duction of those mischiefs that usually attend them. To instance, in the tragedy of Fatal Constancy; the hero suspecting the cruelty of his mistress, or rather her obedience to her father, falls with the greatest propriety into the passion of anger, which thus bursts forth: Curs'd be the treach'rous sex, curs'd be the hour, Upon such a provocation as this, it was absolutely impossible to have prevented the passion; the poet therefore gives it free indulgence; and to avert the fatal effects it might have upon the lady, as the immediate cause, or upon the more remote one, her father, he supposes it employed in execrations against the sex in general, the hour, the world, and in short against every thing but his mistress. Now this artifice may, I think be very advantageously removed from the stage to the world, from fictitious to real persons, as appears from the conduct of gamesters, who in an ill run, will with the greatest vehemence curse their fortune or their cards, and having vented their anger, will play on with the utmost composure and resignation, and be perfectly agreeable to their adversaries. The ancients make mention of one Philoxenus, a celebrated eater, who instead of making his rivals at the table the objects of his passion, envied cranes for their length of neck; the short duration of pleasure being the only defect of his enjoyment. Mr. Pope too takes notice of a reverent sire, Who envy'd every sparrow that he saw. I produce these instances merely to shew the possibility of an innocent exercise of the passions, which must be employed to prevent a stagnation VOL. III. G G in the mind, and by these means may be indulged without injury to others. Thus rural 'squires, who are pure followers of nature, to keep their dogs and themselves in breath, trail herrings along the road, when the season will not admit of real busi ness. But to remove all doubts concerning the possibility of this method, and at the same time to shew its utility, I must introduce St. Austin to my readers. It is well known that the 'prevailing passion of this saint was love, and that an habitual indulgence had rendered it too formidable for a regular attack. He therefore engaged by stratagem, where his utmost strength was ineffectual, and by forming a woman of snow for his embraces, secured his own character, and the honour of his fair disciples, from those devastations to which they must otherwise have been fatally exposed. An example like this is, I think, sufficient to confirm the principles, and recommend the practice of substituting objects for the exercise of the passions; but lest difficulties should arise from the choice, I shall point out such as will best correspond with some particular passions, that we may from thence be enabled to judge what will best suit with the rest. To begin with what is most important and most prevailing, Love. Should a young lady find herself unfortunately exposed to the unruliness of this passion, either by nature or education, by too close an attention to the study of romance, or too strong a confidence in the conversation of her friends, her condition must be very deplorable: for indulgence, the most obvious expedient, is prohibited by custom; opposition would always be found ridiculous, often impracticable, and sometimes fatal; and should she follow the example of poor Violo in Shakspeare, who never told her love, But let concealment, like a worm i' th' bud, her case must be desperate indeed: for the destruction of her charms would infallibly destroy the very means of happiness, and make her fit only for the incurables of a convent, for which our protestant country has not yet thought proper to provide. Now all these inconveniences will be removed by substituting some other object to engross her affection. Thus a lap-dog, a squirrel, or a parrot, may relieve her distress, by being admitted to her bosom, and receiving those douceurs and caresses which her passion prompts her to bestow upon her lover. It is certain that the celebrated Antonia escaped the fatal effects of this passion, and preserved her character untainted amidst the slanders and corruption of the worst of courts, by fixing her affection upon a lamprey. In vain did the beaux of Rome offer up their vows; her tenderness was devoted to her favourite fish, on which she doted to that degree, that she fondly adorned it with her choicest earrings. But if this method should not sufficiently answer the great purpose of giving exercise to the passion, I cannot forbear the mention of one more, and that is cards. A parti carré at cribbage or whist will give full scope to the restlessness of its nature, and enable the fair female to indulge it in all its stages: for every deal will excite her affection or her anger: will inflame her jealousy, or restore her ease; will give her all the pangs of disappointment, or furnish the silent transports of success. What has been hitherto proposed is designed for the unmarried ladies; the situation and circumstances of a wife being in some respects different, may require a different treatment. If therefore what is here prescribed prove ineffectual, she may have recourse to St. Austin's remedy, which is always at hand: for by fixing her affections upon her husband, she may convert a lump of snow into a lover, and have the saint's exquisite pleasure of a mortifying indulgence. I would now proceed to the other passions, and lay down rules for their regulation, did I not think it absolutely unnecessary: for several of them, such as shame, fear, &c. are become absolute, and consequently unknown. Others may be constantly employed upon husbands, friends, and dependants: for these objects occur upon every occasion, and an ill choice can scarcely be made. Thus if anger be the passion of the day, a lady need not be told that she may exert it with the greatest safety and satisfaction upon a husband or a servant. Or should the fair one be under the influence of pride, on whom can it be exercised with greater propriety than upon a female friend, especially if poverty has reduced her to a state of indigence and dependence? For fortune has plainly marked such creatures for the use and amusement of her favourites. No. 204. THURSDAY, NOV. 25, 1756. SIR, TO MR. FITZ-ADAM. THE season is now approaching when the wisdom of the nation provides the supplies necessary for the support of government. The two great questions commonly debated on such occasions, are the wherefore and the how. The wherefore, as the politician in the Rehearsal says, answers itself: but then as to the quomodo, or the how, here the invention of the ingenious lover of his country may, without offence, be exerted. Certain unsubsidized pamphleteers have thought proper to observe that scarcely a single tax can be devised which has not been already imposed, in order to strip this beggarly nation (as they are pleased to call it) even of its rags: for if we credit these gentlemen, the nation does indeed hang in tatters, and we must expect very speedily to hear Britannia crying out with a most lamentable voice in the streets, Pray, your honour, do, good your honour, one single farthing to a poor distressed gentlewoman, with a great charge of helpless children.' A certain emperor is reported to have offered a reward to any one who should discover a new species of pleasure; and it is hoped, that in imitation of that emperor, the ministry will make some promises to any one who shall invent a new tax. For my own part, I flatter myself that I have discovered some methods of raising money by taxes, which have hitherto escaped the researches of projectors and politicians: but however various my ways and means may be, I shall content myself at present with communicating only one of my schemes, that from the reception it meets with from those in power, I may be tempted either to conceal or make public the rest. There is a certain species of conversation, which is commonly termed the saying of good things. In this commodity almost every body deals. The cheesemonger's wife at a gossiping, and the haberdasher at the club, say good things as well as their betters, during the short intervals from whist. This commodity has hitherto escaped the observation of |