fpread amongst all Ranks and Degrees

of People.

Militia are the natural, strongest and molt proper Defence of free Countries; and were always rely'd upon in Eng- A land, till the Reign of K. Charles II.

Sir Robert Cotton, in his Advice to K. Charles I. lets him know how the People refented his keeping up an Army in the Winter; tho' we were then in War both with France and Spain.

When the D. of Alençon came to the Court of Q. Elizabeth, and for fome Time had admir'd the Riches of the City, the Conduct of her Government, and the Magnificence of her Court, he ask'd her, amidst so much Splendour, where were her Guards ? Pointing to the People, (who received her in Crouds with repeated Acclamations) Thefe faid fhe, my Lord, are my Guards. Thefe have their Hands, Hearts, and Purfes always at my Command.

To this it has been objected by the Hen. Gentleman and his Advocates, that the Circumftances of Affairs in Europe are entirely alter'd in this Respect.

This Alteration took Place when moft of the free States of Europe were converted into abfolute Monarchies. Yet ftill in Holland and other free States the inland Towns are defended by their Militia and Burghers only.

I would not be thought to mean, adds D'anvers, that our Militia are fit to defend our Country or indeed for any Thing, befides furnishing the Town with a ridiculous Diverfion, and cramming their Guts at the Expence of their induftrious Fellow-Subjects. For this Reason they are laid afide every where but in Middlefex. See p. 208. Vol. I.

B

D

E

The Difficulty is, in getting them disbanded, as Mr Gay obferves:

Soldiers are perfe& Devils in their Way, [lay
When once they're rais'd, they're curfed hard to
The Daily Courant, Jan. 9.

TH

Remarks on the Craftsman. HE Inconfiftency of the Craftfman may be eafily evinced, if we only compare his Journal of the 15th of April laft (fee p. 701) with the foregoing of the 6th Inftant.

Suppofing, as he affirms, that the Militia were the only Forces made ufe of in the Wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster; how does this prove, that our Ancestors relied wholly on the Militia against an Invasion of foreign regular Troops? Or, fuppofing the Militia in thofe Days, or even in the Reign of Q. Elizabeth, were to be relied on against a foreign Invafion, will the Craftsman affert, that the Militia of thefe Days, (who, he acknowledges, are good for nothing but cramming their Guts) equals in Bravery the Militia in thofe Reigns?

But, fays he, nothing can be more abfurd than to fuppofe that the Militia can't be made useful; yet complains, that it's in vain to propofe any Scheme of this Kind, whilft no Pains are fpared to make the Militia contemptible; tho' in the Paragraph just before, he had himself called them F«Men fit for no Service, befides cramming their Guts at the Expence of their induftrious Fellow-Subjects.

Mr Trenchard is his great Oracle. In the Quotation which Mr D'anvers takes from him, two Things are. to be Gobferved; one, that Mr Trenchard fuppofes 20,000 regular Forces may be landed upon us in a dark Night; the other, that the 100,000 Militia are not fuppofed to have been made useful, but Men fit for no Service but cramming their Guts: With which, no doubt, the Nation would be better pleafed than 18,000 regular Forces. For, fuppofe thefe 20,000 regular Forces landed in Scotland, what is to be done? Draw

But it's abfurd to fuppofe that the Militia cannot be made ufeful.-From whence is our present Army rais'd but from the Budy of the People? Do's clapping a red Coat upon a Man's Back H make him a Soldier? May not a great Part of the prefent Army when difhanded be incorporated into the Militia?

down,

down, fays he, 100,000 Militia im-
mediately upon them, whereof 10,000
to be Horfe, and as many Dragoons as
you pleafe; march them to the Northern
Parts of England; drive the Country A
of all Provifions; burn, destroy all Vil-
lages, Towns, Houses, and their Ar-
my must be deftroy'd in a fhort Time."

This was the great Mr Trenchard's Scheme! and let all the Northern Countries declare how they approve of it.

This Reasoning, D'anvers tells us, was never yet answered. But fee p. 701) and we fhall find he has anfwer'd it himself, where he asks, "whether it would have been an eafy Matter to drive an Army of 10,000 Swedes out of this Kingdom?" Now he modeftly demands, What Danger we can pofiibly apprehend, if 20,000 Men were to land upon us?

Szubstreet Journal, Jan. 9. No. 159. Of the Original of the GRUBEANS. SIR,

AS we have two worshipful Societies

B

c

Now, if all Men are of the Worm kind, or so represented, it was natural for the Wits of yore to divide the whole Species into feveral Claffes. Not only Worms, but all Infects and Beafts have ferved to diftinguifh the feveral Capacities and Inclinations of the rational World.

-SIMONIDES with lighter Air

In Beafts, and Apes, and Vermin paints the Fair:
The good SCRIBLERUS in like Forms displays
The reptile Rhimetters of these later Days.
HARTE's Ep. on Satire.
Another Enemy to our Society re-
prefents modern Authors by Six Hie-
roglyphics,

The Flood, Flame, Swine, the Lion, and the
Snake,

Those five foldmonsters modern Authors make.
The Snake reigns moft; Snakes, PLINY says,
are bred,

When the Brains perifh'd in a human Head. Ye groveling, trodden, whipt, ftript turn-coat, Things, [Stings, &c. D Made up of Venom, Volumes, Stains, and Dr YOUNG's Ep. to Mr Pore. Upon reading these Lines, fome may think the Pegafian Members juftly intitled to the Appellation of Snakes: But I fhall prove the Propriety of our antient Title, GRUBS.

now flourishing viz. the FREE MASONS and GRUBEANS, it may not E be an improper Entertainment to give a Sketch of the Nature of these antient Companies. Firft of the GRUBEANS, otherwife called the Grubfireet Society. Mævius, in his Epiftle to the prefent Lord Mayor, obferv'd, that the Street, in which the PEGASUS is fituatF ed, gave Name to the Society. But, I think, our very venerable Society gave Name to the Street, as Newgate to Newgate-ftreet, Lud's Caftle or Gate, to Ludgate Areet, &c. as Brother Stow's Survey of London manifeftly fhews.

But 'twill be ask'd, how came we to be called GRUBS. This is answer'd by an inveterate Enemy to our Society, in his Epiftle to Brother More of Abchurch Lane, that in general,

-All human kind are WORMS. Man is a very WORM by Birth, Vile Reptile, weak, and vain; A while he crawls upon the Earth, Then shrinks to Earth again,

And firft, a Snake is made up of Ve nom and Stings; whereas we have neither Venom nor Stings. Like GRUBS, indeed, we leave behind us a kind of fhining flimy Trail, difagreeable, 'tis true, but not deftructive. Secondly, Snakes are fwift in their Motions; whereas the contrary is the Property of GRUBS, and therefore fome call them Slugs.-Laftly, Snakes caft their flouths or Coats, and put on new ones every Gold ones ferve feveral Years. Year; but we are forced to make our

GRUBS, and not Snakes, are therefore our proper Emblems, which may be further prov'd. These Infects are more frequently bred in human Heads than Snakes; especially if GRUBS are, H as BAILEY affirms, a Sort of Maggots.

E'en BUTTON's Wits to WORMS shall turn,
Who MAGGOTS were before

These Infects are very fond of Cabbage, an Herb facred to the Poets of former

Poets of former Ages; as appears by a
Canticle in your 46th Journal.

A

All hail arch-poet, without Peer, Vine, Laurel, CABBAGE fit to wear, And worthy of thy Prince's Ear. Nor was this Herb more grateful to the antient Poets than to the modern ; as it was the Crown of the former, it is the Food of the latter.-The obfcure Crawling, in oppofition to Soaring, makes GRUBS the more proper Infects to denote Writers of our Rank.—I can't think our Name deriv'd from a GRUB, fignifying a Dwarf or fhort Fellow, intimating we are low Writers; much lefs from grubbing up Characters; (See C p. 12. Vol. I.) but rather from the maggotty Grubs, fo well known to our beloved Kinsmen the Gardiners. As to our being called GRUBEANS, it's a Corruption of our true Name; the Free Mafons may as properly be called D MASONIANS.

Free Briton, Jan. 11. No. 163.

thro' all the animal as well as rational World; the Strong opprefs the Weak, unless the oppreffing Power can be balanced by Art or Force. We talk of focial Virtues and Benevolence in many living Creatures; but in Fact, there are but few, who do not devour, if they can.-nor is the human Species more beneficent than the Animals they set fo much below them.

The nobleft Paffion in every Creature is Gratitude. The moft Savage Beasts have a Senfe of Kindness; and the proudeft, herceft Animal is tame and humble to him that does it friendly Offices. To renounce this meritorious Virtue feems the moft unnatural Part which any Creature can perform; and the Man who is guilty of it, is unworthy of a Being even among the Beafts, for they difown the Vice. How the ungenerous Man can excufe himfelf to his own Mind, is hard to fay; but an honeft Man delights to return the most equal Acts of Kindness.

To fay that the prefent Age is withbut this Virtue, would be the feverest Reproach to our Times and Country

To conclude; CRANE-Court may poffibly take its Name from the learned Society there, famous for diving into fecret Things; which the extraordinary Length of the Neck and Beak of the Crane makes that Fowl capable of do E yet it is our Misfortune to fee the fame ing. And 'tis probable the antient Spirit prevail that has curfed and blackName of Old-ftreet, was Owl-ftreet, en'd every Period in Hiftory, and every and chang'd in the Reign of Edw.V. Nation upon Earth. Scarce a Governin whofe Time was conftantly held there ment or an Administration can be found, Chapter or Society of Antiquaries, in which has not been charged with deHonour of whom it took the Appella- F ferting its beft Friends, and deceiving tion of Old-street. Yours, A. H. those who relied upon Promifes. This is the prefent Cafe with us, to charge not a few with deserting and deceiving the Government, whilft thofe, who are thus guilty of Ingratitude, have no other Refuge, than to tax it with exceffive Bounty, and abufe the Men whom they hate, for the Favours they have received. It should be observ'd, that this is the first Inftance that a Government has been quarrelled with for being too good to thofe who deferve its Encouragement. The ingenious Mr Rowe spent much Time and Pains, at the late E. of Oxford's Command, to qualify himself with Languages, in View to a publick Employment; yet

OF NATURE.
THE Study of human Nature af-

fords the most useful Knowledge; and therefore Hiftory is inftructive beyond all other Works of Learning, as It fhews the fecret Springs and Motives of Actions, and the Paffions that work in Mankind and produce the most important and furprising Events.

G

The whole Series of Hiftory, inH deed, appears but a melancholy Detail of Crimes and Calamities, and Struggles of Oppreffion and Liberty. There is a Principle which prevails

C

received

A

Hath if not already obliged them to reduce their Dividend? and brought them under the prefent critical Dilentma, as to their Bonds? See p. 1079 E. With Regard to the S. Sea Company, you very early obferved, that the Afiento Trade was a lofing Contract; and that the Annual Ship, granted as an Equivalent for it, befides the Disadvantage it brought upon our African and American Trade, by their Tenders, &. it occafion'd frequent Differences between the two Crowns, expofed our Merchants to Depredations and Infults, and made the Spaniards fecure from any Reprifals. And tho' for these seafonable Notices you have been infulted C and reproached as an Enemy to publick Credit, have not all you faid of this Company proved true?-Have not the Directors own'd, they have fuftained great Loffes in Trade, and that great Frauds have been committed in the Management of it? See p. 583.

received no better Return, than to be
told, He had the much envied Pleasure
of reading fome celebrated Authors in
their Originals. All the World will
agree, fuch Ufage would have juftified
even a Craftsman against that Minifter.
But whatever Attempts fome Per-
fons may make to afperfe an Administra-
tion, or whatever their Motives may
be, 'tis infinitely lefs criminal, than
for the Friends of thofe Minifters to B
betray and deceive them. Not that a
Man is obliged to run any Length, or
concur with unreasonable Measures:
But when a defigning, mercenary Crea-
ture, unsteady in every Attachment,
has no Motives of Gratitude and Ge-
nerofity, but facrifices every Thing to
his own Intereft, what Abhorrence does
he not deferve. This Character is
compleatly infamous; is diftinguished
by mean Parts, and low Cunning, a
flavifh obfequious Temper, and a vain
Conceit of great Abilities. Whenever
you difcover fuch a Man, suspect him
for a Shuffler, and when you detect
his Deceit, Common Senfe will teach
you to defpife him.

The Craftsman, Jan. 13. No. 341.

T

D'anvers a Prophet.

HIS Journal is one continued Compliment, from some suppofed Correfpondent, to the Craftsman, on the lucky Event of feveral Predictions he gave out in fome former Papers.

D

Did not the worthy Sub-Governor himfelf tell us, that the Company was not one Farthing in Disburse on Account of TRADE? Tho' he had just before confeffed, the Company had fufE tained infupportable Loffes in Trade, which obliged them to reduce their Dividend from 6 to 4 per Cent. in order to account for the immenfe Load of Bond Debts, and to annihilate a confiderable Part of their Capital, for the Payment only of half of it? See p.721. -Have they not acknowledg'd their Loffes in the Greenland Trade, and given it up? See p. 1081. Have not fome Perfons fhewn an Inclination to give up Part of the American Trade; even the most profitable Part of it?

F

You have often explain'd, fays this Writer to D'anvers, the evil Contequences of Power given to Directors to coin Money in the Shape of Bonds; to enter into chimerical Projects of Trade; to permit, and be Themselves concern'd with the Companies Servants G

in Frauds and Embezzlements.

You was early in explaining fome Frauds in the E. India Company; and have not fome late Difcoveries demonftrated the Truth of what you then charged them with ?Is not the prefent Decline of their Trade (notwithftanding an Excife to fupport it) a Proof of fome bad Management?

H

Thus ftands the Cafe of the two great Companies. One of them made Application to Parliament laft Seffion, which will probably bring them there again; and the other, 'tis faid, have Thoughts of applying there for fome Indulgence, without which they find it impoffible to continue their Trade with Advantage.

The Cafe of the Charitable Corpo