Child's Happinefs, by making a Choice agreeable to themselves, with an Exclufion of the Child's Voice, than One Man can please another's Palate, by fixing, for the other, on what is grateful to himself. If then the laying a Foundation for their Childrens Happiness of which, in this Article they only are Judges) be the Principle Parents are actuated by; as that it is, lat leaft ought to be, will be by all agreed, and also that fuch am End, is only to be attain'd by kindly indulging 'em, and complying to their reasonable Defires; how juttly do they deferve to fall under Cenfure, who render the moft generous Paffions ineffectual, by oppofing 'em, only to fet afoot Matches, from which generally fpring the greatest Discontents incident to Human Life?

I would not be misunderstood, by being thought to encourage or countenance any Lady's fettling her Affections on a Perfon, under scandalous or disadvantageous Circumftances, upon a Prefumption of a Parent's being under a Neceffity to conform, in order to make his Child Happy; but my Thoughts on this Head may be refolved into this Rule, That as a Child ought not to be forc'd to an Acceptance (an Approbation 'tis impoffible the fhou'd ) of a Man's Addreffes wholly disagreeable; nor, on the other Hand, gratified by the Parents Allowance of an illplaced Efteem; fo, where there is a Competition between a Man of Merit, of a competent Fortune, and an As of a greater, I would have the Child's Inclinations, in favour of Merit, turn the Balance; the Advantages of Fortune being Adventitious, the noble Qualities of the Mind, as well as Beauties of the Person, individual, and not to be acquired.

I am led into these Reflexions by an Account I received the other Day from a Gentleman of my Acquaintance, whofe Cafe is this;

THERE lives an old Gentleman in the Neighbourhood, whofe Daughter my Friend has, for fome Time, look'd on with all the Eagerness of a tranfported Lover; he has fome Reafon to think that his Paffion wou'd be return'd with equal Ardour, and crown'd with Succefs, were it not an Obftruction, he is like to meet with from her Father's Approbation of a Neighbour's Sen on no other Account, than that of an Intimacy between the old Gentleman,

Gentleman, and that the Father of the intended Son-inlaw, is able to put his Boy (as the Phrafe is among the Trading Part of the World) into a good Way; the Son himself feldom fpeaks to the Lady on the Subject, tho' happy in frequent Opportunities; indeed he is not capable of doing it. Not that he is under any Restraint from Excess of Paffion, nor that his Love is too big for Utterance; for these being the common Effects of that Paffion, where its Emotions are ftrongeft, he were excufable, and rather to be pitied than condemned

No, the only Reason of his Silence, is his want of Sense; for he is a Fellow of fo much Stupidity, that had he the Bleffing (which but to think on fills the other with the moft Extatick Raptures) in his Arms, he would still continue infenfible of its Value.

MY Friend is fettled in fuch a State of Life, as fets him upon a Level with the Lady, and will well enable him to maintain her in her Affluence: Add to this, that he is blefs'd with the Fair One's Good Opinion; while the other is her greatest Averfion.

PRAY Mr. SPECTATOR, fince you alone are able to do it to Advantage, fet these Matters in a true Light, fhew the ill Confequences that muft attend this fo unnatural an Union, carried on between the old Folks by way of Bargain and Sale, and not foftned by any Degree of Inclination on her Part. I would willingly have your Opinion, how far thefe Arguments, of (Marry first, and Love will come after,) or (Pigs Love, by lying to gether, o frequently made ufe of by the old People, ought to prevail; and, whether the laft be not applicable only, where infipid Mortals, of the fame cold Conftitution and Indifferency with my Friend's stupid Rival, meet. Your Obfervations on thefe Heads, which by your Value for the FAIR, I conjure you to make, unless you think proper to infert this long Letter, will be, I'm fure, acceptable to the Publick, and very much oblige,

Yours, &c.

J. B.

Friday,

N® 64I.

Friday, January 21.

Inftar Veris enim Vultus ubi tuus
Affulfit Populo, gratior it Dies,
Et Soles meliùs nitent.

Hor.

HO' I am for expelling Clownishness, and Ruf

Tticity of Manners from Society, yet I cannot but

exprefs my Refentments against that, which the injudicious Part of the Town call Politeness; I mean that which in the Galant, fhews it self in Ambiguity of Speech and fmutty Stories; in the Fine Gentleman, breaks out into Laced Shirts, Embroidered Clothes, or Scolopp'd Shoes; in the Coquette, difplays it self in an affected Softnefs of Speech, Flirts of the Fan, or languid Airs; and in the Lover, lanches out into radaint Sun-Beams, twingling Stars, or beautiful Rainbows. I have frequently laid open the Vanity of that Politeness, which the three former profefs, and the Polite Lover must now, in his Turn, undergo an Examination; especially, fince I hear feveral of my Fair Readers have caft off their faithful Lovers, because, forfooth, they were not Polite enough to be ever ringing in their Ears, Lilies blended with Rofes, pure Alabafter redder than the Cherry, Celestial Goddesses, &c. I happened one Day to be in Sylvia's Closet, where I accidentally caft my Eye on a Billet-doux, fent her by her Lover, and penn'd according to the niceft Rules of the Polite Love Stile. Asking Sylvia's Pardon, I shall present my Reader with a few of his choiceft Phrases, fince to fhew them all the little Cupids, and tender Doves, in it, would take up too much of my Time.

IN the firft Place, he tells his Charming Angel, that he is fhot through and through with the Darts of Cupid; by and by he affures her, he is come to proftrate himself before

the

the Celestial Beauties, of which fhe, the Fair Deity, is alone poffefs'd; a little after he hopes thofe two Radiant Suns of Her's, may ever enliven him with their kindest Influence; at length concludes.

over,

I am,

My fair Goddess,

Your conftant Adörer.

I could not but reflect upon the Folly of this mad Lowho went on, spending his time and ftraining his Wit, for a Metaphor for the Eye, and Allufion for the Cheek, or an hyperbolical Compliment for the whole exterior Perfon, without, in the leaft, contemning or extolling the bafer Qualities, or fuperior Excellencies of her Mind. With how much more Difcretion did the Lover of the Virtuous Thaleftris, during the Time of Courtship, proceed? One of his Letters, fince they have been married, she was so kind as to fhew me; the former Part of which, to the best of my Remembrance, runs thus:

Virtuous Lady,

W

Hilft our Galants; on all Hands, are proftrating themfelves before their Deities, and the Beaux of our Age adoring their Beauteous Angels; give me leave, Madam, to addrefs my felf to you with no other Compliment, but telling you, I am your fincere Lover and Admirer, but an Admirer not fo much of your External as your Internal Excellencies. In the former, indeed, you have that, which will attract a fond Lover's Veneration; but in the latter only is that, which must render the Conjugal Life, with which I hope fhortly to be bless'd, fweet and eafy, pleasant and delightful. In short, the former may be fine, but the latter are admirable, &c.

"TIS a rare Thing, to find a Youth of fuch a happy and discreet Turn of Mind, who, instead of Dwelling on the tranfient Beauties of his Lady's Face, lanches out into the jufter Commendation of the more lafting Perfections of her Soul: While, on the other hand, who can fufficiently

fufficiently lafh the Folly of that Perfon, who, in writing to that Woman he defigns for his Wife, ftuffs his Letters with nothing but Rainbows, Doves, and Violets; falutes her with no other Appellations, than thofe of Angel, Nymph, and Goddefs; and perhaps too, thinks of nothing whilft he's writing, but a black Eye, fine Shapes, or white Set of Teeth; ftill regardless of thofe Qualifications or debased Humours, which render the fair Sex truly Amiable, or truly Defpifable, and on which his own Life, in fucceeding Ages, muft take a happy or miferable Turn? And truly 'tis equally rare, to find a Lady, to whom the Words Angel, Nymph, and Deity, are not more familiar and much more welcome, than thofe of Truth, Conftancy, and Sincerity. Were it poffible for a Man to transform himself into such a Substance, as to view the inmoft Receffes of one of these Ladies Hearts, he'd find nothing but Doves playing round it, Swans fwiming about it, little Angels hovering over it; and in fhort, every Part of it over-run by fine Lilies, beautiful Rofes, or fragrant Myrtles, the Tranfcript of Hyperbolical Compliments paid them by their Ad

mirers.

I forefee, what I have faid on this Subject, will be very difpleafing to many of my fair Readers. I suppose, by next Poft, I fhall have Phyllis complaining that she is now no more Angelick or Celeftial; and Coquetilla bewailing her Condition, that fhe is now a Woman like the reft of her Sex; perhaps Damon too will affure me he can no longer write to his Mistress, being quite bereft of his Love Rhetorick. But what I am moft afraid of is, that they'll fay, this was all along of the SPECTATOR. However, for their Encouragement, I affure them I'll permit the leaft Beautiful among 'em to pass for a handsom Woman, but am refolved to prevent, as much as in me lies, the moft Beautiful of 'em, from being either a Fair Goddefs, or a Beauteous Angel. So that I hope feveral of the Fair Sex will concur in the Sentiments of her Imperial Majefty of Cambridge, who has lately iffued out her Royal Proclamation, and commanded me in exprefs Terms to publish it; which I here do.

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