No. 395. Dangers of the Month of May escaped ......... .......... BUDGELL. 396. Letter on Punning ........... ORATOR HENLEY. Letter ADDISON. 398. Amours of Cynthia and Flavia...... STEele. Fair Sex..... 401. Correspondence between Amoret a ... 402. Letters from Sylvia, complaining of 403. Speculations of Coffee-house Politi- France 404. On the misapplication of Nature's Gifts........ 405. On the Improvement of sacred Music ... 406. Letters on the Joys and Satisfac- 407. Character of English Oratory-Use 408. On the study of human Nature-the 409. Characteristics of Taste ....... 410. Adventures of Sir Roger de Cover- STEELE. BUDGELL. STEELE. ADDISON. UNKNOWN. ADDISON. STEELE. ADDISON. UNKNOWN. ADDISON. STEELE. TICKELL. 422. On Raillery-Characters of Callis- thenes, Acetus, and Minutius.............. STEELE. 423. Advice to Gloriana respecting the studied Addresses of Strephon and 424. On good Humour-The Country 425. Beauties of the Evening-Vicissi- tudes of Night and Day, a Drama UNKNOWN. Son 427. The Love of Defamation .... 428. Various Subjects proposed for 429. Infirmary for ill-humoured People— 430. Increase of Beggars-Impostors- 431. Negligence of Parents-Letters of 432. On Prejudice and Emulation-a 433. Advantages of the Sexes associating STEELE. -History of a male Republic...... ADDISON. 434. History of a female Republic 435. Female Dress-Mixture of the Sexes in one Person female Equestrians. - 436. A Visit to the Bear Garden .... 437. Character of Sempronia, a Match- STEELE. maker-Letter on naked Shoulders STEele. 438. On a passionate Temper-the angry ... 439. The manners of Courts-The Spy and the Cardinal 440. Proceedings of the Infirmary for ill- 441. Happiness of Dependence on the 442. The Author's address to his Cor- ADDISON. ... STEELE. respondents Thesis proposed 444. On Quack Advertisements 445. On the new Stamp-Success of the 447. Influence of Custom-Moral de- 448. On breach of Promises-coming ................. 449. Filial Piety of Fidelia-on the Col- ...... ADDISON. STEELE. Be calm, my Delius, and serene, Sink not underneath the weight; The settled quiet of thy mind destroy. I HAVE always preferred cheerfulness to mirth. The latter I consider as an act, the former as an habit of the mind. Mirth is short and transient, cheerfulness fixed and permanent. Those are often raised into the greatest transports of mirth, who are shiect to the greatest depressions of melancholy. e contrary, cheerfulness, though it does not VOL. XII. B give the mind such an exquisite gladness, prevents us from falling into any depths of sorrow. Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of day-light in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity. Men of austere principles look upon mirth as too wanton and dissolute for a state of probation, and as filled with a certain triumph and insolence of heart that is inconsistent with a life which is every moment obnoxious to the greatest dangers. Writers of this complexion have observed, that the Sacred Person who was the great pattern of perfection was never seen to laugh. Cheerfulness of mind is not liable to any of these exceptions; it is of a serious and composed nature: it does not throw the mind into a condition improper for the present state of humanity, and is very conspicuous in the characters of those who are looked upon as the greatest philosophers among the heathens, as well as among those who have been deservedly esteemed as saints and holy men among Christians. If we consider cheerfulness in three lights, with regard to ourselves, to those we converse with, and to the great Author of our being, it will not a little recommend itself on each of these accounts. The man who is possessed of this excellent frame of mind, is not only easy in his thoughts, but a perfect master of all the powers and faculties of his soul. His imagination is always clear, and his judgment undisturbed; his temper is even and unruffled, whether in action or in solitude. He comes with relish to all those goods which nature has provided for him, tastes all the pleasures of the creation which are poured about him, and does not feel the full |