and rounded by the Ionick dialect; and could not but be acceptable to the whole audience, because there are fewer of them who understand Greek than Italian. The only difficulty that remained, was, how to get performers, unless we could persuade some gentlemen of the universities to learn to sing, in order to qualify themselves for the stage; but this objection soon vanished, when the projector informed us that the Greeks were at present the only musicians in the Turkish empire, and that it would be very easy for our factory at Smyrna to furnish us every year with a colony of musicians, by the opportunity of the Turkey fleet; besides, says he, if we want any single voice for any lower part in the opera, LAWRENCE can learn to speak Greek, as well as he does Italian, in a fortnight's time.* The projector having thus settled matters, to the good-liking of all that heard him, he left his seat at the table, and planted himself before the fire, where I had unluckily taken my stand for the convenience of overhearing what he said. Whether he had observed me to be more attentive than ordinary, I cannot tell, but he had not stood by me above a quarter of a minute, but he turned short upon me on a sudden, and catching me by a button of my coat, attacked me very abruptly after the following manner. "Besides, Sir, I have heard of a very extraordinary genius for music that lives in Switzerland, who has so strong a spring in his fingers, that he can make the board of an organ sound like a drum, and if I could but procure a subscription of about ten thousand pounds every Winter, I would undertake to fetch him over, and oblige him by articles to set every thing that should be sung upon the English stage.” After this he looked full in my face, expecting I would make an answer, when, by good luck, a gentleman that had *This is not an exaggerated description of the extravagant inconsistencies received by people of fashion under the name of operas. had entered the coffee-house since the projector applied himself to me, hearing him talk of his Swiss compositions, cried out in a kind of laugh, "Is our music then to receive further improvements from Switzerland!" This alarmed the projector, who immediately let go my button, and turned about to answer him. I took the opportunity of the diversion which seemed to be made in favour of me, and laying down my penny upon the bar, retired with some precipitation. C. No. 32. FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1711. Nil illi larva aut tragicis opus esse cothurnis. HOR. I SAT. V. 64. "He wants no tragic vizor to increase "His natural deformity of face." DISSERTATION ON DEFORMITY. THE late discourse concering the statutes of the Ugly Club having been so well received at Oxford, that contrary to the strict rules of the society, they have been so partial as to take my own testimonial, and admit me into that select body, I could not restrain the vanity of publishing to the world the honour which is done me. It is no small satisfaction, that I have given occasion for the president's shewing both his invention and reading to such advantage as my correspondent reports he did: but it is not to be doubted there were many very proper hums and pauses in his harangue, which lose their ugliness in the narration, and which my correspondent (begging (begging his pardon) has no very good talent at representing. I very much approve of the contempt the society has of beauty. Nothing ought to be laudable in a man, in which his will is not concerned; therefore our society can follow nature, and where she has thought fit, as it were, to mock herself, we can do so too, and be merry upon the occasion. MR. SPECTATOR, Who • Your making public the late trouble I gave you, you will find to have been the occasion of this. should I meet at the coffee-house door the other night, but my old friend Mr. President. I saw somewhat had pleased him; and as soon as he had cast his eye upon me, "Oh, doctor, rare news from London, (say he) the SPECTATOR has made honourable mention of the Club (man) and published to the world his sincere desire to be a member, with a recommendatory description of his phiz: and though our constitution has made no particular provision for short faces, yet his being an extraordinary case, I believe we shall find an hole for him to creep in at; for I assure you he is not against the canon; and if his sides are as compact as his joles, he need not disguise himself to make one of us." I presently called for the Paper, to see how you looked in print; and after we had regaled ourselves a while upon the pleasant image of our proselyte, Mr. President told me I should be his stranger at the next night's club: where we were no sooner come, and pipes brought, but Mr. President began an harangue upon your introduction to my epistle, setting forth, with no less volubility of speech than strength of reason, That a speculation of this nature was what had been long and much wanted; and that he doubted not but it would be of inestimable value to the public, in reconciling even of bodies and souls; in com SPECT. No. 1. composing and quieting the minds of men under all corporal redundancies, deficiencies, and irregularities whatsoever; and making every one sit down content in his own carcase, though it were not perhaps so mathematically put together as he could wish." And again, "How, that for want of a due consideration of what you first advance, viz. That our faces are not of our own choosing, people had been transported beyond all good breeding, and hurried themselves into unaccountable and fatal extravagancies: as, how many impartial looking-glasses had been censured and calumniated, nay, and sometimes shivered into ten thousand splinters, only for a fair representation of the truth? How many headstrings and garters had been made accessary, and actually forfeited, only because folks must needs quarrel with their own shadows? And who (continues he) but is deeply sensible, that one great source of the uneasiness and misery of human life, especially amongst those of distinction, arises from nothing in the world else, but too severe a contemplation of an indefeasible contexture of our external parts, or certain natural and invincible dispositions to be fat or lean? When a little more of Mr. SPECTATOR's philosophy would take offall this. In the mean time, let them observe, that there is not one of their grievances of this sort, but perhaps in some ages of the world, has been highly in vogue, and may be so again; nay, in some country or other, ten to one is so at this day. My Lady AMPLE is the most miserable woman in the world, purely of her own making. She even grudges herself meat and drink, for fear she should thrive by them; and is constantly crying out, "In a quarter of a year more I shall be quite out of all manner of shape!" Now the lady's misfortune seems to be only this, that she is planted in a wrong soil; for, go but to the other side of the water, it is a jest at Haerlem to talk of a shape under eighteen stone. These wise traders regulate their beauties as they do their butter, by the pound; and Miss CROSS, when when she first arrived in the Low Countries, was not computed to be so handsome as Madam VAN BRISKET by near half a ton. On the other hand, there is a Squire LATH, a proper gentleman of fifteen hundred pound per annum, as well as of an unblameable life and conversation; yet would not I be the esquire for half his estate; for if it was as much more, he would freely part with it all for a pair of legs to his mind. Whereas in the reign of our first EDWARD, of glorious memory, nothing more modish than a brace of your fine taper supporters; and his Majesty, without an inch of calf, managed affairs in peace and war as laudable as the bravest and most politic of his ancestors; and was as terrible to his neighbours under the royal name of LONGSHANKS, as CŒUR DE LION to the Saracens before him. If we look farther back into history, we shall find that ALEXANDER the Great wore his head a little over the left shoulder; and then not a soul stirred out till he had adjusted his neck-bone; the whole nobility addressed the prince and each other obliquely, and all matters of importance were concerted and carried on in the Macedonian court, with their polls on one side. For about the first century, nothing made more noise in the world than Roman noses, and then not a word of them till they revived again in eighty-eight. Nor is it so very long since RICHARD the Third set up half the backs of the nation; and high shoulders, as well as high noses, were the top of the fashion. But to come to ourselves, gentlemen, though I find by my quinquennial observations, that we shall never get ladies enough to make a party in our own country, yet might we meet with better success among some of our allies. And what think you if our board sat for a Dutch piece? Truly I am of opinion, that as odd as we appear in flesh and blood, we should be no such * WILLIAM the Third's nose was aquiline: DRYDEN, to compliment the king, represents ENEAS as having a Roman nose. |