Containing five pages of paper.

As truth diftinguishes our writings from thofe idle

romanceS which are filled with monsters, the productions, not of nature, but of diftempered brains ; and which have been therefore recommended by an eminent critic to the fole ufe of the pastry cook: fo on the other hand, we would avoid any refemblance to that kind of history which a celebrated poet feems to think is no lefs calculated for the emolument of the brewer, as the reading it fhould be always attended. with a tankard of good ale..

While history with her comrade ale,

Sooths the fad feries of her serious tale.

For as this is the liquor of modern hiftorians, nay, perhaps their mufe, if we may believe the opinion of Butler, who attributes infpiration to ale, it ought likewife to be the potation of their readers, fince every book ought to be read with the fame fpirit, and in the fame manner, as it is writ. Thus the famous Author of Hurlothrumbo, told a learned bishop, that

the

the reafon his lordship could not tafte the excellence of his piece, was, that he did not read it with a fiddle in his band; which inftrument he himself had always had in his own, when he compofed it.

That our work, therefore, might be in no danger of being likened to the labours of these hiftorians, we have taken every occafion of interfperfing through the whole fundry fimiles, deferiptions, and other kind of poetical embellishments. Thefe are, indeed, defigned to fupply the place of the faid ale, and to refresh the mind, whenever those flumbers which in a long work are apt to invade the reader as well as the writer, fhall begin to creep upon him. Without interruptions of this kind, the best narrative of plain matter of fact mult over-power every reader; for nothing but the everlasting watchfulness, which Homer has afcribed only to Jove himself, can be proof against a newspaper of many volumes.

We fhall leave to the reader to determine with what judgment we have chofen the feveral occafions for inferting thofe ornamental parts of our work. Surely it will be allowed that none could be more proper than the prefent; where we are about to introduce a confiderable character on the fcene; no lefs, indeed, than the heroine of this heroic, hiftorical, profaic poem. Here, therefore, we have thought proper to prepare the mind of the reader for her reception, by filling it with every pleafing image, which we can draw from the face of nature. And for this method we plead many precedents. First, this is an art well known to, and much practifed by, our tragic poets; who feldom fail to prepare their audience for the reception of their principal characters.

Thus the hero is always introduced with a flourish of drums and trumpets, in order to roufe a martial spirit in the audience, and to accommodate their ears to bombast and fuftian, which Mr. Lock's blind man would not have grofsly erred in likening to the found of a trumpet. Again, when lovers are coming forth, foft mufic often conducts them on the ftage, either to footh the audience with the foftnefs of the tender pasfion, or to lull and prepare them for that gentle flum

ber

ber in which they will most probably be compofed by the enfuing fcené.

And not only the poets, but the mafters of these poets, the managers of play-houses, feem to be in this fecret; for, befides the aforefaid kettle-drums, &c. which denote the hero's approach, he is generally ufhered on the ftage by a large troop of half a dozen fcene fhifters; and how neceffary thefe are imagined to his appearance, may be concluded from the following theatrical story.

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King Pyrrhus was at dinner at an alehouse bordering on the theatre, when he was fummoned to go on the ftage. The hero, being unwilling to quit his fhoulder of mutton, and as unwilling to draw on himfelf the indignation of Mr. Wilks, (his brother manager) for making the audience wait, had bribed thefe his harbingers to be out of the way. While Mr. Wilks, therefore, was thundering out,

Where are

the carpenters to walk on before king Pyrrhus,' that monarch very quietly eat his mutton, and the audience, however impatient, were obliged to entertain themfelves with mufic in his abfence.

To be plain, I much question whether the politician, who hath generally a good nofe, hath not fcented out fomewhat of the utility of this practice. I am convinced that awful magiftrate, my lord-mayor, contracts a good deal of that reverence which attends him thro' the year, by the feveral pageants which precede his pomp. Nay, I must confefs, that even I myfelf, who am not remarkably liable to be captivated with fhown, have yielded not a little to the impreffions of much preceding ftate. When I have feen a man ftrutting in a proceffion, after others whose business was only to walk before him, I have conceived a higher notion of his dignity, than I have felt on feeing him in a common fituation. But there is one inftance, which comes exactly up to my purpose. This is the custom of fending on a basket-woman, who is to precede the pomp at a coronation, and to ftrew the ftage with flowers, before the great perfonages begin their proceffion. The antients would certainly have invoked the goddess Flora for this purpofe, and it would have

been

been no difficulty for their priests or politicians to have perfuaded the people of the real prefence of the deity, though a plain mortal had perfonated her, and performed her office. But we have no fuch defign of impofing on our reader; and therefore thofe who object to the heathen theology, may, if they please, change our goddess into the above-mentioned bafketwoman. Our intention, in fhort, is to introduce our heroine with the utmost folemnity in our power, with an elevation of tile, and all other circumstances proper to raise the veneration of our reader. Iudeed we would, for certain causes, advise those of our male readers who have any hearts, to read no farther, were we not well affured, that how amiable foever the picture of our heroine will appear, as it is really a copy from nature, many of our fair country-women will be found worthy to fatisfy any paffion, and to anfwer any idea of female perfection, which our pencil will be able to raise.

And now, without any further preface, we proceed to our next chapter.

CHA P. II.

A short hint of avhat we can do in the fublime, and a de-. fcription of Mifs Sophia Western.

HUSHED be every ruder breath. May the

heathen ruler of the winds confine in iron chains the boisterous limbs of noify Boreas, and the sharppointed nofe of bitter, biting Eurus. Do thou, fweet Zephyrus, rifing from thy fragrant bed, mount the weftern fky, and lead on thofe delicious gales, the charms of which call forth the lovely Flora from her chamber, perfumed with pearly dews, when on the firit of June, her birth day, the blooming maid, in loose attire, gently trips it over the verdant mead, where every flower rifes to do her homage, till the whole field become enamelled, and colours contend with fweets which fhall ravifh her most.

So charming may the now appear; and you the feather'd chorifters of nature, whofe sweetest notes not

even Handel can excel, tune your melodious throats, to celebrate her appearance. From love proceeds your mufic, and to love it returns. Awaken therefore that gentle paffion in every fwain; for, lo! adorned with all the charms in which nature can array her; bedecked with beauty, youth, fprightliness, innocence, modefty, and tendernefs, breathing fweetnefs from her rofy lips, and darting brightnefs from her sparkling eyes, the lovely Sophia comes.

Reader, perhaps thou haft feen the ftatue of the Venus de Medicis. Perhaps too thou haft feen the gallery of beauties at Hampton-Court. Thou may'ft remember each bright Churchill of the galaxy, and all the toasts of the Kit-cat. Or if their reign was be fore thy times, at least thou hast feen their daughters, the no lefs dazzling beauties of the prefent age; whofe names, fhould we here infert, we apprehend they would fill the the whole volume.

Now if thou haft seen all thefe, be not afraid of the rude answer which lord Rochefter once gave to a man, who had feen many things. No. If thon haft seen all these without knowing what beauty is, thou haft no eyes; if without feeling its power, thou haft no heart.

Yet is it poffible, my friend, that thou mayest have seen all these, without being able to form an exact idea of Sophia for fhe did not exactly refemble any of them. She was most like the picture of lady Ranelagh; and I have heard, more ftill to the famous duchefs of Mazarine; but most of all, she resembled one whose image never can depart from my breaft, and whom if thou doft remember, thou haft then, my friend, an adequate idea of Sophia.

But left this fhould not have been thy fortune, we will endeavour with our utmost skill to defcribe this paragon, though we are fenfible that our higheft abilities are very inadequate to the task.

Sophia then, the only daughter of Mr. Weftern, was a middle fized woman; but rather inclining to tall. Her fhape was not only exact, but extremely delicate and the nice proportion of her arms promised the trueft fymmetry in her limbs. Her hair, which

was