tertainment, and by that means at leaft divert the minds of my female readers from greater trifles. At the fame time, as I would fain give fome finithing touches to thote which are already the most beautiful pieces in human nature, I shall endeavour to point out all thofemperfections that are the blemishes, as well as those virtues which are the embellishments, of the fex. In the mean while I hope these my gentle readers, who have fo much time on their hands, will not grudge throwing away a quarter of an hour in a day on this paper, fince they may do it without any hindrance to business.

I know, feveral of my friends and wellwishers are in great pain for me, left I should not be able to keep up the fpirit of a paper which I oblige myfelf to furnith every day; but to make them easy in this particular, I will promife them faithfully to give it over as foon as I grow dull. This I know will be matter of great raillery to the finall wits, who will frequently put me in mind of my promife, defire me to keep my word, aifure me that it is high time to give over, with many other little pleafantries of the like nature, which men of a little fmart genius cannot forbear throwing out against their best friends, when they have fuch a handle given them of being witty. But let them remember that I do hereby enter my caveat against this piece of raillery.

No. XI. TUESDAY, MARCH 13.

Dat veniam corvis, vexat cenfura columbas.

The doves are cenfur'd, while the crows are spared.

Juv.

ARIETTA is vifited by all persons of both fexes who have any pretence to wit and gallantry: She is in that time of life which is neither affected with the follies of youth or infirmities of age; and her converfation is fo mixed with gaiety and prudence, that the is agreeable both to the young and old. Her behavi

our

our is very frank, without being in the least blameable; and as the is out of the track of any amorous or ambitious purfuits of her own, her vifitants entertain her with accounts of themselves very freely, whether they concern their paffions or their interests. I made her a vifit this afternoon, having been formerly introduced to the honour of her acquaintance by my friend Will Honeycomb, who has prevailed upon her to admit me fometimes into her afsembly as a civil inoffenfive man. I found her accompanied with one perfon only, a common-place talker, who, upon my entrance, arose, and after a very flight civility fat down again; then turning to Arietta, purfued his difcourse, which I found was upon the old topic of conftancy in love. He went on with great facility in repeating what he talks every day of his life; and with the ornaments of infignificant laughs and gestures, enforced his arguments by quotations out of plays and fongs, which allude to the perjuries of the fair, and the general levity of women. thought he strove to shine more than ordinary in his talkative way, that he might insult my filence, and diftinguish himself before a woman of Arietta's tafte and understanding. She had often an inclination to interrupt him, but could find no opportunity, till the larum ceased of itself; which it did not till he had repeated and murdered the celebrated story of the Ephefian Matron.

Me

Arietta seemed to regard this piece of raillery as an outrage done to her fex; as indeed I have always obferved that women, whether out of a nicer regard to their honour, or what other reason I cannot tell, are more fenfibly touched with those general afperfions which are caft upon their fex, than men are by what is faid of theirs.

When the had a little recovered herfelf from the ferious anger the was in, she replied in the following man

ner:

Sir, When I consider how perfectly new all you have faid on this fubject is, and that the story you have given us is not quite two thousand years old, I cannot but think it a piece of prefumption to difpute with yous but your quotations put me in mind of the fable of the Lion and the Man. The man walking with that noble animal, shewed him, in the oftentation of human fuperiority, a fign of a man killing a lion. Upon which the lion faid very juftly, "We lions are none of us

painters, elfe we could shew a hundred men killed by

lions, for one lion killed by a man." You men are writers, and can reprefent us women as unbecoming as you pleafe in your works, while we are unable to return the injury. You have twice or thrice observed in your difcourse, that hypocrify is the very foundation of our education; and that an ability to diflemble our affections is a profefied part of our breeding. Thefe, and fuch other reflections, are fprinkled up and down the writings of all ages, by authors who leave behind them memorials of their resentment against the fcorns of particular women, in invectives againft the whole fex. Such a writer, I doubt not, was the celebrated Petronius, who invented the pleasant aggravations of the frailty of the Ephefian Lady; but when we confider this question between the fexes, which has been either a point of difpute or raillerv ever fince there were men and women, let us take facts from plain people, and from fuch as have not either ambition or capacity to embellish their narrations with any beauties of imagination. I was the other day amufing myfelf with Ligon's account of Barbadoes; and in answer to your well-wrought tale, I will give you (as it dwells upon my memory) out of that honeft traveller, in his fifty-fifth page, the history of Inkle and Yarico.

Mr. Thomas Iukle, of London, aged twenty years, embarked in the Downs on the good ship called the Achilles, bound for the West Indies, on the 16th of June, 1647, in order to improve his fortune by trade and merchandize. Our adventurer was the third fon of an eminent citizen, who had taken particular care to instill into his mind an early love of gain, by making him a perfect master of numbers, and confequently giving him a quick view of lofs and advantage, and preventing the natural impulfes of his paffions, by prepoffeffion towards his interests. With a mind thus turned,

turned, young Inkle had a perfon every way agreeable, a ruddy vigour in his countenance, ftrength in his limbs, with ringlets of fair hair loofely flowing on his shoulders. It happened, in the course of the voyage, that the Achilles, in fone distress, put into a creek on the main of America, in fearch of provifions. The youth, who is the hero of my story, among others, went afhore on this occafion. From their first landing they were observed by a party of Indians, who hid themselves in the woods for that purpose. The English unadvisedly marched a great diftance from the shore into the country, and were intercepted by the natives, who flew the greatest number of them. Our adventurer escaped, among others, by flying into a forest. Upon his coming into a remote and pathlefs part of the wood, he threw himself, tired and breathlefs, on a little hillock, when an Indian maid rushed from a thicket behind him. After the first surprise, they appeared mutually agreeable to each other. If the European was highly charmed with the limbs, features, and wild graces of the naked American, the American was no less taken with the dress, complexion, and shape of an European, covered from head to foot. The Indian grew immediately enamoured of him, and confequently foli. citous for his preservation. She therefore conveyed him to a cave, where she gave him a delicious repast of fruits, and led him to a ftream to flake his thirst. In the midst of these good offices, the would fometimes play with his hair, and delight in the oppofition of its colour to that of her fingers; then open his bosom, then laugh at him for covering it. She was, it feems, a perfon of diftinction, for the every day came to him in a different dress, of the most beautiful shells, bugles, and bredes. She likewife brought him a great many fpoils, which her other lovers had prefented to her, fo that his cave was richly adorned with all the spotted skins of beafts, and moft party-coloured feathers of fowls, which that world afforded. To make his confinement more tolerable, fhe would carry him in the dusk of the evening, or by the favour of the moon-light, to unfrequented groves and folitudes, and shew him where to lie down in fafety, and

eep

sleep amidst the falls of waters, and melody of nightingales. Her part was to watch and hold him awake in her arms, for fear of her countrymen; and awake him on occafions to confult his safety. In this manner did the lovers pass away their time, till they had learned a language of their own, in which the voyager c mmunicated to his mistress how happy he should be to have her in his own country, where the should be clothed in fuch filks as his waistcoat was made of, and be carried in houses drawn by horfes, without being exposed to wind and weather. All this he promised her the enjoyment of, without such fears and alarms as they were tormented with. In this tender correspondence these lovers lived for feveral months, when Yarico, instructed by her lover, discovered a veffel on the coast, to which the made fignals; and in the night, with the utmost joy and fatiffaction, accompanied him to a ship's crew of his countrymen, bound for Barbadoes. When a veffel from the main arrives in that ifland, it feems the planters come down to the shore, where there is an immediate market of the Indians and other flaves, as with us of horfes and oxen.

To be short, Mr. Thomas Inkle, now coming into English territories, began ferioufly to reflect upon his lofs of time, and to weigh with himfelf how many days intereft of his money he had lot during his stay with Yarico. This thought made the young man very penfive, and careful what account he should be able to give his friends of his voyage. Upon which confideration, the prudent and frugal young man fold Yarico to a Barbadian merchant; notwithstanding the poor girl, to commiferate her condition, told him that she was with child by him; but he only made use of that information, to rife in his demands upon the purchaser.

purchater.

I was fo touched with this story (which I think should be always a counterpart to the Ephefian Matron) that I left the room with tears in my eyes; which a woman of Arictta's good sense did, I am fure, take for greater applause than any compliments I could make her.

R.

No. XII.