determine; but am apt to fancy, that the writer of it whoever he is, has formed a kind of nocturnal orgie out of her own fancy whether this be fo or not, her letter may conduce to the amendment of that kind of persons who' are represented in it, and whofe characters are frequent enough in the world.

5-6

6

MR SPECTATOR,

N fome of your firft papers you were pleafed to give

we

the public a very diverting account of feveral clubs and nocturnal affemblies; but I am a member of a fociety which has wholly escaped your notice, I mean a club of 'fhe-romps. We take each a hackney-coach, and meet once a week in a large upper chamber, which we hire by the year for that purpofe; our landlord and his family, who < are quiet people, conftantly contriving to be abroad on our club-night. We are no fooner come together, than throw off all that modesty and refervedness with which our fex are obliged to difguife themfelves in public places. I am not able to exprefs the pleasure we enjoy from ten at night till four in the morning, in being as rude as you men can be for your lives. As our play runs high, the room is immediately filled with broken fans, torn petticoats, lappets or head-dreffes, flounces, furbelows, garters, and working aprons. I had forgot to tell you at firft, that befides the coaches we came in ourselves, there is one which stands always empty to carry off our dead men, for fo we call all thofe fragments and tatters with which the room is ftrew'd, and which we pack up together in bundles and put into the aforesaid coach; it is no finall diverfion for us to meet the next night at fóme member's chamber, where every one is to pick out what. belonged to her from this confused bundle in filks, stuffs, laces, and ribbonds. I have hitherto given you an account of our diverfion on ordinary club-nights; but muft acquaint you further, that once a month we demolish a prude, that is, we get fome queer formal creature in among us, and unrig her in an inftant. Our last month's prude wasfo armed and fortified in whalebone and buckram that we had much ado to come at her; but you would have died with laughing to have feen how the fo~ber aukward thing looked when he was forced out of

her

you

⚫ her intrenchments. In fhort, Sir, it is impoffible to give ✓ you a true notion of our sport, unless would come one night among us; and tho' it be directly against the rules of our fociety to admit a male vifitant, we repose fo much confidence in your filence and taciturnity, that it was agreed by the whole club, at our last meeting, to give you entrance for one night as a spectator.

I am your humble fervant,

Kitty Termagant

P. S. IVe fhall demolish a prude next Thursday.

Tao'I thank Kitty for her kind offer, I do not at prefent find in myfelf any inclination to venture my perfon with her and her romping companions. 1 fhould regard myfelf as a fecond Clodius intruding on the myfterious rites of the bna dea, and fhould apprehend being demolished as much as the prude.

The following letter cones from a gentleman, whose tafte I find is much too delicate to endure the leaft advance towards romping. I may perhaps hereafter improve upon the hint he has given me, and make it the fubject of a whole fpeator; in the mean time take it as follows in his own words.

Mr SPECTATOR,

Iture who is daily committing faults, which, though

Tis my misfortune to be in love with a young crea

they give me the utmoft uneafinefs, I know not how to reprove her for, or even acquaint her with. She is pretty, dreffes well, is rich, and good-humour; but either wholly neglects, or has no notion of that which polite people have agreed to distinguish by the name of Delicacy. After our return from a walk the other day The threw herfelf into an elbow-chair, and profeffed before a large company, that he was all over in a sweat. She told me this afternoon that her fomach aked; and was complaining yesterday at dinner of fomething that fuck in her teeth. I treated her with a basket of fruit laft fummer, which the eat fo very greedily, as almoft made me refolve never to fee her more. In short, Sir, I begin to tremble whenever I fee her about to fpeak or move. As fhe does not want fenfe, if she takes these

'hints I am happy; if not, I am more than afraid, that these things which fhock me even in the behaviour of a 'mistress, will appear insupportable in that of a wife. I am, Sir, yours, &c.

My next letter comes from a correfpondent whom I cannot but much value, upon the account which she

very

gives of herself.

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MR SPECTATOR,

I AM happily arrived at a state of tranquielity, which few people envy, I mean that of an old maid; there'fore being wholly unconcerned in all that medley of follies which our fex is apt to contract from their filly fondnefs of yours, I read your ralleries on us without provocation. I can fay with Hamlet,

-Man delights not me,

Nor women neither

Therefore, dear Sir, as you never fpare your own fex, do not be afraid of reproving what is ridiculous in ours, ‹ and you will oblige at least one woman, who is, Your humble fervant, Sufanna Froft.

MR SPECTATOR,

I

AM wife to a clergyman, and cannot help thinking that in your tenth or tithe character of woman-kind meant myself; therefore I have no quarrel against for the other nine characters.

you " you

No 218.

Friday, November 9.

Quid de quoque viro, & cui dicas, fæpe caveto.

HOR. Ep. 18. 1. 1.v. 68.

-Have a care

Of whom you talk, to whom, and what, and where.

I

POOLY.

HAPPENED the other day, as my way is, to ftrole into a little coffee-houfe beyond Aldgate; and as I fat there two or three very plain fenfible men were talking of the SPECTATOR. One faid, he had that morning drawn the great benefit ticket; another wished he had; but a third fhaked his head, and faid, it was pity that the writer of that paper was fuch a fort of man, that it was no great matter whether he had it or no He is, it feems, faid the good man the most extravagant creature in the world has run thro' vaft fums, and yet been in continual want; a man for all he talks fo well of economy, unfit for any of the offices of life, by reafon of his profufenefs. It would be an unhappy thing to be his wife, his child, or his friend; and yet he talks as well of thofe duties of life as any one. Much reflection has brought me to fo eafy a contempt for every thing which is falfe, that this heavy accufation gave me no manner of uneafinefs; but at the fame time it threw me into deep thought upon the subject of fame in general; and I could not but pity fuch as were fo weak, as to value what the common people fay, out of their own talkative temper, to the advantage or diminution of those whom they mention, without being moved either by malice or good-will. It would be too long to expatiate upon the fenfe all mankind have of fame, and the inexpreffible pleafure which there is in the approbation of worthy men, to all who are capable of worthy actions; but methinks one may divide the general word fame into three different fpecies, as it regards the different orders of mankind who have any thing to do with it. Fame therefore may be di vided into glory, which refpects the hero; reputation, which is preferved by every gentleman; and credit, which.

muft

must be supported by every tradefiman. Thefe poffeffions in fame are dearer than life to those characters of men, or rather are the life of thefe characters. Glory, while the hero purfues great and noble enterprizes, is impregnable; and all the affailants of his renown do but fhew their pain and impatience of its brightness, without throwing the leaft fhade upon it. If the foundation of an high name be virtue and fervice, all that is offered against it is but rumour, which is too short-lived to ftand up in competition with glory, which is everlasting.

REPUTATION, which is the portion of every man who would live with the elegant and knowing part of mankind, is as ftable as glory, if it be as well founded: and the common cause of human fociety is thought concerned when we hear a man of good behaviour calumniated: befides which, according to a prevailing cuftom amongst us, every man has his defence in his own arm; and reproach is foon checked, put out of countenance, and overtaken by difgrace.

THE most unhappy of all men, and the most expofed to the malignity or wantonnefs of the common voice, is the trader. Credit is undone in whifpers. The tradef man's wound is received from one who is more private and more cruel than the ruffian with the lanthorn and dagger. The manner of repeating a man's name, —— as Mr Cash, Oh! do you leave your money at his fhop? Why, do you knów Mr Searoom? He is indeed a general merchant. I fay, I have feen, from the iteration of a man's name, hiding one thought of him, and explaining what you hide, by faying fomething to his advantage when you speak, a merchant hurt in his credit; and him who, every day he lived, literally added to the value of his native country, undone by one who was only a burden and a blemish to it.

Since every body who knows the world is fenfible of this great evil, how careful ought a inan to be in his language of a merchant? It may poffibly be in the power of a very shallow creature to lay the ruin of the best family in the moft opulent city: and the more fo, the more highly he deferves of his country; that is to fay, the farther he places his wealth out of his own hands, to draw home that of another climate.

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