It is well for him he had found out a way to steal a kingdom*; if he had gone on conquering as he ⚫ did before, his rain had been long fince finished. This brings to my mind a faying of king Pyrrhus, after he had a fecond time beat the Romans in a pitched battle, and was complimented by his generals; "Yes, fays he, fuch another victory and I am "quite undone." And fince I have mentioned Pyrrhus, I will end with a very good, though known ftory of this ambitious madman. When he had fhewn the utmoft fondness for his expedition against the Romans, Cyneas his chief minifter asked him what he propofed to himself by this war? Why, fays Pyrrhus, to conquer the Romans, and reduce ⚫ all Italy to my obedience. What then? fays Cyneas. To pafs over into Sicily, fays Pyrrhus, and then all the Sicilians must be our fubjects. And what does your majesty intend next? Why truly, fays the king, <to conquer Carthage, and make myself master of all Africa. And what, Sir, fays the minifter, is to be the end of all your expeditions? Why then; fays the king, for the reft of our lives we will fit down to good wine. How, Sir, replied Cyneas, to bet⚫ter than we have now before us? Have we not already as much as we can drink? • Riot and excefs are not the becoming characters of princes; but if Pyrrhus and Lewis had debauch• ed like Vitellius, they had been lefs hurtful to their people. TI Your humble fervant, PHILARITHMUS +.' *The kingdom of Spain, feized by Louis XIV. in 1701, for his grandfon, as left him by the will of Charles II. which the enemies of France looked upon as forged, or made when Charles ·was non-compos. This letter was written by Mr. Henry Martyn. See SPECT. Vol. VII. No 555, and note. By STEELE, tranfcribed from the letter-box. + At Drury-Lane, on Wednesday, Sept. 26, "The Recruiting "Officer," Capt. Plume, Mr. Wilks; Serj. Kite, Mr. Eftcourt; Capt. Brazen, Mr. Cibber; J. Ballance, Mr. Keene; Mr. Worthy, Mr. Mills; Bullock, Mr. Bullock; C, Permain, Mr. Norris; T. Appletree, Mr. Bullock, jun. Sylvia, Mrs. Oldfield; Melinda, Mrs. Rogers; and Rofe, Mrs. Bicknell. SPECT. in folio. See TAT. with notes, Vol. I. p. 425. Thursday, N° 181 Thursday, September 27, 1711. His lacrymis vitam damus, & miferefcimus ultrò. I "Mov'd by thefe tears, we pity and protect." AM more pleased with a letter that is filled with touches of nature than of wit. The following one is of this kind. SIR, MONG all the diftreffes which happen in fami lies, I do not remember that you have touched apon the marriage of children without the confent ' of their parents. I am one of these unfortunate perfons. I was about fifteen when I took the liberty to choose for myfelf; and have ever fince languifhed under the displeasure of an inexorable father, who, though he fees me happy in the best of husbands, and • bleffed with very fine children, can never be prevail⚫ed upon to forgive me. He was fo kind to me before this unhappy accident, that indeed it makes my breach of duty, in fome meafure, inexcufable; and at the fame time creates in me fuch a tenderness towards him, that I love him above all things, and 'would die to be reconciled to him. I have thrown myfelf at his feet, and befought him with tears to pardon me; but he always pushes me away, and fpurns me from him. I have written feveral letters to him,. ⚫ but he will neither open nor receive them. About two years ago I fent my little boy to him, dreffed in a new apparel; but the child returned to me crying, be* caufe he faid his grandfather would not fee him, and ' had ordered him to be put out of his houfe. My 'mother is won over to my fide; but dares not mention About a me to my father for fear of provoking him. month ago he lay fick upon his bed, and in great danger of his life: I was pierced to the heart at the news, and could not forbear going to inquire after his health. My mother took this opportunity of fpeaking in my behalf: she told him with abundance of tears, that I was come to see him, that I could not fpeak to her for weeping, and that I fhould certainly break my heart if he refufed at that time to give me his blefling, and be reconciled to me. fo far from relenting towards me, that he bid her fpeak no more of me, unless she had a mind to disturb him in his laft moments; for, Sir, you must know that he has the reputation of an honest and religious man,which makes my misfortune so much the greater. He was God be thanked he is fince recovered: but his fevere ufage has given me fuch a blow, that I fhall foon fink under it, unless I may be relieved by any impreffions which the reading of this in your Paper may make upon him. Of all hardneffes of heart there is none fo inexcufable as that of parents towards their children. An obftinate, inflexible, unforgiving temper is odious upon all occafions; but here it is unnatural. The love, tenderness, and compaffion, which are apt to arife in us towards those who depend upon us, is that by which the whole world of life is upheld. The Supreme Being, by the tranfcendent excellency and goodness of his nature, extends his mercy towards all his works; and because his creatures have not fuch a fpontaneous benevolence and compaffion towards those who are under their care and protection, he has implanted in them an inftinct, that fupplies the place of this inherent goodness. I have illuftrated this kind of instinct in . former Papers, and have shewn how it runs through. all the fpecies of brute creatures, as indeed the whole. animal creation fubfifts by it. * SPEC. N° 120, 121. This inflint in man is more general and uncircumfcribed than in brutes, as being enlarged by the dictates of reafon and duty. For if we confider ourselves attentively, we fhall find that we are not only inclined to love those who defcend from us, but that we bear a kind of sepy, or natural affection, to every thing which relies upon us for its good and prefervation. Dependence is a perpetual call upon humanity, and a greater incitement to tenderness and pity than any other motive whatsoever. The man therefore who, notwithstanding any paffion or refentment, can overcome this powerful inftinct, and extinguish natural affection, debafes his mind even below brutality, fruftrates, as much as in him lies, the great defign of Providence, and ftrikes out of his nature one of the most divine principles that is planted in it. Among innumerable arguments which might be brought against fuch an unreasonable proceeding, I inall only infift on one. We make it the condition of our for giveness that we forgive others. In our very prayers we defire no more than to be treated by this kind of retaliation. The cafe therefore before us feems to be what they call a CASE IN POINT; the relation between the child and father being what comes nearest to that between a creature and its Creator. If the father is inexorable to the child who has offended, let the offence be of never fo high a nature, how will he addrefs himself to the Supreme Being, under the tender appellation of a Father, and defire of him fuch a forgiveness as he himself refuses to grant? To this I might add many other religious, as well as many prudential confiderations; but if the laft mentioned motive does not prevail, I defpair of fucceeding by any other, and fhall therefore conclude my Paper with a very remarkable ftory, which is recorded in an old chronicle published by FREHER, among the writers of the German history *. EGINHART, *Marquard Freher was a celebrated Lawyer of the 16th century, who obliged the world with many curious and learned works, and among the reft with, Rerum Germanicarum Scriptores.... a Carolo D 4 Magno EGINHART, who was fecretary to Charles the Great, became exceeding popular by his behaviour in that poft. His great abilities gained him the favour of his master, and the esteem of the whole court. Imma, the daughter of the emperor, was fo pleafed with his perfon and converfation, that she fell in love with him †. As he was one of the greatest beauties of the age, Eginhart anfwered her with a more than equal return of paffion. They ftifled their flames for fome time, under apprehenfion of the fatal confequences that might enfue. Eginhart at length refolving to hazard all, rather than live deprived of one whom his heart was fo much fet upon, conveyed himself one night into the princefs's apartment, and knocking gently at the door, was admitted as a person who had fomething to communicate to her from the emperor. He was with her in private most part of the night; but upon his preparing to go away about break of day, he obferved that there had fallen a great fnow during his ftay with the princefs. This very much perplexed him, left the prints of his feet in the fnow might make difcoveries to the king, who often ufed to vifit his daughter in the morning. He acquainted the princefs Imma with his fears; who, after fome confultations upon the matter, prevailed upon him to let her carry him through the fnow upon her own fhoulders. It happened, that the emperor not being able to fleep, was at that time up and walking in his chamber, when upon looking through the window he perceived his daughter tottering under her burden, and carrying his firft minifter across the fnow; which the had no fooner done, but fhe returned again with the utmost speed to her own apartment. The emperor was extremely troubled and astonished at this accident; but refolved to speak nothing of until a proper opportunity. In the mean time, Eginhart knowing that what he had done could not be long a fecret, determined to retire from court; and in order to it begged the empeMagno ad Fredericum III. 3 Tom. 1600, &c. In this work he has inferted an old monaftic chronicle, which contains the following tale-Vid. Tom. I. Chronicon Laurishamenfis Coenobii: fub anno 805. This Lady had been betrothed to the Grecian Emperor (Regi Græcorum defponfata. Freher.) P. гог |