210 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP SHARP. 



are inclined to ; for it is certain, this man and 

 his pretended wife must be separated. But yet 

 I could wish that all the tenderness might be 

 used towards this poor man, that the circum- 

 stances of the thing will admit of; my meaning 

 is, that you would give him and his wife some 

 time to think of this fault of theirs, and to re- 

 ceive convictions of the unlawfulness or nullity 

 of this their marriage. And therefore, if they 

 be not already under the sentence of excommu- 

 nication, I could wish you would defer it till 

 another term ; or, if they be under that sentence 

 already, that you would order the curate not to 

 publish it till further orders ; or, if it be already 

 published, that you would not immediately take 

 out the writ de Ea:com. Capiendo, but give him time 

 till all the means have been made use of to per- 

 suade him and his sister to obey the law in this 

 matter. If you think this reasonable, then I 

 would further beg of you to send some one of the 

 clergymen about you, such an one as has reputa- 

 tion, and understands these matters, to discourse 

 both with the man and woman about the unlaw- 

 fulness of this marriage, and to dispose them,, 

 by a representation of the sin they live in, to 

 do that voluntarily which must otherwise una- 

 voidably come upon them, to their greater hurt 

 and damage ; I mean, total separation, I think 

 all this would be charitable, and I hope it is 



