by, from being fenfible of the foulnefs and thicknefs of the water, which had this effect, that it intoxicated thofe who drunk it, and made thein mistake every object that lay before them : both rivulets were parted near their fprings into fo many others, as there were straight and crooked paths, which they attended all along to their respective iifues.

I obferved from the feveral paths many now and then diverting, to refresh and otherwise qualify themfelves for their journey, to the respective rivulets that ran near them; they contracted a very obfervable courage and steadinefs in what they were about, by drinking thefe waters. At the end of the perfpective of every straight path, all which did end in one illue and point, appeared a high pillar, all of diamond, cafting rays as bright as thofe of the fun into the paths; which rays had alfo certain fympathizing and alluring virtues in them, fo that whofoever had made fome confiderable progrefs in his journey onwards towards the pillar, by the repeated impreffion of thefe rays upon him, was wrought into an habitual inclination and convertion of his fight towards it, fo that it grew at last in a manner natural to him to look and gaze upon it, whereby he was kept fteady in the Atraight paths, which alone led to that radiant body, the beholding of which was now grown a gratification to his

nature..

At the illue of the crooked paths there was a great black tower, out of the center of which streamed a long fucceffion of flames, which did rife even above the clouds; it gave a very great light to the whole plain, which did fometimes outhine the light, and oppreffed the beams of the adamantine pillar; though by the obfervation I made afterwards, it appeared that it was not for any diminution of light, but that this lay in the travellers, who would fometimes ftep out of thefe ftraight paths, where they loft the full profpect of the radiant pillar, and faw it but fide-ways: but the great light from the black tower, which was fomewhat particularly fcorching to them, would generally light and haften them to their proper cinmate again.

Round about the black tower there were, methought, many thousands of huge mithapen ugly monfters; these had great nets, which they were perpetually

plying and cafting towards the crooked paths, and they would now and then catch up thofe that were nearest to them: these they took up straight, and whirled over the walls into the flaming tower, and they were no more feen nor heard of. They would fometimes caft their nets towards the right paths to catch the ftragglers, whofe eyes, for want of quent drinking at the brook that ran by of fres them, grew dim, whereby they lost their way; thefe would fometimes very narrowly mifs being catched away, but I could not hear whether any of thefe had ever been fo unfortunate, that had been before very hearty in the traight paths. I considered all thefe ftrange fights with great attention, until at laft I was interrupted by a clufter of the travellers in the crooked paths, who came up to me, bid me go along with them, and prefently fell to finging and dancing, they took me by the hand, and fo car ried me away along with them. Atter I had followed them a confiderable while I perceived I had loft the black tower of light, at which I greatly wondered; but I looked and gazed round about me, and faw nothing. I began to fancy my first vilion had been but a dream, and there was no fuch thing in reality: but then I confidered that if I could fancy to fee what was not, I might as well have an illufion wrought on me at prefent, and not fee what was really before me. I was very much confirmed in this thought, by the effect I then just obferved the water of Worldly Wifdom had upon me; for as I had drunk a little of it again, I felt a very fenfible effect in my head; methought it distracted and difordered all there, this made me top of a fudden, fufpecting fome charm or inchantment. As I was cafting about within myself what I fhould do, and whom to apply to in this cafe, I fpied at fome diftance off me a man. beckoning, and making figns to me to come over to him. I cried to him, I did not know the way. He then called to me audibly, to ftep at least out of the path I was in; for if I ftaid there any longer I was in danger to be catched in a great net that was juft hanging over me, and ready to catch me up; that he wondered I was fo blind, or so diftracted, as not to fee fo imminent and visible a danger; affaring me, that a foon as I was out of that way he would come to

me

me to lead me into a more fecure path. This I did, and he brought me his palm full of the water of Heavenly Wifləm, which was of very great ufe to me, for my eyes were straight cleared, and I faw the great black tower just before me; but the great net which I fpied fo near me, caft me in fuch a terror, that I ran back as far as I could in one breath without looking behind me: then my benefactor thus bespoke me-You have ⚫ made the wonderfullest escape in the * world; the water you used to drink is ⚫ of a bewitching nature; you would ⚫ else have been mightily fhocked at the ⚫ deformities and meannefs of the place; ⚫ for befide the fet of blind fools in whofe company you was, you may now behold many others who are only • bewitched after another no lefs dangerous manner. Look a little that way, there goes a crowd of paffen. gers; they have indeed fo good a head as not to fuffer themlelves to be blinded by this bewitching water; the black ⚫ tower is not vanished out of their fight, they fee it whenever they look up to it; but fee how they go tide-ways, and with their eyes downwards, as if they were mad, that they may thus ruh ⚫ into the net, without being beforehand troubled at the thought of fo mifer⚫able a deftru&tion. Their wills are fo perverfe, and their hearts fo fond of the pleafures of the place, that rather than forego them they will run

IT

all hazards, and venture upon all the miferies and woes before them.

See there that other company: though they should drink none of the bewitching water, yet they take a course bewitching and deluding; fee now they choose the crookedeft paths, whereby they have often the black tower behind them, and fometimes fee the radiant column fide-ways, which gives them fome weak glimpse of it. Thele fools content themselves with that, not knowing whether any other have any more of it's influence and light than themfelves: this road is called that of Superftition or Human I vention; they grofsly overlook that which the rules and laws of the place prefcribe to them, and contrive forne • other scheme and fet of directions and prefcriptions for themfelves, which

they hope will ferve their turn.' He fhewed me many other kind of fooisy which put me quite out of humour with the place. At last he carried me to the right paths, when I found true and folid pleature, which entertained me all the way until we came in clufer fight of the pillar, where the fatisfaction increafed to that measure that my facul ties were not able to contain it: in the ftraining of them, I was violently waked, not a little grieved at the vanishing of fo pleafant a dream.

GLASGOW, SEPT. 29.

Ζολωτός ἀνθρώποισιν,

EURIP.

Tis my cuftom to take frequent opportunities of inquiring from time to time, what fuccefs my fpeculations meet with in the town. I am glad to And in particular, that my difcourfes on arriage have been well received. A friend of mine gives me to understand, from Doctors Commons, that more licences have been taken out there of late than usual. I am likewife informed of feveral pretty fellows, who have refolved to commence heads of families by the fitt favourable opportunity: one of them writes me word, that he is ready

to enter into the bonds of matrimony, provided I will give it him under my hand (as I now do) that a man may fhew his face in good company after he is married, and that he need not be ashamed to treat a woman with kindnefs, who puts herfeif into his power for life.

I have other letters on this fubjec which fay that I am attempting to make a revolution in the world of galiantry, and that the confequence of it will be, that a great deal of the sprightlieft wit and fathe of the lift age will be loft: that

a bafhful fellow, upon changing his condition, will be no longer puzzled how to ftand the raillery of his facetious =companions; that he need not own he married only to plunder an he refs of her fortune, nor pretend that he ufes her ill, to avoid the ridiculous name of a fond hufband.

Indeed, if I may fpeak my opinion of great part of the writings which once prevailed among us under the notion of humour, they are fuch as would tempt one to think there had been an affocia. tion among the wits of thofe times to rally legitimacy out of our island. A fate of wedlock was the common mark of all the adventurers in farce and comedy, as well as the effayers in lampoon and fatire, to fhoot at, and nothing was a more ftanding jeft in all clubs of fashionable mirth and gay converfation. It was determined among thofe airy critics, that the appellation of a fober man should fignify a fpiritlefs fellow, And I am apt to think it was about the fame time, that good-nature, a word fo peculiarly elegant in our language, that fome have affirmed it cannot well be ex preffed in any other, came first to be rendered fufpicious, and in danger of being transferred from it's original fenfe to fo diftant an idea as that of folly.

I must confefs it has been my ambition, in the courfe of my writings, to reftore, as well as I was able, the proper ideas of things. And as I have attempted this already on the fubiect of marriage in feveral papers, I fhall here add fome farther obfervations which occur to me on the fame head.

Nothing feems to be thought, by our fine gentlemen, fo indifpenfable an ornament in fashionable life, as love. A 'knight-errant,' fays Don Quixote, without a mistress, is like a tree with out leaves; and a man of mode among us, who has not fome fair-or one to figh for, might as well pretend to appear dreffed without his periwig. We have lovers in profe innumerable. All our pretenders to rhyme are profeffed inamoratos; and there is fearce a poet,, good or bad, to be heard of, who has not fome real or fuppofed Sachariffa to improve his vein.

If love be any refinement, conjugal love must be certainly fo in a much higher degree. There is no comparifon between the frivolous affectation of attracting the eyes of women with whom

I have often thought, if the letters® written by men of good-nature to their wives, were to be compared with those written by men of gallantry to their miftreffes, the former, notwithstanding any inequality of ftile, would appear to have the advantage. Friendhip, tenderness, and conftancy, dreft in a fimplicity of expreffion, recommend themfelves by a more native elegance, than paffionate raptures, extravagant encomiums, and flavish adoration. If we were admitted to fearch the cabinet of the beautiful Narciffe, among heaps of epiftles from feveral admirers, which are there preferved with equal care, how few fhould we find but would make any one fick in the reading, except her who is flattered by them? But in how different a ftile must the wife Benevolus, who converfes with that good fenfe and good humour among all his friends, write to a wife who is the worthy object of his utmost affection? Benevolus, both in public and private, and all occafions of life, appears to have every good quality and defirable ornament. Abroad he is reverenced and esteemed; at home beloved and happy. The fatisfaction he enjoys there, fettles into an habitual complacency, which fhines in his countenance, enlivens his wit, and featons his converfation: even thofe of his acquaintance, who have never seen him in his retirement, are harers in the hap pinefs of it; and it is very much owing to his being the belt and best-beloved of husbands, that he is the moft ftedtuft of friends, and the most agreeable of companions,tana

There

There is a fenfible pleafure in contemplating fuch beautiful inftances of domestic life. The happiness of the conjugal ftate appears heightened to the highest degree it is capable of, when we fee two perfons of accomplished minds, not only united in the fame interefts and affections, but in their taste of the fame improvements, pleafures, and diverfions. Pliny, one of the fineft gentlemen and politeft writers of the age in which he lived, has left us in his letter to Hifpulla, his wife's aunt, one of the mot agreeable family pieces of this kind I have ever met with. I fhall end this difcourfe with a tranflation of it; and I believe the reader will be of my opinion, that conjugal love is drawn in it with a delicacy which makes it appear to be, as I have reprefented it, an ornament as well as a virtue.

tion to me. She reads my writings, ftudies them, and even gets them by heart. You would fimile to fee the cons cern he is in when I have a cause to

plead, and the joy the fhews when it is She finds means to have the firk over. news brought her of the fuccefs I meet with in court, how I am heard, and what decree is made. If I recite any thing in public, the cannot refrain from placing herself privately in fome corner to hear, where with the utmost delight the feats upon my applaufes. Sometimes the fings my verfes, and accom panies them with the lute, without any master except Love, the best of in ftructors. From thefe inftances I take the most certain omens of our perpetual and increafing happiness; fince her affec tion is not founded on my youth and perfon, which muft gradually decay, but he is in love with the immortal part of me, my glory and reputation. Nor indeed could lets be expected from one who had the happiness to receive her education from you, who in your house was accuftomed to every thing that was virtuous and decent, and even began to love me by your recommendation. For, as you had always the greatest respect for my mother, you were pleafed from my infancy to form me, to commend me, and kindly to prefage I should be one day what my wife fancies I am. Accept therefore our united thanks; mine, that you have bestowed her on me; and her's, that you have given me to her, as a mutual grant of joy and felicity,

OVID. MET. L. II. VER. 127.
ADDISON.

lution, and integrity, of the perfon deputed by me to give an account of enormitics, I doubt not but I fhall foon have before me all proper notices which are requifite for the amendment of manners in public, and the instruction of each individual of the human fpecies in what is due from him, in respect to the whole body of mankind. The prefent paper thall confit only of the above-mentioned letter, and the copy of a deputation which I have given to my trusty friend Mr. John Sly; wherein he is charged to

notify