The Whiteness of thy Cheeks Is apter than thy Tongue to tell thy Errand; THE Image in this Place is wonderfully noble and great; yet this Man in all this is but rifing towards his great Affliction, and is ftill enough himself, as you fee, to make a Simile. But when he is certain of his Son's Death, he is loft to all Patience, and gives up all the Regards of this Life; fince the laft of Evils is fallen upon him, he calls for it upon all the World. Now let not nature's Hand Keep the wild Flood confin'd; let Order die ; READING but this one Scene has convinced me, that he who defcribes the Concern of great Men, muft have a Soul as noble, and as fufceptible of high Thoughts, as they whom he reprefents: I fhall therefore lay by my Drama for fome Time, and turn my Thoughts to Cares and Griefs, fomewhat below that of Heroes, but no less moving. A Misfortune proper er for me to take Notice of, has too lately happen'd: The difconfolate Maria has three Days kept her Chamber for the Lofs of the beauteous Fidelia, her Lap-dog. Lesbia herself did not fhed more Tears for her Sparrow. What makes her the more concerned, is, that we know not whether Fidelia was killed or ftolen; but he was feen in the Parlour-Window when the Train-Bands went by, and never fince. Whoever gives Notice of her, dead or alive, fhall be rewarded with a Kiss of her Lady." Virtutem They take Virtue to be meer Words, as a Grove te confift of Trees only. N° 48. T Saturday, July 30, 1709. From my own Apartment, July 29. HIS Day I obliged Pacolet to entertain me with Matters which regarded Perfons of his own Characer and Occupation. We chose to take our Walk on Tower-bill; and as we were coming from thence in order to ftroll as far as Garraway's, I observed two Men, who had but just landed, coming from the Water-fide. I thought there was fomething uncommon in their Mien and Afpect; but tho' they seemed by their Visage to be related, yet was there a Warmth in their Manner, as if they differed very much in their Sentiments of the Subject on which they were talking. One of them feemed to have a natural Confidence, mixed with an ingenuous Freedom in his Gesture, his Drefs very plain, but very graceful and becoming: The other in the midst of an over bearing Carriage, betray'd (by frequent looking round him) a Sufpicion that he was not enough regarded by those he met, or that he feared they would make fome Attack upon him. This Perfon was much taller than his Companion, and added to that Height the Advantage of a Feather in his Hat, and Heels to his Shoes fo monftrously high, that he had three or four Times fallen down, had he not been fupported by his Friend. They made a full Stop as they came within a few Yards of the Place where we ftood. The plain Gentleman bow'd to Pacolet ; the other looked upon him with fome Displeasure: Upon which I asked him, who they both were? When he thus informed me of their Perfons and Circumstances. YOU YOU may remember, Ifaac, that I have often told you, there are Beings of a fuperior Rank to Mankind, who frequently vifit the Habitations of Men, in order to call them from fome wrong Pursuits in which they are actually engaged, or divert them from Methods which will lead them into Errors for the future. He that will carefully reflect upon the Occurrences of his Life,will find he has been sometimes extricated out of Difficulties, and received Favours where he could never have expected fuch Benefits; as well as met with crofs Events from fome unfeen Hand, which have disappointed his beft laid Designs. Such Accidents arrive from the Interventions of Aerial Beings, as they are benevolent or hurtful to the Nature of Man,and attend his Steps in the Tracks of Ambition, of Business, and of Pleafure. Before I ever appeared to you in the Manner I do now, I have frequently followed you in your Evening-Walks, and have often, by throwing fome Accident in your Way, as the paffing by of a Funeral, or the Appearance of fome other folemn Object, given your Imagination a new Turn, and changedaNight you have deftined to Mirth and Jollity, into an Exercise of Study and Contemplation I was the old Soldier who met you last Summer in Chelsea Fields, and pretended that I had broken my Wooden Leg, and could not get home; but I fnapp'd it fhort off, on purpose that you might fall into the Reflections you did on that Subject, and take me into your Hack. If you remember, you made yourself very merry on that Fracture, and asked me, Whether I thought I fhould next Winter feel Cold in the Toes of that Leg? As is ufually observed, that those who lofe Limbs are fenfible of Pains in the extreme Parts, even after those Limbs are cut off. However, my keeping you then in the Story of the Battle of the Boyne, prevented an Affignation, which would have led you into more Difafters than I then related. TO be fhort: These two Perfons you see yonder are fuch as I am; they are not real Men, but are mere Shades and Figures; One is named Alethes, the other Verifimilis. Their Office is to be the Guardians and Representatives of Confcience and Honour. They are now going to vifit the feveral Parts of the Town, to fee how their Interefts in the World decay or flourish, and to purge themfelves from VOL. I. N the the many falfe Imputations they daily meet with in the Commerce and Conversation of Men. You obferved Verifimilis frowned when he first saw me. What he is provoked at, is, that I told him one Day, tho' he ftrutted and dreffed with fo much Oftentation, if he kept himself within his own Bounds, he was but a Lacquey, and wore only that Gentleman's Livery whom he is now with. This frets him to the Heart; for you must know he has pretended a long Time to set up for himself, and gets among a Croud of the more unthinking Part of Mankind, who take him for a Person of the first Quality; tho' his Introduction into the World was wholly owing to his present Companion. THIS Encounter was very agreeable to me, and I was refolved to dog them, and defired Pacolet to accompany me. I foon perceived what he told me in the Gefture of the Perfons: For when they looked at each other in Difcourfe, the well-dreffed Man fuddenly caft down his Eyes, and discover'd that the other had a painful Superiority over him. After some further Discourse, they took leave. The plain Gentleman went down towards Thames-ftreet, in order to be present, at least, at the Oaths taken at the Custom-house; and the other made directly for the Heart of the City. It is incredible how great a Change there immediately appeared in the Man of Honour when he got rid of his uneafy Companion: He adjusted the Cock of his Hat a-new, fettled his Sword Knot; and had an Appearance that attracted a fudden Inclination for him and his Interests in all who beheld him. For my Part (faid. I to Pacolet) I cannot but think you are mistaken in calling this Perfon, of the lower Quality; for he looks much more like a Gentleman than the other. Don't you observe all Eyes are upon him, as he advances? How each Sex gazes at his Stature, Afpect, Addrefs and Motion? Pacolet only fmiled, and shaked his Head; as leaving me to be convinced by my own further Obfervation. We kept on our Way after him till we came to Exchange-Alley, where the plain Gentleman again came up to the other; and they flood together after the Manner of eminent Merchants, as if ready to receive Application; but I could observe no Man to talk to either of them. The one one was laughed at as a Fop; and I heard many Whispers against the other, as a whimfical Sort of a Fellow, and a great Enemy to Trade. They croffed Cornbill together, and came into the full 'Change, where fome bowed, and gave themselves Airs in being known to fo fine a Man as Verifimilis, who, they said, had great Intereft in all Princes Courts; and the other was taken notice of by several, as one they had seen somewhere long before. One more particularly faid, He had formerly been a Man of Confideration in the World; but was fo unlucky, that they who dealt with him, by some strange Infatuation or other had a Way of cutting off their own Bills,and were prodigiously flow in improving their Stock. But as much as I was curious to obferve the Reception these Gentlemen met with upon 'Change, I could not help being interrupted by one that came up towards us, to whom every Body made their Compliments. He was of the common Height, and in his Drefs there feemed to be great Care to appear no way particular, except in a certain exact and feat Manner of Behaviour and Circumfpection. He was wonderfully careful that his Shoes and Clothes fhould be without the leaft Speck upon them; and feemed to think, that on fuch an Accident depended his very Life and Fortune. There was hardly a Man on 'Change who had not a Note upon him; and each seemed very well fatisfied that their Money lay in his Hands, without demanding Payment. I afked Pacolet, What great Merchant that was, who was fo univerfally addreffed to, yet made too familiar an Appearance to command that extraordinary Deference? Pacolet anfwered, This Perfon is the Dæmon or Genius of Credit; his Name is Umbra. If you observe, he follows Alethes and Verifimilis at a Distance; and indeed has no Foundation for the Figure he makes in the World, but that he is thought to keep their Cash; though at the fame Time, none who trust him, would trust the others for a Groat. As the Company rolled about, the three Spectres were jumbled into one Place: When they were fo, and all thought there was an Alliance between them, they immediately drew. upon on them the Bufinefs of the whole 'Change. But their Affairs foon increased to fuch an unweildy Bulk, that Alethes took his Leave, and faid, |