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master of, to be of his family,, to educate his fon, and to do all that ever fhould lie in my power for the fer vice of him and his to my life's end, according to fuch powers, trufts, and inftructions as I fhould hereafter re

ceive.

The reader will here make many speeches for me, and without doubt fuppofe I told my friend, he had retained me with a fortune to add to that which I should have thought myself obliged to by friendship. But as he was a prudent man, and acted upon rules of life, which were lealt liable to the variation of humour, time, or season, I was contented to be obliged by him in his own way; and believed I fhould never enter into any alliance which fhould divert me from pursuing the interests of his family, of which I should hereafter understand myself a mem ber. Sir Ambrofe told me, he should lay no injunction upon me, which should be inconfiftent with any inclination I might have hereafter to change my condition. All he meant, was in general to infure his family from that peft of great estates, the mercenary men of bufinefs who 1 act for them, and in a few years become creditors to their masters in greater fums than half the income of their lands amount to; though it is visible all which gave rife to their wealth was a flight falary, for turning all the rest, both estate and credit of that eltate, to the use of their principals. To this purpose we had a very long conference that evening; the chief point of which was, "that his only child Marmaduke was from that hour under my care, and I was engaged to turn all my thoughts to the fervice of the child in particular, and all the concerns of the family in general. My most excellent friend was fo well fatisfied with my behaviour, that he made me his executor, and guardian to his fon. My own conduct during that time, and my manner of educating his fon Marmaduke to manhood, and the intereft I had in him to the time of his death alfo, with my prefent conduct towards the numerous descendents of my old friend, will make, possibly, a series of history of common life, as ufeful as the relations of the more pompous paffages in the lives of princes and ftatefmen. The widow of Sir Ambrofe, and the no lefs worthy relict of Sir Marmaduke, are both living at this time,

I am to let the reader know, that his chief entertainment will arife from what paffes at the tea-table of my Lady Lizard. That lady is now in the forty-fixth year of her age; was married in the beginning of her fixteenth, is bleffed with a numerous offspring of each fex, no lefs than four fons, and five daughters. She was the mother of this large family before fhe arrived at her thirtieth year; about which time the loft her husband Sir Marmaduke Lizard, a gentleman of great virtue and generofity. He left behind him an improved paternal eftate of fix thoufand pounds a-year to his eldelt fon, and one year's revenue in ready money as a portion to each younger child. My Lady's Chriffian name is Afpafia; and as it may give a certain dignity to our flyle to mention her by that name, we beg leave, at difcretion, to fay Lady Lizard or Afpafia, according to the matter we fhall treat of. When the fhall be confulting about her cafh, her rents, her household affairs, we will use the more familiar name; and when the is employed in the forming the minds and fentiments of her children, exerting herself in the acts of charity, or fpeaking of matters of religion or piety, for the elevation of ityle we will ufe the word Afpafia. Afpafia is a lady of a great understanding and noble fpirit. She has paffed feveral years in widow-hood, with that abstinent enjoy. ment of life, which has done honour to her deceased husband, and devolved reputation upon her children. As fhe has both fons and daughters marriageable, fhe is vifited by many on that account, but by many more for her own merit. As there is no circumftance in human life, which may not directly or indirectly concern a woman thus related, there will abundant matter offer itself from paffages in this family, to fupply my readers with diverting, and perhaps ufeful notices, for their conduct in all. the incidents of human life. Placing money on mortgages, in the funds, upon bottomry, and almost all other ways of improving the fortune of a family, are practifed by my Lady Lizard, with the best skill and ad

vice.

The members of this family, their cares, paffions, interefts, and diverfions, fhall be reprefented from time

to time, as news from the tea table of so accomplished a woman as the intelligent and discreet Lady Lizard.

*********************

No.3.

Saturday, March 14.

Quicquid eft illud, quod fentit, quod fapit, quod vult, quod viget, cælefte & divinum eft, eb eamque rem a ternum fit neceffe eft.

Cicero.

Whatever that be, which thinks, which understands,. which wills, which acts, it is something celestial and divine, and upon that account, must neceffarily be eternal.

I

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AM diverted from the account I was giving the town of my particular concerns, by cafting my eye. upon a treatife, which I could not overlook without an inexcufeable negligence, and want of concern for all the civil, as well as religious interefts of mankind. This piece has for its title, A difcourfe of free-thinking occas 3 fioned by the rife and growth of a fect called Free-think. ers. The author very methodically enters upon his argument; and fays, By free-thinking, I mean the use of "the understanding in endeavouring to find out the "meaning of any propofition whatsoever, in confider"ing the nature of the evidence for or against, and "in judging of it according to the feeming force or "weakness of the evidence." As foon as he has delivered this definition, from which one would expect he did not design to fhew a particular inclination for or against any thing before he had confidered it, he gives up all titles to the character of a Free-thinker, with the moft apparent prejudice against a body of men, whom of all other a good man would be most careful not to violate; I mean men in holy orders. Perfons who have devoted themselves to the fervice of God, are venerable to all who fear him; and it is a certain characteriftic of a diffolute and ungoverned mind, to rail or fpeak difrefpectfully of them in general. It is certain,

that in fo great a croud of men fome will intrude, who are of tempers very unbecoming their function. But because ambition and avarice are fometimes lodged in that bofom which ought to be the dwelling of fanctity and devotion, mult this unreasonable author vilify the whole order? He has not taken the least care to difguife his being an enemy to the perfons against whom he writes; nor any where granted, that the inftitution of religious men to ferve at the altar, and inftruct fuch who are not as wife as himself, is at all neceffary or desirable; but proceeds, without the leaft apology, to undermine their credit, and fruftrate their labours. Whatever clergymen, in difputes against each other, have unguardedly uttered, is here recorded in fuch a manner as to affect religion itself, by wrefting conceffions to its difadvantage from its own teachers. If this be true, as fure any man that reads the difcourfe must allow it is; and if religion is the strongest tye of human fociety; in what manner are we to treat this our common enemy, who promotes the growth of fuch a fect as he calls Free-thinkers? He that should burn a houfe, and juftify the action by affert ing he is a free agent, would be more excufable than this author in uttering what he has from the right of a Freethinker. But there are a fet of dry, joylefs, dull fellows, who want capacities and talents to make a figure amongst mankind upon benevolent and generous principles, that think to furmount their own natural meannefs, by laying offences in the way of fuch as make it their endeavour to excel upon the received maxims and honeft arts of life. If it were poffible to laugh at fo melancholy an affair as what hazards falvation, it would be no unpleafant inquiry, to afk, what fatisfactions they reap, what extraor dinary gratification of fenfe, or what delicious libertinim this fect of Free thinkers enjoy, after getting loofe of the laws which confine the paffions of other men? Would it not be a matter of mirth, to find, after all, that the heads of this growing fect are fober wretches, who prate whole evenings over coffee, and have not themselves fire enough to be any further debauchees, than merely in principle? Thefe fages of iniquity are, it feems, themselves only fpeculatively wicked, and are contented that all the abandoned young men of the age are kept fafe from reflection

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0 by dabling in their rhapsodies, without tafting the pleafures for which their doctrines leave them unaccountable. Thus do heavy mortals, only to gratify a dry pride of heart, give up the interests of another world, without enlarging their gratifications in this. But it is certain, there are a fort of men that can puzzle truth, but cannot enjoy the fatisfaction of it. This fame Free-thinker 30 is a creature unacquainted with the emotions which poflefs great minds when they are turned from religion; and it is apparent, that he is untouched with any fuch fenfation as the rapture of devotion. Whatever one of thefe fcorners many think, they certainly want parts to be devout; and a fenfe of piety towards heaven, as well as the fenfe of any thing elfe, is lively and warm in propor•. tion to the faculties of the head and heart. This gentleman may be affured he has not a taste for what he pretends to decry, and the poor man is certainly more a blockhead than an Atheist. I must repeat, that he wants capacity to relish what true piety is; and he is as capable of writing an heroic poem, as making a fervent pray

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When men are thus low and narrow in their apprehenfions of things, and at the fame time vain, they are naturally led to think every thing they do not understand, not to be understood. Their contradiction to what is urged by others, is a neceffary confequence of their incapacity to receive it. The Atheistical fellows who appeared the last age, did not ferve the devil for nought, but revelled in exceffes fuitable to their principles; while in these unhappy days mifchief is done for mifchief's fake. These Free thinkers, who lead the lives of reclufe ftudents, for no other purpose but to disturb the fentiments of other men, put me in mind of the monstrous recreation of thefe late wild youths, who, without pro vocation, had a wantonnefs of ftabbing and defacing thofe they met with. When fuch writers as this, who has no spirit but that of malice, pretend to inform the age; mohocks and cut-throats may well fet up for wits and men of pleasure.

It will perhaps be expected, that I fhould produce fome inftances of the ill intention of this Free-thinker, to fupport the treatment I here give him. In his sad =page he fays,

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