accompany an action is what fhould denominate it mean or great. The highest station of human life is to be attained by each man that pretends to it; for every man can be as valiant, as generous, as wife, and as merciful, as the faculties and opportunities which he has from heaven and fortune will permit. He that can fay to himself, I do as much good, and am as virtuous as my moft earnest endeavours will allow me, whatever is his ftation in the world, is to himself poffeffed of the highest honour. If ambition is not thus turned, it is no other than a continual fucceffion of anxiety and vexation. But when it has this caft, it invigorates the mind; and the confcioufnefs of its own worth is a reward, which it is not in the power of envy, reproach, or detraction, to take from it. Thus the feat of folid honour is in a man's own bosom; and no one can want fupport who is in poffeffion of an honeft confcience, but he who would fuffer the reproaches of it for other greatness. P. S. I was going on in my philofophy, when notice was brought me, that there was a great crowd in my antichamber, who expected audience. When they were admitted, I found they all met at my lodgings, each coming upon the fame errand, to know whether they were of the fortunate in the lottery, which is now ready to be drawn. I was much at a lofs how to extricate myfelf from their importunity; but, obferving the affembly made up of both fexes, I fignified to them, that in this cafe it would appear Fortune is not blind, for all the lots would fall upon the wifeft and the faireft. This gave fo general a fatisfaction, that the room was foon emptied, and the company retired with the beft air, and the moft pleafing grace, I had any where obferved. Mr. Elliot, of Saint James's coffee-house, now stood alone before me, and fignified to me, he had now not only prepared his books, but had received a very great subscription already. His defign was to advertise his fubfcribers at their refpective places of abode, within an hour after their number is drawn, whether it was a blank or benefit, if the adventurer lives within the bills of mortality; if he dwells in the country, by the next poft. I encouraged the the man in his induftry, and told him the ready path to good fortune was to believe there was no such thing. NO. 203. THURSDAY, JULY 27, 1710. Ut tu fortunam, fic nos te, Celfe, feremus. HOR. Ep. 8. lib. 1. ver. ult. As Celfus bears his happy lot, his friends From my own Apartment, July 26. R. WYNNE. IT is natural for the imaginations of men, who lead their lives in too folitary a manner, to prey upon themfelves, and form, from their own conceptions, beings and things which have no place in nature. This often makes an adept as much at a lofs, when he comes into the world, as a mere favage. To avoid, therefore, that ineptitude for focięty, which is frequently the fault of us scholars, and has, to men of understanding and breeding, fomething much more fhocking and untractable than rufticity itself; I take care to vifit all public folemnities, and go into affemblies as often as my ftudies will permit. This being, therefore, the first day of the drawing of the lottery, I did not neglect fpending a confiderable time in the crowd: but as much a philofopher as I pretend to be, I could not but look with a fort of veneration upon the two boys who received the tickets from the wheels, as the impartial and equal difpenfers of the fortunes which were to be diftributed among the crowd, who all stood expecting the fame chance. It feems, at first thought, very wonderful, that one paffion fhould fo univerfally have the pre-eminence of another in the poffeffion of men's minds, as that, in this cafe, all in general have a fecret hope of the great ticket: and yet fear, in another D 3 instance, inftance, as in going into a battle, fhall have fo little influence, as that, though each man believes there will be many thoufands flain, each is confident he himself fhall efcape. This certainly proceeds from our vanity; for every man fees abundance in himself that deferves reward, and nothing which fhould meet with mortification. But of all the adventurers that filled the hall, there was one who ftood by me, who I could not but fancy expected the thousand pounds per annum, as a mere juftice to his parts and induftry. He had his pencil and table-book; and was, at the drawing of each lot, counting how much a man with feven tickets was now nearer the greater prize, by the ftriking out another, and another competitor. This man was of the most particular conftitution I had ever obferved; his paffions were fo active, that he worked in the utmost stretch of hope and fear. When one rival fell before him, you might fee a fhort gleam of triumph in his countenance; which immediately vanifhed at the approach of another. What added to the particularity of this man was, that he every moment caft a look either upon the commiffioners, the wheels, or the boys. I gently whifpered him, and afked, when he thought the thousand pounds would come up? Pugh! fays he, who knows that? and then looks upon a little lift of his own tickets, which were pretty high in their numbers, and faid it would not come this ten days. The fellow will have a good chance, though not that which he has put his heart on. The man is mechanically turned, and made for getting. The fimplicity and eagerness which he is in argues an attention to his point; though what he is labouring at does not in the leaft contribute to it. Were it not for fuch honeft fellows as thefe, the men who govern the rest of their fpecies would have no tools to work with; for the outward fhew of the world is carried on by fuch as cannot And out that they are doing nothing. I left my man with great reluctance, feeing the care he took to obferve the whole conduct of the perfons concerned, and compute the inequality of the chances with his own hands and eyes. Dear fir, faid I, they must rise early that cheat cheat you. Ay, faid he, there is nothing like a man's minding his business himself. It is very true, faid I; the mafter's eye makes the horse fat. As much the greater number are to go without prizes, it is but very expedient to turn our lecture to the forming juft fentiments on the fubject of fortune. One said this morning, that the chief lot, he was confident, would fall upon fome puppy; but this gentleman is one of those wrong tempers who approve only the unhappy, and have a natural prejudice to the fortunate. But as it is certain, that there is a great meanness in being attached to a man purely for his fortune, there is no lefs a meanness in difliking him for his happiness. It is the fame perverseness under different colours; and both these resentments arise from mere pride. True greatness of mind confifts in valuing men apart. from their circumstances, or according to their behaviour in them. Wealth is a diftinction only in traffic; but it must not be allowed as a recommendation in any other particular, but only just as it is applied. It was very prettily faid, That we may learn the little value of fortune by the perfons on whom Heaven is pleased to bestow it. However, there is not a harder part in human life, than becoming wealth and greatnefs. He must be very well ftocked with merit, who is not willing to draw fome fuperiority over his friends from his fortune; for it is not every man that can entertain with the air of a guest, and do good offices with the mien of one that receives them. I must confess, I cannot conceive how a man can place himself in a figure wherein he can fo much enjoy his own foul, and, that greatest of pleasures, the just approbation of his own actions, as an adventurer on this occafion, to fit and fee the lots go off without hope or fear; perfectly unconcerned as to himself, but taking part in the good fortune of others. I will believe there are happy tempers in being, to whom all the good that arrives to any of their fellowcreatures gives a pleasure. Thefe live in a courfe of fubftantial and lafting happiness, and have the fatisfaction to fee all men endeavour to gratify them. This D 4 ftate ftate of mind not only lets a man into certain enjoyments, but relieves him from as certain anxieties. If you will not rejoice with happy men, you must repine at them. Dick Reptile alluded to this when he faid, he would hate no man, out of pure idleness. As for my own part, I look at fortune quite in another view than the rest of the world; and, by my knowledge in futurity, tremble at the approaching prize, which I fee coming to a young lady for whom I have much tenderness; and have therefore writ her the following letter, to be fent by Mr. Elliot, with the notite of her ticket. • MADAM, You receive, at the inftant this comes to your hands, an account of your having, what you only wanted, fortune; and to admonish you, that you may not now want every thing else. You had yesterday wit, virtue, beauty; but you never heard of them until to-day. They fay Fortune is blind; but you will find fhe has opened the eyes of all your beholders. I beseech you, madam, make use of the advantages of having been educated without flattery. If you can still be Chloe, Fortune has indeed been kind to you; if you are altered, she has it not in her power to give you an equivalent.' Grecian Coffee-house, July 26. SOME time ago a virtuofi, my very good friend, fent me a plan of a covered fummer-houfe; which, a little after, was rallied by another of my correfpondents. I cannot, therefore, defer giving him an opportunity of making his defence to the learned, in his own words. • SIR, To ISAAC BICKERSTAFF, Efquire. July 15, 1710. I HAVE been this fummer upon a ramble, to vifit feveral friends and relations; which is the reafon I have left you, and our ingenious unknown friend of South Wales, fo long in your error concerning the grafs-plots |