teftation of aged Avarice. The Petulancy of a peevish old Fellow, who loves and hates he knows not why, is very excellently performed by the Ingenious Mr. William Penkethman in the Fop's Fortune; where, in the Chara&ter of Don Cholerick Snap Shorto de Tefty, he answers no Questions but to thofe whom he likes, and wants no account of any thing from those he approves. Mr. Penkethman is alfo Mafter of as many Faces in the Dumb-Scene, as can be expected from a Man in the Circumftances of being ready to perish out of Fear and Hunger: He wonders throughout the whole Scene very masterly, without neglecting his Victuals. If it be, as I have heard it fometimes mentioned, a great Qualification for the World to follow Business and Pleasure too, what is it in the Ingenious Mr. Penkethman to represent a Senfe of Pleafure and Pain at the fame time; as you may fee him do this Evening?

AS it is certain that a Stage ought to be wholly fuppreffed, or judiciously encouraged, while there is one in the Nation, Men turned for regular Pleasure cannot employ their Thoughts more ufefully, for the Diverfion of Mankind, than by convincing them that it is in themfelves to raise this Entertainment to the greatest Height. It would be a great Improvement, as well as Embelishment to the Theatre, if Dancing were more regarded, and taught to all the Actors. One who has the Advantage of fuch an agreeable girlish Perfon as Mrs. Bicknell, joined with her Capacity of Imitation, could in proper Gefture and Motion reprefent all the decent Characters of Female Life. An amiable Modefty in one Afpect of a Dancer, an affumed Confidence in another, a fudden Joy in another, a falling off with an Impatience of being beheld, a Return towards the Audience with an unsteady Refolution to approach them, and a well-acted Sollicitude to pleafe, would revive in the Company all the fine Touches of Mind raised in obferving all the Objects of Affection or Paffion they had before beheld. Such elegant Entertainments as thefe, would polifh the Town into Judgment in their Gratifications; and delicacy in Pleasure is the firft ftep People of Condition take in Refor

'Reformation from Vice. Mrs. Bicknell has the only Capacity for this fort of Dancing of any on the Stage; and I dare fay all who fee her Performance to-morrow Night, when fure the Romp will do her best for her own Benefit, will be of my mind.

T

N° 371.

Tuesday, May 6.

Famme igitur laudas quod fe fapientibus unus

Ridebat?

Juv.

Shall communicate to my Reader the following Letter for the Entertainment of this Day.

SIR,

Y

OU know very well that our Nation is more famous for that fort of Men who are called Whims and Humorifts, than any other Country in the World; for which reafon it is obferved that our English Comedy excells that of all other Nations in the Novelty ⚫ and Variety of its Characters.

1

AMONG thofe innumerable Sets of Whims which our Country produces, there are none whom I have regarded with more Curiofity than thofe who have invented any particular kind of Diverfion for the En⚫tertainment of themselves or their Friends. My Letter fhall fingle out thofe who take delight in forting a Company that has fomething of Burlesque and Ridicule in its Appearance. I fhall make my felf understood by the following Example. One of the Wits of the laft Age, who was a Man of a good Eftate, thought he "never laid out his Money better than in a Jeft. As he ⚫ was one Year at the Bath, obferving that in the great • Confluence of fine People, there were feveral among

⚫ them

them with long Chins, a part of the Vifage by which ⚫ he himself was very much diffinguished, he invited to ⚫ dinner half a Score of thefe remarkable Perfons who had their Mouths in the Middle of their Faces. They had no fooner placed themfelves about the Table, but they began to ftare upon one another, not being able to imagine what had brought them together. Our English Proverb fays,

،

It proved fo in the Affembly I am now speaking of, who feeing fo many Peaks of Faces agitated with Eating, Drinking, and Difcourfe, and obferving all the Chins that were prefent meeting together very often over the • Center of the Table, every one grew fenfible of the Jeft, and came into it with fo much Good-Humour, that they lived in ftri&t Friendship and Alliance from that ⚫ day forward.

THE fame Gentleman fome time after packed toge ⚫ther a Set of Oglers, as he called them, confifting of fuch as had an unlucky Caft in their Eyes. His Diverfion on this Occafion was to fee the cross Bows, mistaken Signs, and wrong Connivances that paffed amidst so many • broken and refracted Rays of Sight.

THE third Feaft which this merry Gentleman exhibited was to the Stammerers, whom he got together in a fufficient Body to fill his Table. He had ordered one of his Servants, who was placed behind a Skreen, to write down their Table-Talk, which was very eafie to be ⚫ done without the help of Short-hand. It appears by the Notes which were taken, that tho' their Converfa⚫tion never fell, there were not above twenty Words fpoken during the first Course; that upon ferving up the fe cond, one of the Company was a quarter of an Hour in telling them, that the Ducklins and Afparagus were very good; and that another took up the fame time in declaring himself of the fame. Opinion. This Jeft did not, however, go off fo well as the former;

⚫ for

for one of the Guests being a brave Man, and fuller • of Refentment than he knew how to exprefs, went out of the Room, and fent the facetious Inviter a Challenge in Writing, which though it was afterwards dropp'd by the Interpofition of Friends, put a stop to thefe ludicrous • Entertainments.

NOW, Sir, I dare fay you will agree with me, that as there is no Moral in thefe Jefts, they ought to be difcouraged, and looked upon rather as pieces of Unluckinefs than Wit. However, as it is natural for one Man to refine upon the Thought of another, and impoffible for any fingle Perfon, how great foever his Parts may be, to invent an Art, and bring it to its utmost • Perfection; I fhall here give you an account of an honeft Gentleman of my Acquaintance who upon hearing the Character of the Wit above mentioned, has himfelf affumed it, and endeavoured to convert it to the • Benefit of Mankind. He invited half a dozen of his Friends one day to Dinner, who were each of them famous for inferting feveral redundant Phrafes in their Difcourfe, as d'y hear me, d'ye fee, that is, and so Sir. Each of the Guests making frequent ufe of his particular Elegance, appeared fo ridiculous to his Neighbour, that he could not but reflect himself as appearing equally ridiculous to the reft of the Company: By this means, before they had fat long together, every one talking with the greateft Circumfpection, and carefully avoiding his favourite Expletive, the Converfation was cleared of its Redundancies, and had a greater. Quantity of Senfe, tho' lefs of Sound in it.

upon

THE fame well-meaning Gentleman took occafion,' at another time, to bring together fuch of his Friends દ as were addicted to a foolish habitual Custom of Swearing. In order to fhew them the Abfurdity of the • Practice, he had recourse to the Invention above-mentioned, having placed an Amanuenfis in a private part of the Room. After the fecond Bottle, when Men open their Minds without Referve, my honeft Friend began to take notice of the many fonorous but unneceffary VOL. V. L

Words

Words that had paffed in his House fince their fitting. ⚫ down at Table, and how much good Converfation they had loft by giving way to fuch fuperfluous Phrafes. What a Tax, fays he, would they have raised for the Poor, had we put the Laws in Execution upon one another? Every one of them took this gentle Reproof in good part.. Upon which he told them, that knowing their Converfation would have no Secrets in it, • he had ordered it to be taken down in Writing, and ⚫ for the Humour-fake would read it to them, if they pleafed. There were ten Sheets of it, which might have. ⚫ been reduced to two, had there not been those abominable Interpolations I have before mentioned. Upon the reading of it in cold Blood, it looked rather like a • Conference of Fiends than of Men. In short, every ⚫ one trembled at himself upon hearing calmly what he had pronounced amidst the Heat and Inadvertency of • Difcourfe.

I fhall only mention another occafion. wherein he • made ufe of the fame. Invention to cure a different kind of Men, who are the Pefts of all polite. Converfation, and murder Time as much as either of the two farmer, though they do it more innocently; I mean that dull Generation of Story-tellers. My Friend got toge ⚫ther about half a dozen of his Acquaintance, who were infected with this. ftrange Malady. The firft Day one of them fitting down, entered upon the Siege of Namur, which lasted till four a-clock, their time of parting. The fecond Day a North Briton took poffeffion of the Difcourfe, which it was impoffible to get out of ⚫his hands fo long as the Company ftaid together. The third Day was engroffed after the fame manner by a Story of the fame length. They at laft began to re flect upon this barbarous way of treating one another, and by this means awakened out of that Lethargy ⚫ with which each of them had been feized for feveral • Years.

AS you have fomewhere declared, that extraordi < nary and uncommon Characters of Mankind are the • Game which you delight in, and as I look upon you to

: be