not run fo high as I find your accounts have made it. The truth of the fact you shall have very faithfully. You are to understand, that the perfons concerned in this scene were Lady Autumn and Lady Springly. Autumn is a perfon of good breeding, formality, and a fingular way practised in the last age; and Lady Springly, a modern impertinent of our sex, who affects as improper a familiarity as the other does distance. Lady Autumn knows to a hair's breadth where her place is in all affemblies and converfations; but Springly neither gives nor takes place of anybody, but understands the place to fignify no more than to have room enough to be at ease wherever he comes. Thus, while Autumn takes the whole of this life to confift in understanding punctilio and decorum, Springly takes everything to be becoming which contributes to her eafe and fatisfaction. Thefe heroines have married two brothers, both knights. Springly is the spouse of the elder, who is a baronet; and Autumn being a rich widow, has taken the younger, and her purfe endowed him with an equal fortune and knighthood of the fame order. This jumble of titles, you need not doubt, has been an aching torment to Autumn, who took place of the other on no pretence, but her carelessnefs and difregard of diftinction. The fecret occafion of envy broiled long in the breaft of Autumn, but no opportunity of contention on that fubject happening, kept all things quiet till the accident, of which you demand an account.

"It was given out among all the gay people of this place, that on the 9th instant, several damfels, swift of foot, were to run for a fuit of head-clothes at the Old Wells. Lady Autumn on this occafion invited Springly to go with her in her coach to fee the race. When they came to the place where the Governor of Epfom and all his court of citizens were affembled, as well as a crowd of people of all orders, a brifk young fellow addreffes himself to the younger of the ladies, viz. Springly, and offers her his fervice to conduct her into the mufick-room. Springly accepts the compliment, and is led triumphantly through a bowing crowd, while Autumn is left among the rabble, and has much ado to get back into her coach, but she did it at last; and as it is ufual to fee by the

horfes my lady's present disposition, fhe orders John to whip furiously home to her husband, where, when she enters, down fhe fits, began to unpin her hood, and lament her foolish fond heart, to marry into a family where she was fo little regarded; fhe that might Here the ftops; then rifes up and stamps, and fits down again. Her gentle knight made his approach with a fupple, befeeching gesture. My dear,' faid he, 'Tell me no dears,' replied Autumn,- -in the presence of the governor and all the merchants- -what will the world fay of a woman that has thrown herself away at this rate?' Sir Thomas withdrew, and knew it would not be long a secret to him, as well as that experience told him, he that marries a fortune is of courfe guilty of all faults against his wife, let them be committed by whom they will. But Springly, an hour or two after, returns from the Wells, and finds the whole company together. Down she fat, and a profound filence enfued. You know a premeditated quarrel ufually begins and works up with the words, fome people.' The filence was broken by Lady Autumn, who began to fay, There are fome people who fancy, that if some people'Springly immediately takes her up, There are fome people who fancy, if other people'Autumn repartees, 'People may give themselves airs, but other people perhaps who make lefs ado, may be, perhaps, as agreeable as people who fet themselves out more.' All the other people at the table fat mute, while these two people, who were quarrelling, went on with the use of the word people, inftancing the very accidents between them, as if they kept only in diftant hints. "Therefore,' fays Autumn, reddening, There are fome people will go abroad in other people's coaches, and leave those with whom they went to shift for themselves; and if, perhaps, those people have married the younger brother, yet, perhaps, he may be beholden to thofe people for what he is.' Springly fmartly answers, 'People may bring fo much ill-humour into a family, as people may repent their receiving their money;' and goes on Everybody is not confiderable enough to give her uneafinefs. Upon this, Autumn comes up to her, and defired her to kiss her, and never to see her again, which her

fifter refufing, my lady gave her a box on the ear.-Springly returns, Ay, ay,' faid fhe, I knew well enough you meant me by your fome people,' and gives her another on the other fide. To it they went with moft mafculine fury-each husband ran in. The wives immediately fell upon their husbands, and tore periwigs and cravats. The company interpofed, when (according to the flip knot of matrimony, which makes them return to one another when any put in between) the ladies and their husbands fell upon all the rest of the company; and having beat all their friends and relations out of the house, came to themselves time enough to know, there was no bearing the jeft of the place after these adventures, and therefore marched off the next day. It is faid, the governor has fent feveral joints of mutton, and has propofed divers dishes very exquifitely dreffed, to bring them down again. From his addrefs and knowledge in roast and boiled, all our hopes of the return of this good company depend. I am, dear Jenny,

"Your ready friend and fervant,
"MARTHA TATLER."

CHAPTER XXII.

JENNY DISTAFF CONTINUED LOVE AND MATRIMONY— THE FOX-HUNTER'S SPEECH.

H

...

HIS evening fome ladies came to vifit, and the discourse, after very many frivolous and publick matters, turned upon the main point among the women-the paffion of love. Sappho, who always leads on this occafion, began to fhew her reading, and told us that Sir John Suckling and Milton had, upon a parallel occafion, faid the tendereft things she had ever read. "The circumstance," faid fhe, "is fuch as gives us a notion of that protecting part which is the duty of men in their honourable defigns upon, or poffeffion of women. In Suckling's tragedy of Brennoralt he makes the lover steal into his mistress's bed-chamber, and draw the curtains; then, when his heart is full of her charms, as she lies fleeping, instead of being carried away by the violence of his defires into thoughts of a warmer nature, fleep, which is the image of death, gives this generous lover reflections of a different kind, which regard rather her fafety than his own paffion. For, beholding her as fhe lies fleeping, he utters these words :

"So mifers look upon their gold,

Which, while they joy to fee, they fear to lose :
The pleasure of the fight fcarce equalling
The jealoufy of being difpoffefs'd by others.
Her face is like the Milky Way i' the sky,
A meeting of gentle lights without a name!'

Heav'n! fhall this fresh ornament of the world
Thefe precious love-lines, pafs with other common things
Amongst the waftes of time? what pity 'twere!

"When Milton makes Adam leaning on his arm, beholding Eve, and lying in the contemplation of her beauty, he describes the utmost tenderness and guardian affection in one word :—

"Adam with looks of cordial love
Hung over her enamour'd.'

"This is that fort of paffion which truly deserves the name of love, and has fomething more generous than friendship itfelf; for it has a conftant care of the object beloved, abstracted from its own interefts in the poffeffion of it." Sappho was proceeding on the fubject when my sister produced a letter fent to her in the time of my absence, in celebration of the marriage ftate, which is the condition wherein only this fort of paffion reigns in full authority. The epiftle is as follows:

"DEAR MADAM,

"Your brother being abfent, I dare take the liberty of writing to you my thoughts of that ftate which our whole fex either is or defires to be in: you will easily guess I mean matrimony, which I hear fo much decried, that it was with no small labour I maintained my ground against two opponents; but, as your brother obferved of Socrates, I drew them into my own conclufion from their own conceffions

"If you think they were too eafily confuted, you may conclude them not of the first sense by their talking against marriage.

"Yours,

"MARIANA."

I obferved Sappho began to redden at this epiftle; and turning to a lady who was playing with a dog fhe was fo fond of as to carry him abroad with her, "Nay," says she, "I cannot blame the men if they have mean ideas of our fouls