[Footnote 1: Motion]
[Footnote 2: 'Medicina Gymnastica, or, a Treatise concerning the Power
of Exercise'. By Francis Fuller, M.A.]
[Footnote 3: 'Artis Gymnasticæ apud Antiquos ...' Libri VI. (Venice,
1569). By Hieronymus Mercurialis, who died at Forli, in 1606. He speaks
of the shadow-fighting in Lib. iv. cap. 5, and Lib. v. cap. 2.]
* * * * *
No. 116. Friday, July 13, 1711. Budgell.
'... Vocat ingenti clamore Cithoeron,
Taygetique canes ...'
Virg.
Those who have searched into human Nature observe that nothing so much
shews the Nobleness of the Soul, as that its Felicity consists in
Action. Every Man has such an active Principle in him, that he will find
out something to employ himself upon in whatever Place or State of Life
he is posted. I have heard of a Gentleman who was under close
Confinement in the _Bastile_ seven Years; during which Time he amused
himself in scattering a few small Pins about his Chamber, gathering them
up again, and placing them in different Figures on the Arm of a great
Chair. He often told his Friends afterwards, that unless he had found
out this Piece of Exercise, he verily believed he should have lost his
Senses.
After what has been said, I need not inform my Readers, that Sir ROGER,
with whose Character I hope they are at present pretty well acquainted,
has in his Youth gone through the whole Course of those rural Diversions
which the Country abounds in; and which seem to be extreamly well suited
to that laborious Industry a Man may observe here in a far greater
Degree than in Towns and Cities. I have before hinted at some of my
Friend's Exploits: He has in his youthful Days taken forty Coveys of
Partridges in a Season; and tired many a Salmon with a Line consisting
but of a single Hair. The constant Thanks and good Wishes of the
Neighbourhood always attended him, on account of his remarkable Enmity
towards Foxes; having destroyed more of those Vermin in one Year, than
it was thought the whole Country could have produced. Indeed the Knight
does not scruple to own among his most intimate Friends that in order to
establish his Reputation this Way, he has secretly sent for great
Numbers of them out of other Counties, which he used to turn loose about
the Country by Night, that he might the better signalize himself in
their Destruction the next Day. His Hunting-Horses were the finest and
best managed in all these Parts: His Tenants are still full of the
Praises of a grey Stone-horse that unhappily staked himself several
Years since, and was buried with great Solemnity in the Orchard.
Sir _Roger_, being at present too old for Fox-hunting, to keep himself
in Action, has disposed of his Beagles and got a Pack of _Stop-Hounds_.
What these want in Speed, he endeavours to make amends for by the
Deepness of their Mouths and the Variety of their Notes, which are
suited in such manner to each other, that the whole Cry makes up a
compleat Consort. [1] He is so nice in this Particular that a Gentleman
having made him a Present of a very fine Hound the other Day, the Knight
returned it by the Servant with a great many Expressions of Civility;
but desired him to tell his Master, that the Dog he had sent was indeed
a most excellent _Base_, but that at present he only wanted a
_Counter-Tenor_. Could I believe my Friend had ever read _Shakespear_, I
should certainly conclude he had taken the Hint from _Theseus_ in the
_Midsummer Night's Dream_. [2]
_My Hounds are bred out of the_ Spartan _Kind,
So flu'd, so sanded; and their Heads are hung
With Ears that sweep away the Morning Dew.
Crook-knee'd and dew-lap'd like_ Thessalian _Bulls;
Slow in Pursuit, but match'd in Mouths like Bells,
Each under each: A Cry more tuneable
Was never hallowed to, nor chear'd with Horn._
Sir _Roger_ is so keen at this Sport, that he has been out almost every
Day since I came down; and upon the Chaplain's offering to lend me his
easy Pad, I was prevailed on Yesterday Morning to make one of the
Company. I was extremely pleased, as we rid along, to observe the
general Benevolence of all the Neighbourhood towards my Friend. The
Farmers Sons thought themselves happy if they could open a Gate for the
good old Knight as he passed by; which he generally requited with a Nod
or a Smile, and a kind Enquiry after their Fathers and Uncles.
After we had rid about a Mile from Home, we came upon a large Heath, and
the Sports-men began to beat. They had done so for some time, when, as I
was at a little Distance from the rest of the Company, I saw a Hare pop
out from a small Furze-brake almost under my Horse's Feet. I marked the
Way she took, which I endeavoured to make the Company sensible of by
extending my Arm; but to no purpose, 'till Sir ROGER, who knows that
none of my extraordinary Motions are insignificant, rode up to me, and
asked me _if Puss was gone that Way?_ Upon my answering _Yes_, he
immediately called in the Dogs, and put them upon the Scent. As they
were going off, I heard one of the Country-Fellows muttering to his
Companion, _That 'twas a Wonder they had not lost all their Sport, for
want of the silent Gentleman's crying STOLE AWAY._
This, with my Aversion to leaping Hedges, made me withdraw to a rising
Ground, from whence I could have the Picture of the whole Chace, without
the Fatigue of keeping in with the Hounds. The Hare immediately threw
them above a Mile behind her; but I was pleased to find, that instead of
running straight forwards, or in Hunter's Language, _Flying the
Country_, as I was afraid she might have done, she wheel'd about, and
described a sort of Circle round the Hill where I had taken my Station,
in such manner as gave me a very distinct View of the Sport. I could see
her first pass by, and the Dogs some time afterwards unravelling the
whole Track she had made, and following her thro' all her Doubles. I was
at the same time delighted in observing that Deference which the rest of
the Pack paid to each particular Hound, according to the Character he
had acquired amongst them: If they were at Fault, and an old Hound of
Reputation opened but once, he was immediately followed by the whole
Cry; while a raw Dog or one who was a noted _Liar_, might have yelped
his Heart out, without being taken Notice of.
The Hare now, after having squatted two or three Times, and been put up
again as often, came still nearer to the Place where she was at first
started. The Dogs pursued her, and these were followed by the jolly
Knight, who rode upon a white Gelding, encompassed by his Tenants and
Servants, and chearing his Hounds with all the Gaiety of Five and
Twenty. One of the Sportsmen rode up to me, and told me, that he was
sure the Chace was almost at an End, because the old Dogs, which had
hitherto lain behind, now headed the Pack. The Fellow was in the right.
Our Hare took a large Field just under us, followed by the full Cry _in
View_. I must confess the Brightness of the Weather, the Chearfulness of
everything around me, the _Chiding_ of the Hounds, which was returned
upon us in a double Eccho, from two neighbouring Hills, with the
Hallowing of the Sportsmen, and the Sounding of the Horn, lifted my
Spirits into a most lively Pleasure, which I freely indulged because I
was sure it was _innocent_. If I was under any Concern, it was on the
Account of the poor Hare, that was now quite spent, and almost within
the Reach of her Enemies; when the Huntsman getting forward threw down
his Pole before the Dogs. They were now within eight Yards of that Game
which they had been pursuing for almost as many Hours; yet on the Signal
before-mentioned they all made a sudden Stand, and tho' they continued
opening as much as before, durst not once attempt to pass beyond the
Pole. At the same time Sir ROGER rode forward, and alighting, took up
the Hare in his Arms; which he soon delivered up to one of his Servants
with an Order, if she could be kept alive, to let her go in his great
Orchard; where it seems he has several of these Prisoners of War, who
live together in a very comfortable Captivity. I was highly pleased to
see the Discipline of the Pack, and the Good-nature of the Knight, who
could not find in his heart to murther a Creature that had given him so
much Diversion.
As we were returning home, I remembred that Monsieur _Paschal_ in his
most excellent Discourse on _the Misery of Man_, tells us, That _all our
Endeavours after Greatness proceed from nothing but a Desire of being
surrounded by a Multitude of Persons and Affairs that may hinder us from
looking into our selves, which is a View we cannot bear_. He afterwards
goes on to shew that our Love of Sports comes from the same Reason, and
is particularly severe upon HUNTING, _What_, says he, _unless it be to
drown Thought, can make Men throw away so much Time and Pains upon a
silly Animal, which they might buy cheaper in the Market_? The foregoing
Reflection is certainly just, when a Man suffers his whole Mind to be
drawn into his Sports, and altogether loses himself in the Woods; but
does not affect those who propose a far more laudable End from this
Exercise, I mean, _The Preservation of Health, and keeping all the
Organs of the Soul in a Condition to execute her Orders_. Had that
incomparable Person, whom I last quoted, been a little more indulgent to
himself in this Point, the World might probably have enjoyed him much
longer; whereas thro' too great an Application to his Studies in his
Youth, he contracted that ill Habit of Body, which, after a tedious
Sickness, carried him oft in the fortieth Year of his Age; [3] and the
whole History we have of his Life till that Time, is but one continued
Account of the behaviour of a noble Soul struggling under innumerable
Pains and Distempers.
For my own part I intend to Hunt twice a Week during my Stay with Sir
ROGER; and shall prescribe the moderate use of this Exercise to all my
Country Friends, as the best kind of Physick for mending a bad
Constitution, and preserving a good one.
I cannot do this better, than in the following Lines out of Mr.
_Dryden_ [4].
_The first Physicians by Debauch were made;
Excess began, and Sloth sustains the Trade.
By Chace our long-liv'd Fathers earn'd their Food;
Toil strung the Nerves, and purify'd the Blood;
But we their Sons, a pamper'd Race of Men,
Are dwindled down to threescore Years and ten.
Better to hunt in Fields for Health unbought,
Than fee the Doctor for a nauseous Draught.
The Wise for Cure on Exercise depend:
God never made his Work for Man to mend._
[Footnote 1: As to dogs, the difference is great between a hunt now and
a hunt in the 'Spectator's' time. Since the early years of the last
century the modern foxhound has come into existence, while the beagle
and the deep-flewed southern hare-hound, nearly resembling the
bloodhound, with its sonorous note, has become almost extinct.
Absolutely extinct also is the old care to attune the voices of a pack.
Henry II, in his breeding of hounds, is said to have been careful not
only that they should be fleet, but also 'well-tongued and consonous;'
the same care in Elizabeth's time is, in the passage quoted by the
'Spectator', attributed by Shakespeare to Duke Theseus; and the paper
itself shows that care was taken to match the voices of a pack in the
reign also of Queen Anne. This has now been for some time absolutely
disregarded. In many important respects the pattern harrier of the
present day differs even from the harriers used at the beginning of the
present century.]
[Footnote 2: Act IV. sc. 1.]
[Footnote 3: Pascal, who wrote a treatise on Conic sections at the age
of 16, and had composed most of his mathematical works and made his
chief experiments in science by the age of 26, was in constant
suffering, by disease, from his 18th year until his death, in 1662, at
the age stated in the text. Expectation of an early death caused him to
pass from his scientific studies into the direct service of religion,
and gave, as the fruit of his later years, the Provincial Letters and
the 'Pensées'.]
[Footnote 4: Epistle to his kinsman, J. Driden, Esq., of Chesterton.]
* * * * *
No. 117. Saturday, July 14, 1711. Addison.
'... Ipsi sibi somnia fingunt.'
Virg.
There are some Opinions in which a Man should stand Neuter, without
engaging his Assent to one side or the other. Such a hovering Faith as
this, which refuses to settle upon any Determination, is absolutely
necessary to a Mind that is careful to avoid Errors and Prepossessions.
When the Arguments press equally on both sides in Matters that are
indifferent to us, the safest Method is to give up our selves to
neither.
It is with this Temper of Mind that I consider the Subject of
Witchcraft. When I hear the Relations that are made from all Parts of
the World, not only from _Norway_ and _Lapland_, from the _East_ and
_West Indies_, but from every particular Nation in _Europe_, I cannot
forbear thinking that there is such an Intercourse and Commerce with
Evil Spirits, as that which we express by the Name of Witch-craft. But
when I consider that the ignorant and credulous Parts of the World
abound most in these Relations, and that the Persons among us, who are
supposed to engage in such an Infernal Commerce, are People of a weak
Understanding and a crazed Imagination, and at the same time reflect
upon the many Impostures and Delusions of this Nature that have been
detected in all Ages, I endeavour to suspend my Belief till I hear more
certain Accounts than any which have yet come to my Knowledge. In short,
when I consider the Question, whether there are such Persons in the
World as those we call Witches? my Mind is divided between the two
opposite Opinions; or rather (to speak my Thoughts freely) I believe in
general that there is, and has been such a thing as Witch-craft; but at
the same time can give no Credit to any particular Instance of it.
I am engaged in this Speculation, by some Occurrences that I met with
Yesterday, which I shall give my Reader an Account of at large. As I was
walking with my Friend Sir ROGER by the side of one of his Woods, an old
Woman applied herself to me for my Charity. Her Dress and Figure put me
in mind of the following Description in [_Otway_. [1]]
In a close Lane as I pursued my Journey,
I spy'd a wrinkled Hag, with Age grown double,
Picking dry Sticks, and mumbling to her self.
Her Eyes with scalding Rheum were gall'd and red,
Cold Palsy shook her Head; her Hands seem'd wither'd;
And on her crooked Shoulders had she wrap'd
The tatter'd Remnants of an old striped Hanging,
Which served to keep her Carcase from the Cold:
So there was nothing of a Piece about her.
Her lower Weeds were all o'er coarsly patch'd
With diff'rent-colour'd Rags, black, red, white, yellow,
And seem'd to speak Variety of Wretchedness. [2]
[As I was musing on this Description, and comparing it with the Object
before me, the Knight told me, [3]] that this very old Woman had the
Reputation of a Witch all over the Country, that her Lips were observed
to be always in Motion, and that there was not a Switch about her House
which her Neighbours did not believe had carried her several hundreds of
Miles. If she chanced to stumble, they always found Sticks or Straws
that lay in the Figure of a Cross before her. If she made any Mistake at
Church, and cryed _Amen_ in a wrong Place, they never failed to conclude
that she was saying her Prayers backwards. There was not a Maid in the
Parish that would take a Pin of her, though she would offer a Bag of
Mony with it. She goes by the Name of _Moll White_, and has made the
Country ring with several imaginary Exploits which are palmed upon her.
If the Dairy Maid does not make her Butter come so soon as she should
have it, _Moll White_ is at the Bottom of the Churn. If a Horse sweats
in the Stable, _Moll White_ has been upon his Back. If a Hare makes an
unexpected escape from the Hounds, the Huntsman curses _Moll White_.
Nay, (says Sir ROGER) I have known the Master of the Pack, upon such an
Occasion, send one of his Servants to see if _Moll White_ had been out
that Morning.
This Account raised my Curiosity so far, that I begged my Friend Sir
ROGER to go with me into her Hovel, which stood in a solitary Corner
under the side of the Wood. Upon our first entering Sir ROGER winked to
me, and pointed at something that stood behind the Door, which, upon
looking that Way, I found to be an old Broom-staff. At the same time he
whispered me in the Ear to take notice of a Tabby Cat that sat in the
Chimney-Corner, which, as the old Knight told me, lay under as bad a
Report as _Moll White_ her self; for besides that _Moll_ is said often
to accompany her in the same Shape, the Cat is reported to have spoken
twice or thrice in her Life, and to have played several Pranks above the
Capacity of an ordinary Cat.
I was secretly concerned to see Human Nature in so much Wretchedness and
Disgrace, but at the same time could not forbear smiling to hear Sir
ROGER, who is a little puzzled about the old Woman, advising her as a
Justice of Peace to avoid all Communication with the Devil, and never to
hurt any of her Neighbours' Cattle. We concluded our Visit with a
Bounty, which was very acceptable.
In our Return home, Sir ROGER told me, that old _Moll_ had been often
brought before him for making Children spit Pins, and giving Maids the
Night-Mare; and that the Country People would be tossing her into a Pond
and trying Experiments with her every Day, if it was not for him and his
Chaplain.
I have since found upon Enquiry, that Sir ROGER was several times
staggered with the Reports that had been brought him concerning this old
Woman, and would frequently have bound her over to the County Sessions,
had not his Chaplain with much ado perswaded him to the contrary. [4]
I have been the more particular in this Account, because I hear there is
scarce a Village in _England_ that has not a _Moll White_ in it. When an
old Woman begins to doat, and grow chargeable to a Parish, she is
generally turned into a Witch, and fills the whole Country with
extravagant Fancies, imaginary Distempers and terrifying Dreams. In the
mean time, the poor Wretch that is the innocent Occasion of so many
Evils begins to be frighted at her self, and sometimes confesses secret
Commerce and Familiarities that her Imagination forms in a delirious old
Age. This frequently cuts off Charity from the greatest Objects of
Compassion, and inspires People with a Malevolence towards those poor
decrepid Parts of our Species, in whom Human Nature is defaced by
Infirmity and Dotage.