present project. But you are to understand, that I shall not pretend to raise a credit to this work upon the weight of my politic news only, but, as my Latin sentence in the title-page informs you, "shall take any thing that offers for the subject of my discourse'." Thus new persons, as well as new things, are to come under my consideration; as when a toast or wit is first pronounced such, you shall have the freshest advice of their preferment, from me, with a description of the beauty's manners, and the wit's style; asalso in whose places they are advanced. For this town is never good-natured enough to raise one without depressing another. But it is my design to avoid saying any thing of any person, which ought justly to displease; but shall endeavour, by the variety of the matter and style, to give entertainment for men of pleasure, without offence to those of business.'

White's Chocolate-house, April 18.

ALL hearts at present pant for two ladies only, who have for some time engrossed the dominion of the town. They are indeed both exceeding charming, but differ very much in their excellencies. The beauty of Clarissa is soft, that of Chloe piercing. When you look at Clarissa, you see the most exact harmony of feature, complexion, and shape; you find in Chloe nothing extraordinary in any one of those particulars, but the whole woman irresistible: Clarissa looks languishing; Chloe killing: Clarissa never fails of gaining admiration; Chloe of moving desire. The gazers at Clarissa are at first uncon

Intended by Steele as a free translation of the motto from Juvenal prefixed to this and most of the other papers in the present volume.

cerned, as if they were observing a fine picture. They who behold Chloe, at the first glance discover transport, as if they met their dearest friend. These different perfections are suitably represented by the last great painter Italy has sent us, Mr. Jervas'. Clarissa is by that skilful hand placed in a manner that looks artless, and innocent of the torments she gives; Chloe is drawn with a liveliness that shews she is conscious of, but not affected with, her perfections. Clarissa is a shepherdess, Chloe a country girl. I must own, the design of Chloe's picture shows, to me, great mastery in the painter; for nothing could be better imagined than the dress he has given her of a strawhat and a ribbon, to represent that sort of beauty which enters the heart with a certain familiarity, and cheats it into a belief that it has received a lover as well as an object of love. The force of their different beauties is seen also in the effects it makes on their lovers. The admirers of Chloe are eternally gay and well-pleased: those of Clarissa melancholy and thoughtful. And as this passion always changes the natural man into a quite different creature from what he was before, the love of Chloe makes coxcombs; that of Clarissa, madmen. There were of each kind just now in this room. Here was one that whistles, laughs, sings, and cuts capers, for love of Chloe. Another has just now writ three lines to Clarissa, then taken a turn in the garden, then came back

2 See Pope's Works, vol. v. and Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting, &c. vol. iv. p. 23, edit. 8vo. 1782. Mr. Jervas, however, is more likely to be immortalized by Mr. Pope's friendship and panegyric, than by his own pictures. He was a writer also, and published a translation of "Don Quixote" without understanding the Spanish language. He died about 1740.

again, then tore his fragment, then called for some chocolate, then went away without it.

Chloe has so many admirers in the house at present, that there is too much noise to proceed in my narration; so that the progress of the loves of Clarissa and Chloe, together with the bottles that are drunk each night for the one, and the many sighs which are uttered, and songs written on the other, must be our subject on future occasions.

3

Will's Coffee-house, April 18.

LETTERS from the Hay-market inform us, that on Saturday night last the opera of Pyrrhus and Demetrius was performed with great applause. This intelligence is not very acceptable to us friends of the theatre; for the stage being an entertainment of the reason and all our faculties, this way of being pleased with the suspense of them for three hours together, and being given up to the shallow satisfaction of the eyes and ears only, seems to arise rather from the degeneracy of our understanding, than an improvement of our diversions. That the understanding has no part in the pleasure is evident, from what these letters very positively assert, to wit, that a great part of the performance was done in Italian: and a great critic 4 fell into fits in the gallery, at seeing, not only time and place, but languages and nations confused in the most incorrigible manner. His spleen is so extremely

3 By Owen M'Swiney, 4to, 1709. This was a translation from the Italian of Scarlatti, performed at the queen's theatre in the Hay-market, of which Mr. M'Swiney was manager.

4 This was John Dennis, always a bitter enemy to the Italian opera.

moved on this occasion, that he is going to publish a treatise against operas, which, he thinks, have already inclined us to thoughts of peace, and, if tolerated, must infallibly dispirit us from carrying on the war. He has communicated his scheme to the whole room, and declared in what manner things of this kind were first introduced. He has upon this occasion considered the nature of sounds in general, and made a very elaborate digression upon the London cries, wherein he has shown, from reason and philosophy, why oysters are cried, card-matches sung, and turnips and all other vegetables neither cried, sung, nor said, but ✓ sold, with an accent and tone neither natural to man nor beast. This piece seems to be taken from the model of that excellent discourse of Mrs. Manly the school-mistress, concerning samplers. Advices from the upper end of Piccadilly say, that May-fair is utterly abolished; and we hear Mr. Penkethman has removed his ingenious company of strollers to Greenwich. But other letters from Deptford say, the company is only making thither, and not yet settled; but that several heathen gods and goddesses, which are to descend in machines, landed at the King's Head stairs last Saturday. Venus and Cupid went on foot from thence to Greenwich; Mars got drunk in the town,

6

5 The presentment of May-fair by the grand jury of Westminster, an. 1708, is recorded in Stow's Survey, &c. edit. 1755. vol. ii. p. 178. It was abolished in the year 1709, and Shepherd's-market, near Curzon-street, built on the spot where it was held. The circumjacent district is still called May-fair.

6 'Penkethman,' says Cibber,' had from nature a great deal of comic power, but his judgment was by no means equal to it; for he would make frequent deviations into the whimsies of an Harlequin.'

and broke his landlord's head, for which he sat in the stocks the whole evening; but Mr. Penkethman giving security that he should do nothing this ensuing summer, he was set at liberty. The most melancholy part of all was, that Diana was taken in the act of fornication with a boatman, and committed by justice Wrathful; which has, it seems, put a stop to the diversions of the theatre at Blackheath. But there goes down another Diana and a Patient Grissel next tide from Billingsgate.

7

It is credibly reported that Mr. D——y has agreed with Mr. Penkethman to have his play acted before that audience as soon as it has had its first sixteen days run in Drury-lane.

St. James's Coffee-house, April 18.

THEY write from Saxony of the thirteenth instant, N. S. that the grand general of the crown of Poland was so far from entering into a treaty with king Stanislaus, that he had written circular letters, wherein he exhorted the Palatines to join against him; declaring that this was the most favourable conjuncture for asserting their liberty.

Letters from the Hague of the twenty-third, instant, N. S. say, that an express arrived there on the twentieth instant, with advice, that the enemy having made a detachment from Tournay, of fifteen hundred

7 Tom D'Urfey. The play here alluded to was his Modern Prophets, 4to. 1709. See N° 1, and 11. A gentleman returning from this piece, or from some other of D'Urfey's bad plays, the first night it was acted, said to Dryden, Was there ever such stuff?'- Sir,' replied Dryden, you don't know my friend Tom so well as I do; I'll answer for him he shall write worse yet,'