knowing years to Cælia. She made him no answer; but retired to her closet. He returned to the Temple, where he foon after received from her the following letter..

SIR,

You, who this morning were the best, are now the worst of men who breathe vital air. 1 am at once overwhelmed with love, hatred, rage, and disdain. Can infamy and innocence live together? I feel the weight of the one too ftrong for the comfort of the other. How bitter, Heaven! how bitter is my portion! How much have I to fay! but the infant which I bear about me ftirs with my agitation. I am, Palamede, to live in thame, and this creature be heir to it. Farewell for ever!'

NO. 199. TUESDAY, JULY 18, 1710.

WHEN we revolve in our thoughts fuch catastrophes as that in the hiftory of the unhappy Cælia, there seems to be fomething fo hazardous in the changing a fingle ftate of life into that of marriage, that, it may happen, all the precautions imaginable are not fufficient to defend a virgin from ruin by her choice. It feems a wonderful in confiftence in the diftribution of public juftice, that a man who robs a woman of an ear-ring or a jewel, should be punished with death; but one, who, by falfe arts and infinuations, should take from her her very felf, is only to fuffer difgrace. This excellent young woman has nothing to confolate herfelf with but the reflection that her fuffer ings are not the effect of any guilt or misconduct; and has, for her protection, the influence of a Power which, amidst the unjuft reproach of all mankind, can give not only patience, but pleasure, to innocence in diftrefs.

As the perfon, who is the criminal against Cælia, can not be fufficiently punished according to our prefent

law;

law; fo are there numberless unhappy perfons without remedy according to prefent cuftom. That great ill, which has prevailed among us in these later ages, is the making even beauty and virtue the purchafe of money. The generality of parents, and fome of thofe of qua lity, instead of looking out for introducing health of conftitution, franknefs of fpirit, or dignity of countenance into their families, lay out all their thoughts upon finding out matches for their eftates, and not for their children. You fhall have one form fuch a plot for the good of his family, that there fhall not be fix men in England capable of pretending to his daughter. A second fhall have a fon obliged, out of mere difcretion, for fear of doing any thing below himfelf, to follow all the drabs in town. These fage parents meet; and, as there is no país, no courtship between the young ones, it is no unpleasant obfervation to behold how they proceed to treaty. There is ever, in the behaviour of each, fomething that denotes his circumftance; and honest Coupler, the conveyancer, fays, he can diftinguifh upon fight of the parties, before they have opened any point of their bufinefs, which of the two has the daughter to fell. Coupler is of our club, and I have frequently heard him declaim upon this fubject, and affert, that the marriagefettlements, which are now used, have grown fashionable even within his memory.

When the theatre, in fome late reigns, owed its chief fupport to those scenes which were written to put matrimony out of countenance, and render that state terrible, then it was that pin-money firft prevailed; and all the other articles were inferted which create a diffidence, and intimate to the young people, that they are very foon to be in a state of war with each other; though this had feldom happened, except the fear of it had been expreffed. Coupler will tell you alfo, that jointures were never frequent until the age before his own; but the women were contented with the third part of the estate the law allotted them, and fcorned to engage with men whom they thought capable of abufing their children. He has alfo informed me that thofe who were the oldest

oldeft benchers when he came, to the Temple, told him, the first marriage-settlement of confiderable length was the invention of an old ferjeant; who took the opportunity of two teity fathers, who were ever fquabbling, to bring about an alliance between their children. These fellows knew each other to be knaves; and the ferjeant took hold of their mutual diffidence, for the benefit of the law, to extend the fettlement to three fkins of parchment.

To this great benefactor to the profeffion is owing the prefent current price of lines and words. Thus is tendernefs thrown out of the question, and the great care is, What the young couple fhould do when they come to bate! each other? I do not queftion but, from this one humour of fettlements, might very fairly be deduced, not only our prefent defection in point of morals, but also our want of people. This has given way to fuch unrea fonable gallantries, that a man is hardly reproachable that deceives an innocent woman, though she has ever fo much merit, if he is below him in fortune....The man has no difhonour following his treachery; and her own sex are fo debafed by force of cuftom, as to fay, in the cafe of the woman, How could the expect he would marry her?

By this means the good offices, the pleasures, and graces of life, are not put into the balance. The bridegroom has given his eftate out of himself; and he has no more left but to follow the blind decree of his fate, whether he fhall be fucceeded by a fot, or a man of merit, in his fortune... On the other fide, a fine woman, who has alfo a fortune, is fet up by way of auction; her first lover has ten to one againft him. The very hour after he has opened his heart and his vrent-roll, he is made no other ufa of but to raise her price: fhe and her friends lofe non opportunity of publifhing it, to call in new bidders. While the poor lover very innocently waits, until thei plenipotentiaries at the inns of court have debated about the alliance, all the partifans of the lady throw difficul ties in the way, until other offers come in; and the man who came first is not put in poffeffion, until he has been refused by half the town. If an abhorrence to fuch mercenary proceedings were well settled in the minds of my

fair

fair readers, thofe of merit would have a way opened to their advancement; nay, thofe who abound in wealth only would in reality find their account in it. It would not be in the power of their prude acquaintance, their waiters, their nurses, coufins, and whifperers, to persuade them, that there are not above twenty men in a kingdom, and thofe fuch as, perhaps, they may never fetleyes on, whom they can think of with discretion. As the cafe ftands nows let any one confider, how the great heireffes, and thofe to whom they were offered, for no other reafon but that they could make them fuitable fettlements, live together. What can be more infipid, if not loathsome, than for two perfons to be at the head of a crowd, who have as little regard for them as they for each other; and behold one another in an affected fenfe of profperity, without the least relifh of that exquisite gladness at meeting, that sweet inquietude at parting, together with the charms of voice, look, gefture, and that general benevolence between wellchofen lovers, which makes all things please, and leaves not the leaft trifle indifferent.

But I am diverted from these sketches for future essays in behalf of my numerous clients of the fair fex, by a notice, fent to my office in Sheer-lane, That a blooming widow, in the third year of her widowhood, and twentyfixth of her age, defigns to take a colonel of twenty-eight. The parties request I would draw up their terms of coming together, as having a regard to my opinion against long and diffident fettlements; and I have fent them the following indenture:

We John

and Mary, having estates for life, refolve to take each other. I John will venture my life to enrich thee Mary; and I Mary will confult my health to nurse thee John. To which we have interchangeably fet our hands, hearts, and feals, this 17th of 'July 1710.20

NO. 200. THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1710.

From my own Apartment, July 9.

HAVING devoted the greater part of my time to the fervice of the fair fex, I muft afk pardon of my men correfpondents if I poftpone their commands, when I have any from the ladies which lie unanswered. That which follows is of importance.

• SIR,

You cannot think it strange if I, who know little of the world, apply to you for advice in the weighty affair of matrimony; fince you yourself have often declared it to be of that confequence as to require the ut moft deliberation. Without further preface, therefore, give me leave to tell you, that my father, at his death, left me a fortune fufficient to make me a match for any gentleman. My mother, for fhe is ftill alive, is very preffing with me to marry; and I am apt to think, to gratify her, I fhall venture upon one of two gentlemen, who at this time make their addreffes to me. My request is, that you would direct me in my choice; which that you may the better do, I fhall give you their characters; and, to avoid confufion, defire you to call them by the names of Philander and Silvius. Philander is young, and has a good eftate; Silvius is as young, and has a better. The former has had a liberal education, has feen the town, is retired from thence to his estate in the country, is a man of few words, and much given to books. The latter was brought up under his father's eye, who gave him just learning enough to enable him to keep his accounts; but made him withal very expert in country business, such as ploughing, fowing, buying, felling, and the like. They are both very fober men, neither of their perfons is dif agreeable, nor did I know which to prefer until I bad beard them difcourfe; when the converfation of Philander

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