for love, in fix lines. I have the principles of a politician (who does all the mifchief in the play) together with his declaration on the vanity of ambition in his laft moments, expreffed in a page and an half. I have all my oaths ready, and my fimiles want nothing but application. I will not pretend to give you an account of the plot, it being the fame defign upon which all tragedies have been writ for feveral years last paft; and from the beginning of the firft scene, the frequenters of the house may know as well as the author, when the battle is to be fought, the lady to yield, and the hero proceed to his wedding and coronation. Befides thefe advantages which I have in readinefs, I have an eminent tragedian very much my friend, who fhall come in and go through the whole five acts, without troubling me for one fentence, whether he is to kill or be killed, love or be loved, win battles or lose them, or whatever other tragical performance I fhall please to affign him.

From my own Apartment, May 30.

I HAVE this day received a letter, fubfcribed Fidelia, that gives me an account of an inchantment under which a young lady fuffers, and defires my help to exorcife her from the power of the forcerer. Her lover is a rake of fixty; the lady a virtuous woman of twenty-five: her relations are to the last degree afflicted, and amazed at this irregular paffion: their forrow I know not how to remove, but can their aftonishment; for thereis no fpirit in woman half fo prevalent as that of contradiction, which is the fole caufe of her perfeverance. Let the whole family go dreffed in a body, and call the bride tomorrow morning to her nuptials, and I will undertake the inconftant will forget her lover in the midft of all his aches. But if this expedient does not fucceed, I must be fo just to the young lady's diftinguishing fenfe, as to applaud her choice. A fine young woman, at laft, is but what is due from fate to an honeft fellow, who has fuffered fo unmercifully by the fex; and I think we cannot enough celebrate her heroic virtue, who (like the pa

triot

triot that ended a peftilence by plunging himself into a gulph) gives herself up to gorge that dragon which has devoured fo many virgins before her.

'A letter directed to Ifaac Bickerstaff, efquire, aftrologer and phyfician in ordinary to her majesty's fubjects of Great Britain, with refpect, is come to hand.'

White's Chocolate-house, May 31.

THE generality of mankind are fo very fond of this world, and of staying in it, that a man cannot have eminent skill in any one art, but they will, in fpite of his teeth, make him a phyfician alfo, that being the science the worldings have moft need of. I pretended, when I firft fet up, to aftrology only; but I am told, I have deep skill alfo in medicine. I am applied to now by a gentleman for my advice in behalf of his wife, who, upon the leaft matrimonial difficulty, is exceffively troubled with fits, and can bear no manner of paffion without falling into immediate convulfions. I must confefs, it is a cafe I have known before, and remember the party was recovered by certain words pronounced in the midft of the fit, by the learned doctor who performed the cure. Thefe ails have ufually their beginning from the affections of the mind: therefore you must have patience to let me give you an inftance, whereby you may difcern the caufe of the diftemper, and then proceed in cure as follows:

A fine town lady was married to a gentleman of ancient defcent in one of the counties of Great Britain, who had good humour to a weakness, and was that fort of perfon, of whom it is ufually faid, He is no man's enemy but his own : one who had too much tenderness of foul to have any authority with his wife; and fhe too

little

135 little fenfe to give him authority for that reafon. His kind wife obferved this temper in him, and made proper use of it. But knowing it was below a gentlewoman to wrangle, fhe refolved upon an expedient to fave decorum, and wear her dear to her point at the fame time. She therefore took upon her to govern him, by falling into fits whenever fhe was repulfed in a request, or contradicted in a difcourfe. It was a fish day, when in the midst of her husband's good humour at table, she bethought herself to try her project. She made figns that fhe had fwallowed a bone. The man grew, pale as athes, and ran to her affiftance, calling for drink. No, my dear, faid fhe, recovering, it is down; do not be frightened. This accident betrayed his foftnefs enough. The next day fhe complained, a lady's chariot, whofe husband had not half his eftate, had a crane-neck, and hung with twice the air that hers did. He anfwered, Madam, you know my income, you know I have loft two coach-horfes this fpring. Down the fell-Hartfhorn! Betty, Sufan, Alice, throw water in her face. With much care and pains, fhe was at laft brought to herself, and the vehicle in which the vifited, was amended in the niceft manner, to prevent relapfes; but they frequently happened, during that hufband's whole life, which he had the good fortune to end in few years after. The difconfolate foon pitched upon a very agreeable fucceffor, whom fhe very prudently defigned to govern by the fame method. This man knew her little arts, and resolved to break through all tenderness, and be abfolute mafter as foon as occafion. offered. One day it happened, that a difcourfe arose about furniture: he was very glad of the occafion, and fell into an invective against china, protefting he would never let five pounds more of his money be laid out that way as long as he breathed. She immediated fainted.

He ftarts up as amazed, and calls for help.--The maids ran to the closet. -He chafes her face, bends her forward, and beats the palins of her hands: her convulfions increase, and down the tumbles on the floor, where the lies quite dead, in fpite of what the whole family, from the nurtery to the kitchen, could do for her relief.

While

While every fervant was thus helping or lamenting their mistress, he, fixing his cheek to hers, feemed to be following in a trance of forrow; but fecretly whispers her, My dear, this will never do: what is within my power and fortune, you may always command, but none of your artifices you are quite in other hands than thofe you paffed thefe pretty paffions. This made her almoft in the condition fhe pretended; her convulfions now come thicker, nor was fhe to be held down. The kind man doubles his care, helps the fervants to throw water in her face by full quarts; and when the finking part of the fit came again, Well, my dear, (faid he) I applaud your action; but I muft take my leave of you until you are more fincere with me; farewell for ever; you fhall always know where to hear of me, and want for nothing.

With

that he ordered the maids to keep plying her with hartfhorn, while he went for a phyfician: he was fcarce at the ftair-head when fhe followed, and pulling him into a closet, thanked him for her cure; which was fo abfolute, that she gave me this relation herself, to be communicated for the benefit of all the voluntary invalids of her fex.

St. James's Coffee-houfe, June 1.

ADVICES from Bruffels of the fixth inftant, N. S. fay, his highness prince Eugene had received a letter from monfieur Torcy, wherein that minifter, after many expreffions of great refpect, acquaints him, that his mafter had abfolutely refufed to fign the preliminaries to the treaty which he had, in his majesty's behalf, confented to at the Hague. Upon the receipt of this intelligence, the face of things at that place were immediately altered, and the neceffary orders were tranfmitted to the troops (which lay moft remote from thence) to move toward the place of rendezvous with all expedition. The enemy feems alfo to prepare for the field, and have at prefent drawn together twenty-five thoufand men in the plains of Lenz.. Marthal Villars is at the head of thofe troops; and has given the generals under his command all poffible affurances, that he will turn the fate of the war to the advantage of his master.

They

They write from the Hague of the feventh, that monfieur Rouille had received orders from the court of France, to fignify to the States-General, and the minifters of the high allies, that the king could not confent to the preliminaries of a treaty of peace, as it was offered to him by monfieur Torcy. The great difficulty is the bufinefs of Spain, on which particular his minifters feemed only to fay, during the treaty, that it was not fo immediately under their mafter's direction, as that he could engage for its being relinquished by the duke of Anjou: but now he pofitively answers, that he cannot comply with what his minifter has promised in his behalf, even in fuch points as are wholly in himself to act in or not. This has had no other effect than to give the alliance fresh arguments for being diffident of engagements entered into by France. The penfioner made a report of all which this minifter had declared to the deputies of the States-General, and all things turn towards a vigorous war. The duke of Marlborough defigned to leave the Hague within two days, in order to put himself at the head of the army, which is to affemble on the feventeenth instant between the Scheld and the Lis. A fleet of eighty fail, laden with corn from the Baltic, is arrived in the Texel. The States have sent circular letters to all the provinces, to notify this change of affairs, and to animate their fubjects to new refolutions in defence of their country.

From my own Apartment, May 31.

THE public is not fo little my concern, though I am but a ftudent, as that I fhould not intereft myself in the prefent great things in agitation. I am ftill of opinion. the French king will fign the preliminaries. With that view I have fent him, by my familiar, the following epistle, and admonished him on pain of what I fhall fay of him to future generations, to act with fincerity on this eccafion.

London,