of thefe good offices, fhe would fometimes play with his hair, and delight in the oppofition of its colour to that of her fingers; then open his bofom, then laugh at him for covering it. She was, it feems, a perfon of diftinction, for the every day came to him in a different drefs, of the most beautiful fhells, bugles, and bredes. She likewife brought him a great many fpoils, which her other lovers had prefented to her, fo that his cave was richly adorned with all the fpotted fins of beafts, and most party-coloured feathers of fowls, which that world afforded. To make his confinement more tolerable, she would carry him in the dusk of the evening, or by the favour of the moon-light, to unfrequented groves and folitudes, and fhew him where to lie down in fafety, and fleep amidst the falls of waters, and melody of nightingales. Her part was to watch and hold him awake in her arms, for fear of her countrymen, and awake him on occafions to confult his fafety. In this manner did the lovers pass away their time, till they had learned a language of their own, in which the voyager communicated to his mistress, how happy he should be to have her in his own country, where the fhould be clothed in fuch filks as his waistcoat was made of, and be carried in houses drawn by horses, without being expofed to wind and weather. All this he promised her the enjoyment of, without fuch fears and alarms as they were tormented with. In this tender correfpondence thefe lovers lived for feveral months, when Yarico, inftru&ted by her lover, difcovered a veffel on the coaft, to which the made fignals; and in the night, with the utmost joy and fatisfaction, accompanied him to a fhip's crew of his countrymen, bound for Barbadoes. When a veffel from the main arrives in that ifland, it feems the planters come down to the fhore, where there is an immediate market of the Indians and other flaves, as with us of horfes and oxen. To be short, Mr. Thomas Inkle, now coming into English territories, began ferioufly to reflect upon his lofs of time, and to weigh with himself how many days interest of his money he had loft during his stay with Yarico. This thought made the young man very penfive, and careful what account he should be able to give his friends friends of his voyage. Upon which confideration, the prudent and frugal young man fold Yarico to a Barbadian merchant; notwithstanding the poor girl, to commiferate her condition, told him that he was with chikb by him; but he only made ufe of that information, to rife in his demands upon the purchafer. I was fo touch'd with this story (which I think should be always a counterpart to the. Ephefian matron) that I left the room with tears in my eyes; which a woman of Arietta's good sense did, I am fure, take for greater applaufe, than any compliments I could make her. R N° 12 Wednesday, March 14. Veteres avias tibi de pulmone revelló.. PERS. Sat. v. 92, I root th" old woman from my trembling heart. A could mene myfelf in a houfe to my liking. I was forced to quit my firft lodgings, by reafon of an officious landlady, that would be asking me every morn ing how I had flept. I then fell into an honest family, and lived very happily for above a week; when my landlord, who was a jolly good-natured. man, took it into his head that I wanted company, and therefore would frequently come into my chamber to keep me from being alone. This I bore for two or three days; but telling me one day that he was afraid I was inelancholy, I thought it was high time for me to be gone,. and accordingly took new lodgings that very night. About a week after, I found my jolly landlord, who, as I faid before, was an honeft hearty man, had put me into an advertisement of the Daily Courant, in the fol lowing words: "Whereas a melancholy man left his lodg ings on Thursday laft in the afternoon, and was after T my coming to London, it was fome time before C 3 wards "wards feen going towards Iflington; if any one can "give notice of him to R. B. fishmonger in the Strand, "he fhall be very well rewarded for his pains." As I am the best man in the world to keep my own counfel, and my landlord the fishmonger not knowing my name, this accident of my life was never difcovered to this very day. I am now fettled with a widow-woman, who has a great many children, and complies with my humour in every thing. I do not remember that we have exchanged a word together thefe five years; my coffee comes into my chamber every morning without asking for it; if I want fire, I point to my chimney, if water to my bafon; upon which my landlady nods, as much as to fay fhe takes my meaning, and immediately obeys my fignals. She has likewife modeled her family fo well, that when her little boy offers to pull me by the coat, or prattle in my face, his eldest fifter immediately calls him off, and bids him not disturb the gentleman. At my first entring into the family, I was troubled with the civility of their rifing up to me every time I came into the room; but my landlady obferving that upon thefe occafions I always cried pifh, and went out again, has forbidden any fuch ceremony to be used in the house; fo that at prefent I walk into the kitchen or parlour without being taken notice of, or giving any interruption to the bufinefs or difcourfe of the family. The maid will afk her mistress (tho' I am by) whether the gentleman is ready to go to dinner, as the mistress (who is indeed an excellent housewife) fcolds at the fervants as heartily before my face as behind my back. In short, I move up and down the house, and enter into all companies with the fame liberty as a cat, or any other domeftic animal, and am as little fufpected of telling any thing that I hear or fee. I remember last winter there were feveral young girls of the neighbourhood fitting about the fire with my landlady's daughters, and telling ftories of fpirits and apparitions. Upon my opening the door, the young women broke off their difcourfe, but my landlady's daughters telling them that it was nobody but the gentleman (for that is the name which I go by in the neigh bourhood, bourhood, as well as in the family) they went on without minding me. I feated myself by the candle that ftood on a table at one end of the room; and pretending to read a book that I took out of my pocket, heard feveral dreadful stories of ghofts as pale as afhes that had stood at the feet of a bed, or walked over a church-yard by moon-light; and of others that had been. conjured into the Red-Sea, for disturbing people's reft, and drawing their curtains at midnight; with many other old womens fables of the like nature. As one fpirit raised another, I obferved that at the end of every story the whole company clofed their ranks, and crouded about the fire. I took notice in particular of a little boy, who was fo attentive to every ftory, that I ain mistaken if he ventures to go to bed by himfelf this. twelve-month. Indeed they talked fo long, that the imaginations of the whole aflembly were manifeftly crazed, and, I am fure, will be the worfe for it as long as they live. I heard one of the girls, that had looked upon me over her shoulder, afking the company how long I had been in the room, and whether I did not look paler than I ufed to do. This put me under fome apprehenfions that I fhould be forced to explain myfelf if I did not retire; for which reafon I took the candle in my hand, and went up into my chamber, not without wondering at this unaccountable weakness in reasonable creatures, that they should love to astonish and terrify one another. Were I a father, I fhould take a particular care to preferve my children from thefe little horrors of imagina. tion, which they are apt to contract when they are young, and are not able to fhake off when they are in years. I have known a foldier that has entered a breach, affrighted at his own fhadow, and look pale upon a little feratching at his door, who the day before had marched up against a battery of cannon. There are inftances of perfons, who have been terrified even to distraction, at the figure of a tree, or the fhaking of a bullrush. The truth of it is, I look upon a found imagination as the greatest bleffing of life, next to a clear judgment and a good confcience. In the mean time, fince there are very few whofe minds are not more or lefs fubject to these, dreadful thoughts and apprehen fions, 66 fions, we ought to arm ourfelves against them by the dictates of reafon and religion, 66 to pull the old woman out of our hearts" (as Perfius expreffes it in the motto of my paper) and extinguish thofe impertinent notions which we imbibed at a time that we were not able to judge of their abfurdity. Or if we believe, as many wife and good men have done, that there are fuch phantoms and apparitions as thofe I have been fpeaking of, let us endeavour to establish to our felves an intereft in Him who holds the reins of the whole creation in his hand, and moderates them after fuch a nanner, that it is impoffible for one being to break loofc upon another without his knowledge and permiffion. For my own part, I am apt to join in opinion with those who believe that all the regions of nature fwarm with fpirits; and that we have multitudes of fpectators on all our actions, when we think ourselves moft alone; but, inftead of terrifying myself with fuch a notion, 1 am wonderfully pleafed to think that I am always engaged with fuch an innumerable fociety, in fearching out the wonders of the creation, and joining in the fame confort of praise and adoration. Milton has finely defcribed this mixed communion of men and fpirits in paradife; and had doubtless his eye upon a verse in old Hefiod, which is almost word for word the fame with his third line in the following paffage. Nor think, though men were none, That Heav'n would want fpectators, God want praise: C Thursday |