"
The case of these ladies is indeed to be pitied, and the Society have
been further informed that the backwardness or fewness of the men in
that town has driven the poor ladies to unusual extremities, such as
running out into the fields to meet the men, and sending their maids to
ask them; and at last running away with their fathers' coachmen,
prentices, and the like, to the particular scandal of the town.
The Society concluded that the ladies should leave the village "famous
for having more coaches than Christians in it," as a learned man once
took the freedom to tell them "from the pulpit" and go to market,
_i.e._, to London.
The "Advice of the Scandalous Club" was discontinued from May, 1703.
Although we cannot say that Defoe carried his sword in a myrtle wreath,
he certainly owed much of his celebrity to his insinuating under
ambiguous language the boldest political opinions. He was fond of
literary whimsicalities, and wrote a humorous "History," referring
mostly to the events of the times. Towards the end of his career, he
happily turned his talent for disguises and fictions into a quieter and
more profitable direction. How many thousands remember him as the author
of "Robinson Crusoe" who never heard a word about his jousts and
conflicts, his animosities and misfortunes!
The last century, although adorned by several celebrated wits, was less
rich in humour than the present.
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