votaries that attended in this temple. There No. 124.] On a sudden, the whole assembly fell a-trembling ; and upon enquiry, I found that the great room we were in was haunted with a spectre, that many times a day appeared to them, and Tuesday, January 24, 1709. the city; and, as I passed through Cheapside, look upon him as a man of singular courage and fair dealing; having given orders to Mr. Morphew to subscribe such a policy in my behalf, if any person accepts of the offer. I must confess, I have had such private intimations from the twinkling of a certain star in some of my astronomical observations, that I should be unwilling to take fifty pounds a-year for my chance, unless it were to oblige a particular friend. My chief business at present is, to prepare my mind for this change of fortune: for, as Seneca, who was a greater moralist, and a terrified them to distraction. In the midst of their terror and amazement, the apparition entered, which I immediately knew be Poverty. Whether it were my acquaintance with this phantom, which had rendered the sight of her more familiar to me, or however it was, she did not make so indigent or frightful a figure in my eye, as the god of this loathsome temple. The miserable votaries of this place were, I found, of another mind. Every one fancied himself threatened by the apparition as she stalked about the room, began to lock their coffers, and tie their bags with the utmost fear and trembling. and I must confess, I look upon the passion which The whole assembly was surprised, when, Oh Poverty!' said I, 'my first petition to that then thou wouldest not bear a form more The earliest lottery that is recollected was in 1569, consisting of 40,000 lots, at 10s. each lot. The prizes were plate, and the profits were to go towards repairing the havens of The conclusion of this vision must be deferred the kingdom. It was drawn at the west door of St. Paul's to another opportunity. cathedral; and the drawing which began Jan. 11, continued incessantly, day and night, till May 6. There were then only three lottery-offices in London. The curious reader will find more on this subject in Gent. Mag. 1779. p. 470. much richer man than I shall be with this ad- j into the lottery, and that neither of them had dition to my present income, says, Munera ista Fortune putatis? Insidiæ sunt. 'What we look upon as gifts and presents of fortune, are traps and snares which she lays for the unwary. I am arming myself against her favours with all my philosophy; and, that I may not lose myself in such a redundance of unnecessary and superfluous weal I have determined to settle an annual pension out of it upon a family of Palatines, and by that means give these un-expect to be as happy as fools.' I shall proceed in the like manner with my rivals and competitors for the thousand pounds a-year, which we are now in pursuit of; and, that I may give general content to the whole body of candidates, I shall allow all that draw prizes to be fortunate, and all that miss them to be wise. drawn the thousand pounds.. Hereupon this unlucky person took occasion to enumerate the misfortunes of his life, and concluded with telling me,' that he never was successful in any of his undertakings.' I was forced to comfort him with the common reflection upon such occasions, that men of the greatest merit are not always men of the greatest success, and that persons of his character, must not I must not here omit to acknowledge, that I have received several letters upon this subject, but find one common error running through them all, which is, that the writers of them believe their fate in these cases depends upon the astrologer, and not upon the stars; as in the following letter from one, who I fear, flatters himself with hopes of success which are altogether groundless, since he does not seem to me so great a fool as he takes himself to be. happy strangers a taste of British property. At the same time, as I have an excellent servantmaid, whose diligence in attending me has increased in proportion to my infirmities, I shall settle upon her the revenue arising out of the ten pounds, and amounting to fourteen shillings per annum; with which she may retire into Wales, where she was born a gentlewoman, and pass the remaining part of her days in a condition suitable to her birth and quality. It was impossible for me to make an inspection into my own fortune on this occasion, without seeing, at the same time, the fate of others who are embarked in the same adventure. And indeed it was a great pleasure to me to observe, that the war, which generally impoverishes those who furnish out the expense of it, will, by this means, give estates to some, without making others the poorer for it. I have lately seen several in liveries, who will give as good of their own very suddenly; and took a particular satisfaction in the sight of a young country-wench, whom I this morning passed by as she was whirling her mop, with her petticoats tucked up very agreeably, who, if there is any truth in my art, is within ten months of being the handsomest great fortune in town. I must confess, I was so struck with the foresight of what she is to be, that I treated her accordingly, and said to her, Pray, young lady, permit me to pass by.' I would for this reason advise all masters and mistresses, to carry it 'with great moderation and condescension towards their servants until next Michaelmas, lest the superiority at that time should be inverted. I must likewise admonish all my brethren and fellow-adventurers, to fill their minds with proper arguments for their support and consolation in case of ill success. It so happens in this particular, that though the gainers will have reason to rejoice, the losers will have no reason to complain. I remember the day after the thousand pound prize was drawn in the penny-lottery, I went to visit a splenetic acquaintance of mine, who was under much dejection, and seemed to me to have suffered some great disappointment. Upon enquiry, I found he had put two-pence for himself and his son · This penny-lottery, seems to nave been a private undertaking, not warranted by act of parliament, or intended to raise any part of the public revenue. SIR, Coming to town, and finding my friend Mr. Partridge dead and buried, and you the only conjurer in repute, I am under a necessity of applying myself to you for a favour, which, nevertheless, I confess it would better become a friend to ask, than one who is, as I am, altogether a stranger to you; but poverty, you know, is impudent; and as that gives me the occasion, so that alone could give me the confidence to be thus importunate. 'I am, sir, very poor, and very desirous to be otherwise: I have got ten pounds, which I design to venture in the lottery now on foot. What I desire of you is, that by your art, you will choose such a ticket for me as shall arise I must a benefit sufficient to maintain me. beg leave to inform you that I am good for nothing, and must therefore insist upon a larger lot than would satisfy those who are capable, by their own abilities, of adding something to what you should assign them; whereas I must expect an absolute independent maintenance, because, as I said, I can do nothing. It is possible, after this free confession of mine, you may think I do not deserve to be rich; but I hope you will likewise observe, I can ill afford to be poor. My own opinion is, that I am well qualified for an estate. and have a good title to luck in a lottery; out I resign myself wholly to your mercy, not without hopes that you will consider, the less I deserve, the greater the generosity in you. If you reject me, I have agreed with an acquaintance d miue to bury me for my ten pounds. I once more recommend myself to your favour, and of his life, if he has an unjustifiable singularity bid you adieu!' in any part of his conversation or behaviour or if he swerves from right reason, howeve common his kind of madness may be, we shal not excuse him for its being epidemical; it being our present design to clap up all such as have the marks of madness upon them, who are now permitted to go about the streets for chief in their fits. Abundance of imaginary no other reason but because they do no misgreat men are put in straw to bring them to a right sense of themselves. And is it not altogether as reasonable, that an insignificant man, who has an immoderate opinion of his merits, and a quite different notion of his own abilities from what the rest of the world entertain, should have the same care taken of him as a beggar who fancies Limself a duke or a prince? Or why should a man, who starves in the midst of plenty, be trusted with himself, more than he who fancies be is an emperor in the midst of poverty? I have several women of quality in my thoughts, who set so exorbi tant a value upon themselves, that I have often most heartily pitied them, and wished them for their recovery under the same discipline with the pewterer's wife. I find, by severa hints in ancient authors, that when the Romans were in the height of power and luxury, they assigned out of their vast dominions an island called Anticyra, as an habitation for madmen. This was the Bedlam of the Roman empire, whither all persons who had lost their wits used to resort from all parts of the world ip quest of them. Several of the Roman empe rors were advised to repair to this island; bu most of them, instead of listening to such sober counsels, gave way to their distraction, until the people knocked them on the head as despairing of their cure. In short, it was as usual for men of distempered brains to take a voyage to Anticyra in those days, as it is in ours for persons who have a disorder in their lungs to go to Montpelier. Francis. From my own Apartment, January 25. THERE is a sect of ancient philosophers, who, I think, have left more volumes behind them, and those better written, than any other of the fraternities in philosophy. It was a maxim of this sect, that all those who do not live up to the principles of reason and virtue are madmen. Every one who governs himself by these rules, is allowed the title of wise, and reputed to be in his senses: and every one, in proportion as he deviates from them, is pronounced frantic and distracted. Cicero having chosen this maxim for his theme, takes oecasion to argue from it very agreeably with Clodius, his implacable adversary, who had procured his banishment. A city,' says he,' is an assembly distinguished into bodies of men, who are in possession of their respective rights and privileges, cast under proper subordinations, and in all its parts obedient to the rules of law and equity.' He then represents the government from whence he was banished, at & time when the consul, senate, and laws had lost their authority, as a commonwealth of unatics. For this reason, he regards his expulsion from Rome, as a man would, being turned out of Bedlam, if the inhabitants of it should drive him out of their walls as a person unfit for their community. We are, therefore, I have premised these particulars before I to look upon every man's brain to be touched, enter on the main design of this paper, because however he may appear in the general conduct | I would not be thought altogether notional in The prodigious crops of hellebore with which this whole island abounded, did not only furnish them with incomparable tea, snuff, and Hungary-water; but impregnated the air of the country with such sober and salutiferous steams, as very much comforted the heads, and refreshed the senses of all that breathed in it. A discarded statesman, that, at his first landing appeared stark-staring mad, would become calm in a week's time; and, upon his return home, live easy and satisfied in his retiro ment. A moping lover would grow a pleasant fellow by that time he had rid thrice about the island; and a hair-brained rake, after a short stay in the country, go home again a composed, grave, worthy gentleman. I cannot forbear publishing another letter which I have received, because it redounds to my own credit, as well as to that of a very honest footman. MR. BICKERSTAFF, Jan. 23. 1709 10. 'I am bound in justice to acquaint you, that I put an advertisement into your last paper about a watch which was lost, and was brought to me on the very day your paper came out, by a footman; who told me, that he would have brought it, if he had not read your discourse of that day against avarice; but that since he had read it, he scorned to take a reward for doing what in justice he ought to 'I am, Sir, do. 'Your most humble servant, No. 125.] Thursday, January 26, 1709-10. Quem mala stultitia, et quæcunque inscitia ver Whom vicions passions, or whom falsehood, blind, what I have to say, and pass only for a pro- Anguillam caudâ tenes. T. D'Urfey. You have got an eel by the tail. them. But what I have already said is, I hope, sufficient to justify the ensuing project, which I shall therefore give some account of without any further preface. 1. It is humbly proposed, that a proper receptacle, or habitation, be forthwith erected for all such persons as due, upon trial and examination, shall appear to be out of their wits. 2. That, to serve the present exigency, the college in Moorfields be very much extended at both ends; and that it be converted into a square, by adding three other sides to it. 3. That nobody be admitted into these three additional sides, but such whose frenzy can lay no claim to an apartment in that row of building which is already erected. 4. That the architect, physician, apothecary, surgeon, keepers, nurses, and porters, be all and each of them cracked; provided that their frensy does not lie in the profession or employment to which they shall severally and respectively be assigned. N. B. It is thought fit to give the foregoing notice, that none may present himself here for any post of honour or profit, who is not duly qualified. 5. That over all the gates of the additional buildings, there be figures placed in the same manner as over the entrance of the edifice already erected; provided they represent such distractions only as are proper for those additional buildings; as of an envious man gnawing his own flesh; a gamester pulling himself by the ears, and knocking his head against a marble pillar, a covetous man warming himself over a heap of gold; a coward flying from his own shadow, and the like. Having laid down this general scheme of my design, I do hereby invite all persons who are willing to encourage so public-spirited a project, to bring in their contributions as soon as possible; and to apprehend forthwith any politician whom they shall catch raving in a coffee-house, or any free-thinker whom the shall find publishing his deliriums, or any other person who shall give the like manifest signs of a crazed imagination: and I do at the same time give this public notice to all the madmen about this great city, that they may return to their senses with all imaginable expedition, The beautiful statutes by Cibber. lest, if they should come into my hands, [ From my own Apartment, January 27. THERE is no sort of company so agreeable as that of women who have good sense without affectation, and can converse with men without any private design of imposing chains and fetters. Belvidera, whom I visited this evening, is one of these. There is an invinicble prejudice in favour of all she says, from her being a beautiful woman; because she does not consider herself as such when she talks to you. This amiable temper gives a certain tincture to all her discourse, and made it very agreeable to me until we were interrupted by Lydia, a creature who has all the charms that can adorn a woman. Her attractions would indeed be irresistible, but that she thinks them so, and is always employing them in stratagems and conquests. When I turned my eye upon her as she sat down, I saw she was a person of that character, which, for the further information | of my country correspondents, I had long tice of her. At last I looked at her with a kind It is of surprise, as if she had before been unobserved lady, as if I was comparing their perfections. | virtue, whatever notion she may have of her videra, 'that you have, in some parts of your writings, drawn characters of our sex, in which you have not, to my apprehension, been clear enough and distinct; particularly in those of a Prude and a Coquette.' Upon the mention of this, Lydia was rouzed with the expectation of seeing Castabella's picture, and Castabella, with the hopes of that of Lydia. Madam,' said I to Belvidera,' when we consider nature, we shall often find very contrary effects flow from the same cause. The prude and coquette, as different as they appear in their behaviour, are in reality the same kind of women. The motive of action in both is the affectation of pleasing men. They are sisters of the same blood and constitution; only one chooses a grave, and the other a light dress. The prude appears more virtuous, the coquette more vicious, than she really is. The distant behaviour of the prude tends to the same purpose as the advances of the coquette; and you have as little reason to fall into despair from the severity of the one, as to conceive hopes from the familiarity of the other. What leads you into a clear sense of their character is, that you may observe each of them has the distinction of sex in all her thoughts, words, and actions. You can never mention any assembly you were lately in, but one asks you with a rigid, the other with a sprightly air, Pray, what men were there?" As for prudes, it must be confessed, that there are several of them, who, like hypocrites, by long practice of a false part, become sincere; or at least delude themselves into a belief that they are so.' 66 For the benefit of the society of ladies, I shall propose one rule to them as a test of their virtue. I find in a very celebrated modern author, that the great foundress of Pietists, madam de Bourignon, who was no less famous for the sanctity of her life than for the singularity of some of her opinions, used to boast that she had not only the spirit of continency in herself, but that she had also the power of communicating it to all who beheld her. This the scoffers of those days called,' The gift of infrigidation,' and took occasion from it to rally her face, rather than admire her virtue. I would therefore advise the prude, who has a mind to know the integrity of her own heart, to lay her hand seriously upon it, and to examine herself, whether she could sincerely rejoice in such a gift of conveying chaste thoughts to all her male beholders. If she has any aversion to the power of inspiring so great a set down at length, because it pleased me when I read it, though I cannot recollect in what author.* · A young coquette widow in France having been followed by a Gascon of quality, who had boasted among his companions of some favours which he had never received, to be revenged of him, sent for him one evening, and told him, ( it was in his power to do her a very particular service.' The Gascon, with much profession of his readiness to obey her commands, begged to hear in what manner she designed to employ him. 'You know,' said the widow, my friend Belinda; and must often have heard of the jealousy of that impotent wretch her husband. Now it is absolutely necessary, for the carrying on a certain affair, that his wife and I should be together a whole night. What I have to ask of you is, to dress yourself in her nightcloaths, and lie by him a whole night in her place, that he may not miss her while she is with me.' The Gascon, though of a very lively and undertaking complexion, began to startle at the proposal, Nay,' says the widow, if you have not the courage to go through what I ask of you, I must employ somebody else that will.' Madam,' says the Gascon, I will kill him for you if you please; but for lying with him!- -How is it possible to do it without being discovered?' If you do not discover yourself,' says the widow, you will lie safe enough, for he is past all curiosity. He comes in at night while she is asleep, and goes out in a morning before she awakes; and is in pain for nothing, so he knows she is there.' 'Madam,' replied the Gascon, how can you reward me for passing a night with this old fellow?' The widow answered with a laugh, · 6 6 C Perhaps by admitting you to pass a night with. one you think more agreeable.' He took the hint; put on his night-cloaths; and had not been a-bed above an hour before he heard a knocking at the door, and the treading of one who approached the other side of the bed, and who he did not question was the good man of the house. I do not know, whether the story would be better by telling you in this place, or at the end of it, that the person who went to bed to him was our young coquette widow. The Gascon was in a terrible fright every time she moved in the bed, or turned towards him; and did not fail to shrink from her, until he had conveyed himself to the very ridge of the Perhaps in Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy.' |
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