term can I give them, as believing no truth at all in their prædictions; for let me ask them this question, whether the Stars do compel or only encline? if they say they compel, they speak little less than blasphemy, by ascribing too much to Nature, and derogating from the Deity. If they only encline, then what sure ground-work can there be for what they say, when their conjectures are but only probable? And for their Doctrine of nativities, that if a man be born under such a Planet, his destiny will be so and so, and he will come to such an end; we see oft-times that in a battel, a Canon bullet kills five or six at one instant, who no doubt were born under several Planets, and yet come all to one fate; or if they say it is possible so many might be born under one and the self same Planet and aspects; yet let me go further with them; we have known battels at Sea, when by an unhappy shot a Ship hath sunk in an instant, with six or seven hundred men in her, who have all been drowned in the deep. Will they say these were all born under one Planet? verily if they should so say, I should not believe them; therefore I may say of our Astrologers as Cato said of the _Aruspices of Rome_ in his time, that _he wondred how one of them could forbear to laugh, when he met with any of his fellows, to see how they deceived men, and made a great number of simple ones in the City_. But I tire your patience with this digression, for I expect not my words will work any Reformation in them, seeing they may say with _Demetrius_ in the Acts of the Apostles, _that by this Craft they get their wealth_. To return therefore where we left, having taken leave of the Astrologer, away we went home agen, fraught with a Sackful of news to tell our Master. No sooner were we within doors, but the Maid set her clack agoing; _Master_ (said she) _the Cunning man hath told us exactly who it was that stole your bowl, he hath described him fully from top to toe, not so much as his very shoostrings but he told us of what colour they were of, his hat, his hair, his beard, his doublet, breaches, hose, not one thing that he omitted. I served the Rogue that stole it with Roast-beef my self, the Devil choak him with it, for I think silver will not; but if ever he comes here again, or that I meet him in the streets, ile serve him such a trick as shall make him wish he had never drank out of any thing in his life but a wooden dish._ I said nothing all this while, and though I knew she lied most abominably in what the Astrologer said, yet I confirmed her speeches, hoping this would forever take away suspition from me of being culpable, only I thought with my self if that party she imagined to have it should come again to the House, what a coil she would make with him; but whether she forgot his Physiognomy, or that the man never came there agen, I never after that heard any more of the matter.