•ral medicines which ended in taking the grand remedy, ⚫ which cured both him and me of all our uneafinesses. After his death, I could not expect to hear any more of Mr Waitfort, I knew he had renounced me to all his ⚫ friends, and been very witty upon my choice, which ⚫he affected to talk of with great indifferency; I gave over thinking of him, being told that he was engaged with a pretty woman and a great fortune: it vexed me a little, but not enough to make me neglect the advice of my cousin Wishwell, that came to fee me the day my lord went into the country with Ruffel; the told me ' experimentally, nothing put an unfaithful lover and a dear husband fo foon out of one's head, as a new one; and, at the fame time, propofed to me a kinsman of hers you understand enough of the world (faid fhe) to know money is the most valuable confideration; he is very rich, and I am fure cannot live long; he has a cough, that muft carry him off foon. I knew afterwards fhe had given the self-fame character of me to him; but however I was fo much perfuaded by her, I hastened C on the match, for fear he fhould die before the time came; he had the fame fears, and was fo preffing, I married him in a fortnight, refolving to keep it private a fortnight longer. During this fortnight Mr Waitfort came to make me a vifit; he told me he had waited ⚫ on me fooner, but had that refpect for me, he would not interrupt me in the firft day of my affliction for my dead lord; that as foon as he heard I was at liberty to make another choice, he had broke off a match very advantageous for his fortune juft upon the point of conclufion, and was forty times more in love with me < than ever. I never received more pleasure in my life ⚫ than from this declaration, but I compofed my face to a grave air, and faid the news of his engagement had touched me to the heart, that, in a rash jealous fit, I had married a man I could never have thought on if I had not loft all hopes of him. Good-natured Mr

Waitfort had like to have dropped down dead at hearing this, but went from me with fuch an air as plainly fhewed me, he laid all the blame upon himself, and hated those friends, that had advifed him to the fatal application; he seemed as much touched by my misfor

tune

tune as his own, for he had not the leaft doubt I was ftill paffionately in love with him. The truth of the ftory is, my new husband gave me reafon to repent I had not staid for him; he had married me for my money, and I foon found he loved money to distraction; there was nothing he would not do to get it, nothing ⚫ he would not fuffer to preferve it; the smallest expence kept him awake whole nights, and when he paid a bill, it was with as many fighs, and after as many delays, as a man that endures the lofs of a limb. I heard nothing but reproofs for extravagancy whatever I did. г • faw very well that he would have ftarved me, but for lofing my jointures; and he fuffered agonies between the grief of seeing me have fo good a stomach, and the fear that, if he made me faft, it might prejudice my health. I did not doubt he would have broke my heart, if I did not break his, which was allowable by the law ⚫ of felf-defence. The way was very easy. I refolved to fpend as much money as I could, and, before he was aware of the stroke, appeared before him in a two thousand pound diamond necklace; he faid nothing, ⚫ but went quietly to his chamber, and, as it is thought, compofed himself with a dofe of opium. I behaved myself so well upon the occafion, that to this day I believe he died of an apoplexy. Mr. Waitfort was re• folved not to be too late this time, and I heard fromr him in two days. I am almoft out of my weed at this prefent writing, and very doubtful whether I'll marry I do not think of a feventh, for the ridi*culous reafon you mention, but out of pure morality, that I think fo much conftancy fhould be rewarded, though I may not do it after all perhaps. I do not believe all the unreafonable malice of mankind can give a pretence why I fhould have been conftant to the memory of any of the deceased, or have spent much time in grieving for an infolent, infignificant, negligent, extravagant, fplenetic, or covetous hufband; my first infulted me, my fecond was nothing to me, my third difgufted me, the fourth would have ruined me, the fifth ⚫ tormented me, and the fixth would have starved me. If the other ladies you name would thus give in their bufbands pictures at length, you would fee they have

him or no.

•had

• had as little reafon as myself to lose their hours in weep⚫ing and wailing.'

WAS once engaged in difcourfe with a Rosicrufan

I about the gren gere in difc this kind of men (1 utan

thofe of them who are not profeffed cheats) are over-run with enthusiasm and philofophy, it was very amusing to hear this religious adept defcanting on his pretended difcovery. He talked of the fecret as of a fpirit which lived within an emerald, and converted every thing that was near it to the highest perfection it is capable of. It gives a luftre, fays he, to the fun, and water to the diamond.. It irradiates every metal, and enriches lead with all the properties of gold. It heightens fmoke into flame, flame into light, and light into glory. He further added, that a fingle ray of it diffipates pain, and care, and melancholy, from the perfon on whom it falls. In fhort, fays he, its prefence naturally changes every place into a kind of heaven. After he had gone on for fome time in this unintelligible cant, I found that he jumbled natural and moral ideas together into the fame difcourfe, and that his great fecret was nothing elfe but Content.

THIS virtue does indeed produce, in fome measure, all those effects which the alchymift ufually afcribes to what he calls the philofopher's ftone; and if it does not bring riches, it does the fame thing, by banifhing the defire of them. If it cannot remove the difquietudes arising out of a man's mind, body, or fortune, it makes him eafy under them. It has indeed a kindly influence on the foul of man, in refpect of every being to whom he stands related. It extinguishes all murmur, repining, and ingratitude towards that Being who has allotted him his part to act in this world. It deftroys all inordinate ambition, and every tendency to corruption, with regard to the community wherein he is placed. It gives sweetness to his converfation, and a perpetual ferenity to all his thoughts.

AMONG the many methods which might be made use of for the acquiring of this virtue, I fhall only mention the two following. First of all, a man fhould always confider how much he has more than he wants; and, then, fecondly, how much more unhappy he might be than he really is.

FIRST of all, a man should always confider how much he has more than he wants. I am wonderfully pleafed with the reply which Ariftippus made to one who condoled him upon the lofs of a farm: Why, faid he, I have three farms fill, and you have but one; fo that I ought rather to be afflicted for you than you for me. On the contrary, foolish men are more apt to confider what they have loft than what they poffefs; and to fix their eyes upon thofe who are richer than themfelves, rather than on those who are under greater difficulties. All the real pleasures and conveniencies of life lie in a narrow compafs: but it is the humour of mankind to be always looking forward, and training after one who has got the ftart of them in wealth and honour. For this reafon, as there are none can be properly called rich, who have not fomewhat more than they want; there are few rich men in any of the politer nations but those who are among the middle fort of people, who keep their wishes always within their fortunes, and have more wealth than they know how to enjoy. Perfons of a higher rank live at best in a kind of fplendid poverty, and are perpetually wanting, because, inflead of acquiefcing

in the folid pleasures of life, they endeavour to outvie one another in fhadows and appearances. Men of fenfe have at all times beheld with a great deal of mirth this filly game that is playing over their heads, and, by contracting their defires, enjoy all that fecret fatisfaction which others are always in queft of. The truth is, this ridiculous chafe after imaginary pleafures cannot be fufficiently expofed, as it is the great fource of those evils which generally undo a nation. Let a man's estate be what it will, he is a poor man if he does not live within it, and naturally fets himself to fale to any one that can give him his price. When Pittacus, after the death of his brother, who had left him a good eftate, was offered a great fum of money by the king of Lydia, he thanked him for his kindness, but told him he had already more by half than he knew what to do with. In short, content is equivalent to wealth, and luxury to poverty; or, to give the thought a more agreeable turn, Content is natural wealth, fays Socrates; to which I fhall add, Luxury is artificial poverty. I fhall therefore recommend to the confideration of those who are always aiming after fuperfluous and imaginary enjoyments, and will not be at the trouble of contracting their defires, an excellent faying of Bion the philofopher, namely, That no man has fo much care, as he who endeavours after the most happiness.'

In the fecond place, every one ought to reflect how much more unhappy he might be than he really is. The former confideration took in all those who are fufficientMy provided with the means to make themselves eafy; this regards fuch as actually lie under fome preffure or miffortune. These may receive great alleviation from fuch a comparison as the unhappy perfon may make between himself and others, or between the misfortune which he fuffers, and greater misfortunes which might have befallen him.

I LIKE the ftory of the honeft Dutchman, who, upon breaking his leg by a fall from a mainmaft, told the ftanders-by, it was a great mercy that it was not his neck. To which, fince I am got into quotations, give me leave to add the faying of an old philofopher, who, after having invited fome of his friends to dine with him, was ruffled VOL. VII.

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