"It has been sent by Dr. M'Bride, a very inge"nious Physician, of Ireland; and it came to him "from his grandfather, a Dissenting Minister. "**** Nash will carry his election for Lord "Mayor; but, if thus far the cause of Liberty may "suffer in the City, it has its triumphs in other parts of the Town. Messieurs the Managers of "Covent-garden theatre wait upon the shilling "gallery, to assure the good company, that Mr. "Shuter has, bond fide, as others may have done, "strained his ancle; and the soldier whipt at the "Tower makes affidavit before a Justice of Peace, "that he is not killed, or dead, but living. These 66 proper attentions may satisfy the good people of England for a month, accompanied by the finish"ing dose of Junius on Saturday. "The Voyage of the Endeavour has been set"tled: Hawkesworth is to be the writer, recom"mended by Garrick. "Steps are taking towards the Expedition of next "spring. -Cook is again to command, and they "have already named the two vessels Enterprize, "and Resolution so the fond "child before it is born. parent christens a "There are no animals of prey in Otaheite. When Tupia saw in New Zealand a hawk seize a little "bird, he was extremely shocked; as Milton's Adam "at the Eagle and Lion after the Fall. "Our Patriots, however enlarged their ideas may appear to themselves, will be contemptible in your Lordship's eyes, when you have read the inclosed Proposals, which extend the notion of Country to "the Antipodes.". "15 Oct. 1771. Dean-street. "If I may compare great things with small, I "am in the same case with your Lordship-little *Tupia, a man of some consequence at Otaheite, left that island with Qmiah; but died, at Batavia, on the passage to England "to do and stript of topics. But should I ven"ture to divert my idleness when I have no infor"mation to give you? You complain, that your Cambridge Heads furnished not a single fuct. "Why facts, my Lord, grow not upon every hedge; "and if Dyer were to rise from the dead, he could never support his periodical MS. "As to the Heads, during my academical scene, "a moiety perhaps were dull, a few agreeable, and my personal friends-in general good enough to pass a dinner, and smoke an evening's pipe. "Hæc est conditio vivendi. -It is vain to expect every day. "Insigne, recens, adhuc "Indictum ore alio ‡." "Nor are great examples wanting, or at a distance, "for proof, that facts are not of the importance, "that some folks would assign to them. 66 66 "Without any events at all to account for it, a "sudden, as well as considerable fall of stocks took place, even upon a Saturday afternoon, a fortnight ago. Nothing asserted could stand for a moment; but the sinking went on, continued at first "by a set of jobbers, who had sold stock for time, " and had made insurances upon the falling-scheme. They employed brokers, who usually do business "for the knowing ones, to sell out of all the funds at once. That gave the alarm, and people fol "lowed helter-skelter. 66 "We hear likewise from 'Change-alley, that insurances are now doing there at 51. to receive “1007. in case the Pretender should be King of "Poland in two years. This too sets all fact at bay. "Have you heard of the Congress at Inverary. "So fine a Duke, and so fine a Duchess, there, *Heads of Colleges. ↑ A famous News-writer at the beginning of the 18th Century. Horace, Od. iii. 25. 66 opening "opening house after so long an interregnum, drew "all the country-and though fifty beds were made, they were so crowded that even David Hume, for "all his great figure as a Philosopher, and Historian, "or his greater as a fat man, was obliged by the "adamantine* peg-maker to make one of three in 66 a bed. “**** I think with you, that a Captain of "Marines for a part in tragedy, or a Boatswain for "a comic personage, might be as fairly recom"mended, as Doctor Hawkesworth for a voyage "writer. The author of the Poem upon theatrical "declamation, advising the actor to keep within his proper sphere, instead of giving himself airs, ends "his tirade thus: 66 : 66 "Votre état est de plaire, & non de proteger. “* * * * I have seen great men his Royal Highness's Preceptor, three other Bishops, a Se"cretary of the Treasury- Sir James-and the "flower of the medical class but in their facts they emulated the Vice-chancellor, &c." "Dean-street, Oct. 24, 1771. "Last week I received a piece of notable waggery "from Wimple, which, though not of the most "refined, or classical kind, verily had its full effect. "Four whole pages, and the envelope, filled up "with my old friend Sam's flowing Miscellanies quite "exhausted me. Such correspondence, à la Shen"stone, as Cambridge admirably expresses it, I "have outgrown. But the direction, in the Master's "own hand, subjecting me to a double postage, from "the residence of a Peer-(and here your Lordship's part in the jest comes in) was no despicable attack upon my finances; and I grudged the tax, which * Si figit adamantinos — Clavos dura Necessitas HORACE, Od. iii. 24. This alludes to Gurrick's recommendation of Hawkesworth. + Dr. Samuel Salter. "might have been much better spent at the Coffee"house, upon the memoirs of Messrs. Wilkes and "Townsend. "Your Lordship's Letter indeed makes me ample "amends by a second invitation to Wimple. I can "scarce ever call myself busy, but there is no bu"siness of mine, which your commands would not supersede. These are of the most agreeable "kind: but, "Quam mihi das agro, dabis agrotare timenti, "This wet atmosphere is the first act of the win"ter, and calls up to my remembrance the gout, the "asthma, &c. My foot, thank Heaven, gives no alarming symptoms, but I cannot help fancying a tightness across my breast. However, if nothing worse comes on, I will wait upon you to-morrow se'nnight for a few days. 66 "Mrs. WRAY would, I am sure, take it very ill "if you could suppose her preference of drums "town, or country-to Wimple. But she has des "affaires which hang her up just at present. - I "shall therefore plant myself in a chaise, and regret "those better days when I trotted myself down to "Wrest half a dozen times in the summer, and "could finish my journeys by a defiance of snow "and frost upon Gunpowder Treason. 66 "Mount Ararat. Holyrood-day, 1771. "✶✶✶ On Wednesday next we purpose to wait upon you; and, as our convoy is more numerous "than heretofore, I cannot answer for it that all will "be equally good sailors-and therefore beg that we may not be expected at the dinner-hour. Should "all circumstances be favourable, we may be at Wimple before the usual hour. If not, a bit upon the road will bring us in at the tea. Horace, Epist. i. 4. "I was not acquainted with Mr. Wood*; but he "was thought an able commis, and I know, that he "was a good writer. Besides, common humanity "has claims upon our concern, when a man is torn away just in sight of an agreeable retreat, which "his age might promise him the power to enjoy "for some years." This Letter is very curious, on account of its faith in the Rowley's Poems. "Dean-street, Monday, Nov. 18, 1771. "Had I persevered in that apparently wise reso"lution, to write no more till I had some Fact "of consequence to relate, I should have been dumb "with my pen till silence would have become in"decorum. "Dukes do not marry and elope every week. "Porten I found enveloped in the decyphering screen. "It was a sub-curate of Grosvenor-square who "married his R. H. It is by some disputed, whe‡ "ther at present the parties are three leagues from "Paris, or three miles from London. " Dr. Swinney §, your Lordship's friend, presented * Robert Wood, esq. Under Secretary of State, and Author of the very excellent " Essay on the Genius of Homer." Sir Stanier Porten, another Under Secretary of State. Henry the late Duke of Cumberland; who was privately married to Mrs. Horton, by Dr. Stevens, who had a living in Norfolk, and was Afternoon Preacher at a Chapel near Grosvenor-square. § Of Clare Hall, Cambridge; B. A. 1744; M. A. 1749; D. D. 1763; F. R. S. 1764; F. S. A. 1767. He was a gentleman of uncommon generosity and benevolence; had an extensive knowledge of antient and modern languages; and was the author of several pieces in prose and verse, which were well received. An enthusiastic affection for the fine arts impelled him to visit most Courts of Europe, and to see Nismes; and he resided several years as Chaplain to the British Embassy at Constantinople, where he made a Collection of curious coins, gems, and other antiquities. Dr. Swinney published" A Commencement Sermon, Cambridge, 1794;" "A Sermon addressed to the British Soldiery, 1766;" and in the same year "A Letter to Ephraim." He died at Scarborough Nov. 12, 1783. |