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on his winding-fheet and pay him a vifit; or the tuneful nine may ftrike up their harps in his praife; or fhould it happen to be an actress, Venus, the beauteous queen of Love, and the naked Graces are ever in waiting: the lady muft be herself a goddefs bred and born; fhe muft-but you fhall have a fpecimen of one of thefe poems, which may convey a more precise idea.

On feeing Mrs. ** perform in the character of ****.

To you, bright fair, the nine addrefs their lays,
And tune my feeble voice to fing thy praife.
The heart-felt power of every charm divine,
Who can withstand their all-commanding fhine?
See how the moves along with every grace,

While foul-brought tears fteal down each fhining face.
She fpeaks, 'tis rapture all and nameless blifs,
Ye gods, what transport e'er compar'd to this.
As when in Paphian groves the queen of Love,
With fond complaint addrefs'd the liftening Jove,
'Twas joy, and endless bliffes all around,
And rocks forgot their hardness at the found.
Then firft, at laft e'en Jove was taken in,
And felt her charms, without disguise, within.

And yet think not, my friend, that I have any particular animofity against the champions who are at the head of the prefent commotion; on the contrary, I could find pleasure in their mufic, if ferved up at proper intervals; if I heard it only on proper occafions, and not about it wherever I go. In fact, I could patronize them both; and as an inftance of 'my condefcenfion in this particular, they may come and give me a fong at my lodging, on any evening when I am at leifure, provided they keep a becoming diftance, and ftand, while they continue to entertain me, with decent humility at the door.

You perceive I have not read the feventeen books of Chinefe cerenomies to no purpofe. I know the

proper

proper fhare of respect due to every rank in fociety. Stage-players, fire-eaters, finging women, dancingdogs, wild beafts, and wire-walkers, as their efforts are exerted for our amufement, ought not entirely to be defpifed. The laws of every country fhould allow them to play their tricks at leaft with impunity. They thould not be branded with the ignominious appellation of vagabonds; at least they deferve a rank in fociety equal to the mystery of barbers, or undertakers, and could my influence extend fo far, they should be allowed to earn even forty or fifty pounds a year, if eminent in their profeffion.

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I am fenfible however that you will cenfure me for profufion in this refpect, bred up as you are in the narrow prejudices of Eaftern frugality. You will undoubtedly affert, that fuch a ftipend is too great for fo useless an employment. Yet how will furprize increase, when told, that though the law holds them as vagabonds, many of them earn more than a thousand a year. You are amazed. There is caufe for amazement. A vagabond with a thoufand a year is indeed a curiofity in Nature; a wonder far furpaffing the flying fish, petrified crab, or travelling lobfter. However, from my great love to the profeffion, I would willingly have them divefted of part of their contempt, and part of their finery; the law fhould kindly take them under the wing of protection, fix them into a corporation, like that of the barbers, and abridge their ignominy and their penfions. As to their abilities in other refpects, I would leave that entirely to the public, who are certainly in this cafe the propereft judges-whether they despise them or no.

Yes, my Fum, I would abridge their penfions. A theatrical warrior, who conducts the battles of the stage, should be cooped up with the fame caution

as a Bantum cock that is kept for fighting. When one of those animals is taken from its native dunghill, we retrench it both in the quantity of its food, and the number of its feraglio: players fhould in the fame manner be fed, not fattened; they fhould be permitted to get their bread, but not to eat the people's bread into the bargain; and, inftead of being permitted to keep four miftreffes, in confcience they Thould be contented only with two.

Were ftage-players thus brought into bounds, perhaps we fhould find their admirers lefs fanguine, and confequently lefs ridiculous in patronizing them. We fhould no longer be ftruck with the abfurdity of feeing the fame people, whofe valour makes fuch a figure abroad, apoftrophizing in the praife of a bounc ing blockhead, and wrangling in the defence of a copper-tailed actrefs at home.

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Ifhall conclude my letter with the fenfible admonition of Me the philofopher. "You love harmony," fays he," and are charmed with mufic. "I do not blame you for hearing a fine voice, when 68 you are in your clofet with a lovely parterre under your eye, or in the night-time, while perhaps the "moon diffufes her filver rays. But is a man to 66 carry this paffion fo far as to let a company of "comedians, muficians, and fingers grow rich upon "his exhaufted fortune? If so, he resembles one "of those dead bodies, whofe brains the embalmer "have picked out through its ears." Adieu.

LETTER

LETTER LXXXV.

FROM THE SAME.

OF all the places of amufement where gentlemen and ladies are entertained, I have not been yet to vifit Newmarket. This, I am told, is a large field; where upon certain occafions three or four horfes are brought together, then fet a running, and that horse which runs fafteft wins the wager.

This is reckoned a very polite and fashionable amusement here, much more followed by the nobility than partridge fighting at Java, or paper kites in Madagascar; feveral of the great here, I am told, understand as much of farriery as their grooms; and a horfe, with any fhare of merit, can never want a patron among the nobility.

We have a defcription of this entertainment almost every day in fome of the gazettes, as for inftance: "On fuch a day the Give and Take Plate was run "for between his Grace's Crab, his Lordship's Pe"riwinkle, and 'Squire Smackem's Slamerkin. All "rode their own horfes. There was the greatest "concourse of nobility that has been known here "for several feafons. The odds were in favour of "Crab in the beginning, but Slamerkin, after the "firft heat, feemed to have the match hollow; how

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ever, it was foon feen that Periwinkle improved "in wind, which, at laft, turned out accordingly; "Crab was run to a ftand-ftill, Slamerkin was "knocked up, and Periwinkle was brought in with "univerfal applaufe." Thus you fee Periwinkle received univerfal applaufe, and no doubt his Lordship came in for some share of that praise which was fo

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liberally

liberally bestowed upon Periwinkle. Sun of China! how glorious muft the Senator appear in his cap and leather breeches, his whip croffed in his mouth, and thus coming to the goal amongst the fhouts of grooms, jockies, pimps, ftable-bred Dukes, and degraded Generals!

From the defcription of this princely amusement, now transcribed, and from the great veneration I have for the characters of its principal promoters, I make no doubt but I fhall look upon an horse-race with becoming reverence, pre-difpofed as I am by a fimilar amufement, of which I have lately been a fpectator; for juft now I happened to have an opportunity of being prefent at a Cart-race.

Whether this contention between three carts of different parishes was promoted by a fubfcription among the nobility, or whether the grand jury, in council affembled, had glorioufly combined to encourage plauftral merit, I cannot take upon me to determine; but certain it is, the whole was conducted with the utmoft regularity and decorum, and the company, which made a brilliant appearance, were univerfally of opinion, that the fport was high, the running fine, and the riders influenced by no bribe.

It was run on the road from London to a village called Brentford, between a turnip cart, a duft cart, and a dung cart; each of the owners condefcending to mount and be his own driver. The odds at ftarting were du againft dung five to four; but after half a mile's going, the knowing ones found themselves all on the wrong fide, and it was turnip against the field, brafs to filver.

Soon however the conteft became more doubtful; Turnip indeed kept the way, but it was perceived that Dung had better bottom. The road re-ecchoed with the fhouts of the fpectators; Dung against Tur

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