Chapter II: Part 2

_A._ It is the business of every Sheet they Publish, to Affront the _Government_, the _Kings Authority_, and _Administration_; the _Privy-Council_; the _Church, Bench, Juries, Witnesses_; All _Officers, Ecclesiastical, Military_, and _Civil_: and no matter for _Truth_ or _Honesty_, when a _Forg'd Relation_ will serve their turn. 'Tis a common thing with them, to get half a dozen _Schismaticall_ Hands to a _Petition_, or _Address_ in a corner, and then call it, the sense of the Nation: and when all's done, they are not above twenty Persons, that make all this Clutter in the Kingdom.

_Q. But to what End do they all this?_

_A._ To make the Government _Odious_, and _Contemptible_; to magnifie their own Party; and fright the People out of their _Allegeance_, by _Counterfeit Letters, Reports_, and _false Musters_, as if the sober and considerable part of the Nation were all on their side.

_Q. We are in Common Charity to_ allow, _for_ Errors, _and_ Mis-reports, _and not presently to make an Act of_ Malice, _and_ Design, _out of every_ Mistake. _Can you shew me any of these_ Counterfeits, _and_ Impostures _that you speak of? These_ Cheats _upon the_ People, _and_ Affronts _upon the_ Government?

_A._ Yes, yes; Abundantly. And Il'e give you Instances immediately upon every poynt you'l ask me: Only This note, by the way; That let them be _mistakes_, or _Contrivances_, or what you will, they all run Unanimously _against_ the Government, without so much as one Syllable in _favour_ of it: Which makes the matter desperately suspitious.

_Q. Let me see then, in the First place, where any_ Affront _is put upon the_ Government.

_A. Some Persons_ (Says Smiths Prot. Int. N. 7.) _in_ Norwich, _&c. who have a greater stock of_ Confidence, _and_ Malice, _then_ Wisdom, _and_ Honesty, _are so far transported with_ Zeal _to serve the_ Devil, _or his_ Emissaryes _the_ Papists, _that they are now Prosecuting several_ Dissenting Protestants _upon_ Stat. 35. Eliz. _&c._ (And so the Protestant-Mercury, _N._ 15.) _Some People at_ Norwich, _are playing the_ Devil _for_ Godsake: _several honest, peaceable_, Protestant Dissenters, _having been troubled for not coming to_ Church, _or having been Present at_ Religious Meetings &c. Now what greater _Affront_ can there be to _Government_, then This language, _First_, from an _Anabaptist_ that is a _Professed Enemy_ to _all Government_; and _Secondly_, from a _Private Person_, Bare-fac'd, to arraign a _Solemn Law_: A _Law_ of this _Antiquity_; a _Law_ of _Queen Elizabeth's_, (a Princesse so much Celebrated by our _Dissenters themselves_ for her _Piety, Good Government_, and _Moderation_;) a _Law_ which, upon Experience, has been found so _Necessary_, that the bare _Relaxing_ of it, cost the _Life_ of a _Prince_, the _Bloud_ of _two or three hundred thousand_ of his _Subjects_, and a _Twenty-years-Rebellion_? To say nothing of the dangerous Consequence of making it _Unsafe_ for _Magistrates_ to discharge their Dutyes, for fear of _Outrages_, and _Libells_.

_Q. Well! but what have you to say now to the_ Kings Authority, _his_ Administration, _and his_ Privy Council.

_A. Smith_ (in his _Vox Populi, P._ 13.) saith, that _the King is oblig'd to pass or Confirm those Laws his People shall Chuse_, at which rate, if they shall tender him a Bill for the _Deposing_ of himself, he is bound to _agree_ to't. _Secondly_, in the same Page, _he Denies the Kings Power of Proroguing, or Dissolving Parliaments_; which is an _Essential_ of _Government_ it self, under what Form soever, and he's no longer a _King, without it_. And then for his _Administration, P._ 1. the _Anabaptist_ charges upon his Majesty [_those many surprizing and astonishing Prorogations, and Dissolutions_ (as he has worded his Meaning) _to be procur'd by the Papists_.] And then, _P._ 15. he wounds both the _King_, and his _Council_, at a Blow; in falling upon _those that make the King break his Coronation-Oath_; arraigning his _Council_ in the _First_ place, and the _King himself_ in the _Second_; and that for no less then the breach of _Oath_, and _Faith_.----Wee'l talk out the Rest at our next Meeting.

_London_, Printed for _H. Brome_, at the Gun in S. _Pauls_ Church-yard.

=Numb.= 13.

THE OBSERVATOR.

In _QUESTION_ and _ANSWER_.

=SATURDAY=, May 14. 1681.

_Q_. _But which way lies_ your _Humour_ then?

_A._ My way (you must know) lies more to _History_, and _Books_, and _Politicks_, and _Religion_, and _such as That_, But take this along with you too; that I am for turning over of _Men_, as well as _Books_; for that's the Profitable Study when all's done.

_Q. Pre' thee commend me to the_ Common Hangman _then, If He that_ turns over _the most_ men _be the_ Greatest Philosopher. _But how_ turning over _of_ Men?

_A._ That is to say, I _Read_ Them; I _Study_ them; I speak of _turning over_ their _Actions_, not their _Bodys_. And Pray observe my _Simile. Every_ Action _of a mans_ Life _resembles_ a Page _in a_ Book. D'ye Mark me?

_Q._ I _were to Blame else, But what are the Authors that you would recommend to a bodys Reading?_

_A._ Why thereafter as the Subject is, As for _History_; ye have _Clarks Lives_, and _Examples_; _Lloyd's Memoirs_; the _Popes Warehouse_, &c. For _Politicks_; There's Mr. _Baxters Holy Commonwealth_, the _Assemblys Catechism_, The Letter about the _Black Box_, &c. For _Law_, ye have Mr. _Prinn's Soveraign Power of Parliaments_; _Smiths Vox Populi_, &c. For _Morals_, There's _Youth's Behaviour_; And then For _Deep Knowledge_, ye have _Brightman's Revelations Reveal'd_; _Lilly's Hieroglyphicks_; the _Northern Star_, _Jones_ of the _Heart_: All Excellent Pieces in their kinds, and not Inferior (perhaps) to any of the Ancients.

_Q. I was never so happy as to meet with any of these Authors. But what d'ye think of_ Cornelius Tacitus?

_A._ A _Talking, Tedious, Empty Fellow_.

_Q. Well but is not_ Titus Livius _a pretty Good_ Historian?

_A._ Ha Ha Ha. That Same _Titus_ is an Errant _Puppy_, A _Damn'd, Insipid, Lying Coxcomb. Titus Livius_ a good _Historian_ sayst thou? Why if I had a _Schoolboy_ that writ such _Latin_ I'de tickle his _Toby_ for him.

_Q. But what's your Opinion of_ Caesars Commentaries _then? I mean, for a_ Narrative?

_A._ A _Narrative_ d'ye say? Deliver me from such _Narratives_! Why 'tis no more to be compar'd to the _Narratives_ that are written _now adays_, then an _Apple_ is to an _Oyster_.

_Q. But however He was a very_ Brave Fellow, _was he not_?

_A._ He was an _Arbitrary_, Oppressing, Tyrannical _Fellow_. And then for his _Bravery_, he did pretty well at the Battel of _Leipsick_, and after that, at _Lepanto_; and when you have said that, you have said all.

_Q. You have read all these Authors, have you not?_

_A._ Why verily I _have_, and I have _not_. They are a company of _Lying, Ridiculing Rascals_; They do not _AFFECT_ me at all: they are below me, they are not worth my notice.

_Q. What would I give to be as well vers'd in_ History, _as you are_?

_A._ And that's Impossible, let me tell ye; Utterly Impossible: For I reade just six times as much as any other Man. I have Read more _Folio's_ then ever _Tostatus_ read _Pages_. In one Word; I reade as much in _one hour_, as any other man reads in _six_.

_Q. Why how can that be?_

_A._ Why you must know I have a notable Faculty that way. I read ye _two Pages_ at a _view_: the _Right-hand_ Page with _one eye_, and the _Left_ with _t'other_, and then I carry _three Lines_ before me at a time with _each eye_.

_Q. But can ye_ Keep _what ye_ Reade, _at this rate_?

_A._ I _remember_ six times more then I _reade_; for I supply all that was left out, and yet 'tis a wonderfull thing, I cannot for my heart's blood remember _Faces_. I dare swear I have taken one man for another twenty times; but I am altogether for _Things_, and _Notions_, d'ye see, and such like; _Countenances_, let me tell ye, don't _AFFECT_ me; And yet I have a strange aversion for the two Faces I saw with you t'other day.

_Q. What D'ye mean_, Kings-man _and_ Church-man?

_A. Devil's-man_ and _Damms-man_: A couple of _Canary-Birds_, I'le warrant 'em: But _Kings-man_ is better yet then _Duke's-man_.

_Q. Why do ye talk thus of men of Quality, and Considerable Families?_

_A._ Well! but I may live to see their Honours laid in the dust tho' for all that. Prethee why is not _Circingle-man, Lawn-sleeve-man, Mitre-man_, as good a name as _Church-man_? Pray what Family is this same _Church-man_ of, for I know a world of the _Name_? He's of the _Prelatical House_, I suppose, Is he not?

_Q. Well, and is he ever the worse for that?_

_A._ Only _Antichrist_ is the _Head_ of the _Family_. Come let me talk a little roundly to ye. How many sound _Protestant Divines_ may there be of that House now, d'ye think, in _England_, and _Wales_, and the Town of _Berwick upon Tweed_? not above _Six_, if I be a _Christian_, and all the rest are _Tantivy's_, and worshippers of the Beast: But I may live yet to have the scowring of some of their Frocks for 'em.

_Q. Prethee when didst thou see Mr._ Sancroft?

_A._ Not a good while; but _Harry_ and I had a Crash t'other day yonder at _Greenwich_.

_Q. What's become of_ L'Estrange _I wonder?_

_A._ Who! _Towzer?_ that _Impudent Dog_; That _Tory-Rascal_; That _Fidling Curr_. He's in the Plot with _Celiers_, and young _Tong_, as sure as thou'rt alive, and as Rank a _Papist_ (let him swear what he will) as ever Piss't.

_Q. But has he not taken the_ Sacrament _to the_ contrary?

_A._ A _Popish Proselyte_ is no more to be believ'd, upon his _Oath_, than the _Devil himself_ if he were to Expound upon the _Gospel_. Why they have Dispensations to swear any thing.

_Q. What and continue Papists still?_

_A._ Yes: And go on still with the Hellish Popish Plot, as heartily as ever they did before. Why don't you see how the Toad Brazens it out still that he was not at _Somerset-House_? tho' _Prance_ and _Mowbray_ swear they saw him there?

_Q. Well, But who knows best? He_ Himself, _or the_ Witnesses?

_A._ Not a fart matter; For whether 'twas so or not; It were better Forty such Rogues were Hang'd then one Kings-Evidence Disparag'd.

_Q. But did they not swear a little short, think ye?_

_A._ Nay, they might have sworn _homer_, I must confess.

_Q. But now you mind me of_ Somerset-House; _Do'nt you remember a young Fellow of_ Cambridge _that Refus'd to receive the Sacrament, because (as he told his Master) he was reconcil'd to the Church, of_ Rome, _and Converted, and Baptiz'd at_ Somerset-House? _This is an old story ye must know. Why might not this be_ Towzer?

_A._ Nay as like as not, for the _Universitys_ are the very _Seminarys_ of _Popery_, and it will never be well with _England_ till _those Calves_ be turn'd a _grazing_.

_Q. But is there no believing of a_ Converted Papist _upon his_ Oath? _Why does the Law receive 'em then (upon such and such Certain Tests) for_ statutable Protestants?

_A._ The _Law_ never was among 'em as _I_ have been. There's no such thing (I tell ye) as a _Converted Papist_, and he shall sooner change his _shape_, then his _Nature: Kiss a Book, Kiss mine Arse_.

_Q. Why d'ye talk thus at random?_

_A._ Come, come, the _Outlandish Doctor_ for my mony: that told one of the _Macks_ t'other day in the face of the _Bench_, that _he would let down his Breeches and shite upon him. Plain-dealing's a Jewell._

_Q. Thou'rt e'en as busy with a_ Backside _as a_ Glyster-Pipe. _But (sluttery a part) Pray have a care what ye say; for if a_ Proselyted Papist _be not to be trusted upon his_ Oath, _what becomes of the_ Kings Evidence _that_ swear _under the_ same Circumstances? _But here's enough of this; and Pre'thee tell us now, how go squares in the_ State _all this while_?

_A._ Oh very bad, very bad, nothing but _Tory-Rorys_, from top to bottom. _Tory-Judges; Tory-Jurys; Tory-Justices; Tory-Officers; Tory-Crackfarts; Tory-Pamphlets_. All, _Certiorari-men_, and _Yorkists_. But I rattled up some of 'em there at the----_What d'ye call't-House_----Oh they'r grown strangely Insolent since these Bawling Addresses.

_Q. Why what do they do?_

_A._ Why they set every _Rascally Squire_ and _Doctor above_ me: Nay, they'l scarce put off their hats to me unless I begin; and then they stand grinning at Me and my Train. Would you think now that a fellow should have the Impudence to call Me to an account, for nothing in the world, but saying, that _he had_ a Bitch _to his_ Wife, _and_ she _a_ Rogue _to her_ Husband. And then to be call'd _Sirrah_ for my pains, only for telling a _Court-Kinsman_ of his that _I should Lace the Rogue, his Cozens Coat for him_. Well If I had not sent a Fool o'my errant I had had the Rascal in _Lob's_ Pound before this time.

_Q. And how came ye to miss?_

_A._ Why the Agent that I employ'd was so set upon his Guts, that he never minded the discourse at the Table. We had had him else. Or if he could but have got him to ha' met me, we'd ha' done his business.

_Q. But d'ye take this to be fair dealing now; to set any man at work to betray his Host; or to give such language to people of Condition?_

_A._ What not when the _Protestant Religion_ lies at _stake_? Why Pre'thee I tell the Proudest of 'em all to their Teeth, that they are _Villains_ and _Scoundrells_. What do I care for their _Graces_ and _Reverences_, they _Pimp_ for _Preferment_, and some of 'em shall hear on't too _next Parliament_. But Hark ye I have a great deal of work upon my hands, and I want an _Ammanuensis_ out of all Cry.

_Q. Why ye had a Pretty Fellow to'ther day, what's become of him?_

_A._ I'l tell ye then. A _Taylor_ had made him a _Garment_: and afterwards coming to him for the _mony_, he deny'd the Receit on't and being prest upon it, he offer'd to purge himself upon _Oath_, that he never had any such Garment. Upon this, the matter rested for a while; but at length, it was prov'd where he had _Sold_ it, and so the Taylor had satisfaction. In short, I turn'd him away apon't, for he is no servant for me that's _taken_ in a false Oath.

_Q. How is it possible for you to go thorough with all your Writing-work?_

_A._ Nay that's true; considering what a deal of other business I have; for really there would be no Justice done, if I did not look after _Witnesses_, _Jurys_, Choice of _City-Officers_, Election of _Members_ to serve in _Parliament_, both for _Town_, and _Country_; the disposing of _Ecclesiastical Dignitys_; the _Jurisdiction_ of _Courts_; the _Government_ of _Prisons_; the _Regulation_ of _Messengers Fees_: In one word, the stress of the whole Government lyes in a manner upon my shoulders; And I am so _Harrass'd_ with it, that I profess I was e'en thinking, a little before the Meeting of the last Parliament, to lay out a matter of _Twenty or Thirty Thousand Pound_ upon some Pretty Seat in the Country, and Retire.

_Q. Why truly for a man that has seen the world as you have done, what can he do better?_

_A._ Yes, I have seen the world to my Cost. 'Twas a sad thing for me, you must think, that never went to bed in my Mothers House without four or five Servants to wait upon me, (and if I had a mind to a _Tart_, a _Custard_, or a _Cheescake_ at any time, I had 'em all at command:) to be _Hackny'd_, and _Jolted_ up and down in a Forreign Country like a _Common Body_.

_Q. But what was it that put you upon_ Travel?

_A._ The Desire I had to see _Religions_, and _Fashions_: And now it comes in my head. Did you ever see my _Grounds and Occasions of the Contempt of the Clergy_?

_Q. Was That Yours then?_

_A. Mum_; betwixt friends. But I shall have a touch ere long at the _Creed-making Rascal_ there.

_Q. Who's that?_ Athanasius?

_A._ The very same. What a _Declaration_ is there?

_Q. But how d'ye like the Kings Declaration?_

_A. Not at all. Not at all._ It runs so much upon the _Arbitrary_, and the _Prelatick_? Yes, and upon something else too.

_Q. Come, 'Faith we should not part with dry lips, What d'ye think of one_ Roomer _now to the Health of? (Hark, and I'le tell ye.)_

_A._ I'le drink no _Traitors_ Health.

_Q. Why prethee what is_ Civilly-Drinking _his Health, more then_ Dutifully Praying _for't_?

_A._ No: I am of the mans mind that said, I _hope the Devil will have him; and if there be any punishment in Hell greater then another_, I _hope the Devil will tear his soul to pieces_. So Farewell.

_Q. What a Blessed sort of_ Subjects _and_ Christians _are these, that value themselves in the_ One Capacity, _for their_ Contempt _of_ Authority: _And in the_ other, _for the Zeal of Flying out into_ Blasphemys, _and_ Execrations, _instead of_ Prayers? _But what shall_ I _call this at last? A_ Romantique, _or an_ Historical Observator?

_London_, Printed for _Johanna Brome_, at the Gun in S. _Pauls_ Church-yard.

=Numb.= 110

THE OBSERVATOR.

In _DIALOGUE_.

=SATURDAY=, March 11. 1681.

_WHIG._ Come; I'le shew ye my _study, Tory_.

_TORY._ Why you have got a Brave _Library_ here.

_Wh._ For a _Choice Collection_, let me tell ye, as any is in _Christendom_.

_To._ You have all the _Greek_ and _Latin Fathers_, I suppose; the _Councells_, the _Schoolmen_, and those People.

_Wh._ I had'em all; but there's a great deal of _Trash_; and so I e'en rid my hands of'em; though some of'em did pretty well too; considering those _Dark Times_. Now here can I sit as _Snug_ as a _Hare_ in her _Form_, and Chat away a Winters Evening with a _Good Fire_, a _Pipe_, and a _Friend_, and never feel how the time spends.

_To._ Well! And why should not You and I keep our _Conferences_ here too?

_Wh._ Best of all: There's no body within hearing; and then we have our _Books_ and _Papers_ about us, and all in such Order, that I'le lay my Finger, Blindfold, upon any book you'le call for.

_To._ But what Subject are they mostly of?

_Wh._ Matters of _State, History, Travells_, The Rights and Power of the _People, Reformation, Religion, Discipline, Admonitions, Remonstrances, Petitions, Appeals_; as ye see'em mark'd upon the Shelves. But all this is nothing, you'l say, when y'ave seen my _Gallery_. Open that same Door before ye.

_To._ Bless me! What a Treasure's here?

_Wh._ Look ye now. That side is all _News-Books,_ and _Political Divinity_.

_To._ You mean _Polemical_ Divinity I suppose.

_Wh._ Ay Ay; 'Tis all one for that. Now all to'ther side is _Dissenting Protestants_; as _Cartwright, Brown, Barrow, Robinson_, _Hetherington, Trask, Naylor, Best, Biddle, Muggleton_. And here are your _Muncerians, Apostoliques, Separatists, Catharists, Enthusiasts, Adamits, Huttites, Augustinians, Libertines, Georgites, Familists, Ranters Seekers, Sweet-Singers, Antinomians, Arrians, Socinians, Millenaryes, Quakers_: And in Two words; all the _Godly Party_. They make Fourteen Folio's of Catalogue.

_To._ But ha'ye no _Manuscripts_?

_Wh._ Yes I have Three cases there beyond the Chimny, that I wou'd not change for _Bodlies Library_ three times over.

_To._ What do they treat of?

_Wh._ Two of 'em are altogether upon the _Art of Government_, and the _Third_ is Cramm'd with _Lampoon_ and _Satyr_. You sha'not name me any one Copy that has scap'd me; nor any Exigent of State; but I'le furnish ye out of these Papers with an Expedient for't.

_To._ And wherein does this _Art of Government_ Consist?

_Wh._ In _Foresight, Experience, Presence of Thought, Prudence of Direction_, and _Vigour of Execution_. To be short; Every Motion of the _Head_, the _Eye_, the _Hand_, the _Foot_, the _Body_. Contributes a part to this Great Work.

_To._ Is it a Science that may be Convey'd by _Instruction_?

_Wh._ With as much Ease as _Fencing_, or _Dancing_. There are Three or Four _Dissenting Academies_ here about the Town, where People are taught to _Nod, Wink, Gape, Cough, Spit_; Nay the very _Tuning_ of their _Hum's_ and _Haw's_, by _Rule and Method_; when to _Smite the Breast_, and when to _Dust the Cushion_; when to _Leap_ in the _Pulpit_, and when to _Swim_; when to be _Serene_, and when to _Thunder_: Nay the _Faces_ they are to make at every _Period_; and the very _Measure_ of their _pauses_; that the _Parenthesis_ may be large enough for the _Groans_, & _Ejaculations_ of the _Secret ones_ to _Play_ in; they are taught to Pray for the _King_ with _One Tone_ and _Countenance_, and for the _Parliament_ with _another_.

_To._ I have Observ'd them indeed to Cry with a Loud Voice, _Lord! strengthen the Hands of the One_, & then to drop the Note into a kinde of a Piping whisper, with a _Lord! Turn the Heart of the Other_; which is as much as to say, _Alas! the Poor Gentleman is out of his way, and we must set all hands at work to bring him to comply with his_ Parliament, _though that_ Handy work, _at last, bring his_ Royall Head _to the_ Scaffold.

_Wh._ If you wou'd not be a _Rogue_ now and tell tales, I could let ye in to the whole _Popular Mystery_; and shew ye the _Folly_, and the _Vanity_ of any other Claim to _Sovereign Power_. And then _I_ have all the _Prints_ brought me as soon as ever they come out.

_To._ Pre'thee let's fall to work then.

_Wh._ Come, I'le give you a sight of one of my _Boxes_ first; but I must be gone in a quarter of an hour upon absolute Necessity.

_To._ Well! And whether in such hast?

_Wh._ There's One at _Newington_ has promis'd me an _Answer_ to the _Dissenters Sayings_; and then I am told of a _Godly Divine_ at _Clapham_, that has a _Reply_ ready to the _Notes upon College_.

_To._ Let's make the best of our time then. Stay a little; what have we here?

_Wh._ Every thing is _Titled_, ye see, ready to your hand; so that you may Pick and Chuse.

_To._ Let me see then. _Pious Frauds; Mentall Reservations; Infallibility of the Assembly; Baxters Saints; Cases of Conscience; Dispensations, Contributions, Maxims, Intelligence, Orders, Committees, Juryes, Caballs, Religion, Property, Demands, Proposals, Grievances, Pretences, Salvo's, Distinctions, Explanations, Projects, Directions, Advices, Resolutions, Invectives, Fictions, Forms of Reproaches_, suited to _All Persons, Orders_, and _Qualities; True-Protestant Privileges_; The _Doctrine_ of _Probabilityes_, and _Implicit Obedience_.

_Wh._ Now upon all these Heads, ye have _Authoritys, Precedents_; and all the _Colours, Arguments_, and _Elucidations_ that the matter will bear.

_To._ But your _Pious Frauds, Mentall Reservations, Infallibility, Dispensations, Salvo's, Distinctions, Probabilityes, Implicit Faith_; These are all _Popish Points_.

_Wh._ They are so, when they are apply'd to the service of the Church of _Rome_: but the _True Protestant-Cause Sanctifies_ the _Principle_. As there's a great difference betwixt the _Popes Excommunicating_ of an _Hereticall Prince_; and the _Generall Assemblys Excommunicating_ of an _Antichristian, Episcopall Prince_; betwixt a _Popish Gunpowder-Treason_, in the _Cellers, under_ the _Parliament-House_; and a _Gunpowder Commission_ to _Kill_ and _Slay_ within the _walls_ of the _Same House, above ground_; though to Carnal Eyes they may both appear to _Center_ in the same _Point_: And so in like manner, betwixt a _Conspiracy_ of _Papists_ to _cut off the King_, and _Subvert the Government_; and a _True-Protestant-Association_, to the very _same Effect_: Nay with this Advantage too; that the Latter Propounds the Accomplishing of that, in a matter of a _month_ or _six weeks_, which the Zeal of their Fore-fathers was at least _Ten_, or a _dozen years a doing_.

_To._ 'Tis a Great Ease for a man to have all these Subjects _Common-Plac'd_ to his hand.

_Wh._ Right. And where you may turn to any thing you have a mind to see, with a _wet Finger_.

_To._ But Pray'e How do you approve (in many of our _Seisures_) of the _Application_ of _Popish Trinkets_ to _Prophane Uses_, which were by them Dedicated to the service of a _Superstitious Religion_?

_Wh._ You cannot Imagine, though an _Embroder'd Cope_ may be an _Abomination_, what a _Cordial the Pearl_ of it is to a _True-Protestant Professor. Lambs-Wool_ drinks no way better then out of a _Chalice_. Or in other Cases; 'Tis but Destroying the _Popish Form_ of an _Idolatrous Vessell_, and the _Intrinsick Value_ is never the less _Current_ according to the _Standard_ of the _Reformation_. The _Picture_ of the _Blessed Virgin_, with our _Saviour_ in her Arms, is never a jot the worse for _sale_ to a _Painter_, for being an object of _Idolatry_ about the _Altar_.

_To._ And yet I have seen it Committed to the _Flames_, but it has been an Oversight, betwixt the _Zeal_ and the _Ignorance_ of the _Magistrate_. How many _Curious Crucifixes_, and _Reliques_, with _Delicate Inlayings_, and _Carvings_ have I seen Expos'd at _Gill_ the _Constables_ in _Westminster_; truly, at very _Reasonable Rates_?

_Wh._ Not unlikely; but then ye must know, they were _Seiz'd_ in _One Capacity_, and _sold_ in _Another_; for they were _vended_ in the Contemplation of the _Workmanship_, though they were _taken_ as the _Fooleries_ of a _False Religion_. We have in our days seen the _Representation_ of the _Trinity_, Demolish'd in a _Church-Window_, with Extraordinary _Zeal_ and _Approbation_.

_To._ Why truly I am as much against the making of any _Image_ or _Figure_ of _God the Father_ under the _Form_ of a _Man_, as any body; for _Twenty Mistakes_ and _Inconveniencies_ that may arise upon the Consideration of such an _Object_; but I know no hurt in the world in the Representing of our _Saviour_ under a _Human shape_; or of the _Holy Ghost_ under the shadow of a _Dove_: beside that the thing is presum'd to have been done by _Authority_; for otherwise, the same _Zeal_ that Destroys but the _Window_ of the _Church_, would not stick at the Destroying perhaps of every thing else that belongs to't. But prethee tell me One thing, suppose the _Blessed Trinity_, so Represented, should be the _Seal_ of an _Ancient_ Community, or _Society_ of men, what's the difference betwixt that _Figure_, in _Graving_, or in _Nealing_; in _Silver_, or in _Glass_? Would not you as much _scruple_ the putting of that _Seal_ to a _Lease_, as the _seeing_ of that _Figure_ in a _Church-Window_?

_Wh._ No; by no means; for the _One_ is Purely a _Civil Act_; and the _Other_ has a Regard to _Religious Worship_.

_To._ And yet this _Image_, or _Pretended Resemblance_, is the _same thing_ in the _One_, as it is in the _Other_. Well! I am Extremly pleas'd with this Private Corner for Liberty of Discourse.

_Wh._ Here you may have all the _Papers_ as they come out, _Fresh and Fresh_: All the _Arguments_, and _Politiques_ of the _Dissenting Party_; Chuse _your own Theme_, Take _your own Time_, and Treat upon _your own Conditions_.

_To._ That's as fair as any Mortall can wish; So that when the day does not afford other matter to work upon, we may Look a little more narrowly into the _Merits_ of the _Cause_. And so much for that. But here let me ask ye a Question: Do you know a _Little Cause-Jobber_ yonder somewhere about _Kings-street, in Covent Garden_?

_Wh._ Does he not use the _Christian Coffee-House_?

_To._ The very same. He was saying t'other day that _L'Estrange_ was a _Pensioner of Cromwels_; a _Papist_; and that he durst not bring his _Action_ against any man for _Calling_ him so: That he was a _Rogue_; a _Fidler_; Liv'd in _Covent-Garden_ a good while, and got his _Living_ by his _Trade_; And that a _Magistrate_, not far from that place, would _Justify_ it. The Two first Points, I suppose, will be Disputed in another place: And for the _Fidler_: 'Tis well known that _L'Estrange_ liv'd Eight or Nine years in one of the _Piazza-Houses_ there; and kept _Servants_ that would have Scorn'd to have Sorted themselves with any thing so mean as this _Paltry Varlet_. But to the Business. How far will the _Privilege_ of a _True-Protestant-Whig_ Justify a _Villain_ in so many _Scandalous Lyes_?

_Wh._ So far as the _Common Good_ of the _Cause_ is more Valuable then the _single Credit_ of a _Private Person_. But what say ye now to _Curtis's Advertisement_ (in his Last _Mercury_) of _Tong's Narrative_, and _Case_; concerning _L'Estrange_, Printed for C W?

_To._ I say, 'tis _first_, a _Cheat_; for 'tis none of _Tong's Writing_; _2ly_, 'Tis _Another Cheat_; for 'twas Printed for _Langley Curtis_, with his Name to _Tongs Appointment_ for the Printing of it: Only he has Fobb'd a _New_, and a _False Title-Page_ to't. But what says Mr. _Oates_, all this while, to _L'Estranges Enformation_ against _Tonge_, in the _Shammer Shamm'd_? where that young Fellow has the Impudence to declare under his hand, the very _Foundation_ of _Oates's_ Plot to be a _Cheat_: And _I appeal to all Good Protestants for Justice upon that Scandalous Wretch_.

_Wh._ Nay, 'tis a horrible Abuse, and really the man stands in's own light: What was't? 500 or a 1000 Pound that he recover'd of One that did not say the Hundredth part of what this comes to? The Lord Deliver me! I knew the Time when 'twas _half a Hanging-matter_ to have made the least doubt of any Branch of the Hellish Plot: But for this Audacious Fool to say in Expresse Terms, that [_the_ Four Jesuites Letters, _wherein_ Oates _pretended was the whole Discovery, were_ Counterfeits] is utterly Intolerable. I'le e'en go my ways immediately, and talk with the Doctor about it.

_London_, Printed for _Joanna Brome_, at the Gun in S. _Pauls_ Church-yard.

Vol. 3. =Numb. 88=

THE OBSERVATOR,

_A_ Schism _a Greater Judgment then a_ Pestilence. _The_ Natural Rhetorique _of the_ Non-Cons. _The_ Danger _of them. Several_ Sorts _and_ Degrees _of Danger. Of Coming_ About, _or Coming_ Over. _The_ Cause _Transferr'd from_ Government _to_ Religion.

=Munday=, September 28. 1685.

_OBSERVATOR._ If I were the _Master_ of a _Territory_, I would as soon _Trust_ so many _Spirits_ in my _Pulpits, to Blow a Pestilence thorough my Dominions_, as so many of our _Non-Conforming Divines_; and reckon my _People_ much _Safer_ too, under the Danger of a _Plague_, then under the _Consequences_ of a _Schism_: For the _One Taints_ but the Bodies of Men; the _Other Destroys_ their very Souls; the _One_ takes them _Promiscuously_, the _Good_, and the _Bad, One_ with _Another_: But the _'Tother Marks_, and _Singles-out_ the _Best Men_ for _Ruine_, with a _Privilege_ of _Exemption_, to those that neither fear _God_, nor _Man_. The _One_ Sweeps away a Number of Single _Persons_; the _Other_ Tears to pieces the _Sinews_ of a _Community_. The _One_ does, in _some Degree_, Conduce to the _Purging_ of a _Wicked Nation_, when the _Wrath_ of _Heaven_ is _Appeas'd_ by the _Discharge_ of some _Dreadfull Judgment_ upon't; (as the _Air_ is Clear'd by _Thunder_) The _Other_ does All that is _Possible_ to the _Filling-up_ of the _Measure_ of a _Publique Iniquity_; and the making of a Land Ripe for _Vengeance_.

_TRIMMER._ Prethee what _Danger_? Or what needs this _Lashing_, when they are All Tongue-Ty'd; and Driven into _Holes_, and _Hiding-Places_, to keep out of the way of _Messengers_, and _Constables_, and out of the _Clutches_ of the _Corporation-Act_, and _Other Penal Laws_ against their _Private Meetings_?

_Obs._ What dost thou Talk of Tongue-Ty'd? Why I will undertake it; (and in _Serious Good Earnest_ too) _Gagg_ the Whole Set of'em; Give Every man his _Pulpit_, or his _Chair_, and only a Bare Standing in't; and if they do not _Wink_, and _Nod_, and _Cuff_ any Prince in _Christendom_ out of his _Dominions_, without a _Word Speaking_, I'le be thy _Bond-slave_. Why they do not do their Bus'ness, man, by the Force of _Logique, Grammar_, or by the _Dint_ of _Theology_: But by _Groans, Pangs, Tragical Ululations, Silent Interjections, Whining Apostrophes, Melting Epiphonemas_; and in a word; by the Helps of _Natural Rhetorick_, without _Need_, of either _Sense_, or _Syllables_.

_Trim._ They _Preach_, and _Pray_, without _Speaking_ then.

_Obs._ No No. They do Talk for _Fashion_-sake: But Observe it while you will; They move the _Passions_ of their _Auditory_, in the _Belfry_, or the _Church-Porch, Forty times more_ then Directly under the _Pulpit_: For the _Emphasis_ of an _Action_; a _Motion, Tone_, or _Countenance_, makes a much Deeper _Impression_, than that of a _Naked, Empty, Sound_: And for _My Part_, I fancy, it might do as well for 'em to Whistle their _Preachments_ as to Articulate them: For the _Masterpiece_, or the All in All of it, lies Mainly, in _Hitting_ the _Tune_.

_Trim._ D'ye call this Reasoning, or Ridiculing?

_Obs._ 'Tis _Both_ in _One_: For it is the _Ridiculous Truth_, and the _Just Reason, Method_, and _State_ of the _Matter_: And when People are once _Juggled_ Out _of their Wits_, they must be _Fool'd_ Into _'em again_. Now there needs no more to the doing of _That Work_, then the bare _Drawing_ of the _Curtain_, and letting People into the _Tyring-Room_. For the _Cause_, is all over, _Theatrical_: The _Actors_ are _Hypocrites_, in their _Manners_, as well as in the _Etymon_; and the whole _Manage_, fitter for a _Stage_, then a _Pulpit_. So that the most _Certain Way_ in _Nature_, for the making of the _Practice, Odious_; and the _Disabusing_ of the _Undiscerning Multitude_, is to _lay Open_ their _False Colours, Shapes_, & _Disguises_; and _Expose_ Every thing in its _Naked Simplicity_ to the _Light_.

_Trim._ And what if a man should Allow This sort of People now, to be the most _Uncouth, Hideous Monsters_ of the _Creation_? To have the _Teeth_, the _Nails_, the _Fierceness_, the _Strength_, & the _Appetite_ of the most _Ravenous_ of _Wild Beasts_? This Discourse, of _Caution_, and _Description_, might do well enough in the _Countrys_ of _Lyons_, and _Tygers_: But what's All This, to _his Majesties Dominions_, where there are either _None_ of These Creatures, _at all_, or No _Other_, at least, then such as have their _Nails Par'd_, and their _Chops Muzzled_: And no more _Danger_ of them, at present, then of our _Beeves_, and _Muttons_.

_Obs._ Dost not thou know that there are _Several_ Sorts, & Degrees of _Danger_? A man may be Wheedled into a _Precipice_, as well as Thrown into't: A man may be Hugg'd or Suck'd to _Death_, without any Biting, or Scratching in the Case: A man may be Poyson'd in his _Porridge_, as well as Strangl'd in his _Bed_: A man may have False Opinions _Impos'd_ upon him by a _Fallacy_, or _Fraud_ in _Argument_, as well as Extorted from him, by the Force of _Menace_, and _Torment_. And his Bus'ness, at last, is _done_, as Dead, _One way_ as _T'other_: And so for the Degrees of _Danger_; There's _Danger at Hand_; there's _Danger_ at a _Distance_; _Danger_ in _Design_, and _Danger_ in _Practice_; And _Danger_, in fine, through All the _Preparatory_, and _Mediate Tendencies_ to _Mischief_, to the _Last Effect_ that _Pushes_ it self forth to _Execution_.

_Trim._ Very Good! And what are All These _Sorts_, and _Degrees_ of _Danger_ to the _Instances_ we have now _Before_ us?

_Obs._ 'Tis true; The _Faction_ is not in Condition to _Attacque_ the _Government_ by _Force_: Their _Armies_ are _Scatter'd_, and their _Squadrons Defeated_; the _Whole Party_ put to their _Shifts_; and the very _Best_ of 'em, has enough to do to _save his Own Bacon_. Their _Teeth_ are _Drawn_, I'le Allow ye, All but here and there a _Stump_; And yet they'l _Pinch, Plaguily_, though they cannot _Worry_, and _Tear_: And with _Time_, and _Good Discipline_, they'l come to _Grow again_. They have the _Same Principles_ to friend, that _ever_ they had: Only they must be _Manag'd Another Way_: And there can never Want _Matter_, for _Artificial Flattery, Wheedling, Imposture_ and _Hypocrisy_, to _Work_ upon. They are not in Condition to _Advance_, at this time of the Day, in the face of the _Sun_, and of the _Government_, with their _Petticoats Flying_, under the _Auspicious Direction_ of their _Tutelary Angel, Ferguson_; and [Fear Nothing but God] for their _Motto_. But they must Supply want of _Strength_, by _Stratagem_; and _Carry-on_ their _Approches_, out of sight. 'Tis only a little more _Patience_, and the _Work_ will be brought about, as sure at the _Long-Run_, by a _Mine_, as by a _Battery_: And the _Certifying_ of _a Hundred and Fifty Perrots_ into the _Service_, and _Protection_ Of the _Government_, will be of Greater _Effect_, then the _Drawing-up_ of _Ten Thousand men in Arms_, Against it. Now _These Methods_ lye All _Open_ still, only they are somewhat more _About_. Now as to _Dangers Remote_, or _Nearer hand; Dangers_ of _Design_, or _Dangers_ of _Practice_: All the _Preparatories_, & _Dispositions_ to _Mischief_, in their _Secret Impulses_, and _Causes_, are as _Vigorous_ Now, as Ever they were, that is to say, within Two or Three Motions of a _Publique Violence_: Only This Difference in the Case, that we have _Hitherto_, been in the _Greatest Danger_ of our _Profess'd_, & _Open Enemies_: And _Now_, God bless us from our _Pretending Friends_: For all on a Sudden, the _Trimmers_ are come-up to be _Stark Church-of-England-men_; And the _Phanatiques_, gotten a _Form Higher_, into the _Seat_ or _Classes_ of the _Trimmers_.

_Trim._ Thou art _Well, neither Full nor Fasting_. Neither _Fanatique_, nor _Trimmer_, nor _Church-of-England-man_ I perceive, will please ye; The _Controversy_ of a New King; or a Common-Wealth, is _Out of Doors_; The Question of Liberty of Conscience; The _Privilege_ of _Private Meetings_ for Religous Worship; And a _Challenge_ of _Dispensation_ from the _Rites, Ceremonies, and_ Discipline _of the Church, are_ All layd aside. And All This will not serve the _Turn_ yet. Now if Men go to _Church_; Take _Tests_, make _Declarations_; And _Do_ and _Perform_ All that the _Law Requires_ of'em; where's the _Danger_ of These People I beseech ye?

_Obs._ Not in their _coming over_ with their _Bodies_, but in _Staying behind_, in their _Good Wills_, and _Affections_: Nay, and in their _Communicating_ with the _Church_ in the _Morning_, and in the _Afternoon_, with the _Schism_: And pray will you Note in them, One Thing _More_ too. 'Tis worth the while, when they _Ramble_ from their _Own Parish_, to _Observe_ whither they go: For I have known the very _Streets Throng'd_, out of Distance of _Hearing One Word_ that the _Minister says_, with the _Same Superstition_, that the _Quakers Flock_ to the _Door_, when they are _Lock'd-out_ of the _Meeting-House_: In which Case, It has yet the _Semblance_ of a _Private Meeting_; And in Truth, looks liker a _Political Muster_, then a _Religious Exercise_: But Heark ye for One Word, before we go any further; Suppose a Man should have sayd about the _Beginning_ of _July Last_, in a _Brisk Reply_ to a _Reflexion_ made upon the _Western-Rebells_; (at that time in their _Pride_ and _Glory_) [The King has as Loyal Subjects in That Army as Any are in T'other.] Wouldst thou have me, in Construction of _Common Sense_, and _Honesty_, look upon _That Person_, to be, Effectually Come over, and in the _State_ of _a True Church-of-England-man_; only for _Keeping_ the _Law_, with his _Heels_, when he _Breaks_ it, with his _Tongue_, and _Doctrine_? Now this is more then I Owe ye, upon the Matter in hand: For you have Carry'd the _Question_ quite _back_ again, from the _Non-Con-Ministers_, to the _Generality_, and the _Multitude_ of the _Dissenters_: which is a Point Wholly _Excepted_, and out of the _Limits_ of _Our Debate_: For All their _Conventicles_ without a _Mouth_, are _Monsters_; Meer _Nullities_, & _Bilks_, without a _Teacher_: So that I have _Restrain'd_ my _Applications_, Singly, to the _Rabbi's_ of the _Faction_, as _Including_, and _Implying_ the _Sense_, and the _Intent_ of their _Disciples_: Nay and _so far Including_ it, that they are _Barely_, the _Passive Instruments_ of their _Leaders_. Now These _Heads_ of the _Divided Parties_, are a sort of People, that do not, by any Means, fall within the _Charitable Prospect_ of _Your Qualifications_: For they _Stand-off_, in _Contempt_, and _Defyance_ of the _Orders_, & _Censures_ of the _Church_, and of the _Law_, as much at _This Instant_, as _ever_ they did. Their _Followers Maintain_, and _Support_ them in That _Stubbornness_ of _Disobedience_; And so the _Opposition_ stands yet _Firm_, in _Effect_, though with _Less Noise_ of _Menace_, and _Tumult_. The _Branches_, 'tis True, are _Lopt_; but the _Root_, not so much as _Touch'd_; Nay, and in such a Condition of _Vegetative Virtue_, and _Vigour_, that it wants nothing but _Time_, and a _Favourable Season_ to make it _Sprout_ again. And This you may Assure your self of, that Nothing less then an _Utter_, an _Open_, a _Solemn_, and an _Irrevocable Divorce_, betwixt _These Libertine-Seducers_, and Those that have been _Trepann'd_, and _Inveigled_, out of the _Bosom_ of the _Church_, into the _Arms_ of the _Schism_: Nothing I say, less then Some such _Unalterable Act_, or _Decree_ of _Separation_, can ever _Secure_, either the _Church_, or the _State_ from the _Pernicious Consequences_ of this _Intelligence_: For betwixt _Blind Pity_, and _Foolish Zeal_, on the _One_ hand, and all the _Arts_, of _Moving_, and _Provoking_ Those _Passions_, and _Affections_, on the _Other_, there is _kept-up_, and _Cherish'd_, a _Communication_ of _Reciprocal Kindness_, between them, that keeps the _Fire alive_ still in the _Embers_, 'till by _Degrees_, it _Blows-up_ All at last into a _Common Flame_. Now take away _These Bellows_, and _T'other Sparks_, and a man may _Sleep_ in his _Bed_, without _Dreaming_ of _Conflagrations_, or the _Dread_ of Rising with his Throat Cut.

_Trim._ I will not Excuse some _Hot-Headed Blades_, that let their _Tongues_ run before their _Wits_; And make it a Point of _Honour_, to _Brave_ All the _Terrors_ of _Death_, and _Dungeons_, in defence of the _Cause_ that they have _Undertaken_. The _Less said_, the _Better_; Though a Body cannot, in _Generosity_, but have some sort of _Compassion_, for a Man that Suffers _Death_, with _Constancy of Mind_, Even in a Mistaken Cause, if it be according to his _Conscience_.

_Obs._ If these _Impressions_ were _Inbred_, and the _Errors_ purely their _Own_, it would be a _Point_, not only of _Good Nature_, but of _Common Justice_, and _Humanity_, to have a _Tenderness_ for _People_ under an _Invincible Mistake_: But you have Started the _Strongest Argument_ in the World, against your _self_ here, by _Enforcing_ the _Necessity_ of Clearing the _Stage_ of the _Seditious Oracles_, that _Inspire These Desperate Resolutions_.

_Trim._ Why All matter of _Violence, Heat_ of _Dispute_, and _Clamour_ of _Argument_, is at an _End_. You hear no more of your _Scottish_, and _Western Declarations_; No more _Competitors_ for the _Crown_; or _Confederates_ for a _Republique_: And therefore prethee, _let_ us be at _Peace_ while we _May_ be at _Peace_; and do not stand _Puzzling_ the _People_ with _Danger_, where _No Danger is_.

_Obs._ Soft and Fair, _Trimmer_; those _Declarations, Practices_, and _Attempts_, are not to be _Repeated_ again in the _same Age_: But there are _more ways to the Wood then One_: And 'tis All a case, to a man that's _Robb'd_, whether the _Thieves_ came in at the _Door_, or at the _Window_. 'Tis very Right, That, since the Breaking of the _Rebellion_, the _Non-Cons_ lay their _Fingers_ upon their _Mouths_; and not _One Word_ of _Late_, upon the Subject of _Liberties_, and _Properties_; or of the Danger of _Tyranny_, and of _Arbitrary Power_: But All other _Grievances_ are Now _Swallow'd-up_ in _One_: They are All in _Tears_ for fear of the _Protestant Religion_; and _That's the Topique that's now Carry'd-on, through All Shapes, Figures, and Disguises_.

_Trim._ We shall have fine Work, Next Bout!

_London_, Printed for _Charles Brome_, at the Gun in St. _Paul's_ Church-yard.

Vol. 3. =Numb. 202=

THE OBSERVATOR.

_The way of Promoting_ Fears, _and_ Jelousies. _The_ People _meerly_ Passive _in the Bus'ness. Both Parts seem to_ Contend _for the_ Same Common Principles. _The_ Rise of Jelousies.

=Saturday=, August 21. 1686.

_TRIMMER._ The _Accommodating_ of Words, Phrases, and Texts to the Matter in hand, with the Interjecting, here and there, of Certain _Emphatical Winks_, and _Innuendo's_, to the _Common People_, will do the Bus'ness of _Fears and Jelousies_, you need never _Doubt_ it, without any more Ceremony.

_OBSERVATOR._ I do no more _Doubt_ it, then I do, that a Proper Remedy; Rightly Prepar'd; and Administer'd in the _Due_ Time and Proportion, will _Work_ such or such an _Effect_. But the _Skill_ lyes, in the Judgment of the Distemper; The Constitution of the Patient; The Choice of the Physick; The Prescription of the Composition, the Preparation, and the Dos. Now _Your_ way of _Operating_, is only the Mechanicall _Part of the Bus'ness_; and no more, then the giving of a _Box_, a _Gally-pot_, or a _Glass_, with a Note of _Directions_, out of _One_ hand into _Another_: which Any _Porter_ that Plyes at the _Next Corner_, would do as _Dext'rously_, as ever a _Doctor_ of the _College_. The _Difficulty_, and the _Mystery_, is Over, before _You_ have any thing to _Do_ with it: The _Poysonous_, and _Intoxicating Draught_, Prepar'd; The _Multitude_ set a-Gaping for't, and Your _Office_, is only at last, to _Pour it down their Throats_. There's Matter of _History_, and _Fact_, enough, 'tis true, to _Satisfy any man_, that People may be made as _Mad_ with _Cant_, and _Gibberish_, as if they had taken _Henbane_; and that _the_ Sting _of_ Jelousy, will put them out of their _Wits_ as soon as _the_ Biting _of a_ Mad-Dog: But we are in the _Dark_ all this while, for the Rise, the Progress, and the Methods of Enflaming _Jelousies_, to bring'em up to that _Pitch_. Prethee let me Understand a little of their Birth, Growth, Discipline, and Education; How they are Fed, Nourish'd, and Entertain'd? What's the End, and Use of them? What Language do they _Speak_; or how comes it to pass, that the _Same_ Words, and Phrases, without _Any Intelligence_ with _Grammar, Logique, Common Usage_, or _Propriety_, should _Transport_ Some _Men_ into _Outrages, Palpitations of the Heart, Horrors_, and _Tremblings_, both of _Mind_, and of _Body_; and yet Work no more upon Others, then they _did_, before the very Letters of'em were taken out of the _Alphabet_? I do not call ye to a _Strict Shrift_ upon _Every Point_, but I Expect you shall say something to the _Whole Matter_; for a _Few Words_, in Order, will give a man more _Light_ to the _Reason_ of a Thing, then as many _Volumes_, in Confusion.

_Trim._ You are in the _Right_; that the _Craft_ lies in the Project, and the Preparatory _Manage_ of this Affair, and that the _Danger_ is gone too _Far_, when the _Mine_ is already _Wrought_; the _Powder Dispos'd_, and nothing wanting to the _Final Execution_ of the _Mischief_, but the _Lighting_ of the _Match_, and the Applying of the _Coal_ to the _Train_. You have _Well_ and _Truly_ enough _Observed_, the _Wonderfull Force_, that _Some Certain_ Words, and Phrases have; upon the _Affections_ of the _Multitude_; without the Least _Shadow_ of any Logical, Grammatical, or Philosophical _Reason_ for the _Operation_ of them. Now you must know, that _These_ Words, and Phrases, are made _Use_ of, and _Understood_, in the way of a Cypher, or a Jargon, and not according to the _Ordinary Acceptation_ of them, in a _Regular_ way of _Writing_, or of _Speaking_; So that, Effectually, the _Efficacy_ of such _Words_, and _Phrases_, is given for _Granted_; and how they come to _Obtain that Force_, remains the _Single Question_.

Now towards the _Understanding_ of this Matter, you must Consider, that no _State_ can be _Supplanted_, but by _Turning_ the _Peoples Hearts_, against the _Persons_, & the _Actions_ of their _Superiors_: So that in _All Conspiracies_ to _Destroy_ a _Government_, Fears & Jelousies, are _the_ Corner Stone _of the Babel_. Their Hearts are no sooner _Lost_, but they withdraw their Bodies too, and so, by _Degrees, Erect_ Laws, and Religions of their Own; and look upon themselves, by This time, as in _Another Commonwealth_.

_Obs._ 'Tis most _Certainly True_; and that in this _Separation_, they set-up an _Interest_ of _Direct_ Spite, as well as Opposition, to That of the _Church_, and of the _State_.

_Trim._ This is the very Course, and Progress of a _Popular Jelousy_: But pray take Notice as we go, that the _People_, are thus far, _Meerly_ Passive; and _Contribute No Otherwise_, to the _Ruine_ of the _Publique_, then _a_ Snapping Sea does, to the _Sinking_ of a _Vessell_, when the _Billows_ are _Hurry'd-on_ by the _Violence_ of an Irresistible Tempest: if the _Winds_ would but let the _Waves alone_, they'd be _Quiet_. When they come once to Gather into [Private Meetings,] (or as you call them, Conventicles) you may _Then_ accompt upon it, that they are as good as put to _School_, to _Learn_ the Mystery of their _Profession_. For there are Canting-Schools, as well as Reading-Schools: and under This _Discipline_, they come by _Insensible Degrees_, to part with their _English_ Tongue, as well as with their _English_ Principles, and Manners. Nay, and Effectually, to take up such _Uncouth, Novel_, and _Strange_ Thoughts, Opinions, and Practices, that it looks, as if the English-Man, the Christian, and the Subject, were all lost in a Disguise. They are now, you must know, under New Lords, and Consequently, under New Laws; where they are _Train'd-up_ to _New Ways_ of Understanding Things, and to a _New Idiome_ of Expressing them. Religion, Law, Government, Conscience, Good Manners, are so _Sacred_ in Themselves, that the _Worst_ of Men cannot but _Pretend_ a _Veneration_ for them; but how to _Baffle_, or to _Elude_ the _Force_, the _Obligation_, and the _Authority_ of them; and, at the Same Time, to set-up for the _Asserters_, and _Supporters_ of _These Publique Rights, Privileges_, and _Duties, There_ lies the _Difficulty_ of the _Undertaking_.

_Obs._ That is to say, how to _Resolve_ Religion, into an _Empty_ Notion: To Talk Christianity into a Paradox; and, with Christ in our _Mouths_, at _London_, to _fall down_, and _Worship_ Mahomet, in _Buda_: How to _Confound_ Gods, and the Governments Friends and Enemies, so as to make the _Common People_ take _One_ for _T'other_. Now This can be no way done, but by setting-up the Counterfeit of Religion, Law, and Conscience, against the _Genuine_, and _Authentique_ Original; and by making Evil, to be Good, and Good, to be Evil.

_Trim._ You must _Note_, further, that in This _Opposition_, the Main Cause appears to be the _very Same_, on _Both sides_; and _Both Parts_ seem to _Contend_, for the Same Common Principles, of _Divine Worship_, and of _Civil Obedience_.

_Obs._ Only the _One_ Flies to the _Invisible Lights_ and _Dictates_ of the _Spirit_, in Matter of Religion; (taking Fancy for Revelation) and, in the Matter of Government, has Recourse to Certain _Unaccountable Whimsies_, of [Powers Reserv'd,] where there _never was any Power at all_; & _These Fooleries_, they _Trump_ upon the _Little People_, under the _Pompous Name_ of [_FUNDAMETALS_;] while the _Rulers_, on the _Other_ hand, Stick to the Law, to the Text, and to the _Approved Sense_ of the Best Interpreters of Both, for their _Guide_.

_Trim._ Very Good! And after they have _Departed_ from the Common Rule, and _Divided_ themselves from the Common Interest; it is but Reasonable to _Expect_, that they will Set-up Another Interest, and Another Rule to _Themselves_.

_Obs._ Well! But how do they _Manage That Province_ all this while, as to the _Subject_, I mean, that we were _Speaking_ of?