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It was a rule with the pious reclufe to admit only youth, that the might have the opportunity of innocent and undebauched minds to receive her precepts: and that none might out of envy mifrepresent, thofe who were admitted came all in veils; and it was an act of irreligion for any to attend them home, or to watch with defign to know who they

were.

The families only of those who were admitted to the honour, knew of it, and they were daily edified at fecond hand with the fermons of the good old lady. At length the inhabitant of the venerated cave died, and was added to the number of the faints: the facred honours were paid to her remains; and her difciples obtained permiffion, that they might be depofited in the very cave where he had been used to breathe forth her divine admoniti

ons.

The request was granted, and the corpfe depofited with fignal honours. All Milan venerated the name: but her difciples, confifting of a number of young perfons of both fexes, used to affemble at the ufual hours, to reverence her ashes, to repeat their devotions, and commune with one another concerning the things which he had in her lifetime been used to fay to them. None were admitted to thefe rites, but those who had attended the living faint, nor was it ever attempted by the select body to add one to their number.

The ceremony had continued fome months the people who reforted to the cave were held in veneration by the whole church: the corpfe preferved itself in a fupernatural manner, and miracles were wrought by it. There were thoughts of building a chapel over the vault. While

this was in agitation, a young citizen of Milan married one of the felect body. She was charming beyond most of the Milanese women of her time: they mutually loved: they were happy a long time; I think the ftory fays four months. At length the husband, whofe fondness increaled upon the poffeffion of fuch a jewel, became impatient under the hours, which her devotion at the cave of the faint nightly ftole from his bed. He folicited to be admitted of the number, but he folicited it in vain: not his want of piety, but the ftri&t order forbad it. If any could have been added to the number, her dear husband must have been the man. She proposed it at the next meeting: every body, the told him, wished it, but the faint had left with none the power of doing it. The good man submitted: but fubmiffion upon force is but an ill thing. He grew eager to know what was the fecret rite; perhaps he grew fufpicious. The lady had left him about bed-time, to join fome more of the party who were to go together to the cell. She had left one of her veils behind her: the husband put it on; went boldly to the door, knocked, and was admitted. Happily he was the first there: he concealed himself in an obfcure corner of the vault; he faw them enter into companies; he faw the laft admitted; he faw the perfon who kept the gate difmited; and then he faw the rites begin.

The eye of man never was witnefs to fuch a fcene of lewdnefs and varied debauchery. The good man faw every act of fhame committed by them in presence of one another. It was not worth while to prevent his wife's proftitution one night. Added to the many she had enjoyed,

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Mag.

He it was of no confequence. faw her fucceffively the miftrefs of two of the male devotees. He was obliged to stay the ceremony out. It was eafy for him to escape among the firft crowd, in the confufion of going out, as foon as they had broke up. He was at home before his wife he heard her repeat the ejaculations and prayers of the whole body with chriftian edification, and he

was quiet till the morning. As foon
as he was dreffed, he applied to a
magiftrate; his oath was received;
the circumstances were too ftrong
to admit a doubt. The people, as
many of them as were known, were
apprehended; the husband got rid
of his pious wife, and the body of
St. Guglielmina was burnt by the
common hangman.

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-Extracted from The

HISTORY of BOB SCAMPER.-
Hittory of the Robin-hood Society, lately published.

BOB

OB Scamper was born in the weft of England, and was reck. oned a youth of enterprifing genius, and ready parts. At the age of eighteen he came to London, and having spent the five guineas he brought up with him on women of the town, was greatly at a lofs to what to betake himself. Poverty ftared him in the face, and tho' he had fome good natural parts, and a great affurance, yet having no learning, he could get no genteel employment.. His female affociates, however, foon furnished hints, which a lad of his ready wit and enterprifing spirit easily understood, and as intrepidly executed. He turned collector on the road, and having fuccefs, rioted in the fpoils he had taken, and with his girls enjoyed all the happiness he defired: not but that fometimes it was dafhed with fome remorfe, and the dread of the fatal confequences that might enfue. But excefs of drinking, the company of libertines, and the converfation of his women, difperfed the clouds that obfcured his happinefs, and confirmed him in the refolution he had taken to plunder and rob the public, and to gain a livelihood by the

bold hands of violence.

A continuation in wickedness familiarifes the mind to it, and what at first a man would start even to think of, he at length practises withAll guilt is progres out horror. five: we go not at once, but itep by step, into the extremes of vice; and tho' it is impoffible to filence the cries of confcience, and to stifle the dictates of reafon all at once, yet an habitual violation of their admonitions, brings us to an infenfibility of the horror of our crimes, and renders us quite callous to the sense of fhame, and deaf to every thing but the importunate cravings of fenfual appetite.

Bob Scamper experienced the In the truth of these obfervations. day-time he mounted his horfe, and robbed on the highway with the fame compofure as any other man follows his cuftomary occupation, and at night he spent the ill-got treasure among whores and thieves, the encouragers of his wickedness, and the fharers of his spoils.

This was a worthy member of a fociety that met to improve themfelves by free and candid inquiry; but captain Scamper, as he was in

titled

titled, was well received by all. He was a tall handfome fellow, endued with a power of face that difdained a blush, and though not wife was witty, though not learned was inge. nious, and had a power of impofing on the understandings of those he converfed with, and making them believe him to be what he was not. He dretled well, had a free and degagée air, wanted not words, and addreffed the paffions of those he converfed with, with fo much fkill and fuccefs, that you could not help giving him credit for much more understanding than he poffeffed.

There are two kinds of people that are better thought of in moft companies, than their intrinfic merit deferves: these are the folemn prig, and well-dreffed coxcomb. The firit, by the help of a full-trimmed grave fuit, and a large peruque, a fagacious look, and a flow delivery, fhall make you take him for a fecond Solon. The moft unmeaning fpeech, the triteft observation, the most fuperficial hint, delivered in a dry, yet important, flow but folemn tone, and enforced by fome shakes of the head, fhrugs of the fhoulders, and fignificant hand-oratory, shall be received as the dictates of wisdom, and procure the speaker the character of the Solomon of the age.

fecond clafs of orators. He spoke to every queftion, and tho' what he faid had no great depth or much meaning, yet being delivered from the mouth of a man that was extremely well dreffed, and with no bad accent or ill grace, it was always well received, and the fpeaker was confidered as a very great genius, and an ornament to the fociety,

But this ornament of the fociety did not laft above five years and 1 half. He had committed a robbery on Hounslow-Heath, and taken a booty of no lefs than three hundred guineas. The gentleman he had robbed, happened accidentally to come to the Effex Head one Monday evening, and the moment he entered the room, captain Scamper had got up to speak to the queftion. The queftion was Whether the dec trine of repentance taught by the chriftian religion, has not a manifeft tens dency to encourage wickedness?

DEISTICUS.

Scamper, after defiring the prefident to read the question again, spoke to it in the best manner he could. He vindicated chriftianity in general, and demonftrated that all its doctrines tended to the support of morality, by discountenancing all manner of vice. He fhewed its fuperior excellency over all the religi ons that had ever appeared in the The other, aided by his taylor, world; he proved the authenticity millener, and barber, tho' he gives of the facred writings, and defied the vent to the fulness of his foul only deifts, with all their ingenuity, to by dry jokes, and infipid remarks, point out any defects in them. He is yet liftened to with attention, and obferved of our Saviour's fermon on heard with pleasure. No one will the mount, that as it comprehended dare to contradict the affertions of in one concife view, all the doctrines a wit, with laced cloaths, bag-wig, and precepts of chriftianity, so it and a fword; and thus folly is re- was the most fublime fyftem of eceived for wisdom, and vivacious im- thics in the world. He took notice, pudence for genius. that not only the philofophers and Scamper was to be ranked in this fages of the heathen world, confidered

3

abstract

fcorpions, and throw us into the agonies of defpair and horror. He concluded, by drawing a contraft between the repentance of the proteftant, and the abfolution of the Roman catholic church; and infifted that the former tended to our fpiritual and temporal welfare, and the latter to the deftruction of both.

During all the time this great advocate for religion and morality was fpeaking, the gentleman eyed him attentively, and thought he had feen him fomewhere before. He went up clofe to him, and after a minute examination of his perfon and manner, at length recollected that it was on Hounflow-Heath he had the misfortune to have feen him. With

abftractedly, were unable to form a complete fyftem of moral duties, but that all their writings put together were infufficient to form fuch a fyftem; and that if all their morality was to be extracted, that is, all their excellencies to be reduced into a fyftem, it would ftill be an imperfeâ one. He then fpoke more immediately to the queftion, and delivered it as his opinion, that the doctrine of repentance, as taught by the established church, of which, he faid, he was not ashamed to own himself a member, fo far from encouraging wickedness, had the greatest tenden-, cy imaginable to annihilate it; for he obferved, that the repentance taught in the Gospel, is not merely a forrow for our paft fins, but like-out faying any thing to him, or to wife a refolution of reforming our conduct for the future. As to the objection that had been brought by a deift, who obferved, that repentance was no atonement, he faid, it was very true, if we fpeak as deifts, but if we believe as chriftians, it must be looked on as an atonement, fince God, in thofe books which chriftians believe were written by his inspiration, has been graciously pleafed to declare, he will receive it as fuch.

Our duty he obferved, without doubt, it was always incumbent on us to practife; and after the commiffion of the greateft fins, and our fincere repentance of them, we perform no more than our duty, by living a righteous and a holy life: but as the Deity had declared to every one, even the greatest of finners, that though his crimes were as red as fcarlet, yet by repentance they should be made as white as fnow; it is certainly a doctrine that encourages the foul, and fupports it under the reproaches of confcience, that would otherwife whip us with her November, 1764.

the company, he withdrew, and in about a quarter of an hour returned with his fervant, who was prefent at the robbery, and with a conftable, who was to take care of Scamper, if the fervant agreed with his mafter in the identity of the perfon.

The fervant had no fooner entered the room, than, without his maf ter's pointing the object out, he fwore that the tall gentleman in laced cloaths, near the prefident, was the man that robbed his mafter on Hounflow-Heath. This was fufficient. The conftable went up to him, and tapping him on the fhoulder, faid, he fhould be glad to speak to him. The captain obeyed, and they withdrew out of the difputing-room, attended by the gentleman and his fervant. They had no fooner reach. ed the ftairs, than Scamper wanted to know the gentleman's commands, "Oh, fays the conftable, there is a coach waiting at the door, and if you'll enter it, you'll know prefently." Scamper declin'd it, but the 4 G

con

In a fortnight, abundance of people fwore to their being robb'd by him; and by means of fome of his girls, three of his confederates were taken, and sent to bear him company. In due time, their trials came on at the Old Baily, and they were found guilty, and fentenced to be hang'd.

conftable was importunate, and be. ing fomewhat irritated at his obltinacy, told him he must enter it. The captain ftared, bit his lips, and was mute. The gentleman and his fervant now came up, and the latter opening the coach-door, waited for his master to enter. But he was too complaifant to go in before the cap tain, and bowing to him, afked him to go in firft. The captain ftill declin'd it, and they infifted on it in a higher tone, and declar'd that he fhould go whether he would or not, Already was half the captain's fword out of the fcabbard, and he had refolv'd to refift their utmost efforts, when a whittle from the conftable made him ftare, and of a fudden fufpended his action. Immediately three ftrapping fellows came up, and the conftable pointing to Scamper, and telling them to do their duty, they took away his fword, hurried him into the coach, the gentleman, his fervant, and the conftable following, and drove off to juftice de Veil's.

I fhall not multiply words. The gentleman and his fervant fwore pofitively that he was the perfon that robbed them on Hounflow-Heath. He was fearch'd; a powder horn, a pair of piftols, a mafk, and fome other things were found on him. His mittimus was made, and he was fent to Newgate.

Scamper had very little hopes of gaining a reprieve, yet did not prepare for death in the manner he ought. His favourite doctrine, repentance, he hardly thought of, at least he did not practise it. He drank to such excess, that when the hour came that he was to fuffer an ignominious death in the fight of a numerous and gaping populace, he feem'd quite infenfible of his fate.

He was put into the cart with his companions, and they were driven to Tyburn. The fatal rope was faften'd round their necks-the ordinary told them they were going to another world-the cart was driven away—and they were left fufpended in the air.

Thus perih'd Bob Scamper, a man of no mean abilities, but who proftituted them to infamous purpofes, and lived an immoral,` vicious life, though ever haranguing in the fociety, on the beauty of holinefs, and the neceffity of repent

ance.

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