· top of the hill, which the natives of the country (af⚫ter having cut into a kind of regular figure) bored and hollowed with incredible pains and industry, until they had wrought in it all those beautiful vaults and caverns into which it is divided at this day. As soon ' as this rock was thus curiously scooped to their liking, a prodigious number of hands must have been • employed in chipping the out side of it, which is now ' as smooth as the surface of a pebble; and is in seve• ral places hewn out into pillars that stand like the 'trunks of so many trees bound about the top with garlands of leaves.

"It is probable that when this great work was begun, which must have been many hundred years ago, 'there was some religion among this people; for "they gave it the name of a temple, and have a tradi'tion that is was designed for men to pay their devo❝tions in. And indeed there are several reasons which make us think, that the natives of this country had formerly among them some sort of worship; 'for they set apart every seventh day as sacred: but ' upon my going into one of these holy houses on that day, I could not observe any circumstance of devo⚫tion in their behaviour: there was indeed a man in 'black who was mounted above the rest, and seemed 'to utter something with a great deal of vehemence ; 'but as for those underneath him, instead of paying 'their worship to the deity of the place, they were 'most of them bowing and courtesying to one another, ' and a considerable number of them fast asleep.

'The Queen of the country appointed two men to • attend us, that had enough of our language to make * themselves understood in some few particulars. But we soon perceived these two were great enemies to ⚫ one another, and did not always agree in the same story. We could make a shift to gather out of one

* of them, that this island was very much infested with ' a monstrous kind of animals, in the shape of men, 'called Whigs; and he often told us, that he hoped C we should meet with none of them in our way, for that if we did, they would be apt to knock us down for being kings.

'Our other interpreter used to talk very much of a kind of animal called a Tory, that was as great a monster as the Whig, and would treat us as ill for be'ing foreigners. These two creatures, it seems, are 'born with a secret antipathy to one another, and en" gage when they meet as naturally as the elephant and the rhinoceros. But as we saw none of either of 'these species, we are apt to think that our guides de'ceived us with misrepresentations and fictions, and 'amused us with an account of such monsters as are 'not really in their country.

‹ These particulars we made a shift to pick out from the discourse of our interpreters; which we put together as well as we could, being able to understand 'but here and there a word of what they said, and af'terwards making up the meaning of it among our'selves. The men of the country are very cunning ' and ingenious in handicraft works; but withal so very idle, that we often saw young lusty raw-boned fel'lows carried up and down the streets in little cover'ed rooms by a couple of porters, who are hired for that service. Their dress is likewise very barba6 rous, for they almost strangle themselves about the ' neck, and bind their bodies with many ligatures, that 'we are apt to think are the occasion of several dis

tempers among them which our country is entirely 'free from. Instead of those beautiful feathers with 'which we adorn or heads, they often buy up a mon'strous bush of hair, which covers their heads, and 'falls down in a large fleece below the middle of their

'backs; with which they walk up and down the streets, and are as proud of it as if it was of their own growth. "We were invited to one of their public diversions, where we hoped to have seen the great men of their country running down a stag or pitching a bar, that 6 we might have discovered who were the persons of greatest abilities among them; but instead of that 'they conveyed us into a huge room lighted up with 'abundance of candles, where this lazy people sat still ' above three hours to see several feats of ingenuity 'performed by others, who it seems were paid for it.

• the

'As for the women of the country, not being able to talk with them, we could only make our remarks upon them at a distance. They let the hair of their 'heads grow to a great length; but as the men make a great show with heads of hair that are none of their own, the women, who they say have very fine heads ' of hair, tie it up in a knot, and cover it from being 'seen. The women look like angels, and would be 'more beautiful than the sun, were it not for little 'black spots that are apt to break out in their faces,

6

and sometimes rise in very odd figures. I have ob'served that those little blemishes wear off very soon; 'but when they disappear in one part of the face, they ( are very apt to break out in another, insomuch that I have seen a spot upon the forehead in the afternoon, ' which was upon the chin in the morning.'

The author then proceeds to shew the absurdity of breeches and petticoats, with many other curious observations, which I shall reserve for another occasion. I cannot however conclude this paper without taking notice, that amidst these wild remarks there now and then appears something very reasonable. I cannot likewise forbear observing, that we are all guilty in some measure of the same narrow way of thinking, which we meet with in this abstract of the Indian jour

nal; when we fancy the customs, dresses, and manners of other countries are ridiculous and extravagant, if they do not resemble those of our own.

C

M

Y fortune, quality, and person are such as ' render me as conspicuous as any young woman in 'town. It is in my power to enjoy it in all its vani'ties; but I have from a very careful education con'tracted a great aversion to the forward air and fash⚫ion which is practised in all public places and assem'blies. I attribute this very much to the style and

manners of our plays. I was last night at the Funeral 'where a confident lover in the play, speaking of his 'mistress, cries out-"Oh that Harriot! to fold these "arms about the waist of that beauteous, struggling, "and at last yielding fair!" Such an image as this 'ought, by no means, to be presented to a chaste and ' regular audience. I expect your opinion of this sentence, and recommend to your consideration, as a • Spectator, the conduct of the stage at present with relation to chastity and modesty.

'I am, Sir,

Your constant reader, and well-wisher.'

The complaint of this young lady is so just, that the offence is gross enough to have displeased persons who cannot pretend to that delicacy and modesty of which she is mistress. But there is a great deal to be said in behalf of an author: If the audience would but consider the difficulty of keeping up a sprightly dialogue for five acts together, they would allow a writer, when he wants wit, and cannot please any otherwise, to help it out with a little smuttiness. I will answer for the poets, that no one ever writ bawdry for any other reason but dearth of invention. When the author cannot strike out of himself any more of that which he has superior to those who make up the bulk of his audience, his natural recourse is to that which he has in common with them: and a description which gratifies a sensual appetite will please, when the author has nothing about him to delight a refined imagination. It is to such a poverty we must impute this and all other sentences in plays, which are of this kind, and which are commonly termed luscious expressions. This expedient to supply the deficiencies of wit has been used, more or less, by most of the authors who have succeeded on the stage; though I know but one who has professedly writ a play upon the basis of the desire of multiplying our species, and that is the polite Sir George Etheridge; if I understand what the lady would be at in the play called She would if she could. Other poets have, here and there, given an intimation that there is this design under all the disguises and affectations which a lady may put on; but no author, except this, has made sure work of it, and put the imaginations of the audience upon this one purpose, from the beginning to the end of the comedy. It has always fared accordingly; for whether it be, that all who go to this piece, would if they could, or that the innocents Vol. I. X