in the bondage of iniquity." I deny the charge. My book is written against the Arminians; and if it contains any thing against your profeffion, it is delivered in the Saviour's way, without reftriction. Wo unto you lawyers. He doth not fay, Wo unto fome; nor, Wo unto all; thofe words are left out: but, Wo unto you lawyers ; wo unto them whom the wo may concern.

"You shall experience the fatisfaction that arifes from an upright heart." This is a great thing for a lawyer to fay; and, for my part, I am flow of heart to believe. Befides, telling your readers that you have had a dialogue with me is a falfity; and ripping up the fins of my youth, and speaking falfely about them, is flander. Lying and flandering do not proceed from the good treasure of an upright heart.

"That unlawful advantages are not peculiar to profeffors of law, any more than to thofe of the gofpel," will not be easily credited; though a mere profeffion of the gospel will never change the heart or practice of one that is given to extortion, but a real poffeffion of the grace of the gofpel will.

"The law is founded on reafon." I always thought that law was founded on truth; but, as for Reason, she sometimes calls evil good, and good evil; and puts darkness for light, and light for darkness (Ifa. v. 20); and often contradicts truth. I am inclined to think that your code of reason's laws, and yourself too, will be arraigned and tried

by laws founded on truth; and by the God of truth, whofe judgment is according to truth: which are things that few carnal reafoners care to hear of, and which, with great violence, they often reafon against.

"There is an etiquette to be obferved, which (to fuch an one as myself) may seem abfurd and ridiculous, and a violation of reason and truth; and yet perfectly confiftent with both, and with juftice too: for, from the viciffitudes of the times, and occurrences of new circumftances, fictions have for a long time been thought neceffary, and allowed of in many cafes." This is a strange paragraph!--but I understand it; and have no doubt that at times you find these things neceffary in fome occurrences of new circumstances; such as, when a villanous plaintiff aims at the reputation or property of his neighbour, and the injured defendant produces a number of ftubborn facts to vindicate his right and expofe the villain; then it becomes neceffary to have recourse to etiquette and fiction, in order to puzzle, perplex, and involve the fubject; to furnish an advocate with a thousand arguments, which ferve to baffle a fimple and honeft witnefs; enrage the defendant, that he may haftily utter fomething to be caught at, which may serve to confound the jury, weary the judge, and multiply extra fees-which is the attorney's end and the client's wo.

"The Saviour's fimilitudes and lawyers' fictions (in your opinion) are nearly fynonymous." No;

in my opinion, they widely differ. The Saviour's fimilitudes have, or have had, existence, but lawyers' fictions never had. The Lord's fimilitudes convey truth; lawyers' fictions convey lies. The Saviour's fimilitudes inftructed the people; lawyers' fictions blind and confound them. Chrift conveyed fpiritual treasure to the heart; the lawyer draws treasure from the pocket. Chrift fed the mind; the lawyer pinches the belly. Jefus faves the foul; the other often ftarves the body. Therefore the Lord's fimilitudes and your fictions are no more fynonymous than Pharaoh's fat and lean kine: one clafs fed on their common food, and looked well; the other devoured their fellow kine, but never looked the better. The one fed on grafs, and throve; the other on flesh, and starved,

But do, Sir, explain the ambiguous phrafe etiquette; for you are a barbarian unto me. It is like fpeaking into the air: you may speak well, but I am not edified; and is it not better to speak one word to edification, than ten thousand in an unknown tongue?

You tell me there is an etiquette to be obferved, which, to a man unverfed therein, (as you prefume me to be) may feem abfurd and ridiculous, and a violation of reafon and truth, and yet confiftent with both." If it be any thing that lies within the compafs of natural reafon and truth, why fhould I be fo unverfed therein ? And, if confiftent with the principles of reafon

and truth, why fhould it appear to me absurd, ridiculous, and a violation of both? Either I must be deftitute of common fenfe and reafon, or else etiquette must be fomething that goes beyond the common abilities given by the God of nature, I always thought that human learning sprung from the abilities which God gives to men; but according to you, it is otherwife; for there is fomething in etiquette confiftent with reafon and truth, that to a man of truth and reafon may feem abfurd, ridiculous, and a violation of both. You should let fuch words alone, unless you understand them. It expofes a man's ignorance to bring in a word that in its genuine original fignification means fimply a note or ticket on a bag, as Boyer's French Dictionary informs every schoolboy, and then to couple it with fictions. A ticket is one thing, a lie is another: however, the tickets in the lawyer's bag are generally contrived to take the notes out of his client's moneybag; and fo far the allufion is more applicable than the writer himself feems to have been aware of.

However, though I understand not the mystery of fiction, it is plain from this piece of yours, that it has been exploded by fome who have understood it: for you tell me that " Fictions were formerly termed an abuse of law; but, from the viciffitudes of the times, and occurrences of new circumstances, they have been a long time thought neceffary, and allowed." Times are

changed

changed indeed, if abufive fictions are become neceffary! Either the ancients had more conscience, and less duplicity; or elfe modern wisdom has made them fools, by confecrating their abuse to a neceffary good. To be plain: the term fiction, in oppofition to fact, means a lie; and fact, in oppofition to fiction, means the truth. I am inclined to think this is a jargon peculiar to yourself. Gypfies have their own gibberish; and every juggler has his own dialect, which ferves to puzzle the wife, confound the ignorant, and blind the judicious. A fiction may be neceffary to muddle a man's brains, and plunder his purse; but there is no call for it to bring iniquity to light, condemn the wicked, or juftify the righteous. Therefore the ancients in terming it an abuse of law, fhew their honefty; its being now allowed of fhews the corruption of the present times; and they who use it are no better than time-fervers: To that you may with juftice adopt the motto of the poet-Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis-As the times change, fo change we.

As a minister of the gofpel, I have a right to ufe my liberty, and to drop a word against a dishonest lawyer or any other dishonest man, and leave conscience to apply it.

cenforious you may think me to

And, however be, this is no

new opinion. One who probably knew more of law, and lawyers too, than ever I did, or perhaps ever fhall, has gone beyond me, and left his judgment of the profeffion in general in a very fingular