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<NAME>Leah Yurasek</NAME>
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<P><HI>A LETTER TO M^R. THO. EDWARDS The Dedication of the Letter</HI> To our much &s;u&s;pected friend, Mr. <HI>T. Edwards,</HI> Scavenger Generall, throughout <HI>Great-Britaine, New-England,</HI> and the united Pro|vinces, chiefly <HI>Am&s;terdam,</HI> and <HI>Mun&s;ter,</HI> and indeed by vertue of &s;ome faire pretences, Intermedler in all the &s;tates of Chri&s;tendome, principally there where any thing of the Spirit of Chri&s;t in the Saints appeares, trenching upon the Honour, dignity, and preferment of the Old man. The Grand Reformer, <HI>(alias Reducer)</HI> of the free born Sons of God, into the chaines of their old <HI>Babiloni&s;h</HI> captivity, under the pretence of a <HI>Jus Divinum.</HI></P>
<P>At his dwelling in <HI>Club Court,</HI> between the <HI>Pope</HI> and the <HI>Prelate,</HI> a little on this &s;ide the Fagot in <HI>Smithfield,</HI> (or if in his monethly Pil|grimage) in the Suburbs of <HI>Canterbury,</HI> at the knowne hou&s;e of Mi|&s;tris <HI>Gangrena Triplex,</HI> where Con&s;cience and he (but for a time we hope) &s;hook hands and bad each other farewell. Where he was lately di&s;covered by many eye-witne&s;&s;es: and where you may be &s;ure at any time to meet with him.</P>
<P>Publi&s;hed by Authority.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON, Printed for</HI> Tho. Veere, <HI>and are to be &s;old at his &s;hop at the upper-end of the Old Bayley, near</HI> New-gate. <HI>1647.</HI></P>
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<HEAD>A LETTER TO M^R. EDWARDS.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Sir, Worthy Sir, Reverend, Honoured, Grave, Deare Friend, Father, Good Ma&s;ter.</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_WEe cannot wonder at the loftine&s;&s;e of your lookes, nor at the exuberant tumor of your &s;pirit, when we finde you &s;o wofully be&s;patter'd, and courted from every part of the Kingdome, where Sathan we feare hath his throne, with &s;o much honour, &s;o much worth, &s;o much Sir, &s;o much reverence, &amp;c. But reverend Sir, if we may be but as bold, and as plaine, as your late corre&s;pondents have been fal&s;e and flattering, give us (or rather take you) the advantage of a &s;hort, but &s;erious war|ning.</P>
<P>And truly Sir, in the entrance of our di&s;cour&s;e, we mu&s;t tell you, our thoughts are extremly divided; your folly hath been &s;o mani|fe&s;t to all men, that we know not well whether to looke upon you, under the blindne&s;&s;e of a deluded brother, or the perver&s;ne&s;&s;e of a re&s;olved enemy; having once (we once believed) received the know|ledge of the truth. Wee will put our charity on the Tenters, (as you have put the Covenant,) and if through too much indulgence wee force it beyond the line of its con&s;cience, wee hope you'l par|don us.</P>
<P>The over-acting of your zeale, and the &s;o violent advance (&s;hould we looke no further) hath made us jealous, yea confident, that the fire that hath kindled, and con&s;umed the &s;acrifice was not from hea|ven; But Sir, In the &s;o de&s;perate carreer, give us leave &s;adly to aske
<PB N="2" REF="3">you whence? and whither &s;o fa&s;t? Is it &s;o long &s;ince you came out of the hou&s;e of your Bondage, that you have forgotten your angui&s;h, and your &s;orrow there, and will needs be po&s;ting backe againe? was their yoke &s;o ea&s;ie, and their burthen &s;o light, that you can &s;o freely bow-down your necke and your backe, and rejoyce in your approa|ching &s;lavery? Is your late, and your pre&s;ent mercy (your halfe hours &s;ilence in heaven) &s;o uncouth, and un&s;avoury, that nothing but the Onions and Garlick of <HI>Egypt</HI> will &s;atisfie the lu&s;tings of your &s;oule? Is the affliction of <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> &s;o &s;mal in your eie, that like <HI>Hammon</HI> all your enjoyments are nothing; while <HI>Mordecai</HI> &s;its in the gate of the King, and will not bow the knee? and nothing el&s;e &s;hall cool the tip of your tongue, but the irons, and fetters, the whips and impri&s;on|ments, the confi&s;cation, the blood, the death, and the ruine of the Saints? God &s;hall &s;mite thee thou whited wall, that thus in the pride of thy heart, flye&s;t in his face, and &s;trike&s;t at the very apple of his eye. If divine ju&s;tice &s;hall &s;uffer thee without checke or con|troule to run on for a time, adding Iniquity to Iniquity, and trea&s;uring wrath again&s;t the day of wrath: confident we are, when thy &s;oule &s;hall &s;it upon thy trembling lips, and thy two la&s;t years pro|vocations, and per&s;ecutions, (wherein thou &s;o much glorie&s;t) &s;hall be &s;et in order before thee, and thy con&s;cience awakened, to behold thy guilt; thou wilt appeare a &s;pectacle, of as much horror and a|mazement as ever the Sun beheld; In the meane time, come forth and appear in your colours, and let the world &s;ee whither you have acted the part of a Chri&s;tian, or of a Jew; of an Engli&s;h man, or a Turk; of a Saint or of &s;omwhat wor&s;e: lay a&s;ide the &s;quint eyed by a&s;|&s;ing re&s;pects of this adulterous Generation, and let con&s;cience &s;peake; once in your dayes (if you can) tell truth; who (under God) have been the pillars and onely &s;upporters of a reeling tottering State? At the price of who&s;e bloud for &s;ome yeares have you eaten your bread in peace, and injoyed every thing that is &s;weet and plea&s;ant? who hath &s;tept between death and you, and for you have offered them|&s;elves &s;o gallantly in the high places of the field? yet once againe, (if con&s;cience will be but true) whom hath God honoured (as with his power, &s;o) with his &s;pirit in an exellent mea&s;ure? This we know is the rocke of offence. And yet here will the a&s;&s;e whom you ride, ri&s;e up and unplead the blindne&s;&s;e of his ma&s;ter. Take the common people that have neither God nor goodne&s;&s;e, but meerly acted by you
<PB N="3" REF="3">and your party, (&s;etting a&s;ide the Malignants and the fore &s;tall'd) and &s;carce any but will acknowledge a &s;pirit of Go&s;pell-&s;weetne&s;&s;e, and that of a truth God is in tho&s;e people. And Sir, are the&s;e the onely objects of your &s;corne and contempt, and the rage of your retinue, that rude and Godle&s;&s;e Generation? Are the&s;e to be trampled under foot, and not fit to live in a Kingdome? In who&s;e faces no dirt nor dung is too filthy to be throwne. Had wee a de&s;ire to gratifie that grand accu&s;er, to publi&s;h through <HI>Gath</HI> and <HI>Askelon,</HI> and to make the uncircumci&s;ed to Glory in your &s;hame; we could pre&s;ent the world with farre more, and more faire te&s;timonies of the notorious villanies (not in matters of judgement (which is your charge) for therein their gro&s;&s;e Egyptian ignorance takes care) but in matters of fact) among the re&s;t, we could tell the world and you a truer &s;tory of the late Prankes of Mr, &amp;c. (who&s;e name you know, but we will &s;pare) of his late &s;upplanting the Merchant, and getting his e&s;pou&s;ed Mi&s;tris with childe (which act, with its circum&s;tancies we finde not in all your gangrene paralleld) and of his publique penance and acceptation; we could give you in another of the &s;ame name, order and crime, in a neighbour-Pari&s;h in <HI>London,</HI> and both (we mu&s;t tell you) as popular, as Reverend, as Orthodox, and as Covenant-engaged as your &s;elfe; we could bring in a bed-roll of tho&s;e halting &s;onnes of <HI>Eli,</HI> but we profe&s;&s;e it not our trade, and we will not intrench upon yours.</P>
<P>Wee could trace you through the unhallowed paths of your Anti|pologie, and your ungodly gangrenes, (fir&s;t, &s;econd, and third,) and throw many a lye in your face. That bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of Mr. <HI>Bachelors,</HI> wherein (though you brand him in your booke) you could not deny to his face, but acknowledged him, to be cleare in fundamentals, (wherein was his charge) and that he was not the man you took him for. This you confe&s;t, yet (perhaps out of purpo&s;e to for&s;weare, when time may &s;erve) you refu&s;ed to di&s;cour&s;e before his friend, though he offered you the liberty of yours.</P>
<P>Wee would aske you what godly Mini&s;ter, or Gentleman, or Friend that was, that told you that ungodly lye of that godly Lieu|tenant, who you &s;ay, was thrown out of the Army, becau&s;e a god|ly Presbyterian, when hundreds can te&s;tifie, he was ca&s;heerd by a Councell of warre, for drunkenne&s;&s;e, and &s;wearing God dam-mee, &amp;c. wee could with a little paines (but le&s;&s;e plea&s;ure) dig up tho&s;e
<PB N="4" REF="4">filthy dunghils, and &s;end home your ba&s;tards to their proper parents. Truly Sir, our wonder is the le&s;&s;e that your births are &s;o Mon&s;trous, when we finde the contributions have been &s;o adulterous. <HI>Flectere &s;i nequeas &s;uperos Acheronta movebis.</HI> To carry on the de&s;igne you doe well to u&s;her in a forraigne force: The Netherlands have done you good &s;ervice: The <HI>Mun&s;ter</HI> Brigade, bearing the Van, hath made the mo&s;t de&s;perate a&s;&s;ault, and yet through a narrow watch, and diligent in&s;pection, the gu&s;t thereof is broken; the Leader on, and Charger, being found a &s;tranger, is not an enemy. However Sir, be not di&s;cou|raged (if you dare) the cau&s;e is &s;till the &s;ame (as bad as ever) rally once more, and bring in againe (you are good at that) your weather-beaten forces; give not up at the fir&s;t repul&s;e, you know whom for|tune doth u&s;ually favour. Send againe to the Reformed Churches, and &s;ee if any more aid may be expected thence. Search <HI>Amsterdam</HI> once more, (if you plea&s;e with candles) or any other corner of the world (&s;o farre as the Covenant by you &s;o wyar-drawn will reach) where ever you can heare of a Saint, and let &s;omething be done to|wards &s;o honourable a worke. Go on Sir in this gallant &s;ervice, if con&s;cience or prudence will give you leave, and hug the world as the world &s;eemes to hug you, untill their turne be &s;erved, and tell us then (for then you will &s;peak truth if ever) whether's more tollerable, Nick-nam'd Here&s;ie, or Malignant-Prelacy, that &s;even headed, ten horned bea&s;t, which for a little time hath withdrawn, and changing his form in &s;uch furious per&s;ons as you are, appears again, acted dire|ctly by the &s;ame &s;pirit, &s;peaking great things again&s;t God and his Saints, and differing onely in the Number of his name.</P>
<P>Sir, you with your Gangrene have been waighed, and are found too light, and verily your expected Kingdome is departing; while you are beating your fellow &s;ervants, and your Sect triumphing over us and ours, a third hath &s;urpri&s;ed both, and all are po&s;ting into capti|vity againe: &s;hift for your &s;elfe and &s;elves as well as yee can, and in your brick and no &s;traw, remember who were once the Taskma&s;ters. Wee do believe the Thumbs and Toes of <HI>Adonibezecke,</HI> will one day lye before you. For our parts we know whom we have believed, and (our feet being &s;hod with the preparation of the Go&s;pell) we doubt not but we &s;hal be able to tread upon the Lyon &amp; the Adder, &amp; to play upon the hole of the A&s;pe. Wee know that an Idoll is nothing in the world, neither are we careful to fall down before <HI>Nebuchadnezzar,</HI> or
<PB N="5" REF="4">his God, though the furnace be &s;even times hotter then ordinary; co&s;t us what it will, Truth we know will pay its owne charges: Every in&s;titution and truth of God (though &s;landerou&s;ly reported) we ho|nour and imbrace; but for that golden calfe, that <HI>nec jus humanum, nec divinum, neque &s;acrum, nec politicum, neque &s;anum, nec Chri&s;tianum,</HI> that &s;elfe contradicting, groundle&s;&s;e, lifele&s;&s;e, &s;piritle&s;&s;e Image of jea|lou&s;ie, who&s;e externall brightne&s;&s;e is excellent, and the forme thereof very terrible, the head of gold, the brea&s;t and armes of &s;ilver, the belly and thighs of bra&s;&s;e, the legs of iron, the feet (or foundation) part of iron, and part of clay; this we have beheld, and beholding &s;hall expect, untill that little &s;tone cut out of the mountaine without hands &s;hall &s;mite head and foot, and over-turning the foundation thereof it &s;elfe &s;hall fill the world; we are thoroughly a&s;&s;ured that not by might, nor by power, but by the &s;pirit of the Lord, (which is both might and power) which you have &s;o de&s;perately denyed, if not de&s;pited) &s;hall Anti-Chri&s;t be unvailed, and by the &s;ame &s;pirit of burning &s;hall every thing that is Anti-Chri&s;tian be de&s;troyed; what &s;ay you Sir, have you not faith enough to believe this? know you (not who &s;aith the weapons of our warfare are not carnall (why then as men di&s;tracted cry yee out &s;o loud for Magi&s;teriall ex|ternall force?) but mighty through God, to the pulling downe of <HI>STRONG HOLDS,</HI> ca&s;ting down <HI>IMAGINATIONS</HI> and <HI>EVERY HIGH THING</HI> that exalteth it &s;elfe again&s;t the knowledge of God; and bringing into captivity <HI>EVERY HIGH THO&V;GHT</HI> (or <HI>OPINION</HI>) to the <HI>OBE|DIENCE</HI> of <HI>CHRIST.</HI> Dare you not tru&s;t God on his word? but deny the Scripture, not in the letter onely, but in the &s;pirit of it al&s;o? who is the Sectary and the Hereticke now Sir? A &s;piri|tuall man would judge that the <HI>SHIELD</HI> of <HI>FAITH,</HI> the <HI>SWORD</HI> of the <HI>SPIRIT,</HI> the <HI>GIRDLE</HI> of <HI>TR&V;TH,</HI> &amp;c. (who&s;e very anoyntment and ordination is to that very office) might do as gallant execution in the hand of the &s;pirituall champion (a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pell) and make as &s;ucce&s;&s;efull an advance upon &s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;es in high places (as Errours and Here&s;ies are) as all the un&s;utable, Incongruous, unapoynted provi&s;ion of your car|nall Artillery; yee war indeed, but 'tis after the fle&s;h, and no won|der your conque&s;t is no more, for the &s;pirit of the Lord we feare is departed from yee.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="5">
<P>You &s;tand quarrelling away your time, and wa&s;ting your little &s;trength, in a company of frothy, ulcerous Pamphlets; vilifying the upright, and &s;landering the innocent, wholly neglecting your work, which (you would make men believe) is the Mini&s;try of Chri&s;t, which you indeed either wholly wave, or gro&s;&s;ely pervert; and to backe your un&s;ound interpretations, produce the authority of a com|pany of (for&s;ooth) Fathers of the Church, as <HI>Bernard,</HI> &amp;c. men though lights in their darke Generation, and in many things &s;ound in the faith, yet in others as palpably hereticall, as any of your damna|ble Sectaries, <HI>viz.</HI> the &s;uffrage of Saints departed, prayers for the dead, the reall pre&s;ence in the con&s;ecrated Ho&s;ts, &amp;c. Sir, &s;ave your relfe this labour of &s;earching the&s;e corrupt records, wee pin not our faith on the &s;leeves of any, though never &s;o ancient, or Authenticke with you. Your &s;uborning of witne&s;&s;es makes us &s;u&s;pect the Scrip|tures are not your friends; we profe&s;&s;e, (except your braines be in|toxicated, or your naturall rea&s;on be intranc'd (or which is wor&s;e then both) you make it your de&s;igne with Sophi&s;try to cheat your pro&s;elites) wee know not what to thinke of your impertinent, ridi|culous, un&s;chollar-like argumentations, <HI>a baculo ad angulum;</HI> from the Jew to the Gentile, from the law to the Go&s;pell, from the Mini|&s;ter to the Magi&s;trate, &amp;c. Tell us not Sir of a &s;pecious ordination any farther then you can atte&s;t its divinity by the concomitancy of the &s;pirit; wee &s;hall el&s;e looke upon it as a meanes to delude the &s;imple. Tell us not (as your predece&s;&s;ors did) of order and decency in the Church: yours (you know) differs much from theirs, (as <HI>NEW LORDS</HI> u&s;e to make <HI>NEW LAWES</HI>) and why may not wee (without the&s;e complainings to Authority) a little di&s;&s;ent from you; if you and men of like &s;pirit will con&s;titute more then any (without the helpe of &s;pecticles) can &s;ee to be canonicall, Mickle gude may they doe yee; for our part, though our orders received not their forme from your mould, yet we are confident the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks nothing but truth, when he &s;aid, God is not the Author of confu&s;ion, but of peace (or order) as in all <HI>CH&V;RCHES</HI> of the <HI>SAINTS,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14.33.</P>
<P>Let's not have &s;uch bruti&s;h dealing Sir, as to be put into Beares skins, and then your canibals to be let loo&s;e upon us; yee idle and loyter, and feed upon the fat of the flocke, and &s;ay, to morrow &s;hall be as this day and much more abundant; your Tithes and other Incomes your three or foure or five hundred pounds <HI>per annum</HI> take
<PB N="7" REF="5">up your time and yee neglect the worke, in the meane time tares are &s;owne, and errors and here&s;ies come up thicke and three-fold; and then with open mouth yee cry out, Oh the&s;e accur&s;ed <HI>Julians,</HI> Soci|nians, the&s;e damnable Antinomians, Anabapti&s;ts, Independents, &amp;c. that will ruine all (The world is turned Bi&s;hop again to the very life; <HI>Bonner</HI> him&s;elfe is ri&s;en from the dead, and nothing will doe but the death of di&s;&s;entors, what &s;ay you (Sir) to the Sacrament of the Altar, fall downe to the Idoll, or bring in the halter) Sir, once more in good earne&s;t take home your ugly brats; and yee that upon your beds of ea&s;e have gotten &s;uch Mon&s;ters, be&s;tow then as yee plea&s;e: for our part we doe profe&s;&s;e they are none of ours, neither do we at all plead for their tolleration. Wee abhor the remembrance of them, and &s;hall as freely contribute to their de&s;truction as any; Only Sir, for the ordinance of Magi&s;tracy, we would not engage them in a practice &s;o di&s;honourable, and de&s;tructive, but with (Mr. <HI>Mar&s;hall</HI>) &s;hall de&s;ire them to peru&s;e their Commi&s;&s;ion, and act accor|dingly.</P>
<P>Sir, Were you a me&s;&s;enger of Chri&s;t, your worke would be to go and preach, and hold forth the everla&s;ting Go&s;pell, which alone is the Arme of God to &s;alvation, you would more cry up the &s;word of God, then of <HI>Gideon;</HI> you would &s;ee more cogent, convincing au|thority, to &s;ubdue the heart, by one Evangelicall <HI>Scriptum est,</HI> then a thou&s;and politicall <HI>fiat ju&s;titia's,</HI> or all the Arbitrary, bound|le&s;&s;e, canonicall, <HI>Ip&s;e dixis's,</HI> in the world.</P>
<P>Fill not the world with clamors of Schi&s;matickes, and Hereticall &s;educers; you have an engine in your hand, and that of God, which if weilded, as ordered, will fetch backe the wandring; yea, &s;educe the &s;educers them&s;elves. However Sir, though thou&s;ands &s;hould fall at your right hand (I meane to errors) and ten thou&s;and at your left, yet know that every one that the father hath given to the &s;on, is as a &s;tarre in his owne right hand, and none &s;hall be able to plucke him thence: Many mu&s;t and &s;hall back-&s;lide, that tho&s;e that are &s;ound might be approved; and this Sir, is our everla&s;ting rocke, that in the mo&s;t de&s;perate apo&s;tacy, and falling away) the foundation of the Lord &s;tandeth &s;ure, having this <HI>SEALE</HI> [the Lord knowes who are his.]</P>
<P>You have been bold Sir, with the truth and us; give us leave in the behalfe of the truth to be bold with you, 2nd plainly to tell you, that
<PB N="8" REF="6">your Clergicall Intere&s;ts have broke the back of Chri&s;tendome, and the my&s;tery of Iniquity begins to appeare; your fathers have eaten (&s;weet) &s;ower Grapes, and your childrens teeth are &s;et on edge; your Patent yee received from them, and they from Antichri&s;t (as his la&s;t will and te&s;tament) by vertue whereof, the trade mu&s;t wholy run through your hands; yee mu&s;t kill and &s;lay without controule, and wound at your plea&s;ures, and none mu&s;t binde up the broken but yee. The way to Heaven yee tell men is by the gate of Hell, and more then halfe damned they mu&s;t be, ere they mu&s;t thinke of being &s;aved; and who but yee (in the di&s;paire of poor creatures) ordained to &s;peak peace. And if any other (whom God hath better gifted for the worke of the Mini&s;try then with a black coat, an univer&s;ity dialect, and the externall advantage of Arts and Sciences) &s;hall pre&s;ume to lay hands on your arke, why pre&s;ently he u&s;urpes the Prie&s;tly office (<HI>alias</HI> the Prelaticall preferment) And mu&s;t immediately be cur&s;ed with Bell, Booke and Candle. The&s;e Sir, are the &s;hrines whereby your <HI>Diana</HI> have been &s;o long &s;upported. This vault of darkne&s;&s;e, this helli&s;h con&s;piracy, by a beam of the morning &s;tarre hath been di&s;covered, which makes the Heathen rage, and which we hope will be found to be the la&s;t proppe of Antichri&s;t, <HI>veniente Rege,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>And in conclu&s;ion, as a monumentall relique of your un&s;peakable atcheivements in the fundament of Learning, (&s;etting a&s;ide tho&s;e &s;ublime Encomiums of a godly friend, a Godly Mini&s;ter, &amp;c. &s;ent from &s;uch and &s;uch a place in the Country, and your &s;elfe-flattering dreames of a &s;econd <HI>Luther, cum multis aliis ridiculo&s;is</HI>) were is not to broad a di&s;paragement to our mother univer&s;ity, we could &s;end you with your hornbook at your backe, to take your degree among the pupils in Pauls for helpe to reconcile the ab&s;urd contradiction of a believing Athei&s;t. Turne to Page the (<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span">) of your la&s;t Gangrene, and blu&s;h not if you can) wee know not what were the methods of your Ma&s;ters Indulgence, but the Tithe of this errour in our Schoole had been &s;ix la&s;hes at lea&s;t: But Sir, this and twenty &s;uch &s;capes, wee'l winck at; wee'l accept of the will for the deed, and ballance the ac|compt with your zeale, your loyalty, and your faithfulne&s;&s;e to the Church of <HI>England.</HI> But Sir, In good earne&s;t let's have more &s;ence and le&s;&s;e volumes, fewer tales and more truths, &s;maller bookes and bigger Arguments. (The&s;e bum-ba&s;te editions tyre all, but &s;atisfie none) Rea&s;ons are &s;old by weight, and not by tale. No marvell you
<PB N="9" REF="6" MS="y">catch no more birds (except now and then a woodcocke or two) your baite is &s;o &s;light and chaffey; your Indu&s;trious <HI>SMITH</HI> wil|tell you &s;o, by that time he hath ca&s;t up his cards, and brought in a to tall accompt, a ruffe draught whereof you may take at pre&s;ent, as followeth. <HI>Imprimis,</HI> given to the Honourable Hou&s;e of Commons, out of hopes to finde favour there, &s;o many books. <HI>Item.</HI> given to your Reverend &s;elf, for your reverend Copy &s;o many. <HI>It.</HI> given to a School|boy to correct your fal&s;e Latine, and other amendments 40 <HI>s.</HI> in dry money (too much by 39 in &s;o dry a bargaine.) <HI>It.</HI> given to the Greci|an for helping you to the Originals, and filling up the Hebrew blanks, 59 <HI>s.</HI> and three groats, (Oh the Lamentation of a bad market) <HI>It.</HI> &s;ould at &s;everall times with much adoe and little profit, &s;o many: <HI>It.</HI> &s;ent to the Reformed Churches to &s;hew them the variety of our Se|ctaries, and your valiant encountrings, &s;o many. <HI>It.</HI> given away to friends to make a party, who have taken the Covenant to be faith|full to us till death, &s;o many. <HI>It.</HI> &s;o many let out at Livery at pence a peece, but finding no &s;atisfaction returned them, &s;poiled, &s;o many. <HI>It.</HI> &s;o many &s;old for little or nothing, to the Exchange, to Grocers, Cooks, &amp;c. <HI>It.</HI> tru&s;ted in the hands of Huck&s;ters, but not yet retur|ned, (nor we believe ever will) being hardly worth bringing backe &s;o many. <HI>It.</HI> &s;o many &s;tolne for want of care, and looking after, being pind on the wall for a Lure. <HI>It.</HI> &s;o many &s;eque&s;tred for my owne proper u&s;e, in my &s;tudy behind the doore (<HI>alias</HI> the hou&s;e of office) and for my &s;ervants &s;o many. <HI>It.</HI> tran&s;ported for France, that hot inflaming clymate, the leaves there of (as you &s;aid) being very &s;ove|raign for the healing of the Nations. And la&s;tly, (to ballance the ac|compts with the bakers dozen) lying &s;till in my hands, and are like there to lye &s;o many hundreds; Come along cu&s;tomers if you lacke any. That this is a true and perfect accompt, I have hereunto &s;et my hand, <HI>R.S.</HI> Yet that you may not take all upon bare report (as hither|to you have done) behold the powerful convincing pen of our Metro|politan Surveyer, who is able to give you as good an accompt in this ca&s;e as hee did of the Tithe in Chri&s;t-Chuch.</P>
<P>Brother <HI>Tom,</HI> this Account though &s;trange and unexpected, yet up|on the reque&s;t and credit of our well-beloved Tru&s;tee R. S. I have peru&s;ed, and cannot but judge Orthodox; and though for the honour of our Cau&s;e <HI>(Con&s;ider atis con&s;iderandis) nullo modo Imprimatur,</HI> yet for the incouragement of that &s;peaking <HI>Ignoramus,</HI> and all &s;uch wor|&s;hipfull
<PB N="10" REF="7">undertakers, <HI>Ambobus manibus, Iterum Iteru<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> que approbatur, J. C.</HI> &mdash; And now Sir, having pre&s;ented you with a &s;mall Map of your unworthy dealing, your <HI>Rab&s;hakah</HI>-ralings, your accur&s;ed ac|cu&s;ings, your undue, untrue, unchri&s;tian &s;landerings of your Brethren, We &s;hall &s;pread the &s;ame in the pre&s;ence of the Lord, and leave you to the Rebnkes of him, who hath and will rebuke Kings and Kingdoms for his anointeds &s;ake. Onely (if yet there may be hope) apply to thy Gangrened &s;tate, that corroding plai&s;ter, <HI>Heb.</HI> 6.4, 5, 6. And &s;o we bid thee farewell. From our Pallace in our pri&s;on, from our Harbour in our &s;torme, from our &s;trong City, in our wayfairing &s;tate, from our all in all in our nothing at all, wherein no &s;tranger &s;hall in|termeddle, nor any theef &s;hall break through to &s;poile us of our &s;weet repo&s;e.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>Primo Febr.</HI> 1646.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<HEAD>The Copy of the Letter to the Gentlewoman, in which this Letter to <HI>Mr. Edwards</HI> was inclo&s;ed.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Mistris,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THe inclo&s;ed is the Copy of a Letter &s;ent and delivered to the hand of Mr. Tho. Edwards, the famous forger of the&s;e latter dayes, whom when you &s;ee commend us to him (for the world and his Con|&s;cience well know, how fouly we have been belied) and tell him the Se&s;&s;ion is ha&s;ting wherein our plea will impartially be heard and ma|nifold reparations awarded us for our manifold tribulations, till when the Anchor of our Hope being entred into that within the Vaile, we &s;hall bee able to pa&s;&s;e the &s;treights of this wicked world, and to ride out the rugged wafts of a Rocky Sea:</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
