or outward applications. I fhall give the world an account of his patients and his cures in other Papers, when I shall be more at leifure to treat upon this fubject. I fhall only here inform my correfpondent, that for the benefit of fuch Ladies as are troubled with virulent tongues, he has prepared a cold-bath, over which there is faftened, at the end of a long pole, a very convenient chair, curiously gilt and carved. When the patient is feated in this chair, the Doctor lifts up the pole, and gives her two or three total immerfions in the cold-bath, until fuch time as fhe has quite loft, the ufe of speech. This operation fo effectually chills the tongue, and refrigerates the blood, that a woman, who at her entrance into the chair is extremely paffionate and fonorous, will come out as filent and gentle as a lamb. The Doctor told me, he would not practife this experiment upon women of fashion, had not he feen it made upon those of meaner condition with very great effect.. N° 222. Saturday, September 9, 1710. -Chryfidis udas, Ebrius ante fores extinctâ cum face cantat. PERSIUS, Sat. 5. ver. 165. Shall I, at Chryfis' door, the night prolong W R. WYNNE From my own Apartment, September 8. HEREAS, by Letters from Nottingham, we have advice, that the young Ladies of that place complain for want of fleep, by reafon of certain riotous lovers, who for this laft fummer have very much infefted the streets of that eminent city, with violins and bafs-viols, between the hours of twelve and four in the morning, morning, to the great difturbance of many of her Majefty's peaceable fubjects. And whereas I have been importuned to publifh fome edict against thofe midnight alarms, which, under the name of ferenades, do greatly annoy many well difpofed perfons, not only in the place above-mentioned, but also in moft of the polite towns of this ifland: I have taken that matter into my ferious confideration, and do find that this cuftom is by no means to be indulged in this country and climate. It is indeed very unaccountable, that most of our British youth fhould take fuch great delight in thefe nocturnal expeditions. Your robuft true-born Briton, that has not yet felt the force of flames and darts, has a natural inclination to break windows; while those whofe natural ruggedness has been foothed and foftened by gentle paffions, have as ftrong a propenfity to languish under them, efpecially if they have a fidler behind them to utter their complaints: For, as the custom prevails at prefent, there is a fcarce a young man of any fashion in a corporation, who does not make love with the townmufic. The Waits often help him through his courtfhip; and my friend. Mr. Banister has told me, he was proffered five hundred pounds by a young fellow, to play but one winter under the window of a Lady that was a great fortune, but more cruel than ordinary. One would think they hoped to conquer their miftreffes hearts as people tame hawks and eagles, by keeping them awake, or breaking their fleep when they are fallen into it. I have endeavoured to fearch into the original of this impertinent way of making love, which, according to fome Authors, is of great antiquity. If we may believe Monfieur Dacier and other Critics, Horace's tenth Ode of the third book was originally a Serenade. And if I was difpofed to fhew my learning, I could produce a line of him in another place, which feems to have been the burden of an old heathen Serenade. ·Audis minùs, & minùs jam, "Me tuo longas pereunte noctes, 66 Lydia, dormis ?" HOR. Od. 25. lib. 1. ver. 8 G 4 Now Now lefs and lefs affail thine far Thefe plaints, "Ah! fleepeft thou, my dear, While I, whole nights, thy True love here "Am dying?" FRANCI 9. But notwithstanding the opinions of many learned men upon this fubject, I rather agree with them who look upon this cuftom, as now practifed, to have been introduced by caftrated musicians; who found out this way of applying themselves to their miftreffes at these hours, when men of hoarfer voices exprefs their paffions in a more vulgar method. It must be confeffed, that your Italian eunuchs do practise this manner of courtship to this day. But whoever were the perfons that first thought of the Serenade, the Authors of all countries are unanimous in afcribing the invention to Italy. There are two circumftances, which qualified that country above all other for this midnight Mufic. The first I fhall mention was the foftness of their climate. I his gave the Lover opportunities of being abroad in the air, or of lying upon the earth whole hours together, without fear of damps or dews; but as for our Tramontane Lovers, when they begin their midnight complaint with, My lodging is on the cold ground, we are not to understand them in the rigour of the Letter; fince it would be impoffible for a British fwain to condole himself long in that fituation, without really dying for his miftrefs. A man might as well Serenade in Greenland as in our region. Milton feems to have had in his thoughts the abfurdity of thefe northern Serenades, in the cenfure which he paffes upon them: Or midnight ball, Or Serenade, which the ftarv'd Lover fings The The truth of it is, I have often pitied, in a winter night, a vocal Musician, and have attributed many of his trills and quavers to the coldness of the weather. The fecond circumftance, which inclined the Italians to this custom, was that mufical genius which is fo univerfal among them. Nothing is more frequent in that country, than to hear a cobler working to an Operatune. You can scarce fee a porter that has not one nail much longer than the reft, which you will find, upon enquiry, is cherished for fome inflrument. In fhort, there is not a labourer or handicraft man, that in the cool of the evening does not relieve himself with folo's and fonata's. The Italian foothes his miftrefs with a plaintive voice; and bewails himself in fuch melting Mufic, that the whole neighbourhood fympathizes with him in his for row. Qualis populea marens Philomela fub umbrâ- VIRG. Geor. 4. ver. 5117 Thus Philomel beneath the poplar fhade R. WYNNE. On the contrary, our honeft countrymen have fo little an inclination to Mufic, that they feldom begin to fing until they are drunk which alfo is ufually the time when they are moft difpofed to Serenade. N° No 223. Tuefday, September 12, 1710 For when upon their ungot heirs, Th' entail themfelves and all that's theirs,' Or wager laid at fix and seven, To pafs themselves away, and turn Their children's tenants ere they're born? HUD. From my own Apartment, September 11. Have been very much folicited by Clarinda, Flavia, and Lyfetta, to reaffume my difcourfe concerning the methods of difpofing honourably the unmarried part of the world, and taking off thofe bars to it, Jointures and Settlements; which are not only the greateft impe diments towards entering into that ftate, but also, the frequent caufes of diftruft and animofity in it after it is confummated. I have with very much attention confidered this cafe; and among all the obfervations that I have made through a long courfe of years, I have thought the coldness of wives to their husbands, as well as difrefpect from children to parents, to arife from this one fource. This trade for minds and bodies in the lump, without regard to either, but as they are accompanied with fuch fums of money, and fuch parcels of land, cannot but produce a commerce between the parties concerned, fuitable to the mean motives upon which they at first. came together. I have heretofore given an account, that this method of making Settlements was first ipvented by a griping lawyer, who made ufe of the covetous tempers of the parents of each fide to force two young people into thefe vile meafures of diffidence, for no other end but to increase the skins of parchment, by which they were put into each other's poffeffion out of each other's power. The law of our country has |