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years laft paft courted by a gentleman of greater fortune than I ought to expect, as the market for women goes. You must to be fure have observed people who • live in that fort of way, as all their friends reckon it ⚫ will be a match, and are marked out by all the world for each other. In this view we have been regarded for fome time, and I have above these three years loved him tenderly. As he is very careful of his fortune, I always thought he lived in a near manner, to lay up what he thought was wanting in my fortune to make up what he might expect in another. Within these few months I have obferved his carriage very much altered, and he has affected a certain air of getting me alone, and talking with a mighty profufion of paffionate words, how I am not to be refifted longer, how irrefifti'ble his wishes are, and the like. As long as I have 'been acquainted with him, I could not on fuch occafions fay downright to him, you know you may make me yours when you please. But the other night he with great franknefs and impudence explained to me, that he thought of me only as a miftrefs. I answered this declaration as it deferved; upon which he only ⚫ doubled the terms on which he propofed my yielding. • When my anger heightened upon him, he told me he was forry he had made fo little ufe of the unguarded hours we had been together fo remote from company, as indeed, continued he, so we are at prefent. I flew from him to a neighbouring gentlewoman's house, and tho' her husband was in the room threw myself on a 'couch and burst into a paffion of tears. My friend defired her husband to leave the room: but, faid he, there ⚫is fomething fo extraordinary in this, that I will partake in the affliction; and be it what it will, fhe is fo much your friend, that he knows fhe may command what ⚫ fervices I can do her. The man fat down by me, and fpoke fo like a brother, that I told him my whole af'fliction. He spoke of the injury done me with fo much indignation, and animated ine against the love he said he faw I had for the wretch who would have betrayed me, with fo much reafon and humanity to my weaknefs, that I doubt not of my perfeverance. His wife and he are my comforters, and I am under no more

⚫ restraint in their company than if I were alone; and E 'doubt not but in a fmall time contempt and hatred wilk ⚫ take place of the remains of affection to a rafcal.

I am, Sir,

• your affectionate reader,

Mr. SPECTATOR,

DORINDA,'

I HAD the misfortune to be an uncle before F knew my nephews from my nieces, and now we are grown up to better acquaintance they deny me the respect they owe. One upbraids me with being their familiar, another will hardly be perfuaded that I am an uncle, a third calls me little uncle, and a fourth tells me there is no duty at all due to an uncle. I have a brother-in-law whofe fon will win all my affection, ⚫ unless you fhall think this worthy of your cognizance, ⚫ and will be pleased to prefcribe fome rules for our future reciprocal behaviour. It will be worthy the particularity of your genius to lay down rules for his con⚫duct, who was, as it were, born an old man, in which you will much oblige,

T.

Sir,

N° 403.

Thursday, June 12.

Qui mores hominum multorum vidit

HOR. Ars Poet. v. 142.

Who many towns, and change of manners faw.

ROSCOMMON.

WHEN I confider this great city in its feveral

quarters and divifions, I look upon it as an aggregate of various nations diftinguished from each other by their refpective cuftoms, manners, and interefts. The courts of two countries do not fo much differ from

one another, as the court and city in their peculiar ways of life and converfation. In fhort, the inhabitants of St. James's, notwithstanding they live under the faine laws, and fpeak the fame language, are a diftinct people from thofe of Cheapfide, who are likewife removed from thofe of the Temple on the one fide, and thofe of Smithfield on the other, by feveral climates and degrees in their way of thinking and converfing toge

ther.

For this reafon, when any public affair is upon the anvil, I love to hear the reflections that arife upon it in the feveral diftricts and parishes of London and Westminster, and to ramble up and down a whole day together, in order to make myfelf acquainted with the opinions of my ingenious countrymen. By this means I know the faces of all the principal politicians within the bills of mortality; and as every coffee-houfe has fome particular ftatefnan belonging to it, who is the mouth of the street where he lives, I always take care to place myself near him, in order to know his judgment on the prefent pofture of affairs. The laff progrefs that I made with this intention, was about three months ago, when we had a current report of the king of France's death. As I forefaw this would produce a new face of things in Europe, and many curious fpeculations in our British coffee-houfes, I was very defirous to learn the thoughts of our moft eminent politicians on that occafion.

That I might begin as near the fountain-head as poffible, I first of all called in at St. James's, where I found the whole outward room in a buzz of politics. The fpeculations were but very indifferent towards the door, but grew finer as you advanced to the upper end of the room, and were fo very much improved by a knot of theorifts, who fat in the inner room, within the steams of the coffee-pot, that I there heard the whole Spanish monarchy difpofed of, and all the line of Bourbon provided for in lefs than a quarter of an hour.

I afterwards called in at Giles's, where I faw a board of French gentlemen fitting upon the life and death of

their Grand Monarque. Thofe among them who had efpoufed the Whig intereft, very pofitively affirmed, that he departed this life about a week fince, and therefore proceeded without any further delay to the release of their friends in the gallies, and to their own re-establishment; but finding they could not agree a mong themselves, I proceeded on my intended progrefs.

Upon my arrival at Jenny Man's, I faw an alert young fellow that cock'd his hat upon a friend of his who entered juft at the fame time with myfelf, and accofted him after the following manner. "Well, Jack, the old prig is dead at laft. Sharp's the word. Now or never, boy. Up to the walls of Paris directly." With feveral other deep reflections of the fame nature.

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I met with very little variation in the politics between And upon my Charing-Crofs and Covent-Garden. going into Will's, I found their difcourfe was gone off from the death of the French king to that of monfieur Boileau, Racine, Corneille, and several other poets, whom they regretted on this occafion, as perfons who would have obliged the world with very noble elegies on the death of fo great a prince, and fo eminent a patron of learning.

At a coffee-houfe near the Temple, I found a couple of young gentlemen engaged very finartly in a difpute on the fucceffion to the Spanish monarchy. One of them feemed to have been retained as advocate for the duke of Anjou, the other for his Imperial majefty. They were both for regulating the title to that kingdom by the ftatute laws of England; but finding them going out of my depth, I paffed forward to Paul's church-yard, where I liftened with great attention to a learned man who gave the company an account of the deplorable ftate of France during the minority of the deceafed king.

I then turned on my right hand into Fith-ftreet, where the chief politician of that quarter, upon hearing the news, (after having taken a pipe of tobacco, and ruini nated for fome time) If, fays he, the king of France is certainly dead, we fhall have plenty of mackerel this feafon our fiery will not be disturbed by privateers, as it

has been for these ten years paft. He afterwards confidered how the death of this great man would affect our pilchards, and by several other remarks infused a general joy into his whole audience.

I afterwards entered a by-coffee-house that stood at the upper end of a narrow lane, where I met with a nonjuror engaged very warmly with a laceman who was the great fupport of a neighbouring conventicle. The matter in debate was, whether the late French King was most like Auguftus Cæfar or Nero... The controverfy was carried on with great heat on both fides, and as each of them looked upon me very frequently during the course of their debate, I was under fome apprehenfion that they would appeal to me, and therefore laid down my penny at the bar, and made the best of my way to Cheapfide.

I here gazed upon the figns for fome time before I found one to my purpose. The first object I met in the coffee-room, was a perfon who expreffed a great grief for the death of the French King; but upon his explaining himself, I found his forrow did not arife from the lofs of the monarch, but for his having fold out of the Bank about three days before he heard the news of it. Upon which a haberdasher, who was the orac'e of the coffee-house, and had his circle of admirers about him, called feveral to witnefs that he had declared his opinion above a week before, that the French king was certainly dead; to which he added, that confidering the late advices we had received from France, it was impoffible that it could be otherwise. As he was laying thefe together, and dictating to his hearers with great authority, there came in a gentleman from Garraway's, who told us that there were feveral letters from France juft come in, with advice that the king was in good health, and was gone out a hunting the very morning the poft came away. Upon which the haberdasher ftole off his hat that hung upon a wooden peg by him, and retired to his fhop with great confufion. This intelligence put a ftop to my travels, which I had profecuted with fo much fatis faction; not being a little pleased to hear fo many dif ferent opinions upon fo great an event, and to obferve how naturally upon fuch a piece of news every one is