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that fome little distastes I daily receive have loft their anguish; and I did the other day, without the leaft difpleafure, overhear one say of me, "That strange fellow;" and another answer, "I have known the fellow's " face these twelve years, and so must you; but I believe you are the first ever afked me who he was." There are, I must confefs, many to whom my perfon is as well known as that of their nearest relations, who give themselves no farther trouble about calling me by my name or quality, but speak of me very currently by Mr. What d've call him.

To make up for these trivial difadvantages, I have the high fatisfaction of beholding all nature with an unprejudiced eye; and having nothing to do with men's paffions or interests, I can with the greatest fagacity confider their talents, manners, failings, and merits.

It is remarkable that those who want any one sense poffefs the others with greater force and vivacity. Thus my want of, or rather refignation of, speech, gives me all the advantage of a dumb man. I have, methinks, a a more than ordinary penetration in feeing; and flatter myfelf that I have looked into the highest and lowest of mankind, and make fhrewd gueffes, without being admitted to their converfation, at the inmost thoughts and reflections of all whom I behold. It is from hence that good or ill fortune has no manner of force towards affect-ing my judgment. I fee men flourishing in courts, and languishing in jails, without being prejudiced from their circumftances to their favour or difadvantage; but from their inward manner of bearing their condition, ofter pity the profperous, and admire the unhappy.

Those who converfe with the dumb, know from the turn of their eyes, and the changes of their countenance, their fentiments of the objects before them. Phave indulged my filence to fuch an extravagance, that the few who are intimate with me, anfwer my fmiles with concurrent fentences, and argue to the very point I shaked my head at, without my speaking. Will Honeycomb was very entertaining the other night at a play, to a Gentleman who fat on his right hand, while I was at his left. The Gentleman believed Will was talking

to himself, when upon my looking with great approbation at a young thing in a box before us, he faid, " I am quite of another opinion. She has, I allow, a very "pleasing afpect, but methinks that fimplicity in her "countenance is rather childith than innocent.

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I obferved her a second time, he faid, " I grant her drefs " is very becoming, but perhaps the merit of that choice " is owing to her mother; for though, continued he, I "allow a beauty to be as much to be commended for the elegance of her dress, as a wit for that of his language; yet if she has stolen the colour of her ribbands from an"other, or had advice about her trimmings, I shall not "allow her the praise of dress, any more than I would "call a plagiary an author." When I threw my eves towards the next woman to her, Will spose what I looked, according to his romantic imagination, in the following manner.

"Behold, you who dare, that charming virgin; behold "the beauty of her perfon chastised by the innocence of "her thoughts. Chaftity, good-nature, and affability, are "the graces that play in her countenance; the knows the " is handfome, but the knows the is good. Confcious

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beauty adorned with confcious virtue! What a fpirit " is there in those eyes! What a bloom in that perfon! How is the whole woman expreffed in her appearance! her air has the beauty of motion, and her look the "force of language."

It was prudence to turn away my eyes from this object, and therefore I turned them to the thoughtless creatures who make up the lump of that sex, and move a knowing eye no more than the portraitures of infignificant people by ordinary painters, which are but pictures of pictures.

Thus the working of my own mind is the general entertainment of my life; I never enter in the commerce of difcourse with any but my particular friends, and not in public even with them. Such an habit has perhaps kaifed in me uncommon reflections; but this effect I cannot communicate but by my writings. As my pleatures are almost wholly confined to those of the fight, I take it

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for a peculiar happiness that I have always had an easy and familiar admittance to the fair fex. If I never praifed or flattered, I never belyed or contradicted them. As thefe compofe half the world, and are, by the just complaifance and gallantry of our nation, the more powerful part of our people, I shall dedicate a confiderable share of these my fpeculations to their fervice, and shall lead the young through all the becoming duties of virginity, marriage, and widowhood. When it is a woman's day, in my works, I shall endeavour at a stile and air fuitable to their understanding. When I say this, I must be underftood to mean, that I shall not lower but exalt the subjects I treat upon. Difcourse for their entertainment, is not to be debafed but refined. A man may appear learned without talking sentences, as in his ordinary gesture he difcovers he can dance though he does not cut capers. In a word, I shall take it for the greatest glory of my work, if among reafonable women this paper may furnish TeaTable Talk. In order to it, I shall treat on matters which relate to females, as they are concerned to approach or fly from the other fex, or as they are tied to them by blood, interest, or affection. Upon this occafion I think it but reasonable to declare, that whatever skill I may have in speculation, I shall never betray what the eyes of lovers fay to each other in my prefence. At the fame time I shall not think myself obliged, by this promife, to conceal any false proteftations which I observe made by glances in public afsemblies; but endeavour to make both fexes appear in their conduct what they are in their hearts. By this means, love, during the time of my fpeculations, shall be carried on with the fame fincerity as any other affairs of less confideration. As this is the greatest concern, men shall be from henceforth liable to the greatest reproach for misbehaviour in it. Falfehood in love shall hereafter bear a blacker afpect, than infidelity in friendship, or villany in business. For this great and good end, all breaches against that noble paffion, the cement of fociety, shall be feverely examined. But this, and all other matters loofely hinted at now, and in my former papers, shall have their proper place in my following following difcourses; the present writing is only to admonish the world, that they shall not find me an idle but a busy Spectator.

No. V. TUESDAY, MARCH 6.

Spectatum admissi risum teneatis?

HOR.

Admitted to the fight, wou'd you not laugh?

R.

AN Opera may be allowed to be extravagantly lavish

in it's decorations, as it's only design is to gratify the fenfes, and keep up an indolent attention in the audience. Common fenfe however requires, that there should be nothing in the scenes and machines which may appear childish and abfurd. How would the wits of King Charles's time have laughed to have feen Nicolini exposed to a tempeft in robes of ermine, and failing in an open boat upon a fea of pasteboard? What a field of raillery would they have been let into, had they been entertained with painted dragons spitting wild-fire, enchanted chariots drawn by Flanders mares, and real cafcades in artificial landskips? A little skill in criticifm would inform us, that shadows and realities ought not to be mixed together in the fame piece; and, that the scenes which are defigned as the representations of nature, should be filled with refemblances, and not with the things themselves. If one would reprefent a wide champain country filled with herds and flocks, it would be ridiculous to draw the country only upon the scenes, and to croud feveral parts of the stage with theep and oxen. This is joining together inconfiftences, and making the decoration partly real and partly imaginary. I would recommend what I have faid here to the directors, as well as the admirers of our modern Opera.

As I was walking in the streets about a fortnight ago, I faw an ordinary fellow carrying a cage full of little birds upon his shoulder; and, as I was wondering with myfelf

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myfelf what use he would put them to, he was met very luckily by an acquaintance, who had the fame curiofity. Upon his asking him what he had upon his shoulder, he told him that he had been buying sparrows for the opera. Sparrows for the opera, says his friend, licking his lips, what, are they to be roasted? No, no, fays the other, they are to enter towards the end of the first act, and to fly about the stage.

This strange dialogue awakened my curiofity so far, that I immediately bought the opera, by which means I perceived that the sparrows were to act the part of finging-birds in a delightful grove; though upon a nearer inquiry I found the sparrows put the fame trick upon the audiencc, that Sir Martin Mar-all practised upon his mistress, for though they flew in fight, the mufic proceeded from a confort of flagelets and birdscalls which were planted behind the scenes. At the same time I made this discovery, I found by the discourse of the actors, that there were great designs on foot for the improvement of the opera; that it had been proposed to break down a part of the wall, and to surprise the audience with a party of an hundred horse, and that there was actually a project of bringing the NewRiver into the house, to be employed in jetteaus and water-works. This project, as I have since heard, is poftponed till the fummer-feafon; when it is thought the coolness that proceeds from fountains and cascades will be more acceptable and refreshing to people of quality. In the mean time, to find out a more agreeable entertainment for the winter-feafon, the opera of Rinaldo is filled with thunder and lightning, illuminations and fire-works; which the audience may look upon without catching cold, and indeed, without much danger of being burnt; for there are several engines filled with water, and ready to play at a minute's warning, in cafe any fuch accident should happen. However, as I have a very great friendship for the owner of this theatre, I hope that he has been wife enough to infure his house before he would let this opera be acted in it.

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