form; directing her at the fame time to repair to him again the next day, that he might encourage her in the pious refolutions fhe had taken, and give her suitable exhortations for her behaviour in it. Conftantia retired, and the next morning renewed her application. Theodofius having manned his foul with proper thoughts and reflexions, exerted himself on this occafion in the best manner he could to animate his penitent in the course of life she was entering upon, and wear out of her mind thofe groundless fears and apprehenfions which had taken poffeffion of it; concluding with a promise to her, that he would from time to time continue his admonitions when she should have taken upon her the holy veil. The rules of our refpective orders, fays he, will not permit that I fhould fee you, but you may affure yourself not only of having a place in my prayers, but of receiving fuch frequent inftructions as I can convey to you by letters. Go on chearfully in the glorious course you have undertaken, and you will quickly find fuch a peace and fatisfaction in your mind, which is not in the power of the world to give.

CONSTANTIA's heart was fo elevated with the discourse of father Francis, that the very next day she entered upon her vow. As foon as the folemnities of her reception were over, she retired, as it is ufual, with the abbefs into her own apartment.

THE abbefs had been informed the night before of all that had paffed between her noviciate and father Francis; from whom the now delivered to her the following letter.

66

S the firft-fruits of thofe joys and confolations

A which you may expect from the life you are

now engaged in, I must acquaint you that Theodofius, "whofe death fits fo heavy upon your thoughts, is ftill "alive; and that the father, to whom you have con"-feffed yourself, was once that Theodofius whom you fo "much lament. The love which we had for one ano"ther will make us more happy in its difappointment "than it could have done in its fuccefs. Providence

has difpofed of us for our advantage, tho' not accord

ing to our wishes. Confider your Theodofius ftill as dead, but affure yourself of one who will not cease for you in father

to pray

FRANCIS.

CONSTANTIA faw that the hand-writing agreed with the contents of the letter: and upon reflecting on the voice of the perfon, the behaviour, and above all the extreme forrow of the father during her confeffion, fhe discovered Theodofius in every particular. After having wept with tears of joy, It is enough, fays she ; Theodofius is still in being: I shall live with comfort and die in peace.

THE letters which the father fent her afterwards are yet extant in the nunnery where she refided; and are often read to the young religious, in order to inspire them with good refolutions and fentiments of virtue. It fo happened, that after Conftantia had lived about ten years in the cloister, a violent fever broke out in the place, which fwept away great multitudes, and among others Theodofius. Upon his death-bed he fent his benediction in a very moving manner to Conftantia; who, at that time was herself so far gone in the fame fatal distemper, that she lay delirious. Upon the interval which generally precedes death in fickneffes of this nature, the abbefs, finding that the phyficians had given her over, told her that Theodofius was just gone before her, and that he had fent her his benediction in his last moments. Conftantia received it with pleasure :and now, fays fhe, If I do not afk any thing improper let me be buried by Theodofius. My vow reaches no farther than the grave. What I ask is, I hope, no violation of it-She died foon after, and was interred according to her request.

THEIR tombs are still to be seen, with a fhort Latin infcription over them to the following purpose:

HERE lye the bodies of father Francis and fifter Conftance. They were lovely in their lives, and in their deaths they were not divided.

On

On Oeconomy.

[Spectator, No 114.]

ECONOMY in our affairs has the fame effect

upon our fortunes which good breeding has upon our converfations. There is a pretending behaviour in both cafes,which instead of making men efteemed, renders them both miserable and contemptible. We had yesterday at Sir Roger's a fet of country gentlemen, who dined with them and after dinner the glais was taken, by those who pleased, pretty plentifully. Among others I obferved a perfon of a tolerable good afpect, who seemed to be more greedy of liquor than any of the company, and yet, methought, he did not tafte it with delight. As he grew warm, he was fufpicious of every thing that was faid; and as he advanced towards being fuddled, his humour grew worfe. At the same time his bitternefs feemed to be rather an inward diffatisfaction in his own mind, than any dislike he had taken to the company. Upon hearing his name, I knew him to be a gentleman of a confiderable fortune in this county, but greatly in debt. What gives the unhappy man this peevishness of spirit, is, that his eftate is dipped, and is eating out with ufury; and yet he has not the heart to fell any part of it. His proud ftomach, at the cost of reftless nights, conftant inquietudes, danger of affronts, and a thousand nameless inconveniencies, preferves this canker in his fortune, rather than it fhall be faid he is a man of fewer hundreds a year than he has been commonly reputed. Thus he endures the torment of poverty, to avoid the name of being lefs rich. If you go to his house you see great plenty; but served in a manner that fhews it is all unnatural, and that the mafter's mind is not at home. There is a certain wafte, and carelesnefs in the air of every thing, and the whole appears but a covered indigence, a magnificent poverty. That neatness and chearfulness, which attends the table of him who lives within compafs, is wanting, and exchanged for a libertine way of fervice in all about him.

THIS gentleman's conduct, tho' a very common way of management, is as ridiculous as that officer's would be, who had but few men under his command, and

fhould

fhould take the charge of an extent of country rather than of a small país. To pay for, perfonate, and keep in a man's hands, a greater eftate than he really has, is of all others the most unpardonable vanity, and must in the end reduce the man who is guilty of it to dif honour. Yet if we look round us in any county of Great-Britain, we shall fee many in this fatal error; if that may be called by fo foft a name, which proceeds from a falfe fhame of appearing what they really are, when the contrary behaviour would in a fhort time advance them to the condition which they pretend to.

LAERTES has fifteen hundred pounds a year; which is mortgaged for fix thoufand pounds; but it is impoffible to convince him that if he fold as much as would pay off that debt, he would fave four fhillings in the pound, which he gives for the vanity of being the reputed master of it. Yet if Laertes did this, he would perhaps be eafier in his own fortune; but then Irus, a fellow of yesterday, who has but twelve hundred a year, would be his equal. Rather than this fhall be, Laertes goes on to bring well-born beggars into the world, and every twelvemonth charges his eftate with at least one year's rent more by the birth of a child.

and

LAERTES and Irus are neighbours, whose way of living are an abomination to each other. Irus is moved by the fear of poverty, and Laertes by the fhame of it. Tho' the motive of action is of fo near affinity in both, may be refolved into this, "that to each of them 66 poverty is the greatest of all evils," yet are their manners very widely different. Shame of poverty makes Laertes launch into unneceffary equipage, vain expence, and lavish entertainments; fear of poverty makes Irus allow himself only plain neceffaries, appear without a fervant, fell his own corn, attend his labourers, and be bimfelf a labourer. Shame of poverty makes Laertes go every day a step nearer to it: and fear of poverty Irus to make every day fome further progress

tirs

up

from it.

THESE different motives produce the exceffes which men are guilty of in the negligence of and provifion for themfelves. Ufury, ftock-jobbing, extortion, and oppreffion,

M

preffion, have their feed in the dread of want; and vanity, riot, and prodigality, from the fhame of it: but both thefe exceffes are infinitely below the purfuit of a reafonable creature. After we have taken care to command fo much as is neceffary for maintaining ourselves in the order of men fuitable to our character, the care of fuperfluities is a vice no lefs extravagant, than the neglect of neceffaries would have been before.

CERTAIN it is, that they are both out of nature, when the is followed with reafon and good fenfe. It is from this reflection that I always read Mr. Cowley with the greatest pleasure: his magnanimity is as much above that of other confiderable men, as his understanding; and it is a true diftinguishing spirit in the elegant author who published his works, to dwell fo much upon the temper of his mind, and the moderation of his defires: by this means he has rendered his friend as amiable as famous. That ftate of life which bears the face of poverty with Mr. Cowley's Great Vulgar, is admirably defcribed; and it is no small fatisfaction to those of the fame turn of defire, that he produces the authority of the wifeft men of the beft age of the world, to'ftrengthen his opinion of the ordinary purfuits of mankind.

Ir would, methinks, be no ill maxim of life, if according to that ancestor of Sir Roger, whom I lately mentioned, every man would point to himself what fum he would refolve not to exceed. He might, by this means, cheat himself into a tranquillity on this fide of that expectation, or convert what he should get above it to nobler ufes than his own pleasures or neceffities. This temper of mind would exempt a man from an ignorant envy of restless men above him, and a more inexcufable contempt of happy men below him. This would be failing by fome compafs, living with fome defign: but to be eternally bewildered in profpects of future gain, and putting on unneceffary armour against improbable blows of fortune, is a mechanic being which has not good sense for its direction, but is carried on by a fort of acquired instinct towards things below our confideration and unworthy our efteem. It is poffible that the tranquillity I now enjoy at Sir Roger's may have

created