hind them memorials of their refentment against the fcorn of particular women, in invectives against 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 queftion between the fexes, which has been either a point of difpute or rallery ever fince there were men and women, let us take facts from plain people, and from such as have not either ambition or capacity to embellish their narrations with any beauties of imagination. I was the other day amufing myself with Ligon's account of Barbadoes; and, in anfwer 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 hiftory of Inkle and Tarico.

Mr. Thomas Inkle, of London, aged twenty years, embarked on the Downs in the good ship called the Achilles, bound for the Weft-Indies, on the 16th of June 1674, in order to improve his fortune by trade and merchandise. Our adventurer was the third fon of an eminent citizen, who had taken particular care to inftil into his mind an early love of gain, by making him a perfect mafter 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 interefts. With a mind thus turned, young Inkle had a perfon every way agreeable, a ruddy vigour in his countenance, ftrength in his limbs, with ringlets of fair hair loosely flowing on his fhoulders. It happened, in the course of the voyage, that the Achilles, in fome diftrefs, put into a creek on the main of America, in fearch of provifions. The youth, who is the hero of my ftory, among others went ahore on this occafion. From their first landing they were obferved by a party of Indians, who hid themselves in the woods for that purpose. The English unadvisedly marched a great distance

from

from the fhore into the country, and were intercepted by the natives, who flew the greatest number of them. Our adventurer efcaped among others, by flying into a foreft. 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 furprize, 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. folicitous for his prefervation. She therefore conveyed him to a cave, where fhe gave him a delicious repaft of fruits, and led him to a ftream to flake his thirft. In the midft of thefe good offices, fhe would fometimes play with his hair, and delight in the oppofition of its colour to that of her fingers; then open his bofom, then laugh at him for covering it. She was, it feems, a perfon of distinction, for the every day came to him in a different drefs, of the most beautiful fhells, bugles, and braids. 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 moon-light, to unfrequented groves and folitudes, and fhow him where to lie down in fafety, and fleep 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 fafety. In this manner did the lovers pafs away their time, until they had VOL. I. learned

+ E

learned a language of their own, in which the voy. ager communicated to his miftrefs, how happy he fhould be to have her in his country, where the fhould be clothed in fuch filks as his waiftcoat was made of, and be carried in houfes drawn by horfes, without being expofed to wind or weather. All this he promised her the enjoyment of, without fuch fears and alarms as they were there tormented with. In this tender correfpondence thefe lovers. lived for feveral months, when Yarico, inftructed by her lover, discovered a veffel on the coaft, to which the made fignals; and, in the night, with the utmoft joy and fatisfaction, accompanied him to a fhip's crew of his countrymen, bound for Barbadoes. When a veffel from the main arrives in that ifland, it seems, the planters come down to the fhore, where there is an immediate market of the Indians and other flaves, as with us of horses and

oxen.

To be fhort, 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 loft during his stay with Tarico. This thought made the young man very penfive, and careful what account he fhould be able to give his friends of his voyage. Upon which confideration, the prudent and frugal young man fold Farico to a Barbadian merchant; notwithstanding that the poor girl, to incline him 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 purchafer.

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

R

WEDNESDAY,

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 bcfore I could fettle myfelf in a houfe to my liking. I was forced to quit my first lodgings, by reafon of an officious landlady, that would be atking 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 honeft 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 laft in the afternoon, and was afterwards feen going towards Ilington, if any one can give notice of him to R. B. Fishmonger in the Strand, he fall be very well rewarded for his pains. As I am the best man in the world to keep my own counfel, and my landlord the fishmonger not knowing my name, this accident of my life was never difcovered to this very day.

I am now fettled 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 thefe 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 fay fhe 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 eldeft fifter immediately calls him off, and bids him not disturb the Gentleman. At my firft 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 thefe occafions I always cried pish, and went out again, has forbidden any fuch ceremony to be used in the houfe; fo that at prefent I walk into the kitchen or parlour without being taken notice of, or giving any interruption to the business or difcourfe of the family. The maid will afk her miftrefs (though I am by) whether the Gentleman is ready to go to dinner, as the miftrefs (who is indeed an excellent house-wife) fcolds at the fervants as heartily before my face as behind my back. In fhort, I move up and down the houfe, and enter into all companies with the fame liberty as a cat or any other domeftick animal, and am as little fufpect ed of telling any thing that I hear or fee.

I remember laft winter there were feveral young girls of the neighbourhood fitting about the fire with my landlady's daughters, and telling ftories of fpirits and apparitions. Upon my opening the door the young women broke off their difcourfe, 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 myfelf 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 feveral dreadful ftories of ghofts as pale as afhes that had

stood