fortunes at their own difpofal, and beftowing her friends upon worthless indigent fellows; on the other fide, fhe infnares inconfiderate and rash youths of great eflates into the arms of vicious women. For this purpose, fhe is accomplished in all the arts which can make her acceptable at impertinent vifits; fhe knows all that paffes in every quarter, and is well acquainted with all the favourite fervants, bufy-bodies, dependants, and poor relations of all perfons of condition in the whole town. At the price of a good fum of money, Sempronia, by the inftigation of Flavilla's mother, brought about the match for the daughter, and the reputation of this, which is apparently, in point of fortune, more than Flavilla could expect, has gained her the vifits and frequent attendance of the croud of mothers, who had rather fee their children miferable in great wealth, than the happiest of the race of mankind in a léfs confpicuous ftate of life. When Sempronia is fo well acquainted with a woman's temper and circumftances, that the believes marriage would be acceptable to her, and advantageous to the man who fhall get her, her next step is to look out for fome one, whofe condition, has fome fecret wound in it, and wants a fum, yet, in the eye of the world, not unfuitable to her. If fuch. is not eafily had, fhe immediately adorns a worthlefs fellow with what eftate fhe thinks convenient, and adds as great a fhare of good humour and fobriety as is requifite: After this is fettled, no importunities, arts, and devices are omitted to haften the lady to her happiness. In the general indeed fhe is a perfon of fo ftrict juftice, that the marries a poor gallant to a rich wench, and a moneyless girl to a man of fortune. But then the has no manner of confcience in the difparity, when he has a mind to impofe a poor rogue for one of an eftate: She has no remorfe in adding to it, that he is illiterate, ignorant, and unfashioned; but makes thofe imperfections arguments of the truth of his wealth, and will, on fuch an occafion, with a very grave face, charge the people of condition with negligence in the education of their children. Exception being made t'other day against an ignorant booby of her own clothing, whom he was putting putting off for a rich heir, Madam, faid he, you know there is no making of children, who know they have eftates, attend their books. · Sempronia, by these arts, is loaded with prefents, importuned for her acquaintance, and admired by those who do not know the firft tafte of life, as a woman of exemplary good-breeding. But fure, to murder and to rob are lefs iniquities, than to raise profit by abuses, as irreparable as taking away life; but more grievous, as making it laftingly, unhappy. To rob a lady at play of half her fortune, is not fo ill, as giving the whole and herself to an unworthy husband. But Sempronia can adminifter confolation to an unhappy fair at home, by leading her to an agreeable galant elsewhere. She then can preach the general condition of all the married world, and tell an unexperienced young woman the methods of foftening her affliction, and laugh at her fimplicity and want of knowledge, with an Oh! my dear, you will know better. The wickednefs of Sempronia, one would think, fhould be fuperlative; but I cannot but efteem that of fome parents equal to it; I mean fuch as facrifice the greatest endowments and qualifications to bafe bar. gains. A parent who forces a child of a liberal and ingenious fpirit into the arms of a clown or a blockhead, obliges her to a crime too odious for a name. It is in a degree the unnatural conjunction of rational and brutal beings. Yet what is there fo common, as the bestowing an accomplished woman with fuch a difparity? And I could name crouds who lead mife-rable lives for want of knowledge, in their parents, of shis maxim, that good fenfe and good nature always go together. That which is attributed to fools, and called good-nature, is only an inability of obferving what is faulty, which turns, in marriage, into a fuf picion of every thing as fuch, from a consciousness of that inability. Mr. Mr. SPECTATOR, I AM intirely of your opinion with relation to the equestrian females, who affect both the mafcu⚫ line and feminine air at the fame time; and cannot ⚫ forbear making a prefentment again ft another order of them who grow very numerous and powerful; and fince our language is not very capable of good compound words, I must be contented to call them only the Naked Shouldered. These beauties are not con< tented to make lovers wherever they appear, but they must make rivals at the fame time. Were you to fee Gatty walk the Park at high mall, you would expect those who followed her and those who met her 'would immediately draw their fwords for her. 6 I hope, Sir, you will provide for the future, that women may ftick to their faces for doing any further mis' chief, and not allow any but direct traders in beauty to expofe more than the fore part of the neck, unleís. you please to allow this after-game to those who are very defective in the charms of the countenance. can fay, to my forrow, the prefent practice is very unfair, when to look back is death; and it may be faid * of our beauties, as a great poet did of bullets, They kill and wound like Parthians as they fly, I I fubmit this to your animadverfion; and am for the little while I have left, Your bumble fervant, The languishing PHILANTHUS. P. S. Suppofe you mended my letter, and made a fimile about the Porcupine, but I fubmit that alfo. T Wednesday, Curb thy foul, And check thy rage, which must be rul'd or rule. CREECH. T is a very common expreffion, That fuch a one is fion indeed is very good natur'd, to allow paffionate people fo much quarter: But I think a paffionate man deferves the leaft indulgence imaginable. It is faid, it is foon over; that is, all the mifchief he does is quickly dispatched, which, I think, is no great recommendation to favour. I have known one of thofe good-natured paffionate men fay in a mix'd company, even to his own wife or child, fuch things as the most inveterate enemy of his family would not have spoke, even in imagination. It is certain that quick fenfibility is infeparable from a ready understanding; but why fhould not that good understanding call to itself all its force on fuch occafions, to mafter that fudden inclination to anger? One of the greatest fouls now in the world is the most subject by nature to auger, and yet fo famous for a conqueft of himself this way, that he is the known example when you talk of temper and command of a man's felf. To contain the spirit of anger, is the worthiest difcipline we can put ourfelves to. When a man has made any progrefs this way, a frivolous fellow in a paffion, is to him as contemptible as a froward child." It ought to be the study of every man, for his own quiet and peace. When he ftands combuftible and ready to flame upon every thing that touches him, life is as un eafy to himself as it is to all about him. Syncropius leads of all men living, the most ridiculous life; he is ever offending, and begging pardon. If his man enters the room room without what he fent for, That blockhead, begins he-Gentlemen, I ask your pardon, but fervants now a days -The wrong plates are laid, they are thrown into the middle of the room; his wife ftands by in pain for him, which he fees in her face, and answers, as if he had heard all she was thinking: Why, what the devil! Why don't you take care to give orders in these things? His friends fit down to a taftelefs plenty of every thing, every minute expecting new infults from his impertinent paffions. In a word, to eat with, or vifit Sncropius, is no other than going to fee him exercise his family, exercise their patience, and his own anger. It is monftrous that the fhame and confufion in which this good natur'd angry man muft needs behold his friends, while he thus lays about him, does not give him fo much reflexion as to create an amendment. This is the most scandalous difufe of reafon imaginable; all the harmless part of him is no more than that of a bull-dog, they are tame no longer than they are not offended. One of thefe good-natur'd angry men fhall, in an inftant, affemble together fo many allufions to fecret circumftances, as are enough to diffolve the peace of all the families and friends he is acquainted with, in a quarter of an hour, and yet the next moment be the best natured man in the whole world. If you would fee paffion in its purity, without mixture of reafon, behold it reprefented in a mad hero, drawn by a mad poet. Nat. Lee makes his Alexander say thus: Away, begone, and give a whirlwind room, Fury! revenge! difdain and indignation ! Tear my fwoln breast, make way for fire and tempeft. Every paffionate fellow in town talks half the day with |