me foon after his departure, informing me that he was settled at a small village in Berkshire. In his letter he recommended Mrs. T***, the miliner, to my care, and requested an anfwer, directed to Mr. Franklin, fchoolmaster at N***.

He continued to write to me frequently, fending me large fragments of an epic poem he was compofing, and which he requested me to criticife and correct. I did fo, but not without endeavouring to prevail on him to renounce this purfuit. Young had juft published one of his Satires. I copied and fent him a great part of it; in which the author demonftrates the folly of cultivating the Mufes, from the hope, by their inftrumentality, of rifing in the world. It was all to no purpose ; paper after paper of his poem continued to arrive every post.

Meanwhile Mrs. T*** having loft, on his account, both her friends and her business, was frequently in diftrefs. In this dilemma fhe had recourse to me; and to extricate her from her difficulties, I lent her all the money I could fpare. I felt a little too much fondness for her. Having at that time no ties of religion, and taking advantage of her neceffitous fituation, I attempted liberties (another error of my life) which the repelled with becoming indignation. She informed Ralph of my conduct; and the affair occafioned a breach between us. When he returned to London, he gave me to understand that he confidered all the obligations he owed me as annihilated by this proceeding; whence I concluded that I was never to expe& the payment of what money I had lent him, or

advanced on his account. I was the lefs afflicted at this, as he was unable to pay me ; and as, by lofing his friendship, I was relieved at the fame time from a very heavy burden.⚫

I now began to think of laying by fome money. The printing-houfe of Watts, near Lincoln's Inn-Fields, being a still more confiderable one than that in which I worked, it was probable I might find it more advantageous to be employed there. I offered myself, and was accepted; and in this houfe I continued during the remainder of my stay in London.

On my entrance I worked at first as a pressman, conceiving that I had need of bodily exercife, to which I had been accustomed in America, where the printers work alternately as compofitors and at the prefs. I drank nothing but water. The other workmen, to the number of about fifty, were great drinkers of beer. I carried occafionally a large form of letters in ach hand, up and down ftairs, while the refemployed both hands to carry one. They were furprised to fee, by this and many other examples, that the American Aquatic, as they used to call me, was ftronger than those who drank porter. The beer-boy had fufficient employment during the whole day in ferving that houfe alone. My fellow-preffman drank every day a pint of beer before breakfast, a pint with bread and cheese for break faft, one between breakfast and dinner, one at dinner, one again about fix o'clock in the afternoon, and another after he had finished his day's work. This cuftom pealed to me abominable; but he had need, faid

ap

he, of all this beer, in order to acquire ftrength to work.

I endeavoured to convince him that bodily ftrength furnished by the beer, could only be in proportion to the folid part of the barley diffolved in the water of which the beer was compofed; that there was a larger portion of flour in a penny loaf, and that confequently if he eat this loaf, and drank a pint of water with it, he would derive more strength from it than from a pint of beer. This reafoning, however, did not prevent him from drinking his accustomed quantity of beer, and paying every Saturday night a score of four or five fhillings a week for this curfed beverage; an expence from which I was wholly exempt. Thus do these poor devils continue all their lives in a state of voluntary wretchedness and poverty.

At the end of a few weeks, Watts having occafion for me above ftairs as a compofitor, I quitted the prefs. The compofitors demanded of me garnish-money afresh. This I confidered as an impofition, having already paid below. The master was of the fame opinion, and defired me not to comply. I thus remained two or three weeks out of the fraternity. I was confequently looked upon as excommunicated; and whenever I was absent, no little trick that malice could fuggeft was left unpractifed upon me. I found my letters mixed, my pages tranfpofed, my matter broken, &c. &c. all which was attributed to the fpirit that haunted the cha

pel*, and tormented those who were not regularly admitted. I was at laft obliged to fubmit to pay, notwithstanding the protection of the master; convinced of the folly of not keeping up a good understanding with thofe among whom we are destined to live.

After this I lived in the utmost harmony with my fellow-labourers, and foon acquired confiderable influence among them. I proposed fome alterations in the laws of the chapel, which I carried without oppofition. My example pre

vailed with feveral of them to renounce their

abominable practice of bread and cheese with beer; and they procured, like me, from a neighbouring house, a good bason of warm gruel, in which was a small flice of butter, with toasted bread and nutmeg. This was a much better break faft, which did not coft more than a pint of beer, namely three-halfpence, and at the fame time preferving the head clearer. Those who continued to gorge themselves with beer, often loft their credit with the publican, from neglecting to pay their fcore. They had then recourse to me, to become fecurity for them; their light, as they used to call it, being out. attended at the pay-table every Saturday evening, to take up the little fum which I had made myself answerable for; and which fometimes amounted to nearly thirty fhillings a week.

I

This circumftance, added to my reputation of being a tolerable good gabber, or, in other words, skilful in the art of burlesque, kept up my im

* Printing-houses in general are thus denominated by the workmen; the Jpirit they call by the name of Ralph.

portance in the chapel. I had besides recommended myself to the esteem of my master by my affiduous application to bufinefs, never observing Saint Monday. My extraordinary quickness in compofing always procured me fuch work as was most urgent, and which is commonly best paid; and thus my time paffed away in a very pleasant manner.

My lodging in Little Britain being too far from the printing-house, I took another in Duke-street, oppofite the Roman Chapel. It was at the back of an Italian warehouse. The house was kept by a widow, who had a daughter, a fervant, and a fhop boy; but the latter flept out of the house. After fending to the people with whom I lodged in Little Britain, to enquire into my character, fhe agreed to take me in at the fame price, three-and-fixpence a week; contenting herself, she said, with fo little,becaufe of the fecurity fhe would derive, as they were all women, from having a man lodge in the house.

She was a woman rather advanced in life, the daughter of a clergyman. She had been educated a Proteftant; but her husband, whose memory she highly revered, had converted her to the Catholic religion. She had lived in habits of intimacy with perfons of diftinction; of whom she knew various anecdotes as far back as the time of Charles II. Being fubject to fits of the gout, which often confined her to her room, fhe was fometimes difpofed to fee company. Hers was so amusing to me, that I was glad to pass the evening with her as often as fhe defired it. Our fupper confifted only of half an anchovy a-piece, upon a flice of bread and butter, with a half a pint of ale between us. But the entertainment was in her conversation.

K