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people of that place for his great wisdom and his broad band. He contrasted 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 grion, that the whiftler relax'ed his fibres into a kind of fumper, and at length burft out into an open laugh. The third who entered the lifts was a footman, who in defiance of the Merry-Andrew, ' and all his arts, whistled a Scots tune and an Italian fonata, with so settled a countenance, that he bore away the prize, to the great admiration of fome hundreds of perfons, who, as well as myself, were present at this trial of skill. Now, Sir, I humbly conceive, whatever you ' have determined of the grinners, the whiftiers ought to be encouraged, not only as their art is practifed without ' distortion, but as it improves country mufic, proinotes gravity, and teaches ordinary people to keep their countenances, if they fee any thing ridiculous in their betters; befides that, it feems an entertainment very particularly adapted to the Bath, as it is ufaal for a rider to whiftle to his horfe when he would make his water país.

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I am, Sir, &c.

POSTSCRIPT.

AFTER having dispatched these two important points of grinning and whistling, I hope you will oblige the < world with fome reflections upon yawning, as I have • seen it practifed on a twelfth-night among other Chriftmass gambols, at the house of a very worthy gentleman, who always entertains his tenants at that time of the year. They yawn for a Cheshire cheefe, and begin about midnight, when the whole company is disposed to be droufy. He that yawns wideft, and at the fame time fo naturally as to produce the most yawns amongst the spectators, carries home the cheese. If you handle this • fubject as you ought, I question not but your paper will ' set half the kingdom a yawning, though I dare promife < you it will never make any body fall afleep."

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HE following letter has so much weight and good fense, 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 France.

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Mr SPECTATOR, MIDST the variety of subjects of which you have treated, I could wish it had fallen in your way, ' to expose the vanity of conquests. This thought would naturally lead one to the French king, who has been ge'nerally esteeined 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 pic'ture, I should be for taking him no lower than to the peace of Ryfwick, just at the end of his triumph, and be'fore his reverfe of fortune; and even then I should not forbear thinking his ambition had been vain and unpro• fitable to himself and his people.

As for himfelf, it is certain he can have gained nothing by his conquefts, if they have not rendered him master of more fubjects, more riches, or greater power. 'What I shall be able to offer upon these heads, I refolve to fubmit to your confideration.

'To begin then with his increafs 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 poffeflion 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.

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ABOUT 100 years ago the houses in that country were all numbered, and by a just computation the inhabitants of all forts could not then exceed 750,000 fouls. And if any man will confider the defolation by almost per'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 security to o'ther places, he will have little reafon to imagine that their numbers have fince increased; and therefore with ' one third part of that province that prince can have gained no more than one third part of the inhabitants, or 250,000 new fubjects, even though it should be fuppofed they were all contented to live still in their native country, and transfer their allegiance to a new mafter.

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'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 maintained here, make it credible that the remaining two thirds of Flanders are equal to all his other conquests; and confequently by all he cannot have gained more than 750,000 new fubjects, inen, women, and children, especially if a deduction fhall be made of fuch as have retired from the conqueror to 'live under their old masters.

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‹ IT is time now to fet his loss against his profit, and to shew 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 less into the field, in all places, than 200,000 fighting men, befides what have 'been left in garrifons; and Ithink the common compatation is, that of an army, at the end of a campaign, without fieges or battles, scarcefour fifths can be mufter'ed of those that came into the field at the beginning of the year. His wars at several times, till the last peace, ' have held about 20 years; and if 40,000 yearly loft, or a fifth part of his armies, ate to be multiplied by 20, he 'cannot have loft less than 200,000 of his old fubjets, and all able-bodied men; a greater number than the new fubjects he had acquired.

BUT 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

both may equally contribute to the continuance of the species. It follows then, that for all the men that have • been loft, as many women must have lived single, and it were but charity to believe they have not done all the 4 service they were capable of doing in their generation. In fo long a course of years great part of them must have died, and all the rest must go off at last without leaving any representatives behind. By this account he must have lost not only 800,000 subjects, but double that number, and all the increase that was reasonably to be expected from it.

'Iris faid in the last 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 part of that fum, it was very great. But it is no wonder there should be famine, where so much of the people's substance is taken away for the king's ufe, that they have not fufficient left to provide against accidents; where so many of the men are taken from the plough to forve the king in his wars, and a great part of the tillage is left to the weaker hands of so many women ' and children. Whatever was the lofs, it must undoubt

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edly be placed to the account of his ambition.

• AND so must also the deftruction or banishment of 3 'or 400,000 of his reformed subjects: he could have no other reasons for valuing those lives so very cheap, but only to recommend himself to the bigotry of the Spanish

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'How should there be industry in a country where all property is precarious? What fubject will fow his land that his prince may reap the whole harvest? Parfimony ⚫ and frugality must be strangers to fuch a people; for ⚫ will any inan save 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 afsurance of clothing for their backs, or fo much as food for their bellies? And thus by his fatal ambition he must have lessened the number of his subjects, not only by slaughter and destruction, ' but, by preventing their very births, he has done as much as was possible towards destroying pofterity itself.

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Is this then the great, the invincible Lewis? This the immortal man'; the tout puiffant, or the almighty, as his flatterers have called him? Is this the man that is fo celebrated for his conquests? For every fubject he has acquired, has he not loft three that were his inheritance? Are not his troops fewer, and those neither fo well fed, or clothed, or paid, as they were formerly, though he has now fo much greater cause to exert himfelf? And < what can be the reason of all this, but that his revenue is a great deal lefs, his fubjects are either poorer, or not 'so many to be plundered by constant taxes for his use?

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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 Rowmans in a pitched battle, and was com'pl plimented by his generals; Yes, fays he, fuch another villery, and I am quite undone. And fince I have mentioned Pyrrhus, I will end with a very good, tho' known ftory of this ambitious mad-man. When he had thewn the utmoft fondness for his expedition against the Romans, Gyneas his chief minister afked him what he propofed to himself by this war? Why, fay Pyrrhus, to conquer the Romans, and reduce all Italy to my obediWhat then? fays Gyneas. To pass over into Sicily, fays Pyrrhus, and then all the Sicilians must be our fubjects. And what does your majefty intend next? Why truly, fays the king, to conquer Carthage, and make my felf master of all Africa. And what, Sir, fays the minifter, is to be end of all your expeditions? Why then, frys the king, for the rest of our lives we'll fit down to good wine. How, Sir, replied Gyneas, to bet. ter than we have now before us? Have we not already as inuch as we can drink?

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RIOT and excess are not the becoming characters of princes; but if Pyrrhus and Lewis had debauched like Vitellius, they had been less hurtful to their people.