senderness and commiferation, than the conferring of them; and that the taking care of any perfon fhould endear the child or dependent more to the parent or benefactor, than the parent or benefactor to the child or dependent; yet fo it happens, that for one cruel parent we meet with a thousand undutiful children. This is indeed wonderfully contrived (as I have formerly obferved) for the fupport of every living fpecies; but at the fame time that it fhews the wisdom of the Creator, it discovers the imperfection and degeneracy of the

creature.

The obedience of children to their parents is the bafis of all government, and set forth as the meafure of that obedience which we owe to thofe whom Providence hath placed over us.

It is father Le Compte, if I am not mistaken, who tells us how want of duty in this particular is pu nifhed among the Chineje, infomuch that if a fon. fhould be known to kill, or fo much as to strike his father, not only the criminal but his whole family would be rooted out, nay the inhabitants of the place where he lived would be put to the fword, nay the place itfelf would be razed to the ground, and its foundations fown with falt: For, fay they, there must have been an utter depravation of man-ners in that clan or fociety of people who could have bred up among them fo horrid an offender. To this I fhall add a paffage out of the first book of Herodotus. That hiftorian in his account of the Perfian cuftoms and religion, tells us, It is their opinion that no man ever killed his father, or that it is poffible fuch a crime fhould be in nature; but that if any thing like it fhould ever happen, they. conclude that the reputed fon muft have been illegitimate, fuppofititious, or begotten in adultery. Their opinion in this particular fhews fufficiently what a notion they must have had of undutifulness in general. MONDAY,

L

Servitus crefcit nova― HOR. Od. viif., I. 2. v. 18. A fervitude to former times unknown..

SINCE

INCE I made fome reflections upon the general negligence ufed in the cafe of regard towards women, or, in others words, fince I talked of wenching; I have had epiftles upon that fubject, which I fhall, for the prefent entertainment, infert as they lie before me.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

AS your fpeculations are not confined to any part

of human life,but concern the wicked as welt as the good, I muft defire your favourable acceptance of what I, a poor ftrolling girl about town, have to fay to you. I was told by a Roman Catholick Gentleman who picked me up laft week, and who, I hope, is abfolved for what paffed between us; I fay, I was told by fuch a perfon, who endeavoured to convert me to his own religion, that in countries where Popery prevails, befides the advantage of licensed stews, there are large endowments given for the Incura→ bili, I think he called them, fuch as are past alk remedy, and are allowed fuch maintainance and fupport as to keep them without farther care until they expire. This manner of treating poor finners has, methinks, great humanity in it; and as you are a perfon who pretend to carry your reflections upon all fubjects whatever occur to you, with candour, and act above the fenfe of what milinterpretation you may meet with, I beg the favour of you to lay before all the world the unhappy condition of us poor vagrants, who are really in a way of labour instead of idleness. There are crouds of us whofe manner of liveli

hood

'hood has long ceafed to be pleafing to us; and 'who would willingly lead a new life, if the rigour of the virtuous did not for ever expel us from coming into the world again. As it now happens, to the eternal infamy of the male fex, falfehood among you is not reproachful, but credulity in women is infamous.

Give me leave, Sir, to give you my hiftory. You are to know that I am a daughter of a man of a good reputation, tenant to a man of quality. • The heir of this great houfe took it in his head " to caft a favourable eye upon me, and fucceeded. I do not pretend to fay he promised me marriage I was not a creature filly enough to be ta 'ken by fo foolish a story: But he ran away with me up to this town, and introduced me to a grave matron, with whom I boarded for a day or two with great gravity, and was not a little pleafed with the change of my condition, from ⚫ that of a country life to the finest company, as I believed, in the whole world. My humble fervant made me understand that I should be always kept in the plentiful condition I then enjoyed; ' when after a very great fondnefs towards me, he one day took his leave of me for four or five days. "In the evening of the fame day my good landla⚫dy came to me, and obferving me very penfive,

began to comfort me, and with a fmile told me "I muft fee the world. When I was deaf to all the ⚫ could fay to divert me, fhe began to tell me with. ' a very frank air that I must be treated as I ought, • and not take thefe fqueamish humours upon me, for my friend had left me to the town; and, as their phrafe is, the expected I would fee company, or I must be treated like what I had brought • myself to. This put me into a fit of crying: And I immediately, in a true fenfe of my condi⚫tion, threw myfelf on the floor, deploring iny fate, ⚫ calling upon all that was good and facred to fuc

·

cour

cour ine. While I was in all this agony, I ob• ferved a decrepid old fellow come into the room, and looking with a fenfe of pleasure in his face at all my vehemence and tranfport. In a pause ' of my distress I heard him fay to the fhamelefs old woman, who ftood by me, fhe is certainly a new face, or elfe the acts it rarely. With that 'the Gentlewoman, who was making her market of me, in all the turn of my perfon, the heaves of paffion, and the suitable changes of my pofture, took occafion to commend my neck, my shape, my eyes, my limbs. All this was accompanied with fuch speeches as you may have heard • horfe-courfers make in the fale of nags, when they are warranted for their foundness. You understand by this time that I was left in a brothel, and expofed to the next bidder that could purchase me of my patronefs. This is fo much the work of hell; the pleasure in the poffeffion of us wenches abates in proportion to the degrees we go beyond the bounds of innocence; and no man is gratified, if there is nothing left for him to debauch. Well, Sir, my first man, when I came upon the town, was Sir Jeoffry Foible, who was very lavish to me of his mo· ney, and took fuch a fancy to me that he would have carried me off, if my patronefs would have taken any reasonable terms for me: But as he was old, his covetoufnefs was his ftrongest paffion, and poor I was foon left expofed to be the common refuse of all the rakes and debauchees in town. I cannot tell whether you will do me juftice or no, until I fee whether you སྙ print this or not; otherwife, as I now live with Sal, I could give you a very just account of who and who is together in this town. You perhaps won't believe it; but I know of one who prêtends to be a very good Proteftant, who lies with a Roman Catholick: But more of this hereafter,

6

-6

There do come to our

after, as you please me. house the greatest politicians of the age; and Sal • iş more fhrewd than any body thinks: No body can believe that fuch wife men could go to baudy⚫ houses out of idle purposes. I have heard them often talk of Auguftus Cæfar, who had intrigues with the wives of fenators, not out of wantonnefs but stratagem.

It is a thousand pities you fhould be fo feverely 'virtuous as I fear you are; otherwife, after one 'vifit or two, you would foon understand that we women of the town are not fuch ufelefs correfpondents as you may imagine: You have undoubtedly heard that it was a courtefan who difcovered Cataline's confpiracy. If you print this, 'I will tell you more; and am in the mean time, SIR,

• Mr. SPECTATOR,

I

Aм an idle young woman that would work for my livelihood, but that I am kept in fuch a manner as I cannot ftir out. My tyrant is an old jealous fellow, who allows me nothing to appear in. I have but one fhoe and one flipper; no head-drefs, and no upper petticoat. As you fet up for a reformer, I defire you would take me out of this wicked way, and keep me yourself. • EVE AFTERDAY."

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I AM to complain to you of a fet of impertinent coxcombs, who vifit the apartments of us women of the town, only, as they call it, to fee the world. I must confefs to you, this to men of delicacy might have an effect to cure them; but as they are stupid, noify, and drunken fellows, it tends only to make vice in themselves, as they think, pleasant and humourous, and at the fame