I Must assure you, that had I not, thro' the great Hopes and Ex­pectation of seeing you e're this, omitted something in my last which I thought proper to communicate to you, and would have done it Personally if our good Stars had so directed, I should have had no farther Occasion of adding to all my former, being of themselves sufficiently long and tiresome.

[Page 4] As in the greatest Variety we are always put to the hardest difficulty in fixing our Choice; so in the vast Field, the numerous Subjects for Discourse, one is at greater loss to put one's Thoughts into any Method: for in all Instances, we find, there is no surer Evidence of a good Genius than that which is shewn in the Effect of Choice.

I have very great reason to believe, that every thing is well receiv'd by you; not thro' any Motive, but your sincere Friend­ship, nor any Merit but the Subject; both I know are particular, but one much more worthy your Attention.

One wou'd believe by their Actions, that a Set of People here are really infected in their Brains, and that they lie under the same In­fluence with Creatures of another Species which have lately been visited with a very odd Distemper: There is some kind of cor­respondency in their Maladies; only that which affects the Two-legg'd Creatures seems to be of the most fearful and tremendous Consequence, and to threa­ten the Country in the most dear and tender Part: But thank God the Distem­per is not Epidemical; tho' it seems the Nature of those infected, to endeavour all they can to spread it about, and to make [Page 5] others in the same pickle with them­selves.

The Symptoms they are seiz'd with, are a kind of Splenatick Mad Fits, not much un­like Madness; they foam at the Mouth, roll their Eyes, and utter strange incoherent Speeches, and in this manner go raving up and down the Town. The direct Cure for this we know were a Dark Room, and Clean Straw, with some Manual Exercise, slender Diet, and other proper Methods to correct the Fumes of the Distemper: But at the rate they go on, I despair of any Cure for them; and were it not for the Honour of living in a Free Country, where LIBERTY has been always the Peoples Right, they are such as ought rather to be shut up in Pest­houses to prevent a Contagion, than to breath in the open Air among Men of free and generous Principles.

Some of these Creatures appear in Furr'd Gowns, Tufted Garments, and fit in the High Places, but are indeed Men of the most shal­low and humble Understandings; and you will find very few among them that act with a Spirit of Disinterestedness, or are not at­tached to the Person of young Shute.

I have scarce Patience to Preface any lon­ger, when I think what degenerate Fellows [Page 6] I treat on. Good G [...]d, what is become of that ancient Spirit that used to reign in this Kingdom! or for which of our Sins was this stubborn Generation sown among us, which have sprung up like the Tares that almost choaked the good Corn!

Wou'd they produce an Instance of that Time when they have not been Tumultuous and Troublesome, I would spare their Shame; unless it were like the D [...]l, who is good when he is pleased. They had set their Hearts so upon Rule, in the Widow's Reign, when they carry'd their Point as far, and sat with as much Security, as the memory of any known Time ever afforded them, (the Days of Sir JACOB excepted) that 'tis no very great wonder they are so Impatient under their present Circumstances. They had really under Her procured a pretty Te­nantable Lease, few COPY-HOLDS were firmer; and they were endeavouring to get a Grant of the Inheritance in Fee-simple; when, alas, the Lease it self depending on one single Life casually expired.

Considering the Mischief they might do, by the Influence of their former Power, and how likely the Desperateness of their Case was to put them upon it; what a Happiness must we acknowledge their Stupidity to be, in fancying they had Pretensions to Renew it [Page 7] under Mr. WRIGHT? And how justly may we impute our Safety to their miserably de­ceived Expectations; and regret the less, that it is the deplorable Occasion of their present Inveteracy, Rage, and Fury.

I told you the State they stood in at prefer­ring the Old Servants again, and the grievous Clamours they raised against it; tho' their justifying the same thing in the Widow, had made it a very remarkable Precedent; which, of all Men, they ought to be the last to Cen­sure: But Nature is predominant. 'Tis true, one Inconveniency seems to arise from their being displaced, which is, that they are too much at leizure to Plot and Cabal with the Friends of young Shute, who by that En­couragement and Addition to their Party, begin to gather Life again, and to rouze themselves from a Despair that the late Al­teration had thrown them into. Their Busi­ness is now to act in concert together, and not unlikely as Propperties to each other; the Family of the Bulls, by their Assistance, to introduce themselves into Power again; and the other, by assisting them, to advance the Interest of young Sir Jacob. One thing in this is certain, that they have uni­ted their Forces again; and the daily Cla­mours and Disturbances we hear of in the Country, are the true Effects of it. 'Tis strange, that the BULLS FAMILY, who [Page 8] have always been the Tools to Sir JACOB and his Issue, should not once endeavour to honour themselves, by disclaiming so scan­dalous a Correspondence. But Reproofs are vain.

The Widow, poor Woman, began severely to feel the Effect of Patronizing them so long; and 'tis pity a Life of such Conse­quence should be sullied with their MIS­CARRIAGES. I can hardly mention with­out Tears, the Advantage it may give Poste­rity of treating her Memory with Contempt, and obscuring a History that would else have appeared as bright as the Element her own Vertues shone in, and could have been liable to no Contradiction from the most partial Pen.

But we will forgive them this; forgive the sad Occasion of her Death: But shall we forgive their going on in the same Road, their repetition of Practices that have always been pernicious to the Interest of their Country. 'Tis well known, they were her Aversion; the least of her Care or Concern for Nine Years; which they sufficiently revenged, by teazing her out of her Life in less than half the time; and heaping on her anxious Head as great a weight of Trouble and Perplexity, as their Pre­decessors the OLD SERVANTS had [Page 9] loaded with accumulated Glory and Ad­vantages.

But I will have done with this Repetition; you know the Truth of it too well already: Do but revolve the Passages and Incidents of their last short Reign, (for you must un­derstand they have been in Power in other past Times to as good a Purpose) and you will find, that not one single Action or Con­sequence went well from the very footing of their Administration: Unless you will be­lieve that idle Story trumpt up by them at that time, of their beginning with Saving the Church; which in reality never flourished with greater Tranquillity than during the Widow's time: And I believe they will them­selves acknowledge, when they have not a mind to be merry with us, that it was the highest Insolence and Affront to impute the contrary to Her.

Now I am speaking of this, I cannot but acquaint you with an odd Accident that happen'd here t'other Day: An innocent Country Vicar Preaching in Town, was Insalted and very rudely Treated by the Parishioners of the BULLIAN PARTY. The Offence he was guilty of, was, blessing Heaven for the happy Situation of Affairs, and the imminent Danger we were lately rescued from. But that is not the Occasion I men­tion [Page 10] it on. I cannot but smile to think, that the first Insult or Indignity literally offered to the Church since the time of Sir JACOB, should be by the Family of the Bulls themselves, who have always expressed such Reverence and Veneration to the Place and justified the Dignity of its Priests even to Rage and Madness.

Had the other Party done as much, good Heaven, what Clamours wou'd have been raised! It could not have escaped the Censure and Construction of their going to pull the Church down, if no worse. I hope they will not forget it, together with their pulling down of Conventicles, if there should be Oc­casion for the future to mention it to them by way of Alternative.

Poor Men, they have really been unfor­tunate, for the most part, in raising up Pre­cedents against themselves; tho' they are the least inclinable to be judged by their own Laws of any Men breathing. Had they foreseen the Consequence of justifying the Wid [...]w's Proceeding in Displacing her Old Ser­vants, and that the Splutter they made about her Right to do it, which they termed the highest Insolence in any one to question, wou'd so soon have reverted upon them­selves, they wou'd not probably have been so violent in maintaining the Legality and [...]