At the Grecian it mounted but juft one point higher; at the Rainbow it still afcended two degrees; Child's fetched it up to Zeal, and other adjacent coffeehouses to Wrath.

It fell in the lower half of the glafs, as I went further into the city, till at length it fettled at Moderation, where it continued all the time I ftaid about the Change, as alfo whilft I paffed by the Bank. And here I cannot but take notice, that, through the whole courfe of my remarks, I never obferved my glass to rife at the fame time that the ftocks did.

To complete the experiment, I prevailed upon a friend of mine, who works under me in the occult sciences, to make a progrefs with my glafs through the whole island of Great Britain; and after his return, to prefent me with a regifter of his obfervations. I gueffed beforehand at the temper of feveral places he paffed through, by the characters they have had, time out of mind. Thus, that facetious divine, Dr Fuller, fpeaking of the town of Banbury, near a hundred years ago, tells us, it was a place famous for cakes and zeal; which I find by my glafs is true to this day, as to the latter part of his defcription; though I muft confefs, it is not in the fame reputation for cakes that it was in the time of that learned author; and thus of other places. In fhort, I have now by me, digefted in an alphabetical order, all the counties, corporations, and boroughs in Great Britain, with their refpective tempers, as they ftand related in my thermometer. But this I fhall keep to my felf, because I would by no means do any thing that may feem to influence any enfuing election.

The point of doctrine which I would propagate by this my invention, is the fame which was long ago advanced by that able teacher Horace, out of whom I have taken my text for this difcourfe. We fhould be careful not to overfhoot ourselves, in the purfuits even of virtue. Whether Zeal or Moderation be the point we aim at, let us keep fire out of the one, and froft out of the other. But, alas! the world is too wife to want fuch a precaution. The terms High-church and Lowchurch, as commonly used, do not fo much denote, a principle, as they diftinguish a party. They are like

words

words of battle, that have nothing to do with their original fignification, but are only given out to keep a body of men together, and to let them know friends from enemies.

I must confefs, I have confidered, with fome attention, the influence which the opinions of these great national fects have upon their practice; and do look upon it as one of the unaccountable things of our times, that multitudes of honeft gentlemen, who entirely agree in their lives, fhould take it in their heads to differ in their religion.

I fhall conclude this paper with an account of a conference which happened between a very excellent divine (whofe doctrine was eafy, and formerly much refpected) and a lawyer.

AND behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted

eternal life?

He faid unto him, What is written in the law? how readeft thou ?

And he anfwering, faid, Thou fhalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy ftrength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyfelf.

And he faid unto him, Thou haft answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

But he, willing to justify himself, faid unto Jefus, And who is my neighbour?

And Jefus answering, faid, A certain man went down from Jerufalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which ftripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other fide.

And likewife a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and paffed by on the other fide.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was and when he faw him, he had compaffion on him,

And

And went to him, and bound

up

his wounds, pour

ing in oil and wine; and fet him on his own beaft, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendeft more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Which now of these three, thinkeft thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that fhewed mercy on him. Then faid Jefus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. Luke x. 25. to 38.

ADVERTISEMENT.

Trying the national debt by the following means. The author

Here is now in the prefs a proposal for raising a fund towards

would have commiffioners appointed to fearch all the public and private libraries, bookfellers fhops and warehouses, in this kingdom, for fuch books as are of no ufe to the owner, or to the public, viz. all comments on the holy fcriptures, whether called fermons, creeds, bodies of divinity, tomes of cafuiftry, vindications, confutations, effays, anfwers, replies, rejoinders, or fur-rejoinders; together with all other learned treatifes and books of divinity of what denomination or class foever as alfo, all comments on the laws of the land; fuch as, reports, law-cafes, decrees, guides for attorneys and young clerks; and, in fine, all the books now in being in this kingdom, (whether of divinity, law, phyfic, metaphyfics, logics, or politics), except the pure text of the holy fcriptures, the naked text of the laws, a few books of morality, poetry, mufic, architecture, agriculture, mathematics, merchandise, and history: the author would have the aforefaid ufeless books carried to the feveral paper-mills, there to be wrought into white paper; which, to prevent damage or complaints, he would have performed by the commentators, critics, popular preachers, apothecaries, learned lawyers, attorneys, folicitors, logicians, phyficians, almanac-makers, and others of the like wrong turn of mind; the faid paper to be fold, and the produce applied to difcharge the national debt. What should remain of the faid debt unfatisfied, might be paid by a tax on the falaries or estates of bankers, common cheats, ufurers, treasurers, imbezzlers of public money, general officers, fharpers, penfioners, pick-pockets, &c.

The End of the FIRST VOLUME,

a op

R