To fear, fo juftly grounded, no remedy can be propofed; but a man (who hath no great guilt hanging upon his mind, who walks in the plain path of juftice and integrity, and yet either by natural complexion, or confirmed prejudices, or neglect of ferious reflection, fuffers himself to be moved by this abject and unmanly paffion) would do well to confider, that there is nothing which deferves his fear, but that beneficent Being who is his friend, his protector, his father. Were this one thought strongly fixed in the mind, what calamity would be dreadful? What load can infamy lay upon us when we are fure of the approbation of him who will repay the disgrace of a moment with the glory of eternity? What fharpnefs is there in pain and diseases, when they only haften us on to the pleasures that will never fade? What fting is in death, when we are affured that it is only the beginning of life? A man who' lives fo, as not to fear to die, is inconfiftent with himself, if he delivers himself up to any incidental anxiety. THE intrepidity of a juft good man is fo nobly fet forth by Horace, that it cannot be too often repeated. The man refolv'd and fready to his truft, And the fern brow, and the harsh voice defies, Not the rough whirlwind, that deforms That flings the thunder from the sky, And gives it rage to roar, and strength to fly.. Should the whole frame of nature round him break,. In ruin and confufion burl'd, He, unconcern'd, would hear the mighty crack, And ftand fecure amidst a falling world. THE vanity of fear may be yet farther illuftrated, if : we reflect, S 31 FIRST, No hu FIRST, What we fear may not come to pafs. man scheme can be fo accurately projected, but some little circumstance intervening may fpoil it. He who directs the heart of man at his pleasure, and understands the thoughts long before, máy by ten thoufand accidents, or an immediate change in the inclinations of men, difconcert the moft fubtle project, and turn it to the benefit of his own fervants. In the next place we should confider, though the evil we imagine fhould come to pafs, it may be much more fupportable than it appeared to be. As there is no profperous ftate of life without its calamities, fo there is no adverfity without its benefits. Afk the great and powerful, if they do not feel the pangs of envy and ambition. Inquire of the poor and needy, if they have not tasted the fweets of quiet and contentment. Even under the pains of body, the infidelity of friends, or the mifconftructions put upon our laudable actions, our minds (when for fome time accustomed to these preffures) are fenfible of fecret flowings of comfort, the prefent reward of a pious refignation. The evils of this life appear like rocks and precipices, rugged and barren at a diftance, but at our nearer approach, we find little fruitful fpots, and refreshing fprings, mixed with the harfhnefs and deformities of nature. In the last place, we may comfort ourselves with this confideration; that, as the thing feared may not reach us, fo we may not reach what we fear. Our lives may not extend to that dreadful point which we have in view. He who knows all our failings, and will not fuffer us to be tempted beyond our strength, is often pleased in his tender feverity to feparate the foul from its body and miferies together. If we look forward to him for help, we shall never be in danger of falling down those precipices which our imagination is apt to create. Like thofe who walk upon a Tine, if we keep our eye fixed upon one point, we may ftep forward fecurely; whereas an imprudent or cowardly glance on either fide will infallibly destroy us. No N° 616. Friday, November 5. Qui bellus homo eft, Cotta, pufillus homo eft. Mart. Epig. 10. 1. 1. A pretty fellow is but half a man. CICERO hath obferved, that a jeft is never uttered with a better grace, than when it is accompanied with a ferious countenance. When a pleasant thought plays in the features, before it discovers itself in words, it raifes too great an expectation, and lofes the advantage of giving furprise. Wit and humour are no lefs poorly recommended by a levity of phrase, and that kind of language which may be diftinguished by the name of Cant. Ridicule is never more strong, than when it is concealed in gravity. True humour lies in the thought, and arifes from the reprefentation of images in odd circumstances, and uncommon lights. A pleasant thought ftrikes us by the force of its natural beauty: and the mirth of it is generally rather palled, than heightened by that ridiculous phrafeology, which is fo much in fafhion among the pretenders to humour and pleasantry. This tribe of men are like our mountebanks; they make a man a wit, by putting him in a fantastic habit. OUR little burlefque authors, who are the delight of ordinary readers, generally abound in these pert phrafes, which have in them more vivacity than wit. I LATELY faw an inftance of this kind of writing, which gave me fo lively an idea of it, that I could not forbear begging a copy of the letter from the gentleman who fhewed it to me. It is written by a country wit, upon the occafion of the rejoicings on the day of the king's co ronation. Paft two o'clock and • Dear JACK, a frosty morning. HAVE juft left the right worshipful and his myrmidons about a sneaker of five gallons. The whole ⚫ magiftracy was pretty well disguised before I gave them I • the 6 the flip. Our friend the alderman was half feas over before the bonefire was out. We had with us the attorney, and two or three other bright fellows. The 'doctor plays least in fight. 'AT nine o'clock in the evening we fet fire to the whore of Babylon. The devil acted his part to a mi'racle. He has made his fortune by it. We equipp'd 'the young dog with a tefter a-piece. Honeft old Brown ' of England was very drunk, and fhowed his loyalty to the tune of a hundred rockets. The mob drank the king's health on their marrow bones, in mother Day's double. They whipped us half a dozen hogfheads. • Poor Tom Tyler had like to have been demolished with the end of a fky-rocket, that fell upon the bridge of his nofe as he was drinking the king's health, and fpoiled his tip. The mob were very loyal till about midnight, when they grew a little mutinous for more liquor. They had like to have dumfounded the juftice; but his clerk came in to his affiftance, and took them all down. in black and white. WHEN I had been huzza'd out of my seven fenfes, I • made a vifit to the women, who were guzzling very comfortably. Mrs Mayorefs clipped the king's English.. Clack was the word. I FORGOT to tell thee, that every one of the poffe had his hat cocked with a diftich: the fenators fent us ' down a cargo of ribbon and metre for the occafion. 'SIR Richard, to fhew his zeal for the Protestant religion, is at the expence of a tar-barrel and a ball. I peeped into the knight's great hall, and faw a very pretty bevy of fpinfters. My dear relict was amongst them, ⚫ and ambled in a country-dance as notably as the best of ⚫ them. 'MAY all his majesty's liege fubjects love him as well as his good people of this his ancient borough. Adieu.'. NO N° 617. Monday, November 8. Torva Mimalleneis implerunt cornua bombis, Perf. fat. 1. v. 104. Their crooked horns the Mimallonian crew T HERE are two extremes in the ftile of humour; one of which confifts in the ufe of that little pert phrafeology which I took notice of in my laft paper; the other in the affectation of ftrained and pompous expreffions, fetched from the learned languages. The first favours too much of the town; the other of the college. As nothing illustrates better than example, I shall here prefent my reader with a letter of pedantic humour, which. was written by a young gentleman of the univerfity to his friend, on the fame occafion, and from the fame place, as the lively epiftle published in my last Spectator. Dear Chum, Tis now the third watch of the night, the greatest I part of which I have tent found a capacious bowl of china, filled with the choiceft products of both the Indies. I was placed at a quadrangular table, diametrically oppofite to the mace-bearer. The vifage of that ve'nerable herald was, according to custom, moft gloriously 'illuminated on this joyful occafion. The mayor and aldermen, thofe pillars of our conftitution, began to totter; and if any one at the board could have fo far arti 'culated, |