A heav'nly image in the glass appears,

To that he bends.

plainly denotes image worship.

The goddefs, who is decked with treasures, jewels, and the various offerings of the world, manifeftly alludes to the Lady of Loretto. You have perfumes breathing from the incenfe pot in the following line.

And all Arabia breathes from yonder box.

The character of Belinda, as we take it in this third view, reprefents the popish religion, or the whore of Babylon; who is defcribed in the state this malevolent author wishes for, coming forth in all her glory upon the Thames, and overfpreading. the whole nation with ceremonies.

Not with more glories in th ætherial plain,
The fun firft rifes o'er the purple main,
Then ifuing forth the rival of his beams,
Launch'd on the bofom of the filver Thames.

She is dreffed with a crofs on her breaft, the en1 fign of popery, the adoration of which is plainly recommended in the following lines:

On her white breast a sparkling cross she wore,
Which Jews might kifs, and infidels adore.

Next he reprefents her as the univerfal church, according to the boasts of the papists:

And like the fun fhe fhines on all alike,

After which he tells us,

If to her fhare fome female errors fall,
Look on her face, and you'll forget them all.
P 2

Though

Though it fhould be granted fome errors fall to her fhare, look on the pompous figure the makes throughout the world, and they are not worth regarding. In the facrifice following you have these two lines:

For this, ere Phoebus rofe, he had implor'd
Propitious heav'n, and ev'ry pow'r ador'd.

In the first of them he plainly hints at their rising to matins; in the fecond, by adoring every power, the invocation of faints.

Belinda's vifits are described with numerous waxlights, which are always ufed in the ceremonial part of the Roman worship.

-Vifits fhall be paid on fölemn days,

When nuni'rous wax-lights in bright order blaze.

The lunar fphere he mentions, opens to us their purgatory, which is feen in the following line:

Since all things loft on earth are treafur'd there.

It is a popish doctrine, that scarce any perfon quits this world, but he muft touch at purgatory in his way to heaven; and it is here alfo reprefented as the treafury of the Romish church. Nor is it much to be wondered at, that the moon should be purgatory, when a learned divine hath in a late treatise proved the fun to be hell *.

I shall now, before I conclude, defire the reader to compare this key with thofe upon any other pieces, which are fuppofed to have been fecret fatires upon the ftate, either ancient or modern; in particular with the keys to Petronius Arbiter, Lucian's true Hiftory, Barclay's Argenis, and Rabelais's Garagantua, and I doubt not he will do me the

*The Reverend Dr. Swinden.

juftice

juftice to acknowledge, that the explanations here laid down, are reduced as naturally, and with as little violence, both from the general fcope and bent of the work, and from the feveral particulars : furthermore, that they are every way as confiftent and undeniable, every way as candid, as any modern interpretation of either party on the conduct and writings of the other. And I appeal to the most eminent and able ftate-decypherers themselves, if, according to their art, any thing can be more fully proved, or more fafely fworn to!

To fum up my whole charge against this author in a few words: he has ridiculed both the prefent ministry and the laft; abused great ftatefmen and great generals; nay, the treaties of whole nations have not escaped him, nor has the royal dignity itself been omitted in the progrefs of his fatire; and all this he has done juft at the meeting of a new parliament. I hope a proper authority may be made ufe of to bring him to condign punishment In the mean while I doubt not, if the perfons molt concerned would but order Mr. Bernard Lintot, the printer and publisher of this dangerous piece, to be taken into cuftody and examined, many farther discoveries might be made, both of this poet's and abettor's fecret designs, which are doubtless of the utmost importance to the government.

MEMOIRS of P. P. Clerk of this Parish.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The original of the following extraordinary treatise confifted in two large volumes in folio; which might juftly be entitled, The Importance of a man to himself; but, as it can be of very little ufe to any body befides, I have contented myself to give only this fhort abstract of it, as a taste of the true fpirit of memoir-writers.

IN

N the name of the LORD. Amen. I P. P. by the grace of God, clerk of this parish, writeth this hiftory.

Ever fince I arrived at the age of difcretion, I had a call to take upon me the function of a parishclerk and to that end, it seemed unto me, meet and profitable to affociate myself with the parishclerks of this land; fuch I mean as were right worthy in their calling, men of a clear and fweet voice, and of becoming gravity.

Now, it came to pafs, that I was born in the year of our Lord, Anno Domini 1655, the year wherein our worthy benefactor, Efquire Bret, did add one bell to the ring of this parish. So that it hath been wittily faid, "That one and the fame day did give to this our church two rare gifts, its great bell " and its clerk."

Even when I was at school, my mistress did ever extol me above the reft of the youth, in that I nad a laudable voice. And it was. furthermore observed, that I took a kindly affection unto that black letter, in which our bibles are printed. Yea, often did I exercife myself in finging godly ballads, fuch

as

as the lady and death, the children in the wood and chevy chafe; and not like other children, in lewd and trivial ditties. Moreover, while I was a boy, I always adventured to lead the pfalm next after Mafter William Harris, my predeceffor, who (it must be confeffed to the glory of God,) was a 'moft excellent parish-clerk in that his day.

Yet be it acknowledged, that at the age of fixteen I became a company-keeper, being led into idle conversation by my extraordinary love to ringing; infomuch, that in a fhort time I was acquainted with every fet of bells in the whole country: neither could I be prevailed upon to abfent myself from wakes, being called thereunto by the harmony of the fteeple. While I was in thefe focieties, I gave myself up to unfpiritual paftimes, fuch as wrestling, dancing, and cudgel-playing; fo that I often returned to my father's house with a broken pate. I had my head broken at Milton by Thomas Wyat, as we played a bout or two for an hat, that was edged with filver galoon: but in the year following I broke the head of Henry Stubbs, and obtained a hat not inferior to the former. At Yelverton I encountered George Cummins weaver, and behold my head was broke a fecond time! At the wake of Waybrook I engaged William Simkins tanner, when lo, thus was my head broken a third time, and much blood trinkled therefrom. adminiftred to my comfort, faying within myself, "what man is there, howfoever dextrous in any "craft, who is for aye on his guard?" A week after I had a bafe-born child laid unto me; for in the days of my youth I was looked upon as a follower of venereal fantafies: thus was I led into fin by the comeliness of Sufanna Smith, who firft tempted me, and then put me to fhame; for indeed the - was a maiden of a feducing eye, and pleasant feature. I humbled myself before the juftice, I acknowledged my crime to our curate, and, to do

But I

away