[_double rule_]



A
VINTNER


H²ANGS out his Buſh to ſhew he has not
good Wine ; for that, the Proverb ſays, needs it not. If wine were as
neceſſary as
Bread, he would ſtand in the Pillory for ſelling
falſe Meaſure, as well as Bakers do for falſe
Weight ; but ſince it is at every Man’s Choice
to come to his Houſe or not, thoſe that do, are
guilty of half the Injuries he does them, and
he believes the reſt to be none at all, becauſe
no Injury can be done to him, that is willing
to take it. He had rather ſell bad Wine, than
good that ſtands him in no more, for it makes
Men ſooner drunk, and then they are the eaſier
over-reckoned. By the Knaveries he acts
above-board, which every Man ſees, one may
eaſily take a Meaſure of thoſe he does under
Ground in his Cellar ; for he that will pick
a Man’s Pocket to his Face, will not ſtick to
uſe him worſe in private when he knows no-

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thing of it. When he has poiſoned his
Wines he raiſes his Price, and to make amends
for that abates his Meaſure, for he thinks it
a greater Sin to commit Murder for ſmall
Gains, than a valuable Conſideration. He
does not only ſpoil and deſtroy his Wines, but
an ancient reverend Proverb, with brewing and
racking, that ſays, _In vino veritas_, for there
is no Truth in his, but all falſe and ſophiſtica-
ted ; for he can counterfeit Wine as cunningly
as _Apelles_ did Grapes, and cheat Men with it,
as _he_ did Birds. He brings every Bottle of
Wine he draws to the _Bar_, to confeſs it to be
a Cheat, and afterwards puts himſelf upon
the Mercy of the Company. He is an _Anti-_
_chriſtian_ Cheat ; for Chriſt turned Water into
Wine, and he turns Wine into Water. He
ſcores all his Reckonings upon two Tables
made like thoſe of the ten Commandments, that
he may be put in Mind to break them as oft as
poſſibly he can ; eſpecially that of ſtealing and
bearing falſe Witneſs againſt his Neighbour,
when he draws him bad Wine and ſwears it is
good, and that he can take more for the Pipe
than the Wine will yield him by the Bottle,
a Trick that a _Jesuit_ taught him to cheat his

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own Conſcience with. When he is found to
over-reckon notoriouſly, he has one common
Evaſion for all, and that is to ſay it was a
Miſtake, by which he means, that he thought
they had not been ſober enough to diſcover it ;
for if it had paſt, there had been no Error at
all in the Caſe.

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