motion of Venus the principal thing, by which Æneas discovers her under all her difguife; though the commentators, as ufual, would fain find out a more dark and myfterious meaning for it.

All the beft Statues are reprefented as in fome action, or motion; and the moft graceful flatue in the world (the Apollo Belvedere) is so much fo, that when one faces it at little diftance one is almoft apt to imagine, that he is actually going to move on toward you.

All graceful heads, even in the portraits of the beft painters, are in mo. tion; and very frongly in thofe of Guido in particular; which,as you may remember, are all either cafting their looks up toward heaven, or down toward the ground, or fide way, as re、 garding fome object. A head that is quite unactive, and flung flat upon the canvas (like the faces on medals after the fall of the Roman empire, or the Gothic heads before the re vival of the arts) will be fo far from having any grace, that it will not even have any life in it.

The fecond obfervation is; "That there can be no grace, with impropriety" or, in other words, that nothing can be graceful, that is not adapted to the characters of the perfon.

The graces of a little lively beauty would become ungraceful in a charafter of majefty; as the majeftic airs of an emprefs would quite defroy the prettiness of the former. The viva. city that adds a grace to beauty in youth, would give an additional deformity to old age; and the very fame airs, which would be charming on fome occafions, may be quite fhocking when extremely mil timed, or extremely mif-placed.

This infeparable union of propriety and grace feems to have been the geperal fenfe of mankind; as we may quefs from the languages of feveral nations; in which fome words that anfwer to our proper or becoming, are used indifferently for beautiful or graceful.

And yet I cannot think (as fome feem inclined to do) that grace conFifts entirely in propriety; because propriety is a thing-cary enough to be

underflood, and grace (after all we can fay about it) very difficult. Propriety therefore and grace are no more one and the fame thing, than grace and motion are: it is true, it cannot fubfift without either; but then there feems to be fomething elfe, what I cannot explain, and what I do not know that ever any body has explained, that goes to the compo fition; and which may poffibly give its greateft force and pleafiognefs.

Whatever are the caufes of it, this is certain, that grace is the chief of all the conftituent parts of beauty; and fo much fo, that it feems to be the only one which is abfolutely_and univerfally admired. All the reft are only relative. One likes a brunette beauty better than a fair one; a perfon of a mild temper will be fond of the gentler paffions in the face, and one of a bolder caft may chufe to have move vivacity and more vigorous paffions expreft there but grace is found in few, and is pleafing to all.

Grace, like poetry, muft be born with a perfon; and is never, wholly, to be acquired by art...

The moft celebrated of all the and cient painters, was Apelles; and the moft celebrated of all the modern, Raphael: and it is remarkable, that the diftinguishing chara&er of each of them was grace. Indeed, that alone could have given them fo high a pre-eminence over all their other competitors.

Grace has nothing to do with the loweft part of beauty, or colour; very little with fhape and very much with the paffions. For it is the who gives their higeft zeft, and the moft delicious part of their pleafingnefs to the expreffions of each of

dants of Venus, or the caufe of love: and, in fact, there is nothing caufes lo e fo generally, and fo irrefiftably, as Grace. It is like the Ceftus of the fame goddefs, which was fuppofed to comprehend every thing that was winning and engaging in it; and be fide all, to oblige the heart to love by a fecret and inexplicable force, like that of fome magic charm.

SELIM to MIRZA.

(From Lord LITTLETON's Works.)

THOU wouldeft be aftonished to

hear, fome women in this Country talk of Lo e their difcourfes about it are as renued as their notions of paradife, and they exclude the pleasure of

the fentes out of both. But, however fat sfied they may be in the world, to come with fuch vifionary joys, it is my opinion that the nicef of them all, if lae were to enjoy her paradife here, would make a mahometan one,

had lately a conversation on this fubje&t with one of thete platonics (for that is the title they affec) in anfwer to all her pretty reafonings, I told her the following tale of a fir Lady who was a platonic like herself.

The Loves of LUDOVICO

and HONORIA.

THE city of Genoa has been always famed, bo e any town in Europe, for the refinement of its gallantry. It is common there for a gentleman to profefs himself the humble fervant of a handfome woman, and wait upon her to every public place for twenty years together, without ever feeing her in private, or being entitled to any greater favours than a kind look, or a touch of her fair hand, of all this fighing tribe, the moft enamoured, the moft conftant, and the moft refpe&tful, was Signior LuncVICO, His miftrefs HONO IA GRIMALDI, only daughter to a Senator of that name, was the greatest beauty of the age in which the lived, and, at the fame time, the coyeft and moft referved. So great was her nicety in the point of love, that although she could not be infenfi

ble to the addreffes of Signior Ludovi co, yet the could not bring herfelf to think of marrying her lover, which, the faid, was admitting him to freedoms entirely inconfiftent with the refpe& that character requires. In vain did he tell her of the violence of his paffion for her. She answered that hers for him was no lefs violent: but it was his mind fre loved, and could enjoy that without going to bed to him. Ludovico was ready to defpair at thefe difcourfes of his miftrefs. Hé could not but admire fuch fine fentiments, yet he wished the had not been' quite fo perfect. He wrote her a very melancholy letter; and the returned him one in verfe, full of fublime expreffions about love; but not a word that tended to fatisfy the poor man's impatience. At last he applied himfelf to her father; and, to engage him to make use of his authority, offered to take Honoria without a portion. The father, who was a plain man, was mightily pleafed with this propolal, and made no difficulty to promife him fuccefs: Accordingly he very must be married the next day, or go roundly told his daughter, that the to a nunnery. This dilemma fartled ber very much. In fpite of all her repugnance to the marriage bed, the found fomething about her ftill moreTM averfe to a cloifter. An abfolute fe

paration to Ludovico was what the

could not bear it was even worfe than an abfolute conjunction. In this diftrefs fhe did not know what to do; he turned over above a hundred romances,to fearch for precedents; and, after many ftruggles with herfell, refolved to furrender upon terms. She therefore told her lover that the confented to be his wife, provided the might be fo by degrees; and that, after the ceremony was over, he would not pretend at once, to all the rights and privileges of a husband; but allow her modefty leifure to make a gradual and decent retreat. Ludovi co did not like fuch a capitulation ; but, rather than not have her, he was content to pay this laft compliment to her caprice. They were married, and, at the end of the first month, he was very happy to find himself arrived at the full enjoyment of her lips.

While

القيم

While he was thus gaining ground trnch by inch, his father died and left him agreat effate in the ifland of Corfica. His prefence was neceffary there; but he could not think of parting from Honoria. They embarked together; and Ludovico had good hopes, that he fhould not only take poffeffion of his eftate, but of his wife too, at his arrival. Whether it was that Venus, Who is faid to be born out of the fea, was more powerful there than at land, or from the freedom which is ufual on board a fhip, it is fure that, during the voyage, he was indulged in greater liberties than ever he had prefumed to take before: nay, it is confidently afserted, that they were fuch liberties as have a natural and irrefiftable ten dency to overcome all scruples whatfoever. But while he was failing on with a fair wind, and almoft in the port, fortune, who took a pleasure to perfecute him; brought an African Corfair in their way, that quickly put an end to their dalliance, by making them his faves.

Who can exprefs the affliction and defpair of this loving couple, at fo fudden and illtimed a captivity! Ludovico faw himself deprived of his virgin bride, on the very point of obtaining all his wishes; and Honoria had reafon to apprehend, that he was fallen into rougher hands than his, and, fuch as no confiderations could refrain. But the martyrdom she looked for in that inflant was unexpectedly deferred till they come to Tunis. The corfair,feeing her fo beautiful,thought her a miftrefs worthy of his prince; and to him he prefented her at their landing, in spite of her own and her husband's tears. O unfortunate end of all her pure and heroical fenti ments! Was it for this her favours were fo long and fo obftinately denied to the tender Ludovico, to have them ravifhed in a moment by a rude barbarian, who did not fo much as thank her for them? But let us leave her in the feraglio of the Dey, and fee what became of Ludovico after this crei feparation. The corfair, finding him unfit for any labour, made ufe of him. to teach his children mufick, in which he was perfectly well skilled. This fervice would not have been very, painful, if it had not been for the re

membrance of Honoria, and the thought of the brutalities she was ex-. pofed to. These were always in his head, night and day; and he ima gined, that the had by this time killed her felf, rather than fubmit to fo grofs a violation. But, while he was thus tormenting himself for one woman, he gave equal uneafinefs to another. His mafter's wife faw him often from her window, and fell violently in love with him. The African ladies are utter Arangers to delicacy and refinement. She made no fcruple to acquaint him with her defires, and fent her favourite flave to introduce him by night into her chamber. Ludovico would fain have been excufed, being afhamed to com mit fuch an infidelity to his dear Honoria; but the flave informed him, that, if he hoped to live an hour, he must comply with her lady's inclina tions; for that, in Africk, refusals of that kind were always revenged with fword or poifon. No conftancy could be ftrong enough to refift lo terrible a menace he therefore went to the rendezvous at the time appointed, where he found a miftrefs ininitely more complying than his fantaftical Italian. But in the midft of their endearments they heard the corfair at the door of his wife's apartment Upon the alarm of his coming the frighted lover made the beft of his way out of the window; which not being very high, he had the good fortune to get off unhurt. The corfair did not fee him; but by the con fufion his wife was in, he suspected fomebody had been with her. His jealoufy directed him to Ludovico ; and though he had no other proof than bare fufpicion, he was deter mined to punish him feverely, and at the fame time fecure himself for the future. He therefore gave orders to his eunuchs to put him in the fame condition with themselves; which inhuman_command was performed with a Turkish rigour far more defperate and complete than any fuch thing had been ever practifed in Italy. But the change this operation wrought upon him, fo improved his voice, that he became the fineft finger in all Africk. His reputation was fo great that the Dey of Tunis fent to

beg