our more convenient fupport in the fervice of the public. It is certain that many other schemes have been proposed to me; as a friend offered to fhew me in a treatise he had writ, which he called, "The whole Art of Life; or, The Introduction to great Men, illuftrated in a Pack of Cards." But being a novice at all manner of play, I declined the offer. Another advised me, for want of money, to fet up my coach and practise phyfic; but having been bred a fcholar, I feared I fhould not fucceed that way neither, therefore refolved to go on in my prefent project. But you are to understand, that I fhall not pretend to raife a credit to this work upon the weight of my politic news only, but, as my Latin fentence in the titlepage informs you, fhall take any thing that offers for the fubject of my difcourfe. Thus new perfons, as well as new things, are to come under my confideration; as when a toaft or wit is firft pronounced fuch, you shall have the fresheft advice of their preferment, from me, with a description of the beauty's manners, and the wit's ftyle; as also in whose places they are advanced. For this town is never good-natured enough to raise one without depreffing another. But it is my defign to avoid faying any thing of any perfon, which ought justly to displeafe; but fhall endeavour, by the variety of the matter and style, to give entertainment for men of pleasure, with out offence to those of business.'

White's Chocolate-house, April 18,

ALL hearts at prefent pant for two ladies only, who have for fome time engroffed the dominion of the town. They are indeed both exceeding charming, but differ very much in their excellencies. The beauty of Clariffa is foft, that of Chloe piercing. When you look at Clariffa, you fee the most exact harmony of feature, complexion, and fhape; you find in Chloe nothing extraor dinary in any one of thofe particulars, but the whole woman irrefiftible: Clariffa looks languishing; Chloe killing: Clariffa never fails of gaining admiration; Chloe of moving defire. The gazers at Clariffa are at first uncon

cerned,

cerned, as if they were obferving a fine picture. They who behold Chloe, at the first glance difcover transport, as if they met with their dearest friend. Thefe different perfections are fuitably reprefented by the laft great painter Italy has fent us, Mr. Jervafe. Clariffa is by that fkilful hand placed in a manner that looks artless, and innocent of the torments fhe gives; Chloe is drawn with a liveliness that fhows fhe is confcious of, but not affected, with her perfections. Clariffa is a fhepherdefs, Chloe a country girl. I must own, the defign of Chloe's picture fhows, to me, great maftery in the painter; for nothing could be better imagined than the drefs he has given her of a straw-hat and a ribbon, to reprefent that fort of beauty which enters the heart with a certain familiarity, and cheats into a belief, that it has received a lover as well as an object of love. The force of their different beauties is seen alfo in the effects it makes on their lovers. The admirers of Chloe are eternally gay and well-pleased: those of Clariffa melancholy and thoughtful. And as this paffion always changes the natural man into a quite different creature from what he was before, the love of Chloe makes coxcombs; that of Clariffa, madmen. There were of each kind juft now in this room. Here was one that whiftles, laughs, fings, and cuts capers, for love of Chloe. Another has juft now writ three lines to Clariffa, then taken a turn in the garden, then came back again, then tore his fragment, then called for fome chocolate, then went away without it.

Chloe has fo many admirers in the house at prefent, that there is too much noife to proceed in my narration: fo that the progrefs of the loves of Clariffa and Chloe, together with the bottles that are drank each night for the one, and the many fighs which are uttered, and fongs written on the other, mutt be our fubject on future occafions.

Will's Coffee-boufe, April 18.

LETTERS from the Hay-market inform us, that on Saturday night laft the opera of Pyrrhus and Demetrius

was

was performed with great applause. This intelligence is not very acceptable to us friends of the theatre; for the ftage being an entertainment of the reafon and all our faculties, this way of being pleafed with the fufpenfe of them for three hours together, and being given up to the fhallow fatisfaction of the eyes and ears only, seems to arife rather from the degeneracy of our understanding than an improvement of our diverfions. That the underftanding has no part in the pleafure is evident, from what these letters very pofitively affert, to wit, that a great part of the performance was done in Italian: and a great critic fell into fits in the gallery, at feeing, not only time and place, but languages and nations, confused in the most incorrigible manner. His fpleen is fo extremely moved on this occafion, that he is going to publifh a treatise against operas, which, he thinks, have already inclined us to thoughts of peace, and if tolerated, muft infallibly dif pirit us from carrying on the war. He has communi- ' cated his scheme to the whole room, and declared in what manner things of this kind were first introduced. He has upon this occafion confidered the nature of founds in general, and made a very elaborate digreffion upon the London Cries, wherein he has fhown from reafon and philofophy, why oyfters are cried, card-matches fung, and turneps and all other vegetables neither cried, fung, nor faid, but fold, with an accent and tone neither natural to man or beast. This piece feems to be taken from the model of that excellent difcourfe of Mrs. Manly, the fchool-miftrefs, concerning famplers. Advices from the upper end of Piccadilly fay, that May-fair is uttefly abolithed; and we hear Mr. Pinkethman has removed his ingenious company of ftrollers to Greenwich. But other letters from Deptford fay, the company is only making thither, and not yet fettled; but that several heathen gods and goddeffes, which are to defcend in machines, landed at the King's Head stairs last Saturday. Venus and Cupid went on foot from thence to Greenwich; Mars got drunk in the town, and broke his landlord's head, for which he fat in the ftocks the whole evening; but Mr. Pinkethman, giving fecurity that he should do nothing this enfuing

a

enfuing fummer, he was fet at liberty. The most melancholy part of all was, that Diana was taken in the act of fornication with a boatman, and committed by justice Wrathful, which has, it feems, put a stop to the diverfions of the theatre of Blackheath. But there But there goes down. another Diana and a Patient Griffel next tide from Bil

lingfgate.

St. James's Coffee-house, April 18.

THEY write from Saxony, of the thirteenth inftant, N. S. that the grand general of the crown of Poland was fo far from entering into a treaty with king Stanislaus, that he had written circular letters, wherein he exhorted. the Palatines to join against him; declaring that this was the most favourable conjuncture for afferting their li berty.

Letters from the Hague, of the twenty-third inftant, N. S. fay, they have advices from Vienna, which import, that his electoral highnefs of Hanover had fignified to the imperial court, that he did not intend to put himself at the head of the troops of the empire, except more effectual measures were taken for acting vigorously against the enemy the enfuing campaign. Upon this reprefentation the emperor has given orders to feveral regiments to march towards the Rhine, and difpatched expreffes to the refpective princes of the empire to defire an augmentation of their forces.

These letters add, that an exprefs arrived at the Hague on the twentieth inftant, with advice that the enemy having made a detachment from Tournay, of fifteen hundred horfe, each trooper carrying a foot foldier behind him, in order to furprise the garrison of Aloft; the allies, upon notice of their march, fent out a strong body of troops from Ghent, which engaged the enemy at Afche, and took two hundred of them prifoners, obliging the rest to retire without making any farther attempt. On the twenty-second in the morning a fleet of merchant ships coming from Scotland, were attacked by fix French privateers at the entrance of the Meufe. We have yet no certain

1

certain advice of the event: but letters from Rotterdam fay, that a Dutch man of war of forty guns, which was convoy to the faid fleet, was taken, as were alfo eighteen of the merchants. The Swifs troops in the service of the States, have completed the augmentation of their refpective companies. Thofe of Wirtemberg and Pruffia are expected on the frontiers within a few days; and the auxiliaries from Saxony, as alfo a battalion of Holften, and another of Wolfembuttle, are advancing thither with all expedition. On the twenty-firft inftant the deputies of the ftates had a conference near Woerden with the prefident Rouille, but the matter which was therein debated is not made public. His grace the duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene continue at the Hague,

From my own Apartment, April 18.

I HAVE lately been very ftudious for intelligence, and have juft now, by my aftrological flying poft, received a packet from Felicia, an ifland in America, with an account that gives me great fatisfaction, and lets me underftand that the island was never in greater profperity, or the administration in fo good hands, fince the death of their late glorious king. These letters import, that the chief minister has entered into a firm league with the ableft and best men of the nation, to carry on the cause of liberty, to the encouragement of religion, virtue and honour. Those perfons at the helm are fo useful, and in themselves of fuch weight, that their ftrict alliance muft needs tend to the univerfal profperity of the people. Camillo, it feems, prefides over the deliberations of ftate; and is fo highly valued by all men for his fingular probity, courage, affability, and love of mankind, that his being placed in that station has diffipated the fears of that people, who of all the world are the most jealous of their liberty and happiness. The next member of their fociety is Horatio, who makes all the public difpatches. This minister is mafter of all the languages in ufe to great perfection. He is held in the highest veneration imaginable for a fevere honefty, and love of his country; he lives in a court un

fullied