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No 227 Tuesday, November 20, 1711.

Ω μοι ἐγώ τι πάθω; τί ὁ δύσσο ; οὐχ ὑπακούεις ;
Τὰν βαίταν ἀποδὺς εἰς κύματα τῆνα, ἁλοῦμαι
Ωστερ τώς θύννως σκοπιάζεται Ὄλπις ὁ γριπεύς
Κήκα μὴ ποθάνω, τό γε μὴν τεὺν ἡδὺ τέτυκται.

Theocr. Idyl. iii. 24.

"Wretch thứ I am! ah, whither shall I go it "Will you not hear me, nor regard my woe? "I'll ftrip, and throw me from yon rock fo high, "Where Olpis fits to watch the fcaly fry. "Should I be drown'd, or 'fcape with life away, "If cur'd of love, you tyrant, would be gay."

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N my laft Thurfday's Paper, I made mention of a place called THE LOVER'S LEAP, which I find has raised a great curiofity among feveral of my correfpondents. I there told them that this leap was ufed to be taken from a promontory of Leucas. This Leucas was formerly a part of Acarnania, being joined to it by a narrow neck of land, which the fea has by length of time overflowed and washed away; fo that at prefent Leucas is divided from the continent, and is a little ifland in the Ionian fea. The promontory of this island, from whence the lover took his leap, was formerly called Leucate. If the reader has a mind to know both the island and the promontory by their modern titles, he will find in his map the ancient island of Leucas under the name of St. Mauro, and the ancient promontory of Leucate under the name of The Cape of St. Mauro..

Since I am engaged thus far in antiquity, I must obferve that Theocritus in the motto prefixed to my Paper, defcribes one of his defpairing fhepherds addreffing himfelf to his mistress after the following manner: "Alas! What will become of me! Wretch that I am!

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"Will you not hear me? I'll throw off my clothes, and "take a leap into that part of the sea which is so much frequented by Olphis the fisherman. And though I "fhould efcape with my life, I know you will be

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pleased with it." I fhall leave it with the Criticks to determine whether the place, which this fhepherd fo particularly points out, was not the above-mentioned Leucate, or at least fome other Lover's Leap, which was fuppofed to have had the fame effect. I cannot believe, as all the interpreters do, that the fhepherd means nothing farther here than that he would drown himfelf, fince he reprefents the iffue of his leap as doubtful, by adding, that if lfe fhould efcape with life, he knows his miftrefs would be pleased with it; which is according to our interpretation, that fhe would rejoice any way to get rid of a lover who was fo troublefome to her.

After this fhort preface, I fhall prefent my reader with fome letters which I have received upon this fubject. The first is fent me by a physician.

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< Mr. SPECTATOR,

HE Lover's Leap, which you mention in your

T123d paper, was generally, I believe a very

effectual cure for love, and not only for love, but for all other evils. In fhort, Sir, I am afraid it was such a leap as that which Hero took to get rid of her paffion for Leander. A man is in no danger of breaking his heart, who breaks his neck to prevent it. I know very well the wonders which ancient authors relate ⚫ concerning this leap; and in particular, that very many perfons who tried it, efcaped not only with their lives but their limbs. If by this means they got rid of their love, though it may in part be afcribed to the reafons you give for it; why may not we fuppofe that the cold bath into which they plunged them• felves, had also some share in their cure? A leap into the fea or into any creek of falt waters, very often gives a new motion to the fpirits, and a new turn to the blood; for which reafon we prescribe it in dif, tempers which no other medicine will reach. I could produce a quotation out of a very venerable author,

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in which the frenzy produced by love, is compared to that which is produced by the biting of a mad dog. But as this comparison is a little too coarfe for your Paper, and might look as if it were cited to ridicule the author who has made ufe of it; I fhall only 'hint at it, and defire you to confider whether, if the frenzy produced by these two different caufes be of the fame nature, it may not very properly be cured by the fame means.

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I am SIR,

Your most humble fervant,

and Well-wisher,

ESCULAPIUS."

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Mr. SPECTATOR,

I AM a young woman croffed in love. My ftory is

very long and melancholy. To give you the heads of it. A young gentleman, after having made his applications to me for three years together, and filled 'my head with a thousand dreams of happiness, fome 'few days fince married another. Pray tell me in what part of the world your promontory lies, which you call THE LOVER'S LEAP, and whether one may go < to it by land? But, alas, I am afraid it has loft its virtue, and that a woman of our times would find no more relief in taking such a leap, than in finging an Hymn to Venus. So that I muft cry out with • Dido in Dryden's Virgil:

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◄ Ah! cruel heaven, that made no cure for love! • Your difconfolate fervant,

MISTER SPICTATUR,

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• ATHENAIS.'

My heart is fo full of lofes and paffions for Mrs.

Gwinifrid, and fhe is fo pettifh and overrun with cholers against me, that if I had the good happinefs to have my dwelling (which is placed by my creat-cranfather upon the pottom of an hill) no farther 'distance but twenty mile from the Lofer's Leap, I 'would indeed indeafour to preak my neck upon it on

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purpofe. Now good Mifter SPICTATUR of Crete Pritain, you must know it there is in Caernarvanshire a very pig Mountain, the clory of all Wales, which is named Penmainmaure, and you must also know, it is no great journey on foot for me; but the road is ftony and bad for fhooes. Now, there is upon the forehead of this mountain a very high Rock, (like a parish fteeple) that cometh a huge deal over the fea; fo when I am in my melancholies, and I do throw myfelf from it, I do defire my fery good friend to tell me in his Spictatur, if I fhall be cure of my griefous lofes; for there is the fea clear as glass, and as creen as the leek. Then likewife if I be drown, and preak my neck, if Mrs. Gwinifrid will not lofe me afterwards. Pray be fpeedy in your answers, for I am in crete hafte, and it is my tefires to do my pufiness without lofs of time. I remain with cordial affections, your ever lofing friend,

DAVÝTH AP SHENKYN.

P. S. My law-fuits have brought me to London, but I have loft my caufes; and fo have made my refolutions to go down and leap before the frofts begin; for I am apt to take colds.”

Ridicule, perhaps, is a better expedient against love than fober advice, and I am of opinion, that Hudibras and Don Quixote may be as effectual to cure the extravagancies of this paffion, as any of the old philofophers. 1 fhall therefore publifh very speedily the tranflation of a little Greek manufcript, which is fent me by a learned friend. It appears to have been a piece of those records which were kept in the temple of Apollo, that ftood upon the promontory of Leucate. The reader will find it to be a fummary account of feveral perfons who tried the Lover's Leap, and of the fuccefs they found in it. As there feem to be in it some anachronnifms and deviations from the ancient orthography, I am not wholly fatisfied myfelf that it is authentic, and not rather the production of one of thofe Grecian fophifters, who have impofed upon the world several spurious works of this nature. I fpeak this by way of precaution,

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precaution, becaufe I know there are feveral writers, of uncommon erudition, who would not fail to expose my ignorance, if they caught me tripping in a matter of so great moment.

** By ADDISON, Chelsea.

ADVERTISEMENT.

There is now printing by fubfcription, two volumes of the Spectators, on a large character, in 8vo, the price of the two volumes, well bound and gilt, Two GUINEAS. Those who are inclined to fubfcribe, are defired to make their first payments to J. Tonfon, bookfeller in the Strand. The books being fo near finished, that they will be ready for fubfcribers, at, or before Christmas next.

The third and fourth volumes of "The Lucubrations of Ifaac Bickerstaff, Efq;" are ready to be delivered at the fame place. SPECT. in folio. N° 227, 228, 229. & feq.

N° 228 Wednesday, November 21, 1711.

Percun&tatorem fugito, nam Garrulus idem eft.

Hor. 1 Ep. xviii. 69.

"Th' inquifitive will blab; from fuch refrain: "Their leaky ears no fecret can retain."

SHARD.

Here is a creature who has all the organs of

T fpeech, a tolerable good capacity for conceiving

what is faid to it, together with a pretty proper behaviour in all the occurrences of common life; but naturally very vacant of thought in itself, and therefore forced to apply itself to foreign affiftances. Of this make is that man who is very inquifitive. You may often obferve, that tho' he speaks as good fenfe as any man upon any thing with which he is well acquainted, he cannot trust to the range of his own fancy to entertain himself upon that foundation, but goes on ftill to new inquiries. Thus, though you know he is fit for the moft polite converfation, you fhall fee him very well contented to fit by a Jockey, giving an account of the many revolutions in his horse's health, what potion he VOL. III.

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made

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