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N° 25.

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Tuesday, June 7, 1709.

White's Chocolate-house, June 6.

LETTER from a young Lady, written in the most paffionate Terms, wherein the laments the Misfortune of a Gentleman, her Lover, who was lately wounded in a Duel, has turned my Thoughts to that Subject, and inclined me to examine into the Caufes which precipitate Men into fo fatal a Folly. And as it has been proposed to treat of Subjects of Gallantry in the Article from hence, and no one Point in Nature is more proper to be confidered by the Company who frequent this Place than that of Duels, it is worth our Confideration to examine into this chimerical groundless Humour, and to lay every other Thought afide, till we have ftripp'd it of all its falfe Pretences to Credit and Reputation amongst Men.

BUT I must confefs, when I confider what I am going about, and run over in my own Imagination all the endlefs Crowd of Men of Honour who will be offended at fuch a Difourse; I am undertaking, methinks, a Work worthy an invulnerable Hero in Romance, rather than a private Gentleman with a fingle Rapier: But as I am pretty well acquainted by great Opportunities with the Nature of Man, and know of a Truth, that all Men fight against their Will, the Danger vanishes, and Refolution rifes upon this Subject. For this Reason 1 fhall talk very freely on a Custom which all Men with exploded, though no Man has Courage enough to refift it.

BUT there is one unintelligible Word which I fear will extreamly perplex my Differtation; and I confefs to you I find very hard to explain, which is, the Term Satisfaction. An honeft Country Gentleman had the Misfortune to fall into Company with two or three Men of Honour, where he happened to be very ill treated; and one of the Company being confcious of his Offence,

fends

149 fends a Note to him in the Morning, and tells him, He was ready to give him Satisfaction. This is fine Doing (fays the plain Fellow ;) Laft Night he fent me away curfedly out of Humour, and this Morning he fancies it would be a Satisfaction to be run through the Body.

AS the Matter at present stands, it is not to do handfome Actions denominates a Man of Honour, it is enough if he dares to defend ill ones. Thus you often fee a common Sharper in competition with a Gentleman of the first Rank; though all Mankind is convinced, that a fighting Gamefter is only a Pick-pocket with the Cou rage of an Highway-man. One cannot with any Patience reflect on the unaccountable Jumble of Perfons and Things in this Town and Nation, which occafions very frequently, that a brave Man falls by a Hand below that of a Common Hangman, and yet his Executioner efcapes thè Clutches of the Hangman for doing it. I fhall therefore hereafter confider, how the bravest Men in other Ages and Nations have behaved themselves upon fuch Incidents as we decide by Combat; and fhew, from their Practice, that this Refentment neither has its Foundation from true Reason or folid Fame; but is an Imposture made up of Cowardice, Falfhood, and want of Underftanding. For this Work, a good History of Quarrels would be very edifying to the Publick, and I apply myfelf to the Town for Particulars and Circumstances within their Knowledge, which may ferve to embellish the Differtation with proper Cuts. Moft of the Quarrels [ have ever known, have proceeded from fome valiant Coxcomb's perfifting in the Wrong, to defend fome prevailing Folly, and preserve himself from the Ingenuity of owning a Mistake.

BY this means it is called, Giving a Man Satisfaction, to urge your Offence against him with your Sword; which puts me in mind of Peter's Order to the Keeper, in The Tale of a Tub: If you neglect to do all this, damn you and your Generation for ever; and fo we bid you' beartily farewel. If the Contradiction in the very Terms of one of our Challenges were as well explained and turned into downright English, would it not run after this manner?

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SIR,

YOUR extraordinary Behaviour laft Night, and the Liberty you were pleased to take with me, • makes me this Morning give you this, to tell you, because you are an ill-bred Puppy; I will meet you in Hyde-Park, an Hour hence; and because you want both Breeding and Humanity, I defire you would come with a Pistol in your Hand, on Horseback, and endeavour to fhoot me through the Head; to teach you ་ more Manners. If you fail of doing me this Pleasure, • I shall say you are a Rafcal, on every Poft in Town: And fo, Sir, if you will not injure me more, I fhall never forgive what you have done already. Pray, Sir, ⚫do not fail of getting every thing ready, and you will infinitely oblige,

SIR,

Your moft Obedient,

Humble Servant, &c.

From my own Apartment, June 6.

AMONG the many Employments I am neceffarily put upon by my Friends, that of giving Advice is the moft unwelcome to me; and indeed I am forced to use a little Art in the Manner; for fome People will ask Coun'fel of you, when they have already acted what they tell you is ftill under Deliberation. I had almost lost a very good Friend t'other day, who came to know how I liked his Defign to marry fuch a Lady; I answered, By no means; and I must be positive against it, for very folid Reafons, which are not proper to communicate. Not proper to communicate! (faid he, with a grave Air) I will know the Bottom of this. I faw him moved, and knew from thence he was already determined; therefore evaded it by faying, To tell you the Truth, dear Frank, of all Women living, I would have her my felf. Ifaac, faid he, Thou art too late, for we have been both one thefe two Months.

I learned this Caution by a Gentleman's confulting me formerly about his Son. He railed at his damn'd Extra

vagance,

gance, and told me, in a very little time, he would beggar him by the exorbitant Bills which came from Oxford every Quarter. Make the Rogue bite upon the Bridle, faid I, pay none of his Bills, it will but encourage him to further Trefpaffes. He looked plaguy four at me. His Son foon after fent up a Paper of Verses, forfooth, in print on the last publick Occafion; upon which he is convinced the Boy has Parts, and a Lad of Spirit is not to be too much cramp'd in his Maintenance, left he take ill Courfes. Neither Father nor Son can ever fince endure the Sight of me.

THESE fort of People afk Opinions only out of the Fulness of their Heart on the Subject of their Perplexity, and not from a Defire of Information.

THERE is nothing so easy as to find out which-Opinion the Man in doubt has a mind to; therefore the fure Way is to tell him, that is certainly to be chosen. Then you are to be very clear and pofitive; leave no Handle for Scruple. Blefs me! Sir, there's no room for a Queftion. This rivets you into his Heart; for you at once applaud his Wisdom, and gratify his Inclination. However, I had too much Bowels to be infincere to a Man who came Yesterday to know of me, with which of two eminent Men in the City he fhould place his Son? Their Names are Paulo and Avaro. This gave me much Debate with myself, because not only the Fortune of the Youth, but his Virtue also dependeth upon this Choice. The Men are equally wealthy; but they differ in the Use and Application of their Riches, which you immediately fee upon entring their Doors.

1

THE Habitation of Paulo has at once the Air of a Nobleman and a Merchant. You fee the Servants act with Affection to their Master, and Satisfaction in themfelves: The Mafter meets you with an open Countenance, full of Benevolence and Integrity: Your Bufinefs is dispatched with that Confidence and Welcome, which always accompanies honeft Minds: His Table is the Image of Plenty and Generofity, fupported by Juftice and Frugality. After we had dined here, our Affair was to vifit Avaro: Out comes an aukward Fellow with a careful Countenance; Sir, would you speak with my Mafter? May

May I crave your Name? After the firft Preamble, he leads us into a noble Solitude, a great House that seemed uninhabited; but from the End of the fpacious Hall moves towards us Avaro, with a fufpicous Afpect, as if he believed us Thieves; and as for my part, I approached him as if I knew him a Cut-purfe. We fell into Difcourfe of his noble Dwelling, and the great Eftate all the World knew he had to enjoy in it; And I, to plague him, fell a commending Paulo's Way of living. Paulo, anfwered Avaro, is a very good Man; but we who have smaller Estates, muft cut our Coat according to our Cloth. Nay, fays 1, Every Man knows his own Circumstances beft; you are in the right, if you haven't wherewithal. He look'd very four; (for it is, you must know, the utmost Vanity of a mean fpirited rich Man to be contradicted, when he calls himself poor). But I was refolved to vex him, by confenting to all he faid; the main Design of which was, that he would have us find out, he was one of the wealthiest Men in London, and lived like a Beggar. We left him, and took a turn on the Change. My Friend was ravished with 4varo: This (faid he) is certainly a fure Man. I contradicted him with much Warmth, and fummed up their different Characters as well as I could. This Paulo (faid 1) grows wealthy by being a common Good; Avaro, by being a general Evil: Paulo has the Art, Avaro the Craft of Trade. When Paulo gains, all Men he deals with are the better: Whenever Avaro profits, another eertainly loses. In a word, Paulo is a Citizen, and Avaro a Cit. I convinced my Friend, and carried the young Gentleman the next Day to Paulo, where he will learn the Way both to gain and enjoy a good Fortune. And though I cannot fay, I have, by keeping him from Avaro, fav'd him from the Gallows, I have prevented his deferving it every Day he lives: For with Paulo he will be an honeft Man, without being so for fear of the Law; as with Avaro, he would have been a Villain within the Protection of it.

St. James's

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