is written in our tongue, or in any other. That excellent author has fhewn how every particular cuftom and habit of virtue will, in it's own nature, produce the heaven, or a state of happiness, in T him who fhall hereafter practife it: as, on the contrary, how every custom or habit of vice will be the natural hell of him in whom it fubfifis. N° CCCCXLVIII, MONDAY, AUGUST 4. FOEDIUS HOC ALIQUID QUANDOQUE AUDE BIS. Juv. SAT. 11. v. S2. IN TIME TO GREATER BASENESS YOU'LL PROCEED. C nefs for him, at that moment waiting out of respect to him, and refuling to tafte their food or converfation, with the utmost impatience. One of thefe promifers fometimes hall make his excules for not coming at all, io late that half the company have only to lament, that they have neglected matters of moment to meet him whom they find a trifier. They immediately repent of the value they had for him; and fuch treatment repeated, makes company never depend upon his promifes any more; fo that he often comes at the middle of a meal, where he is fecretly flighted by the perfons with whom he eats, and curted by the fervants, whofe dinner is delayed by his prolonging their maiter's entertainment. It is wonderful, that men guilty this way, could never have obferved, that the whiling time, and gathering together, and waiting a little before dinner, is the moft aukwardly paffed away of any part of the four and twenty hours. If they did think at all, they world reflect upon their guilt, in lengthening fuch a fufpenfion of agreeable lite. The conflant offending this way, has, in a degree, an effect upon the honesty of his mind who is guilty of it, as com mon fwearing is a kind of habitual perjury: it makes the foul unattentive to what an oath is, even while it utters it at the lips. Phocion beholding a worthy orator, while he was making a magnificent fpeech to the people, full of vain promifes Methinks, faid he, 'I am now fixing my eyes upon a cypresstree; it has all the pomp and beauty HE firft fteps towards ill are very carefully to be avoided, for men infenfibly go on when they are once enicred, and do not keep up a lively abhorrence of the leaft unworthinefs. There is a certain frivolous falfhood that people indulge themfelves in, which ought to be had in greater deteftation than it commonly meets with: what I mean is a neglect of promifes made on fmall and indifferent occafions, fuch as parties of pleature, entertainments, and fometimes meetings out of curiofity, in men of like faculties, to be in each other's company. There are many caufes to which one may affign this light infidelity. Jack Sippet never keeps the hour he has appointed to come to a friend's to dinner; but he is an infignificant fellow who dees it out of vanity. He could never, he knows, make any figure in company, but by giving a little difturbance at his entry, and therefore takes care to drop in when he thinks you are just feated. He takes his place after having diícompofed every body, and defires there may be no ceremony; then does he begin to call himself the faddeft fellow, in difappointing fo many places as he was invited to citewhere. It is the fop's vanity to name houfes of better chear, and to acquaint you that he chose your's out of ten dinners which he was obliged to be at that day. The last time I had the fortune to eat with him, he was imagining how very fat he fhould have been had he eaten all he had ever been invited to. But it is impertinent to dwell upon the manners of fuch a wretch as obliges all whom he disappoints, though his cir-imaginable in it's branches, leaves and cumftances constrain them to be civil to him. But there are thofe that every one would be glad to fee, who fall into the faine deteftable habit. It is a merciless thing that any one can be at eafe, and fuppofe a fet of people who have a kind height, but alas it bears no fruit.' ་ Though the expectation which is raifed by impertinent promifes is thus barren, their confidence, even after failures, is fo great, that they fubfift by still promifing on. I have heretofore difcourfed of of the infignificant liar, the boafter, and the cattle-builder, and treated them as no ill-defigning men, (though they are to be placed among the frivolously falfe ones) but perfons who fall into that way purely to recommend themselves by their vivacities; but indeed I cannot let heedlets promifers, though in the most minute circumstances, pafs with fo flight a cenfure. If a man fhould take a refolution to pay only fums above an hundred pounds, and yet contract with different people debts of five and ten, how long can we fuppofe he will keep his credit? This man will as long fupport his good name in bufinefs, as he will in converfation, who without difficulty makes affignations which he is indifferent whether he keeps or not. I am the more fevere upon this vice, because I have been fo unfortunate as to be a very great criminal myself. Sir Andrew Freeport, and all my other friends who are fcrupulous to promifes of the meanest confideration imaginable, from an habit of virtue that way, have often upbraided me with it. I take fhame upon myself for this crime, and more particularly for the greatest I ever committed of the fort, that when as agreeable a company of gentlemen and ladies, as ever were got together, and I forfooth, Mr. Spectator, to be of the party with women of merit, like a booby as I was, miftook the time of meeting, and came the night following. I wish every fool who is negligent in this kind, may have as great a lofs as I had in this; for the fame company will never meet more, but are difperfed into various parts of the world, and I am left under the compunction that I deferve, in fo many different places to be called a trifler, This fault is fometimes to be account. ed for, when defirable people are fearful of appearing precife and referved by denials; but they will find the apprehenfion of that imputation will betray them into a childish impotence of mind, and make them promife all who are fo kind to ask it of them. This leads fuch foft creatures into the misfortune of feeming to return overtures of good-will with ingratitude. The firft fteps in the breach of a man's integrity are much more im. portant than men are aware of. The man who fcruples breaking his word in Jittle things would not fuffer in his own confcience fo great pain for failures of onfequence, as he who thinks every little offence against truth and justice a difparagement. We fhould not make any thing we ourselves difapprove habitual to us, if we would be fure of our integrity. I remember a falfhood of the trivial fort, though not in relation to affignations, that expofed a man to a very uneafy adventure. Will Trap and Jack Stint were chamber-fellows in the InnerTemple about twenty-five years ago. They one night fat in the pit together at a comedy, where they both obferved and liked the fame young woman in the boxes. Their kindness for her entered both hearts deeper than they imagined, Stint had a good faculty in writing letters of love, and made his addrefs privately that way; while Trap proceeded in the ordinary courfe, by money and her waiting-maid. The lady gave them both encouragement, receiving Trap into the utmott favour, and anfwering at the fame time Stint's letters, and giving him appointments at third places, Trap began to fufpect the epiftolary correfpondence of his friend, and difcovered alfo that Stint opened all his letters which came to their common lodgings, in order to form his own affignations, After much anxiety and restleffnefs Trap came to a refolution, which he thought would break off their commerce with one another without any hazardous explanation. He therefore writ a letter in a feigned hand to Mr. Trap at his chambers in the Temple. Stint, according to custom, seized and opened it, and was not a little furprifed to find the infide directed to himself, when, with great perturbation of spirits, he read as follows; MR. STINT, you have gained a flight fatisfaction at the expence of doing a very hein ous crime. At the price of a faithful friend you have obtained an inconftant miftrefs. I rejoice in this expedient I have thought of to break my mind o you, and tell you, you are a bafe fellow, by a means which does not expofe you to the affront except you deferve it, I know, Sir, as criminal as you are, you have ftill fhame enough to avenge yourself against the hardiness of any one that should publicly tell you of it. I therefore, who have received to many fecret hurts from you, fhall take fatif. faction with fafety to myself. I call you bate, HEN I reflect upon my labours MART. Fidelia is now in the twenty-third year W for the public, I cannot but ob- of her age; but the application of many ferve, that part of the fpecies, of which I profefs myfelf a friend and guardian, is fometimes treated with feverity; that is, there are in my writings many defcriptions given of ill perfons, and not any direct encomium made of thofe who are good. When I was convinced of this error, I could not but immediately call to mind feveral of the fair-fex of my acquaintance, whofe characters deferve to be tranfinitted to pofterity in writings which will long outlive mine. But I do not think that a reason why I fhould not give them their place in my diurnal as leg as it will last. For the fervice therefore of my female readers, I Thall fingle out fome characters of maids, wives, and widows, which deferve the imitation of the fex. She who fhall lead, this finall illuftrious number of heroines fhall be the amiable Fidelia. Before I enter upon the particular parts of her character, it is neceffary to preface that he is the only child of a decrepid father, whofe life is bound up in hers. This gentleman has ufed Fidelia from her cradle with all the tendernefs imaginable, and has viewed her growing perfections with the partiality of a parent, that foon thought her accomplished above the children of all other men, but never thought he was come to the utmost improvement of which the herfelf was capable. This fondnefs has had very happy effects upon his own happiness; for the reads, the dances, fhe fings, ufes her fpinnet and lute to the utmoit perfection: and the lady's ufe of all thefe excellencies, is to divert the old man in his eafy chair, when he is out of the pangs of a chronical diftemper. lovers, her vigorous time of life, her quick fenfe of all that is truly galant and elegant in the enjoyment of a plentiful fortune, are not able to draw her from the fide of her good old father. Certain it is, that there is no kind of affection fo pure and angelic as that of a father to a daughter. He beholds her both with, and without regard to her fex. In love to our wives there is defire, to our fons there is ambition; but in that to our daughters, there is fomething which there are no words to expres. Her life is defigned wholly domeftic, and fhe is fo ready a friend and companion, that every thing that passes about a man, is accompanied with the idea of her prefence. Her fex alfo is naturally fo much exposed to hazard, both as to fortune and innocence, that there is perhaps a new caufe of fondness arifing from that confideration alfo. None but fathers can have a true fense of these fort of pleasures and fenfations; but my familiarity with the father of Fidelia, makes me let drop the words which I have heard him fpeak, and obferve upon his tenderness towards her. Fidelia, on her part, as I was going to fay, as accomplished as the is, with all her beauty, wit, air, and mien, employs her whole time in care and attendance upon her father. How have I been charmed to fee one of the most beauteous women the age has produced on her knees helping on an old man's flipper! Her filial regard to him is what the makes her diverfion, her business, and her glory. When the was asked by a friend of her deceafed mother to admit of the courtship of her fon, the anfwer ed |