bodies, were feveral ladies who patched indifferently on both fides of their faces, and feem'd to fit there with no other intention but to fee the opera. Upon enquiry I found, that the body of Amazons on my right hand, were Whigs, and thofe on my left, Tories: And that thofe who had placed themselves in the middle boxes were a neutral party, whofe faces had not yet declared themfelves. Thefe laft, however, as I afterwards found, diminished daily, and took their party with one fide or the other; infomuch that I obferved in feveral of them, the patches, which were before difperfed equally, are now all gone over to the whig or tory fide of the face. The cenforious fay, That the men whose hearts are aimed at, are very often the occafions that one part of the face is thus difhououred, and lies under a kind of difgrace, while the other is fo much fet off and adorned by the owner; and that the patches turn to the right or to the left, according to the principles of the man who is moft in favour. But whatever may be the motives of a few fantastical coquettes, who do not patch for the publick good fo much as for their own private advantage, it is certain, that there are feveral women of honour who patch out of principle, and with an eye to the interest of their country Nay, I am informed that fome of them adhere fo ftedfaftly to their party, and are fo far from facrificing their zeal for the publick to their paffion for any particular perfon, that in a late draught of marriagearticles a lady has ftipulated with her husband, That, whatever his opinions are, fhe fhall be at liberty to patch on which fide the pleafes. I must here take notice, that Rofalinda, a famous whig partizan, has most unfortunately a very beautiful mole on the tory part of her forehead; which being very confpicuous, has occafioned many mistakes, and given an handle to her enemies to mifreprefent her face, as tho' it had revolted from the whig intereft. But, whatever this natural patch may feem to intimate, it is well known that her notions of government are ftill the fame. This unlucky mole, however, has misled feveral coxcombs ; and like the hanging out of false colours, made fome of them converfe with Rofalinda in what they thought the fpirit of her party, when on a sudden she has given them an If an unexpected fire, that has funk them all at once. Rofalinda is unfortunate in her mole, Nigranilla is as unhappy in a pimple, which forces her, against her inclinations, to patch on the whig fide. I am told that many virtuous matrons, who formerly have been taught to believe that this artificial spotting of the face was unlawful, are now reconciled by a zeal for their caufe, to what they could not be prompted by a concern for their beauty. This way of declaring war upon one another, puts me in mind of what is reported of the tigrefs, that feveral spots rife in her skin when the is angry, or as Mr. Cowley has imitated the verses that ftand as the motto of this paper, She fwells with angry pride,. And calls forth all ber Spots on ev'ry fide. When I was in the theatre the time above-mentioned,. Thad the curiofity to count the patches on both fides, and found the tory patches to be about twenty ftronger than the whig; but to make amends for this fmall inequality, I the next morning found the whole puppet-fhow filled with faces fpotted after the whiggish manner. Whether or no the ladies had retreated hither in order to rally their forces I cannot tell; but the next night they came in fo great a body to the opera, that they out-number'd the enemy. This account of party patches will, I am afraid, appear improbable to thofe who live at a diftance from the fafhionable world but as it is a distinction of a very fingular nature, and what perhaps may never meet with a parallel, I think I fhould not have difcharged the office of a faithful SPECTATOR, had not I recorded it. I have, in former papers, endeavoured to expofe this party-rage in women, as it only ferves to aggravate the hatreds and animofities that reign among men, and in a great meafure deprives the fair fex of thofe peculiar charms with which nature has endowed them. When the Romans and Sabines were at war, and juft upon the point of giving battle, the women, who were allied to both of them, interpofed with fo many tears and intreaties, that they prevented the mutual flaughter A 5, which which threatned both parties, and united them together in a firm and lasting peace. I would recommend this noble example to our British ladies, at a time when their country is torn with fo many unnatural divifions, that if they continue, it will be a misfortune to be born in it. The Grieks thought it fo improper for women to intereft themselves in competitions and contentions, that for this reafon, among others, they forbad them, under pain of death, to be prefent at the Olympick games, notwithstanding thefe were the publick diverfions of all Greece. As our English women excel thofe of all nations in beauty, they should endeavour to outfhine them in all other accomplishments proper to the fex, and to diftinguish themselves as tender mothers, and faithful wives, rather than as furious partizans. Female virtues are of a domeftick turn. The family is the proper province for private women to fhine in. If they must be fhewing their zeal for the publick, let it not be against thofe who are perhaps of the fame family, or at leaft of the fame religion or nation, but against thofe who are the open, profeffed, undoubted enemies of their faith, liberty and country. When the Romans were preffed with a foreign enemy, the ladies voluntarily contributed all their rings and jewels to affift the government under a publick exigence, which appeared fo laudable an action in the eyes of their countrymen, that from thenceforth it was permitted by a law to pronounce publick orations at the funeral of a woman in praife of the deceased person, which till that time was peculiar to men. Would our English ladies, inftead of flicking on a patch against those of their own country, fhew themfelves fo truly publickfpirited as to facrifice every one her necklace against the common enemy, what decrees ought not to be made in "favour of them? Since I am recollecting upon this fubject fuch paffages as occur to my memory out of ancient authors, I cannot omit a fentence in the celebrated funeral ordtion of Pericles, which he made in honour of those brave Athenians that were flain in a fight with the Lacedomonians. After having addreffed himself to the feveral ranks and orders of his countrymen, and fhewn them how how they should behave themfelves in the publick caufe, he turns to the female part of his audience; · And as for you (fays he) I fhall advise you in very few words : Afpire only to thofe virtues that are peculiar to your fex; follow your natural modefty, and think it your greatest commendation not to be talked of one way or other. C N° 82 Monday, June 4. Caput dominá venale fub hafta. basta. Juv. Sat. 3. v. 33•~ His fortunes ruin'd, and himself a flave. P ASSING under Ludgate the other day, I heard a voice bawling for charity, which I thought I had fomewhere heard before. Coming near to the grate, the prifoner called me by my name, and defired I would throw fomething into the box: I was out of countenance for him, and did as he bid me, by putting in half a crown. I went away, reflecting upon the ftrange conftitution of fome men, and how meanly they behave themselves in all forts of conditions. The perfon who begged of me is now, as I take it, fifty; I was. well acquainted with him till about the age of twentyfive; at which time a good eftate fell to him by the death of a relation. Upon coming to this unexpected good fortune, he ran into all the extravagancies imaginable; was frequently in drunken difputes, broke drawers heads, talked and fwore loud, was unmannerly to thofe above him, and infolent to those below him. I could not but remark, that it was the fame bafenefs of fpirit which worked in his behaviour in both fortunes: The fame little mind was infolent in riches, and fhameless in po verty. This accident made me mufe upon the circum ftance of being in debt in general, and folve in my mind what tempers were moft apt to fall into this error of life, as well as the misfortune it muft needs be to lan guifh under fuch preffures. As for myself, my natural averfion to that fort of converfation which makes a figure with the generality of mankind, exempts me from any temptations to expence; and all my business lies within a very narrow compass, which is only to give an honest man, who takes care of my estate, proper vouchers for his quarterly payments to me, and obferve what linen my laundrefs brings and takes away with her once a week My fteward brings his receipt ready for my fign ing; and I have a pretty implement with the refpective names of fhirts, cravats, handkerchiefs and stockings, with proper numbers to know how to reckon with my laundrefs. This being almost all the business I have in the world for the care of my own affairs, I am at full leifure to obferve upon what others do, with relation to their equipage and œconomy. When I walk the street, and obferve the hurry about. me in this town, Where with like hafte, tho' diff'rent ways they run I fay, when I behold this vaft variety of perfons and humours, with the pains they both take for the accomplishment of the ends mentioned in the above verses of Denham, I cannot much wonder at the endeavour after. gain, but am extremely aftonished that men can be fo infenfible of the danger of running into debt.. One would think it impoffible a man who is given to contract debts fhould know, that his creditor bas, from that moment in which he trangreffes payment, fo much as that demand comes to in his debtor's honour, liberty, and fortune. One would think he did not know, that his creditor can fay the worst thing imaginable of him,. to wit, That he is unjuft, without defamation; and can feize his perfon, without being guilty of an affault. Yet fuch is the loofe and abandoned turn of fome mens minds, that they can live under these conftant apprehenfions, and ftill go on to increase the cause of them. Can there be a more low and fervile condition, than to be ashamed, or afraid to fee any one man breathing? Yet he that is much in debt, is in that condition with relation |
