never be ambitious of entertaining more than one. I have almoft contracted an Antipathy to the trifling difcourfes of impertinent Lovers, though I must needs own, I have thought it very odd of late, to hear Gentlemen, inftead of their ufual Complacencies, fall into Difputes before me of Politicks, or elfe weary me 'with the tedious Repetition of how thankful I ought to be, and fatisfied with my Recovery out of fo dangerous a Diftemper: This, tho' I am very fenfible of the Bleffing, yet I cannot but diflike, because such • Advice from them rather feems to infult than comfort 'me, and reminds me too much of what I was; which melancholy Confideration I cannot yet perfectly furmount, but hope your fentiments on this Head will make it fupportable. To fhew you what a Value I have for your Dictates, these are to certify the Perfons concern'd, that unless ⚫ one of them returns to his Colours, (if I may fo call them now) before the Winter is over, I'll voluntarily confine my telf to a Retirement, where I'll punish them all with my Needle. I'll be reveng'd on them by deciphering them on a Carpet, humbly begging Admittance, myself fcornfully refufing it: If you difapprove of this, as favouring too much of Malice, be pleafed to acquaint me with a Draught you like better, and it fhall be faithfully performed Si miki non animo fixum, immotumque federet, T Virg. HE following Account hath been tranfmitted to me by the Love Cafuift. Mr. SPECTATOR, H AVING, in fome former Papers, taken Care of the two States of Virginity and Marriage, and being willing that all People fhould be ferved in their Turn, I this Day drew out my Drawer of Widows, where I met with feveral Cafes, to each whereof I < have returned fatisfactory Answers by the Poft. The Cafes are as follow: 2. WHETHER Amoret be bound by a Promife of Marriage to Philander, made during her Husband's • Life? 2. WHETHER Sempronia, having faithfully given a Promise to two feveral Perfons during the laft • Sickness of her Husband, is not thereby left at Liberty to chufe which of them fhe pleases, or to reject them both for the fake of a new Lover? CLEORA asks me, Whether fhe be obliged to ⚫ continue fingle, according to a Vow made to her Huf⚫ band at the time of his prefenting her with a Diamond • Necklace; she being informed by a very pretty young Fellow of a good Confcience, that such Vows are in ⚫ their Nature finful? ANOTHER enquires, Whether the hath not the Right of Widowhood, to difpofe of her felf to a Gentleman of great Merit, who preffes very hard; • her • her Husband being irrecoverably gone in a Confump• tion? AN unreafonable Creature hath the Confidence to ask, Whether it be proper for her to marry a Man who is younger than her eldeft Son? A fcrupulous well-fpoken Matron, who gives me a great many good Words, only doubts, Whether the is not obliged in Confcience to fhut up her two marriageable Daughters, till fuch time as fhe hath comfortably difpofed of her felf? SOPHRONIA, who feems by her Phrase and Spelling to be a Perfon of Condition, fets forth, That whereas the hath a great Eftate, and is but a Woman, fhe defires to be informed, whether fhe would not do prudently to marry Camillus, a very idle tall young Fellow, who hath no Fortune of his own, and confequently hath nothing else to do but to manage •hers. BEFORE I fpeak of Widows, I cannot but obferve one thing, which I do not know how to account for ; a Widow is always more fought after, than an old Maid of the fame Age. It is common enough among ordinary People, for a ftale Virgin to fet up a Shop in a Place where she is not known; where the large Thumb-Ring, fuppofed to be given her by her Husband, quickly recommends her to fome wealthy Neighbour, who takes a Liking to the jolly Widow, that would have overlooked the venerable Spinster. THE Truth of it is, if we look into this Sett of Women, we find, according to the different Characters or Circumstances wherein they are left, that Widows may be divided into thofe who raise Love, and those who raise Compaffion. Bur not to ramble from this Subject, there are two Things in which confifts chiefly the Glory of a Widow; The Love of her deceased Husband, and the Care of her Children To which may be added a third arifing out of the former, Such a prudent Conduct as may do Honour to both. K 4 A Widow poffeffed of all these three Qualities makes not only a virtuous but a fublime Character. THERE is fomething fo great and fo generous in this State of Life, when it is accompanied with all. its Virtues, that it is the Subject of one of the finest among our modern Tragedies in the Perfon of Andromache; and hath met with an universal and deserved Applaufe, when introduced upon our English Stage by Mr. Philips. THE most memorable Widow in Hiftory is Queen Artemifia, who not only erected the famous Mausoleum, but drank up the Afhes of her dead Lord; thereby en closing them in a nobler Monument than that which she had built, though defervedly efteemed one of the Wonders of Architecture. THIS laft Lady feems to have had a better Title to a fecond Husband than any I have read of, fince not one Duft of her Firft was remaining. Our modern Heroines might think a Husband a very better Draught, and would have good Reafon to complain if they might not accept of a fecond Partner, till they had taken fuch a troublesome Method of lofing the Memory of the first. I fhall add to thefe illuftrious Examples out of ancient Story a remarkable Inftance of the Delicacy of our Ancestors in Relation to the State of Widowhood, as I find it recorded in Cowell's Interpreter. At East and Weft-Enborne, in the County of Berks, if a Cuftomary Tenant die, the Widow shall have what the Law calls her Free-Bench in all his Copy-bold Lands, dum fola & cafta fuerit; that is, while fhe lives fingle and chaste; but if he commit Incontinence, fhe forfeits her Efteem: Yet if he will come into the Court riding backward upon a Black Ram, with his Tail in her Hand, and fay the Words Following, the Steward is bound by the Cuftom to re-admit her to her Free-Bench. Here I am, Riding upon a Black Ram, And, And, for my Crinçum Crancum, Have loft my And, for my Bincum Bancum, Tail's Game, Have done this worldly Shame; Therefore, I pray you Mr. Steward, let me have my Land again. THE like Custom there is in the Manor of Torre in Devonshire, and other Parts of the Weft. It is not impoffible but I may in a little Time prefent you with a Regifter of Berkshire Ladies and other Weltern Dames, who rode publickly upon this Occafion; and I hope the Town will be entertained with a Cavalcade of Widows.. No. 615. Wednesday, November 3. I -Qui Deorum Duramque callet pauperiem pati, Aut patria timidus perire. Hor. T must be owned that Fear is a very powerful Paffion, fince it is esteemed one of the greatest of Virtues to fubdue it. It being implanted in us for our Prefervation, it is no Wonder that it sticks close to us, as long as we have any Thing we are willing to preserve. But as Life, and all its Enjoyments, would be scarce worth the keeping, if we were under a perpetual Dread of lofing them; it is the Bufinefs of Religion and Philofophy to free us from all unneceffary Anxieties, and direct our Fear to its proper Object. If we confider the Painfulness of this Paffion, and the violent Effects it produces, we shall see how dangerous it is to give way to it upon flight Occafions. K5 Some |