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has frequently driven the stage coach to and from London, and to and from his own fine feat at H-d; by which honeft, laborious, and ridiculous life, he has degraded himself to fuch a degree, that he does not, I am fure, know a fingle gentleman in the kingdom, nor any gentleman him. I could give you many fuch examples among the young men of fashion of the prefent age. Strange, prodigious folly! I should not wonder at peo ple's defiring to appear fomething more and better than they are; but to prefer the calling of a ftage-coachman to that of a gentleman, is furely unaccountable. I infift upon your never driving any wheel carriages, whether it be coach, chaife, cart, or wheel-barrow; for they are all upon the fame footing: but I should rather prefer the wheel-barrow, as a lefs dangerous voi ture. Let your maurs, that is, the general conduct of your life, be that of a gentleman. Any thing below this, is indecent and ifgraceful. God bless you!

N. B. Several other letters, by the late lord to the present earl of Chesterfield, were found among the above-mentioned papers.

ANECDOTE of MRS. MARSHAL, a celebrated ACTRESS in the Reign of Charles II.

RS. Marshal was an actress famous for playing haughty

Mparts, particularly the character of Roxalana, by which name fhe generally went. She was faid to be mistress of a very fevere virtue, and was attacked by, but had withstood, the earl of Oxford, in every form an artful gallant could put on. Grown mad with love, and her repulfes, he formed a plot to get her by force, intending to feize her as fhe went from the houfe after the had been acting her part; which being made known to her by fome real friend, fhe obtained a party of the king's guard to protect her. When her chair appeared, the nobleman began his affault, but was valiantly repulfed, and fhe was fafely conducted home.

The adventure was the whole talk of the court and town: the ladies applauded her refolution fecretly, not a little pleafed to fee their fex's refolute behaviour in Roxalana. Many parties were formed, both for and against her. The fanatics cried out, faying, it was a fhame they fhould bring up girls in the school of Venus, teaching them fuch airs and tricks to tempt mankind. The gentry liked the diverfion, alledging, the greater the temptation, the greater the glory to refift. However, in this affair the king himself having the flory reprefented to him in the blackelt

light, interpofed, and, with a freedom natural to one of the beft tempered princes, told the earl, he thought the vice (though perhaps he gave too much countenance to it by his own irregula rity) bad enough with the confent of the fair; but, where force or violence was ufed, it was fo heinous, that he would not, tho' a fovereign, indulge the thought of fuch an action, and much lefs permit it to be done by a fubject.

This reproof caufed the earl to answer with fome referve : he faid he would think no more of her; but foon after he renewed his affault, telling her it was impoffible to live without her; that her exalted virtue had infpired him with other fentiments, propofing to marry her in private. This bait Roxalana greedily fwallowed, her vanity inclining her to believe the earl fincere. In fhort, the earl came, brought his coachman dreffed like a minifter, married her, and took her down to one of his country feats; where foon growing weary of her, he pulled off the mask, and with fcorn bid her return to the ftage. Upon this, fhe threw herself at the king's feet, who countenanced her to far, that he made the earl allow her 500l. a year, and, as long as her fon lived, would not fuffer him to marry any other lady; but on the child's death, the concern for fo ancient a family's becoming extinct, (the earl being the laft of it,) his Majetty, through great interceffion, was prevailed on to permit of the earl's re-marriage.

ANECDOTE on DUELLING.

Quarrel having arifen between a celebrated gentleman in

the literary world and one of his acquaintance, the latter beroically, and no lefs laconically, concluded a letter to the former, on the fubject of the difpute, with, "I have a life at your fervice, if you dare to take it." To which the other replied, "You fay you have a life at my service, if I dare to take it. I must confess to you, that I dare not take it: I thank my God, I have not the courage to take it; but though I own that I am afraid to deprive you of your life, yet, Sir, permit me to affure you, that I am equally thankful to the Almighty Being, for mercifully beflowing on me fufficient refolution, if attacked, to defend my own." This unexpected kind of reply had the ef fect; it brought the madman back again to reafon; friends intervened, and the affair was compromised.

A REFLECTION.

A Wife man will avoid the fhewing any excellence in trifts

He will be known by them at the expence of more vala

able talents.

Epitaph on the Children of Mr. Woodmafon, Stationer, of Leadenhall-ftreet, London, all of whom were unfortu nately burnt on the 18th of January, 1782. Copied from their Monument, in St. Peter's Church, Cornhill, London.

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Their Remains, collected from the Ruins,
are here combined!

A fympathifing Friend of the bereaved Parents,
Their Companion through the Night of the
18th of Jan. 1782,

In a fcene of Diftrefs

beyond the Powers of Language,
perhaps of Imagination!
Devotes this fpontaneous Tribute
of the Feelings of his Mind
to the Memory of Innocence !

T

ON D UEL S.

HIS atrocious barbarity, equally hoftile to policy and virtue, to each part of man's refponfibility, both to God and his fellow creatures; this atrocious barbarity, thus violating VOL. II. 48.

3 U

every

every fanétion human and divine, is very lamentably become a new topic, by feveral late abominable rencontres.

The more formal modes of encountering this foe to God and man, we must leave to places more formidably fitted to the work. All that can be done by us, is, to follow at an humble diftance, in the fame praife-worthy career,-acting feebly, but in cooperation with the main body, and as circumftances may direct,by a fquib, like the cartridge of a centinel, alarming our leaders, the church and legiflature; or, like an union of effort between the futtler and the furgeon, fupplying the forces with medicated food, we now aim at giving a little refection and fanity together in the fame vehicle, and diftilling a little of the pacific olive into our clouted cream. Thus, when one of the moft prevailing and ufeful wits of the prefent time received the following very laco

nic menace,

"SIR,

"I have a life, but it feems you do not dare to take it, &c.” His very excellent answer was :

"SIR,

"Of appearances you judge right. Your life, the life of any man, I dare not take; but you, and every man, will find, I dare defend my own, &c.

Another intemperate gladiator, on fending a challenge to a gentlemen, then one of the sheriffs, in which he said, “ I Chall wait for you in fuch a field near Brentford," received the fol lowing admirable answer:

"SIR,

"I am not obliged to rid the world of monfters, nor to cut the throat of every rafcal who is tired of his exiftence. As to Brentford, it has been my infuperable détestation ever fince you made it your refidence; of course I fhall not meet you there; but I expect, and I fhall be at all times ready, to attend you, in my official capacity, at TYBURN.

"Your's, &c."

This very witty reply, it was fuppofed, is an extemporaneous felicity of that beft of bon-mot men Mr. W.

DR

ANECDOTE of Dr. HUNTER.

R. Simmons, in his account of this celebrated anatomilt, relates, that the latter moments of his life exhibited an

instance

inftance of philofophical calmnefs and fortitude that well deferves to be recorded. Turning to his friend, Mr. Combe, he faid, If I had ftrength enough to hold a pen, I would write how cafy and pleasant a thing it is to die."

Answer, by J. Quant, of Hinton St. George, to his own Question, inferted July 7:

FIRST, the fractions 1-6th and 1-4th added together make 5-12ths; then it is evident by the question that 5-12ths+1412-12ths, or the whole. Now the following being a felf-evident axiom, viz. if from equal things an equal quantity be taken away, the remainders will be equal to each other; therefore, by fubtraction 5-12ths from each fide of the above equation, it will be 7-12ths= 14; then, as 7:4:12:24, the answer.

Answer, by W. Kite, of Stockland, to Taffe's Question, inJerted September 22.

SUB

UBSTITUTE a=the greatest, and ethe least of the required numbers; then we have, per question, aa† ee=84.25 m, and ae+a=44 n; then the first equa tion tranfpofed gives ee-m-aa, and the second equation -a, anda gives e=n-a÷a; thence ee=nn¬ana+ aaaa. Now m➡aa—nn—2na+aa÷aa, by multiplying maaaaaann-2na+aa. This equation folved by the common and univerfal method, we have a=8, and e= 4.25.

Anfwer, by Taffo, of Brifel, to J. H's enigmatical Lift of Afiatic Rivers, inferted October 27.

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