N° 462. Wednesday, August 20. Nil ego prætulerim jucundo fanus amico. HOR. Sat. 5. 1. 1. v. 44: Nothing fo grateful as a pleafant friend. PEOPLE EOPLE are not aware of the very great force which pleafantry in company has upon all those with whom a man of that talent converfes. His faults are generally overlooked by all his acquaintance, and a certain careleffnefs that conftantly attends all his actions, carries him on with greater fuccefs, than diligence and affiduity does others who have no share of this endowment. Dacinthus breaks his word upon all occafions both trivial and important; and when he is suffi ciently railed at for that abominable quality, they who talk of him end with, after all he is a very pleasant fellow.' Dacinthus is an ill-natured husband, and yet the very women end their freedom of difcourfe upon this fubject, but after all he is very pleasant company.' Dacinthus is neither in point of honour, civility, goodbreeding, or good-nature, unexceptionable, and yet all is answered, for he is a very pleasant fellow.' When this quality is confpicuous in a man who has, to accompany it, manly and virtuous fentiments, there cannot certainly be any thing which can give fo pleafing gratification as the gaiety of fuch a perfon; but when it is alone, and ferves only to gild a croud of ill qualities, there is no man fo much to be avoided as your pleasant fellow. A very pleafant fellow fhall turn your good name to a jeft, make your character contemptible, debauch your wife or daughter, and yet be received by the rest of the world with welcome wherever he appears. It is very ordinary with those of this character to be attentive only to their own fatisfactions, and have very little bowels for the concerns or forrows of other men; may, they are capable of purchafing their own pleasures at the expence of giving pain to others. But they who do not confider this fort of menthus carefully, are irrefittibly expofed to their infinuations.. The author of the following letter carries the matter fo high, as to intimate that the liberties of England have been at the mercy of a prince merely as he was of this pleafant character. ་ 6. Mr. SPECTATOR, THERE is no one paflion which all mankind'so naturally give into as pride, nor any other paflion which appears in fuch different difguifes: it is to be found in all habits and complexions. Is it not a question, whether it does more harm or good in the world? And if there be not fuch a thing as what we may call a virtuous and laudable pride? It is this palion alone, when mifapplied, that lays us fo open to flatterers; and he who can agreeably condefcend to footh our humour or temper, finds always an open avenue to our foul; efpecially if the flatterer happen to be our fuperior." One might give many inftances of this in a late Englith monarch, under the title of," The Gaieties of King Charles II." This prince was by nature extremely fa miliar, of very eafy accefs, and inuch delighted to fee and be feen; and this happy temper, which in the highest degree, gratified his people's vanity, did him more fervice with his loving fubjects than all his other virtues, though it must be confeffed he had many. He delighted, though a mighty king, to give and take a jeft, as they fay; and a prince of this fortunate difpofition, who were inclined to make an ill ufe of his power, may have any thing of his people, be it never fo much to their pre,udice. But this good king made generally a very innocent ufe, as to the public, of this. infoaring temper; for, it is well known, he pursued pleasure more than ambition: he seemed to glory in being the first man at cock-matches, horfe-races, balls, and plays; he appeared highly delighted on thofe occafions, and never failed to warm and gladden the heart ⚫ of every spectator. He more than once dined with his good citizens of London on their lord-mayor's day, and did fo the that fir Robert Viner was mayor. Sir year Robert was a very loyal man, and, if you will allow the expreflion, very fond of his fovereign; but what with the joy he felt at heart for the honour done him by his prince, and through the warmth he was in with continual toasting healths to the royal family, his lordship grew a little fond of his majefty, and entered into a familiarity not altogether fo graceful in fo public a place. The king understood very well how to extricate himfelf in all kinds of difficulties, and with an hint to the company to avoid ceremony, ftole off and made towards his coach, which flood ready for him in Guildhall yard: but the mayor liked his company fo well, and was grown fo intimate, that he pursued him hattily, and catching him fafl by the hand, cried out with a vehement oath and accent, "Sr, you shall fay and "take the other bottle." The airy monarch looked kindly at him over his fhoulder, and with a fimile and graceful air (for I faw him at the time, and do now,) repeated this line of the old fong; ་ "He that is drunk is as great as a king,” and immediately turned back and complied with his ⚫ landlord. I give you this ftory, Mr. SPECTATOR, because, as I faid, I faw the paffage; and I affure you it is very true, and yet no common one; and when I tell you the fequel, you will fay I have yet a better reafon for it. This very mayor afterwards erected a statue of his merry monarch in Stocks-market, and did the crown many and great fervices; and it was owing to this humour of the king, that his family had fo great a fortune fhut up in the exchequer of their pleasant fovereign. The many good-natured condefcenfions of this prince are vulgarly known; and it is excellently faid of him by a great hand which writ his character, "That he was not a king a quarter of an hour together in his whole reign." He would receive vifits even from fools and half mad-men, and at times I have met with people who have boxed, fought at back-fword, and taken poifon before king Charles II. In a word, he was fo pleasant a man, that no one could be forrow ful under his governnient. This made him capable of baffling with the greateft cafe imaginable, all fuggeftions of jealoufy, and the people could not entertain notions of any thing terrible in him, whom they faw every way agreeable. This ferap of the familiar part of that prince's history I thought fit to fend you, in compliance to the request you lately made to your 'correfpondents. T. N° 463. I am, Sir, Your most humble fervant.' Thursday, August 21. Omnia quæ fenfu volvuntur vota diurno, I CLAUD. In fleep, when fancy is let loofe to play, WAS lately entertaining myfelf with comparing Homer's balance, in which Jupiter is reprefented, as weighing the fates of Hector and Achilles, with a paffage of Virgil, wherein that deity is introduced as weighing the fates of Turnus and Æneas. I then confidered how the fame way of thinking prevailed in the eastern parts of the world, as in thofe noble paffages of Scripture, wherein we are told, that the great king of Babylon, the day before his death, had been weighed in the balance, and being found wanting. In other places of the Holy Writings, the Almighty is defcribed as weighing the mountains in fcales, making the weight for the winds, knowing the balancings of the clouds, and in others, as weighing the actions of men, and laying their calamities together in a balance. Milton, as I have obferved in a former paper, had an eye to several of thefe foregoing inftances in that beautiful defcription, wherein he reprefents the arch-angel and the evil fpirit as addrelling themfelves for the combat, but parted by the balance which appeared in the heavens and weighed the confequences of fuch a battle. Th' Eternal to prevent fuch horrid fray, Hung forth in heav'n his golden fcales, yet feen Wherein all things created firit he weigh'd, Satan, I know thy ftrength and thou know'ft mine, • Neither our own; but giv'n; what folly then To boaft what arms can do, fince thine no more 'Than heav'n permits; nor mine, though doubled < now To trample thee as mire: for proof look up, Where thou art weigh'd, and fhewn how light, • If thou refit. The fiend look'd up, and knew His mounted fcale aloft; nor more; but fled Murn'ring, and with him fled the shades of night.' Thefe fever I amufing thoughts having taken poffeffion of my mind fome time before I went to fleep, and mingling themfelves with my ordinary ideas, raifed in |