reaches the proverbial fayings, dress, customs, and fports of thepherds. The following examples of our paftoral sports are extremely beautiful.

Whilome did I, all as this poplar fair,
Up-raife my heedlefs head, devoid of care,
Mong ruftic routs the chief for wanton game;
Nor could they merry make till Lobbin came.
Who better feen than I in fhepherds arts,
To please the lads, and win the laffes hearts?
How deftly to mine oaten reed, so fweet,
Wont they upon the green to shift their feet?
And when the dance was done, how would

MY

It is eafy to be observed that thefe rules are drawn from what our countrymen Spencer and Philips have performed in this way. I shall not prefume to fay any more of them, than that both have copied and improved the beauties of the ancients, whole manner of thinking I would above all things recommend. As far as our language would allow them, ing to the Doric of Theocritus, in which they have formed a paftoral style accordI dare not fay they have excelled Virgil; but I may be allowed, for the honour of our language, to fuppofe it more capable of that pretty rufticity than the Latin. To their works I refer my reader to make obfervations upon the Paitoral Style; where he will fooner find that fecret than from a folio of criticifms.

FORTEM POSCE ANIMUM

Juv. SAT. 10. v. 357.

Y Lady Lizard is never better pleafed than when the fees her children about her engaged in any profitable difcourfe. I found her last night fitting in the midft of her daughters, and forming a very beautiful semi-circle about the fire. I immediately took my place in an elbow-chair, which is always left empty for me in one corner.

Our converfation fell infenfibly upon the fubject of happiness, in which every one of the young ladies gave her opinion, with that freedom and unconcernedness which they always ufe when they are in company only with their mother and myself.

Mrs. Jane declared, that the thought it the greateft happiness to be married to a man of merit, and placed at the head of a well-regulated family. I could not but obferve, that in her character of a man of inerit, fhe gave us a lively defcription of Tom Worthy, who has long

made his addreffes to her. The fifters did not difcover this at first, till fhe began to run down fortune in a lover, and among the accomplishinents of a man of merit, unluckily mentioned white teeth and black eyes.

Mrs. Annabella, after having raillied her fifter upon her man of merit, talked much of conveniencies of life, affluence of fortune, and eafinefs of temper, in one, whom the fhould pitch upon for a hufband. In fhort, though the baggage would not speak out, I found the fum of her wifhes was a rich foot, or a man fo turned to her purposes, that the might enjoy his fortune and infult his underftanding.

The romantic Cornelia was for living in a wood among choirs of birds, with zephyrs, echos, and rivulets to make up the concert; he would not feem to in clude a husband in her fcheme, but at the fame time talked fo paffionately of

I 2

cooing'

cooing turtles, mossy banks, and beds of violets, that one might easily perceive the was not without thoughts of a companion in her folitudes.

Mifs Betty placed her fummum bonum in equipages, affemblies, balls, and birth-nights, talked in raptures of Sir Edward Shallow's gilt coach, and my Lady Tattle's room, in which the faw company; nor would he have eafily given over, had the not obferved that her mother appeared more fericus than ordinary, and by her looks fhewed that fhe did not approve fuch redundance of vanity and impertinence.

My favourite, the Sparkler, with an air of innocence and modesty, which is peculiar to her, faid that fhe never expected fuch a thing as happiness, and that he thought the most any one could do, was to keep themselves from being uneafy; For, as Mr. Ironfide has often told us,' fays the, we fhould endeavour to be eafy here, and happy hereafter:' at the faine time the begged me to acquaint them by what rules this eafe of mind, or if I would please to call it happiness, is beft attained.

My Lady Lizard joined in the fame request with her youngest daughter, adding, with a ferious look, the thing feemed to her of fo great confequence, that the hoped I would forget they were all women, and give my real thoughts of it with the fame juftnefs I would ufe among a company of my own fex. I complied with her defire, and communicated my fentiments to them on this fubject, as near as I can remember, pretty much to the following purpose.

As nothing is more natural than for every one to defire to be happy, it is not to be wondered at that the wifeft men in all ages have spent fo much time to difcover what happiness is, and wherein it chiefly confifts. An eminent writer, named Varro, reckons up no less than two hundred eighty-eight different opinions upon this fubject, and another, called Lucian, after having given us a long catalogue of the notions of feveral philofophers, endeavours to fhew the abfurdity of all of them, without establish ing any thing of his own.

That which feems to have made fo many err in this cafe, is the refolution they took to fix a man's happinets to one determined point, which, I conceive,

cannot be made up, but by the concur rence of feveral particulars.

I thall readily allow Virtue the first place, as he is the mother of content. It is this which calms our thoughts, and makes us furvey ourselves with eafe and pleafure. Naked virtue, however, is not alone fufficient to make a man happy. It must be accompanied with at least a moderate provifion of all the neceffaries of life, and not ruffled and difturbed by bodily pains. A fit of the ftone was sharp enough to make a Stoic cry out, that Zeno, his matter, taught him falfe, when he told him that pain was no evil.

But befides this, Virtue is fo far from being alone fufficient to make a man happy, that the excess of it in fome particulars, joined to a foft and feminine temper, may often give us the deepest wounds, and chiefly contribute to render us uneasy. I might inftance in Pity, Love, and Friendfhip. In the two last paffions, it often happens, that we fo entirely give up our hearts, as to make our happiness wholly depend upon another perfon; a trust, for which no human creature, however excellent, can possibly give us a fufficient security.

The man, therefore, who would be truly happy, muft, befides an habitual virtue, attain to such a strength of

mind,' as to confine his happiness within himself, and keep it from being dependent upon others. A man of this make will perform all thofe good-natured offices that could have been expected from the moft bleeding pity, without being fo far affected at the common misfortunes of human life, as to disturb his own repofe. His actions of this kind are fo much more meritorious than another's, as they flow purely from a principle of virtue, and a fenfe of his duty; whereas a man of a fofter temper, even while he is aflitting another, may in fome meafure be faid to be relieving himself.

A man endowed with that

ftrength

gaging, yet to her lovers, who were numerous, the was fo coy, that many left her in difguft after a tedious courtship, and matched themfelves where they were better received. For Menalcas had not only refolved to take a fon-in-law, who fhould inviolably maintain the customs of his family; but had received one evening, as he walked in the fields, a pipe of an antique form from a Faun, or, as fome fay, from Oberon the fairy, with a particular charge not to bestow his daughter upon any one who could not play the fame tune upon it as at that time he entertained him with.

When the time that he had defigned to give her in marriage was near at hand, he published a decree, whereby he invited the neighbouring youths to make trial of this musical inftrument, with promise that the victor should poffels his daughter, on condition that the vanquifhed fhould fubmit to what punishment he thought fit to inflict. Thofe who were not yet difcouraged, and had high conceits of their own worth, appeared on the appointed day, in a dress and equipage fuitable to their respective fancies.

The place of meeting was a flowery meadow, through which a clear stream murmured in many irregular meanders. The shepherds made a fpacious ring for the contending lovers: and in one part of it there fat upon a little throne of turf, under an arch of eglantine and woodbines, the father of the maid, and at his right-hand the damfel crowned with rofes and lilies. She wore a flying robe of a flight green stuff; fhe had her fheep-hook in one hand, and the fatal pipe in the other.

The first who approached her was a youth of a graceful prefence and courtly air, but dreft in a richer habit than had ever been seen in Arcadia. He wore a crimson veft, cut indeed after the fhepherd's fashion, but fo enriched with embroidery, and fparkling with jewels, that the eyes of the fpectators were diverted from confidering the mode of the garment by the dazzling of the ornaments. His head was covered with a plume of feathers, and his fheep-hook glittered with gold and enamel. He accofted the dainfel after a very gallant imanner, and told her*- Madam, you

* Vid. Fontenelle.

need not to confult your glafs to adorn yourself to-day; you may fee the greatnefs of your beauty in the number of your conquefts. She having never heard any compliment fo polite, could give him no answer, but prefented the pipe. He applied it to his lips, and began a tune, which he fet off with fo many graces and quavers, that the shepherds and fhepherdelles (who had paired themfelves in order to dance) could not follow it; as indeed it required great kill and regularity of fteps, which they had never been bred to. Menalcas ordered him to be ftript of his coftly robes, and to be clad in a ruffet weed, and confined him to tend the flocks in the valleys for a year and a day.

The fecond that appeared was in a very different garb. He was cloathed in a garment of rough goat-fkins, his hair was matted, his beard neglected; in his perfon uncouth, and aukward in his gait. He came up fteering to the nymph, and told her he had hugged his lambs, and kiffed his young kids, but he hoped to kifs one that was fwecter. The fairone blushed with modefty and anger, and prayed fecretly against him as the gave him the pipe. He fnatched it from her, but with fome difficulty made it found; which was in fuch harsh and jarring notes, that the fhepherds cried one and all, that he understood no mufic. He was immediately ordered to the moft craggy parts of Arcadia, to keep the goats, and commanded never to touch a pipe any more.

The third that advanced appeared in cloaths that were fo ftrait and unealy to him, that he feemed to move with pain. He marched up to the maiden with a thoughtful look and stately pace, and faid - Divine Amaryllis, you wear not thofe rofes to improve your beau

ty, but to make them afhained. As the did not comprehend his meaning, the prefented the inftrument without reply: the tune that he played was fo intricate and perplexing, that the thepherds ftood flock ftill, like people aftonished and confounded. In vain did he plead that it was the perfection of mufic, and composed by the moth skilful matter in Helperia. Menalcas, finding that he was a ftranger, hofpitably took compaffion on him, and delivered him