A
LETTER
ON
George
Keith's
ADVERTISEMENT
,
&c.
My
Good
Friend
,
It
's
a
Kindness
to
be
accomodated
with
that
by
which
one
can
either
reap
Pleasure
or
Profit
,
but
the
Advertisment
I
received
,
affords
neither
to
a
Quiet
Mind
,
or
Christian
Spirit
.
I
intreat
the
Favour
of
a
few
Lines
to
advise
me
what
this
Geo
.
Keith
is
;
for
,
to
me
,
he
doth
appear
Peremptory
,
Singular
,
and
his
design
of
an
Ill
Tendency
.
1.
Peremptory
,
because
he
takes
upon
him
to
appoint
a
Meeting
,
fix
time
and
place
;
and
then
,
in
his
own
Proceedings
,
to
be
so
far
Judge
,
as
Confidently
to
Affirm
the
Persons
he
mentions
are
justly
Desired
to
be
present
,
as
if
his
so
Saying
were
sufficient
Proof
,
that
he
hath
such
a
Power
as
to
Summon
whom
he
pleases
,
Charge
,
Recharge
,
and
prove
Guilty
in
their
Absence
,
and
unheard
;
and
if
they
answer
not
his
Desire
,
he
'll
Try
,
Sentence
,
and
Condemn
them
,
taking
all
Pro
Confesso
,
that
he
Suggests
,
if
they
yield
not
Obedience
to
him
,
and
apear
not
at
his
high
Commission
Court
.
2.
It
's
Singular
,
at
least
to
me
,
for
any
Person
Concern'd
in
a
Controversy
,
that
is
exposed
in
publick
Prints
(
as
I
perceived
this
between
him
and
the
Quakers
is
)
to
assume
such
a
Power
and
Method
of
Answering
as
he
doth
.
3.
And
the
Design
and
Consequence
of
which
Method
,
at
this
time
of
the
Day
,
to
me
seems
very
ill
,
tending
to
raise
Fewds
,
Animosities
and
Prejudices
amongst
Protestants
;
and
for
any
pretending
to
be
Protestant
Dissenters
,
as
these
Quakers
do
(
and
indeed
in
what
do
they
differ
from
us
,
but
in
the
Sacraments
,
Ceremonies
,
and
a
stricter
way
of
Living
)
and
as
such
,
are
Recognized
by
the
Parliament
,
to
be
concerned
in
such
a
Work
,
will
raise
a
strong
Jealousie
in
many
that
the
Fomenters
and
Propagators
of
such
Assemblies
for
such
pretended
Ends
,
as
are
proposed
,
are
really
Influenced
by
some
Popish
Agent
,
or
that
they
are
themselves
so
Inclined
,
and
by
such
ways
would
bring
the
Protestant
Religion
into
Contempt
,
by
Rendering
them
so
Divided
▪
and
Guilty
of
such
Gross
Errors
and
Heresies
;
and
the
next
word
,
ready
to
come
forth
,
is
Heretick
,
and
then
away
with
these
Hereticks
,
better
some
cut
off
and
Destroyed
,
than
suffered
to
Live
to
Infect
the
Flock
.
And
notwithstanding
the
Parenthesis
which
G.
K.
claps
in
,
when
he
Instigates
the
Christian
Teachers
,
to
oppose
the
words
Gangrene
and
Contagion
,
which
,
he
saith
,
hath
,
and
doth
at
present
Infect
many
Thousands
to
me
;
shews
his
Inclinations
to
have
other
Weapons
made
use
of
,
than
only
Spiritual
:
Therefore
,
Pra●
inform
me
what
this
desperate
Viragoe
,
this
busie
and
officious
Agent
is
,
how
looked
upon
,
Countenanced
,
or
Contemned
by
Authority
in
your
great
City
;
seeing
he
writes
that
his
Meeting
is
by
their
Permission
,
to
detect
the
Vile
and
Gross
Errors
of
William
Penn
,
Thomas
Ellwood
,
George
Whitehead
,
John
Penington
,
and
their
Second
Days
Weekly
Meeting
,
as
he
calls
it
.
Surely
,
if
the
Civil
Authority
,
whose
Business
is
to
preserve
the
Peace
,
were
desirous
to
have
the
Errors
and
Heresies
of
these
Men
Exposed
,
they
should
not
Employ
such
an
one
,
but
rather
had
this
matter
well
weighed
and
considered
by
some
Divine
,
Able
,
Judicious
and
Moderate
Persons
that
were
Capable
to
use
such
proper
ways
and
methods
that
might
Demonstrate
they
sought
their
Conviction
,
and
Return
out
of
those
Errors
(
if
they
,
or
any
in
this
Nation
,
are
guilty
thereof
)
than
to
imploy
such
an
Agent
,
who
appears
more
desirous
to
Charge
,
Recharge
,
and
Prove
those
Persons
Guilty
in
their
Absence
,
and
in
such
a
confused
,
mixt
and
unthinking
Assembly
(
as
such
commonly
are
)
than
to
make
use
of
that
way
of
Replying
to
publick
Print
,
or
seeking
in
a
Spirit
of
Meekness
according
to
the
Apostolick
Doctrine
to
restore
them
;
but
if
it
be
from
a
Conscienciousness
of
his
own
Inability
,
either
truly
to
do
the
one
,
or
rightly
to
do
the
other
,
it
shews
his
Prejudice
and
Subtilty
:
And
surely
our
Church
,
and
the
truly
Pious
and
Learned
among
us
,
want
no
Assistance
from
such
an
one
as
this
Geo
.
Keith
appears
to
be
,
that
still
pretends
to
Quakerism
,
and
to
be
a
Dissenter
of
that
sort
,
who
pretend
that
Tythes
are
not
to
be
paid
of
Divine
Right
,
neither
are
they
in
any
part
of
the
New
Testament
,
by
the
direction
of
the
Testator
to
be
paid
as
such
unto
Gospel
Ministers
for
their
Maintenance
.
And
the
Quakers
are
such
a
People
that
will
not
carry
their
Children
to
the
Minister
to
be
Baptized
,
neither
will
they
pay
for
it
,
nor
the
Dues
to
the
Minister
of
the
Parish
for
Churching
of
Women
,
nor
Burials
;
neither
do
they
like
our
Fonts
,
Bells
,
Surplices
,
and
Cushions
,
Communion-●ables
,
nor
Carpitts
;
but
rather
Esteem
them
Popish
Institutions
.
Now
these
things
Considered
,
with
what
is
before
hinted
,
How
can
the
Civil
Authority
Permit
,
or
the
Ecclesiastical
Encourage
such
an
Angry
,
Hot
,
Rigid
,
Dissenting
Quaker
in
this
Work
?
For
my
part
,
as
little
Wit
as
the
Quakers
may
be
esteemed
to
have
;
I
shall
conclude
them
,
besides
that
little
to
meet
this
Busie
,
Confident
,
Officious
Tool
;
that
,
I
fear
,
hath
not
Wit
enough
to
see
how
he
is
made
use
of
,
or
to
consider
how
easie
it
is
for
others
to
see
him
,
and
his
Work
,
and
the
Tendency
and
End
thereof
is
neither
Just
nor
Christian
—
But
,
Brings
,
to
my
Rememberance
,
a
Story
,
I
have
heard
of
some
Insincere
Popish
Priests
;
who
,
to
beget
a
Credit
in
some
Pcotestants
of
their
pretended
Miracles
,
prevailed
with
an
old
Woman
to
feign
her self
Lame
,
which
she
did
,
and
also
was
instructed
to
pretend
to
have
had
some
Dream
or
Vision
,
and
that
therein
it
was
told
her
,
If
she
did
Wash
on
such
a
Day
,
in
such
a
particular
place
,
and
had
one
of
her
Priests
to
say
so
many
Masses
or
Ave-Maries
,
she
should
be
Cured
,
and
notice
was
given
thereof
(
as
this
G.
K.
doth
of
his
Intended
Meeting
)
the
Protestants
came
to
see
,
but
not
being
Privy
to
the
Juggle
nor
Design
of
those
that
set
the
thing
to
Work
,
came
away
struck
with
Admiration
,
and
were
ready
(
as
many
simple
People
may
be
in
Geo
.
Keith's
Meeting
)
to
conclude
some
notable
thing
was
done
.
But
it
so
fell
out
,
that
this
deceipt
was
not
easie
to
the
Poor
Woman
that
was
Instrumental
in
the
Cheat
,
and
she
was
willing
in
her
Confession
to
a
Ghostly
Father
,
of
whom
she
had
heard
a
good
Fame
,
to
divulge
the
whole
Trick
to
him
;
who
,
altho'
of
the
same
Profession
,
but
more
wise
and
sincere
than
the
designing
Priest
that
wanted
(
as
G.
K.
may
)
a
Popular
Applause
to
Injoyn
the
Woman
to
Confess
the
Truth
;
telling
her
,
The
Church
had
no
need
of
such
methods
to
support
her
Power
;
and
I
also
think
,
our
Church
hath
no
need
to
Countenance
or
Encourage
any
such
Dissenting
and
Designing
Agents
,
that
seek
themselves
more
than
her
true
Honour
,
or
the
Advancing
their
particular
Interest
,
or
venting
their
Prejudices
more
than
seeking
the
Honour
of
the
Church
or
Christian
Religion
,
and
I
hope
there
are
some
such
Fathers
among
us
,
that
have
more
Sincerity
and
Wisdom
,
than
to
Countenance
such
Persons
or
Things
,
but
when
they
see
it
needful
to
detect
Error
,
and
reclaim
Hereticks
,
will
use
more
Proper
and
Christian
Methods
,
that
shall
rather
reach
their
Consciences
,
and
convince
their
Understandings
,
than
expose
the
Quakers
and
Religion
in
General
to
the
Scorn
and
Laughter
of
such
a
mixt
and
heedless
Number
,
and
themselves
to
the
Slight
and
Contempt
of
those
they
pretend
to
Reclaim
.
And
considering
the
Day
this
G.
Keith
hath
made
choice
of
,
for
his
Work
is
the
Day
after
that
Authority
hath
appointed
for
a
publick
Fast
;
and
he
pretending
to
Act
by
their
Permission
,
I
thought
meet
to
add
the
following
Text
,
that
every
one
may
see
how
he
answers
Authority
,
and
the
true
End
of
a
Christian
Fast
.
Behold
ye
Fast
for
Strife
and
Debate
,
and
to
smite
with
the
Fist
of
Wickedness
;
ye
shall
not
Fast
as
ye
do
this
Day
,
to
mak●
your
Voice
to
be
heard
on
High
,
Isa
.
58.
4.
FINIS
.