538 A Complete Vindication of the Mallard of All-Souls College. By Benjamin Buckler A COMPLETE VINDICATION OF THE MALLARD O F ALL-SOULS COLLEGE, Againft the injurious Suggeftions of the Rev. Mr. POINTER, Reftor of Slapton in the County of Northampton and Diocefe of Peterborough* tution Nonnulli tadio veritatis Inveftiganda cuilibet opinion! potis ignavi fuccumbunt^ quam exploranda, verltate pertinad diligentiii perfeverare volant. Min. Foelix. LONDON, Printed for J. and J. R i v I N G T o N, in St. Paul's Church- Yarci j and J. FLETCHER in Oxford. MDCCLI. [Price One Shilling.] - <KL*( : M TO THE DQ Reverend Do&or rO U 'will not be furpriz'd at an Addrefi cc Qu DEAR FRIEND, O U 'will not of this Nature, 'when you reflect on the Difcourfes we have lately had together on the Subjeft of the enfuing Papers. The ferious and unaffected Concern you ex- prefs'd at the ungenerous treatment 'which the Mallard had received from the Pen of Mr. Pointer gave me the firft Thought of appear- 5 ing publickly in his Vindication. When I intimated this my Defign at our -next Confer- ence^ you 710 1 only encouraged me to purfue it y A 2 (as 30G9S8 (as you knew the Bent of my Studies had, for feme Time, employed me in unlocking the Store- houfes of venerable Antiquity) but was pleafed alfo to give feme Directions which have been of great Service to me in the Execution of it. If there be any Merit therefore in this my Under- taking, it is in a great Meafure to be afcrib'd to You, and on that Account You have an un- doubtedTitle to this Dedicatory Acknowledgment. I expect to hear it faid by feme People that it is but a poor Compliment to the Publick, to fuppofe it at leifure to attend to a Matter of fe private a Nature, and of fo little Concern to it. But furely Gentlemen who talk thus do not thoroughly confider the dreadful Confequences which may enfue, fromfiiffering the moft dijlant Attack upon received and long cftablijtid Truths to go on unrepuls' d and unreprehended. " TRUTH (fays a reverend and learned Divine, whofe "Name and Title-page have entirely Jlipt my Memory) " is a Lady of fe tender and delicate " a Nature, that the mojl private Parts of her " ought to be handled ivitb the great eft Pru- * c dence and Difcretion. For if Men are fuf- " fer'd to exercife their Wantonnefs or Malict ee in oppofmg or ridiculing even thofe Truth " which feemingly are of the leajl Importance to " the (v ) " the publick Affairs of the World, this " neceffarily fuper induce a Habit of Scepticifm " upon their Minds , which, by eafy Tranjitions, ce may lead them on to Attempts of the like " fort, in Things of the utmoft Confequence to " to the religious and political Inter efts of Man- " kind." Let me therefore ajk whether we can receive any Affurance that the Succeflion of the Crown in his Majefty's Royal Houfe ; or, which is much the fame Thing, our whole Conftitution both in Church and State, Jhall not be attacked by the fame licentious Spirit which Mr. P. has exerted againji the Mallard, unlefs it be timely corrected and exposed, in its proper Colours, to the Abhorrence and De- tejlation of the World ? Thefe are not Words thrown out at Random, but contain a reasonable Sufpicion founded as well on the Example of what hath already hap- pen' d, as on our Conclufiom from the Nature and Caufes of Things. We have frequently been told by our PredeceJJors in All-Souls, that the frjl Marks of Infidelity which foew'd them- felves in the famous Dr. Tindal were hisfpeak- ing difrefpe 51 fully of the Mallard, and his lay- ing hold of any Occafion of abfenting him- felf from the annual Celebration of it. Had any ( vi ) any one at that Time exerted himfelf with a proper Zeal in the Defence of this venerable Bird, I think I may be bold to fay, that the World would never have heard of thofe perni- cious Books, The Rights of the Chriftian Church, or Chriftianity as old as the Creation. And I have mujch Reafon to be furpriz'd that this was not done at that Time, when I conflder that the learned Antiquarian Dr. Tan- ner, afterwards Bijhop of St. Afaph (whofe Ability for this Work cannot be queftioned, and who was frequently heard to exprefs great Veneration for the Mallard) was Fellow of All- Souls College, and Cotemporary with Dr. Tindal. But, alas ! it too often happens that very ingenious Men, immers'd in the Study of Antiquities, have Ivery unfortunately bejiowed all their Pains on the meft trifling and mfigni- jicant Subjects, and overlooked thofe 0/*real Con- cern and Importance to the World. If the following Vindication foall be of any Service to the Caufe for which it was under- taken', if the Licentioufnefs of writing too com- monly made ufe of on ferious and important Subjects Jhall be in any Meafure reprefs'd by it; if Mr. Pointer Jliall be made fenjible of his Errors ( vii ) Errors and retratt them ; and if you and the reft of my Friends^ who beft underjland my Suh- efty and for whofe Judgment I have the high- eft Efteem y Jhall thoroughly approve the Method I have made ufe of to bring about thefe good Effefts ; I Jhall then begin to think that 1 have employed my Pen in a Manner not wholly un- worthy of the true Critick and Antiquarian, <c my Intention will be anfwered, I Jhall have my Reward. And then (to continue the Words of our * Reverend Friend) the Cynick may bark and the Infidel may ridicule-, the Malevolence of the one will call for my Con- tempt, the Folly of the other will provoke me to no Pajfion but that of Pity.*' / a m y dear Sir, Tours Jincerely, &c. Preface to the Rev. Mr. 's Sermons. ADVERTISEMENT TO avoid all Sufpicions of unfair and partial Quotation, it is thought proper, in this Place, to give the Reader the whole PafTage relating to the Mallard of All-Souh, extracted from the 57th and 58th Pages of Mr. Pointer's OXONIENSIS ACADEMIA. " 4. Another Cuftom is that of celebrating their Mal- lard-Night every Year on the I4th of January, in Remem- brance of a huge Mallard or Drake, found (as Tradition goes) imprifon'd in a Gutter or Drain under Ground, and grown to a vaft Bignefs, at the Digging for the Foundation of the College. * e Now to account for the Longaevity of this Mallard ; Mr. Willughby, in his Ornithology, tells us (Pag. 14. fpeaking of the Age of Birds) that he was alTur'd by a Friend of his, a Perfon of very good Credit, that his Father kept a Goofe known to be 80 Years of Age, and as yet found and lufty, and like enough to have liv'd many Years longer, had he not been forc'd to kill her for her Mifchievoufnefs, worrying and deftroying the young Geefe and Goilings. " And my Lord Bacon in his Nat. Hift. Pag. 286. fays, The Goofe may pafs among the long Livers, though his Food be commonly Grafs and fuch kind of Nourifh- ment, efpecially the Wild-Goofe : Whereupon this Pro- verb grew among the Germans, Magh Senex qiiam Anfer- nivaliS) Older than a Wild-Goofe. " And if a Goofe be fuch a long-liv'd Bird, why not a Duck or Drake, fmce I reckon they may be both rank'd in the fame Clafs, though of a different Species as to their Size, as a Rat and a Moufe ? " And if fo, this may help to give Credit to our All- Souls Mallard. However this is certain, this Mallard is the accidental Occafion of a great Gaudy once a Year and great Mirth, though the Commemoration of their Founder is the chief Occafion. For on this Occafion is always fung a merry old Seng." VIN D I CATION OF THE Mallard of All-Souls College, &c. 1 Controverfies which have arifen betwixt Men of Learning on Points of Criticifm and Antiquity, have too commonly been attended with Confequences greatly derogatory to the Honour of Litera- ture, and destructive to the Peace of the Learned World. The Heat and Virulence with which Difputes of this Kind have been generally conducted, have afforded too juft a Handle to the illiterate Part of Mankind, to accufe the liberal Arts themfelves as mini- ftring Occafions of Strife and DifTeniion, ra- ther than, what is their boafted Character, poliming the Manners, and mollifying the B Paffions Pailions of the human Mind. It is therefore the indifpenfable Duty of every one who draws his Pen on Polemical Subjects, to take great Care not to proftitute his Character as an Au- thor to the low Employment of heaping A- bufe and Scandal upon his Adverfary ; and to admit no more Warmth into his Exprefiions, than what may be necefTary to teftify his Zeal for the Caufe of Truth, which ought to be the Motive of all his Enquiries. The Propriety of thefe Reflections will rea- dily appear to any one who has been in the leaft engaged, either as a Reader or an Au- thor, in Contr overfull Writings ; and I have the more willingly touch'd upon them in the prefent Cafe, as they are a Leffon to myfelf, and a Caution for the regulating my Beha- viour towards the Reverend Gentleman with whom I have now the Misfortune to differ in Sentiments. Mr. Pointer has long made a Figure in the learned World as a Chronologer, an Hiftori- an, an Antiquarian and an Almanack-Maker, Upon this Account I am highly fenfible of the great Advantages he may, at nrft View, feem to have over me. He is in Pofleffion of ( II ) of a Reputation which he has been long heaping together ; the World, I mean all the reading Part of it, is prejudiced in his Favour; his Judgment, Accuracy, Induftry, and Can- dour, have hitherto been acknowledg'd by all : Nothing therefore but the great force of Truth, the Evidences which lie before me for the clearing it up, and the Reputation of an in- jur'd Society, to which I have formerly had the ftrongeft Obligations, mou'd have drawn me to enter the Lifts with him. And I truft that the Goodnefs of my Caufe will compen- fate for the want of Skill in it's Advocate. I mall now, without farther Preface, pro- cede to the Buiinefs of thefe Papers. In the 57th Page of Mr. Pointer's laft Per- formance *, where he is difcourfing of the Cuftoms of All-Souls College, he has the fol- lowing Words. " Another Cuilom is that of " celebrating their Mallard- Night every Year, * e on the 1 4th of January, in Remembrance * Intitled OXONIENSIS ACADEMIA : Or, the ANTI- QUITIES and CURIOSITIES of the Univerfity of OX- FORD, &c. London ; Printed for S. Birt, &c. 1749. B 2 Of ( " of a huge Mallard or Drake, found (as " Tradition goes) imprifon'd in a Gutter or " Drain under Ground, and grown to a vaft " Bignefs, at the digging for the Foundation " of the College. <e Now to account for the Longevity of " this Mallard-, Mr. Willughby^ in his Orni- <c thology, tells us (Pag. 14. fpeaking of the " Age of Birds) that he was afTur'd by a <c Friend of his, a Perfon of very good Cre- " dit, that his Father kept a Goofe known to " be 80 Years old, and as yet found and lufty, <c and likely to have liv'd many Years longer, " had he not been forc'd to have kill'd her * for her Mifcbievoufnefsy worrying and deftroy- <c ing the young Geefe and Gojlings. <c And my Lord Bacon in his Natural Hif- " tory, pag. 286, fays, The Goofe may pafs " among the long Livers, though his Food " be commonly Grafs, and fuch kind of Nou- " rifhment, efpecially the Wild-Goofe. u And if a Goofe be fuch a , long - liv'd " Bird, why not a Duck or a Drake ^ fince < I reckon they may be both rank'd in the "fame Clafi. - Thus ( 13 ) Thus the Mallard of AH - Souls whofe IRememfotaunce has, for thefe three Centuries, been held in the higheft Veneration, is by this forgd Hypothecs of Mr. Pointer's degraded into a Goofe, or, at leaft, rank'd in the fame C/afs with that ridiculous Animal ; the whole Story on which the .Rites and Ceremonies of the Mallard depend, is reprefented as merely traditional ; more than a Hint is given of the Mifehievoufnefs of the Bird, whatever he be j and all this founded on a pretended Longevity, in fupport of which Fiction the great Names of Lord Bacon, and Mr. Willughby are call'd in, to make the vilifying Infinuation pafs the more plaulibly upon the World. We live in an Age when the moft ferious Subjects are treated with an Air of Ridicule j when every Man fuppofes that he has a Right of thinking as he pleafes on any QuefHon, and of writing and fpeaking whatever he thinks. I will not pretend to fay what Reftraint ought to be laid on this Spirit of Licentioufnefs ; forry I am to obferve, that though heretofore it was the Characterise only of the young and giddy Libertine, it has of late mixed itfelf with fome graver Characters, and infected, as in the prefent Cafe, even the Divine and the Antiquarian. ( 14) 'Antiquarian. But I fhall go on to fet this important Affair in its true Light, and for that Purpofe I fhall produce fuch Authorities as fhall entirely fubvert Mr. Pointer's Scheme, and fuch as fhall be fufficient to convince the mofl obflinate Incredulity. And firfl I fhall beg Leave to tranfcribe a PafTage from * Thomas Wal/ingham, a Monk of St. Albarfs and Regius ProfefTor of Hiftory in that Monaftery about the Year 1440. This Writer is well known among the Hiftorians for his Hiftoria Brevis written in Latin and publifh'd both by Camden and Archbifhop Parker: But the Tract I am quoting is in Englifh, and intitled, Df foOnDerfUl ant) fUt* ptifing <ZEfcentp0, and, as far as J can find, has never yet been printed. The eighth Chapter of his fifth Book begins thus. foele foottljfe of JOote 10 tfjilfee fa ntottg Cale of t6e Aii-Souien aHartie, tlje lofifc&e, ftecattfe it fcm acteD in ottrDaie0, ami of a fucetpe uoucljen uuto me, 3! loiil in fetue relate* * See Nicbolfon's Hiftorical Library. Henrye Chichele tf)C late en artlj^iftope 0f Cantorberye ijan minUen ta founnen a Contuse in oxenforde, foe tfie jjele of 6$ >oule ann tfje Monies of all tfjofe urfja perpffjen in tlje flBarres of Fraunce, figljteins iialiantlpe tinner out moff gracious Henrye tlje fiftfje, moclje toa0 fte nfffcaurtten concern* ing t^e Place Se mp&te cljoofe fot tfjtlfee Put* pofe. JWm tfiin^ptl; Come toftplel! fjolu 8c ntpgbte place ft imt&outett tfje eaftetnporte of t&e Citie, ftotft for tlje Pleafauntneflfe of tlje $@eauottie!3 ann tfie clere dtteamj$ tljerebpe nmnmge. ^gen 5fm tjtn^tl) onir jolne 6e mote tjuiliien tt on tlje nortlje for tjje fceleful ^ipre tljere coming from tlje f teltif^ Botoe tofjfle Jje noubtetlj tljereon Ije nremt, anti foefiolD tljere apperptlj unto ijim one of rigljte gotielpe perfonage, fringe aun atiiiffetng a0 ijotoe 6e mpgbte placen %i$ Collttige in tlje ^iglje )trete of tfje Cttie, nere unto tlje Cijirclje of our Ijleirpn lanie tlje IHrgtne, ann in n^itnelTe tijat it Uia0 ann no uain ann neceitfttl Pljantafte 5 Ijim to lape tlje firft )tane of tlje jfounnatton at tlje Corner tuljiclj turnptfj to- Cattys-strete, tnljere in neftmtge ije of a euretpe finne a fcljUioppinge imprifon'n in tlje %>i\iU or <8>etocrc, pfattenen ann almotl pbottein >ure CoKen ( Cofeett of tlje C&rtoauttce of ty$ future Col< * Walfmgham takes Notice of the Goodnefs of the Omen from the great Size and Fatnefs of the Mallard, to wit, that it was afure Token oftheProfperity of the future College. We may go farther, and obferve that even without this Circumftance, which, to be fure, is no defpicable one, the Invention of the Mallard muft have been efteemed a very happy Augury. Ducks, both male and female, have always been rank'd amongft the Birds of good Fortune, and held, in fome Mea- fure, facred by our beft Ornithologies. It is a very remark- able Story which Aldrovandus tells us f the Duck which us'd annually to attend the Feaft of St. Nicholas, at Mont- fort in France, and facrifice one of her Ducklings to the Shrine of that Saint. Take it in his own Words. In ea Gallia parte, qua olim fub Venetorum, Morinorum^ que nomine cenfebatur (nunc Britanniam dicunt) prope urbem Redonenfem oppidum ejl Monsfortis nomine, ubi Decembri menfe cum S. Nicolal folennia celebrantur, a parvo lacu non longe ab oppido, ea hora, qua vet mijja, vel vefpertincs orationes cantan- tur, Anas templum init cum tredecim pullis j quce pojleaquam aram circumdedit, ad eum lacum regreditur, uno pullorum, qua fecum veniens duxit, deficiente, neque vero quo is fe recipiat intelligitur. ^uod Ji quis, tit ret experimentum faciat, out quia rei nuttam fidem habeat, comprehendere out occidere ten- taverit, confejlim rabie corripitur, ac moritur, out in gravem morbum fubito incidit. - Our Author goes on to aflure his Reader that no Doubt cou'd be made of the Truth of this Story, and appeals particularly to the Tefti monies of Bap- tijla Campofulgofus, and Gaudentius Mtrula. (Aldrovandi Ornithol. Lib. 19.) The ( 17) noubtetf) fte trrt)en Jje afoofce on t&e Mature of tf# Oifion, tofjetfipr fee mote ptoe fceae thereto or not* Cjjen antrifStf) 6e tfjereon toitft monie *Do&erg ann learnpu Clerfcg0, The following Circumftance which we have from Andreas Fulvius is ftill more pertinent to the prefent Cafe. We find that even the brazen Figures of Ducks and Mallards which were difcover'd in laying the Foundation of a Church at Rome, were thought to portend fo much good Luck, that they were laid up among the Treafures and Relicks of that Church. Dum temp/urn S. Marias in Aquiro Anajlafius Papa conderet, area Anates in fundamentis ejus reperiebantur, qua ft in ternplo etiamnum videntur. (De verbis antiq. Lib. 4.) Nardini (P. 375 of his Roma Antica) fuppofes thefe brazen Figures to have belong'd to the ancient Temple of Juturna* to whom, probably, as ihe was a River Deity, thefe Birds were facred. A very great Curiofity of this Kind, being an antique glafs Figure of a Mallard, hath, I hear, been lately found amongft the Ruins of one of Cbicbeies Foundations at Higham Ferrers in Northamptonjhire, and prefented to All Souls College by the Rev. Gentleman who had the good For- tune to difcover it. On the other Hand it hath been obferv'd to forebode fome very grievous Difafter, when thefe focial and domeftic Birds have on a fudden left the ufual Place of their Refidence. A notable Inftance of the Truth of this Obfervation we have trom the afore-quoted learned Ornitbologijt. Anatcs domef- ticas (fays he) circa annum a nato Chrijio 1527, domejlices man- fuetudinis oblitas, b" fubito efferaias, fyfoas petiijfe in Vindelicis annalibus legitur ; b* fubfecutam infelicem promifcues mult it u- dinis in Syrlam nai<igationem t domi famem-, & pejtem, (Aldrov, Ornith. ibid.) c all ( is ) all fepue Jjotoe be ougbte to mafcen dial upon it. Cfjen comptf) fje to Oxenforde, anu on a Dape fir'D, after a^afle fepfce, proceenetf) be in folemne topfe, toitf) g>paaes ant) Pick ares for t(je nonce protiineti, to tjje B?lace afore fpoken of. 113ut long tftep ban not mggeu ere tFjeg fterue, a0 it mpgbte feme, toitfjin tfje toam of tfce OBrtbe ftorritj^truggiingejs anti jhuttcr^ inges, ann anon violent duaafeingea of t8e ^9alIarDe Cfjen Chichele Ipftetb up nn feptf) Benedicite, &c. & tojjen tfjep brougjjte jrim fortf) ftefjolti tje of fris 05oDie toas as tfjat of a 'Buflartie or an SDfiringe, 3nn moclje tconner foms tfjereat, for tfte ipcke baa not been feene in tins iLonne, ne in onie onir Here we have the Matter of Fact prov'd from an authentic Record, wherein there is not one Word faid of the Longevity of the Mal- Jard, upon a Suppofition of which Mr. Pointer has founded his whole Libel. The Mallard^ 'tis true, had grown to a great Size. But, what then ? Will not the RichnefTe and Plen- ty of the Diet he wallowed in very well ac- count for this, without fuppofing any great Number of Years of Imprifonment ? The Words of the Hiftorian, I am fure, rather difcourage any fuch Suppofition , Sure Token , fays fays he, of the Thrivance of his future College ! Which feem to me to intimate the great Progrefs the Mallard had made in fattening, in a fhort Space of Time. But, be this as it will, there is not the leaft Hint of a Goofe in the Cafe. No : The impartial Walfmgham had far higher No- tions of the Mallard^ and could form no Com- parifon of him, without borrowing his Idea from fome of the moft noble Birds, the Buf* tard and the Ojlridge, I fhall not ufurp upon the Reader's Time and Patience by producing any more Evidences of this Kind, as I take this of Walfingham to be fo full and clear in itfelf that it wants no Support nor Explanation ; and tho' a few minute Cir- cumftances relating to this great Event, which are not here mention'd, might be retriev'd by a Variety of Quotations from other Authors, yet I muft confefs that I never met with any one Single Account of this Affair fo compleat and confiftent in all its Particulars. Here therefore I reft my Htftorical Proof, and precede to one of a different Nature, which will reflect great Honour upon my Subject, and, in the unfold.- ing of which, I fhall have an Opportunity of correcting the Blunders of former Commenta*- who have loft themfelves in the Mazes of C 2 Errour, Errour, for Want of that Afiiftance which the foregoing Piece of Hijlory might have fupply'd them with. There are few Nations in Europe but what have boafted of prophetical Writings or Tradi- tions peculiar to themfelves, fuch as have been deliver'd down for many Ages from Father to Son, and contain, or feem to contain, in them, the legible Traces of every War, Peftilence, Revolution, Famine and Earthquake that have affected the Fortune of that Country they relate to. Thus the Romans had their Sibylline Ver- fes ; the French boaft of their Nojlradamus ; our Fore-fathers, for many Centuries, placed their Faith in Merlin; as we, their Spns, I mean all the loyal and well-affected Part of us, do in Nixon, or rather in Mr. Oldmixon's Edi- tion of him. I mall not give my own private Opinion of the Reafonablenefs of this Kind of Faith, as I don't chufe to draw upon my- felf the Laughter of thofe Scoffers with which the Age we live in too much abounds ; but if any of thjde Gentlemen mall find themfelves ready to burfl at the firft mentioning of it, I fhall only defire them to moderate their Mirth, till they have attended me through the follow- ing fhort Piece of Criticifm j by which Time, I will I will engage to have gain'd their Wonder, and Silence, if not their Belief. * Whoever has feen the J Collection ofEngUJh Prophecies publifh'd in Folio, Lond. 1666, may poffibly remember the following Frag- ment and the unfatisfactory Account there given of it. The Compiler of that Collec- tion afcribes it to Merlin. I cannot, for my own Part, but join with thofe who believe it to be of a much later Date, as J think the Reafons urged for this Opinion are much more cogent than any thing I have feen ad- vanced againft it. There is not, however, any Room to fuppofe it a Forgery of any later Time than the Year 1437, when the College of All-Souls was founded -, for, had that been the Cafe, we mould doubtlefs have feen it applied to the Story of the Mallard, * If any Gentleman hath a ferious Mind to have his Faith ftrengthen'd, with regard to this kind of Prophecy, I would recommend to him a Perufal f the Appendix to the Rev. Mr. Jortin's Remarks on Ecclefiafucal Hi/lory^ where he may be equally entertain'd and improv'd with, what Mr. Warburton thinks a Curiofity deferring to be ^ the Vifions of Rice Evans. Printed for John Hill and Henry Barker. on on account of which it muft have been made. For I can hardly conceive that any Man would be at the Pains of inventing and framing a mock Prophecy, without going through with the Bufinefs, and taking a full Enjoyment of the Impoflure by the Application of it. The Verfes I am fpeaking of run thus : ingionde's King ore ffieaulme of Fraunce ijmll reigne rittan nougitfe &g all fcer armes flmll gapn, Cfje Freeft for pad anjD future foules ftall care: cfjaunge for IPraiers aelc Councile of tfje OOarre* ' imprifon'D 15irue ftall toaunt ?)i0 Litertie, ftall quake No Words could more precifely point out the Time, when this Tranfaction of the Mal- lard happen'd, than thofe of the two firft Verfes. Henry VI. the then reigning King, had been crown'd and acknowledg'd King of France in Paris, and the Sum total which this Nation gain'd by that Conqueft, will, I fuppofe, be own'd by every modern Politician, to be fully exprefs'd in the fecond Line. C&e lg>reeft for, &c.] In thefe two Verfes we have the Account of Cbickele's founding his his College almofl literally defcrib'd. I would not be thought to hint here that there is any Thing particular or furprizing in the PriefVs caring for the Souls of Men. No : I have too great a Veneration for the Clergy, to think of throwing liich a Slander upon their Func- tion. But the Rev. Mr. Pointer himfelf will own, that the Circumflance of caring for paft and future Souls is very precife and defcriptive if applied to this Tranfaction; and the Propriety of this Application will be flill more evident, when we reflect on what is faid in the fecond Line of changing for Prayers the Councils of the War> which was exactly the Archbifhop's Cafe, who had been very instrumental in ad- vifing King Henry V. to aflert his Title to the Crown of France by Arms, * and was pro- bably induc'd to found his College by way of expiating for the Blood fpill'd in that Contefl. * Porro univerfos fuos alumnos juflit Hen. 511. Th. Clar. Duels, procerum, militumque qui in bello Gallico occubuiflent, et Chriftianorum demum omnium memori- am celebrare inter divina officia pro ratione temporum peragenda : religione uti videtur perculfus, quod illius belli author et fuafor fuifTet, in quo homines inriumeri animas cffudiflent, ideoque Collegium fuum Animarum omnium fidelium defun&orum de Oxonia appellari juflit. (Arthur us Duck, in Fit a Chichlat.) I doubt ( *+ ) I doubt not but that my Reader hath anti- cipated the remaining Part of my Explana- tion, and begins to think all farther Comment unnecefTary. But in return for my Civility, in admitting him fo foon behind the Cur tain, I hope he will have Patience to fby out the Entertain- ment j efpecially when he confiders that as this Prophecy has hitherto been ufurp'd by a different Hypothejis, and interpreted upon ano- ther Plan, it is incumbent upon me to eject the old Claimants before I can reckon myfelf in full PolTeflion of it. Cj)' imprifOtl'tJ T5irDe, &c.] Here, accord- ing to my Syftem, we have an exprefs Pre- diction of the Releafe of the Mallard. But let us examine impartially what hath been urg'd in favour of another Explication. Mr. Lilly \ Dr. Dee, and others, have agreed that the imprifon'd Bird muft mean the fa- mous Charles V. Emperor of Germany, pre- figur'd here by the Bird, that is the Eagle, which every one knows to be the Enfign of the Empire. This Prince, fay they, was taken Prifoner by the French King, Francis I. and carry'd into France, where he was de- tain'd a whole Year, at the End of which this this Prophecy was fulfill'd by the Treaty which procur'd his Liberty. In anfwer to which, I beg that the following Particulars may be duly coniider'd. i . That during the long Reign of Charles V. (which was cotemporary with thofe of our Henry VIII. Edward VI. Queen Mary, and Part of Queen Elizabeth's) not one of our Englifh Monarchs had any Pretentious to the Crown of France. This Objection ought to have flartled our wife Expofitors from the very Circumftance which they mention of his be- ing taken Prifoner by a French King. 2 t It will not be eafy, upon this Suppofi- tion, to find out who the Prieft was that was fo follicitous for the Welfare of paft and future Souls. The Reformers of thofe Days may indeed be faid to have taken great Care of the juture Souls, by the Care they took in purifying the Religion of their Country from the Dregs of Popery, but the Romifh Clergy who are the only People that pretend to ma- nage the Affairs of the pajl^ that is the Souls of thofe that are dead) were never more a- bandon'd and profligate, as might eafily be prov'd from the Hiftories of thofe Times. D 3. The ( It ) 3. The laft Words of the Prophecy feeming very positively to intend an Earthquake, our Expofitors have been upon the high Search for one correfponding with this Imprifonment of Charles the fijth. But how unlucky have they been in this Particular ? For, after all their Pains, they have been able to difcover but one fmall Shock, during the whole Year, and that in Italy. And I fhall leave it with my Reader to judge whether this Circum- flance, in a Country where Earthquakes are, in fome Seafons, as frequent as Hail-Storms are in England, can be fuppofed to be of fuch Importance as to deferve to be the Sub- ject of a Prophecy. But, Laftly, What muft put an End to this Debate, and overthrow the whole Scheme of our Opponents, is this -, that, by the concur- rent Testimony of all the Hiftorians, the Em- peror Charles V. NEVER WAS taken Prifonerby Francis I. nor by any other Monarch ; but on the contrary, that Francis was taken Prifoner * ' by Charl-es at the Battle of Pavia, and fent into Spain, where he * was detain'd for the * See Mezeray's Alrr.gc Cbrsnohgique. Tom 7. P. 351. Space Space of thirteen Months. - - 1 am heartily griev'd that the Purfuit of my Subject and the Caufe of Truth, have laid me under a Neceffity of expofing the palpable Ignorance of thefe Gentlemen ; yet, at the fame Time, I cannot but fay, that it gives me fome Sa- tisfaction to reflect that though Mr. P. has malicioufly endeavour 'd to traduce the Mal- lard into a Goofe, others, equally fkill'd with himfelf in Hiftory and Criticifm, have agreed to miftake him for an Emperor ', or an Eagle. CartFje tjmll quake, Gfr.] Thefe Words will readily be explaned by looking back on our Quotation from Walfingham, where he mentions the violent Quaakinges of the dtftreffed Mallarde pent up within the Bowels of the Earth. Let us reftore therefore the original Reading, l)e (Eartfce fjmli duaafce, Thus, you fee, to the Honour of true Cri- ticifm^ by the eafy Reftoration of one Letter, which had been dropt, I fuppofe, by the Negligence of Tranfcribers, this very difficult Paffage is reconcil'd to the Context, all Ob- fcurities are clear 'd up, and to the great Joy of myfelf and the Reader, we have got rid of the Earthquake. - We cannot but ob- D 2 ferve ferve here that this Circumftance of the Earth' quacking^ or, as it is better fpelt in our old Englijh, Uiaafceinge, entirely deftroys Mr. Pointer's Scheme of the Goofe - y as this Ex- preffion cannot with any Propriety, be ap- ply 'd to that Bird, or indeed to any other but a Ducky or a Mallard. * I am * We fee here a fad Inftance of the Want of a general Knowledge, and general Reading. Our Author's favour- ite Scheme In the Explication of this Prophecy, which he flat- ters himfelf to be Jo well grounded as not to be fiaken by the Force of any Criticifm, may be dejlroyd by an Obfervation which his own, or any honeji Farmer's Wife in his Parijby might have helped him to. Had he condefcended to have consulted them upon this Subjefl, they would have aj/ur'd him that the Loquacity of Ducks, which we commonly call Quacking (which the Author of Philomela, exprejfcth by the Word tetrinire, In Jluviifque natans forte tetrinit Anas j Qnd Alciatus by that of garrire, Garrit in illarum fe recipitque gregcm ; and for which J. C. Scaliger adopteth the Epithet quiritatrixi Herbilis Anfer^ atqite Anas quiritatrix ;) M like the Loquacity of fome other Parts of the Creation^ twfin'd entirely to the Females, and that the Mallard never quacketh, or (as this Gentleman chufeth to write it) doth, w. Notwithftanding the petulant JJurance, with which this Note I am not confcious to myfelf that I have pverftrained any Part of the foregoing Expli-* cation Note hath been introduced into the World, and handed about with an Air of Triumph, among the Critics, I will be bold to affirm that it hath as little Truth or Reafon to fupport it, as any that ever appear'd gt the Bottom of a Page of Shakefpear, Cou'd it be prov'd that the male Duck or Mallard never quacks, it would indeed take away the yery Key-ftone of my critical Building-) and the whole muft confequently fall to the Ground. But, from the bell Enquiries I have been able to make, and the little Reading I have had the Opportunity of beftowing on this Subject, I am fo far from being inclin'd to give up the Point, that I am, from every Confideration, more and more con- yinc'd of the Truth and Stability of my Syftem. The Mallard, 'tis well known, is a very grave, and fo- lemn Bird, Adnwdum lente incedit (fays Aldrovandus) ut quondam gravitatem f>r& fe ferre vidcatur ; and it had been very abfurd in Nature, and very inconfiftent with the De- corum and Oecqnomy of all her other Works, had me made him, at the fame Time, a noify, loquacious, and babling Animal. But is it, for this Reafon, to be con- cluded that he has no Voice at all ? It will be found upon Enquiry, to be far otherwife. The Mallard, as I am well aflur'd, upon any great Emergency or prejjing Diftrefs^ exerts a very ftrong and fonorous Throat. And this was the Cafe of the Mallard of All-Souls ; and the Confidera- tion of this Circumftance will lead us to obferve a very great Propriety in Walfinghams Manner of relating thie Story. But long they had not digged (fays he) ere they herde % as it mote feme, within the Warn of the Erthe 9 horrid Strug- glinges (30) cation in order to fuit Things to my own Pur- pofe. I would fcorn to impofe upon the World glinges and Flutteringes^ and ANON (i. e. after every other Method of Complaint had fail'd) violent ^uaakinges of the diflrejjjd Mallards. But to determine this Queftion to the Satisfaction of the Learned^ let us go on to examine what the moft celebrated Philofophers and Inquirers into Nature have obferved on this Head. Ariftotle^ Pliny^ and Solinus have faid nothing on the Quacking either of Ducks or Mallards j fo that all we can gather from them is, what indeed is a great Prefumption in our Favour, that they, curious and inquifitive as they were, had never heard of this notable Difference between the Males and Females of this Species of Birds. - But, to come a little lower. Aldrovandus^ whom we have be- fore quoted, who is the moft famous of our more mo- dern Natural?/}*, and who, according to M. Eayie^ fpar'd no Pains or Expence in his Refearches, hath given us a Philofophical and Anatomical Account of this Kind of Vociferation. Vocem Anas (fays he) cur tarn acutam^ atque magnam cum apud meipfum mirarer, earn dij/ecui, caufam ejus fcruta- turuSy baud dubio ex arteries afpens figura^ quam fane di- verfam ejje al aliis reperi. >tia igitur bifariam dharicatur in plumones, veficam quondam habet duram, cartilagineam^ concavam, ubi major apparet dextrorsum vergentem. He then goes on to defcribe thefe Parts more particularly by the Help of a Copper Plate, and imputes, as we fee here, the great Strength of the Voice to this hard^ cartilaginous t wncave Subjiance. It doth not appear, indeed, from the Words World by dif-ingenuous Mifreprefentations, for the fake of eflabliftiing a favourite Hypo- thefts. Words of Aldrovandus himfelf, whether the Bird he dif- fedted were a Duck or a Mallard; and it feems that he was not apprehenfive of any Difference, in this Point, between them. But by comparing this Account with a PafTage or two in Mr. Pointer's Friend Willughby^ it is evi- dent that it muft have been a Mallard or Drake. " The " Drake (fays this Author, B. 3. Chap. 4. Se6L i.) hath " a certain long Veflel or Bubble at the Divarication of " the Wind-pipe, which we call a Labyrinth." He feems indeed a little dubious (B. i. Ch. 2.) in accounting for the Ufe of it : But the moft probable Conjecture he makes coincides with the Opinion of Aldrovandus^ viz. " That " it ferves to increafe the Force of the Voice." And af- terwards, in the fame Page, he exprefsly confines, (from the Information of a curious and ingenious Friend) this, additional vocal Organ in Birds, " to the Cocks of the " brcad-bill'd or Duck-kind." So that, we fee, if either Sex can pretend to a Superiority in Force and Ener- gy of Voice, it feems, from the connected Teftimony of thefe two Ornithologies , moft eminently to belong, not to the Duck, but to the Mallard. But let us attend to our Author (Aldrovandus) when he talks exprcfsly of the Quacking of Mallard^ and the Difference between the Note of the male and female Duck. Anatcs marcs quorum (fays he) vox rauca at gra- v'n eft, feemtnarum acutlor., nt qnidtim putant ; this, it feems, was the Opinion of fome, that the Quack of the Mallard was hoarfe and deep, and that of the Duck more (harp and piercing- But there is a very great Name, no thefts, I think I may fay, without Prejudice* that if this Prophecy be not fulfilled by the furprizing HO Jefs than that of Albcrtus Magnus, which fubfcribes to the oppofite Sentiment. Et eft (fays he, Lib. 23. de natu- ris avium) vox famines crajjior^ et vox marts acuttor$ in omni anatum genere* But , be this as it will, there is no Hint given that it ever was the Opinion of any Sect of Natural Pbilofophers that the Mallard never quack 'd : And, ac- cordingly, Aldravandus goes on, fpeaking of the whole Duck-kind^ to obferve, Hoc autem prater omnem contrsver- fiam eft) aves ejje valdc clamofasy unde Pontanus de garrufo quodam ait Hie clamore grues vicerity atque Anates* Had there been any Truth in this Obfervation of the Taciturnity of the Mallard^ I know of no Author fo like- ly to have taken Notice of it as our Oxford Philofopher Wotton de Dijferentiis animalium j and yet there is not the leaft Trace of it to be found in him. He remarks in his I4gth Ch. (De anatino genere} Anati gula iota ampla et fata efty and all the Difference he obferves, between the Male and Female, is Anas mas major e/tfamina, et colon magis vario. From whence it ought rather to be infcrr'd that, as the Mallard muft neceflarily have the wider and larger Throat, it fhould feem probable that his Voice might be proportionably Jlrong and fonorous. I mall clofe thefe Authorities with enother Paflage from Mr. Willughby^ wherein he notes the only Difference he had obferv'd between the Duck and the Drake, and fhewa himfelf as ignorant as Jfotton with regard to the ^uackingt " Between the Duck and the Drake there is this Dif- " ference ( 33 ) furprizing Hiftory of the Mallard, it never Was and never will be fulfilled to the End of the " ference, that he hath growing on his Rump certain eret " Feathers reflected backwards toward his Heady which fhc hath not." (B. 3. Ch. 4. S. I.) I might have given a very (hort, and, perhaps, unex- ceptionable Anfwer to this ingenious Criticijm, had I been pleas'd to have obferv'd, that the whole Hlftory of this Tranfa&ion, as well as the Prophecy appears to have fome- thing in it fupernatural and miraculous, and that, when Things were in this Train, it could not feem in the lead unreafonable that the Mallard of All-Souls (though dumb all his Life before) fhou'd be allow'd, in that diftrejjed State, to break out into violent ^uackings. To have cor- roborated this Suppofition I might have quoted from Aulu* Gellius (Lib. 5. Cap. 9.) the Inftance of the dumb Son of Crtffus ; nay, had I allow'd myfelf the Liberties which have been taken by fome late DifTertators, on very trifling and very najty Subje&s, I need not have confin'd myfelf to profane Hi/lory . But I fcorn to al fo unpbilofopbically as to (helter myfelf behind an Hypothecs of this Kind, when the bare Confideration of the pbyfical j^uaKties, Caufes^ and Differences of Things^ is abundantly fufficient, in this Cafe, to unravel every Difficulty ; Nan tali aiixitio - nee dignus vindice nodus. I ought now to apologize to my Reader for detaining him fo long on this Subject, as to have fwell'd this Note E almoft ( 34) the World. " If you have a Lock (faith the " ingenious Dr. Eurnet in his theory of the " Earth) that confifts of a great deal of Work- " manmip, many Wards and many odd Pieces " and Contrivances, and you find a Key that ce anfwers to them all, and opens it readily, 'tis " a thoufand to one that 'tis the true Key, " and was made for that Purpofe." But it is Time to return to our Author, who purfues his Irrveffiives againft the Mallard, by defending him (under the Character of the old Goofe) as a very mifchievous Bird, that ought to be kill'd. I remember to have feen almoft into a DiJ/ertatlon. But when he confiders the Importance of the Queftion that hath lain before us ; that not only the Credit of this Vindication^ but the hitherto unimpeached Veracity of Thomas Waljmgbam depends upon it, which, unlefs the Mallard be found to have qiiacPd, rnuft fink and be loft for ever with that of the Lucians, the Geoffries of Monmoutb-, tlie Oldmixons, and the Burnetsof Hiftory ; and when he further confiders that the Learned in Natural Science have already begun to divide into Par- ties upon it, and that very laborious Difquifitions and Difcourfes are probably, at this very Time, compiling to be laid before the next Meeting in C ne C / ; he will not think it improper in me to have endeavour'd to fet the Truth of the Cafe in a clear Light, nor that I have thrown away my Labour, or He his Patience. a Letter a Letter of Archbifhop Abbot's to the Warden and Fellows of All-Souls, wherein he accufes the anniverfary Celebration of the Mallard as the Caufe of fome Riot and Diforder among the younger People of the College, and the fame injurious Sentiment Mr. P. hath adopted, and endeavour'd to infinuate, by the Expref- fions of worrying and dejlroymg the young Geefe and Go/lings. And to give a better Countenance to this Iniinuation, he is pleas' d immediately after to intimate to his Reader (as from Lord Bacon * ) the Probability of its being a Wild-Goofe. " The Goofe (fays he) * c may pafs among the long Livers, though <{ his Food be Grafs and fuch kind of Nou- * rifhment, ESPECIALLY the Wild-Goofe. ' ' Now that the Archbifhop (whofe Principles had too great a Tendency towards Puritan- * I have not given myfelf the Trouble of examining whether Mr. P. hath dealt ingenuoufly with his Reader in thefe Quotations, or not. Indeed it is not a Point of much Concern to our Debate. The Paflages are to be confi- der'd, by us, as they lie in his Book, with that particular Turn towards Sarcafm and Satyr, which he hath very art- fully thrown upon them. If they are genuine, he hath fhewn his great Skill at Application, and, if they are not fo, the Fertility of his Invention. In either Cafe the Slander is the fame. E 2 ifm) ( ifm) fhould exprefs himfelf with too much Acrimony againft the Obfervation of a joyous Feftival, howfoever innocent and fignificant the Jnftjtution of it might be, is not much to be wonder'd at j but, I own, I am greatly fiirpriz'd to find an Orthodox Clergyman, like Mr. Pointer, abetting the fame Errours, and propofing (though obfcurely) the fame dan* gerous innovations. Mr. Pointer goes on thus" However, this " is certain, this Mallard is the accidental " Occalion of a great Gaudy once a Year " and great Mirth For on this Occafion " is always fung a merry old Song." Rem tarn feriam, tarn negligent er ! Wou'd any one but this Author have reprefented fo augujl a Ceremony as the Celebration of the Mallard by thofe vulgar Circumftances of eating, and drinking, and finging a merry old Song ? Doth he not know that the greateft States, even thofe of Rome and Carthage, had their Infant Foundations diflinguifh'd by Incidents very much refembling thofe of the Mallard, and that the Commemoration of them was cele- brated with Hymns and Proceflions, and made a Part of their Religious Obfervances? Let me refrefh his Memory with a Circum- fiance ( 37 ) llance or two relating to the Head of To/us, which was difcover'd at the Foundation of the Capitol The Romans held the Remem- brance of it in the greateft Veneration, as. will appear by the following Quotation from Arnobius, in a Fragment preferv'd by Lipfais " quo die (fays he, fpeaking of the annual < Celebrity) congregati Sacerdotes, & eorum " Miniftri, totum Capitolinum collem cir- cc cumibant, cantilenam quandam facram de * e Toli cujufdam capite, dum molirentur Fun- " damenta invento, recitantes. Deinde ad cas- <e nam vere pontificiam fe recipientes, &c." Part of this merry old Song (as Mr. P. wou'd call it) is preferv'd by Vojjlus in his Book De facris Cantilenis Veterum Romanorum. The Chorus of it mews fo much the Simplicity of the ancient Roman Poetry that I cannot forbear tranfcribing it for the Benefit of my Reader, as the Book is too fcarce to be in every one's Hand. It runs thus : TOLI caput ijemrandum ! Magnum caput & mirandum / TOLJ caput refonamus, I make no Doubt but that every true Critick will be highly pleas' d with it. For my ; 38 my own Part, it gives me a particular Plea^ fure to refled: on the Refemblance there is between this precious Relique of Antiquity, and the Chorus of the Mallard. Oh! by the Blood of King Edward, It was afwopping^ *fwopptng Mallard ! The * The Epithet of fwopplng^ or, as Walfingham writes it, fC6tJJOppitt$0, is with great Propriety applied to the Mallard. The fejlival Song, or Ode of Commemoration^ enumerates feveral Parts of him as remaikably deferring this Character. One Circumftance of this kind, which our Poet hath taken Care to celebrate, agrees exactly with what the Naturalijl, whom we have already been fa much oblig'd to, hath obferv'd as very wonderful, and peculiar to this Bird. Hoc vero ( fays he ) in hac ave valde mirum videri pojjlt, quod membrum genitale tarn magnum habeaty ut diglt'i unius crajffitudinem quatuor vero out quinque longitudinem <zquet, fangulms injiar rubrum. (Al~ drov. Ornitb. L. 19. P. 85.) Though probably nothing may be thought more honour- able, by our modern Enquirers into Nature, than this Cir- cumftance belonging to the Mallard, yet, I believe, I Ihould not have mention'd it, but thac J flatter myfelf it may be of fome literary Ufe in explaining a Medal of the younger FAUSTINA, the Wife of M. Aurelius\ which hath hitherto baffled the Conjectures of the moft know- ing Antiquarians. The curious Reader may find it en- grav'd (PI. 49. Numb, u.) in the Collection of the Dukes f ( 39 ) The Greatnefs of the Subjeft, you fee, is the Thing celebrated in both, and the Man- ner of Arfcbot) publifh'd by Gevartius. Let us hear what that experienc'd Antiquary faith of it. Avis qutedam (fays he) Concordiae conjugalis typus. Pierius 3" Politianus cornicem ejje putant. For fan eji Turtur, cujus not a in compar em fides $ aut Columba, quod genus amumfolet unius domus confortla nofle. The Legend of this Reverfe is CONCORDIA, and the Figure on it is (as our Author fays) fame Bird or other , and intend- ed very probably as a Type of Conjugal Concord. lean- not conceive on what Reafons Pierius and Petition founded their Opinion of it's being a Rook or a Crow, Birds of hoarfe and difcordant Voices, and always believ'd to be of evil Omen. The Turtle and Pigeon are, indeed, very proper Emblems of Matrimonial Ajfeflion or Concord \ but then, if we confider the Chara&er of FAUSTINA, and the Manner in which (he liv'd with her Hufband, I think they will not do for our prefent Purpofe. The Reverfes we find of this Lady (particularly the famous one of the Gla- diator, or Mentis Viflrix) are generally much more agree- able to the Reputation me bears in Hiftory. On lui donne (fays Triftan) es reverfes defes medailles, des devijes fi c on for- mes afes deportemens qu' il eft bien aiie dejuger qu elle n y avsit run de defguiie en tout ce qui la comernoit. An ingenious Friend, whom I have confulted on this Subjecl, feem'd in- clin'd to think it a Phoenix^ and that Gevartius ought to have wrote, RARA qutsdam avis, conjugalis Concord! <z typus: But, if it be remember'd that the Phoenix never had a Mate, and that he hath always been made ufe of on Coins as an Emblem of Duration, Perpetuity, or Eternity, I be- lieve it will not be thought probable that he fhoulil } in this Place, at leaft, reprefent Matrimonial Concord. For my ner of doing it is as nearly equal as the dif- ferent GeniufTes of the two Languages will permit. Let me hope therefore that Mr. P. when he exercifes his Thoughts again on this Subject, will learn to think more highly of the Mallard than of a common Gaudy, or a Merry-making: For it will not be juftto fup- pofe that the Gentlemen of All Souls can have lefs Regard for the Memory of fo noble a Bird, found all alive, than the Romans had for the dead Skull of the Lord knows whom* As lam inclin'd to make this Vindication as fatisfa&ory as poflible to all kinds of Readers, my own Part, after my utmoft Endeavours to diveft myfelf of all Prejudice on this Occafion, I cannot but be per- fuaded, that it was intended for a Mallard. The Figure on the Coin doth, I am fure, to any impartial Eye, more refemble this Bird than it doth a Rook or Crow, a Turtle, a Pigeon, or a Pbcenix. And if we lay together the Clr- cumjiance mention'd by Aldrovandus, with the Tafte and In- clinations of the Lady, I think there can be no Doubt of the Propriety of the Emblem ; efpecially if the Reader will be pleas'd to view it in that Light, in which, I own, I have always been fond of feeing it, viz. As a Device of FAUS- TINA'S own chufmg, and containing a mode/} Hint to the good Man her Hufband, who ( notwithstanding his parti- cular Turn for moral Pbilofophy ) might not have fufficiently confider'd this great Truth, That CONJUGAL JUSTICE is the beji, and only fure Foundation C/*CONJUGAL CONCORD; I com . ( 4* ) I come now to confider an Objection, or two, which I am apprehenfive may be made ufe of, by fome captious Critics, to invalidate the Hiftory of the Mallard. And Firft : It may be faid that Arthur Duck> the Civilian, who wrote the Life of the Foun- der, and who, from his Relation to the Mal- lard (I mean as he was Fellow of All-Souls) ought to have been well acquainted with the Hiftory of him, hath pafs'd it by, with- out beftowing one Word on an Event fo won- derful and fo nearly related to his Subject. To which I anfwer ; That every, even the leafl, Circumftance relating to the Mallard,, hath hitherto been thought too facred and myfterious to be communicated to the Pub- lick and fubmitted to every vulgar Reader. Nothing but the manifeft Neeeffity * of a Vin- dication * The Reader will be convinc'd of the Necejfflty of refut- ing Mr. Pointer's, Libel in this public manner, by perill- ing; the following; Extracts from one of the foreign BibUs- GO v-> theqitss for the Month of 'June laft ; wherein he will per- ceive that the Literati abroad have fur ionic Months been in Expectation of fomething of this Kind. This Writer, ut- ter giving us the Title of Mr. P's Work, goes on thiu : II y a bug tempi que Mwjieur h Paint ir de Skip-tin, a qt-d F nciu ( 4* ) dication of him from the unjujl AJperJlons thrown out by Mr. P. fliould have induc'd me nous devons cet Ouvrage, a etc bien connu a tout le monde fa- vant, par plujieurs Livres ecrits avec une Diligence & Soli- ditie affiz agreable aux Sujets dont ih traitent. Mais dam le Livre, dont nous agijfons et dont vous venez de lifer If, Titre, il a tout d' un Coup, obfcurci tous fes autres Outrages. (7' eft un Chef d? Ocuvre, &c. After having defcanted thus on the Praifes of Mr. Pointer, he defcends to a par- ticular Confideration of the Work, and comes to the Point before us, on which he remarks in the following Manner. 11 a decouvri que, fcfr. " He (M. P.) hath difcover'd that " the celebrated Mallard of All-Souh College was not a " Mallard but a Goofe ; or, at leafl, that from his Longae- " vity he muft have had much of the Nature of a Goofe " in him. What fhall we fay to this Affair ? What will " the World think of this Difcovery ? It feems that a <c Reputation of 300 Years {landing, is not fufficiently fe- ** cured againft the Pen of a Critic and Philofopher, aujji 44 habile & adroit que Monfeeur Pointer. The World is im- *' patient to hear what can be faid on the other Side of ** the Queftion. The learned Members of that College " will certainly think themfelves obliged to vindicate the " Character of their favourite Bird, and themfelves and " their Predeceflbrs, from the Imputation of having, for Ib *' many Generations, im'pos'd upon the Credulity of an eafy " and believing World." This folemn Provocation muft be part of my Excufe for employing fome of the little Leifure I have from the neceflary Attendance I owe to my Parifh, a young Wife, and a growing FamHy, in exerting; myfelf in Defence of a Society, of whicrf I was, not many Years fmce, an unworthy Member. And as I doubt not but that the Expectations ( 43 ) me to let the World into the Secret by this modejl Defence, which, at the fame Time I cannot but regard as a kind of 'Profanation of fo venerable a Subject. I have however been very cautious not to divulge any Thing more than was abfolutely neceffary on this Occafion. The Silence therefore of Dr. Duck is rather to be efteem'd an Argument of his Refpect and Veneration for the Mallard^ than of his Neglect or Difbelief of his Story. But 2dly, It hath been objected by fome pre- tended Well- Wifiers to the Mallard^ that it is to be lamented that this Story is not authoriz'd by the Founder himfelf; and that though the Proofs of it do indeed feem to be drawn from very great and irreproach- able Authorities ; and though the Rites and Expectations of the fereign Literati will be thoroughly fa- tisfied by this Vindication., I do now publickly apply to the Authors or Compilers of the Nouveiles de la Republiqite des Lettres, the "Journal des Scavam, the Bibliotheque Univerfeile, the Bibliotheque choifte, the Memores pour /' Hiftotre des Sci- ences & des beaux Arts, the Afta Eruditorum, the Univer- fal Monthly Regijler, bV. &c. or any of them, who have been fo complaifant to Mr. P. as to beftow their Eulogiums upon his Book, that they would, if they are willing to avoid the Imputation of great Partiality, immediately take proper Notice of this my Performance^ and uflier it into the World with its due Commendations. F 2 Ceremonies ( 44 ) Ceremonies attending its anniverfary Celebra- tion are very fignificant and well adapted to the Inftitution j yet that Fellows of Colleges ought to be careful how they inftitute Solem- nities and Obfervances in which they cannot be fupported by their Statutes. To which it may be faid, that we are ready to prove, from inconteftable Evidence, that H. Cbichek him- felf inftituted the Solemnity of the Mallard, In perpetuam rei Memoriam, and affifted per- fonally at the firft Celebration of it ; and, though the Statutes be filent, yet frequent Hints are given of it in that Collection of his Letters which are flill preferv'd in the Ar- chives of the College. Particularly he begins his thirteenth Letter to Dr. Andrewe the fir ft Warden thus Collegium meum bono Alite fundatum^ &c. From whence it is plain that fome Bird y or other, had a Hand in the Foun- dation of the College, and what that Bird was hath, I hope, been demonftrated to eve- ry impartial Reader. And this I mould think Sufficient for the Satisfaction of thefe veryfcru- fulous Gentlemen. Let me fpeak a Word or two more with Mr. P. before I conclude. And And here let me advife him, and all other Hypothetical Critics, and Pbilofopbers, imme- diately to difcard that falfe Method of Rea- foning which hath fo often exppied them and their Syflems to the Ridicule of the World, Nothing hath fo frequently fruftrated the En- quiries of ingenious Men^ or been fo great a Hindrance to the Advancement of ufeful Knowledge ', as the taking what we affect to call firft Principles upon Truil, and arguing upon them, howfoever falfe they may be, as from Matters of Fact and Demonftration. Thus the Philofophers of the Golden Tooth * erected feveral Syftems of natural and fuper-natural Caufes to explane that wonderful Phaenome- non ; till unfortunately for them, their inge- nious Difquifitions were put an End to by an inquifitive Goldfmith's demonftrating the faid Tooth to be a mere Cheat and a Counterfeit. J * Hiftoire des Oracles par M. Fontenelle ; DifT. i. Ch. 4. J The moft elaborate DhTertation on this Subject is that of HorftiuS) ProfefTor of Phyfic at Lipfic^ who very wifely pronounces the Tooth to be partly natural, and partly fu- pernatural. This curious Piece is intitled, Jacobi Horftil D. De aureo Dente maxillarl Pueri Silefii ; Primum, utrum ejus Generatio naturalh fuerit, nee ne : Deinde^ an dlgna ejus Interpret atlo dart queat. Lipfi<s, 1596. At the End of it, the Author hath very pertinently fubjoin'd a fmall Treatife, De Noflambulonum Natura, Differentns^ & Caujjs, &c. Thus ( 4-O Thus, in the laft Age, the Gentlemen of the French Academy employ'd their Talents in accounting for the Warmth of vaulted Cel- lars in Winter and their Coolnefs in Summer; till one more acute than the reft, by the Affiftance of a common Thermometer, con- vinced his Brethren that thofe fubterraneous Rooms were nearly of the fame Tempera- ture both in Winter and Summer. Thus the Members of another Society, in the Reign of Charles the Second, began to be as ingenious in difcovering the Reafon why a Fifh of five Pounds put into aVefTel of Water added nothing to the Weight of the faid Veffel, till that fa- gacious Monarch, who * fometimes honour'd o ' their Meetings with his Prefence, propos'd that the VeiTel might be weigh 'd in both Cir^ cumftances. And thus Mr. Pointer by taking the Longevity of the Mallard for granted, hath endeavour'd to eftablifh thereon the Hy- pothefis of the Goofe, in Oppofition to all Truth and Teftimony both Hiftorical and Propheti- f/. I mall clofe this Head with a Reflection from M. Fontenelle, which I humbly recom- mend to the Confideration of Mr. Pointer. " Je ne fuis pas fi convaincu de noftre igno T * See Sprat's Hiftory of the R. S. *' ranee ( 47 ) <e ranee par le chofes qui font, et dont la " raifon nous eft inconnue, que par celles " qui ne font point y & dont nous trouvons la " raifon." Let me farther advife him, if he thinks of anfwering this Vindication^ to do it in a Man- ner worthy the Gravity of his own Charac- ter, and the Dignity of the Subject. It is too commonly the Cafe, in Writing as well as in Converfation, when Men are at a Lofs for Reafon and Argument, to endeavour to get off by raifing the Laugh on their Sides. But I hope Mr. P. hath foil fo much of the true Philofopher left in him as to difdain thefc tittle Arts. He will reflect that Things of this ferious Nature are not to be jefted with, and that the Exercife of Wit and Imagina- tion is fo far from being of any real Affiftance, that it is the greateft Obftruction to all folid Inquiries. He will conlider, when he takes his Pen in Hand, whether he be able to de- ftroy the venerable Authority of 'Tfwmas Wal- fmgham ; whether he can fhew the leaft Sha- dow of a Forgery in the Prophecy I have pro- duc'd on this Occalionj or the leaft Incon- fiftency or Abfurdity in my Explication of it ; and whether he be prepar'd to attempt this with With that ingenuous Frame of Mind, which is apt to yield to the Evidence of Truth, and not to be bias'd by any other Confiderations ? An Anfwer drawn up upon thefe Principles, and with this Temper will deferve, and mall receive from me, a ferious and candid Reply. And then let the learned World judge, whe- ther the leajl Feather dropt from the Mallard^ for fuch I have the Modefly to efteem myfelfi be not an Over-match for the bejl Quill he mall be able to pluck from his Goofe ? But if, which I think may be expected from a Man of his Candour and Sagacity^ he mould be convinc'd of his Errours by the Proofs I have here laid before him^ I fup- pofe it will not be thought unreafonable in me to defire him to make fome public Acknow- ledgment of that Conviction. Opportunities of doing fo cannot be long wanting to a Gentle- man fo converfant with the Preis as Mr. Pom- ter is. However, if I may by allowed to hint the moft proper Method of giving this Satisfaction, I would fubmit it to him whe- ther he ought not, in the next Edition of his Chronological Hijtory, to diftinguifh the 1 4th of January in the Year 1437-8, as a Day highly (49 ) remarkable for that wonderful Event, the Invention or Releafe of the Mallard. Much more might have been faid, in the Courfe of this Vindication, on the Danger and evil Tendency of Mr. Pointer's Method of writing on Things of foferious a Nature ; e- fpecially from the Greatnefs and Authority of his Example, which may be too liable to be imitated by the many fuperficial and undifcern- ing Wits of the Age we live in. But the Rea- der will eafily perceive how cautious I have been not to expofe my Adverfary to the Re- fentment of the World, but have rather cho- fen to defend my Caufe by plain, fimple Nar- rative of Matter of Faff, than by throwing out any warm Reflections on his Views and Intentions. I cannot however forbear men- tioning one other Inftance to be met with in the Book now lying before us, from whence 1 am apt to fear that it is a fix'd Principle in Mr. Pointer to ridicule every Ceremony and folemn Injlitution that comes in his Way, how- foever venerable it may be for its Antiquity and Significance. Speaking ( P. 39. ) of the Boards-Head of Queen's College^ he fays, " Ano- " ther Cuftom is that of having a Boar's-Head, " or the Figure of one in H r ood t brought up G cc into ( TO ) " into the Hall every Year on Chriftmas Day." Now, notwithstanding this bold Hint to the contrary, it feemeth to me to be altogether unaccountable and incredible that a polite and learned Society mould be fo far deprav'd in its Tafle, and fo much in love with a Block-head as to eat it. But as I have never had the Honour of dining at a Boards-Head, and as there are many Gentlemen more nearly concern'd and better inform'd, as well as bet- ter qualify'd, in every Refpect, to refute this Calumny than I am, I mail avoid entering into a thorough Difcuffion of this Subject. I know it is given out by Mr. P's Enemies that he hath been employ'd by fome of the young Seceders from that College, to throw out this Story of the Wooden-Head in order to coun- tenance the Complaints of thofe Gentlemen about foort Commons, and the great Deficiency of Mutton, Beef, &c. And, indeed-, I muft needs fay that nothing could better have an- fwer'd their Purpofe, in this Refpect, than the proving, according to this Injinuation, that the chief Dim at one of their higheft Fefti- vals, was nothing but a Log of Wood bedeck' d 'with Bays and Rofe?nary ; but furely this can- not be credited, after the Univerfity has been inform'd by the bcfl Authority, and in the moft moft public Manner, that a young Nobleman, who lately compleated his Academical Edu- cation at that Houfe, was during his whole Refidence, not only very well fathfied but ex- tremely delighted with the College Commons. I have now done with Mr. P. and have lit- tle more to add than my Thanks to thofe learned Gentlemen, who have been fo kind us to offer me their Affiftance towards the com- pleating this Vindication of the Mallard. " There is, faith Cicero, * a certain natural <c Connection between the polite Arts, where- " by they are united in the Support of each " other, as Members of the fame Family." And what he fays of the Arts, is equally true of the Artifts themfelves, I mean of all inge- nious Purfuers of ufefnl Truth and Learning. Of this I have receiv'd many remarkable Proofs in the Inftance now before us. No fooner was it rumour'd abroad amongft my Acquaint- ance in the World of Literature, that I in- * - etenim omnes artes quae ad humanitatem perti- nent, habent quoddam commune vinculum, et quafi cog- natione quadam inter fe continentur. Pro Arch. Poeta. G 2 ( n ) tended to undertake the Defence of the Mal- lard, than I immediately met with the greateft Encouragement from all Quarters to precede with my Defign. The Caufe of the Mallard became the common Caufe of all Men of Tafte and true Learning. Some of thefe I think myfelf, out of Gratitude, obliged to particularize as far as I can fuppofe it will be agreeable to their Modefty. The learned and ingenious Antiquarian B. W. Efq-, and L L. D. was pleas'd to offer me the Ufe of many valuable Papers which he hath col- lected on this Subject, and particularly a com- fleat Lift of the Lords of the Mallard from the Foundation of the College to this Time. The Reverend and ingenious Mr. W e, the R > ffe L TZ, who, fome Years ago, fo worthily retriev'd the Honour of the Berk/hire White Horfe, hath been pleas'd to tell me that if I wanted any thing in the Saxon way he fhould be very proud to furnim me with it. The Rev. and learned Mr. S>- n hath been fo good as to favour me with the Sight of a very fine Gold Medal * (on which he is now preparing * I cannot thoroughly agree with Mr. S. in his Expia- tion of this CW.- Iri the Exergue are the following Let- ters, (5-3) preparing a Latin Differtation) ilruck in Ho- nour of the Mallard with a Galliard on the Reverfe ters, C. O. A. F. O. F. which he reads thus, Collegia Omnium Animarum Faufta Omnia Fiant. This I own to be very ingenious^ but it does not fufficiently point out the Fact of the Invention of the Mallard^ for which Purpofe the Medal was certainly ftruck. I would therefore chufe to read it thus, Collegium Omnium Animarum Fetid Omine Fundatum. There is another of the fame Kind, but of Copper, in the Hands of the above-mention'd learned Antiquarian B ne W- j, Efq; with this Variation, that the fame Letters are ftruck round the Edges inftead of being in the Exergue* I am almoft amam'd to mention how much, in my humble Opinion, Mr. IF. has miftaken this Coin. He has plac'd it amongft his Traders (of which he has a very valuable Collection) and infifts that the Letters ought to be read backward and explaned thus, Francis Oliver Farrier At Oxford City. This Francis Oliver^ (fays Mr. W.} befides his Bufmefs of Farriery ', kept a publick Houfe and liv'd at the Sign of the Swan. So, it feems, what we have fuppofed to be a Reprefentation of the Mallard^ on the Face of the Coin, is nothing but a Copy of the Pifture on Frank Olivers Sign-Poft. 1 fhall not ftay to refute this Hypothecs, but fhall refer the Reader to the Differtation above-mentioned, where he will find it done to his entire Satisfaction. But if Mr. W. fhould ftill perfift in denying the Honour of this Coin to the Mallard; if he is determin'd to make it a Trader^ of the Name of Oliver ; and if Mr. Oliver muft Reverfe of it, which he takes to be the fame that was loft out of the * Cabinet of the great Peirejkius when it was robb'd by his Father's Gardiner ; the Lofs of which was feverely re- gretted by that Prince of Antiquarians to the laft Hour of his Life. But, above all, I am oblig'd to a Gentleman who dates his muft be a Farrier ; where yet is the Neceflity of perverting the Order of the Legende, and making ufe of a Licence never yet allowed in Infcriptions confuting merely of Ini- tials? He hath, to my Knowledge, been long in fearch of a Trader from Falrford, to complete his Collection for the Towns of Glouctfterflrire. Why then will he not feize on this favourable Opportunity ok finding one ? Let me, at leaft, therefore obtain this from him, that he would think of promoting his own moft important Defigns, by reading it, for the future, according to the due Courfe of the Let- ters thus, C. O. A. F. O. F. i. e. Charles Oliver A Farrier Of Fairford. If he defires any farther Authority for this Interpretation, I am ready and able to give him as gopd Proofs that Charles Oliver liv'd at the Sign of the Duck in Fairfordi as he can produce that his Brother Frank kept fhe Siua n in the City of Oxford. * The Reader may fee a particular Account of this Robbery in the fourth Book of GaJJendus's Life ot Peirejkius. I am furpriz'd at his making no Mention of this Gold Medal of the Mallard, efpecially as he takes Notice of fome Coins and Gems of lejjer Rarity; as the /Egyptian Talent, or Arfinoe, the Sol d? Or of Kludovicus Pius, the eruius Sulpitius^ the Aitlon^ &c. Letter ( ft ) Letter from Eton and afTures me that he hath almoft compleated au Elogium upon the Mal- lard, written in the choicer!: Latin, which he fays mall be the Touch-ftone of all the E/ogiums that have ever yet been written, and a Pattern for all that mall be written hereafter. * I have * I ought to have made particular Mention, in this Place, of the kind Benefaftion of the Gentleman at whofe Expence the Copper-Plate Ornament of my Title-page was engrav'd, but that he hath given JlriB Orders to have his Name conceal'd. It is taken from an authentic Draw- ing in the Margin of Thomas Waljingkam s MS. The En- graver hath done his Part very well for a modern Artifi, though I think he hath not hit off that Air of Majefty which dignifies the Original. The Tail-piece, which very aptly for my Purpofe, re- prefents the cutting up of the Goofe, is copied from an old Hieroglyphical Stone on the Eaftern Front of the Hall of Balliol College, The Reverend Per fonage^ with a Knife in his right Hand, was undoubtedly intended for a Monk ; and as the Learning of thofe Times, when the Hall was built, was entirely confined to that Set of Men, we have here very intelligibly typified to us the utter Demolition of Ignorance and Err our (i. e. the Goofe) by the Introduc- tion of Arts and Letters. The Reader will be fatisfied that this is no forc'd or arbitrary Conftruftion, if he will be pleas'd to confult Pierius's Hieroglyphica, Pag. 1 74, de Anfere. That learned Author gives us a natural Reafon, why the Figure of this Bird was always made life of by the ancient ^Egyptians (the great Inventors of Hieroglyphical Learning) I have not hitherto had Occafion to make Ufe of any of thefe Afliftances, and whether I fhall Learning) to exprefs Folly, Stupidity, &c. namely, from his great Averfion to the Laurel. Averfum enim adeo eft a po* eticis ftudils Anferis ingenium, ut Pbcebeum arborem Lau" rum, quam fibi exitialem, Ji ejus folia vefcatur, intelligit, pertinacijjime fugiat. So, it feems, however averfe the Goofe' s Genius may be to Poetical Studies, we find that he is in fome Sort of Favour with Apollo, and may be efteem- ed a very notable Phyfician, as the poifonous Qualities of of the Laurel-Leaf^ one of the boafted modern Difcoveries of the Faculty, appear to have been known to this filly Bird from all Antiquity. But to return to our Hierogly- phick. Eafy, natural, and well authoriz'd as my Explana- tion of it is, many Gentlemen of Learning, whom I have talk'd with on this Subject, have been fo grofs as to ima- gine it to be only a Reprefentation of a College-Cook, in his culinary Occupation, of cutting out a Commons. So far, indeed, there may be fome Truth in this, that from the Circumftance of the Goofe appearing naked, and feem- ingly juft taken from the Spit, the Rewards of Learning* a good Maintenance, the Founder s Allowance, or a fat Living, might be fhadow'd forth to the young Student. But then this was but a fecondary Branch of Dottnne, and was not to be touch'd upon till the Hieroglyphical Precept of cutting up the Goofe had been comply'd with, in the more fpiritual and refirid Senfe, I mean by a long and clofe Application to Study. With this Comment upon it, I hope it will not appear to be an improper or injignificant Ornament of a Houfe of Learning ; and as the Engraving I have given of it may be of Ufe to preferve the Memo- ry of fo valuable a Curiofity (whenever the worthy Society, to I mall hereafter muft be determin'd by Mr. Pointer's recanting his Errors, or perfifting in the Defence of them. Indeed the laft men- tion'd Favour, I mean the EJogiu'm^ may pro- bably be of great Service to me whether he goes on with his Scheme, or not. For if, from the general Decay of true Tafte, and a Difregard for the Caufe of Truth in Matters of the highefi Importance^ this fecond Edition of my Vindication (for by the generous Pa- tronage and Protection of his numerous Friends, as well as the malevolent Curioftty of the Ene- mies and Well-WiJhers to the Mallard^ we have, without it, been enabled to ftruggle through the firft) mould not happen to anfwer the reafon* Able Expectations' of its Author and his Book- feller, it may perhaps be advifeable to tack the faid Elogium to the remaining Copies, and by the Help of a new Title-Page, make a Third. to which it belongs, lhall be fo devoid of all Tajle for Antiquity as to exchange the good old Building, tor the newfangled Refinements of modern Architecture) I am in great Hopes, that the Expence of it will be reimburs'd to me, by the, newly incorporated, Society of Tfa Antiquaries of LONDON. H CONCLU- CONCLUSION. AN D now, kind Reader, fuffer me to congratulate Myfelf and Thee, if thou haft any Regard for HifloricalCriticifm and^f- nuine Antiquity ^Q^. the honefr, and, I hope, fuc- cefsful Efforts I have here made, to retrieve the blafted Credit of the Mallard, and the Honour of that Houfe which owes its Foun- dation to him. Indeed it gives me great Plea- fure to reflect, that whilft fome have been invidioufly endeavouring to annihilate an * ori- ginal Britijb Emprefs, and "have purfued their Malice fo far as to_difturk her Retirement in a Cell of a Royal Cabinet of Medals j and J others, in Breach of all DECENCY, have been raking the B gb -fes, and fouling their Hands in * A Diflertation upon OKI UN A, (aid to be Emprefs, or Queen of England^ the fuppos'd Wife of Caraufiu^ &c. LOND. Printed for J. Whijlon and B. White. 1751. $ A philofophical Dialogue concerning Decency. To which is added, a Critical and Hiftorical Diflertation on Pla- ces of Retirement for neceflary Occafions, &c. LOND. Printed for James Fletcher in the Tttrl, Oxford. 1751. groping groping into the C7 -ft Is of the Ancients, it hath been my happier Employment, without giving Offence to the niceft Noftrils, to have cleanfed the noble Bird from the Dirt thrown on him by Mr. Pointer, (a worfe Filth than that of the Sink from which he was at firft releas'd) and to have engag'd my Talents in the Behalf of a Society to which I owe the far greateft Share of the Improvement I have made of them. I am very fenfible how utterly in- capable I am of repaying all the Obligations I have to it. The Eafe and Happinefs I there enjoy'd, the fincere Friendmips I there con- traded, the chearful Hours, the heart-felt Mirth, and every focial Pleafure (the Lofs of which, notwithfianding the many Comforts that attend the married State, I cannot recoi- led: without fome Degree of Regret and Dif- fatisf action) mall always keep awake my Gra- titude, and lay the flrongeft Claim to my Prayers for its Welfare and Profperity. And that fome Token of my Zeal for its Service may remain to lateft Succeffions, it is my ambitious Requeft that this little TraSt may be kindly receiv'd into that noble Repo- Jitory of Learning^ which, with no unfavour- able Omen, dates its Completion in the fame H 2 Year Year with that of the Vindication of the Mal- lard. It will not, furely, be too great an Inftance of Vanity, to exped: that the HEARNS and the TANNERS, the a WOODS and the WILLISES, who, I am inform'd, have already taken Poffeffion of their Shelves in that fuperb Edifice, will eafily be perfuaded to clofe their Ranks and contract their Dimenfions, and fuf- fer one more Britijh Antiquarian to fqueeze into their Company : One, who though not quite equal to the leafl of them in Bulk, and Variety of Matter, may yet there claim fome Refpect, as well from the Propriety as Dig- nity of his Subject, and, I hope, from the Per- fpicuity, Accuracy and Integrity, with which he hath treated it. And though many Prejudices may, for fome Time, remain againfl me, from the un- common Character which my Antagonift hath hitherto fupported in the Common-wealth of Letters, yet let me hope that when the Blaze of his Reputation, as a Writer, mail be quite extinguifh'd, or at leaft fo much abated as no longer to dazzle the Eyes of a prejudic'd and ill-judging World, Men may be brought to a more impartial Way of thinking on the Subject before us, and learn to prefer TRUTH in (61 jin her natural, unaffected Drefs, to Faljhood and Err our though trick 'd out with all the Embellimments of Conceit and Fancy. But ? whatever may probably be my Fate with this and the next Generation, yet will I flatter myfelf that when the prefent Age (modern as it now is) (hall, after fome Centu- turies, be crufted all over with the reverend Ruft of Antiquity, fome future Antiquarian may be able, with indefatigable Pains, to fcrape off enough of it to difcoyer my Name and Labours to the Curiofity of his Cotempo- raries, and charitably regifter both it and them in the Fajii of OUR ATHENS. And may I further hope that this my hq- neft Attempt may not only redound to the Fame and Reputation of its Author, but, in fome Sort, to the Emolument of his numerous and burthenfome Family ? That, at leaft, when my eldeft Son Dick (who is now in his ninth Year, and, by the uncommon Induftry of a Country-Schoolmafter, hath already been flogg'd into a thorough Tafte of the Beauties of Cato's Diftichs, and Corderius's Colloquies) mall, af- ter doubling his prefent Age under the fame ivholfome wholfome Courfe of Discipline, have harden'd his Gums and flrengthen'd his Stomach, fo as to be able to fuck the Breajh and digeft the Milk of Alma Mater^ he may be admitted an humble Retainer to the Auguft Hoitfe of CHICHELE, and allow'd to wait, as Clerk or Cbori/ter, at that Table, where his Father had once the Honour of prefiding as SUBWARDEN. THE END, A N INDEX Books, Authors, and celebrated Perfons quoted or mentioned in this Vindication. ABbot, Archbifhop. A&a Eruditorum. Albertus Magnus. Alciatus. Aldrovandus. Anaftafius, Pope. Andreas Fulvius. Andrewe, Dr. Annales Vindelici. Ariftotle. Arnobius. Aulus Gellius. Bacon, Lord. Bibliotheque choifie. Bibliotheque univerfelle Baptifta Campafulgofus. Bayle. Burnet, Bp. Burnet, Dr. Camden. Charles II. King. Charles V. Emperor. Chichele, Archbifhop. Chriftianity as old as the Creation. Chronological Hiftory. Cicero. Collection of Letters. Collection of Prophecies. Cato's Diftichs. Corderius's Colloquies. Craefus, his Son. Dee, Dr. Dick, the Author's Son, Diflertation on Oriuna. Divine, Rev. and learned. Duck, Dr. Dukes of Arfchot. Edward VI. King. Elizabeth, Queen. Evans, Rice. Fauftina the younger. Fontenelle. Francis I. King of France, Gaflendus. Gaudentius Merula. Gentleman of Eton. Gentlemen of the French Academy. Gentlemen of another Sodety< Geoffry of Monmouth. Gevartius. Henry V. King. Henry VI. King. Henry VIII. King. HorfHus. Inquifitive Goldfmith. Jortin, Rev. Mr, Lilty, Mr. Lipiius. N D E X. Lucian. Marcus Aurelius. Mary, Queen. Memoires pour 1'Hiftoire, &c. Merlin. Nardini. Nicholas, St. Nicholfon, Bifhop* Nixon. Noftradamus. Nouvelles de la Repub- lique, &c. Oldmixon. Oliver, Charles. Oliver, Francis. Parker, Arcbifhop. Philomela. Philofophical Dialogue, &c. Peirefkius. Pierius. Pliny. POINTER, Rev. Mr. Politianus. Pontanus. Rights of the Chriltiarl Church. Scaliger, J. 6. Sermons, Rev. Mr. B'si Sprat, Bimop. S n , Rev. Mr. Sibylline Verfes. Shakefpear. Solinus. Tanner, Bifhop; Tindal. Tolus. Univerfal Monthly Regifler. Voffius. Walfingham Thomas. Warburton, Rev. Mr. Well-Wimers to the Mallard, Willughby, Mr. W. B. Efq; and L L. D. W e, Rev. Mr. Wotton. Young Nobleman. Youna; Seccders. ERRATUM. Page 30. Line 25. for plumonei read primaries* Advert if ement. Speedily will be publiftjd, (Price Three-pence) AN Jpolegy for the Conduft of the Rev. J. S - //, A. M. wherein the Reafons and particular Circumftances, \vhich provok'd him to make ufe of fome unguarded .and unjuftijiablit Expreffions, (highly reflefting on the Mallard of^ll-Souls, and the Author of the Vindication) in a Sermon preach'd before the Uni- <ve rfity of Oxford, at St. Mary's, on Sunday the 1 6th of December^ 1750, will be fully explain'd, and fubmitted to the Candour ot the Publick, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below MAY] Form L-0 20 ni-1,' 41(1122) ipl VU- 81977 61979 UJUf rr ES 3 1158 00473 4645 UC SOUTHERN REG ONAL L BRARY FAC L TY II I II I " * ' A A 000024152 1