[A noife heard within. Toil. I fay fly too, for here he comes, ftorm, tempeft, hail, thunder and hurricane-As for me, I'll weather it out. [Exeunt Polydore and Aurelia. Enter Dr Chagrin, driving a footman before him.

Chag. Rogue, rafcal, villain, will always make me knock two hours together at the door ?—————

you

Thomas. I was at work in the kitchen, and at the first stroke of the knocker, I made fuch hafte up ftairs, that I fell upon my nofe.

Chag. Wou'd thou had'ft broke thy neck. Hang-dog-why have I fo much patience!- Oho! Madam, [feeing Toilette] are you there?--I thought I told you yesterday that I would have the door left open ?

Toil. You was angry yesterday, Sir, because it was open.

Chag. And I am angry now because it was not open.

Toil. So that when it is open you are offended, and when it is fhut you are no less offended.-For my part I know

not what to do.

Chag. What to do?

Gen. Brother will you

Chag. [interrupting.] Pray be quiet

What to do?

not a fervant that will reafon.

Toil. Ads life, I wish I had no reason at all if this is the trade.

Chag. Will you hold your tongue, Mrs. Obftinate. [Holds up his cane.

Toil. Ay, ay, ftrike, beat me to mummy if you will, or, Sir, cut me as small as minc'd meat; a door must be either open or fhut.

Tho. It muft fo, Sir."

Chag. I have told you, ye rogue, above a thousand times-I have told you, ye flut, as many, I'll have it-I'll have itToil. Ay, how

Chag. What? does it become you to afk me questions? If I take ye both in hand, I'll fhew you how I'll have it.You laugh methinks, Mr brother.

Gen. I not I. I know fervants are fometimes in fault.

Chag. Yet you fneer: but fee if I am angry without a caufe. You shall see, you fhall fee-Pray, Madam, have you fwept my clofet out?

Toil. Yes, and your ftudy and bedchamber, as you order'd me. Chag. And you the garden? Tho. It is in the utmost nicety, or I'll lofe my wages.

Chag. You did not deliver the meffage to my daughter?

Toil. Yes, and gave an answer to it as you was going out.

Chag. Did you water my horfe? Tho. Mr Polydore faw me. Chag. But you have not platted my fring'd turn-over.

Toil. It lies ready for you. Chag.[Paufes] O! my letters; did you put them into the poft? Tho. At the general poit-house with the utmoft care.

Chag. Huffey, I have a hundred times forbad you thrumming on the old fpinnet in the parlour, and you was at it again this morning- Thrum, Thrum, Tweedle-dee

Toil. This morning! Lard, don't you remember you broke it yesterday into thousand pieces?

a

Chag. But I'll be hang'd if you have air'd my flannel night-cap.

Toil. Yes, and your flannel night-
Chag

fhirt too.

WH

Act of the Affociate Prefbytery, anent a faft, at Dunfermline, January 8. 1741. 7Hich day and place the Affeciate Prefbytery being met, and taking under their ferious confideration the many juft caufes of the Lord's anger and controverfy gone forth against us; fuch as, unbelief, neglect of the great falvation among golpel-hearers, open atheifm, infidelity, defpifing the Lord Jefus Chrift, and contempt of his glorious gofpel; lukewarmnefs, fecurity, and neutrality in the cause of Christ among profeffors; impenitency, and hardness of heart under the marks of the Lord's difpleafure; open profanity, difregard to the Lord's day, uncleannefs, and innumerable abominations of all forts, which abound and prevail at this day, and other grounds and reafons for fafting and humiliation; and that, though we with our fathers have finned, yet we have not been fuitably humbled for either our own or our fathers fins; yea, for the most part, will not be perfuaded to lay them to heart, notwithstanding the many clear calls thereto from the Lord's word and providence: And confidering the great and manifold indignities done against the Lord Jefus Chrift, his truths and intereft in these lands, contrary to our folemn engagements to the Lord by our covenants both National and Solemn League, not only in former times, but of late; particularly, that the Moft High God our Saviour hath been bafphemed, and his proper, true and fupreme deity impugn'd and denied:

And the Prefbytery confidering the many loud calls at prefent for fafting and humiliation, by the awful difpenfations of providence both at home and abroad, the manifold judgments both spiritual and temporal already inflicted, the defolations threatned upon thefe lands, and the danger the Proteftant intereft and work of reformation is expofed unto; do reckon it their duty to ftir up them felves, and all under their inspection, to the neceffary duty of fearching and trying our ways, and turning again unto the Lord our God; to fearch into the causes why the anger of the Lord is in fo many ways teftified againft us; to ac

knowledge our iniquities, with the eye of faith towards the only propitiation for fin; to lament after the Lord, and wrestle with him for the return of his prefence, and for his reviying and quick ning us under our fpiritual languithings and decays, and extending his tender mercy to us, and yet making glory to dwell in our land."

And whereas the Commiffion of the last pretended Affembly have given up to the civil magiftrate the power belonging to the church of Chrift to appoint days of fafting and humiliation, and to name the day; and that we are informed from the publick prints, that the civil magiftrate has affumed that power, unlawfully refigned to him by the eftablifhed church, by appointing a fast, in confequence of the Commiflion's application, to be obferved in Scotland the 4th of February next: And tho' the Prefby+ tery obferved a fast, last year, on the fame day appointed for that end by the magiftrate, after declaring they could not obferve the faid day upon his authority in the proclamation for that effect, but for the reafons mentioned in the act for appointing the fame day; yet, however plaufible these reasons at that time appear'd unto us, we cannot now but apprehend, upon more mature confideration, and defire, in the first place, as the Lord fhall affift, to own and acknowledge, that, upon a mistake, we ourfelves went too far in fymbolizing with the above unwarrantable praEtice of the church's giving up, and the magiftrate's affuming the power of naming the day, by obferving the fame day appointed by the civil magiftrate: and we defire, through grace, to ly low in the duft before the Lord, faying, What we fee not, teach thay us; and, if we have done iniquity, we will do na more. And tho' it was controverted, last year, that the intrinfick power of the church was both given up and affum'd, in regard there were fo few days between the meeting of the Commiffion and the date of the proclamation; yet, now that the Commiffion have repeated their deed of a formal and voluntary giving up to the civil magiftrate

the

the intrinfick power of the church, by applying to the King for naming the day for fafting and humiliation, and that he hath appointed the day accordingly; it appears evident, that there is a finful combination between church and ftate, to make an invafion upon the headship and fovereignty of our Lord Jefus Chrift over his church, as his free and independent kingdom; and we cannot but look upon it as a cause of humiliation before the Lord, that fuch manifeft difhonour hath been done unto him whom God hath appointed King in his holy hill of Zion. The Lord our God, whofe name is Jealous, is a jealous God; he is jealous of his worship and honour, and will not give his glory to another. And tho' it is the great duty of all ranks to humble themselves before the Lord, and for each to stir up one another to this exercife; and particularly, for the civil magistrate to ex cite thofe under him to this duty: yet, as it is the duty of the office-bearers in the Lord's houfe, to fearch out and difcover the causes of the Lord's contending with a church and land, and to fet apart times of folemn humiliation before the Lord on account of those, and even to fay to Kings and to Queens, Humble yourselves; fo, when a church does deliver up to the powers of the earth that truft and right which the Lord hath lodged in their hand, and when the civil magiftrate adventures, either to deprive the church of her right, or accept of and exerce that truft and power which the hath thus finfully alienated, it is a confenting to the alienation, and fo incurring the guilt, in conjunction with the church, of dethroning the Prince of the Kings of the earth, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. And the Prefbytery likewife confidering, that a righteous and holy God is trying us with fcarcity and want of bread, and is threatning us with a bloody fword to avenge the quarrel of his covenant, and hath visited us with a variety of judgments, the juft fruit of our manifold fins and provocations, not only perfonal, but of a publick nature; fuch as, the abjuring and burning our

covenants, fhedding the blood of the Lord's faints and fervants, indulgences and toleration; the finful burying of the reforming period in the Revolution fettlement; our uniting with our neigh, bour nation upon terms inconfiftent with our covenant-union of these kingdoms; the many falfe and unlawful bonds and oaths, both formerly and more lately, contrary to the word of God and our covenants; the sinful invading the rights of the Lord's people by the restoring patronages; the intrufions upon the Lord's heritage through the land, by the prefent judicatures their exalting their authority above the authority of the Lord Jesus; the manifeft injury they have done to truth by feveral acts and decifions; and many other grounds and caufes of fasting, contained in the Act and Teftimany emit, ted by this Prefbytery: As alfo, their continuing to go on in a course of defection fince the emitting of that A and Teftimony; particularly, their fin ful compliance with the ufurpation of Chrift's headship in the matter of the act anent Captain Porteous, and the late judicial burying of a teftimony for the truths and caule of Chrift, by the sentence of the last pretended Aflembly, in depofing eight minifters of the Pref bytery, for their oppofing a course of defection, and appearing for and main taining covenanted reformation-principles; and other steps of the like nature: By all which a righteous and holy God is difhonoured, and provoked to withdraw the influence of his Spirit, and vifit us with most awful judgments, and may justly further tryst us with de folating ftrokes, and return to his place, and hide his face more and more, till we acknowledge our offence, and feek his face:

For all which, and other weighty caufes, the Prefbytery befcech, call and obteft all under their infpection, to humble themselves before the Lord, and to make confeffion unto him of our own and of the fins both of former and prefent times; to flee to the atoning blood of the Lord Jefus, the alone propitiation for fin; andupplicate the throne

of

of grace, That God, for the fake of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, would avert deserved wrath, and cause his face to fhine upon his fanctuary that is defolate: That he may be gracious to our fovereign King George, may give fuccess to his arms against the enemies of the peace and welfare of thefe lands; and that he would bless the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the rest of the Royal family: That the Lord may revive a covenanted work of reformation in these lands, and excite and determine all ranks to return unto the Lord our God; that he may fhew mercy to his broken heritage, who are scattered in the dark and cloudy day, and make his Zion a peaceable habitation, a praife in all the earth: And that he, who giveth food to all flesh, may mercifully grant to us a feasonable feed-time, and a plentiful harveft; and that, for this end, he would vifit the earth, bless the fpringing thereof, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give feed to the fower, and bread to the eater. And the Prefbytery appoint Wednesday the 28th of January instant to be observed as a day of publick fasting and humiliation in all the congregations of their concerns, and by all fuch as are in acceffion to the faid Prefbytery, upon the above grounds and caufes; and that this act be intimated in all their congregations upon the Lord's day preceeding the faid day of fafting and humiliation, with fuitable exhortations.

A letter published in the Edinburgh news

papers, Jan. 26.

Uch is my regard for the Affociate Prefbytery, with whom I join in communion as often as my circumftances will admit, that it gives me real concern, when their well meant zeal is any way mifplaced, thro' want of better information; and as they have been misled in their notions of the national faft, I doubt not but you will infert this letter, which I hope may give fome fatisfaction, as they are men who ly open to light, and are willing to embrace it. As all true Prefbyterians maintain the church's intrinfick power to appoint

days of fafting and humiliation, fo they likewife admit that the civil magiftrate may call (or, as the Affociate Brethren exprefs it, excite) all those under him to this neceffary duty and if both church and ftate have this power, why may they not, on certain occafions, countenance and affift one another in this matter, and join their united endeavours for making the ends thereof the more effectual? Suppofing the King fhould apply to the church, to fearch out the caufes of the divine displeasure, and set a time apart for mourning over these; it would by no means follow from thence, that he could in no other cafe call his fubjects to this, of himself: how then it can be inferred, from the Commiffion's applying for the civil fanction, that they have given up their own intrinfick power, is to me not fo very plain. It is the universal practice of the Minifters of burghs, to advise with the magiftrates as to the particular feafon and day on which it may be most proper to administrate the facrament of the fupper, and are pretty much directed by them in this circumstance; but no man from thence ever imagined, that the Minifters of fuch cities had given up their right of difpenfing the facrament to the civil magiftrate, or made their countenancing it abfolutely neceffary. And it ought likewise to be confidered, that the court of feffion are obliged by act of parliament to meet every day, Sunday and Monday excepted, till the firft of March; fo that the Commiffion, without the royal authority, could not have fixed on a proper day, unless during the vacancy bout Christmas, which it is very probable might have been represented as a step towards the fuperftition of other churches.Should any one think all this not fufficient to apologize for the Commiffion, I fhall not differ from him, being perfuaded that the church fhould exert their own power oftner than they do without fuch applications; however, when they do exert them, it is of ufe to have the affiftance of the civil magiftrate, to prevent the contempt of their authority.

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