flect upon his lofs of time, and to weigh with himself, how many days intereft of his money he had loft during his stay with Yarico. This thought made the young man penfive, and careful what account he should be able to give his friends of his voyage. Upon which confideration, the prudent and frugal young man fold Yarico to a Barbadian merchant; notwithstanding that the poor girl, to incline him to commiferate her condition, told him that she was with child by him: but he only made ufe of that information, to rife in his demands upon the purchaser.

I was fo touched with this story (which I think should be always a counterpart to the Ephefian Matron) that I left the room with tears in my eyes, which a woman of Arietta's good fenfe, did, I am fure, take for greater applause, than any compliments I could make her. R*.

N° 12. Wednesday, March 14, 1710-11.

Veteres avias tibi de pulmone revello.

PERS. Sat. v. 92. I root th' old woman from thy trembling heart.

A

T my coming to London, it was fome time before I could fettle myself in a houfe to my liking. I was forced to quit my firft lodg

By STEELE. See Note on fignature R, N° 6. ad fin.

ings, by reafon of an officious landlady, that would be asking me every morning how I had flept. I then fell into an honeft family, and lived very happily for above a week; when my landlord, who was a jolly good-natured man, took it into his head that I wanted company, and therefore would frequently come into my chamber, to keep me from being alone. This I bore for two or three days; but telling me one day that he was afraid I was melancholy, I thought it was high time for me to be gone, and accordingly took new lodgings that very night. About a week after, I found my jolly landlord, who, as I faid before, was an honeft hearty man, had put me into an advertisement of the Daily Courant in the following words, "Whereas a melancholy man left his lodgings "on Thursday laft in the afternoon, and was "afterwards feen going towards Iflington; if any one can give notice of him to R. B. fifhmonger in the Strand, he fhall be well re"warded for his pains." As I am the best man in the world to keep my own counsel, and my landiord the fifhmonger not knowing my name, this accident of my life was never difcovered to this very day..

my

I am now fettled with a widow woman, who has a great many children, and complies with humour in every thing. I do not remember that we have exchanged a word together thefe five years; my coffee comes into my chamber every morning without afking for it; if I want fire I point to my chimney, if water to

my

my bason; upon which my landlady nods, as much as to say she takes my meaning, and immediately obeys my fignals. She has likewife modelled her family fo well, that when her little boy offers to pull me by the coat, or prattle in my face, his eldest fifter immediately calls him off, and bids him not difturb the gentleman. At my first entering into the family, I was troubled with the civility of their rifing up to me every time I came into the room; but my landlady obferving that upon thefe occafions I always cried Pifh, and went out again, has forbidden any fuch ceremony to be used in the house; fo that at present I walk into the kitchen or parlour without being taken notice of, or giving any interruption to the business or difcourse of the family. The maid will ask her miftrefs (though I am by) whether the gentleman is ready to go to dinner, as the miftrefs (who is indeed an excellent housewife) fcolds at the fervants as heartily before my face, as behind my back. In fhort, I move up and down the house, and enter into all companies with the fame liberty as a cat, or any other domestick animal, and am as little fufpected of telling any thing

that I hear or fee.

I remember laft winter there were several young girls of the neighbourhood fitting about the fire with my landlady's daughters, and telling ftories of fpirits and apparitions. Upon my opening the door the young women broke off their difcourfe, but my landlady's daughters telling them that it was nobody but the gen

tleman (for that is the name that I go by in the neighbourhood, as well as in the family) they went on without minding me. I feated myself by the candle that stood on a table at one end of the room; and pretending to read a book that I took out of my pocket, heard feveral dreadful ftories of ghofts as pale as afhes that had stood at the feet of a bed, or walked over a churchyard by moon-light: and of others that had been conjured into the Red-Sea, for disturbing people's reft, and drawing their curtains at midnight, with many other old women's fables of the like nature. As one fpirit raised another, I obferved that at the end of every story the whole company clofed their ranks, and crouded about the fire. I took notice in particular of a little boy, who was fo attentive to every story, that I am miftaken if he ventures to go to bed by himself this twelve-month. Indeed they talked fo long, that the imaginations of the whole afiembly were manifeftly crazed, and, I am fure, will be the worfe for it as long as they live. I heard one of the girls, that had looked upon me over her fhoulder, afking the company how long I had been in the room, and whether I did not look paler than I used to do. This put me under fome apprehenfions that I should be forced to explain myself, if I did not retire; for which reafon I took the candle in my hand, and went up into my chamber, not without wondering at this unaccountable weakness in reafonable creatures, that they fhould love to aftonish and terrify one another. Were I a fa

ther,

ther, I should take a particular care to preferve my children from thefe little horrors and imaginations, which they are apt to contract when they are young, and are not able to shake off when they are in years. I have known a foldier that has entered a breach, affrighted at his own shadow, and look pale upon a little fcratching at his door, who the day before had marched up against a battery of cannon. There are inftances of perfons, who have been terrified even to distraction, at the figure of a tree, or the shaking of a bullrush. The truth of it is, I look upon a found imagination as the greatest bleffing of life, next to a clear judgment, and a good confcience. In the mean time, fince there are very few whofe minds are not more or lefs fubject to these dreadful thoughts and apprehenfions, we ought to arm ourselves against them by the dictates of reafon and religion, to pull the old woman out of our hearts (as Perfius expreffes it in the motto of my Paper) and extinguish those impertinent notions which we imbibed at a time that we were not able to judge of their abfurdity. Or if we believe, as many wife and good men have done, that there are fuch phantoms and apparitions as thofe I have been speaking of, let us endeavour to eftablish to ourselves an intereft in him who holds the reins of the whole creation in his hands, and moderates them after such a manner, that it is impoffible for one being to break loofe upon another, without HIS knowledge and permiffion.

For my own part, I am apt to join in opinion