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ments.

There would be no fuch animals as prudes or coquettes in the world, were there not fuch an animal as man. In fhort, it is the male that gives charms to womankind, that produces an air in their faces, a grace in their motions, a foftnefs in their voices, and a delicacy in their complexions.

As this mutual regard between the two fexes tends to the improvement of each of them, we may obferve that men are apt to degenerate into rough and brutal natures, who live as if there were no fuch things as women in the world; as on the contrary, women who have an indifference or averfion for their counter-parts in human nature, are generally four and unamiable, fluttish and cenforious.

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I am led into this train of thoughts by a little manufcript which is lately fallen into my hands, and which I fhall communicate to the reader, as I have done fome other curious pieces of the fame nature, without troubling him with any inquiries about the author of it. It contains a fummary account of two different ftates which bordered upon one another. The one was a commonwealth of Amazons, or women without men the other was a republic of males that had not a woman in their whole community. As thefe two ftates bordered upon one another, it was their way, it seems, to meet upon their frontiers at a certain feason of the year, where thofe among the men who had not made their choice in any former meeting, affociated themfelves, with particular women, whom they were afterwards obliged to lock upon as their wives in every one of thefe yearly rencounters. The children that fprung from this alliance, if males, were fent to their refpective fathers; if females, continued with their mothers. By means of this anniverfary carnival, which lafted about a week, the commonwealths were recruited from time to time, and supplied with their refpective fubjects.

These two ftates were engaged together in a perpetual league, offenfive and defenfive, fo that if any foreign potentate offered to attack either of them, both the fexes fell upon him at once, and quickly brought him to reafon. It was remarkable, that for many ages this agreement continued inviolable between the two states,

notwithstanding, as was faid before, they were hufbands and wives; but this will not appear fo wonderful, if we confider that they did not live together above a week in a year.

In the account which my author gives of the male republic, there were feveral cuftoms very remarkable. The men never shaved their beards, or pared their nails, above once in a twelvemonth, which was probably about the time of the great annual meeting upon their frontiers. I find the name of a minifter of ftate in one part of their history, who was fined for appearing too frequently in clean linen; and of a certain great general who was turned out of his poft for effeminacy, it having been proved upon him by feveral credible witreffes that he washed his face every morning. If any member of the commonwealth had a soft voice, a smooth face, or a fupple behaviour, he was banished into the commonwealth of females, where he was treated as a slave, dreffed in petticoats, and fet a spinning. They had no titles of honour among them, but fuch as denoted fome bodily ftrength or perfection, as fuch an one the tall, fuch an one the focky, fuch an one the gruff. Their public debates were generally managed with kicks and cuffs, infomuch that they often came from the council table with broken fhins, black eyes, and bloody nofes. When they would reproach a man in the most bitter terms, they would tell him his teeth were white, or that he had a fair skin and a foft hand. The greatest man I meet with in their history was one who could lift five hundred weight, and wore fuch a prodigious pair of whiskers as had never been feen in the commonwealth before his time. Thefe accomplishments it seems had rendered him fo popular, that if he had not died very feasonably, it is thought he might have enflaved the republic. Having made this fhort extract out of the hiftory of the male commonwealth, I fhall look into the hiftory of the neighbouring ftate which confifted of females, and if I find any thing in it, will not fail to communicate it to the public.

C.

N° 434.

Friday, July 18.

Quales Threïcie, cùm flumina Thermodoontis
Pulfant, & pictis bellantur Amazones armis :
Seu circum Hippolyten, seu cùm fe martia curru
Penthefilea refert, magnoque ululante tumultu
Fæminea exultant lunatis agmina peltis.

VIRG. En. II. v. 660.

So march'd the Thracian Amazons of old,
When Thermodon with bloody billows roll'd;
Such troops as thefe in fhining arms were seen,
When Thefeus met in fight their maiden queen.
Such to the field Penthefilea led,

From the fierce virgin when the Grecians fled.
With fuch return'd triumphant from the war,
Her maids with cries attend the lofty car:
They clash with manly force their moony shields;
With female fhouts refound the Phrygian fields.

DRYDEN.

HAVING carefully perufed the manufcript I men

tioned in my yesterday's paper, so far as it relates to the republic of women, I find in it feveral particulars which may very well deserve the reader's attention.

The girls of quality, from fix to twelve years old, were put to public fchools, where they learned to box and play at cudgels, with feveral other accomplishments of the fame nature; fo that nothing was more usual than to fee a little mifs returning home at night with a broken pate, or two or three teeth knocked out of her head. They were afterwards taught to ride the great horfe, to fhoot, dart, or fling, and lifted into feveral companies, in order to perfect themfelves in military exercifes. No woman was to be married until the had killed her man, The ladies of fashion used to play

151. with young lions inftead of lap-dogs, and when they made any parties of diverfion, inftead of entertaining themselves at ombre and picquet, they would wrestle and pitch the bar for a whole afternoon together. There was never any fuch thing as a blush feen, or a figh heard, in the commonwealth. The women never dreffed but to look terrible, to which end they would fometimes after a battle paint their cheeks with the blood of their enemies. For this reafon likewife the face which had the most scars was looked upon as the most beautiful. If they found lace, jewels, ribbands, or any ornaments in filver or gold among the booty which they had taken, they used to drefs their horfes with it, but never entertained a thought of wearing it them felves. There were particular rights and privileges allowed to any member of the commonwealth, who was a mother of three daughters. The fenate was made up of old women; for by the laws of the country none was to be a counfellor of ftate that was not paft child-bearing. They ufed to boast their republic had continued four thousand years, which is altogether improbable, unlefs we may fuppofe, what I am very apt to think, that they meafured their time by lunar years.

There was a great revolution brought about in this female republic, by means of a neighbouring king, who had made war upon them several years with various fuccefs, and at length overthrew them in a very great battle. This defeat they afcribe to feveral caufes; fome fay that the secretary of ftate having been troubled with the vapours, had committed fome fatal mistakes in feveral difpatches about that time. Others pretend, that the frft minifter being big with child, could not attend the public affairs, as fo great an exigency of ftate required; but this I can give no manner of credit to, fince it feems to contradict a fundamental maxim in their government, which I have before mentioned. My author gives the most probable reason of this great difafter; for he affirms that the general was brought to bed, or (as others fay) mifcarried the very night before the battle : however it was, this fignal overthrow obliged them to call in the male republic to their affistance; but notwithstanding their common efforts to repulfe the victo

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, inade 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 promifcuously.

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 drefs 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 the wall, or talking of her in a kind of rapturous language, which by degrees improved into verfe and fonnet. Thefe were as the first rudiments of architecture, painting and poetry, among this favage people. After any advantage over the enemy, both fexes ufed to jump together and make a clattering with their fwords and fhields, for joy, which in a few years produced feveral regular tunes and fet dances.

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

When they had taken any spoils from the enemy, the men would make a prefent of every thing that was rich and fhowy to the women whom they moft admired, and would frequently drefs the necks, or heads, or arms of their mistreffes 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 to work to find cut new inventions, and to outfhine one another in all councils of war or the like folemn meetings. On the other hard, the men obferving how the womens hearts were fet upon finery, began to embellish themfelves, and look as agreeable as they could in the eyes of their affociates. In fhort, after a few years converfing together, the women had learnt to

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