CCCLXXIX.

A PRAYER*, written by STEELE, foon after his Marriage to his Second Wife.

H, Almighty Lord God, who haft been pleafed, out of thy righteous mercy and careful providence, to place us two in the state of marriage, according to thy own inftitution and guidance of the firft mortals; grant, we befeech Thee, that we may live in that state with ́mutual love, and endeavour to accommodate ourfelves to each other's juft defires and fatisfactions; that we may be a mutual help in all the viciffitudes of life through which Thou haft defigned us to pass, in fuch manner as we may contribute to each other's virtue in this world, and falvation in that which is to come. Protect us, oh Lord most mighty; bless us, oh merciful Father; and redeem us, oh holy Saviour. Guard our paths from error, and keep our eyes from introducing wandering defires;

but grant fuch peace and tranquillity of mind,

and such a steady course of virtue and piety, that we may be at thy altar never-failing communicants; and, by a worthy receipt of the elements reprefenting thy meritorious paffion, we may through that be partakers of eternal

This inftance of our Author's piety is offered to the reader without one word by way of comment.

life; which permit us to befeech of Thee in the words which thou haft taught us :

"Our Father, which art in Heaven: hal"lowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. "Give us this day our daily bread. And for"give us our trefpaffes, as we forgive them that "trespass against us. And lead us not into "temptation; but deliver us from evil: for "thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen."

CCCLXXX. Mrs. STEELE to her Hufband.

A

H! Dick Steele, that I were fure

Your love, like mine, would still endure;

That time, nor abfence, which destroys

The cares of lovers, and their joys,
May never rob me of that part

Which you have given of your heart:
Others unenvy'd may poffefs
Whatever they think happiness.

Grant this, O God, my great requeft;
In his dear arms may I for ever rest!

LETTER

LETTER CCCLXXXI. (A Fragment *.) Mrs. Prichard just now

tells me, we have crowned Charles King of Spain at Madrid, and all Spain fubmits to him. She gives her service to you. Give mine to all friends. I fhall be glad to hear what part Mrs. Oakley has in what my aunt Oakley has left her brother who is dead.

Moll Pugh gives you her fervice. She knows not how she has difobliged, that you do fo Madam her. She is very bufy with the ftill, and many other matters.

For the teeth, take half-a-pint of claret, a pennyworth of myrrh, and maftick in powder, one top of rosemary, half a nutmeg cut. Boil them all together; then put in a small bit of

alum.

LETTER

CCCLXXXII†.

Mr. STEELE to Lord

MY LORD,

I

HAVE for fome time, according to the duty of my station, taken very particular

notice

*This small fragment, in the hand-writing of Mrs. Steele, is undated; but was probably written in October 1710.

+ This letter is without date; nor does it appear certainly to what Lord it was addreffed, though most probably it was written to Lord Halifax,

The station Steele fpeaks of was what he elsewhere calls

notice of what reception the Gazettes and other papers have among the readers of those weekly hiftories, in order to raise the value of the paper written by authority, and leffen the esteem of the reft among the generality of the people; which I am almoft confident to effect, if I may prefume upon the following af fiftances:

LETTER

CCCLXXXIII.

Mr. STEELE to Mrs. MANLEY +.

MADAM,

I

[Sept. 6, 1709.] HAVE received a letter from you, wherein you tax me, as if I were Bickerstaff,

with

that of "the lowest Minister of State, the office of Gazetteer; "where he worked faithfully according to order, without ever "erring against the rule observed by all Ministries, to keep that

paper very innocent and very infipid. It is believed," he adds, "it was to the reproaches he heard every Gazette-day "against the writer of it, that he owed the fortitude of being "remarkably negligent of what people fay, which he does not "deferve." Apology, p. 297.

Here the letter breaks off abruptly.

This letter, which is printed here from STEELE's autograph, has no date; but in the imperfect copy of it published by Mrs. Manley, in her "Memoirs of Europe towards the "Close of the Eighth Century," dedicated to ISAAC BICKERSTAFF, efq. it is dated Sept. 6, 1709. Mrs. Manley affirms that the transcribed the letter verbatim; but it appears, from comparing her tranfcript with the original, that she thought proper to omit the two paragraphs relative to what had happened between STEELE and her, and his refufal of a certain fum of

money

with falling upon you as author of " Atalantis," and the person who honoured me with a character in that celebrated piece. What has happened formerly between us can be of no ufe to either to repeat. I folemly, affure you, you wrong me in this, as much as you know you do in all else you have been pleased to say of me. I had not money when you did me the favour to ask a loan of a trifling sum of me. I had the greatest sense imaginable of the kind notice you gave me when I was going on to my ruin *; and am fo far from retaining an inclination to reyenge the inhumanity with which you have treated me, that I give myself a fatisfaction in that you have canceled with injuries a friendfhip t, which I fhould never have been able to

money which fhe had asked in loan; and also to change the emphatical word "kindneffes" to "fervices." A note on the New TATLER, No 65, to which the curious reader is referred, throws much light on this letter. See New TATLER, vol. II. No 63, P. 321, It is at prefent fufficient to mention, that her friend Dr. Swift was the real author of the two most mighty TATLERS to which Mrs. Manley refers in her furious dedication of the book abovementioned. STEELE difavowed them with great truth, and with admirable magnanimity concealed the real writer to the laft, though beyond measure provoked to the discovery of these and some other obnoxious papers, productions of the fame pen. ́

* A good turn is given to this circumftance by Mrs. Manley, in vol. II. p. 458.

It is but justice to add, that STEELE was afterwards reconciled to Mrs. MANLEY, who made him a handfome apology in 1717, in a letter which may be seen in the fecond yolume, p. 455.