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was the ufual faying of a knight and a man of good breeding, That whenever he arofe, his a-fe roje with. him.

NOTES.

(1) He alludes to the manner of our birth, the heal and arms appearing before the pofterios and the two feet, which he calls the footmen.

4

(2) Victualling-boufe.] The bally, which receives and digefts cur

nourishment.

(3) Master of arts. Perfius: magifter artis, ingeniique la gitor venter. (4) Idolater.] Alludes to the facrifices offered by the Romans to the goddefs Cloacina.

(5) Priefs.] Gold finders, who perform their office in the nights time: but our author further feems to have an eye to the cuftem of the Heathen priefts stealing the offerings in the night; cf which see more in the ftory of Bell and the Dragon.

(6) Wrinkle.] This refers to a proverb-" You have one wrinkle in your a fe more than you had before."

(7) Tears of blood.] Hæmorrhoids, according to the physicians, are a frequent confequent of intemperance.

(8) Unquiet.) Their tails being generally obferved to be moft reft.

lefs.

XXX
63

The

The WONDER of ALL the WONDERS, that ever the WORLD wondered at.

For all perfons of quality and others.

JEWLY arrived at this city of Dublin the fa

the great furprize and fatisfaction of ali fpectators, is ready to do the following wonderful performances; the like before never feen in this kingdom.

He will heat a bar of iron red-hot, and thrust it into a barrel of gun-powder before all the company, and yet it fhall not take fire.

He lets any gentleman charge a blunderbufs with the fame gun-powder, and twelve leaden bullets; which blunderbufs the faid artist discharges full in the face of the faid company, without the least hurt, the bullets sticking in the wall behind them.

He takes any gentleman's own fword, and runs it through the faid gentleman's body, fo that the point appears bloody at the back to all the fpectators; then he takes out the fword, wipes it clean, and returns it to the owner, who receives no manner of hurt.

He takes a pot of fcalding oil, and throws it by great ladles-full directly at the ladies, without spoiling their cloaths or burning their skins.

He takes any perfon of quality's child, from two years old to fix, and lets the child's own father or mother take a pike in their hands; then the artist takes the child in his arms, and toffes it upon the point of the pike, where it sticks, to the great fatisfaction of all fpectators; and is then taken off with out fo much as a hole in his coat.

He mounts upon a fcaffold juft over the specta

tors,

tors, and from thence throws down a great quantity of large tiles and ftones, which fall like so many pillows, without fo much as difcompofing either perukes or head-dreffes.

He takes any perfon of quality up to the faid fcaffold; which perfon pulls off his fhoes, and leaps nine feet directly down on a board prepared on purpofe, full of fharp fpikes fix inches long, without hurting his feet or damaging his stockings.

He places the faid board on a chair, upon which a lady fits down with another lady in her lap, while the fpikes inftead of entering into the under-lady's flesh, will feel like a velvet-cushion.

He takes any perfon of quality's footman, ties at rop about his bare neck, and draws him up by pullies to the ceiling, and there keeps him hanging as long as his mafter or the company pleases, the faid footman, to the wonder and delight of all beholders, having a pot of ale in one hand and a pipe in the other; and when he is let down, there will not appear the least mark of the cord about his neck. He bids a lady's maid put her finger into a cup of clear liquor like water, upon which her face and both her hands are immediately withered like an old woman of fourscore; her belly fwells as if she were within a week of her time, and her legs are as thick as mill pofts; but, upon putting her finger into another cup, fhe becomes as young and handfome, as fhe was before.

He gives any gentleman leave to drive forty twelve-penny nails up to the head in a porter's backfide, and then places the faid porter on a loadftone chair, which draws out every nail, and the porter feels no pain.

He likewife draws the teeth of half a dozen gentlemen, mixes and jumbles them in a hat, gives any perfon leave to blindfold him, and returns each their own, and fixes them as well as ever.

With his fore-finger and thumb he thrusts feve

ral

ral gentlemens and ladies eyes out of their heads, without the leaft pain, at which time they fee an unfpeakable number of beautiful colours; and, after they are entertained to the-full, he places them again in their proper fockets, without any damage to the fight.

He lets any gentleman drink a quart of hot melted lead, and by a draught of prepared liquor, of which he takes part to himfelf, he makes the faid lead pals through the faid gentleman before all the fpectators, without any damage; after which it is produced in a cake to the company.

With many other wonderful performances of art, too tedious here to mention.

The faid artift has performed before most kings and princes in Europe with great applause

He performs every day (except Sundays,) from ten of the clock to one in the forenoon; and from four till feven in the evening, at the new inn in -Smithfield.

The first feat a British crown, the fecond a British half-crown, and the lowest a British shilling. N. B. The best hands in town are to play at the faid fhow.

A PRO

A PROPOSAL for correcting, improving, and afcertaining the ENGLISH TONGUE *.

In a LETTER to the Moft Honourable ROBERT Earl of OXFORD and MORTIMER, Lord High Treafurer of GREAT BRITAIN.

To the Moft Honourable ROBERT Earl of OXFORD, &C.

My LORD,

WHA

HAT I had the honour of mentioning to your lordship fome time ago in converfation, was not a new thought just then started by accident

It is well known, that if the Queen had lived a year or two Jonger, this propofal would, in all probability have taken effect. For the Lord Treasurer had already nominated feveral perfons, without diftinction of quality or party, who were to compofe a fociety for the purposes mentioned by the author; and refolved to use his credit with her Majefty, that a fund fhould be applied to fupport the expence of a large room, where the fociety fhould meet, and for other incidents. But this fcheme fell to the ground, partly by the diffenfions among the great men at court, but chiefly by the lamented death of that glorious princefs. Dub. edit.

This piece might have been a very useful performance, if it had been longer, and lefs clipfed by compliments to the noble person to whom it is addreffed. It feems to have been intended as a preface to fome more enlarged defign: at the head of which fuch an introduction must have appeared with great propriety. A work of this kind is much wanted, as our language, instead of being improved, is every day growing woife and more debafed. We bewilder ourfeives in various orthography; we speak and we write at random ; and if a man's common converfation were to be committed to paper, he would be ftartled for to find himself guilty in a few sentences, of so many folec fms and fuch falfe English. I believe we are the only people in the Chriftian world, who repeat the Lord's prayer in an ungrammatical manner; and I remember to have heard, that when a motion was made in the convocation to alter the word which for the word who, the propofition was rejected by the majority. This inftance may fhew you of what fort of men, the most learned, and

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