The Oxford Magazine; For SEPTEMBER, 1771. T For the OXFORD MAGAZINE. THE CENSOR. HE levity and infidelity of our fair countrywomen is at prefent become a general topic of converfation, when a truce is given to politics: A Few fcandalous intrigues, and ridiculous attachments, amongst our married peo ple of quality, have fpread the alarm through the kingdom, and it is to be feared, thefe offending females will have more crimes than one to answer for to fociety. Befides the influence which their example may have on the married women, their inferiors, who are but too apt to imitate perfons of high rank in all their vices and follies, because they are fashionable: The misbehaviour of ladies, who have enjoyed all the advantages of generous birth and education, will naturally increase our jealoufy and apprehenfions for thofe, who not being placed in fuch favourable fituations of life, may be more liable to feduction from allurements, which could have no weight with them. Parents and hufbands will be apt to give way to this kind of reafoning fince those who were in full poffeffion of the honours and riches of this world, and whofe minds were guarded as much as poffible against all low, illiberal ideas, by a finished education, have fallen from virtue, what are we to expect from our wives and daughters, when the feducers of innocence offer them affluence, and the parade of high life, which it is not in our power to give them?" The cruel reftraints which jealousy and mistruft will think neceffary, may, perhaps, increase VOL. VII. NUMBER XII. the number of elopements and divorces, for indifcreet feverity is fure to provoke female refentment; and when vengeance becomes the ruling paffion in a lady's breast, gallantry is only one of its common inftruments. The diffipation of the times had already raifed fufficient obftacles to the married ftate, before this flame of infidelity broke forth; the expence of maintaining a fashionable wife in the gay career of public amusements, and the luxurious elegancies of life (now introduced into all families that are at eafe in their circumstances) had been calculated to a nicety, by all the prudent young gentlemen who deserve the notice of virtuous, accomplished women, and they had been found to exceed the incomes of moft men of moderate fortunes, for which reafon they preferred the single life, and matrimony was thereby greatly difcouraged; but the incontinence and caprice, difcoverable in fome late notorious tranfactions, which have been laid before the public in the news-papers, joined to the black catalogue of criminal connections, difplayed with portraits of the characters, in a monthly publication, have completed the disgust, and added to the fociety of determined batchelors, a long lift of worthy young men, who may be feen crowding our coffee-houses in an evening, and declaiming against matrimony over their folitary little bowl of punch-how many reputable families might be made happy in alliances with then, if the L Stream tream of prejudice could be turned; but this will never be the cafe, while every avenue is fet open, every meafure taken, to hurry our females headlong into fcenes of immorality, and to fpread in their way, every temptation to vice. What can be the defign of the prefent administration, in fuffering the daily increafe of public places of amusement, under various denominations, though unlicensed, heaven only knows! unless we are to believe their enemies, who charge them with a general defign to corrupt and degenerate the minds of our youth as much as poffible, that they may be the better prepared to embrace the tenets of arbitrary power: "For the fenfual debauched libertine is regardless of all other liberty, but that which gives him the free choice of a variety of falfe pleafures, and permits him the full indulgence of his appetites, though at the expence of the interefts of the civil fociety to which he belongs." It should feem, indeed, as if there was a determination formed at court, to discountenance every prudent act of Legiflation in the reign of his late Majefty to prevent the increase of extravagant diffipation, for we hear of nothing now but mafquerades all over the king dom. Places defigned for the recovery of the fick, by abftemious living, by bathing, and by drinking mineral waters, are turned into rendezvous for the moft fcandalous criminal connections; and fcenes of riot, gluttony, gaming, and inebriety, banith health and peace of mind from thefe pretended afylums for invalids. Southampton, Margate, Brighthelmfione, and Tunbridge, have already had their fplendid mafqued balls; Bath, Scarborough, and Buxton, are to follow the example, and no juftice of the peace will be fo unpolite as to enforce the Jaws against thefe affemblies of perfuns of both fexes, in illegal disguises. What prudent young gentleman, under thefe circumftances, would wish to marry for with fo many temptations to feduction, the chance is greatly ainst him, that his lady, if the keeps fashionable company, will be drawn into fome indifcretion by the loofe part of her own fex, or by the debauchees of his own. If the does not immediately make a facrifice of her virtue, the may injure his fortune by gaming, or involve him in an enormous load of debt, to fupport the extravagancies of travelling from one place of amusement to another, and of refiding at them on the moft exorbitant terms, (paying treble their value for every necessary and accommodation of life,) while his own houfes, though pleasantly fituated, elegantly furnished, and fupplied with every thing that unvitiated tafte could require, remain unoccupied more than half the year. It would take a volume to describe all the inconveniences of thefe numerous congregations of the idle, de bauched, worthless part of the rich inhabitants of this kingdom. It is at thefe haunts that affignations, clandestine marriages, elopements, and divorces are engendered, and if they are not carried into execution there, the plans are fo well laid, that they are accomplished the fucceeding winter, generally in the circumference of two miles round St. James's; within which space the Cenfor has reckoned up fifty-five houfes of public and private gallantry, wherein every scene of a criminal connection may be carried on unmolested, from the firft act to the laft; fome being calculated for the opening, and others for the concluding catastrophe of unbridled lust— "provided always that one of the par. ties is in a condition to contribute his fhare towards enabling wretches (not worth a groat originally, and who ought to have been transported long fince) to keep houfes of the annual rent of two or three hundred pounds, with furniture in them estimated at as many thousands." Let any cool, dif paffionate man, only take the pains to enquire into the state of the fortunes made in the neighbourhood just mentioned, and he will find that the pimps, panders, bawds, jockeys and gainblers attendants on our worthless people of quality, the promoters and conductors of their intrigues, and of their gaming parties-are the perfons who keep carriages, fare fumptuously every day, purchafe land, invest money in the the funds, and laugh at the honeft plodding tradefmen and mechanics around them, who are often driven to the greateft diftrefs, by the long credit they are obliged to give the nobility and gentry, while their ready money is lavished on thefe fycophants. Is it at all aftonifhing, that when once a vain, giddy woman is curbed or reftrained in her headstrong defires, by an economical husband, who can no longer fupport her extravagancies, fhe fhould fall a victim to fome voluptuous, wealthy villain, when fo many tools and agents are ready to employ every art and means to facilitate his plan of feduction? But if unhappily the wretches have got the least intimation of any infidelity on the part of the hufband, though it were ever fo accidental, and not followed by any attachment, they are fure to communicate it with every circumftance of exaggeration, 'till the unhappy wife is fired with vengeance, and then the is irrecoverably loft. The terrors of the law with-hold my pen, or I could produce authentic lifts of the names of the perfons who keep intriguing-houfes, and unfold narratives of tranfactions, that would make all fober, virtuous parents and hufbands tremble; but ince it has been declared from the bench, that truth may be a libel, it is become dangerous to expofe iniquity fo ftrongly patronifed. Were it not for this, the following anecdote, literally true, fhould be accompanied with its proper key. A lady of diftinguished rank, who had been married near ten years, and had lived in the strictest harmony with her husband, no misunderstanding hav. ing happened in all that time, unless occafional remonftrances on her extreme fondnefs for places of public refort may be called fuch, was ruined laft winter, by the following ftratagem; after the had withftood every temptation, and had refifted the affiduities and importunities of what the gay world call, a conftant admirer. Her hufband was engaged to dine with fomne Bucks of the firit order, who were in the intereft of the gallant; after the bottle had paffed pretty freely, he was sonducted by them to a famous fruit 83 fhop in St. James's-ftreet, near the ta vern where they had dined; here two or three beautiful young girls were purpofely feated, and one of them'attracting the notice of the gentleman, he entered into converfation with her, while his companions difcourfed with the others, and took care to get their addrefs, which with a carele's air one of them put in his pocket: After the ufual civility of treating the ladies with fruit, for the benefit of the miftrefs of the fhop, the gentlemen took leave for the prefent, and returned to the bottle; when our Bucks thought the husband had elevated his fpirits to an uncommon pitch by drinking, they prop_fed to him, for a little innocent divertion, to go and take coffee with the ladies; in fhort, he agreed to the propofal, accompanied them to the hoofe of Mrs. L--, in B▬▬k-street, where the temptation proved too great to be refifted, and their fcheme was finally accomplished; for the young enchantress kept him with her till the next day, and in less than three weeks after this event, his lady yielded to the importunities of the villain who had planned her destruction, and who took care that the fhould be informed of the infidelity of the hufband. When her criminal intercourfe was difcovered, which happened a few months after, the endeavoured to excufe herself by recrimination; but the hufband had two much fpirit and good fenfe to admit this pea, and infifted on a feparation by private agreement, or a public divorce; the firft was reluctantly confented to: The lady withdrew to Ireland, and thus this affair was compromifed without being made the town talk, and expofing the parties to univerfal ridicale and contempt. This is only one inftance of the numerous feparations which happen in the course of a winter, and which, through the little remaining prudence of the parties, are not made public; and it is related with no other view, but to put married men on their guard, how they fuffer themfelves to be drawn into open acts of debauchery, which may be attended with fuch ferious confequences; for there cannot be a greater inducement to_gallantry thrown in the way of a modern The CENSOR. 84 Another caufe of the infidelity of wives, is, the loose behaviour of wo. men rather advanced in life; who, inftead of discouraging the first approaches to intrigue in young married women, take a thousand ways of encouraging them to proceed. Is there a man who has rendered himself remarkable by his infamous deductions of the fair fex, who spurns all ties, facred and hunan; this man, above all others, you will fee careffed by ladies who have daughters almost grown up to wo men; at every rout, at every entertainment given by ladies of fpirit, (who are of an age to be ftiled matrons) you will fee thefe abandoned rakes receiving marks of esteem and attention from the mistress of the house, in preference to men of fobriety, honour and integrity. If one of thefe fellows is a known gambler, if he has acquired a fortune by the most infamous means, and actually lives with a woman who keeps a house of ill fame, ftill no exception is taken; he is the life and foul of polite circles, and may be found at the tables of ladies of the first quality, and is admitted into the company of young women of unblemished reputation at all public places. And as to the petty crime of violating the chastity of women of inferior rank-ladies of quality adore the wretches who can boaft numerous conquests over plebeian virtue, deeming all the falfe promifes of marriage, and other ftratagems made ufe of to feduce unwary girls, as fo many marks of wit, and taking delight in hearing the details of fuch gallantries. A young gentleman who had not long left the univerfity, was lately threatened with the expofure of an infamous act of bafenefs, having feduced the daughter of a farmer in the neighbourhood, and totally abandoned her, after the had been turned out of doors for her folly by an unrelenting father. He was folicited to make her at least a pecuniary reparation, and to prevent her being reduced to indigence, or being forced to apply to the parish for relief. On his refufal, it was men W ... tioned that the affair must be made known to myLady, his mother; to which he replied, with great confidenceYou may fpare yourself this trouble, for I shall divert her myself, with this little adventure, and ask her opinion how to act in it. This was accordingly done; and the good lady, who was highly rejoiced to find her fon had learnt the rudiments of intrigue at the University, told him she would take. care of the girl, and place her where he might vifit her, till he grew tired of the attachment. In fine, after having obtained a favourable defcription of the girl's perfon, fhe undertook to engage Count K to introduce her into the family of Charlotte; but the unhappy girl being apprifed of the base defign, and informed what fort of house the parties kept, rejected the propofal with indignation; and this fpirited conduct being properly reprefented to her father, he was reconciled to her, and found means to place her with a relation in a distant county, where her misfortune is not known, and her character may be recovered. But the most inconfiftent part of the conduct of our fashionable lady mothers is, their inexorable temper when any of their daughters happen to make an unequal match. After having brought them up in fuch a manner that every honeft, worthy gentleman is afraid to marry them; and atter having heated their paffions, by introducing them into the most voluptuous company, they pretend to be furprifed at their running away to Scotland with a footman or a sharper, and never pardon an accident of this fort. Another cuftom, which is lately become fashionable, may, perhaps, add a few more ftrange adventures to the annals of English gallantry. Young la dies, both married and fingle, are frequently fent out to take long rides, attended only by one fmart, genteel footman-love, or rather appetite, levels all diftinction; and, indeed, if one may judge by the infolence of men fervants at prefent, and the freedom and familiarity which may be observed between the ladies and their footmen, when they are accidentally met in byc roads, and at a distance trom home, this Candid, to the Author of the Cenfor. this fhameful, indecent custom, has already had more dishonourable effects than are generally known. Thefe loofe remarks are thrown out for the benefit of the fair fex in general, who must change their conduct, otherwife marriage, in a fhort time, will only be in ufe amongst the common people, and thofe, whom titles or intereft unite to age and ugliness. SIR, **The following letter which came to my hands by the French mail, is not very foreign to the fubject of this paper, and may ferve to convince us, that there are ladies of nice honour in the world, whofe merit ferves as a counterpoife to the weak, characters we have been describing. To the Author of the CENSOR, HAVE refided here for fome years, Montpellier, Aug. 20, 1771. dren but an only fon, whom to our I turpite country, and I frequently receive let ters from my friends in England, which inform me, that in every circumftance of life, all ranks of people are imitating the manners of the French. I therefore think it my duty, whenever I difcover any thing praife-worthy in their conduct, to note it, for the benefit of my native country; and from time to time I mean to fend you the relations of any events that discover nobleness of foul and exalted virtue; as to their vices, you have travelling coxcombs who will import them for you in abundance. The following story has been the fubject of admiration in this part of the world, and may, by the fenfible part of mankind, be thought more worthy of imitation, than any of the fashionable follies which you have copied lately with fo much industry from France. I confefs to you, I am fuch an odd, old-fashioned fellow, that it has given me more pleasure than your ludicrous account of the amours of Lady G-r, Lady L-~r, &c. but I am afraid you will not be allowed to read it at Mrs. Cornelys'; however, you must accept it, in return for the D- of C's love-letters; it is the only entertaining fubject I can find to Occupy my pen at prefent. A marriage has lately been celebrated in this neighbourhood, with all the pomp and ceremony fuited to the dignity of the family, and the fingular circumftances that preceded it. The Jady had been for fix years the favourite waiting-maid to the Countefs Dowager of who has no other chil married this gentlewoman. The Countess is a lady of the first reputation in France, for her folid understanding, prudence, and difcernment; and the is likewife celebrated for furmounting all idle prejudices, of which this marriage is a fresh inftance. Having the honour to be intimate in the family of a near relation, to whom the communicated the detail of this affair, I fhall endeavour to give it you in the words of this amiable Countefs, from a letter fhe fent them on this occafion, from which I have been permitted to make the ne ceffary extracts. "It is now fix years fince I took the worthy Leonora into my fervice." (I give her this name, because I am not at liberty to mention her parental one.)" She was born a gentlewoman; but being left an orphan, at a tender age, and without fortune, I determined, out of regard to the father and mother, with whom I was well acquainted, to take care of her education. Accordingly I brought her up fuitable to the state of life for which defigned her; and I resolved, if the answered my expectations, to leave her fufficient at my death, to enable her to live independent of the world. You may be allured I took care to inftil into her tender mind, the strictest notions of virtue and honour, and I had the happinefs to find that her inclinations correfponded with my inftructions. She had neither the levity nor distraction, common to young perfons of her age, nor could I difcover the least tincture of perfonal vanity. I admired her beauty; |