. a too, upon a more accurate survey. The two apocryphal books of Esdras are own'd as such by the very church of Rome, tho' her canon of Scripture be larger than ours. You may remember, that the account which the Post-man gives us, of so remarkable an occurrence, circumscrib'd the settlement of those Jews in China, within either two hundred years before our Saviour's birth, or as many. after. But since it was observ’d, that they knew no other Jesus than the son of Sirach, we shall place the Æra of their seta. tlement as high as that account admits. of, and yet plainly shew you, that it falls too low to .comport with your observation. In the passage you have quoted, the Ifraelites traveling to an unknown country, is faid to have been reveald to Efdras. Now Esdras had really such a revelation, or he had not. If that, that he had such a revelation, be a forgery, we have reason to fufpect the matter of the revelation If he really had such a revelation, then it follows, that the account given us in Esdras is too early for the account given us by the Post-man, since Esdras lived some hundred years before that later Ærao. Besides, the passage in Efdras seems to represent either the Whole body, or, at least the major part of the captive Ifraelites to have taken the journey specified ; who were too numerous to agree with this modern account, unless they afterwards feparated and settled in diftinct colonies, 'Q. Why our great and learned in Divinity fo much enry those they call lay-preachers, seeing God has in all ages done his mighty works by poor and despicable inftruments; as for instances, Jericho's walls, by the found rams.horns. David in the overthrow of the Philistine. And in the Gospel days God has and does convince and convert by fifhermen, and other men, who have their heads and hands in the trading world, when the learned feem to Labour in vain; or as those in the 28ch of Jeremiah, and 32° verse. 4. The purport. of your question comes to this, Why illiterate perfons are not now, as well as in for mes mer ages, fitter for the pulpit than learned men. To which we answer, because miracles are ceas'd. Q. I return you thanks for your answer to the question about gaming, which you have signed with S. F. And since you affirm, that it is covetoufness, I desire you would let me and the publick know, whether that kind of covetoufness be, first, The son that the Apostle speaks of when he says it is adultery ? 2dly, Whether it be not such people that are excluded from entring into the kingdom of heaven? Or, 3dly, ( which will compleat all, since be that offends in one point, is guilty of all) Whether it be not a directly breaking the tenth Commandment ? A. As all manner of covetousness is of the nature of idolatry, in that it is a preference of the creature to the great Creator ; as to play out of greediness of winning, is more than to covet my neighbour's goods; so we cannot forbear our fears, left the gamester, fpecified in the question you refer to be fo unhappy, as to be included in the catalogue of thofe,' who are forbid to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Q. Gentlemen, You would oblige the publick, in giving fome rational account, how the twins to be seen at Charing Cross could happen to be joind together in jo wonderful a manner ? A. To form in your minds fome idea of the manner how this unhappy conjunction might be occa. fion'd, we must consider the bodies of embrio's may be compared to a soft wax, being very apt to receive and keep any strong impression made on the mother's body; so that supposing that the mother, when big with these unfortunate twins, either only saw two people strike one another, buttock againft buttock, or else receiv'd her self such a hard stroke, it occasion'd in the same parts of the two embrio's then in her womb the fame violent motion, by which being soft and tender they were closely joined and confounded together. Tho' this may appear a very unaccountable fuggestion to fome, yet the following account will render it (we doubt not) very rational, viz. Schenkius, in his observationsrelates out. of Munfter's Cosmo graphy, many graphy, that in the year 1495, in a village called Birstadt, near Wormes, as two women were talking to. gether, one of which was with child, a third coming unexpectedly knock'd their foreheads together, which fo surpriz'd and frighted the big woman, that the was in due time delivered of two female children, as inseparably join’d together in the top of their foreheads. Having liv'd so ten years, one died, and was cut off from the other, which also died soon after. The same author and Pareus in his chyrurgical works relate instances of monstrous coalitions, more ftrange and unaccountable than this, which is now the subject of our wonder and admiration, though we confess this very well deserves it too. Q. Gentlemen, pray can you give us some account relating to the two monstrous children lately brought into England, as to their birth, how they could be brought forth, and whether the mother survived their birth? A. The best account we could gain, was, that one was born three hours before the other, the last coming into the world with her body doubled, and to be sure, not without an extraordinary hard labour to the mother, who notwithstanding is reported to be still alive, and to have had another child lince. Q. Gentlemen, having read your Apollo with abundance of delight and I hope improvement) I observe you folve a great many questions by the operation of the animal spirits, therefore beg of you to tell me what those animal spirits are ? A. The animal spirits are particles of the blood, so exceedingly rarified, and by mutual collision fo particularly configurated, as to be capable of a swifter motion, and of a free paffage through such parts of the body as are impervious to the other particles of the blood. Q. Whether a great loose coat, wore two or three years, then took into pieces, trimd with new shalloon, buttons &c. end made into a close coat, cán properly be called a nena coat ? A wager is depending on your folution. 4. It is doubtlels a new cgat, from haviog received a new ment ; a new form; there being nothing but form new in nature, all matter being trom the beginning, Q. Gentlemen, you assert the infinite divisibility of matter, wherefore I desire you would be pleased to answer this objection, namely, that it would follow from thence, that the least part would contain in it an infinite number of parts. But how can that be, fonce there is no number but may be added to, and therefore no number which can be infinite ? A. The infinite divisibility of matter, tho' liable to other objections than that you mention, yet cannot be confuted thence, because those objections are drawn from the nature of infinity, of which we have no other idea than a negative, abstracted one. That one infinite should be larger than another (tho’undeniably demonstrable) is yet another objection of the same nature with yours: for to make the lesser infinite equal to the greater, there must be an addition of the excess; whereas one would think (as you observe) that infinity were uncapable of addition. : Q. I have lived almost 22 years, I'm handsome, and a fortune enough to keep my felf; my family none can diflike; I have had some long-wigs, laced coats, and tissuefleeves, to sigh at my feet: they no sooner talk of marriage, but that murdering sound of trumpet calls them from ilence, and when they return, have forgot their vows. Now I beg Apollo's advice how to make them faithful lovers ? A. Bless us !, 22 years of age, and not yet to have fix'd a lover, when a girl here in town was in hopes to be a mother by eight years of age :''tis hard, wondrous hard! but we fear your disappointments arose from your wrong notions of the matter; for perhaps it was not the murdering found of the trumpet that call's away your loog-wig'd, lace-coated and tissuesleevd humble servants, but the murdering found of matrimony; so no wonder if they forgot the vows they never design’d to keep upon your conditions. To make such lovers faithful may be a more difficult operation, than the fixing of mercury, and the conclusion perhaps not. answer the toil of the experi a 1 one that it's true, ment; for when such grow faithful, they grow extream dull, which 'feems not so agreeable to your gayety; but Madam, if you are, as you say, handsom, of a good fortune and family, and altho' 22 years of age, provided you have not stood at that age these 22 years, you need not despair of making a conquest of may be faithful even upon your own terms, I need not tell it you, If you'll fome sense impart, Your oracle i'll fill adore As much as heretofore, Silvia. A stock of wisdom gain? Attract cælestial love, only found. hopeful heirs of such a dad, M |