N° 35.

Thursday, June 30, 1709.

T

Grecian Coffee-bouse, June 28.

HERE is an Habit or Custom which I have put my Patience to the utmoft Stretch to have fuffered fo long, because feveral of my intimate Friends are in the Guilt; and that is, the Humour of taking Snuff, and looking dirty about the Mouth by way of Ornament.

MY Method is to dive to the bottom of a Sore before I pretend to apply a Remedy. For this Reafon, I fat by an eminent Story-teller and Politician who takes Half an Ounce in five Seconds, and has mortgaged a pretty Tenement near the Town, merely to improve and dung his Brains with this prolifick Powder. I obferved this Gentleman t'other Day in the midft of a Story, diverted from it by looking at fomething at a diftance, and I foftly hid his Box. But he returns to his Tale, and looking for his Box, he cries, And fo Sir Then when he fhould have taken a Pinch; As I was faying, fays he,—————— Has no body feen my Box? His Friend befeeches him to finish his Narration: Then he proceeds; And fo Sir,-Where can my Box be? Then turning to me; Pray, Sir, did you fee my Box? Yes, Sir, faid I, I took it to see how long you could live without it. He resumes his Tale, and I took notice that his Dulness was much more regular and fluent than before. A Pinch fupplied the Place of, As I was faying, And fo Sir; and he went on currently enough in that Stile, which the Learned call the Infipid. This Obfervation eafily led me into a philofophick Reafon for taking Snuff, which is done only to fupply with Senfations the Want of Reflection. This I take to be an Enna, a Noftrum; upon which I hope to receive the Thanks of this Board. For as it is natural to lift a Man's Hand to a Sore, when you fear any thing coming at you; so when a Perfon feels his Thoughts are

run

run out, and has no more to say, it is as natural to fupply his weak Brain with Powder at the nearest Place of Accefs, viz. the Noftrils. This is fo evident, that Nature suggests the Ufe according to the Indigence of the Perfons who use this Medicine, without being prepoffeffed with the Force of Fashion or Cuftom. For Example; the Native Hibernians, who are reckoned not much unlike the antient Baotians, take this Specifick for Emptinefs in the Head, in greater Abundance than any other Nation under the Sun. The learned Sotus, as fparing as he is in his Words, would be still more filent if it were not for this Powder.

HOWEVER low and poor the taking Snuff argues a Man to be in his own Stock of Thoughts or Means to employ his Brains and his Fingers; yet there is a poorer Creature in the World than he, and this is a Borrower of Snuff; a Fellow that keeps no Box of his own, but is always asking others for a Pinch. Such poor Rogues put me always in mind of a common Phrase among School-Boys when they are compofing their Exercise, who run to an upper Scholar, and cry, Pray give me a little Senfe. But of all things commend me to the Ladies who are got into this pretty Help to Difcourfe. I have been these three Years perfuading Sagia to leave it off; but fhe talks fo much, and is fo learned, that she is above contradiction. However, an Accident t'other Day brought that about, which my Eloquence never could accomplish: She had a very pretty Fellow in her Closet, who ran thither to avoid fome Company that came to visit her. She made an Excufe to go in to him for fome Implement they were talking of. Her eager Gallant fnached a Kiss; but being unused to Snuff, fome Grains from off her upper Lip, made him fneeze aloud, which alarmed the Vifitants and has made a Discovery, that profound Reading, very much Intelligence, and a general Knowledge of who and who's together, cannot fill her vacant Hours fo much, but that fhe is fome. times obliged to defcend to Entertainments lefs Intellectual.

White's

White's Chocolate-house, June 29.

I know no Manner of News for this Place, but that Cynthio having been long in Despair for the inexorable Clariffa, lately refolved to fall in Love the good old Way of Bargain and Sale, and has pitched upon a very agreeable young Woman. He will undoubtedly fucceed; for he accofts her in a strain of Familiarity, without breaking through the Deference that is due to a Woman whom a Man would chufe for his Life. have hardly ever heard rough Truth fpoken with a better Grace than in this his Letter.

I

MADAM,

Writ to you on Saturday by Mrs. Lucy, and give you this Trouble to urge the fame Request I made then, which was, that I may be admitted to wait upon you. I should be very far from defiring this, if it were a Tranfgreffion of the moft fevere Rules to allow it: I know you are very much above the little Arts which are frequent in your Sex, of giving unnecessary Torments to their Admirers; therefore hope you'll do fo much Juftice to the generous Paffion I have for you, as to let me have an Opportunity of acquainting you upon what Motives I pretend to your good Opinion. I shall not trouble you with my Sentiments, till I know how they will be received; and as I know no Reafon why Difference of Sex fhould make our Language to each other differ from the ordinary Rules of right Reafon, I fall affect Plainness and Sincerity in my Difcourfe to you, as much as other Lovers do perplexity and Rapture. Instead of faying, I shall die for you, I profefs I bould be glad to lead my Life with you: You are as beautiful, as witty, as prudent, and as goodhumoured, as any Woman breathing; but I must confefs to you, I regard all thefe Excellencies as you will please ta direct them, for my Happiness or Mifery. With me, Madam, the only lafting Motive to Love is the Hope of its becoming mutual. I beg of you to let Mrs. Lucy feud me Word when I may attend you. I promise you, I'll talk of nothing but indifferent Things; though at the fame Time

I know not how I shall approach you in the tender Moment. of firft feeing you, after this Declaration of, MADA M,

Your most Obedient,

and moft Faithful

Humble Servant, &c.

Will's Coffee-house, June 29.

HAVING taken a Refolution, when Plays are acted next Winter by an entire good Company, to publish Obfervations from Time to Time on the Performance of the Actors, I think it but juft to give an Abstract of the Laws of Action, for the Help of the less learned Part of the Audience, that they may rationally enjoy fo refined and inftructive a Pleasure as a juft representation of human Life. The great Errors in Playing are admirably well expofed in Hamlet's Directions to the Actors who are to play in his fuppofed Tragedy; by which we shall form our future Judgments on their Behaviour, and for that Reason you have the Difcourfe as follows:

a

Speak the Speech as I pronounce it to you, trippingly on the Tongue; but if you mouth it as many of our Players do, I had as lief the Town Crier had spoke my Lines: Nor do not faw the Air too much with your Hands, thus; but use all gently: For in the very • Torrent, Tempest, and, as I may fay, the Whirlwind ⚫ of Paffion, you must acquire and beget a Temperance that may give it Smoothness. Oh! it offends me to the Soul, to fee a robustous Periwig pated Fellow tear Paffion to Tatters, to very Rags, to fplit the Ears ⚫ of the Groundlings, who (for the most Part) are capa'ble of nothing but inexplicable dumb Shews and Noife. I could have fuch a Fellow whipt for o'erdoing Termagant: It out-herods Herod. Be not too tame neither; but let your own Discretion be your Tutor : Suit the Action to the Word, the. Word to the • Action ; with this fpecial Obfervance, that you o'ertop not the Modesty of Nature; for any Thing fo overdone, is from the Purpose of Playing, whofe End, ⚫ both at the first and now, was, and is to hold as 'twere

the

⚫ the Mirror up to Nature; to fhew Virtue her own Fea⚫ture, Scorn her own Image, and the very Age and Body ‹ of the Time, its Form and Pressure. Now this over

done, or come tardy off, though it make the Unskilful • laugh, cannot but make the Judicious grieve. The • Cenfures of which one must, in your Allowance, overfway a whole Theatre of others. Oh! there be Players that I have seen play, and heard others praife, • and that highly, (not to speak it prophanely) that neither having the Accent of Chriftian, Pagan, or Nor• man, have so strutted and bellowed, that I have thought fome of Nature's Journeymen had made Men, and ◄ not made them well, they imitated Humanity so abominably. This fhould be reformed altogether; and ⚫ let those that play your Clowns, speak no more than is ⚫ fet down for them: For there be of them that will of themselves laugh, to set on fome Quantity of barren Spectators to laugh too; though in the mean time, ⚫ fome neceffary Question of the Play be then to be confidered; that's villanous, and fhews a moft pitiful Am⚫bition in the Fool that uses it.'

6

From my own Apartment, June 29.

IT would be a very great Obligation, and an Affiftance to my Treatife upon Punning, if any one would please to inform me in what Class among the Learned who play with Words, to place the Author of the following Letter.

SIR,

N

OT long fince you were pleased to give us a Chimerical Account of the famous Family of the Staffs, from whence I fuppofe you would infinuate, that it is the most antient and numerous House in all Europe. But I positively deny that it is either, and wonder much at your audacious Proceedings in this Matter, fince 'tis well known, that our most illustrious, ⚫ most renowned, and most celebrated Roman Family of Ix, has enjoyed the Precedency to all others, from the Reign of good old Saturn. I could fay much to the Defamation and Difgrace of your Family; as, that your Relations Diftaff and Broomftaff were both in• confiderable