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<DATE>2014-03-25</DATE>
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<NAME>Kate Allen</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="2">
<P>
<PB REF="2" MS="y"> Mr. <HI>TOLAND</HI>'s CLITO DISSECTED.</P>
<P>AND <HI>FULLER</HI>'s Plain Proof OF THE <HI>True Mother</HI> OF THE Pretended PRINCE of <HI>WALES.</HI></P>
<P>Made out to be no <HI>PROOF.</HI></P>
<P>In two Letters from a Gentleman in the Country to his Friend in <HI>London.</HI></P>
<Q><HI>&mdash;Par nobile Fratrum.</HI></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed in the Year 1700.</P>
<P><HI>Price Sixpence.</HI></P>
<PB REF="3" MS="y">
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="3" MS="y">
<HEAD>THE PUBLISHER TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>THE two Pamphlets which fall under the Cen&s;ure of my Friend, who has oblig'd me with the following <HI>Remarks,</HI> having made no little noi&s;e, and met with a kinder Reception than either of 'em de&s;erv'd, I was per&s;uaded to &s;end the&s;e two <HI>Letters</HI> abroad, in order to take off from the Prejudice they might have giv'n &s;everal
<PB REF="4"> again&s;t Truth. Both of 'em are for impo&s;ing upon our Be|lief, tho' they endeavour to car|ry on the Cheat by different ways; and as the fir&s;t makes it his Endeavour to per&s;uade us to accept of new Schemes in Matters of Religion, &s;o the la&s;t &s;pends his Time in forg|ing new Di&s;coveries in Af|fairs of States. Mr. <HI>Toland</HI> perhaps may take it ami&s;s that he is coupl'd with <HI>Fuller;</HI> and that a Man of his Philo&s;ophy and Poetry, &s;hould be <HI>joyn'd</HI> with a Per&s;on of &s;uch unheard of Stupidity: but my Friend mu&s;t account for that, he have|ing &s;ent 'em to me as the Rea|der
<PB REF="4"> &s;ees 'em. Le&s;t therefore he &s;hould be mi&s;under&s;tood, as to his Principles of Govern|ment, tho' he bas taken the right &s;ide in defending it a|gain&s;t one that would pull it down, by de&s;troying its Foun|dation, the be&s;t of Religions, I think my &s;elf oblig'd to ac|quaint the World, he's as great a Foe to Popery as any &s;anctified Member what&s;oever, of Hall or Parlour; and is &s;o far from being again&s;t his Coun|try's Intere&s;t in its pre&s;ent E|&s;tabli&s;hment, that he thinks him&s;elf much more happy in his Obedience to His Sacred Maje&s;ty K. <HI>William,</HI> than if
<PB REF="5"> S. <HI>Germains</HI> were tran&s;plant|ed to <HI>Ken&s;ington,</HI> and the little Gentleman in <HI>France</HI> were to kill his <HI>Stags</HI> on our Conti|nent, as they'd make us believe He &s;laughters his <HI>Boars</HI> on their's. And tho' he may be thought to aim at that which is no Compliment to his pre&s;ent Superiors, whom God has &s;et over him, I'll pawn my Life for him, he'd be as active in de|fence of his King and Country, as the be&s;t Man of 'em all that exclaims against Je&s;uits, and rai&s;es Arguments again&s;t the Infallibility of the Triple-Crown, &s;hould there be occa|&s;ion for it. The Religion he
<PB REF="5"> has been bred up in, is the Church of <HI>England</HI> in its purest Doctrines, and if he has not hitherto acted altogether as becomes his Holy Profe&s;&s;ion, he takes this Re&s;olution for the future of oppo&s;ing tho&s;e who &s;hall endeavour to &s;et up new Religions, and tho&s;e who have the Impudence to give their Votes for none. The Expre&s;|&s;ions he makes u&s;e of may look &s;omewhat har&s;h, but he thinks it an u&s;age good enough for an <HI>Athei&s;t,</HI> and an Entertain|ment not improper to treat a <HI>Lyar</HI> with.</P>
<PB REF="6">
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB N="1" REF="6">
<HEAD>Mr. <HI>TOLAND</HI>'s CLITO Examin'd, IN A LETTER To a FRIEND.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THE Poem you &s;ent me, reach'd <HI>A&s;trop</HI> on <HI>Thur&s;day</HI> la&s;t, and hav|ing a &s;ight of Mr. <HI>Toland</HI>'s Name in the Preface, I immediately fell to work, to &s;ee what an Author, who had made &s;uch a Bu&s;tle in the World had ob|lig'd us with. The Publi&s;her, who with|out doubt is Mr. <HI>Toland</HI> him&s;elf, for I can't &s;uppo&s;e &s;o ill a Man can have any Friend, begin's with the &s;ame Introduction as other Pretenders to the Pre&s;s, that it had been <HI>handed about in Manu&s;cript,</HI> that &s;everal Copies had crept abroad, and <HI>un|derwent different Characters and Judgments;</HI> and therefore to give People a due light into the <HI>Principles</HI> which &s;ome Men count|ed
<PB N="2" REF="7"> <HI>pernicious,</HI> he had &s;ent it abroad in order to recover 'em from the Prejudice &s;uch and &s;uch Mi&s;repre&s;entations might have given 'em. I conclude with him indeed, that <HI>Poetry is not his Bu&s;ine&s;s;</HI> and I am &s;ure <HI>His</HI> at pre&s;ent can be no Body's <HI>Diver&s;ion</HI> but his <HI>own;</HI> tho' I could wi&s;h he would rather divert him&s;elf that way, than publi&s;h <HI>OCEANAS,</HI> and write Panegyricks on <HI>Milton;</HI> and give us the <HI>Lives</HI> and <HI>Characters</HI> of the wor&s;t of Men, in order to debauch us into the <HI>I|mitation</HI> of 'em. But I can't but wonder at his way of conveying the Knowledge of his Humility to us; <HI>He never was heard to value him&s;elf for any thing in Ver&s;e beyond a Song,</HI> which in my Opi|nion, is, he had no mean Sentiments of his Lyrick Poetry. Without doubt his Mi&s;tre&s;s <HI>Victorina,</HI> who has had many a lamentable Ditty from him, can tell us whether he reaches up to the Perfections of the incomparable <HI>Motteux,</HI> or bears any Re&s;emblance to the Character of the Prince of Sonnet-Makers, Mr. <HI>Durfey.</HI> As for the Name of the Poem, how he comes to call it <HI>CLITO,</HI> or, <HI>the Force of Eloquence,</HI> when he <HI>Him&s;elf,</HI> not his pretended <HI>Friend,</HI> act's the <HI>Orator,</HI> I know not, and it looks &s;omething like a Mi&s;take. Had he given it the Heatheni&s;h Name of <HI>TOLAND,</HI> or
<PB N="3" REF="7"> <HI>ADEISIDEMON,</HI> I am apt to think this abominable I&s;&s;ue of his Brain would have had a more &s;ignificant Apellation. And tho' <HI>CLITO</HI> be too good a Name for a Per&s;on who has any Intimacy with a Man of his Character, Yet I mu&s;t joyn with him in approving his Choice of <HI>ADEI|SIDEMON</HI> for him&s;elf, which is in down-right <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> (not Un&s;uper&s;titious, as he terms it) but <HI>one that fears neither God nor Devil.</HI></P>
<P>Having got rid of the Preface, it is but nece&s;&s;ary we fall into the <HI>Poem;</HI> and the fir&s;t thing worth Ob&s;ervation here, is the Character of his Familiar, and his Reque&s;t,</P>
<Q><LG>
<L><HI>Clito</HI> the Wi&s;e, the Generous and Good,</L>
<L>Better than whom none ever under&s;tood</L>
<L>Or Things or Words, would yet di&s;tinctly know,</L>
<L>How far the force of Eloquence could go</L>
<L>To teach Mankind tho&s;e Truths which they Mi&s;take,</L>
<L>And who the noble Task durst undertake.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>We have &s;ome Rea&s;on to que&s;tion the truth of this Gentleman's Character from the Company he keeps, but grant him what we believe he is not, it adds to our Author's mi&s;takes, to m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">e him un|der&s;tand &s;o well, and yet de&s;ire to be in|form'd. In my Opinion, <HI>Adei&s;idemon</HI> ought to have made the Que&s;tion, and
<PB N="4" REF="8"> <HI>Clito</HI> to have re&s;olv'd it; but 'tis not the fir&s;t time Mr. <HI>Toland</HI> has undertaken to teach his Superiours, and in&s;truct tho&s;e who had more Knowledge than him&s;elf. But to begin with our Man of Eloquence.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>As furious Winds &s;weep down what e're re&s;i&s;ts,</L>
<L>So &s;ball my Tongue perform what e're it li&s;ts,</L>
<L>With large impetuous Floods of Eloquence</L>
<L>Tickle the Fancy and bewitch the Sence,</L>
<L>Make what it will the ju&s;te&s;t Cau&s;e appear.</L>
<L>And what's perplext or dark, look bright and clear.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Let me tell you, Sir, this promi&s;e of his is enough to rai&s;e our Expectations, and make us hope to have the whole My|&s;teries of Nature unfolded. But Mr. <HI>To|land</HI> has a natural Aver&s;ion for My&s;teries, and is &s;o far from endeavouring to &s;et perplex'd or dark things in the light, that the thought of our Saviour Incarna|tion is enough to make him Bla&s;pheme a|gain&s;t the Being that caus'd it, and the mention of the Re&s;urrection, to make him give the Lye to that Omnipotence that has ordain'd it. And tho' he may be car|ry'd away in the Opinion of him&s;elf, that he can make which &s;ide he favours mo&s;t, have the Advantage, yet if he's no better Orator than his Poetry &s;hews him to be, he'll &s;hoot wide of the Mark.</P>
<Q><LG>
<PB N="5" REF="8">
<L>The fate of Beings and the Hopes of Men</L>
<L>Shall be, what plea&s;es my creating Pen.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>A Rant indeed, he might well call him&s;elf <HI>Almanzor</HI> in the <HI>Preface,</HI> when he pretends to the Attribute of the Al|mighty in the <HI>Poem,</HI> and may pro|perly give his the name of a <HI>Creating Pen,</HI> &s;ince it gives Being to &s;uch unheard of Impieties.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>Then why &s;hould Men to die have &s;o great fear?</L>
<L>Though noughts Immortal, all Eternal are.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Now the Fiend begins to &s;hew his Cloven Foot, and puts off his Di&s;gui&s;e, and di&s;uades Men from the Fears of Death by &s;aying nothing in 'em is <HI>Immortal,</HI> and yet every part which compo&s;es their Humane &s;tructure <HI>Eternal. Homo frontis audaci&s;|&s;imae!</HI> At this time of day to preach up the Doctrine of <HI>Mundus e&s;t Aeternus,</HI> when the Author of All Aeternity has &s;aid, it &s;hould not, and to dare to affirm the Soul to be mortal, when the Apprehen&s;ions of its being not capable of dying is the only di&s;&s;ua&s;ive from doing ill, and mak|ing us give a loo&s;e to our Lu&s;ts, like the Bea&s;ts which peri&s;h.</P>
<Q><LG>
<PB N="6" REF="9">
<L>Nature to me appears in no di&s;gui&s;e;</L>
<L>Nor can one Attom &s;cape my prying Eyes.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>If this, or the Mighty feats that went before, is the Bu&s;ine&s;s of an Orator, I know nothing of the Matter: a <HI>Cicero</HI> may indeed harangue upon the inve&s;ti|gators of &s;uch hidden Truth's, but an <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> or a <HI>Carte&s;ius</HI> mu&s;t find 'em.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>O Glorious Liberty! For Thee I'll prove,</L>
<L>The firme&s;t Patron that e're Tongue did move.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Liberty is the Cloak He makes u&s;e of, to en&s;lave us, and bring us under the Do|minion of <HI>Five Hundred</HI> Kings, when the Con&s;titution of our Happine&s;s con|&s;i&s;ts in being govern'd by <HI>One.</HI> But He may move His Tongue long enough be|fore his <HI>Pro&s;aick Poetry</HI> can lead us into the mi&s;take of making Chains for our &s;elves, and &s;eeking imaginary good be|fore that which is real.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>Their Warlike Troops I &s;hall with Ea&s;e Disband,</L>
<L>And conquer tho&s;e who all be&s;ides Command;</L>
<L>I've known a Senate with &s;ome Magick Words,</L>
<L>To Forks and Spades transform their bloody Swords.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Certainly He fancy's him&s;elf to be Mr. <HI>Tr&mdash;d,</HI> and that He wrote the Argu|ment again&s;t the Standing Army; but
<PB N="7" REF="9"> the World is wi&s;er than to think any &s;uch thing, as knowing He was picking holes in the Skins of the <HI>Fathers,</HI> when the Par|liament were &s;aving <HI>Theirs</HI> by Disband|ing the Standing Troops. However, he lik'd the Fact, He might have omitted the Commendation of it for the &s;ake of a certain Gentleman, who&s;e Character He runs into &s;ome time after.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>Re&s;tore the Nation to its perfect Health,</L>
<L>Then Pow'r u&s;urpt, de&s;troy, &amp; form a Commonwealth.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>The Nation is healthy enough without his Purges, and he may have occa&s;ion perhaps for Catharticks him&s;elf, after he has dabled a little longer with Madam <HI>Victorina.</HI></P>
<P>As for the u&s;urp'd Power he talks of, I don't believe King <HI>William</HI> (tho' he has the ill Manners to liken him to <HI>Brutus)</HI> will give him leave to de&s;troy it, or per|mit him to form what 'tis every Mo|narch's intere&s;t to joyn again&s;t.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>Her <HI>Brutus Rome</HI> had not &s;o long ador'd,</L>
<L>If he had made him&s;elf Her Sov'raign Lord.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Either King <HI>William</HI> is not our Sove|raign Lord, or the Compari&s;on between him and <HI>Brutus</HI> is not adaquate. The City of <HI>Rome</HI> had from the Foundation of its
<PB N="8" REF="10"> Empire, till <HI>Julius Cae&s;ar</HI>'s Time been a Free State, and had imbib'd an Hatred from its very Original again&s;t Kings, I cannot therefore but agree with our Au|thor, that if <HI>Brutus</HI> had cloath'd him&s;elf with the Soveraign Power, the <HI>Romans</HI> would not have had &s;uch a Love for his Memory, but how the Applicati|on comes to be made to us, I'm very far from knowing the rea&s;on, &s;ince 'tis very plain the Con&s;titution of our Kingdom requires a Soveraign, and His pre&s;ent Maje&s;ty has actually accepted and inve&s;t|ed Him&s;elf with that Dignity.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>And &s;ure at Home, if thou wer't &s;o &s;evere,</L>
<L>Thoud'&s;t never labour for a Foreign Heir.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>The drift of this la&s;t Line, is to call in que&s;tion the Ju&s;tice of our pre&s;ent Settlement by Act of Parliament, and by Buzzing about, that the next Heir to the Crown after Her Royal Highne&s;s, is a Foreigner and of the Hou&s;e of <HI>Lunen|burgh,</HI> to make way for a Commonwealth. And this he has the Impudence to &s;ay in the next Line but one, he expects from <HI>William</HI>'s Love., but it's thought His Ma|je&s;ty loves his neare&s;t Relations a great deal better than Mr. <HI>Toland.</HI></P>
<Q><LG>
<L>High Heav'n alone &s;hall o're thy Buildings &s;way,</L>
<L>And that alone be fairer thought than they.</L>
</LG></Q>
<PB N="9" REF="10">
<P> Here our <HI>Poet</HI> takes the Gift of Pro|phecy upon him, but does it in &s;uch terms, that the <HI>Wind and Weather Man,</HI> Dr. <HI>Gu&s;tavus Parker</HI> would be a&s;ham'd of. Every body knew Heaven was <HI>high</HI> before he gave us to under&s;tand it; but what <HI>&s;waying over thy Buildings</HI> is, I know no more than the Man in the Moon. In &s;hort, he might have forborn talking of the Height of our Buildings, when the Royal Palace of <HI>White-Hall</HI> lies levell'd with the Ground.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>&mdash;All Holy Cheats</L>
<L>Of all Religions &s;hall partake my Threats.</L>
<L>Whither with Sable Gowns they &s;how their Pride,</L>
<L>Or under Cloaks their Knavery they hide.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>That may be, and not be a jot the wor&s;e for 'em. People, I thank God, begin to know <HI>Toland</HI> pretty well, and he may threaten till his Heart ach's before any one will take notice of it. However, he has &s;hew'd us what a Champion of the Truth he is, when he falls a reviling the Me&s;|&s;engers of the onely True God, and is for burning His Temples, as the Villain did that of <HI>Diana</HI> at <HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> only to be talk'd of. I knew indeed, Mr. <HI>Toland</HI> had an Aver&s;ion to Epi&s;copacy, and the E&s;tabli&s;h'd Church of <HI>England,</HI> but ne|ver heard before he was fall'n out with
<PB N="10" REF="11"> Hypocri&s;y, or had &s;haken hands with his fromer Regards for the formal Gentle|men with &s;hort Cloaks, who not long &s;ince had him in their Service.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>RELIGION's &s;afe with <HI>Prie&s;t-craft</HI> is the War.</L>
<L>All Friends to Prie&s;t-craft, Foes to Mankind are.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>By <HI>Prie&s;t-craft</HI> is meant &s;erving God in his Ordinances, and by <HI>Religion,</HI> an irregu|lar Scheme without any Matters of Faith in it beyond what his Rea&s;on can explain to him; &s;o that the <HI>la&s;t</HI> might well be &s;afe, when none but &s;uch as he, would meddle with it; and he might well have a <HI>War</HI> with the <HI>fir&s;t,</HI> when it taught &s;uch a Purity of Belief, as ran counter to the Impurity of his, which is, that the Friends to God, are the Foes to his Creatures.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>When I've perform'd the&s;e feats, new Danger calls</L>
<L>From Earth I'll &s;oar, and &s;cale <HI>High</HI> Heavens Walls,</L>
<L>To pull fal&s;e Gods from thence, that Men may &s;ee</L>
<L>There's but One true, all perfect <HI>DEITY.</HI></L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Now our Spark's for <HI>&s;oaring,</HI> when, tho' he is not &s;o &s;wag-belly'd as Father <HI>Dominick,</HI> yet, his Guts, like his, were ne|ver made for <HI>Mounting.</HI> But there's no danger of his reaching Heav'n while he continues ob&s;tinate in &s;uch Principles as
<PB N="11" REF="11"> bear no Communication with it. How|ever, he's for renewing the Giants War, and like another <HI>Tiphoeus,</HI> is for &s;caling Heav'ns Walls, which he's in the right of it again, for calling <HI>High.</HI> I could wi&s;h Mr. <HI>Toland</HI> did not furni&s;h us with the following Explication of the&s;e four Lines, <HI>(viz.)</HI> That when he had de|bauch'd his Votaries from their Faith and Allegiance, he would que&s;tion the Being of our Soveraign Lord, God Almighty, in his Trinity and Unity, and dethrone the Second and Third Per&s;ons in it. If this be not his Opinion, and the Sen&s;e of his words, I ask his pardon, but I am &s;ure 'tis that of the <HI>Dei&s;ts,</HI> which abominable Sect he's not altogether a Stranger to,</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>With Forms, and Po&s;tures He is never pleas'd,</L>
<L>Nor is his Wrath with Bribes to be appeas'd.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Good again! He him&s;elf has taught us a Form to pray by, and yet is offend|ed at our making u&s;e of it. If God is a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 span">y with us, it matters not if we &s;ue for Pardon, and deprecate the Vengeance we are threatned with: He's too ju&s;t a Judge to take Bribes, that is, accept the Sorrows of a true Penitent, as he has promis'd us in his holy Word, and it's impo&s;&s;ible for Him after He is once pro|vok'd
<PB N="12" REF="12"> to be appeas'd. This is robbing God of His Chiefe&s;t Attribute His Mer|cy, and flinging every one into a State of Damnation; For without doubt, there is no Man living but has offended his Maker &s;ome time or other. This is a Scheme of believing with a witne&s;s, and credat <HI>Ju|deus Appelles,</HI> for neither I nor any ratio|nal Being can.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>To tho&s;e dark &s;hades I'll introduce the Day,</L>
<L>And the <HI>Vain</HI> Terrors of Hell's Court di&s;play,</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Having &s;torm'd the Gates of Heav'n, the next thing he does is to make a vi&s;it to the Devil, and di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;s him likewi&s;e of his Authority. He's a Fiend indeed fit enough to &s;upply his place, but I doubt, not prevailing enough to rob him of his Po&s;t. And tho' I cannot prove any &s;uch Local place in Being, as this of <HI>Fire</HI> and <HI>Brim&s;tone</HI> is, yet &s;ince God has &s;poken of it by the Mouth of His Prophets; and our Saviour Him&s;elf has made u&s;e of the Terrors of it, in order to our Salva|tion, I give an implicit Belief to the Sa|cred Writ, which he que&s;tions the Truth of, and which may bring him to tho&s;e Puni&s;hments he may wi&s;h too late, he had not &s;poken &s;o &s;lightly of.</P>
<Q><LG>
<PB N="13" REF="12">
<L>Legions of Fiends to Attoms I'll reduce,</L>
<L>And leave bad Men no Tempter for Excu&s;e.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>This is a Confirmation in expre&s;s terms of what went before; and as he deny'd the <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> there, here he actually declares there are no &s;uch Beings as the <HI>Puni&s;hers,</HI> and takes the part of a Sceptical Divine, who &s;aid that <HI>Eve</HI> had no &s;uch thing as a Tempter, but that the Depravity of her own Nature (tho' God had made her without Sin) caus'd her to rob the Tree of Life, and original Sin was born with the World, not the after growth of One who was the mo&s;t Beau|tiful part of it.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>And Fools will mend when Abler Men exhort:</L>
<L>Or by &s;trict Laws are kept from doing Hurt.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>I wi&s;h this were applicable to him&s;elf, and he would hearken to the Advice of the Scripture he de&s;pi&s;es, or el&s;e our Par|liament would handle him as they did in a place which gives Birth to no Vene|mous In&s;ects, but yet was the place of this poi&s;onous Creature's Nativity, that the &s;trictne&s;s of their Laws may tie up his Hands from doing hurt, and di&s;per&s;ing &s;uch Doctrines as are contrary to &s;ound Truth, and take all manner of occa&s;ion
<PB N="14" REF="13"> to dilate their Infection among&s;t &s;uch as are remi&s;s in providing again&s;t 'em.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>So &s;hall my Words like Thunder-bolts be hurl'd,</L>
<L>And will confound, or mend the erring World.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>As he before rob'd God of His Mercy, &s;o now he has made bold with another of His Attributes, which is His Ju&s;tice; and having got the Thunder-bolt in his Hand, he's for breathing new Souls into his Fellow Creatures, or if they have a mind to keep their old ones, he's for di&s;|patching them, and making way for his <HI>Creating</HI> Pen (as he calls it) to form o|thers. But whatever he may think, I'm of opinion, <HI>mending</HI> is none of his Pro|vince, tho' <HI>confounding</HI> may; and if he had the Gift of Reformation, he has &s;o many Faults of his own to employ him|&s;elf at <HI>home,</HI> that he need not go out in &s;earch of Bu&s;ine&s;s. <HI>abroad.</HI></P>
<Q><LG>
<L>But when from Cares and Publick Bu&s;ine&s;s free,</L>
<L>Bright VICTORINA, my lov'd Theme &s;hall be,</L>
<L>The &s;ofte&s;t words the &s;weete&s;t things will tell,</L>
<L>And all I write or &s;peak be <HI>fine</HI> and <HI>well.</HI></L>
</LG></Q>
<P>That is as much as to &s;ay, when he drops the pur&s;uit of doing ill, which is his Bu&s;ine&s;s, to mend the Matter, he be|takes him&s;elf to his Mi&s;tre&s;s; and tho'
<PB N="15" REF="13"> he us'd rough Expre&s;&s;ions, as Thunder-bolts, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> to frighten the Men into Vice, <HI>Victorina</HI> is &s;uch a perver&s;e, cunning Baggage, that &s;he'll not be driven; but he mu&s;t &s;peak <HI>fine</HI> and <HI>well,</HI> if he would bring her upon the Couch of Iniquity. A &s;ign he has a better Opinion of the Fair Sex than his own; and that he does not pretend he has &s;poken well of his new Sy&s;tem of Religion, when all his <HI>fine</HI> Words are kept in Re&s;erve, to make a Convert of his <HI>Bona Roba</HI> with.</P>
<Q><LG>
<L>But her dear Image calms my raging Brea&s;t,</L>
<L>All &s;hould be &s;till to lodge &s;o fair a Gue&s;t.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Let me tell you, we are more behold|ing to his Love than we are to his Elo|quence, the la&s;t was gotten into &s;uch a fit of raving and blu&s;tring in Heroicks, that we &s;hould all have been flung upon our Backs by the force of it, had not the fir&s;t interpos'd, and hu&s;h'd the Storm-Well, I hope next time he falls a thun|dring, his Mi&s;tre&s;s will come in his Head, to prevent the Effects of it, and lay that Evil Spirit of his which hurry's him a|way to his own de&s;truction; for I'm per|&s;uaded it's much better to be a <HI>Whore-Ma&s;ter</HI> than a <HI>Dei&s;t.</HI></P>
<Q><LG>
<PB N="16" REF="14">
<L>Thus far I &s;poke; and <HI>CLITO</HI> all approv'd,</L>
<L>Except what la&s;t was &s;aid of Her I lov'd.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Had I been in <HI>CLITO's</HI> place, I &s;hould have had another Opinion, and approv'd of what he &s;aid of his Mi&s;tre&s;s, much better than what he &s;poke of his God. When he &s;peaks of the fir&s;t, he's all over Obedience and Reverence, but when he makes mention of the la&s;t, he &s;eems po&s;|&s;e&s;t with the Spirit of Rebellion, and looks as if he ro&s;e in defiance again&s;t Him that created him. As for his Lady, I know her not, and &s;he may be Virtuous, as he gives us his Word, &s;he is; But for him&s;elf, he may be a&s;&s;ur'd it's none of his Fault, if &s;he be not downright Vi|tious.</P>
<P>Thus I have &s;ent you my Thoughts of the Pre&s;ent you made me; and &s;hould at the &s;ame time, give you my Senti|ments of <HI>Fuller</HI>'s Narrative, had not I already &s;well'd 'em beyond the Bulk of a &s;ingle Letter. You may expect my Ob|&s;ervations next Po&s;t on the <HI>Trifler</HI> in <HI>Pro&s;e,</HI> as you now have tho&s;e di&s;patch'd to you on the <HI>Pains-taker</HI> in <HI>Ver&s;e.</HI> In the mean time, take the&s;e Ob&s;ervations on the Poetical Man of Eloquence with the re&s;t&punc; He's a <HI>Poet</HI> without <HI>Ver&s;ifica|cation,</HI>
<PB N="17" REF="14"> an <HI>Orator</HI> without <HI>Elocution,</HI> a <HI>Di&s;putant</HI> without <HI>Rea&s;on,</HI> a <HI>Subject</HI> with|out <HI>Obedience,</HI> a <HI>Boa&s;ter</HI> without <HI>Perfor|mance;</HI> and the Body of his Poem has as little an agreement with the Title of it, as his way of living bears proportion to the Name he bears of a Chri&s;tian; and he may write him&s;elf a <HI>Dei&s;t,</HI> as long as he plea&s;es, I am &s;atisfied his manner of writing &s;hews him little better than an <HI>Athei&s;t.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>A&s;trop.</HI> <DATE>Octob. 12. 1700.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED><HI>Yours,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>S. F.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="critique">
<PB N="18" REF="15">
<HEAD>REMARKS UPON Fuller's <HI>Plain Proof,</HI> &amp;c.</HEAD>
<P>TO keep my word with you, I have gone through the fatigue of rea|ding the dulle&s;t Book in Nature, with the lea&s;t appearance of Truth in it that ever &s;aw the Light. Our Au|thor gives it the Title of <HI>Plain Proof,</HI> but I dur&s;t to be &s;worn his Readers will give it another Name, and will agree with me, that he has &s;o little <HI>made out</HI> the Matter in di&s;|pute, that he has more <HI>perplext</HI> the Cau&s;e than ever. Without doubt this <HI>Fuller</HI> might have done &s;ome Service for the pre&s;ent Government, but I have no rea&s;on to con|clude that the Duke of <HI>Shrewsbury</HI> gave him the Certificate he impudently puts at the back of his Title, for his bringing the Birth of the Prince of <HI>Wales</HI> to light; and tho' I &s;hould be as glad to have him prov'd an Impo&s;tor as any <HI>Engli&s;hman</HI> living, yet you mu&s;t excu&s;e me, if I &s;u&s;pend my Belief of an A&s;&s;ertion which is Mid|wif'd
<PB N="19" REF="15"> into the World by a Per&s;on of his Character. I have read his Life too late|ly to be in love with his manner of Liv|ing; and &s;ince <HI>Truth's</HI> are often que&s;tion|ed from Men who have known Talents at Lying, you mu&s;t not think me an In|fidel if I don't give Credit to a <HI>Lye,</HI> that comes from a known <HI>Lyar.</HI> There's no di&s;pute but the Lord Mayor and Alder|men are highly oblig'd to him; but if they have giv'n him a Penny, which I &s;uppo&s;e he wrote his Dedication for, they have return'd the Obligation more than threefold on his Head, and kept his <HI>&s;trong Mountain which bids defiance to all its oppo&s;ers,</HI> &s;ometime longer than it would otherwi&s;e from dwindling into a <HI>Mole-Hill.</HI> Sir <HI>Richard Levet</HI> and his Right Wor&s;hipful Brethren have more &s;en&s;e, than to beleive what the Hou&s;e of Lords, and the Honourable the Commons, would not give Credit to; and tho' they are &s;uch good Prote&s;tants as to be &s;ticklers in good Earne&s;t again&s;t Popery, yet the cau&s;e of Religion is of it &s;elf &s;o good an Argu|ment for keeping this young Gentleman &s;till at St. <HI>Germains,</HI> that they have no need of having recour&s;e to a <HI>Fuller</HI> to keep 'em &s;teady and un&s;haken in their pre&s;ent Loyalty, or have any occa&s;ion of laying hold on <HI>Illegitimacy</HI> to &s;upport
<PB N="20" REF="16"> their Preten&s;ions when the pre&s;ervations of their Laws, Liberties, and all that's dear to 'em, are &s;ufficient Pleas in favour of their Conduct. As for my own part, tho' I'm a better Subject than this Affidavit Man, yet I can never believe his Depo|&s;itions till they are back&punc;d by tho&s;e of as many noble Per&s;ons, as tho&s;e about the Truth of the Prince's Birth were; and if I forbear giving Credit to him, 'tis not &s;o much for the P&mdash;&s;ake, as for his own, who is &s;o great a &s;tranger to any thing that looks like Truth.</P>
<P>In his Preface he begins with the Re|ports that our <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Travellers make of this Unfortunate young Gentleman's At|chievements, and the hopes the Roman Ca|tholicks have beyond Sea of e&s;tabli&s;hing him and their Religion yet in the&s;e King|doms. As for the fir&s;t, &s;ome young Gentle|men are more &s;prightly than others, and I &s;hould be glad if he were of as common Birth, as <HI>Fuller</HI> reports him to be of, &s;o he was <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Born, to hear of any Fel|low Subject's Improvement; and for the la&s;t, I've a better Opinion of the Roman Catholicks Prudence, than that they &s;hould tell a known Enemy and Spy, they de&s;ign'd to Sing High Ma&s;s &s;hortly in St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Cathedral, but am apt to fancy Mr. <HI>Fuller</HI> has been in &s;ome Goal
<PB N="21" REF="16"> or other, rather than a holding Di&s;putes at <HI>Antwerp,</HI> or a travelling in the Countries at Home, Cheating His Maje&s;ty's Subjects, than conver&s;ing with Father <HI>Sabran,</HI> or <HI>Hunter</HI> beyond the Seas. Nothing more &s;eem's material in the Preface than the Rea&s;on he gives for not publi&s;hing this dull Pamphlet &s;ooner, and that is, be|cau&s;e he expected a Hearing before the Lords, which they Honourably refus'd him, and rather &s;erv'd for an Argu|ment to forward the Suppre&s;&s;ion of &s;uch Scandalous Papers, than their Publica|tion.</P>
<P>Having found my way through the <HI>Porch,</HI> 'tis but nece&s;&s;ary I &s;hould take &s;ome &s;mall Entertainment in the <HI>Hou&s;e,</HI> and here the fir&s;t Cour&s;e is a Narrative to pick at, which has all the Po&s;itive A&s;&s;ur|ance of Matters of Fact, while the &s;econd is an Epi&s;tolary De&s;ert, with the re&s;em|blance of &s;omething that looks as much like nothing as can be. He tells you he was <HI>deliver'd</HI> of a &s;mall Narrative about the Prince's <HI>Birth</HI> four Years ago; that a Man of Quality gave him&s;elf the Trouble of An&s;wering it, and examining the Fea|tures of this Brat of his Brain; and that the Noble Per&s;on who has made a Fool of him, was a Gentleman &s;o well known among the Citizens of <HI>London,</HI> that he
<PB N="22" REF="17"> can't take up Goods without Ready Mo|ney. When he might have &s;aid, he him|&s;elf was &s;o well known, that no one could call in que&s;tion the Truth of what that Worthy Per&s;on alledg'd again&s;t him. But I cannot but &s;ay this in his behalf, that the &s;mall Number of his <HI>Affidavits</HI> &s;hew he has more Mode&s;ty in making Oath than his Predece&s;&s;or <HI>T. O. D. D.</HI> of Famous Memory, who &s;tretch'd his <HI>Pagan</HI> Lungs much beyond Number 6; and the Simplicity and Incredibility of 'em are &s;uch, that it's full as hard to believe the One, as 'twas formerly to take off People from giving Credit to the Other. To go on with his Depo&s;itions. 1. He's ready to Swear with all his Heart and Soul, when any Body will take his Oath, That the Counte&s;s of <HI>Tyrconnel,</HI> brought over two Big-Belly'd Women, in <HI>May</HI> 1688. with her, in the <HI>Monmouth</HI> Yatch, Capt. <HI>Wright</HI> Commander. 2. He avers upon his Soul, that one of the&s;e two Big-belly'd Women, fell to pieces at an Inn in St. <HI>Albans.</HI> 3. He avers again, as he hopes to be &s;av'd, the other Lady, who was not &s;o near her Time, and could carry her Burthen farther, got &s;afe to <HI>London,</HI> and was lodg'd in St. <HI>James</HI>'s Palace in two Rooms joyning to the Mar|chione&s;s of <HI>Powis</HI>'s; and upon his unque|&s;tionable
<PB N="23" REF="17"> Veracity, her Name was Mrs. <HI>Mary Grey.</HI> 4. That the &s;aid Mrs. <HI>Mary Grey,</HI> fell into Labour on <HI>Saturday</HI> the 9th of <HI>June</HI> in the &s;ame Year, 1688; That Mrs. <HI>Wilks</HI> was brought to her, and that the Queen came in&s;tantly to St. <HI>James</HI>'s, and pretended of a &s;udden to be in the &s;ame Condition; and Mrs. <HI>Grey</HI> being de|liver'd, the Child was carried in a Warm|ing-Pan by Mrs. <HI>Labbady</HI> (which he actu|ally &s;aw, by all that's good) through the narrow Gallery into the Back Room, next to that where the Queen lay. 5. To keep his Hand in at <HI>Averring,</HI> he avers that this &s;ame Mrs. <HI>Grey,</HI> and no Body el&s;e in her Skin, was &s;ent away three Weeks after her Delivery, and that too by Command to <HI>Dover,</HI> in a Coach and &s;ix Hor&s;es, accompany'd by Father <HI>Lewis Sabran,</HI> the Marchione&s;s of <HI>Powis</HI>'s Wo|man, and the &s;aid Juror's own dear &s;elf; and that one Father <HI>Grey,</HI> a Secular Prie&s;t of <HI>Calice,</HI> met her there, and took her with him in the Pacquet Boat to <HI>Calice,</HI> and from thence to the Benedictine Nun|nery at <HI>Paris.</HI> 6. To conclude and pin the Basket, he makes u&s;e of his own Word, and <HI>avers</HI> again, that the Lady was true Fle&s;h and Blood, and did not care to end her Days in a Nunnery; wherefore &s;he made a Breach in the Wall,
<PB N="24" REF="18"> and made her E&s;cape from her Confine|ment, but in three days, after great Search, &s;he was found, and &s;ent back to the Cloi&s;ter, to mumble over her Beads a|gain.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the Six plain Proofs our <HI>Ductor Dubitantium</HI> has giv'n us of the young Prince's Illegitimacy; which, tho' they are not worthy of Reply, are thus expos'd as trivial, and as &s;o many propo|&s;itions without con&s;equences. (1.) Sup|po&s;e two Gentlewomen with Child did actually come over with my Lady <HI>Tyrcon|nel,</HI> does that Argue that the Coun|te&s;s brought 'em over for the u&s;e of the Queen? Certainly Her Maje&s;ty had no occa&s;ion to &s;end to <HI>Ireland</HI> for <HI>Breeders,</HI> when &s;o many young People were play|ing the Fool under Her No&s;e, and un|der&s;tood the Act of <HI>Generation</HI> as well as any Teague-lander what&s;oever. (2.) 'Tis highly improbable if &s;uch a De&s;ign was in hand, and nothing would content our then Sovereign Lady but an <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Bant|ling, that the Counte&s;s &s;hould pick out Women &s;o near their Time, as that one of 'em &s;hould cry out at St. <HI>Albans</HI> in her way to <HI>London,</HI> and the other lie down in le&s;s than a Month after at St. <HI>James's</HI> 3. Take it for granted, that &s;he was brought to and lodg'd in St. <HI>James</HI>'s Palace,
<PB N="25" REF="18"> over my Lady <HI>Stricland</HI>'s Lodgings, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Her Lodgings were at too great a di&s;tance from her Maje&s;ty's, and very di&s;agreea|ble to the intended De&s;ign. For the Child was brought hot from the Body, which could never be, had it been born &s;uch a di&s;tance from the Queen's Appart|ment. Their Maje&s;ties Phy&s;icians made Oath in <HI>Chancery;</HI> That the After-birth was reeking, and how that could be af|ter its being brought through two Cham|bers, the Narrow Gallery, and Her Ma|je&s;ty's Anti-Chamber; tho&s;e who under|&s;tand the Nature of it, and how &s;oon it cools, cannot imagine. 4. The Devil mu&s;t needs owe Mrs. <HI>Labbady</HI> a Shame, if after Matters were &s;o <HI>clo&s;ely</HI> concerted, as he would make us believe, &s;he could be &s;o impudent as to carry the Child in the Warming-Pan <HI>openly</HI> before a young Fel|low, who at tho&s;e Years was &s;o far from <HI>keeping</HI> a Secret, as he is now from being <HI>tru&s;ted</HI> with one. 5. Let him <HI>aver</HI> his Heart out, that &s;he went in a Coach and Six Hor&s;es to <HI>Dover,</HI> he &s;hall never bring me to conclude from thence, that the P&mdash;of <HI>Wales</HI> his <HI>Mother</HI> was &s;ent into a Nunnery. I'll be plain with him, it &s;eems very improper to me, that a fair Lady, who had taken her Leave of Man's Fle&s;h, and was retiring into a Convent,
<PB N="26" REF="19"> &s;hould take &s;uch a Lu&s;tful young Rogue with her as he was, in the Coach by way of <HI>Mortification.</HI> 6. Had the young Prince been her Son, and &s;he &s;uch a Ten|der Mother of Him, &s;he would (after her E&s;cape from the Nunnery) made what ha&s;te &s;he could to St. <HI>Germains;</HI> but, tho' Father <HI>Sabran</HI>'s Letter &s;ays, &s;he was &s;o fond, &s;he could not live from her Son, this Spark makes her otherwi&s;e, and &s;o far from having her Bowels yearn after Him, that &s;he takes to her Heels, and runs as fa&s;t as her Legs could carry her from the Sight of him.</P>
<P>Thus much for his &s;ix Affidavits, and I have nothing to do, except the taking Notice of one thing, before I make en|quiry into his Seven Letters, and two <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Certificates; and that is, the Rea|&s;ons why Mrs. <HI>Grey</HI> was murder'd. She was put to Death, he &s;ays, becau&s;e &s;he &s;hould not di&s;cover her Son to be the Prince of <HI>Wales,</HI> and &s;o break the Mea|&s;ures of the Court. If this be not <HI>Argu|mentum ab imbeci&s;iori,</HI> I am highly mi|&s;taken. For to &s;uppo&s;e a Woman to be a Mother of a Child, fond of it to the la&s;t degree, de&s;irous of his Welfare, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and yet at the &s;ame time to repine at his Preferment, and di&s;cover her Son's Birth, tho' given out and receiv'd for a Branch
<PB N="27" REF="19"> of the Blood Royal, are as incon&s;i&s;tent as Fal&s;hood is with Truth, or a Per&s;on of <HI>Fuller</HI>'s Character, with one who has an Abomination for <HI>Fuller</HI>'s Forgeries.</P>
<P>But I &s;pend too much Time upon what does not de&s;erve my notice, and its alto|gether proper to keep my word with you, after having given you a promi&s;e of what I could wi&s;h I had made no men|tion of, <HI>i. e.</HI> to Communicate my thoughts of the Letters, whether they are genuine or no. Believe it, Sir, I perform this Task very unwillingly, as being in the Intere&s;t, of a Government he &s;eems to E&s;pou&s;e, and which the D&mdash;of <HI>S&mdash;</HI>has giv|en under Hand, that this Fellow has been &s;erviceable to, but as the People of <HI>England</HI> have no rea&s;on to be apprehen|&s;ive of any danger from their Enemies, whil&s;t they are under the Security of his pre&s;ent Maje&s;ty's Protection, and are &s;hel|ter'd by his Sword, and govern'd by his Sceptre, we have no manner of need to make u&s;e of little Artifices for the defence of a Cau&s;e which has occa&s;ion for nothing but it's own Glory and Sincerity to &s;up|port it. Therefore I cannot be thought to &s;ide again&s;t my Country, if I declare the Letters which are any thing material, &s;eem all written by one hand, tho' I que&s;tion not he deliver'd tho&s;e he &s;peaks
<PB N="28" REF="20"> of to King <HI>William,</HI> and &s;wore heartily be|fore his Maje&s;ty, that they were genuine.</P>
<P>To begin with the Two fir&s;t dire|cted, to the Lords <HI>Montgomery</HI> and <HI>Ca|&s;tlemain.</HI> The Contents of 'em are the &s;ame in &s;ub&s;tance, and &s;ent by the &s;ame Me&s;&s;enger of Integrity, <HI>William Fuller.</HI> And tho' we &s;hould be &s;o favourable to him as to make no &s;cruple at all in rela|tion to the Per&s;on that Penn'd 'em down, yet we have good rea&s;on to doubt whe|ther her Maje&s;ty if he wrote 'em, was &s;o &s;ollicitous about the recovery and flight of Mrs. <HI>Grey,</HI> for fear of di&s;covering the true Mother of the Gentleman that goes by the Name of the P&mdash;of <HI>Wales.</HI> O|ther rea&s;ons of State might induce her to make enquiry after her, and it's &s;o in|con&s;i&s;tent with a Lady of any &s;parks of Chri&s;tianity to de&s;ire any one to <HI>A&s;&s;a&s;&s;inate</HI> her Eellow Creature, and at the &s;ame time addre&s;s her &s;elf to <HI>Heav'n</HI> and <HI>Pray for Suc|ce&s;s</HI> in &s;uch a <HI>Helli&s;h</HI> Affair, That I mu&s;t needs be excus'd, if I &s;ay, this looks very much like <HI>Fuller,</HI> who fir&s;t <HI>Forges</HI> a Matter, and afterwards abu&s;es God's Holy name, by <HI>Swearing</HI> 'tis matter of Fact.</P>
<P><HI>Lett.</HI> 3. Being taken out of Mr. <HI>Crone's</HI> Pocket Book, and he afterwards convicted of High-Trea&s;on for the Contents of it and other Matters, I &s;hall not call the Ju|&s;tice
<PB N="29" REF="20"> of the mo&s;t equitable Court in the World in que&s;tion, yet, though it &s;hews Her late Maje&s;ty held a Corre&s;pondence with the Lord <HI>Montgomery</HI> by means of the Bearer who was under Sentence of Condemnation for it, I am apt to believe our Affairs were not &s;o firmly e&s;tabli&s;hed at that juncture, but His Maje&s;ty out of his great Wi&s;dom would have caus'd the Letters which relate to Mrs. <HI>Grey</HI> to be made publick, in order to fix the Minds of &s;ome People, who at that time of day were bending towards the Belief of the afore&s;aid <HI>P&mdash;</HI>'s Legitimacy. One thing which I take particular Notice of in this Letter, is, that <HI>Fuller</HI> was tru&s;ted with Bills, and did not turn the Money to his own u&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>Lett.</HI> 4. Is written, as he &s;ays, by Fa|ther <HI>Sabran</HI> a Je&s;uit; let who will be the Author of it, I dare acquit <HI>Fuller</HI> with a &s;afe Con&s;cience, that he did not write it him&s;elf. It &s;avours too much of Piety to be any thing of his Dictating; and there's too great an Air of Roguery in it not to be of his Contriving. In &s;hort, he might bring it to the late Queen of ever ble&s;&s;ed Memory, for all that I know; but it &s;eems a little odd (if it was found in the Dutche&s;s of <HI>Tyrconnel</HI>&punc;s Trunk) that a Prince of &s;uch a penetrating Judgment
<PB N="30" REF="21"> as his pre&s;ent Maje&s;ty is, &s;hould order a Bu&s;ine&s;s of &s;uch con&s;equence to be en|tru&s;ted in the hands of one who had broke his Tru&s;t before in Betraying his Mi|&s;tre&s;s, and to let it be unpubli&s;h'd till this time, when no Prince in Chri&s;ten|dom di&s;putes the Ju&s;tice of His Maje&s;ty's Rightful and Lawful Title.</P>
<P><HI>Lett.</HI> 5. Has the Dutche&s;s of <HI>Powis</HI>'s Name to it, and is pretended to be under her <HI>Hand,</HI> when it looks very much like the Product of our Man of Depo&s;ition's own <HI>Head:</HI> Tho' 'tis not done &s;o art|fully as became a Man of his Invention; He &s;hould have made my Lady Dutche&s;s to have &s;poken plainer; and &s;ince the&s;e two Ladies held &s;uch a free Corre&s;pon|dence together to have cloath'd his Meaning with le&s;s ambiguous terms. Tho' I am very ready to conclude, that an Affair of this Nature would &s;carce be tru&s;t|ed to any thing but Cyphers; and that notwith&s;tanding he pretends it was taken out of the Dutche&s;s of <HI>Tyrconnel</HI>'s Trunk, it had &s;een the Light &s;ooner, had not he put it there.</P>
<P><HI>Lett.</HI> 6. Shews the dull Mr. <HI>Fuller</HI>'s Head had been employ'd in Counter|feiting the Ingenious Mr. <HI>Carryl</HI>'s Hand. That unfortunate Gentleman is too well known for his Stile, to addre&s;s a Lady
<PB N="31" REF="21"> of Quality in that nature; and tho' &s;ome People who know how to Forge Bills, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> may give us &s;omething not unlike his Hand, they may try long enough before they can reach up to the Perfe|ctions of his <HI>Head.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Lett.</HI> 7. Is far from being artfully con|triv'd, and may be genuine for all that I know, for there's nothing in it, but the Duke's <HI>Sorrows for his Kin&s;womans Mis|fortunes,</HI> his <HI>Thanks</HI> to the Dutche&s;s of <HI>Powis</HI> for <HI>her good Offices,</HI> and his Pro|te&s;tations that he <HI>cannot comply with Mrs.</HI> Greys <HI>de&s;ires of obtaining a Rockers Place,</HI> becau&s;e of <HI>her Di&s;po&s;ition.</HI> Several other things might make her Reque&s;t improper, be&s;ides a <HI>Mothers tenderne&s;s of Nature,</HI> which he will have it to be, and tho' the General Opinion has &s;o &s;tartled me, that I lean very much after the De&s;ires of knowing the Truth of this Gentleman's Original, who is &s;o much talk'd of, yet the Character of our Author, his known Di&s;ingenuity, and the Contempt he has met with from Both Hou&s;es of Parliament, confirms me that it cannot be as he a&s;&s;erts, tho' I cannot tell but it may be as a great many others think. I wi&s;h heartily for a Light into the Matter, but it mu&s;t come from another hand, if it expects a Reception.</P>
<PB N="32" REF="22" MS="y">
<P> As for the two <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Squires, who be|gin their Letter with Mr. <HI>William Fuller.</HI> Sir, their Information has as little Au|thority over me, as their Wive's Certi|ficate; and I'm a Dog if I can think a Lady of the Dutche&s;s of <HI>Tyrconnel</HI>'s Tem|per could &s;o far pocket up the Injuries of the Marriage-Bed, as to Care&s;s the Wo|men that had rob'd her of her Husband's Love, and not only pocket up a Rival's being with Child, but take a Voyage for <HI>England,</HI> to take care of her &s;afe <HI>Deli|very.</HI> This is &s;uch a piece of Conde&s;cen|tion, your Termegant Wife nor mine would ever &s;ubmit to; and tho' <HI>Fuller</HI> has made the <HI>Dutche&s;s</HI> give 'em this Pre&s;i|dent, the way to have our hou&s;es pull'd down upon our heads, is for us to follow the <HI>Duke</HI>'s.</P>
<P>I would have t'other fling at this piece of Ridicule, but I am affraid I have &s;aid enough to make me lo&s;e my Intere&s;t with you, and get the Name of a <HI>Jacobite,</HI> than which nothing is more contemptible to</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>A&s;trop</HI> <DATE><HI>14th Octob.</HI> 1700.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SALUTE>Sir</SALUTE>
<SIGNED><HI>Yours,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>S. F.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
<PB REF="22">
</DIV1>
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