Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

If it be urg'd, that as one Man took all upon himleli, he is the only Perfon that ought to be deliver'd up to the Enemy In my humble Opinion, those who acted the under Parts are intitled to the fame Honour.If any Man, greatly fup- A ported by the Public, acted not as the Servant of the Public, but as the Servant of the Minifter, facrificing all National Interelts to make him ealy, it is very fit he fhould become Part of his Equipage,

If the Spaniards fhould not be content with one or two, rather than differ with them, let us tofs them half a dozen Commiffaries into the Bargain..-- If the B Convention fhould have this Effect, I dont know but the Nation might, for once, join in the fame Cry with the Placemen, and fay, this was the belt Convention that ever was made.

The Spaniards have ever been reputed extreamly nice and jealous in Point of Honour. -If there be any Truth in the Spanish Manifefto, not only the Spaniards but another Nation has too much Caule to complain.- The Spaniards are abufed, if public Faith hath been bro-, ken with them, and the English are abufed, if Promifes and Engagements have been made for them that it would be infampus in them to fubmit to: I hope, it is not fo.

But,,

D

A Minifter may fometimes be fo embar. rafs'd with Difficulties of his own make ing, that he may be under a Necellity of patching up a Pacification upon any Terms, he may be confcious of his own E Incapacity for managing a War; he may have given the Commonwealth fome fecret Wounds, not yet difcover'd, and which must break out in cafe of a War; and, in order to prevent Divisions in that Faction which fupports him, he may be under Engagements to them to patch up F fmething by a certain Time. In fuch a Situation, it would be no Wonder it he fhould make fuch Concesions, as the very Enemies might think the People would never fuffer to be carry'd into Execution. To remove their Scruples, he might make them believe, that he had the Reprefentatives of the People under his Thumb: G That his Will was their Law; That, as to the People themselves, they were no-. thing; that he hated them, and would do them all the Mischief he could.---But as our Minifter has not been entangled in any Blunders of his own making, nothing like this could have happen'd in our Convention.

Before I finish this Difcourfe, I muft fay a Word or two concerning the Placemen's Doctrine, of making the Minifter eaf which, I conceive, may be ftretch'd

to fuch an Extravagance, as to fubvert the Order of Things, and turn the Na tion uplide down.-Wherever it prevails, it will be known by the Symptoms and Effects; and when once it is found out to be the governing Principle, the Interests of that Commonwealth are goane, they muft become the Prey of its Neighbours.

When a Nation hath feverely fuffer'd by any Man's Inabilities, the muit be under fome Infatuation if the suffers him tomeddle more in her Affairs.— I know the Place-men are of another Opinion;, for they fay, when Things are in a di-, ftracted Situation, it is no Time to change Hands: So that, according to them, a Man in Power hath nothing to do but to bring all Affairs to the Brink of Ruin, and he is fafe.

[ocr errors]

It was properly faid of France, the last War, that if it had not fuffer'd fuch pro digious Lofles, its vait Strength could ne ver have been known to the reft of ExTODE. -The contrary of which hath hippen'd to a Minifter, when greater Powers have been given to him, to enable him to take right Measures, than ever, were granted to any Man before, they have proved of no Ufe in his Hands, but to fhew the whole World the Meannefs of his Parts, and to difcover in him a to tal Incapacity for great Affairs.

Let the Fate of this Convention be what it will, I hope a few mercenary: Place-men will never be able to give Laws to ten Millions of People, and fupport the Man that fhall ruin the Intercits of. the Kingdom.

Craftfilter, November 10. N° 695..
History of ancient Times uncertain.

A

French Author has written a Book,, intitled The Uncertainty of the Roman History for the first five Centuries;› wherein atter fome Remarks on the Obfcurity of the Origin and fint Ages of all Nations in general, he proceeds to his Subject of the Roman Hiftory, in particu lar, which he thinks defective chiefly up on two Accounts.

1. Cicero fays that the Hiftory of Rome, during that Time, confited of nothing but a Collection of Annals, which to preferve the Memory of all public Occurrences, the Pontifex maximus writ on a white Board, and publickly hung up at his Door, for the Information and Judg. ment of the People; that thefe Memoirs being confum'd by Bremmes the Gaul, were afterwards very imperfectly continued. Upon this I muit beg Leave to make a few Obfervations.

As

[graphic]

As the firft Ages of our own History are nical Encomium on a modern Funeral equally dark with thofe of the Romans, Orator (fee Vol. VIII. p. 413.) aad thence and confit chiefly of Monkifh Annals, takes Occafion to plead for the Liberty which are manifeftly partial to their own of cenfuring Superiors] which is juftified, Religion and Orders; I would humbly fays he, by the Practice of all wife Naripropofe, that for the future, our prefent ods, antient and modern. It is well most reverend Pontiff, and his Succeffors known that the Grecian Orators and Poets for ever, fhould be authoriz'd by Parlia. A took very great Liberties, both in their ment to take a trict Account, from Year Speeches and Plays, with the Conduct of to Year, of all public Tranfactions, and Men in the higheft Power, which were exhibit them to the open View of the hardly ever relented by good Men, and People at his Palace Gates. If fuch a very feldom by the worst. The Behaviour Cuftom had prevail'd from the Beginning of Timoleon towards a malicious and enviof our Government, we should not have our Calsemiator is too remarkable to be had fo many fruitless and endless Difputes B omitted here. Inftead of revenging himabout the original Form and Conftitution of felf upon the Man, which was abfolutely our Government. Suppofe, for Inftance, in his Power, he declar'd in a Transport that all our late Treaties, particularly of Joy, "That the Gods had at laft grantthe last ever-memorable CONVENTION, ed him the greatest Favour they could had been fuck up at Lambeth Gates for have conferr'd upon him: fince it had the Judgment of the People; would it been the conftant Subject of his Prayers, not have been of Ufe to the Public? that the Syracufans might enjoy fo perfect a State of Liberty, that every Man amongst them might fpeak freely, and with Impunity, whatever he thought of another.

2. When the Pontifical Annals were loft, Family Memoirs were fubftituted in their Stead, upon which is much less Dependence: For if a certain hon. Gentleman In the Saturnalian Feafs who values himself upon a Defcent of 17 of antient Rome, every Slave was at Li. Generations, fhould think fit to compile berty to reproach his Master publickly any Annals of this Family, he would flip, I with his Faults; and I am inform❜d, that doubt not, over the JESUIT, who enga- D even in modern Rome, whenever a Saint ged in a Plot to poifon Q. Elifabeth and the is to be made, the Devil is allow'd CounE. of Effex, but not forget the old Knight cil to give Realons against his Canonizaof Bath from whom he defcended. tion. It may be faid, perhaps, that the Devil hath not fair Play, upon thefe Occafions, a Sham-Advocate being let up for him, who is oblig'd to plead booty bat I am fure he cannot have more Rea fon to complain than our poor Merchants have against the Proceedings of thofe in carnate Devils, the Spaniards, in their Mock-Courts of Justice.

Love of Cynifea, as her Amour is the Sub-
ject of the Poem: Theocritus introduces a
Clown under the Name of Achines, who
complains to his Friend of the Infidelity of
his Miftrefs, and that Cynifca had given A
undoubted Proofs of her Love to his Ri-
val, the Narration of which is very na-
tural and humorous: But as low as fuch
a Subject may feem, the Author has ta-
ken an Opportunity of paying a fine Com
pliment to Prolomæus Philadelphus. I
have chang'd Cynica into a Wapping
Nymph, and the two Sicilian Shepherds B
into honeft English Sailers; nor will the
Compliment that is made to Ptolomæus
Philadelphus be lefs juft, when it is paid
to the worthy, brave Man, whofe Name
I have taken the Liberty to mention.
F. MEANWELL.

AWAPPING ECLOGUE.
BowsPRIT and CAPSTERN.

B.1 CA

APSTERN!All Chear to my
old Mefs-mate be!

C.] Bowfprit! My Heart of Gold, all

Chear to thee!

B.] Welcome, my honeft Lad, again on
Shere.

What, juft arriv'd?

C

A Difh of fowls and bacon was their mess,
And they a hearty welcome did confefs:
Supper foon o'er---I made two lufty bowls
Of humming punch--and merry were our fouls--
Our hearts were jolly, and our tongues were free:
Round went the bumpers, and, as wont at fea,
Each drank the girl he thought moft fair and true;
Giving a lufty kifs, I drank my Sue:
Round went the chorus'd ballads, 'till our joys
Sue by her plaguy fullen dumps deftroys:
She, who with vary'd note as fweet can fing,
As the most lavish nightingale in fpring,
She wou'd not join our chorus's among,
Vain did I beg, in glouting mood the fat,
Nor with foft quaver warble out a fong:
When Sam of Rediff cry'd in fneering chat,
"What dumb?--Why, Sue, this melancholy air?
"You look like fome old maiden in defpair:
• Are you not thinking of the captain?--fpeak.'-
--Love and a confcious anger flush'd her cheek;
(For long fhe'd had fome captain in her view,
And I but lately of her falthood knew)--
-We laugh'd---drank on, 'till Sam, in plain
tive ftrain,
Epain,
From fome new ballad fung love's tort'ring
When hapless women love, and love in vain:
All pale the chang'd,heav'd from her heart a figh,
And the full tear flood trembling on her eye:
But when he clos'd, how dreadful is their fate,
Who ftill must teign love's paffion where they
hate,

Then you might all her cause of forrow fee,
- Just landed from the Nore. D By the disdainful look the caft at me:

C.).
But why, dear Jack, this melancholy Air?
Why feem you thus the Picture of Despair?
Tammy, to you the Truth may be confefs'd,
Things going wrong, with Grief I am oppreis'd.
C.J Pr'ythee hang Sorrow, caft away thy
Grief;

Defpair to Trouble never gave Relief:
Alas! how you are chang'd from what you were,
Your Jacket tatter'd, and uncomb'd your Hair;
Dark cloudy Looks your Countenance deform,
And threaten, to each Mau you fpeak, a Storm.
Juft fuch a Figure of dire Difcontent,

Such his glumi Looks I faw to Bedlam fent ;
Some new Whim-wham his Intellects did touch,
Driv'n mad by being righteous over-much.

-Sure, Jack, you're none of Parfon White-
field's Flock.

B.]

E

--My Grief you fport with, and my F
Sorrow mock:

Not fuch a Parfon in fuch canting Strain,
Shou'd to my Soul convey a Moment's pain:
My Pain all rifes from my lovely Sue,
Who (could you think it, Temny) proves untrue.
Love and Revenge by Turns my Soul engage,
And with alternate Paffions moan or rage.

Adown her cheek fwift rolls the gushing tear,
And artless nature made her falfhood clear:
Full of wild rage, impatient of difgrace,
I drove my fift, clench'd double, in her face:
Then cry'd, as foon as fhe began to bellow;
Good madam, thus, just thus, I'd ferve your
fellow;

Is not a common failor then your taste?
Muft you by a commander be solac'd?
Go to your captain, madam, cafe your pain,
Nor let him love, nor love yourself in vain.

As when th' informing conflables appear,
The ftraggling doxy fhews th' effects of fear
Coach, cart, nor kennel can obftruct her long.
Thro' thick or thin fhe buftles 'midft throng;
High tuck'd her hoop, the courfes o'er the ftreet,
Secur'd from Bridecuell by her fwift retreat:
So, from my rage, o'er tables, ftools and chairs,
My madam few, and hurry'd down the stairs;
Flew to her captain, her diftress to mourn,
With thousand vows the never wou'd return
---Her vows fhe keeps, and now too late I moan
Too great revenge, and too rafh fury shown:
My fury o'er, my love again returns,
And my fond heart with stronger paffion burns :
Such various pains my various paflions give,
That with her, nor without her, can I live:
Nor can I long fuch tortur'd mind endure;
A heart fo much distracted what can cure?
---Yet Ben, who bonny Kate of Greenwich lov'd,
And ran,like me, juft mad, when false the prov'd,
Made up the ftreights a nine months trip, and he
Return'd as blith as ever, and as free:
H If feas can make the cure of love compleat,
I'll enter straitway in the Royal Fleet;
Join with true hearts to low'r the pride of Spain,
And get a Wooden-Leg, or Golden Chain.

C.] I find rah Paffions rule your Temper ftill, Shou'd Things not luck'ly happen to your Will: G But, what's this new Affair?

B.]

-F'll tell you all
The other day fome mess-mates chanc'd to call,
All jolly lads, intending all to spend,

In merriment, the evening with their friend;
Will Cable one, the other Redriff Sam,
And honeft merry Jack of Deptford came,
With Whitle, boatswain of the Tartar Pink,
All came in mirth a Can of flip to drink:
Full glad at heart I fpread my homely board,
And gave the very best I cou'd afford;

C.)

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

;

C.] If fuch, my lad, thy refolution be,
And fuch befpeaks thy courage, fail with me;
Such our commander, as brave fouls defire,
Who courage will reward, and will infpire:
The failors friend; deny this truth who can,
When I pronounce that NORRIS is the Man,
B.]
What fort of man befides?
c.1
Not from mere birth
He trufts for bonour, but from gen'rous worth
Void of base courtly arts, of manners plain;
Sincere, tho' open, and tho' rough, humane;
Who dares to blame, moft willing to commend;
Who never gain'd a foe, or loft a friend:
And, oh! may fate his wifh'd-for scene afford,
When 'midst a hoftile fleet, brandifh'd fword,
He bids all Britif lads their courage try,
Refolv'd to conquer, or refolv'd to die.
---If then you'd be rewarded for defert,
And if Old England's honour fires your heart ;
To grapple with a Spaniard if you dare,
Vengeance for vengeance take, and ear for ear;
Enter with him, nor lofe your youthful prime;
Old age inglorious follows mifpent time;
But when in war we spend our early days,
Our life's decline is crown'd with glorious praife:
Each heart, which is with love of Britain fraught
Loves each brave Sailor who for Britain fought:
And at heav'n's will, when we refign our breath,
We even boast a victory o'er death:

All cry, Sweet peace attend him to his grave,
"Who old was honour'd, as in youth was brave.'

The Craftsman, Nov. 17. No. 697.
A fingle Minifter dangerous.
a hath engrois'd

A

B

C

the Power of the Minifter with the Prince remain'd irresistible, would be expofing themfeives to his Revengr, without à Poffibility of doing any Good.

Solomon fays, that in the Multitude of Coanfellors there is Safety. It mult there fore be happy, both for Prince and Peo ple, when the Royal Favour is unconfin'd and freely communicated to all his faithful Counsellors. Then will fome Men be found of Probity and Ability enough to advife fuch Measures, as will foon convince the Prince of the true Disposition of his People.

Many wish that the generous Spirit of Refentment, which difcovers itfelf every where, on his Majefty's Declaration of War, had been indulg'd fome Years fooner; being of Opinion that the prefent weak and helpless Condition of Spaix fhews how eafily the might have been brought to Terms, when the had no Reafon to hope for the Affistance of Francs, and before France was arriv'd at her prefent Height of Power.

It is not my Bufinefs to fay by whofe wife Advice Britain is at last in a Posture to avenge her Wrongs; nor by whofe Counfels the Power of her Fleets hath D been fo long restrain'd; nor whether the Alfogue Ships, as well as the Carraccas, might not have been taken by proper Thofe Points, and many Orders

WHEN 3 Single Perfon bat himfelf for others, will receive a full and impartial

many Years, and affum'd the Power of dictating Counfels to his Mafter, without admitting his Fellow-Servants to the leaft E Participation, it becomes extremely dif ficult to defeat his Measures, in any Degree, or to prevent the ill Effects of them, tho' it were ever fo apparent that they tended to the Deltruction both of Prince and Country.

G

Examination in a proper Place.

Then will all Hearts and all Hands u nite with Emulation to fupport and maintain a War fo neceflary to the Honour of our King, and the Happinefs of our Country; whether we fhould be forc'd to carry it on fingly against united Crowns, or in Conjunction with our old Allies.

But when they fee the ancient Valour of England vigorously exerted, and the Counfels ot it refolutely and fteadily purfued, they will, no doubt, return to their former Confidence in us, and again form an Alliance, not more useful to us, than neceflary to their own Safety-If they fhould ask, what is become of fome brave Generals, with whofe Courage and Honour they were fo well acquainted in the laft War, they will find them ready to return from their Retirement, and refume their Arms in Defence of their Country, and the Liberties of Europe.

For let the Justice and Goodness of the F Prince be never fo well known; yet as long as his Confidence is abfolutely repos'd in one Minifter, and the Advice of that Minifter conftantly finds an uncontroulable Credit with him, it cannot be expected that the greatest and wifeft of bis Counsellors will ever venture to dif abule him; efpecially if they have feen fome of his most faithful and able Servants difmifs'd, for not yielding an implicit Obedience to the arbitrary Will of the Minifter. They will think it more prudent What can be meant by faying, that we to referve themselves to a better Season. They will wait till the Conduct of the have forborn to make War, till it hath been forc'd upon us by Neceflity, and thereMinifter fhall expofe itfelf in the most glaring Manner, till the Difficulties he H fore we need not doubr of Succefs in it? blunders into fhall prepare the Royal Ear for founder Advice, becaufe the certain Effect of offering good Advice, whilst

-Would not Succefs in a War have been much lefs doubtful three or four Years ago, or at any Time fooner ?—

Can

Can any Success attend our Arms with out Reproach to Thofe, who have tedi them up so long?———— Was it not evident that the Spaniards would never re. linquish their ufurp'd Right of fearching, till they were compell'd to it by Force; and confequently was not a War then as neceflary, as it would have been fafe and eafy? But did not our present ho nourable Minifier oppofe a War to the laft?

-Does he not call it another Man's War? If therefore it fhould prove as fuccefstul as every good Englishman wifhes, he will have no Right to the Credit of it; but if it should fail of Suce refs, thro' his own bad Management, he will be certainly answerable for the Confequences of it.

Mr D'Anvers concludes with a Defence of the Proceedings of the Citizens of London at Guild-hall; 1. the fetting atide a Candidate for Lord-Mayor, whofe Conduct had been fo fuddenly and furprisingly chang'd. 2. Thanking their Reprefenta tives for voting against the Convention; and, 5. Recommending to them the Repeal of the Alderman's Negative. But he omits the Inttructions mov'd for by Mr Glover not to pass any Money Bill, C. See p. 49. F...

N. B. In this Craftsman is inferted a Let ter to the Author from fome puffing Bookfellers, the Defign of which is visibly to recommend their funk Hiltorical Regifter, the Political State, &c. in Preference to this MAGAZINE

A

ugly and hideous, fometimes a preciou Jewel is found in its Head.

This Simile will fit our late Conventi. on. It hath put our Placemen under a Neceffity of taking off the Mask. For other unpopular Measures they vouchfafed to offer fome Reafons; but now they frankly declare they have nothing to do with the Merit of any public Meafure, they are to defend their Leader, their Leader them. King and Country are out of the Cafe with them; like Catiline and his Confpirators, they are to stick Boy one another, that they may riot in the Spoils of the Commonwealth.

Talk to a Placeman of fuch a Man's robbing the Public at Home, and ruining its Interefts by his Blunders Abroad, he will anfwer like the French Surgeon, who visiting the Abby of St Dennis, fell upon his Knees before the Tomb of Lewis CXI. which one of the Monks observing, told him that was not the Tomb of a Saint. He may not be your Saint, good Father, anfwer'd the Surgeon, but he is mine; for he first brought the Pox into France, by which I have gained 150,000 Livres. Juit fo Placemen reafon upon Da Minifter's Merits. - Is he corrupt?

E

Then he is our Saint; we fhall gain by it; for he must protect the like Practices in others. So that while he is playing the Devil with the Nation, he may be worshiped up to a God by his Placemen.

Give a Man all the Employments in a large Empire, and let him have an im Theymenfe fecret Service Money without Account, and he may be able to remove all the Terrors, that threaten guilty Men. →→ Impunity (fays Cicero) hath tempted many a Man to Crimes, which he would not otherwise have thought of. Here will be Wealth and Power to tempt him on one Side, and Security on the other; fo that, in the Space of a few Years, he may fortify himself in Corrup tion, and grow impregnable in Roguery.

F

found, doubtless, this was a Step they had Occafion to take, fince (as it has been pointed often to our Readers) Mr D'Anvers, and the Patriot Writers, have lately quoted Pallages from the Debates, in the very Words which we alone bad reprefented them to be deliver'd in: An Evidence in our Favour, which the Writer of the Poltfcript to the faid Letter might well think INTOLERABLE, and the Success of our Magazine Employments are to numerous, and fo more fo. It may be obferv'd vaftly lucrative, that the Wealth of this here that, As Mr Urban ftands alone a- G Nation hath taken a new Channel, and gainst frong Combinations, and has been running into the Pockets of the raifed many Enemies anong a Set of Placemen.Formerly the Merchants, People by firft publishing fo cheap a Book, and wholefale Traders, were the People, 'tis natural to think that many miy who bought Lands, built Houles, and rais'd Speak against it thro' Prejudice, while Families; but look round the Country, none can be fuppofed to recommend it and examine who have purchased large from any Motive but a Conviction of its Eftates, and built coftly Edifices, for H Merit. thefe last thirty Years, and you will find they are done by People from the Treafury, Exchequer, Admiralty, Navy, Polt-Office, Navy-Office, &c. down to the very Clerks. It is a true Ob

Commnnon Denf, Nov. 17. No. 146. PLACEMEN dangerous Reprefentatives. Shakespear compares fome Misfortunes

to a Toad, which, tho' a Creature

fervation, that what is got by Rapine, is

often

« ForrigeFortsæt »