while we are almost fmothered in smoke and duft, gardens are opened every evening to refresh us with the pure air of the country; while thofe, who have the fineft walks and most beautiful profpects eternally before them, fhut themselves up in theatres and ball-rooms, "lock fair "day-light out, and make themselves an arti"ficial London."

No.

DEAR COUSIN,

HEREVER the town goes, those who live

WH

by the town naturally follow. The facetious and entertaining gentry, who during the winter amufed the world within the bills of mortality, are now difperfed into different parts of the country. We have had moft of them here already. The Coloffus, the Dwarf, the Female Samfon, made fome stay with us. We went for a week together to fee Mr. Powell eat red-hot tobacco-pipes, and fwallow fire and brimftone. The Hermaphrodite was obliged to leave the town on a scandalous report, that a lady used frequently to vifit him in private. Mr. Church for fome time charmed us with concertos and fonatas on the Jew's-Harp; and at our last ball we footed it to our ufual melody of the tabor and pipe, accompanied with the cymbal and wooden fpcons.

the scenes, which Rochefter defcribed. Our ladies are, indeed, very well qualified to publish a recital

of amours; and one in particular has already entertained the world with memoirs of her own intrigues, cuckoldoms and elopements.

I AM very glad to find the prefent age fo entirely free from pedantry. Some part of the polite world read, indeed, but they are fo wife as to read only for amusement; or at least only to improve themselves in the more modern and fashionable fciences. A Treatife on Whift has more admirers than a Syftem of Logic, and a New Atalantis would be more univerfally read than a Practice of Piety. A fine gentleman or lady would no more chuse the mind of a pedant, than the person of a cook-maid or a porter. I cannot, therefore, but approve of the plan laid down by the writer of the following letter, and would recommend it to all persons of fashion to subscribe to his proposals.

I

SIR,

HAVE long obferved with infinite regret the little care that is taken, to fupply perfons of diftinction with proper books for their inftruction and amusement. It is no wonder, that they fhould be fo averfe to ftudy, when learning is

rendered

You would laugh to fee, how ftrangely the parts of a play are caft. They played Cato; and their Marcia was fuch an old woman, that when Juba came on with his "Hail! charming

maid!"-the fellow could not help laughing. Another night I was furprised to hear an eager lover talk of rufhing into his mistress's arms, rioting on the nectar of her lips, and defiring (in the tragedy rapture) to "hug her thus, and thus "for ever;" though he always took care to stand at a moft ceremonious diftance; but I was afterwards very much diverted at the caufse of this extraordinary respect, when I was told, that the lady laboured under the misfortune of an ulcer in her leg, which occafioned fuch a disagreeable ftench, that the performers were obliged to keep her at arm's length. The entertainment was Lethe and the part of the Frenchman was performed by a South-Briton; who, as he could not pronounce a word of the French language, fupplied it's place by gabbling in his native Welch.

THE decorations, or (in the theatrical dialect) the property of our company, are as extraordinary as the performers. Othello raves about a checked handkerchief; the Ghoft in Hamlet ftalks in a poftilion's leathern-jacket for a coat of mail; and, in a new Pantomime of their own,

Cupid enters with a fiddle-cafe flung over his fhoulders for a quiver. The apothecary of the town is free of the house, for lending them a a pestle and mortar to ferve as the bell in Venice Preferved; and a barber-furgeon has the fame privilege, for furnishing them with bafons of blood to besmear the daggers in Macbeth. Macbeth himfelf carries a rolling-pin in his hand for a truncheon; and, as the breaking of glaffes would be very expensive, he dashes down a pewter pint pot at the fight of Banquo's Ghost.

A FRAY happened here the other night, which was no small diverfion to the audience. It seems, there had been a great contest between two of these mimic heroes, which was the fittest to play Richard the Third. One of them was reckoned to have the better perfon, as he was very round-shouldered, and one of his legs was fhorter than the other; but his antagonist carried the part, because he started beft in the Tent-Scene. However, when the curtain drew up, they both rushed in upon the stage at once; and bawling out together" Now are our brows bound with "victorious wreaths," they both went through the whole speech without stopping.

T

I am, dear Coufin, yours, &c.

NU MB.

rendered fo difagreeable. Common creatures, indeed, as foon as they can fpell, may be made to read a dull chapter in the Testament; after which the Whole Duty of Man, or fome other useless good book, may be put into their hands: but these can never inftruct a man of the world to fay fine things to a lady, or to fwear with a good grace. Among a few dirty pedants the knowledge of Greek and Latin may be cultivated; but among fine gentlemen these are justly difcarded for French and Italian. Why fhould perfons of quality trouble themselves about Mathematics and Philofophy, or throw away their time in scratching circles and triangles on a flate, and then rubbing them out again? All the Algebra requifite for them to know, is the combination of figures on the dice; nor could Euclid be of any use to them, except he had represented the most graceful attitudes in fencing, or drawn out the lines of a minuet.

In order to remedy these inconveniences, and that the crudition of perfons of fashion may be as different from the vulgar knowledge of the reft of mankind as their drefs, I have formed a project for regulating their ftudies. An old crabbed philofopher once told a monarch, that there was no Royal way of learning the Mathematics: