matched, when it is animated by English Beauty. I do not however difapprove the Project which is now on foot for a FEMALE ASSOCIATION; and, fince I hear the fair Confederates cannot agree among themselves upon a Form, fhall prefume to lay before them the following rough Draught, to be corrected or improved, as they in their Wisdom fhall think fit. E the Conforts, Relicts, and Spinfters of WE the Ifle of Great Britain, whofe Names are under-written, being most paffionately Offended at the Falfhood and Perfidiousness of • certain faithless Men, and at the Lukewarmth and Indifference of others, have entered into a voluntary Affociation for the Good and Safety of our Conftitution. And we do hereby engage ourselves to raise and arm our Vassals for the Service of His Majefty King George, and Him to Defend with our Tongues and Hearts, our Eyes, Eye - Lafhes, Favourites, Lips, Dimples, and every other Feature, whether natural or acquired. We promise publickly • and openly to avow the Loyalty of our Princi ples in every Word we shall utter, and every • Patch we shall stick on. We do farther promife, to annoy the Enemy with all the Flames, Darts and Arrows with which Nature has • armed us; never to correspond with them by Sigh, Ogle, or Billet-doux; not to have any • Intercourse with them either in Snuff or Tea; nor to accept the Civility of any Man's Hand, who is not ready to use it in the Defence of his Country. We are determined in fo good a • Caufe to endure the greateft Hardships and Severities, if there fhou'd be Occafion; and even to wear the Manufacture of our Country, ra 6 ther ther than appear the Friends of a foreign Intereft in the richest French Brocade. And forgetting all private Feuds, Jealoufies and Animofities, We do unanimously oblige ourselves, by this our Affociation, to ftand and fall by one another, as Loyal and Faithful Sifters, and • Fellow-Subjects. N. B. This Affociation will be lodged at Mr. Motteux's, where Attendance will be given to the Subfcribers, who are to be ranged in their refpective Columns, as Maids, Wives, and Widows. F+&+946759QARADIS N° 9 Friday, January 20. Confilia qui dant prava cautis Hominibus, They, who give bad Advice to the Prudent, not only lofe their Labour, but expose themselves to Contempt. TH HOUGH I have already feen, in The Town-Talk, a Letter from a Celebrated Englishman to the Pretender, which is indeed an Excellent Answer to his Declaration, the Title of this Paper obliges me to publifh the following Piece, which confiders it in different Lights. The Declaration of the Free- Holders of GreatBritain, in Anfwer to that of the Pretender. WE, by the Mercy of God, Free-Holders of Great-Britain,to the Popish Pretender, who ftiles himself King of Scotland and England, and Defender Defender of our Faith, DEFIANCE. Having feen a Libel, which you have lately published against the King and People of these Realms under the Title of a DECLARATION, We, in Justice to the Sentiments of our own Hearts, have thought fit to return you the following Anfwer; wherein we fhall endeavour to reduce to Method the feveral Particulars, which you have contrived to throw together with much Malice, and no less Confufion. We believe you fincere in the first Part of your Declaration, where you own it would be a great Satisfaction to you to be placed upon the Throne by our Endeavours: But you difcourage us from making ufe of them, by declaring it to be your Right both by the Laws of God and Man. As for the Laws of God, we should think ourfelves great Tranfgreffors of them, should we for your fake rebel against a Prince, who, under God, is the moft powerful Defender of that Religion which we think the most pleasing to Him: And as for the Laws of Man, we conceive thofe to be of that kind, which have been enacted from time to time for near thirty Years past, against you and your Pretenfions, by the Legislature of this Kingdom. You afterwards proceed to Invectives against the Royal Family: Which we do affure you is a very unpopular Topick, except to your few deluded Friends among the Rabble. You call them Aliens to our Country, not confidering that King George has lived above a Year longer in England than ever you did. You fay they are Distant in Blood, whereas no Body ever doubted that King George is Great Grandfon to King James the first, though many believe that you are not Son to King James the Second. D Befides, Befides, all the World acknowledges he is the nearest to our Crown of the Proteftant Blood, of which you cannot have one Drop in your Veins, unless you derive it from fuch Parents as you don't care for owning. Your next Argument against the Royal Family, is, that they are Strangers to our Language: But they must be Strangers to the British Court who have told you fo. However you must know, that we plain Men fhould prefer a King who was a Stranger to our Language, before one who is a Stranger to our Laws and Religion: For we could never endure French Sentiments, though delivered in our native Dialect; and fhould abhor an arbitrary Prince, though he tyranniz'd over us in the finest English that ever was spoken. For thefe Reafons, Sir, we cannot bear the Thought of hearing a Man, that has been bred up in the Politicks of Lewis the Fourteenth, talk intelligibly from the British Throne; especially when we confider, however he may boaft of his fpeaking English, he fays his Prayers in an unknown Tongue. We come now to the Grievances for which, in your Opinion, we ought to take up Arms against our prefent Sovereign. The greatest you feem to infift upon, and which is moft in the Mouths of your Party, is the Union of the two Kingdoms; for which his Majesty ought most certainly to be depofed, because it was made under the Reign of her, whom you call your Dear Sifter of Glorious Memory. Other Grievances which you hint at under his Majefty's Adminiftration, are, the Murder of King Charles the Firft, who was Beheaded before King George was born; and the Sufferings of King Charles the Second, which perhaps His prefent Majefty can not not wholly clear Himfelf of, becaufe He came into the World a Day before His Restoration. As on the other Side you arraign His present Majefty by this moft extraordinary Retrospect, on the other Hand you condemn His Government by what we may call the Spirit of Second Sight. You are not content to draw into His Reign those Mischiefs that were done a hundred Years ago, unless you anticipate those that may happen a hundred Years hence. So that the keeneft of your Arrows either fall fhort of Him, or fly over his Head. We take it for a certain Sign that you are at a loss for present Grievances, when you are thus forced to have recourfe to your future Prospects, and future Miferies. Now, Sir, you must know, that we Free- Holders have a natural Averfion to Hanging, and don't know how to answer it to our Wives and Families, if we fhould venture our Necks upon the Truth of your Prophefies. In our ordinary Way of Judging, we guefs at the King's future Conduct by what we have seen already; and therefore beg you will excufe us if for the prefent we defer entering into a Rebellion, to which you fo graciously invite us. When we have as bad a Profpect of our King George's Reign, as we should have of yours, then will be your Time to date another Declaration from your Court at Commercy: Which, if we may be allowed to Prophefy in our Turn, cannot poffibly happen before the hundred and fiftieth Year of your Reign. Having confidered the past and future Grievances mentioned in your Declaration, we come now to the prefent; all of which are founded upon this Suppofition, That whatever is done by His Majefty or His Minifters to keep you out of D 2 the |