hine to the generation of twelve, and they of twelve disappear, and make room for the fashionable world who have made two of the clock the noon of the day. When we first put off from fhore, we foon fell in with a fleet of gardeners bound for the several market-ports of London; and it was the most pleafing fcene imaginable to fee the chearfulness with which those industrious people ply ed their way to a certain fale of their goods. The banks on each fide are as well peopled, and beautified with as agreeable plantations as any spot on the earth; but the Thames itself, loaded with the product of each fhore, added very much to the landskip. It was very eafy to obferve by their failing, and the countenances of the ruddy virgins, who were fuper-cargoes, the parts of the town to which they were bound. There was an air in the purveyors for Covent Garden who frequently converfe with morning rakes, very unlike the feeming fobriety of those bound for Stocks Market. Nothing remarkable happened in our voyage; but I landed with ten fail of apricot boats at Strand Bridge, after having put in at Nine Elms, and taken in melons, configned by Mr. Cuffe of that place, to Sarah Sewell and company, at their ftall in Covent Garden. We arrived at Strand Bridge at fix of the clock, and were unloading, when the hackney-coachmen of the foregoing night took their leave of each other at the Dark-house, to go to bed before the day was too far pent. Chimneyfweepers paffed by us as we made up to the market, and fome rallery happened between one of the fruit-wenches and those black men, about the Devil and Eve, with allufion to their several profeffions, I could not believe any place more entertaining than Covent Garden; where I strolled from one fruit-shop to another, with crowds of agreeable young women around me, who were purchafing fruit for their refpective families. It was almost eight of the clock before I could leave that variety of objects. I took coach and followed a young lady, who tripped into another just before me, attended by her maid. I faw immediately fhe was of the family of the Vainloves. There are a fet of thefe who of all things affect the play of Blindman's boff, and leading men into love for they know not whom, who are fled they know not where. This fort of woman is ufually a janty flattern; the hangs on her clothes, plays her head, varies her pofture, and changes place inceffantly; and all with an appearance of ftriving at the fame time to hide herself, and yet give you to understand the is in humour to laugh at you. You must have often feen the coachmen make figns with their fingers as they drive by each other, to intimate how much they have got that day. They can carry on that language to give intelligence where they are driving. In an inftant my coachman took the wink to purfue, and the lady's driver gave the hint that he was going through Long Acre, towards St. James's. While he whipped up James Street, we drove for King Street, to fave the pass at St. Martin's Lane. The coachmen took care to meet, joftle, and threaten each other for way, and be entangled at the end of Newport Street and Long Acre. The fright, you must believe, brought down the lady's coach-door, and obliged her, with her mask off, to enquire into the buftle, when the fees the man fhe would avoid. The tackle of the coachwindow is fo bad fhe cannot draw it up again, and the drives on fometimes wholly difcovered, and fometimes half efcaped, according to the accident of carriages in her way. One of these ladies keeps her feat in a hackney-coach, as well as the beft rider does on a managed horfe. The laced fhoe on her left foot, with a careless gefture, just appearing on the oppofite cushion, held her both firm, and in a proper attitude to receive the next jolt. As fhe was an excellent coach-woman, many were the glances at each other which we had for an hour and an half, in all parts of the town, by the fkill of our drivers; until at laft my lady was conveniently loft with notice from her coachman to ours to make off, and he fhould hear where he went. This chace was now at an end, and the fel. low who drove her came to us, and difcovered that he was ordered to come again in an hour, for that he was a filk-worm. I was furprifed with this phrafe, but found it was a cant among the hackney fraternity for their best cuf tomers, women who ramble twice or thrice a week from shop to shop, to turn over all the goods in town without buying any thing. The filk-worms are, it feems, indulged by the tradefmen; for though they never buy, they are ever talking talking of new filks, laces, and ribbons, and ferve the owners, in getting them cultomers as their common dunners do in making them pay. The day of people of fashion began now to break, and carts and hacks were mingled with equipages of fhow and vanity: when I refolved to walk it out of cheapness; but my unhappy curiofity is fuch, that I find it always my intereft to take coach, for fome odd adventure among beggars, ballad-fingers, or the like, detains and throws me into expence. It happened fo immediately; for at the corner of Warwick Street, as I was liftening to a new ballad, a ragged rafcal, a beggar who knew me, came up to me, and began to turn the eyes of the good company upon me, by telling me he was extreme poor, and fhould die in the street for want of drink, except I immediately would have the charity to give him fixpence to go into the next ale-houfe and fave his life. He urged, with a melancholy face, that all his family had died of thirst. All the mob have humour, and two or three began to take the jett; by which Mr. Sturdy carried his point, and let me fneak off to a coach. As I drove along it was a pleafing reflection to fee the world fo prettily checkered fince I left Richmond, and the scene ftill filling with children of a new hour. This fatisfaction increased as I moved towards the city, and gay figns, well difpofed ftreets, magnificent public ftructures, and wealthy fhops, adorned with contented faces, made the joy ftill rifing till we came into the center of the city, and center of the world of trade, the Exchange of London. As other men in the crowds about me were pleafed with their hopes and bargains, I found my account in obferving them, in attention to their feveral interests, I, indeed, Jooked upon myself as the richest man that walked the Exchange that day; for my benevolence made me fhare the gains of every bargain that was made. It was not the least of my fatisfactions in my furvey, to go up stairs, and pass the shops of agreeable females; to obferve to many pretty hands bufy in the folding of ribbons, and the utmoft eagernefs of agreeable faces in the fale of patches, pins, and wires, on each fide the counters, was an amusement, in which I could longer have indulged myself, had not the dear creatures called to me to afk what I wanted, when I could not anfwer, only to look at you.' I went to one of the windows which opened to the area below, where all the several voices loft their diftin&tion, and rofe up in a confufed humming; which created in me a reflection that could not come into the mind of any but of one a little too ftudious; for I faid to myself, with a kind of pun in thought- What nonfenfe is all the hurry of this world to thofe who are above it? In thefe, or not much wifer thoughts, I had like to have lost my place at the chop-house, where every man, according to the natural bashfulnefs or fullennefs of our nation, eats in a public room a mess of broth, or chop of meat, in dumb tilence, as if they had no pretence to speak to each other on the foot of being men, except they were of each other's acquaintance. I went afterwards to Robin's, and faw people who had dined with me at the five-penny ordinary just before, give bills for the value of large eftates; and could not but behold with great pleasure, property lodged in, and transferred in a moment from fuch as would never be matters of half as much as is feemingly in them, and given from them every day they live. But before five in the afternoon I left the city, came to my common fcene of Covent Garden, and pafled the evening at Will's, in attending the difcouries of feveral fets of people, who relieved each other within my hearing on the subjects of cards, dice, love, learning, and politics. The laft fubject kept me until I heard the streets in the poffeffion of the bell-man, who had now the world to himfelf, and cried- Paft two of the clock. This routed me from my feat, and I went to my lodging, led by a light, whom I pur into the difcourfe of his private ceconomy, and made him give me an account of the charge, hazard, profit, and lofs, of a family that depended upon a ink, with a defign to end my trivial day with the generouity of fixpence, instead of a third part of that fum. When I came to my chambers I writ down thefe minutes; but was at a loss what inftruc tion I fhould propofe to my reader from the enumeration of fo many infignifi cant matters and occurrences; and I thought it of great ufe, if they could learn with me to keep their minds open to gratification, and ready to receive it from MY TIMOROUS MUSE UNAMBITIOUS TRACTS PURSUES; DOES WITH WEAK UNBALLAST WINGS, ABOUT THE MOSSY BROOKS AND SPRINGS, LIKE THE LABORIOUS BEE, FOR LITTLE DROPS OF HONEY FLY, AND THERE WITH HUMBLE SWEETS CONTENTS HER INDUSTRY. THE following letters have in them reflections which will feem of importance both to the learned world and to domeftic life. There is in the firft an allegory fo well carried on, that it cannot but be very pleafing to those who have a taste of good writing; and the other billets may have their use in life. MR. SPECTATOR, As I walked the other day in a fine garden, and obferved the great variety of improvements in plants and flowers beyond what they otherwise would have been, I was naturally led into a reflection upon the advantages of education, or modern culture; how many good qualities in the mind are loft, for want of the like due care in nurfing and fkilfully managing them; how many virtues are choaked, by the multitude of weeds which are fuffered to grow among them; how excellent parts are often ftarved and ufelets, by being planted in a wrong foil; and how very feldom do thefe moral feeds produce the noble fruits which might be expected from them, by a neglect of proper manuring, neceflary pruning, and an artful management of our tender inclinations and first fpring of life. Thefe obvious fpeculations made me at length conclude, that there is a fort of vegetable principle in the mind of every man when he comes into the world. În infants the feeds lie buried and undiscovered, until after a while they fprout forth in a kind of rational leaves, which are words; and in due feason the flowers begin to appear in COWLEY. variety of beautiful colours, and all the gay pictures of youthful fancy and imagination; at laft the fruit knits and is: formed, which is green, perhaps, firft, and four, unpleasant to the taste, and not fit to be gathered; until ripened by due care and application it difcovers it self in all the noble productions of philofophy, mathematics, close reasoning, and handfome argumentation: and thele fruits, when they arrive at juft maturity, and are of a good kind, afford the most vigorous nourishment to the minds of men. I reflected further on the intellectual leaves before mentioned, and found almost as great a variety among them as in the vegetable world. I could eafily obferve the fmooth fhining Italian leaves; the nimble French afpen always in motion; the Greek and Latin evergreens, the Spanish myrtle, the English oak, the Scotch thistle, the Irifh fhambrogue, the prickly German, and Dutch holly, the Polish and Ruffian nettle, befides a vaft number of exotics imported from Afia, Africa, and America. I faw feveral barren plants, which bore only leaves, without any hopes of flower or fruit: the leaves of fome were fra grant and well-shaped, and others illfcented and irregular. I wondered at a fet of old whimfical botanifts, who spent their whole lives in the contemplation of fome withered Egyptian, Coptic, Armenian, or Chinese leaves, while others made it their business to collect in voluminous herbals all the feveral leaves of fome one tree. The flowers afford a moft diverting entertainment, in a won SY derful derful variety of figures, colours, and and Northern flowers have little or no DEAR SPEC. Sir, AUGUST 6, 1712. You have given us, in your Spec tator of Saturday laft, a very excellent difcourfe upon the force of cuftom, and it's wonderful efficacy in mak. ing every thing pleasant to us. I cannot deny but that I received above two pennyworth of inftruction from your paper, and in the general was very well pleafed with it; but I am, without a compliment, fincerely troubled that I cannot exactly be of your opinion, that it makes every thing pleafing to us. In fhort, I have the honour to be yoked to a young lady, who is, in plain English, for her ftand ing, a very eminent fcold. She began to break her mind very freely both to me and to her fervants about two months after our nuptials; and though I have been accuftoined to this humour of hers these three years, yet I do not know what is the matter with me, but I am no more delighted with it than I was at the very firit. I have advised with her relations about her, and they all tell me that he; mother and her grand mother before her were both taken much after the fame manner; fo that fince it runs in the blood, I have but small hopes of her recovery. I fhould be glad to have a little of your advice in this matter: I would not willingly trouble you to contrive how it may be a pleasure to me; if you will but put me in a way that I may bear it with indifference, I fhall reft fatisfied. Dear Spec, your very humble fervant. P. S, I must do the poor girl the juf tice to let you know that this match was mine either; in confideration of which none of her own choofing, or indeed of avoid giving her the leaft provocation; and indeed we live better together than ufually folks do who hated one another when they were firft joined; to evade the fin against parents, or at leaft to extenuate it, my dear rails at my father and mother, and I curfe hers for making the match. MR. SPECTATOR, Like the theme you lately gave out extremely, and fhould be as glad to handle it as any man living: but I find myfelf no better qualified to write about money than about my wife; for, to tell you a fecret which I defire may go no farther, I am master of neither of those fubjects. Yours, I AUGUST 8, 1712. MR. SPECTATOR, PILL GARLICK. Defire you would print this in Italic, fo as it may be generally taken notice of. It is defigned only to admonish all perfons, who speak either at the bar, pulpit, or any public affembly whatsoever, how they difcover their ignorance in the ufe of fimilies. There are in the pulpit itself, as well as in other places, fuch grofs abuses in this kind, that I give this warning to all I know." I fhall bring them for the future before your fpectatorial authority. On Sunday laft, one, who fhall be nameless, reproving feveral of his congregation for standing at prayers, was pleafed to say One would think, like the elephant, you had no knees.' Now I myielf faw an elephant, in Bartholomew Fair, kneel down to take on his back the ingenious Mr. William Penkethman. Your must hun-^^ ble fervant. N° CCCCLVI. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13. DE QUO LIBELLY IN CELEBERRIMIS LOCIS PROPONUNTUR, HUIC NE PERIRE TULLO QUIDEM TACITE CONCEDITUR. THE MAN, WHOSE CONDUCT IS PUBLICLY ARRAIGNED, 18`NOT SUFFERED EVEN TO BE RUINED QUIETLY. Freeved, in deferibed the mifery of a man, whose effects are in the hands I pafs'd this very moment by thy doors, The very bed, which on thy wedding-night Nothing, indeed, can be more unhappy than the condition of bankruptcy. The calamity which happens to us by ill fortune, or by the injury of others, has in it fome confolation; but what arifes from our own misbehaviour or error, is the ftate of the most exquifite forrow. When a man confiders not only an ample fortune, but even the very neceffaries of life, his pretence to food itself, at the mercy of his creditors, he cannot but look upon himself in the Atate of the dead, with his cafe thus much worse, that the last office is performed by his adverfaries instead of his Mands. From this hour the cruel world does not only take poffeffion of his whole fortune, but even of every thing elfe, which had no relation to it. All his tions put upon them, and those whom indifferent actions have new interpreta he has favoured in his former life, difcharge themselves of their obligations to him, by joining in the reproaches of his enemies. It is almost incredible that it fhould be fo; but it is too often feen that there is a pride mixed with the impatience of the creditor; and there are who would rather recover their own by the downfal of a profperous man, than be discharged to the common fatiffaction of themselves and their creditors. The wretched man, who was lately mafter of abundance, is now under the direction of others; and the wisdom, œconomy, good fenfe, and skill in human life before, by reafon of his prefent misfortune, are of no ufe to him. in the difpofition of any thing. The incapacity of an infant or a lunatic is defigned for his provifion and accomwithout any mitigation in respect of the modation; but that of a bankrupt, accidents by which it arrived, is calcu lated for his utter ruin, except there be a remainder ample enough after the difcharge of his creditors to hear all the expence of rewarding thofe by whofe means the effect of all his labour was transferred from him. This man is to look on and fee others giving directions upon what terms and conditions his goods are to be purchased, and all this ufually done not with an air of trustees to difpofe of his effects, but destroyers to divide and tear them to pieces.. There is fomething facred in mifery to great and good minds; for this reafon all wife lawgivers have been extremely tender how they let loofe even the man who has right on his fide, to act with any mixture of refentment against the defendant. Virtuous and modeft men, though they be used with fome artifice, and have it in their power to avenge themselves, are flow in the application of that power, and are ever conftrained to go into rigorous meafures. They are careful to demonftrate 5Y2 them |