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<DATE>03-09-07</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE
<HI>Adventures</HI>
OF
COVENT-GARDEN,
In Imitation of <HI>Scarron</HI>'s
<HI>City Romance.</HI></P>
<Q><L>Et quorum pars Magna fui.</L></Q>
<P>LONDON,
<HI>Printed by</HI> H. Hills, <HI>for</HI> R. Stand|fa&s;t,
<HI>next Door to the</HI> Three Tunn
Tavern <HI>ju&s;t within</HI> Temple Barr.
1699.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>THE
DEDICATION.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">To all my Ingenious Acquain|tance
at Will's Coffee-Hou&s;e.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Gentlemen,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<PB REF="3">
<P>I am.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your mo&s;t Devoted,
mo&s;t Obedient, and
mo&s;t Faithful hum|ble
Servant.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>TO THE
READER.</HEAD>
<P>MY Dedication looks very
Blank upon the Mat|ter,
and 'tis no Wonder, &s;ince I
expect no Pre&s;ent for it. But
I may venture to &s;ay, that no
Dedication was ever le&s;s Ful&s;om
and Tedious, tho none can deny
that I have given my Patrons
a very fair Character. The
Severe and Judicious may quar|rel
at me for Innovation in this
Affair; but &s;ince the greate&s;t
Critick of our Age has Pub|li&s;hed
a Dedication without de|nominating
<PB REF="4">
his Patron, &s;o the
lea&s;t has ventured to a&s;cribe his
Patrons, and leave out the De|dication.</P>
<P>I have &s;ome few things to
&s;ay in Relation to the Author,
and touching the Book; the Au|thor
is a Per&s;on admired by the
Ladies for his Di&s;cretion and
Secrecy, as you may ea&s;ily ima|gine
by the&s;e Means he has cho|&s;en
to confirm their good Opi|nion
of him; and to make the
Secret yet clo&s;er, he has let it
loo&s;e among the Wits, who will
&s;o Cha&s;e it about <HI>Covent-Gar|den;</HI>
but I que&s;tion whether they
ever Hunt it into the right
Burrough. If ye are &s;o good
Philo&s;ophers as to find out the
<PB REF="4">
Author by a <HI>Negative Defini|tion</HI>
take it; he's neither <HI>Col|lieri&s;t,</HI>
nor <HI>Poet,</HI> neither <HI>Ae&s;op
of Tunbridge,</HI> nor <HI>Ae&s;op of
Bath,</HI> nor the <HI>Dragon of Bow,</HI>
nor the <HI>Gra&s;hopper at the Ex|change;</HI>
and for an Engli&s;h|man
not to belong to any of
the&s;e Factions, is &s;omewhat
&s;trange.</P>
<P>As to the Book, 'tis for the
mo&s;t part, matter of Fact, and
all Tran&s;acted within the&s;e Three
Months. The Criticks may per|haps
quarrel with me for break|ing
&V;nity of Time; for (&s;ay
they) if an Heroick Poem mu&s;t
be limited to the &s;pace of Twelve
Months, a Novel by the rule
of Proportion &s;hould be confined
<PB REF="5">
to One. But I can urge enough
in my defence; perhaps I was
very Young when I writ it, or
Recovering from a fit of Sick|ne&s;s;
perhaps I was very Old
and near my great Climacterick;
perhaps I write it in ha&s;te, or
perhaps 'tis my fir&s;t E&s;&s;ay.</P>
<P>Now, Gentlemen, I have gi|ven
you <HI>Pick and Choi&s;e</HI> of the
mo&s;t Fa&s;hionable Excu&s;es, and if
you are not &s;atisfied, I think
unrea&s;onable.</P>
<P>Some may ask what I had to
do with the <HI>Church</HI> and <HI>Stage</HI>
in my Novel? Truly I have as
little to do with either of them
as any Wit among Ye, let them
fight Dog, fight Bear, for me.
But becau&s;e I would make my
<PB REF="5">
Book <HI>Beau,</HI> I thought it conve|nient
to Equip him with an Air
of the Times, and make him
Chat on the mo&s;t Modi&s;h Sub|ject.
As another Addition to
his Finery, I have given him a
<HI>De&s;cription of Night.</HI> This
was altogether worn about Ten
years ago, and may do well e|nough
&s;till for a Change. I
build this Allegory of Foppery
upon the Authority of a famous
Modern, who certainly de&s;ign'd
his <HI>De&s;cription of Night</HI> for a
<HI>Beau-Wig</HI> to his Piece, as may
appear by this Line.</P>
<P>And Nights Black-Locks all
Powder'd o're with Stars.</P>
<P><PB REF="6">
Some may accu&s;e me for &s;er|vile
imitation of my Nieghbours
in this De&s;cription. Faith, I have
a great mind to imitate Them
very clo&s;ely now by Valuing my
&s;elf upon it however.</P>
<P>Tou mu&s;t not in this Piece
expect any Wit, for that is grown
too Dangerous and Scandalous
&s;ince the Act again&s;t <HI>Immora|lity
and Profanene&s;s;</HI> be&s;ides,
being within the City Liberties, I
mu&s;t not venture to be Facetious,
till I know whether the New
Lord M&mdash;r is <HI>Dragon, Gra&s;|hopper,</HI>
or what other Animal.</P>
<P>As for my imitating <HI>Scar|ron,</HI>
I confe&s;s 'tis not <HI>Copia
vera,</HI> as many draw their Imita|tions,
but there is &s;omething as
<PB REF="6">
Odd in this Gentlemans Wri|tings,
as there was in Per&s;on,
which may puzzle an Author as
much as a Painter to delineate
him. There are &s;ome turns of Plot
in the following Adventures that
may &s;eem incredible, but this
very &s;trangene&s;s to any con&s;ide|rate
Per&s;on will appear the mo&s;t
convincing Proof of their Truth;
for unle&s;s they had really pa&s;&s;ed,
I could never have thought of
'em.</P>
<P>One word to <HI>Emilia,</HI> and
then&mdash;She only knows the Au|thor,
whom if &s;he di&s;covers, he
certainly di&s;covers her; there's
a <HI>Rowland for her Oliver:</HI> her
Character is drawn by &s;o favour|able
a Hand, that it will make
<PB REF="7">
her Cunning more admired,
than her Fal&s;hood hated. My
Love has &s;till added a plea&s;ing
glo&s;s to her wor&s;t De&s;igns, and
amid&s;t my &s;evere&s;t Reflections
on her Deceit, I have never for|got
the Re&s;pect due to her as a
fair Lady: Yet if &s;he will be
Angry, let her take what fol|lows.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="7">
<HEAD>THE
Adventures
OF
COVENT-GARDEN.</HEAD>
<P>A Young Gentleman &s;omewhat
addicted to Poetry and the
Diver&s;ions of the Stage, &s;tand|ing
one Evening behind the Scenes in
<HI>Drury-lane</HI> Playhou&s;e, was acco&s;ted
with a Me&s;&s;age by the Door-keeper,
that a Lady in the Entrance de&s;ir'd
to &s;peak with him; he readily obey'd
the Charge, but was &s;trangly &s;urpris'd
to be &s;aluted by a Voice well known
to him, and a Per&s;on whom he ima|gin'd
in another Kingdom (one whom
<PB N="2" REF="8">
he pa&s;&s;ionately lov'd) and who&s;e ab|&s;ence
he much regretted; their Joys
were mutual at the Interview, but
his the greater, becau&s;e heightn'd by
&s;urpri&s;e and unexpectancy; <HI>for Hea|vens
&s;ake, Madam (&s;aid the Spark in a
tran&s;port) is your Husband dead?
and may I hope at la&s;t that you are
mine;</HI> The Lady an&s;wer'd only by a
deep Sigh, and conducting him to
the Coach which waited for her, &s;he
gave him the following account. <HI>You
may remember, my dear</HI> Peregrine,
<HI>(&s;aid &s;he) that con&s;train'd by the Ri|gour
of covetous Parents, who con&s;ult|ed
my Fortune, not Inclinations, I broke
my Vows and Prote&s;tations to you and
married</HI> Richly. <HI>Revive not the fatal
remembrance (an&s;wer'd</HI> Peregrine)
<HI>which occa&s;ion'd me &s;o much mi&s;ery,
forcing me thro grief to leave the King|dom,
and come hither for</HI> London,
<HI>but rather declare the cau&s;e which &s;o
happily has Ble&s;t me now with your
Pre&s;ence &s;o far beyond my hopes. Alas
<PB N="3" REF="8">
Sir, reply'd</HI> Emilia, <HI>why &s;hou'd you
doubt the occa&s;ion, knowing your &s;elf and
knowing me? how could I re&s;t in the
Embraces of Another, whil&s;t nothing
but a narrow Sea parted me from my
dear</HI> Peregrine. <HI>I gave my friends
the &s;atisfaction to &s;ee me married to</HI>
Richly, <HI>but did my &s;elf the Ju&s;tice to
live with none but my Deare&s;t&mdash;</HI>
with which words pre&s;&s;ing his Hand,
and letting her Head fall with a Sigh
in his Bo&s;om, &s;he murmur'd out the
re&s;t in a Language which Lovers only
under&s;tand. The Coach &s;topt in
<HI>Bow-&s;treet Covent-Garden,</HI> where the
Lady had taken Lodgings. <HI>Pereg.</HI>
was a little &s;tartl'd to find him&s;elf ex|actly
oppo&s;ite to a Hou&s;e wherein
dwelt a Lady whom he Courted; for
being advis'd, that the only cure for
the lo&s;s of an old Mi&s;tre&s;s is a new
one, and his Fortune being very
much weakn'd by expence of Travel,
he had pitch'd on the afore&s;aid Lady
of a con&s;iderable Fortune and good
<PB N="4" REF="9">
Family, to relieve his decay'd E&s;tate
by marrying her; He had won pret|ty
far on the Ladies Inclinations, and
Acted the Lover &s;o well and &s;o fre|quently,
that he had almo&s;t made it
habitual to him, and through pure
&s;trength of imagination did almo&s;t
believe her as captivating as his for|mer
Mi&s;tre&s;s; but it was only a fan|cy,
for he &s;oon forgot all his Pa&s;&s;ion
at the fir&s;t &s;ight of <HI>Emilia;</HI> and his
wavering Affection, like a le&s;&s;er Light,
was &s;oon &s;wallow'd in the appearance
of a greater; he conducted <HI>Emilia</HI> to
her Chamber, where they &s;pent an
Hour or Two, plea&s;antly repeating
the Adventures of their pa&s;t Court|&s;hip,
and now and then making pro|te&s;tations
to improve the future. How
&s;trangely ridiculous are Lovers! this
Lady had been the greate&s;t cau&s;e of
many misfortunes to him, and he
had &s;ub&s;tantial rea&s;ons to believe, the
rigour of her Parents was only urg'd
as an excu&s;e to break with him; a
<PB N="5" REF="9">
rea&s;onable Per&s;on would have con|&s;ider'd
her as a Renegado from her
lawful Husband, and might had &s;ome
regard to the Prote&s;tations made to
the vertuous Lady, and the improve|ment
of his Fortune; I doubt not but
the Gentleman's rea&s;on, which was of
the ripe&s;t growth, &s;ugge&s;ted all the&s;e
con&s;iderations to him; but alas, that
Ingenuity which &s;hew'd him his er|rour,
plung'd him the deeper in it;
the Charms of his <HI>Emilia</HI> were &s;o
heightn'd by his creative fancy, his
Wit loooking through the Per&s;pe|ctive
of his Love, &s;hew'd all things &s;o
Charming that nothing but Pa&s;&s;ion
could predominate; and certainly the
mo&s;t ingenious Men are the mo&s;t
liable to the Snares of the Fair; whe|ther
it be that their Intellects are
more fine, and therefore more adapt|ed
for the reception of the &s;ubtile
Pa&s;&s;ion, or being more &s;ubject to
Vanity, may ea&s;ily through a &s;en&s;e of
their merit be drawn into a belief of
<PB N="6" REF="10">
their being belov'd, and con&s;equent|ly
the more ea&s;ily cheated.</P>
<P>However it was, <HI>Peregrine</HI> went
away the mo&s;t pleas'd Man alive,
and coming to his Club at the <HI>Ro&s;e,</HI>
&s;urpris'd the Company with the Ex|travagancy
of his Mirth; no le&s;s
than Bumpers wou'd go down, and
all to his Mi&s;tre&s;&s;es health; there was
none of the company di&s;pos'd to
comply with his humour, but a
Captain, who &s;wearing a bloudy
Oath that put his Scarlet out of coun|tenance,
declar'd he would Drink for
his Mi&s;tre&s;s as much as <HI>Peregrine</HI>
&s;hou'd for his Guts, <HI>and</HI> Damme <HI>(con|tinu'd
he) I have got the prettie&s;t,
kinde&s;t creature, and &s;he is newly come
to Town; but what is yet &s;tranger, I
have not yet enjoy'd her, tho I bave
&s;een her twice. I &s;hou'd think it more
&s;trange (&s;aid</HI> Peregrine) <HI>if you ever
enjoy her, if &s;he be one that values her
Reputation.</HI> Zoons <HI>(cry'd the Cap|tain)
you loook like an hone&s;t Fellow,
<PB N="7" REF="10">
and I'll tell you a &s;ecret; My Mi&s;tre&s;s
is the prettie&s;t Lady in</HI> England, <HI>and
&s;he Lodges hard by in</HI> Bow-&s;treet. The
whole Company, who knew that <HI>Pe|regrine</HI>
Courted a Lady in <HI>Bow-&s;treet,</HI>
bur&s;t out a Laughing, and one of them
ask'd the Captain where abouts his
Mi&s;tre&s;s liv'd? <HI>About the middle of
the Street, (reply'd he)</HI> which increas'd
the Laughter all about the Table.
Here appear'd another Caprice in the
humour of our Lover: <HI>Peregrine,</HI>
who ju&s;t now had forgot and laid by
all thoughts of his former Mi&s;tre&s;s,
had his pa&s;&s;ion renew'd by the ap|prehen&s;ion
of a Rival, and his Flame
like other Fire, meeting with oppo|&s;ition,
began to rage more furiou&s;ly;
he ask'd the Captain what incourag|ment
he had receiv'd, to authori&s;e
him to call that Lady Mi&s;tre&s;s? <HI>Only
this (&s;aid the Captain) that I am be|lov'd
by her above all Men in the
World, for which I have her own De|claration.
Peregrine</HI> being &s;en&s;ible
<PB N="8" REF="11">
how far a Lac'd Coat and Feathers
u&s;ually work upon the Female Sex,
was very unea&s;y, and calling a Rec|koning
left the Company.</P>
<P>Next Morning he went to <HI>Emi|lia</HI>'s
Lodgings, but 'twas an&s;wer'd by
the Hou&s;e that &s;he was gone abroad;
he repeated his Vi&s;it in the After|noon
with no better &s;ucce&s;s; three
or four Days he continu'd to wait up|on
her thus, but could never find her
at home: The Lady over the way
had perceiv'd him to go frequently
thither, and hearing that a &s;trange
Lady lodg'd there, began to enter|tain
&s;ome Jealous thoughts of him,
&s;he therefore order'd a Footman to
watch him at his next coming, and
to tell him that &s;he de&s;ir'd to &s;peak
with him; the Me&s;&s;age was deli|ver'd
accordingly, and he waited on
<HI>Selinda. Sir (&s;aid &s;he) I was afraid
that you had mi&s;taken my Lodgings, by
your freequent calling at another Hou&s;e
&s;o near me, and therefore I &s;ent my
<PB N="9" REF="11">
Servant to &s;et you right.</HI> He was wa|ken'd
from his &s;weet Dream of <HI>Emi|lia</HI>
by &s;o ju&s;t a charge; but the words
of the Captain coming in his Head,
<HI>Madam (&s;aid he) I &s;aw the Sign of a
Lac'd Coat hung out at your Hou&s;e,
which occa&s;ion'd my mi&s;taking it.</HI> The
Lady de&s;iring him to explain his Ex|pre&s;&s;ion,
he plainly told her what the
Captain &s;aid; &s;he a&s;&s;ur'd him by ve|ry
convincing rea&s;ons, that &s;he knew
no &s;uch Per&s;on, and implicitly hint|ed
to him, that if he were the Lover
he pretended, it lay upon him to
make the Blockhead beg her Pardon.
<HI>Peregrine</HI> needed no &s;uch in&s;tigation,
for by this it appear'd to him that the
Captains words were out of a dull
de&s;ign of affronting him, and vow|ing
Revenge wou'd have immediately
gone to have put it in Execution.
The Lady dreading the blu&s;tring title
of Captain, and fearing to Expo&s;e
<HI>Peregrine,</HI> whom &s;he really Lov'd,
detain'd him, by a pretence of his
<PB N="10" REF="12">
Accompanying her to <HI>Bartholemew-Fair,</HI>
whether &s;he de&s;ign'd to go that
Evening to Raffle; he could not de|cline
waiting on her, and &s;u&s;pended
therefore his intended re&s;entments.
The Lady's Coach was got ready, and
they went to the <HI>Cloy&s;ters,</HI> where
they Joyn'd in with &s;ome very good
Company to Raffle, among which was
my Lord <HI>C&mdash;</HI> who had a Lady
Mask'd with him, and whom he
entertain'd with &s;ome Re&s;pect, yet
mix'd with a little Familiarity: The
fir&s;t Piece of &s;mall value my Lord
won, and pre&s;ented to his Mask'd
Lady; the &s;econd, worth Ten pound,
<HI>Peregrine</HI> carried; not &s;o glad for
his Succe&s;s, as Proud to make &s;uch a
Pre&s;ent to his Mi&s;tre&s;s; he was turn|ing
towards her to Pre&s;ent it, when
the Mask'd Lady with a carele&s;s mo|tion,
as if by accident, pull'd off her
<HI>Vizor,</HI> and &s;hew'd him the Charm|ing
Face of his dear <HI>Emilia;</HI> &s;he
imagin'd, obliging him to know
<PB N="11" REF="12">
her was Claim &s;ufficient to the <HI>China.</HI>
Gods! how great was <HI>Peregrine</HI>'s
&s;urpri&s;e! What a &s;trange Dilemma
was he brought to! all the rules of
civility and good Manners, nay e|ven
gratitude, oblig'd him to give
the Pre&s;ent to <HI>Selinda</HI> whom he had
waited on to the Fair, nay, the Com|pany
had already begun to congra|tulate
her &s;ucce&s;s in that of the
Gentleman; But <HI>Emilia,</HI> the charm|ing
<HI>Emilia,</HI> that held his Heart, de|tain'd
his Hand; he had long &s;ince
made her a Pre&s;ent of his Soul, and
who now cou'd &s;tand in competition
with her for any thing el&s;e: He ne|ver
had &s;uch occa&s;ion for his Wits
to bring him off, but finding no Ex|pedient
readier, he pretending a Slip
let the <HI>China</HI> fall, and broke it, and
feigning a di&s;&s;atisfaction for the Lo&s;s,
wou'd throw no more: Both the
Ladies were well enough pleas'd,
each imagining that he was vex'd
upon her &s;core, &s;uppo&s;ing he intend|ed
<PB N="12" REF="13">
it for her, which he purpo&s;ely
broke, le&s;t he &s;hou'd oblige either
by the di&s;plea&s;ure of the other.</P>
<P>But <HI>Pereg.</HI> trouble was not here at
an end, he &s;aw his <HI>Emilia,</HI> who &s;o late|ly
and &s;o lovingly care&s;&s;ed him, en|tertain'd
by a Nobleman, and one
of the greate&s;t Gallants in <HI>England;</HI>
but what wou'd have de&s;troy'd ano|thers
affection, only increa&s;ed his;
he took a &s;ecret Pride in Rivalling
&s;o great a Man, and it confirmed
his great opinion of <HI>Emilia</HI>'s beauty,
to &s;ee her Admir'd by &s;o accom|pli&s;h't
a Per&s;on and ab&s;olute Cour|tier
as my Lord <HI>C&mdash;</HI> The&s;e
con&s;iderations augmenting his Love,
increa&s;ed his Jealou&s;y al&s;o, and every
little Familiarity that my Lord us'd,
heightned his Love to her, and ha|tred
to his Lord&s;hip; he Lov'd her
for being Admir'd by my Lord, yet
hated my Lord for Loving her. He
was oblig'd however to wait on <HI>Se|linda</HI>
home; be&s;ides he receiv'd no
<PB N="13" REF="13">
great encouragment from <HI>Emilia</HI> to
prompt him to offer his Service, for
&s;he had not regarded him one Jot
after he broke the <HI>China;</HI> he went
Home &s;trangely di&s;tracted, which
<HI>Sel&iuml;nda</HI> imagining it to proceed from
his re&s;entment again&s;t the Captain,
minded no further than by advi&s;ing
him to de&s;i&s;t, telling him that the
a&s;per&s;ions of a Fool are never mind|ed,
unle&s;s the Per&s;on a&s;per&s;ed takes
notice of them. He went Home
never the more &s;atisfied, and re|&s;olving
to quit him&s;elf of one trouble
imediatly, he writ the following
Note.</P>
<LETTER>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>YOUR words at the
Tavern the other night
&s;eem purely de&s;ign'd to af|front
me, &s;ince I am now
&s;atisfied they cou'd be groun|ded
<PB N="14" REF="14">
on no other Foundation;
if you dare repeat them, meet
me behind <HI>Montague</HI> Hou&s;e
to morrow Morning at Six,
where only I can give you a
proper an&s;wer,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Yours,
Peregrine.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</LETTER>
<P>This Letter he gave to a Porter,
with orders to deliver it to Cap|tain&mdash;
at his Lodgings, or
if he were abroad to find him out,
and to deliver it into his own Hand.</P>
<P><HI>Peregrine</HI> ro&s;e early next Morn|ing
and came to the place appointed&punc;
and walked about full of &s;erious
thoughts upon his Adventure, re|flecting
on the many inconveniences
contracted by Womens conver&s;ation&punc;
he remembred that the greate&s;t di&s;|quiets
of his Life had proceeded
<PB N="15" REF="14">
from Female cau&s;es, and found him|&s;elf
that very Moment at the very
brink of De&s;truction, involv'd in an
unavoidable Dilemma of falling by
the Sword, or dying by the Law,
and all upon a Womans &s;core; he
found, that had he never Lov'd Wo|man,
he had never hated Man, and
had he never owned a Mi&s;tre&s;s, he
had never feared an Enemy. The
apprehen&s;ions of &s;o many dangers
pa&s;t and to come, occa&s;ioned chiefly
by his fatal <HI>Emilia,</HI> began &s;omewhat
to alienate his affection, which bac|ked
by his &s;u&s;picion of her fal&s;hood,
confirmed him in a re&s;olution of
weaning him&s;elf for the future from
&s;o childi&s;h a Pa&s;&s;ion. He walked
thus ruminating above two hours,
but no news of the Captain, and
he was pretty well pleas'd not to
meet his Adver&s;ary, being now con|victed
of the unrea&s;onable grounds
of his quarrel: Being upon &s;erious
reflections convinc'd, that the Cap|tains
<PB N="16" REF="15">
words might have intended
&s;ome other be&s;ides his Mi&s;tre&s;s, &s;ince
he did not name <HI>Selinda,</HI> and that
&s;he had a&s;&s;ur'd him, &s;he knew no
&s;uch Man. He left the Field, e&s;ta|bli&s;h'd
in the&s;e Three calm Re&s;olu|tions,
Fir&s;t, for ever to avoid <HI>Emi|lia</HI>'s
company which had been &s;o fatal;
Secondly, to beg the Captains par|don,
when he fir&s;t met him; and
La&s;tly, to promote his Marriage
with <HI>Selinda</HI> as &s;peedily as he could.
But here behold the &s;trange weakne&s;s
of a Lover, his Inclinations mu&s;t lead
him by <HI>Emilia</HI>'s Lodgings as he pa&s;t
homewards, and he gave this excu&s;e
to his rea&s;on, that he wou'd by that
means try the firmne&s;s of his re&s;olve,
in pa&s;&s;ing by her Lodgings without
looking once at her Window; Walk|ing
therefore down <HI>Bow-&s;treet,</HI> when
he was ju&s;t oppo&s;ite to the Hou&s;e, his
fooli&s;h wavering fancy &s;ugge&s;ted, that
there cou'd be no harm in looking
up to her Window, &s;ince he believ'd
<PB N="17" REF="15">
&s;he &s;tood not there; yet to what
end &s;hou'd any rea&s;onable Man but
a Gla&s;ier look at a Window, when
he expected no body at it. He ne|ver
the le&s;s ca&s;t up his Eye, and
behold how he was paid for his peep|ing.</P>
<P>In&s;tead of the dear Ca&s;ement which
he only hoped to &s;ee, he di&s;cover'd
Mon&s;ieur the Captain with his for|midable
Lac'd Coat &s;tanding out of
the Window, and his beloved <HI>Emi|lia</HI>
&s;tanding familiarly by him.</P>
<P>Now for our Sparks Re&s;olutions,
rea&s;on would have oblig'd him to
continue them now &s;tronger, for he
had a new in&s;tance of <HI>Emilia</HI>'s fal&s;|hood,
and of the truth of the Cap|tains
words, but the &s;ight wrought
a clear contrary effect; he found
him&s;elf now touch'd in the tender|e&s;t
part, and the Captains Expre&s;|&s;ions
which he could bear when
the Company &s;uppos'd them Ap|ply'd
to <HI>Selinda,</HI> he could not &s;uffer
<PB N="18" REF="16">
<HI>now he found them meant of</HI> Emi|lia,
Gods (cry'd he out) &s;hall I be
outrivali'd by a Fool in the affection
of one as Admirable for her &s;en&s;e as
for her Beauty; tho the Coward dur&s;t
not meet me at the place appointed,
he will certainly re&s;ent an affront in
his Mi&s;tre&s;&s;es pre&s;ence, which may af|ford
me revenge of both. <HI>Hereupon
he comes to the Door, and opening
it without any Ceremony, comes
madly up, but was met upon the
Stairs by</HI> Emilia; <HI>who running to
him, caught him in her tender Arms,
&s;aying.</HI> My dear <HI>Peregrine,</HI> how have
I long'd to &s;ee You? and what have
I done to Merit this &s;trangene&s;s of
Yours? <HI>She went to Ki&s;s him, but he
hearing a Per&s;on pa&s;s down Stairs
by him, look'd about, and &s;aw it was
only a Porter.</HI> O my deare&s;t (conclu|ded
&s;he) I am overjoy'd that you're
come &s;o oportunely for my relief; for
I have been pe&s;ter'd the&s;e Five or &s;ix
Days ince&s;&s;antly by my Lord <HI>C&mdash;</HI>
<PB N="19" REF="16">
who has &s;ent ju&s;t now to know if I
am at lea&s;ure to receive a vi&s;it. I
&s;uppo&s;e Madam (an&s;wer'd <HI>Peregrine)</HI>
that you are not at lea&s;ure, for you
have Company above Stairs. None
that &s;hall detain me from entertain|ing
you (replyed &s;he.) Madam, an&s;wer|ed
<HI>Peregrine,</HI> you &s;hall not prevent
me from entertaining him by all your
Artifices; for by Heavens I'll pull off
his <HI>Lions</HI> Skin, and &s;how the <HI>A&s;s</HI> in
his own Colours. Who do you mean
pray Sir (&s;aid &s;he) a Coward in the
King's Livery? Madam, your Captain
above. A Captain! replied <HI>Emilia,</HI>
ha, ha, ha, I'll behang'd if you have
not mi&s;taken my Lord's Footman for
an Officer, ha, ha, ha, a very good
Je&s;t, poor <HI>Peregrine,</HI> you have not
rub'd the Sleep out of your Eyes
this Morning. Truly Madam (&s;aid
<HI>Peregrine)</HI> your behaviour makes me
doubt that I am Awake. No, no,
(replyed &s;he) you are Dreaming, as
I &s;hall convince you; <HI>and leading
<PB N="20" REF="17">
him up into her Chamber,</HI> Is this
your Captain? Peregrine <HI>was &s;trange|ly
amazed to find a very Sheepi&s;h
Fellow leaning on the Window with
a Lac'd Coat on, which he imagin'd
the Captains. The occa&s;ion of
which Metamorpho&s;is was this.</HI></P>
<P>The Porter which <HI>Peregrine</HI> em|ployed
the Night before to carry
the Challenge to the Captain, heard
at his Lodgings that the Captain
would not be at home till it was
late, and the poor Fellow being tir'd
with trudging about all Day, and
&s;uppo&s;ing it &s;ufficient to deliver it
in the Morning, went home to his
Re&s;t, and came accordingly in the
Morning, where he was told by the
Captains Servant, that his Ma&s;ter
lay abroad all Night, but that he
had appointed to meet him about
two Hours hence at the Black-po&s;ts
next door to the&mdash;in <HI>Bow-&s;treet.</HI>
The Porter accordingly went thi|ther,
and found the Captain in <HI>Emi|lia's</HI>
<PB N="21" REF="17">
Chamber, and had deliver'd
him the Note ju&s;t as <HI>Peregrine</HI> had
look'd up at the Window. At the
&s;ame in&s;tant <HI>Emilia</HI> &s;py'd him, and
with great &s;urpri&s;e cryed out. <HI>O
Lord; Sir, I am Ruin'd.</HI> The Cap|tain
asked what was the matter?
<HI>O (&s;aid &s;he) dear Sir, yonder's my
Husband, who has &s;een you, and if
we find not a device to impo&s;e upon
him, he will Murder me. What &s;hall
we do (&s;aid the Captain) not all
the Stratagems in the Art Military
can &s;ave us. But I have one Stra|tagem
in the Art of Love &s;hall do,
&s;aid &s;he; Strip, &s;trip, Sir, imediate|ly,
change Cloaths with the Porter.</HI>
The Captain very willing to oblige
the Lady, obeyed her Commands,
and equipp'd the Porter immediately,
and puting on the Porters Coat,
Frock, and Apron, &s;lunk down Stairs
by <HI>Peregrine</HI> undi&s;cover'd, leaving
the gawdy Porter in <HI>Emilia</HI>'s Cham|ber;
which &s;o much occa&s;ioned <HI>Pe|regrine</HI>'s
<PB N="22" REF="18">
wonder. He had the de|mon&s;tration
of his Eyes that it was
the Captain but &s;ome Minutes be|fore,
and now by the &s;ame Evidence
it appears that it is not he. <HI>This is
all Illu&s;ion (&s;aid</HI> Peregrine <HI>in a Con|&s;ternation.)
Illu&s;ion! (replyed</HI> Emi|lia)
<HI>I little thought that</HI> Peregrine
<HI>could have &s;uch ill thoughts of Me,
as to believe I would entertain an
Officer at this Hour in my Chamber.
Truly Madam (an&s;wered</HI> Peregrine)
<HI>tho Love be blind, I don't think Jea|lou&s;y
is &s;o, and tho Womens Beauty
depends on our fancy, their Vertue
does not; we rightly can Judge of
that, tho not of tother. Sir (&s;aid</HI>
Emilia) <HI>you have never received any
proofs of my immode&s;ty, tho many of
my Love, and I therefore think it
both ingratitude and inju&s;tice in you
to tax my Vertue, which you ought
to defend, &s;ince you are &s;en&s;ible it has
held out even again&s;t you whom I &s;o
dearly lov'd, and who (I thought)
<PB N="23" REF="18">
lov'd me, but I find now too late that I
have been mi&s;taken;</HI> upon which &s;he
bur&s;t out in Tears. <HI>Go back Sir (&s;aid
&s;he to the Porter) and tell your Lord
that I begin to &s;u&s;pect his de&s;igns upon
me for vicious; alas, I am unacquain|ted
with the Tricks of this City, and
did not imagine that a Nobleman could
have any ba&s;e de&s;igns upon a Poor
Womans Honour; go quickly to him, I
&s;ay, and bid him never trouble me
again, for he has made me already an
unfortunate Woman.</HI> With which
words &s;he Wept mo&s;t bitterly. O
the bewitching Charms of Woman|kind,
that even their weakne&s;&s;es
&s;hould conquer our &s;tronge&s;t Re|&s;olves!
how ea&s;ily is vain Man
drawn into a belief of his being
belov'd! We take forty Declara|tions
of their indifference or hatred
for effects only of their Mode&s;ty,
but the fir&s;t confe&s;&s;ion of their Love
we pre&s;ently Credit; when, alas,
their profe&s;&s;ion of the Latter is often
<PB N="24" REF="19">
as fal&s;e, as of Former: But what
can't moving Tears of weeping Beau|ty
melt. Love in gaiety may take,
but Love in Mourning only truly
wounds. The poor relenting <HI>Pere|grine</HI>
fell at her Feet, weeping as
fa&s;t as She.</P>
<Q><L>The &s;ervent Lover Sigh'd, and
Wept, and Swore,</L>
<L>That he wou'd ne're di&s;tru&s;t her
Vertue more.</L>
<L>About her Knees he Cling'd with
amorous Bands.</L>
<L>And pre&s;t his Vows upon her Lips
and Hands.</L>
<L>She often did her Damon, Faith|le&s;s
call,</L>
<L>At la&s;t with &s;ullen Cooing par|don'd
all.</L>
<L>He ravi&s;h'd ro&s;e, and Cla&s;pt the
yielding Fair;</L>
<L>His bounding Joy &s;prung higher
from De&s;pair.</L>
<L><PB N="25" REF="19">
He Seal'd his Pardon with an end|le&s;s
Ki&s;s,</L>
<L>If there be Exta&s;y in Love, 'tis
this.</L></Q>
<P>Behold how &s;uddenly the Scheme
is turn'd, the poor deluded <HI>Pere|grine</HI>
imagins his Mi&s;tre&s;s a <HI>Lucre|tia;</HI>
all his former re&s;olutions are
melted in her Bo&s;om, whil&s;t &s;he,
innocent creature, murmurs at his
unkindne&s;s, checking and care&s;&s;ing
him at the &s;ame time, to &s;hew how
ea&s;ily her Love conquered her re|&s;entments.
He at la&s;t left her, and
pa&s;&s;ing out of the Door, e&s;pied the
Captain in the Porters Habit &s;tand|ing
at the entrance; he had &s;tay'd
there waiting <HI>Peregrin</HI>'s departure,
re&s;olving upon that to return to
<HI>Emilia,</HI> and with her to Laugh at
the Cuckold, as he imagined him;
who had mo&s;t occa&s;ion to Laugh,
we &s;hall find pre&s;ently. <HI>Peregrine</HI>
immediately knew the Frock and Por|ters
<PB N="26" REF="20">
Cloaths, and the Captain being
of &s;omewhat a Porterly &s;hape, he
made no doubt but it was the &s;ame
Fellow he had imployed la&s;t Night
to carry the Challenge to the Cap|tain,
and immediately asked how he
had delivered his Me&s;&s;age. The Cap|tain
ignorant of the matter, could
make no direct an&s;wer; which in|cen&s;ing
<HI>Peregrine, Sirrah (&s;aid he)
re&s;olve me in&s;tantly or I'll break your
Head, Ra&s;cal.</HI> The Officer unu&s;ed to
&s;uch words, began to mumble &s;ome|thing
&s;awcily. Upon which, with|out
any further ceremony, he raps
the poor Captain over the Head
and Shoulders very &s;martly with
his Cane. The Captain roar'd out,
<HI>Bloud and Wounds immediately.</HI> Up|on
which <HI>Peregrine</HI> redoubled his
&s;troaks and liquor'd his Buff mo&s;t
abundantly, till &s;ome Gentlemen of
<HI>Peregrine</HI>'s acquaintance took him
off, and carried him to <HI>Wills</HI> Coffee|hou&s;e.
The poor Captain mi&s;erably
<PB N="27" REF="20">
beaten, was clear off the Laughing
pin; and coming up &s;tairs to <HI>Emilia,</HI>
inquir'd for his Cloaths immediately.
She an&s;wered, &s;he had &s;ent the Porter
down &s;tairs to him; but the Porter
was no &s;uch Fool, for finding him|&s;elf
&s;o richly Rigged, he &s;lipt out
of the back Door, and was never
heard off after. The poor Captain
foam'd and chafed outragiou&s;ly at
the&s;e abu&s;es, and went to &s;culk
home as &s;peedily as he might, to
equip him&s;elf in another Suit; he
went through all the blind Alleys
and Lanes that he could, for fear
of meeting any of his acquaintance;
out when he got pretty near his
Lodgings, it was his bad fortune in
one of the&s;e by-places to pa&s;s by the
Hou&s;e where the Porter lived; his
Wife accidentally &s;tood at the Door,
who knowing her Husbands Cloaths,
<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="in gutter" EXTENT="1 letter">re&s;ently laid hold of him, crying
<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="in gutter" EXTENT="1 letter">ut, that the Villain had Murdered
<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="in gutter" EXTENT="1 letter">er Husband and &s;tript him of his
<PB N="28" REF="21">
Cloaths; her noi&s;e pre&s;ently rai&s;ed
the Mobb, who flocking about the
unfortunate Captain, began to lug
and hale him mo&s;t un&s;ufferably; he
cryed out with a Voice loud enough
to give the Word of Command,
<HI>that he was an Officer, a Captain, &amp;c.</HI>
A mighty Butcher with a &s;well'd
Face of Authority advances, and de|&s;ires
to &s;ee his Commi&s;&s;ion; but that
was gone in the Pocket of his em|broidered
Wa&s;tcoat. <HI>Some disband|ed
Rogue (cryes the Butcher) that's
now forced to live by cutting Throats;
away with him, away with him before
a Magi&s;trate.</HI> The poor Captain ran
the Gauntlet mo&s;t wretchedly till
he came to the Hou&s;e of Ju&s;tice
<HI>M&mdash;</HI> in <HI>Drury-lane,</HI> who upon
the Oath of the Porters Wife, and
&s;ome of her creditable Neighbours,
drew his Mittimus in order for <HI>New|gate.</HI>
Wor&s;e and wor&s;e! what mu&s;t
poor Buff do? he mu&s;t now di&s;co|ver
him&s;elf to his Friends for Bail,
<PB N="29" REF="21">
and &s;o be made the Je&s;t of the whole
Town; he call'd the Ju&s;tice a&s;ide,
and told him the whole &s;tory. The
Magi&s;trate an&s;wered, unle&s;s the
Porter could be found, that the Law
would oblige him to his Tryal at the
<HI>Old-Bayly,</HI> and that he mu&s;t be bound
over to an&s;wer at the next Se&s;&s;ions,
and accordingly he was &s;o.</P>
<P><HI>Peregrine</HI> lo&s;ing a very good Je&s;t
by his ignorance in this affair, goes
next Evening to the Play; where
meeting &s;ome of his ingenious ac|quaintance,
<HI>viz.</HI> Mr. <HI>W&mdash;</HI> Mr.
<HI>H&mdash;</HI> Mr. <HI>M&mdash;</HI> with others of
that Club, there aro&s;e a di&s;cour&s;e
concerning the Battel between the
Church and the Stage, with relation
to the Champions that mantained
the parties; the re&s;ult upon the mat|ter
was this, that Mr. <HI>Collier</HI> &s;howed
to much Malice and rancour for a
Church-man, and his Adver&s;aries too
little wit; for the Character of Poets,
that their faults tran&s;ver&s;ed would
<PB N="30" REF="22">
&s;how much better; Dulne&s;s being
more familiar with tho&s;e of Mr. <HI>Col|lier</HI>'s
Function, as Malice and ill na|ture
is more adapted to the Profe&s;&s;or<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="in gutter" EXTENT="1 letter">
of wit. That the be&s;t way of an|&s;wering
Mr. <HI>Collier,</HI> was not to have
replyed at all: for there was &s;o much
Fire in his Book, had not his Adver|&s;aries
thrown in Fuel, it would have
fed upon it &s;elf, and &s;o have gone
out in a Blaze. As to his re&s;pon|dents,
that Captain <HI>Va&mdash;</HI> wrote
too like a Gentleman to be e&s;teemed
a good Ca&s;ui&s;t; that Mr. <HI>C&mdash;</HI>'s pa&s;|&s;ion
in this bu&s;ine&s;s had blinded his
rea&s;on, which had &s;hone &s;o fair in his
other Writings; that Mr. <HI>S&mdash;le</HI>
wanted the wit of Captain <HI>Va</HI>&mdash;as
much as he did Mr. <HI>Settle</HI>'s gravity;
That the two An&s;wers to Mr. <HI>C&mdash;</HI>
have done his Book too much ho|nour,
but them&s;elves too great an
Injury: In &s;hort, upon the whole mat|ter,
that whoever gained the Vict|ory,
the Stage mu&s;t lo&s;e by it, be|ing
<PB N="31" REF="22">
&s;o long the &s;eat of the War;
And unle&s;s Mr. <HI>Dryden,</HI> or Mr. <HI>Wi|cherly</HI>
remove the combu&s;tion into
the Enemies Country, the <HI>Theatre</HI>
mu&s;t down. And the end of this
War will be attended by ca&s;hicring
the Poets, as the la&s;t Peace was by
disbanding the Army.</P>
<P><HI>Their di&s;cour&s;e continued till the
Play began, when</HI> Peregrine <HI>&s;pying
his Mi&s;tre&s;s</HI> Selinda <HI>in a front Box,
was obliged to leave his Friends to
entertain her. This Lady had a
great &s;hare of Sen&s;e, and was migh|tily
plea&s;ed with what the Fair Sex
call fine things, which, that Play,
being the</HI> Indian Emperour, <HI>was
plentifully &s;tored with.</HI> Peregrine
<HI>was &s;o much a Courtier as to Joyn
with her in the Applau&s;e, but being
of a critical humour, he could not
forbear making &s;ome &s;evere remarks
on the</HI> Dramma, <HI>and incon&s;i&s;tencies
of Plots.</HI> You Criticks (&s;aid <HI>Selin|da)</HI>
make a mighty &s;putter about ex|actne&s;s
<PB N="32" REF="23">
of Plot, unity of time, place,
and I know not what, which I can
never find do any Play the lea&s;t good.
<HI>(Peregrine</HI> &s;mild at her Female ig|norance.)
But &s;he continued, I have
one thing to offer in this di&s;pute, which
I think &s;ufficient to convince you; I
&s;uppo&s;e the chief de&s;ign of Plays is to
plea&s;e the People, and get the Play-Hou&s;e
and Poet a Livelyhood. You
mu&s;t pardon me Madam, (replyed
<HI>Peregrine)</HI> In&s;truction is the bu&s;ine&s;s
of Plays. Sir (&s;aid the Lady)
make it the bu&s;ine&s;s of the Audience
Fir&s;t to be pleas'd with In&s;truction,
aud then I &s;hall allow you it to be
the chief end of Plays. But &s;uppo&s;e
Madam (&s;aid he) that I grant what
you lay down. Then Sir (an&s;wered &s;he)
you mu&s;t allow that what ever Plays
mo&s;t exactly An&s;wer this afore&s;aid
end, are the mo&s;t exact Plays. Now
I can in&s;tance you many Plays, as all
tho&s;e by <HI>Shake&s;pear</HI> and <HI>John&s;on,</HI> and
the mo&s;t of Mr. <HI>Dryden</HI>'s, which you
<PB N="33" REF="23">
Criticks quarrel at as irregular, which
neverthele&s;s &s;till continue to plea&s;e
the Audience, and are a continual &s;up|port
to the <HI>Theatre;</HI> there's very lit|tle
of your &V;nity of time or place in
any of them, yet they never fail to
An&s;wer the propo&s;ed end very &s;ucce&s;|fully.
Be&s;ides Sir, I have heard your
&s;elf &s;ay, that Poetry is purely an imi|tation
of Nature; what bu&s;ine&s;s then
can Art pretend in the affair? O
Madam, (An&s;wered <HI>Peregrine)</HI> this
Art is only the improvement or per|fection
of Nature, and is us'd in Poe|try,
as Geometrical Lines in Painting
do delineate the peice to an exact
Model or Form. Then certainly (re|plyed
the Lady) the&s;e rules are ill
under&s;tood, or our Nature has chang|ed
&s;ince they were made; for we find
they have no &s;uch effects now as they
had formerly. For In&s;tance, I am told
the <HI>(Double Dealer)</HI> and, <HI>(Plot and
no Plot)</HI> are two very exact Plays, as
you call them, yet all their &V;nity of
<PB N="34" REF="24">
Time, Place, and Action, neither
plea&s;ed the Audience, nor got the
Poets Money. A late Play too call'd
<HI>(Beauty in Di&s;tre&s;s)</HI> in which the
Author, no doubt, &s;weat as much in
confining the whole Play to one Scene,
as the Scene-Drawers &s;hould were it to
be changed a hundred times; this
Play had indeed a commendatory Co|py
from Mr. <HI>Dryden,</HI> but I think he
had better have altered the Scene,
and plea&s;ed the Audience; in &s;hort
had the&s;e Plays been a little more ex|act,
as you call it, they had all been
exactly Damn'd. Peregrine <HI>would
have an&s;wered, but a pluck by the
Sleeve obliged him to turn from</HI>
Selinda <HI>to entertain a Lady Mask'd,
who had given him the Nudg; he
pre&s;ently knew her to be</HI> Emilia,
<HI>who whi&s;perd him in the Ear,</HI> I find
Sir, what <HI>Guyomar</HI> &s;aid ju&s;t now
is very true,
<PB N="35" REF="24">
<Q><L>That Love which fir&s;t took Root
will fir&s;t Decay,</L>
<L>That of a fre&s;her date, will longer
&s;tay.</L></Q></P>
<P><HI>Peregrine,</HI> tho &s;urpri&s;ed, was plea|&s;ed
with her pretty Reprimand, be|ing
delivered without any Anger,
but in murmuring complaining Ac|cents,
which never fail to move;
in&s;omuch that he could not forbear
demon&s;trating his &s;atisfaction in &s;uch
Terms and Behaviour, as rendered
him remarkable to all about him;
he quite forgot <HI>Selinda,</HI> and his Ar|gument.
And &s;he endeavour'd to
forget him by remembring this Acti|on
of his; and tho many &s;lips occa|&s;ioned
by Pa&s;&s;ion are pardonable,
yet when Love cau&s;es Offences a|gain&s;t
it &s;elf in default of good Man|ners
towards the Fair, 'tis unexcu&s;a|ble.
Had he u&s;ed <HI>Emilia</HI> with that
freedom and carele&s;ne&s;s which Masks
generally meet with in the Pit, <HI>Se|linda</HI>
<PB N="36" REF="25">
would have imagined her fami|liarity
with <HI>Peregrine</HI> to have only
proceeded from a Pert and Impudent
Behaviour, which &s;uch Creatures u&s;e
with all Gentlemen; but he u&s;ed &s;ome|thing
of a Fawning and Amorous
re&s;pect to her, which rai&s;ed <HI>Selinda</HI>'s
Jealou&s;y to the highe&s;t pitch. But
this was not all the Mi&s;chief occa|&s;ioned
by the Interview, for my Lord
<HI>C&mdash;</HI> had that very Evening made
an A&s;&s;ignation with <HI>Emilia</HI> at the
Play, whether &s;he came early; &s;he
beheld <HI>Peregrine</HI> with Indifference
whil&s;t he taulked among his Friends,
nor had &s;he the lea&s;t Motion to di&s;|cover
her &s;elf to him; but &s;pying
him addre&s;&s;ing a fine Lady in the
Box, whom &s;he perceived to enter|tain
him with more then ordinary
Civility, &s;he felt a violent Inclina|tion
to interrupt him; She found
by the Ladies freedom and gayety
in Di&s;cour&s;e, that &s;he was fond of
<HI>Peregrine</HI>'s conver&s;ation, and out of
<PB N="37" REF="25">
a pure malicious de&s;ign would de|prive
her of it; She accompli&s;h'd
her de&s;ign, <HI>Peregrine</HI> paid her an ex|traordinary
re&s;pect, and &s;he return|ed
it with as much civility, purely
to rai&s;e <HI>Selinda</HI>'s Jealou&s;y, whom &s;he
had now remembred to have &s;een
twice with <HI>Peregrine;</HI> but the Poor
Lady was caught in her own Net;
for at the In&s;tant of her greate&s;t
freedom with <HI>Peregrine,</HI> my Lord
di&s;cover'd her. He is the mo&s;t Jea|lous
Amouri&s;t in <HI>England,</HI> and to one
of his temper, he &s;aw enough to
rai&s;e a di&s;tru&s;t of his Mi&s;tre&s;&s;es di&s;|cretion:
Coming clo&s;e up to her, he
Whi&s;perd her, <HI>Madam, I am as good
as my Appointment, but finding you
better employed, I &s;han't be &s;o rude
as to interrupt you.</HI> Upon which &s;he
pre&s;ently turn'd from <HI>Peregrine</HI> to
my Lord. Hey, pa&s;s, the Tides
turned, and poor <HI>Peregrine</HI>'s left upon
the Sand; nay the Wind's turn'd too,
for looking at <HI>Selinda</HI> he could &s;ee
<PB N="38" REF="26">
nothing but Storm and Tempe&s;t in
her Brow. But he alone was not
Shipwrackt, for poor <HI>Emilia</HI> ran the
&s;ame fate; for &s;he entertained my
Lord with that earne&s;tne&s;s, that it ap|peared
how familiar &s;he was &s;till with
his Lord&s;hip, which gave <HI>Peregrine</HI> a
new proof of her fal&s;hood, but was
not &s;ufficient to convince my Lord
of her Integrity, &s;o that the re&s;ult
upon the tran&s;actions of this Evening,
was, that <HI>Selinda</HI> through Jealou&s;y
of the Mask'd Lady had di&s;carded
<HI>Peregrine;</HI> He Jealous of my Lord
<HI>C&mdash;</HI> had for&s;aken <HI>Emilia;</HI> and &s;he
by her familiarity with <HI>Peregrine</HI>
is de&s;erted by his Lord&s;hip.</P>
<P>But above all, <HI>Peregrine</HI>'s trouble
was much the greate&s;t; he had lo&s;t
the hopes of amending his Fortune
by Marrying a vertuous Lady, and
one whom he might rea&s;onably &s;up|po&s;e
Lov'd him, and all through
the means of a Per&s;on who ungrate|fully
had abu&s;ed his pa&s;&s;ion. A re-
<PB N="39" REF="26">
on the Weakne&s;s of his temper in not
&s;ticking to his re&s;olutions, was no
&s;mall affliction; but above all, the
fal&s;hood of his <HI>Emilia</HI> occa&s;ioned his
di&s;traction; he went to bed, hoping
there to find that re&s;t which his
waking thoughts denied.</P>
<Q><L>The Nights black Curtain o're the
World was &s;pread,</L>
<L>And all Mankind lay Emblems of
the Dead.</L>
<L>A deep and awful &s;ilence, void of
Light,</L>
<L>With dusky Wings &s;at brooding
o're the Night.</L>
<L>The rowling Orbs mov'd &s;low
from Ea&s;t to We&s;t,</L>
<L>With harmony that lull'd the
World to re&s;t.</L>
<L>The Moon withdrawn, the oozy
Flouds lay dead,</L>
<L>The very Influence of the Moon
was fled.</L>
<PB N="40" REF="27">
<L>Some twinkling Sars that through
the Clouds did peep,</L>
<L>Seeming to Wink as if they want|ed
&s;leep.</L>
<L>All Nature hu&s;h'd, as when di&s;|&s;olv'd,
and laid</L>
<L>In &s;ilent <HI>Chaos</HI> e're the World was
made.</L>
<L>Only the Beating of the Lovers
Brea&s;t,</L>
<L>Made noi&s;e enough to keep his
Eyes from Re&s;t.</L>
<L>His little World, not like the
greater, lay,</L>
<L>In loude&s;t Tumults of di&s;order'd
Day.</L>
<L>His Sun of beauty &s;hone, to light
his Brea&s;t,</L>
<L>With all its various Toyls and La|bours
pre&s;t.</L>
<L>The Sea of pa&s;&s;ion in his work|ing
Soul,</L>
<L>Rais'd by the Tempe&s;t of his
&s;ighs did rowl,</L>
<L>In towring Floods to overwhelm
the whole.</L>
<PB N="41" REF="27">
<L>Tho&s;e Tyrants of the Mind, vain
hope and fear,</L>
<L>That &s;till by turns u&s;urp an Em|pire
there,</L>
<L>Now rai&s;ing Man on high, then
plunging in de&s;pair.</L>
<L>Thus <HI>Daman</HI> lies, his grief no re&s;t
affords,</L>
<L>Till &s;welling high, it thus bur&s;t
out in Words.</L>
<L>Oh! I cou'd Cur&s;e all Woman|kind
but one,</L>
<L>And yet my Griefs proceed from
her alone.</L>
<L>Hell's greate&s;t Cur&s;e a Woman, if
unkind,</L>
<L>Yet Heavens great Ble&s;&s;ing, if &s;he
Loves, we find.</L>
<L>Thus our chief Joys with mo&s;t al|lays
are Cur&s;t,</L>
<L>And our be&s;t things when once
corrupted, wor&s;t.</L>
<L>But Heaven is ju&s;t, our &s;elves the
Idols fram'd,</L>
<L>And are for &s;uch vain wor&s;hip Ju&s;t|ly
damn'd.</L>
<PB N="42" REF="28">
<L>Thus the poor Lover argu'd with
his fate,</L>
<L><HI>Emilia</HI>'s charms now did his Love
create,</L>
<L>That Love replus'd now promp|ted
him to hate.</L>
<L>Sometimes his Arms wou'd cro&s;s
his Bo&s;om re&s;t,</L>
<L>Hugging her lovely Image printed
in his Brea&s;t.</L>
<L>Where flattering Painter fancy
&s;how'd his art,</L>
<L>In charming draughts, his Pencil
Cupid's Dart.</L>
<L>The &s;hadow drawn &s;o Lively did
appear,</L>
<L>As made him think the real &s;ub|&s;tance
there.</L>
<L>He thought her Naked, &s;oft, and
yielding Wa&s;te,</L>
<L>Within his pre&s;&s;ing Arms was
folded fa&s;t,</L>
<L>Nay, in her Charms &s;he really
there was plac'd.</L>
<PB N="43" REF="28">
<L>El&s;e, how cou'd Plea&s;ure to &s;uch
Raptures flow,</L>
<L>The effect was real, then the Cau&s;e
was &s;o.</L>
<L>What more can mo&s;t &s;ub&s;tantial
plea&s;ure boa&s;t,</L>
<L>Than Joy when pre&s;ent, Memory
when pa&s;t?</L>
<L>Then bli&s;s is real which the fancy
frames,</L>
<L>Or tho&s;e call'd real Joys are only
Dreams.</L></Q>
<P><HI>Peregrine</HI> once more put on firm
re&s;olutions, not only of avoiding <HI>Emi|lia,</HI>
but the whole Sex; but alas,
&s;uch de&s;igns had been &s;o often bro|ken
and patch'd up, that he could
not expect they &s;hould la&s;t long; he
ro&s;e fully re&s;olved for the Country
that Morning, hoping, that diver|&s;ity
of Company might wear off his
trouble occa&s;ioned by the City con|ver&s;ation.
He was ju&s;t &s;ending to
take up a place in the <HI>Tunbridge</HI>-Coach,
<PB N="44" REF="29">
when a Me&s;&s;enger brought
him a Letter; which he opening,
was &s;urpri&s;ed to find come from <HI>E|milia;</HI>
he expected to find it full of
Recantations and Excu&s;es for her Fa|miliarity
with my Lord <HI>C&mdash;</HI> and
&s;lighting him the Night before at
the Play; but before he would ven|ture
to read the Charm, he thought
it convenient to &s;ay his Prayers in
the following Words:
<Q><L>From Wit couch'd in Non&s;en&s;e,
which blinds all that Read,</L>
<L>From conjuring Scrawls which like
Magick invade,</L>
<L>From words &s;pelt as Fal&s;e as the
Authors are made,</L>
<L>Libera nos, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></L></Q></P>
<P>Then fully re&s;olved to account all
the contents as the Voice of a <HI>Syren</HI>
that would de&s;troy him, he Read
with great amazement the following
Words.</P>
<LETTER>
<PB N="45" REF="29">
<OPENER><SALUTE>Dear Peregine,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>BEing altogether a Stran|ger
in Town, and de|&s;titute
of Friends, I am com|pell'd
to be trouble&s;om to
you, whom I have no rea&s;on
to believe will de&s;ert me in
my Nece&s;&s;ity; I have urgent
occa&s;ion for Twenty or Thir|ty
Guineas, which I beg you to
&s;end me by the Bearer, and
you will infinitely oblige,</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE>Thur&s;day <HI>Morning</HI></DATE></DATELINE> <SIGNED>Yours
Emilia.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</LETTER>
<P>A very odd turn of affairs, I mu&s;t
confe&s;s! and wrought as &s;trange a
<PB N="46" REF="30">
turn in the humour of our Lover.
He quite forgot all thoughts of her
Fal&s;hood to deplore her Nece&s;&s;ity,
and the Scantine&s;s of his own For|tune
that confin'd him from relieving
her. A fooli&s;h nicety of Honour
&s;ugge&s;ted to him, that if he now for|&s;ook
her, &s;he would attribute his
unkindne&s;s not to any fault of Hers,
but reckon it a poor pretence for
evading her Reque&s;t. Here was an
In&s;tance of Female policy, here was
a Stratagem to recover a lo&s;t Lover,
that (I believe) the mo&s;t intreague|ing
Devil could never &s;ugge&s;t to
contriving Woman before. She was
afraid that his Love was &s;o &s;hocked
by her behaviour, that &s;he could not
build a Reconciliation upon that;
and therefore re&s;olv'd to draw his
Honour in, to make up the breach,
being con&s;cious that Ingenious Men
are as fruitful in di&s;covering Niceties
in that, as Beauties in their Mi&s;tre&s;s,
and &s;ometimes as much to their Pre|judice.
<PB N="47" REF="30">
But the depth of her Contri|vance
went yet further, as &s;hall here|after
appear.</P>
<P>Peregrine <HI>di&s;mi&s;t the Me&s;&s;enger
with this An&s;wer, That he would
wait on the Lady imediately; and
pre&s;ently after, in his Riding &s;uit,
he went to her Lodgings, po&s;itively
re&s;olved to give her what Money
he could &s;pare, then upbraid her for
her Fal&s;hood, and &s;o take his la&s;t
farewell. He found her in an Un|dre&s;s
&s;itting on her Beds-feet in a
very Melancholy po&s;ture; her Night|gown
carele&s;ly loo&s;e di&s;covered her
Snowy Brea&s;t, which Agitated by
the violence of her Sighs, heaved
and fell with a mo&s;t Langui&s;hing
motion; her Eyes were fixt on the
Ground, and without regarding</HI> Pe|regrine,
<HI>&s;he rai&s;ed her Voice in a
Mournful and moving &s;weetne&s;s, &s;ing|ing,</HI>
Fool, Fool, that con&s;idered not
when I was well, <HI>concluding which
with a deep Sigh, &s;he ca&s;t a complain|ing
<PB N="48" REF="31">
Look on</HI> Peregrine, <HI>intimating
that he alone had occa&s;ioned her Sor|rows.
He beheld tho&s;e enticing
Beauties, that too well knew the way
to his Heart; He beheld the mov|ing
Charms of Female Sorrow, art|fully
expre&s;s'd in a carele&s;s Melan|choly;
and to all this, he heard that
tuneful &s;tart of Grief which made
his ravi&s;hed Soul &s;trike Uni&s;on with
the complaining Harmony. Let
tho&s;e who have ever felt the plea&s;ing
follies of Love, now gue&s;s at our
Lovers thoughts. Such will Pardon
his weakne&s;s, being con&s;cious of the
force of &s;o many united Charms. He
begged to know the Cau&s;e of her
great Grief, making all pote&s;tations
(that Pa&s;&s;ion could &s;ugge&s;t) of u&s;ing
his utmo&s;t endeavours in relieving
her.</HI> Alas <HI>Peregrine</HI> (an&s;wered &s;he)
my Misfortunes are many, and all
proceeding from &s;o Dear an occa&s;ion,
that I could wi&s;h them to continue, ra|ther
than think the Cau&s;e &s;hould cea&s;e.
<PB N="49" REF="31">
In &s;hort, (continued &s;he Weeping) my
Pa&s;&s;ion for you has drawn me into a
nece&s;&s;ity of being trouble&s;om to one
who&s;e kindne&s;s will perhaps flow from
a Principle of Charity, not Love. But
Sir, (I &s;corn to be pitied; and if I
can't merit your E&s;teem, I di&s;dain
to be an Object of your Compa&s;&s;ion.
Madam (replied he) my Charity may
extend to &s;hare Superfluities, but no
le&s;s motive then Love could engage
me thus to di&s;tribute my nece&s;&s;aries.
<HI>upon which he gave her Ten</HI> Guineas,
<HI>leaving him&s;elf but One.</HI> Well, my
dear <HI>Peregrine</HI> (&s;ays &s;he) I am too
&s;en&s;ible of the unhappine&s;s of your Cir|cum&s;tances,
and will therefore Tre&s;pa&s;s
no further upon them: You &s;hall only
&s;pare me &s;ome of your Love to lay out
upon Another, and that &s;hall pay the
Ran&s;om for your Money. <HI>Peregrine</HI>
was &s;trangely &s;urpri&s;ed at her Di&s;|cour&s;e!
Be not &s;tartled, Sir, (&s;aid
&s;he) for a Proof of your Affection it
<PB N="50" REF="32">
mu&s;t be &s;o; I have long been Solicited
by my Lord <HI>C&mdash;</HI> and have recei|ved
&s;ome Pre&s;ents from Him, and
was in a fair way of Commanding what
I plea&s;ed, had not my unlucky kind|ne&s;s
to you at the Play la&s;t Night
rai&s;ed his Jealo&s;y to that Degree,
that he has for&s;aken me Now, Sir,
&s;ince your circum&s;tances debar you from
recompencing the lo&s;s, I think you are
obliged to be In&s;trumental to Me in
recovering his Affection; but do not
think (my Deare&s;t) that he can ever
de&s;troy your Intere&s;t in my Heart, but
rather heighten it, being a means to
&s;upport that Love which the &s;canti|ne&s;s
of your Fortune would Starve.
<HI>Very rea&s;onable Arguments to make</HI>
Peregrine <HI>a downright Pimp! He was
&s;trangely Netled, but being re&s;olv'd
to &s;ee the Utmo&s;t.</HI> How Madam (&s;aid
he) can I be In&s;trumental in your Re|conciliation
with his Lord&s;hip? Only
thus (Replied &s;he) you mu&s;t know
<PB N="51" REF="32">
he is wonderfully Charmed with Wit
and Writing fine, in a Woman; now
I am &s;en&s;ible you have an Excellent Ta|lent
in Epi&s;tolary Stile, (which I mu&s;t
&s;till remember &s;ince fir&s;t your Charm|ing
Letters conquered me;) you mu&s;t
therefore write an Ingenious Letter
for me, which I will Tran&s;cribe, and
&s;end to his Lord&s;hip, which will In|fallibly
reclaim him. But &s;uppo&s;e
Madam (&s;aid <HI>Peregrine)</HI> that my
Lord di&s;covers the difference of Stile
if you Write to him again? No, no
(&s;aid &s;he) you &s;hall An&s;wer all my
Lords Letters for me. Peregrine
<HI>immediately conceiving, that by this
means he &s;hould &s;ee my Lord</HI> C&mdash;'s
Letters, and thereby di&s;cover if the
Intreague went any further then he
would have it, undertook the Task,
and wrote a Letter which wrought
the de&s;ired effect.</P>
<P>My Lord was already captivated
by <HI>Emilia</HI>'s Beauty, but was not
<PB N="52" REF="33">
Lover enough to think the Non&s;en&s;e
of a Mi&s;tre&s;s, Wit; but this Letter,
full of Pa&s;&s;ion and Ingenuity, fir'd him,
he found what he &s;o admired in a
Lady, there expre&s;&s;ed in a great de|gree,
and immediately came to wait
upon her.</P>
<P><HI>By this time</HI> Peregrine, <HI>much con|fu&s;ed
by the Odne&s;s of this Adven|ture
had departed; and</HI> Emilia <HI>Re|ceived
his Lord&s;hip in a contrary
Humour to what &s;he had &s;hown to</HI>
Peregrine, <HI>entertaining him with all
the gayety and briskne&s;s imaginable.
My Lord not abating of his Jealous
Humour, de&s;ired to know whom &s;he
entertained &s;o freely at the Play.</HI>
'Tis a Creature, my Lord, (replyed
&s;he) called a nece&s;&s;ary Lover. I have
often heard (&s;aid he) of a nece&s;&s;ary
Animal called a Husband, but never
of a nece&s;&s;ary Lover before. Such, my
Lord, (&s;aid &s;he) are of the &s;ame
<PB N="53" REF="33">
u&s;e to us, as a Husband to a Wife,
to cover all our Faults. They defend
our Honours in all Company, being
po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of a good Opinion of our Ver|tue;
which Opinion once E&s;tabli&s;hed, we
take all care to Improve. Methinks
(an&s;wered he) your freedom with that
Gentleman were enough to de&s;troy that
good Opinion, if he entertained any
&s;uch before. No, my Lord &s;aid &s;he)
the&s;e are the Arts by which we &s;e|cure
them; for granting them all in|nocent
Freedoms and Incouragment
without the lea&s;t Favour, makes them
&s;et a favourable con&s;truction upon &s;uch
our Behaviour with others, and indu|ces
them to believe all Stories prejudi|cial
to our Reputation rather the effects
of Mens Vanity, than our kindne&s;s:
Be&s;ides, being once drawn into a be|liefe
of their being beloved by us,
their Vanity &s;ugge&s;ts, that &s;ince we are
Vertuous in re&s;pect of them, we mu&s;t
certainly be &s;o in regard of tho&s;e that
<PB N="54" REF="34">
are more indifferent to us. But that
Gentleman, (An&s;wered my Lord) if
I am not Mi&s;informed in his Char|racter,
has too much Sen&s;e to be made
&s;uch a Tool of. Only Ingenious Men
(an&s;wered &s;he) are fit for our purpo&s;e,
becau&s;e &s;uch Per&s;ons are only able to
Nouri&s;h a Pa&s;&s;ion without Enjoyment;
<HI>Secondly,</HI> being con&s;cious of their Me|rit
they imagine our Love very real
becau&s;e of the worthine&s;s of the
Object; <HI>And La&s;tly,</HI> being the O|racles
of the Age, their words are
taken among their Friends, and our
Reputation thus E&s;tabli&s;h'd. <HI>My
Lord</HI> C&mdash;<HI>was Amazed at this
open Confe&s;&s;ion of cunning, which
he had never di&s;covered in the Sex
before; and le&s;t &s;he &s;hould make
the &s;ame Fool of him, he pre&s;&s;ed
hard for a Proof of the contrary,
which I believe &s;he granted, for he
continued his Vi&s;its with great A&s;&s;i|duity.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="55" REF="34">
<HI>Peregrine</HI> all this while continued
to Serve her with his Pen, and was
very fond of An&s;wering my Lords
Letters, becau&s;e he found them very
Witty and Pa&s;&s;ionate; and having
a good memory at retaining what
plea&s;ed him, he generally by once
or twice peru&s;ing, cou'd remember
them, <HI>verbatim;</HI> and con&s;tantly when
he left <HI>Emilia,</HI> would write them
down, together with the An&s;wers
very di&s;tinctly, with which he u&s;ed
to divert him&s;elf very often; for he
found &s;o much re&s;pect in all my
Lords Letters, that he could not
&s;uppo&s;e his Lord&s;hip had made any
Advances beyond him. But <HI>Emilia</HI>
had forewarned my Lord of making
the lea&s;t mention of any her Favours,
le&s;t the Letter might Mi&s;carry, and
fall into Hands that might Publi&s;h
her &s;hame. By which Artifice &s;e|cur'd,
&s;he continued her ingenious
Corre&s;pondence with my Lord, which
<PB N="56" REF="35">
more and more engaged his Affecti|ons,
without giving <HI>Peregrine</HI> any
re&s;onable grounds of Jealo&s;y. He
often pre&s;&s;ed for a Con&s;ummation
of his Happine&s;s; but &s;he &s;ticking to
her Principles, tantalized him with
Care&s;&s;es and Prote&s;tations of her
Love, and never wanted a Pretence for
delay, until unfortunately &s;he lo&s;t
Him and her Self on the following
Occa&s;ion.</P>
<P>One Morning three or four Gen|tlemen
of the Law, <HI>Peregrine</HI>'s Ac|quaintance,
came running into his
Chamber, and asked him to accom|pany
them to the <HI>Old-Baily</HI> to hear
the Tryal. What Tryal (an&s;wered
he? Why, the famous Tryal of Cap|tain&mdash;who
is Arraigned for Mur|thering
a Porter. This was News
to him, and he went with them.
The Indictment was Read, and the
Tryal come on before they reach'd
<PB N="57" REF="35">
the Court; <HI>Peregrine</HI> was &s;trangely
&s;urpris'd to hear <HI>Emilia</HI>'s Voice at
the Bar, and di&s;tru&s;ting the truth of his
Ears, cou'd not be &s;atisfied till he &s;aw
her; She was Summon'd as a Wit|ne&s;s
for the Captain, where upon
her Oath &s;he was forced to declare
how &s;he made the Captain change
Cloaths with the Porter in her
Chamber, how &s;he &s;ent him down
Stairs in the Porters Habit, and how
the Porter had gone off with His;
in &s;hort, the whole Story, with all the
Circum&s;tances of the Intreague, was
di&s;covered before the whole Court,
and in <HI>Peregrine</HI>'s hearing; who now
fully Convicted of the Treachery
of his Mi&s;tre&s;s by her own Oath, has
once more put on firm Re&s;olutions
of ever for&s;aking her; and that he
may draw my Lord <HI>C&mdash;</HI> out of
the &s;ame Errour, he has given a
Copy of all my Lords Letter's and
their An&s;wers to a Friend of his, who
<PB N="58" REF="36">
immediately de&s;igns to publi&s;h a Col|lection
of Letters, where his Lord|&s;hip
may read his own Wit, and
the Fal&s;hood of <HI>Emilia.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="36">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
