_Politica._ That is according to the Honesty and Virtue of the Commissioners and Assessors, appointed for that Purpose; if they are not virtuous and honest, they may lessen your Tax, and cause a Deficiency. This has been the Effect of letting Landed-men assess Landed-men, and Tradesmen assess Stock; when, if a Tradesman had assessed Land, and a Landed-man had assessed Trade, being so very different in Interest, they would have raised the Fund to the Height. Therefore, my dear Sister, be cautious in this Point, take my Advice, I am your _Senior_; let no old Fornicator be an Assessor, Commissioner, or Collector of your Duty; he, that has in his Time loved a Bit of old Hat, will be tender in Punishing the Sin of his Youth; with him exclude all such as were Batchelors before the Passing of the Act; they will suffer, nay, contrive a Deficiency, that the Act may be repealed. In short, let none be concerned in the Assessing or Collecting of this Duty, but such as have many Years lived with their Wives in conjugal Chastity, and by them have a very numerous Issue; these, I will warrant you, will take Care to bring the utmost Penny into the _Exchequer_.--But, pray, how do you design to punish such of this Sort of Batchelors, that will not comply with your Act? I hope you will allow them a separate Maintenance; you will build them an Alms-house also, will you not? _Sophia._ As the others are used like Fools and superannuated Persons, so we will use these like Madmen. We will build them a convenient Bedlam, wherein every one of them shall be chained about the Middle to a Post, like a Monkey; we will feed them with low Diet, as the others, and once a Month they shall be blooded and shaved. To aggravate their Crime, we will make every one of them a _Tantalus_, by bringing every Day handsome Ladies before them, who shall laugh and jeer at them, and then turn their Backs upon them. _Politica._ I protest, Madam, you are very cruel: Would you be willing to be served so yourself? _Sophia._ Yes, Sister, when I refuse Matrimony upon good and equal Terms: Pray, do they not do the same by us? Are not we daily presented with the Sight of Batchelors of good Estates, who come to us under Pretence of lawful Courtship, to prosecute an unlawful Amour? They come to us like Butterflies to Flowers, to spit Maggots on us, and then leave us to be devoured by Infamy and Scandal: There is no Punishment bad enough for these Monsters of Men; I would fain have my Will upon them one Way or other; either by Marrying them all out of hand, or by Punishing them for Living single.