spread themselves over the whole globe. The votaries of LIBITINA are placed round the altar, all dreffed in an uniform habit, and looking up with great complacency on PROMETHEUS, and his empty box, which according to the oracle, they interpret in their fa vour, as a fure prognoftic of filling their own coffers.

I know one of the healthiest men in England, who, in his own opinion, is never well. He has a diftemper for every month; and befides is feized with a violent cold every night and morning. He eats very heartily, but nothing ever agrees with him. He fleeps very foundly; but according to his own account, he has not one wink of fleep in a week. When he has run thro' the whole catalogue of difeafes, he finds himself he does not know howbut is very ill, and in great pain all over, grievously afflicted with a diftemper, which wants a name, and no body ever had before. Thus, by the ftrength of his imagination, and the aid of his phyfician, and after having taken three or four hundred weight of drugs, he will be able to break a very robust constitution; and, when it is too late, perceive the great difference between real and imaginary evils.

coffers. In one corner of the altar-piece ftands old MONTAIGNE, and in another a famous comic poet, both critically remarking the actions and manners of all the other figures. If you form your judgment of the poet's character by the rules of phyfiognomy, and the archnefs of his looks, you will perceive, he has the fame turn of thinking with his painter. And to evince this more clearly, the droll hath introduced all the figures, in this hiftorical piece, upon the stage*.

This

*It would have pleased me much, to have feen this comedy acted; or, that the good priefts could have ftayed a little longer, to have given us a description of it. I question, whether any character in this PAPYROPOLITAN Drama is more agreeable and entertaining, than MoLIERE'S SGANARELLE: For SGANARELLE was the only eminent perfon of the profeffion, who had been drubbed into the practice of phyfic, and doctorated in spite of his teeth. I have known some indeed, who like GIL BLAS, have been made phyficians by accident, and others, who

have

This comedy, when it first appeared, met with great fuccefs; and as often, as it has been acted fince, it hath been well received: tho' the physicians have always raised a ftrong party against it, and are fo much displeased with the author, that they will probably fuffer him to die a natural death.---- Here, the good priests were called away to attend a perfon of diftinction, who, having been perfectly cured of a moft inveterate diftemper by aba ftinence only, was come hither with an heart full of gratitude, to pay his devotions, and perform his vows to the goddess of HEALTH. We therefore thanked thefe yenerable men for their excellent instructions and communicativenefs, and took our leave.

have been taught all their skill and knowledge by the fame master, that made PERSIUS (as he pretended, to dif guife his quality) a poet, and T. S. a priest.

PALLA N TIS:

OR,

The CITY of PALLAS:

WITH AN

Account of the ONOCENTAUrs.

PALLANTIS,

LANTIS, or the CITY of PALLAS, which is not far diftant from the temple of HEALTH, and is the capital of a small, but fertile country, called PALLADIA, is vifited by all ftrangers, and therefore our curiofity naturally led us to take a view of it. This city is of no great extent, but beautifully fituated near the conflux of two rivers, and has the benefit of a wholefome and temperate air. The buildings are magnificent, but in a fingular tafte. For the whole is compofed of about forty fquares, in each of which is a temple dedicated to the worship of PALLAS. The fquares are separated by large gardens,

gardens, every square having a garden be longing to it, which is common to all the inhabitants of that district. The citizens boast themselves to be defcended from a colony of the ATHENIANS, who left their native country, when the liberties of GREECE were deftroyed, and fettled in ITALY. They urge, as an argument to prove the antiquity of their defcent, and the truth of this tradition, that, as they have preferved the GREEK language in its ATTIC purity to this day, fo they both fpeak, and write the LATIN of the AugusTAN age; and moreover, that they cultivate all the liberal arts and sciences with unwearied application. It must be acknowledged, that, in thedarkest times, there have flourished among the PALLADIANS men of profound erudition, and fome judicious critics and polite fcholars. But, fince the restoration of letters, they have been univerfally celebrated, as a very learned body, and their productions in all the ancient languages, as well as in their

own,