ties, persecutions, oppressions, or discontents, that have been fatal to most of their neighbours for some time before, as well as since their state began.

SECT. IX.

Of their Military Forces by Seu and Land, with their State Revenues.

THE force of these provinces is to be measured, not by the number or dispositions of their subjects, but by the strength of their shipping, and standing troops, which they constantly maintain, even in time of peace; and by the numbers of both, which they have been able to draw into the field, and to sea, for support of a war: by their constant revenue to maintain the first; and by the temporary charge, they have been able to furnish for supply of the other.

The ordinary revenue of this state consists, either in what is levied in the conquered towns, and country of Brabant, Flanders, or the Rhine; which is wholly administered by the council of state: or else the ordinary funds, which the Seven Provinces provide every year, according to their several proportions, upon the petition of the coun cil of State, and the computation of the charge of the ensuing year, given in by them to the States-General. And this revenue in times of peace, commonly amounts to about one and twenty millions of gilders a year.

Their standing land forces, in time of peace, consist of thirty-thousand horse and foot.

Their admiralties, in time of peace, maintain between thirty and forty men of war, employed in the several convoys of their merchants fleets, in a squadron of eight or ten ships, to attend the Algerines, and other Corsairs in the Mediterranean; and some al. ways lying ready in their havens for any sudden accidents or occa. sions of the state.

THE

PARABLE OF THE BEAR-BAITING.

London, printed for J. Johnson, 1691. Quarto, containing eight pages.

THE proceedings by, and against some body of late, are not alto

gether unlike a certain parable; which, though I cannot, at present, call to mind where I read it, yet, I remember very well, the substance of it was this: viz.

Once upon a time, there was a bear-baiting appointed; a great over-grown French bear, the greatest in the world, to be baited by English and Dutch mastiffs, the best mastiffs in the universe. The

match was made between the most christian lion of England and Holland, on one hand, and the most antichristian bear-ward of France, on the other hand; and the wager was no less, than the whole interest of the French crown, on one side, and the whole remaining interest of Europe, and the liberty of all Christendom, on the other, in case of a total destruction, either of the bear, or of the mastiffs.

Whereupon, the great French bear-ward, that apocalyptick beast, Ludovicus, whose name is the number of the beast in the Reve. lations, for the numerical letters of his name are six-hundred three. score and six: I say, this notorious beast of a man, this cruel tyrant, who retains nothing in him of a king, but the purple; this bear-ward le grand spared no costs, nor pains, to hearten, cherish, and strengthen his bear, against the time of baiting; nay, he sent as far as the Levant for strengthening cordials, and restoratives for his bear.

Hereupon, the wary lion (who is, in his own nature, as wise as a serpent, and yet as innocent as a dove) sent out force enough, to in. tercept all those restoratives at the Streights mouth.

But you must know, the lion having more than a good many jackcalls about him, as all our lions ever had, they over-persuaded him to make a jack-an-apes commander of that force; who, when the bear's cordials and restoratives came in sight, sat still upon his butt-end all the while, cracking of nuts, and making of mon. key's faces, and so let the strengthening cordials pass by safe, just under his nose, without doing any thing, besides gazing and smelling at them.

After this, you must further know, these foolish head-strong jackcalls (being all great favourites forsooth, and pretending to ten times more knowledge and discretion, than ever they were, or ever will be masters of) prevailed likewise with the lion, to make an old grisled spaniel commander in chief over all his mastiffs, both English and Dutch.

Wherefore, the lion, at the earnest request and recommendation of the jack calls, called out old Grisle (a plaguy dog at a bitch; and therefore, in all probability, well acquainted with the best kennels) and spitted in his mouth, and clapped him on the back, and gave him all the encouragement a dog could have, and then bid him go, range about, seek out, and bring home, sixteen or eighteen couple of stout, well-bred true English beagles with him, to hunt out the bear, and conduct the mastiffs to their sport.

But old Grisle, not observing his master's instructions, instead of procuring strong-built, hearty, experienced beagles, brought back a damned raw pack of mere whelps and lap-dogs; and, by his and their fawning, crouching, cringing, and wheedling, as spaniels, whelps, and lap-dogs use to do, and by the intercession of the jack calls, who will recommend the devil for a good artist, if he has but the art of feeding them secretly with forbidden prey, they prevailed with the lion to be commissioned under old Grisle, in order to lead and guide the mastiffs; which made the mastiffs growl most confoundedly, through mere indignation.

However, out they went, under this wise conduct; but, before they went out, old Grisle, his whelps, and his lap-dogs (for I call them his, because, as I told you but now, they were most of his own getting) thought it convenient, for their better security, to muzzle all the mastiffs, and tie them fast in a strong line of passive obedience and non-resistance; and, as soon as that was effectually done, then out they went all together.

And, all the way they went, old Grisle, his whelps, and his lapdogs, did frisk, and skip, and leap, and bounce, and yelp, being all over-joyed, that they should see some sport anon (for most of them had never seen a bear before in their lives) and oh! how they whipped the bear about, and swinged him off, all the way, in their own fancies!

Says old, proud, impotent, self-conceited, empty Grisle: Gentlemen whelps, and gentlemen lap-dogs, courage! here is confusion to the bear. Huzza! shew yourselves to be but what you are, viz. 6 true whelps, and right lap-dogs, and I desire no more: for, by your 6 assistance, I have power enough to beat all the bears in France. I have been a whelp and a lap-dog myself in my time, as well as the best of you all: And, to my certain knowledge, an English whelp, 6 or lap-dog, is able to grapple with a French bear at any time; wherefore, we need no scouts to go before, to bring us notice of the 'bear's approach; for, as soon as he comes within hearing of your terrible yelping, he will be glad to retire fast enough of his own ac6 cord, I warrant you: Therefore, courage my beloved whelps and 6 lap-dogs! here's confusion once more to the bear!-huzza! yelp! yelp! yelp!'

But old Grisle had scarce ended these words, nor was the yelping quite ceased, when lo! all on a sudden, the unexpected roaring of the bear quite surprised, dashed, astonished, and stuaned the whole pack of mongrels; which made old Grisle shrink in his tail between his legs, and hang down his head (and if it had been hung up, not a halfpenny damage) and made all the whelps and lap-dogs begin to whine and whimper about him, and fawn upon him, with wagging tails, clapped in behind, lank ears before, couchant heads, and tears in their eyes. But, on the other side, it made the brave mastiffs prick up their ears, and drew rage and foam from their mouths, and fire from their very eyes, to be at the bear. Bless me! what a difference there is, between right true-bred mastiffs, and whiffling curs!

(For you must know, the great bear was, by an unexpected hurri cane, driven to a bay, fresh-water bay, or else he had seized, and hugged old Grisle, and all his whelps and lap-dogs, just as the devil hugs a witch, before they had been aware of it, and was there confined in Lob's pound, and tied as fast, as a bear to a stake; which made him suck his paws, and fret in his grease, and roar after that hideous manner.)

However, old Grisle was forced, by the rage and importunity of the mastiffs, to go and shew them the bear: And, to give the devil his due, he did shew them the bear, and that was all: For, when he plainly perceived, that the French were really there with their bears,

he immediately took all possible care, to stand at a distance enough, out of harm's way; and out of the way of doing harm to any, but the forward mastiffs.

But had the first, second, and third-rate mastiffs been then let loose, when they were fresh and untired; and when they had a strong direct gale to carry them, to the bear's very nose; they would cer tainly have torn him to pieces in a trice. For he was so hemmed in, on every side, that he could not stir one way or other; neither could any of the mastiffs have been there lost or sunk, they being then, at the mouth of the best kennel, or port, in Europe: When, at the same time, the bear was above a hundred leagues from his den. And be. sides, there was another strong party, or two, of stout third, fourth, and fifth-rate mastiffs, out at the same time, to have intercepted the bear in his way, if, after the first mastiffs tearing him, he should have endeavoured to make his escape home. Here were all the advan. tages, that heaven and earth could grant, at once; and all the favour. able opportunities, that man could ask, or that God need grant: and nothing wanting but courage, conduct, skill, and honesty, to accomplish the utter destruction of the bear for evermore. Never had spa.

niel such an opportunity of losing his own name, and gaining the reputation of a mastiff; and never had whelps and lap-dogs such an opportunity, to ingratiate themselves with, and gain the applause and esteem of all mankind, as well as of womankind and children. I find the poet is in the right on it, who says:

Naturam expellas furcâ licet, usque recurret.

Nature recoils, and, though you hang the dog,
Yet he will die, just as he liv'd, a rogue.

But

For, as soon as old Grisle, his whelps, and his lap-dogs, espied the vast bulk of the bear's body, the wideness of his jaws, the largeness of his paws, and the length of his claws, as if they had seen raw-head and bloody-bones, they turned all as white presently, as my lady's night-trail.

But by the thundering noise of the mastiffs, and by the powerful help of brandy, being somewhat roused out of their fainting fit, they began at last, though it was long first, to recover a little out of their clammy sweat: and then they called a council, as they called it. And there, you might have seen all the whelps and lap-dogs lying panting round old Grisle, and looking up to him, in this time of need, and he looking down upon them again, with most pitiful countenances, on both sides; and, all the while, making a most intolerable stink, for fear of the bear: Nay, such a strange stink, that I am forced to hold my nose, even now, whilst I am speaking of it; and to cry, Out, ye stinking curs! Faw! out, and be hanged! Faw! out, for shame, and make room for the mastiffs!'

However, at long-run, old Grisle made a shift to open his jaws, and held them open, a long while, without speaking ever a word, for he well knew, they understood his meaning by his gaping: Yet, at last, with much ado, and with as much hesitation, trembling, and shaking, as if he had been in the house of commons, he broke silence,

and snarled out these following sentences, to the great joy of the whelps and lap-dogs; but to the deep grief and regret of the mastiffs, and to the everlasting stain, and eternal reproach of the English nation, viz.

6

Gentlemen whelps, and gentlemen lap-dogs, I lately saw, when I was so often and so long on shore in London, and at Portsmouth ( (that the very watermen called me Lord Tarry-at-home, and Lord Tarry-in-town) then I say, I saw a very good book, nay, which is more, a convocation book, in Mall Hinton's closet (or rather, ken. 6 nel) for, I must tell you, she is a very devout creature, a mighty 'lover of convocations, and no good thing can come out, but she, good girl, will presently take it in. And there in that book I re. 'member it is laid down, by the venerable authority of a certain kind of a certain sort of a convocation, as an undoubted principle of our church (for I was never of any church, that was for true fighting, no more than you) viz. That, whatever powers here below are settled and fixed, we ought to pay ample allegiance, non-resistance, and passive-obedience to them. And you know well enough, that our master, the lion, is not so very well settled and fixed at this 'time; for he is not yet passed the Boyne, and there is a deep water 'for him to wade through up to the chin, and several French bears in his way, before he can reach Dublin. But on the other side you 6 plainly see, That the great French bear, here, is settled and fixed before your eyes: And, for my part, I have often found great civilities from French bears; and so, I hope, I may again. Where< fore, gentlemen whelps, and gentlemen lap-dogs, though you are young, yet I am old; and it is high time for me to follow the vir 'tuous example of Mall Hinton, and to walk by convocation rules: < And, therefore, I am clearly of the same opinion with the venera. ' able convocation, viz. That we ought, in the first place, to keep 6 our distance, to consider where we are, and in whose presence we 6 be, and to see who and who stand together; and also, to keep to the 6 saving doctrine of non-assistance, till we hear a little better which ' way things go, and till we are fully satisfied what is become of the Irish affairs: And yet, notwithstanding, in the mean time, to pay all 'dutiful respects to the settled power of the bear (who was driven into the bay by a hurricane, and so has plainly God's authority) ⚫ and especially, to keep close to our beloved-church-rules, and my old, natural, spaniel-rules, of non-resistance, and passive-obedience, 'during our whole retreat.' At which periodical snarl, all the whelps and lap-dogs heaved up their drooping heads, and cried yelp, yelp, yelp; but the inraged mastiff's swore, bow-wow-wow.

This was the warlike resolution, the admirable, or admiral-like determination, and positive injunction of old Grisle; whereunto all the whelps and lap-dogs unanimously agreed, and punctually observed it, like so many dogs in a string; and hung down their heads all the way, like so many sheep-biters; finding now, by sad experience, the great difference between bear-baiting, and sheep-biting.

But, however, the mastiffs, both English and Dutch, could not en dure to be held so long, six or seven days together, by a pack of sha.