her no longer than while that continues, which is only till age or fickness blasts it, and then farewel, at once, both duty and delight.

But if I love her for her vertues, and for the fake of God, who has enjoin'd it as a duty, that our affections fhou'd not be alienated, or feparated, by any thing but death; then, tho' all the other fandy foundations fail, yet will my happiness remain entire; even tho' I fhou'd not perceive thofe mutual returns of love, which are due to me from her upon the fame bottom. But oh! the happiness of that couple, whofe inclinations to each other are as mutual as their duties; whofe affections, as well as perfons, are link'd together with the fame tye! this is the chief condition requir'd to make the ftate of matrimony happy or defirable, and fhall be the chief motive, with me, to induce me to enter into it. For, tho' it be no happiness to be belov'd by one I do not love; yet it is certainly a very great one to be belov'd by one I do. If this then be my lot, to have mutual expreffions of love from the person I fix my affections upon, what joy and comfort will it raife in my heart? with what peace and amity fhall we live together here? and what glory and felicity may we not promife ourselves hereafter? What

What is here faid of the duty in Chufing and loving of a wife, may be likewife apply'd to the woman's duty in chufing and loving her husband.

I

SPECTATOR, No 375.

Have more than once (fays this Author) had occafion to mention a noble faying of Seneca the Philofopher: That a virtuous perfon ftruggling with misfortunes, and rifing above them, is an object on which the gods themselves may look down with delight. I fhall therefore fet before my read ers a scene of this kind of distress in private life.

An eminent citizen, who had lived in good fashion and credit, was by a train of accidents, & by an unavoidable perplexity in his affairs, reduc'd to a low condition. There is a modefty ufually attending faultless poverty, which made him rather chufe to reduce his manner of living to his prefent circumftances, than follicit his friends in order to fupport the fhew of an eftate when the fubitance was gone. His wife, who was a woman of fenfe and virtue, behaved herfelf on this occafion with uncommon decency, and never appear'd fo amiable in

his eyes as now. Inftead of upbraiding him with the ample fortune fhe had brought, or the many great offers fhe had refused for his fake, fhe redoubled all the inftances of her affection, while her husband was continually pouring out his heart to her in complaints that he had ruined the best wo man in the world. He fometimes came home at a time when she did not expect him, and furpriz❜d her in tears, which fhe endea vour'd to conceal, and always put on an air of chearfulness to receive him. To lef fen their expence, their eldeft daughter (whom I fhall call Amanda) was fent into the country, to the house of an honest farmer, who had married a fervant of the family. This young woman was apprehensive of the ruin which was approaching, and had privately engaged a friend in the neighbourhood to give her an account of what paffed from time to time in her father's affairs. Amanda was in the bloom of her youth and beauty, when the lord of the manour, who often called in at the farmer's houfe as he follow'd his country fports, fell paffionately in love with her. He was a man of great generofity, but from a loofe education had contracted a hearty averfion to marriage. He therefore entertained a defign upon Amanda's virtue, which at pre

K

fent

fent he thought fit to keep private. The innocent creature, who never fufpected his intentions, was pleafed with his perfon; and having obferved his growing paffion for her, hoped by fo advantageous a match fhe might quickly be in capacity of fupporting her impoverish'd relations. One day as he called to fee her, he found her in tears over a letter fhe had juft receiv'd from her friend, which gave an account that her father had lately been ftripped. of every thing by an execution. The lover, who with fome difficulty found out the cause of her grief, took this occafion to make her a propofal. It is impoffible to exprefs Amanda's confusion when the found his pretenfions were not honourable. She was now deserted of all her hopes, and had no power to fpeak; but rufhing from him in the utmost difturbance, locked her felf up in her chamber. . He immediately dif patched a meffenger to her father with the following letter.

SIR,

I have heard of your misfortune, and have offer'd your daughter, if fhe will live with me, to fettle on her four hundred pounds a year, and to lay down the fum for which you are now diftreffed. I will be so inge

nuous

nuous as to tell you, that I do not intend marriage: But if you are wife, you will ufe your authority with her not to be too nice, when fhe has an opportunity of faving you and your family, and of making herfelf happy. I am, &c.

This letter came to the hands of Amanda's mother; fhe open'd and read it with great furprize and concern. She did not think it proper to explain her felf to the meffenger, but defiring him to call again the next morning, fhe wrote to her daughter as follows:

Dearest Child,

Your father and I have juft now receiv'd a letter from a gentleman who pretends love to you, with a proposal that insults our misfortunes, and would throw us to a lower degree of mifery than any thing which is come upon us. How could this barbarous man think, that, the tendereft of parents, would be temped to fupply their wants by giving up the beft of children to infamy and ruin? It is a mean and cruel artifice to make this propofal at a time when he thinks our neceffities muft compel us to any thing; but we will not eat the bread of fhame; K 2

and