the Treatment they deserved. He would by a skilful Caft of his Eye and half a Smile, make two Fellows who hated, embrace and fall upon each others Necks with as much Eagernefs, as if they fol lowed their real Inclinations, and intended to stifle one another. When he was in high good Humour, he would lay the Scene with Eucrate, and on a publick Night exercise the Paffions of his whole Court. He was pleased to fee an haughty Beauty watch the Looks of the Man fhe had long defpifed, from Obfervation of his being taken notice of by Pharamond; and the Lover conceive higher Hopes, than to follow the Woman he was dying for the Day before. In a Court, where Men fpeak Affection in the strongeft Terms, and Dislike in the fainteft, it was a comical Mixture of Incidents to fee Difguifes thrown afide in one Cafe and encreased on the other, according as Favour or Difgrace attended the respective Objects of Mens Approbation or Difefteem. Pharamond in his Mirth upon the Meanness of Mankind used to fay, As he could 'take away a Man's Five Senfes, he 'could give him an Hundred. The Man in Difgrace fhall immediately lofe all his natural Endowments, and he that finds Favour have the Attributes of an Angel.' He would carry it fo far as to fay, It fhould not be only fo in the Opinion of the lower Part of his 'Court, but the Men themselves fhall ' think thus meanly or greatly of themfelves, as they are out or in the good • Graces of a Court. A Monarch who had Wit and Humour like Pharamond, must have Pleafures which no Man elfe can ever have Opportunity of enjoying. He gave Fortune to none but those whom he knew could receive it without Tranfport: he made a noble and generous Use of his Obfervations; and did not regard his Minifters as they were agreeable to himself, but as they were useful to his Kingdom: By this Means the King appeared in every Officer of State; and no Man had a Participation of the Power, who had not a Similitude of the Virtue of Pharamond. R Tuesday, N° 77. Tuesday, May 29. Non convivere licet, nec Urbe tota M Mart. Y Friend WILL HONEYCOMB is one of thofe Sort of Men who are very often abfent in Conversation, and what the French call a raveur and a diftrait. A little before our Club-time laft Night we were walking together in Somerfet Garden, where WILL. had picked up a small Pebble of fo odd a Make, that he said he would present it to a Friend of his, an eminent Vertuofo. After we had walked fome time, I made a full ftop with my Face towards the Weft, which WILL. knowing to be my ufual Method of asking what's a Clock, in an Afternoon, immediately pulled out his Watch, and told me we had feven Minutes good. We took a turn or two more, when, to my great Surprize, I faw him squirr away away his Watch a confiderable way into the Thames, and with great Sedatenefs in his Looks put up the Pebble, he had before found, in his Fob. As I have naturally an Averfion to much Speaking, and do not love to be the Meffenger of ill News, especially when it comes too late be useful, I left him to be convinced of his Mistake in due time, and continued my Walk, reflecting on these little Abfences and Diftractions in Mankind, and refolving to make them the Subject of a future Speculation. I was the more confirmed in my Defign, when I confidered that they were very often Blemishes in the Characters of Men of excellent Sense; and helped to keep up the Reputation of that Latin Proverb, which Mr. Dryden has translated in the following Lines. Great Wit to Madness fure is near ally'd, MY Reader does, I hope, perceive, that I diftinguish a Man who is Abfent, because he thinks of fomething elfe, from one who is Abfent, becaufe he thinks of nothing at all: The latter is too innocent a Creature to be taken notice of; but the Distractions of the former may, I believe, be generally accounted for from one of thefe Reafons. EITHER their Minds are wholly fixed on fome particular Science, which is often the Cafe of Mathematicians and other learned Men; or are wholly taken up with fome violent Paffion, fuch as Anger, Fear, or Love, which ties the Mind to fome diftant Object; or, laftly, thefe Diftractions proceed from a certain Vivacity and Fickleness in a Man's Temper, which while it raises up infinite Numbers of Ideas in the Mind, is continually pushing it on, without allowing it to reft on any particular Image. Nothing therefore is more unnatural than the Thoughts and Concepceptions of fuch a Man, which are feldom occafioned either by the Company he is in, or any of thofe Objects which are placed before him. While you fancy he is admiring a beautiful Woman, 'tis an even Wager that he is folving a Propofition in Euclid; and while you may imagine he is reading the Paris Gazette, it is far from being impoffible, that he is pulling down and rebuilding the Front of his Country-House. B VOL. III. AT |