1791.] Cadwall, a British Tale. tigern, they fitted out a fleet, which foon entered the Irish feas, coafted the island, and, following fuch traces as they could get, at length appeared before Dublin, where they heard Elmira was. The Provincial King of Leinfter defiring the British Prince and Caitigern to lay afide all hoftilities, invited them honourably to his court, where having heard the cause of their expedition, he told them, in a few words, that it was equally in his power and his will to fatisfy them refpecting the lady. He faid The had been brought to Dublin by fuppofed Irish, but really Danish pirates, who (according to the barbarous custom of the time) had offered this beauty to fale, as well as their goods. Carbry being a man of feeling, and a Chriftian, who detefted alike the savage man-' ners of the Danes, and of fome of his own countrymen, had purchafed her, as he faid, to prevent her falling into worle hands, and would long before have fent her honourably home, but his younger fon fell in love with her fo violently that he feared the confequences of fuch a measure. However, the Royal youth having been lately flain by an accident, while he was on a hunting party, that obstacle was removed, and the Irish king, after fealting his gucfts, produced and rellored her to her father and her lover. They quitting the Irish coaft in a much better humour than they arrived there, returned in fafety to Britain, where thy found Elfleda ready to give her hand to a noble Saxon, lately come to her court; and Cadwall, the Royal Convert, was united to his beloved Elmira. To the EDITOR, upon fome People Spoiled by Preferment. Hope you will give me leave to correfpond with you a little, 19 while I am in town, where a turnpike-bill, and a law-fuit, have brought me. I am by marriage diftantly allied to a gentleman not long fince. ennobied, and unluckily coming to town the day after his creation, and not at all fufpecting this addition to the honour of our family, went as ufual in my boots and riding-drefs to inquire after the health of my kinsman, not without hopes of an invitation to take up my lodging in his house. On the fervant who inquiring of the opened the door, whether my coufins were at home, the fellow, looking at me with fome contempt, fid carelessly, he would ask Monfieur, whether my lord was up: I was ftartled, imagining I had mistaken the houfe; but, the furniture and fituation putting that beyond any doubt, I concluded the booby was drunk; so advancing forwards for more intelligible information, I was stopped by an old outlandish figure in a fhort jerkin, long ruffles, and his hair in papers, who, in an uncouth gibberish, inquired, Vat me did vant. wit my lord? I answered him, that I wanted to fee my coufm that my name was and defired he would tell him fo.— Oh, ma foi! (replied the Frenchman) me vil annoncer votre nom. After lome minutes waiting in the lobby, I was defired to walk up stairs, where I found the family at breakfaft; I faluted them as ufual by their proper names, and a Yorkthie kifs; was coolly received, and, in fhort, after fome farther embarralment, difcovered that my coulin was juft become a lord, his wife a lady, mafter Tommy a coxcomb, and mifs Betty, by the affiftance of mademoifelle governante, and the idea of her father's quality, a pert minx. A flight invitation to eat a bit of mutton concluded my vifit; and, finding I THOUGH you have declared that you will not undertake to reform the men, looking upon the reformation of their manners as an arduous task, a task never to be accomplished, there are, I think, fome follies committed by them which are worthy your attention; follies which render an intercourse with them not only difagreeable but dangerous. I wifh, therefore, if you do not imagine them to be quite incorrigible, you would inform them, that their infufferable vanity deprives them of the acquaintance and converfation of many women, in whofe company they might not fuppofe that their time would be oif-fpent, but who are afraid to give them any encouragement, left they fhould be coxcombs enough to conclude we are in love with them. That you may not attribute this cenfure to mere fancy, I can affure you, I have frequently met with a man whom most people allow to be uncommonly agreeable, at the houfe of a particular friend: to confefs the truth, I found fo much pleature in his converfation, that I believe I went oftener to my friend's houfe than I should have otherwife done, purely for the fake of hearing him talk: he certainly talked with great fluency and propriety upon mot fubjects; of courfe, he attracted my attention. On a fudden I thought I faw a change in his behaviour; he treated me with very impertinent freedoms, and frequently before other men, to let them fee that he might do what he would with me. He was continually telling me, while he ftared me full in the face, that women were grown fo fond and fo forward, it was really troublesome to certain men, and not fafe for them to fall in love with them; as they expected every man, who faw them, to fall in love with them, though ever fo ugly and difagreeable. I will own, madam, that thefe impertinencies provoked me exceedingly in order, therefore, to punish him for his folly, I appeared to be no longer pleased, either with his perfon or his fociety. I affected to overlook him, and to be inattentive to every thing he faid. This mode of behaviour was fuch a disappointment to him, juft when he thought he was fure of me, that his vanity could not bear it: he broke out into a thoufand ridiculous fpreches, and gef tures, which could not poflibly raile in me any paflion but laughter: and laugh I certainly did, to fuch a degree, that his patience · was quite exhaufted.I verily thought he would have beaten me, and ftill believe he would have given me fome manual correction, could he have done it with impunity: but fince that was not to be ventured upon, he took the only method left him, and not only treated me with great infolence to my face, but fpread a number of fcandalous falfhoods concerning me behind my back; fo that I have more than once wifhed myfelf a man, that I might chaftife him in the way he delerved.-As that way is impracticable, and as I do not chufe to involve any of my e friends and relations in a qurrel upon my account, I beg the lavour of you to advise me how to conduct myself in an affair which requires, you will, I believe, confels, fome delicacy. Your advice, on this occafion, will be gratefly acknowledged by, madam, Your very humble fervant, J. L. In aufwer to the above, I am ready to agree with my correfpondent, that he has been very rudely, if not very cruelly treated; as tae injury, which the character of a woman receives from the circulation of blackening falfhoods, is feldom to be repaired. By fuch a circulation, he may not only be deprived of many valuable friends, but excluded from an agreeable and defirable establishment: and expofed to affronts, to neglect at leaft, from people who might have behaved to her with the greatest deference and regard, had they not been unjustly prejudiced againft her. No excufe, therefore, can be made for a man who treats any of our fex-a sex he was born to protot-in a scandalous manner, and difcovers himself to be void of humanity. His name ought to be publifhed, and he should be as carefully avoided, as if he was an infected perfon, by every woman who has the flighteft regard for her honour.-As for Mifs L-, fhe ought to have fhunned her puppy, as foon as she had gained the malleft infight into his character. Such men have a near resemblance to the animals from which they derive their appellations; they are very apt to fnarl and fnap at every body; and even their wanton gambles are often attended with as bad confequence as their intended attacks. Men, in general, fhould not be treated with too much freedom by women, even though they have no defign in their behaviour 21 to them; as fuch treatment encou rages them frequently to take very unwarrantable liberties, which, when they are once taken, are not eafily repelled: nay, the very attempt to fet bounds to the freedoms" of a bold man, often serves to render him more daring: an eafy, indifferent behaviour, upon fuch occafions, is the best which can be adopted, as it cannot well be mif-conftrued into an encouraging one: and fhould there be any doubts concerning it, a proper degree of decent reserve cannot fail of keeping every man at a reasonable distance. Would every woman but imprint the fenfe of the following line, "He comes too near, who comes deeply in her mind, the men would While I was expatiating upon this copious fubject, in the confideration of which, I own, I had Charles Staples in my view-(I always think upon him, indeed, when I am writing about coxcombs)-I was interrupted by my niece Pen, who entered my dreffing-room with an arch fmile.When I asked her what had made her fo merry, fhe told me that her head was full of a ball, which the had been at the evening before, and which had been given by a Mr. Caper to his friends, in order to celebrate his birth day. "Caper," continued fhe, "has always been a great dancer, and, therefore, therefore, I did not expect to fee Evergreen, indeed, not only I am fure you would have ing coupled to fuch a puny c ture, who was not able to k pace with him, and to give him opportunity to exhibit himlel advantage, was determined to revenged. Sitting down by 1 he began to entertain her w fprightly fallies of unmeaning lantry, which put her into greateft fuls imaginable, and the all the rest of the company i fits of laughing. There could be a more diverting fcene; and make it more fo, Mifs Autur who had till now looked up Evergreen with no small contem declared that he was the m agreeable man she had ever fee lilping out, "Dear Sir," and "La what do you mean? I protest y make me blush.". -While t feizing her withered hands, preff them to his bolom, and called h "My charmer, my angel," at eve fecond word. Such a scene tween young people in pub would have been ridiculous; when a couple of fools exhil themfelves in fuch ftrong colou the interview becomes truly comi In short, the little old gentlewoma grew actually enamoured with h lively partner; and, in her turn, bị came almost too much for him: be lieving that she had certainly mad a conqueft, fhe thought it woul be the highest imprudence not t maintain it; unfortunately, how ever, fhe took the most unlikely method, and grew fo immoderatch fond of her fupposed admirer, tha fhe did not let him have a mo ment's reft. The nearer the now approached, in hopes of bringing him to fomething, very like propotal of marriage, the farther he drew back: when he came lo clofe, indeed, the jeft was at an end with him, as a coxcomb's de fign is only to be feen and keard.— The moment the lady difcovered a defire to have a little private converfalion, her pretended admirer threw at off the mafk, and inflead of toher with as much laughing to A levy, as if he had been a ag woman, he began to treat with the formality and respect an old lady; drawing back wch an affumed expreffion of rece, which, while fhe could ecently find fault with it, me her almost nad at her disapment, and turned all her Inges of approbation into frowns dgut; her encouraging comcats into pointed farcafms: g the latter there was a pretty one levelled on old boys, and ded Ariplings. Thefe fatirokes irritated the perfon whom they were obliquely adbefed in fuch a manner, that he cked her, en revanche, in her way, and with fome humour; immediately owning himself, not be the old man he really adding, that his fight was Ay impaired; and that, in cademence of the weakness of haeres, he had not difcovered bert that moment, to be within a few days as old as himself." "I not fure, madam," faid he, whether you have not got the Lart of me," and then very humbaked her pardon for behaving ha familiarity altogether unbeing, abfolutely indecent indeed; affuring her, that he would endeavour to make ample amends paying her every poffible mark of respect and veneration; and, that he would take care she should, during the remainder of the even have the most respetable are in the room, and be ferved with every thing. From that ment he treated her with the Etatelt deference on account of rage, telling her, with a mortifying affiduity, that he was fure he was the oldeft woman in the om, and fupporting his affertion with a judicious kind of ceremony, which made her almoft diftracted with vexation. In short, fhe "This laft fpeech almost finished her: fhe was half choaked with paflion at being fo ufed: the foamed at the mouth with fury, to the no small diversion of the company, who broke out into such fhouts of laughter, and repeatedly, that the was, at length, filenced; and fhe took the first opportunity to retreat, attended by her arch partner to her carriage, who protefted, while he led her out of the room, that, from his extreme partiality tố the charming fex, he could not help admiring even those who were almost as ancient as his grandmother. When he returned to the company, Caper reproved him for 'having carried the jest too far. He replied, that he was quite of a different opinion; adding, that when ladies carried their affectation to an enormous height, they ought to be publicly expofed and ridiculed." Here Mifs Partlet concluded her narrative. In answer to this 1 told her that I was very much of Mr. Evergreen's way of thinking:: but I also informed her, that while. people were keenly fatirizing the, follies of others, it behoved them, to look at home, and correct their own. |