termed Pickled Herrings; in France, Jean Pottages; in Italy, Maccaronies; and in Great Britain, Jack Puddings. Thefe merry Wags, from whatsoever Food they receive their Titles, that they may make their Audiences laugh, always appear in a Fool's Coat, and commit fuch Blunders and Mistakes in every Step they take, and every Word they utter, as those who listen to them would be afhamed of.

BUT this little Triumph of the Understanding, under the Disguise of Laughter, is no where more vifible than in that Cuftom which prevails every where among us on the First Day of the prefent Month, when every Body takes it in his Head to make as many Fools as he can. In proportion as there are more Follies difcovered, fo there is more Laughter raised on this Day than on any other in the whole Year. A Neighbour of mine, who is a Haberdafher by Trade, and a very fhallow conceited Fellow, makes his Boafts that for these Ten Years fucceffively he has not made less than an Hundred April Fools. My Landlady had a falling out with him about a Fortnight ago, for fending every one of her Children upon fome Sleevelefs Errand, as the terms it. Her eldeft Son went to buy an Half-penny worth of Inkle at a Shoemaker's; the eldeft Daughter was dispatched half a Mile to fee a Monster; and in fhort, the whole Family of innocent Children made April Fools. Nay my Landlady her felf did not efcape: him. This empty Fellow has laughed upon these Conceits ever fince.

THIS Art of Wit is well enough, when confined to one Day in a Twelve-month; but there is an ingeniousTribe of Men fprung up of late Years, who are for making April Fools every Day in the Year. These Gentlemen are commonly diftinguifh'd by the Name of Biters; a Race of Men that are perpetually employed in laughing at those Mistakes which are of their own Production.

THUS we fee, in proportion as one Man is more refined than another, he chufes his Fool out of a lower or higher Clafs of Mankind; or, to speak in a more Philofophical Language, That fecret Elation and Pride of Heart, which is generally called Laughter, arifes in him from his comparing himfelf with an Object below him, whether it fo happens that it be a Natural or an Artificial Fool. It is indeed very poffible, that the Persons we laugh at may

N° 47. in the main of their Characters be much wifer Men than our felves; but if they would have us laugh at them, they muft fall fhort of us in those Respects which stir up this Paffion.

I am afraid I fhall appear too Abftracted in my Speculations, if I fhew that when a Man of Wit makes us laugh, it is by betraying fome Oddnefs or Infirinity in his own Character, or in the Reprefentation which he makes of others; and that when we laugh at a Brute or even at an inanimate thing, it is at fome Action or Incident that bears a remote Analogy to any Blunder or Absurdity in reafonable Creatures.

BUT to come into common Life: I fhall pafs by the Confideration of thofe Stage Coxcombs that are able to shake a whole Audience, and take Notice of a particular fort of Men who are fuch Provokers of Mirth in Converfation, that it is impoffible for a Club or Merry-meeting to fubfift without them; I mean those honest Gentlemen that are always expofed to the Wit and Raillery of their Well-wishers and Companions; that are pelted by Men, Women, and Children, Friends and Foes, and, in a Word, ftand as Butts in Converfation, for every one to shoot at that pleases. I know feveral of thefe Butts who are Men of Wit and Senfe, though by fome odd Turn of Humour, fome unlucky Caft in their Perfon or Behaviour, they have always the Misfortune to make the Company merry. The Truth of it is, a Man is not qualified for a Butt, who has not a good deal of Wit and Vivacity, even in the ridiculous Side of his Character. A ftupid Butt is only fit for the Converfation of ordinary People: Men of Wit require one that will give them Play, and beftir himself in the abfurd Part of his Behaviour. A Butt with these Accomplishments frequently gets the Laugh of his Side, and turns the Ridicule upon him that attacks him. Sir John Falstaff was an Hero of this Species, and gives a good Defcription of himself in his Capacity of a Butt, after the following manner; Men of all forts(fays that merry Knight) take a Pride to gird at me. The Brain of Man is not able to invent any thing that tends to Laughter more than Finvent, or is invented on me. I am not only Witty in my self, but the Caufe that Wit is, in other Men,

C

Wednesday,

N° 48.

Wednesday, April 25.

Per multas aditum fibi fape figuras

Repperit

Μ

Ovid.

Y Correfpondents take it ill if I do not, from Time to Time, let them know I have received their Letters. The most effectual Way will be to publish fome of them that are upon important Subjects; which I fhall introduce with a Letter of my own that I writ a Fortnight ago to a Fraternity who thought fit to make me an honorary Member.

To the Prefident and Fellows of the Ugly Club. May it please your Deformities,

I Have received the Notification of the Honour you have done me, in admitting me into your Society. I acknowledge my Want of Merit, and for that Reason fhall endeavour at all Times to make up my own Fai. lures, by introducing and recommending to the Club • Perfons of more undoubted Qualifications than I can pretend to. I fhall next Week come down in the Stage Coach, in order to take my Seat at the Board; and fhall bring with me a Candidate of each Sex. The Persons I fhall prefent to you, are an old Beau and a modern Fift. If they are not fo eminently gifted by Nature as our Affembly expects, give me leave to fay their acquired Uglinefs is greater than any that has ever appeared before you. The Beau has varied his Drefs every Day of his Life for thefe thirty Years laft paft, and ftill ad⚫ded to the Deformity he was born with. The Pict has • ftill greater Merit towards us, and has, ever since she · came to Years of Discretion, deferted the handsome Party, and taken all poffible Pains to acquire the Face in ⚫ which I fhall present her to your Confideration and Favour. I am, Gentlemen,

Your moft Obliged Humble Servant,

The SPECTATOR P. S. I defire to know whether you admit People of ! Quality.

Mr,

Mr. SPECTATOR,

O fhew

April 17.

there are among us of the vain weak Sex, fome that have Honefty and Fortitude enough to dare to be ugly, and willing to be thought so; I apply my felf to you, to beg your Intereft and Recommendation to the Ugly Club. If my own Word ⚫ will not be taken, (tho' in this Cafe a Woman's may) I can bring credible Witness of my Qualifications for their Company, whether they infift upon Hair, Forehead, Eyes, Cheeks, or Chin; to which I must add, that I find it easier to lean to my left Side, than my right. I hope I am in all Refpects agreeable: And for Humour and Mirth, I'll keep up to the Prefident himfelf. All the Favour I'll pretend to is, that as I am the firft Woman has appeared defirous of good Company and agreeable Converfation, I may take and keep the 6 upper End of the Table. And indeed I think they want a Carver, which I can be after as ugly a Manner as they can wifh. I defire your Thoughts of my Claim · as foon as you can. Add to my Features the Length of my Face, which is full half Yard; tho' I never knew the Reafon of it till you gave one for the Shortness of yours. If I knew a Name ugly enough to belong to the above defcribed Face, I would feign one; but, to my unspeakable Misfortune, my Name is the only difagreeable Prettinefs about me; fo pr'ythee make one for me that fignifies all the Deformity in the World: You understand Latin, but be fure bring it in with my being, in the Sincerity of my Heart,

Your moft frightful Admirer,

Mr. SPECTATOR,

and Servant,

Hecatiffa.

I Read your Difcourfe upon Affectation, and from the Remarks made in it examined my own Heart fo ftrictly, that I thought I had found out its most fecret Avenues, with a Řesolution to be aware of them for the future. But alas! to my Sorrow I now underftand, that I have feveral Follies which I do not know

the

the Root of. I am an old Fellow, and extreamly troubled with the Gout; but having always a ftrong Vanity towards being pleafing in the Eyes of Women, I never have a Moment's Eafe, but I am mounted in highheeled Shooes with a glased Wax-leather Inftep. Two Days after a fevere Fit I was invited to a Friend's Houfe in the City, where I believed I fhould fee Ladies; and with my ufual Complaifance cripled my felf to wait upon them: A very fumptuous Table, agreeable Company, and kind Reception, were but fo many importunate Additions to the Torment I was in. A Gentleman of the Family obferved my Condition; and foon after the Queen's Health, he in the Prefence of the whole Company, with his own Hands degraded me into · an old Pair of his own Shoes. This Operation, before fine Ladies, to me (who am by Nature a Coxcomb) was fuffered with the fame Reluctance as they admit the Help of Men in their greatest Extremity. The Return of Eafe made me forgive the rough Obligation laid upon me, which at that time relieved my Body from a Diftemper, and will my Mind for ever from a Folly. For the Charity received I return my Thanks this

C

SIR,

way.

Your most Humble Servant.

Epping, April 18.

WE have your Papers here the Morning they come

out, and we have been very well entertained with your laft, upon the falfe Ornaments of Perfons • who represent Heroes in a Tragedy. What made your Speculation come very feasonably among us is, that we have now at this Place a Company of Strolers, who are very far from offending in the impertinent Splendor of the Drama. They are fo far from falling into thefe falfe Gallantries, that the Stage is here in its Original • Situation of a Cart. Alexander the Great was acted by a Fellow in a Paper Cravat. The next Day, the Earl of Effex feemed to have no Diftrefs but his Poverty: And my Lord Foppington the fame Morning wanted any better means to fhew himself a Fop, than by wearing Stockings of different Colours. In a Word, tho' they have had a full Barn for many Days together, our Iti nerants are still fo wretchedly poor, that without you

: can