'Sir. Your Ingratitude for the many Kindnesses I have done you, shall not make me unthankful for the Good you have done me, in letting me see there is such a Man as you in the World. I am obliged to you for the Diffidence I shall have all the rest of my Life: I shall hereafter trust no Man so far as to be in his Debt.' No. 83. W Tuesday, June 5, -Animum pictura pascit inani.-Virg. R WHEN the Weather hinders me from taking my Di versions without Doors, I frequently make a little Party with two or three select Friends, to visit any thing curious that may be seen under Covert. My principal Entertainments of this Nature are Pictures, insomuch that when I have found the Weather set in to be very bad, I have taken a whole Day's Journey to see a Gallery that is furnished by the Hands of great Masters. By this Means, when the Heavens are filled with Clouds, when the Earth swims in Rain, and all Nature wears a lowring Countenance, I withdraw my self from these uncomfort able Scenes into the visionary Worlds of Art; where I meet with shining Landskips, gilded Triumphs, beautiful Faces, and all those other Objects that fill the Mind with gay Ideas, and disperse that Gloominess which is apt to hang upon it in those dark disconsolate Seasons, I was some Weeks ago in a Course of these Diversions ; which had taken such an entire Possession of my Imagina tion, that they formed in it a short Morning's Dream, which I shall communicate to my Reader, rather as the first Sketch and Outlines of a Vision than as a finished Piece. I dreamt that I was admitted into a long spacious Gal lery, which had one Side covered with Pieces of all the famous Painters who are now living, and the other with the Works of the greatest Masters that are dead. On the side of the Living I saw several Persons busy in Drawing, Colouring, and Designing; on the Side of the Dead Painters I could not discover more than one Person Person at work, who was exceeding slow in his Motions, No. 83, and wonderfully nice in his Touches, I was resolved to examine the several Artists that stood before me, and accordingly applied my self to the Side of the Living. The first I observed at work in this Part of the Gallery was VANITY, with his Hair tied behind him in a Ribbon, and dressed like a Frenchman. All the Faces he drew, were very remarkable for their Smiles, and a certain smirking Air which he bestowed indiffer ently on every Age and Degree of either Sex The Toujours Gai appeared even in his Judges, Bishops, and Privy Counsellors: In a Word, all his Men were Petits Maitres, and all his Women Coquets. The Drapery of his Figures was extreamly well suited to his Faces, and was made up of all the glaring Colours that could be mixt together; every Part of the Dress was in a Flutter, and endeavoured to distinguish it self above the rest. On the Left-hand of VANITY stood a laborious Workman, who I found was his humble Admirer, and copied after him. He was dressed like a German, and had a very hard Name that sounded something like STUPIDITY, The third Artist that I looked over was FANTASQUE, dressed like a Venetian Scaramouch. He had an excel lent Hand at a Chimera, and dealt very much in Dis tortions and Grimaces. He would sometimes affright himself with the Phantoms that flowed from his Pencil. In short, the most elaborate of his Pieces was at best but a terrifying Dream; and one could say nothing more of his finest Figures, than that they were agreeable Monsters, The fourth Person I examined was very remarkable for his hasty Hand, which left his Pictures so unfinished, that the Beauty in the Picture (which was designed to continue as a Monument of it to Posterity) faded sooner than in the Person after whom it was drawn. He made so much Haste to dispatch his Business, that he neither gave himself Time to clean his Pencils nor mix his Colours, The Name of this expeditious Workman was AVARICE, Not far from this Artist I saw another of a quite different Nature, who was dressed in the Habit of a Dutchman, and known Tuesday, June 5, 1711. No. 83. known by the Name of INDUSTRY. His Figures were Tuesday, wonderfully laboured: If he drew the Portraiture of a Man, June 5, he did not omit a single Hair in his Face; if the Figure of 1711, a Ship, there was not a Rope among the Tackle that escaped him. He had likewise hung a great Part of the Wall with Night-Pieces, that seemed to show themselves by the Candles which were lighted up in several Parts of them; and were so inflamed by the Sun-shine which accidentally fell upon them, that at first Sight I could scarce forbear cry ing out Fire. The five foregoing Artists were the most considerable on this Side the Gallery; there were indeed several others whom I had not Time to look into. One of them however I could not forbear observing, who was very busy in re touching the finest Pieces, though he produced no Originals of his own. His Pencil aggravated every Feature that was before over-charged, loaded every Defect, and poisoned every Colour it touched. Though this Workman did so much Mischief on the Side of the Living, he never_turned his Eye towards that of the Dead. His Name was ENVY, Having taken a cursory View of one Side of the Gallery, I turned my self to that which was filled by the Works of those great Masters that were dead; when immediately I fancied my self standing before a Multitude of Spectators, and thousands of Eyes looking upon me at once; for all before me appeared so like Men and Women, that I almost forgot they were Pictures. Raphael's Figures stood in one Row, Titian's in another, Guido Rheni's in a third, One Part of the Wall was peopled by Hanibal Carrache, another by Correggio, and another by Rubens. To be short, there was not a great Master among the Dead who had not contributed to the Embellishment of this Side of the Gallery, The Persons that owed their Being to these several Masters, appeared all of them to be real and alive, and differed among one another only in the Variety of their Shapes, Complexions, and Cloaths; so that they looked like different Nations of the same Species, Observing an old Man (who was the same Person I before mentioned, as the only Artist that was at work on this Side of the Gallery) creeping up and down from one Picture 1711 Picture to another, and re-touching all the fine Pieces that No. 83, stood before me, I could not but be very attentive to all Tuesday, his Motions. I found his Pencil was so very light that it June 5, worked imperceptibly, and after a thousand Touches scarce produced any visible Effect in the Picture on which he was employ'd. However, as he busied himself inces santly, and repeated Touch after Touch without Rest or Intermission, he wore off insensibly every little disagree able Gloss that hung upon a Figure: He also added such a beautiful Brown to the Shades, and Mellowness to the Colours, that he made every Picture appear more perfect than when it came fresh from the Master's Pencil. I could not forbear looking upon the Face of this ancient Workman, and immediately by the long Lock of Hair upon his Forehead discovered him to be TIME Whether it were because the Thread of my Dream was at an end I cannot tell, but upon my taking a Survey of this imaginary old Man my Sleep left me, No. 84, Wednesday, June 6, Quis talia fando Myrmidonum Dolopumve aut duri miles Ulyssei OOKING over the old Manuscript wherein the private L Actions of Pharamond are set down by way of Table-book, I found many things which gave me great Delight; and as human Life turns upon the same Prin ciples and Passions in all Ages, I thought it very proper to take Minutes of what passed in that Age, for the Instruc tion of this. The Antiquary who lent me these Papers gave me a Character of Eucrate, the Favourite of Phara mond, extracted from an Author who lived in that Court. The Account he gives both of the Prince and this his faithful Friend, will not be improper to insert here, because I may have Occasion to mention many of their Conver sations, into which these Memorials of them may give Light. 'Pharamond, when he had a Mind to retire for an Hour No. 84, day, June 6, 1711. Hour or two from the Hurry of Business and Fatigue Wednes of Ceremony, made a Signal to Eucrate, by putting his Hand to his Face, placing his Arm negligently on a Window, or some such Action as appeared indifferent to all the rest of the Company. Upon such Notice, unobserved by others (for their entire Intimacy was always a Secret), Eucrate repaired to his own Apart ment to receive the King. There was a secret Access to this Part of the Court, at which Eucrate used to admit many whose mean Appearance in the Eyes of the ordinary Waiters and Door-keepers made them be re pulsed from other Parts of the Palace. Such as these were let in here by Order of Eucrate, and had Audi ences of Pharamond. This Entrance Pharamond called the Gate of the Unhappy, and the Tears of the Afflicted who came before him, he would say were Bribes received by Eucrate; for Eucrate had the most compas sionate Spirit of all Men living, except his generous Master, who was always kindled at the least Affliction which was communicated to him. In the Regard for the Miserable, Eucrate took particular Care, that the common Forms of Distress, and the idle Pretenders to Sorrow, about Courts, who wanted only Supplies to Luxury, should never obtain Favour by his Means: But the Distresses which arise from the many inex plicable Occurrences that happen among Men, the un accountable Alienation of Parents from their Children, Cruelty of Husbands to Wives, Poverty occasioned from Shipwreck or Fire, the falling out of Friends, or such other terrible Disasters to which the Life of Man is exposed; In Cases of this Nature, Eucrate was the Patron; and enjoyed this Part of the royal Favour so much without being envied, that it was never enquired into by whose Means, what no one else cared for doing, was brought about. One Evening when Pharamond came into the Apart ment of Eucrate, he found him extremely dejected; upon which he asked (with a Smile which was natural to him) "What, is there any one too miserable to be relieved by Pharamond, that Eucrate is melancholy?" "I fear there is," answered the Favorite; "a Person without |