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rious enemy, the war continued for many years before they could entirely bring it to a happy conclufion.

The campaigns which both fexes paffed together, made them fo well acquainted with one another, that at the end of the war they did not care for parting. In the beginning of it they lodged in feparate camps, but afterwards, as they grew more familiar, they pitched their tents promifcuoufly.

From this time the armies being checkered with both fexes, they polished apace. The men used to invite their fellow foldiers into their quarters, and would dress their tents with flowers and boughs for their reception. If they chanced to like one more than another, they would be cutting her name in the table, or chalking out her figure upon a wall, or talking of her in a kind of rapturous language, which by degrees improved into verfe and fonnet. These were as the first rudiments of architecture, painting and poetry, among this favage people. After any advantage over the enemy, both Texes used to jump together and make a clattering with their fwords and fhields, for joy, which in few years produced feveral regular tunes and fet dances.

As the two armies romped on thefe occafions, the women complained of the thick bathy beards and long nails of their confederates, who thereupon took care to prune themselves into fuch figures as were moft pleafing to their female friends and allies.

When they had taken any fpoils from the enemy, the men would make a prefent of every thing that was rich and fhowy to the women whom they most ad. mired, and would frequently drefs the necks, or heads, or arms of their miftreffes with any thing which they thought appeared gay or pretty. The women obferving that the men took delight in looking upon them, when they were adorned with fuch trappings and gewgaws, fet their heads at work to find out new inventions, and to outshine one another in all councils of war or the like folemn meetings. On the other hand, the men obferving how the womens hearts were fet upon finery, begun to embellish themselves, and look as agreeable as they could in the eyes of their affociates. In short, after a few years converfing together, the women had learnt to

smile, and the men to ogle, the women grew foft, and the men lively.

When they had thus infenfibly formed one another, upon finishing of the war, which concluded with an entire conqueft of their common enemy, the Colonels in one army married the Colonels in the other; the Captains in the fame manner took the Captains to their wives; The whole body of common foldiers were matched, after the example of their leaders. By this means the two republics incorporated with one another, and became the most flourishing and polite government in the part of the world which they inhabited.

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No 435

Saturday, July 19.

Nec duo funt, at forma duplex, nec fœmina dici
Nec puer ut poffint, neutrumque & utrumque videntur.
Ovid. Metam. 1. 4. v. 378.

Both bodies in a fingle body mix,
A fingle body with a double fex.

M

ADDISON.

OST of the papers I give the public are writ ten on fubjects that never vary, but are for ever fixt and immutable. Of this kind are all my more ferious effays and difcourfes; but there is another fort of fpeculations, which I confider as occafional papers, that take their rife from the folly, extravagance and ca. price of the prefent age. For I look upon myself as one fet to watch the manners and behaviour of my coun trymen and contemporaries, and to mark down every abfurd fashion, ridiculous custom, or affected form of fpeech that makes its appearance in the world, during the courfe of thefe my fpeculations. The petticoat no fooner begun to fwell, but I obferved its motions. The party-patches had not time to mufter themselves before I detected them. I had intelligence of the coloured hood the very first time it appeared in a public affembly. I might here mention feveral other the like con

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tingent fubjects, upon which I have beftowed diftinc papers. By this means I have fo effectually quafhed thofe irregularities which gave occafion to 'em, that I am afraid pofterity will fcarce have a fufficient idea of them to relish those difcourfes which were in no little vogue at the time when they were written. They will be apt to think that the fashions und customs I attacked were some fantastic conceits of my own, and that their great grandmothers could not be fo whimfical as I have reprefented them. For this reason, when I think on the figure my feveral volumes of fpeculations will make about a hundred years hence, I confider them as so many pieces of old plate, where the weight will be regard. ed, but the fashion loft.

Among the feveral female extravagancies I have already taken notice of, there is one which ftill keeps its ground. I mean that of the ladies who dress themfelves in a hat and feather, a riding-coat and a periwig, or at leaft tie up their hair in a bag or ribbon, in imitation of the fmart part of the oppofite fex. As in my yesterday's paper I gave an account of the mixture of two fexes in one commonwealth, I fhall here take notice of this mixture of two fexes in one perfon. I have already fhewn my diflike of this immodest cuftom more than once; but in contempt of every thing I have hitherto faid, I am informed that the highways about this great city are ftill very much infefted with these female cavaliers.

I remember when I was at my friend Sir ROGER DE COVERLEY's about this time twelve month, an equeftrian lady of this order appeared upon the plains which lay at a distance from his houfe. I was at that time walking in the fields with my old friend; and as his tenants ran out on every fide to fee fo ftrange a fight, Sir ROGER asked one of them who came by us what it was? To which the country fellow reply'd, 'Tis a gentlewoman, faving your worship's prefence, in a coat and hat. This produced a great deal of mirth at the Knight's houfe, where we had a story at the same time of another of his tenants, who meeting this gendeman-like lady on the high-way, was afked by her whether that was Coverly-Hall: the honeft man feeing

only

only the male part of the querift, replied, Yes, fir; but upon the fecond queftion, whether Sir ROGER DE COVERLEY was a married man, having dropped his eye upon the petticoat, he changed his note into No, Madam.

Had one of thefe hermaphrodites appeared in Juvenal's days, with what an indignation fhould we have feen her described by that excellent fatirift? He would have reprefented her in a riding habit, as a greater monster than the centaur. He would have called for facrifices of purifying waters, to expiate the appearance of fuch a prodigy. He would have invoked the fhades of Portia or Lucretia, to fee into what the Roman ladies had transformed themselves.

For my own part, I am for treating the fex with greater tenderness, and have all along made ufe of the moft gentle methods to bring them off from any little extravagance into which they are fometimes unwarily fallen: I think it however abfolutely neceffary to keep up the partition between the two fexes, and to take notice of the smallest incroachments which the one makes upon the other. I hope therefore that I fhall not hear any more complaints on this fubject. I am fure my fhe difciples who peruse these my daily lectures, have profited but little by them, if they are capable of giving into fuch an amphibious drefs. This I fhould not have mentioned, had not I lately met one of these my female readers in Hide-Park, who looked upon me with a masculine affurance, and cocked her hat full in my face.

For my part, I have one general key to the behaviour of the fair fex. When I fee them fingular in any part of their dreís, I conclude it is not without fome evil intention; and therefore queftion not but the defign of this ftrange fashion is to fmite more effectually their male beholders. Now to fet them right in this particular, I would fain have them confider with themselves whether we are not more likely to be ftruck by a figure entirely female, than with fuch an one as we may fee every day in our glaffes: Or, if they please, let them reflect upon their own hearts, and think how they would be affected should they meet a man on horfeback, in his breeches and Jack-boots, and at

the

the fame time drefed up in a commode and a night. raile.

I muft obferve that this fashion was first of all brought to us from France, a country which has infected all the nations of Europe with its levity. I fpeak not this in derogation of a whole people, having more than once found fault with thofe general reflexions which ftrike at king. doms or commonwealths in the grofs: A piece of cruelty, which an ingenious writer of our own compares to that of Caligula, who wished the Roman people had all but one neck, that he might behead them at a blow. I fhall therefore only remark, that as liveliness and affurance are in a peculiar manner the qualifications of the French nation, the fame habits and customs will not give the fame offence to that people, which they produce among thofe of our own country. Modefty is our diftinguishing character, as vivacity is theirs: And when this our national virtue appears in that female beauty, for which our British ladies are celebrated above all others in the univerfe, it makes up the moft amiable object that the eye of man can poffibly behold.

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DRYDEN.

EING a perfon of infatiable curiofity, I could not forbear going on Wednesday laft to a place of no fmall renown for the gallantry of the lower order of Britons, namely, to the bear garden at Hockley in the Hole; where (as a whitish brown paper, put into my hands in the street, informed me) there was to be a trial of kill to be exhibited between two masters of the noble science of defence, at two of the clock prefcisely.

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