For God's sake Gentlemen be more politick than thus to talk for if any Phanatick should know this Discourse they would hate us more than they do R. F. I never did any one thing for God's sake nor will not be guilty of no such a piece of Phanaticism now to begin but thousands of things for the Devil's sake or if you will all things for my own sake and not one thing for any one else I know the Phanaticks better than you for their hatred of us on due information of our Morals is so great it is not capable of any addition And seeing you would be Saintish too they say your Character of no man is to be regarded and that your Pride is intolerable and made them unlearned men except Mr. Pool and Mr. How You that make them Fools say they fly in the Face of God too and have said that he knew not whether Men should be saved or damned till they died If Vorstius or a few more denied Prescience supposing a God I think it folly and madness Mr. H. Who said thus Mr. T. M. He once wrote me a Letter two years after he left me to give me thanks for my Arguments inducing him to Conformity and as I lately told him I have often mention'd the Story What good a Man may do by words he thinks not regarded and Mr. Stop Sir He said then to you He was positive in it He never wrote you such a Letter when he was awake and if he did it in a sleep he supposeth you received it in a dream That he never conformed had Presbyterian Ordination never us'd Cross or Surplice or our Form of Baptism only sometimes read Common-Prayer as other Noncons did when he had privileged places seven years nay sometimes us'd none of the Liturgy This made him the more doubt your Answer to his Question Whether you did your best to save the Life of your Brother John Hicks His own Son's Letter to the contrary signified but little to him who knows what he is He was a proud Ape he says once and odious as such If Dr. Calamy call'd his Father an Old Rogue how much or little a conforming Son might be concerned for the death of a Nonconforming Father he knows not He denies That your Charge is true He said not You did not your best but only doubted it and thought you or others must have so understood him You answer You did And seeing you protested in the presence of Almighty God you did your best and Mr. Lobb told him he was satisfied you did he hath given it under his hand to you That he charitably hopes you did and will so declare to others but says the Reasons of his Doubts were these 1. He was sure you lov'd not your Brother would speak of him with unusual contempt and visited him not as he complain'd when last in London you as he phrased it went up and down in your Wheelbarrow Coach and regarded him not tho once he help'd to maintain you as he said 2. In a printed Letter of Mr. John Hicks he hath these words I have written to your Uncle George to intercede for me but I cannot hear from him Or to this purpose 3. It was reported you then said If he would not subscribe to a Confession sent him you would not intercede 4. That your Books discover your bloody Principles and you were justly accounted one of the greatest Enemies to the Dissenters in the three Kingdoms and therefore might not care for your own Brother because such tho so much a Gentleman every way No Fool as you were wont to call him R. L. D me What a long Story have we heard of a damn'd Fanatick and Rebel as before forsooth of Sin and Duty Drawer bring us up the best Wine you have Drawer Yes Sir and a pretty Wench R. F. This is to the purpose this is Preachment worth a hearing Come shut the Door Here is a Health to King James another to Queen Mary another to the Prince of Wales another to the Confusion of the little Man of the Hague and all his Adherents R. L. About with it brave Boys again and again A. S. Come Gentlemen the time is come to read Prayers R. L. Pox on 't you should have brought the Book sooner whilst we were all sober A. S. If I should never read Prayers but when all the Company were sober it would never be done drunk or sober I will read Reform we pray thee these perjur'd Nations Restore to us thy Servant King James our lawful Sovereign In the mean time comfort him in all his Adversity and Sufferings Bless the Queen and Prince of Wales And R.F. Nay stop speed in one thing before you ask more I believe more than one are of Brother B's mind in Somerset That had he thought King James would have been so long a coming he would have better considered it before he had left his place for him Besides what talk you of Prayer If there be a God we cannot believe he regards our Prayers King James will never return unless you give over praying for it I remember I have heard of a Parson that would often pray in the Pulpit for his Patron who one day said Mr. Parson I beg one Kindness of you What is that said he Leave me out of your Prayers for I can never hear that you pray for me but I have always a terrible fit of the Gout after it But what says your Grace my Lord of Salisbury A. S. Would I had a good Parsonage A Bird in the Hand is worth two in the Bush Hope delayed maketh the Heart sad Were my Wife the only Woman that wanted with her Children I would not care but oh there are others of the Fair Sex R. L. I advise you as an old Man go into some corner of the Land where you are not known and conform swear to the Usurper but be sure break your Oath by the first opportunity R. F. Stay let him not be too hasty let us see what will be the end of Plotting first For my part I may say to the Spark what she did to Jason Adeone credit omne consumptum nefas If King James should return and find us Williamites we have spun a fair Thread But can you tell Mr. H. what makes that unsanctified Villain T. M. you talkt of but now to write of late by way of Dialogue which is by many accounted no fair way of writing You know the Dialogue between R. and F. Mr. H. He says thus in defence of himself 1. That Patrick's Friendly Debates were all approved of by us tho foully managed by him this way 2. That he blames not any of ours that write this way if they bring in an Adversary in his best dress He thinks the Dialogue between Irenaeus and Novatus done by Fisher the blind Man of Cambridg to be one of the shrewdest Books written for the Church of England 3. This was the antient way of
them never expect to be remembred R. L. But seeing we are for once playing the honest Men and speaking our hearts I know not when we shall again pray Gentlemen what think you of the Prince of Orange you Mr. F. whom you once magnified and afterwards vilified R. F. Gentlemen I cannot forbear thinking him to be one of the best of Men one of the best of Princes who would rather be lov'd than fear'd All the World knows he is one of the greatest Souldiers in it as King James is one of the greatest Cowards he was not for an He illic but Venite hic And as another Ego vester Vos mei With Antoninus Pius he is a Cynici Sector and searcheth into things He is so politick as if with Domitian he had every where his Phengites He can see what is done behind him as well as before him as we too well know I can never get or long keep preferment under such a King I wish therefore King James his Return tho I am not such a Fool as to say with Agrippa when she was told Nero would reign but would kill her Occidat modo imperet Hang him before I should have such a thought I am sure it cannot be said of me I am neither Guelph nor Gibeline I have been both Those two Dutch Brethren acted one for the Emperor the other for the Pope I can do all the Feats my self allow me time Now what think you of the Prince of Wales was King James guilty and of the Design with France R. L. I will tell you a Story that every Man doth not know A plain Man among the Dissenters seeing the King walking in a melancholy Fit at the Success of the Prince be came up to him and said Sir be advised by a plain Man If you are not guilty about the birth of the Prince of Wales c. never stir a hair of your head will not fall to the ground But if guilty go away as soon as you can and save your life This Dissenter was often with him before K. James went away a day or two after I doubt not in the least but we had had the French Government and Religion too ere this time had he staid But I am clean Paper Kings may write what they will on me I hate all Religion and look on it as a Cheat. Mr. H. Pray Sir give over you may with Rochester cry out before you die O that God had made me a Toad crawling in a Ditch or that I had been a Link-boy rather than what I was when I scoft at Religion God no doubt had mercy on him I wish he may on you Remember Buckingham's Cry O that God would give me a heart to repent but I cannot repent I am undone to all Eternity R. L. Pray Sir hold your tongue I think you are such a Prophet in Divinity as in Politicks You know you told the World in that wordy Book Jovian That notwithstanding all that you had said for Non-resistance of a Popish Arbitrary Prince yet the people of England had as good security for their Religion and Civil Rights as any could desire for 1. It must be suppos'd Princes are Men of Conscience as well as others 2. The Duke of York in particular was a Man who never broke his Word and had made many Promises to the Church of England 3. The strength of our Laws Test c. 4. The danger his Ministers would be in that should act contrary to Law after his decease I cannot exactly write your words it is above fifteen years since I read the Book Now you know you were hooted at by Church Tories as well as Whigs when the Bishops were sent to the Tower c. Nay you there ask Whether it could be suppos'd the Duke of York was a Papist who in Scotland had a Protestant Minister to say Grace at his Table tho so many Parliaments had declared him so long before to be a Papist and propos'd Bills of Exclusion against him because as such he had countenanced the Popish Plot. This sticks according to the French Proverb for you are frenchified too as well as I as the Dirt of Paris For Lutetia a Luto Hold you your peace And what is your Opinion my Lord of Salisbury of the new Church of England May it please your Grace to tell us in a few words A. S. Her Priests are Jeroboams Priests It is an Apostate Church Sherlock is a notorious Apostate with his Providential King tho he talkt after Sanderson with his Providential Government when he wickedly pleaded for taking the Engagement Burnet is a temporizer not only they but William Penn and other active Quakers are apostatized too tho we and they with some Roman Catholicks once took sweet counsel together R. L. Never be concern'd for many Clergy-men that have sworn Allegiance to the little Man of the Hague have since answer'd King James that they did it only to be in a greater capacity of serving him And some of them you know have written to us with a God be merciful to us Sinners Tho we have been as the Phanaticks say lately taken as wild Birds or Birds of Prey from fleeing in the open Air taking the lesser but best Birds and have been clapt up in a Cage together Yet Qui nil potest sperare desperet nibil Sen. Med. Si fortuna volet fies de Rhetore Consul Si volet hac eadem fies de Consule Rhetor. Juv. Mr. H. O but little hopes now is left whatever was in the time of the War Now is a time of Peace occasion'd by the Valour and Wisdom of Prince of Orange And I cannot but grant God's Blessing with both as if the Golden Age were return'd again Non Galeae non ensis erat sine militis usu Mollia securae peragebant otia gentes However the beginning of this Usurpation and long continuance was troublesome yet the Williamites are now ready to sing Nocte pluit tota redeunt spectacula mane Divisum imperium cum Jove Caesar habet R. F. Give not over all hope A. S. Qui spe aluntur pendent non vivant Sometimes I have hope I do already in many places look and act with such state tho a very poor Man's Son and a poor Serviture in Oxford as if I were already consecrated and sat down in my Episcopal Chair We have found King James to be Rex Diabolorum as all Kings of England are said to be R. L. I swear he might well be said to be so that hath no better Subjects than we Come come a Health to the Confusion of the Fanaticks and to the worst sort of them the now call'd Church of England the perjur'd King-dethroning Church Here is an Epitaph made for her long ago and you know by whom when T. the Archbishop was alive who was never Christned Hic jacet Ecclesia Anglicana Cujus Rex Batavus Cujus Patriarcha Ethnicus Non Romanorum nec Fanaticorum furore Sed
propriis perjuriis obruta c. R. L. The Devil take them and their Prayers too I had rather go to Mass than to the Common Prayer as now read They that thirsted for the Blood of the Monmouthians because Resisters thirst for ours as Non-resisters they can blow hot and cold These turn-coat weathercock temporising Rogues when they read Prayers twice a day for King James That he might live long in Health and Wealth and that God would strengthen him to vanquish and overcome all his Enemies would presently go out and say God send the Prince of Orange else we are all undone I believe I should say in my Conscience but that I have lost it or never had it that the Turkish Mustees are honester Men than the now Bishops Clergy-men and Gentiemen that swear to the Usurper Had we been Resisters they would have hang'd us as such had King James prevail'd and now for being Non-resisters they would hang us as such seeing the Usurper hath prevail'd The Devil choak them for no Prayers nor Oaths can do it The Phanaticks are Angels in comparison of them If ever King James return I would as willingly cut their Throats if he gave me a Commission as ever the Catholicks in Ireland by a Commission from his Father that glorious Martyr-maker of blessed Memory did cut the Throats or worse of the Protestants there Before G I would not spare a Man of them no tho I knew the Rogues would read any Prayers take any Oath preach any thing as opposite to their late Prayers Oaths and Preaching especially in their profane ungodly God-provoking Fast days and Thanksgiving days as the two Poles in the Heavens one to another We are all of one mind in this never to take the Sacrament living or dying rather than receive it of such Jeroboam's Priests Mr. I profess Gentlemen you talk at such a wicked rate that would make a Jew Mahometan or any sober Pagan to blush You have talkt as if the Blessed Saviour of the World were as very an Impostor as Benchocab or Sabbata Sevi I believe the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scriptures and wish you did too Were you willing to be convinced I would ask you 1. Whether you believe this World had once a beginning and shall in time have an end Hath it been more millions of Years of Ages than are Drops of Water in the Sea or Sand on the Sea-shore and can all Men give but an account of one poor six thousand Years or shall it continue so 2. Did not some cogitative contriving Being make all these things in their beauty order and use for some end All things were made for Man Man for God who hath made no Creature but him capable of the knowledg of himself or thoughtful of a Life to come 3. Are not Scripture-Accounts of the twelve Tribes the Passover confirmed by what we see and know to this day About the Passover you know who in a little thing against Deism hath lately improv'd 4. Are not the certain Discoveries we have of Apparitions Witches evident proof of Devils and after Punishments 5. Is not the postibility much more the probability much more the certainty of a Life to come enough to awaken Men to the greatest activity for God and against Sin 6. Ask your selves whether you did not long ago resolve to live the Life of Brutes and then set your heads to work to help you to Notions that you might hope to die their death Do you not hate Convictions and dread them as Men a Ghost Is it reason enough to grow desperate and say Things may be otherwise 7. Do not Men when they die wish they had liv'd the Life of the Righteous Do you not believe if you were sure now to die you would wish so too and give us all that counsel you laugh at from me 8. Doth not a holy useful Life make Men Men or God-like Creatures and a sensual blaspheming Life make Men as Beasts or Devils 9. I dare appeal from your Mouths to your Consciences whether you do not by day but often by night when out of company or business pronounce that Man happy in your thoughts who hath gotten above the tyranny of filthy Lust Drunkenness Whoredoms Oppressions c. and that Man most miserable that hath not but like your selves is captivated by them 10. After all Attempts to dispute your Souls into Mortality and Christ and Heaven into a Fable do you not find that good kind Spirit of Grace yet to court you as if he would take no denial that you often resolve on a Reformation then this day when that comes then at another time Wherefore I pray you after so long a time whilst it is yet call'd to day turn you turn you why will you die The case is not desperate tho dangerous I know Can the Ethiopian change his Skin or the Leopard his Spots or you do good which are accustomed to do evil I doubt as they scoft at Jesus and the Apostles and thought them besides themselves so may you deal with me but Charity bids me hope the best and I pray R. L. Shut the door shut the door else if any true hearts should come in they will think here is a Phanatical Meeting and that we are all turning Diffenters and so Williamites on a sudden R. F. We all no doubt have had our time of being Priest-ridden for my part I have made an Agreement with my self long ago that I will be so no more and I believe so have you done If there be a Heaven I am sure I shall never go there and if there be a Hell I am sure that will be my Portion and therefore I will trouble my self no further A. S. I am sometimes almost perswaded to be a Christian indeed But O Mr. H. I wish you were altogether perswaded to be such R. L. I would desire him if he take your advice to take mine too If he resolve to be a good Christian let him resolve never to be Bishop of Salisbury For a good Christian and a Bishop are seldom if ever known to meet in one Man And seeing you talk of Religion which mars all Conversation it is time to break up the Meeting A Plague on 't should I stay longer I know not but I may catch the Infection and talk if not think like a Phanatick too Farewel I hope our next meeting will be a better one than this that is a more jovial one I believe all Preachers publick Chears and you among the rest You preach'd as I printed for Money or as he that was promis'd ten Pounds left by Madam Cheswell the greatest Whore in this City to preach her Funeral Sermon but on this condition that he should commend her He undertook it and in the close of the Sermon said All was well for she was be gotten well born well liv'd well and died well for she said he was begotten in Camberwell was born in Sbadwell her Name was