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<DATE>2014-04-01</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Anne Simpson</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B20988">
<STC T="W">C7678</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]08648060</BIBNO>
<VID>204306</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="license">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="2">
<P>Licen&s;ed, <HI>Septemb.</HI> 21. 1687.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="2">
<P>CURIOUS ENQUIRIES. BEING SIX <HI>Brief Di&s;cour&s;es,</HI> VIZ.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. <HI>Of the Longitude.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>II. <HI>The Tricks of A&s;trological Quacks.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>III. <HI>Of the Depth of the Sea.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>IV. <HI>Of Tobacco.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>V. <HI>Of</HI> Europes <HI>being too full of People.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>VI. <HI>The various Opinions concerning the</HI> Time <HI>of Keeping the Sabbath.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><HI>Semper Ego Auditor tantum: Nunquamne Reponam?</HI> Juven.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed, and are to be Sold by <HI>Randal Taylor,</HI> near Stationers Hall, 1688.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="3">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>VVHen Men write, let it be on what&s;oever Subject, the Common Way is, to have Recour&s;e to a Multitude of Old Authors, and there to pick out &s;ome Select Sentences for their Purpo&s;e, and &s;o Methodically to di&s;po&s;e of them, by entailing one Old Say|ing upon another; and if they will not exactly fit, then Impertinently to rai&s;e &s;ome Di&s;cour&s;e of their own on the next Sentence they have mind to Hale in and
<PB REF="4">&s;o confidently to Quote it, Book and Page, for the Proof of the &s;ame. The&s;e &s;treams of Writings plea&s;e &s;uch Readers, as have never before Drank at the Foun|tains; and generally as if it was all the Writers own, pa&s;s with Approbation, or Di&s;prai&s;e, according to his Ingenuity in contriving the Method. But here, Rea|der, in the&s;e following Sheets, you will find what is wholly New, and nothing more; they are a &s;ort of <HI>E&s;&s;ays,</HI> which, be&s;ides the putting &s;ome abler Pen upon the bringing of them to Perfection, may (for ought I know) do &s;ome good in the World. As for In&s;tance, That of the Depth of the <HI>Sea,</HI> wherein I have laid down a Contrivance to Sound it in the deepe&s;t Place. I am not &s;o Self-conceited to &s;ay Po&s;itively, that that Way will come in &V;&s;e: But it is highly Probable it may,
<PB REF="4">becau&s;e at pre&s;ent the Seamen have no manner of Contrivance to find the Bottom. And any Man that knoweth any thing of &s;uch Matters, cannot be Ignorant how highly &V;&s;eful &s;uch an Experiment would prove to be. As for that Di&s;cour&s;e with the <HI>A&s;trologer,</HI> I deride no Man therein, my meaning in the Writing of it was, to per&s;uade Poor, Hone&s;t, deluded People, rather to tru&s;t in <HI>God Almighty,</HI> than in the Words of an <HI>Ignorant Star-Ga|zer,</HI> which I know too many do; and that there are &s;uch Men here in <HI>London,</HI> Hun|dreds that have been Cheated by them, if they were not a&s;hamed to lay open their Follies, would Witne&s;s for me: And I cannot chufe but &s;ay, it is a Thou&s;and pities &s;uch an <HI>Excellent Art</HI> &s;hould be abu&s;ed by &s;uch <HI>Ignorant Pretenders</HI> to it. In the other <HI>Enquiries</HI> too, I hope you
<PB REF="5">may find &s;omething that may plea&s;e you, however &s;eeing all's New, I will not go the old way of Begging your liking of it: But flatly Conclude, If you like it, Read it; if not, lay it down again, and &s;o</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>Farewel.</SALUTE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="5">
<HEAD>CURIOUS ENQUIRIES.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>CONCERNING THE LONGITUDE.</HEAD>
<P>MAny Men have had many Whim&s;eys about this Longitude, and &s;uch indeed they have only pro|ved: I have read formerly in &s;ome Old (I have forgot now what) Book, That if you fill a Gla&s;s of Water full to the Brim, and watch the time of the New, or Full Moon, the Water of it &s;elf at that very in&s;tant of time, would run over. Well, thinks I, by this at lea&s;t we can di&s;cover our Longitude at Sea twice a Month; and very probably may give a good gue&s;s at it daily, by ob&s;er|ving the Increa&s;e and Decrea&s;e of the Water, and allowing for the Conden&s;ation and Rarefaction of the Air, ob&s;erved by a Thermometer; but when I tried at &s;everal Full Moons, I never ob&s;erved the Water to &s;tir; &s;o then I concluded that
<PB N="2" REF="6">to be fal&s;e. Afterwards, I con&s;idered with my &s;elf, that the Moon, the &s;wifte&s;t of all the Planets, making Revolution round the Earth in Twenty nine Days, might di&s;cover to us by her daily departure from the Sun, or &s;ome fixed Star, by Ob&s;ervation, how much we had Increa&s;ed, or Dimini&s;h|ed, her true Departure, which difference would be our Lon|gitude; but this way is too Minute, unle&s;s we had In&s;tru|ments that would ob&s;erve an Altitude to a minute or le&s;s: But then I thought that the Moon very often Eclip&s;es &s;ome Star or other, and if the true time of the&s;e Eclip&s;es were exactly Calculated with the beginning and ending of them, by an able A&s;tronomer for the Meridian of <HI>London,</HI> at Sea we might by the Stars find the time of Night nigh enough to di&s;cover our Longitude indifferently well thereby; but here's the Ca&s;e, when the Moon is any thing nigh the Full either before or after, her Light ob&s;cures the light of the Star &s;he approaches too, &s;o that you cannot &s;ee it, unle&s;s it be a Star of the fir&s;t or &s;econd Magnitude; but whether this may be holpen with Gla&s;&s;es or not, I cannot tell, I leave it to be judged on by Wi&s;er men.</P>
<P>Sir <HI>Kenelm Digby</HI> in his Di&s;cour&s;e of the Sympathetick Powder, tells us how he made Mr. <HI>Howel</HI> &s;tart, upon his putting a Bloody Garter, with which Mr. <HI>Howel</HI>'s wounded Hand had been bound up withal, into a Ba&s;on of Water mixed with that Powder: If &s;uch a &s;tarting could be made to any Inferiour Creature at a great di&s;tance, and by often doing it, it would not in two or three months lo&s;e its power, we might at Sea with great Ea&s;e and Plea&s;ure know when the Sun was upon the Meridian at <HI>London,</HI> or any other appointed time; and con&s;equently by the diffe|rence of Time, the difference of Longitude. Fye! &s;ays one, or other, you would not &s;ure put a Dog to the mi|&s;ery of having always a Wound about him to &s;erve you, would you? Why not as well as to keep a Dog two or three days together &s;tarving, that he may give his Ma&s;ter an hour or two's Plea&s;ure the better after it. Or for a Sea|man to put out his right Eye to &s;erve the Merchant: As
<PB N="3" REF="6">before the Back-Quadrants were Invented, when the Fore-&s;taffe was mo&s;t in u&s;e, there was not one Old Ma&s;ter of a Ship among&s;t Twenty, but what was Blind in one Eye by daily &s;taring in the Sun to find his Way.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="dialogue">
<HEAD>A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE ENQUIRER AND AN ASTROLOGER.</HEAD>
<P>I Hope no Learned Arti&s;t in the Noble Science of A&s;tro|logy, will be offended if I tell an Innocent, Harmle&s;s Story (not much varying from the Truth) of an Impudent, Illiterate Intruder into it; for it's well known, the Nation &s;warms with this &s;ort of Caterpillers. Not long &s;ince, walk|ing out to take the Air, near the Fields, I &s;aw a Paper hanging up at a Door, with this Super&s;cription on it:</P>
<P><HI>Here Liveth&mdash; Studient in A&s;trology and Phy&s;ick, who by the Grace of God, Re&s;ol<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">eth all manner of Que&s;tions per|taining
<PB N="4" REF="7">to that Noble and Sublime Art: He al&s;o Calculateth Nativities, and Cureth all manner of Di&s;ea&s;es in the Bodies of Men, Women, and Children. Here is al&s;o</HI> Orum Potable, <HI>and</HI> Elixar Salutis <HI>to be Sold.</HI> &mdash;</P>
<P>I happened to know the Name, for which I have left a Blank here, and the fal&s;e Spelling confirming me, that it was the &s;ame Per&s;on I formerly knew, I went in to &s;ee what Trade he drove, and found him in his Chamber reading a little Book: After the u&s;ual How-d'ye's were over, thus we began our Di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enquirer.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Pray Doctor, what Book is that you were Reading in when I came in?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doctor.</SPEAKER>
<P>Why I'll tell you, this Book is the be&s;t Book in A&s;trology, in my mind that ever was Wrote. I engage a Man need never have any other Book by him and an&s;wer all Que&s;tions in A&s;trology, nay and Calculate Nativities too: And then for Palme&s;try, and Phi&s;iognomy, here is your Cardiac, your Cephalick, your <HI>Venus</HI> Girdle, and I know not what: That you may, that you may &s;ee, of what Nature Man is of, as well as if you were in his Guts.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>That's a brave Book indeed! but it did not Write it &s;elf: Pray who was the Author, or does he conceal his Name?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>The Author was a Prie&s;t one <HI>John Indagine,</HI> a cun|ning Fellow I'll warrant you.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P>John Indagine! <HI>I have read it, and repent the time lo&s;t in doing &s;o, for I look'd upon it to be a Fooli&s;h, Idle thing, not worth the Peru&s;al of any Man, much more an Artist.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>That's becau&s;e you did not under&s;tand It; why I'll tell you a Hundred Men may Read it, and Read it again and never under&s;tand what is in it, unle&s;s they were born to be A&s;trologers.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Well, but what think you of</HI> Ptolomy, Hermes, Argol, Regiomentanus, Leovitius, Firmicus, Guido, Bonatus, <HI>or &s;uch as the&s;e.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Hang'em a parcel of Outlandi&s;h Dogs, they were all for the Theory, there was none of 'em had any Practi&s;e, and I tell you one years Practice is better then Reading all
<PB N="5" REF="7">the Books in the World: When fir&s;t I Studied this Art I was thinking of your mu&s;ty, ru&s;ty, Fellows you &s;peak of; and con&s;idering how I &s;hould do to get them in Engli&s;h: Who &s;hould come into Drink, (for between you and I, I then &s;old a Cup of Ale) but an old A&s;trologer that u&s;ed to drink often at my Hou&s;e; and I up and told him that I was Studying A&s;trology, and ask'd him where I might get <HI>Argol,</HI> for I had heard much talk of him: So Sir, &s;ayes he to me, you may go buy <HI>Argol,</HI> and others, but when you have done you will but lay out your Mony in vain: For I'll maintain it, there's more in <HI>Lillyes</HI> In&s;truction, then in them all.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>In&s;truction, Introduction you mean.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Well In&s;truction, or Introduction, what's the dif|ference, 'tis all one to me: But as I was telling you, I took the Old mans coun&s;el, and bought the Book, and in a Months time, I could Erect a Figure and give Judgment too, as well as <HI>Lilly</HI> him&s;elf for as I told you before, and Mr. <HI>Lilly</HI> &s;ays &s;o too, an A&s;trologer mu&s;t be born &s;o, not made one.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>But you could not learn &s;o much Astronomy in that time, as to Calculate the true places of the Planets.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>No, nor I never intend to trouble my Brains about it, when I can buy an Ephemeris for &s;ix Pence.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>But what if there &s;hould be Mi&s;takes in the Author or Printer?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>P'&s;haw, a handful of Minutes, or three or four De|grees, &s;ignifies nothing in a Horary Que&s;tion.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>But in a Nativity much?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>I never u&s;e the old tedious Way, (though I un|der&s;tand it perchance as well as another does) of directing the <HI>Helygiacals</HI> to their <HI>Promittors,</HI> nor finding out the <HI>Al|muten, Alchochoden,</HI> nor &s;uch like Trumpery in Nativities. I make no Speculums nor Fidle-fadles, not I.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Why Doctor, you begin to Conjure now, I think.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>I can talk as big Words as the be&s;t of them: But as I was telling of you, my way in Nativities is by <HI>Indagine,</HI> where I need only look in what Sign the Sun was in when the party was Born; which is ea&s;ily known, you know
<PB N="6" REF="8">without Mi&s;takes, and then the Book of Knowledge is a good ea&s;ie Book.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Ay, and the</HI> Dutch <HI>Fortuneteller, that which the Gyp&s;ies u&s;e.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Now you je&s;t, you know that is only Chance.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>So is all the re&s;t, without being certain of the Planets places.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>I don't know, I do as the re&s;t: Why at your rate, there is not one in twenty that Practi&s;e, an able A&s;trologer; nay, of all my Acquaintance, and I know a great many A&s;trologers, there is not one that can Calculate the Planets places exactly.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>But I know &s;ome that can very well, although Mr.</HI> Lilly <HI>him&s;elf could not, if Sir</HI> George Wharton <HI>&s;ay true.</HI></P>
<P>Here his Servant coming up interrupted us, and told him, there was a Gentlewoman below de&s;ired to &s;peak with him. Bid her walk up, &s;ays he to the Boy: And as for you, Sir, I de&s;ire you will be plea|&s;ed to walk in the next Room till her Que&s;tion be over, for Women, you know, are &s;hy, and perhaps &s;he may be unwilling to propound her Que&s;tion be|fore Witne&s;s. So into the next Room went I: Where by the help of a little Window in the Parti|tion, I could &s;ee the Woman entring into the Doctor, and hear plainly their whole Di&s;cour&s;e, which take as followeth.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Woman.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Sir, I am come to you about a &s;mall matter: My Husband, poor Man, is very &s;ick, and I am afraid will hardly Live; and it hath been always my Prayers, that I might die before him. Now, Sir, I am &s;ure you can tell which of us will die fir&s;t?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>That's your Que&s;tion, Whether you or your Hus|band will die fir&s;t? Pray &s;it down, I'll &s;tep into my Study
<PB N="7" REF="8">and Erect the Figure, and give An&s;wer immediately.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Wom.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Thank you good Sir.</HI>&mdash; Here the Doctor withdrew into his Study, and after a little time, returns with his Scheme in his Hand.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>You &s;ay, Mi&s;tre&s;s, your Husband is &s;ick, of what Di&s;temper is he &s;ick, I pray?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Wom.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Truly, Sir, I believe it is a kind of a Con&s;umpti|on, and a Weakne&s;s in Nature, with a Pain in his Back: For I do prote&s;t to you, as I am an Hone&s;t Woman, I have had no</HI> Good <HI>from him as an Husband the&s;e two Months. And more, Sir, I am afraid he is a little Troubled in Mind, becau&s;e he often tells me of a Journey-man of ours, that Lodgeth in our Hou&s;e; for my Husband is a Shoemaker.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Stay, let me &s;ee, here's <HI>Scorpio</HI> a&s;cends, <HI>Taurus</HI> on the &s;eventh, <HI>Venus</HI> in the &s;ixth Hou&s;e: Yes, your Husband is &s;ick, and becau&s;e <HI>Aries</HI> is a Fiery Sign he is &s;ick of a Con|&s;umption, and I believe he will die of it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Wom.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Oh, dear Doctor, pray don't tell me &s;o for a World.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>I mu&s;t tell you what the Stars tell me: You would not have me tell a Lye, would you?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Wom.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Oh no! Let me have the truth on't, though it be never &s;o bad: Mu&s;t it then be &s;o that I &s;hall out-live my poor Husband?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>You need not doubt it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Wom.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>God's will be done: But can you tell me, Sir, whether ever I &s;hall Marry again, or not?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>That's another Que&s;tion, now therefore if I an&s;wer it, I expect to be paid for two Que&s;tions.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Wom.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Look you, Sir, there is a Shilling for your fir&s;t Que|&s;tion; and truly, Sir, I have out Sixpence more about me, which I will give you with all my heart, for this la&s;t Que&s;tion, for I long to know. Pray don't &s;tand with me now, for I &s;hall come again and make it good to you, and &s;hall &s;end a great many of my Neighbours.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Well, upon that condition I tell you, you &s;hall Marry again.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Wom.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Oh dear, Why &s;hall I &s;o! But what kind of Man is he, pray Doctor? And what Trade? How Old may he be?</HI></P>
</SP>
<PB N="8" REF="9">
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>For his Features the man is likely enough, but a young man, and his Trade is &s;omething about Leather, he Lives very nigh the place where you do now, if not in the &s;ame Hou&s;e.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Wom.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Say no more, &s;ay no more, on my Con&s;cience you have hit the Mark. Indeed, Sir, you are a brave Man. I have been with many A&s;trologers in my time, and never could meet with any that An&s;wered &s;o pat to every thing as you do: But do you think we &s;hall Live lovingly together, and which of us two &s;hall die fir&s;t?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>I can An&s;wer you no more now, unle&s;s I erect a new Scheme, for the Face of the Heavens is altered &s;ince you came in.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Wom.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Your &s;ervant Sir, I'll trouble you no farther now, but I &s;hall come again &s;hortly: Fare you well, Sir, I &s;hall blaze your Name abroad, for the be&s;t</HI> A&s;trologer <HI>in the three King|doms.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Your &s;ervant Mi&s;tre&s;s. And now the Doctor and I came together again.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enquirer.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>How did you find by your Figure, Doctor, that her Husband was &s;ick?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doctor,</SPEAKER>
<P>Becau&s;e &s;he told me &s;o.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>But how did</HI> Venus <HI>in</HI> Aries <HI>&s;ignifie a Con&s;umption?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>D'ye think I was an A&s;s, to tell her any other Di&s;ea&s;e, when &s;he told me before it was a Con&s;umption.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Right, and &s;o &s;he told you the An&s;wer to her Sixpenny Que&s;tions, before &s;he ask'd it when &s;he &s;poke of the Journey-man Shoemaker. But this Figure was not Radical, and A&s;trologers &s;ay, 'tis dangerous to give an An&s;wer when</HI> Scorpio <HI>a&s;cends.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>A Figure is always Radical to me, when I can get a Shilling by it: And as for <HI>Scorpio,</HI> they &s;ay 'tis found out now lately (&s;ince &s;ome of our be&s;t A&s;trologers have had that Sign a&s;cending at their Nativities) that <HI>Scorpio</HI> is no &s;uch deceitful Sign as the Ancients accounted him; but ra|ther the mo&s;t propitious Sign in the Heavens.</P>
</SP>
<PB N="9" REF="9">
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Let me &s;ee the Figure a little.&mdash; I wonder how you could have the Impudence to tell her, her Husband &s;hould die fir&s;t, when aecording to the Rules of A&s;trology, here are all the Signs imaginable that &s;he will die fir&s;t.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>You are but a Novice in our Art, I perceive, to go by Rules of A&s;trology; I did &s;o at fir&s;t when I Practi&s;ed, and then I could never get my Bread by it. Why, look you, &s;uppo&s;e &s;he does die fir&s;t, &s;he'll never tell I am a fal&s;e Prophet after &s;he's Dead &s;urely: But if I had told her &s;he &s;hould die fir&s;t, and if it &s;hould not have happened &s;o, her Husband being a &s;ickly Man, then &s;he would have done me a world of Mi&s;chief among the Neighbours, as now &s;he may do me a great deal of Good: For mo&s;t of tho&s;e that come to us, if the An&s;wer &s;uit not their Fancy, go Home di&s;&s;atisfied, calling us Rogues, Cheats, and telling their Neighbours, we can an&s;wer a Que&s;tion no more than the Po&s;t, and then away to another, and another A&s;trologer, till they find one that plea&s;es them: Then him they cry up, and fill his Hou&s;e full of Cu&s;tomers pre&s;ently, though per|haps the fir&s;t might &s;peak truer than the la&s;t.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>You &s;peak Cunningly, but not Hone&s;tly.</HI> But ju&s;t at this word, we heard a man coming up in ha&s;t, &s;o I whipt to my old place again, and thus I heard him be&s;peak the Do|ctor.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Man.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Sir, I under&s;tand you are an able Man to find Stolen Goods, and I am exceedingly troubled about a Silver Tankard, that was Stolen out of our Hou&s;e Ye&s;terday: Pray, Sir, tell me who Stole it, and where is the Thief, that I may go with a Con&s;ta|ble and Nap him.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Dost.</SPEAKER>
<P>What, does your Ma&s;ter keep an Ale-hou&s;e, Friend?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Man.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>A Victualling Hou&s;e, and plea&s;e you.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>And who do you &s;u&s;pect?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Man.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>We cannot tell, for we ne're mi&s;t it till Night.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Stay here a while, Friend, I'll to my Study and do the be&s;t I can for you. Now, Friend, I have done my en|deavour for you: And I tell you, it will be a great deal of
<PB N="10" REF="10">trouble to get this Tankard again; <HI>Saturn</HI> being Retrograde in the &s;econd, afflicting the Lord of the &s;econd with a Par|tile Square.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Man.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Alas, Sir, I am undone then, my Master &s;ays I &s;hall pay for it, if it be not got again.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Heark you, Friend, give me the Shilling for this Que&s;tion.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Man.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Here it is, good Doctor.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Now I'll tell you, I have a Secret in Occult Philo|&s;ophy to afflict a Thief, that ne're a man in <HI>England</HI> that knows but my &s;elf, &s;o that the Thief &s;hall either be Appre|hended, or make &s;ome Di&s;covery of it him&s;elf; or it &s;hall come out &s;o one way or other, that you &s;hall have your Tankard again. But this will be a great Charge to me, and I cannot afford to do it under Ten Shillings in Hand, and Ten Shillings more when you have the Tankard.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Man.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>I have not &s;o much Money, but I'll give you Five Shil|lings now in hand, here take it, and Ten Shillings more when the Tankard is found.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>'Tis indeed too little, but becau&s;e you are a Ser|vant, I give you a Crown.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Man.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>I thank you, Sir, pray do it as &s;oon as you can. I live at the Sign of the</HI>&mdash;</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Farewel Friend, ne're fear, &s;leep quiet. And now out came I again.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enquirer.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Doctor, what have you done! Can any Mortal Man, or the Devil him&s;elf, perform what you have promi&s;ed this Fellow?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>I don't know, nor don't care, I &s;hall never trouble my Head no more about it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Do you think, that if the Tankard be never found, the Fellow won't come for his Five Shillings again?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>If he does, and make a great Noi&s;e about it, I'll give it him again, and there's an end of it; but it &s;hall go hard if I get not then a Snip out of it, for I have Excu&s;es ready, that if it had not been his fault, the Tankard had
<PB N="11" REF="10">been Di&s;covered. But it often happens, that the Goods are found again one way or other, and then be &s;ure I keep the Money in hand, if I do not get that promi&s;ed. And then if the Goods be not found, half my Cu&s;tomers be &s;o mode&s;t, they will not make any Di&s;turbance about a Crown or Ten Shillings, but are glad if they get half their Money again, and go away Contented. So that I have two or three to one odds, when once I finger the Money, if I do not keep it.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>This is plain Knavery: And I wonder Justice can be &s;o Blind, as not to find you out, and bring you to Condign Puni&s;hment.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Who! Man I have been Plagued two or three times, and bound over to the Se&s;&s;ions, but I'll never An|&s;wer a Thievi&s;h Que&s;tion again before Witne&s;s. But heark, I hear another coming up.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Then I'll to my Apartment once more.</HI> And being there, I &s;aw it was a Young Woman, indifferently well Clothed; and after a low Courte&s;ie, thus &s;he Acco&s;ts Mr. A&s;trologer.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Maid.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Pray, Sir, are you the Gentleman that re&s;olves Que|&s;tions?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yes, Madam, at your Service.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Maid.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Then, Sir, I &s;uppo&s;e you can tell what I came about.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yes, yes, very well, but that's nothing to the matter, you mu&s;t propound it your &s;elf; for if there be no Quaerent, then there is no Que&s;tion, and then how can the Time be exactly taken, and if the Time be not taken true, another Sign will a&s;cend, and the Figure will not be Radical, and then perhaps I may Err in my Judgment. Therefore you mu&s;t propound your Que&s;tion your &s;elf.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Maid.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Well, if I mu&s;t, but I am cruelly a&s;ham'd.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>A&s;ham'd, for what! Such men as We, never di|vulge a Secret. Do not the be&s;t young Gentry of both Sexes, take our Advice concerning their Loves; and I
<PB N="12" REF="11">know already, your Bu&s;ine&s;s is &s;omething to that pur|po&s;e.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Maid.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Indeed, I mu&s;t confe&s;s it is &s;o: But will the party Marry me, or no?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>How long is it &s;ince you &s;aw him la&s;t?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Maid.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>About a Month ago, and he u&s;ed to come every Night, and pretend &s;o much Love, that I thought he had been in Ear|ne&s;t, but now I am afraid he is quite gone.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>I'll &s;tep into my Study, and u&s;e the be&s;t of my Skill. (And upon his return, thus he goes on with her.) Fair Maid, I &s;ee he is off from you indeed, and without good Skill u&s;ed, he'll hardly return.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Maid.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Don't you &s;ee by the Figure, Sir, none other coming nigh at hand?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>If they are not, I'll fetch them with a Vengeance, (that is to &s;ay) if you plea&s;e. For as I may tell to you in private, Madam, I have a Secret, whereby I'll make that Per&s;on that you think you have lo&s;t now, come back, and marry you, or &s;ome other as good as he, and that quickly too: You are not the fir&s;t by Forty, that I have helped &s;o. But I mu&s;t be paid for my Pains.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Maid.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>And a great deal of Rea&s;on, Sir, &s;uch an Art can|not have too great a Reward. But can you indeed,</HI> Doctor, <HI>do as you promi&s;e?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Can I! Nay, if you are come upon your Que&s;tions and Commands, Iha' done w'ye.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Maid.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Good Sir, be not angry: What will you plea&s;e to have for doing this for me?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Fair maid, you &s;hall &s;ee, I will be very fair with you: Come again to morrow, when I have more Lei&s;ure, and give me a Guinea in hand, and Bond for the Payment of Ten more upon your Day of marriage; and then if there be but one Single man in the Land, in a &s;hort time he &s;hould be your Husband.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Maid.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>You make me Laugh, Sir: Well, I &s;hall long for to Morrow, and then be &s;ure I'll come again. Here's for your
<PB N="13" REF="11">Pains at pre&s;ent, Sir, and I thank you heartily. Pray, Sir, remember to be at Home to Morrow.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>I &s;hall be &s;ure, <HI>Madam,</HI> farewel. The&s;e are my be&s;t Cu&s;tomers: A Pox on the Thievi&s;h Que&s;tions, there's nothing but Trouble and Vexation follows them. The&s;e Silly Souls now, if they are Chous'd of ne're &s;o much, dare not tell on't.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>What did &s;he give you,</HI> Doctor?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>But Half a Crown now: But I dare &s;ay, &s;he'll hardly &s;leep till &s;he's here again with her Guinea, and then for the Bond, and then for the Husband.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>Thou art one of the greate&s;t Cheats in Nature: What Secret have you to get this Wench a Husband?</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>This, I a&s;&s;ure you, is my Secret of Secrets, and therefore if I tell it you, you mu&s;t be &s;ure never to Reveal it. When this Wench comes again to morrow, I'll know of her where &s;he Lives, where her former Sweet-heart Lives, what her Parents are, what her Portion is, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Then take her Guinea, and Bond, and di&s;charge her, Or|dering her to call upon me once or twice a Week, to tell me how matters go forward: And if in a Twelve months time &s;he happen to be married, I will make her cer|tainly believe I got her her Husband by my Art; and &s;he'll no doubt get me the money by Hook or Crook, for fear it &s;hould come to her Husband's ear. But I mu&s;t em|ploy my Wits about it too, as thus, To night, or to mor|row, or once a Week at lea&s;t, comes one young Super&s;ti|tious Fool, or other, to me, to know which is the be&s;t way for him to go &s;eek a Wife, and what kind of Wo|man? Then I an&s;wer like an Oracle; You mu&s;t go upon &s;uch a Point of the Compa&s;s, till you come to &s;uch a Place, or Street, and there nigh &s;uch a Sign lives a Gen|tlewoman, that if it be not your Fault, the Stars &s;ay, &s;hall be your Wife. Then if he likes her, I'll prove Broker on both &s;ides, and get money of him too: But if he likes her not, yet ten to one but that he marries
<PB N="14" REF="12">her, becau&s;e he thinks, 'tis his Fortune, and that it can|not be avoided.</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>For &s;hame,</HI> Doctor, <HI>leave off the&s;e Abominable Tricks, and betake your &s;elf to &s;ome Hono&s;t Employment.</HI></P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Doct.</SPEAKER>
<P>Yes, and Starve in it, &s;hall I?</P>
</SP>
<SP>
<SPEAKER>Enq.</SPEAKER>
<P><HI>I will &s;tay no longer with you, for fear the Devil &s;hould come for you, and do me a Mi&s;chief too, finding of me in your Company. So farewel, and Live better.</HI></P>
</SP>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB N="15" REF="12">
<HEAD>OF THE DEPTH OF THE SEA.</HEAD>
<P>IT is hardly worth mentioning, the groundle&s;s Opi|nion &s;ome men hold, that in &s;ome places there is no bottom to the Sea, but all Water, from the very Superficies, to the Center of the Globe. For if they con|&s;ider, me-thinks, they cannot chu&s;e but acknowledge, that every Stone, or other Ponderous matter ca&s;t out of Ships in &s;uch places, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily &s;ink (if not ob&s;tru|cted) to the Center, and there re&s;ting immoveable, would long &s;ince have made a bottom, if there had been none in the Creation. There are Seamen that are generally of this Conceit, who prove it no better then by two or three places wre&s;ted from the Holy Scriptures, and by their own ineffectual Trials; which I &s;hall not go about to an&s;wer,
<PB N="16" REF="13">but only tell them a Way, by which the next time they go to Sea, they may (if they plea&s;e) Convince them&s;elves, if I am not mi&s;taken; and this is it. Joyn a piece of Wood to a Stone that is weighty enough to &s;ink the Wood &s;wiftly, after &s;uch a manner, that as &s;oon as ever the Stone toucheth the bottom, they may by that Concu&s;&s;ion be parted, and the Wood a&s;cend again to the top of the Water. Then letting them down in a Calm Day, when the Ship hath little or no Drift, watch the coming up of the Wood; which you may take again into your Ship, by your Boat. Or otherwi&s;e (if you plea&s;e) by keep|ing an exact Account of the time the Wood was under Water, you may give a good gue&s;s at the Depth. The benefit that might ari&s;e from &s;uch an Experiment, might perhaps in time, prove greater than the Plea&s;ure of it. For though it might not certainly by your Depth deter|mine your Longitude, yet it would give you notice of your approach to the Shore, long before the Lead Line would &s;erve your turn, and far ea&s;ier too. It might al&s;o di&s;cover many Fi&s;hing Banks, not yet found out; and many more Benefits might ari&s;e from &s;uch a plea&s;ant Ex|periment. You will Object, perhaps, That it is a very difficult matter, to make the Wood and Stone hold together all the way down, and part upon the touch of the Ground. I an&s;wer, No more difficult, than for a Mou&s;e-Trap, or the Cock of a Gun, or any &s;uch &s;mall Engine, to go down with the touch of a Finger. I was ju&s;t about &s;etting down here Two or Three Figures, as they came into my Head; but I think it, on &s;econd Thoughts, needle&s;s: Becau&s;e it is &s;uch an ea&s;ie matter, that every one will be contriving a Gimerack in his Head, as he is reading this, and, perhaps, the wor&s;t of other mens, may be better than the be&s;t of mine, &s;o I leave every one to his own Fancy. But although it be granted (you'll &s;ay) that there is Ground before you come to the Center of the Earth, yet who knows how nigh the Center it may be? And we may wait a long time for a piece of
<PB N="17" REF="13">Wood to &s;ink Three Thou&s;and miles or more, and come up again. I an&s;wer, I am ignorant indeed, how long the Wood would be &s;inking, and ri&s;ing again; that mu&s;t be often tried before in known Depths, and &s;o work by Pro|portion for finding the unknown, and though perhaps the Stone may &s;ink the &s;wifter, the nigher it comes to its Center: Yet if the &s;ame weight, and &s;hape of Stone and Wood be always u&s;ed, although there may be a &s;mall mi&s;take in the Depth, yet if it be always found the &s;ame, that Error will prejudice no man. But to come nigher an An&s;wer, how deep the Sea may be, I cannot gue&s;s, nor no man el&s;e; but it looks as rea&s;onable to me to judge it rather to be not above Four or Five miles in the deepe&s;t place, than Two or Three Thou&s;and. There is no cer|tain way to know the truth, without Sounding it: But without offence, let me offer this uncertainty to you. From <HI>Scilly</HI> to <HI>&V;&s;hant</HI> is Thirty Leagues, or rather from <HI>Scilly</HI> to <HI>Ireland,</HI> it is Thirty Seven Leagues, or there|abouts, and the deepe&s;t Water between but Sixty Fa|thoms: Now admit from the Coa&s;t of <HI>Spain</HI> to <HI>Virginia,</HI> to be a Thou&s;and Leagues, according to proportion, the deepe&s;t place between &s;hould be but One Thou&s;and Six Hundred and Twenty Fathoms, not quite Two miles. Again, from <HI>Caboverd</HI> to the <HI>I&s;lands,</HI> (bearing that name) is about One Hundred and Five Leagues, and in the very middle is a &s;hallow Bank, whereon the <HI>Spaniards,</HI> and <HI>Por|tugue&s;es,</HI> go Yearly a Fi&s;hing. As much, or more, might be &s;aid of the Bank of <HI>New-Found-Land,</HI> the <HI>Dogger-Bank,</HI> and others in the <HI>Ea&s;t-Indies.</HI> But now, if you Laugh at me for this way of Gue&s;&s;ing, truly I have nothing to &s;ay, but I may de&s;erve it.</P>
<P>The la&s;t Objection that I can think on, is the Drift of the Ship, and this, indeed, is the harde&s;t to An&s;wer: But at the wor&s;t, it may be u&s;eful in Calms, which often happen; and in moderate Gales of Wind, when the Boat may be kept out to Windward, watching the ri&s;ing of the Wood, but without the Boat, a white piece of Wood at
<PB N="18" REF="14">its fir&s;t bobbing out of the Water, I judge may be di&s;|cerned from the Ship at lea&s;t half a mile. And now after all this, if you do not like it, 'tis but a Whim and &s;o I leave it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>OF TOBACCO.</HEAD>
<P>IT is, me thinks, very Strange, that almo&s;t all the whole World, without Learning it of one another, &s;hould pitch upon the Smoaking of this Herb, as if it were ab&s;olutely as nece&s;&s;ary to Mankind, as Meat and Drink. When the <HI>Portugals</HI> fir&s;t Coa&s;ted <HI>Africa,</HI> all along to the Cape of <HI>Good-Hope,</HI> they found them Smoaking; when they had doubled the <HI>Cape,</HI> and proceeded on to the far|the&s;t <HI>Indies,</HI> they found the Inhabitants &s;till Smoaking. When the <HI>Spaniards</HI> di&s;covered <HI>America,</HI> they found the &s;ame there, and we of late find the &s;ame throughout all the Northern Parts of <HI>America.</HI> And &s;ince the Cu&s;tom hath been brought into the&s;e parts of <HI>Europe,</HI> I think we have not been behind hand with any of them; except it were in the u&s;ing of Bows and Arrows, I know not any one thing (but what was ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary) that all Man|kind &s;o generally agreed in. The <HI>Ru&s;&s;ians</HI> are Prohibited from it upon pain of Death, or extraordinary Fines at
<PB N="19" REF="14">lea&s;t; and yet as I have heard &s;ome &s;ay, that have lived among them, Such as cannot plead a Bewitching Cu&s;tom to it, will venture their Lives and E&s;tates for a Pipe of Tobacco. Grapes grow neglected in many Parts of the World, where this Tobacco is greedily Cut up and Smoaked. It cannot be therefore for Intoxicating the Brain, to make Men forget the Cares and Mi&s;eries of this Life, that it is &s;o generally taken; for Wine would be far better. Be&s;ides, the Wi&s;e, the Rich, need not &s;uch poor Remedies; and we find when Men come to Smoak much, it doth not at all offend the Brain then, and then 'tis they mo&s;t de&s;ire it. Some men Chew it, &s;ome thru&s;t it up their No&s;es, &s;ome give a Pipe a piece to their Chil|dren in the morning for their Breakfa&s;t. And many a man, when he has but a Penny in the World, and wants Bread, buys a Pennyworth of Tobacco in its &s;tead. The Mi&s;er, that wi&s;hes men could live without Eating and Drinking, liberally lays out his Money for Tobacco, and carries it about him in a little Box, that will not hold above four Pipes, for fear any Body &s;hould beg a Pipeful of him.</P>
<P>What &s;hould I &s;ay any more for? 'Tis well known how all manner of People de&s;ire it. The Judge, the Prie&s;t, the Philo&s;opher, the Fool, the Rich, the Poor, the Wi&s;e&s;t of Men, and madde&s;t in <HI>Bethlehem,</HI> though they differ much in mo&s;t things el&s;e; yet all agree in Smoaking. I do not all this while &s;peak again&s;t the U&s;e of it; for I am &s;en&s;ible, it is in &s;ome things Prai&s;e-worthy; as that it makes a good Medicine, it helps Sore Eyes, it Condemeth the Spirits, it procures Sleep, it Imploys many Thou&s;ands in Plant|ing of it, in bringing it Home, and making it fit for the Pipe here at Home: But I ask the Natural Rea&s;on, Why men generally throughout the whole World, without Conver&s;ing with one another, betook them&s;elves to this Plant? and not as well to any other of as great Virtues?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB N="20" REF="15">
<HEAD>OF EUROPES Being too Full of PEOPLE.</HEAD>
<P>THE Ab&s;urdity I pre&s;ume would not be very great, if a Man &s;hould &s;ay, That <HI>Europe</HI> is fuller of People than the Lands are well able to maintain, con&s;idering the Conveniencies of making mens Lives more Plea&s;ant &s;ome men ought to have, others will have, and almo&s;t all do their Endeavour to obtain: And this A&s;&s;ertion may not prove Ridiculous, if we ob&s;erve the&s;e following things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The prudent Cu&s;tom they have in our Neighbour|ing Nations, to keep Mankind from Multiplying too much, or at the be&s;t to keep &s;ome Families from growing too Numerous; le&s;t all alike fall into Poverty. In &s;ending the Younger Sons, or Brothers, to the Wars, where either they Die honourably, in the Defence of their Prince and Country; or by their Valour get E&s;tates, and the Favour of their Prince, whereby they either Dignifie and Enrich the Family they came from, or Erect a new
<PB N="21" REF="15">one of their own, &s;ometimes &s;urpa&s;&s;ing their Progeni|tors. And their Daughters, or Si&s;ters, to the Nunneries, What hurt can be in that, if not forc'd? (As I cannot conceive many, if any, are &s;o &s;erved,) There they have the benefit of early Devoting them&s;elves to their Maker, void of the Karping Cares, and Troubles, without their Walls; being as it were already in the Borders of Hea|ven, &s;inging Prai&s;es to their Maker with their whole Heart, Strength, and undi&s;turbed Soul; like <HI>Mary,</HI> ha|ving cho&s;en the better part. Alas! &s;hould the&s;e young Lads and Girls, have multiplied with Cook-wenches and Coach-men, their numerous I&s;&s;ue in a Hundred Years time, would have Eat up the very Name of the Fa|mily.</P>
<P>Another thing (howe're neglected here in <HI>England</HI>) is the keeping <HI>Lent.</HI> It cannot be otherwi&s;e: But it was a wi&s;e In&s;titution, both for the Soul, (but that being be|yond my Sphear, I leave it to the Tribe of <HI>Levy,</HI> from whom I am to fetch my Duty, not my Whim&s;ies) as well as for the Body. 'Tis kept in the Spring of the Year, when the Blood Ferments, and Fle&s;h is then Unwhole&s;om; and ab&s;temious Diet on Pul&s;e, Fruits, Herbs, and Fi&s;h, is a great deal better at that time for the Health of man: And being kept at the &s;ame time, when almo&s;t all Crea|tures on which we feed, are Breeding; Forty Days ab&s;ti|nence at that time, cannot chu&s;e but make Fle&s;h abun|dantly more plenty all the Year after. But pa&s;&s;ing by the Increa&s;e of Navigation, the breeding able hardy Seamen, the va&s;t Trade, and many other Commodities, that we in <HI>England</HI> enjoy, by our Neighbours keeping <HI>Lent,</HI> I only offer: That if <HI>Lent</HI> were not kept in <HI>Spain,</HI> and <HI>Italy,</HI> the Fle&s;h that is bred there, would but poorly feed the Inha|bitants.</P>
<P>A third thing that we may ob&s;erve, is, How many mi&s;e|rable People lie up and down, Begging and Starving; and I am not &s;o uncharitable to think, that all do it out of Idlene&s;s, &s;ome there are, no doubt on't, that would
<PB N="22" REF="16">Work, and cannot get it. And although His Sacred Ma|je&s;tie's Dominions of <HI>Great Brittain,</HI> be the mo&s;t plenti|fully &s;tored with Provi&s;ions, and all other things, that Nature requires for Human Sub&s;i&s;tence, of any Country in <HI>Europe,</HI> yet even in this Garden of <HI>Eden,</HI> we find many poor and mi&s;erable People: And to avoid the being called, thought, or e&s;teemed &s;o, what a &s;trong Bu&s;le is there made? The men Steal, and are Hanged; all for the &s;ake of Bread and Bear. The Women walk the Streets in the dark Evenings, pro&s;tituting their Bodies and Souls to men and Devils, all for Meat and Drink, Money to pay the Doctor, and an old Crape Gown.</P>
<P>Again, We may ob&s;erve how Frugality is cried up, as a Virtue equal to Temperance, and &s;o exactly practi&s;ed in Foreign parts; that a full fed Engli&s;hman when he Tra|vels, can hardly difference it from Penury.</P>
<P>All the&s;e things con&s;idered, it &s;eems Rational to me, that mo&s;t parts of <HI>Europe</HI> are too full of People. Le&s;s wi&s;e we are then Bees, who when they find their Hive too full, &s;warm, and go look out a new Habitation. What Brave, Spacious, and Fertile Countries has his Maje&s;ty in <HI>America!</HI> What a Beautiful Maiden Land, adorned with Gold (I &s;peak of all <HI>America</HI> in general) Silver, Pearl, and Pre|tious Stones, is there! wi&s;hing to be enjoyed by the hone&s;t Engli&s;h Husbandman. How kindly hath &s;he entertained &s;uch as have already gone over to Court her, correcting their Vices, which grew here of nece&s;&s;ity, by her plenty.</P>
<P>The &s;ame Gracious King Protects her, and her Inhabi|tants: There are the &s;ame Laws, Religions, Government, every thing as it is here, except Plenty in&s;tead of cruel Want.</P>
<P>Not one Beggar is to be found in all <HI>Virginia, Mary|land, New-York, New-England,</HI> nor any of the Neighbour|ing Plantations. Think you not then that Poverty, and the evil Con&s;equences of it, comes not upon Men as well by a Countries being Over&s;tock'd, as by Luxury, Idle|ne&s;s, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> I conclude it is by all three, and more ways.</P>
<PB N="23" REF="16">
<P>Some perhaps will &s;ay, <HI>Europe</HI> was as full of People Five Hundred Years ago, as it is now. I grant it. And when a Land is full, the Increa&s;e after that, mu&s;t needs run over into other Countries, or Wars, Plagues, or Famines, in their own.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>CONCERNING THE PRECISE TIME Of Keeping the SABBATH.</HEAD>
<P>THE time when the <HI>Jews</HI> began and ended their Sab|bath, and when I mean at what time of the Day the Primitive Chri&s;tians their Lord's Day, is well known unto Divines; and I &s;hall not be &s;o bold to meddle with. My de&s;ign is only a little to touch on the &s;trange Humours of &s;uch, who begin their Sabbath on <HI>Saturday</HI> Night at Sun|&s;et, and end it <HI>Sunday</HI> Night Sun&s;et. Surely the Will of God is, that we &s;hould &s;et apart the Seventh part of our Time for his Honour, and Wor&s;hip; and not Tithe Mint and Rue, in &s;o exactly nicking the time. For if &s;o, why do not the&s;e men Con&s;ult &s;ome Mathematician to know exactly what time of their Day the Sun &s;ets in <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and they'll find it near Eight Hours before it does in <HI>New-England:</HI> So that they are at Work or Play, while their Friends in <HI>Jera&s;alem</HI> (if they have any there) are at Prayers for them. The &s;ame may be &s;aid of <HI>England,</HI> or
<PB N="24" REF="17">any other Place. But methinks, I hear Par&s;on <HI>S.</HI>&mdash; calling me Fool, and telling me that the Lord's Day mu&s;t begin when the Sun &s;ets to us, whereever we be; for al|though the Commandment was given at Mount <HI>Sinai,</HI> yet the People were to keep it at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and take that pre|&s;ent Sun-&s;et for the beginning of the Sabbath, not that of Mount <HI>Sinai.</HI> Well Par&s;on <HI>S.</HI>&mdash; if it be &s;o, I will not &s;tand with you for Cloudy Days, the Interpo&s;ition of Hills between us, and our Horizon, nor &s;uch Trifles. But what &s;hall I do when I am at Sea, in Latitude of 65 or 70 Degrees in the Summer time, when the Sun &s;ets not at all? Or what &s;hall the <HI>Ru&s;&s;ians,</HI> the <HI>Laplanders,</HI> the <HI>I&s;landers,</HI> and many other Chri&s;tians in the World, that have &s;ome months in the Year all Day? Or what &s;hall the Inhabi|tants under either Pole (if any there) where they have Six months Day, and Six months Night? Their Sabbath will come but once in &s;even Years, for when it comes, it will be a long one.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
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