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Any thing to please, fays the owner; and alighting with his fon, they tied the legs of the afs together, and by the help of a pole endeavoured to carry him upon their shoulders over the bridge that led to the town. This was fo entertaining a fight, that the people ran in crowds to laugh at it; till the afs, conceiving a dislike to the over-complaisance of his mafter, burst asunder the cords that tied him, flipt from the pole, and tumbled into the river. The poor old man made the best of his way home, ashamed and vexed, that by endeavouring to please every body, he had pleased no body, and loft his afs into the bargain. WORLD.

CHAP. VII.

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HERCULES'S CHOICE.

WHEN Hercules was in that part of his youth, in

which it was natural for him to confider what courfe of life he ought to pursue, he one day retired into a defert, where the filence and folitude of the place very much favoured his meditations. As he was mufing on his prefent condition, and very much perplexing himself on the state of life he fhould choose, he faw two women of a larger ftature than ordinary approaching towards him. One of them hàd a very noble air, and graceful deportment; her beauty was natural and eafy, her perfon clean and unfpotted, her eyes. caft towards the ground with an agreeable referve, her motion and behaviour full of modefty, and her raiment as white as fnow. The other had a great deal of health and floridness in her countenance, which she had helped with an artificial white and red; and endeavoured to appear more graceful than ordinary in her mien, by a mixture of affectation in all her geftures,

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geftures. She had a wonderful confidence and affurance in her looks, and all the variety of colours in her dress, that she thought were the most proper to fhew her complexion to advantage. She caft her eyes upon herself, then turned them on thofe that were present, to see how they liked her, and often looked on the figure the made in her own shadow. Upon her nearer approach to Hercules, the stepped before the other lady, who came forward with a regular composed carriage, and running up to him, accofted him after the following manner :

My dear Hercules, fays fhe, I find you are very much divided in your own thoughts upon the way of life that you ought to choose: be my friend, and follow me; I will lead you into the poffeffion of pleasure, and out of the reach of pain, and remove you from all the noife and difquietude of bufinefs. The affairs of either war or peace shall have no power to disturb you. Your whole employment fhall be to make your life easy, and to entertain every sense, with its proper gratifications. Sumptuous tables, beds of roses, clouds of perfumes, concerts of mufic, crowds of beauties, are all in readiness to receive you. Come along with me into this region of delights, this world of pleasure, and bid farewel for ever to care, to pain, to business.

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HERCULES hearing the lady talk after this manner, fired to know her name; to which she answered, my friends, and those who are well acquainted with me, call me Happinefs; but my enemies, and those who would injure my reputation, have given me the name of Pleasure.

By this time the other lady was come up, who addreffed herself to the young hero in a very different manner.

HERCULES, fays fhe, I offer myfelf to you, because I know you are defcended from the gods, and give proofs of

that

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that descent by your love to virtue, and application to the ftudies proper for your age. This makes me hope you will gain both for yourself and me an immortal reputation. But, before I invite you into my fociety and friendship, I will be open and fincere with you, and muft lay down this as an established truth, that there is nothing truly valuable which can be purchased without pains and labour. The gods have fet a price upon every real and noble pleasure. If you would gain the favour of the Deity, you must be at the pains of worthipping him; if the friendship of good men, you must study to oblige them; if you would be honoured by your country, you must take care to ferve it: In fhort, if you would be eminent in war or peace, you must become mafter of all the qualifications that can make you so. These are the only terms and conditions upon which I can propofe happiness. The Goddess of Pleasure here broke in upon her discourse: You fee, faid fhe, Hercules, by her own confeffion, the way to her pleasures is long and difficult, whereas that which I propose is short and easy. Alas! faid the other lady, whofe vifage glowed with paffion, made up of fcorn and pity, what are the pleafures you propofe? To eat before you are hungry, drink before you are athirft, fleep before you are tired; to gratify appetites before they are raised, and raise fuch appetites as Nature never planted. You never heard the most delicious mufic, which is the praise of one's felf; nor faw the most beautiful object, which is the work of one's own hands. Your votaries pass away their youth in a dream of mistaken pleasures, while they are hoarding up anguish, torment, and remorse, for old age.

As for me, I am the friend of the gods and of good men, an agreeable companion to the artizan, an household guar

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dian to the fathers of families, a patron and protector of fervants, an associate in all true and generous friendships. The banquets of my votaries are never coftly, but always delicious; for none eat or drink at them who are not invited by hunger and thirst. Their flumbers are found, and their wakings cheerful. My young men have the pleasure of hearing themselves praised by thofe who are in years; and those who are in years, of being honoured by those who are young. In a word, my followers are favoured by the gods, beloved by their acquaintance, efteemed by their country, and, after the close of their labours, honoured by pofterity.

We know, by the life of this memorable hero, to which of these two ladies he gave up his heart; and I believe, every one who reads this, will do him the justice to approve his choice. TATLER.

CHAP. VIII.

PITY.

IN the happy period of the Golden Age, when all the ce

leftial inhabitants defcended to the earth, and converfed familiarly with mortals, amongst the most cherished of the heavenly powers were twins, the offspring of Jupiter, Love and Joy. Wherever they appeared, the flowers fprung up beneath their feet, the fun fhone with a brighter radiance, and all nature feemed embellished by their prefence. They were infeparable companions, and their growing attachment was favoured by Jupiter, who had decreed that a lasting union fhould be folemnized between them so foon as they were arrived at maturer years. But in the mean time the fons of men deviated from their native innocence; Vice and Ruin overran the earth with giant ftrides: and Aftrea, with

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her train of celeftial vifitants, forfook their polluted abodes. Love alone remained, having been stolen away by Hope, who was his nurse, and conveyed by her to the forests of Arcadia, where he was brought up among the fhepherds. But Jupiter affigned him a different partner, and commanded him to espouse SORROW, the daughter of Atè. He complied with reluctance; for her features were harsh and disagreeable, her eyes funk, her forehead contracted into perpetual wrinkles, and her temples were covered with a wreath of cypress and wormwood. From this union sprung a virgin, in whom might be traced a strong resemblance to both her parents; but the fullen and unamiable features of her mother were so mixed and blended with the sweetness of her father, that her countenance, though mournful, was highly pleafing. The maids and fhepherds of the neighbouring plains gathered round, and called her PITY. A redbreast was observed to build in the cabin where fhe was born; and while she was yet an infant, a dove, pursued by a hawk, flew into her bofom. This nymph had a dejected appearance, but fo foft and gentle a mien that she was beloved to a degree of enthusiasm. Her voice was low and plaintive, but inexpreffibly fweet; and fhe loved to lie for hours together on the banks of fome wild and melancholy ftream, finging to her lute. She taught men to weep, for she took a ftrange delight in tears; and often, when the virgins of the hamlet were affembled at their evening sports, she would fteal in amongst them, and captivate their hearts by her tales, full of a charming sadness. She wore on her head a garland compofed of her father's myrtles, twisted with her mother's cyprefs.

ONE day, as the fat mufing by the waters of Helicon, her tears by chance fell into the fountain, and ever fince

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