at court, and other places, to furnish hints and topics fo invention, and a general correspondence of all the mar ket-towns for circulating their lies: that if any one of th fociety were obferved to blush, or look out of counte nance, or want a neceffary circumftance in telling the lye? be ought to be expelled, and declared incapable: befide the roaring lies, there ought to be a private committee for whispers, conftituted of the ablest men of the fociety. Here the author makes a digretlion in praife of the whig. party, for the right understanding and ute of proof lyes. A proof-lye is like a proof-charge for a piece of ordnance, to try a standard credulity. Of fuch a nature he takes tranfubftantiation to be in the church of Rome, a proof article, which if any one fwallows, they are fure he will digeft every thing elfe: therefore the whig party do wife. ly to try the credulity of the people fometimes by fwing, ers, that they may be able to judge, to what height they may charge them afterwards. Towards the end of this chapter, he warns the heads of parties against believing their own lies, which has proved of pernicious confequence of late, both a wife party and a wife nation having regu lated their affairs upon lies of their own invention. The caufes of this be fuppofes to be too great a zeal and intenf nefs in the practice of this art, and a vehement heat in mutual converfation, whereby they perfuade one another, that what they with, and report to be true, is really fo: that all parties have been fubje& to this misfortune. The Jacobites have been conftantly infefted with it; but the whigs of late feemed even to exceed them in this ill habit and weakness. To this chapter the author fubjoins a calendar of lies; proper for the feveral months of the

year.

The ninth chapter treats of the celerity and duration of lies. As to the celerity of their motion, the author fays it is almoft incredible: he gives several inftances of lies, that have gone fafter than a man can ride post: your terifying lies travel at a prodigious rate, above ten miles an hour; your whispers move in a narrow vortex, but very fwiftly. The author fays, it is impoffible to explain feveral phænomena in relation to the celerity of lies, without the fuppofition of Synchronism and com

Bb 2

bina

bination. As to the duration of lies, he fays, there are of all forts, from hours and days to ages; that there are fome, which, like infects, die and revive again in a different form; that good artists, like people who build upon a fhort leafe, will calculate the duration of a lie furely to answer their purpose; to last just as long, and no longer, than the turn is ferved.

The tenth chapter treats of the characteristics of lies; how to know, when, where, and by whom invented? Your Dutch, English, and French ware are amply di ftinguished from one another; an Exchange lie from one coined at the other end of the town; great judgment is to be fhewn as to the place, where the fpecies is intended to circulate: very low and bafe coin will ferve for Wap. ping: there are feveral coffee-houses, that have their par ticular ftamps, which a judicious practitioner may easily know. All your great men have their proper phanta teuflies. The author fays, he has attained by ftudy and application to fo great skill in this matter, that bring him any lie, he can tell whofe image it bears to truly, as the great man himself thall not have the face to deny it. The promiffory lies of great men are known by fhouldering, hugging, fqueezing, fmiling, bowing; and their lies in matter of fact by immoderate fwearing.

He spends the whole eleventh chapter on one fimple question, whether a lie is befl contradicted by truth, or by another lie? the author fays, that, confidering the large extent of the cylindrical furface of the foul, and the great propensity to believe lies in the generality of mankind of late years, he thinks the propereft contradiction to a lie is another lie. For example; if it should be reported, that the Pretender was at London, one would not contradict it, by faying, he never was in England; but you must prove by eye-witneffes, that he came no farther than Greenwich, and then went back again, Thus if it be spread about, that a great perfon were dy. ing of fome disease, you must not fay the truth, that they are in health, ad never had such a disease, but that they are lowly recovering of it. So there was not long ago a gentleman, who affirmed, that the treaty with France, for bringing popery and flavery into England, was figned

the

the 15th of September; to which another answered very judicioufly, not by oppofing truth to his lie, that there was no fuch treaty; but that, to his certain knowledge, there were many things in that treaty not yet adjusted.

The account of the fecond volume of this excellent treatife is referred for another time.

REASONS humbly offered by the com pany exercising the trade and mystery of UPHOLDERS, against part of the BILL, for the better viewing, fearching, and examin ing drugs, medicines, &c. 1724 *.

BR

EING called upon by feveral retailers and difpenfers of drugs and medicines about town, to ufe our endeavours against the bill now depending for viewing, &c. In regard of our common intereft, and in gratitude to the faid ret ilers and difpenfers of medicines, which we have always found to be very effectual, we prefume to lay the following reafons before the public ag iuft the faid

bill.

That the company of upholders are far from being averfe to the giving of drugs and medicines in general, provided they may be of fuch qualities as we require, and administered by fuch perfons, in whom our company juftly repole the greateft confidence: and provided they tend to the encouragement of trade, and the confumption of the woollen manufacture of this kingdom.

We beg leave to oblerve, that there hath been no complaint from any of the nobility, gentry, and citizens whom we have attended. Our practice, which coufifts chiefly in outward applications, having been always to effectual, that none of our patients have been obliged to undergo a fecond operation, excepting one gentlewoman; who, after her firtt burial, having burtheued her husband with a new brood of pofthumous children, her fecond funeral was by us performed without any farther charges to the faid husband of the deceafed. And we humbly hope, that one fingle inftance of this kind, a misfortune owing merely to the avarice of a fextou in cutting off a

In the year 1724 the phyficians made application to parliament to prevent apothecaries difpenfing medicine without the pre feription of a phyfician during which this tract was difperfed in the ourt of requels. Hawkef.

с

ring, will not be imputed to any want of skill, or care in our company.

We humbly conceive, that the power by this bill lodg. ed in the cenfors of the college of phyficians, to restrain any of his majesty's fubjects from difpenfing, and welldifpofed perfons from taking whut medicines they pleafe. is a manifeft incroachment on the liberty and property of the fubject.

As the company, exercifing the trade and mystery of upholders, have an undifputed right in and upon the bodies of all and every the fubjects of the kingdom; we conceive the paffing of this bill, though not absolutely depriving them of their faid right, might keep them out of poffeffion by unreasonable delays, to the great detriment of our company and their numerous families.

We hope it will be confidered, that there are multitudes of neceflitous heirs and penurious parents, perfons in pinching circumstances with numerous families of chil dren, wives that have lived long, many robust aged women with great jointures, elder brothers with bad underftandings, fingle heirs of great eftates, whereby the collateral line are for ever excluded, reverfionary patents, and reverfionary promifes of preferments, leafes upon fingle lives, and play-debts upon joint lives, and that the perfons fo aggrieved have no hope of being fpeedily relieved any other way, than by the difpenfing of drugs and medicines in the manner they now are; burying alive being judged repugnant to the known laws of this kingdom.

That there are many of the deceased, who by certain mechanical motions and powers are carried about town, who would have been put into our hands long before this time, by any other well ordered government: by want of a due police in this particular our company have been great fufferers.

That frequent funerals contribute to preferve the genealogies of families, and the honours conferred by the crown, which are no where fo well illuftrated as on this folemn occafion; to maintain neceffitous clergy; to enable the clerks to appear in decent habits to officiate of Sundays; to feed the great retinue of fober and melancholy men, who appear at the faid funerals, and who must ftarve without conftant and regular employment. More