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CRIM. CON.

MR. BALDWIN *,

'N most of the late trials for crim. con. alias adul

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a faux pas, I observe that the defence fet up is, "that the husband expofed his wife to temptation, by not being fufficiently attentive to her; or by not guarding her fufficiently; or by being abfent from her for a time, &c." In fome cafes the juries appear to have liftened to such a mode of defence; in others it has been rejected.

Now, Mr. Baldwin, what are we married men to think of all this? Is the fair fex become so very frail, and difficult to keep, that a husband must guard his wife, like a state prisoner, allow none of his friends to fee her, and forbid her the use of pen and ink? Muft the Spanish system of duennas and padlocks be received in this country? Or is my wife juftified in committing crim. con. because I frequently invite an officer of the guards, a colonel, and fome other dangerous friends, to my table. Nay more, cannot I take a journey into the country, upon the moft urgent bufinefs, without being accused of being off my guard, and expofing my wife to temptation?

I think a

Really, Sir, these are serious matters. general meeting of hufbands ought to be called to confider what is proper to be done in fuch an alarming emergency. For my own part, I know not what to propofe. I am often obliged to go journies of a week, and sometimes ten days at a time. To the beft of my knowledge and belief, I have hitherto escaped, but how long I fhall be able to efcape, if fuch a mode of defence is fupported in the courts of law, I know not: and if my fituation be perilous, what are we to think of the officers of the land and fea fervice, and of captains of Eaft-Indiamen? With great piety do 1

* Printer of the St. James's Chronicle.

repe: I

repeat the prayer "for all travellers by fea or land,"who have handsome wives. There is a neceffity for this prayer, which I never before was fenfible of; and. which you may perceive has no connection with storms and fhipwreck.

In my humble opinion, we pay no very great compliment to the ladies, when we fuppofe that they want to be more closely watched and guarded after marriage than before it. Inftances of crim. con. it is true, are abominably frequent, but it is a poor defence to infift that a husband ought to be his wife's jailor, and in his abfence employ turnkeys to prevent her escape. That which requires fo much watching is feldom worth the care and trouble of it; and fmall, indeed, is our fecurity, if bolts and bars are all we have to depend on. I am, Sir, in much trepidation,

Your very much frightened, humble servant,

ANTICORNU.

SIR,

IN of

N fpite of Anticornu's affertion, that he has a firm reliance on the virtue of his wife, I am convinced he is fome cuckold, whofe connivance at the levity of his spouse, has disappointed him in his expectations of enormous damages.

According to your correfpondent's doctrine, Cato, in a modern crim. con. action, would recover heavy damages against his friend Hortenfius, though Cato had obligingly lent him his wife. Cuckoldom is fo lucrative a ftate, that the virtue of the cenfor could hardly have withstood the temptation of exposing himfelf in a Court of Justice.

The times, Sir, are much altered fince my dancing days. I was then an Officer in the Guards, and though an acknowledged favourite of the ladies, un homme a bonnes fortunes, I was never infulted with law for my

le gallantries. If a husband conceived himself agtaeved by his wife's conduct, he reproached her with

it; and in fuch cases I always thought it my duty to run him through the body, or to cane him, according to the rank he held in fociety; thus the peace of families was preserved, and the reputation of the lady fuffered nothing from her intercourfe with a man of honour. Thele were indeed the days of chivalry. But now, as Mr. Burke fays, all the decent drapery of life is rudely torn off. The man who difcovers the most Platonic affection between his wife and a gentleman, repairs to an attorney: Weftminfter Hall is immediately made acquainted with it, and the dear lady is undone, and her character is blafted for ever. This is the true levelling fyftem; a gentleman and a scavenger are treated with no diftinction. Amphitrion behaved in a different manner, when Jupiter did him the honour to spend an evening at his houfe.

My

You may fay what you please on the fubjects of liberty and property, but I never can believe that I am in a free country, when I am debarred the liberty of a little innocent chit chat with my friend's wife. property, too, cannot be confidered in fafety, when every cuckold has a claim upon me for the fupposed injury I have done him. No, Sir, these things are upon a better footing in France; and if they are not better arranged here, a reform in parliament at least, if not a revolution, will be neceffary. For what man of fashion will step forward to fupport a conftitution which restrains his enjoyments?

We hear no more of that stale maxim, that a virtuous woman is a treasure to her husband. If crim.con. continues to be fo coftly, I muft abfolutely marry to recruit my circumftances, and pay the price of my own offences by the profits of my wife's tranfgreffions. If my wife thould be pretty, the will be to me a treasure at all events. I may, perhaps, through her means, acquire what my own merits have failed in obtainingthe colonelcy of my regiment.

Your humble fervant,

CLODIUS.

P. S. I

P. S. I find, by a late cafe, that even feduction is not allowable. Where the tyranny of government will stop, in restraints upon our natural liberty, it is difficult to fay.[St. James's Chronicle.]

To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle.

Ω τοῦ κρατίσου παῖ Ποσειδῶνος Θεοῦ
Χαίρε η Αφροδίτης.

Αλλοι μὲν ἡ μακρὰν μὰς ἀπέχουσιν Θεοί,
Ἢ οὐκ ἔχουσιν ὦτα,

Ἢ οὐκ εἰσὶν, ἢ οὐ προσέχουσιν ἡμῖν οὐδὲ ἔν,
Σὲ δὲ πασονθ' ὁρῶμεν,,

Οὐ ξύλιν, οὐδὲ λίθινον, ἀλλ ̓ ἀληθινόν·
Εὐχόμεσθα δή σοι,

Πρῶτον μὲν εἰρήνην ποίησιν, φίλτατε,
Κύριος γὰρ εἴ ού.

SIR,

WE

ATHENAEUS, VI. P. 253. D.

E were difcourfing the other day on the fashion once fo prevalent in Rome of deifying those benefactors of mankind, the Emperors. A perfon in company observed, that it was not original, or peculiar to Rome; that many inftances of it might be found in the Greek hiftory; at the fame time he mentioned: Alexander the Great and Demetrius Poliorceta. The latter example not being quite fo well known as the other, he informed us, that the Athenians, befides paying other compliments to Demetrius, fang an hymn to him, at his entrance into Athens, from which this gentleman repeated the verses above quoted. Being requefted, by the unlearned part of the company, to explain the verses, he gave us the following tranflation: "Hail, O fon of the most powerful God Neptune,

and of Venus!"

(N. B. Son of Neptune, in poetry, we know, fignifies a King with a mighty naval power, and Son of Venus denotes that air of grace and dignity mixed, which is infeparable from royalty.)

"For all other Gods are either at a great distance from us, or have no ears, or exift not at all, or pay not

the

the least attention to us: but thee we behold a present Deity, made neither of wood nor of ftone, but a real God. We therefore pray thee, firft of all, to give peace in our time, O deareft; becaufe thou only fightest for us."

Another obferved, that there was fomething in the general spirit of this address extremely like a late compofition that had been much handed about in manufcript. The poem was read, of which I fend you a copy, if it can be of any use to your paper. We all

agreed, however, that the author had, with great judgment, avoided the pacific conclufion of the Greek verfes, which fhews, that the Athenians were sorry cravens, in comparison with true British Hearts of Oak.

T. STERNHOLD.

HYMN TO THE CREATOR.

BY A NEW-MADE PEER.

HAIL, gracious Sire! to thee belong
My morning pray'r, my even fong;
My heart and foul are thine:
Infpire me, while I chaunt thy praise,
In zealous, tho' in feeble lays-
And fhew thy pow'r divine!
Late, while I lay a senseless mass,
As dull as peafant, ox, or afs,
Unworthy note and name,
Methought thy fiat reach'd mine ear-
"Let Mr. SCRUB become a Peer!"
And Scrub a Peer became.

Of fuch a change in Nature's laws
What pow'r could be th' efficient caufe,
Inferior to a God?

All public virtue, private worth,
Confpicuous talents, fplendid birth,
Attend the Sov'reign's nod *.

* In Latin numen.

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