them; and we feem refolved at laft to believe neither God nor devil."

After fuch a ftain upon the convent, it was not to be fuppofed it could fubfift any longer; the fathers were ordered to decamp, and the house was once again converted into a tavern. The king conferred it on one of his caft miftreffes; fhe was conftituted landlady by royal authority; and as the tavern was in the neighbourhood of the court, and the mistress a very polite woman, it began to have more bufinefs than ever, and fometimes took not less than four fhillings a day.

But perhaps you are defirous of knowing what were the peculiar qualifications of a woman of fashion at that period; and in a defcription of the present landlady, you will have a tolerable idea of all the reft. This lady was the daughter of a nobleman, and received fuch an education in the country as became her quality, beauty, and great expectations. She could make fhifts and hofe for herself and all the fervants of the family, when he was twelve years old. She knew the names of the four and twenty letters, fo that it was impoffible to bewitch her; and this was a greater piece of learning than any lady in the whole country could pretend to. She was always up early, and faw breakfast ferved in the great hall by fix o'clock. At this scene of festivity the generally improved good-humour, by telling her dreams, relating ftories of fpirits, feveral of which fhe herfelf had feen; and one of which the was reported to have killed with a black-hafted knife. Hence the ufually went to make pastry in the larder, and here fhe was followed by her fweet-hearts, who were much helped on in converfation by ftruggling with her for kiffes. About ten mifs generally went to play at hot-cockles and blindman's buff in the parlour; and when the young folks (for they feldom played at hot-cockles when grown old) were tired of

fuch amusements, the gentlemen entertained mifs with the history of their greyhounds, bear-baitings, and victories at cudgel-playing. If the weather was fine, they ran at the ring, fhot at butts; while mifs held in her hand a ribbon, with which the adorned the conqueror. Her mental qualifications were exactly fitted to her external accomplishments. Before fhe was fifteen fhe could tell the ftory of Jack the Giant Killer, could name every mountain that was inhabited by fairies, knew a witch at firft fight, and could repeat four Latin prayers without a prompter. Her drefs was perfectly fashionable; her arms and her hair were completely covered; a monftrous ruff was put round her neck; fo that her head feemed like that of John the Babtist placed in a charger. In fhort when completely equipped her appearance was fo very modeft, that fhe difcovered little more than her nose. These were the times, Mr. Rigmarole; when every lady that had a good nofe might set up for a beauty; when every woman that could tell ftories, might be cried up for a wit. "am as much displeased at those dreffes which con"ceal too much, as at thofe which difcover too "much I am equally an enemy to a female dunce or a female pedant.

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You may be fure that mifs chose a husband with qualifications refembling her own; fhe pitched upon a courtier, equally remarkable for hunting and drinking, who had given feveral proofs of his great virility among the daughters of his tenants and domeftics. They fell in love at first fight (for fuch was the gallantry of the times) were married, came to court, and madam appeared with fuperior qualifications. The king was ftruck with her beauty. All property was at the king's command; the husband was obliged to refign all pretenfions in his wife to the fovereign, whom God had anointed to commit adultery where

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he thought proper. The king loved her for fome time; but at length repenting of his misdeeds, and inftigated by his father-confeffor, from a principle of conscience removed her from his levee to the bar of this tavern, and took a new miftrefs in her ftead. Let it not furprize you to behold the miftrefs of a king degraded to fo humble an office. As the ladies had no mental accomplishments, a good face was enough to raise them to the royal couch; and she, who was this day a royal miftrefs, might the next, when her beauty palled upon enjoyment, be doomed to infamy and want.

Under the care of this lady the tavern grew into great reputation; the courtiers had not yet learned to game, but they paid it off by drinking; drunkenness is ever the vice of a barbarous, and gaming of a luxurious age. They had not fuch frequent entertainments as the moderns have, but were more expenfive and more luxurious in those they had. All their fooleries were more elaborate, and more admired by the great and the vulgar than now. A courtier has been known to spend his whole fortune at a fingle feaft, a king to mortgage his dominions to furnith out the frippery of a tournament. There were certain days appointed for riot and debauchery, and to be fober at fuch times was reputed a crime. Kings themselves fet the example; and I have feen monarchs in this room drunk before the entertainment was half concluded. These were the times, Sir, when kings kept miftreffes, and got drunk in public; they were too plain and fimple in thofe happy times to hide their vices, and act the hypocrite, as now." Lord! Mrs Quickly," interrupting her, "I "expected to have heard a story, and here you are going to tell me I know not what of times and vices; pr'ythee let me intreat thee once more to wave reflections, and give thy history without deviation."

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No lady upon earth, continued my vifionary correfpondent, knew how to put off her damaged wine or women with more art than the. When these grew flat, or those paltry, it was but changing the names; the wine became excellent, and the girls agreeable. She was alfo poffeffed of the engaging leer, the chuck under the chin, winked at a double-entendre, could nick the opportunity. of calling for fomething comfortable, and perfectly underftood the difcreet moments when to withdraw. The gallants of thefe times pretty much refembled the bloods of ours; they were fond of pleasure, but quite ignorant of the art of refining upon it: thus a court-bawd of thofe times refembled the common lowlived harridan of a modern bagnio. Witnefs, ye powers of debauchery, how often I have been prefent at the various appearances of drunkennefs, riot, guilt, and brutality! A tavern is the true picture of human infirmity; in hiftory we find only one fide of the age exhibited to our view; but in the accounts of a tavern we fee every age equally abfurd and equally vicious.

Upon this lady's decease the tavern was fucceffively occupied by adventurers, bullies, pimps, and pimps, and gamefters. Towards the conclufion of the reign of Henry VII. gaming was more univerfally practifed in England than even now. Kings themselves have been know to play off at Primero, not only all the money and jewels they could part with, but the very images in churches. The laft Henry played away, in this very room, not only the four great bells of St, Paul's cathedral, but the fine image of St. Paul, which ftood upon the top of the fpire, to Sir Miles Partridge, who took them down the next day, and fold them by auction. Have you then any cause to regret being born in the times you now live? or do you ftill believe that human nature continues to run on declining every age? If we obferve the ac

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tions of the bufy part of mankind, your anceftors will be found infinitely more grofs, fervile, and even difhoneft, than you. If, forfaking hiftory, we only trace them in their hours of amufement and diffipation, we fhall find them more fenfual, more entirely devoted to pleasure, and infinitely more felfith.

The laft hoftefs of note I find upon record was Jane Route. She was born among the lower ranks of the people; and by frugality and extreme complaifance contrived to acquire a moderate fortüne : this fhe might have enjoyed for many years, had the not unfortunately quarrelled with one of her neighbours, a woman who was in high repute for fanctity: through the whole parish. In the times of which I fpeak two women feldom quarrelled, that one did not accuse the other of witchcraft, and fhe who first contrived to vomit crooked pins was fure to come off victorious. The fcandal of a modern tea-table differs widely from the fcandal of former times,: the fascination of a lady's eyes at prefent is regarded as a compliment; but if a lady formerly fhould be accufed of having witchcraft in her eyes, it were much better both for her foul and body that fhe had no eyes at all.

In fhort Jane Roufe was accused of witchcraft; and though she made the best defence fhe could, it was all to no purpofe; fhe was taken from her own bar to the bar of the Old-Bailey, condemned, and executed accordingly. Thefe were times indeed! when even women could not fcold in fafety.

Since her time the tavern underwent feveral revolutions, according to the fpirit of the times, or the difpofition of the reigning monarch. reigning monarch. It was this day a brothel, and the next a conventicle for enthufiafts. It was one year noted for harbouring whigs, and the next infamous for a retreat to tories. Some years ago it was in high vogue, but at prefent it seems declining

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