happiness to be discarded; and he had ftill continued to ravage his own eftate, had he not caught a cold and a fever by fhooting mallards in the fens. His fever was followed by a confumption, which in a few months brought him to the grave. Mrs Buy was too much an economist to feel either joy or forrow at his death. She received the compliments and confolations of her neighbours in a dark room, out of which fhe ftole privately every night and morning to fee the cows milked; and after a few days declared that fhe thought a widow might employ herself better than in nurfing grief; and that, for her part, fhe was refolved that the fortunes of her children fhould not be impaired by her neglect. She therefore immediately applied herself to the reformation of abuses. She gave away the dogs, discharged the fervants of the kennel and ftable, and fent the horses to the next fair, but rated at fo high a price that they returned unfold. She was refolved to have nothing idle about her, and ordered them to be employed in common drudgery. They loft their fleekness and grace, and were foon purchased at half the value. She foon difencumbered herself from her weeds, and put on a riding-hood, a coarse apron, and short petticoats, and has turned a large manor into a farm, of which he takes the management wholly upon herself. She rifes before the fun to order the horses to their geers, and fees them well rubbed down at their return from work; fhe attends the dairy morning and evening, and watches when a calf falls that it may be carefully nurfed; fhe walks out among the sheep at noon, counts the lambs, and obferves the fences, and, where fhe finds a gap, ftops it with a bush till it can be better mended. In harvest the rides afield in the waggon, and is very liberal of her ale from a wooden bottle. At her leifure hours the looks goofe eggs, airs the wool room, and turns the cheese. When refpect or curiofity brings vifitants to her houfe, fhe entertains them with prognofticks of a fcarcity of wheat, or a rot among the theep, and always thinks herself privileged to difmifs them, when fhe is to fee the hogs fed, or to count her poultry on the rooft. The only things neglected about her are her children, whom he has taught nothing but the lowest household duties. In my laft vifit I met mifs Bay carrying grains to a fick cow, and was entertained with the accomplishments of her eldeft fon, a youth of fuch early maturity, that though he is only fixteen, she can truft him to fell corn in the market. Her younger daughter, who is eminent for her beauty, though fomewhat tanned in making hay, was bufy in pouring out ale to the ploughmen, that every one might have an equal share. I could not but look with pity on this young family, doomed by the abfurd prudence of their mother to ignorance and meannefs: but when I recommended a more elegant education, was antwered, that the never faw bookish or finical people grow rich, and that he was good for nothing herfelf till fhe had forgotten the nicety of the boarding-fchool. I am, Yours, &c. BUCOLUS. IT NUMB. 139. TUESDAY, July 16, 1751. Sit quod vis fimplex duntaxat et unum. Let every piece be fimple and be one. HOR. T is required by Ariftotle to the perfection of a tragedy, and is equally neceffary to every other fpecies of regular compofition, that it fhould have a beginning, a middle, and an end. "The begin ning," fays he, "is that which hath nothing ne"ceffarily previous, but to which that which fol"lows is naturally confequent; the end, on the con"trary, is that which by neceffity, or at least, ac"cording to the common courfe of things, fucceeds fomething elfe, but which implies nothing confe"quent to itfelf; the middle is connected on one fide "to fomething that naturally goes before, and on the "other to fomething that naturally follows it." Such is the rule laid down by this great critick, for the difpofition of the different parts of a well conftituted fable. It must begin, where it may be made intelligible without introduction; and end, where the mind is left in repofe, without expectation of any farther event. The intermediate paffages muft join the last effect to the first caufe, by a regular and unbroken concatenation; nothing must be therefore inferted which does not apparently arife from fomething foregoing, and properly make way for fomething that fucceeds it. This precept is to be understood in its rigour only with respect to great and effential events, and cannot be extended in the fame force to minuter circumftances and arbitrary decorations, which yet are more happy as they contribute more to the main defign; for it is always a proof of extensive thought and accurate circumfpection, to promote various purposes by the fame act; and the idea of an ornament admits ufe, though it feems to exclude neceffity. Whoever purpofes, as it is expreffed by Milton, to build the lofty rhime, must acquaint himfelf with this law of poetical architecture, and take care that his edifice be folid as well as beautiful; that nothing ftand fingle or independent, fo as that it may be taken away without injuring the reft; but that from the foundation to the pinnacles one part reft firm upon another. This regular and confequential diftribution, is among common authors frequently neglected; but the failures of thofe, whofe example can have no influence, may be fafely overlooked, nor is it of much ufe to recall obfcure and unregarded names to memory for the fake of fporting with their infamy. But if there is any writer whofe genius can embellish impropriety, and whofe authority can make error venerable, his works are the proper objects of critical inquifition. To expunge faults where there are no excellencies, is a tafk equally ufelefs with that of the chemift, who employs the arts of feparation and refinement upon ore in which no precious metal is contained to reward his operations. The The tragedy of Samfon Agonites has been celebrated as the fecond work of the great author of Paradife Loft, and oppofed with all the confidence of triumph to the dramatick performances of other nations. It contains indeed juft fentiments, maxims of wisdom, and oracles of piety, and many paffages written with the ancient spirit of choral poetry, in which there is a just and pleasing mixture of Seneca's moral declamation, with the wild enthufiafm of the Greek writers. It is therefore worthy of examination, whether a performance thus illuminated with genius, and enriched with learning, is compofed according to the indifpenfable laws of Ariftotelian criticism and, omitting at prefent all other confiderations, whether it exhibits a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning is undoubtedly beautiful and proper, opening with a graceful abruptnefs, and proceeding naturally to a mournful recital of facts neceffary to be known. Samfon. A little onward lend thy guiding hand For yonder bank hath choice of fun and fhade; Twice by an angel? —— -Why was my breeding order'd and prefcrib'd, Defign'd for great exploits; if I must die Betray'd, captiv'd, and both my eyes put out? |