" ly fanciest, unthinking Zulima, that the fame " of thy Beauty will be wafted to the Pinnacles "of Agra by the fighs of thy Adorers, and that "their Applauses will be heard from the Cliffs of "Tourus to the Indian Ocean. Thou dost not "confider, frail Child of the Dust, that thou "art subject to the most loathsome Distempers. " Thou dost not confider, that a Leprofy may "render thee an object of detestation, and that "the Springs of Life may be poisoned by Mala" dies innumerable. If the Angel of Benevo"lence should intercede for thee at the Throne " of the Great Alla; if the Governor of the Uni 66 1 verse should command the Clouds of Sickness never to burst upon thy Head, yet no inter"ceding Angel can rescue thee from the Gripe " of Age, and disengage thee from the Talons " of Decrepitude. Thy love-darting Eyes muft " lose their lustre, and grow dim with years: "thy blooming Cheeks must be shrivell'd like "autumnal Leaves; and thy graceful Body must " be bent like the Bow of the Hunter. Thy " Admirers will then shun Thee with as much "Caution as they would the Month of a famish"ed Tyger, or the Jaws of an hungry Croco" dile; and start from Thee affrighted as if they " had felt the sting of a Scorpion, or the punc"ture of an Afp. Then wilt thou be the unhap F2 "happiest of Women. Thou adornest with " too much follicitude thy outward form, which " will perish like a Garment devoured by the "Moth, and which will be smote by the arrows " of Death, as Grass is levelled by the Scythe of "the Mower, whilft thy Mind, which will en"dure for ever, resembles the barren Mountain, " or the uncultivated Defart. - Think therefore, "Daughter of Pleasure, 'ere it is too late. "Reflect, whilst thou art capable of Reflection. " I am come from the bottom of the Earth to " make thee wifer, better, and even more love"ly. Watch thy Behaviour with the stricteft "Vigilance, and let not the flightest Signs of "Pride, Levity, or Self-admiration, be percep"tible in thy Looks, thy Actions, or thy Words. " Seem not to be confcious of thy Charms, and " they will beam forth with redoubled splendor : " forget that thou art fairer than other Women, " and thou wilt be the fairest among them. Be " not over studious to make thy Neck shine with "the glofly Pearls of Manar, and thy Hair glit"ter with the Diamonds of Golconda. "Be neat " in thy Person, be plain in thy Apparel. Sim"plicity is beyond Magnificence. Loveliness " wants not the aid of ornament, but is when " unadorned, adorned the most. Do not hang : over Fountains for the Pleasure of seeing thy " image reflected in them. Such a Defire can 66 only be prompted by Vanity, and ought there"fore to be suppressed. Censure not thy Virgin "Companions, because they have not the same "external Attractions thou art favoured with, "for they may be poffefsed of accomplishments "superior to thine, though they are not so con"fpicuous. Behold this Talisman; view it with " attention: it is the Talisman of Truth, made "with the finest Crystal, and so wonderfully "constructed, that it will not only shew thee "what thou art, but what thou shouldst be. "When thou resemblest in every respect the "Character I have drawn for Thee, thou wilt appear in the most amiable light: but when "any irregular Paffion, or any vicious Inclina"tion takes poffeffion of thy heart, and stimu"lates Thee to commit an unbecoming, or an " immoral Action, thou wilt see thyself in the "most odious colours. Thou wilt be changed "into a Monster of Ugliness. In such circum"ftances think on me. Repent, reform, and " thou wilt be restored to thy priftine Beauty."When the Genius had uttered the last Word, he put the Talisman into her Hand, and instantly difappeared, with the Pillar of Smoke, but left a fcent behind him grateful as the Evening Breeze which F3 which plays among the Sabaan Spices, or the fragrant Gale which flutters upon the gum-distilling Trees of Arabia. در Zulima's astonishment at the fudden appearance of the Genius, deprived her of the Powers of Speech, but the various emotions which she felt during his address to her were charactered in her Countenance. When he told her that he was delighted with her Perfon, the threw off her Neil with Exultatione: Her Eyes sparkled with Joy, her Bosom panted with Satitfaction. But when he informed her that she was subject to the most loathfome Distempers, she trembled, and grew pale. She was chilled with horror when he talked of the Gripe of Age, and shuddered at the mention of the Talons of Decrepitude. When he told her -the would be deserted by her Admirers, as foon as she had no Charms to allure them, she was torpid with amazement; but when he afterwards assured her she would become more beautiful by regarding his admonitions, her Heart danced with rapture, and her Lips quivered with ecstacy. She was fomewhat disconcerted to hear him prefer Plainness, Neatness and Simplicity, to Pomp, Grandeur and Magnificence: and to hear Selfadmiration and Censoriousness condemned by him with Severity. She was convinced however, foon after 4 after his departure, that it was necessary to follow the Rules he had prescribed, for on surveying herself in the Talisman, she discovered such an alteration in her Person, that she was struck with Fear, and let it fall to the Ground; but when she carefully took it up, with a wish that it might not be broken, she looked, on a second View, as engaging as ever. From that Moment she determined to obey her Monitor with punctuality; and after having prostrated herself to implore the affistance of Him who dwelleth in the Third Heaven, she returned to the House of her Father. 66 NUMB. XIV. Saturday, June 12, 1756. Rixatur de lanâ fæpe caprina. HOR. Eevisiness, says a nervous Writer, may be confidered as the canker of life, that "destroys its vigour, and checks its improvement; that creeps on with hourly depreda"tions, and taints and vitiates what it cannot " confume." Persons of a fretful, quarrelsome disposition, apt to take a light offence, and to be ruffled by trifles, may truly be called felf-tormentors, and F 4 the |