A Lady of my acquaintance, for whom affair. She enlarged upon young ma I have too much refpect to be eafy while he is doing an indifcreet action, has given occafion to this trouble: the is a widow, to whom the indulgence of a tender husband has intrusted the management of a very great fortune, and a fon about fixteen, both which the is extremely fond of. The boy has parts of the middle fize, neither fhining nor defpicable, and has paffed the common exercifes of his years with tolerable advantage, but is withal what you would call a forward youth: by the help of this laft qualification, which ferves as a varnish to all the reft, he is enabled to make the beft ufe of his learning, and difplay it at full length upon all occafions. Laft fummer he diftinguished himfelf two or three times very remarkably, by puzzling the vicar before an affembly of most of the ladies in the neighbourhood; and from fuch weighty confiderations as thefe, as it too often unfortunately falls out, the mother is become invincibly perfuaded that her fon is a great scholar; and that to chain him down to the ordinary methods of edu'cation with others of his age, would be to cramp his faculties, and do an irreparable injury to his wonderful capacity. I happened to vifit at the house last week, and miffing the young gentleman at the tea-table, where he feldom fails to officiate, could not upon fo extraordinary a circumitance avoid enquiring after him. My lady told me he was gone out with her woman, in order to make fome preparations for their equipage; for that he intended very Ipeedily to carry him to travel. The oddnels of the expreffion fhocked me a little; however, I foon recovered myfelf enough to let her know, that all I was willing to understand by it was, that fhe defigned this fummer to fhew her fon his eftate in a diftant county, in which he had never yet been. But the foon took care to rob me of that agree fter's prodigious improvements, and his comprehenfive knowledge of all booklearning, concluding, that it was now high time he should be made acquainted with men and things; that he had refolved he should make the tour of France and Italy, but could not bear to have him out of her fight, and therefore intended to go along with him. I was going to rally her for fo extravagant a refolution, but found myself not in a fit humour to meddle with a fubject that demanded the moft foft and delicate touch imaginable. I was afraid of dropping fomething that might feem to bear hard either upon the fon's abilities, or the mother's difcretion; being fenfible that in both thefe cafes, though fupported with all the powers of reafon, I fhould, inftead of gaining her ladyfhip over to my opinion, only expofe myfelf to her difefteem: I therefore immediately determined to refer the whole matter to the Spectator. When I came to reflect at night, as my custom is, upon the occurrences of the day, I could not but believe that this humour of carrying a boy to travel in his mother's lap, and that upon pretence of learning men and things, is a cafe of an extraordinary nature, and carries on it a particular flamp of folly. I did not remember to have met with it's parallel within the compafs of my obfervation, though I could call to mind fome not extremely unlike it: from hence my thoughts took occafion to ramble into the general notion of travelling, as it is now made a part of education. Nothing is more frequent than to take a lad from grammar and taw, and under the tuition of fome poor fcholar, who is willing to be banished for thirty pounds a year, and a little victuals, fend him crying and finivelling into foreign countries. Thus he spends his time as children do at puppet-fhows, and with much the fame advantage, in staring and and gaping at an amazing variety of ftrange things; ftrange indeed to one who is not prepared to comprehend the reafons and meaning of them; whilst he fhould be laying the folid foundations of knowledge in his mind, and furnishing it with juft rules to direct his future progrefs in life under fome skilful matter of the art of inftruction. Can there be a more aftonifhing thought in nature, than to confider how men fhould fall into fo palpable a mistake? It is a large field, and may very well exercife a fprightly genius; but I do not remember you have yet taken a turn in it. I with, Sir, you would make people understand, that travel is really the last step to be taken in the inftitution of youth; and to fet out with it, is to begin where they should end. Certainly the true end of visiting foreign parts, is to look into their customs and policies, and obferve in what particulars they excel or come fhort of our own; to unlearn fome odd peculiarities in our manners, and wear off fuch aukward ftiffneffes and affectations in our behaviour, as poffibly may have been contracted from conftantly affociating with one nation of men, by a more free,general, and mixed converfation: but how can any of thefe advantages be attained by one who is a mere ftranger to the cuf toms and policies of his native country, and has not yet fixed in his mind the first principles of manners and behaviour? To endeavour it, is to build a gaudy ftructure without any foundation; or, if I may be allowed the expreffion, to work a rich embroidery upon a cobweb. Another end of travelling, which deferves to be confidered, is the improving our taste of the beft authors of antiquity, by feeing the places where they lived, and of which they wrote; to compare the natural face of the country with the defcriptions they have given us, and obferve how well the picture agrees with the original. This muft certainly be a moft charming exercife to the mind that is rightly turned for it; befides that it may in a good measure be made subfervient to morality, if the perfon is capable of drawing juft conclufions concerning the uncertainty of human things, from the ruinous alterations time and barbarity have brought upon fo many palaces, cities, and whole countries, which make the moft illuftrious figures in hiftory. And this hint may be not a little improved by examining every little spot of ground that we find celebrated as the fcene of fome famous action, or retaining any footsteps of a Cato, Cicero, or Brutus, or fome fuch great virtuous mag. A nearer view of any fuch particular, though really little and trifling in itfelf, may ferve the more powerfully to warm a generous mind to an emulation of their virtues, and a greater ardency of ambition to imitate their bright examples, if it comes duly tempered and prepared for the impreffion. But this I believe you will hardly think thofe to be, who are fo far from entering into the fense and spirit of the ancients, that they do not yet underftand their language with any exact. nefs. But I have wandered from my purpofe, which was only to defire you to fave, if poffible, a fond English mother, and mother's own fon, from being shewn a ridiculous fpectacle through the most polite parts of Europe. Pray tell them, that though to be fea.fick, or jumbled in an outlandish ftage-coach, may perhaps be heaithful for the constitution of the body, yet it is apt to caufe fuch a dizzinefs in young empty heads, as too often lafts their life time. I am, Sir, your humble fervant, I Was married on Sunday laft, and went peaceably to bed; but to my furprife, was awakened the next morning by the thunder of a fet of drums, These warlike founds (methinks) are very improper in a marriage-concert, and give great offence; they feem to infinuate, that the joys of this itate are fhort, and that jars and difcord foon enthe. I fear they have been ominotes to many matches, and fometimes proved a prelude to a battle in the honey-moon. A nod from you may hush them; therefore, pray, Sir, let them be filenced, that for the future none but foft airs may ufher in the morning of a bridal night, which will be a favour rict only to the who come after, but to ine, who can still subscribe myself, your most humble and most obedient fervant, ROBIN BRIDEGROOM. 542 MR. I MR. SPECTATOR, Am one of that fort of women whom the gayer part of our fex are apt to call a prude. But to fhew them that I have very little regard to their rallery, I fhall be glad to fee them all at the Amorous Widow, or the Wanton Wife, which is to be acted, for the benefit of Mrs. Porter, on Monday the 28th inftant. I affure you, I can laugh at an amorous widow, or wanton wife, with as little temptation to imitate them, as I could at any other vicious character.. TH Mrs. Porter obliged me fo very much N° CCCLXV. TUESDAY, APRIL 29. VERE MAGIS, QUIA VERE CALOR REDIT OSSIBUS VIRG. GEORG. III. V. 272. BUT MOST IN SPRING; THE KINDLY SPRING INSPIRES HE author of the Menagiana acquaints us, that difcourfing one day with feveral ladies of quality about the effects of the month of May, which infufes a kindly warmth into the earth, and all it's inhabitants; the Marchioness of S, who was one of the company, told him, that though fhe would promife to be chafte in every month besides, the could not engage for herself in May. As the beginning therefore of this month is now very near, I defign this paper for a caveat to the fairfex, and publish it before April is quite out, that if any of them should be caught tripping, they may not pretend they had not timely notice. I am induced to this, being perfuaded the above-mentioned obfervation is as well calculated for our climate as for that of France, and that fome of our British ladies are of the fame conftitu. tion with the French marchioness. I fhall leave it among phyficians to determine what may be the caufe of fuch an anniversary inclination; whether or no it is that the fpirits, after having been as it were frozen and congealed by winter, are now turned loofe, and fet a rambling; or that the gay profpects of fields and meadows, with the courtship of the birds in every bufh, naturally unbend the mind and foften it to pleafure: or that, as fome have imagined, a woman is prompted by a kind f instinct to throw herfelf on a bed of flowers, and not to let those beauti ful couches which nature has provided lie useless. However it be, the effects of this month on the lower part of the fex, who act without difguife, are very vifible. It is at this time we fee the young wenches in a country parish dancing round a May-pole, which one of our learned antiquaries fuppofes to be a relique of a certain Pagan worship that I do not think fit to mention. It is likewife on the first day of this month that we see the ruddy milk-maid exerting herfelf in a moft sprightly manner under a pyramid of filver tankards, and, like the virgin Tarpeia, oppreffed by the coftly ornaments which her benefactors lay upon her. I need not mention the ceremony of the green gown, which is also peculiar to this gay feafon. The fame periodical love-fit spreads through the whole fex, as Mr. Dryden well obferves in his defcription of this merry month. For thee, fweet month, the groves green liv'ries wear, For thee the Graces lead the dancing hours, If not the firft, the fairest of the year; The vigils of her night, and breaks their fleep; moves, Infpires new flames, revives extinguish'd loves, Accordingly among the works of the great mafters in painting, who have drawn this genial feafon of the year, we often obferve Cupids confufed with Zephyrs flying up and down promifcuously in feveral parts of the picture. I cannot but add from my own experience, that about this time of the year love-letters come up to me in great numbers, from all quarters of the nation. I received an epiftle in particular by the laft poft from a Yorkshire gentleman, who makes heavy complaints of one Zelinda, whom it feems he has courted unfuccessfully these three years paft. He tells me that he defigns to try her this May, and if he does not carry his point, he will never think of her gays, that they fhould have a care of thefnake in the grass.' In the fecond place, I cannot but approve thofe prefcriptions, which our aftrological phyficians give in their almanacks for this month; fuch as are a fpare and fimple diet, with the mode rate ufe of phlebotomy.' Under this head of abftinence I fhall alfo advise my fair readers to be in a particular manner careful how they meddle with romances, chocolate, novels, and the like inflamers, which I look upon as very dangerous to be made use of during this great carnival of nature. As I have often declared, that I have nothing more at heart than the honour of my dear country-women, I would beg them to confider, whenever their refolutions begin to fail them, that there are but one-and-thirty days of this soft feafon, and that if they can but weather out this one month, the rest of the year will be eafy to them. As for that part of the fair-fex who ftay in town, I would advise them to be particularly cautious how they give themselves up to their most innocent entertainments. If they cannot forbear the play-houfe, I would recommend tragedy to them, rather than comedy; and fhould think the puppet-fhow much fafer for them than the opera all the while the fun is in Gemini. The reader will obferve, that this paper is written for the ufe of thofe ladies, who think it worth while to war against nature in the caufe of honour. As for that abandoned crew, who do not think virtue worth contending for, but give up their reputation at the firft fummons, fuch warnings and premonitions are thrown away upon them. A prostitute is the fame eafy creature in all months of the year, and makes no difference between May and December, X N° CCCLXVI. ΤΗ N° CCCLXVI. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 37 PONE ME PIGRIS UBI NULLA CAMPIS HOR. OD. XXII. L. I. V. 17. SET ME WHERE ON SOME PATHLESS PLAIN SO NEAR THE SCORCHING COUNTRY RUN: HERE are fuch wild inconfiftencies in the thoughts of a man in love, that I have often reflected there can be no reafon for allowing him more liberty than others poffeffed with phrenzy, but that his diftemper has no malevolence in it to any mortal. That devotion to his miftrefs kindles in his mind a general tendernefs, which exerts itself towards every object as well as his fairone. When this paffion is reprefented by writers, it is common with them to endeavour at certain quaintne fles and turns of imagination, which are apparently the work of a mind at ease; but the men of true tafte can easily diftinguish the exertion of a mind which overflows with tender fentiments, and the labour of one which is only defcribing diftrefs. In performances of this kind, the moft abfurd of all things is to be witty; every fentiment muft grow out of the occafion, and be fuitable to the circumftance of the character. Where this rule is tranfgreffed, the humble fervant, in all the fine things he fays, is but fhewing his mistress how well he can drefs, initead of faying how well he loves. Lace and drapery is as much a man, as wit and turn is paffion. ROSCOMMON. among the natives, where they live in groves of oranges, and hear the melody of birds about them; but a Lapland ly ric, breathing fentiments of love and poetry, not unworthy old Greece or Rome; a regular ode from a climate pinched with froft, and curfed with darkness fo great a part of the year; where it is amazing that the poor natives fhould get food, or be tempted to propagate their fpecies: this, I confefs, feemed a greater miracle to me, than the famous ftories of their drums, their winds and enchantments. I am the bolder in commending this northern fong, because I have faithfully kept to the fentiments, without adding or diminishing; and pretend to no greater praife from my tranflation, than they who fmooth and clean the furs of that country which have fuffered by carriage. The numbers in the original are as loofe and unequal, as thofe in which the British ladies fport their pindarics; and perhaps the fairest of them might not think it a difagreeable prefent from a lover: but I have ventured to bind it in ftricter measures, as being more proper for our tongue, though perhaps wilder graces may better fuit the genius of the Laponian language. It will be neceffary to imagine, that the author of this fong, not having the liberty of visiting his miftrefs at her father's houfe, was in hopes of spying her at a distance in the fields. |