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THE

MIRROR.

N° 75. TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1780.

SIR,

To the AUTHOR of the MIRROR.

I REMARK, that you meddle not with the high matters of politics. For this, you must answer to yourself, being that you are able to write printed papers. I am a member of eighty-five societies, all zealous for the liberty of the press, in consistency with, and in conformity to, our establishment; and so I think that you are at liberty to write of those things only whereof you have understanding; and if so be that, by reason of your silence, you abuse, or, as one may say, vilipend the liberty of the press, judge you yourself; as for me I say nothing.

But, although you give us no news yourself, perhaps you have something to say with the gentlemen who make the news; and if so, I hope that you will recommend it to them so to write, as that they may be understood of men who are not booklearned.

They, being book-learned gentlemen, write in divers tongues, whereby we poor simple men are at a loss, and Europe may be overthrown by com

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pacts and associations, or ever we can understand the danger.

Not many days ago, I read in the news, that some good men put up an advertisement on a statue, with this superscription, pro patria mori, and that the superscription rejoiced all honest hearts. I enquired of our deacon, who received the rudiments of his education at the grammar school of Lesmahagoe, what was the meaning of the words? and he made answer, that the words were Latin, and that he thought they would be found in the Latin Dictionary; the which having got, I, on searching, discovered that pro signified for the sake of, and that patria signified a man's native country, and that mori signified foolish and silly persons.

Wherefore, by joining together the words, I conjectured, moreover, that the interpretation of pro patria mori was foolish or silly persons for the sake of their native country, or that they who act for their native country are foolish and silly persons.

Now, Sir, if so be that this is so, I moreover conjecture, that the honest men who put up the advertisement, and they who rejoiced thereat, were deceived through ignorance of the Latin tongue, and that to them there was no cause of rejoicing.

Of that tongue I think no good; it is reported amongst us, that the mass is written in it, the which I renounce, and also abominate, &c. I am, Sir, your Honour's, to serve you at command,

TIMOTHY SHUTTLEWORTH.

P. S. Weaving performed in all its branches at reasonable rates; also, cloth taken in for the Dalquharn bleachfield.

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