A Serious Expostulation With E. B. an Eminent QUAKER, About his Late BREAKING, For near Forty thousand pounds.  
A great part whereof was MONEYS OF THE QUAKERS Publique-Stock.  
Printed for J. C. in the Year, 1673.   

THE QUAKERS EXCHEQUER Shut up, &c.  
MY Friends! is it so, that our Friend B. E. the Zealous, the Industrious, the Famous B. E. is start aside? has he misemployed his talents, and is now marched off with his entrusted sh●ckles? is the insurance of the light become a vain thing, insolent as the Amsterdam bank, and deceitful as our Qu●t Quondo● public Faith? Are we like to be fobbed off with nothing for our money, but a pitiful whining paper in print, that seems to tell us we ne'er are like to have any: That very money which we had industriously raised from all part● of the Nation, to support our party, and carry on our designs, to convert the Pope, and reduce the great Turk, with Prester John, and the Cham of Tartary to the obedience of the Light; and are all these hopeful precects we were brewing, now turned into froths? plainly I tell thee E. B. it was a very great miscarriage, hadst thou run in debt only to the wicked, taken up money of the uncircumcised in heart, mortgaged each of thy new built houses a dozen times, to some scoffing Is●maelite, that prides himself in the babylonish Acouterments, Golden Chain and▪ Fur-Gown, all this had been justifiable; the Israelite had then only spoiled the egyptian, and the Beloved Seed destroyed the Amalikite; f●r we know, notwithstanding the human Invention of propriety, and these two firebrands of the World, meum and tuum, the good thing: of the Creator are still solely the right of the Saints; That the wicked are only Robers, Deceivers, and may justly be turned out, or stripped of their usurped Riches▪ when ever we the Godly, by form or fraud can clearly dispossess them; but on the contrary, that Satans Kingdom should be divided: that Simeon should rifle L●vi▪ that thou shouldst go to ruin thy own precious Piety, and contrary to the Nature of all other Beasts, prey upon thy own Kind thus: Ah! verily this is filthy, unnatural, and abominable, which a thousand Lights within thee can neither warrant nor excuse.  
Knowest thou not right well, our Friend, that great gain is Godliness, that he in this Age is worse then an Infidel that layeth not up some thousands for his Family? that the main scope of our Profession is money-catching? that the Original of our falling out with Lawn and Ribbons, of Tho●ing folks▪ dealing at a Word, and other little tricks, was only the more unsuspectedly to guile the simplo and credulous of their pence; and that our whole Religion is as subtly, and no less designedly Adopted for getting of an estate, then that of Mahomet, for obtaining the worlds Empire; and couldst thou run counter to all these good Principles, or remain( like Gideon's Fleece) dry) when the due of a wellcaried, and industrious deceit waters most of thy fellows, and renders them plump and flourishing? wouldest thou suffer thyself to sink( I say) decline, crack, and break, and fall into an incurable Consumption, to the great grief( because of thy great loss) of friends▪ and triumph of the wicked, whose very Children( may, she bears, devour them) now prop●ainly sing through the streets of Ashkalon this Song of Derision▪  


All flesh is but dust,  
There is no more trust  
In a Saint, then in an old Soaker,  
For the serious man  
Will cheat if he can,  
And a Quaker turn a broker.   

Whose foolish Dun comes  
Along biting his thumbs,  
And must take his yea, and nay,  
That the Light within  
Does vote it a sin,  
But the Devil a penny he'l pay.    
But tell us Friend, by what means comest thou thus excessively to run( as the heathenish Proverb is) behind the Constable, there was no General Contagion, nor public fire for thee to take the advantage of, nor does thy paper pretend that any extraordinary Losses by trusting were the occasion; In the name of Wonder and Riddle, how comes it then to pass: Certain it is no order of the Romish friars Lives more frugal in General then our friends, of whom thou( very unhappily for us) always didst pretend to walk as one: for though we love good Belly-timber as well as ever did Apicius Epicurus, or any more modern Glutton, yet we always provide it thriftily, and at the best hand.  
When we have a mind to solace our Spirits with a brisk glass of the Creature, we do not run hoiting to the Taverns, and there in a frolic give a nimble-tong'd-Drawer, or his many Ring'd Mistris opportunity to cheat us Nine-pence in the Shilling, but sand for the refreshing Bottles home, and tope them off in secret: A●d then as for our more private pleasures, no Men in the world can have them better cheap; we are ne'er put to the charge of Coach, Sedans, Plays▪ Masks; Masqueradings, running to the Park, Spring-Garden, Mulberry-Garden, or Exchange; we have no Rich Gowns, tempting Petticoats, Necklaces, Lockits, Points of Flanders or Venice; not so much as Gloves, fine Knots, or an extraordinary Treat, to draw our purses before one can expect a kindness, as those vain Sons of Belial, the Town-Gallants, vassals of Satan, and Bond-slaves to Lusts, are forced to bestow on the painted Jezabels they call Mistresses, whereas if we find the flesh mutinous against the Spirit, we have no more to do, but to declare of necessity to a good natured Help-meet, who immediately out of the duty of her Creation▪ upon equal terms, without any Expeative Courtship, or being bribed half a Year with presents, Administers the over, and forthwith without noise or notice we return from that work of Generation, to the work of our calling. These things being so, and since our way does betrench, and take off these Rent-Charges of superfluous expense, whereunto others or obnoxious Friends cannot but strange how thou couldst consume those vast sums: and though like Adam thou endeavourest to lay the Guilt upon the Woman, 'tis thought that is onely because the Creature is some time since gone out of the Body, and cannot now answer for her self, wherefore give us leave plainly to tell the E. B. that we fear thy whi●eing Paper is onely the Fag-end of the Cheat, to colour it up the more plausibly and that thy numerous and great debts, were not unadvisedly contracted, but indirectly( as thou there says) run into with a premeditated design to guile, Rob, and Rook such as gave thee the credit, which is the more suspicious, because thou hadst taken sanctuary in one of the Devils peper-boxes that Cage of Vnclean Birds beyond the water.  
Nor does this Repentance, Judging▪ and Condemning seem any other then a Juggle, since no absolution can be expected, till restitution to ones utmost ability; whereas thy paper intimates not one word of resolution or desire thou hast to make the least satisfaction to any of thy Creditours, who poor Creatures are as much over-whelmed with sorrow as thyself; fain we see thou would●● still keep up thy rotten Repute, and hope● this notorious prank shall pass free from censure, wheadling us with the Title of people of God, and of a holy, just, and true Principle.  But Good words Friend, butter no Parsnips. 
Restore us the coin, for be confident we had rather be once more possessed of the money, then of as many Good, Holy, and Just Principles, as will be between the Kingsbench and Westminster.  
FINIS.