[Footnote:  Collier,]

Your humble Servant good Doctor—­Well, now for me.

I like a Parson, that no Souls does Lurch, And keeps the true Decorum of the Church; That always preaches by Just Reason’s Rule; But for a Hypocrite, a Canting Fool, Who, cramm’d with Malice, takes the Rebels side, And would, for Conscience, palm on us his Pride, Let him, for Stipend, to the Gubbins* sail, And there Hold-forth for Crusts and Juggs of Ale.

  [*:  A Savage kind of People in the West of England.]

And so much by way of Prose, I shall only now give the Reformer a little further Advice, in return of his, in my Lyrical way, which is in a Fable of A Dog and an Otter; and to turn his own words upon him, the Citation may possibly be of some service to him, for if not concern’d in the Application, he may at least be precaution’d by the Moral.  I find he knows I can sing to other Peoples sense, I’ll try now if I can make him sing to mine:  And when he Diverts, or is Diverted with Vox, then, Preterea nihil.

* * * * *

Maxims and Reflections

upon

PLAYS.

(In Answer to a Discourse, Of the Lawfullness
and Unlawfullness of PLAYS.  Printed
Before a late PLAY Entituled,
BEAUTY in DISTRESS.)

Written in FRENCH by
the Bp. of MEAVX.

And now made ENGLISH

The PREFACE By another HAND.

LONDON,

Printed for R. Sare, at Grays-Inn Gate, in
               Holborne. 1699.

* * * * *

THE PREFACE

The Charge drawn up by Mr. Collier, against the English Stage hath obliged the Persons concerned in it, to use all possible methods for their own Vindication.  But their Endeavours of this kind have been such as seem to have done no great Service to their Cause.  The natural Reflection, arising upon the present State of the Controversy, is, that, when Persons so nearly concerned and so well qualified, to say all that the case will bear, have yet been able to say so little to the main points of the Accusation brought against them, the only effectual Reply would be either to write no more for the Stage, or to write for it after quite another manner, than of late hath been done.  They that have attempted to answer the View are in good hands already.  But since other Succours are called in from abroad, ’tis fit the World should know, that this Reserve too hath been already defeated in it’s own Countrey.  And that we ought not to be imposed upon here in England, with an Adversary, whose Arguments have been not only confuted and Scorned by Others, but also retracted by Himself, at home.