they underwent, and how impoflible it was for either of them ever to be happy. AFTER a long struggle between love and friendship, truth and jealoufy, they one day took a walk together into a wood, carrying their miftrefs along with them: where, after abundance of lamentations, they ftabbed her to the heart, of which the immediately died. A flave, who was at his work not far from the place where this aftonishing piece of cruelty was committed, hearing the fhricks of the dying perfon, ran to fee what was the occafion of them. He there difcovered the woman lying dead upon the ground, with the two negroes on each fide of her kiffing the dead corps, weeping over it, and beating their breafts in the utmoft agonies of grief and defpair. He immediately ran to the English family with the news of what he had feen; who, upon coming to the place, faw the woman dead, and the two negroes expiring by her with wounds they had gi ven themselves. WE fee in this amazing inftance of barbarity, what strange. diforders are bred in the minds of thofe men whofe paffions are not regulated by virtue, and difciplined by reason. Though the action which I have recited is in itfelf full of guilt and horror, it proceeded from a temper of mind. which might have produced very noble fruits, had it been informed and guided by a fuitable education. It is therefore an unspeakable bleffing to be born in those. parts of the world where wisdom, and knowledge flourish; though it must be confeffed, there are, even in thefe parts,. feveral poor uninftructed perfons, who are but little above the inhabitants of thofe nations of which I have been hereIpeaking; as thofe who have had the advantages of a more liberal education, ife above one another by feveral different degrees of perfection. For to return to our ftatue in the block of marble, we fee it fometimes only begun to be chipped, fometimes rough-hewn, and but just sketched into an human-figure; fometimes we fee the man appearing ditinctly in all his limbs and features, fometimes we find the figure wrought up to a great elegancy, but feldom meet with any to which the hand of a Fhidios or Fraxiteles could not give feveral nice touches and finishings. DISCOURSES of morality, and reflections upon Luman mature, are the best means we can inake ufe of to improve our minds, and gain a true knowledge of ourselves, and confequently to recover our fouls out of the vice, ignorance, and prejudice, which naturally cleave to them. I have all along profest myfelf in this paper a promoter of these great ends; and I flatter myself that I do from day to day contribute fomething to the polifhing of mens minds; at leaft my defign is laudable, whatever the execution may be. 1 muft confefs I am not a little encouraged in it by many letters which I recieve from unknown hands, in approbation of my endeavours; and must take this opportunity of returning my thanks to thofe who wrote them, and excufing myfelf for not inferting feveral of them in my papers, which I am fenfible would be a very great ornament to them. Should I publish the praises which are so well penned, they would do honour to the perfons who write them, but my publishing of them would, I fear, be a fufficient inftance to the world that. I did not deferve them. C. No 216. Wednesday, November 7. Siquidem bercle poffis, nil prius, neque fortius TER. Eun. act.. 1. fc. T. If indeed you can keep to your refolution, you will actTM a noble and a manly part; but if, when you have fet about it, your courage fails you, and you make a voluntary fubmiffion, acknowledging the violence of your paffion, and your inability to hold out any longer;: all's over with you; you are undone, and may go hang yourself; he will infult over you, when The finds you her flave. SIR, To MR SPECTATOR.. HIS is to inform you, that Mr Freeman had no foener taken coach, but his lady was taken with TH a terrible fit of the vapours, which 'tis feared will make her mifcarry, if not endanger her life; therefore, dear Sir, if you know of any receipt that is good against this fafhionable reigning diftemper, be pleafed to communicate it for the good of the public, and you will oblige Mr SPECTATOR, Tours, A. NOEWILL. T Spector Concerning Mrs Freeman, that after ma HE uprore was fo great affoon as I had read the ny revolutions in her temper, of raging, fwooning, railing, fainting, pitying herself, and reviling her husband, upon an accidental coming in of a neighbour lady (who fays he has writ to you alfo) fhe had nothing left for it but to fall in a fit. I had the honour to read the paper to her, and have a pretty good command of my countenance and temper on fuch occafions; and foon -found my historical name to be Tom Meggot in your writ ings, but concealed myfelf till I faw how it affected Mrs Freeman. She looked frequently at her husband < as often at me; and fhe did not tremble as fhe filled tea till fhe came to the circumftance of Armfrong's writing out a piece of Tully for an opera tune: then the burst 6 out, She was expofed, he was deceived, the was wrong⚫ed and abused. The tea-cup was thrown in the fire; and without taking vengeance on her fpoufe, fhe faid of me, That I was a pretending coxcomb, a medler that knew not what it was to interpofe in fo nice an affair as between a man and his wife. To which Mr Freeman, Madam, were I lefs fond of you than I am, Ifhould not have taken this way of writing to the Spator, to inform a woman whom God and nature has placed under my direction, with what I request of her; but fince you are fo indifcreet as not to take the hint which I gave you in that paper, I must tell you, Madam, in fo many words, that you have for a long and tedious fpace of time acted a part unfuitable to the fenfe you ought to have of the sub. ordination in which you are placed. And I muft acquaint you once for all, that the fellow without, ha, Tom (here the footman entered and anfwered, Madam) Sirrah, do you not know my voice! look upon me when I speak to 1 to you: I fay, Madam, this fellow here is to know of me myfelf, whether I am at leifure to fee company or not.. I am, from this hour, mafter of this houfe; and my bufinefs in it, and every where elfe, is to behave myself in fuch a manner, as it thall be hereafter an honour to you to bear my name and your pride, that you are the delight, the darling and ornament of a man of honour, ufe-. ful and efteemed by his friends; and I no longer one that has buried fome merit in the world, in compliance to a froward humour which has grown upon an agreeable woman by his indulgence. Mr Freeman ended this with a tenderness in his afpect and a down-caft eye; which fhewed he was extremely moved at the anguifh he faw her in; for the fat fwelling with paffion, and her eyes firmly. fixed on the fire; when I, fearing he would lofe all again, 6. took upon me to provoke her out of that amiable forrow fhe was in, to fall upon me; upon which I faid very feafonably for my friend, That indeed Mr Freeman was become the common talk of the town, and that nothing was fo much a jeft, as when it was faid in company, Mr Freeman has promised to come to fuch a place. Upon which the good lady turned her foftness into downright rage, and threw the fcalding tea-kettle upon your humble fervant; flew into the middle of the room, and cried out "the was the unfortunatest of all women: others kept fas mily diffatisfaction for hours of privacy and retirment ; no apology was to be made to her, no expedient to be found, no previous manner of breaking what was amifs in her; but all the world was to be acquainted with her errors, without the leaft admonition. Mr Freeman. was going to make a foft'ning fpeech, but I interpofed. Look you, Madam, I have nothing to fay to this matter but you ought to confider you are now paft a chicken 'this humour which was well enough in a girl, is infufferable, in one of your motherly character. With that fhe loft all patience, and flew directly at her husband's periwig. I got her in my arms, and defended my friend: he making figns at the fame time that it was too much I beckoning, nodding, and frowning over her fhoulder, that he was loft if he did not perfift. In this manner fhe flew round and round the room in a moment, till the lady I fpoke of above and fervants entered; upon which I ftill kept up my fhe fell on a couch as breathlefs. friend but he, with a very filly air, bid them bring the "coach to the door, and we went off, I forced to bid the coachman drive on. We were no fooner come to my lodgings but all his wife's relations came to inquire after him; and Mrs Freeman's mother write a note, where-in she thought never to have seen this day, and fo forth.. In a word, Sir, I am afraid we are upon a thing we have no talents for; and I can observe already, my friend ́ looks upon me rather as a man that knows a weakness of him that he is afhamed of, than one who has rescued him from flavery. Mr SPECTATOR, I am but a young fellow, and if Mr Freeman fubmits, I fhall be looked upon as an incendiary, and never get a wife as long as I breathe. He has indeed fent word home he shall lye at Hampstead to night; but I believe fear of the first onfet after this rupture has too great a place in this refolution. Mrs Freeman has a very pretty fifter; fuppofe I deli ❝vered him up, and articled with the mother for her bringing him home. If he has not courage to ftand it, (you are a great cafuift) is it such an ill thing to bring myself off, as well as I can ? What makes me doubt my man, is, that I find he thinks it reasonable to expoftulate at leaft with her and Captain SENTRY will tell you, if you let your orders be difputed, you are no longer a com❝.mander. I wish you could advise me how to get clear of this bufinefs handfomly. Yours, Tom Meggots Thursday, November 8.. No 217. Tunc famina fimplex, Et pariter toto repetitur clamor ab antro. Juv. fat. 6. v. 326.. Thence unrestrain'd by rules of decency, I SHALL entertain my reader to-day with fome letters from my correfpondents. The firft of them is the defcription of a club, whether real or imaginary, I cannot deter |