they began to tamper with him upon the most important points of the Chriftian faith, which he for some time zealoufly, and like a good Chriftian, obftinately defended. They promifed him Paradife, and many other advantages hereafter; but he artfully infinuated, that he was more inclinable to liften to prefent gain. They took the hint, and promised him, that immediately upon his converfion to their persuafion he should become as rich as a Jew.

They made ufe likewife of several other arguments; to wit,

That the wifeft man that ever was, and inafmuch the richest, beyond all peradventure was a Jew, videlicet, Solomon.

That David, the man after God's own heart, was a Jew alfo. And most of the children of Ifrael are fufpected for holding the fame doctrine.

This Mr. Curll at firft ftrenuously denied; for indeed he thought them Roman Catholics, and fo far was he from giving way to their temptations, that to convince them of his Christianity he called for a pork grifking.

They now promised, if he would poison his wife, and give up his grifking, that he fhould marry the rich Ben Meymon's only daughter. This made fome impreffion on him.

They then talked to him in the Hebrew tongue, which he not understanding, it was observed, had very great weight with him.

They

BB 4

They now, perceiving that his godliness was only gain, defifted from all other arguments, and attacked him on his weak fide, namely, that of avarice.

Upon which John Mendez offered him an eighth of an advantageous bargain for the apostles creed, which he readily and wickedly renounced.

He then fold the nine and thirty articles for a bull1; but infifted hard upon black puddings, being a great.

lover thereof.

Joshua Pereira engaged to let him fhare with him in his bottomrye; upon this he was perfuaded out of his Christian name; but he still adhered to black puddings.

Sir Gideon Lopez tempted him with forty pound fubfcription in Ram's bubble; for which he was content to give up the four evangelifts, and he was now completed a perfect Jew, all but black pudding and circumcifion; for both of which he would have been glad to have had a dispensation.

But

i Bulls and bears. He who fells that of which he is not poffeffed, is proverbially faid to fell the skin before he has caught the bear. It was the practice of stockjobbers in the year 1720, to enter into contract for transferring S. S. ftock at a future time for a certain price; but he who contracted to sell had frequently no stock to transfer, nor did he who bought intend to receive any in confequence of his bargain; the feller was therefore called a bear, in allufion to the proverb; and the buyer a bull, perhaps only as a fimilar distinction. The contract was merely a wager to be determined by the rife or fall of ftock; if it rofe, the feller paid the difference to the buyer proportioned to the fum determined by the fame computation to the feller.

But on the 17th of March, Mr. Curll (unknown to his wife) came to the tavern aforefaid. At his entrance into the room he perceived a meagre man, with a fallow countenance, a black forky beard, and long vestment. In his right hand he held a large pair of fheers, and in his left a red-hot fearing-iron. At fight of this, Mr. Curll's heart trembled within him, and fain would he retire; but he was prevented by fix Jews, who laid hands upon him, and unbuttoning his breeches, threw him upon the table, a pale pitiful spectacle.

He now intreated them in the most moving tone of voice to dispense with that unmanly ceremonial, which if they would confent to, he faithfully promised, that he would eat a quarter of pafchal lamb with them the next Sunday following.

All these proteftations availed him nothing; for they threatened him, that all contracts and bargains fhould be void unless he would fubmit to bear all the outward and vifible figns of Judaism.

Our apoftate hearing this, ftretched himself upon his back, fpread his legs, and waited for the operation: but when he saw the high priest take up the cleft flick, stick, he roared most unmercifully, and fwore feveral Chriftian oaths, for which the Jews rebuked him.

The favour of the effluvia that iffued from him, convinced the old Levite, and all his affiftants, that he needed no present purgation; wherefore, without further anointing him, he proceeded in his office; when,

by

by an unfortunate jerk upward of the impatient victim, he loft five times as much as ever Jew did before.

They, finding that he was too much circumcised, which, by the levitical law, is worse than not being circumcifed at all, refused to stand to any of their contracts: wherefore they cast him forth from their synagogue; and he now remains a most piteous, woeful, and miserable fight at the sign of the Old Teftament and Dial in Fleet-street; his wife, poor woman, is at this hour lamenting over him, wringing her ands, and tearing her hair; for the barbarous Jews still keep, and expofe at Jonathan's and Garraway's, the memorial of her lofs, and her husband's indignity.

PRAYER.

[To fave the stamp.]

Keep us, we beseech thee, from the hands of fuck barbarous and cruel Jews, who albeit they abhor the blood of black puddings, yet thirst they vehemently after the blood of white ones. And that we may avoid fuch like calamities, may all good and well-difpofed Chriftians be warned by this unhappy wretch's woeful example, to abominate the hainous fin of avarice, which, fooner or later, will draw them into the cruel clutches of Satan, Papifts, Jews, and stockjobbers. Amen.

A KEY TO THE LOCK:

OR

A TREATISE,

Proving beyond all contradiction the dangerous tendency of a late poem, intitled, The Rape of the Lock, to government and religion.

WRITTEN IN THE YEAR MDCCXIV.