I suppose then that these pard&n'd
and sp highly rc-wardid"wifk•v»Hr,d>tocx, wefevery thcaksid
and faithful to yourfather afterwards.
and sp highly rc-wardid"wifk•v»Hr,d>tocx, wefevery thcaksid
and faithful to yourfather afterwards.
Rehearsal - v1 - 1750
what evil hath, he done ?
1 O. Thou
The REHEARSAL.
O. Thou tak'st all the talk to thyself ; I shall have leave to put in word. Must we speak of notion but Sir G. Rooks' What's thy concern for him?
C. As told thee before, know him not at all, bs by sight nor have any concern for him. But when
made test by party, every body's concern to look into the bottom of and see the cause of it. It then comes national concern.
And can tell thee ot more tests than this, set up the fame party, to enflame the nation. I'll read thee letter dated from Northampton, Nov. 13, 1704 ani subscrib'd by gentlemen of undoubted reputation and credit. It in these words In this town there ivas mt election to choose a member in the room of Mr. Tate ceas'd, on the zd instant the candidates were Mr. Arun-
del,jun. and Mr. Mountague. Mr. Arundel carry above 40 majority, althd' the whole number of elec tors but about 800. The day before the eleSion Aw»
dissenters, the most substantial that body, came n Mr. Arundel, pretending to be sent the whole body the dissenters, to offer him their votes and interest, up on condition he ivou 'd promise to oppose the bill to prcvuA occasional conformity. Upon Mr. Arundel'/ re
Ho
fufing to make any such promise, there was a story not through the whole Whig party, vi2. That Mr. Arundei
was resolv'd to promote andsetforward that bill as much as in him lay tho' he said no such thing. This did him
some small injury, but nevertheless he carry'd the electim as beforeset down. This we call the new state test. We have had lately within five miles this town a new CHURCH test, which agrees very well with the fort-
going story. In short was thus: The patron of a certain living in this country refus'd to give the presentation to
the person that made application to him for it, unless
woud promise to vote as a certain person in that diocest should direct him. The names of the persons have but
forbear.
And in another letter from thence, dated Nov. 11.
wherein there an account of the forefaid
election and tests
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The REHEARSAL; 121
tefls ; the gentleman fays to his friend :
Sir, Ireceiv'd
jour laji, and nuoud have acknowledg'd your favour be~ fore, but really our trouble and frights have been very
great; for we have had no less than four fires within fifty
yards of my house, in no less than fix weeks. And I
am in daily apprehenfion offurther mischief, there being such cir
if
pose to fire the whole town. In short, we are all so
frighted, that we durst not sites in our beds, having been so
esten luaKd out of our fleeps, and been forc'd to fit up all
night. God preserve us all, defiring your prayers to God for us. 1 amyours, £sfc.
From^at. Dec. 9, to &at. Dec. 16, 1704. N° zo.
The true state of the case, ^tveixt the church of England,. and the dissenters. That the church of England im
poses no term of communion, but that of the Apostles creed. Of occasional conformity. And the rights. of the disienters to places. . . , -
cumstances in it, that it looks as
they were done on pur
\J Master, I am now in a peck of troubles, and &un. {~\ come to thee for advice.
O. Tho' wesquabble sometimes, I'll assist thee what I can, honest countryman, come tell me your case. , .
C. lam summon'd before a justice of peace, upon the complaint of some servants of mine, who fay I have broke articles with them.
O. About what then ?
O. What were your articles?
C. I agreed with them for their work, and their wages. And there is no dispute betwixt us as to that.
C. They liv'd at the beginning very peaceably and well, and submitted to the rules and customs of the family,
without any grudging. And tho' I keep a great farm, and employ many servants, yet I can fay no family the county was in better order, with more love and
kindness among our selves, than mine.
But at last, some of my servants grew peevish. They G faid.
in
it,
122 The REHEARSAL.
faid, that the colour of the cloaths I was to give them,
not being expressed in the articles, they would no longer
•wear that colour they had worn before.
found fault with the colour and shape of my own cloaths ; and faid, that neither f, my wife or children shou'd wear such, as we always had done before. They faid it was an offence to them to see tho' upon our backs and not being express in the artic{es with them, they were not oblig'd to bear with it. And that our wearing such fort of cloaths, was an impofition upon them, and putting new articles upon them, which were not in our sirst agreement.
Then they quarreWd with the hours always us'd in the family for meal-time, and going to bed, and forshutting
up "th'e doors'. ' They faid' it was suspecting their honesty,
not to let them sit up all night, if they pleased, and to
Nay, they
keep the keys of the house. It was making persect saves of them, because not exprefid'Ysx their articles.
Then they broke off from our family-prayers, which always use, every night and morning. They faid they
did not like them. • ,"•
O. What sort ofprayers do you use
C. good old prayer, one for morning, and another
for evening, which my sather and grand-father before him always us'd. And several divines have seen and
fay an excellent prayer. And so these servants of mine thought, and found no fault for long time. But now fay, that nasty popish prayer and tjiat tjugr can make better themselves. And that they aught to
make prayers in the family, as well as
Then some of them say, that must not fing psalm.
That finging foolish. Others fay, may fing, but must not fing well, or better than they, but after the fame scur vy manner that they do, like the creeking of their casts.
They fay, they' will not have the head of the. tafilt my hall (where use to fay prayers to myfamily) stand towards the window, but put the middle of tfye. hail;
And 100 such like freekish things. They ^yill riqt Jtt my weather-cock stand upon my house, because there is
cross upon pointing to the winds, which they lay
a
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The REHEARSAL.
is popery or witchcraft! and they fay, is these thing in our articles obliging us to weather- cocks ?
Therefore they fay, that all these things are ,hrtpafing new conditions o(service upon them. Affd they raff fk
me, as a persect tyrant, because I will net please' iffy- servants, and purchase the peace of my family, by giving up such indifferent thing*. Tho' it wou'd highly disgust
all the rest, and best part of my family.
O. Which indifferent things
to their duty, and live orderly in the family.
? do
that if you grant such arid such to them, they will rrtafit:
them? C* C. No. They will not »«-wif an y, so as to be cori'cfod-
if often such he granted. This I have
ed,
them ; and that I would comply with them, as far as possible, not quite to ruin my family.
they
*iwzte
pressed updrt
any
.
O. What answer do they give ? do they plainly fay, that nothing will content them?
C. They demand of me, that I would abatesuch things only, and Atfc such, at are acknowledg'd by my self to
,„swer rb tbe bigB. ct&cb cbatteiijie: j* iS.
be indifferent.
O. All such ? that is plainly faying, that nothing will'
content them. It is to bid you give up the government of your house entirely into their hands. For there are! but 3 sort of things in the world, good, had, and indiffe rent. The good oblige by their own nature, ihd the command oi God. The Evii; are by the fame forhidden, and your children orservants are obliged not to obey you, if you should command them. So that it is the indif
ferent only whereto your authority reaches. And if you cannot command in indifferent things, you can . ommand in nothing at all. What fort of a master of
a family is who has no authority in the indif ferent thing and what fort of conscience that, which will not obey his master, for no'Other reason, but because iie commands him to do something that
and which he declares he wou'd be free to do, not so commanded
C. But not every indifferent thing that Q
indifferent he were
J7°4-
.
command, a new
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124
The REHEARSAL.
new article betwixt me and my servant ? for that is tk foint that I am concerned in. My servants fay, they sn obliged to nothing but what is expressed in the articles be twixt us. And that every thing I bid them do, excejs the particular work for which each did stipulate, is im posing new terms and conditions ofservice upon them.
O. But there are imply'd conditions in all service, as that a servant shall live regularly and orderly in the yJoB- A, and oÆfy the reasonable and commands of his master; and suffer him to govern in his own And these can- not be express'd, more than every y&g/k •z•ff e/" dfc/y, 'twin husband and •u'//i>, parents and children, king andsubjeS,t general and his amy, or the church and her members.
C. Then by that ra/•? , the church may fay to her
lW/, as a master to hisservants, you must live orderly ia
my house ; and me in all indifferent things. And yet, that none of these indifferent things are any article or condition of communion with her.
O. Right. For that cannot be call'd a condition of communion in any particular church, which is an imflsJ condition in all churches, tho' oppostte to one another. Nay, In all societies whatsoever j whether Jews, Turks, or Pa gans, that to livesoberly, and conform to the innount
RUlEsandoRdERSofthe society. one society from another, which
Therefore, when any man has
That cannot di/iixgmjh common to all societies.
mind to come to church; and inquires,
say family ox society, or to any
what are the conditions of communion there requir'd The
what conditions that are particular to that church, and not us'd elsewhere, and which will be
quired of him to profess, upon his admijffion.
And of this fort know none in the church of England,
but the apostles creed, which requird at baptism.
C. Does any christian church require more
O. Yes. Ifyou were to be reconciVd to the church
meaning
Home, you must subscribe the creed of pope jP/ko IV. which includes the neiv articles of Trent, which that council added to the twelve articles of the apostles creed. And without this you would not be received.
Therefore they make these properly terms of communion, But
C.
of
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The REHEARS AL.
125
C. But what then are our 39 articles, canons and ho milies? are not these terms of communion with us ?
0. No. They are required only from the clergy, as a test of their doctrine , that they may all teach the fame thing ; and to prevent various and erroneous opinions preach'd among the people, to their distraction. No such
subscriptions are alk'd from any lay-man.
And in all churches and societies there are other tests
required from the officers, who are entrusted with the af suirs ofthe society, than from the common members.
C. Let me add another thing. These indifferent things about which the diffenters make such a stir, were not imposed on them, as tetms of communion, for they were
j£tf and establish'd before they £ro^f off from the church ; and were comply 'd with by as well as others. There fore when they broke off on that account, they made these indifferent things the terms of their separation ; but they were never made by the church any terms of cs/w- munion : Nor are at this day. But the diffenters quarrel with them, because they can sind no other cause of quar rel, that is, indeed, no cause at all. For none yet ever
held, that an indifferent thing was asufficient ground to embroil a church or state.
Let such a principle into an Ærwy, what sine work would it make ; it would be like the sellow at Bothwel-bridge,
a covenanter, who at exercifing, never budg'd a foot at the word of command, to the right, left, or about, but stood mufing like a,/? slyfi? ; and when his captain bad him anW, he faid, no, he did not approve of his way of ex ercise. . Why ? faid the captain. Because, said he, it is s
set-form. And we are fighting against set-forms.
But I'll tell you stranger than all this, to pursue my
some of these servants of mine, who will noIt come to my family prayers, offer me to come as oft as will, provided I give them twelve-pence a. time. And yet they pretend conscience in the case !
And more than this still, they plead it as their right ! and are just now in up-roar about my ears, because I will not see them to come Gto prayers, and make them
3 stewards
story,
Th/t REHEARSAL
stewards and overseers of ray bufiness, equal with ray om
children, and nay other servants, who have always, fe*
haved themselves faithfully and dutifully towards mt;
ai)d who have- more thai) once fav'd my life, and preJenU
my house from these fame dissenting and conscientious pan of myfamily ! who, before this, have been often a
arms against me ; and join'd with a neighbour popish st- mily, to invade my house, invited them in, and ma- nag'd their war against me, by their advice and off-
il$
Jiance ; and betwixt them both, in my grand-father's time, they set fire to the house, and burnt it down to the ground ; after having sirst taken him out, and cut off his head at his own gate ; stript my mother stark
and turn'd her out of doors ; set a price upon myfather i bead, who escaped; and difinherited him, and all his »vatf. Till falting out. amqng themselves, about ^W- w. g the spoil, he, after long time, recover'd his ow» agdn, fcy the help of those servants who rernain'd
fuilto him, and were,. prstatted, and /£>»-»• in pieces, and many of th,gm murder d by ih^ others who- were, in
•W. Whom myfather pardon'd ; and re/hr'-d-SO hisfavour, and to their former places, and trusted thft gp&err. mitii of his family in their hands / tj» the . general
of his; faithful servants, who. had spent; their
and/a/? all that they )^sd j^)i^ J0W(e
-1
O.
I suppose then that these pard&n'd
and sp highly rc-wardid"wifk•v»Hr,d>tocx, wefevery thcaksid
and faithful to yourfather afterwards.
C. They made all the protestations. of it, and tooi
Co^ tQ witnefs, &c. but all the while were plotting against him ; till at last he was fere'd to fiy for his life, or they wou'd have serv'd him as they had done his father ! ana now they would have me put my self too in their hand ! and are not content with my giving them full liberty, » go their own way, to keep conventicles of their own, where they please, even in my own house, and to join with the family in prayers, or not, as they think
but they will have power too, and the keys of the house
trusted with them they fay, their right and that
•;
no
. t
it is
!
sit ;
before. dS
That they are spiteful and malicious people who and have no tridderation
The REHE ARS AL.
127
no difference ought to be put 'twixt them arid the other servants. Or any thing reifteriiber,d of what they did
0.
ought not indeed to be remember by Way ofpunish ment. But if they make not men wifer, and few better K'hom to trnst there little use of history or experience.
From4>at. Dec. 16, to . fjat. Dec. 23, 1704. N° 21.
Os the art «/'bullying. Of the character the tackers'; Of the moderation of the church England.
Cf«». 'j* Js old master again how have been cheat-
am sure they Have little cautions crimes pardoud
i& this month past, with thy name but he did not talk like thee.
of Ks fate was exactly thy phiz. , that
vwet self, when he talk'd of religion, which he piac'd neither in high ot low, but in thy no church.
But the state-fide of his mouth spoke quite different from thy jargon, he was for some respect to be paid to princes, which thou abhors. Arid he favbur'd not thy mob ori
ginalofgovernment. But have left him off, and am now returned to be t'hV rehearser again. Therefore cock op thy face, and come answer me, for have some per- lous questions to put to thee.
In the sit place; was thy innocence or thy impudence, that after thy late escape at thy trial, thou should'st imme
diately begin to transgress again Arid thou haft don't in. more ouiragious arid provoking ihahner than before, in putting thy name, e'veri the worthy name of John Tutchin to all thy OBservators sirice thy trial, which thou did'st not do before And moreover hast ownd thy self the au thor of thy three volumes of Observators. Whereby thou stands chargeable with all contained in them all, which
enough to hang county Was advice of council,
JLirJL
rogue that took
or thy 6Wn hot head thou did'st
O- By
The church-fide took• for thine
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i28 The REHEARSAL.
O. By advice of council; ay, of all the party ! and 't is the only safe method, as we have «//refolv'd. Tk method and the nxiord now is bullying ! we have try'd it often before this time, and we still prevail by it, as wo have always done, whenever it had the ejfect we preset by it, that isfrightning ; for then wE mu& prevail f . .
We have neither lain, nor reason, nor scripture on osr side. We have been fairly beaten from all these, that we have not a word to soy.
Therefore we bully with our numbers, and call our selves legion, for we are many ! And now more, as n* tell in the third edition, with more additions, just now publish'd, to hearten up our myrmidons.
C. If your numbers and interest prevail in the natiat, how is it that you cannot get a Æotj/J of commons, but what is still presting this occafional bill?
O. We are not the the malor number, nor the halfal it ; and far less have we the men of estates and quality on our side. But we make some believe that we are most in number, because we make most noise ! more than all the rest of the nation ! If others made half so much, or were half so daring, we should soon be run down, and disappear, as a mist before the sun. And we boast, that it was our interest which carry 'd it in the house of commons against the tacking.
C. Ifit had been your interest, you would have car ry's! it against bringing in the bill, or have thrown it out iour selves. But as the billw&s carry'd by a great majority; so many that were for were against the tacking of that the lords might not pretend any force or compulfion put upon them. And was not this an mgH
act of moderation When did yovs. party ever {hew
the like, when they thought they had an adirantage
O. Never; and hope never will. should quit
them, sow them once come to forfake principtes! but wb soy, that the commons have no power to tack. That the lords have votedagainst it.
C. will not meddle with either of their rights orpri- . vileges. These are things above my understanding. But did
*
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The REHEARSAL.
129 1 did not hear, that any of the commons were against the
tacking, upon that head. And I have heard that there
has been tacking before this, even in the last glorious
reign of liberty and property ; as in the case of the East-
India company, -in the resumption of the Iri/h grants, Sec. ' And we have an old faying, that What has been, may be.
Therefore, waving the point of power, we must put this wholly upon their moderation I
0. And we have paid them our thanks for it ! one of
my seconds, John Dun ton, in his Athenian Catechism, N. 17. of Wednesday this December 13, has publish 'd the Character of a Tacker, wherein we expose all that voted for the tack, to the justice of the mob ; we represent them of hearts entirely French, as enemies to England, beasts of prey, and to be us das such, by all true English men, andjustly excluded from relicion and property, and to be hang'd without law. Andso (he concludes) there' s an end of the tacker.
C. These tackers are above 130 of the most consi derable men in the house ; and there's an end of them I But what will you do with all the rest, who voted for the hill?
O. The fame way, all the fame way shall they go f but we'll take them by parcels, not all at once, lest they be too many for us ! our quarrel is the fame with them all. It is not the tacking, but the bill is our
grievance.
C. Bat is not this attacking the privilege of the whole
house of commons ? Few things pass there nemine contra- dicente. And if the minor number, upon any divifion of the house, may be thus treated, what becomes of their. liberty ofspeech, and freedom of debate ?
O. They shall have none, where we, or the cause is concern'd ! They have this privilege only against the crovm, but not against us their constituents and original ! not against me, who, (as I faid before, and thou hast re hearsed to me again) have two members in that house, re
presenting my person f nor against any of my under-spur-
leathers, such as John Bunt on, &c. G5
Havr
as>
I3<»
The REHEARSAL.
Have npt we • leghtid and milliatti the boufi ot com mons, after the last session all over the nation, as th» greatest rogues and villains upon the face of the earth > and now again in this very session; for vie improve . ' Haw not I put them into my lift of knaves, as thou haft before
rehears'd? And what harm has come to us ? And as soon as thissession is over, thou shalt see new Mack-lifts, aad maybe pictures, a-la-mode de Dutch-lans. . • . *
But methinks you mould haye stay'd tdl> thefesftc* was over, before you put out your charaffen ofthe tak
ers, and your new legion, for sear ot- bringing thedif-
cleasure of the house upon y6u.
O. No. It is the greater bullying of' that \ since tie
house of commons was legion and that paper havAi'd
about the streets, in the last reign, while the house was fitting, and they took no notice of we have grows bolder and bolder, and now we think we have them at mercy you see John Dunton desies them and have
expos'd them, till lam out of breath! They, have /earned passive obedience, and moderation
C. ' But suppose they mould order prosecution- against you orhim
ΠO, we know how to manage prosecutions almost weary of that trade.
they're
C. Be not too consident, they may impeach you ifthey will;
O. Would they would, that's the way to preferment you know the party must be pleas 'd! for are not- w-e con
siderable?
C\ But not half confiderable yet as the church party,
they would exert themselves.
O. If the sky falls, we shall catch larks. They exert-
themselves! they know not. how they are not us'af-xo tk/zt they are not yet got out of their non-refistance i/A•
If
would but mew that were possible for them to be angry or di/bblig'd, then they would be- r*- garded. And they who cannot be disobliged, are not worth- obliging. This makes us the formidable party. We swear and bluster, that if we are not pleaid'm every
thing,
n.
they
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The REHE ARSALr
ning, we'll presently rebel, and set them all atone an-
And
they
know we make no bones of that!
itHer !
C. But we have seen the time when the church of En
gland could be disobliged, and shew their resentments with i witness I
O. Hang 'em, we drew them in, and they were . atcV'd before they were aware. They cannot name fix of all their bishops or clergy that were trusted with the se cret. We cajesd them, as we do now, that we intended to go so far and no further; and when they found them-
seWevtn the snare, they immediately cry'd out ! the chief of them left us, and the rest followed us trembling ! Then they sought to compound, and faid they would comply so far, bot declau'd they would rather die than go' one step further ; so that we were forced' to drive them, and
ram their declarations down their throats. Then we' upbraided them with what they had done, and told them, they were come over to our principles, which they had
so vigorously oppos'd before ! and we laugh'd at them for and insulted over them, our new test the
church ofEngland'o loyalty, and again Of their honesty, and again of their christianity; and left them none of me three. C. Had 'all these Aft them, because they came over to you fiut this the way you treat your proselytes This
small encouragement for any to come over to you.
,0. We knew they were- not sincere, and were only'.
fire into it. We dealt with them after the example of our mastt legion, sooth and flatter them to come in to our circle, and then they are our than we may do with theni what we will! tear "them in pieces, and* devour
We observe the Jewish proverb, to make as'
them.
many proselytes as v/e can, but to- trust none of them, to- thetliird generation.
t)owenot know them our seives, We know with 'd'latfincerity we go to church, and conform occasion
ally sot places, and what use we intend to make of being
let iri to trust and power even the fame w ever did
reigns of Charles Charles it. and James II. Can the Æthiop change his skin? " From
G
Win
I. !
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Coaa. TJRithee,
The REHEARSAL.
i32
From ,&at. Dec. Z3, to &at. Dec. 30, 170+. Ns° Z2. How to manage a bully, shewd in the latter end of tbl
reign os K. Charles II. " '
The Observator espoused by the party, who is grown msrt insolent fince his trial than before. The Cobler ^/"Glou cester reviv'd, and his compliment to the judges. His helping toplace thepresent Queen upon the throne.
Nobbs, tell me all the way and manner
XI was in the jury ; but when they found thee guilty,
gave thee for gone.
O. In the reign of old Pius (as we call him in our
calves-bead dialect) our chief safety was in juries ; and if the twelve apostles had come in for evidence against any of the party, the answer had been ignoramus ! We then found juries to our purpose, and made use of that way : But we had found another way, and another, if that had not done ; we could not miss of a way.
C. How is that ? that you could not miss of a way
O. The matter was, we had intimidatedxhegovernment,
how thou cam'st off so bravely ; all my trust
and the word was, that we must not be disoblio'd
then thiv were bound to sind a way for us to escape . » let them look to that ! else we wou'd be angry!
We brought the king into aplot against himself! and sorc"d him to hunt it for us ! and under pretence of pre
serving his Malety's person and authority, we sirst cla mour d out his faithful servants and ministers, and got the
power into our own hands ; then we strips him of all in terest, or credit in the nation; we kept him dogp—r; and that he might always be so, we voted it a betraying of the libei ties of England, to lend him any money, or an ticipate his revenue ; so that if he wanted his supper, no tutcher in England durst trust him for a. jhoulder ofmutton, tho' he should pawn all the jewels in his crown for it f
every
? and
!
The REHEARSAL.
i33 every body, almost, forsook him ; there was hardly any durst open his mouth for him, even in parliament ; there
was no liberty ofspeech in behalf of the king, or in dero gation of the plot ; he that mutterd was sworn into it ; we put theQueen and iheDuke too into it ; we resolved to aake root and branch work with the royalfamily ! we
lampoon d the bishops for throwing out the hill of exclufion against his royal highness. Ana I remember full well, that, for some time after that, a bishop's coach could
hardly pass thestreets without some insult from the mob,
or hearing our fing-songs against them, the burden of which was,
The bishops, the bishops, that threw out the bill. C. Those were early days ; they had not yet unlearn d their passive obedience, and jure divino; and thought it
not lawful to break the line ofsuccession, tho' to exclude
a papist ! but some grow wiser, as they grow older. Go>
on with your story.
O. In this condition we had old Pious, as one then
exprest it. I a king at Chess, Thus have seen
His Rooks and Knights withdrawn, His Queen and Bishops in distress,
Shift up and down, grown less and less,
With here and there a pawn.
C. But was all this lessening and pulling down the king,
pretended to be for his preservation !
O. All! all!
1 O. Thou
The REHEARSAL.
O. Thou tak'st all the talk to thyself ; I shall have leave to put in word. Must we speak of notion but Sir G. Rooks' What's thy concern for him?
C. As told thee before, know him not at all, bs by sight nor have any concern for him. But when
made test by party, every body's concern to look into the bottom of and see the cause of it. It then comes national concern.
And can tell thee ot more tests than this, set up the fame party, to enflame the nation. I'll read thee letter dated from Northampton, Nov. 13, 1704 ani subscrib'd by gentlemen of undoubted reputation and credit. It in these words In this town there ivas mt election to choose a member in the room of Mr. Tate ceas'd, on the zd instant the candidates were Mr. Arun-
del,jun. and Mr. Mountague. Mr. Arundel carry above 40 majority, althd' the whole number of elec tors but about 800. The day before the eleSion Aw»
dissenters, the most substantial that body, came n Mr. Arundel, pretending to be sent the whole body the dissenters, to offer him their votes and interest, up on condition he ivou 'd promise to oppose the bill to prcvuA occasional conformity. Upon Mr. Arundel'/ re
Ho
fufing to make any such promise, there was a story not through the whole Whig party, vi2. That Mr. Arundei
was resolv'd to promote andsetforward that bill as much as in him lay tho' he said no such thing. This did him
some small injury, but nevertheless he carry'd the electim as beforeset down. This we call the new state test. We have had lately within five miles this town a new CHURCH test, which agrees very well with the fort-
going story. In short was thus: The patron of a certain living in this country refus'd to give the presentation to
the person that made application to him for it, unless
woud promise to vote as a certain person in that diocest should direct him. The names of the persons have but
forbear.
And in another letter from thence, dated Nov. 11.
wherein there an account of the forefaid
election and tests
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The REHEARSAL; 121
tefls ; the gentleman fays to his friend :
Sir, Ireceiv'd
jour laji, and nuoud have acknowledg'd your favour be~ fore, but really our trouble and frights have been very
great; for we have had no less than four fires within fifty
yards of my house, in no less than fix weeks. And I
am in daily apprehenfion offurther mischief, there being such cir
if
pose to fire the whole town. In short, we are all so
frighted, that we durst not sites in our beds, having been so
esten luaKd out of our fleeps, and been forc'd to fit up all
night. God preserve us all, defiring your prayers to God for us. 1 amyours, £sfc.
From^at. Dec. 9, to &at. Dec. 16, 1704. N° zo.
The true state of the case, ^tveixt the church of England,. and the dissenters. That the church of England im
poses no term of communion, but that of the Apostles creed. Of occasional conformity. And the rights. of the disienters to places. . . , -
cumstances in it, that it looks as
they were done on pur
\J Master, I am now in a peck of troubles, and &un. {~\ come to thee for advice.
O. Tho' wesquabble sometimes, I'll assist thee what I can, honest countryman, come tell me your case. , .
C. lam summon'd before a justice of peace, upon the complaint of some servants of mine, who fay I have broke articles with them.
O. About what then ?
O. What were your articles?
C. I agreed with them for their work, and their wages. And there is no dispute betwixt us as to that.
C. They liv'd at the beginning very peaceably and well, and submitted to the rules and customs of the family,
without any grudging. And tho' I keep a great farm, and employ many servants, yet I can fay no family the county was in better order, with more love and
kindness among our selves, than mine.
But at last, some of my servants grew peevish. They G faid.
in
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122 The REHEARSAL.
faid, that the colour of the cloaths I was to give them,
not being expressed in the articles, they would no longer
•wear that colour they had worn before.
found fault with the colour and shape of my own cloaths ; and faid, that neither f, my wife or children shou'd wear such, as we always had done before. They faid it was an offence to them to see tho' upon our backs and not being express in the artic{es with them, they were not oblig'd to bear with it. And that our wearing such fort of cloaths, was an impofition upon them, and putting new articles upon them, which were not in our sirst agreement.
Then they quarreWd with the hours always us'd in the family for meal-time, and going to bed, and forshutting
up "th'e doors'. ' They faid' it was suspecting their honesty,
not to let them sit up all night, if they pleased, and to
Nay, they
keep the keys of the house. It was making persect saves of them, because not exprefid'Ysx their articles.
Then they broke off from our family-prayers, which always use, every night and morning. They faid they
did not like them. • ,"•
O. What sort ofprayers do you use
C. good old prayer, one for morning, and another
for evening, which my sather and grand-father before him always us'd. And several divines have seen and
fay an excellent prayer. And so these servants of mine thought, and found no fault for long time. But now fay, that nasty popish prayer and tjiat tjugr can make better themselves. And that they aught to
make prayers in the family, as well as
Then some of them say, that must not fing psalm.
That finging foolish. Others fay, may fing, but must not fing well, or better than they, but after the fame scur vy manner that they do, like the creeking of their casts.
They fay, they' will not have the head of the. tafilt my hall (where use to fay prayers to myfamily) stand towards the window, but put the middle of tfye. hail;
And 100 such like freekish things. They ^yill riqt Jtt my weather-cock stand upon my house, because there is
cross upon pointing to the winds, which they lay
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The REHEARSAL.
is popery or witchcraft! and they fay, is these thing in our articles obliging us to weather- cocks ?
Therefore they fay, that all these things are ,hrtpafing new conditions o(service upon them. Affd they raff fk
me, as a persect tyrant, because I will net please' iffy- servants, and purchase the peace of my family, by giving up such indifferent thing*. Tho' it wou'd highly disgust
all the rest, and best part of my family.
O. Which indifferent things
to their duty, and live orderly in the family.
? do
that if you grant such arid such to them, they will rrtafit:
them? C* C. No. They will not »«-wif an y, so as to be cori'cfod-
if often such he granted. This I have
ed,
them ; and that I would comply with them, as far as possible, not quite to ruin my family.
they
*iwzte
pressed updrt
any
.
O. What answer do they give ? do they plainly fay, that nothing will content them?
C. They demand of me, that I would abatesuch things only, and Atfc such, at are acknowledg'd by my self to
,„swer rb tbe bigB. ct&cb cbatteiijie: j* iS.
be indifferent.
O. All such ? that is plainly faying, that nothing will'
content them. It is to bid you give up the government of your house entirely into their hands. For there are! but 3 sort of things in the world, good, had, and indiffe rent. The good oblige by their own nature, ihd the command oi God. The Evii; are by the fame forhidden, and your children orservants are obliged not to obey you, if you should command them. So that it is the indif
ferent only whereto your authority reaches. And if you cannot command in indifferent things, you can . ommand in nothing at all. What fort of a master of
a family is who has no authority in the indif ferent thing and what fort of conscience that, which will not obey his master, for no'Other reason, but because iie commands him to do something that
and which he declares he wou'd be free to do, not so commanded
C. But not every indifferent thing that Q
indifferent he were
J7°4-
.
command, a new
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124
The REHEARSAL.
new article betwixt me and my servant ? for that is tk foint that I am concerned in. My servants fay, they sn obliged to nothing but what is expressed in the articles be twixt us. And that every thing I bid them do, excejs the particular work for which each did stipulate, is im posing new terms and conditions ofservice upon them.
O. But there are imply'd conditions in all service, as that a servant shall live regularly and orderly in the yJoB- A, and oÆfy the reasonable and commands of his master; and suffer him to govern in his own And these can- not be express'd, more than every y&g/k •z•ff e/" dfc/y, 'twin husband and •u'//i>, parents and children, king andsubjeS,t general and his amy, or the church and her members.
C. Then by that ra/•? , the church may fay to her
lW/, as a master to hisservants, you must live orderly ia
my house ; and me in all indifferent things. And yet, that none of these indifferent things are any article or condition of communion with her.
O. Right. For that cannot be call'd a condition of communion in any particular church, which is an imflsJ condition in all churches, tho' oppostte to one another. Nay, In all societies whatsoever j whether Jews, Turks, or Pa gans, that to livesoberly, and conform to the innount
RUlEsandoRdERSofthe society. one society from another, which
Therefore, when any man has
That cannot di/iixgmjh common to all societies.
mind to come to church; and inquires,
say family ox society, or to any
what are the conditions of communion there requir'd The
what conditions that are particular to that church, and not us'd elsewhere, and which will be
quired of him to profess, upon his admijffion.
And of this fort know none in the church of England,
but the apostles creed, which requird at baptism.
C. Does any christian church require more
O. Yes. Ifyou were to be reconciVd to the church
meaning
Home, you must subscribe the creed of pope jP/ko IV. which includes the neiv articles of Trent, which that council added to the twelve articles of the apostles creed. And without this you would not be received.
Therefore they make these properly terms of communion, But
C.
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The REHEARS AL.
125
C. But what then are our 39 articles, canons and ho milies? are not these terms of communion with us ?
0. No. They are required only from the clergy, as a test of their doctrine , that they may all teach the fame thing ; and to prevent various and erroneous opinions preach'd among the people, to their distraction. No such
subscriptions are alk'd from any lay-man.
And in all churches and societies there are other tests
required from the officers, who are entrusted with the af suirs ofthe society, than from the common members.
C. Let me add another thing. These indifferent things about which the diffenters make such a stir, were not imposed on them, as tetms of communion, for they were
j£tf and establish'd before they £ro^f off from the church ; and were comply 'd with by as well as others. There fore when they broke off on that account, they made these indifferent things the terms of their separation ; but they were never made by the church any terms of cs/w- munion : Nor are at this day. But the diffenters quarrel with them, because they can sind no other cause of quar rel, that is, indeed, no cause at all. For none yet ever
held, that an indifferent thing was asufficient ground to embroil a church or state.
Let such a principle into an Ærwy, what sine work would it make ; it would be like the sellow at Bothwel-bridge,
a covenanter, who at exercifing, never budg'd a foot at the word of command, to the right, left, or about, but stood mufing like a,/? slyfi? ; and when his captain bad him anW, he faid, no, he did not approve of his way of ex ercise. . Why ? faid the captain. Because, said he, it is s
set-form. And we are fighting against set-forms.
But I'll tell you stranger than all this, to pursue my
some of these servants of mine, who will noIt come to my family prayers, offer me to come as oft as will, provided I give them twelve-pence a. time. And yet they pretend conscience in the case !
And more than this still, they plead it as their right ! and are just now in up-roar about my ears, because I will not see them to come Gto prayers, and make them
3 stewards
story,
Th/t REHEARSAL
stewards and overseers of ray bufiness, equal with ray om
children, and nay other servants, who have always, fe*
haved themselves faithfully and dutifully towards mt;
ai)d who have- more thai) once fav'd my life, and preJenU
my house from these fame dissenting and conscientious pan of myfamily ! who, before this, have been often a
arms against me ; and join'd with a neighbour popish st- mily, to invade my house, invited them in, and ma- nag'd their war against me, by their advice and off-
il$
Jiance ; and betwixt them both, in my grand-father's time, they set fire to the house, and burnt it down to the ground ; after having sirst taken him out, and cut off his head at his own gate ; stript my mother stark
and turn'd her out of doors ; set a price upon myfather i bead, who escaped; and difinherited him, and all his »vatf. Till falting out. amqng themselves, about ^W- w. g the spoil, he, after long time, recover'd his ow» agdn, fcy the help of those servants who rernain'd
fuilto him, and were,. prstatted, and /£>»-»• in pieces, and many of th,gm murder d by ih^ others who- were, in
•W. Whom myfather pardon'd ; and re/hr'-d-SO hisfavour, and to their former places, and trusted thft gp&err. mitii of his family in their hands / tj» the . general
of his; faithful servants, who. had spent; their
and/a/? all that they )^sd j^)i^ J0W(e
-1
O.
I suppose then that these pard&n'd
and sp highly rc-wardid"wifk•v»Hr,d>tocx, wefevery thcaksid
and faithful to yourfather afterwards.
C. They made all the protestations. of it, and tooi
Co^ tQ witnefs, &c. but all the while were plotting against him ; till at last he was fere'd to fiy for his life, or they wou'd have serv'd him as they had done his father ! ana now they would have me put my self too in their hand ! and are not content with my giving them full liberty, » go their own way, to keep conventicles of their own, where they please, even in my own house, and to join with the family in prayers, or not, as they think
but they will have power too, and the keys of the house
trusted with them they fay, their right and that
•;
no
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it is
!
sit ;
before. dS
That they are spiteful and malicious people who and have no tridderation
The REHE ARS AL.
127
no difference ought to be put 'twixt them arid the other servants. Or any thing reifteriiber,d of what they did
0.
ought not indeed to be remember by Way ofpunish ment. But if they make not men wifer, and few better K'hom to trnst there little use of history or experience.
From4>at. Dec. 16, to . fjat. Dec. 23, 1704. N° 21.
Os the art «/'bullying. Of the character the tackers'; Of the moderation of the church England.
Cf«». 'j* Js old master again how have been cheat-
am sure they Have little cautions crimes pardoud
i& this month past, with thy name but he did not talk like thee.
of Ks fate was exactly thy phiz. , that
vwet self, when he talk'd of religion, which he piac'd neither in high ot low, but in thy no church.
But the state-fide of his mouth spoke quite different from thy jargon, he was for some respect to be paid to princes, which thou abhors. Arid he favbur'd not thy mob ori
ginalofgovernment. But have left him off, and am now returned to be t'hV rehearser again. Therefore cock op thy face, and come answer me, for have some per- lous questions to put to thee.
In the sit place; was thy innocence or thy impudence, that after thy late escape at thy trial, thou should'st imme
diately begin to transgress again Arid thou haft don't in. more ouiragious arid provoking ihahner than before, in putting thy name, e'veri the worthy name of John Tutchin to all thy OBservators sirice thy trial, which thou did'st not do before And moreover hast ownd thy self the au thor of thy three volumes of Observators. Whereby thou stands chargeable with all contained in them all, which
enough to hang county Was advice of council,
JLirJL
rogue that took
or thy 6Wn hot head thou did'st
O- By
The church-fide took• for thine
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i28 The REHEARSAL.
O. By advice of council; ay, of all the party ! and 't is the only safe method, as we have «//refolv'd. Tk method and the nxiord now is bullying ! we have try'd it often before this time, and we still prevail by it, as wo have always done, whenever it had the ejfect we preset by it, that isfrightning ; for then wE mu& prevail f . .
We have neither lain, nor reason, nor scripture on osr side. We have been fairly beaten from all these, that we have not a word to soy.
Therefore we bully with our numbers, and call our selves legion, for we are many ! And now more, as n* tell in the third edition, with more additions, just now publish'd, to hearten up our myrmidons.
C. If your numbers and interest prevail in the natiat, how is it that you cannot get a Æotj/J of commons, but what is still presting this occafional bill?
O. We are not the the malor number, nor the halfal it ; and far less have we the men of estates and quality on our side. But we make some believe that we are most in number, because we make most noise ! more than all the rest of the nation ! If others made half so much, or were half so daring, we should soon be run down, and disappear, as a mist before the sun. And we boast, that it was our interest which carry 'd it in the house of commons against the tacking.
C. Ifit had been your interest, you would have car ry's! it against bringing in the bill, or have thrown it out iour selves. But as the billw&s carry'd by a great majority; so many that were for were against the tacking of that the lords might not pretend any force or compulfion put upon them. And was not this an mgH
act of moderation When did yovs. party ever {hew
the like, when they thought they had an adirantage
O. Never; and hope never will. should quit
them, sow them once come to forfake principtes! but wb soy, that the commons have no power to tack. That the lords have votedagainst it.
C. will not meddle with either of their rights orpri- . vileges. These are things above my understanding. But did
*
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The REHEARSAL.
129 1 did not hear, that any of the commons were against the
tacking, upon that head. And I have heard that there
has been tacking before this, even in the last glorious
reign of liberty and property ; as in the case of the East-
India company, -in the resumption of the Iri/h grants, Sec. ' And we have an old faying, that What has been, may be.
Therefore, waving the point of power, we must put this wholly upon their moderation I
0. And we have paid them our thanks for it ! one of
my seconds, John Dun ton, in his Athenian Catechism, N. 17. of Wednesday this December 13, has publish 'd the Character of a Tacker, wherein we expose all that voted for the tack, to the justice of the mob ; we represent them of hearts entirely French, as enemies to England, beasts of prey, and to be us das such, by all true English men, andjustly excluded from relicion and property, and to be hang'd without law. Andso (he concludes) there' s an end of the tacker.
C. These tackers are above 130 of the most consi derable men in the house ; and there's an end of them I But what will you do with all the rest, who voted for the hill?
O. The fame way, all the fame way shall they go f but we'll take them by parcels, not all at once, lest they be too many for us ! our quarrel is the fame with them all. It is not the tacking, but the bill is our
grievance.
C. Bat is not this attacking the privilege of the whole
house of commons ? Few things pass there nemine contra- dicente. And if the minor number, upon any divifion of the house, may be thus treated, what becomes of their. liberty ofspeech, and freedom of debate ?
O. They shall have none, where we, or the cause is concern'd ! They have this privilege only against the crovm, but not against us their constituents and original ! not against me, who, (as I faid before, and thou hast re hearsed to me again) have two members in that house, re
presenting my person f nor against any of my under-spur-
leathers, such as John Bunt on, &c. G5
Havr
as>
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The REHEARSAL.
Have npt we • leghtid and milliatti the boufi ot com mons, after the last session all over the nation, as th» greatest rogues and villains upon the face of the earth > and now again in this very session; for vie improve . ' Haw not I put them into my lift of knaves, as thou haft before
rehears'd? And what harm has come to us ? And as soon as thissession is over, thou shalt see new Mack-lifts, aad maybe pictures, a-la-mode de Dutch-lans. . • . *
But methinks you mould haye stay'd tdl> thefesftc* was over, before you put out your charaffen ofthe tak
ers, and your new legion, for sear ot- bringing thedif-
cleasure of the house upon y6u.
O. No. It is the greater bullying of' that \ since tie
house of commons was legion and that paper havAi'd
about the streets, in the last reign, while the house was fitting, and they took no notice of we have grows bolder and bolder, and now we think we have them at mercy you see John Dunton desies them and have
expos'd them, till lam out of breath! They, have /earned passive obedience, and moderation
C. ' But suppose they mould order prosecution- against you orhim
ΠO, we know how to manage prosecutions almost weary of that trade.
they're
C. Be not too consident, they may impeach you ifthey will;
O. Would they would, that's the way to preferment you know the party must be pleas 'd! for are not- w-e con
siderable?
C\ But not half confiderable yet as the church party,
they would exert themselves.
O. If the sky falls, we shall catch larks. They exert-
themselves! they know not. how they are not us'af-xo tk/zt they are not yet got out of their non-refistance i/A•
If
would but mew that were possible for them to be angry or di/bblig'd, then they would be- r*- garded. And they who cannot be disobliged, are not worth- obliging. This makes us the formidable party. We swear and bluster, that if we are not pleaid'm every
thing,
n.
they
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The REHE ARSALr
ning, we'll presently rebel, and set them all atone an-
And
they
know we make no bones of that!
itHer !
C. But we have seen the time when the church of En
gland could be disobliged, and shew their resentments with i witness I
O. Hang 'em, we drew them in, and they were . atcV'd before they were aware. They cannot name fix of all their bishops or clergy that were trusted with the se cret. We cajesd them, as we do now, that we intended to go so far and no further; and when they found them-
seWevtn the snare, they immediately cry'd out ! the chief of them left us, and the rest followed us trembling ! Then they sought to compound, and faid they would comply so far, bot declau'd they would rather die than go' one step further ; so that we were forced' to drive them, and
ram their declarations down their throats. Then we' upbraided them with what they had done, and told them, they were come over to our principles, which they had
so vigorously oppos'd before ! and we laugh'd at them for and insulted over them, our new test the
church ofEngland'o loyalty, and again Of their honesty, and again of their christianity; and left them none of me three. C. Had 'all these Aft them, because they came over to you fiut this the way you treat your proselytes This
small encouragement for any to come over to you.
,0. We knew they were- not sincere, and were only'.
fire into it. We dealt with them after the example of our mastt legion, sooth and flatter them to come in to our circle, and then they are our than we may do with theni what we will! tear "them in pieces, and* devour
We observe the Jewish proverb, to make as'
them.
many proselytes as v/e can, but to- trust none of them, to- thetliird generation.
t)owenot know them our seives, We know with 'd'latfincerity we go to church, and conform occasion
ally sot places, and what use we intend to make of being
let iri to trust and power even the fame w ever did
reigns of Charles Charles it. and James II. Can the Æthiop change his skin? " From
G
Win
I. !
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The REHEARSAL.
i32
From ,&at. Dec. Z3, to &at. Dec. 30, 170+. Ns° Z2. How to manage a bully, shewd in the latter end of tbl
reign os K. Charles II. " '
The Observator espoused by the party, who is grown msrt insolent fince his trial than before. The Cobler ^/"Glou cester reviv'd, and his compliment to the judges. His helping toplace thepresent Queen upon the throne.
Nobbs, tell me all the way and manner
XI was in the jury ; but when they found thee guilty,
gave thee for gone.
O. In the reign of old Pius (as we call him in our
calves-bead dialect) our chief safety was in juries ; and if the twelve apostles had come in for evidence against any of the party, the answer had been ignoramus ! We then found juries to our purpose, and made use of that way : But we had found another way, and another, if that had not done ; we could not miss of a way.
C. How is that ? that you could not miss of a way
O. The matter was, we had intimidatedxhegovernment,
how thou cam'st off so bravely ; all my trust
and the word was, that we must not be disoblio'd
then thiv were bound to sind a way for us to escape . » let them look to that ! else we wou'd be angry!
We brought the king into aplot against himself! and sorc"d him to hunt it for us ! and under pretence of pre
serving his Malety's person and authority, we sirst cla mour d out his faithful servants and ministers, and got the
power into our own hands ; then we strips him of all in terest, or credit in the nation; we kept him dogp—r; and that he might always be so, we voted it a betraying of the libei ties of England, to lend him any money, or an ticipate his revenue ; so that if he wanted his supper, no tutcher in England durst trust him for a. jhoulder ofmutton, tho' he should pawn all the jewels in his crown for it f
every
? and
!
The REHEARSAL.
i33 every body, almost, forsook him ; there was hardly any durst open his mouth for him, even in parliament ; there
was no liberty ofspeech in behalf of the king, or in dero gation of the plot ; he that mutterd was sworn into it ; we put theQueen and iheDuke too into it ; we resolved to aake root and branch work with the royalfamily ! we
lampoon d the bishops for throwing out the hill of exclufion against his royal highness. Ana I remember full well, that, for some time after that, a bishop's coach could
hardly pass thestreets without some insult from the mob,
or hearing our fing-songs against them, the burden of which was,
The bishops, the bishops, that threw out the bill. C. Those were early days ; they had not yet unlearn d their passive obedience, and jure divino; and thought it
not lawful to break the line ofsuccession, tho' to exclude
a papist ! but some grow wiser, as they grow older. Go>
on with your story.
O. In this condition we had old Pious, as one then
exprest it. I a king at Chess, Thus have seen
His Rooks and Knights withdrawn, His Queen and Bishops in distress,
Shift up and down, grown less and less,
With here and there a pawn.
C. But was all this lessening and pulling down the king,
pretended to be for his preservation !
O. All! all!
