if it chiefly exposed those who are already depressed, and in some measure turned into ridicule, by the meanness of their conditions and circumstances. He afterward proceeded to take notice of the great use this paper might be of to the public, by reprehending those vices which are too trivial for the chastisement of the law, and too fantastical for the cognizance of the pulpit. He then advised me to prosecute my undertaking with cheerfulness, and assured me, that whoever might be displeased with me, I should be approved by all those whose praises do honor to the persons on whom they are bestowed. The whole club pays a particular deference to the discourse of this gentleman, and are drawn into what he says, as much by the candid and ingenuous manner with which he delivers himself, as by the strength of argument and force of reason which he makes use of. Will Honeycomb immediately agreed that what he1 had said was right, and that, for his part, he would not insist upon the quarter which he had demanded for the ladies. Sir Andrew gave up the city with the same frankness. The Templar would not stand out, and was followed by Sir Roger and the Captain-who all agreed that I should be at liberty to carry the war into what quarter I pleased, provided I continued to combat with criminals in a body, and to assault the vice without hurting the person. This debate, which was held for the good of mankind, put me in mind of that which the Roman triumvirate were formerly engaged in for their3 destruction. Every man at first stood hard for his friend, till they found that by this means they should spoil their proscription; and at length, making a sacrifice of all their acquaintance and relations, furnished out a very decent execution.* *See Shakespeare's Julius Cæsar, Act IV. Sc. i. ; also see Plutarch's Life of Antony. Having thus taken my resolution 1 to march on boldly in the cause of virtue and good sense, and to annoy their 2 adversaries in whatever degree or rank of men they may be found-I shall be deaf for the future to all the remonstrances that shall be made to me on this account. If Punch grows extravagant, I shall reprimand him very freely. If the stage becomes a nursery of folly and impertinence, I shall not be afraid to animadvert upon it. In short, if I meet with anything in city, court, or country, that shocks modesty or good manners, I shall use my utmost endeavors to make an example of it. I must, however, intreat every particular person who does me the honor to be a reader of this paper, never to think himself, or any one of his friends or enemies, aimed at in what is said: for I promise him, never to draw a faulty character which does not fit a thousand people; or to publish a single paper that is not written in the spirit of benevolence and with a love to mankind. 'Resolved. The adversaries. C. "Virtue and good sense's. In the puppet-show, where great license of speech was sometimes tolerated. See Tatler No. 16. V. SIR ROGER'S CLIENT. [Spectator No. 37. Thursday, April 12, 1711. Addison.] -Non illa colo calathisve Minervæ Femineas assueta manus VIRGIL. SOME months ago, my friend Sir Roger, being in the country, enclosed a letter to me, directed to a certain lady whom I shall here call by the name of Leonora, and as it contained matters of consequence, desired me to deliver it to her with my own hand. Accordingly I waited upon her ladyship pretty early in the morning, and was desired by her woman to walk into her lady's library, till such time as she was in a readiness to receive me. The very sound of a lady's library1 gave me a great curiosity to see it; and as it was some time before the lady came to me, I had an opportunity of turning over a great many of her books, which were ranged together in a very beautiful order. At the end of the folios (which were finely bound and gilt) were great jars of china2 placed one above another in a very noble piece of architecture.3 The quartos were separated from the octavos by a pile of smaller vessels, which rose in a delightful pyramid. The octavos were bounded by tea-dishes of all shapes, colors, and sizes, which were so disposed on a wooden frame that they looked like one continued pillar indented with the finest strokes of sculpture and stained with the greatest variety of dyes. 'See Tatler No. 248. In 1714 Steele published three volumes called The Ladies' Library. 2 Shortly before this time a fashion of collecting useless pieces of china had begun to be very prevalent. It was indulged for some years at great expense and to an astonishing degree. See Tatler No. 23. Is this real praise ? That part of the library which was designed for the reception of plays and pamphlets, and other loose papers, was enclosed in a kind of square, consisting of one of the prettiest grotesque1 works that ever I saw, and made up of scaramouches, lions, monkeys, mandarins, trees, shells, and a thousand other odd figures in china ware. In the midst of the room was a little japan table, with a quire of gilt paper upon it, and on the paper a silver snuff box made in the shape of a little book. I found there were several other counterfeit books upon the upper shelves, which were carved in wood, and served only to fill up the number, like fagots3 in the muster of a regiment. I was wonderfully pleased with such a mixed kind of furniture as seemed very suitable both to the lady and the scholar,* and did not know, at first, whether I should fancy myself in a grotto or in a library. 2 Upon my looking into the books, I found there were some few which the lady had bought for her own use; but that most of them had been got together, either because she had heard them praised, or because she had seen the authors of them.5 Among several that I examined, I very well remember these that follow: Sir Isaac Newton's Works. 'How would this term apply to the whole library? 2 What does this imply as to the lady's literary accomplishments ? 3 An uncommon word in this sense. See dictionary, 4 Note the concealed satire. A famous college president once gave the following testimonial to a graceless fellow who had the effrontery to request a recommendation: Mr. is about to graduate with equal credit to himself and honor to the institution." She valued them as relics. Of course the reader will readily infer that the collection is a veritable miscellany, showing no evidence of literary taste. There are, however, some literary weaknesses. Full notes may be found in Morley's Spectator. "Translations of French romances. The Grand Cyrus; 1 with a pin stuck in one of the middle leaves. Pembroke's Arcadia.2 3 Locke of Human Understanding; with a paper of patches in it. A spelling book. A dictionary for the explanation of hard words. upon Death. The Fifteen Comforts of Matrimony. 6 Sir William Temple's Essays. Father Malebranche's" Search after Truth; translated into English. A book of novels. The Academy of Compliments. The Ladies' Calling. Tales in Verse, by Mr. D'Urfey; bound in red leather, gilt on the back, and doubled down in several places. All the classic authors in wood." A set of Elzevirs by the same hand.10 Clelia 11; which opened of itself in the place that describes two lovers in a bower. The most famous French romance of the time, in ten volumes, by Mlle. de Scudéry. 2 By Sir Philip Sydney, but published by his sister, the Countess of Pembroke. 3 In Tickell's (1721) edition this reads: "Lock of human understanding." Rather heavy for Leonora, but a good portfolio for patches (bits of black silk stuck upon the faces of fashionable ladies, and used as foils to heighten the whiteness of their complexions). 5 Dean of St. Paul's. 6 7 8 English statesman, diplomat, and author. Died 1690. A French philosopher, then at the height of his fame. A Restoration writer of dissolute songs and plays. 'If there was anything which Addison admired in literature it was the classic authors. This line, then, is most keenly satirical. See note 2, p. 26. 10 I. e., the carpenter's. "By the same hand" was a common phrase in Addison's time to denote by the same author. Notwithstanding his strictures against puns (Spectators Nos. 61 ff., 396, 454, 504) he could not resist the temptation here. 11 Another French romance in ten volumes by Mlle. de Scudéry. |