is fuch as becomes those of the first education, and the fentiments worthy thofe of the higheft figure. It was a moft exquifite pleasure to me, to obferve real tears drop from the eyes of thofe who had long made it their profeffion to diffemble af fliction; and the player, who read, frequently threw down the book, until he had given vent to the humanity which rofe in him at fome irrefiftible touches of the imagined forrow. We have feldom had any female distress on the ftage, which did not, upón cool examination, appear to flow from the weakness rather than the misfortune of the perfon reprefented: But in this tragedy you are not entertained with the ungoverned paffions of fuch as are enamoured of each other, merely as they are men and women, but their regards are founded upon high conceptions of each other's virtue and merit; and the character which gives name to the play, is one who has behaved herself with heroick virtue in the most import ant ant circumstances of a female life, thofe of a wife, a widow, and a mother. If there be thofe whose minds have been too attentive upon the affairs of life, to have any notion of the paffion of love in fuch extremes as are known only to particular tempers, yet, in the abovementioned confiderations, the forrow of the heroine will move even the generality of mankind. Domestick virtues concern all the world, and there is no one living who is not interested that Andromache should be an imitable character. The generous affection to the memory of her deceased husband, that tender care for her fon, which is ever heightened with the confideration of his father, and thefe regards preferved in spite of being tempted with the poffeffion of the highest greatness, are what cannot but be venerable even to fuch an audience as at prefent frequents the English theatre. My friend WILL HONEYCOMB commended feveral tender things that were faid, and told me they were very gen teel; but whispered me, that he feared the piece was not bufy enough for the prefent tafte. To fupply this, he recommended to the players to be very careful in fhould their fcenes, and above all things, that every part be perfectly new dreffed. I was very glad to find that they did not neglect my friend's admonition, becaufe there are a great many in this clafs of criticism who may be gained by it; but indeed the truth is, that as to the work itself, it is every where nature. The perfons are of the highest quality in life, even that of Princes; but their quality is not reprefented by the poet, with direction that guards and waiters fhould follow them in every fcene, but their grandeur appears in greatness of fentiment, flowing from minds worthy their condition. To make a character truly great, this author understands that it should have its foundation in fuperior thoughts and maxims of conduct. It is very certain, that many an honest woman would make no difficulty, though the had been the wife of Hedor, for the fake of a kingdom, to marry the enemy of her husband's family and country; and indeed who can deny but he might be ftill an honest woman, but no heroine? That may be defenfible, nay laudable in one character, which would be in the highest degree exceptionable in another. When Cate Cato Uticenfis killed himself, Cottius, a Roman of ordinary quality and character, did the fame thing; upon which one faid, fmiling, Cottius might have lived, though Cafar has feized the Roman liberty.' Cottius's condition might have been the fame, let things at the upper end of the world pafs as they would. What is further very extraordinary in this work, is, that the perfons are all of them laudable, and their misfortunes arise rather from unguarded virtue than propenfity to vice. The town has an opportunity of doing itself justice in fupporting the reprefentations of paffion, forrow, indignation, even despair itself, within the rules of decency, honour, and good-breeding; and fince there is no one can flatter himself his life will be always fortunate, they may here fee forrow as they would wish to bear it whenever it arrives. Mr. SPECTATOR, I Am appointed to act a part in the new tragedy called The Diftressed Mother: It is the celebrated grief of Oreftes which I am to perfonate; but I fhall not act it as I ought, for I shall feel it too intimately to be able to utter it. I was last night repeating a paragraph to myself, which I took to be an expreffion of rage, and in the middle of a sentence there was a ftroke of felf-pity which quite unmanned me. pleafed, Sir, to print this letter, that when I am oppreffed in this manner at fuch an interval, a certain part of the audience may not think I am out; and I hope, with this allowance, to do it to fatisfaction. I am, SIR, your most bumble fervant, Be George Powell. Mr. SPECTATOR, A SI was walking the other day in the Park, I faw a Gentleman with a very fhort face; I defire to ⚫ know whether it was you. Pray inform me as foon as you can, left I become the most heroick Hecatissa's rival. Your humble feruant to command, SOPHIA Dear Madam, T is not me you are in love with, for I was very ill and kept my chamber all that day. T Your most humble fervant, The SPECTATOR. N° 291 Saturday, February 2. I -Ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis Offendor maculis, quas aut incuria fudit, Aut humana parum cavit natura. Hor. Ars Poet. ver. 351. But in a poem elegantly writ, RO COMMON. Have now confidered Milton's Paradife Loft under thofe four great heads of the fable, the characters, the fentiments, and the language; and have fhewn that he excels, in general, under each of these heads. I hope that I have made feveral discoveries which may appear new, even to those who are verfed in critical learning. Were I indeed to choose my readers, by whofe judgment I would ftand or fall, they fhould not be fuch as are acquainted only with the French and Italian criticks, but alfo with the ancient and modern who have written in either of the learned languages. Above all, I would have them well verfed in the Greek and Latin poets, without which a man very often fancies that he understands a critick, when in reality he does not comprehend his meaning. It is in criticism, as in all other fciences and fpeculations; one who brings with him any implicit notions and obfervations, which he has made in his reading of the poets, will find his own reflexions methodized and explained, |