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of writing) as have escaped public notice, or have been mifreprefented to the world; provided that I am still within rules, and trefpafs not as a 'I atler any farther than in an incorrectness of ftile, and writing in an air of common speech. Thus, if any thing that is faid, even of old Anchifes or Eneas, be fet by me in a different light than has hitherto been hit upon, in order to inspire the love and admiration of worthy actions, you will, gentle reader, I hope, accept of it for intelligence you had not before. But I am going upon a narrative, the matter of which I know to be true: It is not only doing justice to the deceased merit of fuch perfons, as, had they lived, would not have had it in their power to thank me, but alfo an inftance of the greatnefs of fpirit in the lowest of her Majefty's fubjects. Take it as follows:

At the fiege of Namur by the Allies, there were in the ranks of the company commanded by Captain Pincent, in Colonel Frederick Hamilton's regiment, one Unnion a corporal, and one Valentine a private centinel: There happened between those two men a difpute about a matter of Love, which, upon fome aggravations, grew to an irreconcileable hatred. Unnion being the officer of Valentine, took all opportunities even to trike his rival, and profefs the fpite and revenge which moved him to it. The centinel bore it without refiftance; but frequently faid, he would die to be revenged of that tyrant. They had spent whole months thus, one injuring, the other complaining; when in the midft of this rage towards. each other, they were commanded upon the attack of the caftle, where the corporal received a hot in the thigh, and fell; the French preffing on, and he expecting to be trampled to death, called out to his enemy, Ah, Valentine! can you leave me here? Valentine immediately ran back, and in the midst of a thick fire of the French took the corporal upon his back, and brought him through all that danger as far as the Abbey of Salfine, where a cannon ball took off his head: His body fell under his enemy whom he was carrying off. Unnion immediately forgot his wound, rofe up, tearing his hair, and then threw himself upon the bleeding carcass, crying, ah, Valentine! was it for me who have fo barbaroufly used thee, that thou hast died? I will not live

after

after thee. He was not by any means to be forced from the body, but was removed with it bleeding in his arms, and attended with tears by all their comrades who knew their enmity. When he was brought to a tent, his wounds were dreffed by force; but the next day ftill calling upon Valentine, and lamenting his cruelties to him, he died in the pangs of remorse and despair.

It may be a queftion among men of noble fentiments, whether of thefe unfortunate perfons had the greater Soul? he that was fo generous as to venture his life for his enemy, or he who could not farvive the man that died, in laying upon him fuch an obligation?

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When we fee fpirits like thefe in a people, to what heights may we not fuppofe their glory may rife? but (as it is excellently obferved in Salluft) it is not only to the general bent of a nation that great revolutions are owing, but to the extraordinary genio's that led them. On which occafion he proceeds to fay, that the Roman greatnefs was neither to be attributed to their fuperior policy; for in that the Carthaginians excelled; nor to their valcur, for in that the French were preferable; but to particular men, who were born for the good of their country, and formed for great attempts. This he fays to introduce the characters of Cæfar and Cato. would be entering into too weighty a difcourfe for this place, if I attempted to fhew, that our nation has produced as great and able men for public affairs as any other. But I believe the reader outruns me, and fixes his imagination upon the Duke of Marlborough. It is, methinks, a pleafing reflection to confider the difpenfations of providence in the fortune of this illuftrious man, who, in the space of forty years, has paffed through all the gradations of human life, until he has afcended to the character of a Prince, and become the fcourge of a tyrant, who fat in one of the greatest thrones in Europe, before the man who was to have the greatest part in his downfal, had made one ftep into the world. But fuch elevations are the natural confequences of an exact prudence, a calm courage, a well governed temper, a patient ambition, and an affable behaviour. Thefe arts,

as they were the fteps to his greatnefs, fo they are the pillars of it now it is raifed. To this, her glorious fon,

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Great Britain is indebted for the happy conduct of her arms, in whom she can boat, that he has produced a man formed by Nature to lead a nation of Heroes.

N° 6. Saturday, April 23, 1709.

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Will's Coffee-house, April 22.

AM juft come from vifiting Sappho, a fine Lady, who writes verfes, fings, dances, and can fay and do whatever the pleafes, without the imputation of any thing that can injure her character; for fhe is fo well known to have no paffion but felf-love; or folly, but affectation; that now, upon any occafion, they only cry, "It is her way, and, that is fo like her," without farther reflection. As I came into the room, fhe cries, Oh! Mr. Bickerstaff, I am utterly undone; I have broke that pretty Italian fan I fhewed you when you were here laft, wherein were fo admirably drawn our first parents in Paradife, asleep in each other's arms. But there is fuch an affinity between painting and poetry, that I have been improving the images which were raised by that picture, by reading the fame reprefentation in two of our greatest poets. Look you, here are the paffages in Milton and in Dryden. All Milton's thoughts are wonderfully juft and natural, in that inimitable defcription which Adam makes of himself in the eighth book of Paradife Loft. But there is none of them finer than that contained in the following lines, where he tells us his thoughts, when he was falling asleep a little after the creation:

While thus I call'd, and fray'd I knew not whither,
From whence I firft drew air, and first beheld
This happy light; when anfwer none return'd,
On a green fhady bank, profufe of flowers,
Penfive I fate me down, there gentle fleep

First found me, and with foft oppreffion feiz'd
My drowned fenfe, untroubled, though I thought
I then was paffing to my former state
Infenfible, and forthwith to diffolve.

But now I cannot forgive this odious thing, this Dryden, who, in his State of Innocence, has given my great grandmother Eve the fame apprehenfion of annihilation on a very different occafion; as Adam pronounces it of himself, when he was feized with a pleafing kind of ftupor and dead nefs, Eve fancies herfelf falling away, and diffolving in the hurry of a rapture. However, the verfes are very good, and I do not know but what he' fays may be natural; I will read them:

When your kind eyes look'd languishing on mine,
And wreathing arms did foft embraces join;
A doubtful trembling feiz'd me firft all o'er,
Then wishes, and a warmth unknown before;
What follow'd was all ecftafy and trance,
Immortal pleasures round my swimming eyes did dance,
And fpeechlefs joys, in whofe fweet tumults toft,
I thought my breath and my new Being lost.

She went, and faid a thoufand good things at random, but fo ftrangely mixed, that you would be apt to fay, all her wit is mere good luck, and not the effect of reafon and judgment. When I made my efcape hither, I found a Gentleman playing the critic on two other great Poets, even Virgil and Homer. He was obferving, that Virgil is more judicious than the other in the epithets he gives his Hero. Homer's ufual epithet, faid he, 18 Ποδας ωκυς, or Ποδάρκης, and his indifcretion has been often rallied by the critics, for mentioning the nimble. nefs of foot in Achilles, though he defcribes him ftanding, fitting, lying down, fighting, eating, drinking, or in any other circumftance, however foreign or repugnant to speed and activity. Virgil's common epithet to Eneas is Pius, or Pater. I have therefore confidered, faid he, what paffage there is in any of his Hero's actions, where either of thefe appellations would have been moft improper, to fee if I could catch him at the

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No 6 fame fault with Homer: And this, I think, is his meeting with Dido in the cave, where Pius Eneas would have been abfurd, and Pater Eneas a burlefque: The Poet has therefore wifely dropped them both for Dux Trojanus.

Speluncam Dido dux & Trojanus eandem ·
Deveniunt

Which he has repeated twice, in Juno's fpeech and his own narration: For he very well knew, a loose action might be confiftent enough with the ufual manners of a foldier, though it became neither the chastity of a pieus man, nor the gravity of the father of a people.

Grecian Coffee-house, April 22.

While other parts of the town are amused with the prefent actions, we generally fpend the evening at this table in enquiries into antiquity, and think any thing News which gives us new knowledge. Thus we are making a very pleafant entertainment to ourfelves, in putting the actions of Homer's Iliad into an exact Journal.

This Poem is introduced by Chryfes, King of Chryfa and Priest of Apollo, who comes to re-demand. his daughter, who had been carried off at the taking of that city, and given to Agamemnon for his part of the booty. The refufal he received enrages Apollo, who for nine days howered down darts upon them, which occafioned the peftilence.

The tenth day Achilles affembled the Council, and encourages Chalcas to speak for the furrender of Chyfeïs, to appeafe Apollo. Agamemnon and Achilles ftorm at one another, notwithstanding which, Agamemnon will not release his prifoner, unless he has Brifeis in her ftead. After long conteftations, wherein Agamemnon gives a glorious character of Achilles's valour, he determines to reftore Chryfeis to her father, and fends two heralds to fetch away Brifeïs from Achilles, who abandons himself to forrow and defpair. His mother Thetis comes to comfort him under his affliction, and promifes to reprefent his forrowful lamention to Jupiter: But he could not

attend

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