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weak ftirrings and tendencies of the will which have not yet formed themfelves into regular purposes and defigns, to the laft intire finishing and confummation of a good habit. He beholds the first imperfect rudiments of a virtue in the foul, and keeps a watchful eye over it in all its progrefs, until it has received every grace it is capable of, and appears in its full beauty and perfection. Thus we fee that none but the fupreme Being can efteem us according to our proper merits, fince all others must judge of us from our outward actions; which can never give them a juft eftimate of us, fince there are many perfections of a man which are not capable of appearing in actions; many which, allowing no na-. tural incapacity of fhewing themfelves, want an opportunity of doing it; or, fhould they all meet with an opportunity of appearing by actions, yet thofe actions may be mifinterpreted, and applied to wrong principles; or though they plainly difcovered the principles from whence they proceeded, they could never thew the degree, ftrength, and perfection of thofe principles..

And as the fupreme Being is the only proper judge of our perfections, fo is he the only fit rewarder of them. This is a confideration that comes home to our intereft, as the other adapts itfelf to our ambition. And what could the moft afpiring, or the most felfish man defire more, where he to form the notion of a being to whom he would recommend himself, than fuch a knowledge as can difcover the leaft appearance of perfection in him, and fuch a goodness as will proportion a reward to it.

Let the ambitious man therefore turn all his defire of fame this way; and that he may propofe to himself a fame worthy of his ambition, let him confider that if he employs his abilities to the best advantage, the time will come when the fupreme Governor of the world, the great Judge of mankind, who fees every degree of perfection in others, and poffeffes all poffible perfec tion in himself, fhall proclaim his worth before men and angels, and pronounce to him in the prefence of the whole creation that beft and moft fignificant of applaufes, "Well done, thou good and faithful fervant, enter thou into thy Mafter's joy."

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N° 258 Wednesday, December 26.

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Divide & impera.

Divide and rule.

LEASURE and recreation of one kind or other are abfolutely neceffary to relieve our minds and bodies from too conftant atttention and labour: where therefore public diverfions are tolerated, it be hoves perfons of diftinction, with their power and example, to prefide over them in fuch a manner as to check any thing that tends to the corruption of manners, or which is too mean or trivial for the entertainment of reasonable creatures. As to the diverfions of this kind in this town, we owe them to the arts of poetry and mufic: my own private opinion, with relation to fuch recreations, I have heretofore given with all the franknefs imaginable; what concerns thofe arts at prefent the reader fhall have from my correfpondents. The firft of the letters with which I acquit myself for this day, is written by one who propofes to improve our entertainments of dramatic poetry, and the other comes from three perfons, who, as foon as named, will be thought capable of advancing the prefent state of mufic.

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• Mr. Spectator,

Am confiderably obliged to you for your speedy. publication of my laft in your's of the 18th inftant, and am in no fmall hopes of being fettled in the poft ' of comptroller of the cries. Of all the objections I have ⚫ hearkened after in public coffee-houses, there is but one that feems to carry any weight with it, viz. That 'fuch a poft would come too near the nature of a monopoly. Now, Sir, because I would have all forts of people made eafy, and being willing to have more ftrings than one to my bow; in cafe that of comptroller fhould fail me, I have fince formed another project, which being grounded on the dividing of a prefent monopoly,

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monopoly, I hope will give the public an equivalent to their full content. You know, Sir, it is allowed that the bufinefs of the stage is, as the Latin has it, jucunda idonea dicere vita. Now there being but one dramatic theatre licenfed for the delight and pro'fit of this extenfive metropolis, I do humble propose, for the convenience of fuch of its inhabitants as are 6 too diftant from Covent-Garden, that another Theatre of Eafe may be erected in fome fpacious part of the city; and that the direction thereof may be made a franchise in fee to me, and my heirs for ever. And that the town may have no jealoufy of my ever coming to an union with the fet of actors now in being, VI do further propofe to constitute for my deputy my near kinfman and adventurer, Kit Crotchet, whofe long experience and improvements in thofe affairs need no ⚫ recommendation. It was obvious to every fpectator 'what a quite different foot the stage was upon during his government; and had he not been bolted out of his trap-doors, his garrifon might have held out for ever, he having by long pains and perfeverance arrived at the art of making his army fight without pay or provifions. I must confefs it with a melancholy amazement, I fee fo wonderful a genius laid afide, and the late flaves of the ftage now become its mafters, dunces that will be fure to fupprefs all theatrical entertainments and activities that they are not able themselves to fhine in!

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Every man that goes to a play is not obliged to have either wit or understanding; and I infift upon it, that all who go there fhould fee fomething which may improve them in a way of which they are capable. In fhort, Sir, I would have something done as well as faid on the ftage. A man may have an active body, though he has not a quick conception; for the imitation therefore of fuch as are, as I may fo fpeak, corporeal wits or nimble fellows, I would fain afk any of the prefent mifmanagers, why fhould not rope-dancers, vaulters, tumblers, ladder-walkers, and pofture-mafters appear again on our ftage? After fuch a reprefentation, a five-bar gate would be leaped with a better grace next time any of the audience went a hunting.

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hunting. Sir, these things cry aloud for reformation, and fall properly under the province of Spectator General; but how indeed fhould it be otherwise, while fellows, that for twenty years together were never paid but as their mafter was in the humour, now prefume to pay others more than ever they had in their lives; ⚫ and in contempt of the practice of perfons of condition, ⚫ have the infolence to owe no tradefman a farthing at the end of the week. Sir, all I propofe is the public good; for no one can imagine I fhall ever get a private hilling by it: therefore I hope you will recommend this matter in one of your this week's papers, and defire when my houfe opens you will accept the liberty of it for the trouble you have received from, Sir,

P: S. I have affurances

that the trunk-maker will declare for us.

Mr. Spectator,

Your humble fervant,

Ralph Crotchet.'

WE whofe names are fubfcribed, think you the

properest person to fignify what we have to offer the town in behalf of ourselves, and the art

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which we profefs, mufic. We conceive hopes of your favour from the fpeculations on the mistakes which the town ran into with regard to their pleasure of this • kind; and believing your method of judging is, that you confider mufic only valuable, as it is agreeable to, and heightens the purpose of poetry, we confent that that is not only the true way of relifhing that pleafure, but also that without it a compofure of mufic is the fame thing as a poem, where all the rules of poetical ⚫ numbers are obferved, though the words have no fenfe or meaning; to fay it fhorter, mere mufical founds € are in our art no other than nonfenfe verfes are in poetry. Mufic therefore is to aggravate what is intended by poetry; it must always have fome paffion cr fentiment to exprefs, or elfe violins, voices, or any other organs of found, afford an entertainment very ⚫ little above the rattles of children. It was from this epinion of the matter, that when Mr. Clayton had ⚫ finished his ftudies in Italy, and brought over the opera B 6 • of

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of Arfinöe, that Mr. Haym and Mr. Dieupart, who had the honour to be well known and received among the nobility and gentry, were zealously inclined to affift, by their folicitations, in introducing fo elegant an entertainment as the Italian mufic grafted upon English poetry. For this end Mr. Dieupart and Mr. Haym, according to their feveral opportunities, promoted the introduction of Arfinöe, and did it to the beft advantage fo great a novelty would allow. < not proper to trouble you with particulars of the juft complaints we all of us have to make; but fo it is, that without regard to our obliging pains, we are all equally fet afide in the prefent opera. Our application therefore to you is only to infert this letter in your papers, that the town may know we have all three joined together to make entertainments of mufic for the future at Mr. Clayton's houfe in Yorkbuildings. What we promife ourselves, is, to make a fubfcription of two guineas, for eight times; and that the entertainment, with the names of the authors. of the poetry, may be printed, to be fold in the houfe, with an account of the feveral authors of the vocal as well as the inftrumental mufic for each night; the money to be paid at the receipt of the tickets, at Mr. Charles Lillie's. It will, we hope, Sir, be eafily allowed, that we are capable of undertaking to exhibit by our joint force and different qualifications all that can be done in mufic: but left you < fhould think fo dry a thing as an account of our propofal fhould be a matter unworthy your paper, which generally contains fomething of public ufe; give us leave to fay, that favouring our defign is no lefs than reviving an art, which runs to ruin by the utmost barbarifm under an affectation of knowledge. We aim at establishing fome fettled notions of what is mufic, at recovering from neglect and want very many families, who depend upon it, at making all foreigners who pretend to fucceed in England to learn the language of it as we ourselves have done, and not be fo infolent as to expect a whole nation, a reúned ard learned nation, fhould fubmit to learn theis. In a word, Mr. Spectator, with all deference and humility, we hope to behave ourselves

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