over intereft, friendship, honour, and their own perfonal fafety, as well as that of their country, and probably of a moft gracious princess who hath entrusted it to them. A fhip's crew quarreling in a form, or while their enemies are within gun-fhot, is but a faint idea of this fatal infatuation of which, although it be hard to fay enough, fome people may think perhaps I have already faid too much. Since this unhappy incident, the desertion of friends and lofs of reputation have been fo great, that I do not fee how the minifters could have continued many weeks in their stations, if their opposers of all kinds had agreed about the methods by which they should be ruined and their preservation hitherto seems to refemble his, who had two poifons given him together of contrary operations. It may feem very impertinent in one of my lewel to point out to thofe, who fit at the helm, what course they ought to steer. I know enough of courts to be fenfible, how mean an opinion great minifters have of most men's understanding; to a degree, that in any other science would be called the groffeft pedantry. However, unless I offer my fentiments in this point, all I have hitherto faid, will be to no purpose. The general wishes and defires of a people are perhaps more obvious to other men than to ministers of ftate. There are two points of the highest importance, wherein a very great majority of the kingdom appear perfectly hearty and unanimous. First, that the church of England fhould be perferved entire in all her rights, powers and privileges; all doctrines relating to government difcouraged, which fhe condemns; all all fchifms, fects and herefies difcountenanced and kept under due fubjection, as far as confifts with the lenity of our conftitution; her open enemies (among whom I include at least diffenters of all denominations) not trusted with the smallest degree of civil or military power; and her fecret adverfaries under the names of whigs, low-church, republicans, moderation-men and the like, receive no marks of favour from the crown, but what they fhould deserve by a fincere reformation. Had this point been fteadily purfued in all its parts, for three years paft, and afferted as the avowed refolution of the court, there must probably have been an end of faction, which hath been able ever since with fo much vigour to disturb and infult the administration. I known very well, that fome refiners pretend to argue for the usefulness of parties in fuch a governinent as ours I have faid fomething of this already, and have heard a great many idle wife topicks upon the subject. But I fhall not argue that matter at prefent: I fuppofe, if a man thinks it neceffary to play with a ferpent, he will chuse one of a kind that is least mischievous; otherwise, although it appears to be crushed, it may have life enough to fting him to death. So I think it is not fafe tampering with the present faction, at least in this juncture: first, because their principles and practices have been already very dangerous to the conftitution in church and state: fecondly, because they are highly irritated with the lofs of their power, full of ve nom and vengeance, and prepared to execute every thing that rage or malice can fuggeft: but principally, because they have prevailed by mifreprefentations and other other artifices to make the fucceffor look upon them as the only perfons he can trust: upon which account they cannot be too foon, or too much disabled: neither will England ever be fafe from the attempts of this wicked confederacy, until their strength and interest shall be fo far reduced, that for the future it shall not be in the power of the crown, although in conjunction with any rich and factious body of men, to chufe an ill majority in the house of commons. One ftep very neceffary to this great work will be to regulate the army, and chiefly those troops which in their turns have the care of her majesty's person; who are most of them fitter to guard a prince under an high court of justice, than feated on the throne. The peculiar hand of providence hath hitherto preserved her majefty, encompaffed, whether fleeping or travelling, by her enemies but fince religion teacheth us, that providence ought not to be tempted, it is ill-venturing to trust that precious life any longer to those, who by their publick behaviour and discourse discover their impatience to fee it at an end; that they may have liberty to be the inftruments of glutting at once the of their patrons and their own. It should be well remembered, what a fatisfaction these gentlemen (after the example of their betters) were fo fanguine to exprefs upon the queen's laft illness at Windfor, and what threatenings they used of refufing to obey their general, in cafe that illness had proved fatal. Nor do I think it a want of charity to fufpect, that in fuch an evil day an enraged faction would be highly pleased with the power of the fword, and with great connivance leave it fo long unfheathed, until they were got revenge rid of their most formidable adverfaries. In the mean time it must be a very melancholy profpect, that whenever it fhall please God to vifit us with this calamity, those who are paid to be defenders of the civil power, will ftand ready for any acts of violence, that a Junta compofed of the greatest enemies to the conftitution fhall think fit to enjoin them. The other point of great importance is the fecurity of the proteftant fucceffion in the houfe of Hanover: not from any partiality to that illuftrious house, further than as it hath had the honour to mingle with the blood royal of England, and is the neareft branch of our regal line reformed from popery. This point hath one advantage over the former, that both parties profefs to defire the fame bleffing for pofterity, but differ about the means of fecuring it. From whence it hath come to pafs, that the proteftant fucceffion, in appearance the defire of the whole nation, hath proved the greatest topick of flander, jealoufy, fufpicion and discontent. I have been fo curious to ask several acquaintance among the oppofite party, whether they, or their leaders, did really suspect there had been ever any defign in the miniftry to weaken the fucceffion in favour of the pretender, or of any other perfon whatsoever. Some of them freely answered in the negative: others were of the fame opinion, but added, they did not know what might be done in time, and upon farther provocations : others again feemed to believe the affirmative, but could never produce any plaufible grounds for their belief. I have likewise been affured by perfons of some confequence, that during a very near and conftant familiarity with the great men at court for four years past, past, he never could obferve where, even in those hours of converfation where there is ufually leaft restraint, that one word ever paffed among them to fhew a diflike to the prefent fettlement; although they would fometimes lament, that the false representations of their's and the kingdom's enemies had made fome impreffions in the mind of the fucceffor, As to my own circle of acquaintance I can fafely affirm, that excepting thofe who are nonjurors by profeffion, I have not met with above two perfons who appeared to have any fcruples concerning the prefent limitation of the crown. I therefore think it may very impartially be pronounced, that the number of those, who wish to fee the fon of the abdicated prince upon the throne, is altogether inconfiderable. And further, I believe it will be found, that there are none who fo much dread any attempt he fhall make for the recovery of his imagined rights, as the Roman-Catholicks of England; who love their freedom and properties too well to defire his entrance by a French army, and a field of blood; who must continue upon the fame foot if he changeth his religion, and muft expect to be the firft and greatest fufferers if he should happen to fail. As to the perfon of this nominal prince, he lies under all manner of disadvantages: the vulgar imagine him to have been a child impofed upon the nation by the fraudulent zeal of his parents and their bigotted counsellors; who took special care, against all the rules of common policy, to educate him in their hateful fuperftition, fucked in with his milk and confirmed in his manhood, too strong to be now fhaken by mr. Lefley; and a counterfeit converfion will be too grofs to *Lefley was a nonjuring clergyman, who wrote a letter from Bar |