Heart as ever. Dear Mr. Myrtle, be speedy in your Determination, and fay what you think fhould be Mr. Careless's Sentiments towards me. I wait with Impatience for tomorrow's Paper, which is feriously to determine the Fate of your conftant Reader,

Prudence Lovefick.

IT is a very hazardous Point to determine a Matter attended with fuch nice Circumftances; but fuppofing the Facts are honeftly ftated, if the Father of Careless has any tafte of Merit, he ought to give his Confent to a Lady to whom he owes fo generous a Refufal of his Son, rather than be his Daughter, when it was incommodious to the Circumftances of his Family; if an Acceffion of Wealth is thrown in, which ought to be ac counted as a Portion fent by Providence to take off all prudential Objections that stood between the young Lady and her Happiness, I won't fay what the Son fhould do, but if the Father does his Duty, it will have the fame good Effect on the Lovers. Till that is refused, fhall not play the Cafuift in a Cafe wherein no one can err, but with a Guilt which cannot but be obvious to any Man who has the leaft Senfe of Humanity.

Tuesday,

IN

Natio Comada eft

Juv.

'N hopes that People will trouble me no more with Accounts of the Crabtrees, I have admitted the following Letter, tho' I am fick of a People fo eminently made the Objects of the contrary Paffion to that of Love.

SIR,

I Read in your Paper, the other Day, the Letter of Richardetto Languenti, con⚫cerning the ridiculous and mischievous Race of the Crabtrees. I muft confefs I never ⚫ thought Words better put together or applied, than mischievous and ridiculous, for that unaccountable, lamentable, deteftable, and every other Word ending in able, under tolerable. You may fee, Sir, by the Hand, in which I write, that I am a Woman; and by the Stile and Paffion, that I am an angry Woman; at the fame time I don't know whether I may write my felf Woman, only because I am of the Age of twenty nine, fince I am ftill a Maid; but I am fure I should have been a Woman before now, if it had not been for this difagreable, I would fay execrable Race of the Crabtrees. As faft, and as well as my Paffion will let

'me, I will give you an Account of my Suf་ ferings.

'I am the Daughter of a Gentleman of 400%. a Year, who has feveral other Children. Sir Anthony always giving himself out for a great Friend to the Landed Intereft, as he calls it, has ever been in great Credit with my Father. To find Portions, 6 Maintenance and Education for a numerous Family, my Father has practised that ( natural Improvement of a Country Gentle'man's Eftate, grazing Cattle, and driving 'them to the Market of London. He dealt 'for the whole with one eminent Butcher in St. James's Market, with whom he Ac'compts once a Year, and takes the Payments ' which are made to the faid Butcher in Bal'lance of their Accompts. You must know there is a great Lady in that Neighbourhood, eminent for her Juftice and Charity, who 'ufes Sir Anthony as her Steward: The Knight has got a great Eftate by oppreffing her Tenants, and terrifying all People in her Ser'vice with his great Power in her. The La'dy above-mention'd owed my Father's Cor' refpondent, the Butcher, a Sum of Money C which was to have been my Fortune in 'Marriage with an agreeable young Man, the Son of a Neighbouring Gentleman. My 'Father had fo great a Refpect for this Lady, that he engaged himself to take any Demands upon her in Payment without the leaft Scruple. By Sir Anthony's Management a 'third part of the Lady's Debt to the Butcher is paid in a-Coin I never heard of before, called Tin Tallies. My Father has written

My

'to

to Sir Anthony, and offered them to Zachariah his Brother, they being out of my Fa'ther's way to know what to do with; but "Zachariah has told the poor Butcher, who 'carried my Father's Letter, and written to

my Father, that he can't meddle with them, 'but has gravely advised him to stick to the "Landed Intereft, and not mind Projects, for fo the half-witted impudent Wretch calls 6 receiving Money for the Product of his Land. Thus, Sir, I have loft a good Hufband by this Trick of Sir Anthony, and the whole Race of them wonder why our Fa 'mily Curfes them; but, Sir, it is the Nature of the Crabtrees to be blind to the Evils they 'themselves commit, and don't think them

felves guilty of Mischiefs, wherein they are 'the Original Caufes, except they are the imAmediate Inftruments. Thefe grofs Abuses

the graceless Crew, by bragging of their Power, have committed against all the 'World without being found out and throughly explained, till the Devil, who 'owed them a Shame, prompted them to meddle with thofe that could draw their Piaures. I own'd to you, in the beginning of this Letter, that I was an angry Woman, and I think I have made it out that I have 'reafon for it. I have nothing now left to divert my poor aking Heart from Refletion upon its Difappointment, but gratifying my Refentment against the Infa" mous Caufe of it. When I reflect upon this Race, especially the Knight himself, I 'confefs my Anger is immediately turned into Mirth; for how is it poffible that an ungainly Creature, who has what he is, writ

-" in

in his Face, fhould impofe upon any body? 'He looks fo like a Cheat, that he paffes upf on People who do not know him from no ' other Advantage in the World, but that they 6 are ashamed to be govern'd by fo filly an Art as Phyfiognomy. With this mifchievous Afpect there is fomething fo awkard, fo little, and briskly Comick in Sir Anthony's Mein and Air, that one would think the 'Contempt of his Figure might fave People 'from the Iniquity of his Defigns; but Sir' Anthony has the Happinefs next to a good Reputation, which is to be infenfible of 'Shame, and therefore is as fmug as he is 6 ugly. Forgive me perfonal Reflections, but ugly is a Woman's Word for Knavith. I' obferve, Sir, you affect putting the Sentence ' of fome Poet, English or Latin, at the top of your Paper; and as I defire you would let my Letter be as remarkable as poffible, I beg you to put thefe Words out of Sir John Suckling's Play of the Sad One, at the Head of this my Writing, except you would put in all my Letter, which I had much ra'ther you would: The place in Sir John Suckling will agree well enough with the Knight; for tho' his Name is Anthony, and Suckling has ufed the Word Robin, every one of this Country will think him meant 'when you do but fay The Sad One, for fuch' 'indeed he is. The Paffage is thus, A Poet ' and an A&tor are introduced difcourfing a'bout Characters in a Play. The A&tor is 'telling the Author, that he wonders why' he will reprefent what cannot be in Nature, 'an honeft Lawyer: Why, fays Muliticarni, G 2 ' (that

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