Like to have fallen into a Six. Went to the Club. &c. I question not but the Reader will be furprized to find the above-mentioned Journalist taking fo much Care of a Life that was filled with such inconfiderable Actions, and received fo very fmall Improvements; and yet, if we look into the Behaviour of many whom we daily converse with, we shall find that most of their Hours are taken up in those three important Articles of Eating, Drinking and Sleeping. I do not fuppofe that a Man lofes his Time, who is not engaged in publick Affairs, or in an illuftrious Course of Action. On the contrary, I believe our Hours may very often be more profitably laid out in fuch Tranfactions as make no Figure in the World, than in fuch as are apt to draw upon them the Attention of Mankind. One may become wifer and better by several Methods of employing one's Self in Secrecy and Silence, and do what is laudable without Noise, or Oftentation. I would, however, recommend to every one of my Readers, the keeping a Journal of their Lives for one Week, and fetting down punctually their whole Series of Employments during that Space of Time. This Kind of Self-Examination would give them a true State of themselves, and incline them to confider feriously what they are about. One Day would rectify the Omiffions of another, and make a Man weigh all those indifferent Actions, which, though they are easily forgotten, muff certainly be accounted for. No. 318. Wednesday, March 5. -non omnia poffumus omnes. Mr. SPECTATOR, A Virg. Certain Vice which you have lately attacked, has not yet been confidered by you as growing fo deep in the Heart of Man, that the Affectation outlives the Practice of it. You must have ob M 4 ⚫ ferved ་ served that Men who have been bred in Arms preferve to the most extreme and feeble old Age a certain Daring in their Afpect: In like manner, they who have pals'd their Time in Gallantry and Adventure, keep up, as well as they can, the Appearance of it, and carry a petulant Inclination to their laft Moments. Let this ferve for a Preface to a Relation I am going to give you of an old Beau in Town, that has not only been amorous, and a Follower of Women in general, but also, in Spite of the Admonition of grey Hairs, been from his fixty third Year to his prefent feventieth, in an actual Purfuit of a young Lady, the Wife of his Friend, and a Man of Merit. The gay old Efcalus has Wit, good. Health, and is perfectly well bred; but from the Fashion and Manners of the Court when he was in his Bloom, has fuch a natural Tendency to amorous Adventure, that he thought it would be an endless Reproach to him to make no ufe of a Familiarity he was allowed at a Gentleman's Houfe, whofe good Humour and Confidence expofed his Wife to the Addreffes of any who fhould take it in their Head to do him the good Office. It is not impoffible that Efcelus might alfo refent that the Husband was particularly negligent of him ; and tho' he gave many Intimations of a Paffion towards the Wife, the Huf band either did not fee them, or put him to the Contempt of over-looking them. In the mean time Ifabella, for fo we fhall call our Heroine, faw his Paffion, and rejoiced in it as a Foundation for much Diversion, and an Opportunity of indulging her felf in the dear Delight of being admired, addreffed to, and flattered, with no ill Confequence to her Reputation. This Lady is of a free and difengaged Behaviour, ever in good Humour, fuch as is the Image of Innocence with thofe 'who are innocent, and an Encouragement to Vice with those who are abandoned. From This Kind of Carriage, and an apparent Approbation of his Gallantry, Efcalus had frequent Opportunities of laying amorous Epiftles in her Way, of fixing his Eyes atten⚫tively upon her Action, of performing a thousand little Offices which are neglected by the Unconcerned, but are so many Approaches towards Happiness with 'the 6 6 the Enamoured. It was now, as is above hinted, almoft the End of the feventh Year of his Paffion, when Efcalus from general Terms, and the ambiguous Refpect which criminal Lovers retain in their Addresses, began to bewail that his Paffion grew too violent for ⚫ him to answer any longer for his Behaviour towards her; and that he hoped the would have Confideration ⚫ for his long and patient Respect, to excufe the Moti ons of a Heart now no longer under the Direction of ⚫ the unhappy Owner of it. Such for fome Months had ⚫ been the Language of Escalus both in his Talk and his Letters to Ifabella; who returned all the Profufion of kind Things which had been the Collection of fifty Years with I must not hear you; you will make me forget that you are a Gentleman; I would not willingly lofe you as a Friend; and the like Expreffions, which the Skilful interpret to their own Advantage, as well knowing that a feeble Denial is a modeft Affent. I fhould have told you, that Ifabella, during the whole Progrefs of this Amour, communicated it to her Husband; and that an Account of Efcalus's Love was ⚫ their ufual Entertainment after half a Day's Absence: Isabella therefore upon her Lover's late more open Affaults, with a Smile told her Husband fhe could hold out no longer, but that his Fate was now come to a 'Crifis. After she had explained herself a little farther, ' with her Husband's Approbation fhe proceeded in the following Manner. The next Time that Efcalus wa alone with her, and repeated his Importunity, th crafty Ifabella looked on her Fan with an Air of great Attention, as confidering of what Importance 'fuch a Secret was to her; and upon the Repetition of a warm Expreffion, fhe looked at him with an Eye of • Fondness and told him he was past that Time of Life which could make her fear he would boast of a Lady's Favour; then turned away her Head with a very well' acted Confufion, which favoured the Escape of the aged Efcalus. This Adventure was Matter of great Pleafantry to Isabella and her Spouse; and they had enjoyed it two Days before Efcalus could recollect himfelf enough to form the following Letter. 66 MADAM, HAT happened the other Day, gives me a W lively Image of the Inconfiftency of human "Paffions and Inclinations. We pursue what we are "denied, and place our Affections on what is absent, "tho' we neglected it when present. As long as you re"fused my Love, your Refusal did fo ftrongly excite my Paffion, that I had not once the Leifure to think of "recalling my Reason to aid me against the Defign upon 66 your Virtue. But when that Virtue began to comply in my Favour, my Reafon made an Effort over my "Love, and let me fee the Baseness of my Behaviour in attempting a Woman of Honour. Fown to you, it was not without the most violent Struggle that I gain"ed this Victory over my felf; nay, I will confefs my "Shame, and acknowledge I could not have prevailed 66 66 but by Flight. However, Madam, I beg that you will "believe a Moment's Weakness has not deftroyed the "Efteem I had for you, which was confirmed by fo ma ny Years of Obftinate Virtue. You have Reason to rejoice that this did not happen within the Observati"on of one of the young Fellows, who would have expofed your Weakness, and gloried in his own brutish Inclinations. I am, Madam, Your most devoted humble Servant. Ifabella, with the Help of her Husband, returned the following Answer. SIR, "I Cannot but account my self a very happy Woman, in having a Man for a Lover that can write fo well, and give fo good a Turn to a Disappointment. "Another Excellence you have above all other Pre"" tenders I ever heard of; on Occafions where the most reasonable Men lofe all their Reafon, you have yours "moft powerful. We are each of us to thank our Genius, that the Paffion of one abated in Proportion as "that of the other grew violent. Does it not yet come into your Head, to imagine that I knew my Compli"ance was the greatest Cruelty I could be guilty of "towards you? In Return for your long and faith ful "ful Paffion, I must let you know that you are old enough to become a little more Gravity; but if you "will leave me and coquet it any where else, may your Mistress yield. 66 T ISABELLA. I Quo teneam vultus mutantem Protea nodo ? Hor. Have endeavoured, in the Course of my Papers, to do Justice to the Age, and have taken Care as much as poffible to keep my felf a Neuter between both Sexes. I have neither spared the Ladies out of Complaifance, nor the Men out of Partiality; but notwithftanding the great Integrity with which I have acted in this Particular, I find my felf taxed with an Inclination to favour my own half of the Species. Whether it be that the Women afford a more fruitful Field for Speculation, or whether they run more in my Head than the Men, I cannot tell, but I fhall fet down the Charge as it is laid against me in the following Letter. Mr. SPECTATOR, I of young · Always make one among a Company of youn Females, who perufe your Speculations every Morning. I am at prefent commiffioned, by our whole Affembly, to let you know, that we fear you are a little inclined to be partial towards your own Sex. We must however acknowledge, with all due Gratitude, that in ⚫ fome Cafes you have given us our Revenge on the Men, ⚫ and done us Juftice. We could not easily have forgiven you feveral Strokes in the Diffection of the Coquet's Heart, if you had not, much about the fame Time, made a Sacrifice to us of a Beau's Scull. You may, however, Sir, please to remember, that not long fince you attacked our Hoods and Commodes in fuch Manner, as, to ufe your own Expreffion, made • very |