abfurd. He talks of Mofes's pulling off his fhoes, of tan ning the hides of the bulls of Bafon, of Simon the tanner, c.; and takes up four or five pages to prove, that when the apostles were inftructed to travel without fhoes, the precept did not extend to their fucceffors. The next relates how he discovered a thief with a bible and key, and experimented verfes of the pfalms, that had cured agues. I pafs over many others, which informs us of parish affairs only, fuch as of the fucceffion of curates; a lift of the weekly texts; what pfalins he chufe on proper occafi ons; and what children were born and buried: the last f which articles he concludes thus: That the fhame of women may not endure, I speak not of bastards; neither will I name the mothers, although thereby I might delight many grave women of the parish: even her who hath done penance in the fheet will I not mention, forafmuch as the church hath been witness of her difgrace let the father, who hath made due com pofition with the church wardens to conceal his infirmity, reft in peace; my pen fhall not bewray him, for I allo have finned. The next chapter contains what he calls a great revolution in the church, part of which I tranfcribe Now was the long expected time arrived, when the Pfalms of K. David should be hymned unto the fame tunes,to which he played them upon his harp; (fo was I informed by my finging mafter, a man right cunning in pfalmody.) Now was our over abundant quaver and til ling done away, and in lieu thereof was inftituted the fol fa, in fach guife as is fung in his majesty's chapel. We had London Ginging masters fent into every parish, like unto excifemen; and I alfo was ordained to adjoin myfelf un to them, though an unworthy difciple, in order to in struct my fellow-parishioners in this new manner of wor fhip, What though they accufed me of humming through the noftril as a fuckbut; yet would I not forego that har mony, mony, it having been agreed by the worthy parifh-clerks of London ftill to preferve the fame. I tutored the young men and maidens to tune their voices as it were a pfaltery, and the church on the funday was filled with thele new hallelujabs. Then follow full feventy chapters, containing an exact detail of the law fuits of the parfon and his parishi oners concerning tythes, and near an hundred pages left blank, with an earnest defire that the history might be compleated by any of his fucceffors, in whofe time these fuits fhould be ended. The next contains an account of the briefs read in the church, and the fums collected upon each. For the reparation of nine churches, collected at nine feveral times, 2 s. and 7 d. 3. For fifty families ruined by fire, I s, 1. For an inundation, a King Charles groat, given by Lady Francis, &c. In the next he laments the difufe of wedding-fermons, and celebrates the benefits arifing from thofe at funerals, concluding with these words: Ah! let not the relations of the decealed grudge the fmall expence of an hat band, a pair of gloves, and ten fhillings, for the fatisfaction they are fure to receive from a pious divine, that their fa ther, brother, or bolom wife, are certainly in heaven. In another, he draws a panegyric on one Mrs. Margaret Wilkins, but, after great encomiums, concludes, that notwithstanding all, the was an unprofitable veffel, heing a barren woman, and never once having furnished God's church with a chriftening. We find in another chapter, how he was much faggered in hs belief, and disturbed in his confcience by an Oxford fcholar, who had proved to him by logic, that animals right have rational, nay, immortal fouls; but how be was again comforted with the reflection, that if fo, they might be allowed Chriftian burial, and greatly augment the fees of the parish. In In the two following chapters he is overpowered with vanity. We are told, how he was constantly admitted to all the feafts and banquets of the church officers, and the fpeeches he there made for the good of the parish. How he gave hints to young clergymen to preach; but above all how he gave a text for the 30th of January, which occafioned a most excellent fermon, the merits of which he takes entirely to himself. He gives an account of a conference he had with the vicar concerning the use of texts. Let a preacher, faith he, confider the affembly before whom he preacheth, and unto them adapt his text. Mi. cah the 3d and 11th affordeth good matter for courtiers and court-serving men. The heads of the land judge for reward, and the people thereof judge for hire, and "the prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean r upon the Lord and Jay, Is not the Lord among us? Were the first minifter to appoint a preacher before the house of commons, would not he be wife to make choice of these words? "Give, and it shall be given unto ye.. Or before the lords, "Giving no offence, that the miniftry "be not blamed, 2 Cor. vi. 3." Or praifing the warm zeal of an adminiftration, "Who maketh his ministers a "flaming fire, Pfal. civ. 4.' We omit many others of 6. his texts as too tedious. From this period the file of the book rifes extremely. Before the next chapter was pafled the effigies of Dr. Sacheverel, and I found the oppofite page all on a foam with politics. It We are now, fays he, arrived at that celebrated year, in which the church of England was tried in the perfon of Dr. Sacbeverel, I had ever the interest of our highchurch at heart, neither would I, at any season, mingle myfelf in the focieties of fanatics, whom I, from my infancy, abhored more than the Heathen or Gentile. was in thefe days I bethought myfelf, that much profit might accrue unto our parish, and even unto the nation, could there be affembled together a number of chofen men of the right fpirit, who might argue, refine, and de fine, upon high and great matters. Unto this purpose, [ did inftitute a weekly affembly of divers worthy men at the rofe and crown ale-houfe, over whom myfelf, though unworthy, did prefide. Yea, I did read to them the poftboy of Mr. Roper, and the written letter of Mr. Dyer, upon which we communed afterwards among ourselves. Our fociety was compofed of the following perfous: Robert Jenkins, farrier; Amos Turner, collar-maker; George Pilcocks, late excife-man; Thomas White, wheelwright; and myself. First, of the firft, Robert Jenkins. He was a man of bright parts and threwd conceit, for he never fhoed an horfe of a whig or a fanatic, but he lamed forely. Amos Turner, a worthy perfon, rightly esteemed a• mong us for his fufferings, in that he had been honoured in the stocks for wearing an oaken bough. George Pilcocks, a fufferer alfo, of zealous and lau dable freedom of fpeech, infomuch that his occupation had been taken from him. Thomas White, of good repute likewife, for that his uncle by the mother's fide had formerly been fervitor at Maudlin-college, where the glorious Sacheverel was edu cated. Now were the eyes of all the parish upon these our weekly councils. In a fhort pace the minifter came among us: he fpake concerning us and our councils to a multitude of other minifters at the vifitation, and they fpake thereof unto other minifters at London, fo that even the bishops heard and marvelled thereat. Moreover, Sir Thomas, member of parliament, fpake of the fame unto. other members of parliament, who spake thereof unto the peers of the realin. Lo! thus did our counfels enter into the hearts of our generals and our lawgivers; and from henceforth, even as we devifed, thus did they. After this, the book is turned on a fudden from his own life, to a history of all the public tranfactions of Europe, compiled from the news-papers of thofe times. I could not comprehend the meaning of this, till I perceiv ed at last, to my no fmall aftonishment, that all the meafures of the four last years of the Queen, together with the peace of Utrecht, which have been ufually attributed to the Earl of Oxford, Duke of Ormond, Lords Har. VOL, V. COIL court and Bolingbroke, and other great men, do here moft plainly appear to have been wholly owing to Robert Jenkins, Amos Turner, George Pilcock, Thomas White, but above all, P.P. The reader may be fure I was very inquisitive after this extraordinary writer, whofe work I have here abftracted. I took a journey into the country on purpose; but could not find the leaft trace of him: till by accident I met an old clergyman, who faid he could not be pofitive, but thought it might be one Paul Fhilips, who had been dead about twelve years. And upon enquiry, all we could learn of that perfon from che neighbourhood, was, that he had been taken notice of for fwallowing loaches, and remembered by fome people by a black and white cur with one ear, that conftantly followed him. In the church-yard I read his epitaph, faid to be written by himself. O reader, if that thou canst read, THOUGHTS |