And fo pointing to Frog to fay fomething, to the great furprize of all the company, Frog was feized with a dead pally in the tongue. John began to ask him fome plain questions, and whooped and hollowed in his ear. "Let's "< come to the point. Nic! who wouldst thou have to "be Lord Strutt? Wouldst thou have Philip Baboon ?” Nic. hook his head, and faid nothing, "Wilt thou "then have Efquire South to be Lord Strutt ?" Nic fhook his head a fecond time. "Then who the devil "wilt thou have? fay fomething or another." Nic. opened his mouth, and pointed to his tongue, and cried,

A, a, a, a!" which was as much as to fay he could not speak. John Bull.] "fhall I ferve Philip Baboon "with broad-cloth, and accept of the compofition that "he offers, with the liberty of his parks and tith- ponds ?” Then Nic. roared like a bull, “O, 0, 0, 0!" John Bull.] If thou wilt not let me have them, wilt thou "take them thyself?" Then Nic grinned, cackled, and laughed, till he was like to kill himself, and feem. ed to be to pleased, that he fell a frisking and dancing about the room. John Bull ] "Shall I leave all this matter to thy management, Nic. and go about my bu"finels?" Then Nic. got up a glass, and drank to John, fhaking him by the hand, till he had like to have thook his fhoulder out of joint. John Bull.]

<< I un

derstand thee, Nic. but I fhall make thee fpeak be"fore I go." Then Nic. put his finger in his cheek, and made it cry Buck; which was as much as to fay, I care not a farthing for thee John Bull.] "I have done Nic. "if thou wilt not fpeak, I'll make my own terms with "old Lewis here." Then Nic. lolled out his tongue, and turned up his bum to him; which was as much as to fay, kifs

John perceiving that Frog would not speak, turns to old Lewis: "Since we cannot make this obftinate fellow fpeak, Lewis, pray condefcend a little to his humour, "and fet down thy meaning upon paper, that he may "anfwer it in another fcrap."

"I am infinitely forry, quoth Lewis, that it happens to un ortunately; for playing a little at cudgels the "other day, a fellow has given me fuch a rap'over the "right-aron, that I am quite lame: I have loft the ufe VOL. V. X

" of

"of my fore-finger and my thumb, fo that I cannot hold my pen."

JBull." That's all one, let me write for you." Lewis. "But I have a misfortune, that I cannot read $6 any body's hand but my own."

7. Bull."Try what you can do with your left-hand.” Lewis. "That's impoffible; it will make fuch a fcrawl, that it will not be legible."

As they were talking of this matter, in came Esquire South *, all dreffed up in feathers and ribbons, stark staring mad, brandishing his fword, as if he would have cut off their beads; crying, "Room, room, boys, for the << grand Elquire of the world! the flower of Efquires! "What! covered in my prefence? I'll crush your fouls, “and crack you like lice!" With that he had like to have ftruck John Bull's hat into the fire; but John, who was pretty ftrong-fifted, gave him fuch a fqueeze as made his eyes water. He went on ftill in his mad pranks;

When I am Lord of the univerfe, the fun fhall pro"ftrate and adore me! Thou, Frog, fhalt be my bai "liff; Lewis my taylor; and thou, John Bull, shalt be 6 my fool!"

All this while Frog langhed in his fleeve, gave the Efquire t'other noggan of brandy, and clapped him of the back, which made him ten times madder.

Poor John ftood in amaze, talking thus to himself: "Well, John, thou art got into rare company! One "has a dumb devil, the other a mad devil, and the third a fpirit of infirmity. An honeft man has a fine time on't among fuch rogues. What art thou asking of "them, after all? Some mighty boon one would think! "only to fit quietly at thy own fire-fide. 'Sdeath, what "have I to do with fuch fellows! John Bull, after all "his loffes and croffes, can live better without them, "than they can without him. Would to God I lived a thousand leagues off them! but the devil's in't, "John Bull is in, and John Bull must get out as well as " he can."

As he was talking to himself, he obferved Frog and

* The Archduke was now become Emperor of Germany; being unanimously elected upon the death of Jofeph the fist.

old

old Lewis edging towards one another to whisper*: fo that John was forced to fit with his arms a kimbo, to› keep them afunder.

Some people advised John to blood Frog under the tongue, or to take away his bread and butter, which: would certainly make hiin speak; to give E quire South kellebore; as for Lewis, fome were for emollient pulteffes, others for opening his arms with an incifion-knife,

CHA P. XI†.

The apprehending, examination, and imprisonment of Jack for fufpicion of poisoning.

HE attentive reader caunot have forgot, that the

rupted by a meffage from Frog. I have a natural compallion for curiofity, being much troubled with the di femper myself; therefore to gratify that uneafy itching fenfation in my reader, I have procured the following ac

count of that matter.

Yan Pthir..fooker came off (as rogues ufually do-u

* ́Some attempts of fecret negotiation between the French and the Dutch.

† The receiving the holy facrament as adminiftered by the church of England once at leaft in every year, having been made a neceffary qualification for places of trust and profit, many of the diffenters came to the altar merely for this purpose. A bill to prevent this practice had been three times brought into the house and rejected, under the title of A bill to prevent occafional nformity. But the Earl of Nottingham having brought it in a fourth time under another name, and with the addition of fuch claufes as were faid to enlarge the toleration, and to be a further fecurity to the proteftant fucceffion, the whigs, whofe cause the Earl then appeared to efpoufe, were perfuaded to concur; fome, becaufe they were indeed willing that the bill thould pafs, and o thers, because they believed the Earl of Oxford would at last procure it to be thrown out. The four following chapters contain the hiftory of this tranfaction.

X 2

pon fuch occafions) by peaching his partner; and being extremely forward to bring him to the gallows. Jack was acculed as the contriver of all the roguery *. And indeed it happened unfortunately for the poor fellow, that he was known to bear a moft inveterate fpight against the old gentlewoman; and confequently, that never any ill accident happened to her, but he was fufpected to be at the bottom of it. If the pricked her finger, Jack, to be fure, laid the pin in the way; if fome noife in the street disturbed her reft, who could it be but Jack in fome of his nocturnal rambles? If a fervant ran away, Jack had debaucl ed him every idle tittle-tattle that went about, Jack was always fufpected for the author of it: however, all was nothing to this laft affair of the temperating, moderating powder.

The hue and cry went after Jack to apprehend him dead or alive, where-ever he could be found. The couftables looked out for him in all his ufual haunts; but to no purpose. Where d'ye think they found him at laft? Even fimoaking his pipe very quietly at his brother Martin's; from whence he was carried with a vast mob at his heels before the worshipful Mr. Juftice Overdo. Several of his neighbours made oath, that of late the prifoner † bad been obferved to lead a very diffolute life, renoun cing even his ufual hypocrify, and the pretences to fobrie ty: that be frequented taverns and eating houses, and had been often guilty of drunkennefs and gluttony at my Lord-Mayor's table: that he had been seen in the com pany of lewd women: that he had transferred his ufual care of the engroffed copy of his father's will, to bankbills, orders for tallies, and debentures : these he now affirmed, with more literal truth, to be meat ||, drink, and cloth, the philofopher's flone, and the univerfal medicine that he was fo far from fhewing his cufto inary reverence to the will, that he kept company with

* All the misfortunes of the church charged upon the Pref byterian party.

The manners of the diffenters changed from their former ftrictness.

Dealing much in stock jobbing.

Tale of Tub.

thofe

*

thofe that called his father a cheating rogue, and his will a forgery that he not only fat quietly and heard his father railed at, but often chimed in with the difcourfe, and hugged the authors as his bofom friends; That, infead of asking for blows at the corners of the fireets, he now bestowed them as plentifully as he begged them before. In fhort, that he was grown a mere rake; and had nothing left in him of old Jack, except his fpight to John Ball's mother.

Another witnefs made oath, That Jack had been over. heard bragging of a trick 4 he had found out to manage the old formal jade, as he ufed to call her.

"Damn

"this numb-skull of mine, quoth he, that I could not "light on it fooner. As long as I go in this ragged tat"tered coat, I am fo well known, that I am hunted a66 way from the old woman's door by every barking cur "about the houfe; they bid me defiance. There's no "doing mischief as an open enemy; I muft find fome way or other of getting within doors, and then Ishall "have better opportunities of playing my pranks, besides "the benefit of good-keeping.'

66

Two witneffes fwore, that feveral years ago, there came to their mistrefs's door a young fellow in a tattered coat, that went by the name of Timothy Trim, whom they did in their confcience believe to be the very prifoner, refembling him in fhape, ftature, and the features of his countenance: that the faid Timothy Trim being taken into the family, clapped their mistress's livery over his own tattered coat: that the faid Timothy was extreinely officious about their mistress's perfon, endeavouring by flattery and tale-bearing to let her againft the rest of the fervants: no body was fo ready to fetch any thing that was wanted, to reach what was dropt that he uled to fhove and elbow his fellow-fervants to get near his miftrefs, especially when inoney was a-paying or receiving;

*Herding with deifts and atheists.

Tale of a Tub.

+ Getting into places and church preferments by occafional conformity.

Betraying the interests of the church, when got into prefer

ments.

4

X 3

then