when Fortune turned on her Side, to make fome Reprizals; but then the ought to have confidered impartially, that neither the Pretenfions of the Elector of Bavaria, nor yet thofe of the King of Pruffia, were abfolutely without Grounds; and that, on the contrary, though they might be very disagreeable to her, they were very fpecious.

She ought likewife to have remembered, that his Pruffian Majefty in particular, had not proceeded to Extremities, till he had made a formal Demand of what he conceived to be his undoubted Right, and had even offered her a confiderable Equivalent for that; nay, that he had waited patiently not only till his Propofals were rejected with Scorn, but till her Imperial Majefty, having been ill advised by those who thought to find their own Account in fishing in troubled Waters, was preparing to repel Force by Force, and a Demand had been made of a Body of Muscovites, who by finding the Pruffians full Employment at Home, were to have prevented their Irruption into Silefia.

That Princefs, we fay, ought impartially to have confidered all thefe Things; and that, therefore, her entering into a Confederacy with the King of Poland, to parcel out his Pruffian Majefty's hereditary Dominions, in Violation of many folemn Treaties, could never be juftified by that Prince's Endeavour to recover by Force what was his Right, after it had been refused him peremptorily, when claimed peaceably.

Accordingly, we find the Event of each was anfwerable; the one being attended with continual Succefs, and the other with continual Defeats and Misfortunes. Not that we think it always fair to make a Judgment of the Rectitude of Actions by the Iffue thereof; but, in the Cafe before us, we have great Reason to think the one was the direc

Con

Confequence of the other. And what induces us to be of this Opinion is, that continual Viciffitude of good or ill Fortune, that attended the Attempts of the Pruffian and Auftrian Troops, according as their Foundation was laid in Juftice or not.

For Inftance, when theKing of Pruffia attacked Silefia, he met with uninterrupted Succefs; but, when after the Treaty of Breslau, taking Advantage of the Auftrian Army's having paffed the Rhine, he unwarrantably invaded Bohemia, at the Head of Ninety Thousand Men, committing there intolerable Ravages; an Action equally ungenerous, inhuman, and not to be justified; tho' he carried at firft indeed all before him, he was foon forced to abandon his Conquefts, and glad to retire into his own Territories, hardly bringing back half that fine Army. Prince Charles of Lorrain was then fingly able to cope with his Pruffian Majefty, and to recover and fecure that Kingdom; but when her Hungarian Majefty would hearken to no Terms, when, without any Regard to Right, and thirsting after Revenge, the Auftrian Army, under the fame Prince, in Conjunction with the Saxons, and the Infurgents of Hungary, were ordered to penetrate into the hereditary Dominions of the Houfe of Brandenburg, how were the Tables turned? The King of Pruffia, not only prevented, and fingly repulfed them, but carrying Fire and Sword into the Saxon Territories, over-ran that Electorate with amazing Rapidity; levied immenfe Contributions, and in fhort, forced both Auguftus and the Queen of Hungary, to fit down contented with their Lofs and Damages, and to buy a Peace at a prodigious Lofs; after which he returned in Triumph, loaden with Honour, Spoils, and Riches, to his Capital.

Having thus, as we think, fufficiently shown, both from the Hiftory of former Times, and of our own, the Enormity and fatal Confequences of tranf

greffing

greffing the Third Commandment by the Violation of public Treaties, we fhall proceed to specify fome other Ways whereby it is equally broken, though. the Breach of it may not affect fo many; nay, perhaps, may only hurt ourselves: That is by Blafphemy, and rafh Wishes, and Imprecations, or Curfes, either on ourselves, or others.

This is fo blafphemous and fhocking a Practice, that the Hiftories of all Nations have condemned it, and have taken Notice of the dreadful Judgments attending those who have given themselves up thereto. Not to mention the numerous Inftances of those who, upon every Turn, using themfelves to cry, If this be not true, or, if I do not fo and fo, the Devil take me, have at last found that Old Serpent come at their Call, and have actually been carried away by him, Hundreds being actually Witneffes thereto : Not to mention thefe, we say, because there is fcarce any one, who has not heard of fome fuch Things, we fhall give fome other Examples, not lefs remarkable, though not fo commonly talked of.

At the Dawn of the Reformation in Germany, a certain Prieft, who had been converted to Lutheranifm, but either through Fear, or for Intereft, had apoftatized again to Popery, in order to justify himfelf, and give evident Proof of his Zeal, and the Sincerity of his Converfion, or rather Perversion, after Abundance of bitter Invectives from the Pulpit against Luther, and his Religion, concluded all with laying, If his Doctrine be true, I wish a Thunderbolt may firike me dead.

But obferve the Confequence of this rafh and fatal Imprecation! Not many Days after, there was a violent Storm, accompanied with dreadful Thunder and Lightening, whereat this wicked Prieft

being greatly terrified, his gui ty Con cience accu-, fing him of having fpoken contrary to the Truth, and remembering his rafh Wifh, he ran into the Church, and kneeling down be ore the Altar went to Prayers: But little did this avail him; for the Divine Vengeance overtaking him, he was there ftruck with Lightening, and with much Difficulty brought to Life again. Hereupon it was concluded to remove him to his own Houfe, that Endeavours might be there used to recover him, if poffible, intirely; but as they were carrying him Home, the Divine Juftice ftill pursuing him, a fecond Flash burnt him from Head to Foot, fo that he was as black all over as a Coal; being a remarkable Monument of the Anger of Heaven for fuch Crimes: This dreadful Account is tranfmitted down to us by Martin Luther himself.

The next Example we fhall cite will be fimilar hereto, and therefore follows very properly: This is of another Priest, who, in order to defend the wicked Practice of the Romish Church, in denying the Cup to the Laity, having occafionally mentioned the Words of St. Paul, 1 Cor. xi. 23, 24, 25, broke out into this blafphemous Exclamation, Ob, Paul, Paul, if thy Doctrine concerning the receiving the Sacrament in both Kinds be true, and if it be a wicked Thing to adminifter it otherwife, then may the Devil take me; and to confirm this yet more, he added, addreffing himself to the People, If the Pope's Doctrine concerning this Point be not true, then am 1 the Devil's Bond-flave; neither do I fear to pawn my Soul upon it. Which Words had not been long out of his Mouth, before the Devil actually came to claim his own, and without hurting any one elfe, carried away this wicked Prieft fo effectually, that he was never heard of afterwards.

In the Reign of Frederick, Emperor of Germany, the Count de Schwartzenburgh, one of his Nobles,

used

ufed commonly, in order to confirm what he had afferted, to wifh. if it were not fo, he might be fuffocated in a Privy; and accordingly his Wifh, though very improbable, e'pecially in a Perion of his Quality, came to pafs. For, as he was attending on the Emperor, in St. Peter's Cloifter at Erfurt, that Prince having Occafion to go to the Neceffary Houfe, Schwartzenburgh accompanied him thither; where they had not been long, before the Floor gave Way, and funk in; fo that the Emperor with Difficulty faved himself by laying hold on the Bars of a Window, and hanging thereby till Help came; but Schwartzenburgh fell to the Bottom, and was fmothered.

Equally remarkable was the Fate of the great Earl Goodwin of Kent, Father to King Harold, from whom the Goodwin Sands, which were formerly his Eftate, but were overflowed by the Sea, derived their Name. This Nobleman being at Table with our King Edward the Confeffor, one of the Cupbearers, going to prefent his Majefty with fome Wine, made a Stumble, but faved himself with his other Foot, and did not fall. Hereupon, Goodwin, laughing, cried out, See how one Brother, meaning his Legs, helps another. Thefe Words bringing to the King's Remembrance, the deplorable End of his Brother Alfred, to whofe Death the Earl was fufpected to have been acceffary, made fo deep an Impreffion on him, that he could not forbear anfwering, So would my Brother Alfred have helped me, bad it not been for you.

Being charged fo home, the Earl, though not afraid of fuffering for the fame, being rather more powerful than the King himfelf, was willing to clear himself of fo black an Imputation; and accordingly, little imagining how foon the Almighty would fay Amen to his wicked Imprecation, if I am any way guilty of Alfred's Death, faid he, I pray

God