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pofing according to men's defert, or enquiring into it; for fays he, that great man who has a mind to help me, has as many to break through to come at me, as I have to come at him therefore he will conclude, that the man who would make a figure, especially in a military way, must get over all false modefty, and affift his patron against the importunity of other pretenders, by a proper affurance in his own vindication. He fays it is a civil cowardice to be backward in afferting what you ought to expect, as it is a military fear to be flow in attacking when it is your duty. With this candour does the gentleman fpeak of himself and others. The fame frankness runs through all his conversation. The military part of his life has furnished him with many adventures, in the relation of which he is very agreeable to the company; for he is never overbearing, though accustomed to command men in the utmost degree below him; nor ever too obfequious, from an habit of obeying men highly above him.

But that our fociety may not appear a set of humourifts, unacquainted with the gallantries and pleasures of the age, we have among us the gallant WILL HONEYCOMB*, a gentleman who according to his years fhould be in the decline of his life, but having ever been very careful of his perfon, and always had a very easy for

* It has been faid that a Colonel Cleland was fuppofed to have been the real perfon alluded to under this character. See the dedication of the eighth volume of the SPECTATOR, and Note.

tune,

tune, time has made but very little impreffion, either by wrinkles on his forehead, or traces in his brain. His perfon is well turned, and of a good height. He is very ready at that fort of difcourfe with which men ufually entertain women. He has all his life dreffed very well, and remembers habits as others do men. He can fmile when one fpeaks to him, and laughs easily. He knows the hiftory of every mode, and can inform you from which of the French king's wenches, our wives and daughters had this manner of curling their hair, that way of placing their hoods; whofe frailty was covered by fuch a fort of petticoat, and whofe vanity to fhew her foot made that part of the dress fo fhort in such a year. In a word, all his conversation and knowledge has been in the female world. As other men of his age will take notice to you what fuch a minifter faid and fuch an occafion, he will tell you, when the Duke of Monmouth danced at court, fuch a woman was then fmitten, another was taken with him at the head of his troop in the Park. In all these important relations, he has ever about the fame time received a kind glance, or a blow of a fan, from fome celebrated beauty, mother of the prefent Lord fuch-a-one. If you fpeak of a young commoner that faid a lively thing in the houfe, he starts up, He has good blood in his veins, Tom Mirable begot him, the rogue cheated me in that affair, that young ⚫ fellow's mother ufed me more like a dog than any woman I ever made advances to.' This

upon

fuch

way

way of talking of his, very much enlivens the converfation among us of a more fedate turn; and I find there is not one of the company, but myself, who rarely fpeak at all, but speaks of him as of that fort of man, who is ufually called a well bred fine gentleman. To conclude his character, where women are not concerned, he is an honeft worthy man.

I cannot tell whether I am to account him whom I am next to speak of, as one of our company; for he visits us but feldom, but when he does, it adds to every man else a new enjoyment of himself. He is a clergyman, a very philofophic man, of general learning, great fanctity of life, and the most exact good breeding. He has the misfortune to be of a very weak conftitution, and confequently cannot accept of fuch cares and business as preferments in his function would oblige him to; he is therefore among divines, what a chamber-counsellor is among lawyers. The probity of his mind, and the integrity of his life, create him followers, as being eloquent or loud advances others. He feldom introduces the fubject he speaks upon; but we are fo far gone in years, that he obferves when he is among us, an earneftnefs to have him fall 'on fome divine topic, which he always treats with much authority, as one who has no interefts in this world, as one who is haftening to the object of all his wifhes, and conceives hope from his decays and infirmities. Thefe are my ordinary companions.

* By STEELE.

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N° 3. Saturday, March 3, 1710-II.

Et quoi quifque ferè ftudio devinctus adhæret,
Aut quibus in rebus multùm fumus antè morati,
Atque in qua ratione fuit contenta magis mens,
In fomnis eadem plerumque videmur obire.

LUCR. 1. iv. 959.

-What studies please, what most delight, And fill men's thoughts, they dream them o'er at

INS

night.

CREECH.

N one of my late rambles, or rather Speculations, I looked into the great hall, where the bank is kept, and was not a little pleased to fee the directors, fecretaries, and clerks, with all the other members of that wealthy corporation, ranged in their several stations, according to the parts they act, in that just, and regular œconomy. This revived in my memory the many difcourfes which I had both read and heard, concerning the decay of public credit, with the methods of restoring it, and which in my opinion have always been defective, because they have always been made with an eye to separate interests, and party principles.

The thoughts of the day gave my mind employment for the whole night, fo that I fell infenfibly into a kind of methodical Dream, which difpofed all my contemplations into a vision or allegory

VOL. I.

C

allegory, or what else the reader shall please to call it.

Methought I returned to the great hall, where I had been the morning before, but to my surprise, instead of the company that I left there, I faw towards the upper end of the hall, a beautiful virgin, feated on a throne of gold. Her name (as they told me) was PUBLIC CREDIT. The walls, instead of being adorned with pictures and maps, were hung with many acts of parliament written in golden letters. At the upper end of the hall was the MAGNA CHARTA, with the act of Uniformity on the right hand, and the act of Toleration on the left. At the lower end of the hall was the act of Settlement, which was placed full in the eye of the virgin that fat upon the throne. the throne. Both the fides of the hall were covered with fuch acts of parliament as had been made for the eftablishment of public funds. The lady feemed to fet an unfpeakable value upon thefe feveral pieces of furniture, infomuch that fhe often refreshed her eye with them, and often fmiled with a fecret pleasure, as he looked upon them; but, at the fame time, fhewed a very particular uneafinefs, if the faw any thing approaching that might hurt them. She appeared indeed infinitely timorous in all her behaviour: and, whether it was from the delicacy of her conftitution, or that she was troubled with vapours, as I was afterwards told by one, who I found was none of her well-wishers, fhe changed colour, and startled at every thing fhe heard. She was

likewife

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