⚫ hard but I will have one half of it flated. If you think well of this motion, I will wait upon you as foon as my new clothes is made and hay-harvet is in. I could, though I fay it, have good The reft is torn off; and pofterity must be contented to know, that Mrs. Margaret Clark was very pretty, but are left in the dark as to the name of her lover.

Τ

No
No 325

Thursday, March 13.

Quid fruftra fimulacra fugacia captas?

Quod petis, eft nufquam: quod amas avertere, perdes. Ifa repercufa quam cernis imaginis umbra eft,

Nil habet ifta fui; tecum venitque, manetque,

Tecum difcedet fi tu difcedere poffis.

Ovid. Metam. 1.

[From the fable of NARCISSUS. .]

What could, fond youth, this helpless paffion move?

What kindled in thee this unpitied love?

Thy own warm blush within the water glows;
With thee the colour'd fhadow comes and goes ;
Its empty being on thyfelf relies ;

Step thou afide, and the frail charmer dies.

W

ADDISON.

LL HONEYCOMB diverted us last night with an account of a young fellow's first difcovering his paffion to his miftrefs. The young lady was one, it feems, who had long before conceived a favourable opinion of him, and was ftill in hopes that he would fome time or other make his advances. As he was one day talking with her in company of her two fifters, the converfation happening to turn upon love, each of the young ladies was, by way of rallery, recommending a wife to him; when to the no fmall furprise of her who languished for him in fecret, he told them with a more than ordinary seriousness, that his heart had been long engaged to one whofe name he thought himself obliged in honour to conceal; but that he could fhew her picture

picture in the lid of his fnuff box. The young lady, who found herfelf most fenfibly touched by this confeffion, took the firft opportunity that offered of fnatching his box out of his hand. He feemed defirous of re covering it, but finding her refolved to look into the lid, begged her that if the fhould happen to know the perfon, fhe would not reveal her name. Upon carrying it to the window, he was very agreeably furprised to find there was nothing within the lid but a little looking-glass, in which after fhe had viewed her own face with more pleasure than fhe had ever done before, the returned the box with a fmile, telling him, she could not but admire at his choice.

WILL fancying that his ftory took, immediately fell into a differtation on the ufefulnefs of looking-glaffes; and applying himself to me, afked if there were any looking-glaffes in the times of the Greeks and Romans; for that he had often obferved in the tranflations of poems out of thofe languages, that people generally talked of feeing themfelves in wells, fountains, lakes, and rivers: Nay, fays he, I remember Mr. Dryden in his Ovid tells us of a fwinging fellow called Polypheme, that made ufe of the fea for his looking glass, and could never dress himself to advantage but in a calm.

My friend WILL, to fhew us the whole compafs of his learning upon this fubject, further informed us that there were still several nations in the world fo very barbarous as not to have any looking-glaffes among them; and that he had lately read a voyage to the South-Sea, in which it is faid, that the ladies of Chili always dreffed their heads over a bason of water.

I am the more particular in my account of WILL'S laft nights lecture on these natural mirrours, as it feems to bear fome relation to the following letter, which I received the day before.

SIR,

I

Have read your laft Saturday's obfervations on the fourth book of Milton with great fatisfaction, and am particularly pleased with the hidden moral ⚫ which you have taken notice of in feveral parts of the poem. The defign of this letter is to defire your

thoughts,

thoughts, whether there may not alfo be fome mo⚫ral couched under that place in the fame book where the poet lets us know, that the first woman immediately ⚫ after her creation ran to a looking-glass, and became fo enamoured of her own face, that he had never removed to view any of the other works of nature, had the not been led off to a man. If you think fit to fet down the whole paffage from Milton, your ⚫ readers will be able to judge for themselves, and the quotation will not a little contribute to the filling up of your paper.

Your humble fervant,

R. T.

The laft confideration urged by my querift is fo ftrong, that I cannot forbear cloting with it. The paffage he alludes to, is part of Eve's Speech to Adam, and one of the most beautiful paffages in the whole poem.

That day I oft remember, when from fleep

I firft awak'd, and found myself repos'd

Under a fhade, on flow'rs, much wond'ring where
And what I was, whence hither brought, and bows.
Not diftant far from thence a murmuring found
Of waters iffu'd from a cave, and Spread
Into a liquid plain, then food unmov'd
Pure as th' expanfe of heav'n: I thither went
With unexperienc'd thought, and laid me down
On the green bank, to look into the clear
Smooth lake, that to me seem'd another sky.
As I bent down to look, juft oppofite
A fhape within the watry gleam appear'd,
Bending to look on me; I started back,
It started back; but pleas'd I foon return'd,
Pleas'd it return'd as foon with answered looks
Of fympathy and love: there I had fix'd
Mine eyes till now, and pin'd with vain defire,
Had not a voice thus warn'd me, What thou feeft,
What there thou feeft, fair creature, is th felf;
With thee it came and goes: but follow me,
And I will bring thee where no fhadow stays
Thy coming, and thy foft embraces, be

Whofe

Whofe image thou art, him thox fhalt enjoy
Infeparably thine, to him shalt bear
Multitudes like thyself, and thence be call'd
Mother of human race. What could I do,
But follow ftraight, invifibly thus led?
Till I efpy'd thee, fair indeed and tall,
Under a plantan; yet methought less fair,
Lefs winning foft, lefs amiably mild,

Than that fmooth watry image: back I turn'd ;
Thou following cryd'ft aloud, Return, fair Eve,
Whom fyft thou? Whom thou fly'ft, of him thou art,
His fefb, his bone; to give thee being I lent
Out of my fide to thee, nearest my heart,
Subftantial life, to have thee by my fide,
Henceforth an individual folace dear:
Part of my foul, I feek thee, and thee claim
My other half!

with that thy gentle hand

Seiz'd mine; I yielded, and from that time fee
How beauty is excell'd by manly grace

And wisdom, which alone is truly fair.

So Spoke our general mother

N% 326

Friday, March 14.

X

Inclufam Danaën turris abenea,
Robuftaque fores, & vigilum canum

Triftes excubia, munierant fatis
Nocturnis ab adulteris ;

Si non

Hor. Od. 16. 1. 3. v. I.

A tow'r of brafs, one would have faid,

And locks, and bolts, and iron bars,

Might have preserv'd one innocent maiden-head;
But Venus laugh'd, &c.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

Y

COWLEY..

OUR correfpor dent's letter relating to Fortune-Hunters, and your fubfequent difcourfe upon it, have given me encouragement to fend you a state of my cafe, by which you will fee, that

the

⚫ the matter complained of is a common grievance both to city and country.

I am a country-gentleman of between five and fix thousand a year. It is my misfortune to have a very fine park and an only daughter; upon which account I have been fo plagued with deer-ftealers and fops, that for thefe four years past I have scarce enjoyed a moment's reft. I look upon myself to be in a itate of war, and am forc'd to keep as conftant watch in my feat, as a governor would do that commanded a town on the frontier of an enemy's country. I have indeed pretty well fecur'd my park, having for this purpose provided my felf of four keepers who are lefthanded, and handle a quater-staff beyond any other fellows in the country. And for the guard of my house, befides a band of penfioner matrons and an old maiden ' relation whom I keep on conftant duty, I have blunderbuffes always charged, and fox gins planted in private places about my garden, of which I have given frequent notice in the neighbourhood; yet fo it is, that in fpite of all my care, I fhall every now and then have a faucy rascal ride by reconnoitring (as I think you call it) under my windows, as fprucely dreffed as if he were going to a ball. I am aware of this way of attacking a ⚫ mistress on horseback, having heard that it is a common practice in Spain; and have therefore taken care to remove my daughter from the road-fide of the houfe, and to lodge her next the garden. But to cut fhort my ftory; what can a man do after all? I durft not ftand for member of parliament laft election, for ⚫ fear of fome ill confequence from my being off my post. • What I would therefore defire of you, is, to promote a project I have set on foot; and upon which I have writ to fome of my friends; and that is, that care may be taken to fecure our daughters by law, as well as our deer; and that fome honeft gentleman of a public ⚫ fpirit, would move for leave to bring in a bill for the • better preferving of the female game.

I am,

SIR,

Your humble fervant.