pronounce publick orations at the funeral of a woman in praife of the deceased perfon, which till that time was peculiar to men. Would our English la dies, inftead of sticking on a patch against those of their own country, fhew themselves fo truly publick- fpirited as to facrifice every one her necklace againft the common enemy, what decrees ought not to be made in favour of them?

Since I am recollecting upon this fubject fuch paffages as occur to my memory out of ancient authors, I cannot omit a fentence in the celebrated funeral oration of Pericles, which he made in ho-. nour of thofe brave Athenians that were flain in a fight with the Lacedemonians. After having addreffed himfelf to the feveral ranks and orders of his countrymen, and fhewn them how they fhould behave themselves in the publick caufe, he turns to the female part of his audience: And as for you you in very few words; Afpire only to thofe virtues that are peculiar to your fex; follow your natural modefty, and think it your greateft commendation not to be talked of one way or other.

(fays he) I fhalls

No 82.

****************** MONDAY, JUNE 4.

-Caput domina venale fub hafta.

Juv. Sat. iii. ver. 33

His fortunes ruin'd, and himfelf a flave..

PASSING under Ludgate the other day, I heard a voice bawling for charity, which I thought I had somewhere heard before. Coming near to the grate, the prifoner called me by my name, and defired I would throw fomething into the box: I was out of countenance for him, and did as he bid me, by putting in half a crown. I went away, reflectA 3

ing

me men,

ing upon the strange conftitution of and how meanly they behave themfelves in all forts of conditions. The perfon who begged of me is now, as I take it, fifty: I was well acquainted with him till about the age of twenty-five; at which time a good eftate fell to him by the death of a relation. Upon coming to this unexpected good fortune, he ran into all the extravagancies imaginable; was frequently in drunken difputes, broke drawers heads, talked and fwore loud, was unmannerly to thofe above him, and infolent to thofe below him. I could not but remark, that it was the fame bafenefs of spirit which worked in his behaviour in both fortunes: The fame little mind was infolent in riches and shameless in poverty. This accident made me mufe upon the circumftance of being in debt in general, and folve in my mind what tempers were moft apt to fall into this error of life, as well as the misfortune it muft needs be to languifh under fuch preffures. As for myfelf, my natural averfion to that fort of converfation which makes a figure with the generality of mankind, exempts me from any temptations to expence; and all my bufinefs lies within a very narrow compafs, which is only to give an honeft man, who takes care of my estate, proper vouchers for his quarterly payments to me, and obferve what linen my laundrefs brings and takes away with her once a week: My fteward brings his receipt ready for my figning; and I have a pretty implement with the refpective names of fhirts, cravats, handkerchiefs and stockings, with proper numbers to know how to reckon with my laundrefs. This being almoft all the bufinefs. I have in the world for the care of my own affairs, I am at full leisure to obferve upon what others do, with relation to their equipage and ceconomy.

When I walk the street, and obferve the hurry about me in this town,

Where

Where with like hafte, tho' diff'rent ways they run, Some to undo, and fome to be undone;

.

I fay, when I behold this vaft variety of perfons and humours, with the pains they both take for the accomplishment of the ends mentioned in the above verfes of Denham, I cannot much wonder at the endeavour after gain, but am extremely aftonished that men can be fo infenfible of the danger of running into debt. One would think it impoffible a man who is given to contract debts fhould know, that his creditor has, from that moment in which he tranfgreffes payment, fo much as that demand comes to in his debtor's honour, liberty, and fortune. One would think he did not know, that his creditor can fay the worst thing imaginable of him, to wit, that he is unjust, without defamation; and can feize his perfon, without being guilty of an affault. Yet fuch is the loofe and abandoned turn of some mens minds, that they can live under thefe conftant apprehenfions, and ftill go on to increase the cause of them. Can there be a more low and fervile condition, than to be ashamed, or afraid to fee any one man breathing? Yet he that is much in debt, is in that condition with relation to twenty different people. There are indeed circumstances wherein men of honeft natures may become liable to debts, by fome unadvised behaviour in any great point of their life, or mortgaging a man's honefty as a fecurity for that of another, and the like; but thefe inftances are fo particular and circumftantiated, that they cannot come within general confiderations: For one fuch cafe as one of thefe, there are ten, where a man, to keep up a farce of retinue and grandeur within his own houfe, fhall fhrink at the expectation of furly demands at his doors. The debtor is the creditor's criminal, and all the officers of power and state, whom we behold make fo great arta figure,

a figure, are no other than fo many perfons in authority to make good his charge against him. Human fociety depends upon his having the vengeance law alots him; and the debtor owes his liberty to his neighbour, as much as the murderer does his life to his prince.

Our gentry are, generally speaking, in debt; and many families have put it into a kind of method of being fo from generation to generation. The father mortgages when his fon is very young; and the boy is to marry as foon as he is at age to redeem it, and find portions for his fifters. This, forfooth, is no great inconvenience to him; for he may wench, keep a publick table, or feed dogs, like a worthy English gentleman, till he has out-run half his eftate, and leave the fame incumbrance upon his first-born, and fo on, till one man of more vigour than ordinary goes quite through the eftate, or fome man of fenfe comes into it, and fcorns to have an estate in partnership, that is to fay, liable to the demand or infult of any man living. There is my friend Sir ANDREW, though for many years a great and general trader, was never the defendant in a law-fuit, in all the perplexity of bufiness, and the iniquity of mankind at prefent: No one had any colour for the leaft complaint against his dealings with him. This is certainly as uncommon, and in its proportion as laudable in a citizen, as it is in a general never to have fuffered a difadvantage in fight. How differ-ent from this gentleman is Jack Truepenny, who has been an old acquaintance of Sir ANDREW and myfelf from boys, but could never learn our caution. Jack has a whorish unrefifting good-nature,. which makes him incapable of having a property in any thing. His fortune, his reputation, his time and his capacity, are at any man's fervice that comes first. When he was at fchool, he was whip -ped thrice a week for faults he took upon him to excufe others; fince he came into the bufinefs of

the

the world, he has been arrefted twice or thrice ayear for debts he had nothing to do with, but as furety for others; and I remember when a friend of his had fuffered in the vice of the town, all the phyfick his friend took was conveyed to him by Jack, and infcribed, A bolus or an electuary for

Mr. Truepenny.' Jack had a good eftate left him, which came to nothing; becaufe he believed all who pretended to demands upon it. This eafinefs and credulity deftroy all the other merit he has; and he has all his life been a facrifice to others, without ever receiving thanks, or doing one good action.

I will end this difcourfe with a fpeech which I heard Jack make to one of his creditors, (of whom he deferved gentler ufage) after lying a whole night in cuftody at his fuit.

SIR,

YOUR

OUR ingratitude for the many kindneffes I have done you, fhall not make me unthankful for the good you have done me, in letting me fee there is fuch a man as you in the world. I am obliged to you for the diffidence I fhall have all the reft of my life: Ifball hereafter truft no man fo far as to be in his debt

No 83.

TUESDAY, JUNE 5.

Animum picturâ pafeit inani.

R

VIRG. Æn. i. ver. 468,

DRYDEN.

And with an empty picture feeds his mind.

WHEN the weather hinders me from taking my diverfions without doors, I frequently make a little party with two or three felect friends, to visit any thing curious that may be feen under covert. My

principal