fancy in the drefs of the riders: fome admired country girl is to hold the prize, her lovers to trot, and not to mend their pace into a gallop, when they are outtrotted by a rival; fome known country wit to come upon the beft pacer. Thele and the like little joyful arts gain him the love of all who do not know his worth, and the esteem of all who do. Sir Harry is no friend to the race-horfe; he is of opinion, it is inhumane that animals fhould be put upon their utmost ftrength and mettle for our diverfion only. However, not to be particular, he puts in for the Queen's plate every year, with orders to his rider never to win or be distanced; and, like a good country gentleman, fays it is a fault in all miniftries that they encourage no kind of horses but thofe which are fwift. As I write lives, I dwell upon fmall matters, being of opinion with Plutarch, that little circumitances fhew the real man better than things of greater moment. But good economy is the characteristic of the Lizards. I remember a circumstance about fix years ago, that gave me hopes he would one time or other make a figure in parliament; for he is a landed man, and confiders his intereft, though he is fuch, to be impaired or promoted according to the ftate of trade. When he was but twenty years old, I took an opportunity in his prefeace, to ask an intelligent woollendraper, what he gave for his fhop, the corner of Change-Alley. The fhop is, I believe, fourteen feet long, and eight

broad. I was answered-Ninety pound a year. I took no notice; but the thought defcended into the breast of Sir Harry, and I faw on his table the next morning a computation of the value of land in an ifland, confifting of fo many miles, with to many good ports; the va lue of each part of the faid ifland, as it lay to fuch ports, and produced fuch commodities. The whole of his working was to know why fo few yards, near the 'Change, was fo much better than is many acres in Northamptonshire, and what thofe acres in Northamptonshire would be worth, were there no trade at all in this island.

It makes my heart ache, when I think of this young man, and confider upon what plain maxims, and in what ordinary methods men of eftate may do good wherever they are feated; that fo many fhould be what they are! It is certain, that the arts which purchafe wealth or fame will maintain them; and I attri-, bute the fplendor and long continuance of this family, to the felicity of having the genius of the founder of it run through all his male line. Old Sir Harry, the great grandfather of this gentleman, has written in his own hand upon all the deeds which he ever figned, in the hu mour of that fententious age, this fentence- There are four good mothers,

of whom are often born four unhappy daughters; truth begets hatred, happiness pride, fecurity danger, and familiarity contempt."

chair at the tea-table, at the upper end of which that graceful woman, with her daughters about her, appeared to me with greater dignity than ever any figure, either of Venus attended by the Graces, Diana with her nymphs, or any other celeftial who owes her being to poetry.

The difcourfe we had there, none being prefent but our own family, confifted of private matters, which tended to the eftablishment of thefe young ladies in the world. My lady, Í obferved, had

a mind to make mention of the propofal to Mrs. Jane, of which the is very fond, and I as much avoided, as being equally against it; but it is by no means proper the young ladies fhould oblerve w ever diffent; therefore I turned the dif courfe by faying, it was time enough to think of marrying a young lady, who was but three and twenty, ten years hence. The whole table was alarmed at the affertion, and the Sparkler fcalded her fingers by leaning fuddenly forward to look in my face: but my business at prefent was to make my court to the mother; therefore, without regarding the

refent

refentment in the looks of the children Madam,' faid I, there is a petulant and hafty manner practifed in this age, in hurrying away the life of woman, and confining the grace and principal action of it to thofe years wherein rea⚫ fon and difcretion are moft feeble, humour and paffion most powerful. From the time a young woman of quality has first appeared in the drawingroom, raised a whifper and curiofity of the men about her, had her health drank in gay companies, and been diftinguished at public affemblies; I fay, Madam, if within three or four years of her first appearance in town, the is not difpofed of, her beauty is grown familiar, her eyes are difarmed, and we feldom after hear her mentioned but with indifference. What

doubles my grief on this occafion is, that the more difcreetly the lady behaves herself, the fooner is her glory extinguished. Now, Madam, if merit had a greater weight in our thoughts, when we form to ourfelves agreeable characters of women, men would think, in making their choices, of fuch as would take care of, as well as fup ply children for, the nursery. It was not thus in the illuftrious days of good Queen Elizabeth. I was this morning turning over a folio, called The Complete Ambaffador, confifting chiefly of letters from Lord Burleigh, Earl of Leicester, and Sir Thomas Smith. • Sir Thomas writes a letter to Sir Francis Walfingham, full of learned gallantry, wherein you may obferve he promifes himself the French king's brother (who it feems was but a cold lover) would be quickened by feeing the queen in perfon, who was then in the thirty-ninth year of her age. A certain fobriety in thoughts, words, and action, which was the praife of that age, kept the fire of love alive; and it burnt fo equally, that it warmed and preferved, without tormenting and confuming our beings. The letter I • mention is as follows.

TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL MR. FRANCIS WALSINGHAM, AMBASSADOR, RESIDENT IN FRANCE.

his love; but she must first say 'Yea,'be. fore he fee her, or the him: twenty ways might be devised why he might come over, and be welcome, and poffibly do more in an hour than he may in two years. Cupido ille qui vincit omnia, in oculos incidet, et ex oculis ejaculatur, et in oculos utriufque videndo non folum, ut ait poeta, fæmina virum, fed vir fæminam-that powerful being Cupid, who conquers all things, refides in the eyes, he fends aut all his darts from the eyes: by throwing glances at the eyes, (according to the poet) not only the woman captivates the man, but alfo the man the woman. What force, I pray you, can hearfay, and I think, and I trust, do in comparison of that cum præfens præfentem tuetur et alloquitur, et furore forfitan amoris ductus amplectitur-when they face to face fee and converfe with each other, and the lover, in an extafy not to be commanded, fnatches an embrace, and saith to himself, and openly that the may hear

Teneone te, an etiamnum fomno volunt fæminæ videri cogi ad id quod maximum capiunt?-Are you in my arms, my fair-one, or do we both dream; and will women, even in their fleep, feem forced to what they most defire? If we be cold, it is our part, befides the perfon, the fex requireth it. Why are you cold? Is it not a young man's part to be bold, courageous, and to adventure? If he fhould have, he should have but bonorificam repulfam-even a repulfe here is glorious: the worft that can be faid of him is but as of Phaeton-Quam fi non tenuit magnis tamen excidit aufis -though he could not command the chariot of the fun, his fall from it was illuftrious. So far as I conceive, Hac eft fola noftra anchora, hæc jacenda eft in nobis alea-this is our only anchor, this die muft be thrown. In our inftability, Unum momentum eft uno momento perfeâum factum, ac diƐlam ftabilitatem facere poteft-one lucky moment would crown and fix all. This, or elfe nothing is to be looked for but continual dalliance and doubtfulness, so far as I can fee. Your affured friend,

of a girl; I found the reft of the company as much disheartened, that they were still but mere girls: I went on, therefore, to attribute the immature marriages which are folemnized in our days to the importunity of the men, which made it impoffible for young ladies to remain virgins fo long as they wished from their own inclinations, and the freedom of a fingle life.

There is no time of our life, under 'what character foever, in which men 'can wholly diveft themselves of an am'bition to be in the favour of women. Cardan, a grave philofopher and phy'fician, confeffes, in one of his chapters, that though he had fuffered poverty, repulfes, calumnies, and a long feries of afflictions, he never was thoroughly dejected, and impatient of life itself, but under a calamity which he suffered from the beginning of his twenty-first 5 to the end of his thirtieth year. He 'tells us, that the raillery he fuffered 'from others, and the contempt which ⚫ he had of himself, were afflictions be'yond expreffion. I mention this only as an argument extorted from this good and grave man, to fupport my opinion of the irrefiftible power of women. He adds in the fame chapter, that there are 6 ten thousand afflictions and disasters

men to poverty and death; but he makes them of little confideration to ⚫ the miserable and infignificant condi⚫tion of being incapable of their favour.

I make no manner of difficulty of profeffing I am not furprized that the author has exprefled himself after this manner, with relation to love: the heroic chastity fo frequently profeffed by humourifts of the fair-fex, generally ⚫ ends in an unworthy choice, after having overlooked overtures to their advantage. It is for this reafon that I would endeavour to direct, and not pretend to eradicate, the inclinations of the fexes to each other. Daily experience fhews us, that the most rude ruftic grows humane as foon as he is inspired by this paffion; it gives a new grace to our manners, a new dignity to our minds, a new vifage to our perfons: whether we are inclined to liberal arts, to arms, or addrefs in our I exercife, our improvement is haftened by a particular object whom we would pleafe. Chearfulness, gentleness, for⚫titude, liberality, magnificence, and all the virtues which adorn men, which infpire heroes, are most conspicuous in lovers: I fpeak of love as when fuch as are in this company are the objects of it, who can beftow upon their hus bands (if they follow their excellent mother) all it's joys without any of

'it's anxieties.'

A Guardian cannot beftow his time in any office more fuitable to his character, than in reprefenting the difafters to which we are expofed by the Irregularity of our paffions. I think I fpeak of this matter in a way not yet taken notice of, when I obferve that they make men do things unworthy of thofe very paffions. I fhall illuftrate this by a ftory I have lately read in the Royal Commentaries of Peru, wherein you behold an oppreffor a moft contemptible creature after his power is at an end; and a perfon he oppreffed fo wholly intent upon revenge till he had obtained it, that in the purfuit of it he utterly neglected his own fafety; but

HOR. EP. 2. L. 1. v. 6A

when that motive of revenge was at an end, returned to a fenfe of danger, in fuch a manner, as to be unable to lay hold of occafions which offered themfelves for certain fecurity, and expoled himself from fear to apparent hazard. The motives which I fpeak of are not indeed fo much to be called paffions, as ill habits arifing from paflions, fuch as pride and revenge, which are improvements of our infirmities, and are inethinks but fcorn and anger regularly conducted. But to my story.

LicenciadoEfquivel, governor of the city Potocfi, commanded two hundred men to march out of that garrison towards the kingdom of Tucman, with strict orders