What acknowledged myself incapable. While I bufy myself as a stranger upon earth, and can pretend to no other than being a looker on, you are confpicuous in the bufy and polite world, both in the world of men, and that of letters: while I am filent and unobserved in public meetings, you admired by all that approach you as the life and genius of the converfation. an happy conjunction of different talents meets in him whofe whole difcourfe is at once animated by the ftrength and force of reafon, and adorned with all the graces and embellishments of wit? When learning irradiates common life, it is then in its higheft ufe and perfection; and it is to fuch as your Lordship, that the sciences owe the efteem which they have with the active part of mankind. Knowledge of books in reclufe men, is like that fort of of lanthorn which hides him who carries it, and ferves only to pafs through fecret. and gloomy paths of his own; but in the poffeffion of a man of business, it is as a torch in the hand of one who is willing and able to fhew thofe, who are bewildered, the way which leads to their profperity and welfare. A gene rous concern for your country, and a paffion for every thing which is truly great and noble, are what. actuate all: your life and actions; and I hope you will forgive me that I have an ambition this book may be placed in the library of fo good a judge of what is va-luable, in that library where the choice isfuch, that it will not be a difparagements to be the meaneft author in it. Forgive me, my Lord, for taking this occafion of: telling all the world how ardently I love love and honour you; and that I am, with the utmoft gratitude for all your favours, My LORD, Your Lordship's Most obliged, moft obedient, and moft bumble Servant, THE SPECTATOR. As when the tigrefs hears the hunter's din, A STATIUS. op BOUT the middle of last winter I went to fee an opera at the theatre in the Hay-market, where I could not but take notice of two parties of very fine women, that had placed themselves in the pofite fide-boxes, and feemed drawn up in a kind of battlearay one against another. After a fhort furvey of them, I found they were patched differently; the faces on one hand, being spotted on the right-fide of the fore-head, and thofe upon the other on the left. I quickly perceived that they caft hoftile glances upon one another; and that their patches were placed in thofe different fituations, as party-fignals to diftinguish friends from foes. In the middle-boxes, between these two oppofite bodies, were feveral ladies who patched indifferently on both fides of their faces, and feemed, to fit there with no other intention but to fee the opera. Upon inquiry 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, whose faces had not yet declared them felves. Thefe laft, however, as I afterwards found, diminished daily, and took their party with one fide or the other; infomuch that I @bferved in feveral of them, the patches, which were be fore fore difperfed equally, are now all gone over to the Whig or Tory fide of the face. The cenforious fay that the men, whofe hearts are aimed at, are very often the occa-fion that one part of the face is thus difhonoured, and lies under a kind of difgrace, while the other is fo much set off and adorned by the owners; and that the patches turn to the right or the left, according to the principles of the man who is most in favour. But whatever may be the motives of a few fantastical coquettes, who do not patch for the public 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 intereft 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 public 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, she shall be at liberty to patch on which fide fhe pleases. I MUST here take notice, that Rofalinda, a famous Whig partizan, has moft unfortunately a very beautiful mole on the Tory part of her fore-head; which being very confpicuous, has occafioned many mistakes, and given. an handle to her enemies to mifreprefent her face, as though 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 still the fame. This unlucky mole, however, has mifled several. coxcombs; and like the hanging out of falfe colours,, made fome of them converfe with Rofalinda in what they. thought the fpirit of her party, when on a fudden fhe has given them an unexpected fire, that has funk them all at once. If 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 she is angry, or |
