vish'd him from the Company of the Mufes, are at an End.

It has been this Friend of mine, who has been your Rival all this while. I had a great deal of Time to get up after fo tedious a Recefs; and fuch a Chain of entertaining Difcourfes interven'd, that I cou'd not think of miffing any one of them, till the whole Subject was exhaufted. But before I introduce you into this Affembly, think ought to let you know the Characters of the chief, at least, of those who compofe it.

I fhall begin with the principal: This extraordinary Friend of mine, whom I fhall diftinguish by the Name of Laudon, that the cenforious, ill-naturā, and envious Part of the Town, the Little-wits, the Vérfifiers, and Pretenders, may not accufe me of facrificing more to Flattery, than to Defert. This Name does indeed include his own, which really fignifying the Hill, or Mountain of Praife, I have compounded this of two old English Words, which have the very fame Meaning: That is, Laud, Praife; and Don, Down, or Hill.

Laudon has indeed ow'd to Chance, a Name, which expreffes thofe Excellencies that Nature has bestow'd upon him; For even in his Youth, he has won fo much juft Praife to hinfelf, by his fine Parts, Application, and Largenefs of Soul, that it is fearce a Me taphor to call it a Mountain, and fuch a Mountain, as with Olympus of old, reaches up to the very Skies

themfelves.

The Perfon of Laudon is extremely graceful, and his Addrefs engages the Heart before the Force of his Reafon, the Penetration of his Judgment, and the Brillant of his Wit can appear from his Di courfe But when once thofe exert themselves in their native Vigour, you must be the most inexcufably obftinate Creature in the World, not to be of his Opinion. But if he chance at any time to deviate a

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little in a Point, which he has not throughly confi der'd (which is extreamly feldom) no Man, who is Master of fuch Abilities to defend an Error, is fo litle tenacious of it; for the Pleafure of being rightly informed in any Particular, takes away all Regret of yielding himself vanquish'd by the Reafons of his Opponent.

His Temper is neither profufe, nor penurious; he fteers moft judiciously between thofe two Shelves of Reputation, in the middle Stream of a juft Generofity. He firft chufes an Object worthy of the Benefit, and then he never forfakes it: Whereas moft of our great Men that are called Patrons, do by those who shelter themselves, or their Works under their Names,. as Men do with Street Beggars, when they give an Alms: For as they never faw them before, fo they never think of them afterwards. They are indeed a Sort of Quacks in Liberality; they never make a Cure of the Wounds and Maladies of Fortune, but think they do enough, by a poor palliating Medicine, to put off the evil Day, and remove the Pains for a while; but they return foon after with greater Force on the miferable Patient. Laudon, on the contrary, when he has once thought a Person worthy of his Bounty, believes him entailed on his Care, till the Cure be perfected.

This is enough to let you fee how valuable a Perfon Laudon is; and I thall referve a more perfect Character of him to another Time and Place: For of Laudon the World is like to hear of me as long as Providence fhall allow me Life, Health, and Vigour.

This Gentleman has the good Fortune (if I may call the Effect of his Judgment by fuch a Name) to be married to a young Lady worthy of fuch a Husband.

There is nothing requires a more delicate Hand, than the Character of a Lady. It is not every Painter's Talent to draw the Pictures of that Sex: For tho' a Painter may difcover himself a great Artist in the

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Portraits of Men, yet he must be a Zeuxis, Antimachus, Nicias, or a Dahl, to touch the foft Graces of the fair Sex. I own my Inability; and thould I attempt it, it would be but a hafty Sketch of a first Sitting, and very much to the Prejudice of the Original.

Cicero tells us, that could we fee the Perfon of Wifdom with our Eyes, fhe would raife in us wonderful Defires; but in Morifina (the Lady under our Confideration) you fee the perfect Image of Modefty, the Characteristick of Womanhood: So that whilft her Charms excite our Admiration, her Modefty awes our Defires, and gives us a Sort of Tafte of a celeftial Converfation, where the Beauty of the Objects shall tranfport us, and yet never be injurious to Innocencé and Vertue. If the be not talkative, it is not, that The ever fails of pleafing, when the fpeaks; but that Diffidence, which is always the Companion of good Senfe, confines her admirable Notions to her own Mind, which utter'd, wou'd improve the Hearers. In fhort, let Morifina fpeak for her felf; and if there be any Defect in what I thus convey to you, affure your felf, it is mine, and not the Lady's

About a Month ago, I went to dine with Laudon; but tho' I came when Dinner was near over, yet, to found fuch Company, as few Tamy Satisfaction,! There I found Eufeb ́a, bles now-a-days can f a Lady of exemplary Life, and who is not afham'd of beingreligious even in fo abandoned anAge; nor thinks it any Scandal to her Understanding, to be out of the Mode, when Vanity, Lightnefs, or Vice, are in Fafhion, or any thing that carries the Face and Appearance of either of them. She is not above Six and Twenty; and tho' fhe has read much, and lissa-g fine Collection of Books, yer all you not find either a Novel, or Romance among them.

Madam La Mode came in, whilft I was there. the fecond Day. This Lady, I confefs, is liable to Cenfure, on Account of her Affectation; but yet that

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cannot extinguish her Merit. She has Wit, fhe has Youth, he has Beauty, she is Gay, and gives into all the harmless Gallantry of the Age; by this Means her Acquaintance is large, and by Confequence not extreamly well chofen. But, Crites, it is no Wonder to find a young Lady carry'd away with the Opinion of the Town in Matters of Wit and Poetry; fince we meet with fome of our greatest Dons, and mighty Pretenders to Judgment in thofe Matters, as entire Slaves to Vogue, as this young Lady, notwithstanding thofe Helps of a Mafculine Education, which the Women have not the Happiness to be admitted to.

Madam La Mode is therefore a Lady, who always profeffes herself an admirer of every Play, Song or Poem that happens to take with the Town, be it good or bad; and as freely declares her utmost Contempt of whatever in that kind does not meet with vulgar Succefs..

Ifachar. La Mode is her Husband, and always with her in all her Vifits and other Promenades. He is a Perfon who has noExcuse for labouring under the fame falfe Sentiment, but that the Fondness of a Husband makes him doat fo on his Wife, as to be transportedTM with every Thing that please her. When ever she praifes a Poem, he finds a Thousand Beauties in it, that no Body else cou'd ever discover, and the Vanity of the Author himself could not afre to. Yet has he had an University Education; has not only read the Antients, but repeats perpetually (out of his Lady's Company) Virgil and Horace. But the fame is the Fate of feveral of our Acquaintance, who... may justly be plac'd in the Number of the Ignorant, though they are perfect Mafters of both the Greek and the Latin; for they have not fo natural a Plea for their ill Tafte, as our worthy fachar La Mode.

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The fame Day came in Tyro, a young Poet, who has not been many Years from Cambridge. Till this Converfation, he was like the reft of our Town Wits, ameer Rimefer, or at moft, a good Kerfifyer Smooth- ĩ nefs of Verfe is now become fo common, that it lofes the Name of a diftinguishing Perfection; for 'tis a difficult Matter to find an Ear fo unharmoni ous, as not to fall into Sounds that flow into eafie: Numbers. And yet this is a Quality that gives the glorious Name of Poets to Fellows without Warmth, without Judgment, without Imagination. But Tyro, before he left us, was fatisfy'd that there was fomething elfe required to that Character, much beyond fo worthless an Accomplishment, if I may give ic that Title:

I fhall only take Notice of one Character more, and that is of Manilia. She is a Woman of a great deal of Fire, Fancy and Life; and as she has an Ine clination to the Mufes, fo fhe has, in her Perfor-mances, no fmall Force of nnaffifted Nature. For ast fhe is thoroughly acquainted with no Language-but her own, fo fhe has never thought of the Duties and Guides of Judgment in her Poetical-Efays. Yer being Mistress of a large Share of good Senfe and Reafon, fhe was eafily convinc'd that he had known but half the Qualities of a juft Poet?

These were most of our Company, and of their Sentiments you must expect your coming Entertai ment to be compos'd.

As foon as Laudon fatv me enter the Room, he cry'd out, Gamaliel, I am glad you are come, to pitt an End to thefe Melancholy Narrations, we have had of Plots, Confpiracies, and Invafions. Côme, Ladies, no more of your Political News, this Ger tleman will bring us fomething more pacifick and agreeable from the Republick of Letters. What news Songs, new Satires, or new Plays have the Mufts be ftow'd upon us of late, For Bufinefs has made m

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fuck!