band. 6. people of that place for his great wisdom and his broad He contracted his mouth with much gravity, and, that he might difpofe his mind to be more ferious than ordinary, began the tune of The children of the wood, and went through part of it with good fuccefs when on a fudden the wit at his elbow, who had appeared wonderfully grave and attentive for fome time, gave him a touch upon the left shoulder, and stared him in the face with fo bewitching a grin, that the whiftler relaxed his fibres into a kind of fimper, and at length burst out into an open laugh. The third who entered the lifts 6. was a footman, who in defiance of the Merry-Andrew, and all his arts, whistled a Scats tune and an Italian fonata, with fo fettled a countenance, that he bore away the prize, to the great admiration of fome hundreds of " perfons, who, as well as myfelf, were prefent at this trial of fkill. Now, Sir, I humbly conceive, whatever you have determined of the grinners, the whiftlers ought to be encouraged, not only as their art is practifed without diftortion, but as it improves country mufic, promotes gravity, and teaches ordinary people to keep their countenances, if they fee any thing ridiculous in their betters; befides that, it feems au entertainment very particularly adapted to the Bath, as it is ufual for a rider to whiftle to his horfe when he would make his water pafs. 2 I am, Sir, &c. POSTSCRIPT. ر AFTER having difpatched thefe two important points of grinning and whiftling, I hope you will oblige the world with fome reflections upon yawning, as I have feen it practifed on a twelfth-night among other Chriftmafs gambols, at the houfe of a very worthy gentleman, who always entertains his tenants at that time of the year. They yawn for a Cheshire chee fe, and begin about midnight, when the whole company is difpofed to droufy. He that yawns wideft, and at the fame time fo naturally as to produce the moft yawns amongst the fpectators, carries home the cheese. If you handle this fubject as you ought, I queftion not but your paper will be fet fet half the kingdom a yawning, though I dare promife" you it will never make any body fall afleep." No 180. Wednesday, September 26.7 -Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi.murod te The people fuffer when the prince offends. THE CREECH. HE following letter has fo much weight and good fenfe, that I cannot forbear inferting it, tho' it relates to an hardened finner, whom I have very little hopes of reforming, viz. Lewis XIV. of Fiances Mr SPECTATOR, MIDST the variety of fubjects of which you have A treated, I could with it had fallen in your way, to expofe the vanity of conquefts. This thought would naturally lead one to the French king, who has been generally eftecined the greatest conqueror of our age, till her majesty's armies had torn from him fo many of his countries, and deprived him of the fruit of all his former victories. For my own part, if I were to draw his pic6 ture, I fhould be for taking him no lower than to the peace of Ryfwick, juft at the end of his triumph, and be'fore his reverse of fortune; and even then I fhould not forbear thinking his ambition had been vain and unprofitable to himfolf and his people. A 6 As for himself, it is certain he can have gained nothing by his conquefts, if they have not rendered him mafter of more fubjects, more riches, or greater power. What I fhall be able to offer upon thefe heads, I refolve to fubmit to your confideration. To begin then with his increale of fubjects. From the time he came of age, and has been a manager for himfelf, all the people he had acquired were fuch only as he had reduced by his wars, and were left in his poffeffion by the peace; he had conquered not above one third part of Flanders, and confequently no more than one. third part of the inhabitants of that province. ABOUT per ABOUT 100 years ago the houses in that country were all numbered, and by a juft computation the inha bitants of all forts could not then exceed 750,000 fouls. And if any man will confider the defolation by almost petual wars, the numerous armies that have lived almoft " ever fince at difcretion upon the people, and how much of their commerce has removed for more fecurity to other places, he will have little reafon to imagine that their numbers have fince increafed; and therefore with " one third part of that province that prince can have gain⚫ed no more than one third part of the inhabitants, or 6 250,000 new subjects, even though it fhould be supposed they were all contented to live fill in their native coun try, and transfer their allegiance to a new mafter.adel THE fertility. of this province, its convenient fituation for trade and commerce, its capacity for furnishing employment and fubfiftence to great numbers, and the vaft armies that have been mntained here, make it credible that the remaining two thirds of Flanders are equal to all his other conquefts; and confequently by all he cannot have gained more than 750,000 new fubjects, inen, women, and children, especially if a deduction shall be made of fuch as bave retired from the conqueror to live under their old mafters. IT is time now to fet bis lofs against his profit, and to fhew for the new fubjects he had acquired, how many old ones he had loft in the acquifition: I think that in his wars he has feldom brought lefs into the field, in all places, than 200,000 fighting men, befides what have been left in garrifons; and I think the common compatation is, that of an ariny, at the end of a campaign, without fieges or battles, fcarce four fifths can be inuftered of thofe that came into the field at the beginning of the year. His wars at feveral times, till the laft peace," have held about 20 years; and if 40,000 yearly loft, or a fifth part of his armies, are to be multiplied by 20, he • cannot have loft lefs than 800,000 of his old subjects, and all able-bodied men; a greater number than the new fubjects he had acquired.. A boon bow bedfe Bur this lofs is not all providence feems to have equally divided the whole mafs of mankind into different fexes, that every woman may have her husband, and that 6 bota both may equally contribute to the continuance of the fpecies. It follows then, that for all the men that have been loft, as many women muft have lived single, and it were but charity to believe they have not done all the 1 fervice they were capable of doing in their generation. In fo long a courfe of years great part of them must have died, and all the reft must go off at laft without leaving any reprefentatives behind. By this account the must have loft not only 800,000 fubjects, but double that number, and all the increase that was reasonably to be expected from it. “.. part IT is faid in the laft war there was a famine in his kingdom, which swept away two millions of his people. This is hardly credible. If the lofs was only of one fifth. of that fum, it was very great. But it is no won der there fhould be famine, where fo much of the people's fubftance is taken away for the king's ufe, that they have not fufficient left to provide against accidents; where fo many of the men are taken from the plough to ferve the king in his wars, and a great pant of the tillage is left to the weaker hands of fo many women and children. Whatever was the lofs, it must undoubt edly be placed to the account of his ambition. AND fo muft alfo the deftruction or bänishment of 3 or 400,000 of his reformed fubjects: he could have no other reafons for valuing thofe lives fo very cheap, but only to recommend himself to the bigotry of the Spanish nation. How fhould there be induftry in a country where all <property is precarious? What fubject will fow his land that his prince may reap the whole harveft? Parfimony and frugality must be ftrangers to fuch a people; for will any man fave to-day what he has reason to fear will be taken from him to-morrow? And where is the encouragement for marrying? Will any man think of raifing children, without any affurance of clothing for their backs, or for much as food for their bellies? And thus by his fatal ambition he must have leffened the number of his fubjects, not only by flaughter and deftruction, but, by preventing their very births, he has done as much as was poffible towards deftroying pofterity itself. Is this then the great, the invincible Lewis? This the immortal mán; the tout puiffant, or the almighty, as his flatterers have called him? Is this the man that is fo celebrated for his conquefts? For every fubject he has < acquired, has he not loft three that were his inheritance? Are not his troops fewer, and thofe neither fo well fed, or clothed, or paid, as they were formerly, though he has now fo much greater caufe to exert himself? And what can be the reafon of all this, but that his revenue is a great deal lefs, his fubjects are either poorer, or not fo many to be plundered by conftant taxes for his use? It is well for him he had found out a way to steal a kingdom; if he had gone on conquering as he did before, his ruin had been long fince finished. This brings to my mind a faying of king Pyrrhus, after he had a fecond time beat the Romans in a pitched battle, and was complimented by his generals; Yes, fays he, fuch another < victory, and I am quite undone. And fince I have mentioned Pyrrhus, I will end with a very good, tho' known 4tory of this ambitious mad-man. When he had fhewn the utmost fondnefs for his expedition against the Romans, Gyneas his chief minifter afked him what he propofed to himself by this war? Why, lay Pyrrhus, to conquer the Romans, and reduce all Italy to my obedience. What then? fays Cyneas. To país over into Sicily, fays Pyrrhus, and then all the Sicilians must be our fubjects. And what does your majesty intend next? Why truly, fays the king, to conquer Carthage, and make my felf mafter of all Africa. And what, Sir, Tays the minifter, is to be end of all your expeditions? Why then, fays the king, for the reft of our lives we'll fit <down to good wine. How, Sir, replied Cyneas, to bet. ter than we have now before us? Have we not already' as much as we can drink? T RIOT and excefs are not the becoming characters of princes; but if Pyrrhus and Lewis had debauched like Vitellius, they had been lefs hurtful to their people.and |