in my green-house. I will not give you the particulars of my gardener's conduct in the management of my covered garden; but content myself with letting you know, that my little fields within doors, though by their, novelty they appear too extravagant to you to fubfift even in a regular imagination, are, in effect, things that require no conjuration. Your correfpondent may depend upon it, that under a fashed roof, which lets in the fun at all times, and the air as often as is convenient, he may have grassplots in the greatest perfection, if he will be at the pains to water, mow, and roll them, Grafs and herbs in general, the less they are exposed to the fun and winds, the livelier is their verdure. They require only warmth and moisture; and if you were to fee my plots, your eye would foon confefs, that the bowling-green at Marybone wears not half fo bright a livery. The motto with which the gentleman has been pleased to furnish you, is so very proper, and pleases me so well, that I defign to have it fet upon the front of my greenhoufe in letters of gold. I am, Sir, &c." MANY are the inconveniencies which happen from the improper manner of addrefs in common fpeech, between perfons of the fame, or of different quality. Among thefe errors, there is none greater than that of the impertinent ufe of title, and a paraphraftical way of D 5 faying, faying, You. I had the curiofity, the other day, to fol-` low a crowd of people near Billingfgate, who wère conducting a paffionate woman, that fold fish, to a magistrate, in order to explain fome words, which were ill taken, by one of her own quality and profeffion, in the public market. When the came to make her defence, fhe was fo very full of, his Worship, and of, If it fhould please his Honour, that we could, for fome time, hardly hear any other apology fhe made for herself, than that of atoning for the ill language fhe had been accused of towards her neighbour, by the great civilities the paid to her judge. But this extravagance in her fenfe of doing honour was no more to be wondered at, than that her many rings on each finger were worn as inftances of finery and drefs. The vulgar may thus heap and huddle terms of refpect, and nothing better be expected from them; but for people of rank to repeat appellatives infignificantly, is a folly not to be endured, neither with regard to our time, or our underftanding. It is below the dignity of feech to extend it with more words or phrases than are neceffary to explain ourselves with elegance; and it is, methinks, an inftance of ignorance, if not of fervitude, to be redundant in fuch expreffions. I waited upon a man of quality fome mornings ago: he happened to be dreffing; and his fhoemaker fitting him, told him, that if his Lordship would pleafe to tread hard, or that if his Lordship would ftamp a little, his Lordship would find his Lordship's fhoe will fit as eafy as any piece of work his Lordfhip fhould fee in England. As foon as my lord was dreffed, a gentleman approached him with a very good air, and told him, he had an affair which had long depended in the lower courts; which, through the inadvertency of his ancestors on the one fide, and the ill arts of their adversaries on the other, could not poffibly be fettled according to the rules of the lower courts; that, therefore, he defigned to bring his caufe before the Houfe of Lords next feffion, where he fhould be glad if his Lordship fhould happen to be prefent; for he doubted not but his caufe would be approved by all men of justice and honour. In this place the word lordship was gracefully inferted; inferted; because it was applied to him in that circumstance wherein his quality was the occafion of the difcourfe, and wherein it was most useful to the one, and most honourable to the other. This way is fo far from being, difrefpectful to the honour of nobles, that it is an expedient for ufing them with greater deference. I would not put lordship to a man's hat, gloves, wig, or cane; but to defire his lordfhip's favour, his lordship's judgment, or his lordship's patronage, is a manner of fpeaking which expreffes an alliance between his quality and his meri. It is this knowledge which diftinguished the difcourfe of the fhoemaker from that of the gentleman. The highest point of goodbreeding, if any one can hit it, is to fhew a very nice regard to your own dignity, and, with that in your heart, express your value for the man above you. But the filly, humour to the contrary has fo much prevailed, that the flavish addition of title enervates difcourse, and renders the application of it almoft ridiculous. We writers of diurnals are nearer in our ftyle to that of common talk than any other writers; by which means we use words of refpect fometimes very unfortu nately. The Poftman, who is one of the moft celebrated of our fraternity, fell into this misfortune yefterday, in his paragraph from Berlin of the twenty-fixth of July. Count Wartembourg,' fays he, great chamberlain, and chief minister of this court, who on Monday laft accompanied the king of Pruffia to Oranienburg, was taken fo very ill, that on Wednesday his life was defpaired of; and we had a report, that his excellency was dead.' I humbly prefume that it flattens the narration to fay his excellency in a cafe which is common to all men; except you would infer what is not to be inferred, to wit, that the author defigned to fay, All wherein he excelled others was departed from him. Were diftinctions used according to the rules of reafon and fenfe, thofe additions to men's names would be, as they were first intended, fignificant of their worth, and not their perfons; fo that, in fome cafes, it might be proper to fay, The man is dead; but his excellency will D 6 never never die. It is, methinks, very unjuft to laugh at a quaker, because he has taken up a refolution to treat you with a word, the moft expreffive of complaifance that can be thought of, and with an air of good-nature and charity calls you Friend. I fay, it is very unjust to rally him for this term to a ftranger, when you yourselves, in all your phrafes of diftinction, confound phrases of honour into no ue at all. Tom Courtly, who is the pink of courtesy, is an instance of how little moment an undiftinguishing application of founds of honour are to those who understand themselves. Tom never fails of paying his obeifance to every man he fees, who has title or office to make him conspicuous; but his deference is wholly given to outward confiderations. I, who know him, can tell, within half an acre, how much land one man has more than another by Tom's bow to him. Title is all he knows of honour, and civility of friendfhip; for this reafon, because he cares for no man living, he is religiously strict in performing, what he calls, his refpects to you. To this end he is very learned in pedigree; and will abate fomething in the ceremony of his approaches to a man, if he is in any doubt about the bearing of his coat of arms. What is the most pleasant of all his character is, that he acts with a fort of integrity in thefe impertinences; and though he would not do any folid kindness, he is wonderfully juft and careful not to wrong his quality. But as integrity is very scarce in the world, I cannot forbear having refpect for the impertinent: it is fome virtue to be bound by any thing. Tom and I are upon very good terms for the refpect he has for the houfe of Bickerstaff. Though one cannot but laugh at his ferious confideration of things fo little effential, one must have a value even for a frivolous good conscience. NO. NO. 205. TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 1710. Νηπιοι, εδ' ισασιν όσω πλεον ήμισυ παντός Και οσον εν μαλάχη τε και ασφοδέλω μεν ονειαρ. HESIOD. et Oper. Dier. ver. 40. Fools! not to know how far an humble lot How health and temperance bless the ruftic fwain, From my own Apartment, July 31. R. WYNNE. NATURE has implanted in us two very ftrong defires, hunger for the prefervation of the individual, and luft for the fupport of the fpecies; or, to speak more intelligibly, the former to continue our own perfons, and the latter to introduce others into the world. According as men behave themselves with regard to thefe appetites, they are above or below the beafts of the field, which are incited by them without choice or reflection. But reafonable creatures correct thefe incentives, and improve them into elegant motives of friendship and fociety. It is chiefly from this homely foundation, that we are under the neceffity of feeking for the agreeable companion, and the honourable miftrefs. By this cultivation of art and reafon, our wants are made pleafures, and the gra tification of our defires, under proper reftrictions, a work no way below our nobleft faculties. The wifeft man may maintain his character, and yet confider in what manner he fhall beft entertain his friend, or divert his mistress nay, it is fo far from being a derogation to him, that he can in no other inftances fhew fo true a tafte of his life, or his fortune. What concerns one of the above-mentioned appetites, as it is elevated into love, I fhall have abundant occafion to difcourfe of, before I have provided for the numberlefs crowd of damfels I have proposed to take care of. The fubject, therefore, of the prefent |