of thefe dauntless heroes have, indeed, been chiefly levelled at the other sex: but employment may be found for thefe amorous knight-errants fuitable to their known firmnefs and intrepidity; particularly in taking places by ftorm, where there is a neceffity for ravishing virgins, and committing outrages upon the wo

men.

But among the many useless members of fociety, there are none fo unprofitable as the fraternity of Gamesters. I therefore think, that their time would be much better employed in handling a mufket, than in fhuffling a pack of cards, or fhaking the dice-box. As to the Sharpers, it is a pity that the fame dexterity, which enables them to palm an ace, or cog a die, is not used by them in going through the manual exercise in the military way. Thefe latter might, indeed, be employed as marines, or stationed in the West Indies; as many of them have already croffed the feas, and are perfectly well acquainted with the Plantations.

The last propofal which I have to make on this fubject, is to take the whole body of Free-thinkers into the fervice. For this purpofe I would imprefs all the members of the Robin Hood Society; and, in confideration of his great merit, I would further advife, that the Clare, Market Orator should be made Chaplain to the regiment. One of the fa vourite tenets of a Free-thinker is, that all men are in a natural state of warfare with each other: nothing, therefore, is fo proper for him, as to be actually engaged in war. As he has no fqueamish notions about what will become of him hereafter, he can have no fears about death: I would, therefore, always have the Free-thinkers put upon the most dangerous exploits,expofed to the greatest heat of battle, and fent upon the Forlorn Hope. For, fince they confefs that they are born into the world for no end whatever, and that they shall be nothing after death, it is but juftice that they should" be annihilated for the good of their, country.

Ter.

VE

I

MR. VILLAGE TO MR. TOWN.

DEAR COUSIN,

MARCH 3, 1755, Was greatly entertained with your late reflections on the feveral branches of magic employed in the affairs of love: I have myfelf been very lately among the Seers of Visions and Dreamers of Dreams; and hope you will not be difpleafed at an account of portents and prognoftics full as extravagant, though they are not all owing to the fame caufe, as thofe of your correfpondent Mifs Arabella Whimsey. You must know, coufin, that I am juft returned from a vifit of a fortnight to an old aunt in the North; where I was mightily diverted with the traditional fuperftitions, which are most religiously preserved in the family, as they have been delivered down (time out of mind) from their fagacious grandmothers,

When I arrived, I found the mistress of the house very bufily employed, with her two daughters, in nailing an horsefhoe to the threshold of the door. This, they told me, was to guard against the fpiteful defigns of an old woman, who was a witch, and had threatened to do the family a mischief, because one of my young coufins laid two ftraws across to fee if the old hag could walk over them. The young lady affured me, that he had feveral times heard Goody Cripple muttering to herfelf; and to be fure the was faying the Lord's Prayer backwards. Befides, the old woman had very often asked them for a pin: but they took care never to give her any thing that was tharp, because the should not bewitch them. They afterwards told me many other particulars of this kind, the fame as are mentioned with infinite humour by the Spectator: and

to

to confirm them, they affured me, that the el left inifs, when the was little, ufed to have fits, till the mother flung a knife at another old witch, (whom the devil had carried off in an high wind) and fetched blood from her.

When I was to go to bed, my aunt made a thousand apologies for not putting me in the best room in the house; which, fhe faid, had never been lain in, ince the death of an old wafher-woman, who walked every night, and haunted that room in particular. They fancied that the old woman had hid money fomewhere, and could not rest till fhe had told fomebody; and my coufin af fured me, that he might have had it all so herfelf; for the fpirit came one night to her bed-fide, and wanted to tell her, but he had not courage to speak to it. I learned alfo, that they had a footman once, who hanged himfelf for love; and he walked for a great while, till they got the parfon to lay him in the Red Sea.

I had not been here long, when an accident happened which very much alarmed the whole family. Towzer one night howled most terribly; which was a fure fign that fomebody belonging to them would die. The youngest miss declared that he had heard the hen crow that morning, which was another fatal prognoftic. They told me, that, just before uncle died, Towzer howled fo for feveral nights together, that they Could not quiet him; and my aunt heard the death-watch tick as plainly as if there had been a clock in the room: the maid too, who fat up with him, heard a bell toll at the top of the ftairs, the very moment the breath went out of his body. During this difcourfe, I overheard one of my coufins whisper the other, that the was afraid their mamma would not live long; for the fmelt an ugly fmell, like a dead carcafe. They had a dairymaid, who died the very week after an hearfe had stopt at their door in it's way to church: and the eldest mifs, when the was but thirteen, faw her own brother's ghoft, (who was gone to the WeftIndies) walking in the garden, and to be fure, nine months after, they had an account that he died on board the hip the very fame day, and hour of the day, that mifs faw his apparition.

I need not mention to you the common incidents, which were accounted by them no less prophetic. If a cinder

popped from the fire, they were in hafte to examine whether it was a purse or coffin. They were aware of my coming long before I arrived, because they had feen a ftranger on the grate. The youngest mits will let nobody ufe the poker but herfelf; because, when the itirs the fire, it always burns bright, which is a tign the will have a brisk hufband: and the is no lefs fure of a good one, because she generally has ill luck at cards. Nor is the candle lefs oracular than the fire: for the 'iquire of the parish came one night to pay them a vifit, when the tallow winding sheet pointed towards him; and he broke his neck foon after in a fox-chace. My aunt one night obferved with great pleafure a letter in the candle; and the very next day one came from her fon in London. We knew when a fpirit was in. the room, by the candle burning blue, but poor coufin Nancy was ready to cry one time, when the fnuffed it out, and could not blow it in again; though her fifter did it in a whiff, and confequently triumphed in her fuperior virtue.

We had no occafion for an almanack or the weather-glafs, to let us know whether it would rain or thine. One evening I propofed to ride out with my coufins the next day to fee a gentleman's house in the neighbourhood; but my aunt affured us it would be wet, the knew very well, from the shooting of her corn. Befides, there was a great fpider crawling up the chimney; and the blackbird in the kitchen began to fing, which were both of them certain forerunners of rain. But the most to be depended on in these cafes is a tabby cat, which usually lies bafking on the parlour hearth. If the cat turned her tail to the fire, we were to have an hard froft; if the cat licked her tail, rain would certainly enfue. They won dered what ftranger they fhould fee; becaufe pufs wathed her foot over her left

ear.

The old lady complained of a cold, and the eldest daughter remarked, it would go through the family; for the obferved that poor Tab had fneezed feveral times. Poor Tab, however, once flew at one of my coufins; for which the had like to have been deftroyed, as the whole family began to think the was no other than a witch.

It is impoffible to tell you the several tokens by which they know whether good or ill luck will happen to them.

Spilling

Spilling the falt, or laying knives across, are every where accounted ill omens; but a pin with the head turned towards you, or to be followed by a strange dog, I found were very lucky. I heard one of my coufins tell the cook-maid, that the boiled away all her fweethearts, becaufe the let her difh-water boil over The fame young lady one morning came down to breakfast with her cap the wrong fide out; which the mother obferving, charged her not to alter it all day, for fear the fhould turn luck.

But, above all, I could not help remarking the various prognottics which the old lady and her daughters used to collect from almost every part of the body. A white fpeck upon the nails made them as fure of a gift as if they had it already in their pockets. The eldeft fifter is to have one husband more than the youngest, becaufe fhe has one wrinkle more in her forehead; but the other will have the advantage of her in the number of children, as was plainly proved by faapping their finger-joints. It would take up too much room to set down every circumftance, which I obferved of this fort during my stay with them: I fhall therefore conclude my ketter with the feveral remarks on other parts of the body, as far as I could

learn them from this prophetic family. for as I was a relation, you know, they had lefs referve.

If the head itches, it is a fign of rain. If the head aches, it is a profitable pain If you have the tooth-ach, you don't love true. If your right eye itches, you will cry; if your left, you will laugh: but left or right is good at night. It your nofe itches, you will shake hands with, or kifs a fool; drink a glass of wine, run against a cuckold's door, or mifs them all four. If your right ear or cheek burns, your left friends are talking of you; if your left, your right friends are talking of you. If your elbow itches, you will change your bedfellow. If your right hand itches, you will pay away money; if your left, you will receive. If your ftomach itches, you will eat pudding. If your back itches, butter will be cheap when grass grows there. If your fide itches, fome body is withing for you. If your gar tering place itches, you will go to a ftrange place. If your knee itches, you will kneel in a strange church. If your foot itches, you will tread upon strange ground. Laftly, if you fhiver, fome body is walking over your grave.

T

I am, dear coufin, your's, &c.

must have taken notice of a paftry cook's fhop with the following remarkable infcription over the door, Kidder's PaftrySchool. I had the curiofity to enquire into the defign of this extraordinary Academy, and found it was calculated to inftruct young ladies in the art and mystery of tarts and cheefe-cakes. The scholars were, indeed, chiefly of the lower class, except a few notable young girls of the city, with two or three parfons daughters, out of the country, intended for fervice. As housewifely ac complishments are now quite out of date, among the polite world, it is no wonder

ty: and I appeal to any woman of fafhion, whether he would not as foon, put her daughter apprentice to a washerwoman, to learn to clear-ftarch and get up fine linen, as to fend her to the Paftry-School to be inftructed in raised crust and puff pafte. The good dames · of old, indeed, were not ashamed to make these arts their study: but in this refined age we might fooner expect to fee a kitchen-wench thumbing Hoyle's Treatife on Whift, than a fine lady collecting receipts for making puddings, or poring over the Complete Art of Cookery.

The

The education of females is at preTent happily elevated far above the ordinary employments of domeftic œconomy; and it any school is wanted for the improvement of young ladies, I may venture to fay, it should be a School for Whift. Mr. Hoyle ufed, indeed, to wait on ladies of quality at their own houfes to give them lectures in this seience: but as that learned master has left off teaching, they can have no inftructions but from his incomparable Treatife; and this, I am afraid, is fo abftrufe, and abounding with technical terms, that even thofe among the quality, who are tolerably well grounded in the fcience, are scarce able to unravel the perplexity of his cafes, which are many of them as intricate as the hardest propofition in Euclid. A School for Whit would, therefore, be of excellent ufe; where young ladies of quality might be gradually inftructed in the various Branches of lurching, renouncing, fineffing, winning the ten-ace, and getting the odd trick, in the fame manner as common miffes are taught to write, read, and work at their needle.

It seems to be a strange neglect in the education of females, that though great pains are taken to make them talk French, they are yet fo ignorant of the English language, that before they come to their teens, they can fcarce tell what is meant by lurching, revoking, fuzzing the cards, or the most common terms now in ufe at all routs and affemblies. Hence it often happens, that a young lady is almoft ripe for a gallant, and thoroughly verfed in the arts of the toilet, before the is initiated into the mysteries of the card-table. I would therefore propofe, that our demoifelles of fashion fhould be taught the art of card-playing from their cradles; and have a pack of cards put into their hands, at the ufual time that the brats of vulgar people are employed in thumbing their horn-book. The mind of man has been often compared (before it has received any ideas) to a white piece of paper, which is capable of retaining any impreffion afterwards made upon it. In like manner, I would confider the minds of those infants, which are born into a well-bred family, as a blank pack of cards, ready to be marked with the pips and colours of the fuits: at least I am confident that many of them, after they are grown up, have laid in very few ideas

beyond them. What therefore, Mr. Locke recommends, that we fhould cheat children into learning their letters by making it feem a pastime, should be put in practice in every polite nurfery; and the little ladies may be taught to di ftinguish ace, deuce, tray, &c. as soon as they could great A, little a, and the other letters of the Chris-cross row: as to the four Honours, they will readily learn them by the fame method that other children get the names of dogs, horfes, &c. by looking at their pictures. After this, in order to compleat her edu cation, little mifs (when of a proper age) fhould be fent to the Whift-School, or have leffons from private masters at home. She may now be made to get by heart the Laws of the Game, read a chapter in Hoyle, and be catechifed in laying and taking the odds: and, in procefs of time, the may be fet to folve any of Hoyle's hardest cases, or any of the propofitions in his Doctrine of Chances; for which (as Mr. Hoyle himself tells us) no more knowledge of arithmetic is required, than what is fufficient to reckon the tricks, or score up the game.

All sciences appear equally abstruse to the learner at his firft fetting out: but I will venture to fay, that the fcience of Whift is more complex in itself than even algebra or the mathematics. The Afs's Bridge in Euclid is not fo difficult to be got over, nor the Logarithms of Napier fo hard to be unravelled, as many of Hoyle's Cafes and Propofttions as an inftance of which, take the following moft obvious and eafy one.A and B are Partners against C and D. A and B have scored 3, and want to fave their Lurch. C and D are at Short Can'ye: and confequently both fides play for two Points. C has the Deal, and turns up the Knave of Hearts. Ć afks his Partner D, who refufes. B has the Lead, and runs his strong Suit," Spades, two Rounds, with Ace and King. A difcards his weakest Suit, Diamonds. Then B forces his Partner. A leads a ftrong Club, which B refufes. A forces B, who by leading Spades, plays into A's hand, who re turns a Club, and fo they get a Saw between them. After this A leads through C's Honours. B fineffes the Ten, and plays a Spade, which A trumps. Now B by laying behind C's King and Knave of Trumps makes the Ten-ace with Ace and Queen; and A having the long

Trump,