under the Title of Sacerdotes Arrorum Their Number was Twelve of which he himself was one condescending to be called the Twelfth Brother of that Fraternity being solemnly Installed thereunto by Laurentia Acca his Foster-Mother who platting a Garland of the Ears of Corn bound it on his Head with her White Fillet which was lookt upon at that time to be the most Sacred Badge of Priesthood and was the First Crown that we read of amongst the Romans And in so great Honour was it held in after Ages that nothing but Death could put a Period to it and was ever enjoyed even in Times of Exile and Captivity No Wonder then if even Kings themselves delighted to write of Husbandry such as Hiero Philometor Archelaus and Attalus Amongst Militant Persons Xenophon was eminent this way but much more famous was Mago the Carthaginian and Brother of Hanibal which Works of his were held in that Esteem as to be Translated into divers Languages an Epitome whereof made Greek was sent to Dejotarus as a Jewel of Inestimable Value and particularly it was lookt upon by the Romans to be so precious that amongst all the African Monuments of Learning this alone was thought worthy of the Romans Care and to be preserv'd upon the Subversion of Carthage being Translated likewise into the Roman Language by the Care and Directions of M. Cato Amongst Philosophers whose Works are Extant Aristotle Pliny and Terentius Varro signaliz'd themselves upon this Subject as did also Theocritus Hesiod and Virgil amongst the Ancient Poets with infinite other Writers of modern Date And such an Influence truly had the Art and Practise of Husbandry upon the Minds of Men that the most eminent of them in all Ages whether for Military or Civil Employments did ever betake themselves in some degree or other to this Course of Life Hence it was that every Roman of old had his Villa where to bestow himself in time of Vacancy from Business as they have at this Day in Italy and elsewhere belike thinking themselves then most happy when they take up with the Entertainments of their Vineyards As to the Profits arising from a Country Life it is superfluous to enlarge on that which is so obvious to all the World And first in respect of the General or Commonwealth This is that great Vein by which the Blood is distributed through all Parts of the Body or rather the very Blood it self since it is disfus'd over the Whole nor can any Part or Member subsist without it It is the Foundation of Traffick and Commerce forasmuch as all the Manufactures and Commodities which we export or receive from Foreign Parts are but the Productions of the Earth at the first or second hand Corn Wine Oil Fruits Cloth Linen or Woollen Silks c. are all of them the Off-spring of the Earth cultivated by Art and Industry And as the Husbandman is most necessary to the Publick in Times of Peace so is he as useful in Times of War since all the Stores and Magazines by which Garrisons and Armies in the Field are sustain'd are deriv'd from his Labour and Providence The Description therefore which the Poet gave of old Italy that it was Potens Armis atque Vbere Gleba was well concerted for Italy as it was one of the most fruitful so it was the most martial and victorious Country under Heaven giving Laws to all other Nations so that were it under the Command of one Prince it might possibly pretend to be once more the Mistress of the World as it was heretofore when the Boundaries of its Empire were the Ocean which it exceeded to in Greatness of Extent Nor could it be possible for Flanders with the other neighbouring Countries to sustain such vast Armies and to have been the Seat of War and Desolation for so many Ages together with such immense Losses and Calamities were they not enabled thereunto by the invincible Industry of its Inhabitants and by the Fertility of the Soil In the next place if we regard the particular Interest of private Persons no less obvious is it that nothing can more advance it than Husbandry The great Estates and Fortunes which many Men arrive to this way being a certain Proof of this Truth If some miscarry 't is no wonder whether it be through their own ill course of Life Ignorance or Negligence or perhaps from some sinister Accidents from which no State or Condition can be exempted But in the General 't is certain that considering the vast Numbers of Men who make Profession of Husbandry none make a surer Fortune than those who follow it there being ten Bankrupt Tradesmen or Merchants for one Husbandman Consideration being had I say to the Farms which far exceed the Shops in Number And as to our native Country in particular it enjoys certainly many Advantages above any Country whatsoever For in foreign Kingdoms so it happens that one Province abounds only with Corn another is in Reputation for Wine a third is eminent for Herbage a fourth for Boscage in which Case Men must be beholden to remoter Parts for Necessaries which is a Business of great Expence Trouble and Delay for Instance Picardy and Normandy are great corn-Corn-Countries but have little Wood Wine or Pasturage all which Necessaries being from far are very chargeable Holland is famous for Butter and Cheese but it must be oblig'd to foreign Countries for almost all its other Commodities whereas with us in England there is rarely a Farm of Fifty Pounds per Annum but has Meadow and Pasture-Ground belonging to it together with some Wood or Coppice as likewise with Arable Land for Corn with Sheep-Pasture as also with Trees for building for the Occasions of Husbandry for Fire and in many Places for Fruit and rich Liquor being yet farther bless'd with fresh and wholsome Water almost in every Ground or with some little Rivolet or Brook running near it so that a Man enjoys all things almost within himself of which he can stand in need without any Dependence upon others or of being in danger of want by any Difficulties in the Conveyance tho' I must confess that in some respects foreign Countries have an Advantage over us not only from the Sun and Temper of the Soil which generally requires less Manurement than with us but also from the Woods which in hotter Countries are much more easie being generally dry smooth and fit for Teams or Carriages at all Seasons or else they have artificial Canals as in the Low-Countries which indeed is a thing very considerable to a Farmer who keeps the Market so that little Profit may be expected from a Farm be the Ground never so good which lies not near to a good Market-Town or which wants the Conveniencies of good Roads or of a Navigable River The Italian Saying of Buona Terra Cativa Gente hath been by some applied to our Country with respect doubtless to the Peasantry of this Nation for as for the ancient Gentry
and Purpose 't would be a Diversion well worthy the Ingenuity of many Young Gentlemen who travel to be curious in observing what Fruits every Soil does yield as also the Nature and Complexion of the Soil the Temper of the Climate the Rules of their Husbandry the Tackle and Instruments they make use of as also their Methods of Manurement with what Returns they make of their Labours As for Curiosities of Plants Fruit-Trees Flowers and other Rarities of the Gardens brought over from Foreign Countries we have certainly as great a Collection as any Nation under Heaven there being none to be found which is so universally stor'd with all Provisions of this kind as is England and possibly some parts of the Low Countries which Benefit we have from the great Trade we drive in all Parts of the World so that whatsoever is rare is brought over and naturaliz'd amongst us being made free of our Soil The like Improvements might be made certainly in matters relating to Husbandry and Planting which would be of equal Pleasure with the Entertainments of a Garden and of infinite more Profit beyond all Dispute especially if we make choice of such Experiments and Observations as are already made by many excellent Persons of this latter Age in which this sort of Natural History seems to have obtain'd its utmost Perfection Out of all which Writings of our Modern Times a most excellent System or Body of Husbandry might be compiled than which nothing could be more reputable to the Undertaker nor more beneficial to the whole Kingdom Not that I think it Expedient that all Foreign Growths should be encourag'd for this in many cases may be detrimental as I shall shew hereafter especially when the Introduction of some things shall discredit and discourage the Growth of others only then 't will be beneficial to the Publick when 't is of such Productions as are imported on us from abroad for by this means we shall never be at any straits in time of War for what we want and our Disbursements will be less in the course and methods of Traffick I shall instance only in Three Things of which The First is The Planting of Hemp and Flax. 'T is known to all what Profit is made of the latter in Lombardy and some Parts of France the Growth of Flax being esteem'd equal to that of the richest Wines in Italy as being cultivated in the same rich Soil such as that in the State of Milan Parma Modena c. than which there cannot be a better upon Earth And when I consider that the Flax Trade and the Thread and Cloth made of it being a sedentary kind of Employment clean and fit for Ladies no doubt many nice Fingers which refuse to handle greasie Wooll might easily be invited hereunto And that this was the most honourable Vocation in which the Noblest Matrons and Virgins of Ancient Times were employed is abundantly evident from Ancient Records the Invention thereof being of Divine Extraction and ascrib'd to Minerva the like Esteem it has ever preserv'd to its self through all after Ages insomuch that all Virgins even of Royal Degree and Birth were and are still stiled Spinsters because this was the Business they were to profess and practice No wonder then if amongst the Familiars of the Nuptial Waggon amongst the Romans the Wheel and Distaff was ever the chiefest and most conspicuous And truly could the Profession of Spinning be separated from the Maiden State of the greatest Princesses the Salique Law would meet with an unlucky Rub or perhaps a Baffle when it bars the Distaff from Succession to the Crown by telling us that it cannot fall en quenouille The Advantage to the Kingdom arising from the Linnen Manufactures would be very great especially if young Children were inur'd hereunto from their Childhood for by that means their Fingers being then young and pliable would get such an Habit of working as Age it self could hardly wear away A Scheme of this Nature I have met with in a Book published by Captain Yarrington of Worcestershire a very knowing Projector from the Observations he made of the vast Advantages they found in Holland by these and such like Arts well worthy our Imitation such Children being there bred up in Working-Houses or Colledges under the Guard of honest vigilant and experienced Mistresses or Overseers Another thing of which it might be wish'd there were a Tryal made is that of the Silk Manufacture by planting of Mulberries which doubtless might be made to prosper in this our Island This likewise would be a very suitable Employment or Recreation rather for the more delicate of the other Sex who are so much taken with the Gawderies of Butterflies From whence also they may learn this Moral Lecture That as the greatest Ornaments and Lustre of their Bodies are the Spoils of Worms so the greatest Food for Worms will be upon the Spoils of their Bodies The Third Thing which I would recommend to be encourag'd is the Planting of Wallnut-Trees not for the Benefit of the Fruit to eat which is inconsiderable but for the Profit which might be made of the Oil which tho of little Use with us would be very well worth the Exportation it being amongst the poorer sort beyond-Sea some part of their Food and most serviceable to the Great Ones too in the Use they make of it to be Fuel for their Lamps especially in their Churches and almost in all Private Houses There is no Tree whatsoever growing in our English Soil whose Timber is so useful for Curious Furniture so that every Limb or Branch of a Wallnut-Tree which will but carry Three Inches Square is serviceable and of value Nor do I find that these Trees are of any Difficulty to be rais'd as to the choice of Ground nor subject to so much hazard as Oaks and other Trees upon Extremities of Weather All that can discourage the Tryal of them is the long Time we must wait for the Maturity of them which exceeds the common limits of an Age but since there is no more Care about them when they once begin to grow than about other common Trees which grow wild and natural it seems too great an Argument of a mean Spirit in a Man to measure all his Undertakings by the returns of Profit which he may expect in his own Life-time without regard to the future Advantages which his Heirs and After-Ages may reap from his Industry Tho in what I am now speaking of there is a great Pleasure and Satisfaction in seeing the gradual Advances of Nature and considerable Profit to be expected too by the Fruits they yield which will be still greater the longer they grow 'T is much to be wish'd likewise That the State would afford some Encouragement to Husbandry more than what we find at present by exempting it or at least by easing it as to the Publick Burthens especially for some Years upon any New Undertaking which shall be judg'd profitable to
Turf This sort of Fence will hold good for a Year or two and has this Advantage that as Cattle will not destroy it by brouzing so neither will it be in danger of being diminish'd by Hedge-breakers there being nothing which may tempt them thereunto as in Stake-Hedges where the Tynnel is of much greater Substance This sort of Hedging is of very little Charge and where a Breach is made it is easily repair'd only Care must be took from time to time as the Bank shall wash away into the hollow Road and Ditch on the other side not to repair it by digging new Earth on the Fields-side to cover the Thorns for by this means the Ground will in time be wasted away leaving a deep Ditch or Trench behind The way then must be to cast up the Earth which is mouldred down into the hollow way and so repair the Bank or Bulwark which tho' it be a little more troublesome will preserve the Ground from being wasted by frequent digging CHAP. V. Of Grass rais'd from Foreign Seeds EVery Man that is a Member of a Common-wealth may be consider'd in a double Capacity First as he stands alone and in his Private and Domestick Capacity Next as he is a Member of a Body and in his Relative and Civil Capacity If we consider him under the first Circumstance we must look upon him as a Creature acting upon Self-Interest whether it be in getting and augmenting his Fortune by Industry and Labour by Traffick by Cunning by Study Imployments Preferments c. or by securing himself from Wrong or by providing for and advancing his Family and in a word by gratifying his Desires in all true or imaginary Enjoyments and Contents whether they concern his own Person or those who are nearly related to and dependent on him But then as he is a Member of a Commonwealth his Duty extends it self much farther for 't is with the Body-Politick as with the Body-Natural If any one Member shall refuse to be beneficial to its Fellows it must not expect the like Relief from them by which means there will follow such a kind of Jarring or Discord amongst the Parts of the Body as will draw on a Distemper and perhaps a Dissolution which cannot but be fatal to the disagreeing Members themselves 'T is true it concerns every Man to provide for his own private Affairs in the first place for if he leaves it for others to do it for him he will quickly find himself in a very naked Condition so prevalent is Self-Interest which will first begin and many times end at home And yet all this while a Man whilst he is thus busie about his private Interest differs very little from Brutes For these know very well what is for their own good and will labour always to procure the same many of which are as sagacious and provident for their future Benefit as the most subtle and industrious of Humane Race Duties therefore of this kind may be called Animal or Sensitive as being common with Men and Beasts as they are living Creatures But Duties which concern the Publick are of a higher and more distinguishing Nature as being of a larger Extent and carry some Marks of Divinity on them forasmuch as they level at the General Good by promoting Peace and Justice and serve consequently to render Kingdoms and future Ages stable and flourishing and must be esteem'd therefore to be much more noble than the former as being founded in Reason and Prudence and diffusing their Influence over all the World Now to apply these Notions to the Point in question and first It is questionless the Inclination of every Man to improve his Estate as much as he can by the Arts of Husbandry as we may suppose in our present Case by sowing his Ground with Foreign Seeds such as St. Foin Clover c. But whether it be for the Interest of the Commonwealth to countenance and permit such Improvements may be a Question For if it shall appear that such Plantations are Injurious to the Publick according to what 's already premis'd the Government has Power to restrain Men from pursuing their Domestick and Private Advantage when it shall be to the Detriment of the same Persons as they stand engag'd in a Publick Body or Society The Considerations tempting us to believe that such Innovations in Husbandry ought to be permitted are these viz. Besides the Benefit which a vast Number of Persons reap from Improvements of this nature certain it is that great Numbers of Cattle are rais'd this way and consequently more Corn because more Dung Nor can Clover for the purpose be continu'd but for a little time without Tillage Now the more Corn and Cattle are rais'd the cheaper must all Provisions be which is generally look'd upon to be a Benefit to the Publick This Reason how specious and popular soever it may seem upon the first Appearance will upon a nearer View be found to be very thin and fallacious And first If we consider the Interest of Private Persons what Reason is there that some Private Persons should be suffer'd to grow rich and get Estates by the Loss of a far greater Number of Private Persons no less Industrious and Honest than their Neighbours 'T is true where Men riotously or sottishly wast their Estates their Neighbours may gather Sticks and into the Bargain make themselves warm by the Fire of them But for the Primitive Ancient and Native ways of Pasturage so useful and necessary to the Nation as those of Graizing and of the Dairy to be supplanted with all the Families thereon depending by the Invasion of Foreigners may be as mischievous to the good old Husbandman as any other Invasion whether of such as assault us by open force or of those more dangerous ones who endeavour to trapan us by fraudulent Cajolery The Plantation of Tobacco in England is a Production certainly which would be beneficial to a world of People both Planters and Smoakers and yet we find that it hath been destroy'd by Publick Order from time to time as fast as ever it grew up and this because it ruin'd others who before were settled in a Trade Why then there should not be the same Reason against Clover St. Foin Rye-Grass and other Foreign Weeds we are yet to learn especially when we consider the Duties or Payments whether Parochial or Publick with which Ancient Estates are burthen'd For tho' it be certainly true that Meadow and Feeding Grounds are fallen at least Fifteen per Cent. since the Importation of these Foreign sorts of Grass yet are they liable to the same Rates or Payments with which they were charg'd before they were impoverish'd by these Outlandish Usurpers whereas Lands which the last Year perhaps were not worth above Five Shillings an Acre after they are sown with Clover or St. Foin are worth yearly Twenty five or Thirty Shillings per Acre and notwithstanding such Advance of Profit are in a manner scot-free
paying only after the Proportion of their old Rents upon Pretence forsooth that no Man ought to pay for his Improvements which thing is false both in Reason and Practice But that Lands on the other hand which sink in their Value by the Incroachments of others should be still stretch'd upon the Rack whilst the Productions which undermine them return triple Profit to the Proprietor without Augmentation of Duty are Maxims very unpolitick irrational and unjust The Ancient Fundamental Course which has been found profitable and useful for so many Ages ought not to be expel'd by Foreign Upstarts which tho' upon the Account of their Novelty they may get some Admirers and Followers will be found in the Close to be of mischievous Consequence to the Publick as will appear farther if we consider the second General Argument offer'd on their Behalf viz. the Plenty and Encrease of Corn and Cattle 'T is very true by means of these foreign Growths more Corn and Cattle are rais'd than would be otherwise but this still is no Befit to the Publick when the Abundance and Plenty shall lower the Price For every one knows that 't is more Profit to have one Bushel of Corn which shall bring him Five Shillings than to sell two Bushels of the same Grain for Six because when things are dear the Return is made at less than half the Expence and when Commodities are cheap then is Money dear or scarce because there must be a great deal of Goods in Exchange for a little Money as on the contrary when Commodities are dear then is Money cheap because a little Ware will purchase a great deal of Money And certain it is that it is infinitely better for a Commonwealth when Money which is the Blood of the Body-Politick circulates quickly and is distributed through all the Parts than when it stagnates or lies dead in a few Mens Hands whilst Commerce and all the Business of the Market shall be at a Stand by too much Repletion which must needs occasion a Stoppage of Money For to speak truly none reap the Benefit of Plenty but the poorer sort of People nor do they truly for so it is that in the Years of Plenty Workmen are hardest to be procur'd and those most exacting too because a few Days Labour will maintain them a great while The Plenty does but tempt them to Laziness and Riot which in the end leads them into Misery and becomes expensive and burthensome to the Publick so that 't will be still better that the Market should be quick and quick it will be when Provisions are scarce than to have it over-glutted which cannot but discourage Labour and Industry as it will certainly encourage Sloth and Beggery What I speak as to Scarcity is to be understood in a moderate measure for if it tend to Dearth it cannot but be very prejudicial and grievous to all sorts of People So that how great a Blessing soever Plenty may be thought certain 't is that it does dispose Men to Intemperance and Excess and is then only to be look'd upon as a Blessing when what is superfluous may be exported abroad and bring us home such things as we stand in need of And as to the Productions of what we are now discoursing 't is no less certain that they endamage the Publick in many other respects it being known to every one that the Flesh of Sheep or Cattle fatted by such sorts of Grass is fady worse colour'd and worse tasted than what is Grass-fed so likewise is the white Meat or the Cheese and Butter made of such Pasturage Upon these and such-like Considerations we may affirm securely that as it is the Interest so is it in the Power of the Civil Magistrate to banish these Foreign Productions because detrimental to the greater part of the Nation or if continu'd 't would be much for its Interest to impose a Duty as a Crown for the purpose yearly upon every Acre so planted which would be some Help towards defraying the Publick Charge and leave the Planters or Husbandmen sufficient Gainers by the Bargain 'T is the Duty of the Magistrate not to debar any from their Rights and Liberty but by all due Provisions to support them in the same But when the Interest of Particular Persons shall stand in Competition with that of a greater Body as it is sufficiently demonstrated that it does in the present Case 't is certainly in his Power to reduce them into their former Methods of living and not suffer them to injure a greater Body by new Projects tending to their Private Interest Nor is this to abridge Men of their Rights but to confine them to their present State and Condition of Life upon Considerations of a more General Good Nor does this which is now deliver'd any way prejudice or contradict the Design of an after-Essay as to the Business of excluding Sea-coal from the City of London because in that case the Change is suppos'd to be of infinite more Advantage to the City and in a manner to the whole Kingdom than the Continuance and tho' some Persons may be prejadic'd in their Interests yet is their Number very inconsiderable compar'd with those who shall be better'd by the Change Nor can they be so great Losers by the Bargain as the Grasiers and the Pasture-Men of this Nation especially in those Parts where such Foreign Productions are found to grow To conclude this little Dispute There cannot be a more competent Judge in the present Question than the English Nation it self represented in its Parliaments particularly in that Provision which they have made formerly against the Importation of Irish Cattle 'T is very well known that after the Desolation made in that Kingdom Thousands of English Families were encourag'd by the Government then in being to remove Themselves and Substance and to settle there as it were in form of a Colony in order to Re-people that almost ruin'd and abandon'd Island And because the Country was most proper for the breeding of Cattle they began soon to take root sending over vast Droves into England and driving a very considerable Trade amongst their Friends and Correspondents the Effect of which being found very prejudicial to this Nation and to such especially whose chiefest Revenue depended likewise upon the breeding of Cattle The Parliament I say finding the Markets every where to sink and the Farmers likewise to be unable to pay their Rent as being depriv'd of the Means of raising Money and consequently that Land-Taxes the common Expedient to which the Nation has recourse would become very uneasie and heavy upon the Subject They in their great Foresight of the ill Consequences of this Irish Liberty thought fit to prohibite all farther Importations and by this means enabled the English to hold up their Heads again and bear their Burthens proceeding in their former Road of breeding Cattle as in Ancient Times Now if the Parliament dealt thus with Ireland who were their
Fellow-Subjects under the English Crown nay English Men and their Neighbours for they were for the most part the English who carried on the Irish Cattle-Trade and such English too as had been drawn over into Ireland upon large Promises of Favour and Assistance I cannot see but that there is infinite greater Reason to reduce our Traders in Foreign Grass so much prejudicial to the Pasturage of this Kingdom which Pasturage I say so much impoverish'd as it is is still forc'd to lie under the heavy Weight of Taxes whilst the new Planters or Supplanters rather who cause this so great a Decay of Pasturage are at full Ease and in the very Letter of the Country Proverb lie fattening in Clover CHAP. VII Of Commonage and Inclosures ANother Question issuing from the former Discourse is about the Rights of Commonage and Inclosures where in the first place we are to understand that the Question is not Whether the Supreme Authority hath a Power to uncommon wast Grounds when 't is attended with Remarkable Benefit as in the Case of the wast Grounds near London shall be hereafter discours'd of for that I take to be indisputable The Question then will be first in General Whether the Commoners or the Proprietors have the more Ancient Title Secondly Whether it would be more for the Interest of a Nation that there should be many wide Heaths and Commons as now they are or that all were inclos'd and improv'd to the utmost Advantage I begin with the First concerning which the Dfficulty will not be great it being obvious to every one that in the first Ages of the World we rarely read of Inclosures Properties indeed they had of Servants and Catle and in the Number of these consisted their Wealth but for Propriety of Land we meet with nothing saving those Common Boundaries or Land-Marks which were Rivers generally or Mountains by which the Possessions of Nations or greater Families were discriminated which Families were not like those of our Age consisting of a Master with his Wife Children or Domesticks but the Families of those days were a kind of little Principalities where one presided in Chief over the several Branches or Members depending on him whether they descended from his Body or whether they were of a younger House comprehending in the account all Servants with their Offspring all Captives and such as were purchas'd with Money So that a Family then might consist of Several Hundreds of individual Pâ—rsons and might be made up of divers subordinate and inferiour Families all depending upon one common Head This as it is most obvious from all Profane Story and more especially from the Sacred Writings so is it as plain too from the same Sacred Writings that the Jewish Patriarchs liv'd for a long time in Tents wandring from place to place as they found Conveniencies for feeding of their Cattle We find indeed that the Babylonians as also the Egyptians the Two most ancient and flourishing Monarchs of which we read That they built them Cities with stately Walls and other prodigious Piles which they left as Monuments of their Greatness to future Ages 'T is certain likewise That there were many other inferiour Cities of which we read often in Scripture such as Sodom and Gomorroh The Canaanites also had Cities with Walls looking high towards Heaven but all this while there is no Proof of Enclosures of Pasturage nor yet probably of Corn-Fields for then there must have been diversities of Farms or single Houses as now there are But of this we read nothing only that Men liv'd still together in some kind of a Body which is no other but a City As for Pasturage 't was all in Common but in regard that Corn not being rais'd but with Labour and Charge 't is probable that the Prince or Head of the Family or People undertook the Burthen appointing afterwards to every one of his Servants or Dependants his due Portion But in after Ages as Men began to thirst after Conquest and many Contentions arising daily about the Divisions of the Fruits of the Earth 't was thought Expedient that every Man's Propriety should be secur'd by particular Limits or Enclosures which hapned frequently upon a Conquest where the Services of private Persons were rewarded by the Conquerors assigning out of the Lands of the Vanquished Country a certain portion of Ground to every man as his Service might deserve This was the Case of the Jews upon their Entrance into Canaan and ours likewise in England upon the Norman Invasion as also of the Romans sometimes unless those whom they subdu'd became Tributaries tho generally the Romans dealing bountifully with the conquer'd Nations did naturalize or incorporate them amongst their Citizens which Clemency of theirs rais'd that Empire to its Greatness few caring to resist such Generous and Potent Enemies who were so easie to be entreated so faithful to their Allies and so able and resolute to protect those who submitted to them But to return to my Argument From what has been hinted 't is unquestionable That the Rights and Title of Commonage are much ancienter than those of Enclosures I mean in the general and with us here in England the Rights of our present Commoners seem to have begun upon the Conquest when King William and his Successors reserving to themselves certain Lands for Forests and Chaces and for the Preservation of Game the Inhabitants bordering upon such Places under some Fines of acknowledgment or Vassalage were allow'd the Priviledge of keeping Cattle on them with some other Advantages the Kings still retaining to themselves the Royalty or Benefit of such Places for the Preservation of Deer and for their own Sport and Recreation The like Constitution hereunto we may observe in other Manors or Lordships deriv'd at first from the Crown so that the Commoners Title in this respect precedes that of any Proprietor Forasmuch as the whole Kingdom then tho' beautified with Cities and divided into Farms as at this present day was to be reputed but as One Great Common out of which many private Persons were permitted to buy or of the Royal Bounty and Grant to appropriate some Parts or Parcels of it under the Obligation of certain Duties or Acts of Homage all which Priviledges being confirmed by after Acts of Parliament do invest the Commoners with such a Right or Title as nothing but a Parliamentary Power can reverse The next Quaere then is this Whether it would be more for the Interest of a Nation that there should be many wide Heaths and Commons as now there are Or that all should be inclos'd and improv'd to the utmost Value Here I must confess a Field lies open for a large Discourse all that I shall adventure in it shall be to propose such Reasons as may occur on one hand and on the other leaving the Decision of the Controversie to the Reader 's Judgment First then it may be urg'd in favour of Enclosures That by this means many Families
Act behind the Curtain are altogether as unexcusable as the former the very Quintescence or Poyson rather of the Sin consisting in the abuse or superfluous waste of those Blessings which might serve for the Relief of such as are ready to perish with Cold and Hunger As for Drunkenness or that Giddiness of Brain which attends Excess with all the Concomitant Ordures they are indeed but some part of the Punishment due thereunto it seeming good to the All-wise God to annex Pain to Intemperance in all Cases almost whatsoever When I have seen a Man of Fortune as they call him rouling in his Coach and making a Visit to his several Posts and Preferments and meeting the Caresses and Complements of his Acquaintance in all Places where he comes when I have considered in what Ease and Luxury he lives rising perhaps about Nine or Ten a Clock and it may be is at the pains to take a little breathing-Walk to whet his Appetite for a Feast when I see him stuff his Carcass with fat Venison and Claret till the very Seams of it are ready to burst and after Dinner dozing and smoaking his Pipe with great Grace and Gravity When I have seen all this I say I have been upon the point of envying such a Man's Happiness when lo upon a sudden Oh! I feel a Pain in my Foot an intolerable and unexpected Pain Good Man all must needs be mightily concern'd for him and the Town and Country must ring of this great and sudden Disaster The House is alarm'd the Doctor or Apothecary with other Dependants and Retainers to the Family are sent for in post-hast and after a critical Examination of the Matter by the whole Consult without stirring from the Place they give in their Verdict that it is the Gout And now perhaps my Grandee begins a little to reflect upon his former Life and would gladly change States of Body with him who lives on mouldy Bread and Cheese all the Week and whose Drink perhaps is from the next Brook or but one degree beyond Water The like Observations might be made upon other Extravagancies such as Whoring with all that Train of fatal Disasters which follow all Excess of our Passions whether of Desire Envy Revenge Anger c. all which are inseparably accompanied with such a Degree of Pain or Punishment as far exceeds the imaginary Pleasures of any Intemperance and is infinitely more lasting so that Quo quis peccat Eodem punitur is a Motto which ought to be engraven upon every Man's Heart being universally true in all manner of Disorders whatsoever I have been told Abroad by some German Gentlemen that it was a usual thing amongst them in the Warmth of their Debauches which in those Countries are excessive to drink their Healths out of the Barrel of a cock'd and loaded Pistol with Finger on the Triquer whilst they discharge the Wine into their Throats so that upon the least Miscarriage of an unstâ—ady Hand the Bullet would not fail to do its Duty This Point of Bravery being over they all give a Volly on fire together and then charge afresh and so on If this kind of Gallantry were in vogue amongst us I believe we should have fewer Drunkards than now there are and by going out of this World by a Draught of Flame they would be better prepar'd to drink of it for ever in the next But whilst some Countries indulge themselves in this Infernal or Stygian Recreation we have Examples of Sobriety in others so that the French so extravagant as they are in some things in this Particular may justly reproach us for not following their Mode as they do for following them in others there being very few Gentlemen amongst them to be found who drink betwixt Meals and even at their Meat they drink their Wine above half mix'd with Water more or less according to every Man 's private Palate and sometimes Water discolour'd only with a little Rosie-Tincture of Wine And yet we do not find but that these Men have almost as much Mettle and Bravery in them as any Brandy-Hero whatsoever Each Country has its National Vices as well as Vertues whilst he who would acquire the Character of a Gallant Man ought so to follow their Examples as to propose what is good and commendable in them for his Imitation and Practise declining their ill Customs as Things which bring Disesteem and Misery in the end Amongst the Abuses of Inns or Ale-houses it is too well known what all Men suffer from their cheating Measures Their Quart-Pots or Flagons their Juggs their Muggs their Jacks their Carmikins their Beakers their Tumâ—lers their Glass-Bottles their Tankards and above all their Silver-Tankards tho' all of them be pretty little Curiosities yet are they most gross Cheats not containing above a true Pint and a half so that in Four Shillings expended this way One is pure Cousenage Much better were it if their Measures after the Custom of other well polic'd Countries were mark'd and seal'd and reduc'd to a Standard all England over as our Weights are over all the World Whereas in a paltry Ale-house a small slender-wasted Flagon with a broad empty bottom and with sides back and belly crush'd almost together and capp'd half way with Froth goes down very glibly with my bonny Customer at two or three Gulps and when Good-fellows are upon the Quill of Drinking the Strength and Capacity of the Man is much esteem'd by the Number of Flagons whereas the silly Sot perhaps never drank half that quantity for which he sets so high a Value upon himself and pays so dearly The like Cheats we meet with daily from the trashy Ingredients of sophisticated Liquors which many times does advance them double or treble in the Price when really they are much beneath the Plain Drinks for Health and Goodness nor are we to forget the hard Names with which many Liquors are baptiz'd which puts me in mind of what I have sometime heard of a Two-Pot Knave who being out of Reputation for Drink or to speak in the Language of a Tapster being at the lowest Stoop and on the very Dreggs and Lees of his Profession was advis'd to make Daucus-Ale which he christned Blan-Carote This dainty new Name by the help of some pleasant Waggs of his Acquaintance was cry'd up for a curious Outlandish Low-Country Drink and this was sufficient to give it Credit bringing such Custom to my honest Draw-Causor that in a short time after he became very rich and was at the least a Squire 's Fellow and for ought I know something better But such Cheats as these are rather to be wink'd at than punish'd for I know no Law which can oblige a Magistrate to put Brains into the Heads of Fools and to put them all into Bedlam who fall under this Character would be very troublesome Let them rest merry therefore for their own and for others Diversion till they fall irrecoverably into the Hands of the