he thought proper. The king loved her for fome time; but at length repenting of his misdeeds, and inftigated by his father-confeffor, from a principle. of confcience removed her from his levee to the bar. of this tavern, and took a new miftrefs in her ftead. Let it not furprize you to behold the mistress of a king degraded to fo humble an office. . As the ladies had no mental accomplishments, a good face was enough to raise them to the royal couch; and fhe, who was this day a royal miftrefs, might the next, when her beauty palled upon enjoyment, be doomed to infamy and want.

Under the care of this lady the tavern grew into great reputation; the courtiers had not yet learned to game, but they paid it off by drinking; drunkenness is ever the vice of a barbarous, and gaming of a luxurious age. They had not fuch frequent entertainments as the moderns have, but were more expenfive and more luxurious in those they had. All their fooleries were more elaborate, and more admired by the great and the vulgar than now. A courtier has been known to spend his whole fortune at a fingle feaft, a king to mortgage his dominions to furnish out the frippery of a tournament. There were certain days appointed for riot and debauchery, and to be fober at fuch times was reputed a crime. Kings themselves fet the example; and I have feen monarchs in this room drunk before the entertainment was half concluded. These were the times, Sir, when kings kept miftreffes, and got drunk in public; they were too plain and fimple in those happy times to hide their vices, and act the hypocrite, as "Lord! Mrs. Quickly," interrupting her, "I expected to have heard a ftory, and here you are go56 ing to tell me I know not what of times and vices; pr'ythee let me intreat thee once more to wave reflections, and give thy hiftory without deviation."

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No lady upon earth, continued my vifionary correfpondent, knew how to put off her damaged wine or women with more art than fhe. When these grew flat, or those paltry, it was but changing the names; the wine became excellent, and the girls agreeable. She was alfo poffeffed of the engaging leer, the chuck under the chin, winked at a double-entendre, could nick the opportunity of calling for fomething comfortable, and perfectly underftood the difcreet moments when to withdraw. The gallants of these times pretty much refembled the bloods of ours; they were fond of pleasure, but quite ignorant of the art of refining upon it: thus a court-bawd of thofe times refembled the common lowlived harridan of a modern bagnio. Witnefs, ye powers of debauchery, how often I have been prefent at the various appearances of drunkenness, riot, guilt, and brutality! A tavern is the true picture of human infirmity; in hiftory we find only one fide of the age exhibited to our view; but in the accounts of a tavern we fee every age equally abfurd and equally vicious.

Upon this lady's decease the tavern was fucceffively occupied by adventurers, bullies, pimps, and gamefters. Towards the conclufion of the reign of Henry VII. gaming was more univerfally practifed in England than even now. Kings themfelves have been know to play off at Primero, not only all the money and jewels they could part with, but the very images in churches. The laft Henry played away, in this very room, not only the four great bells of St. Paul's cathedral, but the fine image of St. Paul, which flood upon the top of the fpire, to Sir Miles Partridge, who took them down the next day, and fold them by auction. Have you then any caufe to regret being born in the times you now live? or do you ftill believe that human nature continues to run on declining every age ? If we obferve the ac

tions

tions of the bufy part of mankind, your anceftors will be found infinitely more grofs, fervile, and even dishoneft, than you. If, forfaking hiftory, we only trace them in their hours of amufement and diffipation, we fhall find them more fenfual, more entirely devoted to pleasure, and infinitely more felfish.

The laft hoftefs of note I find upon record was Jane Roufe. She was born among the lower ranks of the people; and by frugality and extreme complaifance contrived to acquire a moderate fortune: this fhe might have enjoyed for many years, had fhe not unfortunately quarrelled with one of her neighbours, a woman who was in high repute for fanctity. through the whole parish. In the times of which I fpeak two women feldom quarrelled, that one did not accuse the other of witchcraft, and fhe who first contrived to vomit crooked pins was fure to come off victorious. The fcandal of a modern tea-table differs widely from the fcandal of former times: the fafcination of a lady's eyes at prefent is regarded as a compliment; but if a lady formerly fhould be accufed of having witchcraft in her eyes, it were much better both for her foul and body that she had no eyes at all..

In fhort Jane Roufe was accufed of witchcraft; and though the made the beft defence fhe could, it was all to no purpofe; fhe was taken from her own bar to the bar of the Old-Bailey, condemned, and executed accordingly. Thefe were times indeed! when even women could not fcold in safety.

Since her time the tavern underwent feveral revolutions, according to the fpirit of the times, or the difpofition of the reigning monarch. It was this day a brothel, and the next a conventicle for enthufiafts. It was one year noted for harbouring whigs, and the next infamous for a retreat to tories. Some years ago it was in high vogue, but at prefent it seems declining

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declining. This only may be remarked in general that whenever taverns flourish moft, the times are then most extravagant and luxurious." Lord! "Mrs. Quickly," interrupted I, I," you "you have really "deceived me; I expected a romance, and here "you have been this half hour giving me only a defcription of the fpirit of the times if you have "nothing but tedious remarks to communicate, feek "fome other hearer; I am determined to hearken "only to stories."

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I had fcarcely concluded, when my eyes and ears feemed open to my landlord, who had been all this while giving me an account of the repairs he had made in the houfe; and was now got into the story of the cracked glass in the dining-room.

ESSA Y VI.

I AM fond of amusement in whatever company it is to be found; and wit, though dreffed in rags, is ever pleafing to me. I went fome days ago to take a walk in St. James's Park, about the hour in which company leave it to go to dinner. There were but few in the walks, and thofe who ftayed feemed by their looks rather more willing to forget that they had an appetite than gain one. I fat down on one of the benches, at the other end of which was feated a man in very fhabby clothes.

We continued to groan, to hem, and to cough, as ufual upon fuch occafions; and at laft ventured upon converfation. "I beg pardon, fir," cried I, but I think I have feen you before; your face is familiar to me." "Yes, fir," replied he, "I have a good familiar face, as my friends tell me.

I am

as well known in every town in England as the "dromedary, or live crocodile. You must under"ftand, fir, that I have been these fixteen years "Merry Andrew to a puppet-fhow; laft Bartholomew fair my mafter and I quarrelled, beat each other, and parted; he to fell his puppets to the "pincushion-makers in Rosemary-lane, and I to ftarve in St. James's Park."

6.6

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"I am forry, fir, that a person of your appearance fhould labour under difficulties." any "O fir," returned he, "my appearance is very much at your fervice; but, though I cannot boast of eating much, yet there are few that are merrier: "if I had twenty thousand a year I fhould be very merry; and, thank the Fates, though not worth a sc groat, I am very merry ftill. If I have three pence in my pocket, I never refused to be my "three halfpence; and if I have no money, I never "fcorn to be treated by any that are kind enough "to pay my reckoning. What think you, fir, of a fteak and a tankard? You fhall treat me now; " and I will treat you again when I find you in the "Park in love with eating, and without money to pay for a dinner."

As I never refuse a small expenfe for the fake of a merry companion, we inftantly adjourned to a neighbouring ale-houfe, and in a few moments had a frothing tankard, and a smoaking steak spread on the table before us. It is impoffible to express how much the fight of fuch good cheer improved my companion's vivacity. I like this dinner, fir," fays he,

for three reasons: first, because I am naturally "fond of beef; fecondly, because I am hungry; and, thirdly and laftly, because I get it for no"thing: no meat eats fo fweet as that for which we do not pay."

He