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NO 12. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14.

-Veteres avias tibi de pulmone revello.

PERS. Sat. v. ver. 92.

I root th' old woman from thy trembling heart.

AT

my coming to London, it was fome time before I could fettle myself in a house to my liking. I was forced to quit my first lodgings, by reason of an officious landlady, that would be afking me every morning how I had flept. I then fell into an honest family, and lived very happily for above a week; when my landlord, who was a jolly good-natured man, took it into his head that I wanted company, and therefore would frequently come into my chamber to keep me from being alone. This I bore for two or three days; but telling me one day that he was afraid I was melancholy, I thought it was high time for me to be gone, and accordingly took new lodgings that very night. About a week after, I found my jolly landlord, who, as I faid before, was an honest hearty man, had put me into an advertisement of the Daily Courant, in the following words, Whereas a melancholy man left his lodgings on Thursday last in the afternoon, and was afterwards feen going towards Islington, if any one can give notice of him to R. B. Fishmonger in the Strand, he shall be very well rewarded for his pains, As I am the best man in the world to keep my own counsel, and my landlord the fishmonger not knowing my name, this accident of my life was never discovered to this very day.

I am now settled with a widow-woman, who has a great many children, and complies with my humour in every thing. I do not remember that we have exchanged a word together these five years; my coffee comes into my chamber every morning without asking for it; if I want fire I point to my chimney, if water to my bafon: Upon which my landlady nods, as much as to say the takes my meaning, and immediately obeys my fignals. She has likewife modelled her family fo well, that when her little boy offers to pull me by the coat, or prattle in my face, his eldest sister immediately calls him off, and bids him not disturb the Gentleman. At my first entering into the family, I was troubled with the civility of their rifing up to me every time I came into the room; but my landlady obferving that upon these occafions I always cried pish, and went out again, has forbidden any fuch ceremony to be ufed in the house; fo that at present I walk into the kitchen or parlour without being taken notice of, or giving any interruption to the business or difcourse of the family. The maid will ask her mistress (though I am by) whether the Gentleman is ready to go to dinner, as the mistress (who is indeed an excellent house-wife) scolds at the servants as heartily before my face as behind my back. In short, I move up and down the house, and enter into all companies with the fame liberty as a cat or any other domeftick animal, and am as little fufpected of telling any thing that I hear or fee.

I remember laft winter there were several young girls of the neighbourhood fitting about the fire with my landlady's daughters, and telling stories of spirits and apparitions. Upon my opening the door the young women broke off their difcourse, but my landlady's daughters telling them that it was no body but the Gentleman, (for that is the name which I go by in the neighbourhood as well as in the family) they went on without minding me. I feated myself by the candle that stood on a table at one end of the room; and, pretending to read a book that I took out of my pocket, heard several dreadful stories of ghosts as pale as ashes that had stood

stood at the feet of a bed, or walked over a churchyard by moon-light: And of others that had been conjured into the Red-Sea, for disturbing people's reft, and drawing their curtains at midnight; with many other old womens fables of the like nature. As one fpirit raised another, I observed that at the end of every story the whole company closed their ranks, and crouded about the fire: I took notice in particular of a little boy, who was so attentive to every ftory, that I am mistaken if he ventures to go to bed by himself this twelvemonth. Indeed they talked fo long, that the imaginations of the whole affembly were manifestly crazed, and, I am fure, will be the worse for it is as long as they live. I heard one of the girls, that had looked upon me over her shoulder, asking the company how long I had been in the room, and whether I did not look paler than I used to do. This put me under fome apprehenfions that I should be forced to explain myfelf if I did not retire; for which reason I took the candle in my hand, and went up into my chamber, not without wondering at this unaccountable weakness in reafonable creatures, that they should love to aftonish and terrify one another. Were I a father, I should take a particular care to preserve my children from these little horrors of imagination, which they are apt to contract when they are young, and are not able to shake off when they are in years. I have known a foldier that has entered a breach, affrighted at his own shadow; and look pale upon a little scratching at his door, who the day before had marched up against a battery of cannon. There are instances of perfons, who have been terrified even to distraction, at the figure of a tree, or the shaking of a bull-rush. The truth of it is, Ilook upon a found imagination as the greateft bleffing of life, next to a clear judgment and a good confcience. In the mean time, fince there are very few whose minds are not more or less fubject

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ject to these dreadful thoughts and apprehenfions, we ought to arm ourselves against them by the dictates of reason and religion, to pull the old woman out of our hearts (as Perfius expresses it in the motto of my paper) and extinguish those impertinent notions which we imbibed at a time that we were not able to judge of their abfurdity. Or, if we believe, as many wife and good men have done, that there are such phantoms and apparations as those I have been speaking of, let us endeavour to establish to ourselves an interest in him who holds the reins of the whole creation in his hand, and moderates them after fuch a manner, that it is impossible for one being to break loose upon another without his knowledge and permiffion.

For my own part, I am apt to join in opinion with those who believe that all the regions of nature swarm with spirits; and that we have multitudes of spectators on all our actions, when we think ourselves most alone: But, instead of terrifying myself with fuch a notion, I am wonderfully pleafed to think that I am always engaged with such an innumerable society, in searching out the wonders of the creation, and joining in the fame confort of praife and adoration.

Milton has finely described this mixed communion of men and spirits in paradife; and had doubtless his eye upon a verse in old Hefiod, which is almoft word for word the fame with his third line in the following paffage.

-Nor think, though men were none, That heav'n would want spectators, God want praise: Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth Unseen, both when we wake and when we fleep ; All these with ceafeless praise his works behold Both day and night. How often from the steep Of echoing hill or thicket have we beard Celestial voices to the midnight air, Sole, or responsive each to other's note,

Singing

Singing their great Creator? Oft in bands,से
While they keep watch, or nightly rounding walk,l
With heav'nly touch of instrumental founds,
In full harmonick number join'd, their fongs
Divide the night and lift our thoughts to heav'n.

NO 13. THURSDAY, MARCH 15.

C

JMART.

Dic mihi, fi fueris tu leo, qualis eris?
Were you a lion, how wou'd you behave?

THERE is nothing that

of late years has afford

ed matter of greater amusement to the town than Signior Nicolini's combat with a lion in the Hay-market, which has been very often exhibited to the general fatisfaction of most of the nobility and gentry in the kingdom of Great Britain. Upon the first rumour of this intended combat, it was confidently affirmed and is still believed by many in both galleries, that there would be a tame lion fent from the Tower every opera night, in order to be killed by Hydaspes; this report, though altogether groundless, so universally prevailed in the upper regions of the play-house, that fome of the most refined politicians in those parts of the audience gave it out in whisper, that the lion was a coufin-german of the tiger who made his appearance in King William's days, and that the stage wou'd be fupplied with lions at the public expence, during the whole feffion. Many likewife were the conjectures of the treatment which this lion was to meet with from the hands of Signior Nicolini; fome supposed that he was to fubdue him in Recitativo, as Orpheus used to serve the wild beasts in his time, and afterwards to knock him on the head; fome fancied that the lion would not pretend to lay his paws upon the hero, by reason of the received opinion, that a lion will not hurt a virgin: Several who