fat in the throne of it. The laziness of this Prince threw him upon the choice of a perfon who was fit to spend his life in contentions, an able and profound Attorney, to whom he mortgaged his whole empire. This Divite is the most kilful of all politicians: He has a perfect art in being unintelligible in difcourfe, and uncomeatable in business. But he, having no understanding in this polite way, brought in upon us, to get in his money, ladder-dancers, rope-dancers, jugglers, and mountebanks, to ftrut in the place of Shakespear's heroes, and Johnson's humourists. When the feat of wit was thus mortgaged, without equity of redemption, an architect arofe, who has built the Mufe a new palace, but fecured her no retinue; so that instead of Action there, we have been put off by Song and Dance. This later help of found has alfo began to fail for want of voices; there fore the palace has fince been put into the hands of a Surgeon, who cuts any foreign fellow into an Eunuch, and paffes him upon us for a finger of Italy. Ac. I will go out of town to-morrow. Friend. Things are come to this pafs; and yet the world will not understand, that the theatre has much the fame effect on the manners of the age, as the Bank on the credit of the nation. Wit and fpirit, humour and good fenfe, can never be revived, but under the government of those who are judges of fuch talents, who know, that whatever is put up in their ftead, is but a fhort and trifling expedient, to fupport the appearance of them for a feaion. It is poffible, a peace will give leisure to put these matters under new regulations; but, at prefent, all the affiftance we can fee towards our recovery is as far from giving us help, as a poultice is from performing what can be done only by the Grand Elixir. Will's Coffee-houfe, May 6. According to our late defign in the applauded verfes on the Morning, which you lately had from hence, we proceed to improve that juft intention, and present you with other labours, made proper to the place in which they were written. The following Poem comes from Copenhagen, and is as fine a winter-piece as we have ever VOL. I. E had had from any of the fchools of the most learned Painters. Such images as thefe give us a new pleasure in our fight, and fix upon our minds traces of reflexion, which accompany us whenever the like objects occur. In short, excellent poetry and description dwell upon us fo agreeably, that all the readers of them are made to think, if not write, like men of wit. But it would be injury to detain you longer from this excellent performance, which is addreffed to the Earl of Dorfet by Mr. Philips, the author of several choice poems in Mr. Tonfon's new Mifcellany. Copenhagen, March 9, 1709. From frozen climes, and endless tracts of fnow, No gentle breathing breeze prepares the spring, The hips unmov'd the boilt'rous winds defy, And yet but lately have I feen, ev'n here, The The face of Nature in a rich disguise, And ev'ry pointed thorn, feem'd wrought in glass, The ftag in limpid currents, with furprize, The crackling wood beneath the tempeft bends, And journies faid beneath the dropping trees. From my own Apartment, May 6. There has a mail this day arrived from Holland; but the matter of the advices importing rather what gives us great expectations, than any pofitive affurances, 1-fhall, for this time, decline giving you what I know; and apply the following verfes of Mr. Dryden, in the fecond part of Almanzor, to the prefent circumftances of things, E 2 withou without discovering what my 'knowledge in aftronomy fuggefts to me. When Empire in its childhood first appears, A watchful fate o'erfees its tender years: Till grown more ftrong, it thrufts and ftretches out, The place thus made for its firft breathing free, No 13. Tuesday, May 10, '1709. From my own Apartment, May 8. UCH hurry and bufinefs had to day perplexed me into a mood too thoughtful for going into company; for which reafon, inftead of the tavern, I went into Lincoln's-Inn Walks; and having taken a round or two, I fat down, according to the allowed familiarity of these places, on a bench; at the other end of which fat a venerable gentleman, who fpeaking with a very affable air, "Mr. Bickerstaff," said he, “ I take it " for a very great piece of good fortune that you have found me out." "Sir," faid I, "I had never, that "I know of, the honour of feeing you before." That," replied he, " is what I have often lamented; but I af* fure you, I have for many years done you many good offices, without being obferved by you; or elfe, "when you had any little glimpse of my being concerned in an affair, you have fled from me, and *fhunned me like an enemy; but however, the part I ·66 66. 65 you. am to act in the world is fuch, that I am to go on in "doing good,, though I meet with never fo many re"pulfes, even from thofe I oblige." This, thought 1, fhows a great good-nature, but little judgment in the perfons upon whom he confers his favours. He immediately took notice to me, that he obferved by my countenance I thought him indifcreet in his beneficence, and proceeded to tell me his quality in the following manner :: I know thee, Ifaac, to be fo well verfed in the "Occult Sciences, that I need not much preface, or "make long preparations to gain your faith that there are Airy Beings, who are employed in the care and "attendance of men, as nurses are to infants, until they come to an age in which they can act of themfelves. "Thefe Beings are ufually called amongst men, Guar"dian Angels; and, Mr. Bickerstaff, I am to acquaint that I am to be yours for fome time to come; it being our orders to vary our ftations, and fometimes ❝to have one patient under our protection, and fometimes another, with a power of affuming what fhape we please, to enfnare our Wards into their own good.. “I have of late been upon fuch hard duty, and know you have fo much work for me, that I think fit to appear to you face to face, to defire you will give me 66 as little occafion for vigilance as you can." Sir," faid I," it will be a great inftruction to me in beha"viour, if you please to give me fome account of your late employments, and what hardships or fatisfactions you have had in them, that I may govern myself accordingly." He answered, To give you an example of the drudgery we go through, I will entertain you only with my three laft ftations: I was on the first of April laft put to mortify a great Beauty, with whom £ was a week; from her I went to a common Swearer, and have been laft with a Gamefter. When I first came to my Lady, I found my great work was to guard well her eyes and ears; but her flatterers were fo numerous, and the houfe, after the modern way, fo full of lookingglaffes, that I feldom had her fafe but in her fleep. Whenever we went abroad, we were furrounded by an army of enemies: when a well-made man appeared, he E. 3: was |