The dyet of Poland: a satyr. Consider'd paragraph by paragraph. To which is added a key to the whole, ...

Table of contents

- [titlepage]

- THE PREFACE.

- THE Dyet of Poland A SATYR, &c.

- PART II.

- The Conclusion.

FINIS.

THE Dyet of POLAND, A SATYR. CONSIDER'D Paragraph by Paragraph. To which is added A Key to the whole, with the Names of the Author, and the Nobility and Gentry, that are Scandalously Pointed at, in it.

Rode Caper vitem, tamen hinc cum stabis ad Aras,

In tua quod fundi Cornua possit, erit,

Ovid:

LONDON, Printed: And Sold by Ben. Bragg, at the Blue-Ball in Ave-Mary-Lane, in the Year, 1705.

THE PREFACE.

AS Poland lyes almost in the same Latitude with England, so the Character the Poet has here given of the Poles, seems so exactly to match what some ill-natur'd People have said of some in Enland, that he easily foresees this Censorious Age will be apt to mis-judge him, as if he had some Oblique Meaning, and that this was a Satyr levell'd at some People nearer Home •han the Castle of Warsaw.

To foresee an Accident and not endeavour to be prepar'd against it, is a Piece of Policy peculiar to an Author that sets up To Reform the Errors of Petty Statsmen three times a week to no Purpose; and it adds very much to a Malefactor's Conviction to be guilty of a Willful Crime. Wherefore He had better, either to have kept his Foresight to himself, or stifled his Poem before he had sent it abroad, to the Great Abuse of •imself, and the Patriots he has taken the Freedom to Characte •…. As for his Skill in Poetry, if it was no better than his Knowledge in Geography, He might have spar'd the Trouble of a Preface to the Reader, since there is so great a Difference between London and Warsaw in their Latitude, that •he first is Lon. 18. 36. Lat. 51. 32. the last Lon. 42. 5. Lat. 52. 7.

But the Author humbly hopes all such Inuendo-Men will consider, that as they can have no Reason to Think so, but Similitude of Characters, so no Conjectures of theirs, ought to pre-judge his meaning, in which he demands to be left to himself, and expects to be understood in the following Poem as he Speaks, not as every prejudic'd Man may imagine he meant.

How any Man can humbly hope, that has the Arrogance to say, He can be charg'd with nothing but similitude of Characters, is beyoud the Reach of my Ʋnderstanding, and if he has not done by the Gentlemen whom he has Injuriously treated, as well as those whose Reputation is blasted with his Commendation, as if he had actually written down their Christian and Sir Names in Capital Letters, then I have no claim to any such Thing as Common Apprehension.

If any are so Weak to tell us, That Smithfield and Cheapside, cannot be meant of Poland, the Author presumes to ask such People, if ever they have been at Warsaw; and, if they have, and don't know that there is both a Smithfield and a Cheapside, as well as a May-Fair; and a Bear-Garden, he is sorry for their Heads, and desires them to step thither again to Reform their Memories.

Poland may have Places put to the same uses as Smithfield and Cheapside, and Fairs and Bear-gardens may be in Request there; but it is none of his business, to bring English Transactions upon the Polish Theatre. And any Man of Compassion has very great Reason to be sorry for his Head, who thinks to conceal what was Printed near Bartholomew-Close, under the sorry Artifice of an Impression from Dantzick.

But suppose there are not places call'd directly by those Names, if there are places apply'd to the same Uses, what has any Body to question the Allegories? A poor Author must never Write at all, if he is not at Liberty to chose His Metaphors, and all the rest of the necessary Figures of Speech to help out his Expression.

He has forgot his Tryal at the Old-Baily for writing The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, or He would never insist upon an Author's Liberty to chuse what Metaphors He thinks fit; for, though He did not pay so dearly for his Beloved Ironies as he deserv'd, yet the Sentence then pass'd on Him by the Bench might have had such an Effect upon his Temper, as not to make him uneasie, but when he was breaking through the Bonds, he was engag'd in to the Government, in being tyed up to his Good Behaviour.

If 'tis alledg'd that there is too great an Affinity in the Story.—He Answers, If that be True, he is sorry for it; but at the same time he Hopes not, and the matter of Fact ought to be prov'd, before he stands Censur'd for Calumny.

Though the Character of the Persons his Satyr points at are False and Malicious, yet they bear so near a Resemblance to what is said of them by their Enemies of the Dissenting Party, that the Scandal is fix'd beyond an Excuse, and ought to be Ammadverted upon with the utmost severity, unless the Gentlemen in Power close with the Libeller, and fling off all Deference and Respect for the Memories of their Predecessors.

'Tis very hard that a Man cannot Write of the Follies of other Nations, but People will be always comparing them with their own. One would ha' Thought the Author had Travell'd far enough to find out Histories and odd Passages to divert us; but if neither China, Poland, nor the Inhabitants of the Moon will protect Folks from being Hang'd, as the Frenchmen said, for Tinking, go on, Gentlemen, and if the Cap fits any Body let 'em wear it. You are Welcome to say these Polish Grandees represent Englishmen, but look to it, ye Sons of Censure, that can Swear to a Man's Meaning, and know his Inside without the help of his Outside: For if the People your Profoundity pretends to describe, are Affronted, the Action of Slander lyes against You, and not the Anthor. In the Writing 'tis a Poem, you, in the Reading, turn it into a Libel, and you merit the Punishment for the Metamorphosis.

An ingennous Confession of the Author, who would be thought to take the Pains of Concealing himself. If neither China, Poland, nor the Inhabitants of the Moon will protect Folks from being Hang'd, &c. Your Humble Servant Mr. Daniel Foe! you might as well have given us your Name at Large, for every one knows who wrote the Consolidator; and as to your Meaning, they must be Men of profound Stupidity indeed, that cannot find it out by your Gaping, you are so Intelligible your self, amongst your want of understanding. So that the Scandal will be laid at your Door who made it a Libel, not at your Readers, who finds it as such.

Perhaps there is a sort of Affinity among the Vitious part of Mankind in all Countries and Climates; and the Author Doubts not he should have run the same Risque of Misconstruction, had he Wrote this at Paris as at London, that he should have been summon'd before the Court of Honour for Libelling the Princes of the Blood, the Sorbonne, or the Councellors of Parliament: 'tis very hard it should 〈◊〉 there, and here too.

Had such a Piece of Scurrility dar'd to show its Face at Paris, the Author of it would scarce have had his Heels at 〈◊〉 during Life, and if some People whom it concerns 〈…〉 of this nature, would but perform those Duties 〈…〉 to the Well being of the Government, He may chance to meet with none of the Civilest Treatment in London for his Impudence; since no Term can be too opprobri •… 〈…〉 thinks no Appellation Bitter enough against 〈◊〉 Direct•rs of the Publ•…k Affairs, who act contrary to the Methods 〈…〉 prescribe to them.

Since then this is the Fate of Authors, and he must expect it, he Submits, but desires however, that these Unchristian Censurers will take this along with them, and so make a Vertue of their want of Charity. That where-ever the Similitude of Character pinches them too close, they would prevent the Severity of the Application, by Reforming the Likeness; the Satyr wou'd then have the desired Effect, viz. By drawing the Imaginary Picture of Outlandish Devels, really Transform our own.

The Fate of an Author that casts such a Reproach on the Church and Government Establish'd, ought not to terminate in a Scotch Casement; but He, that has offer'd up a Hymn to the Pillory, and made it clap its wooden Wings for Joy, at the Reception of its new Tenant, would not be much lamented if the Three Leg'd Tree, a Mile and a half out of Town, should pay Him the same Compliment: Since it is not his Reader's want of Charity, but his own, that renders him Criminal.

Nor do I apprehend the World will be less Solicitous about who is the Author of this: Some perhaps will guess one, some another; and the Hawkers, they tell me, will according to Custom, Cry it about the street in the famous Name of Daniell de Foe. And tho' they might as well Guess it was Wrote by the Man in the Moon, yet I am content, He, or any body else should go away with the Credit of it. 'Tis enough that I am out of the Reach of the Polish Resentments, and cannot be Prosecuted by the Cardinal Primate, most of the Persons here toucht at being his Friends, and all of them in his Interest; and as for the World they may do their Worst.

I am their Ʋnconcerned Humble Servant, Anglipoloski, Of Luthuania.

When an Outrage is committed, it is but natural to be in Quest of the Person that caus'd it; and it will not be difficult, without the assistance of the Hawkers, who are more at his Service than his Handmaids the Nine Muses, to find that this Label is not, without sufficient Grounds for so doing, charg'd with a Name those Prophane Throats are incessantly piercing our Ears with. Which may prove his being out of the Reach of the Polish Resentments, to be a more Chimara and false suggestion; for though the Ecclesiastical Authority may not take him to Task, He may be grinded to Powder by the Secular Arm, which he must own himself obnoxious to, notwithstanding his Borrow'd Name of Anglipoloski.

THE Dyet of Poland A SATYR, &c.

Those must be Furious Men indeed that can out-Bluster Boreas, and how any thing can be at Natures Elbow, and yet Distant and Remote at the same time, requires the Nicest Determination. Natures Backside would have done as well every Jot, but it's a Paw Word, as the Observator tells his Countryman Roger, and must be flung aside for being Uncourtly. The World's Proboscis too is altogether New, and just minted, why not Great Toe as well, for he that gave the World a Nose, gave it likewise Feet to Stand upon, or it's Creation would be imperfect?

He must be well Read in Natural Philosophy, that makes Natures Streams run higher Northwardly, and in the Coldest Climates, th•n in those that are many Degrees nearer to the Sun, as the Western Parts, &c. And since He has given Nature an Elbow, does very Poetically, as well as Modestly, in describing Her, more Virginum, to make Water by the means of that Instrument; for it is not to be imagin'd whence Her Streams Issue unless from thence. That Pride is a Grace is likewise Wonderfully Novel, and how they can want that Grace when in the same Paragraph they are Swell'd with Conceit; and be va•… in Pride is a Riddle requires an Oedipus to explain it. Neither are the two last Lines the most sensible Mr. Foe has written in his Life, though they are very Musical to the Ear; for it's a Manifest Contradiction to make the Dwina dwell upon their Song, which is an Act of Stagnation, at the same Time, it is Hurried, i. e. Precipitated and push'd along by Barbarous Steeps and Hills.

Now Dame Nature makes use of Her Hand as well as her Elbow, and gives amends for Her Situation Insufficiencies. But how so? The Climate was Temper'd for Plenty, in the Second Paragraph, and now its so far from it, that Nature is forc'd to Interpose, and Act as we do Unnaturaly, by Forcing the Growth of Plants, &c. by Hot Beds. For my Part it never Enter'd into my Noddle how Nature could work by Force, till this Author gave it me in the Affirmative.

To Corrode a Mischief, is in my Sense to lessen it, which is far from having any Analogy to Debauching the Blood, that is to encrease it; and then again to say, that Native Fierceness which makes Heroes and Poets in Christian Countries, here tis a Vice, and Rankles up to Few'd is false Grammar, with Reverence to his Dictatorship, who sets up for the Difficult Resolver, and impropriety Fi•der among the Class of Authors. Besides my Historians tell me, though they are not of the Leyden Edition, and Printed cum Notis Variorum, That Poland is a Christian Country which He seems not to allow here.

To make Heaven strive in Vain, looks also a little Impious, in an Author of this Gentleman's Pretences to Religion; and to let it be Anticipated in its Decrees of Peace, can fall under no other Apellation than that of Blasphemy.

That is, such is thy People Poland, and such thy Name, i. e. Poland. And what of all this, where's the harm of Poland's being call'd Poland? A Spade's a Spade, and a Bandbox will be a Bandbox to the end of the Chapter, yet still they Love Praise, and who does not? As the Vice-Chancellor, who anfwer'd a Master of Arts, that gave in for his Reasons of denying a certain Scholar his Degree, that He Lov'd a Girl, by the known Response of Quis non? What Man is without a Natural Affection to a Pritty Females.

Imaginary Happiness will do

For near as many Uses as the true:

And if the Poles in their own Plagues delight,

Wise Heaven's too just to let them thrive in Spight.

His Philosophy is none of the Best, whatever the Cadence of his Poetry is; for that Imaginary Happiness can serve for near as many uses as True, neither Aristotle or des Cartes has yet laid down for an Axiom in Ethicks.

Now he begins to fall into Particulars, and by Great Sobieski must be meant K. W, who Reign'd over us Thirteen Years, and who Conquer'd Ireland in Person and by his Generals, after the Loss of Sixty Thousand French and Irish that sided with the Unfortunate King James.

He rather Led than Rul'd. Very pritty truly, and Emphaticaly! That is, He seem'd rather a Captain than a King. Dux suit non Rex: As if Leading an Army was not to Rule it.

Tell us, ye Sons of Policy and Fraud,

Whose vast Intrigues your selves alone applaud;

Who always plot too deep, and soar too high,

And Damn the Nations Peace you know not why.

What ail'd the Poles, with Peace and Plenty blest,

To change for Years of Blood, their Days of Rest?

Describe the Men of Avarice and Pride,

With all Ambition's dark Disguise array'd;

How, for the Nation's Liberty, they Cant,

Till those they say abuse it they supplant,

And then the mock pretended Sham lay by,

Pleas'd with the Profits of Authority.

He might have spar'd himself the Question of what ail'd the Poles, &c. when if he would but have look'd into the Partition Treaty which was Sign'd and brought about by a Minister of State He now professes so great a Regard for, he had been satisfied without an Enquiry; and if he would fasten upon any one of the Country Party, for taking of Places, after they had rail'd at Men in Offices; we can give him two of the C—side, &c. for one, without any more to do by way of Exchange, If D— and H— are sufficient to ballance Accounts with him.

If all the Strife and Contention for Offices and Places of Trust, be for obtaining the Power of doing Ill, then those in Authority must of Consequence do Ill. Which is but an odd Compliment to the Present Administration, and takes off very much from the Character he bestow's upon the L— H— T— and Mr. S—t—y— H—y under the Names of Casimir and the Dyets Marshall. And if Kings are Cully's, Foot-Balls, and Wheedled into Pay he has done Augustus no Manner of Service in giving him that Inglorious Title. And here I cannot agree with some People who will have Augustus to be the Type of Q— A—for an Author could not be so unmannerly as to Represent a Fortunate Princess, and Immoveable in Her Principles by the Name of one who has not only Chang'd his Religion for a Crown, but has Ruin'd his Hereditary Dominions, being as it were under a State of Exile at this Juncture. But Authors are Inscrutable in their Reasons, and I leave him to explain himself on this Head, to such as he shall think fit to Impart the Secret to.

That There were Thieves about the Throne in the Late Reign we'll not dispute; but he that has been so Free with the Names of such as have shar'd in the Direction of Publick Affairs in this, might have given us theirs, had they not been his particular Friends and Favoureits. I never heard the Prince he reflects upon, gave away all his Wealth to these Craving Wretches, if he had, there had been no Dispute between the King of Prussia and Prince of Friez land, about the Immense Riches he left behind Him.

The Turk that is K. J. who Abdicated—What a Respectful Title does he give Her Majesty's Royal Father? and suffice their Avarice, is a Peculiarity of Phrase I never heard of before. But this I have to say for him, when he turns Plagiary, he makes bold with his own Works, as thinking nothing that belongs to others worthy of being taken from them, but their Reputations; Witness Unsatisfied as Death, and Greedy as the Grave, which are applyed to the Saints Favourite Sir R— Cl—ton in his Satyr call'd the Reformation.

By Moldavia is meant Ireland; and if the Members of Parliament, whom he owns to be the Wiser, pass'd an Act for resuming the Grants of the forfeited Estates in that Kingdom, then he must allow himself to be false in his Character, when he speaks of them in another Style sometime after. And if the Grant was allow'd to be Hastily, they are not to be blam'd who considerately press'd His Late Majesty to Re-bestow it on the Publick.

Here he takes Matters upon Trust, by giving Credit to a few Irish Petitions. For the Parliament, if he means the Proceedings of the Trustees for the Forfeited Estates, since A—leski, i. e. Mr. Annesly was one in that Commission, have pass'd a Vote in their Favour, which is a sufficient Argument, that they 〈◊〉 not Part with the Lands they were Impowr'd to sell to the Buyer, without Cash.

Dismiss'd the Throne, may be an elegancy with him, but cannot with a Judicious Reader, who will Conclude Death Dismiss'd K. W. from the Throne; neither is it a very great Compliment to a King's Memory, whom he would play the Panegyrist upon, to affirm that he left us Embroil'd; since the World is not without People who make very Odd Reflections upon his Last Will and Testament.

Never did any Prince come to the Crown with a more general Satisfaction of the Party, he points at, than Her Majesty: and the very Persons he is so Lavish of his Invectives, against were those who rejoyc'd at the Turn of Affairs both in Church and State. As to their Endeavours to defeat the Monarch's Healing Project, they were such as advis'd it to be carryed on; and for Swearing to Day and Abjuring to Morrow, that Flies in the Face of the Pretenders to Moderation, equaly with theirs who seem realy dispos'd for it.

The Parliament was then sitting when Queen Anne Succeded to the Throne; so that she could not be said to call them together, having met before to consider of the Arduous Affairs of the Kingdom.

To say that the Antient Lords of the Jagellan Line (whose Titles were Hereditary doubtless) Shine in their Representing Glory, seems somewhat like an Absurdity; for our Accounts hitherto tell us, the House of Peers Constitute two Estates of Parliament, and the People of England, that is the Inferior Estate, are Represented by the Commons. The Monarch's Safety, and the TYRANT'S DEATH, Squints likewise at their Old Practice of Decollation, which the Party he is Advocate for, has no small Veneration for the Memory of, at their Cruel Festivals on the Anniversary of Her Majesty's Royal Grand-Fathers Martyrdom.

What tho' among th' Illustrious Troop there's found,

Some less Polite than some, and some unsounds.

The Devil among the sacred Twelve appear'd,

But Devils once known are no more to be fear'd;

The General Votes to Loyalty encline,

And Mischief sinks beneath her own Design.

Satyr, if there's a Pole among the Tribes,

Less true than Truth it self, 'tis him thy Verse describes.

The Devil under no Capacity is to be fear'd, but God whom the Scripture Exhorts us to the Fear of; and if he was to describe all that were less True than Truth it self, I question whether, if the whole Kingdom were to be Number'd, notwithstanding his boasted Perspicuity, he could find one: For God is Truth it self, and only the Divine Being worthy of that Attribute.

By the Character of Taguski, though it infinitely fall's short of him, we may perceive some Lineaments belonging to the L— H—x, whom he seems here to endeavour to describe, and bears no more Proportion to his Gigantick Merit, than a Mouse does to a Mountain. Parent Wit, is what also his L—p owes his no Thanks for, and suspected Fame is what he might have omitted, as well as Phrase profound; for I look upon Profundity to be an Epithet for the Judgment not the Word, which it is here applyed to. Besides he might have consider'd when he was delineating so Great a Judge in Poetry, not to call upon Satyr to describe him while he was endeavouring a Panegyrick upon his Undeniable Accomplishments. What he means by calling his L—p the Monarch's Favourite is unknown to me, and he would do the In•••tive Part of the World a Kindness if he would explain himself upon that Head.

The Nation is very much Endebted to the Lord O—d, then Admiral Russel, for his Defeat of Torvill; and there is not one among the Party whom he hints at for being Ungenerous, but pays him their Acknowledgment for that Days Service.

Rigatski by whom the Lord S— is Personated; (King William) having inv••ed him with Large Demains at Rigate in Surrey, has the Character of a very Great Man, though I can't close with him in his ill Manners to the Present Possessor of the great Seal, as to wish him to be Lord High Chancellor again; or say that He made way for a Fool or a Knave since his immediate Successor, chosen by King William, is deservedly Famous for being the very Reverse of that Inv••ious Apellation.

In Cujavia we may Read the B—p of S— Character who Preach'd the Inuaguration Sermon at the Coronation of their Late Majesties King William and Queen Mary, and by Culm, Posnania, Patcherousky and Thirteen Mitres more, are meant some very Good E—l Peers, who were against the Bill to prevent Occasional Conformity, and consequently •rue to Poland and Augustus. Which Consequence I shall no otherwise Animadvert upon, than that it is Injurious to Augustus his Character, as if he was against the Bill, when he had given such Assurances from the Throne in Favour of the Church Establish'd.

That Bishops are Pillars of the Church, and Consequently Co¦lumns, no Man will dispute with him; but that they held the Scep¦ter while he drew the Sword, I cannot agree with him, since it will very much derogate from the Honour of the Lords Justices among whom the Temporal L—ds preceding, for whom he expresses such Regard, made a very great Figure.

England has been bless'd with more Victories since Her Majesty's Accession to the Throne, than what fell to Her Share for a Century before, which is a long Computation of Years Compar'd to Thirteen; and our Councellors Heads have done enough at Home, as well as our Heroes Hands Abroad, to Eclypse the Glory of any Hands or Heads whatsoever, King William's not excepted.

The Noble Peer that falls under his Censure here, is as much above his Detraction, as the despicable Wretch that flings Dirt at him is beneath his Notice. He never Employ'd his Momentous Hours about other Things than the Advantage of the Prince whose Service he was in, and as for sinking any one, it was never in his Thoughts, if a Person aim'd at, Acted Contrary to the Well-being of the Government. By Polands Prime Visier, is meant the L— H— T— who owes him no Thanks for giving him an Infidels Title, which I never heard belong'd to Poland before. But as the Character of the Great Man, whom he vilifies to the lowest Degree is False, so are the Terms he makes use of, to bring his Designs about by.

Grieffier of Poland, is likewise a Title in no wise belonging to the Court he applys it to; and the Publick has been so well satisfied about the pretended Proofs of the Wretch Fuller's Affidavity of his Lordships giving Passes to the French Discontented Natives of England, that it looks Ridiculous in one that lays any Claim to sense, to incline towards the very thought of it.

Mr. Foe sure is acquainted with the Hermet in the Fable, that Blows Hot and Cold with the same Breath, or else how could he make his Slow Manager (which By the By is not to be Hot) too Hot for Peace, and too Cold for War. The Wi•est of Men will have their Intervals of Diversion, and it looks as well in one Statesman, nay better, since the Fabrick of the Universe is Govern'd by Harmony, to pass away his less Important Hours with Musick, than for another to spend whole Weeks with Horse Racing at New-Market. Besides, let him consider who was Secretary of State, when the Ships at Vigo were Taken and Destroy•…, the Town's in Flanders Surrendred, and the March to the Danube concerted, and he must Condemn himself for Blami•ng his L—p's dispatch of the Publick Business.

This Paragraph, is the Product of a Complaint that this Incendiary vents in all Companies, about his L—p's not keeping his Word with him, when in Newgate; At the same time, that he is Conscious to himself, he perform'd not the Conditions for which the Promise was made of his coming to do no Damage.

If the Parliament of England Address'd the Throne in his Lordships Favour, they did nothing but what was consistent with the Reputation of that August Assembly, and which ought to be allow'd for the pure effect of his Merit, as well as Taguskis's, who had likewise the same Honour done him, though not for the same Service. As for, no Knave is above being told HE IS SO, I agree with him, but the Consequence may tell him before he is much Older, that an Honest Man is, such as the Noblemen, whose Characters he makes so Free with.

Under Lawrensky, none that is acquainted with Names or Things, but may know that Lawrence E— of R—ter is Couch'd. A Gentleman too near related to Her Majesty, to be us'd after such a manner, and whose Conduct as L— H— T—r has not been Excell'd by any Successor whatever, without any Reflection upon the Present Management of the Ex—quer.

The Tearing the Leaves is such a Forgery as has been more than once Exp•••ed and Confuted in the late Reign, when his Enemies, such as G•p'd after his Lord Lieutenantship of Ireland, publish'd their Sham Vindication, and for that Cause requires no other Answer, than that those who think it Meritorious to revile a N—m, will not stick to Traduce a R—r.

His Character is of a much different Complexion, for he did not fling up his Lieutenancy of Ireland for the sake of the Prime Ministry, but for his Ease, since the Irish are an Inflexible People, and not to be Gove•n'd Easily but by such as are the•… own Native. And he was so far from being dissatisfied with the Measures taken by those near Her Majesty, that no other Motive but the Satisfaction in the Administration, induc'd him to retire.

Mr. Review has Preach'd up Peace and Union to some purpose, if at last he turns Renegade from his own Principles, and makes it his Business to Ridicule such as are for a Treaty between the two Contending Parties. Give 'em for Arms their Eyes, says he, 〈◊〉 Swords their Sense, as if Swords were not Arms; why did he not insert for Guns their Eyes, since Arms and Swords are the very same sort of Weapons.

In Seymsky, the Reader must agree with me, that he points at Sir Edward S—r, but all to no purpose. Reverberat Ictus, the Shot rebounds upon himself, and the Detracter falls a sacrifice to his own Calumny. At the Sitting of the Parliament, 'tis •en to one, but this Seymski makes Foeski Eat his Words, he has shewn many a Better Man a pleasanter Trick, and the Polish Scribe will not be the First, whom he has brought upon his Knees for Breach of Priviledge. For he that Writes R— upon a Wiseman's Forehead, ought to have Fool Written on his own, besides the rest of the Catalogue of Hard Names which are usually affix'd to Pillories.

Where Mismanagements are, there they should be taken notice of: for little Evils as well as Great, though he's of too Intrepid a Temper to spare them, ought to be animadverted upon.

A General Charge without mentioning Particulars, can never Affect any Gentlemans Reputation, especially one of his Figure and Family, and h s hints of expiating for Violence and Blood, will never make any Impression upon any one that has had the least Notice of what publick Service he had done, and continues to do, for the good of his Native Country, which he may be Styl'd the Ornament as well as Defence of.

If Immortal Brass fits on his Brows, how comes he to be Abject and mean when Storms appear? When a Man turns Abject, his Impudence commonly leaves him and dyes with his being dispirited or I am wrong inform'd from Experience in the like Cases.

Often the Polish Monarchs have essay'd,

So much they of his Mischiefs were afraid,

To win the Bully off with gentle Words,

And place him in the Class of Polish Lords;

But he that lov'd the Villanies of Life,

And chew'd the Air he breath'd to Sounds of Strife,

That liv'd upon those Particles of Fire

Which nourish Feud, and prompt the vile Desire,

Chose all the glittering Offers to despise,

Too vain to be made Great, too proud to Rise.

If Vanity consists in a Foolish Persuit after Titles and Applause, how can any one be too vain to be made Great? And if Pride is the effect of an Ambitious Temper, that aim's at an Increase of Prerogative and Power, can it be otherwise than Impossible, that the Gentleman here design'd can be too proud to Rise? I have heard of Chewing of Tobacco indeed, but never heard of Chewing the Air to sounds of Strife, which is a Note beyond Ela.

He was too proud to be made Great before, but here He accepts the High Command. Ay but, says our Author without the Name of a P— as if Greatness did not consist more in Extensive Command than Length of Title. To Covet Mischief more than Fame, is none of the most regular Expressions that have dropt from Mr. Foe. since Mischief is Fame in one sense, and a Man may as well be Famous that is Transmitted to Posterity for doing Ill things as Good.

The White Staff was not taken from him, but he resign'd it; and as Her Majesty Tax'd him with nothing disrespectful to Her August Character, the Poet would have look'd like a Man of more V•••city had he done the same.

How could he quit his Honours with Reluctance, when the very Gazette tells us he voluntary resign'd them? Or how could his Temper be said to be yet Untry'd, on Account of his Places, when he had the Experiment made upon him more than once in the surrender of more profitable Employs? But Contradiction sis what the Party gain their Ends by, and so he's at Liberty to use them.

If he was not rais'd by Fate above his Sense, in being Speaker of the House of Commons, Treasurer of the Navy, &c. Places of greater Importance by far, than the Comp•…'s of the Houshold 'twas a little out of the way to make him lose it for what, was little Better than a Feather, to a Gentleman of his Years and frequent Indispositions. And to make Nature do it in her own defence, requires such Explanatory Notes from him, as he is not at leisure to give us, being so taken up in Reading Horace, cum Notis Variorum.

He will make the Polanders Infidels do what we can, notwithstanding he has been told over and over, that Poland is a Christian Country. But its Sir George R—k whom he fallen's his Talons on now, and he that has done more Good than all our Admirals at Sea for more than Twenty Years last past, must be a Captain Bassa, and Mark'd out under an Odious Distinction.

Was the Destroying the Ships at La Hogue, the Breaking the Boom at Londonderry, the Deliverance of Two Hundred Ships Trading to Turkey, the Levant, &c. the Glorious Succels at Vigo, the Taking of Gibraltar, which the Spaniards have Spent so much Blood and Treasure about, in Endeavouring to regain it, the Naval Victory over the whole Power of France and Spain, of so little Force as to render him liable with being Tax'd with Trifling our Blood Time and Strength away? If so, what Apellation will our Future Miscarriages fall under, when it shall be Visible how we suffer for wantof his Conduct, in the Marine Affairs?

His Voyages never have been made in vain,

He took such care of coming Home again:

No Man cou'd ever give him a Defeat,

And none can match him at a safe Retreat.

The carefull'st Officer the Poles could choose,

For when they bid him fly, he'll ne'er refuse:

A Neg'tive Soldier, always in the Right,

Was never Beaten, and would seldom Fight:

Poland will ne'er her antient Glory show

While Knaves and Cowards fight her Battles so.

To preserve a Fleet, sometimes is equal to a Victory, and Prince 〈◊〉 got more Honour in the last War, by making a Gloriou• Retreat, than Luxemburgh did by defeating the Confederate 〈◊〉 at Landen. If he's a Negative Soldier that has Fought the 〈◊〉 of France and his Two Seconds with one Single Ship, with at being worsted, what a Champion of a Man must he be 〈…〉 an Affirmative?

Mr 〈◊〉 is not at all Oblig'd to you for reviving the Story of 〈◊〉 Dispute between Him and Sir George, which tends so 〈…〉 to his Disreputation, and reminds People of the Merry 〈…〉 the Rehearsal mentions of that Friend and Acquaintance 〈…〉 Fighting Duels. Should any Man serve me so, he should 〈…〉 have the use of my Chambers at the Temple.

If P•… always where their's Guilt, then some Body is very Impr•… make a Champion for a Party; and if telling a Man to 〈…〉 the Open Field of Election, as Sir G— did 〈…〉 he wrote what he Tax'd him with, and would make it good, ie. Bullying, I dare persuade my self an Assertor of such a Contradiction will not be able to Define what Fighting is.

PART II.

Freedom of Speech is allowed in the English Parliaments, but un •er certain Restrictions; for some Members have spoke so much •here, as to be call'd to the Bar, and afterwards sent to the Tower for talking too freely. As for Swearing first to Poland, then to Him, would Mr. Foe give himself the Trouble of perusing the Oaths •he Members of Parliament take, he would not have occasion to be •old he is in an Error on that Account, since they swear to be true to •heir Queen and Country, not COUNTRY and QUEEN.

By the Livonian Plot, is meant the Scotch Plot, which was so ve •y deep indeed, that I never heard of any one yet that found the •ottom of it.

It's all in vain, for Faction had possest

Some Members, all the Dyet to molest;

In vain the sullen Deputies Debate,

In vain they weakly prop the sinking State;

In vain to Oaths and Loyalty pretend,

They Sell that Prince whom faintly they Defend.

The Commons were as hearty in pursuit of such as were thought criminal 〈◊〉 that Juncture, as their Lordships, though they did not appoint a Committee to meet at N—d House, and were so very far from faintly defending her Majesty, that never a heartier and more earnest Address came from a People to a Prince on that Account. What remains, is to ask the Sense of the last Line, and how it is a Consequence, that they must sell that Prince whom they defend faintly.

He should have given us the Names of those Laws which he cal• preposterous and absurd, as his Reader might have known his Mean¦ing. I have heard indeed of bringing in a Bill, but never of a La• that was brought; for nothing can be call'd a Law till it has ha• the Royal Assent. As for securing the Polish Free-men in a Goa• those Free-men, as he terms them, were guilty of an express Breac• of Priviledge, in which the Honour of Parliament was so far concern'd, that they had lessen'd their Authority, but for their Commitment.

By Mackreski, we are to understand Sir Humphry, who has written so very much and well for the Honour of the House of Commons, and so learnedly vindicated their Priviledges, that were this Author Master of any Gratitude, he would rather pay his Acknowledgments to so worthy a Representative, than make such unmannerly Comments on what he himself, and all the Commons of England, are so nearly concern'd in.

If the Poet that Lampoons him, were but half so wise and rich, he would have no Reason to expose himself in his Saturday's Review, July 7. by complaining of sleeping Debates in Trade of seventeen Years standing being reciv'd; and the very Management and Produce of those Mines he is so angry at the Depth of, is such an Argument of his Designing, that he shews his own want of Brains, by saying, No Man ever heard that he design'd. If the Dyet mistook what he said, why did they close with his Projection, and pass his Bill for the Relief of the Poor? But the Poet mistakes him, and therefore all must. As for the rest of the Jargon of Scandal upon this Gentleman, it's all of a piece, and his Quibling about his Speeches being made up of all Tail, and no Head, and his Convertible Terms, (which he is so famous for in his Little Master Review) no Good and no Harm, they are beneath Sir Humphry's Notice, and our Observation.

By Pacski, we may read Sir J—n P—n, a Gentleman whose Hereditary Zeal for the establish'd Church and Government, is what renders him obnoxious to the Censures of those that would share in the Revenues of the Church, while they are Enemies to its Worship. If he did make Complaints to Parliament against his Diocesan, every Gentleman has the Liberty so to do, when aggriev'd; and it has been more than once resolv'd in St Stephen's Chappel, That no Peer has any thing to do with Elections for Members to serve in Parliament.

The Rebel Cossacks, viz. the Round-heads, in Oliver's Time, and what they did, ought to be fresh in our Memory, that we may prevent the like Barbarities from them again. But how Tacking the Occasional Bill as a Clause to the Land-Tax, could be Tacking their Ruin to the Tribute Bill, is beyond my Power to Divine, since there was no Property invaded, but the Church only secur'd by an Act of Parliament in her behalf.

Sir John is of another Temper, than to talk for a Place, and of too large an Estate to make his Conscience truckle to his Interest, as some that have gone over from the Church-party have. Neither is it Fact that all his Province disclaim his Proceedings; they shew their just Resentment indeed for his Affection to his Queen and Country for they have resented it so as to chuse him again for one of the Knights of the Shire, which is an Argument, that Mr. Foe shot his Bolt too soon, when he said, Their future Trusts to Pacski they refuse.

The Noble Gentleman that is personated here, Mr. B—, Brother to the E— of A—, is of another Disposition than what is froward; and his Sweetness of Temper is as remarkable as his Loyalty to the present Government, which he would not forfeit his Obedience to for any Cause whatsoever. Though he has but too much Reason to think our Peace will never succeed at home, till such as are averse to it, and say, Peace, Peace, when there is no Peace, (I mean the Dissenters) are remov'd from having any share in the Administration.

He said, and more than half the Dyet bow'd,

And with consenting Silence 'twas allow'd

A Law should pass the Cossacks to suppress,

The only way to Poland's Happiness.

Mean while th' Assembly sep'rately repair'd

To Church, and there the famous Burski heard,

Now Stanski, then Maroski, and a third

That always dealt in Tropes and Similies absur'd;

These furious Priests the fatal Stroke excite,

Tell them of Kings that spar'd th' Amalekite;

The Grave Divines, in Pulpit Rhet'rick known,

Talk'd of the Dyet's Wit to show their own,

Banter'd a Text or two, and talk'd some Greek,

And so went Home to Drink out all the Week.

Dooms the poor Cossacks from the sacred Text,

And rav'd in Zeal till he the Cause perplext.

It was but reasonable that a Law should be brought in to prevent the Growth of Hypocrisy, and Endeavours be used to save Reprobates against their Wills, if they would not be instrumental to their own Salvation themselves; and if all the Clergy in England had been so deservedly famous as Dr. Birch, some People would have been nearer to that happy State, than they now are.

If Dr. Stanhope, in his Sermon upon the 30th of January at St. Margaret's Church, apply'd the sparing the Amalekite to the Subject of that Day, it was applicable enough; for the Remissness of King Charles the second in not taking off all the Regicides, has been the chief Cause of our home-bred civil Dissentions ever since: And if he talk'd Greek, it's more than the Learned Mr. Foe can do, the want of which Tongue, makes him exasperated against all that use it.

Satyr, thy just Regret with Force restrain,

With Temper W•ite, altho' thou Think'st with Pain.

When once the Pulpit-Plague Infects the Land,

And Sermon-Readers get the upper-hand,

The Nation's ruin'd, all the Town's undone,

And Tongue-pad Evils, thro' the Vitals run;

Reason submits its captivated Head,

And raging Nonsence governs in its stead.

In vain our banish'd Liberties we seek,

Wise-men are bound to hear, when Coxcombs speak;

Reason pays Homage to Impertinence,

And Noise obtains the Victory from Sense;

The Clamouring Priest, Dogmatick, Proud and Dull,

Assumes Dictating Right, and calls his Master Fool.

How he could Unchurch the Nation by preaching in Defence of the National Church, I cannot imagine; neither is it in my Power to know he could perjure Augustus; for Persons guilty of a Breach of an Oath, in my humble Opinion, must perjure themselves. As for his Reflection upon the Priest-hood in general, he acts contrary to their Precepts, and consequently is not to be expected to speak well of them; and if he himself thinks with Pain, then some body does so as well as my Lord of N—m; a great Condescention truly for our Author to accept of the Character he has bestow'd upon that worthy P—r. Well, but he has Reason to think with Pain; the Church of England Clergy are Sermon-Readers, they don't Preach and Pray extempore, like Dissenters, because they think before they speak; which Premeditation of theirs makes Reason submit, and raging Nonsense govern in its stead. Most exquisite Logick!

By Sachareski, it will not be amiss to read Mr. Sacheverel, Fellow of Magdalen Colledge, a Gentleman whose Accomplishments and Zeal render him as well an Honour to the Church and University, as an Otnament to the Colledge he belongs to; and as Loyal to the Queen, as he is faithful to his Country.

And two Extreams, one Mischief may prevent.

This Fury made the Polish Lords relent,

And Senators, their first Resolves repent.

How can Moderation be censur'd for an Extream? for that's a Vertue that is inseparable from the Church of England; and if some L—s and Gentlemen were not so hearty as was expected for the Church's Service, it must be attributed to the Weakness of their own Resolves, not any thing that was defective in her Worship.

With all Deference to my L—d M—ss of H—n's excellent Qualities and healing Discourse. Though his L—p is to be commended for standing up for so numerous a People as Yorkshire, who is so happy in the Choice of so excellent a Champion, Mr. Foe has made him make but an indifferent Speech, which is somewhat unmannerly for a Gentleman of his great Quality. For I cannot make Sense of,

The hasty Priest (says he) I understood,

The Gown too often dips the Sleeves in Blood.

Besides, he introduces his L—p, speaking as if the Revolution was a Rebellion, and insinuates by way of Comparison, as if it was equally criminal with that in Forty one.

The Cossacks now incorporate, and ty'd

By Laws, by Interest, and by Blood ally'd,

Are native Poles, in Poland's Interest bound:

To tack them now, would Poland's Peace confound:

They'r rich and brave, and always have withstood

Th invading Tartars with their Wealth and Blood;

And have undoubted Title to pretend

To enjoy that Land, they helpt us to defend:

Besides, by Laws, their Liberties remain,

Those Laws, Augustus promis'd to maintain;

This Priest would make those Promises in vain.

I think their Liberties their Due t' enjoy,

That they may help us now, the Swedes destroy;

With him the old Nobility concur'd,

And Damn'd the Bill at Cruel and Absur'd.

Who doubts the Dissenters Right and Title to their Estate? Heaven's forbid they should be wrong'd in the minutest Particle, either as to their Temporal or Spiritual Concerns. The Church-party neither has, or ever had any Thoughts that tended towards their no enjoying the Land since the late Revolution. Neither did the Queen promise to establish them, only maintain them in the Benefits that accrue to them from the Act of Toleration.

If the Church of England can never be sufficiently secur'd till the Bill passes, 'twould be impardonable for them wholly to drop the Debate; wherefore 'tis but their Duty to adjourn it to a more convenient Opportunity.

Never was Queen happier than her present Majesty, and never was Princess more the Delight of the Church of England, who pays her the Hearts of her Sons, by way of Acknowledgments of her Duty, while the Offerings of the Dissenters have more of Appearance than real Sincerity.

How can the Patriots that stand up in Defence of the Church, aim at her Majesty's Crown? Have not they more to lose than the Dissenters? Are not they possess'd of the best Estates of the Land? And would not a French Power be more destructive of their civil Rights and Immunities, than those of a Sect of Men who have no Right to any Establishment, and who have more than once, witness their Brethren in Scotland, closed in with Rome and France, in Opposition to a Worship they are declar'd Enemies of.

What is hinted here, exactly Tallies with her Majesty's Usage of the Dissenters since her happy Accession to the Throne; but it has always been the Practice of the Party, to throw Dirt first, and to fence off a Reproach, by fixing it upon those from whence they expect it.

Whom the Aspersions in this Paragraph belong to, may be soon discover'd, by the Whigs insolent Usage of Her Majesty and Ministry, 'till the last Session of Parliament, when a Change was made in the Administration and as for Treason blacken'd with Ingratitude, they know best how to form New Conspiracies, that have been so dext'ious in managing Old.

As for the Plot here hinted at, we may expect Discoveries of th• Authors of it, from the Parliament of Scotland as soon as they shal• fit; 'till then, perhaps, it may be out of his Power to know whe•… to fix it: For it's an unquestionable Truth, That he that hides a thing, is the best able to find it again.

By Tococksi, we are to understand Mr. T—ke, a Gentleman dese¦vedly the Envy of all ill Men, because he is the Glory of the Go•… and who may truly be said to be polish'd, and of shining Abiliti• if any Gentleman in England deserves that Character: So that wh•… is inserted of him, is the very Reverse of his Demeanour; and 〈◊〉 is so far from not thinking at all, that the Politeness, and Effica•… of what he speaks, intimates as much as if he thought always.

He dooms the Cossacks to Tartarian Shades,

Their Civil and Religious Rights invades.

Demand no Reason, Satyr, that's supply'd

With Passion, Parties, Prejudice, and Pride;

But if his wiser Arguments you'd know,

He heard 'twas Just, old Seymski told him so;

That Learned Oracle supports the Cause,

And Noisy Zeal supplies the want of Laws.

Can a Dissenter be said to be doom'd to Tartarian Shades, when it is endeavour'd that he may be rescued from finking downwards, thro' the great Weight of Hypocrisy? And is it not the highest Injustice to say, Mr. T—ke inclines this Way, or that Way. as Sir Ed. S—r directs him, when Sir Ed— himself would think it no Disparagement to advise with him?

To teach any one to pray after the true Form of Worship, is to deserve the Thanks of those that are instructed; and tho' he does not affect the Chair, I question whether there is one among his Enemieshas an equal Title to it.

When the Tackers in K. Charles the Second's Time, were for tacking away all the Prerogatives of the Crown, the Name of them was not Fool then, but Knave: 'Twas their own dear Invention, and always put in Practice by the Commonwealth Party. But for the Church to assume only the Liberty of trying the Experiment once, and that for the Preservation of the Monarchy, there it must immediately fall under the Name of Folly, because successless.

Nor let enquiring Heads decline the Name,

Tackers and Tookites always are the same;

The Emblematick Title's eas'ly known,

Their Coat of Arms, stands up in Warsaw Town;

Rampant the Ass, enrob'd in Lyons Skin,

To make the Bully keep the Block-head in;

Quarter'd at large it lyes, Perte-Per-Pale,

The Asse's Ears against the Lyon's Tail.

He might have spar'd himself making the Tackers a Coat of Arms; for it's well known they had them from their Predecessors, and have not been so good Customers to the Herauld's Office, as the Whigs of late Years, who have had none to put upon their Coaches 'till they paid for them.

If they hardly know from whence they came, or when, how comes he to lay it down for granted, that they are descended from Tartary? But I forget he is quoting himself, and the True-born English-man must be brought in, though introduc'd by the Head and Shoulders.

His traducing Mr. Br—ly for his Book, is no Argument of the Goodness of his own; besides, his contemptible Treatment of it will render that Gentleman more valuable, because his Enemy is so illiterate, as not to be able to distinguish between what's a Learned Lecture, or not: And it's enough for him not to have blacken'd him as to other Concerns; for had he been guilty of any thing like a Crime, he would have been sure of being told of it.

The Preamble was not left out, because it favour'd of Persecution, but because the Dissenters, and their Friends in Parliament, exclaim'd against it as such.

Formality of Face, is all the Sobriety the Generality of the adverse Party are famous for; and if the Person that calumniates him had but any thing like his Learning and Breeding, he would have made it his Choice to have paid him his Acknowledgments for his Services to his Country, not a Return of base Ingratitude forsuch inestimable Goodness.

By his Description, he should know Sir Thomas M—rs no better than Mr. Br—ly: But Madness is like the Yellow Jaundice; and those that are possess'd with it, think every one they see of the same Complexion; otherwise he would never say, this worthy Knight was under that Predicament.

The Old Buffoon, Debauch'd in early time,

Boasts of his Vice, and Hugs himself in Crime:

Lewdness has Forty Years forsook the Beast,

And left his Vicious Body to its Age and Rest;

But tho' the Active part of Vice is Dead,

The Rampant Devil's Regnant in his Head,

Hurries the Leud Distemper'd Wretch along,

With Vile Blasphemous Voice, and Baudy Tongue.

If Leudness has forsook his Breast forty Years, then how can the Rampant Devil hurry the Leud Distemper'd Wretch along still? for it is impossible for a Man not to be Wicked, and Wicked at the same time.

I would not be thought to compare Mr. Dryden who is the Antient Polish Bard here meant to Mr. Foe, on Account of his Poetical Performance; but for Ill-Nature, the latter has such an Excess of it that he may be properly said to lose by the Character; though Mr. Dryden had his share too, and fell foul upon Sir Thomas on Account of a Personal Pique, which always carries more Malice than Truth in it.

How can Mr. W—rd be mighty in Wit, and vast in Impertinence, at the same time, unless Mr Foe takes Wit and Impertinence for convertible Terms, as he did the Elements of Air and Water in one of his Reviews.

Satyr may make Room for Mr. Annesly Member of Parliament for the University of Cambridge a• long as it pleases for it, though I do not wonder a Person should have no good opinion for Col¦ledges, that has never been in any other than that of Newgate.

The Earl of Anglesea, Lord Privy-Seal to King Charles II. whom this Paragraph highly injures in calling him a Cossack, was advanc'd for his Loyalty and Zeal for the Church Establish'd; and being the Father of this Worthy Gentleman made such Provision for his Son's Education, as is in no wise consonant to the Dissenters Communion. For though they have their separate Universities at Ʋtrecht, Leyden, &c. they are averse to the two Universities here, where Religion and Loyalty are Taught and Practis'd. Which is an Argument that he did not Design to have his Son bred up otherwise than in those Principles which he so gloriously adhere's to. And how a Man can Vote his Fathers to the Devil, by coming up to his Father's Direction, I must profess my self Incapable of Explaining.

If he has neither Sense nor Manners, how comes he to be Bless'd with every Gift but Honestys For as I take it, Sense and Manners are Gifts, and he can't have them, and not have them at the same time.

By Gransky, the Poet designs we shall read the L— G—ll, though he gives us no Lineaments of him in his pretended Character. That he was made a Lord was the Queen's Act and Deed, and to call his Creation Absurd, is to make her Majesty Guilty of that Absurdity.

When once a Gentleman comes to be the Envy of a Party, and an overmatch for them in Politicks as well as Popularity and the People's Affection, they make it their endeavour to render him Little, least his Merits should raise him too high for their reach. This worthy Patriot's Services by Sea and Land attest for him that his Thoughts are above Prize fighting and such Vulgar Exercises, and though he may have Diverted himself as well as others, by seeing the Rarities of Art and Nature, it's no more than the greatest Councellor in the Cabinet descends to, sometimes.

More Noblemen and Gentlemen than He who refus'd the Association at first have taken it since, and to be singly in the Right, is more Honourable than to have Thousands embark with him in a Cause that is wrong.

Not Vows nor Oaths, can Polish Members bind,

When latent Prospects preposess the Mind;

For when he had the Mareschal's Chair in View,

Thro' Forty Oaths that blessing he'd Pursue.

Satyr, The Ambitious Wretch Commiserate,

Insult no more a Man of adverse Fate;

The Sullen Member's Chagrin and Perplext,

With high extreams of Pride, and Envy Vext,

Because from Speaking Office he must Fall,

For two long Years, he'd hardly speak at all.

None that knows him will say, that he is not Master of Abilities to fill the Speakers Chair, and had the Person that censures him for hardly speaking at all these two long Years, manag'd his Pen as the Noble P—r is said to manage his Tongue, he would have no occasion next Session of Parliament to take the Country Air, when the Winter draws other People to the City.

A Sign that he knows the Constitution of the Stannaries, to say it is a Bear-Garden, and Mob-Assembly, when most of the best Gentlemen of the West gave their Appearance there. I hope he has chang'd his mind since his Lordship's Removal from being Lord Warden, or it will be an Affront to Mr. Godolphin who succeeds him.

In High Mock Majetty, and awkward State,

He Apes the Prince, and thinks himself as great:

The Black Assembly, in the Sulph'rous Shades,

Where Mining Hand the Glitt'ring Oar Invades,

"With all the Elder evils of the Mines,

"He calls in Convocations like Divines,

"Mobb'd them a Speech, within their Smoaky Den,

"Said much of Nothing, and came Home again.

The Speech which he calls a Mobb-Speech may be seen in the Gazette, and to say much of nothing, is rather an Argument of his Dexterity in Discourse than against it. As for his calling the Elder Devils of the Mines like Divines to the Convocation-House, that carries such an odious Reflection upon the Church of England Clergy in General, that i tought to be censur'd by the Civil-Magistrate.

By Banksky we are to understand, the L—d Gu—sey who Married Sir John Banks's Daughter, whom he owns to be furnish'd with Ciceronian Eloquence, at the same time as he will allow him to have no Sense. An Instance of the Satyrist's great Knowledge in Cicero, whose Oratory consisted not only in the Cadence of his Words, but the Sense of them. As for his Voice being a Pun upon his Name, (viz). that there is Musick in it, and his Name is Finch, that is so sorry a Conundrum that OWEN SWAN would kick his Vinegar drawer out of Doors for it.

The Queen mov'd him from the Commons to the Peers, from a true Sense of his Worth, and the Nation is more indebted to his Assistance than his Brother who needs it not, and is Second to no one Patriot whatsoever in every Acquisition whether Natural or Artificial, that can make a Compleat States-man.

For a Man to be laugh'd at, and disrespectfully treated by some People, redounds to his Credit since we are equaly to consider the Persons that Laugh with those that are Laught at, and the Character of the one is to be esteem'd or despis'd, according to the Character of the other.

The Motto's of Sibi Molestus and Laetantur Lares, so well describe the great Man here hinted at, that there is no need of explaining it: Wherefore, I shall only animadvert upon his Poetical Forehead, that could have the Impudence to say so much, when there is so little reason of saying any thing of this Nature; and point out a Person so plain, in affronting of whom, not only the whole Nobility is concern'd, but the Queen Her self, who is the Fountain of all Honour, and is Interested in keeping its chrystal Streams pure and undefiled from such horrid Contaminations.

Great Wits will be guilty of Mistakes sometimes, I perceive; for the Person misrepresented here is one of his own Kidney; and he may sooner find Sir R— G—n at Hannover, than affecting the Recorder's Chair at Exeter: And if he is guilty of any thing here taxed with, he belongs to the Poet's own Party; and muchgood may He do them, for Sir E— S—r has a greater Value for the Monarchy, than to have a Republican for his Disciple, unless it be to Convert him.

Every one that has heard of Sir Thomas Po•…is, has been acquainted with other Qualities than what he is here censur'd for; an• that he is so far from speaking in Bombast Style, that the Happiness of his Periods terminates in the most intelligible Expressions that can be made use of. As to his speaking always to a Question when 'tis pass'd; the Author would do well to explain himself, for I never heard of any that spoke to a Question before it was pass'd.

This Gent. is the better to be spoken of, because set down for a Madman in his ridiculous Metre; and if he is below Lampoon, why does the Poet take such pains to expose Him? But perhaps Mr. Author does not think himself below Lampoon, and therefore does it on purpose to Lampoon himself.

As for Sir Thomas C—k, every one knows what he was sent to the Tower for; and the Character of Mercenary, so very ill becomes him, that no one has been more fam'd for Generosity; witness his Sheriffalty, which fell very little short of Sir ••arles Duncomb's. How the Tower could be his Punishment •…d Protection at the same time, is very difficult to be explain •…; though had he censur'd Sir Thomas, for being so mean spi •…d as to refuse the Mayoralty of London, because Sir John •…rsons had lop'd off the most considerable Branches of its Re •…ue, I would have agreed; for he is so far from being un •…e, as the Verse-insinuates, that he is very wealthy, and by at means the more inexcusable.

To pull a House down to rebuild it Nobler, is common •…ough in Architecture; but that they endeavour'd to destroy •…e Government Established, to make it Great and Flourish •…g, is a Falshood a Man of any Sincerity would not be in •…e least guilty of. For what was done by the Church-Party •…as in pursuance of former Acts of Parliament, in particular, •…at of Uniformity, to strengthen what had been pass'd by •…ing, Lords and Commons; and render Her present Majesty's •…eign as Glorious, for the Preservation of the Church from •…er secret and declar'd Enemies, as She has been for that of •…urope.

The very cheerful Aid here spoken of was advanc'd and forwarded by the very Patriots whom he treats after such a Rascally manner; and the time may come, when Her Majesty may be more sensible than he would have Her, of the Removal of such Gentlemen from Her Presence and Favour, who have made it their whole Business to deserve Her Gracious Approbation. For it's impossible, that a Queen descended from the Family of the Stuarts can discountenance Men of Probity, Affection and Loyalty, to Her Person and Government.

If Sir E. S—r was advanc'd for his Antimerit, what a sort of a L—y must some-body be that promoted him to that Dignity? For nothing can be plainer, than that if I give a Man a Place because of his Opposition to Goodness, I must be an ill Person my self. A scandalous Inuendo, which the Writer ought to be called to an account for. But to answer this Paragraph in his own way, take this noble Gentleman's Character, from a very worthy Gentleman, and yet a Tacker, in his Poem, call'd, Moderation display'd; where the Fiend, speaking of the late Change at Cort, says, after my Lord of I—sy Removal had been spoken of:‘’

The Earl of N—m then is acknowledg'd to do one Wise Thing at last, sure the Poet forgets himself, or He would never have been Guilty of such a Condescention. But his Guilt taught him his Prince's Mind, he foresaw her Majesty's Intentions, and upon that account was before hand with the Queen and resign'd the Seals before they were taken from him. Very well but how came Mr. Foe to know the Queen's Mind, for I never heard he belong'd to the Cabinet before. But Railery apart, hear what the Devil himself says likewise of this Noble Peer in the asoresaid Moderation display'd.

What the E— of I—sy did in Relation to K— W— after his Death, was Honourable and the Duty of his Post, and he was so very far from abusing or betraying his Master, that he had been false to his Mistress had he not secur'd that Prince's Closet. Take his Character likewise from the same Valuable Poem.

Then from this near attendance be Remov'd

〈◊〉 though by all admir'd, and L•v'd,

Though his Sweet Temper and obliging Port,

Become his Office, and adorn the Court.

He seems by Nature 〈◊〉 Mankind 〈◊〉 please,

So free, so unconstrain'd is his Address

Improv'd by ev'ry Virtue, ev'ry Grace.

Celsus disgrac'd Hortensio next appears,

Whose Vigilance still baffles all my Cares,

To whom by Right of Ancestry belong

A Loyal Heart and a Persuasive Tongue

Now Plots are form'd and publick Tempests rowl,

He boast's a strange unshaken Strength of Soul:

Fearless against Her Foes the Church sustains

Alike their Friendship and their Hate disdains,

Disdains their Clamour and Seditious Noise,

Secure in the Applanding Senates Voice.

Of Noble Stem, in whose Collat'ral Lines

Virtue withequal Force and Lustre Shines.

The way to make Poland unhappy, is to follow the Poets prescriptions, and perswade all Men to be in Love with his Sham-Moderations; and to advance to Liberty's Defence in his Scheme of Politicks, is for us to turn Levellers, and bring the Establish'd Constitution to such a Pass that we may all equal in Power, and share the Direction of Affairs alike, without any thing like a Kingly Government, which this pretended Peace at Home may bring us to at last, without the Interposition of such Patriots whom he calls Degenerate Palatines.

I joyn with him in the Prayer, though we are of two Minds concerning the Justice of the Statesmen. For the World Just falls under a Different Acceptation with Men of different Principles.

Heav'n send Her Majesty such Persons about Her Royal Person. Amen, says the Church of England from the bottom of her Heart, who looks upon the Queen as Her Nursing Mother, as well as Daughter; while the Dissenters speak after this way for form sake only, and from the Teeth outwards, since Knavery and Dishonesty is the support of their Cause.

'Tis done, the Polish Genius has prevail'd,

And Heaven has this new Blessing just intail'd.

Not all the Swede's Invading Troops shall awe,

The Loyal Poles their Duty to withdraw;

Confederate Lords with their disloyal Train;

Shall always make the vile Attempt in vain.

While Heaven directs Augustus to apply,

To Men of Council, Men of Honesty,

'T's a Certain Sign there is Deliverance nigh.

We pretend not to so much as to insinuate, that her Majesty having suspected Persons about her, such as take Bribes, &c. contrary to Her Declaration at her Accession to the Throne, but that notwithstanding we are very happy in the Present Ministry, we might likewise have been so if those that are removed from it had continued in it.

What has Satyr to do in Viewing the Man that deserves your Panegyrick: Prethee Daniel leave off this way of Writing, or you'll bring in Satyr so often, that your Writings will be a Satyr upon your self at last.

If the Gentlemen pointed at in this paragraph held any secret Caballs, they were for the good of Church and State and they are so far from forsaking their own Principles that taught them the Continuance of their Duty without any such thing as the Renewing their Allegiance, that they are inseparable from them as Heat is from fire, or sensation from the Soul.

We agree with him, that the Fate of Prince and People depends upon the Choice of a Ministry, and that Wise Councils may support a Weak Prince, but must deny the Consequence, that none but a wise Prince can have a Wise Ministry, since he has own'd in this very Paragraph, that a weak one may be restor'd by one that is Wise.

By Casamir he seems to hint at the L— H— T— who he says plac'd Mr. S— H—y in the E— of N—m's Place, when we cannot but know those Offices of Trust, such as a Sec— of S— are wholly and solely in the Gift of the Crown.

That they are a Happy Two must be taken for granted since they are not only in the Prince's Favour and Peoples too, but we are not to inter from, but to say they neglect their own Interest out of Regard to the Queen's is an impardonable Absurdity, because the Interest of Queen and People are Inseparable.

This is a Compliment they themselves will not allow of, for Sin is a Crime; and there is no Man, not the Arch-B—p himself, without it; which is enough to infer from thence, that all Mankind in general are guilty of some secret Crime or other.

The want of Money makes all Men Poor; and if they can make us Rich by that Want which made us Poor, then all Contradictions whatsoever my be resolv'd by this Arcanum.

There is no Happiness, that the Church of England wishes Her Majesty not Mistress of, who makes it Her continual Prayers, that not so much as the Talk of a Plot, Scotch or English, may be heard in Her Auspicious Reign; and that Money is the Nerves of War has been a received Truth, since Fighting is become Mercenary, no Man of any rational Faculties will so much as question.

We grant him, that the Noble P—rs represented by the borrow'd Name of Casimir, has done more than could be expected in a Treasury, that had been exhausted by Depreations in the late Reign: and while either of two worthy Patriots continue in their Posts, without giving us any Cause of Fear and Distrust, that they ought to be belov'd by Poles and Cossacks too.

The Conclusion.

If the usefullest Thing in Poland is a Fool, then a wise Man is a Fool, for wise Persons at the Helm of Government are the usefullest Things we can hope for.

That's very strange indeed, to be redeem'd by Fools, and almost as much as to say, when we were at the brink of Ruin, by a parcel of Knaves who shar'd the Administration in King James's Reign, the Fools interpos'd in our Behalf, and brought about the late R—vol—n.

So that Folly's a Dignity, and Dubs a Polish Peer, which is a sort of Petty-Treason, because it's the Queen alone who Dubs a Commoner a Peer, and insinuates as if Her Sacred Majesty was Guilty of Short-sightedness in the Distribution of Her Royal Favours, and could not distinguish a Wise Man from a Fool. Retrabas aut Vapules mi Poetula.

To compare a Fool to David's Harp is a little Prophane, as it is to liken Sir Tho. M—r to David, who was a Man after God's own Heart, and huntiug a Qnestion like a Fox a Goose, is such an Attribute of a Fool, as I never heard of Before, since a Fox is look'd upon to be the most Cunning Creature among the whole Four Legged Race.

Now He has made His Satyr say all the Malicious Things He could Invent of Her Majestys best Subjects, He very Mercifully calls upon Satyr to Forbear, just like a Certain Great General at the Boyne who sent orders to give Quarter, after all his Enemies had been put to the Sword. If it be true that all the Fools and Knaves are laid by and disarm'd, then the Tackers are neither Fools nor Knaves as He has Intimated, since there are above 90 chosen for Parliament Men out of the 134. And England Thou ar't the Happiest spot in the whole Universe, and so God Bless the Queen's most Excellent Majesty.‘’

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Title statement

The dyet of Poland: a satyr. Consider'd paragraph by paragraph. To which is added a key to the whole, ...

Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731.

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ID [ota]

http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/3311

ID [isbn10]

1106003101

ID [isbn13]

9781106003102

ID [TCP]

K000266.000

ID [BIBNO]

CW3304206906

ID [ECSS]

0160003600

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Source

— The dyet of Poland: a satyr. Consider'd paragraph by paragraph. To which is added a key to the whole, ..., Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731., Pittis, William, 1674-1724.. [8],64p. ; 8⁰. London :: printed: and sold by Ben. Bragg,. 1705.. [Preface signed: Anglipoloski, i.e. Daniel Defoe.] [The prose commentary is probably by William Pittis (Foxon).] [Reproduction of original from the Harvard University Houghton Library.] [Moore, 100] [Foxon, D100] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCN460.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

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