lately fell by mere Accident. They all three have a Defire to excel in all manner of Literature; but, tho' they all endeavour to attain to the same end, each of them had taken his feveral way to it, as Judgment or Fancy hath led him. THE first of 'em, whom I fhall call by the Name of Humphrey Cadence, does not fay very much, and yet he fays too much, even when he fays never fo little. As foon as he opens his Lips, you are to expect fome round Period or formal Sentence, wretchedly poor in Senfe, and extravagantly rich, with a painted and gaudy Drefs of oftentatious and fuperfluous Words. This Fellow is all Ear, and he delights himself with the fonorous Notes, which flide glibly by habit from his Tongue; as our itinerant Profeffors of Mufick in the Street are wont to do, when turning their Heads to the Left, they clap them upon their Violins, and applaud the undulating Vibrations of their Fiddlesticks, with all the Geftures, Looks, and outward Appearances of fuch Rapture and Ecftacy, as would be excited in any delicate Hearer, by the mafterly fpeaking and eloquent Hand of the inimitable. Corelli. He hath a Figure or a Trope for every ordinary thing he speaks of. If that will gratify his Ambition, he may be truly faid to furpass moft Men in Understanding, because he always comes out with those Sayings, which I found even beyond my own Poffibility to understand, who am reputed a very good Scholar.. Had I been an illiterate Fellow, it had been of very great Use to me, who am of a curious Temper, to have heard the learned Humphrey talk fo, because he would have cured me of any itching Defire to attain to that Knowledge, whofe Perfection he would have made appear to confift in being triumphantly unintelligible; and fhould have grown in love with my Ignorance, which afforded me the Benefit to be understood. THE next was a Fellow, whofe Mouth was in an eternal Flux. His Tongue ran on, world without end; and there was no stopping it, unless one had been taught the Art of Gagging. THE third was a Gentleman of a delicate Wit, of few Words, well-bred, and infinitely modeft. I often addreffed my felf to him in a soft Voice, near a Whif per; per; but we could not speak of any thing, as any little Occurrence of antient and modern History, but Humphrey Cadence, who lay upon the watch, would overhear us, and then after fome Pangs of Study, he would deliver his Sentiments in Figure and Flourish, which gave us as much Pain and Trouble in the hearing, as they gave him in studying. Then that talkative Fellow, that Will. Voluble, would have a fecond Bout with us, worse than the first, and knock down all the good Senfe that was utter'd before, with whole Vollies of Impertinence. If we whisper'd a Word or two of Rhetorick, Humphrey Cadence honoured Cicero with a Character, that he knows to be his own Due more than any Man's liv ing. OH, fays he, That Tully, his Sentences are mellifluous, his. Diction auguft, he is all fublime, he does not fermocinate like vulgar Mortals, he is fuper-hu$ man; his Scriptions are not for every Body's Intellect. Then Will. gives another Broad fide; That Cicero was the best Poet, and the greatest Governor that ever • was in Athens, and Cæfar the best Orator that ever pleaded before him; that of all the Emperors of Rome, the greatest was Demofthenes; that Antoninus Pius was a Tyrant, and Nero a Saint." I afterwards defired the ingenious Gentleman to recite me a little Part of a Dialogue in Verfe, that he had promised to let me fee; immediately Humphrey Cadence began fome Parts of Dubartas and Cleaveland, and Humphrey thundered out the first Stanza upon the eleven thousand Virgins; and I was afraid, he intended to make thorow Work with the whole Volume; but at last they both did worse, repeated their own Verses. SINCE I could not have the Pleasure of putting in a Word quietly with my Friend, I was refolved to thew my Manhood among fuch forward and refolute Company, and fo fell a laughing very heartily upon this merry Confideration, That as Rationality is the firft, fo Rifebility is the fecond Proof of one's Humanity. This loud Laughter had a good Effect, and ftop'd the Gentleman, who laughed along with us. IN that happy Interval and lucky Breathing-fpace, I renew'd my Request to my Friend, and told him 'twas I 2 his N° 675. his turn to repeat. He excufed himself, with making the most artful Piece of Rallery on the other two that could be. I would, faid he, not willingly be fo hafty in convincing you, that Poetry is not my Talent. I am fure if I was to make the fame Treaty as the old Poet • Cherilus did, who having dedicated one of his Works to Alexander the Great, agreed with that Prince, who • lov'd to fhew he could be merry fometimes, to have a Crown for every good Line, and a found Box on the Ear for every bad one that he found throughout the whole POEM; I believe my Cheeks would glow as that Wretch's did, and would pay fo dear for't, that my Purfe would not make them amends.' However, he flip'd a Copy of them into my Hand, and then the Company happily broke up. I have fince read the Verfes, they in fome measure recompens'd the Pain I underwent. The Dialogue is truly natural, and had a Simplicity perfectly paftoral. I will therefore prefent it to my Readers, after fignifying, that it is a Tranflation from the French, and the Scene lies in a little Wood, where two Lovers met that had fome Difference. DAMON. Ah, lively Love, what makes, I pray, PHILLI S. I for a handfom Shepherd stay, DAMON. "Twould give your Damon great Content, PHILL IS. Nay, and God knows, 'twas all I meant, DAMON. DAMON. Well, I'm this Moment come from Town, And faid I fcorn'd her idle Stories. PHILL I S. And is this true? And art thou true? DAMON. My Heart is no fuch fickle Sinner, Would not give it Power to change. PHILL IS. Since thou'st fo true and conftant been, Upon my Soul, were I a Queen, Thou fhouldft quickly be a King. DAMON. Kingdoms and Crowns are nothing to it, Give me one, if thoud'ft but do it, PHILL IS. Damon, I come; O, now I fall! I 3 B Friday, N° 676. Friday, May 27. Επ' ἀνδρὶ δυςυχόντι μὴ πλάτης κακὸν, I' T hath been a Maxim moft religiously affented to by all good Divines and Philofophers, That no Man whatfoever can do Evil for Evil's fake. I am forry that one of the greatest Objections, that can be made to this univerfal Problem, should lie at the Door of my Countrymen, but am in very good Hopes, that the prefent Parliament will afford it a Solution in a very short time. WHAT I am now fpeaking of, relates to the Petitions of the poor Infolvent Debtors, for whom it behoves me to ftand very ftrenuously, because I find the ungenerous World is come to that pafs, that the ftrong will not ftand by the infirm; the Rich will not in any manner help the Needy; the fine-drefs'd Gentlemen overlook and are afhamed of the Ragged, and will not clothe the Naked; the Perfons wallowing riotoufly in Luxury, Voluptuoufnefs, and all forts of unwarrantable Pleafures, will not give Meat to the Hungry, nor fpare time to caft down one pitying Glance of an Eye, on honeft Neceffity and innocent Want; but Beggary is now grown a kind of practical Satire. IT never fhall be faid by Pofterity, that the Cenfor of Great-Britain, living in a Chriftian Age, and in a Country, whofe Purity of Doctrine in Religion teaches it to be the most zealous in Points of Charity, could ever, amidst all the Freedom and Liberty of Satire, omit reprimanding thofe, whom Heaven hath bleffed with a Stewardship of Fortune and Treasure, when they seem, by a general Defection from the Laws both of GOD and Man, |