then launched out into the Praise of the late Act of Parliament for fecuring the Church of England, and told me with great Satisfaction, that he believed it already began to take Effect; for that a rigid Diffenter who chanced to dine at his Houfe on Christmas Day, had been obferved to eat very plentifully of his Plumb-porridge.

AFTER having difpatched all our Country Matters, Sir ROGER made feveral Enquiries concerning the Club, and particularly of his old Antagonist Sir ANDREW FREEPORT. He asked me with a Kind of Smile, whether Sir ANDREW had not taken the Advantage of his Abfence, to vent among them fome of his Republican Doctrines; but foon after gathering up his Countenance into a more than ordinary Serioufncis, Tell me truly, fays he, don't you think Sir ANDREW had a Hand in the Pope's Proceffion---but without giving me Time to anfwer him, Well, well, fays he, I know you are a wary Man, and do not care to talk of publick Matters.

THE Knight then asked me, if I had feen Prince Eugene, and made me promife to get him a Stand in fome convenient Place where he might have a full Sight of that extraordinary Man, whofe Prefence does fo much Honour to the British Nation. He dwelt very long on the Praises of this Great General, and I found that fince I was with him in the Country, he had drawn many Obfervations together out of his reading in Baker's Chro nicle, and other Authors, who always lie in his Hall Window, which very much redound to the Honour of this Prince.

HAVING paffed away the greateft Part of the Morning in hearing the Knight's Reflections, which were partly private, and partly political, he asked me if I would fmoke a Pipe with him over a Difh of Coffee at Squires. As I love the old Man, I take Delight in complying with every Thing that is agreeable to him, and accordingly waited on him to the Coffee houfe, where his venerable Figure drew upon us the Eyes of the whole Room. He had no fooner feated himself at the upper End of the high Table, but he called for a clean Pipe, a Paper of Tobacco, a Difh of Coffee, a Wax Candle, and the Supplement, with fuch an Air of Chearfulness and Good-humour, that all the Boys in the Coffee-room

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(who

(who feemed to take Pleasure in ferving him) were at once employed on his several Errands, infomuch that no Body elfe could come at a Difh of Tea, till the Knight had got all his Conveniencies about him. L

I

Dicit enim citius meminitque libentibus illud
Quod quis deridet quam quod probat

Hor.

Do not know that I have been in greater Delight for thefe many Years, than in beholding the Boxes at the Play the laft Time the Scornful Lady was acted. So great an Affembly of Ladies placed in gradual Rows in all the Ornaments of Jewels, Silks and Colours, gave fo lively and gay an Impreffion to the Heart, that methought the Season of the Year was vanished ; and I did not think it an ill Expreffion of a young Fellow who ftood near me, that called the Boxes Thofe Beds of Tulips. It was a pretty Variation of the Profpect, when any one of these fine Ladies rofe up and did Honour to herself and Friend at a Distance, by curtfying; and gave Opportunity to that Friend to fhew her Charms to the fame Advantage in returning her Salutation. Here that Action is as proper and graceful, as it is at Church unbecoming and impertinent. By the Way, I must take the Liberty to obferve, that I did not fee any one who is ufually fo full of Civilities at Church, offer at any fuch. Indecorum during any Part of the Action of the Play.. Such beautiful Profpects gladden our Minds, and when confidered in general, give innocent and pleafing Ideas. He that dwells upon any one Object of Beauty, may fix his Imagination to his Difquiet; but the Contemplation of a whole Affembly together, is a Defence against the Encroachment of Deare: At least to me, who have taken Pains to look at Beauty abstracted from the Confideration of its being the Object of Defire; at Power,. only as it fits upon another, without any Hopes of par

taking any Share of it; at Wisdom and Capacity, without any Pretenfions to rival or envy its Acquifition: I fay, to Me who am really free from forming any Hopes by beholding the Perfons of beautiful Women, or warming my felf into Ambition from the Succeffes of other Men, this World is not only a mere Scene, but a very pleasant one. Did Mankind but know the Freedom which there is in keeping thus aloof from the World, I fhould have more Imitators, than the powerfullest Man in the Nation has Followers. To be no Man's Rival in Love, or Competitor in Bufinefs, is a Character which if it does not recommend you as it ought to Benevolence among those whom you live with, yet has it certainly this Effect, that you do not ftand fo much in need of their Approbation, as you would if you aimed at it more, in fetting your Heart on the fame Things which the Generality doat on. By this Means, and with this eafy Philosophy, I am never lefs at a Play than when I am at the Theatre; but indeed I am seldom fo well pleafed with the Action in that Place, for moft Men follow Nature no longer than while they are in their Night-Gowns, and all the bufy Part of the Day are in Characters, which they neither become or act in with Pleasure to themselves or their Beholders. But to return to my Ladies I was very well pleased to fee fo great a Croud of them affembled at a Play, wherein the Heroine, as the Phrafe is, is fo juft a Picture of the Vanity of the Sex in tormenting their Admirers. The Lady who pines for the Man whom the treats with fo much Impertinence and Inconftancy, is drawn with much Art and Humous. Her Refolutions to be extremely civil, but her Vanity arifing juft at the Inftant that the refolved to exprefs her felf kindly, are defcribed as by one who had ftudied the Sex. But when my Admiration is fixed upon this excellent Character, and two or three others in the Play, I must confefs I was moved with the utmoft Indignation at the trivial, fenfelefs, and unnatural Reprefentation of the Chaplain. It is poffible there may be a Pedant in Holy Orders, and we have feen one or two of them in the World; but fuch a Driveler as Sir Roger, so bereft of all manner of Pride, which is the Characteristick of a Pedant, is what one would not believe could come into the Head

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Head of the fame Man who drew the reft of the Play. The Meeting between Welford and him fhews a Wretch without any Notion of the Dignity of his Function; and it is out of all common Sense, that he fhould give an Account of himself as one fent four or five Miles in a Morning on Foot for Eggs. It is not to be denied, but his Part, and that of the Maid, whom he makes Love to, are excellently well performed; but a Thing which is blameable in itself, grows ftill more fo by the Succefs in the Execution of it. It is fo mean a Thing to gratifie a loose Age with a fcandalous Representation of what is reputable among Men, not to fay what is facred, that no Beauty, no Excellence in an Author ought to atone for it; nay, fuch Excellence is an Aggravation of his Guilt, and an Argument that he errs against the Conviction of his own Understanding and Confcience. Wit fhould be tried by this Rule, and an Audience fhould rife against fuch a Scene, as throws down the Reputation of any Thing which the Confideration of Religion or Decency fhould preferve from Contempt. But all this Evil arifes from this one Corruption of Mind, that makes Men refent Offences against their Virtue, less than those against their Understanding. An Author fhall write as if he thought there was not one Man of Honour or Woman of Chaftity in the House, and come off with Applaufe: For an Infult upon all the Ten Commandments, with the little Criticks, is not fo bad as the Breach of an Unity of Time or Place. Half Wits do not apprehend the Miferies that must neceffarily flow from Degeneracy of Manners; nor do they know that Order is the fupport of Society. Sir Roger and his Mistress are Monsters of the Poet's own forming; the Sentiments in both of them are fuch as do not arife in Fools of their Education. We all know that a filly Scholar, instead of being. below every one he meets with, is apt to be exalted above the Rank of fuch as are really his Superiors: His Arrogance is always founded upon particular Notions of Diftinction in his own Head, accompanied with a pedantick Scorn of all Fortune and Preheminence when compared with his Knowledge and Learning. This very one Character of Sir Roger, as filly as it really is, has done more towards the Difparagement of Holy Orders, and confe

quently

quently of Virtue itself, than all the Wit that Author or any other could make up for in the Conduct of the longeft Life after it. I do not pretend, in saying this, to give my felf Airs of more Virtue than my Neighbours, but affert it from the Principles by which Mankind muft always be governed. Sallies of Imagination are to be overlook'd, when they are committed out of Warmth in the Recommendation of what is Praife-worthy; but a deliberate advancing of Vice with all the Wit in the World, is as ill an Action as any that comes before the Magiftrate, and ought to be received as fuch by the People. T

No.271. Thur/day, January 10.

Mille trahens varios adverfo fole colores.

Virg.

Receive a double Advantage from the Letters of my

I Correspondents, first, as they fhew me which of my

Papers are most acceptable to them; and in the next place, as they furnish me with Materials for new Speculations. Sometimes indeed I do not make ufe of the Letter itself, but form the Hints of it into Plans of my own Invention; fometimes I take the Liberty to change the Language or Thought into my own Way of Speaking and Thinking, and always (if it can be done without Prejudice to the Senfe) omit the many Compliments and Applaufes which are usually beftowed upon me.

BESIDES the two Advantages above-mentioned, which I receive from the Letters that are fent me, they give me an Opportunity of lengthning out my Paper by the skilful Management of the fubfcribing Part at the End of them, which perhaps does not a little conduce to the Eafe, both of my felf and Reader.

SOME will have it, that I often write to my felf, and am the only punctual Correfpondent I have. This Objection would indeed be material, were the Letters I communicate to the Publick stuffed with my own Commendations; and if inftead of endeavouring to divert or inftruct my Readers, I admired in them the Beauty of