preffive imitation of life, as it unites in itself the dif ferent advantages of painting and fculpture. Our British monarchs in the Tower are never beheld but with the profoundeft refpect and reverence; and that bold and manly reprefentation of Henry the eighth never fails to raise the strongest images of one kind or another in its beholders of both fexes. Such is the force of divine right, though but in wax, upon the minds of all good and loyal fubjects. Nobody ever faw the court of France, lately exhibited here in wax-work, without a due regard; infomuch that an habitual good courtier was obferved refpectfully bowing to their most Chriftian majefties, and was at laft only convinced of his error by the filence of the court. An army of the fame materials will certainly have ftill a ftronger effect, and be more than fufficient to keep the peace, without the power of breaking it. My readers will obferve, that I only propofe a reduction of the private men, for, upon many accounts, I would by no means touch the commiffions of the officers. In the firft place, they most of them deserve very well of the public; and in the next place, as they are all in parliament, I might, by propofing to deprive them of their commiffions, be fufpected of political views, which I proteft I have not. I would therefore defire, that the present set of officers may keep the keys, to wind up their several regiments, troops, or companies; and that a master-key to the whole army be lodged in the hands of the geperal in chief for the time being, or, in default of fuch, in the hands of the prime minifter. it. From From my fecond poftulatum, that the prefent army is expenfive, and gives uneasiness to many of his majesty's good subjects, the further advantages of my fcheme will appear. The chief expence here will be only the prime coft; and I even question whether that will exceed the price of live men, of the height, proportions, and tremendous aspects, that I propofe these fhould be of. But the annual faving will be fo confiderable, that I will appeal to every fenfible and impartial man in the kingdom, if he does not fincerely think that this nation would have been now much more flourifhing and powerful, if, for these twenty years laft past, we had had no other army. Another confiderable advantage confifts in the great care and convenience with which these men will be quartered in the countries; where, far from being an oppreffion or disturbance to the public houses, they will be a genteel ornament and decoration to them, and, instead of being inflicted as a pupishment upon the difaffected, will probably be granted as a favour to fuch inn-keepers as are fupposed to be the most in the intereft of the adminiftration, and that too poffibly with an exclufive privi lege of fhewing them. So that I question, whether a certain great city may not be eloquently threatened with having no troops at all. As I am never for carrying any project too far, I would, for certain reasons, not extend this, at present, to Gibraltar, but would leave the garrifon there alive as long as it can keep fo. Let Let nobody put the Jacobite upon me, and fay, thar I am paving the way for the pretender, by difbanding this army. That argument is worn threadbare; befides, let those take the Jacobite to themfelves, who would exchange the affections of the people for the fallacious fecurity of an unpopular standing army. But, as I know I am fufpected by fome people to be no friend to the prefent miniftry, I would most carefully avoid inferting any thing in this project that might look peevish, or like a design to deprive them of any of the neceffary means of carrying on the government. I have therefore already declared, that I did not propose to affect the commiffions of any of the officers, though a very great faving would arife to the public thereby. And I would further provide, that, in the difbanding the prefent army, an exact account fhould be taken of every foldier's right of voting in elections, and where; and that the like number of votes, and for the fame places, fhall be reserved to every regiment, troop, or company, of this new army; these votes to be given collectively, by the officers of the said regiment, troop, or company, in as free and uninfluenced a manner as hath at any time been practised within these last twenty years. Moreover, I would provide, that Mann and Day fhall, as at prefent, have the entire cloathing of this new army; fo fcrupulous am I of diftreffing the ad ministration. *Two very confiderable woollen-drapers, in the Strand; the first of them was grandfather to fir Horatio Mann. People People are generally fond of their own projects, and, it may be, I look upon this with the partiality of a parent; but I proteft I cannot find any one objection to it. It will fave an immense expence to the nation, remove the fears that at prefent difturb the minds of many, and answer every one of the purposes to which our present army has been applied. The numbers will found great and formidable abroad, the individuals will be gentle and peaceable at home; and there will be an increase to the public of above fifty thousand hands for labour and manufactures, which at present are either idle, or but fcurvily employed.. I cannot, I own, help flattering myself, that this fcheme 'will prevail, and the more fo from the very great protection and fuccefs wax-work has lately met with; which, I imagine, was only as an effay or tentamen to fome greater defign of this nature. But, whatever be the event of it, this alternative I will venture to affert, that, by the 25th of March next, either the army or another body of men must be of wax. II. FOG'S JOURNAL. SATURDAY, Jan. 24, 1736. N° 377. UMAN nature, though every where the same, is so seemingly diverfified by the various habits and cuftoms of different countries, and fo blended with the early impreffions we receive from our education, that they are often confounded together, and mistaken for one another. This makes us look with aftonishment upon all customs that are extremely different from our own, and hardly allow thofe nations to be of the fame nature with ourselves, if they are unlike in their manners; whereas all human actions may be traced up to thofe two great motives, the pursuit of pleasure, and the avoidance of pain: and, upon a strict examination, we fhall often find, that those customs, which at first view feem the most different from our own, have in reality a great analogy with them. What more particularly fuggefted this thought to me, was an account which a gentleman, who was lately returned from China, gave, in a company where I happened to be prefent, of a pleasure held in high esteem, and extremely practifed by that luxuious nation. He told us, that the tickling of the ears was one of the most exquifite fenfations known in China; and that the delight, adminiftered to the whole frame through this organ, could, by an able and kilful tickler, be raised to whatever degree of extaly the patient fhould defire. The company, ftruck with this novelty, expreffed their furprize, as is usual on fuch occafions, first by a filly filence, and then by many filly queftions. The account too, coming from fo far as China, raised both their wonder and their curiofity, much more than if it had come from any European country, and opened a larger field for pertinent questions. Among others, the gentleman was asked, whether the Chinese ears |