ferve the Peace, to provide for the Safety of the Inhabitants, and to restore to the Traders the full enjoyment of their Trades without annoyance or obftruction; And when a happy beginning of a hopeful Reformation was very vigorously profecuted; Whether under all thefe Circumftances to erect Booths of fuch largeness, and for fuch purposes as aforefaid, be not an Abominable Wickedness and Impiety against GOD? 2. Whether it be not an A&t of great Infolence and Prefumption against her Majefty, who hath so happily given Encouragement to this beginning of a Reformation? 3. Whether it be not likewife an act of Infolence and Prefumption against the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen? 4. Whether it be not fuch an impudent Oppofition to the Reformation lately begun, and now profecuted, as ought to be refented by all who wish well thereunto? 7. Whether the 1 Let the Ground fo pofes, or to perfons known to ufe fuc ments, be not equa and punishable who erect the Boot end? 8. Whether tho tend the Queens A thefe Booths, ough enquir'd after,and d if difcover'd? 9. Whether the not only of these but also all other th of Lotteries, whic only pernicious, but trary to Law, and Authoriz'd either b of the Lord Mayor Aldermen, or by a of the Queen her f Authority lefs tha Parliament, doth n ferve the Confidera thofe worthy Perfor willing to give thei for the promoting of Reformation? A. These are all very great weight an both with relpect fent Reformation, an 5. Whether the permiffion of fuch an Infolence, Prefumption, and Abominable Wicked-ral great perfons the nefs, under the Circumftances aforefaid, be not like to provoke fome fpecial Judgment of GOD for it? cern'd; and therefor prefume to give the Thoughts upon 'em Special Orders for fo 6. Whether the permitting Q. Whether the w. of fo great an Occafion of Dil-a through Reformation order and Wickedneis, and foto begin at the plainly contrary to the Laws, thority, fince they are be not a great Blemish to, and begin with the littl great our whether it wou'd not be effectively exemplary if a restraint and Suppreffion were put upon fome Perfons of Quality, who notwithstanding Her Majefties Graciou Letter to the Fuftices of Middlefex, do yet under the Covert and Vail of power at the moft vile and little things? As for example, A certain Great Perfon whofe Name we fall conceal for his Families Reputation) having decoy'd a Gentlemans Wife away from him, took Lodging for her and her Maid-on't, and are affur'd, that the Servant. Her Husband finding Husband may bring his Action, out where he was, came and de- and recover good Damages manded his Wife, upon which And befides, the Crime is puthe Great Man orders fome per- nifh'd by Fine and Imprifonfons to carry away the Gentleman ment, and may be profecuted by force, and kept him feveral by Indictment by another PerHours. At laft the Affair was fon: And we are alfo affur'd, fo contriv'd, that his Wives that if the Gentleman will apServant Swore Treafon against pear with his Evidence at the him, which 'twas thought wou'd next Seffions, that it may be brve taken away his Life. In known he hath fufficient Evifort, he was Imprifon'd, and tho' dence to make good the Indictupon his Tryal clear'd, yet his ment, there will care be taWife was kept from him by this ken by as powerful (tho' perGreat Man, and no Fuftice done haps unknown) Friends, that to the injur'd party: But had the Injur'd fhall have the Afliftit been my cafe as it was the ance andEncouragement that the Gentlemans, it hou'd not have Law affords. 'Tis faily alledg'd, ended here, for where-ever Ihad That the Great Ones begin not met the Great Bubble, I fhou'd themselves: Their Majefties e'en have Efquire Thinn'd his and their Officers, with many Honour: Your thoughts one the of the Nobility and Gentry,hawhole? ving encouragd all of us by their Pious Example. And though iome few of the great ones do Clandeftinely act what they are afham'd of, yet there's enough dare let them know they are fubject to thoie Laws they would pervert, and uch as will endeavour to make 'em fenfible that Titles of Honour are left in little Actions. gun to ftem the great Torrent of Impiety. If the worst of men in an ill Caufe can be brave and daring, why fhou'd the Profelytes of Vertue be timerous and Sneaking? We profess felves Difciples of that great Man, who being ask'd by Heliogabalus how he durft be fo plain? Becaufe (faid he) I dare Die I can but die if 1 fpeak the truth, and I must Die if I flatter. We have upon fuch a Suppofition taken Advice up 4. 'Twou'd have been a better way to have appeal'd to Heaven, and refign'd the Caufe to the Righteous Judge, rather than to encroah upon his Prerogative without a Warrant: But fince our Thoughts are required, we anfwer thus, That we freely lift our felves amongit that little Party that have be Q. A mean Q. A Woman, who was a Foreigner, having taken a Houfe in Stretten-ground, in Weitminler, was obferved by her Neighbours to keep her Doors fbut all Day, but that toward the Evening there was recourfe to her by perfons in Coaches, who feem'd to be of no Quality, which occafioned fome fufpicion, that thofe perfons met there upon fome fecret bufinefs, as Plotting Treafon against the Government, &c. Whereupon Information being given at Court, two Meffengers went to fearch the Houfe at the ufual time of the Company's coming thither; and upon fearching, they found only a certain Lord, with a Lady of a Noble Family, who was Wife to another Lord. Q. 1. Whether this wickedness be not greatly aggravated by the Quality of the perfons, who ought to be Examples of Ver tue ? cern'd for the punishment of it, the greater Benefit might not thereupon be expected to the Nation? 6. How far the Church, and particularly the Bishop of the Diocefs is concern'd in it? 7. How far the two Noble Families related to the Lady and her injur'd Lord, are concerned in it? 4. To the first Question the Answer is clear and eafie, and must be in the Affirmative : The true end of Nobility, or diftinguishing fome Perfons above others, is rewarding Vertue, that fuch Perfons who have done handsom Actions, being advanc'd to Honour for that Reafon, others might by feeing 'em in fuch high Stations, be perfwaded even out of Intereft to imitate their Vertues. But if inftead of perfifting in that Vertue which did or fhou'd have rais'd them or their Ancestors, they only make use of their power to be more Vicious than others, and give bad, inftead of good Examples, they are as much more guilty than others, as they are higher than they. Their Names will be expos'd (for they are known) tho' not in this little Paper, yet in the bolder Chronicles of the after Ages; and whilft Offenders of leffer Quality may 'care with the Lash in Bridewell, and 4. Whether the due punishment their Faults and they are shortthereof, be not like to be well-ly Bury'd together, these greatpleafing to Almighty GOD, and erDelinquents thall be tranimita great encouragement to the ted down to Pofterity in thole promoting of the Reformation de- proper Colours their Crimes fired? deferve if indeed they met at the place nam'd on any Criminal Defign, as the Queftion fuggefts. 2. Whether neglect of due Pun fhment of fuch wickedness in fuch Perfons, be not a greater Offence and Provocation of the Judgments of GOD upon the Nation, than a neglect of Punishment of the like wickedness in meaner perfons? 3. Whether the Fault of fuch a Neglect would not be greatly aggravated by being cemmitted now in the beginning of fo hopeful a Reformation? 5. Whether the greater the Perfons who should appear to be con Το To the Second, As the quality of the perfons aggravates the Crime, fo, fhou'd the Crime efcape unpunish'd, 'twould certainly be of much worfe Confequence, than if thofe concern'd had been of a meaner Character. Befides, the malicious World will fay, and juftly too, that Justice is not fairly hoodwink'd, but makes a shift to get a glance of the Parties concern'd, and Spares one more than another- that all is but a mock-Reformation, or like thofe Cobweb-Laws, which great Flies break through; and that it's plain all this noile is only about little Sinners, while the Drunkard, the Swearer, the Whore-master of Quality, may ftill take what Liberty he himfelf pleafes. To the Third, we reply in the Affirmative, and can eafily guess what the Thoughts of tome will be concerning it, namely, That thofe engag'd herein, tho' they have fo great an Example, were hardly in earnest, or at least that they durft not profecute what they had fo happily begun. The two laft we acknowledge too big for us to answer; may Religion, Juftice and Honour direct thofe concern'd. Q. A certain Perfon on Sunday laft, in the Sermon time, was drinking in an Alehouse where be dined, for which he was forc'd to pay 3 s. 6 d. Yet the Justice of Peace, who caused the Man to pay the faid Money, was the fame day Tippling himself in Sermon time. Now I wou'd fain know what treatment this faid Juftice ought to meet with, and to whom may a Man fafely go to inform against him; for without doubt no Justice will Fine or Condemn a fuftice, but rather fend the Informer to Prifon; therefore what ought to be done in this Cafe, that the Reformation may take its free Courfe? For without doubt, if it is a notorious Crime in a mean Man, it is so in a Justice of Peace? To which for a parallel we may add another we have receiv'd, to wit, A Fuftice of Peace his Sonwas lately taken in a Tippling-house, in the time of Morning-Service, contrary to the Statute in that Cafe made and provided; whether or no the Conftable that fearch'd the Houfe for Tiplers, and took him, and afterwards let him go again, because was a Juftice's Son, ought not to be treated in To the Fourth, If the Fact be plain, the Refolution is fo fo. The Crime is foul and orrid, the juft punishment hereof must therefore be a rave and no le act, and as ac-open Court, like that Conftable eptable to GOD,as honourable you make mention of in your mong Men. Oracle, Vol.ii.p.33.who refufed to execute a Warrant for the for this fo good an feizing of Fruit publickly exxample ingreat Perions, wou'd pos'd to Sale on the Lord'sà fome meature cure the mif- | day? We anlwer the fifth as the Ormer A The Author of this ingenious Query must confider the Nature of Vifion, and the manner of Reprefentation of external Objects on the Eye, which is nothing else but the Impreffion made on the fine and fubtile Membrane by the Ray of Light in a rectilinear Motion from the Object. The Judg ment of distance is form'd from the greater or leffer Angles which they make upon the Organ. We muft confider the Doctrine of Reflection, wherein he who has but just lookt into Opticks, knows that the Angles of Incidence and Reflection are equalfrom the due comparing of which Principles will arife the natural and genuine folution of next now is the time it will be made pears as far behind the furface of appear fo). concerning that the Glafs as the Object reprefent Maxim, Par in parem non habited is diftant from it? poteftatem; That an Equal has not power above his Equal, we grant to be a Truth, fpeaking itrictly, without confidering whether Circumftances or Exceptions may alter the Cafe. But let fuch as only love a General Construction of Things, confider, that a Criminal is not equal to an Innocent Perfon, much less with a Magiftrate; and that by breach of the Laws he may (tho' a Juftice of Peace, or a Magiftrate) become fubject not only to a Magiftrate of equal degree, but to an Inferiour Officer. A Parliament-man, a Judge, nay, a Nobleman, may be fubject to Arrest by a petty Constable, in fome Cafes. If we look into Stow's Annals of Henry IV. We fhall find the Lord-Chief-JusticeGascoyne fam'd for Executing the Laws C against the Prince; and read D the Statute, 4, Hen. 7. cap. 12. and you will find how careful that King was to see his Subjects have Right done: And what King left fuller Coffers to a Succeffor than he did? But to the Inftances in the Question: No other Juftices can refule to act upon Information against the first Justice,the other Juftice's Son and the Constable, if the Information appears to be truth; which let the Informer be well fatisfy'd of,by fuch fufficient Evidence" as the Statutes in thofe Cafes re-ation, 4 S. The Object in a quire. direct Line, C D E The Eye Fif The Objet feen by Reflection G H I Q. What's the Reafon when we view our felves, or any other Object in a Glafs, the Image ap E P R F £ this Problem. For suppose, as in the Scheme annex'd, the Glaf's in a perpendicular Situ We |