And of such God complains: "Thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water, to supple thee. Thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee," Ezek. xvi. 4, 5.

Shepherd. But, pray, sir, who was appointed to nurse them? or, into whose hands were they committed? For certainly, if they are any part of the seed royal, proper care is taken, and proper persons appointed for the business.

Steward. That they are of the seed royal I have no doubt, because the queen received strength to conceive seed, Heb. xi. 11; and would have received strength to bring forth also, Isa. lxvi. 9, if they had let her alone. And that proper persons are appointed by the King to nurse and take care of the children, is true also. But some who are called rulers falsely, and some that are really so, appoint many whom his Majesty never appointed. Such, in former days, set up kings, but not by him; and heaped to themselves tutors, but not by his orders; and nurses too; or else why stands the above complaint upon record respecting their not being salted, suppled, and swaddled? And some are palmed upon the King, and nursed with all tenderness, when they are not his offspring; and others, that are really so, are often put into improper hands, who are friends neither to the King nor the country, and that for the sake of their dozens and the salary. And too

many of our rulers give heed to, and take all to be true, that these old honourable ladies say at the labour and the birth; if any ladies of candour do but cry out, 'This is one of the promised seed, it is the very picture of his Majesty;' when we know that some complimental ladies would pass the same encomium upon a monkey, if it lay in the cradle; whose word is not to be taken, nor their judgment trusted to. Every one should be persuaded in his own mind, and have the testimony of his own conscience, if he acts uprightly, as one that must give an account: for many will cry out, Such an one is a proper child! This is a precious seed! and, the other is the very portrait of the father! take it into the King's household;' whereas, when you bring it to the light, and compare it with the King's image, 2 Cor. iii. 18; or with the King's children, Judg. viii. 18; we may say of it, as a gentleman once said, who was in company with me in the church-yard belonging to the famous corporation of Queenborough, in Kent, where we were reading some pompous descriptions and epitaphs upon the gravestones of some of the jurats and other great men who had formerly belonged to that corporation. Among other curiosities, a singular piece of sculpture presented itself to view, the meaning of which puzzled us all; but, after long examination, we construed the aim of the artist to be this; Time with his glass; the Judge in the clouds; and the Earth giving up her dead. The gentle

man concluded that the artist had not transgressed the second commandment, for he had not made the likeness of any thing, either in heaven above, or in the earth beneath. And so we may say of some who would fain appear to be new creatures; the feigned mask defaces the image of the earthly Adam, and there is no impression to be found of the image of the heavenly Adam. But, alas! some who have been so long accustomed to the cant of Jacobite courtiers, and so often biassed in favour of their friends, will let many pass for new creatures, and for wet nurses too, who never were pregnant with any thing but mischief; but have learned to mimic and talk by observation, and the art of nursing in a systematical way; who are branded with a miscarrying womb and dry breasts, Hos. ix. 14. And, if even Hagar comes in, she may give them a drop, if she will; and her bondchildren are sent to play with them, any how, so as they can but be kept from crying.

Shepherd. Then some of the rulers of the household act as Moses did when he kept Jethro's flock though it is not much to be wondered at; for a man brought up in a palace cuts but an awkward figure at first with a crook. But, what I was going to observe was, that he led his flock to the back side of Horeb; which, according to report, stands in a barren wilderness, and in a dry land. I will be bold to affirm, that David never led his flocks there when he followed the ewes great with young: for, though he kept sheep

in the wilderness, yet he generally sought for the vallies, as fat pastures, green pastures, streams and rivers, are so often mentioned in his writings. But Moses, and some of your rulers, seem to agree pretty well: he led the flock to the back side of the mount; and, if the children are allowed to go to Hagar, they are taken to the front of it. What musical sound is that which echoes from the hills? Hark!

Steward. O dear! the sound is made by his Majesty's seven trumpeters. To-day being courtday, we have a feast on the holy mountain; and I must run, for I am obliged to attend the table, but should be glad of another interview, if a leisure hour should offer.

Shepherd. I shall have pitched my fold, watered the flock, and can leave them safely in the inclosures, by to-morrow at half past twelve; and will, if God permit, meet you under the figtree at the corner of the wall, precisely at one o'clock.

Steward. My time is not my own; but, if the King should not send me elsewhere, I will be sure to be there. The Lord be with thee.

Shepherd. And with thy spirit.

DIALOGUE THE SECOND.

Shepherd. Why, you run, sir, till you are quite out of breath.

Steward. Yes, I am half an hour past the time appointed, but I could not help it; for, just as I was coming away, Little Faith got hold of me, as he often does: for if there is not any thing upon the table that he can eat, he is sure to follow me into the larder, cellar, or pantry, to see if I have got any secret morsel, or drop of comfort, in reserve for him; and, if I have, I generally give it him.

Shepherd. I was thinking last night, that if any body had heard our yesterday's conversation, it would have caused a deal of laughter among fools: yea, and some who are called shepherds and stewards, if they had heard our discourse concerning travail, birth, and navelstrings, would have traduced us as indecent and indelicate, if not reproached us with using filthy conversation.

Steward. He that is too pure in his mouth to use the consecrated words of the King's oracles, is too debauched and filthy in his mind to be employed in the King's service. The sacred records of his Majesty, and the words by which they are expressed, were indited by the purest