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From my own Apartment.

After the laffitude of a day, spent in the ftrolling manner, which is usual with men of pleasure in this town, and with a head full of a million of impertinencies, which had danced round it for ten hours together, I came to my lodging, and haftened to bed. My Valet de Chambre knows my univerfity-trick of reading there; and he, being a good scholar for a Gentleman, ran over the names of Horace, Tibullus, Ovid, and others, to know which I would have. Bring Virgil, faid I; and, if I fall asleep, take care of the candle. I read the fixth book over with the most exquifite delight, and had gone half through it a fecond time, when the pleafant ideas of Elyfian fields, deceafed Worthies walking in them, fincere lovers enjoying their languishment without pain, compaffion for the unhappy fpirits who had mifpent their fhort day-light, and were exiled from the feats of blifs for ever; I fay, I was deep again in my reading, when this mixture of images had taken place of all others in my imagination before, and lulled me into a dream, from which I am juft awake, to my great difadvantage. The happy manfions of Elyftum, by degrees, feemed to be wafted from me, and the very traces of my late waking thoughts began to fade away, when I was caft by a fudden whirlwind upon an island, encompaffed with a roaring and troubled fea, which shaked its very centre, and rocked its inhabitants as in a cradle. The islanders lay on their faces without of fering to look up, or hope for prefervation; all the harbours were crowded with mariners, and tall veffels of war lay in danger of being driven to pieces on her fhores. Blefs me faid I, why have I lived in such a manner, that the convulfion of Nature fhould be fo terrible to me, when I feel in myself that the better part of me is to survive it? Oh! may that be in happiness. A fudden fhriek, in which the whole people on their faces joined, interrupted my foliloquy, and turned my eyes and attention to the object which had given us that fudden start, in the midst of an inconfolable and speechlefs affliction. Immediately the winds grew calm, the

waves fubfided, and the people ftood up, turning their faces upon a magnificent pile in the midst of the island. There we beheld an Hero of a comely and erect aspect, but pale and languid, fitting under a canopy of ftate. By the faces and dumb forrow of those who attended, we thought him in the article of death. At a diftauce fat a 'Lady, whofe life feemed to hang upon the fame thread with his: She kept her eyes fixed upon him, and feemed to fmother ten thousand thousand nameless things, which urged her tenderness to clasp him in her arms: But her greatnefs of fpirit overcame thofe fentiments, and gave her power to forbear difturbing his last moment; which immediately approached. The Hero looked up with an air of negligence, and fatiety of Being, rather than of pain to leave it; and, leaning back his head, expired.

When the Heroine, who fat at a distance, faw his laft inftant come, fhe threw herfelf at his feet, and kneeling, preffed his hand to her lips, in which posture fhe continued under the agony of an unutterable forrow, until conducted from our fight by her attendants. That commanding awe, which accompanies the grief of great minds, reftrained the multitude while in her prefence; but as foon as the retired, they gave way to their distraction, and all the islanders called upon their deceafed Hero. To him, methought, they cried out, as to a guardian Being; and I gathered from their broken. accents, that it was he who had the empire over the Ocean and its powers, by which he had long protected the island from fhipwreck and invafion. They now give a loose to their moan, and think themselves expofed without hopes of human or divine affiftance. While the people ran wild, and expreffed all the diffe rent forms of lamentation, methought a fable cloud overshadowed the whole land, and covered its inhabitants with darkness: No glimpfe of light appeared, except one ray from heaven upon the place in which the Heroine now fecluded herself from the world, with her eyes fixed on those abodes to which her Confort was afcended. Methought a long period of time had paffed away in mourning and in darkness, when a twilight began by degrees to enlighten the hemifphere; and, VOL. I. locking

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looking round me, I faw a boat rowed towards the fhore, in which fat a perfonage adorned with warlike trophies, bearing on his left arm a fhield, on which was engraven the image of Victory, and in his righthand a branch of olive. His vifage was at once fo winning and fo awful, that the fhield and the olive feemed equally fuitable to his genius.

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When this illuftrious perfon touched on the shore, he was received by the acclamations of the people, and followed to the palace of the Heroine. No pleasure in the glory of her arms, or the acclamations of her applauding fubjects, were ever capable to fufpend her forrow for one moment, until fhe faw the olive-branch in the hand of that aufpicious meffenger. At that fight, as Heaven beflows its bleffings on the wants and importunities of mortals, out of its native bounty, and not to increase its own power or honour, in compaffion to the world, the celeftial Mourner was then firft feen to turn her regard to things below; and taking the branch out of the warrior's hand, looked at it with much fatisfaction, and spoke of the bleffings of peace, with a voice and accent, fuch as that in which guardian Spirits whisper to dying penitents affurances of happiness. The air was hufhed, the multitude attentive, and all Nature in a paufe while fhe was fpeaking. But as foon as the meffenger of peace had made fome low reply, in which, methought I heard the word Iberia, the Heroine affuming a more fevere air, but fuch as spoke resolution without rage, returned him the olive, and again veiled her face. Loud cries and clashing of arms immediately followed, which forced me from my charming vifion, and drove me back to these mansions of care and forrow.

About this time the Duke of Marlborough returned from Hol hand, with the preliminaries of a peace.

Saturday,

N° 9.

Saturday, April 30, 1709.

Will's Coffee-house, April 28.

HIS Evening we were entertained with The Ola Bachelor, a Comedy of deferved reputation. In the character which gives name to the Play, there is excellently reprefented the reluctance of a battered debauchee to come into the trammels of order and decency : He neither languishes nor burns, but frets for love. The Gentlemen of more regular behaviour are drawn with much spirit and wit, and the drama introduced by the dialogue of the first scene with uncommon, yet natural converfation. The part of Fondlerwife is a lively image of the unfeasonable fondnefs of age and impo-tence. But instead of such agreeable works as thefe, the town has for half an age, been tormented with infects called Easy Writers, whofe abilities Mr. Wycherly one day described excellently well in one word: 66 That, "faid he, among these fellows is called Eafy Writing, "which any one may eafily write." Such janty fcribblers are fo juftly laughed at for their fonnets on Phillis and Chloris, and fantastical defcriptions in them, that an ingenious kinfman of mine, of the family of the Staffs, Mr. Humphrey Wagfiaff by name, has, to avoid their strain, run into a way perfectly new, and described things exactly as they happen: He never forms fields, or nymphs, or groves, where they are not; but makes the incidents juft as they really appear. For an example of it; I ftole out of his manufcript the following lines: They are a defcription of the morning, but of the morning in town; nay, of the morning at this end of the town, where my kinfman at prefent lodges.

Now hardly here and there an hackney-coach
Appearing, fhow'd the ruddy morn's approach.
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Now

Now Betty from her mafter's bed had flown,
And foftly stole to difcompofe her own.

The flipfhod 'prentice, from his master's door,
Had par'd the street, and fprinkled round the floor;
Now Moll had whirl'd her mop with dext'rous airs,
Prepar'd to scrub the entry and the ftairs.

The youth with broomy ftumps began to trace
The kennel-edge, where wheels had worn the place.
The fmall-coal-man was heard with cadence deep,
Tiil drown'd in fhriller notes of Chimney-fweep.
Duns at his Lord fhip's gates began to meet;
And brick-duft Moll had fcream'd thro' half a ftreet:
The turnkey now his flock returning fees,
Duly let out a' nights to steal for fees.

The watchful bailiffs take their filent ftands;
And school-boys lag with fatchels in their hands.

All that I apprehend is, that dear Numps will be angry I have published thefe lines; not that he has any. reafon to be ashamed of them, but for fear of thofe rogues, the bane to all excellent performances, the Imitators. Therefore, before-hand, I bar all defcriptions of the Evening; as, a medley of verfes fignifying grey-peas are now cried warm; that wenches now be gin to amble round the paffages of the playhouse: Or of Noon; as, that fine Ladies and great Beaus are juft yawning out of their beds and windows in Pall-Mall, and fo forth. I forewarn alfo all perfons from encouraging any draughts after my coufin; and foretel any man who fhall go about to imitate him, that he will be very infipid. The family-flock is embarked in this defign, and we will not admit of counterfeits: Dr. Anderfon and his heirs enjoy his pills; Sir William Read has the cure of eyes, and Monfieur Roffelli only can cure the gout. We pretend to none of these things; but to examine who and who are together, to tell any mistaken man he is not what he believes he is, to diftinguish merit, and expofe falfe pretences to it, is a liberty our family has by law in them, from an intermarriage with a daughter of Mr. Scoggin, the famous Droll of the laft century. This Right I defign to make use of; but I will not encroach upon the above-mentioned adepts, or

any

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