arely happens to find a plant vigorous enough to ave, like an orange-tree, at once beautiful shining eaves, fragrant flowers, and delicious nourishing ruit. "SIR, yours," &c. "DEAR SPEC, "You have given us, in your Spectator of Saturay last, a very excellent discourse upon the force of ustom, and its wonderful efficacy in making every ning pleasant to us. I cannot deny but that I reeived above two-pennyworth of instruction from our paper, and in the general was very well pleased ith it: but I am, without a compliment, sincerely oubled that I cannot exactly be of your opinion, hat it makes every thing pleasing to us. In short, have the honour to be yoked to a young lady, who , in plain English, for her standing, a very eminent cold. She began to break her mind, very freely, oth to me and to her servants, about two months fter our nuptials; and, though I have been accusomed to this humour of hers these three years, yet do not know what is the matter with me, but I n no more delighted with it than I was at the very rst. I have advised with her relations about her, nd they all tell me that her mother and her grandother before her were both taken much after the me manner: so that, since it runs in the blood, I ave but small hopes of her recovery. I should be ad to have a little of your advice in this matter. would not willingly trouble you to contrive how it ay be a pleasure to me; if you will but put me in way that I may bear it with indifference, I shall st satisfied. August 6, 1712. "Dear Spec, "Your very humble servant. "P.S. I must do the poor girl the justice to let you know, that this match was none of her own choosing, or indeed of mine either; in consideration of which I avoid giving her the least provocation ; and indeed we live better together than usually folks do who hated one another when they were first joined. To evade the sin against parents, or at least to extenuate it, my dear rails at my father and mother, and I curse hers for making the match." 66 MR. SPECTATOR, "I LIKE the theme you lately gave out extremely, and should be as glad to handle it as any man living. But I find myself no better qualified to write about money than about my wife; for, to tell you a secret, which I desire may go no further, I am master of neither of those subjects. "August 8, 1712.” "MR. SPECTATOR, "Yours, "PILL GARLICK." "I DESIRE you will print this in italic, so as it may be generally taken notice of. It is designed only to admonish all persons, who speak either at the bar, pulpit, or any public assembly whatsoever, how they discover their ignorance in the use of similes. There are, in the pulpit itself, as well as other places, such gross abuses in this kind, that I give this warning to all I know. I shall bring them for the future before your Spectatorial authority. On Sunday last, one, who shall be nameless, reproving several of his congregation for standing at prayers, was pleased to say, One would think, like the elephant, you had no knees.' Now I myself saw an elephant, in Bartholomew fair, kneel down to take on his back the ingenious Mr. William Penkethman. T "Your most humble servant." 456. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1712. auo libelli in celeberrimis locis proponuntur, huic ne perire quin tacitè conceditur. TULL. man whose conduct is publicly arraigned, is not suffered even be undone quietly. VAY, in his tragedy of Venice Preserved, has debed the misery of a man whose effects are in the Is of the law, with great spirit. The bitterness eing the scorn and laughter of base minds, the ish of being insulted by men hardened beyond sense of shame or pity, and the injury of a man's ane being wasted, under pretence of justice, are llently aggravated in the following speech of re to Jaffier: I pass'd this very moment by thy doors, thing, indeed, can be more unhappy than the tion of bankruptcy. The calamity which hap pens to us by ill fortune, or by the injury of others, has it in some consolation; but what arises from our own misbehaviour, or error, is the state of the most exquisite sorrow. When a man considers not only an ample fortune, but even the very necessaries of life, his pretence to food itself, at the mercy of his creditors, he cannot but look upon himself in the state of the dead, with his case thus much worse, that the last office is performed by his adversaries instead of his friends. From this hour the cruel world does not only take possession of his whole fortune, but even of every thing else which had no relation to it. All his indifferent actions have new interpretations put upon them; and those whom he has favoured in his former life, discharge themselves of their obligations to him, by joining in the reproaches of his enemies. It is almost incredible that it should be so; but it is too often seen that there is a pride mixed with the impatience of the creditor; and there are, who would rather recover their own by the downfall of a prosperous man, than be discharged to the common satisfaction of themselves and their creditors. The wretched man, who was lately master of abundance, is now under the direction of others; and the wisdom, economy, good sense, and skill in human life before, by reason of his present misfortune, are of no use to him in the disposition of any thing. The incapacity of an infant or a lunatic is designed for his provision and accommodation; but that of a bankrupt, without any mitigation in respect of the accidents by which it arrived, is calculated for his utter ruin, except there be a remainder ample enough, after the discharge of his creditors, to bear also the expense of rewarding those by whose means the effect of all his labours was transferred from him. This man is to look on and see others giving directions upon what terms and conditions his goods are be purchased: and all this usually done, not with air of trustees to dispose of his effects, but deyers to divide and tear them to pieces. here is something sacred in misery to great and d minds; for this reason all wise law-givers have n extremely tender how they let loose even the 1 who has right on his side, to act with any mix▸ of resentment against the defendant. Virtuous modest men, though they be used with some are, and have it in their power to avenge themes, are slow in the application of that power, and ever constrained to go into rigorous measures. y are careful to demonstrate themselves not only sons injured, but also that to bear it longer would means to make the offender injure others, bethey proceed. Such men clap their hands upon r hearts, and consider what it is to have at their cy the life of a citizen. Such would have it to say heir own souls, if possible, that they were merciwhen they could have destroyed, rather than en it was in their power to have spared a man, destroyed. This is a due to the common calamity uman life, due in some measure to our very enes. They who scruple doing the least injury, are cious of exacting the utmost justice. 1. et any one who is conversant in the variety of han life reflect upon it, and he will find the man wants mercy has a taste of no enjoyment of any There is a natural disrelish of every thing ch is good in his very nature, and he is born an my to the world. He is ever extremely partial imself in all his actions, and has no sense of iniy but from the punishment which shall attend The law of the land is his gospel, and all his s of conscience are determined by his attorney. h men know not what it is to gladden the heart miserable man; that riches are the instruments |