happened; and no one was in Confidence with her in carrying on this Treaty, but the matchless Virgulta, whofe Defpair of ever entring the Matrimonial State, made her, fome Nights before Delamira's Refolution was published to the World, address her felf to her in the following Manner :

DELAMIRA, You are now going into that State of Life, wherein the Ufe of your Charms is wholly to be applied to the pleafing only one Man. That fwimming Air of your Body, that janty bearing of your Head over one Shoulder, and that inexpreffible Beauty in your Manner of playing your Fan, must be lower'd into a more confin'd Behaviour; to fhew, That you would rather shun than receive Addresses for the future. Therefore, dear Delamira,give me thofe Excellen cies you leave off, and acquaint me with your Manner of Charming: For Itake the Liberty of your Friendship to fay That when I confider my own Stature, Motion, Complexi on, Wit or Breeding, I cannot think my felf any way your Inferior; yet do I go through Crowds without wounding a Man, and all my Acquaintance marry round me, while I live a Virgin unask'd, and ( I think unregarded.

DELAMIRA heard with great Attention, and with that Dexterity which is natural to her, told her, That all The had above the rest of her Sex and contemporary Beauties, was wholly owing to a Fan, (which was left her by her Mother, and had been long in the Family) which whoever had in Poffeffion, and used with Skill fhould command the Hearts of all her Beholders: And fince (faid she smiling) I have no more to do with ex tending my Conquefts or Triumphs, I'll make you a Prefent of this ineftimable Rarity. Virgulta made her Expreffions of the highest Gratitude for fo uncommon a Confidence in her, and desired she would shew her what was peculiar in the Management of that Utenfil, which render'd it of fuch general Force while fhe was Mistress of it. Delamira reply'd, You fee, Madam, Cupid is the principal Figure painted on it; and the Skill in playing this Fan is, in your feveral Motions of it, to let him appear as little as poffible; for honourable Lovers fly all Endeavours to enfnare them; and your Cupid must hide his Bow and Arrow, or he'll never be fure of his Game. You may obferve, continued fhe, That in

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all

all publick Affemblies, the Sexes feem to feparate themfelves, and draw up to attack each other with Eye-fhot: That is the Time when the Fan, which is all the Armour of a Woman, is of moft Use in our Defence; for our Minds are conftrued by the waving of that little Inftrument, and our Thoughts appear in Compofure or Agitation according to the Motion of it. You may obferve, when Will. Peregrine comes into the Side-Box, Mifs Gatty flutters her Fan as a Fly does its Wings round a Candle; while her elder Sifter, who is as much in Love with him as he is, is as grave as a Vestal at his Entrance, and the Confequence is accordingly. He watches half the Play for a Glance from her Sifter, while Gatty is overlooked and neglected. I wish you heartily as much Success in the Management of it as I have had: If you think fit to go on where I left off, I will give you a fhort Account of the Execution I have made with it.

CIMON, who is the dulleft of Mortals, and tho' a wonderful great Scholar, does not only paufe,but feems to take a Nap with his Eyes open between every other Sentence in his Difcourfe: Him have I made a Leader in Affemblies; and one Blow on the Shoulder as I paffed by him has raised him to a downright Impertinent in all Converfations. The airy Will. Sampler is become as Lethargick by this my Wand, as Cimon is fprightly. Take it, good Girl, and ufe it without Mercy; for the Reign of Beauty never lafted full Three Years, but it ended in Marriage, or Condemnation to Virginity. As you fear therefore the one, and hope for the other, I expect an hourly Journal of your Triumphs; for I have it by certain Tradition, that it was given to the first who wore it by an Inchantrefs, with this remarkable Power, That it beftows a Husband in half a Year to her who does not over-look her proper Minute; but affigns to a long Defpair the Woman who is well offered, and neglects that Propofal. May Occafion attend your Charms, and your Charms flip no Occafion. Give me, I fay, an Account of the Progrefs of your Forces at our next Meeting; and you fhall hear what I think of my new Condition. Ifhould meet my future Spoufe this Moment. Farewel. Live in juft Terror of the dreadful Words, SHE WAS

From

From my own Apartment, August 8.

I HAD the Honour this Evening to vifit fome Ladies, where the Subject of the Converfation was Modefty, which they commended as a Quality quite as becoming in Men as in Women, I took the Liberty to fay, It might be as Beautiful in our Behaviour as in theirs, yet it could not be faid, it was as fuccefsful inLife,for as it was the only Recommendation in them, fo it was the greateft Obstacle to us both in Love and Business. A Gentleman prefent was of my Mind, and faid, That we must defcribe the Difference between the Modefty of Women and that of Men, or we fhould be confounded in our Reafonings upon it, for this Virtue is to be regarded with Refpect to our different Ways of Life. The Woman's Province is to be careful in her OEconomy, and chafte in her Affection: The Man's, to be active in the Improvement of his Fortune, and ready to undertake whatever is confiftent with his Reputation for that End. Modefty therefore in a Woman has a certain agreeable Fear in all fhe enters upon; and in Men it is compofed of a right Judgment of what is proper for them to attempt. From hence it is, that a difcreet Man. is always a Modeft one. It is to be noted, That Modefty in a Man is never to be allowed as a good Quality, but a Weakness, if it fuppreffes his Virtue, and hides it from the World, when he has at the fame Time a Mind to exert himfelf. A French Author fays very juftly, That Modefty is to the other Virtues in a Man, what Shade in a Picture is to the Parts of the Thing reprefented. It makes all the other Beauties confpicuous, which would otherwife be but a wild Heap of Colours. This Shade on our Actions must therefore be very juftly applied, tor if there be too much, it hides our good Qualities, inftead of fhewing them to Advantage.

Neftor in Athens was an unhappy Inftance of this Truth; for he was not only in his Profeffion the greatest Man of that Age, but had given more Proofs of it than any other Man ever did; yet for Want of that natural Freedom and Audacity which is neceflary in Commerce with Men, his perfonal Modesty overthrew all his publick Actions. Neftor was in thofe Days a skilful Architect, and in a Manner the Inventor of the Use of Me

chanick Powers, which he brought to fo great Perfection, that he knew to an Atom what Foundation would bear fuch a Superftructure: And they record of him, That he was fo prodigiously exact, that for the Experiment-fake, he built an Edifice of great Beauty, and feeming Strength; but contrived fo as to bear only its own Weight, and not to admit the Addition of the leaft Particle. This Building was beheld with much Admiration by all the Virtuofi of that Time; but fell down with no other Preffure, but the fettling of a Wren upon the Top of it: Yet Neftor's Modefty was fuch, that his Art and Skill were foon difregarded, for Want of that Manner with which Men of the World fupport and affert the Merit of their own Performances. Soon after this Inftance of his Art, Athens was, by the Treachery of its Enemies, burnt to the Ground. This gave Neftor the greatest Occasion that ever Builder had to render his Name immortal, and his Perfon venerable: For all the new City rofe according to his Difpofition, and all the Monuments of the Glories and Diftreffes of that People were erected by that fole Artift: Nay, all their Temples, as well as Houfes, were the Effects of his Study and Labour; infomuch, that it was faid by an old Sage, Sure, Neftor will now be famous; for the Habitations of Gods, as well as Men, are built by his Contrivance. But this bafhful Quality ftill put a Damp upon his great Knowledge, which has as fatal an Effect upon Men's Reputations as Poverty; for as it was faid, The poor Man faved the City, and the poor Man's Labour was forgot; fo here we find, The modest Man built the City, and the modeft Man's Skill was unknown.

THUS We fee every Man is the Maker of his own Fortune; and what is very odd to confider, he muft in fome Measure be the Trumpet of his Fame: Not that Men are to be tolerated who directly praise themfelves, but they are to be endued with a Sort of defenfive Eloquence, by which they fhall be always capable of expreffing the Rules and Arts by which they govern themTelves.

Varillus was the Man of all I have read of the happiest in the true Poffeffion of this Quality of Modefty. My

Author

Author fays of him, Modefty in Varillus is really a Virtue; for it is a voluntary Quality, and the Effect of good Senfe. He is naturally bold and enterprifing; but fo justly difcreet, that he never acts or fpeaks any Thing, but those who behold him know he has forborn much more than he has performed or uttered, out of Defe rence to the Perfons before whom he is. This makes Varillus truly amiable, and all his Attempts fuccefsful; for as bad as the World is thought to be by those who are perhaps unskill'd in it, Want of Succefs in our Actions is generally owing to Want of Judgment in what we ought to attempt, or a ruftick Modesty which will not give us Leave to undertake what we ought. But how unfortunate this diffident Temper is to those who are poffeffed with it, may be beft feen in the Succefs of fuch as are wholly unacquainted with it.

WE have one peculiar Elegance in our Language above all others, which is confpicuous in the Term Fellow. This Word added to any of our Adjectives, extremely varies, or quite alters the Senfe of that with which it is joined. Thus, though a modeft Man is the most unfortunate of all Men, yet a modeft Fellow is as fuperlatively happy. A modeft Fellow is a ready Creature, who with great Humility, and as great Forwardnefs, vifits his Patrons at all Hours, and meets 'em in all Places, and has fo moderate an Opinion of himself, that he makes his Court at large. If you won't give him a great Employment, he will be glad of a little one. He has fo great a Deference for his Benefactor's Judgment, that as he thinks himself fit for any Thing he can get, fo he is above nothing which is offered. He is like the young Batchelor of Arts, who came to Town recommended to a Chaplain's Place; but none being vacant, modeftly accepted of that of a Poftillion,

WE have very many confpicuous Perfons of this undertaking yet modeft Turn: I have a Grandson who is very happy in this Quality: I fent him in the Time of the laft Peace into France. As foon as he landed at Calais, he fent me an exact Account of the Nature of the People, and the Policies of the King of France. I got him fince chofen a Member of a Corporation: The modeft Creature, as foon as he came into the Common