the endeavours of this family of men whom we call cunning, their whole work falls to pieces, if others will lay down all esteem for fuch artifices; and treat it as an unmanly quality, which they forbear to practife only becanfe they abhor it. When the fpider is ranging in the different apartments of his web, it is true, that he only can weave fo fine a thread; but it is in the power of the mereft drone that has wings, to fly through and deKroy it.

Will's Coffee-houfe, June 28.

Though the tafte of wit and pleasure is at prefent but very low in this town, yet there are fome that preferva their relish undebauched with common impreffions, and can diftinguish between reality and impofture. A Gentleman was faying here this evening, that he would go to the Play to-morrow night to fee heroifm as it has been reprefented by fome of our tragedians, reprefented in burlefque. It seems, the Play of Alexander is to be then turned into ridicule for its bombaft, and other falfe or naments in the thoughts as well as the language. The blufter Alexander makes is as much inconfiftent with the character of an Hero, as the roughnefs of Clytus, an inftance of the fincerity of a bold artless foldier. To be plain is not to be rude, but rather inclines a man to civility and deference; not indeed to fhew it in the geftures of the body, but in the fentiments of the mind. It is, among other things, from the impertinent figures unfkilful dramatists draw of the characters of men, that youth are bewildered and prejudiced in their sense of the world, of which they have no notions but what they draw from books and fuch reprefentations. Thus talk to a very young man, let him be of never fo good sense, and he shall smile when you speak of fincerity in a courtier, good fenfe in a foldier, or honefty in a politician. The reafon of this is, that you hardly fee one Play, wherein each of thefe ways of life is not drawn by hands that know nothing of any one of them; and the truth is fo far of the oppofite fide to what they paint, that it is more impracticable to live in efteem in Courts than any where elfe, without fincerity. Good fenfe is the

great

great requifite in a foldier, and honefty the only thing that can fupport a politician. This way of thinking made the Gentleman, of whom I was just now fpeaking, fay,, he was glad any one had taken upon him to depreciate fuch unnatural fuftian as the Tragedy of Alexander. The character of that Prince indeed was, that he was unequal, and given to intemperance; but in his fober moments, when he had the precepts of his great instructor warm in his imagination, he was a pattern of generous thoughts and difpofitions, in oppofition to the ftrongeft defires. which are incident to a youth and conqueror... But inftead of reprefenting that Hero in the glorious character of generofity and chastity, in his treatment of the beau-teous family of Darius, he is drawn all along as a mon-fter of luft, or of cruelty; as if the way to raise him to the degree of an Hero, were to make his character as little like that of a worthy man as poffible.. Such rude and indigefted draughts of things are the proper objects of ridicule and contempt; and depreciating Alexander, as we have him drawn, is the only way of reftoring him, to what he was in himself. It is well contrived of the players to let this part be followed by a true picture of, life, in the Comedy, called The Chances, wherein Don John and Conftantia are acted to the utmost perfection.. There need not be a greater inftance of the force of action than in many incidents of this Play,, where indifferent paffages, and fuch as conduce only to the tacking: of the fcenes together, are enlivened with fuch an agree-. able gefture and behaviour, as apparently fhews what a Play might be,, though it is not wholly what a Play, hould be.

With thee would live, with thee would die.

FRANCI

From my own Apartment, June 30.

OME years fince I was engaged with a coach-full of friends to take a journey as far as the Land's End. We were very well pleafed with one another the first day; every one endeavouring to recommend himself by his good humour, and complaifance to the rest of the company. This good correfpondence did not laft long one of our party was foured the very first evening by a plate of butter which had not been melted to his mind, and which spoiled his temper to fuch a degree, that he continued upon the fret to the end of our journey. A. fecond fell off from his good humour the next morning, for no other reafon, that I could imagine, but because I chanced to ftep into the coach before him, and place myfelf on the fhady fide. This, however, was but my own private guess; for he did not mention a word of it, nor indeed of any thing elfe, for three days following.. The rest of our company held out very near half the way, when on a fudden Mr. Sprightly fell asleep; and inftead of endeavouring to divert and oblige us, as he had hitherto done, carried himself with an unconcerned,, carelefs, drowsy behaviour, until he came to our last ftage. There were three of us who ftill held up our heads, and did all we could to make our journey agreeable; but, to my fhame be it spoken, about three miles on this fide Exeter, I was taken with an unaccountable

fit of fyllennefs, that hung upon me for above threescore miles; whether it were for want of refpect, or from an accidental tread upon my foot, or from a foolish maid's calling me The old Gentleman," I cannot tell. In hort, there was but one who kept his good humour to the Land's End.

re

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14

There was another coach that went along with us, in which I likewife obferved, that there were many fecret jealoufies, heart-burnings, and animofities: For when we joined companies at night, I could not but take no tice that the paflengers neglected their, own company, and ftudied how to make themselves efteemed by us who were altogether Atrangers to them; until at length they grew. fo well acquainted with us, that they liked us as little as they did one other. When I reflect upon this journey, I often fancy it to be a picture of hu man life, in refpect to the feveral friendships, contracts, and alliances, that are made and diffolved in the feveral periods of it. The most delightful and moft lafting engagements are generally thofe which pafs between man and woman; and yet upon what trifles are they weakened, or entirely broken? Sometimes the parties fly afunder even in the midst of courtship, and fometimes grow cool in the very honey-month. Some feparate before the first child, and fome after the fifth; others, continue good until thirty, others until forty; while fome few, whofe Souls are of an happier make, and better fitted to one another, travel on together to the end of their journey in a continual intercourse of kind offices, and mutual endearments.

When we therefore chufe. our companions for life, if we hope to keep both them and ourfelves in good hu mour to the last stage of it, we must be extremely careful in the choice we make, as well as in the conduct on our part, When the perfons to whom we join ourselves can stand an examination, and bear the fcrutiny; when they, mend upon our acquaintance with them, and difcover new beauties, the more we fearch into their characters; our love will naturally rife in proportion to their perfections...

But because there are very few poffeffed of fuch ac complishments of body, and mind, we ought to look B. 6 afters

after thofe qualifications both in ourfelves and others, which are indifpenfibly neceflary towards this happy union, and which are in the power of every one to acquire, or at leaft to cultivate and improve. Thefse, in my opinion, are chearfulness and conftancy. A chearful temper joined with innocence will make beauty attrac tive, knowledge delightful, and wit good-natured. It will lighten ficknefs, poverty, and affliction; convert ignorance into an amiable fimplicity; and render deformity itfelf agreeable. Goiáng

Conftancy is natural to perfons of even tempers and uniform difpofitions; and may be acquired by those of the greateft ficklenefs, violence, and paffion, who con fider seriously the terms of union on which they come together, the mutual intereft in which they are engaged, with all the motives that ought to incite their tenderness and compaffion towards thofe, who have their dependance upon them, and are embarked with them for life in the fame ftate of happinefs or mifery. Conftancy, when it grows in the mind upon confiderations of this nature, becomes a moral virtue, and a kind of good-nature, that is not fubject to any change of health, age, fortune, or any of thofe accidents, which are apt to unfettle the beft difpofitions that are founded rather in conftitution than in reafon. Where fuch a Conftancy as this is wanting, the most inflamed paffion may fall away into coldnefs and indifference, and the moft melting tenderness degenerate into hatred and averfion. I fhall conclude his Paper with a flory, that is very well known in the North of England.

About thirty years ago, a packet-boat that had feverak paffengers on board was caft away upon a rock, and in fo great danger of finking, that all who were in it en deavoured to fave themselves as well as they could though only thofe who could fwim well had a bare poffibility of doing it. Among the paffengers there were two women of fashion, who, feeing themfelves in fuch a difconfolate condition, begged for their husbands not to leave them. One of them chofe rather to die with his wife, than to forfake her; the other, though he was moved with the utmoft compaffion for his wife, told her, that for the good of their children, it was better one of

them