109 * of foils, thou understandeft the influences of the tars, and markest the change of feafons, Can a woman appear lovely in the eyes of fuch a one? Difquiet me not, O Shalum; let me alone that I may enjoy thofe goodly poffeffions which are fallen to my lot. Win me not

by thy enticing words. May thy trees increase and multiply; mayeft thou add wood to wood, and fhade to fhade; but tempt not Hilpa to deftroy thy folitude, and make thy retirement populous.'

THE Chinese fay, that a little time afterwards the accepted of a treat in one of the neighbouring hills to which Shalum had invited her. This treat lafted for two years, and is faid to have coft Shalum five hundred antelopes, two thousand oftriches, and a thoufand tun of milk; "but what most of all recommended it, was that variety of delicious fruits and pot-herbs, in which no perfon then living could any way equal Shalum.

He treated her in the bower which he had planted amidst the wood of nightingales. The wood was made up of fuch fruit trees and plants as are most agreeable to the feveral kinds of finging-birds; fo that it had drawn into it all the music of the country, and was filled from one end of the year to the other with the most agreeable confort in feafon.

HE fhewed her every day fome beautiful and ferprifing fcene in this new region of wood-lands; and as by this means he had all the opportunities he could wish for of opening his mind to her, he fucceeded fo well, that upon her departure fhe made him a kind of promife, and gave him her word to return him a pofitive answer in lefs than fifty years.

SHE had not been long among her own people in the vallies, when she received new overtures, and at the fame time a moft fplendid vifit from Mishpach, who was a mighty man of old, and had built a great city, which he called after his own name. Every houfe was made for at least a thousand years, nay, there were fome that were leafed out for three lives; fo that the quantity of stone and timber confumed in this building is scarce to be imagined by those who live in the prefent age of the world. This great man entertained her with the voice of mufical inftruments which had been lately invented, and danced VOL. VIII. before

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before her to the found of the timbrel. He also prefented her with several domestic utenfils wrought in brass and iron, which had been newly found out for the conveniency of life. In the mean time Shalum grew very uneafy with himself, and was forely difpleafed at Hilpa for the reception which she had given to Mishpach, infomuch that he never wrote to her or spoke of her during a whole revolution of Saturn; but finding that this intercourfe went no further than a visit, he again renewed his addreffes to her, who, during his long filence, is faid very often to have cast a wishing eye upon mount Tirzah.

HER mind continued wavering about twenty years longer between Shalum and Mishpach; for though her inclinations favoured the former, her intereft pleaded very powerfully for the other. While her heart was in this unfettled condition, the following accident happened, which determined her choice. A high tower of wood that ftood in the city of Mishpach having caught fire by a flash of lightning, in a few days reduced the whole town to afhes. Mishpach refolved to rebuild the place whatever it fhould coft him: and having already destroyed all the timber of the country, he was forced to have recourfe to Shalum, whofe forests were now two hundred years old. He purchased these woods with so many herds of cattle, and flocks of fheep, and with such a vast extent of fields and paftures, that Shalum was now grown more wealthy than Mihpach; and therefore appeared fo charming in the eyes of Zilpah's daughter, that fhe no longer refufed him in marriage. On the day in which he brought her up into the mountains he raised a moft prodigious pile of cedar, and of every fweet-fmelling wood, which reached above three hundred cubits. in height: he also caft into the pile bundles of myrrh and fheaves of fpikenard, enriching it with every spicy fhrub, and making it fat with the gums of his plantations. This was the burnt-offering which Shalum offered in the day of his efpoufals: the Imoke of it afcended up to heaven, and filled the whole country with incenfe and perfume.

NO

N° 586.

Friday, Auguft 27.

-Qua in vita ufurpant homines, cogitant, curant, vident, quæque agunt vigilantes, agitantque, ea cuique in fomno accidunt. Cic. de Div.

The things, which employ mens waking thoughts and actions, recur to their imaginations in fleep.

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Y the laft poft I received the following letter, which is built upon a thought that is new, and very well carried on; for which reafons I fhall give it to the public without alteration, addition, or amendment.

SIR,

T was a good piece of advice which Pythagoras gave to his scholars, that every night before they flept they should examine what they had been a doing that day, and fo difcover what actions were worthy of pur'fuit to-morrow, and what little vices were to be prevented from flipping unawares into a habit. If I might 'fecond the philofopher's advice, it should be mine, that in a morning before my fcholar arofe, he should confider what he had been about that night, and with the ⚫ fame ftrictness, as if the condition he has believed himfelf to be in, was real. Such a fcrutiny into the ac⚫tions of his fancy must be of confiderable advantage, for? this reafon, because the circumstances which a man imagines himself in during fleep, are generally fuch as entirely favour his inclinations good or bad, and give hint imaginary opportunities of purfuing them to the utmoft; fo that his temper will lie fairly open to his view, while he confiders how it is moved when free from those 'constraints which the accidents of real life put it under. • Dreams are certainly the refult of our waking thoughts, and our daily hopes and fears are what give the mind ⚫ fuch nimble relishes of pleasure, and fuch fevere touches ⚫ of pain in its midnight rambles. A man that murders his enemy, or deferts his friend in a dream, had need

to guard his temper against revenge and ingratitude, and take heed that he be not tempted to do a vile thing in the purfuit of falfe, or the neglect of true honour. For my part, I feldom receive a benefit, but in a night or two's time I make moft noble returns for it; which ⚫ though my benefactor is not a whit the better for, yet it pleafes me to think that it was from a principle of gratitude in me, that my mind was fufceptible of fuch 'generous tranfport while I thought myself repaying the ⚫ kindness of my friend and I have often been ready to beg pardon, instead of returning an injury, after confidering, that when the offender was in my power I had 'carried my refentments much too far.

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'I THINK it has been obferved in the courfe of your 'papers, how much one's happiness or mifery may depend upon the imagination: of which truth thofe ftrange workings of fancy in fleep are no inconfiderable inftances; fo that not only the advantage a man has of making difcoveries of himself, but a regard to his own ease or difquiet, may induce him to accept of my advice. Such as are willing to comply with it, I fhall put into a way of doing it with pleafure, by obferving only one * maxim which I shall give them, viz. To go to bed with a mind entirely free from paffion, and a body clear of the leaft intemperance.

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TREY indeed who can fink into fleep with their thoughts lefs calm or innocent than they should be, do but plunge themselves into fcenes of guilt and mifery ; or they who are willing to purchase any midnight difquietudes for the fatisfaction of a full meal, or a skin 'full of wine; thefe I have nothing to fay to, as not ⚫ knowing how to invite them to reflections full of fhame and horror: but thofe that will obferve this rule, I promise them they shall awake into health and chearfulness, and be capable of recounting with delight thofe glorious moments, wherein the mind has been indulging itself in fuch luxury of thought, fuch noble hurry of imagination. Suppofe a man's going fupperlefs to bed fhould introduce him to the table of fome great prince or other, where he fhall be entertained with the nobleft marks of honour and plenty, and do fo much bufinefs after, that he fhall rife with as good a ftomach to his breakfast as

if he had fafted all night long; or fuppofe he should fee his dearest friends remain all night in great diftreffes, which he could inftantly have difengaged them from, could he have been content to have gone to bed • without the other bottle: believe me, these effects of fancy are no contemptible confequences of commanding or indulging one's appetite.

I FORBEAR recommending my advice upon many o* ther accounts, till I hear how you and your readers re⚫lish what I have already faid; among whom if there be 'any that may pretend it is useless to them, because they never dream at all, there may be others, perhaps, who do little elfe all day long. Were every one as fenfible as I am what happens to him in his fleep, it would be no difpute whether we paffed fo confiderable a portion of our time in the condition of stocks and stones, or whether the foul were not perpetually at work upon the principle of thought. However, it is an honeft endeavour of mine to perfuade my countrymen to reap fome advantage from fo many unregarded hours, and as fuch you will encourage it.

I SHALL conclude with giving you a fketch or two of my way of proceeding.

IF I have any bufinefs of confequence to do to-mor• row, I am fearce dropt afleep to-night but I am in the midst of it; and when awake I confider the whole proceffion of the affair, and get the advantage of the next day's experience before the fun has rifen upon it.

THERE is fcarce a great poft but what I have fome time or other been in; but my behaviour while I was mafter of a college, pleafes me fo well, that whenever there is a province of that nature vacant, I intend to step in as foon as I can.

I HAVE done many things that would not pafs examination, when I have had the art of flying or being in visible; for which reafon I am glad I am not poffeffed of thofe extraordinary qualities.

LASTLY, Mr SPECTATOR, I have been a great correfpondent of yours, and have read many of my letters in your paper which I never wrote you. If you have a mind I fhould really be fo, I have got a parcel of vifions and other mifcellanies in my noctuary, which

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