of our religion, but these thou thyself mayest peruse in the Exposition
of our Faith written by Robert Barclay. It is one of the best pieces
that ever was penned by man; and as our adversaries confess it to be of
dangerous tendency, the arguments in it must necessarily be very
convincing." I promised to peruse this piece, and my Quaker imagined he
had already made a convert of me. He afterwards gave me an account in
few words of some singularities which make this sect the contempt of
others. "Confess," said he, "that it was very difficult for thee to
refrain from laughter, when I answered all thy civilities without
uncovering my head, and at the same time said 'thee' and 'thou' to thee.
However, thou appearest to me too well read not to know that in Christ's
time no nation was so ridiculous as to put the plural number for the
singular. Augustus Caesar himself was spoken to in such phrases as
these: 'I love thee,' 'I beseech thee,' 'I thank thee;' but he did not
allow any person to call him 'Domine,' sir. It was not till many ages
after that men would have the word 'you,' as though they were double,
instead of 'thou' employed in speaking to them; and usurped the
flattering titles of lordship, of eminence, and of holiness, which mere
worms bestow on other worms by assuring them that they are with a most
profound respect, and an infamous falsehood, their most obedient humble
servants. It is to secure ourselves more strongly from such a shameless
traffic of lies and flattery, that we 'thee' and 'thou' a king with the
same freedom as we do a beggar, and salute no person; we owing nothing to
mankind but charity, and to the laws respect and obedience.

"Our apparel is also somewhat different from that of others, and this
purely, that it may be a perpetual warning to us not to imitate them.
Others wear the badges and marks of their several dignities, and we those
of Christian humility. We fly from all assemblies of pleasure, from
diversions of every kind, and from places where gaming is practised; and