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I have heard men of genius fay, that the minuteft animalcule on earth, is a large fubject to expatiate upon, and fhew the amazing power of the wonderful hand that formed it :how great a fubject then must the animal be, that you mention with fo much contempt, I mean the rat.-To me, the rat-catcher himself doth not afford more room for fpeculation. on the wonderful properties the first mover has difperfed through all the creation, than this cunning reflecting animal doth. But nothing lefs than the leviathan, or a Greenland whale, is a fubject, I fuppofe, large enough for you take the whale for your text, doctor; if it proves a fpermaceti one, I have no objection to its finding candles for your whole congregation,

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who have been in the dark long enough.

If you had told me civilly, doctor, that you did not like the company of rats, for fear you fhould carry the fcent with you to any of the good houses where you take it in turn, the year round, to cool their victuals by faying a long grace for them before dinner, I would not have introduced a fingle quadruped; because I know how dangerous it is for any of the profound admirers of a black coat to begin to fmell a rat; for the good man, after fuch an accident, lofes ground daily.

I therefore again repeat it, that, if you had asked me civilly, I fhould have done the civil thing; but, fince

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you affumed so dogmatical an air, and called my thirty or forty rats an army, in my next chapter I fhall introduce a real army of Scotch rats; fo get out of their way as fast as you can if they have not eaten up the Scotch prefbyterian parfons, it is because they favour their country. men; but you would ftand no more chance of efcaping, than a roafted pig would, when fet between yourself and a churchwarden.

CHAP

JOH

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OHN the Ratcatcher, after this third defeat, found the field of battle would be too hot for him, for an hour at least, so putting his hambone carefully into a drawer in the shop, he took his hat, and away he went to a coffee-house, to comfort himself with a difh of coffee.-I was fnug in John's pocket.

We were no fooner feated, but a gentleman in the next box, concluded a sentence with the word Scot

land.

"Now

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"Now you talk of Scotland," fays his companion, "I can't help

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owning, that I am not a little "puzzled about a particular qualifi"cation their rats are endowed with; "I don't mean their two legg'd rats, "which have lately come in fuch "fwarms to eat us out of house and "harbour; we had fuch forts of rats 66 as those enough of our own breed, "in every house before, not except"ing the house of 1, the house of the India house, the "fouth-fea house, the custom-house, "the trinity-house, and even the "houfe of G-d;-all these rats had "natural inftinct enough, to run "from a falling houfe, long before "the Scots came to teach them that "trick but it is their real four

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legged rats, that has puzzled all

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" my

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