thanks to those who write them, and excusing myself for not inserting several of them in my papers, which I am sensible would be a very great ornament to them. Should I publish the praises which are so well penned, they would do honour to the persons who write them, but my publishing of them would I fear be a sufficient instance to the world that I did not deserve them. C. N° 216. Wednesday, November 7. Siquidem herclè poffis, nil prius, neque fortius; Atque, ubi pati non poteris, cùm nemo expetet, Ter. Eun, Act. 1. Sc. f. will act a noble and a manly part : but if, when you have fet about it, your courage fails you, and you make a voluntary submission, acknowledging the violence of your paffion, and your inability to hold out any longer, all is over with you : you are undone, and may go hang yourself; she will insult over you, when she finds you her flave. a HIS is to inform you, that Mr. Freeman had no • sooner taken coach, but his lady was taken with terrible fit of the vapours, which it is feared will • make her miscarry, if not endanger her life ; there fore, dear fir, if you know of any receivat that is good against this fashionable reigning distemrær, be pleased to communicate it for the good of the public, and you. • will oblige "Yours, A. NOEWILL • Mr. SPECTATOR, • THE uproar was so great as soon as I had read the Spectator concerning Mrs. Freeman, that after many revolutions in her temper, of raging, swooning, railing, fainting, pitying herself , and reviling her hulband, upon an accidental coming in of a neighbouring lady, who says she has writ to you also, The had nothing left for it but to fall in a fit. I had the honour to read the paper to her, and have a pretty good command of my countenance and temper on such occasions ; and soon found my historical name to • be Tom Meggot in your writings, but concealed myself ' until I saw how it affected Mrs. Freeman. She looked frequently at her husband, as often at me ; and she . did not tremble as she filled tea"; until fhe came to the * circumstance of Armstrong's writing out a piece of Tully for an opera tune : then she burst out, She was exposed, she was deceived, she was wronged and abuf' ed. The tea-cup was thrown in the fire ; and without taking vengeance on her spouse, fhe faid of me, that I was a pretending coxcomb, a meddler that knew not what it was to interpose in so nice an affair as between a man and his wife. To which Mr. Freeman, Madam, were I less ford of you than I am, I should not have taken this way of writing to the SPECTATOR, to in' forin a woman whom God and nature has placed * under my direction, with what I request of her ; but since you are so indiscreet as not to take the hint which I gave you in that paper, I must tell you, madam, in To many words, that you have for a long and • tedious space of time acted a part unsuitable to the ' sense you ought to have of the subordination in which you are placed. And I must acquaint you once for all, that the fellow without, ha Tom! (here the footnian entered and answered, madan) firrah, do not you know my voice? look upon me when I speak to you: I say, niadam, this fellow here is to know of me myself, " whether I am at leisure to see company or not. " from this hour master of this house; and my business ' in it, and every where else, is to behave myself in such a manner, as it shall be hereafter an honour to you to 3 I am • cast • bear my name ; and your pride, that you are the de• light, the darling and ornament of a man of honour, • useful and esteemed by his friends ; and I no longer • one that has buried some merit in the world, in com pliance to a froward humour, which has grown upon an agreeable woman by his indulgence. Mr. Freeman ended this with a tenderness in his aspect and a down eye, which shewed he was extremely moved at the anguish be saw her in; for the fat swelling with pal! sion, and her eyes firmly fixed on the fre ; when I, fearing he would lose all again, took upon me to provoke her out of that amiable sorrow slie was in, to fall upon me; upon which I fajd very seasonably for my friend, that indeed Mr. Freeman was become the common talk of the town ; and that nothing was ro much a jest, as when it was said in company Mr. Freeman has promised to come to such a place. Upon which the good lady turned her softness into downright rage, and threw the scalding tea-kettle upon your “humble servant; flew into the middle of the room, ' and cried out she was the unfortunatest of all women : others kept family diffatisfactions for hours of privacy and retirement : no apology was to be niade to her, no expedient to be found, no previous manner of “breaking what was amiss in her ; but all the world was to be acquainted with her errors, without the leaft ad“ monition. Mr. Freeman was going to make a softening speech, but I interposed; look you, madam, I have nothing to say to this matter, but you ought to con“ sider you are now past a chicken; this humour, which was well enough in a girl, is insufferable in one of your motherly character. With that she lost all patience, and flew directly at her husband's periwig. I got her in my arms, and defended my friend : he making signs at the same time that it was too much ; I beckoning, nodding, and frowning over her shoulder, that he was loft if he did not perfift. In this manner we few round and round the room in a moment, until the lady I spoke of above and servants entered ; upon which she fell on a couch as breathless. I still kept up my friend; but he, with a very silly air, bid them bring the coach to the door, and we went off, I being 6 • forced to bid the coachman drive on. We were no • sooner come to my lodgings, but all his wife's relati ons came to inquire after him and Mrs. Freeman's • mother writ a note, wherein she thought never to " have seen this day, and so forth. • In a word, fir, I am afraid we are upon a thing we • have not talents for ; and I can observe already, my ' friend looks upon me rather as a man who knows a weakness of him that he is ashamed of, than one who • has rescued him from Davery. Mr. SpectATOR, I am • but a young fellow, and if Mr. Freeman submits, I • shall be looked upon as an incendiary, and never get a wife as long as I breathe. He has indeed sent word ' home he hall lie at Hampstead to-night ; but I believe • fear of the first onset after this rupture has too great a place in this resolution. Mrs. Freeman has a very 'pretty fifter; suppose I delivered him up, and articled • with the mother for her for bringing him home. If he • has not courage to stand it, you are a great casuist, is it such an ill thing to bring myself off, as well as I can? What makes me doubt my man, is, that I • find he thinks it reasonable to expoftulate at least 6 with her; and Capt. Sentry will tell you, if you let your orders be disputed, you are no longer à com• mander. I wish you could advise me how to get clear, of this business handsomely. • Yours, T. • TOM MEGGOT.' . Tunc fæmina fimplex Juv. Sat. 6. ver. 326. 'Then, unrestrain'd by rules of decency, Th' assembled females raise a general cry. ISHALL SHALL entertain my reader to-day with some letters from my correspondents. The firit of them is the description of a club, whether real or imaginary, I cannot determine ; but am apt to fancy, that the writer of it, whoever she is, has formed a kind of nocturnal orgie out of her own fancy : whether this be so or not, her letter may conduce to the amendment of that kind of persons who are represented in it, and whose characters are frequent enough in the world. • Mr. SpecTATOR, IN some of your papers you were pleased to give ' the public a very diverting account of several clubs ' and nocturnal assemblies ; but I am a member of a society which has wholly escaped your notice, I mean a club of she-romps. We take each a hackney• coach, and meet once a week in a large upper cham'ber, which we hire by the year for that purpose ; our • landlord and his family, who are quiet people, con ftantly contriving to be abroad on our club-night. We are no sooner come together, than we throw off all that modefty and reservedness with which our fex are obliged to disguise themselves in public places. I am not able to express the pleasure we enjoy from ten at night until four in the morning, in being as rude as you inen can be for your lives. As our play runs high, the room is immediately filled with broken fans, torn petticoats, lappets, or head-dresses, flounces, ' furbelows, garters, and working aprons. I had forgot to tell you at first, that besides the coaches we |
