It may be a queftion among men of noble fentiments, whether of these unfortunate perfons had the greater foul; he that was fo generous as to venture his life for his enemy, or he who could not survive the man that died, in laying upon him fuch an obligation?

When we fee fpirits like these in a people, to what heights may we not fuppofe their glory may rife? but (as it is excellently obferved by Salluft *) it is not only to the general bent of a nation that great revolutions are owing, but to the extraordinary genio's that lead them. On which occafion, he proceeds to fay, that the Roman greatness was neither to be attributed to their fuperior policy, for in that the Carthaginians excelled; nor to their valour, for in that the Gauls were preferable; but to particular men, who were born for the good of their country, and formed for great attempts. This he fays to introduce the characters of CESAR and CATO. It would be entering into too weighty a difcourfe for this place, if I attempted to fhew, that our nation has produced as great and able men for public affairs as any other. But I believe the reader outruns me, and fixes his imagination upon the Duke of MARLBOROUGH. It is, methinks, a pleafing reflection to confider the difpenfations of Providence in the fortune of this illuftrious man, who, in the fpace of forty years, has

*SAL. Bell. Catil. cap. 53.

† Gauls.

paffed

paffed through all the gradations of human life, until he has afcended to the character of a Prince, and become the fcourge of a tyrant, who fat on one of the greatest thrones of Europe, before the man who was to have the greatest part in his downfal, had made one. ftep into the world. But fuch elevations are the natural confequences of an exact prudence, a calm courage, a well-governed temper, a patient ambition, and an affable behaviour. Thefe arts, as they were the fteps to his greatness, so they are the pillars of it now it is raised. To this, her glorious fon, GREAT-BRITAIN is indebted for the happy conduct of her arms, whom she can bóaft, that fhe has produced a man formed by Nature to lead a nation of Heroes t

* In the year 1704, in confequence of the memorable victory at Hochfted, the Duke of MARLBOROUGH was appointed a Prince of the Empire; and had Mildenheim affigned for his Principality, Nov. 12, 1705. M. MESNAGER fays, that this compliment, for it was little more, made the Duke of MARLBOROUGH. | ugh more haughty. "This little principality in the claim of the "House of Bavaria muft (fays he) be rendered back again at a peace." See more, Supplement to SWIFT's Work,." Edit. 1779. vol. I. p. 130, and p. 170. Dr. SWIFT estimates this compliment at 30,000l. See EXAMINER, vol. I. No 17. † At theend of the original Folio was advertised a "Common Prayer Book," "in the Welch Language, purged from fome hundred errata of the former editions."

66

N° 6. Saturday, April 23, 1709.
STEEL E.

Quicquid agunt bomines

noftri eft farrago libelli.

Juv. Sat. i. 85, 86.

Whate'er men do, or fay, or think, or dream, "Our motley paper feizes for it's theme."

I

་་་

Will's Coffee-houfe, April 22.

P.

AM juft come from vifiting SAPPHO*, a fine Lady, who writes verfes, fings, dances, and can fay and do whatever the pleafes, without the imputation of any thing that can injure her character; for fhe is fo well known to have

*The Author has been fuppofed to allude here to Mrs. ANNE MANLEY, the Authorefs of the New Atalantis, or to that preciere, who affumed the poetical name of CORINNA, and who is probably alluded to under that name in the preceding paper, Mrs. ELIZ. THOMAS. But the character may be affigned, with greater probability and confidence, to Mrs. ELIZABETH HEYWOOD, who had appeared before this time upon the stage in Ireland, and was in all refpects just fuch a character as is exhibited here, and in No. 40. The embellifoments, exaggerations, &c. introduced into characters not entirely fictitious, to exhibit them in caricatura, or to fereen them from notoriety, made it then not eafy, and makes it now very difficult, to apply them with certainty.

SAPPHO, whoever fhe was, makes her appearance again in TATLER N° 40. As he is there reprefented to greater advantage, it would feem as if STEELE had meant to obviate some objection to what is faid of her here.

See Biogr. Dram. Art. MANLEY. Biogr. Britan, vol. V. P. 3414. N. &c. Dunciad, b. II. 1. 70.

no

no paffion but felf love; or folly, but affectation; that now, upon any occafion, they only

cry, "It is her way!" and, "That is fo like her!" without farther reflection. As I came into the room, fhe cries, "Oh! Mr. BICKERSTAFF, I am utterly undone; I have broke that pretty Italian fan I fhewed you when you were here laft, wherein were fo admirably drawn our first parents in Paradife, afleep in each other's arms. But there is fuch an affinity between painting and poetry, that I have been improving the images which were raised by that picture, by reading the fame reprefentation in two of our greatest poets. Look you, here are the fame paffages in Milton and in Dryden. All Milton's thoughts are wonderfully just and natural, in that inimitable defcription which Adam makes of himself in the eighth book of Paradife Loft. But there is none of them finer than that contained in the following lines, where he tells us his thoughts, when he was falling afleep a little after the creation :

While thus I call'd, and ftray'd I knew not whither,
From whence I firft drew air, and firft beheld
This happy light; when answer none return'd,
On a green fhady bank, profufe of flowers,
Penfive I fate me down, there gentle fleep
First found me, and with foft oppreffion feiz'd
My drowned fenfe, untroubled, though I thought
then was paffing to my former ftate
Infenfible, and forthwith to diffolve *.

Paradife Loft, b. viii. 283.
£ 4

But

But now I cannot forgive this odious thing, this Dryden, who, in his "State of Inno"cence," has given my great grandmother Eve the fame apprehenfion of annihilation on a very different occafion; as Adam pronounces it of himself, when he was feiz'd with a pleafing kind of ftupor and deadness, Eve fancies herself falling away, and diffolving in the hurry of a rapture. However, the verses are very good, and I do not know but what fhe fays may be natural; I will read them: When your kind eyes look'd languishing on mine, And wreathing arms did foft embraces join; A doubtful trembling feiz'd me first all o'er, Then wishes, and a warmth unknown before; What follow'd was all ecftafy and trance, Immortal pleasures round my fwimming eyes did dance, And speechless joys, in whofe sweet tumults toft, I thought my breath and my new Being lost."

She went on, and said a thousand good things at random, but fo ftrangely mixed, that you would be apt to fay, all her wit is mere good luck, and not the effect of reafon and judgement. When I made my escape hither, I found a Gentleman playing the critic on two other great Poets, even Virgil and Homer *.

* ADDISON, on reading here this curious remark upon Virgil, which he himself had communicated to STEELE, inftantly dif covered that his friend was the Author of the TATLER, to which he very foon after became a principal contributor. He was at this time in Ireland, Secretary to Lord WHARTON; and returned to England with the Lord Lieutenant, the 8th of Sept. following, A. D. 1709. TICKELL'S Pref. to ADDISON'S Works.

He