which diftinguish her from the other fex; with fome fubordination to it, but fuch an inferiority that makes her ftill more lovely. Eucratia is that creature, fhe is all over woman, kindness is all her art, and beauty all her arms. Her look, her voice, her gesture, and whole behaviour, is truly feminine. A goodness mixed with fear, gives a tincture to all her behaviour. It would be favage to offend her, and cruelty to use art to gain her. Others are beautiful, but Eucratia, thou art beauty! Omnamante is made for deceit, fhe has an afpect as innocent as the famed Lucrece, but a mind as wild as the more famed Cleopatra. Her face fpeaks a vestal, but her heart a Meffalina. Who that beheld Omnamante's negligent unobferving air, would believe that she hid under that regardless manner the witty prostitute, the rapacious wench, the prodigal courtefan? She can, when the pleases, adorn thofe eyes with tears like an infant that is chid! She can caft down that pretty face in confufion, while you rage with jealoufy, and storm at her perfidioufnefs; the can wipe her eyes, tremble and look frighted, till you think yourself a brute for your rage, own yourself an offender, beg pardon, and make her new prefents. But I go too far in reporting only the dangers in beholding the beauteous, which I defign for the inftruction of the fair as well as their beholders; and fhall end this rhapfody with mentioning what I thought was well enough faid of an ancient fage to a beautiful youth, whom he faw admiring his own figure in brafs. What, faid the philofopher, could that image of yours fay for itself if it could speak? It might fay, (anfwered the youth) That it is very beautiful. And are not you afhamed, reply'd the cynick, to value yourself upon that only of which a piece of brafs is capable? No. 145. THURSDAY, AUGUST 16. Stultitiam patiuntur opes HOR. Ep. xviii. l. 1. ver. 29. Their folly pleads the privilege of wealth. F the following enormities are not amended upon the first mention, I defire farther notice from my correfpondents. 'Mr SPECTATOR, I am obliged to you for your difcourfe the o'ther day upon frivolous difputants, who with great warmth, and enumeration of many circumftances and authorities, undertake to prove matters which no body living denies. You cannot 'employ yourself more ufefully than in adjusting the laws of difputation in coffee-houses and acci' dental companies, as well as in more formal debates. Among many other things which your ' own experience muft fuggeft to you, it will be very obliging if you please to take notice of wagerers. I will not here repeat what Hudibras fays of fuch difputants, which is fo true, that it is almoft proverbial; but fhall only acquaint you with a set of young fellows of the Inns of Court, whofe fathers have provided for them fo plentifully, that they need not be very anxious to get law into their heads for the fervice of their country at the bar; but are of those who are fent (as the phrafe of parents is) to the Temple to know how to keep their own. One of these gentlemen 'is very loud and captious at a coffee-houfe which I frequent, and being in his nature troubled with an humour of contradiction, though with all ex'ceffive ignorant, he has found a way to indulge this temper, go on in idleness and ignorance, and yet • ftill ftill give himself the air of a very learned and knowing man, by the ftrength of his pocket. The 'misfortune of the thing is, I have, as it happens 'fometimes, a greater ftock of learning than of money. The gentleman I am fpeaking of, takes ad· vantage of the narrowness of my circumstances in 'fuch a manner, that he has read all that I can pretend to, and runs me down with fuch a pofitive air, and with fuch powerful arguments, that from a very learned perfon I am thought a mere pretender. Not long ago I was relating that I had read fuch a paffage in Tacitus; up starts my young 'gentleman in a full company, and pulling out his 'purfe, offered to lay me ten guineas, to be staked ' immediately in that gentleman's hands, (pointing to one fmoking at another table) that I was ut terly mistaken. I was dumb for want of ten guineas; he went on unmercifully to triumph over my ignorance how to take him up, and told the 'whole room he had read Tacitus twenty times over, and fuch a remarkable incident as that could 'not escape him. He has at this time three confiderable wagers depending between him and fome of his companions, who are rich enough to hold 'an argument with him. He has five guineas upon queftions in geography, two that the Ile of Wight is a peninfula, and three guineas to one that the world is round. We have a gentleman comes to our coffee-houfe, who deals mightily in 'antique fcandal; my difputant has laid him twenty pieces upon a point of history, to wit, that Cafar never lay with Cato's fifter, as is fcandaloufly re'ported by fome people. There are feveral of this fort of fellows in town, 'who wager themselves into statesmen, hiftorians, geographers, mathematicians, and every other art, when the perfons with whom they talk have not wealth equal to their learning. I beg of you to prevent, in thefe youngsters, this compendious 'way way to wisdom, which coûts other people so much ' time and pains, and you will oblige, Mr SPECTATOR, Your humble fervant." Coffee-houfe near the Temple, Aug. 12, 1711. HERE'S a young gentleman that fings operatunes or whiftles in a full houfe. Pray let him know that he has no right to act here as if he were in an empty room. Be pleafed to divide the spaces of a public room, and certify whistlers, fingers, and common orators, that are heard farther than their portion of the room comes to, that the law is open, and that there is an equity which will relieve us from fuch as interrupt us in our lawful difcourfe, as much as against such as ftop us on the road. I take these perfons, Mr SPECTATOR, to be fuch trefpaffers as the officer in your ftage-coach, and am of the fame fentiment with counsellor Ephraim. It is true the 'young man is rich, and, as the vulgar fay, needs not care for any body; but fure that is no autho'rity for him to go whiftle where he pleafes. . 'I am, SIR, your most humble fervant. P. S. I have chambers in the Temple, and here are students that learn upon the hautboy; pray defire the benchers, that all lawyers who are pro. 'ficients in wind-mufic may lodge at the Thames.” Mr SPECTATOR, who WE are a company of young women pafs our time very much together, and obliged by the mercenary humour of the men to be as mercenarily inclined as they are. There vifits among us an old bachelor, whom each of us has a mind to. The fellow is rich, and knows he < may have any of us, therefore is particular to none, but exceffively ill-bred. His pleafantry confifts in romping, he fnatches kiffes by furprise, puts puts his hand in our necks, tears our fans, robs us of ribbons, forces letters out of our hands, 'looks into any of our papers, and a thousand o'ther rudeneffes. Now what I'll defire of you is to acquaint him, by printing this, that if he 'does not marry one of us very fuddenly, we have all agreed, the next time he pretends to be merry, to affront him, and ufe him like a clown as he ' is. In the name of the fifterhood I take my • leave of you, and am, as they all are, Your conftant reader and well-wifher." Mr SPECTATOR, 'I AND feveral others of your female readers, ' have conformed ourselves to your rules, even to our very drefs. There is not one of us but has reduced our outward petticoat to its ancient fizeable circumference, though indeed we retain ftill a quilted one underneath; which makes us 'not altogether unconformable to the fashion; but 'it is on condition Mr SPECTATOR extends not his cenfure fo far. But we find your men fecretly approve our practice, by imitating our.pyrami 'dical form. The skirt of your fashionable coats forms as large a circumference as our petticoats; thefe are fet out with whalebone, so are those with wire, to increase and fuftain the bunch ' of fold that hangs down on each fide; and the hat, I perceive, is decreafed in juft proportion to our head-dreffes. We make a regular figure, but 'I defy your mathematicks to give a name to the "form you appear in. Your architecture is mere Gothick, and betrays a worse genius than ours therefore, if you are partial to your own fex, I 'fhall be less than I am now, " as T • Your humble fervant.” FRIDAY, |