I confess, this hath been some part of his publick recep tion. The noise of those pulpits, to which the word of God, and of peace, have been long strangers; the affront of the universities, those two bright luminaries of the world of lit erature; the riots of the learned; and the tumults of the unlearned, the insinuations of the cunning, and the mirth of the witty; the passions of the weak, and the rage of the disappointed; the fears of the guilty, and the hopes of those who have nothing to lose all, under the conduct and mane agement of the friends of the pretender, and the emissaries. of your church, have played their part to perfection; and, by the loudness of their clamours, have put the air around us. into some sort of commotion and disorder.

But, be assured, this is all the advantage, you and your friends, can reap from it. The disadvantage is to come. These disorders are well understood to be the bold efforts of guilt, and despair, united into which, many ignorant or well-meaning people, have been unwarily led. But the contrivers and directors of them all, find no issue from them, answerable to their designs.

The whole conduct of the machine was plainly intended, to make themselves and their party, look terrible to a King, just come amongst us ; and so to affright and force him into their measures, whom they took to be as weak as themselves.

But, as he has found that all their noise and violence, could not secure a House of Commons to their wishes: sa he is now convinced, by themselves, and their whole procedure, of what he had too much justice to believe of them, till this experience hath put beyond all doubt; that they, who talk loudest of allegiance, or passive obedience, mean it to another and not to him ; and understand it to be a duty for others and not for themselves.

They are generally, the same set of men, who of late years never talk'd of non-resistance, but in order to bring a scandal upon the late revolution, and the great instrument of it, King WILLIAM: The same, who alone have all the disturbances and tumults in these parts to answer for through the last twenty six years: the same, who, after having by Batteries, and professions of passive obedience, deceived your unfortunate friend King James II, into those fatal measures which ruined him; opposed and crush'd, all the great de

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signs of his successor, whom they invited over, merely to save them from practising themselves, that beloved doctrine which they are never weary of recommending to their neigh. bours: the same, in a word, who, in their several places and stations, have planted themselves in a direct and settled opposition to every step, which hath conducted his present Majesty to the throne.

These are the men, whom your Holiness and your friends, have to boast of: but not to trust to, if you are wise, even many degrees below infallibility. All their hints, and inteliigencies of another revolution, now spread about by mad dispair, are only delusions of their dreams. They have had no effect to your advantage, unless, perhaps it is to them, you owe to that one weakman after having first, from his priviledg ed place, abused the King, hath made a shew of resigning his preferments. I give your Holiness joy of this; and wish you just as many more such public proselytes, as there are men amongst us, privately of his principles.

This may be one part of that scene, which these reports were designed to open. But as for any other, be assured, that none here are frightened, but those chiefs, to whose guilt the whole party seem now to have wisely tacked their cause; though some months ago, the guilt was plain to many of themselves: and that none here are alarmed, but those heads who owe Europe an exemplary satisfaction, for all the intricacies and embarrassments with which they have confounded it.

And even now, as I am writing this, if we may judge of the rest, by the conduct of one; these mighty chiefs, (as soon as they have engaged a set of men, with I know not what pretences, to lose their own reputation, by defending theirs; and plunged them in, headlong, perhaps too deep, to make a handsome retreat) are preparing kindly to take care of themselves, by flight; and to leave their friends to their own conduct; using them after such a manner, as the friends of such men, and of such a cause, deserve to be used.

But whithersoever they fly, they can't fly from themselves; and wheresoever they are, they carry about them, I do not say the remorses of conscious guilt; but the torments of disappointed ambition; and ambition, disappointed in the critical minute, when 'every thing seem'd ready, to execute its designs.

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One thing I shall here mention to your holiness, agreea ble to what was proposed by a protestant member of the last House of Commons, (whilst these great men were in all their power, amongst us,) and that is "If you can, by any means, prevail upon his most christian majesty, (to whose interest they have shewed themselves such friends,) not only to receive them, if they all take the same route, which one hath; but to give the management of his affairs into their hards only for as short a time, as our country was bless'd with them; I will undertake, that Great-Britain shail pardon them and that your Holiness shall have the thanks of Europe.

2

I have by this time, tired you, and myself: but yet, there are few particulars behind, which I can't persuade myself to pass over in silence.

The Old Primate still breathes and breathes the same spirit of christian liberty which he ever did; and the same hatred of all spiritual usurpation and tyranny, that bears any resemblance to your's.. May he long breathe! And may his last days be made serene and easy, by the returns of all that regard and deference, which his former labours and constancy, have merited.

He le sees himself surrounded by a bench of brethren, who have stood the shock of the day of trial, and brought off im, mortal Glory. I forbear, out of tenderness to tell you, what excellencies they are possess'd of; or what a confidence all true Britons place in them.

One indeed, is removed from us and one. to whose ser. vices, this nation owes an eternal monument. I have a passion for his great name: but no words of mine ought to be joined to it. I would pay some tribute to a memory, dear to Liberty and Religion, if any thing I could say, could add to a reputation, and character, acquired, supported, and enlarged, by pastoral labours, unintermitted from his earliest youth, to his latest old age; and by writings which wil give life to the name of BURNET, long after the names of his enemies shall cease to be remember'd. Your church hath ever paid him respect of fear ; and the world will, in ages to come, pay to his memory, that love and admiration, which the ungrateful of the present age, denied to himself.

Were there no other reason to think so, I should be cer

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Lain, that this news will give you, and your friends abroad, some joy; because it hath given it to that party of protes tants, (as they call themse ves) among us, who always par take in your Holiness's pleasures.

I will hasten from this unpleasant subject, and take leave of your Holiness, with a proposal, as odd and romantick in appearance, as this whole address may seem; but in reality, neither odd, nor romantick any otherwise, than as all justice and simplicity, and plain-dealing, are esteem'd to be so, in a degenerate, and corrupted age.

But, if it be so, that I am, in this transported beyond due bounds; let all the fault be imputed to the subject, I have been upon.

The state of religion, on a'l sides, is a scene of astonish ment and the surprise of things, to which I have been heretofore a stranger, hath I confess, filled me with an enthusiasm, too warm to be contained.

Descend, HOLY FATHER, from your Seven Hills and disdain not to tread upon the Level Plain. Unrobe yourself of all the gaudy attire of a pompous superstition. Lay a side all the embarrassments, of worldly grandure. Turn your eyes from the coffers of gold and silver. of which, your great predecessor St. Peter, and his greater Master had none. Acknowledge Religion to be something more, than being wrapt up in a heap of fine vustments; or being skill'd in dexterous performance of Antick Gestures.

And then look inwards. Divest yourself of your infalli bility, and own yourself to be like one of us. As to re nounce a kingdom for your church, hath been accounted the height of honour and saintship: so now it will be your go ry, in the most exalted degree, to renounce in the name of your church, a double kingdom for Christ: that temporal kingdom, which, in his name and to his reproach, you have erected over the bodies, and estates; and that spiritual one, which you have established over the consciences of mankind.

Remember, in the midst of all your uxury, and delicacy, and ostentation, what ground you stand upon. The bowels of the earth are armed against you. The shocks of earthquakes, and the eruptions of volcanos', besides the common calamities of nations, are but the beginnings of that day of vengeance, which will come; unless you prevent it, by a speedy conversion to christianity.

Renounce therefore your golden keys and your fruitfel king loms. Throw away your fopperies and your indulgen cies, and your possessions, and your canonizations. Shew yourself in the nakedness of simplicity; and take the gospel into your hand, and into your heart. Call in your emisa❤ ries, and missionaries, from all parts of the world: and let them receive instruction themselves before they pretend to convert others.

Trouble the world no more, with quarrels about Holy Sepulchre; but believe, that he is risen, who once was laid in it. Let the wood of his cross cease to be magnified, to an immense bulk; and his natural body cease to be multi plied to an infinite number. Restore the heads of holy men, and women, to their bodies, if they can be found. Let the bones of the dead saints be at rest; and their blood be released, from the perpetual fatigue of working wonders.

Throw up all your legends; discard all your miracles, stated and unstated; and make over all your tricks, to the jugglers of this world. Declare to the Jesuits, that their game is at an end and restore the inquisition to hell in which it was forged."

And for the conclusion of this great work, celebrate an open and solemn marriage between faith and reason: proclaim an eternal friendship between piety and charity; and establish an agreement, never to be dissolved between religion, on one side; and humanity, forbearance, and good nature on the other.

I would not have you think that I propose all this to your Holiness, and nothing from our own quarter. So far from it, that I am free to acknowledge, that it cannot be expected that you should thus far recede from your present preten tions, unless others are ready to give up every thing of the same sort and the same nature.

If your Holiness parts with infallibility, it is but equita, bie, that the protestant churches should part with indisputa ble authority. If you give up the decrees of the council of Trent; let them in Holland, give up the synod of Dort ; and others, every where throw off all manner of human decisions, in religion. If you discard the inquisition; let them discard classes, and judicatories, and consistories, and fines, and imprisonments; and the whole train of secular artillery, aud the whole armory of the weapons of this world.