his harmony, fent for the bird-catchers, and ordered them to employ their utmost skill to put that • little creature into her poffeffion. The king, pleaf⚫ed with an opportunity of being once more near his beloved confort, eafily fuffered himself to be taken; and when he was prefented to her, though he fhewed a fearfulness to be touched by any of the other ladies, flew of his own accord, and hid himself in the Queen's bofom. Zemroude was highly pleafed at the unexpected fondness of her 6 new favourite, and ordered him to be kept in an open cage, in her own apartment. He had there an opportunity of making his court to her every morning, by a thousand little actions, which his 'fhape allowed him. The Queen paffed away whole hours every day in hearing and playing with him. Fadlallah could even have thought himself happy in this ftate of life, had he not frequently endured the inexpreffible torment of feeing the Dervis enter the apartment, and carefs his Queen even in • his prefence.

The ufurper, amidst his toying with the princefs, would often endeavour to ingratiate himself with her nightingale; and while the enraged Fadlallah pecked at him with his bill, beat his wings, and thewed all the marks of an impotent rage, it only afforded his rival and the Queen new matter for their diverfion.

• Zemroude was likewife fond of a little lap-dog, which he kept in her apartment, and which one night happened to die.

The king immediately found himself inclined to quit the fhape of the nightingale, and enliven this new body. He did fo, and the next morning Zemroude faw her favourite bird lie dead in the cage. It is impoffible to expreís her grief on this occafion, and when the called to mind all its little actions, which even appeared to have fomewhat in them like reafon, fhe was inconfolable for her loss.

• Her

'Her women immediately fent for the Dervis to " come and comfort her, who after having in vain represented to her the weaknefs of being grieved " at fuch an accident, touched at laft by her repeated complaints, Well, Madam, fays he, I will exert the utmost of my art to please you. Your nightingale fhall again revive every morning, and serenade you as before. The Queen beheld him with a look which easily fhewed she did not believe '. him; when laying himself down on a sofa, he shot his foul into the nightingale, and Zemroude was • amazed to fee her bird revive.

The king, who was a fpectator of all that passed, lying under the shape of a lap-dog, in one corner of the room, immediately recovered his own body, and running to the cage with the utmoft indignation, twifted off the neck of the falfe nightingale.

Zemroude was more than ever amazed and concerned at this fecond accident, until the king, intreating her to hear him, related to her his whole ⚫ adventure.

The body of the Dervis, which was found dead in the wood, and his edict for killing all the deer, left her no room to doubt of the truth of it: but the ftory adds, that out of an extreme delicacy, ⚫ (peculiar to the oriental ladies) fhe was fo highly • afflicted at the innocent adultery in which she had for fome time lived with the Dervis, that no ar'guments, even from Fadlallah himself, could compofe her mind. She fhortly after died with grief, begging his pardon with her laft breath for what the most rigid juftice could not have interpreted as a crime.

The king was so afflicted with her death, that he left his kingdom to one of his nearest relations, and paffed the reft of his days in folitude and re⚫tirement.'

WEDNESDAY,

哈味

No. 579. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST II.

J

-Odora canum vis.

VIRG. En. iv. ver. 132.1

IN

Sagacious hounds.

N the reign of King Charles I. the company of ftationers, into whofe hands the printing of the Bible is committed by patent, made a very remarkable erratum, or blunder, in one of their editions: for, inftead of Thou shalt not commit adultery, they printed off feveral thoufands of copies with Thou Jbalt commit adultery. Archbishop Laud, to punish this their negligence, laid a confiderable fine upon that company in the Star-Chamber.

By the practice of the world, which prevails in this degenerate age, I am afraid that very many young profligates, of both fexes, are poffeffed of this fpurious edition of the Bible, and obferve the commandment according to that faulty reading.

Adulterers, in the firft ages of the church, were excommunicated for ever, and unqualified all their lives from bearing a part in Chriftian affemblies, notwithstanding they might feek it with tears, and all the appearances of the most unfeigned repent

ance.

I might here mention fome ancient laws among the heathens, which punished this crime with death; and others of the fame kind, which are now in force among feveral governments that have embraced the reformed religion. But because a subject of this nature may be too ferious for my ordinary readers, who

are

are very apt to throw by my papers, when they are not enlivened with fomething that is diverting or uncommon; I shall here publish the contents of a little manufcript lately fallen into my hands, and which pretends to great antiquity, though, by reason of fome modern phrases and other particulars in it, P can by no means allow it to be genuine, but rather the production of a modern fophift.

It is well known by the learned, that there was a temple upon mount Etna dedicated to Vulcan, which was guarded by dogs of for exquifite a smell (fay the historians) that they could difcern whether the perfons who came thither were chafte or otherwife. They used to meet and fawn upon fuch as were chaste, carelling them as the friends of their mafter Vulcan ; but flew at those who were polluted, and never ceafed barking at them until they had driven them from the temple.

My manufcript gives the following account of these dogs, and was probably defigned as a comment upon this story.

Thefe dogs were given to Vulcan by his fifter Diana, the goddess of hunting and of chastity, having bred them out of fome of her bounds, in' which he had obferved this natural inftinct and fagacity. It is thought she did it in fpite to Venus, who, upon her return home, always found her husband in a good or bad humour according to the • reception which he met with from his dogs. They lived in the temple feveral years, but were fuch fnappish curs, that they frighted away moft of the ⚫ votaries. The women of Sicily made a folemn • deputation to the priest, by which they acquainted him, that they would not come up to the temple with their annual offerings unless he muzzled his • mastiffs; and at laft compromised the matter with ‹ him, that the offering fhould always be brought by • a chorus of young girls, who were none of them ⚫ above

⚫ above seven years old. It was wonderful (fays the author) to fee how different the treatment was which the dogs gave to these little miffes, from that which they had fhewn to their mothers. It is faid that a prince of Syracufe, having married a young Lady, and being naturally of a jealous temper, made fuch an intereft with the priests of this temple, that he procured a whelp from them of this ⚫ famous breed. The young puppy was very trou⚫blesome to the fair lady at firft, infomuch that the folicited her husband to fend him away; but the good man cut her fhort with the old Sicilian pro• verb, Love me, love my dog. From which time fhe lived very peaceably with both of them. The ladies of Syracufe were very much annoyed with him, and several of very good reputation refufed to come to court until he was difcarded. There • were indeed fome of them that defied his fagacity: but it was obferved, though he did not actually bite them, he would growl at them moft confoundedly. To return to the dogs of the temple: after they had lived here in great repute for feveral years, it fo happened, that as one of the priests, who had been making a charitable visit to a widow who lived on the promontory of Lilybaum, returned home pretty late in the evening, the dogs flew at him with fo much fury, that they would have worried him if his brethren had not come in to his affistance; upon which, fays my author, the dogs were all of them hanged, as having loft their original instinct.”

I cannot conclude this paper without wishing, that we had fome of this breed of dogs in Great Britain, which would certainly do justice, I fhould fay bo nour, to the ladies of our country, and fhew the world the difference between pagan women and thofe who are inftructed in founder principles of virtue and religion.