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on themselves certainly is worthy of your animadverfion. I have known one of thefe gentlemen think himself obliged to forget the day of an appointment,' ⚫ and fometimes even that you spoke to him, and when you fee them, they hope you will pardon them, for they have the worst memory in the world. One of them · ftarted up the other day in fome confufion, and said, "Now I think on it, I am to meet Mr. Mortmain the attorney about fome business, but whether it is today, or to-morrow, faith, I cannot tell." Now to my certain knowledge he knew his time to a moment and was there accordingly. These forgetful perfons have, to heighten their crime, generally the best ⚫ memories of any people, as I have found out by their remembering fometimes through inadvertency. Two or three of them that I know can fay most of our modern tragedies by heart. I asked a gentleman the other day that is famous for a good carver, at which acquifition he is out of countenance, imagining it may detract from fome of his more effential qualifications, to help me to fomething that was near him ; but he excufed himself, and blushing told me, "Of "all things he could never carve in his life;" though it can be proved upon him that he cuts up, disjoints, ⚫ and uncafes with uncomparable dexterity. I would not ⚫ be understood as if I thought it laudable for a man of quality and fortune to rival the acquifitions of artificers, and endeavour to excel in little handy qualities; no, I argue only ag inft being afhamed at what is really praife worthy. As thefe pretences to ingenuity 'fhews themfelves feveral ways, you will often fee a man of this temper afhamed to be clean, and fetting up for ⚫ wit only from negligence in his habit. Now I am upon this head, I cannot help obferving also upon a very different folly proceeding from the fame cause. As thefe above-mentioned arife from affecting an equality with men of greater talents from having the fame faults, there are others that would come at a parallel with thofe above them, by poffeffing little advantages which they want. I heard a young man not long ago, who has fenfe, comfort himself in his ignorance of Greek, Hebrew, and the Orientals: at the

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fame time that he published his averfion to these lan· guages, he faid that the knowledge of them was

rather a diminution than an advancement of a man's character; though at the fame time I know he lan guithes and repines he is not mafter of them himself. Whenever I take any of these fine perfons thus detracting from what they do not understand, I tell them I ⚫ will complain to you, and fay I am fure you will not allow it an exception against a thing, that he who ⚫ contemns it is an ignorant in it.

I am, Sir,

• Your most humble fervant,

'S. T.

'Mr. SPECTATOR,

I AM a man of a very good eftate, and am honourably in love. I hope you will allow, when the ul'timate purpose is honeft, there may be, without trefpass against innocence, fome toying by the way. People of condition are perhaps too distant and formal on • thofe occafions; but however that is, I am to confels to you that I have writ fome verfes to atone for my ⚫ offence. You profeffed authors are a little fevere upon us, who write like gentlemen: but if you are a friend to love, you will infert my poem. You cannot imagine how much fervice it would do me with my fair one as well as reputation with all my friends, to have fomething of mine in the Spectator. My crime was, that I fnatched a kifs, and my poetical excufe as follows:

I.

Belinda fee from yonder flowers

The bee flies loaded to its cell;
Can you perceive what it devours?
Are they iinpair'd in fhow or smell?

III.

"Tis by this cunning I contrive,
In spite of your unkind referve,
To keep my famifh'd love alive,
Which you, inhumanly would starve.
I am, Sir,

Your humble fervant,

TIMOTHY STANZA,

• SIR,

Aug. 23, 1712.

HAVING a little time upon my hands, I could not think of bestowing it better, than in writing an epiftle to the SPECTATOR, which I now do, and ain,

If you approve of my ftyle, I am likely enough to become your correfpondent. I defire your opinion. of it. I defign it for that way of writing called by the judicious the Familiar.'

Τ.

INDE X.

A.

ACETUS, his character, Number 422.

Admiration, a pleafing motion of the mind, N.

413.

Affectation, the nisfortune of it, N. 404; defcribed,
460.

Almighty, his power over the immagination, N. 421;
Aristotle's faying of his being, 465.

Allegories, like light to a difcourfe, N. 421; eminent
writers faulty in them, ibid.

Allufions the great art of a writer, N.

421.

Amazons, their commonwealth, N. 433; how they
educated their children, 434; their wars, ibid. they
marry their male allies, ibid.

Americans ufed painting inftead of writing, N. 416.
Amity between agreeable perfons of different fexes dan-
gerous, 400.

N.

397.

AMORET the jilt reclaimed by Philander, N. 401.
ANN BOLEYN'S laft letter to King Henry VIII. N.
Ancients in the Eaft, their way of living, N, 415.
Appearances, things not to be trufted for them, N.
464.

Applaufe (public) its pleasure, N. 442.
April (month of) defcribed, N. 425.

ARABELLA, verfes on her finging, N.

443.

Architecture, the ancients perfection in it, N. 415.
The greatness of the manner how it ftrikes the fan-
Of the manner of both ancients and

cy, ibid.

moderns, ibid. the concave and convex figures have
the greatest air, ibid. every thing that pleafes the
imagination in it, is either great, beautiful, or new,
ibid.

Art, (works of) defective to entertain the imagination,
N. 414; receive great advantage from their likeness
to thofe of nature, ibid.

Auguft and July (months of) described, N. 425.

B.

BABEL, (tower of) N. 415.

BACON (fir FRANCIS) prefcribes his reader a poem or
profpect, as conducive to health, N. 411; what he
fays of the pleasure of the tafte, 447.

Bankruptcy, the mifery of it, N. 428, 456.
Bar oratory in England, reflection on it, N. 407.
BASILIUS VALENTINUS, and his fon, their story, N. 426.
BAXTER (Mr.) his laft words, N. 445; more laft words,
ibid.

BAYLE (Mr.) what he fays of libels, N. 451.

Bear-Garden, a combat there, N. 436; the cheats of
it, 449

Beauty heightened by motion, N. 406.

Beauty of objects, what understood by it, N. 412; no-
thing makes its way more directly to the foul, ibid.
every fpecies of fenfible creatures has different notions
of it, ibid. a second kind of it, ibid.

Beggars, the grievance of them, N. 430.

BELVIDERA, a critique on a fong upon her, N. 470.
BELUS, JUPITER, (temple of) N. 415.

Birds, how affected by colours, N. 412.

BLAST (lady) her character, N. 457.

BLUEMANTLE (lady) an acccount of her, N. 427.
BUCK (TIMOTHY) his anfwer to James Miller's

challenge, N. 436.

Buffoonry, cenfured, N. 443.

Bufinefs (men of) their error in fimilitudes, N.

learning fitteft for it, 469.

BUSSY D'AMBOISE, a ftory of him, N. 467.