HAVING cleared away the Pericardium, or the Cafe and Liquor above-mentioned, we came to the Heart it felf. The outward Surface of it was extremely flippery, and the Mucro, or Point, fo very cold withal, that upon endeavouring to take hold of it, it glided through the Fingers like a fmooth Piece of Ice.

The Fibres were turned and twisted in a more intricate and perplexed manner than they are ufually found in other Hearts; infomuch that the whole Heart was wound up together in a Gordian Knot, and must have had very irregular and unequal Motions, whilft it was employed in its vital Function.

ONE thing we thought very obfervable, namely, that upon examining all the Veffels which came into it or if fued out of it, we could not difcover any Communication that it had with the Tongue.

WE could not but take Notice likewife, that feveral of thofe little Nerves in the Heart which are affected by the Sentiments of Love, Hatred, and other Paffions, did not defcend to this before us from the Brain, but from the Muscles which lie about the Eye.

UPON weighing the Heart in my Hand, I found it to be extreamly light, and confequently very hollow, which I did not wonder at, when upon looking into the infide of it, I faw Multitudes of Cells and Cavities running one within another, as our Hiftorians defcribe the Apartments of Rofamond's Bower. Several of these little Hollows were ftuffed with innumerable forts of Trifles, which I fhall forbear giving any particular Account of, and shall therefore only take Notice of what lay firft and uppermoft, which upon our unfolding it and applying our Microfcopes to it, appeared to be a Flame-coloured Hood.

WE were informed that the Lady of this Heart when living, received the Addreffes of feveral who made Love to her, and did not only give each of them Encouragement, but made every one the converfed with believe that the regarded him with an Eye of Kindness; for which Reason we expected to have feen the Impreffion of Multitudes of Faces among the feveral Plaits and Foldings of the Heart, but to our great Surprife not a fingle Print of

this

very

this nature difcovered it felf 'till we came into the Core and Center of it. We there observed a little Figure, which upon applying our Glaffes to it, appeared dreffed in a very fantastick manner. The more I looked upon it, the more I thought I had feen the Face before, but could not poffibly recollect either the Place or Time; when at length, one of the Company, who had examined this Figure more nicely than the reft, fhew'd us plainly by the Make of its Face, and the feveral Turns of its Features, that the little Idol which was thus lodged in the very 'middle of the Heart was the deceased Beau, whofe Head I gave fome. Account of in my laft Tuesday's Paper.

AS foon as we had finished our Diffection, we refolved to make an Experiment of the Heart, not being able to determine among our felves the Nature of its Subftance, which differ'd in fo many Particulars from that of the Heart in other Females. Accordingly we laid it into a Pan of burning Coals, when we observed in it a certain Salamandrine Quality, that made it capable of living in the midst of Fire and Flame, without being confumed, or fo much as finged.

AS we were admiring this ftrange Phenomenon, and ftanding round the Heart in a Circle, it gave a moft prodigious Sigh or rather Crack, and difperfed all at once in Smoke and Vapour. This imaginary Noife, which methoughts was louder than the Burft of a Canon, produced fuch a violent Shake in my Brain, that it diffipated the Fumes of Sleep, and left me in an Instant broad awake.

L

Wednesday,

N° 282. Wednesday, January 23.

I

Spes incerta futuri.

Virg.

Tis a lamentable thing that every Man is full of Com plaints, and conftantly uttering Sentences against the Fickleness of Fortune, when People generally bring upon themselves all the Calamities they fall into, and are conftantly heaping up Matter for their own Sorrow and Difappointment. That which produces the greateft Part of the Delufions of Mankind, is a falfe Hope which People indulge with fo fanguine a Flattery to themselves, that their Hearts are bent upon fantastical Advantages which they had no Reason to believe should ever have arrived to them. By this unjuft Measure of calculating their Happiness, they often mourn with real Affliction for imaginary Loffes. When I am talking of this unhappy way of accounting for our felves, I cannot but reflect upon a particular Set of People who, in their own Favour refolve every thing that is poffible into what is probable, and then reckon on that Probability as on what muft certainly happen. WILL. HONEYCOMB, upon my obferving his looking on a Lady with fome particular Attention, gave me an Account of the great Diftreffes which had laid waste that her very fine Face, and given an Air of Melancholy to a very agreeable Perfon. That Lady, and a Couple of Sifters of hers, were, faid WILL, fourteen Years ago, the greatest Fortunes about Town; but without having any Lofs by bad Tenants, by bad Securities, or any Damage by Sea or Land, are reduced to very narrow Circumftances. They were at that time the most inacceffible haughty Beauties in Town; and their Pretenfions to take upon them at that unmerciful rate, was rais'd upon the following Scheme, according to which all their Lovers were answered.

• OUR Father is a youngish Man, but then our Mother ⚫ is fomewhat older, and not likely to have any Children. VOL. IV. F

• His

His Estate, being 800 l. per Annum, at 20 Years Purchase, is worth 16,000l. Our Uncle who is above 50, has 400 1. per Annum, which at the forefaid Rate, is 8000 /. There's a Widow Aunt, who has 10,000l. at her own Difpófal left by her Husband, and an old Maiden Aunt who has 6oool. Then our Father's Mother has 900 / per Annum, which is worth 18,000 7. and 1000 l. each • of us has of her own, which can't be taken from us. These fumm'd up together ftand thus.

• IN Profpect of this, and the Knowledge of their own perfonal Merit, every one was contemptible in their Eyes, and they refus'd thofe Offers which had been frequently made 'em. But mark the End: The Mother dies, the Father is married again, and has a Son, on ⚫ him was entail'd the Father's, Uncle's, and Grand-mother's Eftate. This cut off 43,000l. The Maiden Aunt married a tall Irishman, and with her went the 6000l. The Widow died, and left but enough to pay her Debts and bury her; fo that there remained for thefe three Girls but their own 1000 /. They had by this time paffed their Prime, and got on the wrong fide of Thirty; and muft pafs the Remainder of their Days, upbraiding Mankind that they mind nothing but Money, and bewailing that Virtue, Senfe and Modesty are had at prefent in no manner of Estimation.

I mention this Cafe of Ladies before any other, because it is the most irreparable: For tho' Youth is the Time lefs capable of Reflexion, it is in that Sex the only Seafon in which they can advance their Fortunes. But if we turn our Thoughts to the Men, we fee fuch Crouds of Unhappy from no other Reason, but an ill-grounded Hope,

Hope, that it is hard to fay which they rather deferve, our Pity or Contempt. It is not unpleasant to fee a Fellow, after grown old in Attendance, and after having paffed half a Life in Servitude, call himself the unhappielt of all Men, and pretend to be difappointed becaufe a Courtier broke his Word. He that promises himself any thing but what may naturally arise from his own Property or Labour, and goes beyond the Defire of poffeffing above two Parts in three even of that, lays up for himself an increafing Heap of Afflictions and Difappointments. There are but two Means in the World of gaining by other Men, and these are by being either agreeable or confiderable. The Generality of Mankind do all things for their own fakes; and when you hope any thing from Perfons above you, if you cannot fay I can be thus agreeable or thus ferviceable, it is ridiculous to pretend to the Dignity of being unfortunate when they leave you; you were injudicious, in hoping for any other than to be neglected, for fuch as can come within these Descriptions of being capable to please or ferve your Patron, when his Humour or Interefts call for their Capacity either way.

IT would not methinks be an useless Comparison between the Condition of a Man who fhuns all the Pleafures of Life, and of one who makes it his Bufinefs to purfue them. Hope in the Reclufe makes his Aufterities comfortable, while the luxurious Man gains nothing but Uneafinefs from his Enjoyments. What is the Difference in the Happiness of him who is macerated by Abftinence, and his who is furfeited with Excefs? He who refigns the World, has no Temptation to Envy, Hatred, Malice, Anger, but is in conftant Poffeffion of a ferene Mind; he who follows the Pleasures of it, which are in their very Nature difappointing, is in conftant Search of Care, Solicitude, Remorfe, and Confufion.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

January the 14th, 1712. Ama young Woman and have my Fortune to make, for which Reafon I come conftantly to Church to' • hear Divine Service, and make Conquefts: But one great Hindrance in this my Defign, is that our Clerk who was once a Gardiner, has this Christmas so over-deckt the Church with Greens, that he has quite fpoilt my • Profpect,

6.

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