for his people are happy! May the light of the "covenant be a lanthorn to the fect of the judges; "for by this fhall they feparate truth from falfe"hood. O innocence, rejoice! for by this light. "fhalt thou walk in fafety; nor fhall the oppreffor "take hold on thee. O juflice, be exceeding glad! "for by this light all thy judgments shall be decreed "with wifdom; nor fhall any man fay thou hast "erred. Let the hearts of all the people be glad! "for this have their grandfathers died; in this have "their fathers rejoiced; and in this may their pof"terity rejoice evermore!"

Then all the rulers took a folemn oath to preferve it inviolate and unchanged, and to facrifice their lives and their fortunes, rather than fuffer themfelves or their children to be deprived of fo invaluable a bleffing.

After this, I saw another and larger affembly come forward into the hall, and join the firft. Thefe paid the fame adorations to the covenant; took the fame oath; they fung the fame hymn; and added a folemn form of imprecation to this effect. "Let "the words of the roll be for ever in our eyes, and graven on our hearts; and accurfed be he who layeth hands on the fame. Accurfed be he who "fhall remove this writing from the people; or "who fhall hide the law thereof from the.king. "Let that man be cut off from the earth. Let his "riches be scattered as the duft. Let his wife be "the wife of the people. Let not his first-born be ranked among the nobles. the nobles. Let his palaces be de"froyed. Let his gardens be as a defert, having no water. Let his horfes and his horfemen be "overthrown; and let his dog devour their car"cafes."-In the midst of these execrations entered a man, dreffed in a plain habit, with a purfe of gold in his hand. He threw himfelf forward into the room, in a bluff, ruffianly manner. A fmile, or ra

66

66

ther

His face was

ther a fneer, fat on his countenance. bronzed over with a glare of confidence. An arch malignity leered in his eye. Nothing was fo extraordinary as the effect of this perfon's appearance. They no fooner faw him, but they all turned their faces from the canopy, and fell proftrate before him. He trod over their backs, without any ceremony, and marched directly up to the throne. He opened his purfe of gold, which he took out in handfuls, and fcattered amongst the affembly. While the greater part were engaged in fcrambling for thefe pieces, he feized, to my inexpreffible furprize, without the least fear, upon the facred parchment itself. He rumpled it rudely up, and crammed it into his pocket. Some of the people began to murmur. He threw more gold, and they were pacified. No fooner was the parchment taken away, but in an inftant I saw half the auguft affembly in chains. Nothing was heard through the whole divan, but the noife of fetters, and clank of irons. I faw pontiffs in their ecclefiaftical habits, and fenators clad in ermine, linked together like the most ignominious flaves. Terror and amazement were impreffed on every countenance, except on that of fome few to whom the man continued difperfing his gold. This he did till his purse became empty. Then he dropt it; but then too, in the very fame moment, he himself dropt with it to the ground. That, and the date of his power, at once expired. He funk, and funk for ever. radiant volume again arofe: again fhone out, and re-affumed its place above the throne; the throne, which had been darkened all this time, was now filled with the effulgence of the glory which darted from it. Every chain dropped off in an inftant. Every face regained its former cheerfulness. Heaven and earth refounded with liberty! liberty! and the HEART OF THE KING WAS GLAD WITHIN HIM.

The

AN

AN

ANSWER

TO THE

LONDON JOURNAL*

OF SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1728.

THE family of the Publicole are furely very numerous. I pretend to no acquaintance with them, and I defire none. Far be it from me therefore to affign to any one of the fraternity his particular lucubration. I do not prefume to fay, for inftance, that such a piece was writ by Ben, or fuch a one by Robin; but I can plainly diftinguish, in their productions, a difference of ftile and character. In fome, I feel myself lulled by a regular, mild, and frequently languid harangue; fuch as often defcends upon us from the pulpit. In others, I obferve a crude, incoherent, rough, inaccurate, but fometimes fprightly, declamation; well enough fitted for popular affemblies, where the majority is already convinced.

The Publicola of the feventh of December quite jaded me. I handled the numb fifh till I fancied a torpor feized my imagination; and perhaps you may think, that I am hardly yet recovered from the confequences of that accident. However, I fhall venture to play a little with the Publicole of this day;

* This paper was fuppofed to be then under the direction of Benjamin Lord Bishop of *****.

for

for I think I can go through an answer to this paper, He returns the ball at least, and keeps up the game. Before I come to this, give me leave to premife a word or two more.

As different as the Publicole are in other things, in one they are all alike. They are fcurrilous and impatient. They call names, and grow angry at a fneer. Raleigh laid down his pen, rather than continue fuch a bear-garden contelt. I took it up and anfwered them for once in their own ftile; but they muft not expect fo much complaifance from me any more. The matters we enter upon are ferious, and by me they shall be treated seriously and calmly. I fhall confider the dignity of the cause I plead for the caufe of truth; the caufe of my country; and I fhall look down with contempt on the invectives and menaces, which they may throw out; and by which they will fuit their ftile with great propriety to their fubject.-But let us come to the point.

;

The Publicola of this day fets out with ftating, in an half light, a queftion which hath been much debated in the world. No man that I know of, no reasonable man I am fure, did ever find fault that we avoided a war. Our national circumftances are fo well known, they are fo feverely felt, that minifters who maintained peace, and procured to their country the bleflings of peace, quiet, improvement of trade, diminution of taxes, decreafe of debts, would be almoft the objects of public adoration. But the exception taken to our conduct hath been this; that we provoked a war firft, and fhewed a fear of it afterwards. People recal the paffages of three years paft. They wish we had practifed greater caution at that time; but then the fame people very confiftently with that we had exerted greater vigor fince. If the honor and intereft of his late majefty, and of the British nation, fay they,

were

were fo feverely wounded by the public or private treaties of Vienna, that it was fit to keep no longer any measures, even fuch as have been thought of decency, with the emperor and the king of Spain; why this fear of difobliging them? Why this long forbearance under all the infults offered to us by the Spaniards? If we were in a condition, by our own ftrength, and by our alliance with France, to enter with a profpect of fuccefs into an immediate war, why again have we chofen to defer it, under fo many provocations to begin it? Why have we en-* dured fome of the worst confequences of a war, without taking thofe advantages which acting offenfively would undeniably have procured to us? But if all this was quite otherwife, continue the fame political reafoners; if the honor and intereft of his late majefty, and of the British nation, were not fo feverely wounded; if we were neither, by our own ftrength, nor by the alliance of France, in a condition to rifque a war; nay, more, if things were fo unfortunately jumbled, that perhaps "this war "would have been more to our own detriment than "to that of our enemies," as the Publicola have more than once infinuated in their papers, what could we mean three years ago, when matters were carried to greater and harfher extremities than it is poffible to find any example of among civilized nations, fince the quarrels of Charles the Fifth, and Francis the First? If our "principal ally would "have been dangerous to our interefts in the ope"rations of a war, and is indifferent to them in "the negotiations of peace," for this hath been infinuated too from the fame quarter, what a treaty was that which procured us this ally? What affurances were thofe which made us depend upon him? The difficulty of thefe dilemmas cannot, I think, be folved; and thofe who attempt it deceive themselves, whilst they mean to deceive the people.

But