e representation which was made of
them, and were observed to be more regular in their conduct
afterwards."]

[Footnote 264: The kept mistress of a knight of the shire near
Brentford, who squandered his estate on women, and in contested
elections. He has long since gone into the land of oblivion. See No.
51.--(Nichols.)]

[Footnote 265: Several such verses, inscribed on the glasses of the Kit
Cat Club, are given in Nichols' "Select Collection of Poems," v.
168-178.]

[Footnote 266: Admiral Sir John Norris (died 1749) was sent in June
1709, with a small squadron, to stop the French supply of corn from the
Baltic.]

No. 25. [STEELE.

From _Saturday, June 4_, to _Tuesday, June 7_, 1709.

* * * * *

White's Chocolate-house, June 6.

A letter from a young lady, written in the most passionate terms
(wherein she laments the misfortune of a gentleman, her lover, who was
lately wounded in a duel), has turned my thoughts to that subject, and
inclined me to examine into the causes which precipitate men into so
fatal a folly.[267] And as it has been proposed to treat of subjects of
gallantry in the article from hence, and no one point of nature is more
proper to be considered by the company who frequent this place, than
that of duels, it is worth our consideration to examine into this
chimerical groundless humour, and to lay every other thought aside, till
we have stripped it of all its false pretences to credit and reputation
amongst men. But I must confess, when I consider what I am going about,
and run over in my imagination all the endless crowd of men of honour
who will be offended at such a discourse, I am undertaking, methinks, a
work worthy an invulnerable hero in romance, rather than a private
gentleman with a single rapier; but as I am pretty well acquainted by
great opportunities with the nature of man, and know of a truth, that
all men fight against their will, the danger vanishes, and resolution
rises upon this subject. For this reason I shall talk very freely on a
custom which all men wish exploded, though no man has courage enough to
resist it. But there is one unintelligible word which I fear will
extremely perplex my dissertation, and I confess to you I find very
hard to explain, which is, the term "satisfaction." An honest country
gentleman had the misfortune to fall into company with two or three
modern men of honour, where he happened to be very ill-treated; and