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

I afterwards entered a by-coffee-house that flood 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 oracle of the coffee-houfe, and had his circle of admirers about him, called several to witness 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 otherwife. As he was laying these 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 fatisfaction; not being a little pleased to hear fo many different opinions upon fo great an event, and to obferve how naturally upon fuch a piece of news every one is

apt

apt to confider it with regard to his particular interest and advantage.

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No 404

Friday, June 13.

-Non omnia poffumus omnes. Virg. Ecl. 8. v. 63. With different talents form'd, we variously excel.

N

ATURE does nothing in vain: the Creator of the universe has appointed every thing to a certain ufe and purpose, and determined it to a fettled courfe and sphere of action, from which if it in the least deviates, it becomes unfit to answer those ends for which it was defigned. In like manner it is in the difpofitions of fociety, the civil oeconomy is formed in a chain as well as the natural; and in either cafe the breach but of one link puts the whole in fome diforder. It is, I think, pretty plain, that most of the abfurdity and ridicule we meet with in the world, is generally owing to the impertinent affectation of excelling in characters men are not fit for, and for which Nature never defigned them.

Every man has one or more qualities which may make him ufeful both to himself and others: Nature never fails of pointing them out, and while the infant continues under her guardianship, fhe brings him on in his way, and then offers herself for a guide in what remains of the journey; if he proceeds in that courfe, he can hardly mifcarry Nature makes good her engagements; for as fhe never promifes what he is not able to perform, fo she never fails of performing what the promises. But the misfortune is, men despise what they may be mafters of, and affect what they are not fit for; they reckon them. felves already poffeffed of what their genius inclined them to, and to bend all their ambition to excel in what is out of their reach. Thus they deftroy the use of their natural talents, in the fame manner as covetous men do their quiet and repofe; they can enjoy no fatisfaction in what:

they

they have, because of the abfurd inclination they are poffeffed with for what they have not.

Cleanthes had good fenfe, a great memory, and a conftitution capable of the clofelt application. In a word, there was no profeffion in which Cleanthes might not have made a very good figure; but this won't fatisfy him, he takes up an unaccountable fondness for the character of a fine gentleman; all his thoughts are bent upon. this inftead of attending a diffection, frequenting the courts of juftice, or ftudying the fathers, Cleanthes reads. plays, dances, dreffes, and fpends his time in drawingrooms; inftead of being a good lawyer, divine, or phyfician, Cleanthes is a downright coxcomb, and will remain to all that knew him a contemptible example of talents mifapplied. It is to this affectation the world owes its whole race of coxcombs: Nature in her whole drama never drew fuch a part; fhe has fometimes made a fool, but a coxcomb is always of a man's own making, by applying his talents otherwife than Nature defigned, whoever bears a high refentment for being put out of her courfe, and never fails of taking her revenge on thofe that do fo, Oppofing her tendency in the application of a man's parts, has the fame fuccefs as declining from her course in the production of vegetables, by the affistance of art and an hot-bed: We may possibly extort an unwilling plant, or an untimely fallad; but how weak, how taftelefs and infipid? Just as infipid as the poetry of Valerio: Valerio had an univerfal character, was genteel, had learning, thought juftly, fpoke correctly; 'twas believed there was nothing in which Valerio did not excel; and 'twas fo far true, that there was but one; Valerio had no genius for poetry, yet he's refolved to be a poet; he writes verfes, and takes great pains to convince the town, that Valerio is not that extraordinary perfon he was taken for.

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If men would be content to graft upon Nature, and affift her operations, what mighty effects might we expect? Tully would not ftand fo much alone in oratory, Virgil in poetry, or Cefar in war. To build upon Nature, is laying the foundation upon a rock; every thing difpofes itfelf into order as it were of course, and the whole work is half done as foon as undertaken. Cicero's

genius inclined him to oratory, Virgil's to follow the train of the mufes; they piously obeyed the admonition, and were rewarded. Had Virgil attended the bar, his modeft and ingenuous virtue would furely have made but a very indifferent figure; and Tully's declamatory inclination would have been as ufelefs in poetry. Nature, if left to herself, leads us on in the best course, but will do nothing by compulfion and constraint; and if we are not fatisfied to go her way, we are always the greatest fufferers by it.

Wherever Nature defigns a production, fhe always difpofes feeds proper for it, which are as abfolutely neceffary to the formation of any moral or intelluctual excellence, as they are to the being and growth of plants; and I know not by what fate and folly it is, that men are taught not to reckon him equally abfurd that will write veries in fpite of Nature, with that gardener that fhould undertake to raise a jonquil or tulip without the help of their respective feeds."

As there is no good or bad quality that does not af fect both fexes, fo it is not to be imagined but the fair fex must have fuffered by an affectation of this nature, at least as much as the other: The ill effect of it is in none fo confpicuous as in the two oppofite characters of Calia and Iras: Celia has all the charms of perfon, together with an abundant sweetness of Nature, but wants wit, and has a very ill voice; Iras is ugly and ungenteel, but has wit and good fenfe: If Celia would be filent, her beholders would adore her; if Iras would talk, her hearers would admire her; but Celia's tongue runs inceffantly, while Iras gives herself filent airs and foft languors, fo that 'tis difficult to perfuade one's felf that Calia has beauty and Iras wit: Each neglects her own excellence, and is ambitious of the other's character; Iras would be thought to have as much beauty as Cælia, and Celia as much wit as Iras.

The great misfortune of this affectation is, that men not only lose a good quality, but alfo contract a bad one: They not only are unfit for what they were defigned, but they affign themselves to what they are not fit for; and inftead of making a very good figure one way, make a very ridiculous one another. If Semanthe

would

would have been fatisfied with her natural complexion, fhe might ftill have been celebrated by the name of the olive beauty; but Semanthe has taken up an affectation to white and red, and is now diftinguished by the character of the lady that paints fo well. In a word, could

the world be reformed to the obedience of that famed dictate, Follow Nature, which the oracle of Delphos pronounced to Cicero when he confulted what courfe of ftudies he should pursue, we should fee almost every man as eminent in his proper fphere as Tully was in his, and fhould in a very fhort time find impertinence and affectation banished from among the women, and coxcombs and falfe characters from among the men. For my part, I could never confider this prepofterous repugnancy to nature any otherwise, than not only as the greatest folly, but alfo one of the moft heinous crimes, fince it is a direct oppofition to the difpofition of Providence, and (as Tully expreffes it) like the fin of the giant, an actual rebellion against heaven.

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N° 405

Saturday, June 14

Οἱ δὲ πανημέριοι μολπῇ Θεὸν ἱλάσκολο,
Καλὸν αείδονες Παιήονα κῦροι Αχαιών,

I

Μέλποντες Εκάεργον· ὁ δὲ φρένα τέρπετ' ακέων.

Hom. Iliad. 1. V. 472.

With hymns divine the joyous banquet ends;
The pæans lengthen'd till the fun defcends;
The Greeks reftor'd the grateful notes prolong;
Apollo liftens, and approves the fong.

POPE.

Am very forry to find, by the opera bills for this day, that we are likely to lose the greatest performer in dramatic music that is now living, or that perhaps ever appeared upon a ftage. I need not acquaint my reader, that I am fpeaking of Signior Nicolini. The town is highly obliged to that excellent artift, for having hewn us the Italian mufic in its perfection, as well

as

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