O fortuna viris invidu fortibus Capricious Fortune ever joys, SIR, To the Adventurer. SENECA. } Fleet, June 6. To the account of fuch of my companions as are imprifoned without being miferable, or are miferable with-out any claim to compaffion; I promised to add the histories of those, whose virtue has made them unhappy, or whofe misfortunes are at least without a crime. That this catalogue should be very numerous, neither you nor your readers ought to expect; "rari quippe "boni ;" " "The good are few." Virtue is uncommon in all the claffes of humanity; and I fuppofe it will fcarcely be imagined more frequent in a prifon than in other places. Yet in these gloomy regions is to be found the tenderness, the generofity, the philanthropy of Serenus, who might have lived in competence and eafe, if he could have looked without emotion on the miferies H. 6 of another. Serenus was one of those exalted minds, whom knowledge and fagacity could not make fufpicious; who poured out his foul in boundless iutimacy, and thought community of poffeffions the law of friendfhip. The friend of Serenus was arrested for debt, and after many endeavours to foften his creditor, fent his wife to folicit that affiftance which never was refused. The tears and importunity of female distress were more than was neceffary to move the heart of Serenus; he hafted immediately away, and conferring a long time with his friend, found him confident that if the present preffure was taken off, he should foon be able to re-eftablish his affairs. Serenus, accustomed to believe, and afraid to aggravate distress, did not attempt to detect the fallacies of hope, nor reflect that every man overwhelmed with calamity believes, that if that was removed, he fhall immedately be happy he, therefore, with little hesitation offered himself as furety. In the first raptures of efcape all was joy, gratitude and confidence; the friend of Serenus difplayed his profpects, and counted over the fums of which he should infallibly be master before the day of payment. Serenus in a short time began to find his danger, but could not prevail with himself to repent of beneficence; and therefore fuffered himself still to be amufed with projects which he durft not confider, for fear of finding them impracticable. The debtor, after he had tried every method of raifing money which art or indigence could prompt, wanted either fidelity or refolution to furrender himself to prison, and left Serenus to take his place. Serenus has often proposed to the creditor, to pay him whatever he shall appear to have loft by the flight of his friend; but however reasonable this propofal may be thought, avarice and brutality have been hitherto inexorable, and Serenus ftill continues to languish in prifon. In this place, however, where want makes almost every man selfish, or desperation gloomy, it is the good fortune of Serenus not to live without a friend: he paffes moft of his hours in the converfation of Candidus, a man whom the fame virtuous ductility has with some difference of circumftances made equally unhappy. Candidus, when he was young, helpless, and ignorant, found a patron that educated, protected, and supported him his patron being more vigilant for others than himself, left at his death an only fon, deftitute and friendless. Candidus was eager to repay the benefits he had received; and having maintained the youth for few years at his own house, afterwards placed him with a merchant of eminence, and gave bonds to a great value as a fecurity for his conduct. a : The young man, removed too early from the only of which he dreaded the obfervation, and deprived eye of the only inftruction which he heard with reverence, foon learned to confider virtue as reftraint, and restraint as oppreffion; and to look with a longing eye at every expence to which he could not reach, and every pleafure which he could not partake: by degrees he deviated from his firft regularity, and unhappily mingling among young men bufy in diffipating the gains of their fathers industry, he forgot the precepts of Candidus, spent the evening in parties of pleafure, and the morning in expedients to fupport his riots. He was, however, dextrous dextrous and active in bufinefs; and his mafter, being fecured against any confequences of dishonesty, was very little folicitous to infpect his manners, or to inquire how he paffed those hours, which were not immediately devoted to the business of his profeffion : when he was informed of the young man's extravagance or debauchery, "Let his bondfman look to "that," faid he ;." I have taken care of myself." Thus the unhappy spendthrift proceeded from folly, to folly, and from vice to vice, with the connivance if not the encouragement. of his mafter; till in the heat. of a nocturnal revel he committed fuch violences in the ftreet as drew upon him a criminal profecution. Guilty and unexperienced, he knew not what course to take; to confefs his crime to Candidus, and folicit his interpofition, was little lefs dreadful than to ftand before the frown of a court of juftice. Having, therefore, passed the day with anguish in his heart and distraction in his looks, he seised at night a very large fum of money in the compting-house, and setting out he knew not whither, was heard of no more. The confequence of his flight was the ruin of Candidus: ruin furely undeferved and irreproachable, and fuch as the laws of a just government ought either to prevent or repair: nothing is more inequitable than that one man should fuffer for the crimes of another, for crimes which he neither prompted nor permitted, which he could neither foresee nor prevent. When we confider the weakness of human resolutions and the inconfiftency of human conduct, it must appear. abfurd that one man shall engage for another, that he will not change his opinions or alter his conduct. t It is, I think, worthy of confideration, whether, fince no wager is binding without a poffibility of lofs on each fide, it is not equally reafonable, that no contract fhould be valid without reciprocal ftipulations: but in this cafe, and others of the fame kind, what is ftipulated on his fide to whom the bond is given? he takes advantage of the fecurity, neglects his affairs, omits his duty, fuffers timorous wickedness to grow daring by degrees, permits appetite to call for new gratifications, and, perhaps, fecretly longs for the time in which he fhall have power to feize the forfeiture: and if virtue or gratitude should prove too ftrong for temptation, and a young man perfift in honesty, however inftigated by his paffions, what can fecure him at last against a falfe accufation? I for my part always fhall fufpect, that he who can by fuch methods fecure his property; will go one step farther to increase it; nor can I think that man safely trufted with the means of mifchief, who, by his defire to have them in his hands, gives ant evident proof how much less he values his neighbours happiness than his own. Another of our companions is Lentulus, a man whose dignity of birth was very ill fupported by his fortune, As fome of the firft offices in the kingdom were filled by his relations, he was early invited to court, and encouraged by careffes and promifes to attendance and folicitation: a conftant appearance in fplendid company neceffarily required magnificence of dress; and a frequent participation of fashionable amufements forced him into expence: but thefe meafures were requifite to his fuccefs; fince every body knows, that to be loft to fight is to be loft to remembrance, and that he who defires to fill a vacancy, muit be |