Beauty in your Manner of playing your Fan, must be lower'd into a more confin'd Behaviour; to fhow, That you would rather fun than receive, Addreffes for the future. Therefore, dear Delamira, give me thofe Excellencies you leave off, and acquaint me with your Manner of Charming: For I take the Liberty of our Friendship to fay, That when I confider my own Stature, Motion, Complexion, Wit or Breeding, I cannot think my felf any Way your Inferior; yet do I go through Crowds without wounding a Man, and all my Acquaintance marry round me, while I live a Virgin unask'd, and (I think) unregarded.

Delamira heard her with great Attention, and with that Dexterity which is natural to her, told her, That all she had above the rest of her Sex and contemporary Beauties was wholly owing to a Fan (which was left her by her Mother, and had been long in the Family) which whoever had in Poffeffion, and ufed with Skill, fhould command the Hearts of all her Beholders: And fince (faid fhe fmiling) I have no .more to do with extending my Conquefts or Triumphs, I'll make you a Present of this ineftimable Rarity. Virgulta made her Expreffions of the highest Gratitude for fo uncommon a Confidence in her, and defir'd fhe would fhow her what was peculiar in the Management of that Utenfil, which render'd it of fuch general Force while fhe was Miftrefs of it. Delamira reply'd, You fee, Madam, Cupid is the principal Figure painted on it; and the Skill in playing this Fan is, in your feveral Motions of it to let him appear as little as poffible; for ho

nourable

nourable Lovers fly all Endeavours to ensnare 'em; and your Cupid muft hide his Bow and Arrow, or he'll never be fure of his Game. You may observe, continued fhe, That in all publick Affemblies, the Sexes feem to separate themselves, and draw up to attack each other with Eye-fhot: That is the Time when the Fan, which is all the Armour of Woman, is of most Use in our Defence; for our Minds are conftrued by the waving of that little Inftrument, and. our Thoughts appear in Compofsure or Agitation according to the Motion of it. You may, obferve, when Will. Peregrine comes into the Side-Box, Mifs Gatty flutters her Fan as a Fly does its Wings round a Candle; while her elder Sifter, who is as much in Love with him as fhe is, is as grave as a Vestal at his Entrance, and the Confequence is accordingly. He watches half the Play for a Glance from her Sifter, while Gatty is overlooked and neglected. I wish you heartily as much Success in the Management of it as I have had : If you think fit to go on where I left off, I will give you a fhort Account of the Execution I have made with it. Cimon, who is the dulleft of Mortals, and tho' a wonderful great Scholar, does not only pause, but feems to take a Nap with his Eyes open between every other Sentence in his Difcourfe : Him have I made a Leader in Affemblies; and one Blow on the Shoulder as I paffed by him, has raised him to a downright Impertinent in all Conversations. The airy Will. Sampler is become a Lethargick by this my Wand, as Cion is fprightly. Take it, good Girl, and use it

without

without Mercy; for the Reign of Beauty never lafted full Three Years, but it ended in Marriage, or Condemnation to Virginity. As you fear therefore the one, and hope for the other, I expect an Hourly Journal of your Triumphs; for I have it by certain Tradition, that it was given to the first who wore it by an Inchantress, with this remarkable Power, That it bestows a Husband in half a Year to her who does not

over-look her proper Minute ; but affigns to a long Despair the Woman who is well offer'd, and neglects that Propofal. May Occafion attend your Charms, and your Charms flip no Occafion. Give me, I fay, an Account of the Progress of your Forces at our next Meeting, and you fhall hear what I think of my new Condition. I should meet my future Spouse this Moment. Farewell. Live in juft Terror of the dreadful Words, SHE WAS.

From my own Apartment, August 8.

I had the Honour this Evening to vifit fome Ladies, where the Subject of the Conversation was Modefty, which they commended as a Quality quite as becoming in Men as in Women. I took the Liberty to fay, It might be as beautiful in our Behaviour as in theirs; yet it could not be said, it was as fuccessful in Life; for as it was the only Recommendation in them, fo it was the greatest Obstacle to us both in Love and Business. A Gentleman present was of my Mind, and faid, That we must describe the Difference between the Modesty of Women and that of Men, or we fhould be confounded in our Reasonings upon it; for this Virtue is to be regarded

regarded with Regard to our different Ways of Life. The Woman's Province is to be careful in her Oeconomy, and chaft in her Affection: The Man's, to be active in the Improvement of his Fortune, and ready to undertake whatever is confiftent with his Reputation for that End. Modefty therefore in a Woman has a certain agreeable Fear in all the enters upon; and in Men, it is compofed of a right Judgment of what is proper for them to attempt. From hence it is, that a difcreet Man is always a modeft one.

It is to be noted, That Modefty in a Man is never to be allowed as a good Quality, but a Weakness, if it fuppreffes his Virtue, and hides it from the World, when he has at the fame Time a Mind to exert himself. A French Author fays very juftly, That Modesty is to the other Virtues in a Man, what Shade in a Picture is to the Parts of the Thing represented: It makes all the Beauties confpicuous, which would otherwise be but a wild Heap of Colours. This Shade on our Actions must therefore be very justly applied; for if there be too much, it hides our good Qualities, instead of showing them to Advantage. Neftor in Athens was an unhappy Inftance of this Truth; for he was not only in his Profeffion the greatest Man of that Age, but had given more Proofs of it than any other Man ever did; yet for Want of that natural Freedom and Audacity which is neceffary in Commerce with Men, his perfonal Modesty overthrew all his publick Actions. Neftor was in thofe Days a skilful Architect, and in a Manner the Inventor of the Ufe of Mechanick Powers,

which he brought to fo great Perfection, that he knew to an Atom what Foundation would bear fuch a Superftru&ture: And they record of him, That he was so prodigiously exact, that for the Experiment-fake, he built an Edifice of great Beauty, and feeming Strength; but contrived fo as to bear only its own Weight, and not to admit the Addition of the leaft Particle. This Building was beheld with much Admiration by all the Virtuofi of that Time; but fell down with no other Preffure, but the fettling of a Wren upon the Top of it: Yet Neftor's Modefty was fuch, that his Art and Skill were foon difregarded, for Want of that Manner with which Men of the World fupport and affert the Merit of their own Performances. Soon after this Instance of his Art, Athens was, by the Treachery of its Enemies, burnt to the Ground. This gave Neftor the greatest Occafion that ever Builder had to render his Name immortal, and his Perfon venerable: For all the new City rofe according to his Difpofition, and all the Monuments of the Glories and Diftreffes of that People were erected by that fole Artist: Nay, all their Temples, as well as Houfes, were the Effects of his Study and Labour; infomuch, that it was faid by an old Sage, Sure, Nector will now be famous; for the Habitations of Gods, as well as Men, are built by his Contrivance. But this bashful Quality still put a Damp upon his great Knowledge, which has as fatal an Effect upon Men's Reputations as Poverty; for as it was faid, The poor Man faved the City, and the poor Man's Labour was forgot; fo here we find,

The