The humble Petition of Jeoffry Hotspur, Esq.,

    Sheweth,

    Though the Petitioner swore, stamped, and threw down his Cards, he
    has all imaginable Respect for the Ladies, and the whole Company.

    That he humbly desires it may be considered in the Case of Gaming,
    there are many Motives which provoke to Disorder.

    That the Desire of Gain, and the Desire of Victory, are both
    thwarted in Losing.

    That all Conversations in the World have indulged Human Infirmity in
    this Case.

Your Petitioner therefore most humbly prays, that he may be restored to the Company, and he hopes to bear ill Fortune with a good Grace for the future, and to demean himself so as to be no more than chearful when he wins, than grave when he loses.

T.

* * * * *

No. 430.  Monday, July 14, 1712.  Steele.

  ‘Quaere peregrinum vicinia rauca reclamat.’

  Hor.

  SIR,

As you are Spectator-General, you may with Authority censure whatsoever looks ill, and is offensive to the Sight; the worst Nusance of which kind, methinks, is the scandalous Appearance of Poor in all Parts of this wealthy City.  Such miserable Objects affect the compassionate Beholder with dismal Ideas, discompose the Chearfulness of his Mind, and deprive him of the Pleasure that he might otherwise take in surveying the Grandeur of our Metropolis.  Who can without Remorse see a disabled Sailor, the Purveyor of our Luxury, destitute of Necessaries?  Who can behold an honest Soldier, that bravely withstood the Enemy, prostrate and in Want amongst his Friends?  It were endless to mention all the Variety of Wretchedness, and the numberless Poor, that not only singly, but in Companies, implore your Charity.  Spectacles of this Nature every where occur; and it is unaccountable, that amongst the many lamentable Cries that infest this Town, your Comptroller-General should not take notice of the most shocking, viz. those of the Needy and Afflicted.  I can’t but think he wav’d it meerly out of good Breeding, chusing rather to stifle his Resentment, than upbraid his Countrymen with Inhumanity; however, let not Charity be sacrificed to Popularity, and if his Ears were deaf to their Complaints, let not your Eyes overlook their Persons.  There are, I know, many Impostors among them.  Lameness and Blindness are certainly very often acted; but can those that have their Sight and Limbs, employ them better than in knowing whether they are counterfeited or not?  I know not which of the two misapplies his Senses most, he who pretends himself blind to move Compassion, or he who beholds a miserable Object without pitying it.  But in order to remove such Impediments, I wish, Mr. SPECTATOR, you would give us a Discourse upon Beggars, that