Memoirs of Lackington 1792

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M E xM O I R S
OFT U E
FORTY-FIVE FIRST YEARS
The LIFE OF
OF
JAMES LACKINGTON,
The prefent Bookfeller in Chifwell-flreet, Finfbury.fquarc,
London.
Written by Himfelf*
In Forty-seven Letters to a Friend.

With a TRIPLE DEDICATION.
u To the PUBLIC.
2. To Respectable
To Sordid
jbOOKSLLERS.
3. J
SEVENTH EDITION.
Corrected and much enlarged ; interfperfed with many original
humorous Stories, and dro/t Anecdotes, to which is alfo added,
an INDEX.
Fair praife is flerling gold — all fliould defire it—

Flatt'ry, bafe coin — a cheat upon the nation j
And yet, our vanity doth much admire it.

And really gives it all its circulation. Peter Pindar.
As all Fanatics preach, fo all men write.
Out of the flrength of and inward Light,
Gifts,
In fpite of art ; thorough pac'd
as horfes
Were never taught, and therefore go more faft. Butler,
1/ O N I> O JT:
Printed for the Authcr, No.a6 ^nd 47, Chifwell.Str«et 5
and foid by all oth*^/ Bookfellers.
MDCCXCIV.
[?riee 2s. 6d* in boarcJs-*>bound jCe]
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• • • • • •
• • * -«, * '
J
MEMOIRS
OF THE
FORTY-FIVE FIRST YEARS
OF
The L I F E
OF
JAMES LACKINGTON
SEVENTH EDITION,
[Price zs, 6d. in beards,-r-boand 3s.
fi^ This Edition (being printed on afmall type) is not

abridged in the leaft degree^ but contains all the additions
and improvements ; in Jhorty every line as much as the
large giiavo Edition^ that fells at ^s^ dd* in boards*
A "TRIPLE DEDICATION.
I.
TO THE PUBLIC.
In things indiff rent Reafon bids us chufe,
Whetlier the whim's a monkey, or a mufe.
Churchill.
WORTHY PATRONS,
W ERE
I to addrefs you in the
accu domed declamatory ftrain whicli has long been

adopted as the univerfal language of iledications, viz.
Flattery, I fliould not only merit your contempt,
for thus endeavouring to impofe upon your under-
flandings, but alfo render myfelf ridiculoufly con-
fpicuous, by a feeble attempt to perform that, for
which, as well by nature, as long eftablifhed .habit,
I am totally difqualilied.
On the other hand, I fliould efteem myfelf equally
meriting your cenfure, as being guilty of a flagrant
fpccies of ingratitude, were I to omit availing my-
felf of fo favourable an opportunity as now prefents
itfelf of expreffing the refpevSt and veneration I en-
tertain for you, refulting from the very extenfive
and ample encouragement with which you hare
crowned my
indefatigable exertions to obtain your
patronage, by largely contributing to the diffufion
of fcience and rational entertainment, on fuch mode-
rate terms as were heretofore unknown. .
Permit me indulge the plealing fiope, that,

to
when I aflert my mind is deeply imprelTed vvith the
molt grateful fenfe of the obligation, I fliall be ho-
noured with credit. If this opinion be well founded,
to enlarge on the fubje6l were fuperfluous —
if other-
wile, the fti'ongeit argument, the nioft fplendid and
B forcible
vi DEDICATION.
forcible language could convey, would not enfurc
'convldion ; I therefore defifl, fully perfuaded that
the moft fatisfadcry demonftration I can poffibly ex-
iiibit of the lincerity of this declaration, will be, an
inviolable adherence to that uniform line of condu61:
which has already lecured your approbation to a de-
gree eminent as unprecedented, and which is indeed
daily rendered more evident, by a progreffive increafe
in the number and extent of your commands ; trufl-
ing, that fo long as you find my practice invariably
correfpondent to thofe profeflions fo frequenly exhi-
bited to your notice (from which to deviate would
render me unworthy your protection) you will, in
defiance of all malignant oppoiition, firmly perfever*
in the liberal fupport of him, whofe primary ambition
it is, aiid during life fliall be, to diftinguilli himfelf as,
WORTHY PATRONS,
Your much obliged.
Ever grateful.
And devoted humble fervant,
cw^l^f'^^r^^h
Odlaber 1791.
JAMES LACKINGTONv
•^
; •
Dedication. yH
II.
'To that part of the numerous body of BOOK-

SELLERS of Great Britain and Ireland, whofe
condu6l JUSTLY claims the additional title of
RESPECTABLE ;
Whofe candour and liberality he has in numerous inftancei

experienced, and feels a fenfible pleafure in thus publicly
^ckaovvledging :
And laftly, (though not leaft in Famef)
III.
To thofe fordid and malevolent BOOKSELLERS,

whether they refplendent dwell in ftately man-
lions, or in wretched huts of dark and groveling
obfcurity
•—I'll give every one a fmart lalh in my \Va3\"'—
To whofe afiiduous and unwearied labours to injure his re-

J>utationwith their brethren and the Public, he is in a confide*
rable degree indebted for the confidence repofed in him, and
the (uccefs he has beeu honoured with, produ(5live of his pre*
fent profperity.
THESE MEMOIRS,
are, with all due dlfcrimination of the refpefliye merits of each,
Infcribed by
THE AUTHOR,
B 2
PREFACE.
To print or not to print ?— this is the quefti«n ?
Whether 'tis better in a trunk to bury
The quirks and crotchets of outiageous fancy,
Or fend a well wrote copy to the prefs,
And, by difclofing, end them.
For who would bear the impatient thirfl of fame.

The pride of confcious merit, and 'bove all,
The tedious importunity of friends
To groan and fvveat under a load of wit ?
'Tis Critics that make cowards of us all.

J a go.
CUSTOM, has been repeatedly

it
of my worthy
ohfervcd by many
(and fome perhaps unworthy) predecefTors in author^
lliip^ has rendered a preface almoil indifpenfably ne-
ceflary while others again have as frequently re-
;
marked, that '' law of fools. ^^ Thofe

cujiom is the
confiderations induced me to heiitate whether I
flionld uHier my performance into the wôrld with
a preface, and thus hazard being clafTed with the
adherents to that law, or by omitting it, efcapethe
opprobrium; for
Who ihall decide when dodlors difagree ? Pomfret.
Now, though I would not take upon me to decide
in every point in which doctors difagree, yet, after
giving the prefent fubje6t that mature confideration
which fo important a concern required, I thought
myfelf fully competent to decide, if not to general
fatisfadion, at leaft fo as fully to fatisfy one par-
ticular perfon, for whom I profefs to have a very
great regard, though perhaps few are to be found
who would be equally condefcending to him who :
that perfon is I do not wifli publicly to declare, as

(being- a very modcft man) it might offend him. I
lliall only fay, the more you read the Memoirs con-
tained in the following pages, the better you will be-
come acquainted with him. I ground my deciiion
P R E F AC E. IX
©n thefe arguments I concluded, as moil of
: my
brethren of the quill do of their labours, that my per-
formance pofTefled fo much intrinlic merit, as would
occafion it to be univerfally admired by all good
judges, as a prodigious effort of human genius ; and
that this approbation muft naturally excite the envy
of fonie authors, who had not met with that high
applaufe they deemed themfelves entitled to, and
incline them to fearch for imperfedions in my work ;
and though I was perfuaded of the impoffibility of
their finding any, yet being thus foiled, they might
eatch at the want of a preface, and conftrue that into
an omiflion fo that, in order to difarm them, I re-
;
folved to have one, efpecially as thofe who deem

prefaces unnecefTary may, if they chufe, decline
reading it ; whilil thofe on the other fide of the
queftion, if there was none, might be difappointed,
and have caufe for complaint. But to be ferious
(if I can :)
Almoft every author, on producing the efFufions
of his pen (and his brain, if he has any), thinks it pru-
dent to introduce himfelf by a kind oi Prologue^ as it
may be called, flating his reafons, with due precifion,
for intruding himfelf on his readers (whether true or
otherwife, is not always material to enquire) bcfêak-
ing their candour towards his weakneffes and imper-
fections (which, by the bye, few are fo fenlible of as
their readers) and not unfrequently endeavouring, to
footh thofe GOLIAHS in literature, ycleped Critics^
(with whom not many little Davids are hardy enough;
to contend) hoping thus to coax them into good
humour; or, perhaps, if his vanity preponderates,
he throws the gauntlet of defiance, with a view of
terrifying them either to hold their peace, or to do
juflice to thofe mighty abilities he is confident he
pofTefTcs in a degree eminently fuperior to moft of his^
brethren.
Among " true Parnailian bullies'* De Scudery
flands one of the foremofl he concludes his preface
;
to the works of his friend Theophile, with thefe re-

markable words '' I do not helitate to declare, that
:
amongft all the dead and all the living, there is no

. B 3 perlba
:
X P R E F A C E.
perfoiifWho has any thing to fliew, that appronchier
the Torce of this vigorous genius; but if amongft th«
latter, any one were fo extravagant as to con fide r
that I detra(5i: from his imaginary glory, to fliew* him
that I fear as little as 1 efteem him, this is to inform
him that my name is DE SCUDERY," Wc have
another remarkable inilance in Claude Tcrllon, a
poetical foldier, who begins his poems, by inform*
ing the critics, that, '' if any one attempts to cen-
fure him, he will only condefcend to anfwer him
fword in hand,"
For my own part, I difclaim thefe modes : con-*
vinced, that in the firfl cafe, every reader, whatever
the author may plead, will judge for himfelf,—
To proFefled critics I will repeat the following lines :
** Think, at your bar, no old offender ftands,
** Us'd to difpute and fpurn at your commands j--*
** No author bred in academic fchools
** To write by your's, or Ariflotie"s rules.—
And were I fo difpofed, neither my natural or ac-
quired abilities enable me to bidly thofe who mufl be
very ill qualified for their tafk, if they were thus tQ
be intimidated from declaring their real fentiments ;
and, on the other hand, to afte6l a degree of humi-
lity, and by flattery to aim at warping their minds,
is, in my opinion, paying them a very bad compli-
ment fo I will only quote for them four lines more

:
of poetry
•< Critics, forgive this firft effay
<» Of one whole thoughts are plain,
*' Wbofe heart is full, who never means
" To fleal your time again.**
Never fliould I have ventured to appear in this

habit before the Public, had not the following mo-
tives urged me, thereto :
Many of my
acquaintances have frequently ex-
pfelfed a deiire of obtaining from mylVH Tuch parti-
culars as they could rely on, of my palTage thro' life.
I have even been repeatedly threa'encd by fome
particular friends, that if I^ declined drawing up a
narrative, they were determined to do it forme. One
of the firll mentioned gentlemen prevailed on me (as
the
P R E F A" C E. xf
the moft likely mode to bring it to a period )^to devote
now and then a fpare hour in minuting down Ibme of
the moft material occurrences of my life, and to fend
them to him in an ep.iftolary form, intending to digeil
the whole into a regular narrative for publication :.
that gentleman, however, on perufal, was of opinion,
that it would be additionally acceptable to the cu-
rious part of the public, if exhibited to them ii\the
plain and fimple manner in which thefe Letters were
written, as thus tending to difplay fuch traits and
features of a fomewhat original chara61:er, and give
a more perfect idea of ** I, great I, the little hero
of each tale/' than any other mode that could have
been adopted efpccially, as many ifitelligent perfons
;
were confident I coidd not write at all, while others

hiutll)/ attributed to me what I never wrote.
" Then think,
" That he who thus is fore *d cd fpeak,
*•'
Uiilcfs commanded, would have died In filence."
If, among
the multitude of Memoirs under which^
the has groaned, and with which it ftill conti-
pref!=>
nues to be tortured, the following flieets fliould afford

fome degree of entertainment, as a relaxation from
more grave and folid ftudies, to an inquihtive and
candid reader (thofe of an oppolite defcription are
not to be pleafed with the ablell performance) atid
he fhould deem it not the worft, nor the moft expen-
five among the numerous tribe, I fliall efteem myfelf
amply rewarded. Had I, however, been difpofed to
be more attentive to entertainment, and lefs to vera-
city, I might, to many, have rendered it much more
agreeable, though lefs- fatisfadory to myfelf, as I be-
lieve the obfervation long iince made to be juft, that
ftw books are fo ill ^ritten, but that fbmething may
be gleaned from the perufal. Dr Johnfon ufed to>
fay, that he preferred Granger's Biographical Hiftory
ot England, becaufe it abounded with fuch a variety^
bf anecdotes I hope that my Life will have fome
;
admirers for the fame reafon. Pineda has quotted

5000 authors in his Eccleiiaftical Hiftory. Burton^
in his Anatomy of Melancholy, is alfo remarkable for
quoting a number of authors; and, if you coniider
B.4^ the
xii PREFACE,
the fize of this work, you will perhaps let me ftand
next In the rank. You fee I would fain be famous for
fome thing.
Should the infignificance of my Life induce any
perfoii better qualified to prefent the world with hisy -
big with intcrefting events, my difpofing of feveral

large editions of that performance will afford me more
/o /V fatisfa61:ion as a hookfeller^ than any fuccefs or
emolument which can poflibly arife from this my
firfl-, and mofl p/obably lafl, ciTay as an author.
If, unfortunately, any of my kind readers fhould
,
find the book fo hcM-ridly dull and ftupid, that they
cannot get through it, or if they do, and wi(h not to
~ travel the fame road again,
I here declare my perfecfi
.readinefs to fupply them with abundance of books,
much more witty, much more whatever they
pleafe, they never iliall want books while L. is able
to ailiil them ; and whether they prefer one of his
writing, or that of any other author, he pi-oteils he
will not be in the fmallefl: degree offended : let every
author make the fame declaration if he can.
Should my' Memoirs be attended with no other be-
nefit to fociety, they will at leaft tend to fliew what
may be effe6led by a perfcvering habit of induflry,
and an upright confcientious demeanor in trade to-
-wards the Public, and probably infpire fome one of
perhaps fuperior abilities, with a laudable ambition,
to emerge from obfcurity, by a proper application of
thofe talents with which Providence has favoured
him, to his own credit and emolument, as well as
the benefit of the community. To fuch an one I
ever have, and ever fliall wifli every poffible fuccefs,
as it has uniformly been my opinion, that whatever
is thus acquired, is more honourable to the parties
than the pofTeffion of wealth obtained without any
intrinfic merit or exertion, and which is too fre-
quently confumed with rapidity, in the purfuit of
vice and dillipation.
One word to my old friends the Bookfellers under
No. III. of my Dedication. This publication, it is
to be expeded,. will tend to excite fome degree of
mirth in theni. Confcious that I have often been
the caufe (however unintentional on my part) of ex-
citing*
PRE F A C E. xiil
pleafing fenfations in them, I will readily

cfting lefs
allow them full fcope. However, according to the
well-known adage, " Let them laugh who win.'*
A wit has faid,
Learn ihe better art— to pleafe,
None laugh fincere but thofe who're at their eafe.
Miller,
I hope the}^ will indulge me in the fame propenfi- •
tyof laughing, if not at them, at leafl with them.

— '
Such the vanity of great and fmall,
Contempt goes round, and all men laugh at all. Young,
As a proof of my friendly difpoficion, I fhall here
add a piece of advice, v/hich I do not hefitate to pro-
nounce will, if attended to, entitle them to promotion
amongft my Firji Clafs of Bookfellers, and eventual-
ly prove more beneficial than a conilant perfeverance
in the mode of conduct they have hitherto purfued ;
and thofc who have children will, I hope, fee the
propriety of inculcating the fame doctrine to them
for their future benefit: and I flatter myfelf my ad-
vice will prove equally produdtive of benefit to a great
number of the community at large, as well as to book-
fellers. It is this :
If they obferve any perfon by induftry and appli-

cation endeavouring to obtain an honeil livelihood in
that line for which his talents or difpofition have
qualified him, never to attempt, by dark inuendocs,
lly hints, and falfe afperfions, to injure hiiji, as, if
he happens to be a man of becoming fpirit, fuch con-
duct will only tend to increafe his exertions, and
render him flill more cautious to obtain a good cha-
rader ; in fo doing their weapons will recoil 6n thdm-
fclves, and they will have the mortification to fee
him fiourifh, whilft they become objefts of contempt
in the eyes of the t'ublic, and will of courfe be avoid-
ed by them. Here, perhaps, it will be remarked that
I have even prefumed to liifer in opinion from the
great Lord Bacon. That philofophical luminary
thought that the eye of an envious perfon darts a pe-
culiar virulence, which wounds its objects and thus ;
he accounts for a perfon in a triumph, oi* any exalted

profperity, being more liable to be hurt by it than
B 5 others.
:
xir PREFACE.
others. But on this head I think the poet, in the fol-
lowing lines, has faid more to the purpofe thaa the
philofopher
Your altitude offends the eyes •
Of thofe, who want the power to rife.
Their utmoft malice cannot make

Your head, or tooth, or finger ache,
Nor fpoil your Ihape, diftort your face.
Or put pne feature out of place.
The moll: effe6lual way to baulk

Their malice, is— /o let them talk* Swif T.
—
But I forget myfelf from debating whether a pre-
face was really neceflary or not, if I proceed thus,
I fhall produce one as long as my book, as indeed
fome of my feniors in ûthorfliip have done before
me, though not altogether confiftent with propriety.
As it reminds one of the philofopher, who, on ob*-
ferving a little city with very large gates, called to
the citizens, and delired them to take great care that
the city did not run out through the gates.
I will therefore conclude with a wi(h that my
xeaders may enjoy the feafl v;ith the fame good hu-
mour with which I have prepared it ; they will meet
with {omc Jo/iJ, though not much coujfe food, and the
major part, I hope, light and eafy of digeftion; thofe
with keen appetites will partake of each difh, while
Others more delicate may felecft fuch difhes as are
more light, and better adapted to their palatei ; they
are all genuine Britifli fare. But left they fliould be
at a lofs to know what the entertainment confifts of,
I bf g leave to inform them, that it contains Forty -fe-
ven Dillies of various fizes ; which (if they calculate
the expence of their a(hni[fion tickets) they will find
does not amount to two-pence per. difh ; and what I
hope they will confider as immenfely valuable (in com-
pliance with the precedent fet by Mr. Farley, a gen-
tleman eminent in the culinary fcience) a ftriking
likenefs of their cook into the bargain.
I have alfo prepared a bill of fare at the end of
the volume. Ladies and gentlemen, pray be feated ;
you are heartily welcoine, and much good may it do
you.
PRE-
. ,,.
P R E F it e E
Ta THE
SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT EDITIONS.
'Tis nothing new, I'm fure yovrknovv,

For thofe who write, their works to Ihevv j
And if their prais'd, or render'd vain,,

one they write again :
'Tis ten to
And then they read it o'er with care,
Corredting here, and adding there. Mrs. Savags,
Ye grumbling curs; I'd have yotr know,

This work was not compil'd for you ::
The herd of fnarlers I defy.—'^ Ji Mdxo«f^
my
T HE firft
was no fooner
edition of
old envious friends, mentioned in the Third Chifs

my Memoirs^
publiflied, than.
of my Dedication, found out that it was '' d n'd

ftuif ; d n'd low!" the produdion of aro^/^/-, and
only fit to amufe that honourable* fraternity 5 or to-
line theirgarrets and flails.
Pray, how ftioiild he obtain

The charms of learning,, or of fcience,
To fet his neigiibouis at defiance I «
We know his narrow education

Was fuited to his humble ftation.
Hence we proclaim he little know'th,
Nor will believe, although he fliow'th,
Some proofs of ikiU, of tafle, offpirit,
Determin'd to deny him merit. Elizj GiLDiNGi
Many gentleman, who are my cuflomers, have
informed me, that when they aiked for them at feve-
ral fliops, they received for anfwer, that they had al-
ready too much waile paper, and would not increafe it
by keeping Lackington's Memoirs ; and.fome kindly
B 6 added,
; ;
XVI PREFACE TO THE SECOND

added, '* You need not be in haile to purchafe, as
in the courfe of the Chriftmas holidays, Mr. Birch,
in Cornhill, will wrap up all his mince-pies with them,
and diltribute them through the town for the public
good." Lord Bacon remarks, " that it was well
faid, that Envy has no holidays." And thus,
'* With all the eunuch's melancholy fpite, '
*' They growl at you, becaufe they cannot write

*^ A gloomy filence Envy's pang imparts,
*^ Or fome cold hint betrays their canker'd hearts."
But the rapid fale of this Life foon caufed them to
alter their Tories; and I was very much furprifed to
hear that feveral of thofe gentlemen, who had fcarce
done exclaiming, " Vile trafli! beneath allcriticifm 1"
&c. began to praife the compolition; and, on looking
^nto the Englifh Review, I found that the editors had
filled feven pages in reviewing thefe Memoirs, and
had bellowed much praife on the author. I was then
ready to conclude, that their generous and manly
impartiality had, in a miraculous manner, effeded
the converlion of others. But I was foon convinced,
that meannefs can never be exchanged for generolity
and that thofe that had been " unclean were unclean
flill;" as Churchill fays,
*^ That envy, which was woven in the frame

** At firft, will to the lafl remain the fame.
*' Reafon may drown, may die, but Envy's rage,
** Improves with time, and gathers flrength from age/*
Ij; feems that feveral of thofe liberal-mmditd. men,

being prodigioufly mortified at the increafing fale of
my Life, applied to different authors in order to get
one of thern to father my book but thofe authors,
:
either from principle, or from knowing that my ma-

nufcript was kept in my ill op for the infpeiSiion of
the Public, or from fome other motive, refufed to
adopt the poor bantling and not only fo, but laughed
:
at, and expofed the mean contrivance, to the very

great difappointment of thofe kind and honeft hearted
frien h of mine.
'Tis hard to fay, what myfteries of fate.

What turns of fortune, on poor writers wait \
The
AND SUBSEQUENT EDITIONS. xvil
The party Have will wound him as he can,
And damn the merit, if he hates the man. W. Harti.
That I might not be juftly charged with ingrati-
tude, take this opportunity of thanking my friends,
I
cuflomers, and the Public, for their candid reception
of my volume ; and the fale of which, and the enco-
miums I have received on the fubje6t, both by letter
and otherwife, have far exceeded my moil fanguine
and felf-flattering expectations. I very feniibly feel
the obligation their generofiry has overw^hehned
! me !
1 am overpaid, and remain their debtor !
" A truce with jefting; what I here impart

** Is the warm
overflowings of a grateful heart 5
'* Come good, come bad, while life or mem'ry lafl,
** My mind (hall treafure up your favours pafl."
But, left I fliould be over vain, I muft at the fame
time declare, that I have received fcurrilous and
abufive letters from feveral of Mr. Wefley's people,
merely becaufe I have expofed their ridiculous prin-
ciples, and abfurd pra6Hces ; but more particularly,
for having pulled off the hypocritical veil (rom/ome of
tho^c Jknîfied deceivers which are amongft them.
The numerous letters of approbation, which I have
received from rational, intelligent gentlemen, con-
vinces me that I have not wronged the caufe of manly
and rational Chriftianity^ nor was it ever my inten-
tion fo to do :
But your philofopbers will fay,.

Befl tilings grow worfe when they decay.
If Phoebus' ray too fiercely burn.
The richefl wines to foureft Eurji. E. Llyob.
I here alfo prefent my compliments and fincere
thanks to my impartial friends, under the Second
Clafs of my Dedication, for the friendly difpolition they
have fliewn, in freely deftributing my Memoirs a-
mong their cuftomers and they may be aiTured, that
;
I will not let flip any opportunity of making them

proper returns for all their favouj-s.
I cannot conclude this Preface without faying
fomething about this edition.
When
xvm « PREFACE TO THE SECOND'
When I put the firft edition to the prefs, I reaHy
intended to print buta fniall number; fo that whenL
was prevailed on, by fome of my friends, to print a.
very large imprellion, I had not the leaft idea of ever
being able to fell the whole ; and of courfe had not
any intention of printing other editions. But the
rapid fale of the work, and the many letters which
I am continually receiving from gentlemen, in va-
rious parts of Great Britain and Ireland, who are
pleafcd to honour me with their approbation and
thanks, encouraged me to read the whole over with
more attention, to corredt fuch typographical errors
as had efcaped my obfervation, and to improve the
language in numberlefs places, and yet many errors
Itill remain. But,
' It has out-fold a better thing,
So, holla ! boys, God fave the king. Moxon,
In executing this plan,. I perceived that I had o-
mitted to introduce many things which would have
been an improvement to the work and while infert- ;
ing them, others occurred to my memory, fo that

moft parts of it is now very much enlarged. But al-
though thefe additions have increafed the expence of
printing and paper, to near double, yet I have added
but iixpence to the price. Had profit been my mo-
tive, I could have divided the work into two volumes,,
and I may add that each volume would have been
larger than fome fix fliilling ones lately publiihed "^^
To fuch as afk why thefe additions were not printed
feparately, to the end that fuch as purchafed the firfl
edition, might have had them without purchafing
the whole work over again ? I anfwer^ had that been
pradicable, I would have done it; but thofe addi-
tions being fo many, and fo various, rendered that
method impoflible, as everyone, who will take the
trouble to compare the various editions, mufl readily
acknowledge ; nor can the purchafers of even the
firft edition complain with refpe6l to the price, it
being equal in fize to moft new publications which
* This is only meant of the o£lavo edition.

are
AND SUBSEQUENT EDITIONS. xix
are fold at fix fliillings. And although fome may
think that the prefixed head is of no value, I can af-
fure them, that I am of a very different opinion, at
leafi of the original ; and I have the pleafure to add, that
a very grer^: number of my cuflomers have been
highly pleafed to have fo linking a likenefs of their
old bookfeller. Nor am I the firft of the fraternity
who has publifhed his head ; Mr. Nicholfon, (com-
momly called Maps) bookfeller at Cambridge, two
years fince, had his head finely engraved , it is a
good likenefs, and is fold at los^ 6d. Francis Kirk-
man, partner with Richard Head (laft century) pre-
fixed his portrait to a book, entitled " The" Wits, or
Sport upon Sport." This Francis Kirkman alfo pub-
lifiied Memoirs of his own Life, and probably led
the way to John Dunton, See Granger's Biograr
phical Hiftory of England, vol. iv.
I could make many other apologies
But why Ihould I diftrufl.
My judges are as merciful as juft
I know them well, have oft their friendfhip tyy*d^
And their protection is my boail-—my pride.
CVNNINGHAM4
; ;: : . ,
V E R, S E S,,
Oceafioiied by Reading
The LIFE of Mr. JAMES LACKINGTON;

Addreffed to the ingenious Author,
Bj an UNKNOWN. FRIEND.
OiNCE your pen, Friend Unknown, fach improvement conveys,

*Tis but juftice to you that repays
this tribute
For when in the Bofom mild Gratitude burns,
'Tis a pleafing relief which the Feeling returns : ~
For as dear i\s the Light to the thoughts of the Blind, .
Is the pen, or the voice, that enlightens the Mind ;

And the more as from. Nature and Genius untaught
Your various adventures and humour are brought.
Which difplay all the farce of the Methodift plan, .
The fhame of Religion, of Reafon,ând Man ; .
While no Libertine motives their fecrets difpenfe, ,
But Propriety joins hand-in-hand with good Senfe,

Oh with theexould the Crowd view each fan6lified fcene,
! -,
Where th^ Hypocrite oft wears SimpHcity's mein ;

Where youth, fecond-childhood, and weaknefs of Sex, ^ ,
Are obje<5ls they ever prefer to perplex

Like thee, they'd Contemn, or indignantly leave,
Whom Folly, and Knav'ry, combine to deceive ;
A^d whofe Newgate Converfions blaiphemoufly paint

The wretch moft depravd, the moft excellent Saint.-
Go on and difcover ench latent deftgn,
;
And your Rivals expofe, who 'gainft Learning combine :

O'er fuch cr.fc (hall fair condudt, like thme, flill prevail,
And an envy'd fuccefs lay them low in the Scale.
But as Time is too fhort all your, fleps to retrace,
Let your Life fpcak the reft, and fuccced in, their place : :
How Books mend the manners and now fo abound,

;
Where Rudenefs and Ignorance lately were found.

But plain Truth, for itl'elf, it muft ftill be confeft,
Is the faithfuleft advocate —therefore the befl
So I riie from the Feaft with a fatisfied mind,
That the fame every Tafte, and each Temper may find.
Still, lo drop ail corapariion. Mental's the fare.
That needs only good tafte to invite us to fhare
Entertainment and Knowledge, the objefts in view,
Then receive, as the Donor, the praife that is due.
Bury St. Edmund's. C. H—•—Sr
:
THE
LIFE
OF
J. LACKINGTON,
BOOKSELLER.
LETTER I.
Others with wifhful eyes on Glory look,

Wiien they have got their picture tow'rd a book,
Or pompous title, like a gaudy Sign
Meant to betray dull fots to wretched wine.
If at his title, L had dropt his quill,
L might hnve pyfs'd for a great genius ftill
But L -, alas
! (excufe him if you can)
Is now a Sciibbler, who was once a man.
YouN G*s Love of Fame.
DEAR FRIEND,
devotjs
Y OUhave often requeftcd me to
what few leifure moments I could fpare, in
minuting down fume of the principal occurrences of
my life, with a view, fooner or later, of exhibiting
the account to the public eye ; who, as you were
pleafed to fay, could not but be fomewhat curious to
learn foine well-aurhenticated particulars of a man^
well known to have rifen from an objcure origin to a
degree of notice, and to a participation of the favor
of the Public, in a particula*; line of bufinefs, I may
without vanity fay, hitherto unprecedented. This
will appear more confpicuous if you confider, that I
was not only extremely poor, but laboured under
every other difadvanti^ê ; being a Itranger in Lon-
don, and without friends, &c.
Ever
22 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON*
Ever^villing to pay a becoming deference to the
judgment of a perfoii of your acknowledged merits,
and whom I have the felicity of numbering arhong
my firmeft friends, yet being lefs anxious to appear as'
an adventurer among the numerous tribe of authors,
than to continue a confiderable vender of the produce
of their labours, I have continually delayed com-
plying with your kind wiflies,—-By the bye, does
ihe publication of a Catalogue of Books entitle the
compiler to the name of Author? If it does, many
Bookfellcrs have long had a claim to that diilindion,
by the annual publication of their Catalogues, and
myfelf, as author of a very voluminous one every fix
months. The reafon for my afking this queftion is>
I lait year obferved, that a certain bookfeller pub-
Jillied his firft Catalogue with this Introdu6tion :
— ** As this is the firil: Catalogue ever the Author
made, and is done in great haile, he hopes inaccura-

cies will be treated with lenity."
But to return from this digreflion I fliould pro-
;
bably ha\e ftill delayed compiling my narrative, if

the editors of a, certain periodical pvihlication, wIk>.
monthly labour to be witty, had not dce?ned me of
fufficient confequcnce to introduce into their work,
what they are pleafed to call a Portrait of me and !
though it was by them intended as a caricature, yet I

am perfuaded it will appear to thofc who beft know
me, as a daubing more chara6terifiic of the heavy
brufh of a manufa(5i:urer of figns, than the delicate
pencil of a true portrait- painter and on that account
;
I fliould moil certainly have confidered it as unwonhy

of notice, had they not daubed me with falfe features.
This at once determined my wavering refolution, aiSd
I ^m now fully refolved to mi-nute down fuch parti-
culars of my palTage through life, as, though not
adorned with an elegance of %le, will, lalTure you,
poflefs what to you, I flatter myfelf, will be a greater
recommendation, viz. a ilridt adherence to truth.
" To pomp or pathos I make no pretence,

** But range in the hroad path of common feiife,
« Nor ever burrow iu the dark fublime/'
And
: —
I.IFE OF J, LACKINGTON. 2j
And though no doubt you will meet with fome oc-
Gurreiices in which you may find caufe for cenfure,
yet I hope others will prelent themfelves, which your
candour will induce you to commend,
Difdain not then thefe trifles to attend.

Nor fear to blame, nor ftudy to commend.
Lord Herviy.
Should you be able to afford the whole a patient

perufal, and think the account meriting the public
eye, I fliall cheerfully fabmit to your decifion, con«
vinced that you will not,
« With mean complacence e'er betray your truft,
** Nor be fo civil as to prove imjuft.**
John Dunton, a brother Bibliopole^ long fince ex-

hibited.a whole volunoe of dullnefs, which he called
his '* Life and Errors, ^^ The latter term I believe
might be a very proper appendage to the title-pag^ of
the innumerable lives which have been, and which
will be publiflied For what man will dare to fay of
:
himfclf, his has not been loaded with errors ?

life-
That mine has been fuch I readily acknowledge and ;
ihould this narrative be publidied, many perhaps may

deem that a^ another (poffibly the greatell) error.
To thofe I fliall only obferve, that,
" To err is human, to forgive divine."
As an additional flimulus, I can alTure you as an

absolute fa6t, that feveral gentleman have at dif-
ferent periods (one very lately) intimated to me their
intentions of engaging in the talk if I any longer de-
clined it.
Of my iirft-mentioned kind Biographers I (liall take
my leave, with a coupler, .many years fince written
by an eminent poet, and not inapplicable to the pre-
fent ufe
'* Let B charge low Gruh-ftreet on my quill,

^< And write whate'er he pleafe, except. my Will."
And of you, for the prefent, after informing you my

next fliall contain a faithful account of particulars re-
lative
; ;
24 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
lative to the early part of my life, with aiTurliig' you
that I am, .
Dear Friend,
Your ever obliged.
LET T E R IL
Why Ihould my birth keep tlown my mounting Spirit f-
Are not all creatures fubjedl unto Time ;
To time, who doth abufe the world,

And fills it of hotch-ppdge baftardy ?
full
There's legions now of beggars on the Earth,
That their original did fpring from Kings ;
And many monarchs now, whofe fathers were

The riff-raff of their age for time and fortune
;
Wears out a noble train to beggary ;
And from the dunghill minions dc advance

To ftate and mailc, in this admiring world.
;
This is but courfe, which in the name of fate

Is feen as often as it whirls about.
The river Thames, that by our door doth pafs,
His firfl beginning is but fmall andfhallow,
Yet keeping on his courfe groves to a fea."
Shakspk ARE'S Cromwell.
DEAR FRIEND,
IN
my laft I hinted thiit I fhould
confine myfelf to a plain narrative of fa6ls, iinem-
belliflied with the meretricious aid of lofty figures, or
reprefentations of things which never had exigence,
but in the brain of the author. I fliall therefore not
trouble you with a hiftory of predi6îons which fore-
told the future greatnefs of your humble fervant, nor
with a minute account of the afpeds of the planets at
the very aufpicious and important crifis when firil I
inhaled the air of this buftling orb :
Whatever flar did at my birth prevail,

"Whether my
was weighed in Iîbra's
fate fcale
Qr Scorpio rtign'd, whofe gloomy pow*f
Rules dreadful o'er the aatal hour
Or
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 25
Or Capricorn with angry rays,

Thofe tyrants of the weftern Ikies. Horace.
For extraordinary as it may appear, it has never yet

occurred to me, that any of the adepts in the allrolo-
gical ll'iencc have made a calculation of my nativity;.
'tis probable this high honour is by the planets deflined
to adorn the fublime lucubrîtions of the very inge-

nious Mr. SiBLEY> in the next edition ot his ftup—
endous work And here, for the honour of the craft,
!
let me remark, that this moil fublime genius has,

with myfelf, to boail (and wh6 would not boaft of
their genealogj. in having a prince for their an-
ceftor?) in being a Son ot the renowned PRINCE
CRISPIN.
A volume has been written with the title of '*The
Honour of the Taylors; or, the Hiflory of Sir John"
Hawkwood." But were any learned writer to un-
dertake ——
—The Honour of the Shoemakers, or the
Kifiory of , how infignificant a figure would the
—
poor Taylors. make, when compared with the honour-
able craft!
<* Coblers from CriTpin boaft their Public Spirit,
" And all are upright downright men of merit'.'*
Should I live to fee as many editions of my Me^

moirs publiQied, as there have bee of the Pilgrim's :
Progrefs, I may be induced to prefent the world

with a Folio, on that important fubje^l ; but Prior's
line occurs,
** Put off thy refle(5lion and give us thy tale,
Deny ciown.^*
'
And fo I will begin— -
Were I inclined to pride myfelf in genealogical de-

fcent, I might here boaft that the family were origi-
nally fettled atWhite Lackington, in Somerfctfliire,
which obtained its name from one of my famous an-
ceftors, and give you a long detail of their grandeur,
&c. but havijig as little leifure as inclinati^ n toboaft
of what, if true, would add nothing to my merits,
I fliall for the prefent only fay, that I was .born at
Wellington
;
fi6 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

Wellington in Somerfetfhire, on the 31ft of Auguft,
(old flyle) 1746. My father, George Lackington,
was a Journeyman Shoemaker, who had incurred the
difplealiare of my grandfather, for marrying my
mother, vvhofe maiden name was Joan Trott. She
was the daughter of a poor weaver in Wellington ;
a good honefl man, whofe end was remarkable, though
not very fortunate in the road between Taunton
;
and Wellington, he was found drowned in a ditch,

where the water fcarceiy covered his face He was^ :
'tis conjedured,
<< — Drunk when he died."
Alas, poor man His drunkennefs was not habitual

!
but having been feparated from his wife and family a

day or two, he was returning with his heart full of
pleafure, and his pockets full of cakes and ginger-
bread for his little ones ; and while he was pleafing
his imagination with the pleafure he ftiould have on
his return, old Care quitted his hold, delightful fen-
fations took place, and the brown jug went merrily
round.
This happened fome years before the marriage of
my Father and Mother,
My grandfather, George T.ackington, had been a
Gentleman Farmer at Langford, a village two miles
from Wellington, and acquired a pretry confiderable
property. But my father's mother dying when my
father was about thirteen years of age, my grand-
father, who had alfo two daughters, bound my father
apprentice to a Mr. Hoadly, a mailer flioemaker in
Wellington, with an intention of fetting him up in
that bulinefs, at the expiration of his time. But my
father worked a year or two as a journeyman, and
then difpleafed his father by marrying a woman with-
out a (hilling, of a mean family, and who fupported
herfelf by fpinning of wool into yarn, fo that my
reother was delivered of your friend and humble fer-
vant, her'firft-born, and hope of the family, in my
grandmother Trott's poor cottage ; and that good
old woman carried me privately to church, unknowri
to
:
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. ^j
to my father, who was (nominally) a, Quaker, that
being the religion of his anceilors.
About the year 175c, my father having three or
four children, and my mother proving ani*excellent
wife, my grandfather's refentment had nearly fub*
fided, fo that he fupplied him with m >ney to open a
fliop for himfelf. But that which was intended to be
of very great lervice to him and his family, eventually
proved extremely unfortunate to himfelf and them ;
for, as foon as he found he was more at cafe in his
circumftances, he contra6led a fatal habit of drinking,
and of courfe his bufineis was negle6led ; fo that,
after feveral fruitlefs attempts of my grandfather to
ikeep him in trade, he was, partly by a very large
family, but more by his habitual drunkennefs, re-
-duced to his old ftatt- of a journeyman (hoemaker
Yet fo infatuated was he with the love of liquor, that
the ent'earing ties of hulband and father could not
reftrain him: by which baneful habit, himfelf and
family were involved in the extremeft poverty.
To mortal men great loads allotted be ;
But of all packs, no pack like poverty.

Herrick.
So that neither myfelf, my Brothers, or Sillers, are
indebted to a Father, fcarcely for any thing that can
endear his memory, or caufe us to refle<^ on him
with pleafure.
Children, the blind effe<Sls of love and chance.
Bear from their birth the ii;npreffion of a Slave.
Dryden,
My father and mother might have faid with Mid-
dleton,
*< How adverfe runs the deftiny of fome creatures I
«* Some only can get riches and no children,
•* We only can get children and no riches ;
** Then 'tis the prudent pait to check our will,
*< And, till our ftate rife, make our blood ftand fltll/* .
But to our mother we are indebted for every thing,

*« She was a woman, take her for all in all, I fliall
Mot look upon her like again.'^
:
28 LIFE OF
J. LACKINGTON.
Let high birth triumph what can be more great
I ?
—
Nothing but merit in a low eftate. Dr. Young.
Never did I know or hear of a woman who worked
and lived fo hard as flie did to fupport Eleven chil-
dren and were I to relate the particulars, it would
:
not gain credit. I fliall only obferve, that for many
years together, file worked generally nineteen or

twenty hours out of every twenty-four; even when
very near her time, fometimes at one hour (lie vvasTeen
walking backwards and forwards by her Spinning-
wheel, and her midwife fent for the next. And it
frequently happened, when near her time, that by the
immoderate excrcife at her work, together with her
lituation, her legs fwelled fo prodigloufly, as often to
burft the veins, which were flopped with great diffi-
culty. And, as fhe was obliged to return to her
fpinning-wheel, (or let her children want bread,) as
foon as the blood could be flopped, her walking to
and fro, would often caufe the blood to burfl through
the bandages, and in an inllant fill her flippers.
Whenever flie was afked to drink a half pint of ale,
at any fhop where flie had been laying out a trifling
fum, fhe afked leave to take it home to her hufband,
who was always {o mean and felfifli as to drink it.
Out of love to her family flic totally abflained from
every kind of liquor, water excepted her food was
;
chiefly broth, (little better than water and oatmeal,)

turnips, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, &c. her children
fared fomething better, but not much, as you may
well fuppofc. When I refied on the allonifliing
hardships and fufferings of fo worthy a woman, and
her helplefs infants, I find myfelf ready to curfe the
hufband and father that could thus involve them in
fuch a deplorable fcene of mifery and diflrefs. It is
dreadful to add, that his habitual drunkcnnsfs
fliortened his days nearly one half, and that about
.twenty years fmcc he died, unregretted by his own
children; nay, more, while nature filed tears over
his grave, reafon was thankful
" A parting tear to nature mud be paid ;
'* Nature, ia fpite of us,- will be obcyM.'*
. Thankful
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON: 29
Thankful that the caufe of their poverty and mifeiy
was taken out of the way.
The pious tear the fons and daughters (lie J;

Thu!> they, whom long he wrongM, bewailM him dead :
With rev'rcnce they perform his ohfequies,

And bear their Ion ows as belcems the wile.
Cooke.
Read this, ye inhuman parents, and fliudder! Was

a hiw made to banifli all inch fathers, would it not be
a jufl, nay even a mild law ? I haix my doubts
whether children fliould not be taught to defpife and
deteft an unnatural brutal parent, as much as they
are to love and revere a good one.
Here, fir, permit me to drop fo gloomy a fubjc(^,
and relate an uncommon circumftance that happened
about this time.
Mr. James Knowland, who for many years kept
the fign of the Eight Hells in Wellington, had a foa
weakly and infirm wheii about nine years old, he
;
was fuddenly feixcd with illnefs, and foon after,

to all appearance, died. He remained five days in this
liate; but thofe who were employed ro remove the
body down ftairs in order to be interred, thought
fomething moved in the coffin, and on opcming it^
they found him alive, and his eyes open. About two
years after this, the boy was again taken ill, and in
a day or two after, was to all appearance dead ; but hi$
father refolved not to have him interred, until he
became offenfive ; he laid in this ftate lix days, and
again came to life, and I believe is now alive and
vvcll.
I am, Sir,
Yours.
30 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTOH,
LETTER III.
*' So have I wander'd ere thofe days were pîft,
" That childhood calls her own. Ah happy days,

I
*< That recoUe<5lion loves, unftajned with vice,
.u Why are ye gone fo foon ? Village Curate.
For chiefly of himfelf his converie ran,

As mem'ry well fupplied the narrative old man,
**His youthful feats with guiltlefs pride he tokl/*
In rural game what honours erfl he won ;
How on the green he threw^ the wTefller bold ;
How light, he leapM, and O how fwift he'd runj

!
Then with a figh, he fondly turn'd his praife,

To rivals now no more, and friends of former days.
Veknon's ParilhClerk>,
DEAR FRIEND,
for the
A
S I was the eldeft, and my father
few years a careful hard-working man, I
firfl:
fared fomething better than my brothers and fiflers.

I wâs put for two or three years to a day fchool,
kept by an old woman and well remember how
;
proud I ufed to be to fee feveral ancient dames lift

up their hands and eyes with aftoniflimcnt, while I
repeated by memory feveral chapters out of the
!New Teflament, concluding me from thisfpecimen
to be a prodigy of Science. But my career of learn-
ing was foon at an end, when my mother became
fo poor that flie could not afford the mighty fum' of
two -pence per week for my fchooling. Befides, I ,
was obliged to fupply the place of a nurfe to feveral

of my brothers and fiders. The confequence of
which was, that what little I had learned was pre-
sently forgot ; inllead of learning to read, Sec, it
very early became my chief delight to excel in all
kinds of boyifli mifchiefs ; and I foon arrived to be
the captain and leader of all the boys in the neigh-
bourhoods
" Th-e fprightlieft of the fprightly throng,
" The tormeit of the train*" Mifs Bowdler.
So
80 that ifany old woman*s lanthorn was kicked out
X)f her hand, or drawn up a lign-pofl ; or if any
thing was faflened to her tail, or if her door was nail-
ed up, I was fure to be accufed as the author whe-
ther I really were fo or not.
But one of my tricks had nearly proved fatal to
me, I had obferved that yawning was infe6tious ;
and with a determination to have fome fport, I col-
lc6led feveral boys together one market-day evening,
and inilruded them to go amongft the butchers;
whither I accompanied them. We placed ourfelvcs
at proper di (lances, and at a fignal given, all began
to yawn as wide as we could, which immediately
had the defired efFe6l the whole butcher-row was fet
;
a yawning ; on which I and my companions buril out

into a hearty laugh, and took to our heels. The
trick pleafed us fo well, that two or three weeks after,
we attempted to renew it. But one of ihe butchers,
\\ ho was half drunk, perceiving our intention, fnatch-
ed up his cleaver and threw it at me, which knocked

off my hat without doing me any harm.
I was about ten years of age, when a man began
to cry apple-pies about the Hreets, I took great notice
of his methods of felling his pies, and thought I
could do it much better than him. I communicated
to a neighbouring bakep my thoughts on the fubje6t
in fuch a manner as gave him a very good opinion of
my abilities for a pic-merchant, and he prevailed on
my father to let me live with him. Mymanner of
crying pies, and my activity of felling them, foon
made me the favourite of all fuch as purchafed half-
penny apple-pies, and halfpenny plumb-puddings, fo
that in a few weeks the old pie-metchant fliut up his
Hiop. You fee, friend, that I foon began to " make
a noife in the world.** J lived with this baker about
twelve or fifteen months, in which lime 1 fold fuch
larger quantities of pies, puddings, cakes, &c. that ht!
often declared to his friends, in my hearing, tha-^ I
had been the means of extricating him from the em-
barralVing circumftances in which he was known to be
involved prior to my entering his fervice.
Cz During^
52 LIFE OF J. LAClilNGTON. .
During the time I continued' with this baker, many

compl-iints were repeatedly made againfl nixj for the
had beenguiity of, fuch as throwing
chiklifli follies I
fnow-bail?, frighreni^jg people by flinging ferpents and
crackers into their houies, &c. I alio happened one
day to overturn my maftcr's Ton, a child about four
years old, whom I had been driving in a whcel-bar-
row. Dreading the confeqnences, I immediately
flew from my mailer's houfe, and (it being evening)
went to a glazier's, and procun d a parcel of broken
glafs ; I alfo provided myfelf with a pocketful of
peas ; and thus equipped, made line divcrfion for
niyfelfand my unlucky companions, by going to a
number of houfes, one after another, difcharging a
handful of peas at the windows, and throwing down
another handful of glufs in the ftreet at the fame in-
fiant, which made fuch a noifeas very much frightened
many people, who had no doubt of their windows
being broken into a thoufand pieces.
By fpoits like thefe are all their care beguird.
The fports of childi en fatisfy the child, Tk av e l l kr.
This adventure, tog-ether with throwing the child
out of the wheel-barrow, produced fuch a clamour
againft me amongfl: the old women, that I would not
return to my mailer, and not knowing what elfe to
do, I wTnt home to my father, who, you may eafily
conceive could not aiford to keep me idlq, fo I was
foon fet down by his fide to learn his own trade ; and
I continued with him feveral years, working when he
worked, and while he was keeping Saint Monday^ I
was with boys of my own age, fighting, cudgel-
playing'-, wreftling, &:c. &c.
The following ftory has been varioufly ftated ; my
father affured me that the origin of it was as follows;
and that it happened nearly about this time.
He and fome other froKckfome fellows being one
Eafter Sunday morning at the clerk's houfe at Lang-
ford, near Wellington, drinking (as it is called)
clerk's ale, they overheard the old man rehearfing
the verfes of the Pfalms which he was to read tha^
morning at church and in order to have fome fun
:
with
with the old clerk, one af the company fct off early
to church, and en the ôrd trtre^ they fluck the
word horfe^ fo that when the old man came to that
place, he read as follows, " And they fliall flourifh
like a young bay horfe. — Horfe ! it fliouLd not be^
horfe ; but, by the Lord, it is horfe."
The above old man was called Red Cock for rriany
years before his death, for having one Sunday flept
in church,, and dreaming that he was at a cock-fight-
ing, he bawled out, " A
(hilling upon the red cock.'*
And behold the family are called Red Cock unto this
day.
The prcced'ng reminds me of an odd crrcumflancc
that happened but a few years fince at . W
As the good do6tor was one Sunday morning going
through the ftrect towards the cathedral, he heard a
woman cry, ** Mackerel, all alive, alive O!" And
on his arrival at the church, he began the fervice as
follows, " When the wicked ipan turneth away from
his wickedncfs, and doth that which is lawful and
rights he fliall fave his foul alive, alive O I" Thefe
lafl words the doctor proclaimed aloud, in the true
tone of the fidi woman, to the great furprife of the
congregation but the good do6tor was fo fludious
;
and ablent, that he knew not what he had done.
Yours.
C a
J4 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
L E T T E R IV.
Who gather round, and wonder at the tale

Of horrid apparition, tall and ghaftly,
That walks at dead of night, or takes his iâtid,
Oerfome new-open\l^rave : and (ftrange to tell I)
Evanifhes at crowing of the cock» Blair's Grave*
On difmal ilories
^_
fell, difall'roiis
Oft their
chances.
tiîk
Murders, and ghofts, and apparitions, •
And the long train of frightful prodigies.

Appall'd they fat, and while they heard the tale
Of horrour, all around was palenefs feen,
And (\eep attention. " White as milk it came I
*' And glided with the

fwifnefs of a dart,
** Along the lone dark lane.** . Another told.
Of heaJlefs trunks that flood where three roads met,
Then chang'd to malliirs, then were men agabi.
And, Oil more dreadful ** ! How
at midnight hours,
*^ Stra;ige phantoms
drew the curtain." Thus they i:als'd
Ideal terrours. Even now my fancy paints
The fear-contra<nêd circle, gazing off'.
As fomething ftalk.'d behind. Rickman's Fallea Cottage.
DEAR FRIEND,
I
Maft not forget an odd adventure
that happened when I was about twelve years of age,
as it tends to flicw in part my dauntlefs difpofition,
which difcovered itfelf on many occaiioiis in the very
early part of my life.
I had one day walked with my father to Holywell
wake, a village two miles from Wellington, where
meeting with fome good ale, he could not find in his
heart to part from it until late at night. When we
were returing home by the way of Rockwell Green,
(commonly called Rogue Green^ from a gang of rob-
bers and houfe-breakers who formerly lived there)
having juil: paifed the bridge, we were met by feveral
men and women, who appeared to be very much
frightened, being in great agitation. They informed
us that they were returning back to Rogue Green,
in order to lleep there that night, having been pre-
vented
; ;
LIFE OF J. LAGKINGTON. 35
vented from going home to Wellington by a dread*
fill apparition, which they had all feen in the hol-
low way, about a quarter of a mile dillant adding, ;
that a perfon having been murdered there formerly,

the ghoil had walked ever iince that they hiid never
;
before paid much attention to the well-known report

but now they were obliged to credit it, having had
occular dcmonflration.
Akled by Fancy, Terror lifts his hend,

Anil leaves the dreary manfioiis of the dead ;
In fhajês more various mocks at human care,
Than e'er the fabled Protevis us'd to wear
Now, ill the lonely way each traveller's dread,
He ftalks a giant-fliape without a head.
Now in the haunted houfe, his dread domain,
The curtain draws, and Shakes tlie clinTiinr; cliain ;
Hence fabled ghofts ai ife, and fpe<ftres dire,

Th^me of eacli ev'ning t.-rte by winter's fire.
Prall's Superftition»
My father had drank too large a quantity of ale to

fee much of any thing, and I (who could not
afraid
let flip fuch an. opportunity of fliewing my courage)
feconded matters for the poor terrified people to re-
turn with us ; and as I offered to lead the van, they
were prevailed on to make the attempt once more ;
but faid, that it was rather prefumptuous, and hoped
that no dreadful confequencc would enfue, as all the
company, they trulled, were honefl hearted, and in-
tended ho harm to any perfon : they moreover added,
that '' God certainly was above the devil." I then
advanced, and kept before the company about fifty
yards,
" Whirling aloud to bear my courage up."
But when we had walked about a quarter of a mile^

I faw at fome dillance before us in the hedge, the
dreadful apparition that had fo terrified our company.
Here it is (faid I). ^* Lord, have mercy upon us I'*
!
replied fome of the company, making a full Hop ;

and would have gone back, but fliame prevented
tl^m. I ilill.kept my dillance before, and called out
C 4. to
ô them to follow me, affuring them that I was {lill
determined to fee what it was, as I had promifed.
" 'Tis a debt of honour, and rauft be paid."
They then fell one behind another, and advanced

in tingle files. As I proceeded I too was feized
with a timid apprehenlion, but durfl: not own it;
iiill keeping on before, although I perceived my
hair to heave my hat from my head, and my teeth to
chatter in rny mouth. In fa6l, 1 was greatly agi-
tated at what I faw ; the objed much refembled the
human figure as to fliape, but the fize was prodi-
gious. However, 1 had promifed to fee what it was,
and for that purpofe I obflinately ventured on about
thirty yards from the place where I firft had fight of
it. I then perceived that it was only a very fliort
tree, whofe limbs had been newly cut off, the doing
of which had made it mtich refciiible a giant. I then
called the company, and informed them, with a
hearty laugh, that they had been frightened at the
fiump of a tree.
This ftory caufed excellent diverfion for a long
time afterwards in Wellington, and I was mentioned
as an hero.
The pleafure and fatisfa6tion I received from the
difeovery, and the honour I acquired for the courage
I pofleilbd \n making it, has, I believe, had much in-
fluence on m€ ever fince as I cannot recolle6t that
:
in any one inftance I have ever obferved the leaft

fear of apparitions, fpirits, &c.
What education did at firft receive,

Our ri^ên d age confirms us to believe. POMFRET.
Not that have always fleadily diibelleved what has

I
been related of fuch appearances, a few accounts of
/hich feem fo well authenticated, as at leaft to make
me doubt whether there might not exift in the fcale of
beings fome of a more aerial fubilance than mankind,
who may pofiêfs both the inclination and the power
of aiTuming our fliape, and may perhaps take as much
delight in teazing the human fpecies, as too-many
of
; !
LIFE OF ;• LACKINGTON-. 37^
of our fpecies doin teazing and even tormenting thofe

of the brute creation.
Some aftral forms I muft invoke by prayV j
Fiam'd all of pureft atoms of the air :
In airy chariots they together ride.

And fip the dew, as thro' the clouds they gtide ;
Van: fpirits, You, that (hunaing heav*n's high noon/
Swarm here beneath the concave of the moon,
Hence you here below
to the talk allign'd
tJpon the ocean make Joud tempefts blowj
Into the wombs of hollow clouds repair,
And crafh out thunder from the bladder'd air ;
From pointed fun -beams take the mifls they drew y
And fcatter them again in pearly dew
And of the b'gger drops they drain below,
Some mould in hail, and others fi ft in fnow. Dryden*
While I am on this fubjedt, I cannot refill the
temptation of relating; a truly ridiculous affair that
happened about this time at Taunton*
In the workhoufe belonging to the parifli of St,
Jnmes, there lived a young woman who was an idiot#
This poor creature had a great averfion to fleeping
in a bed, and at bed-time would often run away to a
field in the neighbourhood called the Priory, where
fhe flept in the cowftieds.
In order to break her of this bad cuftom, two men
agreed, to try if they could not frighten her out of it.
And one night, wht^n they knew that (lie was there,
they took a white fheet with them, and coming to
the place, one of the men concealed himfelf to fee the
event, while the other vVrapped himfelf up in the
llieet, and walked backwards and forwards clofc be-
fore the cowihed in which (he was laid. It was fome
time before Molly paid any attention to the appari-
tion; but at laft up fhe got, " Alia rfaid rfie) a !
white devil 1" and by her manner of exprelling her-

felf file thought it was very ftrange to fee a ^wîtg
devil. And foon after (lie exclaimed, '* black A
devil too !a black devil too !'* With that the man
who had the (lieeton, looked over his (lioulder, and
faw (or he imag^.ned he faw) a perfon all over black
behind him; the fight of which made him take to his
C 5, heels*
38 LIFE OF J. LACKINTGTON.
heels. Molly then clapped her hands as fall as flie
could, crying out at the fame time, *' Run, blackr
devil, and catch white devil Run, black devil, and
!
catch white devil !*' and was highly diverted. But

thisproved a ferious adventure to the white devil,
as he expired within a few minutes after he had
reached his own houfe ; and from that time poor
Molly was left alone to fleep in peace.
About ten years after the above affair, at Wivelf-
combe, nine miles from Taunton, a gentleman far-
mer's houfe was alarmed every night between twelve
and one o'clock. The chamber doors were thrown
. open, the bed-clothes pulled off the beds, and the
kitchen furniture thrown with violence about the
kitchen, to the great terror of the family, infomuch
that the feryants gave their matter and miflrefs warn-
ing to leave their places, and fome of them actually
quitted their fervice. This dreadful affair had lafled
about fix weeks, when a young gentleman, who was
there on a vifit, being in bed one night, at the ufual
Hour he heard his chamber door thrown open,' and a
very cdd noife about his room. He was at firft
frightened, but the noife continuing a long time, he
became calm, and laid Hill, revolving in his mind
what he had befl do. When on a fudden he heard
the fpirit creep under his bed, which was immediately
lifted up, &c. This convinced him that there was
fome fubdance in the fpirit on which he leaped
;
out of bed, fecured the door, and with his oaken

flaff belaboured the ghoft under bed as hard as he
could, until he heard a female voice imploring mercy.
On that he opened his chamber door, and called
aloud for a light. The family all got up as fall as
poffible, and came to his room. He then informed
them that he had got the fpirit under the bed ; on,
hearing which, moflof them were terribly frightened,
and would haye run off fafler than they came, but
he afTured them, they had nothing to fear then out
:
he dragged the haU-murdered fpirit from its fcene

of adion. But how great was their furprife and
iliame, when they difcovered that this tormenting
devil
LIFE OF J,
LACKTINGTON. 3^
devil was no other than one of their fervant girls,
about lixteen years of age, who had been confined to
her bed feveral months by illnefs.
This ghoil was no fooner kid, than two others
alarmed the neighbourhood ; one of which for a long
time lliook a houfe evei*y night, and terribly dil-
trefTcd the family ; at length they all refolved one
night to go over the whole houfe in a body, and fee
what it was that fo agitated the building. They ex-
amined evv^ry room, but in vain, as no caufe could
be difcovered. So they very feriouily as well as una-
nimouOy concluded, that it muft be tie de^vil.
But abo-ut a fortnight after this, one of the family
being out late in the garden, favv a great boy get in
at the window of an old houfe next door (part of
which was in ruins), and fooit after the houfe began to
fliake as ufuiil, on which the family went out of their
own habitation, and entered the old houfe where
the boy was feen to get in ;
yet for a long time they
ceuld not difcover any perfon, and were juft turning
to come out again, when one of the company obferved
the boy fufpended above their heads, llriding over
the end of a large beam that ran acrofs both houfes.
It was then apparent, that the violent agitation of
the adjoining houfe was occafioned by nothing more
than his leaping up and down on the unfuppprted
end of this beam.
Another apparition had for along time ilolen many"
gtQ\t^ turkeys, &c» and altho' it had been feen by
many, yet nobody would venture to go near it, until
at length one perfon a little wifer than the reft of his
neighbours, ieeing the famous apparition, all over
white, ftcaling his fowls, was determined to be fully
fatisfied what kitid of a fpirit it could be that had fo
great a predilection for poultry. He accordingly went
round the yard, and as the apparition was coming
over the wall, he knocked it down. This terrible
ghoft then proved to be a neighbouring woman,' who
had put on a iliroud, in order to deter any perfons
that fhould by 'chance fee her, from coming near her.
Thus, though ilie had for a long time faccefsfully
C 6 ,
pradHfed
pra<îfed this ingenious way of procuring poultry,
the old fox was caught at laft.
This is fo prolific a fubje6t, that -I could fill many
pages with relations of dreadful fpedtreS; which for a
while reigned with tyrannic fway over weak minds,
and at length when calm Reafon was fuffered to af-
fume its power, have been difcovered to be no more
cbj^6ts of terror than thofe I have her^ noticed. But
doubtlefs many i'uch inftances muft have occurred to
you.
Chief o'er the fex he rules with tyrant fway,
When vapours feiz'd them, or vam fears betray ;
With groans of diftant friends aftrightsthe ear.

Or, fits a phantom in the vacant chair ;
Fancy, like Macbeth, has murder'd fleep. Prall.
Jt has indeed often aftoniflied me, that in this en-

lightened age, there fliould yet remain numbers, not
in the country only, but even in the metropolis, who
fuffer themfclves to be made miferable by vain fears
of preternatural occurrences, which generally owe
their origin to the knavery of fome ill-difpofed perfon,
who has a finifter purpofe to anfwer thereby, or to^'the
foolifh delire of alarming the minds of weak people :
a pra6Vice fomctimes (though intended as fun) pro-
duftive of very feriousconfequcnces. Now, and then,
indeed, thefe terrors are owing to accidental and ri-
diculous caufes. As an inftance, I fhall give you the
account of a terrible alarm which fome years fince
took place in a hofpit^l of this city, as related to me
by a gentleman, who at the time refided in the houfe,
for the purpofe of completing his medical education,
and on whofe veracity I can confidently rely.
For feveral nights fucceflively a noife had been
heard in the lower part of the building, like the con-
tinual tapping againfta window, which led the night
nurfes Rifely ô conclude it muft certainly be oeca*
lioned by the fpirit of one of the bodies depofited in
the dead'-houfe endeavoring to efcape; as the found
feemed to proceed from that particular quarter. The
dread of thefe y^î!zao«j ladies tx laft became fuch, as
totally to prevent their goingfrom ward to ward to
do
;
. LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 41
do their duty, and determined my friend to attempt
to lay this perturbed fpirit ; which however he ap-
prehended would more fpeedily, as well as effedually,
be performed by the alTiflance of a good cudgel, than
by exorcifms ; he therefore, inftead of confulting the
chaplain, gave orders the next night, as foon as the
ufual dreadful found was heard, to give him notice.
This you may fuppofe they did not neglc<5l doing,
though at the fame time they were fliocked at his te-
merity, and apprehenfive for the confequences. Im-
preffed with an ideaof the alarm being occafioned.by
fome fervant or patient in the houfe, he immediately
fallied forth, with a candle in one hand, and a good
tough twig in the other, accompanied by two of the
men fervants of the Hofpital, accoutred in the fame
manner, refolved that, if detected, the party ihould
meet with an ample reward. The dead-houfc was
pafTed ;the noife continued, though it evidently
proceeded from a window at fome diflance in the
area. When the cavalcade came near the fcene of
a^lion, the window fuddenly and violently broke,
without any thing being feen. This, my friend con-
feffed, for a moment occafioned his making a halt
but as nothing vilible had efcaped through the area.
It occurred to him fomething might have made an en-
trance that way accordingly he proceeded to the in-

;
ternal part of the building, and an opening the door,

the apparition immediately not only appeared, but
difappeared, and that fa inftantaneaufly as not to af-
ford time to apply the remedy intended. And what
think you, was this dreadful fpirit ? That you may
exercife your ingeauity at guelfing, I will here con-
clude with J
I am.
Dear Friend,
Yoi)irs.
49 tiFE OF J. LAGKINGTON^, ,
LET T.ER V;
— Were thy education ne'er fo mean,
Having thy limbs, a thoufand fair courfes
,
Offer themfelves to thy eledlion.

Ben Johnsok*'S EveryMan in his Hutnour*
Lflugh, if you are wife# Martial*^
DEAR FltlEND,
jr\ CAT !- An-odd beginning

-
—
of a Letter, by the bye bat here highly important,
and proper, as tending to relieve you from the anxi-
ous thoughts which (no doubt) muft have filled your
mind on the fubjedl of the concluding part of my
former letter. I muft give you a laughable inllancc
or two more, which lately happened. Mr* Higley,,
the bookfeller, famous for felling odd volumes, or
broken fets of books, lived next door to a public-
houfe in RufTel-court, Drury-laae this public-houfe
;
was feparared from his habitation only by a flight

wainfcot partition, through which Mi.. Higley caufed
an hole to be cut, and a Aider put over it fo that ;
when he wanted any beer, he always drew back the

flider, and had it handed to him through this conve*
iiientaperture.
The night after Mr. Higley 's death,. which hap-,
pened a {cw months lince, the man who was left to
take care of the corpfe-, about twelve o'clock hearing
the landlord and his family going up flairs to their
beds, on a fudden drew back the flider and halloo'd
through the hole, '^ Bring me a pint of beer."
This order the landlord and his family heard, and
were terribly alarmed, as they really thought it 'had
proceeded from the ghoft of their neigbour Higley ;
the poor maid let fall the warming-pan, which came
tumbling down the flairs the landlady, being within
;
the reach of her hufband's legs, caught fafl hold of

them, which in his fright he miftookfor poor Higley,
But
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 4j
But the man burfting into a hearty laugh, reftored
the fpirits of oyr holt and his family.
About the year 17 8 1, fix or feven mechanic*
having been drinking near the vv hole of the day at a
public houfe in the Borough they at night were at
;
a lofs how to procure more liquor, their money being

all gone, when two of the company obferving that an
old wire-drawer in the room was dead drunk, they
propofed to put him into a fack, and to carry him to
Longbottom, the refurre îon-man. This motion met
with the approbation of the whole, and the two who
propofed it took him away to Longbottom's houfe, as
a dead fubjed, and requciled a guinea, faying that
they v/ould call for the remainder in the morning.
Their requeft was complied with, and the old wire-
drawer was left in the fack in a room amongil dead
bodies. About midnight the old man awaked, and
made a terrible noife, which much alarmed Mr.
Longbottom and his wife, as they really fuppofed
that one of their dead fubje6ts was come to life again,
durfl not approach the roomi but remained for a long
time under a dreadful apprehenik)n of what might be
theconfequences. The old fellow after a long ftruggle
got out of the fack, and after tumbling about a while
over the dead bodies, and fkclerons, he at laft found
his way dov/n flairs, and off he fet, leaving Mr.
Longbortom and his wife in the utmoft conflernation.
The old wire-drawer himielf related this flory to my
brother Philip Lackington,
Some years iince, a furgeon having procured the
body of a man who had been hanged, had it laid ia
an out-houfe. Rut early the next morning, as he
was going towards his garden, he law the fuppofed
dead man get over the wall into the highway j on
which he took his horfe and gallopped after liim as
fafl as he could ;and. having over-taken him, he
hung him up to the next tree. This aftbrded mat-
ter of much debate among the lawyers the queflion
:
was, whether the furgeon had committed murder or

not.
Having now, I dare fay, had enough of GhoJieJJeSy
I will proceed with my narration.
During
. ,
During the time that I lived with the baker, my
name became fo celebrated for felling a large num-
ber of pies, pvrddings, &:c. that for feveral years
following, application was made
father, for to my
him to permit me to fell Almanacks a few market days
before and after Chriflmas. In this employ I took
great delight, the country people being highly plcafed
with me, in purchafing a great number of my al*
manacks, which excited envy in the itinerant venders
of Moor, Wing, Poor Robin, &c. to fuch a degree,
that my father often exprefled his anxiety left they
fliould fome way or other do me a mifchief. But I
had not the leaft concern, for pofTeffing a light pair>
of heels,- I always kept at a proper diftance.
O, my dear friend, little did I imagine at that
time, that I fliould ever excite the fame poor mean
fpirit in many of the bookfeliers of London and other-
places But,
!
i?»?tiy at lafl crawls fortli, from hell's iJire throng,.

Of all the her black locks hung long,
direfviirft !
Altir'd with curling ferpents 5 her pale (kin

Was almoft dropp'd from her Iharp bones within^^
And at herbreali ftuck vipers, which did prey
Upon her panting heart both night and day,
Sucking black blood from thence which to repair,
;.
Both day and night, they left frelh poifons there 5

Her garments were deep ftîn'd with human gore,
And torn by her own hands, in which fhe bore
A knotted whip and bowl, which to the brim.
Did green gall, and the juice of wormwood fwim ;
With which when (he was drunk, (he furious grew,
- And la(h'd hcrfelf : thus from th' accurfed .crew.
Envy, the worftof fiends,, herfelf prefents,
Envy, good only when (lie herfeif torments. Cow lev.
« The true ccuidit Jon of Envy is,
<< Dolor aliena feJicitatii ; to have
<< Our ey^s conxinually fix'd upon another
« Man's profperity, that is, his chief happinefs,
«* And to the gritevc at that.**
I have lately been rn'uch mortified in obferving

that the brute creation are fubje6t to this bafe pafv
(ion.
In the winter of 1793, I had afpaniel bitch, and
a bitch pointer. The fpaniel liuving whelped, I kt
her
her keep one of her puppies, of which flic was ex-
tremely fond the pointer ibon difcovered plainly
;
by her condudt, that flie envied the happinefs of the

ij)aniel, of which the fpaniel feenied confcious,
and was fo afraid of the pointer, that for the firll
three weeks (lie would not go any farther from her
puppy than ihe could look back and fee that it was
fafe. During this time the pointer watched for an
opportunity to kill this puppy, i^hich flie cffeded
the firll moment that fhe faw its mother lofc fight of
it. This envious brute was rightly rewarded flie ;
was after this deteiled by every body her di&uc-

;
tlon was determined a report was fpread that ihe

;
had been bit by a mad dog, fo that file ended her

days vmder a gallows.
I was fourteen years and a half old, when I went
with my father to work at Taunton, feven miles from
Wellington. We
had been there about a fortnight,
when my father informed our mafter, George Bowden,
that he would return to Wellington again. Mr.
Bowden was then plcafed to inform my father that he
hard taken a liking to me, and propofed taking me
apprentice ; 1 feconded Mr. Bowden's motion (having
a better profpedl in continuing with Mr. Bowden than
in returning to Wellington with my father), as he
offered to take me without any premium, and to find
tne in every thing. My
father accepted his offer, and
I was immediately bound apprentice for feven years
to Mr. George and Mrs. Mary Bowden, as honeft
and worthy a couple as ever carried on a trade.
Religious, punctual, frugal, and fo forth ;
There word would pafs for more than they were worth.
Pope.
They carefully attended to their^fliop fix days in the
week, and on the fevcnth went'with their family twice
to an Anabaptifl meeting wherejittle attejntion was
:
paid to fpeculative do6trine^ ; but where found mora-

lity was conftantly inculcated.
" For modes of faith let gracelefs zealots fight,
" Hii can't be wroag whofe life is in the right."
But
.
But in this, as in many
other places of worfliip, it"
was performed manner ; fo that
in a dull fpiritlefs
the excellent morality taught there was not fo much
attended to as it would have been had it been en-^
forced, or re -in forced by the captivating powers of
oratory.
I well remember, that although I conftantly at*
tended this place, it was a year or two before 1 took
the leafl notice of the fermon, which was read ; nor
had I any idea that I had the leafl concern in what
the minifter was (as 'tis called) preaching about*
For,
*' Who, a cold^ dull, lifelefs drawling êeps,
" One half his audience lauglis, whili\ t'other deeps*
* * * * ^ *
" Sermons, like plays, fome pleafeusat theear^
** But never will a feri©us reading bear ;
" Some inthe clofet edify enough,..
" That from the pulpit feern\l but forry .(luff»
** who by ill reading fpoil-
*Tis thus there are
" Young's pointed {en(e, or Atterbury's ftylc 1
" While others, by the force of eloquence,

" Make them feem fine, which fcarce is common fciifc.
" But fome will preach without the leafl pretence
*< To virtue, learning, art, or elo^ûence.
<«<Why not ? -you cry : ihey plainly fee, no doubt>—--
*^ A priefl may grow rizht reverend without."
Art of Preachingr
I am>
Dear Friend,
Yours*.
—
LETTER VI.
Youth is the flock whence grafted fuperflition

Shoots with unbounded vigour. Mill ek's Mahomet.
All muft lament that he's under fuch banners,

As evil community fpoils our good manners. Simkin#
DEAR Friend,
prentice, my
A T
the time I was bound ap-
mafter had two fons, the eldell about
feventeen years old, the youngefl fourteen. The
eldeft had juft been baptized, and introduced as a
member of the arianiftical dipping community where
my mafter and his family attended. The boy was a
very fober induilrious youth, and gave his father and
mother much plcafure. The youngefl; was alfo a
good lad.
" Thus the fii ft fcene ended well,
<< But at the next, hal what befell." —
Thus every thing continued well for fome time after
I had been added to the family. Both of the boys
had tery good natural parts, and had learned to read>
write, keep accounts^ &c. But they had been at
fchools where no variety of books had -been intro-
duced, fo that all they had read was the Bible. My
mafter's whole library confifted of a fchool-fized Bible,
Watts*s Pfalms and Hymns, Foot's Traclon Baptifm„
Culpepper's Herbal, the Hiftory of the Gentle Craft,
an old imperfect volume of Receipts in Phyiic,
Surgery, &c, and the Ready Reckoner. The ideas
of the family were as circumfcribed as their library.
My mafter called attention to buiinefs and working
hard, '* minding the main chanced* On Sundays all
went to meeting ; my mafter on that day faid a ftiort
grace before dinner, and the boys read a few chapters
in the Bible, took a walk for an hour or trwo, then
read a chapter or two more.
" What right, what true, what fit we juftly call,
« And this was all our care— for this is all.*' '
.
They
They then fupped, und went early to bed, perfectly
with having done their duty ; and each
fatisficd
having a quiet confcience, foon fell into the arms c£
Nature's foft nurfe fvveet fleep.
!"
And thus whatever be our ftatbn.

Our of us declare
Iiearts in fpite
We feel peculiar confolation,
And talle of happinefs a fhare. Horace Imitated,
I cannot here omit mentionin"^ a verv iinoular cuf-

torn of my mailer's Every morning, at all feafons
:
of the year, and in all weathers, he rofe about three

o'clock, took a walk by the river-fide round French-
ware-fields, ftopt at an alehoufe that was early open
to drink half a pint of ale, came back before fix
o'clock, then called up his people to woVk, and went
to bed again about feven.
Thus, was the good man*s family jogging eafily and
quietly on, no one doubting but he fliould go to
heaven when he died, and every one hoping it would
be a good while firft.
" A man (hould be religious, not fuperHitious/*
But, alas ! crifis was at hand that put

the dreadful
an end and peace of this little family.
to the happinefs
I had been an apprentice about twelve or fifteen
months, when my mailer's eldeft fon George hap-
pened to go and hear a fermon by one of Mr. Wef-
ley's preachers, who had left the plough- tail to preach
theûre 2indi unadulterated Gofpel of Chrift.
His occupation's new—
The gofpel fires lus foul,
Hell flames roars out like thunder^
IFhicb make the old wives wonder ;
Hard words, grimace, and noife,
Now fcare the girls, and boys.
His rage without controul. Rev. W. He t t.
By fermon the fallow-ground of poor George's
this
heart was ploughed up, he was now perfuaded that the
innocent and good life he had led would only fink him
deeper into hell in fliort, he found out that he had
:
never been converted, and of courfe was in a ftate of

damnation^
da'naation, without benefit of Clergy. But he did
not long continue in this damnable ftate, but foon
became one of
The ran(5lifiecl banc?,
Who all holy myfteries well undeiflaiid. Simkin,
He perfuaded'himfelf that he had paiTed through the

New Bhth^ and was quite fure that his name was re-
giftered in the Book of Life, and (to the great grief
of his parents) he was in reality become a new^j crta*
ture,
*Twas methodiftic grace that made him tofs and tumble,

Which in his entrails did like jalap rumble.
Ovid's Epift. Burlefqued.
George had no fooner made things fure for himfelf,

than he began to extend his concern to his father,
mother, brother, and me ; and very kindly gave us
to underftand, that he was fure we were in a very
deplorable llate, •*' without hope, and without God
in the world," being under the curfe of the Law.
For all enthufiafts, when the fit is flrong,

Indulgâ volubiliLy of tongue. Fenton.
In the long winter nights, as we fat at work to-

gether, he proved (in his way) that every man had
orignal fin enough to damn a thoufand fouls ; and a
deal was faid on that fubjed. A paiTage was quoted
from the wife determination of the do6tors of the
Sorbonne, where they fay that children inclofed in
their mother's womb, are liable to damnation, if'they
die there unbaptized. Quotations were al'b made
from fome deep author who had afTerted, that there
were *' infants in hell but a fpan long ;" and that
" hell was paved with infant fcuUs,'* &c.
« Thus feigning to adore, make thee,
** A tyrant God of cruelty ;
** As if thy right-hand did contain
^< Only an univerfe of pain ;
" Hell and damnation in thy left,
" Of ev'ry gracious gift bereft :
<* Hcnct
; ;
*' Hence reigning floods of grief anc^ woes,
** On thofe that never were thy foes>
*< Ordaining torments."
As to morality, George alTured us it ivas of no avail;

that as for good works, they were only fplendid fins
and that in the befl: good work that any creature
could perform, there was lin enough to (ink the doer
to the nethermofl: hell ; that it was faith alone that
did every thing, without a grain of morality ; but
that no man could have one particle of this myilerious
faith, before he was jultiiied ; and juftification was a
fudden operation on the foul, by which the moft
execrable wretch that ever lived might inilantane-
oufly be afTured of all his fins being pardoned ; that
his body from that very moment became the living
temple of the Holy Ghoft ; that he had fellowfliip
with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and, that :
Spirit was to be their conilantand infallible guide ;
" Whatever men fpeakby this new light,

** Still they were fure to be I'tbe right,
'* This dark lanthprn of the Spirit,

<* Which none fee by but thofe that bear it
"*^
A light that falls dov/n from on high,
<* For fpiritual trades to cozen by
j
" An ignis fatuusf that bewitches,

'* And leads men
into pools and ditches.
** This light infpiresand plays upon
" The nofeof Saint, like bagpipe drone,

" And fpeaks through hollow empty foal
<* As through a trunk, or whifpering hole.
** Such language as no mortal e<ir
** But fpiritu'l
eaves-droppers can hear,**
My mailer very feldom heard any of thefe cui?k)U5

converfations ; but my good miilrcfs would lit down
for hours together, with her Bible in her lap, from
which file would read fuch fcriptures as proved the
neccifity of living a good life, performing good works,
&:c. file alfo did her beft to confute the tenets of
Original Sin, Imputed Righteoufnefs, Dodrine of the
Trinity, Sec. &c. Unfortunately the good woman
had no great talents for controverfy however, ;
George had a very tenacious memory, and employed

all
LIFE OF J.
LACKINGTON. 51
all his thougjits on thefe fubje£ls {o that John his ;
younger brother, and I alio (two competent judges no

doubt) thought thathe had the beilof the arguments
on thefe ediFying fubjeds. Nothing, fays Montaigne,
is fo firmly believed as that which we leail know, for
which reafon Plato faid, " that it was more eafy to

fatisfy his hearers with difcourfes about the nature
of the Gods than of men.*' About five months after
George's converfion, John went to hear thofe only
vtrue Ambailadors from Heaven,
Who ftroU and teach from town to town

The good old Canfs which fome beUeve
:
To be the devil thut tempted Eve

With knowledge, and do Itill invite
The world to mifchief with new light. Butler,
Thefe devil-dodgers happened to be {o very pozoer*
ful (that very
is notj)^) that they foon fent John home,
crying out, he (liould be damn'd he Ihould be !
damn'd for ever !
Bat John foon got out of the damnable flate, and

alTured us that all his fins were forgiven, merely by
believing, that he had paiTed from death into life, and
had union and communion with God. He now be-
came as merry as before he had been forrowful, and
fung in Mr. Welley^'s flrain,
" Not a doubt fliall arife

<* To darken the Ikies,
'< Nor hide for a moment my God from my Eyes.*'
John fung to me, and faid to me a great deal in this
wonderful Itrain, of which I did not comprehend one
fyllable,
" ——
His words were loofe
" As heaps of fand, and fcatter'd wide from fenfe.
" So high he mounted in his airy throne,
** That when the wind had got into his head,
" It turn'd his brains to frenzy."

But thefe extraordinary accounts and difcourfes, to-
gether with the controverfies between the mother and
the fons, made me think they knew many matters of
which I was totally ignorant. This created in me a
dcfire for knowledge, that I might know who was
right
5» LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
right and who was wrong. But to my great mortifi-
cation, I could not read. I knew moil of the letters,
and a few eafy words, and I fet about learning with
all mymight. My miftrefs would fometlmes inflru6l
me and having three-halfpence per week allowed mo.
;
by my mother, this money I gave to John (my maf-

t&r's youngeft fon) ând for every three-halfpence he
taught me to fpell one hour this was done in the
;
dark, as we were not allowed a candle after we were

fent up flairs to bed,
<« No youth did I in education wafle 5
<< Happily I'd an intuitive Tafte:
<* Writing ne"*er cramp'd the finews of my thumb,
" No barbVous birch did ever brufh my b

" Nf y guts ne'er fuffer'd from a college cook,
« My name ne'er enter'd in a buttery book.
<* Grammar in vain the fons of Pdfcian teach
;
•* Good parts are better than eight parts of fpeech,
<* Since thefe declin'd, tfiofeundeclin'd they call ?
* 1 thank my ftars, that I declined them all. I
« To Greek or Latin tongues without pretence,
« I truft to Mother Wit and Father Senfe.
*• Nature's my guide ;all pedantry I fcorn :
<* Pains I abhor, I was an author born."
I foon made a little progrefs in reading in the ;
mean time I alfo went to the Methodiil: meeting.

There I caught the infedion. The firll that I heard
was one Thomas Bryant, known in Taunton by the
name of the damnation preacher (he had jufl left ofFcob-
h\mg foks of another kind.) His fermon frightened me
mofl terribly. I foon after went to hear an old
Scotchman, and he aflurcd his congregation, that
they would be damned, and double damn'd, and treble
damn'd, and damn'd for ever, if they died without
what he called/^//i^. •
" ConjVers like, on fire and brimftone dwell,

<< And draw each moving argument from hell."
SoAME Jenyn«..
This marvellous doftrine and noify rant and. en^
thufiafm foon worked onmypaffions, and made me
believe myfelf to be really in the damnable condition
that they reprefented j and in this miferable ftate. I
-'
con-
e
continued for about a month, being all that time un-
able to work myfelt up to the proper key.
At lafl, by linging and repeating enthufiaftlc
amorous hymns^ and ignorantly applying particular
tcxts of fcripture, I got my imagination to the pro-
per pitch, ^nd thus was I born again in an inflant,
and became a very great favourite of Heaven :
~
And with my new invented patent eyes,
Saw Heav'n and all the angels in the fkies.
Peter Pindar.
I had angels to attend all my fteps, and was as fami-
liarwith the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, as any
old woman in Mr. Wefley's conne6tion which, by ;
the bye, is faying a great deal. Thus,

Remote from liberty and truth,
By fortune's crime, my early youth
Drank error's poifon'd fprin|,s.
Taught by dark creeds and myflic law,
Wrapt up in JuperJI'itms aw ^ Earl Nu gent.
Dear Sir,
Yours,
J4 OFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
LETT E R VII.
No fleep, no peace, no reft

Their vvand'ring and aftlidled minds polTefs'd:; •
Upon their fouls and eyes

HeU and eternal liorror Hes,
.
Unufual ftiapes and images.

Dark, pidtiires, and refemblances
Of things to come, and of the worlds below.
O'er their diftemper'd fancies go :
Sometimes they curfe, fomeiimes they pray unto

Thxe gods above, the gods beneath
.
;
No Heap, but waking now was fifter unto death.

Bp. Sprat.
I5EAR FRIEND,
IT
IS perhaps worth remarking,
that what the methodifls call convidlon of fin, being-

awakened, &c. is often a moil dreadful ftate, and
has the very fame efFe6l on fuch as have lived a very-
innocent life as it has upon the moft notorious of-
fenders ; this convi6lion (as they call it) is brought
about by the preachers heaping all the curfes in the
Bible on the heads of the moil virtuous as well as
moll vicious ; " For, fay they, he who keepeth the
whole law and ofFendeth but in one point, is as much
in a ftate of damnation, as he that hath broken every
one of the commandments, or committed robbery,
murder," See. fo that they pour out every awful de-
nunciation found in the Bible, and many not found
there, againft all who have not the methodillical
faith :this they call fliaking the people over the
mouth of hell, and they in reality believe.
That cruel God, who formed us in his wrath.
To plague^ opprefs, and torture us to death j
Who takes delight to fee us in defpair,
And is more happy, the more curs'd we are.
In vain all nature fmiles, but man alone,
He's form'd more perfect, and was made to groan.
Young's Soldier's Trifles,
Thus are many who before poflefled " confciences

void of offence towards God and mankind," tricked
out
out of their peace of mind, by the ignorant applica-
tion of texts of fcripture. Their fears bein^ once fo
dreadfully alarmed, they often become infupportable
to themfclves and all aronnd them many in this ilate
;
have put a period to their exillence, others run mad,

&c.
Permit me. Sir, to addrefs you, in the words of
Alonza, in Columbus '* Does thy exalted mind, which
:
owns the noblell energies of reafon, does it approve

that flru6lure reared by miftaken zeal, to glorify the
Deity, by the dire facrificeofallhis dearefl blelFings ?**
Oh would mankind but make great truths their guide.
!
And force thehtlm from prejudice and pride ;
Were once thefe maxims fix'd, that God's our friend,

Virtue our good, and happinefs our end ;
How foon mufl reafon o'er the world prevail,

And error, fraud, and fnperflition fail 1
None would hereafter, then, with groundlefs fear,

Defcribe th' Almighty cruel and fevere.
SoAME Jenyn's Epiflleto Hon. P. York.
If the above terror of confcience was only to take
place in knaves and rafcals, there would be no reafon
for blaming the methodiils on that head ; *' the^wretch
deferves the hell he feels." A
terrible inftance^f
this kind happened near London-bridge about two
years fmce : a perfon in a lucrative branch of bufine&
had put unbounded confidence in his head (liopman,
and well rewarded him for his fuppgfed fidelity.
One morning, this young man not coming down.
flairs fo foon as ufual, the fervant-maid went up to call
him, and found him hanging up to the beil-poft flic ;
had the prefence of mind to cut him down, but he

being nearly dead, it was fome days before he per-
fectly recovered.
On his mafler coming to town, he was informed
of what had happened to his favourite fliopman ; h«
heard the relation with the utmoft ailonifhment, and
took great pains to difcover the caufe of fo fatal a re»
folution, but to no purpofe. However, he endea-
voured to reconcile this unhappy man to life, was very-
tender towards him, and gave him more encourage-
metijL than ever j but the more the majfter did to en-
2 D courage
courage and make him hyppy, the more the po©r
wretch appeared to be dejected in this unhappy Hate
;
of mind he lived about lix months when, one morn- ;
ing, not appearing at his ufual time, the fervant-

maid went to fee if he was well, and found him very
weak in bed, A day or two after,- his mailer came to
town, and being told of his fituaiion, went up to fee
him, and Jinding him in bed, and apparently very
ill, propofed fending for a phyfician, but the poor
devil refufed to take any thing, and rejected every

affiflance, faying, his time was nearly come. Soon
after this' the fervant informed her mafler that he
would not have the bed made, and that ihe had juft
obferved fome bleed on one corner of the flieet.
The madcr then went up Hairs again, and by lifting
up the bed-clothes found that he had llabbed himfelf
in feveral places, and that in this ilate he had lain
three or four days.
When innocence and peace are gone,

How fad, how terrible to Uve ! Sbcundus.
On the furgeon's appearance, he refufed to have the

wounds infpe(fl:ed, and the furgeon being of opinion
that it was too late to render him any kind of fervice,
they let him lie ftill. The mailer foon after this
prelfed him much to know the myfterious caufe of fo
much mifery, and fo unnatural an end. The dying
wretch exclaimed, *' a woundexi confclence, who can
bear !" 1 he mafler then' endeavoured to comfort
him, and alTured him that his confcience ought not
to wound him. " I know you (continued he) to be a
good man, and the beft of fervants.'* " Hold hold !" !
exclaimed the wretch, *' your words are daggers to my

foul ! I am a villain, I have robbed you of hundreds,
and have long fuffered the tortures of the damned for
•being thus a concealed villain ; every a6l of kindnefs
fliewn to me by you has been long like vultures tear-
ing my vitals. Go, Sir, leave me the fight of you ;
caufes me to fuffer excruciating tortures." He then

flirunk under the bed-clothes, and the fame night
•xpircd in a Hate of mind unhappy beyond all de-
fcription.
Hx)pe
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. S7
Hope gone ! the guilty never refl t
Difmay is always ii«ar ;
There is a midnight in the breatl:.

No morn caa ever cheer. Night Scenes.
The following lines of Churchill deferve alfo a

place here :
Peaceful flumb?rs hlefs the homely bedy

Where virtue, feir-approv'd, reclines her head ;^
Whilft vice berêath magi n'd horrors mourns,
i
And conicvence pLmts the villain's couch with thorns.

Terrible as the above relation is, I afTiire you that
I have not heightened it when an ungTateful villain!
:
IS puniilied by his own refiedions, we acknowledge it
to be but jivil. In Morton's hiftory of Apparitions

are feveral fliocking ftories of perfons who, by their
abandoned pv*adices, have brought on themfelves ail
the horrors of a guilty confcicnce*
O tiêacherous confciencewhile (he feems to flêp-
!
On rofe and myrtle, lullM with fyren fong i

While (he feems nodding o'er her charge, to drop
On headlong appetite the llacken'd rein.
And gives up to hcence unrecall'd,
Unmarked fee from behind her fecret
; ftand.
The fly informer minutes every fault.
And her dread diary with horror fills.
A watchful foe the formidable fpy,
!
Lift'ning o'er-henrs the whifpersof our camp t

Our dawning piwpofes of heart explores, —
Andfteals our embryos of iniquity.
As all rapacious ufurers conceal
Tlieirdoom fday- book from all confuming heirs t
Thus with indulgence moftfevere (he treats,.
Writes down our whole hiflory, which death fhall ready
In ev'ry pale delinqueiit*^s private ear* Night Thoughts*.
But the cafe is otherwife amongft the methodifts: they

work on t#e fears of the moil virtuous ;
youth and
innocence fall vi<5lims daily before their threats of hell
and damnation, and the poor feeble-minded; inftead
of being comforted and encouraged, arc often by
them funk, into an irrecoverable Aate of gloomy de-
fpondence aad horrible defpair :
Creep into houfes, blall domeftic life,
Sov/ falfe religion and eternal ftrife.
D 3,
U
If they hear of any who are on a fick-bed, th^y en-
deavour, if pollible, to gain admittance, and often dif-
turb many very innocent people in their lafl: moments.
And I believe that I may fafely add, they fometiraes
haiten thofe moments. For only think of three or
four of thefe Spiritual Quixotes, or Dons of the Woe-
ful Countenances, llalking into a rooip and furrouncj-
ing a bed in which a perfon lies very ill. To fee
their difmal faces, and to hear their terrifying dif-
courfes, their gloomy and fuperllitious prayers, mull
greatly alarm even perfbns whofe lives were not be-
fore in any great danger ; and I have no doubt but
fomc are by thefe means frightened out of their ex-^
illence.
It is true that many of their hearers are not only
methodiftically convinced, or alarmed, but are alfa
hocus pocujly con'verted I
for as fome of their preachers
employ all their art and rhetoric, to alarm and terrify,
fo others of them ufe their utmofl: ikill, to give them
affurafice of their fins beingpardoned ; which remind
us of a law-fuit, where one party fued for a forged
debt, and the other produced a forged receipt. But
with thoufands that is not the cafe, even with thofe
who join their fociety, where fo much divine love,
aflurance, and extafies are talked of, where enthu-
fiallic, rapturous, intoxicating hymns are fung and :
belides the unhappy mortals in their own community,

thoufands there are who have loil their peace of mind
by occafionally hearing their fermons.
^< The gulphof hell wide opening to his eyes, .
" Gone gone for ever to himfelf he cries,

! !
** RackM with defpair 5 waftes filently within,

" His friend, h'lmjdj^ unconfcious of what fin.'*
And even thofe among them who have arrived ta

the higheil pitch of enthufiafm, and who at times
talk of their foretafle of heaven, and of their full af«
furance of fins forgiven, and of talking to the Deity,
as familiarly as they will to one another ; (ail which,
and much more, I have heard a thoufand times) yet
even thofe very pretended favourites of heaven are
(if we believe themfelves) mifcrable for the greatefl
part
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON^. s^
part of their time, having doubts, fears, horrors of
mind, &c. continually haunting them whenever they
uie.
See fuperftition trembling at the noife
Of rufhing torrents, or the thunder's voice ;
The moon's edipfe, the fiafliing meteor''i> glare,

And each viciflTitude of earth and air ;
Involv'd in Guilt's or Ignorance's fhade,

Each vain or cruel pradtice call in aid,
Maintain with reafon a perpetual fighr,
And virtue barter for the empty right.
€bferve the entrails, mark the fiymg bird,
Hang on the crafty augur's doubtful word,
KoUow the pavement with the midnight prayV,
Or to the cutting fcourge the Ihoulders bare.
Efiay on Senfibility.
Cicero has fald the fame in profe " The fuper- !
ilitious man, (fays he) is miferable in every fcene,

in every incident in life, even fleep itfelf, which
baniflies all other cares of unhappy mortals, affords
to him matter of new terror, while he examines
his dreams, and finds in thofe viiions of the night,
prognoflication of future calamities." Between
tiventy and thirty years, fin ce, fome thoufands o£
them in London took it into their heads that the
world would be at an end on fuch a night, and for fome
days previous to this fatal nig^ht, nothing was attended
to but fafling and praying, and when it came, they
made a watch-night of it, and fpent it in prayer, &:c.
expecfljng every moment to be the laft and it is re- :
markable, that thoufands who were not methodifls

gave credit to this ridiculous prophecy, and were
terribly alarmed but the next morning they were
;
afliamed to look at one another, and many durft not

appear in their fliops for fome time afterwards. But
others of them faid that God had heard the prayers
of the righteous, and fo fpared the world a little
longer.
What numbers floth with gloomy horror fills !
Racking ti^êir brains with vifionary ills.

Hence what loud outcries, and well-meaning rage,
What endlefs quarrels at the prefent age !
How many blame how often may we hear, r

1
«^' Such vice !

—
well, fure, the hit day mufl be near!
n^ T'avoi'i
;
6o LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
T'avoid fuch wild, imaginary pains,
The fad creation of diflemper'd brains,.
Difpatch, dear friend move, labour, fweat, run, fly f
!
—
Do ought but think the day of judgment nigh.
E. Rolls.
Some years after that, Mr. Wefley alarmed his^

people all over England, with the tail of a comet
great numbers were dreadfully apprehenfive left this
comet ftiould fcorch the earth to a cinder ; but the
faints by prayer made the comet keep a proper dif-
tance.
Charnock, of the lafl: century, iii/his Difcourfe on
Providence, has proved (in his way) that the univerfe
was created and is kept a-going for the fake of the
ele6t, and that as foon as their number is complete,
the whole will be deilroyed. This is genuine Cal-
vinifm.
But thefe our more enllghten'd days^
Confefs the native force of truths v
Feel the full luflre'of her rays.

And bow to her eternal worth. Beloe.
The have found their account

fanatics in every age
in making their followers believe the end of the
world was at band. In feme of the wills and deeds,
by which ellatcshave been given to monafterie?, 8^c.
\i\ France, they have expreflcd their belief oF the
world's being nearly at an end, as a reafon for mak-
ing fuch liberal donations to the church. But it is
hi'ppy tor us that in England luch wills would be {tX.
afide. A occurred while Lord
cafe of this nature
Norrhingron was at the head of the law department.
Reilly the preacher, had wheedled, or frightened, an
old woman (Mrs. Norton) out of a deed of gift of
fifty pounds a year, but after the old woman's panic
and fear of damnation was over, flie had recourfe to
Chancery, and his LordOiip annulled^ the deed of
gift. His LordOiip's remarks on fuch kinds of impo-
lition are very curious, and worth your reading. See
i. p. 458,
Colle<flinea Juridica, vol.
In faa, the very belt of the methodifts are like
children, elr.ted or depreded by mere trifles ; and
many who iuined them while young and ignorant,
c\uit
LIFE OF J. LACKTINGTOK. 6i
cjAîit their foci cty its they attain to years of difcretion*
©r as their judgment is better informed.-
Reafon,. arife and vindicate thy claim, >
Flafh on our minds the joy-infiifing flame ;

Pour forth tlie fount of light, whofe endlefs ftore \
Thought drinks infatiate, while it thirils for more.
Earl NuGENr#-
Love or anger, ambition or avarice (fays a grear

man) have their root in the temper and aflfedions,
which the founded reafon is fcarce able fully to cor"
red; but fuperftition, being founded on falfe opi-
nion, muii immediately vanifli, when trive philofophy
has infpiredjufter fentimentsof fuperior povversv
Thus the fair order, mark'd on all around,
In the clear mirror of his foul isfound,
Which ftiows each objecfl in its native dyes.
Not thofe diilorting prejudice applies.
Effay on Senfibilit/i,
I am.
Dear Friend,
Yours*
D 5
L E T T E R VIII.
Religion^s luftre is, by native innocence,

Divinely fair, pure, and fimpie from ail arts ;
You daub and drefs her like a common miflrefs,
The harlot of your fancies and, by adding
;
Falfe beauties, which ftie wants not, make the world

Sufpedl her angel face is foul within. Rowers Tamerlane.
Be careful to deflroy the book of James,

Subflantial virtues that vile papifl claims ;
Forgetting Paul, he fpurns at faith alone,

And bids our faintfhip by our lives be known :
All Csto's virtue was not worth a pin,

And Phocion's exit but a fhining
•& fun.
DEAR FRIEND,
nr
I HE which I
entHufiaftic notions
had imbibed, and the had to be talking about
defire I
religious mylleries, &-c. anfwered one valuable pur-
pofe ; as it caufed me to embrace every opportunity
to learn to read, fo that I could foon read the eaiy
parts of the Bible, Mr. Wefley's Hymnis, &c. and
every leifure minute was fo employed.
In the winter I was obliged to attend my work
from fix in the morning until ten at night. In the
fummer half-year, I only worked as long as we could
fee without candle but notwithflanding the clofe at-
;
tention I was obliged to pay to my trade, yet for a

long time I reaJ ten chapters in the Bible every day :
I alfo read and learned many hymns, and as foon as

I could procure fome of Mr. Wefley's Tracfls, Ser-
mons, Sec. I read them alio many of them I perufed
;
in Cloacina^s Temple (the place where my Lord

Cheilerlield advifed his fon to read the claffics) but I
did not apply them after reading to the farther ufo
that his Lordfhip hints at.
I had fuch good eyes, that I often read by the
light of the moon, as my mailer would not permit
me to take a candle into my room, and that prohi-
bition I looked upon as a kind of perfecution, but I
always comforted myfelf with the thoughts of my
being
tlFE OV J. LAtKlNGTON. 63
being a dear child of God ; and as fuch, that it was
iitipollible tor me to efcape pcrfecutiou from the chil-
dren of the devil, which epithets I very pioujly ap-
plied to my good mafter and miilref?. And fo igno-
rantly and imprudently zealous (being a real metbo-
dill) was I for the good of their precious foijils, as
fometimes to give them broad hints of it^ and of the
dangerous Hate they were in.
To wanton whim and prejudice v.'e owe,

Opinion the only God we know.
is
Where's the foundation of rehgic n plac'd ;
On every individual's fickle tafte.

The nanx)w way fanatic mortals tread,
By faperilitious prejudice mifled.
—
This palTage leads to heaven yet, (Irange to tell
Anotliers confcience finds it leads to hell. Chat terto:s'.
I
Their pious good old miniller, the Reverend Mr.

Haurifon, 1 called '* a blind leaikr of the hlind',^'' and
I more than once afllired my mi lire fs, that both he
and his whole flock were in a ilate of damnation being ;
without the afTurance of their lins being pardoned,

they muft be " Grangers to the hope of Ifrael, and
without God in the world." My
good miilrefs wiiely
thought that a good ftick was the^beft way ofargviing
with fuch an ignorant infatuated boy c;s I was, and
had often recourfe to it ; but I took care to give hei-
a-deal of trouble for whenever I was ordered in niy
;
turn to read in the Bibb, I always fele6ted fuch chap-

ters as I thought militated againil Arians, Socinians,
&c. and fuch verfes as I deemed favourable to the
dodrine of Original Sin, JuHilication by Faith, Im-
puted Righteoufnefs, the Do6lrineof the Trinity, &c.
On fuch parts I always placed a particular empha-
lis, which puzzled and teazed the old lady a good
deal.
Among other places I thought (having fo been
taught by the methodifls) that the fixteenth chapter
of Ezekiel very much favoured' the dc3clrines of ori*
ginal fin, imputed righteoufnefs, &c. that chapter I
often fele61ed and read to her, and (lie has often read
the eighteenth chapter of the fame prophecy, foi- the
fake of the parable of the Father's z^xm^Joiir grapes.
D 6 Whcn^
Whenever I read in St. Paul's Epiftlcs on jufllli-
cation by faith alone, my good miftrcfs would read in
the Epiille of St, James, fuch paffages as fay that a
man is not juilified by faith alone, but by faith and
works, which often embarralTed me not a little.
However, I comforted myfelf with the conceit of
having more texts of Scripture on my fide of the
queftion than flie had on her fide. As to St. James,
I was almoft ready to conclude, that he was not quite
orthodox, and fo at laft I did not much mind what
he faid.
*' - Falfe opinions rooted in the mind,

*^ Hood-wink the foul, and keep our reafon blind.
** In controverted points can reafon fway,
*' When paflion or conceit hurries us away ?" .
Hitherto I had not frequented the methodiit meet-

ings by the confent or knowledge of my mailer and
miilreis ; nor had my zeal been fo great as to make
me openly violate their commands. But as my zeal -
increafed much fafter than my knowledge, I foon dif-

regarded their orders, and without hefitation ran away
to hear a metôdifticril fermon as often as I could find
opportunity. One Sunday morning, at eight o'clock,
my miftrefs feeing her fons fet off, and knowing that
they were gone to a methodift meeting, determined
to prevent me from doing the fame by locking the
door, which flie accordingly did ; on which in a fu-
perilitious mood, I opened the Bible for dire6i:ioii
what to do (ignorant methodiils often pradife the fame
fuperftitious method) and the iirik words I read were
thefe, " He has given his angels charge concerning
thee, left at any time thou fliouldeft dafli thy foot
againft a ftone." This was enough for me ; fo, with-
out a moment's helitation, I ran up two pair of ftalrs
to my own room, and out of the window I leaped, to
the great terror of my poor miftrefs. I got up imme-
diately, and ran about two or three hundred yards,
towards the mecting-houfe ; but alas 1 I could run no
farther ; my feet and ancles were moft intolerably
bruifed, fo that I was obliged to be carried back and
put to bed and it was more than a month before I
;
recovered
:
recovered the ufe of my limbs. I was ignorant
enough to think that the Lord had not uled me very
well, and relblved not to putfo much truft in him for
the future, Vvhich reminds me of the following (lories
Dr. Moore, in his '! ravels through France. Switzer*
land and Germany, informs us that a certain French*
man, purchafed a fmall filver figure of our Saviour on
the Crofs, and having bought fome tickets in the
lottery, he prayed to his crucifix that they may come
up prizes and having alfo a great fliare in the cargo
;
of a fliip, he wôuld not infure it, but committed it to

the care of his filver god And his cargo being
:
loft at fea ; and his tickets come up blanks, he fold

his crucifix in great anger. And Suetonius informs
us, that the fleet of Auguftus having been difperfed
by a ftorm, and many of the fhips loft, the Emperor
gave orders that theftatue of Neptune fliould not be
carried in procellion with thofe of the other gods.
My above rafli adventure made a great noife in the
town, and was talked of many miles round. Some
few admired my amazing ftrength of faith, but the
major part pitied me, as a poor,, ignorant,, deludedand
infatuated boy.
The neighbours ftared, and figh'd, yet blefs'd the lad ;
Somedeem'd him wond'rous wife, and fojne believ'd him mad.

Di\Beatti£.
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours*.
;
66 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON..
L E T T E R IX.
One makes the rugged paths fo fn;ooth and even,. •
None but an ill-bred man can mifs of heaven.

Another quits his {lockings, breeches, lliirt,
Becaufe he fancies virtue dwells in dirt :
While all concur to take away the flrefs,

From weightier points, and lay it on the lefs,
St I L L I N c F L E E T on Conveifatioii.
'Gad ! a thriving traffic in my eye.

Pve
Near the mad manfions
of Moorfield's I'll bawl
Friends, fathers, mothers, fillers, fons and all,
Shut up your (hops, and liften to my call. FootE;
DEAR FRIEND,
I my appren-
NT the fourth year of
ticefhip, my
mafler died ; now, although he was a
good hufband, a good father, and a good mailer, &c.
yet as he. had not the methodiftical faith, and could
not pronounce the Shibboleth of that feft, I pioujly
feared that he was gone to hell.
My miftrefs thought that his death was haftened by
his uneafy refledlions on the bad behaviour of his fons,
after they commenced methodifls, as before they were
converted each was dutiful and attended to his trado,
but after they becamey2?/;2/j they attended fo much to
their fpiritual concerns, that they aded as though they
fuppofed they were to be fed and clothed by mira-
cles, like Mr. Huntingdon, who informs us, in his
book called '' The Bank of Faith,*' that the Lgrd
fent him a pair of breeches,^ that a dog brought him
mutton to eat, fifli died at night in a pond on pur-
pofe to be eaten by him in the morning ; money, and
in fhort every thing he could deiirc, he obtained by
prayer. Mr. Wefley ufed to cure a violent pain in
his head the fame way, as he relates in his Journal^,.
Thus, as Foote fays.
" With labour, toil, all fecond means difpenfe,
<' And live a rent- charge upon providence."
To
LIFE OF J. LACKIN-GTON^. 67
Td give you a better idea of methodidical Igno-
rance and negle6tofordinary means of living, &c. I will
relate one inilance more. Mary Hubbard (an old wo-
man of Mr. Welley's fociety) would often vvafh her
linen, hang it out to dry, and go away to work in
the fields, or to Taunton market, four miles from her
houfej and when blamed, flie would anfwer ^' that
the Lord watched over her, and all that fhe had, and
that he would prevent any perfon from flealing her
two old fmocks, or if he permitted them to be ftolen,
he would fend her two new in their Head." And I
ferioufly alTure you. Sir, that there are many thou-
fand Mary Hubbards amongfl: the methodifts.
As I had been bound to my miftrefs as well as my
mafter, I was of courfe an apprentice ilill. But after
my mafter's death I obtained more liberty of con-
fcience (as I called it,) fo that I not only went to
hear the rnethodift fermons, but was alfo admitted
into their fociety and I believe they never had a
,*
more devout enthufiaflical member for feveral years

;
I regularly attended every fermon and all their pri-

vate meetings.
" I, likean hackney- coachman, knew
*< Short way
to hf3av'n by a clew,
'< Cou'd cut acrofs, and fave the road,
<' That guided to the blefs'd abode."
As you are probably unacquainted with the nature

of thefe private meetings^ a fliort account of them may
perhaps afford you fome amufement.
Mr. Wefley inftituted amongft his people, befides
the public preachings, feveral kinds of private meet-
ings j and as the prayer -meeting is the leaft private of
any of thein, I will firft take notice of that.
To the prayer-meetings, which were in general
held in private houfes, they often invited people who
were not of their fociety. An hymn was firll fung,
then they all knelt, and the firll perfon who felt a
motion, made an extemporary prayer ; when he had
done, another began, and foon, for about two hours.
There every foul a face of forrow wears.
And not one fign of happinefs appears j
But
;
68 LIFE OF_ J. LACKINGTON.

But looks of terror and dejecfled eyes>
Defpairing murmurs, and heart-rending fighs^
No eye doth wander, and no h*p doth fmile,
But only horrors chill us all the while.
Young SoLDiERi.
It fo happened fometimes, that one of the bre-
thren began to pray without having the gift of prayer-
(as they c*all it), and then he often iluck faft, like~
fome of the young
orators at Coach-maker's Hall, &c.
Prayer-meetings were held in.fuch high eileem a-
mongfl them that they afferted, more were " horn
again ^^^ and more "/»^/<?yr^'^ from all the remains
^*'
of tin/' or in other words of their own, " made per-^

feB as Gcd is perfeft," in thefe kinds of meetings,
than at public preaching, &c. Thus, as Pomtret
fays,
" The fpirits heated will flrange things produce.**'
But it is impoffible for you, my friend, to form'

any juil idea of thefe afTemblies, except you had been
prefent at them one wheedles and coaxes the Divine
:
Being, in his addrefles another is amorous and luf-

;
cious and a third fo rude and commanding, he will

;
€ven tell the Deity that he muft be a liar if he does

not grant all they alk. In this manner will they mag-
netize, or work up one another^s imaginations, until
they may adtually be faid to be in a ftate of intoxica-
tion and whilft in this intoxicated or magnetized
;
Hate, it often happens that fome of them recoUedl a

text of fcripture, fuch as, " thy fins are forgiven
thee,*' or " go an-d fin no more,'' &c. and then they
declare themfelves to be born again, or to be fan6li-
fied, &c.
They, have another kind of private meeting afte^
the public preaching on Sunday evenings, in which
the preacher meets all the nienvbers of the fociety,
who flay behind after rhe general congregation is dif-
milled. To this fociety the preacher gave fuch ad-
vice as he df'emed better fuited to a godly few than
to a promifcuous multitude of " outward-court wor-
Ihippers."
Their love-feafi is alfo a private meeting of as
many members of the community as pleafe to attend;
and
LIFE OF J- LACKINGTON. '
69
and they generally come from all parts, within fcvcral
miles of the place where love-feaits are held.
" Thofe hcly knaves whofe hypocritic zeal,
<* In waimeft ftrains their ti'anfports now reveal,
*< Strives rhe fond rabble's ign'rant fouls to move,
" Then fly with rapture to their feaft of love."
When all are met they alternately (ing and pray ;

and fuch amongll them as think that their experience
(as they call it) is remarkable, Hand up in their place,
and relate ail the tranfadions between God, the devil,
and their fouls ;
'
Difculling evils, which begin,

In every foul, thattaftes of fin I
As head of chofen, doth foreknow^
How far the devil means to go* Pious Incendiary.
At fuch feafons as this I have heard many of them

declare they had jufi: received the pardon of all
their lins while Brother fuch a-one was in prayer ;
another would then get up and afTert that he was juil
at that inflant made perfectly free from (in.
At thefe times the Spirit is fuppofed to be very
powerfully at work amongrt them and fuch an unifon
;
of fighing and groaning fucceeds, that you would

think they had all loll: their, fenfes. In this frantic
flate, many apply to themfclves fuch texts of fcrip-
ture as happen to come into their heads.
In the love-fcafl: they have hujis to eat, which arc
mutually broken between each brother and liiler and ;
they have alfo ijuattr to drink, which they hand from

one to another. Thefe meetings begin about feven
o'clock, and laft until nine or ten.
In London, Briftol, and other large places, they
have fome pri^jate meetings, unknown to the commu-
niry at large. Thefe meetings conliil: of all married
men at one time young and unmarried men at ano-
:
ther time : the married women by themfelves, and

the fingle women by themfelves and to each of thefe
;
clailes IMr. Weiley went, and gave fuch advice or ex-

hortations as bethought fuitable to their lituation in
life, feldom failing to fpcak much in praife of celi-
bacy, to the Maids and Bachelors^ under his paftoral
care%.
70 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON'.
care. I will in my next give yoaan account of their
watch-nights, clafs-mcetings, bands, and other par^-
ticulars.
!> am,
Dea^, Friend,.
Yours...
LETTER X.
Here Gamaliel, fage,

Trains up his babes of grace, inllrudled well '
In all the tUfcipline of prayer ;

To point the holy leer : by juft degrees
To clofe the twinkling eye expand the palms,
;
To expofe the whites, and with the fightlefs balls

To glare upon the crowd to rife, to fmk
5
The docile voice now murmur'ing foft and

; flow^.
With inward accent calm, and then again^.
In foaming floods of rapt'rous eloquence
Let loofe the ilorm, and thunder, thro' the nofe
The threatened vengeance. Soa^rville*.
DEAR FRIEND,
X H
E Watch-night begins about^
feven o'clock. They ling hymns, pray, preach, fing,.
and pray again then exhort, fing and pray alternate-
;
ly, until twelve o'clock. The hymns which they ling

on thofe nights, are wrote for ilvch occalions, and
abound with gloomy ideas, which are increafed by
the time of night and it mud: be remarked, that the
;
major part of thofe who attend thefe no^Ttural meet-

ings, having failed the whole of the day (according
toMr. Wefley's orders) are in a very proper ftate of
mind to entertain the moft extravagant whims or en-
thufiaflic notions that can poifibly enter the heads of
any vilionaries. So that fuch nights are often very
prQlific, as numbers are.faidto be born, again, and
become
•
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 7^
become the temples of the Holy Ghoft on watch*
nights, which makes thofe nights efteemed by them
Mr. Welley, in every place where his people were
numerous, had divided them into clajjes^ conlifting of
twelve or fourteen brothers and lifters. Sometimes
men and women met together in the fame clafs (as.
they call it) and other claiTes confifted of all men or
all women. Each of had one in it who
thefe clalfes
was called the leader. In fuch clafTes where men ani
women meet together, the leader was always a bro-
ther and fo oF courfe when the clafs confifted of
:
men alone. But m the women's clafTes a lifter was

always the leader.
Whenthey met together, the lea êr firft gave out
a hymn, which they all fang after the hymn they
;
all knelr, and their leader made an extemporary

prayer after which they were feated
; and when the ;
leader had informed them of the ftatc of his own

mind, he enquired of all prefent, one after another,
how they found the ftate of their fouls. Some he
found were full of faith and ajjurance^ others had
dreadful doubts and fears ; fome had horrid temp-^
tations.
It cloth afFe<5l my inward man,
To think of Satan's wicked plan ;
Ah ! me, how doth that liend confpire,

To drag each faint to lading fire. Fanaticifm Difplayed..
Others complained of a lukewarm ftate, &c. In
thefe meetings, fome of the members fpoke of them-
felves, as though they were as pure as angeUare-in
heaven, but with the generality of them, it was far
otherwife ; and nothing was more common among
them than to hear the major part exclaiming againft
themfelves, and declaring that they were the moft vile
abandoiied wretches on this lide hell, that they won-
dered why the earth did not open and fwallow them
up alive. But they generally added, that " the
blood of Chrift cleanfcs them from all lin," and that
^' where fin abounded
there would grace much more
abound." Indeed it was eafy to remark that the
realbn why they painted themfelves in fuch odious co-
lours, was only to boaft of an aftonifliing quantity
of
of grace that God had beftowed on them, in thus
pardoning all their abominations, and numbering
them with the houfeholdof faith, who ought to have
been Ihut up in the nethermoft hell. The greater
the finner (fay they) the greater the faint. To each
ol- theie the leader gave a word of comfort, or of cor-
reftion in the befl manner he was able. They thea

fang and 'prayed again. This lailed about one hour.
And everyone of Mr. Welley*s connexion did, or
was expe6t:ed to meet, each in his own cLifs once in
a week. In thefe claiTes each made a weekly contri^
bution tovvards the general fupport of the preachers,
&c. Such as were very poor continued a penny per
week, others two-pence, and fome vvho could afford
it^ fixpence. This money was entered in a book kept
for that purpofe, and one in every clafs called the
fleward, had the care of the cadi.
I now come to fpcak of the Ba7tds^ v.'hich confifiied
only o^ jiiftified perfons that is, fuch as had received
;
the ajjurance of their fins being pardoned. In th^

clafles, both the awakened (as they call them) and
the ju (lifted, and even tliofe that were made perfe^y
met all together, as did the married and the fingle^
and often men and women. But none were admitted
into any band but fuch as were at leaft in a j.uftified
flate, and-the married of each fex met by themfelves^
•and the fingle by themfelves. About ten was the
number generally put in one band all thefe muft ;
belong to and meet in once a week, when

fome clafs,
not hindered by ficknefs^ &c. and they were alfo to
meet weekly in their band. When met, thev iirft
fung, then made a fliort prayer that done, the ^^«J-
;
/^^^(?r informed them of the ilate of his mind, during

the laft week, &:c. He then made inquiry into the
flate of aVl prefent, and each related wliat hiKi palTcd
firce they lall m.et as what vifitatioos they ];iad re-
:
ceived fcom God, what temptations from the ddvil,

the flefli, &c. And it is a maxim amongil them, that
expofing to one another what the devil has particularly
tempted them to commit, will make the old fellow
more careful how he tempts, when he knows that all
his fecrets will be told the next meeung. This they
,
call (liaming the devil.In the clalTcs they only con-
they have been tempted
felTod in general terms, that
by the world, the fleih, and the devil. But in the
bands they confefled the particular iins which they
had been tempted to commit, or had actually com-
mitted.
The laH: time I met in band was in London, where
an old man (ncarievcnty years of age) informed us
that he had for leveral weeks together laboured under
a very grievous temptation of the devil, who all this
time had been conllantly tempting him to commit
adultery"; he further informed us, that having let
too much of his houfe to lodgers, they were obliged
to put the maid's bed in the room where he and his
wife flcpt : and that one morning he had feen the
maid lying afleep, nearly or quite uncovered, and he
again aiihred us, that ever (ince that time the devil
had been every day tempting him to do that which
was nought with the maid. I could not help think-
ing the old gentleman in this inflance right in charg-
ing it on the denj'd^ aS there was little reafon to think
it was any temptation of the flejh. Permit me to add,
that this old buck had a wife about half his own age.
I have been informed, that fome young men of the
brother-hood have at times difguifed themfelves in
women's clothes, and have fo got inta the women's
bands ; it may be very curious to hear the confeffions
of the holy lifters. By this time I fuppofe you have
had enough oihand-^neiitings
Mr. Wefley inftitured another kind of private
meeting for the higheft order of his people, called
the fele^l bauds ; to which none were admitted but
fuch as were fandlified, or made perfeH in love, and
freed from all the remains of fin. But as I never
profefTed perfeîon, I was not perrpitted to enter into
this holy of holies. But I have known a great num-
ber of thefenerfedl faints of both fexes ; and I alfo
lived in the fame houfe a whole year with one of
thofe entire holy fifters. A few days before I came to
live in Chifwell-Street, one of thefe perfedfifters was
detefted in ftealing coals out of the fhed of one of
the fanftified brothers ; but fhe, like the old fellow
above
^
above mentioned, faid it was the devil that tempted
her to do it.
Four tinnes every year new //Vy^^/j are diftributed to
all Mr. Wefley's people throughout the three king-
doms. Thdir ticket is a very fmall flip of paper,
with a text of fcripture on it, which is exchanged
every quarter for fome other text. Such as are only
inaW^, have a different text from fuch as are in
a band^ fo that no one can be admitted into a ge-
neral meeting of the bands, appointed by any of
the preachers when he intends to give them an
exhortation, nor into any particular band, by a
common fociety ticket. On the common tickets are
fuch text as thefe :
" Now is the accepted time."
*' Awake, thou that fleepefl," — and fuch like. But
thofe for the bands are in a higher flrain as, *' Be ';
ye perfe6l as your heavenly Father is perfe6l."—

** Go on unto perfe6tion." —
" Ye are children of
the light." — '' Your bodies are temples of the Holy
Ghoft ;" and other texts of a limilar tendency. For

thefe tickets, each« poor perfon paid one Ihilling,
fuch as were rich paid more ; indeed the money
feemed to be the principal end of ifTuing tickets,
at Icafi: in country places, the members in the com-
munity being fo well known to each other, that
they fcarce ever fliewed their tickets in order to gain
admittance. I forgot to inform you that prayer-meet-
ings, clafs-meetings, band-meetings, &c. were in ge-
neral held in private houfes, belonging to fome of
the brethren,
I am,
Dear Friend^
Yours,
; ; ;
ilFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 75
LETTER XI.
'«' Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong

** Was every thing by flarts, and nothing long/'
^ ^ ¥: ^ Iv ¥:
*< Then all for women, panting, rhiming, drinking,

<* Befides ten thoufand freaks that died in thinking.'^
DEAR FRIEND,
ciety I was got into. In

YOU
ndw fee what fort of a fo-
country places particularly^
they confifl of farmers, hufbandmen, ihoemakers,
woolcombers, weavers, their wives, &c. I have
heard Mr. Wefley remark that more women are con-
verted than men and I believe that by far the greateft
;
part of his people are females and not a few of them ;
four difappointed old maids, wkh fome others of a

Icfs prudifli difpoiition
" Who, grown unfit for carnal blifs,

" Long to ta-fte how Spirits kifs."
Lavater, in his Eflay on Phyfiognomy, fayii^ " Wo-

men link into the mofl incurable melancholy, as they
alfo rife to the moft enraptured heights." In another
place he fays, " By the irritaoility of their nerves,
their incapability for deep enquiry and firm decifion,
they may cafily, from their extreme fenfibility, be-
come the moft irreclaimabb, the moft rapturous en-
jthufiafts."
" There is (fays Mr. Hume) only one fubje6l on
"^
which I am apt to diftruft the judgment of females :
and that is, concerning books of gallantry and devo-

tion, which they commonly affect as high-flown as
poffible and moft of them feem more delighted with
;
the warmth, than with the juftnefs of the palTion, I

mention gallantry and devotion as the fame fubje6t
becaufe, in reality, they become the fame when
treated in this manner and we may obferve, that
;
they both depend on the very fame complexion, as

the
75 LIFE OF J, LACICINGTON.
the fair fex have a great fiiare of the tender and amo*
rous difpofition, it perverts their judgment on this
occafion, and makes them be eafily affeded, even in
what has no propriety in the expreffions, nor nature
in the fentiment. Mr. Addifon's elegant difcourfe's
of^ religion have no relifli with them, in comparifon
to books of myftic devotion and Otway's fine tra-
:
gedies are rejedcdfor the rant of Mr. Dryden.*'

There arethoufands in this fociety who will never
read any thing befides the Bible, and books publifhed
hy Mr. Wefiey. For feveral years I read very little
elfe, nor would I go (at leaft very feldom) to any
other place of worîip fo that inftead of hearing the
;
fenfible and learned minifters at Taunton, I would

often go four, five, or fix miles, to fome country vil-
lage, to hear an infpired hufbandman, f'loemaker,
blackfmith, or woolcombcr ; and freeûently in froft
and fnow have I rofe a little after midnight (not
knowing what time of night it was) and have wan-
dered about the town until five o'clock, when the
preaching began where I have often heard a fermon.
;
preached to not more than ten or a dozen people.

But fuch of us as did attend at this early hour, ufed
afterwards to congratulate each other on the great
privilege we enjoyed, then off we went to our work,
fnivering with cold,
I was firft converted to methodifm when I was
about lixteen years of age ; from that time until I was
twenty-one I was a fincere enthufiafl, and every fpare
hour I enjoyed I dedicated to the ftudy of the Bible,
reading methodiftical books, learning hymns, hear-
ing fermons, meeting in focieties, &c. My
memory
was very tenacious, fo that every thing I read I made
my own. I could have repeated feveral volumes of
hymns ; when I heard a fermon, I could have preached
it again, and nearly in the fame words ; my Bible
had hundreds of leaves folded down, and thoufands
of marks againfl fuch texts as I thought favoured
the do6trines (or whims) which I had imbibed. So
that I flood forth as the champion of methodifn*
wherever I came.
But
But alas ! my godly flrid life at length fuffered in-
terruption. I will give you a farther account of the
mcthodifls when I come to the time when I finally left
their fociety. ^
The clec'Hon for two members of parliament was
firongly contefled at Tauuton, juft as I attained my
twenty-firll year and being now of age, the fix or
;
feven months which I had to ferve of my apprentice*

iliip were purchafed of my miftrefs by fome friends of
two of the contending candidates : fo that I was at
once fct free in the midfl of a fcene of riot and dilli-
pation,
Prefciit example gets within our giianl,

And aclb w'lih double force, by few repeird. Young,
" Nor fliame, nor honour could prevail, *
'-
To keep mc thus trom turning tail.*'
. As I had a vote, and was alio pofTefTed of a few

jdejisabove thofe of my rank and fuuatioii, my com-
pany was courted by fome who were in a miich
higher fphere and, (probably what they partly in-
;
tended) in fuch company I ibon forgot my godly or

methodiilical connexions, and ran into the oppofite
fcxtrifme fo that for fcveral months moll of my
:
Ipare hours were de Voted to the
Yoiing-eyM God of Wine Parent of joys I

!
Frolic and full of tliee, while tiie cold fons

Of temperance, the fools of thought and care,
Lay lli'etch'd la fober llumbers. MALLErx'ililurydice.
Here Ihad nearly funk for ever into meannefs,

obfcurity, and vice for when the eledtion was over,
;
I had no longer opeii houfes to eat and drink in at

free coil. And having refufed bribes, , I was iêarl}'
otif of cafli,
I began the world with an unfufpei!l:ing heart, wps
tricked out of about three pounds (every fhilli ng I
^vas polfelled. of) and part of my clothes, by -.fi'mc
country Having one coat and two vvaiitcoats
fliarpers.
left, I lent my -beft waiilcoat to an acquaintance,
who left the town and forgot to return it,
K '
Wh.^reV.f
Whate'er or fages tencli, or bards reveal,
Men flill are men, and learn but when they feel.
J. H. Browne.
Hov/ever I did not fink quite fo low as the com-

monality of journeymen fnoemakers, but in general
worked very hard, and fpent my money in better
company.
To know good, preferring fpecions ill,
Reafon becomes a cully to the will ;
Thus men, perverfely fond to roam aftray,

Hood-winks the guide affigned to fliew the way ;
And m voyage, like the pilot fares,

life's
Who breaks the compafs, and contemns the flars.
FEKTON .
, Notwithflandlng, at times, I was very uncafy, and
although i had not been at any methodiftical meeting

during the time that I had lived this diffipated liie,
yet my mind was not freed entirely from the fuper-
llltious fears I had there imbibed fothat whenever
;
any perfon afked me, what would become of me (that

had lived fuch a holy life) if I fliould die in the flate
of backjlidlng from *' the good old way ?" I always
acknowledged that I fliould be eternally damn*d,
were that to be the cafe. But I mull contefs that I
was not much afraid of dying in fuch a flate, as I
was too much prepofTefTed with the methodiilical no-
t'lons of free-grace^ that would not let me be finally
loft, prefuming that I muft wait, as it were, for -d/e-
con ii call io repentance^ juflification, &cc, which I had
been taught to believe might take place inftaiitaneoufly,
and pat the devil to flight in a hurry, and fo matters,
would be all right again. And I hi^ve known many
who, having thefc ideas, have continued to live very
profligate lives to the end of the chapter*
There is a curious paflage in the confeffions of St.
Auguftin, in which he owns that in his youth he was
excclfiv'ely addicted to women, and that he made ufe
of a prayer, in which he deiircd God to make him
chaile, but not too foon.
I often privately took the Bible to bed with me;
and in the long lurnmcr mornings read for hours
together in bed; but this did not in the kaft influence
my
: : ^
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON, 7^
my conduvft. As you know great events Oi"ren arifc
from little caufes, I am now goino^ to relate aciriûfn-
ftance, trivial in itfclF, though produeTive of a more

conliderable change in my lituation, than any I had
yet experienced.
I was twenty-one years of age the nth of Septem-
ber 1767, the eledion was over the latter end of
March 1 768. It was in this year that my new mailer's
wife inlifted on my purchaling milk of a milk-maid
who was a cuflomer at the fliop ; which command I
retufed to comply with, as I had a fmart little mJlk-
maid of my own. But as my mi&rch ^vjoi'e the breeches
my mailer was obliged, by his wife's order, to in-
form me, that I muil comply with her mandate, or
get another mailer. I left him without hefitation and ;
the fame afternoon wont to Wellington, took leave of

mv father and mother, and informed them of mv in-
f ention to go to Briilol, After two or three days, I
returned back to Taunton, where I flayed a day or
two n>ore. In which time I became enamoured with,
or infatuated by, the beautiful Nancy Trott
^Tn fweet woi ds tJiat breath delight and joy,
She fixVl the attention of the heart-flriick boy.
Beauty triumphs and the joys of love !
Rape of Helen..
And although I faw the impropriety of the meaUire,

yet could not reiiil the fair temper, who prevailed
I
with me to pcrmic her to accompany me in my

journey.
Reafon was given rocnrb our ae<jJ-ftrong will,
Aiul yet but fhews a weak piiviician's Ikill;
fiives nothhig -while the raging fit Joes I aft,
But itays to cure it when the woi il is pail,
Reaton's a ftaff for age, when Natnre's %o\\ii ;
But youth is ftioiig snough to walk alone.

Dr 1- DEN ' s Con . of G ran.
Another Poet ha., given usthe fame idea '^ 'v Ir
chc number of lines

— — Tlicn comes r'^f/^^r— cold.ConfiJeration—
Lame ofrer-thr-u^b:, with e;ullci> lerupl-fs fraught;
B<?iuin;b'd with j^r? to Jacip the goouly blaze.
A 1" it oi Splern.
E ^ We
«o 1.IFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
We refted a week in Bridgewater, where I worked
hard and got money to convey us to Exbridge, fe-
venteen miles on this fide Br'iilol ; and there I faw '
my condu(5l in fuch a point of view as made me re-

folve to leave her. ^
In well-feigivd accents, now they hail my ear,

.My Ufe, my love, my charmer, or my dear,
As if thefe founds, thefe joylefs founds could prove
The fmallefl particle of genuine love.
O piirchas'd love, retail'd tluough half the town,
!
Where each may fliare on paying half-a-crov^'n ;

Where every air of tendernefs is art,
And not one word the language of the heart-;
Where all is niockery of Cupid's reign,
Xnd in remci fe, in vvretchednefs, and pain.
Art of 'Living in London.
My finances amounted to three iliillings and one
penny, out of which I gave her half a-crown, and
with the remaining ieven-pence, without informing
her of my purpofe, I fet off for Briftol.
Phillips fays,
Happy the man, who void of care and flrife,

In lilken or in leathern purfe retains
A fplendid fhiUing. '
.
My feven-pence did full as well, for having left

half-a crdwn with my poor girl, I tripped on with a
light heart, and in a few hours arrived at thatbufllin^
city, and got wôrk the fame evening.
A few days after I went to the inn where the
Tau"iiton carrier put up to enquire after Mifs l^rott^
as 1 wanted to know if (lie had returned fafc to Taun-
ton. I was informed that fhe was in Briftol nearly as
foon as I was. Knowing but little of the world, and
flill lefs of women of her defcription, I was quite un-
happy on her account, for fear that being in a ftrangc

placeilie might be in want and diftrefs which thought ;
induced me to offer to feveral of niy countrymen five

iliilling to the firfl who fliould bring me an account
where might find her
I ; but I did not fee her until
feveral weeks after that.
Some foe to his upright intent 9

Finds out his weaker pare,
Virtue
tlFE OF J. LACKING TON. Sr
Viitue wigages his affent,
But pieafure wins ilie heart.
'Tis hti e the folly of the wife,
Through all hl> arts we view,
And while his tongue the charge denies,
His confcience owns it true.CowFEXr
The Taunton gave me a letter from mr
carrier
good Mi ft re Ts Bowden (who, by marrying again, had
changed her name to Dingle). The contents of this
latter very much It informed me that
furprifcd me.
a day or I tell out with my laii millrefa
tvvo before
(U'hich was the trifling caufe of my leaving Taunton)
Betty Tucker^ a common lafs, had fworn a child to
me that the parifli otticers had been at my mailer's
;
ihop within an hour after I had left it to go to \Vel«

fington, and that they^had been at Wellington juii as
I had left that place, and afterwards hearing that I was
in Bridgewater, they had purfued me thither. But
the morning on which they arrived, I had fet off for
Exbridge and believing that I had intentionally
;
fled before them, they had given over this chafe ior
the prefenr.
•< 'Tis cafy to defcend into the fnare,
" By the pernicic\!S condu6t of the fair:
** But fafely to return fron:i their abode,

** Requires the wit, the prudence of a God."
Reflecting on this affair, although my condacf^ was
Tery from entitling me to entertain fuch a fuppo—
far
lition, yet I was then weak enough to imagine, that
being a particular favourite of heaven, a kind of mi-
racle had been wrought to fave me from a prifon, or
from marrying a woman I could not bear the idea of
living with a iingle week j and as I had not any
knowledge of her being with child (not having feen
her for three months before) I had not taken any
meafure to avoid the confequence, but put myfelf iii
the way of the (5fficers for, as I have juil: told you,
:
after I had taken leave of my father and mother, I

went back to Taunton, and walked about publicly
oae whole day, and part of another.
This girl was delivered about tvVO months after-
wards of a ilill-horn child, io that I was never trou-
bled for expences.
E 3 Bur
$2 LIFE OF J. LACKlNGl'ON.
But here, perhaps, you will think the following
lines, though wrote on Mr. Bofweli, may be applied
to me ;
-
With conftitutional vivacity,

Yet, garrulous, he tells too much,
On fancied failings prone to touch
With ledulous loquacity. CoLMan^
But as Voltaire juftly remarks in his letter to the

Count Serbetti, *'
The world, who have not fo
much tafte as curioflty, will have all a man's follies,
as well as his works."
lam,
Rear Fnindi
Yours.
LETTER XII.
Terror in dreams the anxious mother moves,

Or bids fond virgins mourn their abfent loves, ,
Sylvia in vain her wearied eyes would clofe,

Hai k the fad death-watch clicks adieu, repofc
! — ;
The diftant owl, or yelling maftiff near.
Terror ftill vibrates on the lifl'ning car.
And bids th' affrighted Sylvia vigils keep.
For Fancy, like Macbeth, has murdered fleep.
Mr. t'RAi-i*.
BEAR FRIEND, /
A HE fubjcft of my laft recalls to

my mind a ridiculous affair, which excited much
mirth in that part of the country.
During the ele6tion at Taunton, a gentleman one
day came in a poft-chaife to the White-hart Inn, kept
by Mr. Baldwin, 'and after having refreflied himfelf,
ftrolled iRto the yard, and feeing the heftier, afked
him
}\im if he could inform him where they took in the
êivs P T^hc hoillcr underftaiiding- him in a literal
fenfe, directed him to a bookfellcr's fliop on the op-
pofite lide of the way ; Ihop was kept by Mifs
this
A ——d n, a beautiful young lady of irreproachable
character, and one whofe line underilanding and po-
liflied taiie did honour to the profellion ; which pro-
feffion file only adopted for an amufement, as flie pof-
feired an indepedent fortune.
Our gentleman on entering the fliop, enquired of
the fliopmaid for her mifirefs, but the maid being ufed
to ferve in the (liop, and knowing that her millrefa
had fome ladies with her, informed the gentleman
that fl)e could help him to any thing that he wânted.
But on his faying he had fome private buiinefs with
her miflrefs, he was fliewn into a back parlour, and
the miftrefs being informed a gentleman wanted to
fpeak to her, flie went diredly to him. The moment
(lie entered the room; he clafpcd her in his arms,
called her a divine creature, &c. This fo alarmed
——
Mifs A d n, that (lie fcreamed aloud on hearing
:
which, the ladies, preceded by thehoufemaid and fliop-

maid, repaired to the parlour, where they found Mifs
A— — d n almoft in fits. The gentleman thinking
that it was only a trick to raiie her price, took but
little notice, on which one of the maids ran out and
called in feveral of the neighbours, who-, oncoming
into the parlour, faw with atlonifliment our Sir Harry
Wildair taking improper liberties with Mifs A— —
d n,
and defired him to defift. But he defired them not
to attempt to put tricks on travellers, and ordered
them to leave the room. Inftead of obeying his in-
jundtions they, in a refolute tone, ordered our fpark to
go inftantly about his bufinefs. However, he flill
kept his ground, until the mayor of the town, who
happened to live juft by, was called in. Mr. Mayor
demanded why he took fuch freedom w^th the lady !
Our gentleman, feeing that the affair began tp look

very ferious, now became calm, and informed the
company that having an inclination for a frolic, he
had enquired for a bad houfe, and had been dire6led
there ; adding, that if there had been any miftake, he
Ea was
was very forry for it, and would beg the lady's par-
Son. On hearing this the' co:npany were more fur-
prized than before, and demanded of the gentleman,
who had informed him that that houfe was abawdy-
houfe ? He, without helitatioa, replied, The hoftler
at the AVhite-hart, Upon this the hoftler w as fent
.
for, and on being afked, if he had direfted that
gentleman to Mifs A— — d n*s as a^ba.vdy-houfe ?
The poor fellow, with marks of terror and furprife,
- anfwered, No. The Gentleman never alked me for
a bawdy-hoir'e, he only afked me for a houfc where
they tor^ in the new's. So that the hoftler's nnder-
Iranding turn in a literal ferife, cawfedall the confufion.
The aftair, however, had got fo much air, that our
fpark was glad to leave the rown immediately.
'
A vêry llrange unaccountable circumflance hap-
pened in this Inn about the fame time ; one of
tho^'^ccorrences that puzzle the philofopher, and
llrengthen fuperitition in weak minds. Three or four
gentlemen of the neighbourhood wêre drinking wine
in one of the rooms, when the landlord of the Inn (as
it appeared to them) walked into the room, and com-
ing up to the table, around which they were feated,

they addreffed him with " Mr. Baldwin, how do you
do ? lit down and take a glafs of wine with us;"
but inftead of doing as requefted, the fuppofed Inn-
keeper walked out without making any reply ; which
not only furprized, but offended the company, who
rung the bell violently, and on the waiter's appear-
ance, they ordered him to fend in his mafter. The
waiter informed them that his mailer was not at home.
The gentlemen replied, that he was at home a few
minutes fince, and therefore they infiiled on feeing
him ; but the man afTured them they were miflaken,
as his mafter was in Briftol, and had been there fc-
veral days. They then ordered the.^^. alter to fend in
Mrs. Baldwin, who immediately appearing, the gen-
tlemen afked her where Mr. Baldwin was, and (be in-
formed thom, as the waiter had already done, that he
was at Briftol, and had been there fev'cral days ; an
which the gentlemen grew very angry, and fwore that
Mr. Baldwin had juft before come into the room, and
on
cm their requefling him to partake of their vvine, had

iniulted them by going out of the room, without
deigning to give_theman anfwer. Mrs. Baldwin then
drew out of her pocket a letter (lie had that morning
received from Mr. Baldwin, by which it was appa-
rent/ that he really was at Briilol. The ilory was
then told round the neighbourhood, and all the old
women certainly concluded that Mr. Baldwin muft
certainly be dead, and that he died at the very inftant
that the gentlemen faw him come into the room but ;
Mr. Baldwin, returning two days after, rendered it

neceffi^ry for them to vary their ilory they then af-
;
ferted that it was a token, or fome warning of his

death, and had no doubt but it would very foon hap-
pen. It was generally thought that. Mr. Baldwin
was weak enough to pay fuch attention-to the Ilory
and inference, as to hurt his health, as he really died
within a year after, and the old women were not a
littlepleated at the event, as it tended tojuilify the
truth of their prediction.
A
more ridiculous affair happened about ten years
lince, at the Two
Bell?, oppofite Whitechapcl-church.
The landlord was fitting t)ne night with fome jovial
company, one of whom happening to fay, that he
prayed to God, that fuch a thing (liould not c^^me to
pafs; the landlord replied in a good humoured man-
ner, your prayers will neither do good nor harm ;
upon which the other faid a deal to perfuade the hoft
that his prayers would do great things ; but the more
he faid in praife of his prayers, the mare the land-
lord laughed and ridiculed him. The man at
at,
laft infifled he could pray the landlord to death in
that
two months time, and offered to bet him a crown
• bowl of punch to the truth of it, which the landlord
accepting, the wager was laid, and almoft every
night after this, the man came to the houfe, and
conilantly laughed at the landlord, and affurcd him
that he would lofe his wager; and however ilrange
it may appear, our hod did die within the time, and
his widow paid the wager: I think there cannot re-

main a doubt but that the ridiculous talk of the fel-
low actually affeded the landlord's mind, and hallened
E S his
his death ; and the followin^^ inftanecs tend alfo to
fliew how eafily the lives of fomc are fliortened :
Jofeph Scales, Efq. about five yeafs iince, in turn-

ing fliort one day in one of the ftreets of London,
met a man vVhom he had no feen for fome time, and
innocently addreiTed him with, Ha! what are. you
alive yet ! which had fuch an affedl on the poor man,
that he died a few hours after.
Being at Briftol about four years fince, I enquired
after a worthy leather-fcUer whom I had formeily
known, and was informed that he v/as lately dead,
^nd that his death was fuppofed to have been haftened
by a famous fortune-teller, who, having caft his na-
tivity, declared that he would die within fix months,
which afFe6ted his mind fo as to aCcomplifh his pre-
diction.
Live to tlay, the now is ours,
Who can trull the future hours ?
Now the rapt'rous moments roll; ^

This is the fan-fhineof thefoul. Fawke*.
The following lines of Pope, being fo much to my
purpofe, I mufl quote them alfo :
Hcav*n from all creatures hides the book pf fate,

All but the title page, prefcrib'd their prefeut ftate ;
From brutes what men, from men what fpints know :
Or who couM fufFer being liere below ?

The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to day.
Had he tliy reafon, would he fkip and play ? .
PleasM'to the laft, he crops the flpw'ry food,

And licks the hand jufl rais'd to fhed his blood.
Oh, blindnefs to the future kindly given,
That each inay fill the circle mark'd by heav'n.
Dr. Moore in his travels through France, Swit"

zerland and Germany, relates the following remark'
able account which is to the point Being at Berlinr
:
he went to fee a man executed for the murder of a

child. His motives for this horrid deed were much
more extraordinary than the action itfelf. He had
accompanied fome of his companions to the houfe of
a fellow,, who affumed the character of a fortune-tel-
ler-; and having difobligcd him, by exprefling a con-
tempt for his art, the fellow, out of revenge, pro-
phefied, that this man fliould dieon a fcaffold. This
feemcd
LIFE OF" J. LACKINTGTON. g>'
ftemed to make but little imprelTion at the time, bu^

afterwards recurred often to this unhappy creature's
memory, and became every day more troublefome to
his imagination. At length the idea haunted his
mind fo inccflantly, that he was rendered perfcdly
miferable, and could no longer endure life.
He would have put himfelf to death with his own
hands, had he not bten dctenêd by the notion that
God never forgives fuiciJe ; though upon repent-
aace, he pardons every other crime. He refolved,
therefore, to commit murder and thinking that it he
;
murdered a grown perTon, he might pollibly fend a

foul to hell, he in confequence of thofe ideas mur-
dered a child of his mafter's, of whom he was ex-
ceedingly fond ; and thus the random prophefy proved
its own completion.
About a week after niy Life had been publlflied,
Mr. Heyden feîit to mc to know the day, hour, and
minute of my birth, in order that he might cad my
nativity ; and at the hme time politely informed me,
that being fo celebrated a chara^ler, he meant not to
c4iarge me any thing for doing it. But I did not
chooie to have it done, as I thought it was pollible
he might predid fometbing or other, that in a time
of iicknefsor weaknefs of body might hurt my mind.
As no man can at all times call in reafon to his airifl:-
ance, and as wc often fee that even the moll: rational
part of mankind are fometimcs hurt or mined by
extravagant whims and idle chimeras. And could I
learn for certainy what is to be my fortune in future,
I cannot think that knowledge would be of any real
benefit to me. If I am to be always profperous and
happy, it will be fome addition to me, fliould it over-
take me unexpededly ; and fliQuld it be my fate onc^
more to fee a fcene fliift, and a gloomy profpe^l 'pre-
fent itfelf, I would not wifli to forbode ir, and thus
prevent mc from making the moft of the prefcnt mo-
menta Anacreon was alfo of the fame way of think-
ing.
The ilory of the late Dr. Pitcairn, of Edinburgh,
and the collier, is well known. This ftrong healthy
man was, on his way to Edinburgh, made to believe
E 6 by
;
^ UFE OF J. LACICmOTON.
by thedo6lor's ftudenrs, although in perfeft health,
that he was really very ill, and went home tombed and
died.
I have fct down the above inftances, in order to
fliew how eafy it is to trifle away the lives of our fel-
low creatures, and furely fuch who wantonly do it,
muft afterwards have very gloomy refledtions.
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours.
LETTER XIII.
I tliat lovM me :
had a friend
Iw^s his foul he liv'd not but in me.
:
We were fo clofe link'd in each other's bread.

The rivets were not found that join'd us firft.
Dryden*s All for Love.
The wretch to fenfe and felf-confinM,

Knows not the dear delight
For generous friendfhip wings the nnind,
To reach an Angel's flight. Mrs. Chandler,
DEAR FRIEND,
I N my laft I mentioned my arrival

%t Briffol,where I took a lodging in a Hreet, called
(I think) Qiicen-Street, in Caflle-Street, at the houfe
of a Mr. James a much more decent refidence, than
;
commonly falls to the lot of journeymen flioemakers..

In this houfe I found a Mr. John Jones, a genteel
young man, juft turned of twenty-one years of age :
He was alfo a fon of Crijpin^ and made women's fluff
flioes :which he fold by the dozen to warehoufes.
This Mr. Jones and I were foon very intimate ; we
kept
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 2g
kept ourfelves neatly dreffed, and in general worked
hard, fpending our money chiefly in the company of
women. As,
All men have follies,. which they blindly trace
Thro' the dark turnings of a dubious maze.
But happy thofe, who^ by a prudent care,
Retreat betimes from the fallacious fnare. Pomfret*
We followed this courfe about four months.
During which time, Mr. Jones once perfuaded me to
go with him to the Playhouie, where we faw Shake-
Ipeare's fine comedy of '* As you like it." This was
a feafl; indeed to me, who had never before feen nor
even read any theatrical production . 'Tis impoffiblc
forme to defcribe my fenfations on the occalion.
No folio inftru<5îon like the drama conveys ;
Perifh, peiifhthe wretches who would cenfure all plays,
When that vile, abjedl race firilexifted below,
A heart nature in them forgot to beftow.
Franklin's Voltaire.
Between the play and the entertainment (which

was the Mayor of Garnit) Mr. Edward Shuter per-
formed a fliort piece called " The Drunken man."
This was the only time that I ever faw that extra-
ordinary genius but he made fuch an i^pfeffion on
;
my mind, that it is impoiTiblc I ever fliould forget

him, I believe it is not generally known, as few
would ever have Uifpeîed, that this child of Momus
was alfo a child of grace.
Since the publication of the firfl: edition of thefe
Memoirs, 1 have read *' The Memoirs of Mr. Tate
Wilkinfon," patentee of the Theatres Royal of York
and Hull, and was much furprifed to learn that the
famous Ned Shuter was a gracious /ouL I will give
you a paflage or two out of Mr. Wilkinfon's Me-
moirs, vol. iii. p 27, &c. " My
imitation of Mr.
Whitefield was beyond compare. Mr. Foote was
ftruck by flopping in by chance, and once hearing
AVhitefield ; the mixture of whole abfurdlty, whim,
confequence, and extravagance, pleafed his fancy,
and entertained him highly, as Whitefield was that
day dealing out damnation, fire and brimftone, as
cheerfully
90 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON^
cheerfully as if they were (o many bleffings. Wliat^
pity it is that our fears only, and not our reafon, will
bring convidlon ; but reafon handed by unaflfedted
pure piety and religion would be a day of woe to me-
thod ifm.
" Mr. Foote was only a fpy at Whiteficld's acade-
irty, while I (fays Mr. Wilkinfon) had been a zealot,
for fome feafons before my encounter at Covent-gar-
den with Mr- Foote, my attendance had been coniTant
with my friend Shutcr, and as he adualiy was' one of
the nevv-borrj, and paid large fums to Whitefield, I.
was always permirted to flay with hinij for he was-
really bewildered in his brains, more by his wiflnng-^
to acquire imaginary grace, than by all his drinking ;
and whenever he was warm with the bottle, and with

a friend or two, like Maw-worm, he could not mind
his flôp, becaufe he thought ir a fin, and wiflied to
go a-preaching ; for Shuter like Maw-worm be-
lieved he had a call, I have gor.e with Shuter at fix
i-n the m.orning of a Sunday at Totrenham-Court-
Road, then before ten to Mr. Wefley*s in Long-
Acre ; at eleven again at Tottenliam Court-Road.
Tabernacle, dined near Bedlam (a very proper place
for us both) with a party of the holy ones went at
;
three to Mr. Weflev's theatre then from that to

;
>
Whitefield's till eight, and then fliut np, to commune

with the family compact, P^g^ 29. I having had fo
much pradice (while a zealot) I really obtained and
exhibited a much flronger llkenefs of Whitefield thafi
Mr. Foote did. The week before my Covent-Garden
exhibition, I met vShuter at the Tabernacle ; a great
coolnefs had continued for fome time, as we had not
fpoke, or even looked at each other fince the breach
between us in 17 s^ ; but as we were met together in
a place of charity and forgivenefs to all who fub-
fcribed to the preacher, we became very fociable ;
and before VVhitefield's le<!^lure was donC: we were
pcrfecTtly reconciled 'ive a^Jjonrned 10 the Rofe^ and : by
:
three the next mornhig werefnvorn friends^ and continued

fo until his death. Ned Shuter was a lively, fpi-
rited, flirewd companion ; a fuperior in.natural whim
and humour I'urcly never inhabited a human breail,
for
^
iBFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 91
for what he faid and did was all his own, as it was
with difficulty he could read the parts he had to play, ^
and could not write at all he attained to iign ;
an order, but no more. Nature could not here be-

flow her gifts to greater advaiitage, than on poor
Ned, as what (lie gave he made fhine, not only con-
fpicuouily, but brilliantly, and to the delight of all
who knew him on or off the flage he might truly ;
be dubbed the child of nature. He was no man's

enemy but his own ;
"and happinefs, 1
peace, reft,
hope he now poflefTes for, the poor, the friendlefs,
;
and the ftranger he often comforted, and when fogpe-

times reduced by his follies, he never could fee a real
objeft of mifery and relift giving at leail: half he was
worth to his diftrefTed fellow -creatures/' Page 5, vol.
iti. But, O ye faints of your own creating
*' will ! I
preach to you Mark judge
; not of plays
! and players
le/i you he judged i thofe who are the moll cenforious
on the.infimities of others, are ufually moft notori-

oufly guilty of far greater failings thcmfelves,- ^^/^
JanBijiedmethodiflicalJlander is of all the moji fever e^
^^
bitter and cruel,
Page *' In
6.the comedy of the Hypocrite, the
Colonel fays, he fuppofcs they go to the play for the
benefit of the brethren. Cantweli anfwers, '' the
charity coverth the fin ;" which was a<5lua]lv the
cafe, for in 1757, as Shuter luas bountiful to the Tâher-
nacle^ Mr, Whitefield not only permitted^ but advifed his
heaters to attend Shuter'' s benefit ; but for that night
only." Ala?, poor Shutter I
It is fingular enough that about this time, although

I could not write, yetcompofed feveral fongs, one
I
of which was fome were given to
fold for a guinea ;
the Briftol printers, who printed them, and the bal-

lad- fingers fung them abnut the flreets on which ;
occafion I was as proud as though I had compofed an

opera.
Yet tills, fo fmrJl a.gifr,

Proves nature did not turn him quite adrift. E. Rolls.
And I will even prefume to quote the following
lines of the celebrated Mrs. Robinfon.
<< Obfcureljr
;
92 LIFE OF J. LACIClNGTOl§
" Obfcurely born— No generous fnend he found-, .
<' To lend his trembling ftaps o'er ciaffic ground ; ;
" No Patron fill'd his heart with flatt'ring hope,

*< No tutor'd leffon gave his genius fcope
** And yet he foar'd beyond the fpells that bind *
** The flow perception of the vulgar mind."
My friend Mr. Jones was my fecretary, who before

I came to with him had not the leafl relifli for
live
books, and I had only read a few ^nthuiiallic authors,
together with Pomfret's poems; thefe lail I could
almofl repeat by memory however, 1 made the
-,
moft of my little ftockof literature, and ftrongly re-

commended the purchafing oF Books to Mr. Jones.
But fo ignorant were we on the fubje<5t, that neither
of \l!s knew what books were fit for our perufal, -nor
what to enquire for, as we had fcarce ever heard or
feen even ^ny title pag^j^ cxctpt a few- of the reli-
gious fort, which at that time we had no relifli for.
So that we were at a lo s how to encreafe our fmall
flock of fcience. And he-re I cannot help thinking
that had Fortune thrown proper books in our way,
we have imbibed a juft talle for literature, and
iliould
foon made fome tolerable progrefs but fuch was our ;
obfcarity, that it was next to impoffible for us ever

to imerge from it.
The mind untaught in vain,

Her powers, thro' blooming vigour nourilh,
Hopes in perfe<il pride toftourilh ;
Culture muA her might maintain.

Mr. Pinker TON.
As we could not tell what to enquire for, we were

afhamed to gointo the bookfellers fliops ; and I alTure
you, my frend, that there are thoufands novv in
England in the very fame fituation many, very many :
have come to my fliop, who have difcovered an en-

quiring mind, but were totally at a lofs what to afk
for, and who had no friend to direct them.
—
Reafon grows apace, and calls
for the kind band of an afliduous care.
Delightful talk ! to rear the tender thought,
To teach the young iilea how to ihoot,
To pour the frefh inflru(îon o*er the mind,
^ LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 93
To breathe th* enlivening fpirit, and to fix
The gen'rous puKpofe in the glowing breaft.
Thomson.
One day as my friend Jones and I were flrolling-
about the fair that is annually held in and near St.
James's church-yard, we faw a flail of books, and
in looking over the title-page^, I met with Hobbs's
Tranllati?n of Homci's Iliad and OdyiTey. I had
fomehovv heard that Honier was a great poet, but
vnxfortunately I had never heard of Pope's tranfla-
tion of him, fo we very eagerly purchafed that by
Hobbs. At this flail I alfo purchafed Walker's
Poetical Paraphrafe of Epicletus's Morals and :
home we went, perfeiftly well picafed with, our bar-

gams.
We that evening began with Hobbs's Homer ; but
found very
it difficult for us to read, owing to the
obfcurity of the tranllation, which together with the
inditlerent language, and want of poetical merit; in
the tranflator, fomewhat difappointed us however, :
we had from time to time, many a hard puzzling

hour with him.
But as t6 Walker's Epiftetus, although that had
not much poetical merit, yet it was very eafy to be
read, and as eafily underflood. The principles of
the charmed me fo much, that I made the
(loics
book my companion wherever I went and read it
over and over in raptures, thinkii^g that my mind
was fecured againft all the fmiles and frowns of for*
tune.
When foes revil'd, or friends betrayed,
Our hearts have wrung, perhaps withforrow |
But a firm effort always made
Complete refources for to-morrow*
Then why repine at vice elate,
For injur'd worth our courage di'own j
Let ujr, who cannot alter fate,
Mind no men's bufinefs but our own.
J.
Robertson's Martial*
I now grew weary of diJlipating my time, and be-

gan to think of employing my fpare hours in fome*
thing more fatisfailory.
<« êform'4
H LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON»
'< Reform'd in manners, chang'd his ways
" For virtue's fake, to merit praife,
" Be all his futuie ftrife ;
<* So (hall the world with pleafure fay,-
** He tailed folly for a day,

** And then grew wife fer life."
I.wiili the preceding lines had been more appli-

cable to my own cafe.
For want of fomething elfe ta do, I ;/ent on^
evening to hear Mr. John Wefley preach in Broad-
mead, and being completely tired of the way of life
that T had lived (more or lefs) ever iince I had been
out of my apprenticeQiip^ and happening to have no
other purfuit or hobby-horfe, there was a kind of
vacuity in my rhind in this flate I was very fufcep-
:
tiblc of any impreffions, fo that when I came to hear'

Mr. Wefley, my old fanatical notions returned full
upon me, and I was once more carried away by the
tide of enthufiafm. So the following lines by Mr..
S. Rogers, might then have been applied to me with
great propriety :
His humonr onceo*er, with a grave contrite faee

To the mead he repairs, that rich fountain of grace.
Where in fpiritual fervour he turn'd up his eyes.
True mechanical faint ! and in unifon fighs j.
With every true godly exterior indu'd,
As if from his cradle this line he'd purfu'd.
My friend Mr, Jones foon faw with grief and indig-
naton the wonderful alteration. in me ; who, from a
gay, volatile, dilTipated young fellow, was at; once
metamorphofed into a dull, moping, praying, pfa!p*>
linging fanatic, continually reprehending all about
me for their harmlefs mirth and gaiety.
For faints thertifelves will often be,
Of gifts that coft them nothing, free. Hu>>ibras.
Nothing is more common than to fee mankind run

from one extreme to another ; which was my cafe
once more.
Whate'er the leading pafllon be.
That works the foul's anxiety,
In each extreme th' efte6k is bad,
Seufe grows difcas'd, and reafon mad, ~- E.Lloy».
About
;
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 95.
About this time wc left our habitation in Queen-

ftreet, and took lodgings of Mr. Jones's mother, on.
TJt. Philip's Plain, where lived abrother of Mr.Jones,
who was about feventeen years of age. Soon after
we had removed to this place, the brother, whofe
name was Richard Jones, was permitted to work in
the fame room with my friend and me. They had
alfo a filter about twenty years of age, who frequenty
joined our company.
Our room over-looked the church-yard, which
contributed to increafe my gloomy ideas ; and I had
fo much of the fpiritual quixotifm in me, that I foon
began to think that it was not enough for me to fave
my own foul, but I ought in confcience to attempt
the converiion of my companions, who (I really be-
lieved) were in the high road to hell, and every mo-
ment liable to eternal damnation. Of this charitable
difpoiition are almoft all the methodifts ; who as Htt-
dibras fays,
*' Compound for fms they are inclin'd to,
" By damning thofe they have no mind to."
The frequency of newly opened graves, which \ve

faw from our windows, furnidied me with opportu^
nitles for defcanting on the uncertainty of life and all
fublunary enjoyments I affured them that nothing-
;
deferved attention but what related to our everlafting

fiate, and that they might on their repentance, re-
ceive in one moment the pardon of all their fins,
have a foretafteof the joys of heaven, and know that
their names v/ere enrolled in the book of life. I far-
ther proteftedthat they had no time to lofe that they ;
all flood on the very verge of hell, and the breaking

brink of eternal torments with a great deal m.ore of
;
fuch edifying fluff.

The youngefl brother foon became a conrert
and Mifs Betty was hrn again foon after.
'^ Lo in the twinkling of an eye,
!
<* Their fouls were frank'd for kingdom come."
But
,
95 ' ^ LIFE OF J. LA€KINGTOm

But I had a tight* job to convert my friend John ;:,
he held out, and often curled me heartily, 'dnd Sxmg

prop h an e fongs all day long.
But about four or five weeks after my re^conver-
lion, John alfo was converted, and becanrc a favourite
of heaven, fo that w^ conlidered ourfelves^ as a holy
community :•
No fpeck is left of their tobitiialflain?.
But the pure aether of the foul remains;
Dry D'E>s^ 's VirgiK'
A laughable affair happened during my refidence

here. A captain of, a-fliip one day brought a parrot
as a prefent to a family,, the mtftrefs of which being
a methodiil, happened to have one of the preachers
call in juft as the dinner was putting on the table, fo
that the captain and the preacher were both afked to
itay. As foon as the table was covered, the preacher
began ^ long grace, in the midi): of which Poll^ who
had beeti put up in a corner of the room, cried outi
**
D— nyoureyes^ tip us none, of your ja-wJ^* This with
the immoderate Uughter of the captain, entirely dif-
concerted the pious chaplain ; at laft he began his-
grace again, but he had not got to the end before
Poll again interrupted him with, ^^ Ton d n^dcant-^ —
ingfon of a b-^h,'*^ By the above it appeared that the
captain had tutored Poll on purpofe to have fome.fuA
in this canting family ; however, the good lady of theV
houfe made it a point oi confcience to have Polly con-
verted, but found it utterly imppfliible to effe6l fa>
great a change in the methodiftical way, that is, inm
Jiantaneoujly ; as after fhe had fcolded her fix months
for fpeaking bad .words, and had a6lu ally taught her
a part of the Lord^s prayer, yet Poll would not en-
tirely, leave off her fea languagê ; fo that it often hap-
pened, while the good lady was teaching her to pray.
Poll would out with, '* D—
nyour eyes^ iumhh. up,
you lubbers ;"'and even after (lie had preached to her
feveral years, would not venture to fay that Poll
flie
was in a ftatc of grace ; but be that as itj will, Poll

obtained a,goo.d name^ being called by. the neighbours,
the Methodiil Parrot.
I muft
LIFE QF J. LACKINGTON. 97
I nuift inform you alfo that the poor preacher
isbove-mentioned being jaft come out of Wales, un-
dcrilood Englifli but very imperfectly, and in the
courfe of his fermon one day he had forgot the Eng-
lifli for the word lamb, and after hammering a good
while about it, he out with *' Goddymighty's

little mutton, that took away the fins of the world,"
v/hich caul'ed a good deal of diverlion amon^ the
iingodjy,
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours,
LETTER XIV,
He was a flirewd philofopher.

And had read every text and glofs over ^
Whate'er the ci abbed'ft autlior hath,

He underftood b'implicit faith ;
/ Whatever fceptic could enquire

For every whyhe had a wherefore 5
for,
Knew more than forty of them do,

As far as words and terms could go ;
All which he underflood by rote,
And as occafion ferv'd would quote ;
No matter whether right or wrong,

They might be either faid or fung» Hudibras.
DEAR FRIEND,
now
M
w JI.R* John Jones and myfelf were
A
greater friends than ever, fo th^t one would on
no account flir out of the houfe without the other.
Mr. Jones had the advantage of me in temporals,
he could get more money than I could ; but as to
grace,
;;
;
^8 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
grace, and fpiritual gifts, I had much the fuperiority
of all our community ; fo that I was their ipiritual
director, and if they thought that any of their ac-
quaintance held any opinions that were not quite
found and orthodox, fuch were introduced to me, ia
order that I might convince them of their errors. In
fa6V, being looked upon as an apoflle, whatever I af-
ferted was received as pure gofpel ; nor was any
thing undertaken without my advice.
We all workd very hard, panticularly Mr. John
Jones and me, in order to get money to purchafe
books ; and for fome months every fliilling we could
fpare was laid out at old book-fliops, llalis, &;c. info-
much that in a fliort time we had what nxjt called a
very good library. This choice coUedion confifled
of Polhill on Precious Faith, Polhill on the Drccees
Shepherd's Sound Believer; Bunyan's Pilgrim's Pro-
grefs; Bunyan^s Good News for the vilefi: of Sinners
his Heavenly Footman; his Grace abounding to the
chief of Sinners ; his Life and Death of Mr. Badman ;
his Holy War in the Town of Manfoul; Hervey's Me-
ditations ; Hervey's Dialogues; Roger's Seven Helps
to Heaven; Hall's Jacob's Ladder; Divine Breath-
ings of a devout Soul Adams on the Second Epiftle
;
of Peter ; Adams's Sermons on the black Devil the

ivhite Devil, &c. &c. Collings's Divine Cordial for;|L
the Soul Pearfe's Soul's Efpoufal to Chrift; Erlkiue^s ^
•
Gofpel Sonnets; the Death of Abel; the Faith of

God's Ele6t ; Manton on the Epiille to St. James
Pamble's Vvôrks Baxter's Shove for a heanjy-arfed
;
Chriftian ; his Call to the Unconverted Mary Mag- ;
dalen's Funeral Tears ; Mrs, Moore's Evidences of

Heaven ; Mead's Almofl a Chriftian; the Sure Guide
to Heaven; Brooks on AiTu ranee ; God's Revenge
againft Murder Brook's Heaven upon Earth; the
;
Pathway to Heaven ; Wilcox's Guide to eternal

Glory; Derham's Unfearchable Riches of Chrifl ;
his Expoiition of Revelations ; Alleine's Sure Guide
to Heaven ; the Sincere Convert; Watfon's Heaven
taken by Storm ; Heaven's Vengeance Wall's None;
but Chrift Ariftotle's M;ifterpiece Coles on God's

; ;
Sovereignty ; Charnock on Providence ; Young's

Short
;
fehortand Sure Guide to Salvation Wefley*s Ser- ;
mons, Journals, Trads, See, and others of the fame

dcfcription.
We had indeed a few of a better fort, as Gay^*
Fables ; Pomfret's Poems ; Milton's Paradife Lofl
beiides Hobbs's Homer, and Walker's Epidetus,
"
mentioned in my laii letter.

But what we wanted in judgment in choofing our
library, we made up in application fo anxious were ;
we to read a great deal, that we allowed ourfelves

but. about three hours lleep in twenty-four.
Iti knowledge cheerfully employ'd.
fenrch of
No minute loft, no fealon unenjoy'd ;
Each hour of leu'ure iuuocentlv fpenr,

And every moment gilded with content. Arlet.
For fome m,onths together we never were all in bed
at the fame time (Sunday nights excepted.) But
left we fliould overfleep the time allowed, one of us
fat up to work until the time appointed for the others
to rile, and when all were up, my friend John and
your humble fervant took it by turns to read aloud
to the rell, v/hile they were at their work.
Such there are, denyM, by liars unkind,

The feaibns to exert the noble mind,
Should watch occafions, and attend the hours,
And catch the moments to indulge the powers. Cooke.
But this mad fcheme of ours had nearly been at-
tended with very ferious confequences. One night,
it being my turn to watch, I removed to the fireside,
to read fonie particular palTage, and the candleflick

which we worked by not being csnvenient to move
about, and their being no other at that time in the
room, I fet up the candle againfl the handle of a
pewter pot, and was fo extremely heavy (owing to
much watchfulnefs) that I fell fail afleep, and had
like never to have waked again ; for the candle burned
down to the handle of the pot, melted it off, and then
fell on the chair on which it ftood fo that Mr. Jones ;
found me in the morning, fall aileep, and part of the

chair confumed which alarmed us all very much,
;
and made us more cautious.

But
tbo LIFE OF J. LACKINGTGN.
But ftill we continued our plan of living, fo that
we made what we called fpirltual
a rapid progrels in
and divine knowledge and were foon mailers of the
;
various arguments made ufe of by moll polemical di-

Vines, &c. <
We knew the feat of ParadifC)

Could tell in what degree it hes ;
Could deeped myfleries unriddle,

As eafily as thread a needle, HobiuRAS.
And the better to guard my pupils from what I
falfe f/odrifiesyl ufed often to engage them in
c^\\Q,d.
various controverfies, in which I fometimes took one

fide of the queflion, fometimes the other^ in order to
make them well veifed incontroverfy, and acquainted
with the flrength of their adverfaries. So that 1 was,
by turns, a Calvinift, an Arminian, an Arian, a So-
cinian, a Deiil:, and even an Atheifi:. And after they
had faid all they could to confute mc, I would point
out where they had failed, and added fuch arguments
ns I was mafter of, and in general we weiie all fatisfied;
But when any doubts occurred, we had recourfe to
the Bible and conuiieritators of our own iide of the
queftion ; ai>d I affure you, my dear friend, this was
a very finp^liobby-horfe, which, like Aaron's ferpeat,
iwallowed up all the other hobby -horfes.
Light minds are pleafed with trifles, Ovid.
And it IS far better to be pleafed with trifles than not

to be pleafed at all.
They applauded, they laughed laughter, Greeks never tires

; ;
Wlien inaii's happy, what fignifies what he admires.

Faankhn,
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours.
;
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. loi
LETTER XV.
Laugh where you rnuft ; be candid where you can. Pop e
Know then, that always when you come,

You'll find me fitting on my bum ;
'Or lying on a couch, furrounded
With tables, pens, and books confounded ;
Wrapt up in lofty fpeculation,

As if on the fafety of the nation HirM£«
Go to the floic, hear the ancient fage,

And draw pure wifdom from the moral page
Wildom^ that conquers pains, and toil, and flrife,
And tow'rs above the accidents of life. rp h v» Mu
DEAR FRIEND,
INthe courfe of my reading, I^

learnt that there had been various fe6i:s of philofopher*
amongft the Greeks, Romans, &c. and I remembered
the names of the moft eminent of them. At an old
book-fliop I purchafed Plato on the Immortality of
the Soul, PlMtarch's Morals, Seneca's Morals, Epi-
curus's Morals, the Morals of Confucius the Chinefe
Philofopher, and a few others. I now can fcarce help
thinking that I received more real benefit from read-
ing and ftudying them and Epidetus, than from all
other books that I bad read before, or hare ever reai
lince that time.
Thefe, thefe, are joys alone, I cry ;

•Ti5 here divine Philofophy,
Thou deign'fl tq fix thy throne 1
Here, Contemplation points the road
Thro' Nature's charms to Nature's God 1
Thefe, thefe, are joys alone.
Adieu, ye vain low-thoughted care^

Ye human hopes, and human fears.
Ye pleafures andye pains !—
While thus I fpake, o'câU my foul
A philofophic calmnefs ftole,
A fltîc ftilincfs reigns.
F The
;
102 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON;

The tyrant paffions all fubfide, ^
Fear, anger^ pity, fhame, aad pride, •
.
No more my bofom move j
Yet ftill I felt, or feem'd to feel

A kind of. vifionary zeai
Of univerfal "love. W. Whitehead^
1 was but about twenty-two years of age, when I
began to read thofe fine moral productions ; and
fii ft
I alTure you, my friend, that they made a very deep

and lafting impreffion on my mind. By reading them,
I was taught to bear the ûnavoidable evils attending
humanity, and to fupply all my wants by comra6ling
or reftraining my defires.
To mend my virtues, and exalt my thought,
What the bright fons of Greece and Rome have wrote,
O'er day and night I turn ; in them vê find
A rich repaft for the luxurious mind. Co ok e.
It now twenty- three years iince I firft perufed
is
them during which time I do not recollet^ that I have

;
-ever felt one anxious painful vvilli to get money, eftates,

or any way to better my condition :
** Indeed, ray friend, were I to fi?id

« That wealth could e'er my real wifhes gain-:
<* Had e'er diflurbed my thoughtful mind,
*' Or coft one ferious moment's pain
« I (hould have faid, th^t all the rules,

"I learned of moralifts and fchools,
« Were very ufelefs, very vain."
And yet I have never fince that time kt flip any f^rr
opportunity of doing it, " Be contented (fays Ifo-
c rates) with what you have, and feek at the fame time
to make the beft improvement of it you^ can.'' So that
all I mean is, that I have not been over 'folkitous to
obtain any thing that I did not pofTefs ; but could at
all times fay, with St, Paul, that I have learned to
be contented in all fituations, although at times
they have been very gloomy indeed.
Regard the world with cautious eye,
Nor raife your cxpeâtions high.
See that the balancM fcale be fuch
You neither fear nor hope too much.
For difapppintment's not the thing,
'Tie pride and paflioh points tlie ft lug.
Life
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTONT. 103
Life a fea, where ftorms miift rife,
is
*Tis folly talks of cloudlefs Ikies ;

He who contra<5ls his fwelUng fail,
Eludes the fury of the gale. Content.
Mr. Dryden has faid nearly as much in two lines t
Wc to ourfelves may all our wifties grant,

For, nothing coveting, we nothing want.
Dryden'5 Indian Emperor.
And in another place he fays,
They cannot want who wiih not to have more :
Who ever faid an anchoret was poor ?
Dryden's Secret Love,
The pleafure of eating and drinking I entirely

defpifed ; for fome time I carried this difpolition to an
extreme, and even to the prefent time I feel a very
great indifferencd about thefe matters : when in com-
pany I frequently dine off one difh, when there arc
twenty on the table,
Gryle, big and bloated with one endlefs feafl.
Sues with long hfe and vigour to be bleft.
Crave fool thy fauces and foups refign ;
!
Or, know, the lot of Parr will ne'er be thine.

Neville,
The account of Epicurus living in his garden, at
the expence of about a halfpenny per day, and that
when he added a little cheefe to his bread on particu-
lar occaiions, he coniidered it as a luxury, filled mc
with raptures.
He talk'd of virtue, and of human blifs,
What elfe fo fit for man to fettle well ?
And ftill his long refearches met in this,
This truth of truths^ which nothing can repel.
From virtue's fount the pureft joys out- well
Sweet rills of thought that cheer the confcious foul^
While vice pours forth the troubled flreams of hell,
Which, howe'erdifguisM, at laft will dole ;
Will through the torturM breaft their fiery torrents i-olL'
TwoMPiOK.
From that moment I began to live on bread and
tea, and for a conliderable time did not partake of any
other viands, but in thofe I indulged myfelf three or
F 2 four
104 LIFE OF J.LACKINGTOK.
four times a day. My reafons for living
in this ab-
ftemious manner were in order to fave money to pur-
chafe books, to wean myfelf from the grofs pleafures
of eating and drinking, &c. and to purge my minol,
'
and to make it. more fufceptible of intellectual plea-

fures. Hetc I cannot help remarking, that the term
Epicure^ when applitd to one who makes the plea-
fure of the table his chief good, cafls an unjuft re-
flc6lion on Epicurus^ and convey a wrong idea of that
contemplative and very abftemious philofcpher for :
although he ailerted that pleafure wâs the chief or fu-

preme good, yet he alfo as llrongly afTcrted, that it
was the tranquillity of the mind, and intelledtual plea-
fure, that he and recommended, *' This
fo extolled
.pl^fure (fays he) that is the very centre of our 'hap-
pinefs, COD lifts in nothing tlfe than having our mind
free from difturbance, and our body free from pain ;
clrunkennefs, excefTive eating, nicenefs in our liquors,
and all that fealbns gooicheer, have nothing in them
that can make life happy there is nothing but frugali-
;
ty and tranqxiillity ofmind that can eftablifti this happy

flate it is this calm that facilitates our diftinguifliing
;
betwixt thofe things that ought to be our choiee, and

thofe v^'e ought to iliun ; and it is by the means there-
of, that we difcard thofe notions that difcompofe this
firit mover of our life."
\Vh«n Epicnrns to thewôrTd had taught,

That pleafure was the chiefcfl good,
(And was perhaps in the right, if rightly underftood)
His hfe he to his dodlrine brought,
And in a garden's (liade, that fovereign pleafure fought*
Whoever a true Epicure would bis,
:
May there fend cheap and virtuous luxury.
Cowley's Garden.
Evremont, in hisvindication of Epicurus, fays,

St,
** Ignorant men know not his worth. Wife men
have given large and honourable teftimonies of his
exalted virtue; and fublime precepts. They have
fully proved his pleafures to be as fevere as the ftoicks
virtue ; that to be debauched like Epicurus, a man
—
•muft be as fober as Zeno.- His temperance was fo
great that his ordinary diet was nothing but bread
and
.
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON/ ^ 105

and Water. The floics and
other philofophers
all
ao^rcc with Epicurus in this ; that the true felicity of
life is to be ivtc from perturbations, to underflandour
daty towards God and man, and to ^njoy the pre-
{tnt without any anxious dependance upon the
future not to amufe ourfelves either vvith hope or
;
fear ; curb and reftrain our unruly appetites, to

to
reft fatisfiedwith what we have, which is abundantly
f6fhcient ; ** for he that is content wants nothing^'*
Some place the blifs ia a6lion, fome in eafe ;

Tliofe call it pteafure, ,and contentment thefe ;
Some funk to btmfts, find pleafure end in pain ; .
'
Some fweli©ti to Gods, conlefs e'en virture vain. Pope*
I contlnned the above felf-denvins: life untit I left

Briftol, which was on Whitfundayin 1769. Having
for fome time before been pointing* out to my friend
John Jones, the pleafures and advantages of travel- ,
ling", on him to accompany me to*

I eafily prevailed
\\:ard the Weft of Ens^land and in the evening we
»
arrived at Bridgev/ater, where Mr. Jones got work.

He was employed by Mr. Cafli, with whom he con-
tirûed near twelve months, and in the end married
Mr, Cadi's daughter, a very pretty and very amiable
little woman, with fome fortune. When my friend
was offered work by Mr. Cafliy I prevailed on him ta
accept of it, affuring him that I had no doubt of my
being ablr to get work at Taunton but in that I was :
difappointed, nor could I get a conftant feat of work

until I came to Exeter, and of that place I was foon
tired but being informed that a Mr. John Taylor of
;
K-ingft)ridgc (forty miles below Exeter) wanted fuch

a hand, I went down, and was gladly received by
Mr. Taylor, whofe name infpires me with gratitude,
as he never treated me as a journeyman, but made
me his companion. Nor was any part of my time
ever fpent in a mor^ agreeable pleafing manner, than
thatwhich I pailed in this retired place, or I believe
more profitable to a. mafter. I was the firft man he
ever had that was able to m:ike ftulf and filk (lioes ;
and it being alfo known that I came from Briftol,
this had great weight Vvîth the country ladies, and.
F 3 procured
io6 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
procured my mafter cuftomers, who generally fentfor
me meafure of their feet, and I was looked
to take
upon by all to be the beft workman in the town,
altho' I had not been brought up to ftaff-work, nor
had ever entirely made one fluff or filk Ihoe before.
Njor Ihould I have prefumed to proclaim myfelf a
Huff-man, had there been any fuch workmen in the
place ; but, as there were none, I boldly ventured,
and fucceeded very well nor did any one in the town
;
€ver know that it was my lirfi: attempt in that branch.

During the time that I lived here, I as ufual was
obliged to employ one or other of my acquaintance
to write my letters for me; this procured me much
praife among the young men as a good inditer of let-
ters (I need not inform you that they were not good
judges). Mymafler faid to mône day, he was fur-
prized that I did not learn to write my own letters ;
adding, He was fure that I could learn to do it in a
very (liort time. The thought pleafedme much, and
without any delay I fet about it, by taking up any
pieces of paper that had writing on them, and imi-
tating the letters as well as I could, I employed my
leifure hours in this way for near two months, after
which time I wrote my own love-letters, a bad hand,
you may be fure but it was plain'and eafy to read,
;
which was all 1 cared for.

Heav*n lirft taught letters for fome wretch's aid,
Some banilh'd lover, or fome captive maid ;
They live, they fpeak, they breathe what love infpires.
Warm from the foul, and faithful to its fires.
Eloisa to Abelard.
Nor to theprefent moment can I write much bet-

ter, as I never would have any perfon to teach me,
nor was I ever poiTefTed of patience enough to em-
ploy time fufficient to learn to write well ; and yet a&
foon as I was able to fcribble, I wrote verfes on fome
trifle or other every day for years together.
Out of fome thoufands I at pre lent recoUe(?l the
following, the firfl of which I placed by the fide of
tbe figure of a clergyman in his,, robes, with his
hands and eyes lifted up ; this image flood over the
fife-place
^ in my^ room.
Here
: ;; ;

Hferc'b a Ihoemiiker's chaplain has negative merit,
As his vice he ne'er flatters or rufflles his fpirit
No wages receiving, his confcience is clear;
Not prone to deceiving, he*s nothing to fear.
*1 is true he is filent —
but that's nothing new 4
And if you'd repent, his attitude view ;
With upHfted hands all'vice to reprove,
How foiemu he ftands, his eyes fix'd above !
'As a kind of contraft I will infert next an epigram

ihat I wrote but a few days iince on an ignorant
method ill preacher,
A flupid fellow told nie t*other day,
That by the fpirit he could preach and pray
Let none then fay that min'^cles have ceasM, ,
As God fliU opes the mouth of beaft ?

And alTes now can fpeak as plain
As e'er they could m Balaam's reign.
On a ftupid fellow that faid he had learned a new"-
way of making memorandums, by doing it on hia
hand.
^< Says Jackfoa to Jones, I have learn'd a new plan,
** If ilead any money, I write on my hand
** That's nothing new, reply 'd Jones, by the mafs,
** As thoufands have wrote on the (kin of afs."
The following was a reply to a beautiful little
iady that was complaining of her iize.

<* No wonder, madam, youVe fmall,
" Rare fluff compofe yoiu" frame,
*' Nature would foon exhaufl her all
" If lavifhof the fame."
On a genileman that was often complaining for

want of a wife, and yet was very backward in mak-
ing his addrefles.
" Mr. K. wants, a wife, I pity the man, ,
*»His cafe fure i$ very diftreffig ;

" Tho* furrounded by beauties on every han*^, .
" He ftill wants the knack of -add reffing/*
But I always wrote as faft as I could^ without en-

deavouring to write well, and that this is my prefent
practice I need not inform you,
I came to this place in but a weak {late of body
hpwever, the healthy fituation of tlie town, together
F, 4. with
igS life of J. LACKINGTON.
with bathing in the fait watef, foon reilored me t®
perfe6t health, I palFed thirteen months here in a very
happy manner.
Ye kind few,
With whom the morning of ra^y^ life I pafs'd,
May every your §6nerou? bofoms
blifs knew .
In early days, attend you to the iaft. W. Whi t ehea».

But the wages for work being very low, and as I
hi^d fpent much time in writing hymns to every fong-
tune that I knew, beiides a number of love-verfes,
letters, &c. I was very poor. To compleat all, I be-
gan to keep a deal of company, in which I gave a
loofe to my natural gaiety of difpofition, much morg
than was confiiient with the grave, fedate ideas which
I had formed of a religious character; all which made
me refolve to leave Kingfbridge, which I did. in
1770.
I travelled as far as Exeter the firft day, where I
worked about a fortnight, and faved fufficient to carry
me to Bridgewater, where I worked two or three
weeks more. Before arrived there, Mr, John Jones
I
!had gone back to refide at Briftol, but as ibon as he

heard of my being in Bridgewater, he and his brother
Richard fent me an invitation to come to Briilol ^gaia '
and live with them. Finding that I did not imme-

diately comply, they both came to Bridgewater, and
declared their intention of not returning to Briilol
without me ;fo that after a daj^ qr two I yielded to
their folic! tations, and again lived very comfortably
with them, their mother and iiiler.
But where is the bofom untainted by arC,

The judgment fo moueft and flay'd, .
That union fo j'are of the head and the heart,

Which^fixes the friends it has made. W. W.
I think it was about this period, that Twentfeveral
times to the Tablernacle, and heard Mr. George
Whitefield ; and of all the preachers that I ever at*
tended, never did I meet with one that h^xi fuch a
perfect: command over the paffions of his audience.*
In every fermon that I heard him preach, he would
fomctimes make them ready to burft with laughter,
and
'
LIFE OF J.
LACKINGTON. loj
•atidthe next moment drown them in tears ; it indeed
was icarce poffible for the moil guarded to efcape thc-
effed.
He had fomethin^ 'twas thought ftill more horrid to fay, •
When his tongue iv)ll its powers, and hj fainted away j
Some fay tvvas his coiiicienct: that^gave bim aUroke,

But thole whobeft knew him treat that as a joke;
"lis a trick which ftage orators nfe in their need,
^ The pafTions to raife and th^ judgment mifleiul. Simkik*
a
In one of my excurfions I pafTed many agreeable

Kours with the late Mr. La Bute, at Cambridge, who
was well' known, he having taught French at that
imiverlity upwards of forty years. He informed me '
that near forty years lince, Mr. Whltcfield having

advertiied himfelf to preach at Gog-Magog-Hlll,
feveraLthoulahd people colleded together from many
miles round. While he was preaching, he was ele--
vated on the hlgheft ground, and his audience Hood
all round on the declivity ; during his fermon, a
young countrywoman, who had come fome miles to
hear him, and waited, feveral hours, being very faint,
owing to the violent heat of the fun, che breaths of
the multitude, as well as the want of refreihment ;
and it is very likely much agitated in her mind by the
extraordinary dodrines of the preacher, flie fell back-
wards, jail under the orator, and there lay kicking
up her heels. On feeing the poor girl lie in a kind
of con vu 111 on, fome of the company moved to alfiil
her, and the women, began to draw down her apron .
and petticoats over her feet, but Mr. Whitefield

cried out, '' Lef her alone ! Let her alone glorious ; A
fight ! A
glorious JightV^ No doubt the holy man meant
that it was a glorious iigat to fee a finner fall before
the power of the word ; but the young college bucks
and wits conllrued his me ming differently, and put
the audience into- fiich .immoderate fits of laughing,
that even Mr. Whitetield's utmoft efforts were not
able to rellore their gravity, but he was obliged to "
difrnifs his congregation abruptly.

For a long time after this happened, the Cahtabs
as they reeled homewards in the night-time, diflurbed
the. fober inhabitants, by loudly exclaiming, '' A
F 5 gloriouft
iio LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
glorious fight ! A glorious fight ! as Dr. Squintum
fays."
Here Prior's couplet naturally occurs :
<^ Like other myft'ries men adore,

** Be hid, to be rever'd the more/*
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours.
LETTER XVI.
Xove the moft gfenerous paffion of the min4i

The fofteft refuge innocence can find;
The foft direcSlor of unguided youth.
Fraught with kind wifhes, and fecured by truth j
The cordial drop heav'n in our cup has thrown,
To make the naufeous draught of life go down 5
On which one only blefling God might raife,
In lands of atheifls fubfidies of praife 5
For none did e*er fo dull and flupid prove,
But felt a God, and blefs'd his povv'r> in love.
Nonpareil*
BEAR FRIEND,
I Muft now requefl you to go back

with me a few years, as I have not yet made you^ ac-
quainted with my
principal amours. If we believe
the Platonifts, the paffion of love is produced after
the following manner : ^ perfon is Aprefented to
my îght ; the image of this perfon, after having
paiTed through the organ of vifion, comes to offer it-
felf to the foul. The it, and com-
foul contemplates
pares it to that which it has received from the Deity
by infufion. If this extetnal image proves to refem-
blc
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. i ri
ble the internal infufed image, the foul is immediately
in love with it."
Ariilotle tells us, that the love of the beautiful is
an inilind implanted in us by nature ; and to obviate
all objections, he eftablidiei two forts of nature :
namely, fpecific, which in fpires mankind in general ;
and the individual, which infpiês each man iiv
particular; and that it is by the lafl: we love this or
that beauty in particular.
Defcartes gravely aiferts, that nature has ma<le cer-
tain impreilions upon th-^ brain, which, at a particular
age, makes a- man cuniider himfelf as defev^Hve, and
as it were one half of the whole, which is to be com-
pleted by a perfon of the other fex and that this

;
blelhng when attained we call love. We

find in Plata
^this opinion ; as according to this philofopher's
fable, man and woman were not always two diftin6l
beings as they are at prefent.
But here is ftill another hypothecs refpecSling the
god-like paffion of lovc^
Lewenhoeck, by the help of the microfcope, has
difcovered in the Ikin 125,000 minute pores, or tran-
fpiring vefTels, in a fpace fmall enough to be covered
by a grain of fand. San6torius, by balancing himfelf
in his elbow-chair, difcovered that after eating and
drinking, he always loft fome of hi-s weight; con-
cluded that fomething muft have efcaped through
thofc pores in the ikin. From thefe and other expe-
riments, fome late philofophers have concluded, that
thefe minute pores could not anfwer any other end,
but to tranfmit the moft refined particles of fympa-
thetic matter !Heifter, in his anatomy, thinks that it
is by the tranfpiring fluid, that fathers have fome-
time> felt pleafure in beholding their. children when
they did not know them. But the grand end of this
fympathetic matter is difcovered (it feems) in the
pallion of love. So that when a man and a womaa
happens to fall in love with each other, it is occa-
lioned by the fympathetic matter acting reciprocally
in its full force on both ofthem.. As Dryden fays,
'
Theic twift^d rays together met,
F 6 I will
112 LIFE OF J. lackington:
I will not attempt to determine which, of all thcfe
fyflems, or hypothecs is the true one.
By love flrange efFedl:s have been wrought, we are told.

In countries and climates, hot, temperate, and cold.
all
For cupid, wha trims men of every flation,
Betwixt barbers and beaux makes no difcrimination.
The Barber's Nuptials,
But whiether my " Soul had
the fair image flamped
on it,'* or if I confidered " Myfelf but an
half of
a whole ;" or whether the hitherto dormant '* Sym-
pathetic matter'^ began to operate, certain it is I was
about feventeen years of age when an adventure dif-
covered, that although I was fo very fpifitual, as I
before informed you, I was notwithftanding fuf-
ceptible of another kind of impreffion.
Oh, let me enjoy the cheerful day,

ftill
Till many years unheeded o'er me roll ;

PleasM my age I trifle life away.
in
And tell how much I lov'd ere I grew old.
Hammond's Love Elegies.
Being at farmer Gamlin*s at Charlton, four miles

from Taunton, to hear a methodift fermon, I fell
defperately in love with the farmer's handfome dairy-
maid.
Her home-fpun drefs in fimple neatncfs lies.
And for no glaring equipage (he fighs. -
She gratefully receives what heav'n has fentjj.

And rich, in poverty, enjoys content.
Her reputation which is all her boafl,
In a malicious vifit, ne'er was loft.
No midnight mafquerade her beauty wears.
And health, not paint, the faiding bloom repaiw.
If Love's foft paffions in her bofom reign,
An equal paflion warms her happy fwam. Gay-
At that time I abounded vcifplritual gifts^ which in-
duced this honeil ruflic maid to be very kind to me,
and to walk feveral fields with me in my road back
to Taunton, talking all the way of her Spiritual dif-
trefs and godly concerns ; while I poured heavenly
comfort into her foul, and talked fo long of divine
love, until I found that my afFedlion for her was not
^
ahoj^her of th^t fpiritual nature. And yet,
We
: ;

We lovM without trangrefling Virtue's bounds
We fixt the limits of our tendereft thoughts.
Came to the verge of honour, and there flopp*d
We warm'd us by the fire, but were not fcorch'd.
If this be fin,Angels might live with morej
And mingle rays of mind lefs pure than ours.
Dr YD en's' Love Triumphant^
Beneath the.branchesof this filent fhade»

By hours of pafl tranquility endear'd ;
He vowM his paliion to the blufhing maid,
Whofe timid love his lofs each moment fear*d.
Untaught in the pernicious fchool of art,
Which curb the genuine feelings as they rife,-
She own*d the fentiments that filled a heart,
Whofe confcious purity contemu'd difguife.
Lady Manners*
After this you majr be fure that I did not let flip
any opportunity of hearing fermons at farmer Gam-
lin's ; and I generally prevailed with Nancy Smith,
my charming fpiritual dairy- maid, to accompany me
part of the way home, and at every gate 1 accompa-
nied my fpiritual advice with a kifs.
'
Oh ! then the longefl fummer's day
Seenyd much in hafte ; Hill the full heart
too, too
Had not imparted half: 'twas happinefs
Too exqaifite to lafl. Of joys departed/
Never to return, how painful th^ remembrance I
Blair's Grave,
But alas ! thefe comfortable Sunday walks were foon

at an end ; as my charming Nancy Smith, for fome
reafon or other (I have forgot what) left her place,
and went to live as diary-maid with. a. farmer in the
marfh country, between Bridgewater and Brillol,
feventeen miks from Taunton ; fo that I did not fee.
her for near two years afterwards ; during which time
1 gave fpiritual advice to another holy fifter, whofe
name was Hannah Allen*
Sure philofophy, reafon, and coldnefs muft' prove
Defences unequal to fhield us from Love. C. J. Fox#
I prevailed on this lovely maid to attend the me*
thodift preaching: at ^five o'clock on Monday morn-
ings^
'
114 tlFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

ings ;and as we often met at three or four, we had'
an hour or two to fpend in walking and coverfation
on fpi ritual affairs. Had you feen and heard us on
the cold frofly mornings, it would have put you in
mind of Milton's /)î^//i,-whom he reprefents as at^
times ftarving- with coldr
Others apart, fat on a hill, reti-r'd, -
In thoughts more elevate, and reafon'd high'

Of Providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate;
Fix'd fate, free-will, fere- knowledge abfohue; ;
And found no end, in wandering mazes loft..

Paradife Lofti'
But 1 afTure you, my friend, that wc were fome-

times like the^ Galatians of old 5 we began in the
Jpirity and ended in the ^^y^.
Now on- the mofs-bank, beneath the f1iad<»,

Foi' hours of love, or meditation made 5 .
To the faft palBou I my heart refign, .
To make the long olxlurate maiden mine» Cooke-

With this dear girl I fpent all my leifure time, . fpr
two or three years; fo that wc enjoyed together hun-
dreds of happy, and I can truely add, innoecnt hoVirs.
a days of blifs':V
To equal this
Oiympus ftrives in vain ; .
O- happy pair !
O happy fair !
O happy,, happy fwaia! Joannes Secundus,

But ftill I never could entirely forget my charming^
innocent Dahy-tnald^
Her cheeks difclos'd the rofe's fofteft dye, -.
And innocence beam 'd lovely from her eye ; •
Cin h'T red lips a mild compofure charm'd,

And perfe<St fymmetry her figure form'd. Lady Manners.
In fadt, I had' love enough for both, to have
taken either for better or worfe ; but my being
an apprentice prevented me from marrying at^ that
time.
Abfence, fays Rochefoucault, leflens moderate
but increafes great ones ; like the wind
paffions,
which blows out tapers, but kindles fire.
It
;
LIFE OF J, LACKINGTON. irj:
It is true^ I had the greateftlove for Nancy Smith

but Hannah Allen had the advantage of Nancy, as I
could fee Hannah almoft every day, and Nancy only:
once ar twice in about three years. However, I at
laft fell out with Hannah (on what occaiiori I cannot
recoiled) and I fent Nancy a letter, which made up
matters with her ; for, like Sterne^ I was *' always
in love with one goddefs or other;" and Xenophon
in his banquet, informs us, that the divine Socrates
faid, that he never remembered that he was ever
without being in love, nor would he part from the
company without faying fomething on " the attri-
butes or that great power ; he refembles but a child,
fays he, who by his power is mafler of all things, and
as grafted into the very effence and conftitution of
ihe foul of man."^
And rather than not be in love at all, I would pre-
fer falling in love with a toothlefs old woman, as we
are told the great philofopher Plato adlually did ; for
agreeable to his fable, and the fyftem of Defcartes, I
aways thought myfelf but one half; and fo was al-
ways looking out for my other half, or as aCarteiiaii
would exprefs himfelf,.! always found a tendency to
make a complete fyftem, .
Love contents the humble flate,.

And fhow'rs down hleffingson the g^reat.
Soothes cefires that wildly roll.
And calms the tempefls of the foul. Fawkes,
Soon after,. Nancy Smith came to live for a little

time at her father's houfe at Petherton near Bridge-
water, feven miles from Taunton. This happened
during the eledion at Taunton, when I was changed
from a ftrid methodift to a rake and although the ;
wedding-ring was purchafed, and we were to have

been married in a few days, yet the marriage was put
off on account of my diffipated charader.
With wine, I ftrove to foothe my love-fick foul.

But vengeful Cupid dafh'd wi'h tears the bowl :
All mad with rage, to kinder nymphs I flew.

Grainger's Tibullus.
I foon
no LIFE OF J; LACKINGTON.
I foon after fet off for Briflol, as I before informed-
you: nor did, I fee her after that, until my return
from Kinglbridge,^ when I was with her feveral times
prior to my fetting oft' for Briftol with my friend
Jones, and his brother Richard,
Love-quarrels oft in pleafing concord end,
Not wedlock treachery. Samson Agonistbs* ,
lam,
IJear Friend,
Youcs* -
! ; ; ;
LJFE OF J, LACKINGTON. n?
LETTER XVII.
Hail, nuptial felicity mpturous ftation

1
That forms the b^^ prop in the llrength of a nation.

Blefl foarce, from whence ev'ry happinefs flows.
That fubjugates paflion, or conquer our woes !
The connubial twain, whotVi fweet virtue impreffes,

Can draw forth the arrow from human diftrcffes
Their mutual ftrife is to banifh defpair,
And hide the ihorn heart from the prefifure o^ care ;
Like the dreams of an angel, to tranfpwrt refign'd.
The finger of peice fmoothes the fprings of the mind.
As the kindred tie of foft fympathy moves,
And the organs are tua'd by confederate lores
A commerce empyreal the fenfes unite,
To barter for bliifes, and feed on delight
Till the mind fo high charged, it can treafure no more,
But, fillM with the balm of enjoyment, runs o'er.
ChiUlrcu of Thssîi.
If yon will nfe the Utile that you have,

More has not he.iv'n to give, -ov yo\i to cravCf
Ceafe to complain. He never can be poor
Who has and wlô wants no more.
fufiicient,
If but from cold, and pining hunger free,
The richeft monarch can but equal thee,
Horace Imitated.
DEAR FRIEND,
I Had not lon^^refided a fecond time

with my good Briitol friends, before I rene^ved my
correfpondence with my old fweetheart, Nancy Smith.
I informed her that my attachment to books, together
with my travelling from place tq place, and aiib my
total difregard for money, had prevented me from
favmg- any; and that while I reipained in a Tingle
unfettled ftate, I was never likely to accuinriLite it.
I alfo prelled her very much to come to Briftvd to be
married, which flie foon complied with and marriedj' ;
we were at St, Peter's Church, towards the end of

the year 1 7 70 ; near feven years after my firft making
love to her.
V/lteia
: :
Ii8 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTGNr

When join'd in hand and' heart, to chnrc^h we wQi)^^,
Mutual vows, and pris'ners by confent*
in
My Nancy's heart beat high, with mix'd alarms.
But trembling beauty giovy'd with double charms.
In hex foft breaft a modeft flruggie rofe,
How fhe fhould feem to like the lot (he chofe
A fmile (he "thought would drefs her looks too gay 5
A frown might lecm too fad, and blaft the day.
But while nor this, nor that, her. will could bow.
She walk'd, and look'd, and charm'd, and knew not how*.
Our hands at length th' unclianging fiat bound,
And our glad fouls fprung out to meet the found.
Joys meeting joys unite, and (Ironger (hine :
For paflion purified is half divine :
Now, Nancy,.thou mine, 1 cry'd-^—and (he

art
Sigh*dfoft-^now~, jEi4My, thou art LoKt> of me A.HiiLp. !
We kept our wedding at the houfe of my friends-

tlie MeilVs. Jones's, and at bed-time retired to ready*-
furriiQied lodgings, which we had before provided,
at halfra crown per week. Our finances were but.
juft fufficlent to pay the cxpences of the day ; for the
aext morning, on fearehing our pockets (which we
did not dp in a carelefs manner) we difcovered that
we had but one halfpenny to begin the- world with.
But-—
" The hearth w^s clean, the fire clear,
*' The kettle on for tea
;
*f Palemon, in his elbow-chairj.,,
" As blefs'd as man
could be.
*'^ Ciarinda, who
heart pofFefs'd,;^
hixS
<* And was bis nsw-made bride,
<1 With head rechn'd upon his breaftj ^
*^^Sat toying by his fide.

**. Palemon with heart elate,
ti
Pray'd to Almighty Jove,
^^ That it mjght ever be his fate»
<*
Jt;i3t and lave."
fo to live
It IS true, we had laii in eatables f?ifficient for *,

day or two, in which time we knew we could by utif
work procure moirc, which we very cheerfully fet.
afeout, fiaging together the follQwing lines of Du
Cotton
<fOyr pQjif^Lip^ h ftot large indeed,
« But theft how little do we need I
" For.
; ;

" For Nature^s calls are few
<< In this the ait of living lies,
<* To want no more than may fuffic*,
'< And make that little do.
«< If folid happinefswe prize,

" Within our breaft this jewel lies
*' And they are fools who roam :
*' The world has nothing to beftow,

** From our ownfeives our joys muft flow>
" And that dear hut our home.'*
The above, and the following ode by Mr. Fitzgerald,

did we fcores of times repeat, even with raptures!
** No glory I covet, no riches I want,

" Ambition is nothing to me :
'• The one thing I beg of kind heaven to grant,

** Is, a mind independent and free.
" By pnflion unruffled, untainted by pride,
" By Rîfon my life let me fquare ;
** The wants of my nature are cheaply fupplieJ,

*' And the reft are but folly and care.
<' Thofe bleffings which Providence kindly ha$ lent,
*' I'll juftly and gratefiiUy prize:
** While fweet meditation and cheerful content,
" Shall make me both healthy and wife.
^* In the pleafure'" the great man's polfeflions difplay^
*'Unenvy'd I'll challenge my part;
*' For every fair ohje6l my eyes can furvey,
*^ Contributes to gladden my heart.
« How vainly thro* infinite troable and ftrife^
" The many labours employ ;
their.
" When all that is truly delightful in life,
^* Is what all, if they will, may enjoy."
After having worked on (luu-work in the country,

I could not bear the idea of returning to the leather-
branch ; I therefore attempted and obtained a feat of
Stuff in Bridol. But better work being required
there than in Kingfbridge, &c. I was obliged to take
fo much care to pleafe my mailer, that at firll:! could
not get more than nine Ihillings a week, and my wife
could earn but very little, as (lie was learning to bind
ftuff-flioes, and had never been much uled t^^ her
needle ; fo coafequently what with the expence of
ready^
:
I20 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON-.

ready-furniilied lodging, fire, candles, &c.. we had
but little left for purchafing proviiions. .
*
To increafe our ftraits, my old friend being fome-

what difpleafed at our leaving him and his relations,,
took on early opportunity to tell me that I was in-
debted to him nearly forty (liiilings of two years
ftanding. *' It is more
diflionourable '{fays lloche-
foucault) to diflruft our friends, thiiii to be deceived
by them."
— Prudenee,
Thy rniferable maxiais qurînt,
Were but of four fafpicion born
I thought with. fG(5m,
Let felfirn fouls, I madly cry'c!,

Submit to fuch a coward guide. Dell a Crusca.
I was not convinced of the juftice of the claim,

but to avoid difpute, I paid him in about two
months.
But if friends prove unfaithful, and fortune's a whore,
Still may 1 be virtuous, although I am poor. A, Bourne.
I vvifti that the above had been the only or lail in-
flance, or proof of his being a poor felffiOi being, and
as fuch incapable of real friendfliip. The author of
the following lines has exprefled fome of my ideas
and feelings :
O Friendfhip am I doom'd to find

1
Thou, art a phantom of the mind,

A gVitt'ring (hade, an empty name,
An air-born vifion's vapVifh flame ?
And yet the dtar deceit fo long
Has wals'd with joy my matin fong 5
Has bid my tears forget to flow,
Ghas'd evVy pain, footh'd evVy woe ;
That truth, unwelcome to my ear,
Swells the deep figh, recals the tear,,
Gives to the fenfe the keenefl fmart,
Checks the warm pulfes of the heart,.
Darkens my tate, and luteals away
Each gleam of joy thro' life's fad day. Laura«
The followîng lines of Mrs. Robinfon are much ta.

the purpofe
"What is FaiEtiD ship's, (bothiQg' name ?
But a ihad'wy, vap'riiî flame ;

Fancy*
I;IFE OF J. LACKINGTON. iii
Fancy's balm for ev'ry wound,
Ever fought, but rarely found.
During nearly the whole of which tnne it was ex-

tremely I'evere weather, and yet we made four fliii-
lings and ii^pence per week pay for the whole of
what we confumed in eating and drinking. Strong
beer we had none, nor any other liquor (the pure
element excepted), and inftcad of tea, or rather
coffee, we toafted a piece of bread at other times
;
we fried fome wheat, which when boiled in water

made a tolerable lubftitute for coffee as to animal ;
food, we made ufe of but little, and that little wc

boiled and made broth of.
The recoUedlion of pad toils is fweet. Euripid.
During the whole of this time, we never once

wiflied forany thing that we had n^t got, but were
quite contented, and with a good grace, in reality
made a virtue of neceffitv. We
Trembled not with vaindefires,
Few thethings which life requires Francis's Hon
And the fubjed of our prayer was,

«* This day be bread and peace our lot,
^ All elfe- beneath the fun,
** Thou know'ft, it bell beftow'd or not^j
" And let tliy will be done/'
am.
Dear Sir,
YouK.
LETTER
i iz LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
LETTER XVin.
To temper thus the flronger fires
Of youth he ftrove, for Viêll he knew,
Boundlefs as thought tho' man's defues,
The real wants of life are few. Cartwrigmt.
In adverfe hours an equal mind maintain.

Francises Horactf#
— Adversity's unpltied hour

A brighter leffon gives, than Stoics ever taught.
Mrs. RoBiNJONt
DEAR FRIENDi
INa few days after we had paid

the of the debt claimed by my friend
laft five fliillings
Mr. Jones, we were both together taken fo ill as to
be confined to our bed, but the good woman of the
houfe, our landlady, came to our room and did a few
trifles for us. She feemed very much alarmed at our
fituation, or rather for her own, I fuppofe, as think-
ing we might in fome meafure become burthenfomc
to her. We
had in cafiî two fiiillings and ninepence,
half-a-crown of which we had carefully locked up in
a box, to be faved as a refource on any extraordinary
emergence. This money fupported us two or three
days, in which time I recovered without the help of
medicine: but my wife continued ill near fix months,
and was confined to her bed the greatefi: part of the
time ; which illnefs may very eafily be accounted
'
for.
Before fhe came to Briftol, fhe had ever been ufed
to a very a6live life, and had always lived in the coun-
try ; but in coming to dwell in a populous city, fhe
had exchanged much exercife and good air for a fe-
dentary life and very bad air ; this I prefume was the
caufe of all our illnefs, from time to time, which at
length, as unfortunately as effectually, undermined
her conftitution. During her firft fix months illnefs,
I lived many days folely on water-grueU
Unvex*d
;
TTnvex'd by the cares that ambition and flate has.

Contented he dined on his daily potatoes.
The Barber's Nuptials,
*' What nature requires, (fays Montaigne,) is fo

fmall a matter, that by its littlenefs it efcape^ the
gripes of fortune ;" for as I could not afford to pay
a nurfe, much of my time was taken up in attendance
on her, and mofl of my money was expended in pro-
curing medicines, together with fuch trifles as fli«
-could eat and drink,
<* Yet
tho' his lot was low, hVs fortune hard,
" Serene he fmil'd contented with his fate j
« Nor look'd with envy on the rich and great.*'
But what added extremely to my calamity was th^

being within the hearing of her groans, which were
eaufed by the excruciating pains in her head, which
for months together defied the power of medicine.
It is impoflible for words to defcribe the keennefs
of my fenfations during this long term, and even to
the prefent moment,
Sympathy from brooding Memory's ftores
Culis thorns, and plants them in the bleeding breaft.
Salmagundi,
As to myfelfy my poverty and being obliged to live

^pon wacer-gruel gave me not the leaft uneafinefs.
In ruffling feafons I was calm,

And fmild when fortune frown'd. Young.
But the neceflity of being continually in the fight

and hearing of my beloved objeft, a young, charm-
ing, handfome, innocent wife,
Who, fick in bed, lay gafping for her breath

Her eyes, like dying lamps, funk in their fockets.
Now glar'd, and now drew back their feeble light 2
Faintly her fpeech fell from her faultering tong«e
In interrupted accents, a"? Ihe ilrove
With ftrong agonies that fhook her limbs.
And writh'd her tortur'd features into forms
Hideous to fight. Bkx l er's InjurM Innocence.
How
;
124 X-IFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

How
I fupported this long dreary fcene, I know
not the bare recollection of which is exceedingly
;
painful, ev^n at this diftance of time,
Lo, from amidft aftli^lion's ni^ht,

Hope burft all radiant on the fight
Her words the troubled bofom footh.
Why thus difmayM ?
Hope ne'er is wanting to their aid

Who tread the path of truth.
'Tis I, who foothe the rugged way,
I, who clofe the eyes of forrow,
And with glad vifions of to-morrow.
Repair the weary foul's decay.
Beat tie's Ode to Hope.
^ At laft, when every thing that feemed to promife
relief, had been tried in vain, fome old woman recom-
mended f^/)/?^/ic fnuff. I own I had not much faith
in it; however, I procured it, and in a fhort time
after flie was much relieved from the intolerable pain
in her head, but yet continued in a very bad ftate of
health ; her conflitution having fuifered fuch a dread-
ful fhock, I thought that no means could be ufed fo
likely to reftore it, as a removal to her native air.
Accordingly I left my feat of work at Briftol, and
returned with her to Taunton, which is about feveii
miles from P^therton, her native place. But in
Taunton I could not procure (o much work as I could
do; therefore, as foon as I thought fhe could bear
the air of Briftol, we returned thither, where fhe fooa
relapfed, and we again went back to Taunton.
Faft bound in penury's relentlefs chain,

Attempts to rife, but flill attempts in vain. Swain.
This removing to Taunton was repeated about five

times in little more than two years and a half.
Of chance or change, O let not man complain,

Elfe (hall he never ceafe to wail \
Por, from the imperial dome, to where the fwain

Rears the lone cottage in the hlent dale,
All feel th* aflault. of Fortune's fickle gale. Minstrel.
But at kft, finding that flie had long fits of illnefs
« at Taunton ajfo, as well as at Briftol, with a view of
having
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 12^
having a better price for my work I rcfolved to vifit
London. Not having money fufficient to bear the
expences of both to town, I left her all the money I
could fpare, took a place on the outfide of the flage-
coach, and the fecond day arrived at the metropolis,
in, Auguft 1773, with two fliillings and lixpence in
my pocket ; and recollecting the addrefs of an oW

townfman, who was alfo a fpiritual brother,
"Whofe hair in greafy locks hung down.

As ftraight as candles from his crown,
To fhade the borders of his face,
Whofe outward fign of inward grace
Were only vifible in fpiteful
*
Grimaces, very ftern and frightful.
Butler's Poflh. Works.
This holy brother was alfo a journeyman flioe-ma-

ker, who had arrived at the fummit of his expecta-
tions, being able to keep a houfe over his head (as
he chofe to exprefs himfelf) that is, by letting nearly
the whole of it out in lodgings, he was enabled to pay
the rent. This houfe was in Whitecrofs-flreet, which
I found out the morning after my arrival, where
I procured a lodging, and Mr. Heath in Fore-ftreet,
fupplied me with plenty of work.
I !augh*d then, and whiftl'd, and fung too moft fwee^

Saying, juft to a hair, I've made both ends to meet.
Derry-dbwn.
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours.
G LETTER
:
125 LIFE OF J. LACKI'NPTON.
LETTER XIX.
ril travel —
no more 1 11 try a London audience-—
Who knows but what I may get an engagemenU
Wild Oat».
'When fuperllirion (bane ofmanly virtue !)
StJ ikes root within the foul ; it over-iuns.,

And kills the power of f eafon,
Ph imps' Duke of Gloucefter.
£EAR FRIEND,
A T
this time I was as vifionary
and fu perditions as ever I bad been at any preceding
period, for although I had read fome fenfible books,
and ha& thereby acquired a few rational ideas, yet
having had a methodiilical wife for near three years,
and my keeping methodiftical company, together with
the gloomy notions, which iii fpite of reafon and phi-
lofophy I had imbibed during the frequent, long, and
indeed almoft conftant iUnefs of my wife, the confe-
quence was, that thofe few rational or liberal ideas
which I had before treafured up, were at my coming
to London in a dormant ilate, or borne down by the
torrent of enthufiailic whims, and fanatical chimeras
Oh ! what a reafonlefs machine

Can fuperflition make the reas'ner man.
Mil lei's Mahomet.
Therefore as foon as I had procured a lodging and
work, my next enquiry was for Mr. Wefley's GofpeU
Jhops : on producing my clofs and hand tickets from
Taunton, I was put into a clafs, and a week or two
after admitted into a band,
But it was feverad weeks before I could firmly re-
folve to continue in London ; being really flruck with
horror for the fate of it more particularly on Sun*
;
days, as I found fo few went to church, and fo many

were walking and riding about for pleafure, and the
lower clafs getting drunk, quarrelling, fighting,
workings buying, fellings Sec. I had feen fo much
of
LIFK OF J. LACKINGTON. 127
0f the fame kind in Britlol, that I often wondered
how God permitted it to {land ; but London I found
infinitely worfe, and ferioufly trembled for fear the
me a Cure ot- iniquity was quiie full, and that every*
hour would be its However,
lafl. I at length con*
eluded, that if London was a fecond SoJom, I was a
fccond Lot and thefe comfortable ideas reconciled
;
me to the thought of living in it.
I faid it was a wretched place,

Unfit for any child of grace ;
'Tis ripe for judgment : Satan's feat,

The fmk of fin, anti hell complete j
In ev'ry flreet, of trulls a troop,

And ev'ry cook-maid wears a hoop. SoMerville.
Some of people gave me great com-
Mr» Wefley's
fort by me, that *' the Lord had much peo-
aflliring
ple ift this city:" which I foon difcovered to be true,
as I got acquainted with many of thofe righteous
chofen faints, who modeftly arrogoite to themfelves
that they are the peculiar favourites of heaven, and
coufequently that any place they reiide in mull- be
fafe.
In a month I faved money fufficient to bring up my
wife, and flie had a pretty tolerable flate of health ;
of my mailer I obtained fume fluff flioes for her to
bind, and nearly as much as (lie could do. Having
J30W plenty of work and higher wages, we were to-
lerably eafy in our circumflaaces, more fo than we
had ever been, and we were foon enabled to procure
a few cloaths. My wifq had all her life before done
very wêll with a.fuperline broad cloath cloak, but
now I prevailed on her to have one of filk.
ThemafH who by. his labour gets
His bread in indepemient ftate » ;
Who never begs, and feldom eats,

Himfelf can fix, or change his fate- Prior.
Until this winter I had never found out that I

wanted a j;v?jr coat^ but now I made that important
difcovery.
A winter garment now demands your care

To guard body from the Incitment Mr j
tlie
G i Soft
ij8 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
Soft be the inward veil, the outward flrong,
And large to wrap you warm, down reaching long,
Cooke's Hefiod.
My landlord fliewed mc one made of a coarfe kind

of .Bath-coating, which he purchafed new at a fliop
in Rofemarry-lane, for ten (hillings and fixpence ; fo
that the next half-guinea 1 had to fpare, away I went
to Rofemary-lane (and to n^y great fiirprife), was
hauled into a iliop by a fellow who was walking up
and down before the door of a flopfeller, where I
was foon fitted with a great coat of the fame fort as
that of my landlord. I aflêd the price ; but was
greatly ailoniflied when the honefl flopman told me,
that he was fo taken with my clean, honcft, induf-
trious looks, that he would let me have it cheaper
than he would his own brother, fo in one word he
v/ould ohlige^?ne with it for five and twenty fliillings,
which was the very money it coft him. On hearing
this, I crofled the Oiop in a trice, in order to fet off
home again, but the door had a fafteningto it beyond
my comprehenfion, nor would the good man let me
out before I had made him an offer. I told him, I
had fo little money about me that I could not offer
any thing, and again defired that he would let me
out. But he perfilled, and at lafl 1 told him that my
Ir.ndlord had informed me that he had purchafed fuch
another coat for ten fliillings andlixpence on which ;
he began to give himfelf airs, and allured me, that

however fome people^ came by their goods, for his
part, he always paid for îs, 1 heartily wiflied my-
felfoutofthe fliop, but in vain; as he feemed de-
termined not to pan with me until I had made fome
offer. I then told him that I had but ten fliillings
and fixpence, and of courfe could not offer hirh any
more than 1 had got. I now expedted more abufe
from him, but inflcad of that the patient good man
told. me, that as he perhaps might get fomething by
me another time, I fliould have the coat for n\y half-
guinea, although it was worth more than double the
money.
About the end of November, I received an account
of the death of my grandfather,
" The
;
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTONV • 129

<* The good old gentleman expir'd,
" And decently to heaven i etir'd.""
I was alfo informed that he had left a will in fa-

vour of my grandmother-ill-law's relations, who be-
came pofTelfed of all his effeds, except a fmall free-
.
hold eftate, which he left to my youngefl brother,

becaufe he happened to be called George (which was
the name of my grandfather,) and ten pounds a-piece
to each of his other grand-children.
So totally unacquainted was I with the inodes of
tranfa6ling bulineis, that I could not point out any
method of having my ten pounds fcnt up to London,
at leaif, no mode that the executor of the will would
approve of; for being fuch prodigious fum, that the
-Si
greateit caution was uled on both lides, fo that it coft

me about half the money in going down for it, and
in returning to town again. This was in exeremely
hard fro fly weather (I think fome time in December;)
and being on the, out fide of a llage-coach, I was fo
very cold, that when I came to the inn where the
partengers dined, I went diredly to the fire, which
ilruck the cold inward, and I had but a very narrow
efcape from inftant death. This happened in going
down. In returning back to town, I had other mif-
fortunes to encounter. The cold weather ftill conti-
nuing, I thought the bafket warmer than the roof,
and about fix miles from Salifbury, 1 went back in
it. But on getting out of it, in the inn-yard at Sa-
lifbury, I heard fome money jingle, and on fearching
my pockets, 1 difcovered that I had loll about fixteea
fhillings, two or three of which I found in the balket,
the reft had fallen through on the road ; and no doubt
the whole of what I had left of my ten pouiids would,
have gone the fame way, had I not (for fear of high-
waymen) fewed it up in my cloaths. I recollc6ted
that Seneca had faid, '* A
wife and good man is proof
againft all accidents of fate; and that a brave man is
a match for fortune ; and knowing myfelf to be both
g^^^-i ^nd hranje^ I bore the lofs of my filver
'^î/^?
with the temper of a iioic, and like Epidetus reafoned,
that I could not have loft it, if I had not firft had it
G 3 , and
!
I30 LIFE OF J, LACKINGTON.

and that as 1 had loft it, why it was all the fame as
though it had never been in my pofTeiTion.
But a more dreadful misfortune befer me the next
morning the extreme icv^re weather flill continu-
;
ing, in order to keep me from dying with ccld, drank I
fome purl and gin, which (not being ufed to drink

any thing flrong) made me fo drunk, that the coach-
man put me infide the carriage for fear Ffliould fall
off the roof. there met with fome of the jovial fort,
I
who having alfo drank to keep out the cold, were in

high glee ; being aflced to ling them a fong, I imme-
diately complied, and forgetting that I was one of
the holy brethren, I fung fong for fong with themer-
rieO: of them ; only feveral times between the a61s, (
turned up the whites of my eyes, and uttered a few
ejaculations, as '' Lord, forgive niel'' '^ O Chrift
What am i doing?*' and a fevV more of the faa^l
pious fort.
The verrieil hermit in the nation,
May yield, God knows, 'to flrong tennptation. Swift.
However, good dinner, and refrain*
after eating a
ing from liquor, became nearly fober, and by the
I
time I arrived in to',vn, quite fo though in a terrible

;
agitation of mind, by refleftingon what J had donc^

3ijd was fo afnamed of the affair, that I concealed it
from my wife, that I miglit not grieve her righteous
foul with the knowledge of fo dreadful a fall fo :
that (he with great pleafure ripped open the places in

my clothes, which contained my treafure, and with
an heart full of gratitude, pioufiy thanked Providence
for affording us fuch a fupply, and hoped that thQ
Lord would enable U3 to make a good ufe of it,
Whate'er can good or ill befall,
Faithful partner Ihe of all. Wes l ey's Meliifa.
Here perhaps I may with great propriety quote the
followîng lines of Gray :
" Let not Jimbition mock their nfefal toil,

<' Ihcir homely joys, and deftiny obfcnrej
<< Nor grandeur hear with a dildaiiiful fmile,
* The Ihtti t and fimple annals of the poor."
I am, dear friend, yours.

-
LETTER.
.
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 13:
LETTER XX.
T^\ir dwelt poor
A
—— , of a few goods pofibft,
beJ, boaT-J, t.^nkard, and fix cups at beil ;
liem, Wefley's hgad, oid books, and rotten cheft ; I

Hi.^ bed vva5 fcant, for his fbort wife too fhort ^ !
His cups were earthen, all of fiîalier fort.

Owen's JviVfnal.
Fixt in an elbow chair at eafe,
1 choofe compaaions as 1 pieafe* S'.r iVt.
Hail, precious pages that amufe and teach,

'
Exalt tlie genm^. and improve the brealV,

A feaft for ges— Othou banquet nice !
Where the loul riots withlecui'e excefs.

What heart -felt bl fsIWhat pieafuit; wing d liov.i 1
Vr, S. Davils.
DEAR FRIEND.;
VV
money we purchafed houfehold
I TH the remainder of the
goods, but as we thea
had not luflicient to furnidi a room, we worked hard,
and lived IHII harder, fo that in a fliort time wehad
a room fnrnifhcd v/ith our own goods and I believe ;
that it is not poluble'for you to imagine with what

pleafure and fatisfat^tion we looked round the room
and furveyed our property I believe that Alexander
:
the Great never reflected on his immenfe acquifitions

vvith half the heartfelt enjoyment which we expe-
rienced on this capital attainment.
** How happy is the
man whofe early lot,
" Hath made him mailer of a furnifhed cot."
After our room was furnifhed, as we (IjU enjoyed

d better flate of health than we did at Briftol and
Taunton, and had aUb more work and higher wages,
we often added fomething to our flock of wearing ap-
parel.
Induftrious habits in each bofom regns,
And induftry hegets a love of gain ;
Kcnc^ all the good from opulence thatrfpri^.igs,.
Goldsmith.
G 4.. Nor
132 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. ,
Nor did I forget the old book-fliops but frequent^

:
]y added an old book to my fmall colledloii ; and I

really have often purchafed books with the money
that iliould have been expended in purchafing fome-
thing to eat ; a flriking inilance of which follows :
At the time we were purchafing houfehold goods,

we kept ourfelves very rtiort of money, a.nd on Chrift-
mas-eve we had but half-a-crown left to buy a Chrift-
mas dinner. My
wife de fired that I would go to mar-
ket, and purchaie this feflival dinner, and oiF I fet
for^hat purpofe but in the way I faw an old book-
;
fhop, and I could not refill the temptation of going

in ; intending only to expepd lixpence or nine-pence
out of my half-crown. But I llumbled upon Young's
—
NigHt Thoughts forgot my dinner—down went the
—
half-crown and I hailened home, vaftly delighted
with the acquifition. When my wife alked me where
was our Chriftmas dinner ? I told her it was in my
pocket. —
'' In your pocket (faid flie) that is a flrange
!
place. How could you think of ftuffing a joint of

meat into your pocket ?" lalTured her that it would
take no harm. But as I was in no hafle to take it out,
file began to be more particular, and enquired what I
had got, &c. On which I began to harangue on the
fuptriority of intellectual pleafures over fenfual gra-
tifications, and obferved that the brute creation en-
joyed the latter in a much higher degree than man.
And that a man, that was not poiTefled of intelledtual
enjoyments, was but a two-legged brute.
'' And fo (faid flie)
I was proceeding in this llrain :
inftead of buying a dinner, I fuppofe you have, as

you have done before, being buying books with fh©
money ?"
«<Pray, what is the value of Newton or Locke ?
"
Do they lelTen the price of potatoes or corn ?
" When poverty comes can they fofcen the fhock,
** Or teach us how Imnger is patiently borne ?
« You fpend half your life-time in poring on books ;

What a mountam of wit mull be cram'd in that Ikull I
" And yet, if a man were to judge by your looks,

" Perhaps he would think you confoundedly duU.*^
1 confciTed I had bought Young's Night Thoughts :

"And 1 think (faid I) that I have acted wifely,
for
for had I bought a dinner^ we fhould have eaten it to-
morrow, and the pleafure would have been ibon
over :
" But in the volumes of the mighty dead,

** We fcail oa joys to vulgar miads unkaowa.'*
Should we live fifty years longer, we fliall have the

Wight Thoughts to feail upon." This was too power-
ful an argument to admit of any farther debate in ;
fliort, my wife was convinced. DoWn I fat, and be-

gan to read with as much enthniiafm as the good
dodor poHelfed when he wrote it and fo much did ;
it excite my
attention as well as approbation, that E
retained the greatell part of it in my memory. A

couplet of Perfius, as Englifhedj might have bfcen
applied to me :
'^ For thivSyon gain your meagre looks,
*< And facrifice your diaaer to your books."
Sometime injun3 1774, as we fat at work in our

room, Mr. Boyd, one of Mr. Wefley's people, called
and informed me that a little (liop and parlour were to
be let in Featherftone-ilreet adding, that if I was
;
to take it, I might there get fome work as a m after.

I without hefitation told him that I liked the idea,
and hinted that I would fell books alfo. Mr. Boyd
then alked me how 1 came to think of felling books ?
I informed him that until that moment it had never
once entered into my thoughts ; but that when he
^
propofed my taking the ihop, it inllantaneouily oc-
curred to my mind, that for feveral months pafllhad
obferved a great increafe in a certain old book (hop ;
and that I was perfuaded I knew as much of old
books as the perfon who kept it. I farther obferved,
that I loved books, and that if i could but be a book-
feller, I fliould then have plenty of books to read,
which was the greateil motive I could conceive to in-
duce me to make the attempt. My friend on this af-
fured me, that he would get the fliop for me, and
with a laugh added, '* When you are Lord Mayor,
you Ihall ufe all your interefl to get me made an Al-
derman," Which I engaged not to forget to per-
form.
G 5 a In
' ;
ijf LIFE OFJ. LACKINGTON.

'^ lik all my waud'rings round this world of care,
" III all my and God has g'w^n my fhare
-griefs,
*^ I ftilt had hopes to fee. feme better days.
My pr'i'vafe
librarj at this time confifled of Fletch-
er's Chv^cks to Aatinomianiiin, &c. 5 volumes ;
Watts's Improvement of the Mind ; Young's Night
Thought; Wake's Tranflation of the Apoftolical
Epiilles Fleetwood's Life of Chrifl; the firit twenty
;
numbers of Hinton's Dictionary of the Arts and

Sciences fome of Mr. Wefley's Journals, and fome
;
of the pious Hves publiflied by him ; and about a

dozen other volumes of the latter fort, befides odd
magazines, Uq. To fet me up in flyle, Mr. Boyd
recommended me of an holy brother
to the friends
lately gone lo heaven, and of whom I purchafed a
J>ag full oF old books, chiefly divinity, for a guinea.
Hpw muft hedniggleiii the fliades of nighc,

To break thro* poverty's dark mifls to li-ght !
Oh, what a tai"k before he gains his end !
A tafk indeed —
exclaims my dear old friend.
! Swain.
With and foirj^ odd fcraps of lea-

this flock,
ther, v/hich together with all my books were worth
about five pounds, 1 opened fliop on Midfummer-day
7 Luke
1 '74, in Featlierllone ilreet, in the parifli of St. ;
nnd I was as well pleafed in furveying my little fliop

with my name over it, as was Nebuchadnezzar, when
he faid, " Is not this great Babylon that I have
built ?" A.nd my good wife often perceiving the
plenfurc that I took in my fliop, pioufly cautioned me
againft fetting my mind on the riches of this world,
and afilired me that it was all but vanity. ** You are
very right, my dear (I fometimes replied,) and to
keep our minds as fpiritual as we can, v^ will always
attend our clafs and band-meeting?, hear as many
fermons, &:c. at the Foundery on week days as pof-
lible, and on fabbath days we will mind nothing but
ihe good of our fouls our iinall beer fliall be fetched
;
in on Saturday nights, nor will v/e drefs even a po-

tatoc on the fi.bbath. "VVe will liill attend the preach-
ing at hve o'clock in the morning at eight go to the ;
prayer meeting at ten, to the public worfliip at the

\
Foundery ;
;
LIFE or j: UACKINGTON. 135

FouncJery hear Mr. Perry at Cripplegate, at
; ;
two
be at the preaching at the Foundery, at live ; meet •
with the general fociety, at fix ; meet in the united

bands at icvcn, and again be at th€ prayer meeting at.
eight and then come home, and read and. pray by.
;
oui'felvcs.
^
Miftaken men, too pioufly fevere !
Thro' craft mifleaclirig, (ir mifiead by (e^r

How littk they God's counfel's conn pit hejid,
Our uaiverfal parent, guardian, friend S. Jen-vns>
!
I am,
Dear Friettd^
Yours.
L E T T E R XXr.
I
Strange viciflitudes of human fate !
Still alt'ring,never in a fleady flate ;

Good after iTI, and aftei* pain delight ;
Alternate, like ihe fcenes of day and night.

Since evei7 one who lives is born to die,
And none can boaft intne felicity :
With equal minds what happens let us bear,
Nor joy, nor grieve too much for things beyond our cars.
Like pilgrims, to the appointee! place we tend :
The world*s an Inn, and death's the journey's end.

Drydln's Palemon and Arcite.
ETEAR^ FRIEND,
N,
Otwithftanditig the obfcurity of
the fire et, and the mean appearance of my fliop, yet
I foon found ciiflomers for what few books 1 had ;
and I as foon laid out the money in other old trafli
which was daily brought for fale.
At that time Mr. Wefiey's people had a fum of
mouey, which was kept on purpoie to Iciid out, for
6 G ;hree
three months, without intereft, to fuch of their fo-
ciety vvhofe charaders were good, and who wanted a
temporary relief. To inceafe my little Upck, I bor-
rowed five pounds out of this fund, which was of
great fervice to me.
In our new lituation we lived in a very frugal
manner, often dining on potatoes, and quenching
our thirfl: with wâter, being abfolutely determined,
if poilible, to make fome provifion; for fuch difmal
times as iicknefs, fliortnefs of work, &c. which we
had been fo frequently involved in before, and could
fcarce help expe6ling to be our fate again. wife My
foreboded it much more than I did, being of a more
melancholy turn of mind.
Women ever love

To brood o'er forrovvs, and indulge their woe.
Francklin's Sophocles.
And yet when we really were involved in ficknefs

and poverty, llie bore all with patience and forti-
tude.
fmiling Hope in adverfe hour,

pow'r
1 feel thy influencing ;
Tho' frowning fortune fixt my lot.

In a defencelefs lonely cot,
Where Poverty, with empty hands,
In pallid meagre ai"pe6l ftands j
Thou can'fl enrobe me, 'midft the great,
With all the crimfon pomp of ftate.
»
Kence gloomy featur'd black Defpair,

With all thy frantic furies fly,
Nor rend my breaft with gnawing care,
For Hope in lively garb is nigh.
Let pining difcontentment mourn,

Let dull-eyW Melancholy grieve;
Since pleafinghope muft reign by turn.
And every bilter thought relieve.
When vital fpirits are deprefs*d,

AHid heavy langour clogs the breaft,
Comforring hope ! tis thine to cure,
I)evoid of Efculapian power ;' •
For
LIFE OF J.
LACKINGTON. 137
For oft thy friendly aid avails
When all the ftrength of phyfic fails.
R. Ferguson.
Say, my philofophic friend, is not ftrange tha^ it
the fame perfons, who have fupported with a very

great degree of heroifm the worll of evils, fliould be
ready to fink under imaginary ones ; and yet this has
often happened.
Imagin'd ills in frightful fhapes appear,

While we with patience bear
prefent evils ;
Phantoms, and empty forms are fear'd the mofl,

As thofe who fconVd the man, yet dread the ghofl.
"^
Draper.
I lived in this ftreet fix months, and in that time

increafed my flock from fivepounds, ta twenty-five
pounds.
London— the public there are candid and generous, and be-
foremy merit can have time to create me enemies, I'll fave
money, and a fig for the Sultan and Sophy. Rover.
This immenfe flock I deemed too valuable to be

buried in Featherilone-flreet ; and a fliop and parlour
being to let in Chifwell-llreet, No. 4^, I took them^
This was at that time, and for fourteen years after-
wards, a very dull and obfcure fituation as few ever :
pafTed throug it, beiides Spitaliield weavers on hang-

ing days^ and methodifls on preaching nights but ftill ;
it was much better adapted for bufinefs than Feathei-
llone-flieet.
A time after I came into Ghifwell-flreet to
fliort
live, an odd circumilance occurred which caufed a
great deal of talk Mrs.Xhapman, who many years
;
kept a livery flable in Coleman-llreet, had a cat big

with kitten this car was ane day feen to fly at a
:
fowl, that was ro^fling by the fire, which fl\e repeated

feveral times, fo that fhe was at laft put out of the
room ; when this fowl was dreffed and eat,'they gave
poor puis the bones, but this was not enough, for
when^flie lay in, they found that flie had marked her
kitten, as inilcad of two feet before, ftie had two
wings, with fome fliort feathers on them ; the fingu-
iarity cf this kitten drew great numbers to vifit her,
which
138 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON':
which occalioned fo much trouble to Mrs. Chapman,
that Ihe iigned the death-warrant, and poor pufs waa
drowned, and afterwards buried in the dung heap.
I thought this llory would read as well in my Life,
a^ in the Philofophical Tranfadions^ which pre-
vented me from troubling thele learned authors wdth^
it.
A few weeks after I was fettled in m^ new diop, I

bade a final adieu to \\\^ gentle, crafty and converted my-,
little ftbck of leather^ &c. into old books and a-;
great fale I had, confidering my. flock which was

;
not only extremely Imall, but contained very little.

variety, as it principally confiiled of divinity ; for as
I had not much knowledge, feldom ventured out
fo I
of my depth. Indeed, there was one clafs of books,
which for the firft year or two that I called myfelf a
bookfeller, I would not fell, for fuch was my igno«»
ranee, bigotry, fuperftition (or what you pleafe) that
I confcientiouily dellroyed fuch books as fell into my
hands, which were written by free-thinkers for ;
really fuppoiingthem to be di(!âted by his fable high-»

nefs, I would neither read them myfelf, nor fell them
to others ; but,
« Manners with fortunes, humonrs change with clitnes, .
** Tenets with books, and principles with times,*'
You will perhaps be furprifed when I inform you,

that there are in London (and I fuppofe in other po-
pulous places) perfons who purchafe every article
which they have occalion for (and alfo many articles
which they have no occafion for, nor ever will) at
ftalls, beggarly (liops, pawnbrokers, &c. under the
idea of purchafing cheaper ^^-dxs. they could at refpe6l-
able fhops, and of men of property. A
confidtrable
number of this fpecies of cuftomers I had in the be-
ginning, who forfook my fliop as foon as I began to
appear more refpettable, by introducing better order,
polfellingmore valuable books, and having acquired
a better judgment, &c. Norwith (landing which, I
declare unto you, upon my honour, that thefe very
bargain-hunters have given me double the price that
I now charge for thoufands and tens of thoufands of
volumes^
LJFE OF J.-LACKINGTON. 139
volumes. For as a tradefman increafes in refpe(âbi-
lity and opulence, his opportunities of purchaling in-
creafe proportionably, and the more he buys and
fells, the more he becomes a judgê of the real value
of his goods. It was for want of this experience and
judgment, flock, &:c. that for feveral years I was in
the habit of charging more than double the price I
now do for many thoufimd articles. But profefled
bargain-hunters often purchafe old loc^s at the flails
in Moorfields, when half the wards are rufled off or
taken out, and give more for them than they would
have paid for new ones to any reputable ironmonger.
And wkit numerous inflances of this infatuation do
we meet with daily at fales by audion, not of books
only, but of many other articles ? Of which I could
here adduce a variety of glaring inftances but (not
;
to tire you) a few of recent date fliall fuffice* At—

the fale of Mr. Rigby's books at Mr. Chriflie's, Mar-
tyn's Dictionary of Natural Hiftory fold for fifteen
guineas^ which then flood in my catalogue at four
pounds fifteen Jhlllings ; Pilkington's Di6lionary of
Painters, at Jenjen guineas^ ufually fold at three ;
Francis's Horace, t^voo pounds eleiên Jhillings^ and many
others in the fame manner. At Sir George Cole-
brook's fale, the ocflavo edition of the Tatler fold for
t^voo guineas and half At a fale a few weeks lince,
Pvapin's Hiflory, in folia, the two firfl volumes only
(inllead of five) fold for upwards o{ five pounds ! I
charge for the fame from ten JJnllings andfixpencc to one
pound ten /hillings, I fell great numbers of books to
pawnbrokers, who fell them out of their windows at
much higher prices, the purchafers believing- that
they are buying bargains, and thoit fuch articles have
been pawned nor is this commerce confined to books
:
only, but extends to various other articles, of which

they always buy the worfl of every kind of article
they fell. I will even add, that many fliops which
are called pawnbrokers, never take in any pawns, yet
can live by felling things v;hich are fuppofed to be
kept over time.
1 went on profperoufly until fome time in Septem-
ber 1775, when 1 was iuddenly taken ill of a dread-

ful
.
140 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTONr

ful fever; and eight or,ten days after, my wife was
ferzed with the fame diforder.
Human hopes," now mounting high,

On the fweUrng furge of joy ;
Now with unexpected woe,

Sinking to the depths below. Wes t's Pindar.
At that time I only kept a boy to help in my fl:iop,

fo that I fear, while I lay ill, my wife had too much
care and anxiety on her mind. I have been told that,
before ilie was confined to her bed, flie walked about
in a delirious itate ; in which
flie did not long conti-
nue, but contrary to expe6lation died, in a fit of

all
enthufiaftic rant, on the ninth of November, fur-
rounded with feveral methodiilical preachers.
Invidious death ! how dofl thou rend in funder
Whom love has knit and fympathy made one >
A tie fo flubborn. Blair's Grave
She was in reality one of the bell of women ; and

although for about four years flie was ill the greatell
part of the time, which involved me in the very depth
of poverty and diftrefs^ yet I never once repented
having married her.
—— Still bufy meddling memory,
In barbarous fucceffion, mullers up

The paft endearments of our fofter hdm^s,
Tenacious of his theme. . Blair*s Grave.
'Tis true, fhe was enthuftical to an extreme, and

of courfe very fuperftitious and vifionary but as I ;
was very far gone myfelf, I did not think that a fault
in her.
Go, take thy feat, the heav'nly choirs among,

But leave thy virtues to the world belo-vY.
Orlando Furioso.
Indeed fne much exceeded me, and moft others that
ever fell under my obfervation.-
She ne'er indulged a recreation.

That could endanger her falvacion ;
But chofe the moft auflere reflrnints,
And fpoke the lang uage of the faints .• Humphreys.
^h«
LIFE OF J, LACKINGTON. 141
She in reality totally neglected and difregarded every
hind of pleafure ^whate'ver^ but thofe of a Ipiritual (or
vifionary) nature. Methinks I here fee you fmile :
but I afTure you flie made no exception ; but was a
complete devotee, and what is more remarkable with-
out pride or ill-nature.
Intentions fo pure, and fuch meeknefs of fpirit,
Muft of courfe, and of right, Heaven's kingdom inherit.
SiMKlM.
I am,
Dea» Friend,
Yours.
LETTER XXIL
For .who, entranc'd in vifions from above,
' The thought of kindred razes from the mind,
Feels in the foul no warm returns of love,
For their endeai 'd companions left behind.
NuNNERv, an Elegjf.
*'
I've flrange news to give you, but when you receive it,
" 'Tis impoflible, Sir, that you fhould believe it 1
" But as I've been told this agreeable Aory, '

<*
I'll digrefs for. a moment to lay it before ye,"
DEAR FRIEND,
A Friend of mine,
racity I entertain the highefl opinion, has favoured
of whofe ve*
me with an account of a lady, who has to the full as

much, indeed more of the fpirit, but without the
good-nature of Nancy Lackihgton. The fad is as
follows ; „
" 'Tis true 'tis a pity: gnd pity 'tis its true,'*
Mr,
.
145 LIFE OFJ LACKINTGTON.

Mr. R —
a genteel tradefman with whom I ant
t,'
acquainted, having loil his fecond wife early in J790

courted and married one of the holy fifters a few
months afterwards. They had lived together aboulb
fix months, when Mr. R —
one Sunday, being a.
-'t,
foberreligious man, took down Doddridge's Le6lur€s,

and began to read them to his wife and family. But
this holy fitter found fault with her hufband for read-
ing fuch learned rational difcourfes, which favoured;:
too much of human rcafon and vain philofophy, and
wiflied he would read fomething more fpirituaj, and
edifying. He attempted to convince her that Dri.
Doddridge was not only a good rational divine, but
to the full as fpiritual as any divine ought to be ; ani
that to be mors fpiritual hemuft be lefs rational, and
of courfe become fanatical and viiionary. But thefe,
obfervatio.ns of the hufband fo difpleaftd his fpiritual'
wife, that flie retired to bed^ and left her, hufoand ta
read Doddridge's Ledures as long as he chofe to hi^
children by a former wife.
The next morning, while Mr. R—
t was out on
buiinefs, this holy fifter, without faying one fyllable

to any perfon, packed up all her clothes, crammed
them into a hackney-coach, and away fhe went. Mr.
R— r, poor foul! on coming home, difcovered his
immenfelofs, and, in an almc it frantic iiate, fpent the
firfl: fortnight in fruitlefs attei;npts to difcover her re-
treat.
*' after her elopement, I was (fays,
Three weeks
*' Mr. R t) —
going down Cheapfide one day, and
*' faw a lady fomething like my wife; bat as flie was-
*' fomewhai difguifcd, and I could not fee fxer face,
" I was not fure. At laft I ventured to look under

«' her bonnet, and foi.ind, that, fure enough, it was
*' ilie. 1 then walked three times backwards and
" forwards in Cheapfide, endeavouring to peifuade
" her to return with me, or to difcover where (lie
*^'
lived but (lie obftinatcly refufcd to return, or to let
*'
;
me fee her retreat and here (fays Mr. R t) I

; —
'' begged that flie would grant meâ kifs ; but flie
*' would not willingly. However, after fome bufile
** in the ilreet, I took a farewel kifs. Poor dear
'' foul..
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 14J
** foul (figb'dlie) Hie is X2^x}ci^x too fph itual \ for not-
*' vvithilanding I by her fide near fix months, Ihe
lâid
*' never would l)eprevailed upon to do any thing
*' darnal ; and although I did all in my power to get
** the better of her fpritual.fcruples, yet fhe was al-
•' ways fo in love with Chrill her heavenly fpoufe,
*' thatwhen (lie eloped from me, ilie v*'as, I alTure
'*
yoo, as good a virgin as when I married her."
I mull: give you a ilory or two of the fame natura
with the preceding :
A gentleman of London happening to be on a vi-

fitat Briftol about three years fince^ fell in love with
a handfome young lady who was one of the holy
fif ,. T/^d; after a few weeks acquaintance he made
her anôfFer of his perfon and fortune, and the youRg
lady, after proper inquiry had been made into tha
gentleman's family, fortune. &c. confented to make
our lover happy. They were foon after married^
and the fame day fet oif in a poil-chaife towards Lon-
don, in order to fleep the firft night at an inn, and fo
fave the lady the bluflies occalioned by the jokes com-
mon on fuch occafions ; this happy couple had beea
in bed about an hour when the cry of murder alarmed,
the houfe ;this ala.rm, proceeding from the room that-
was ocupied by the bride and bridegroom, drew the
company that way the inn-keeper knocked at the
;
door, and demanded admittance our Benedict ap-

;
peared at the door, and informed the hoit that his

lady had been taken fudenly ill in a kind of fit, he
believed, but that flie was better and after the inn-
;
keeper's wife had been fent into the room ro fee the
young lady, and had found her welt, all retired to
.bed.
They had, however, not lain more than two hours,,
when the cry of murder, fire, &:c. again alarmed the
houfe, and drew many out of their beds once more.
Our young gentleman then dreffed hlmfelf, and
opening the door, informed the company that he had
that morning been married to the young lady in bed^
and that being married, he had infilled on being ad-
mitted to the privilege ofanhufband, but that the
young lady had talked much about the good of her
poor
.
144 LIFE OF
J. LACKINGTON*
poor foul, her fpiritual hufband, &c ; and that inileatl
of granting what he conceived to be the right of
every hufband, (lie had thought proper to diilarb all*
in the houfe. He added, that having been thus made
very ridiculous, he would take effe6Hial care to pre-
vent a repetition of the fame abfurd condu6t.
** Thus, when Ixioii thought t' embrace
" Great Jove's immortal dame,
<* A fleeting cloud,, put in her place,
** Dafh'd his prefumptuous flame."
He then ordered a poft-chaife, and fet off for Lon-

don, leaving our faint in bed to enjoy her fpiritual
contemplations in their full extent nor has he ever ,-
fince paid her any attention.
** The poor man, having wandered round *cm,

'* Left all her beauties as he found '€m."
Some time fince, being in a large town in the

Weft, file was pointed out to me by a frind, as Ihe
was walking in the ftreet.
Virtue, with them, is only to abflain
From all that nature alks, and covet pain.
S. Jenyns.
I a,m informed, from undoubted authority,

alfo
that in the fame town there now refides a couple wha
have been married upwards of three years, and as
yet the hufband is not certain as to the fex of his
wife and on every attempt of the hufband for that
:
purpofe, the fervants are alarmed with the fcreams of

the pious lady, who would not permit ftich carnal
communication for the world.
Condemn'd
—— Moft miferable is his lot,
thefate of Tantalus to feel.
Love's fweet delirium to be quite debarred

Dr. Walsh.
The preceding ftories put me In mind of what
Ovid fays was pra6lifed by young maids on the fefli-
val. of the celebrated nyrtiph, Anna Porenna^ thus
tranllated by I I know not who — ;
^' With
; ;
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 14J

** With promifes the am'rous god flie led,
*' And with foRtlhopes his eager paliion fed ;
<^ At length, 'tis done, the goddels yields, llie cryM
*' My prayers have gain'd the vidlory o'er pride.
" With joy the god prepares the golden bed ;
*' Thither, her face conceaPd, is Anna led
**
'*
**
The difappointed lover is herjeft,
While rage and fhame alternate fwell his breaft
;.
Jiift on tlie brink of blifs, fhe Hands confefsM j
}
I know that there are now in Wefley's fociety, in
London, fome women who, ever iince they were
converted, have refufed to lleep with their hufbands,
and that fome of thofe will not pay the leall atten-
tion to any temporal concern whatever, being", as
they term it, wholly wrapt up in divine contem-
plation, having their fouls abibrbed in divine love,
ib as not to be interrupted by the trifling concerns of
a hafband, family, &:c.
Refledlion loves to wake and fhed a tear

O'er —
human weaknefs many a noble mind,
By crampM, has here refign'd
fuperftition
-The rights of reafon God and nature gave,
Man's highefl privilege : —
Here many a heart,
Of that fvveet fotial intercourfe debarr'd
Which gives to poliih'd life its higheft talle,
Harden'd; to Joy's, to Pity's melting touch
Infenfible and cold —
prayer here has taught
Her lovely voterefs the art to check
Each riung wnfh, each tumult of the foul
To live to Heay'n alone, and pafs away.

Like fome fair flow'r that on the wild heath blows,
And flrevvs its with'ring leaves upon the blaft.
Rev. J. Whitehouse.
Mrs. G left her hufband and children, one

of whom was fucking at her breaft, and came froni
Ireland to London and when flie was upbraided
;
with her unnatural behaviour, flie replied, " It was

the will of the Lord; flie had left all for Chrift's
fake, and followed the guidings of his fpirit. To fit
under the preaching of Mr. Wefley, was of more
importance to her than hufband and children." * For
a long time fhe lived on what flie had brought away
from her hufband ; after that was gone, flie lived a
half-ftarved
146 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON-;
half-llarved life, by taking in plain work. What
became of her at lafl: I could never learn.
Each warm afFe€lion and paternal care.

Left unrequited for the pomj) of pray'r j
Each focial duty^ each endearing tie.
The fours befl bond, its native fympatliy.
And ttiofe few virtues which our natures own,
Alike forgotten, or alike unknown, BiRCii.
Cruden, the author of the beft Englifh Concor-

dance, ufed to fay, when a young iran, that '' his
confcience would not permit him to marry becaufe he
could not propagate children, without propagating of
fin at the fame time;*' and there arc many Hill among
the methodiils who have the fame fcruples of con-
fcience. Mr. Cruden at length paid his addreifes tp
an old maid, who rejeded him, as (lie had no notion
-ef fuch ridiculous fcruples.
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours,
:
LIFE OF. J. LACKINGTON. t^j
LETTER XXIIL
"Wamca that leave no Hbae unturnM,
In which the caufe might be concernM. HuDiBR/^Sr
The manivtthoutjirjf the met h rjdifi ^:\hh\i

Has perfectly curd the chU)r()ris of Tabbi
And, if right, I can jiuig^ frt)m her ihape and heV face,
She foon may produce an lafaat of grace.
Now, they fay, that all people in her fituation
Are very fine iut)jects for regeaeration.
New Bath Guidce
=DEAR FRIEND,
fiilers are in
B
their
E C AUSE fome of the holy
amours altogether ipiritual, you
are by no means to underfiand that they are all totally
divefted of the carnal propenlity.
Some of thefe good creatures are fo far from think-
ing that their hulhands are too carnal in their affec-
tions, that they really think that they are not enough
fo ; and inllances are not wanting, in which, owing
to their haviiig huibands too fpiritual, they have
been willing to receive affiflance from the huibands of
other women.
Who raife *niid Hynnen's joys domeftic ftrife,
Or feek that converfe which they ought to fhun ;
Who Idofe the ("acred ties of nuptial life,
And give to many what they vowM to one.
Nunnery, an Elegy,
It IS but about a year fince a certain celebrated

preacher ufed to adminiiler carnal confolation to the
wife of his clerk. This holy communication was re-
peated fo often, and fo open, that at laft it came to
the cjerk's ears, who watching an opportunity, one
day furprifed the pious pair at their devotion^ and fo
Jaelaboured the preacher with his walking ftaif, that
the public were for near a month deprived of the
benefits refulting from his remarkable gift of elo-
quence.
< The
'
#48 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

'^The pious methodifl'mny chance to fail,
" Like -flop's fox, entangl'd by the tail."
As I am got into the ftory-telling way, I cannot

refift the temptation of telling another ; for, as Mat
Bramble fays,
" Here my is net barren

fubje6l ;
" But in rare anecdotic matter rich."
A certain holy fifter who lately kept a houfe in a

country village, within ten miles of London, and
tooJk in (as they called it) Mr. Weiley's preachers ; by
taking in is only meant, that when they came in turn

to preach in the village, flie ufed to fupply each with
victuals and a bed {no doubt but they flept alone)
This lady was fo very remarkable for htr/piritual ex*
ferience and divine gifts ;
Heaven has its chofen favourites, and on thofe

With partial hand, its double gift beflovvs ;
While common fouls, like eoarfer fluffs, laid by.

Are not prepared to take the brighter dye.
J.
H. Browne, Efq.
I believe the following lines are Hill more to the

purpofe :
" She had the gifts of ev'ry tricking grace,

<« A pious eye, a fandlimonious face.
Thefe gracious gifts attracfted many to her houfe,

befides fuch ascame in the regular courfe of their
duty, and among the former a preacher from Lon-
don, from whom I learnt the affair.
If any of her fiflers faid,
Califla, you're a lovely maid;
For fhame cryM our religious lafs.
!
Sure you forget all flefh is grafs 5

The beauty of each blooming fmner, •
Will foon give ch\irchyard worms a tinnerj

The fairefl features of the face
Are vanity compar'd to grace.
FoNTAiGNE, by HUMPlTREyS.
This preacher happening to want a wife, and be-*
ing very friendly-minded, a6lually married her in

December 1790, merely for her great gifts and graces,
AS
.
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON* i^cj
as licr fortune was not above the fiftieth part as much

as his own'. They had not been married a week,
when preacher difcovered that his gifted
this fimple
gracious faint was an incarnate devil, who had mar-
ried him only to rob, plunder, and ^-him. —
Whate'er it be, to wifeft men and beft.
Seeming at tirft all heav'nly under virgin veil.
Soft, modeft, meek, demure;
Once join'd, the contrary fhe proves, a thorn
Inteftine, for within defenfive arms
A cleaving mifchief ; in his way to virtue
Adverfeând turbulent, or by her charms
Draws him away enllav'd
With dotage, and his fenfe depravM,
To folly and (hameful deeds which ruin ends.
Milton's SamfonAgonifles.
And, in a few months, between her and her gal-

lants, they bullied him out of a fettlement to the
amount of four times the fum flie br'owght him and ;
the poor pious preacher thinks that he has cheaply

got I'id of her.
Ah, Avoman may fhe one day fee
foolifh !
How deep fhe's plung'd herfelf in infamy,

And with true penitence waflv out the ftain ;—
Rut —mifchief on't—why fliould I pray in vain ;
For (lie'sbut hardenM at the name of grace,

No blulh was ever feen t'adorn her face, Gould.
The reafon why I intereft myfelf in his behalf is,

becaufe I am
confident that he really is an hone^
well-meaning man at the bottom ; but withal one
that does not poflefs the greateft fhare of underlland-
ing, and who being formerly but a mean mechanic,
never had any education ; but although he is a great
enthufiafl, yet he is one of the good-natured inoffen-
five fort, who do no harm \o any perfon, but,
will
on the contrary, the good In his power.
all I am
only forry, as he lately was an honell ufeful tradef-
man, that he (liould have fo much fpiritual quixotifm
in him, a^ at thirty years of age to fliut up his (hop
and turn preacher, without being able to read his
primmer whip h I can alfure you is the cafe,
;
H Whal
: —
What though his wits could ne'er difpenfe
One page of grammar, or of fenfe j
What though his learning be fo fliglit,

He fcarcely knows to fpell or write;
What though his IkuU be cudgel-proof,
He's orthodox, and thafs enough. Tom Brainless.
But thefe heavenly teachers only fpeak as the
Spirit giveth utterance, of courfe all human learning
is entirely fuperfluous
As he-does not chufe to cull,

His faith by any fcripture rule,
But by the vapours that torment
His brains from hypocondria fent,
Which into dreams and vifions turn.
And make the zeal fo fiercely burn.
That reafon lofes the afcendant,
And all within grows independant,
He proves all fuch as do accord •
*
With him the chofen of the Lord 5
But that all others are accurll,
'Tis plain in Canticles the firft.
Butler's Poflh. Works.
The following very extraordinary fa6l took place

about the time that I firfl came to live in Chifwell-
ftreet : Mr. R —afurgeon, who lived many years near

Mooriields, happened to have a methodiftical lady
(fome relation to him) that boarded in the houfe,
and ferved as a companion to Mrs. R ; —
thefurgeon
fome how or other got to bed to this holy woman,
and after fome time Mrs. R —
became acquainted with
their. illicit amours ; {he took not the leaft notice of
the dlfcovery, but kept in good humour with both
until file had an opportunity of being revenged of
her rival. One afternoon, her hufband l)eing fronr
home, fhe took care to fend the fervants out of the
way, and then went up flairs to this boarder's bed-
room, and found hertaking her afternoon nap on the
bed ; upon which flie fecured her hands, by tying
them, one to each of the pofls at the head of the bed :
in doing which the lady awaked and began to laugh,
afs thinking it was fome bit of humour Mrs. R ;
laughed alfo, and proceeded to tyc her legs, one to

each of the polls at the foot of the bed, which the
other
;
LifE OF J. LACKINGTON. 151

other permitted, ftill thinking it was fomc harmlefs"
whim but alas (lie was Toon convinced to the con-
; !
trary, tor as loon as Mrs. R —

had made her fccure,
fli;.' (horrid to reUite) took a pen-knife, and cut oif
one half of the externals of the offending part.
Now, faid file, in Javage triumph^ let Mr. R-
Cake half, or a whole one, which he likes beft. She
then fent for her hufband, and told him that Mrs.
-
wanted his immediate alfiilance, which he
found to be too true, as flie was nearly dead with th(5
lofs of blood ; however, he with much care and at-
tention, for nmny weeks, at lafl: healed the wound.
She then was defired by Mrs. R— to get herfelf ano«i
ther place to board at, left flie (liould lofe the other
—
half the poor lady took her advice, and after this
dreadful misfortune gave herfelf up entirely to devo-
tion, and was foon after admitted into the felecl bands,
among the entirely holy fillers, who having fuffered
much in the flejb^ are made perfect in grace, and free
front the very remains of fin.
'* Alas the wicked world in grofs colours paint
!
*«'This holy iniercourfe 'twixt faint and faint.'*
A few years lince the methodift-preachers got foot-

ing in Wellington (the famous birth-place of your
humble fervant) and eftabliilied a fociety, foon after
which, one of thelir preachers (at CoUompton, aneigh^
bouring town) happened to like a young fervant girl
who was' one of the holy fiflers, (flie having gon«
through the new birth) better than his wife, becauf«
file was an uuenlightened, unconverted woman. And
this fervant girl proving with child, the news foon

reached Wellington ; and a very wealthy gentleman,
who entertained the preachers there, followed the
preacher of Collompton's example, and got his own
pious maid with child.
'* Blefled (he tho' once reje<5leJ,
" Like a little wandering Iheep
'* Poor maidy one morning was eledêd
** By a vifion in her deep."
After this fome of the fociety in Wellington began

to, have all things ia common, and feveral more of
the holy proved prolific; which fo alarmed th<;
fifters
parilh, that fome of the heads of it infilled that the
preachers fliould not be permitted to exhibit there anv
longer. '' For, if (faid they) the methodift fociety
.continues, weiliail have the parifh full of baftards.'*
** A fmile, a form, or an attra6ling lip, ^
*« Willmake a faint fall fometimes as well as flip,

<< Ev'n holy fillers, in a call of love,
« Without man's aid, have quicken d from abr.'ve,
" What wretch, not yet connjertedy dares invade
<* Thofe folemn rights which gladden all your trade."
A fimilar affair happened at a country town, ten

or twelve miles from Oxford, about two years fince,
where a very handfome powerful preacher made con-
verts of a great number of women, both married and
lingle, vv'ho were wonderfully affedted, and great
numbers flocked to his ftandard.
He had a roguifh twinkling in his eye.

And Ihone all glittering with ungodly dew ;
If a tight damfel chanc'd to be trippuig by.

Which when obferv'd, he fhrunk into his mew.
And llrait would recolle6l his piety anew.
Castle of Indolence.
But he had not laboured there more than a" year,

before the churchwardens were made acquainted with
his powerful operations on live young female faints,
who all fwore baflards to this holy, fpiritual labourer
in the vineyard ; upon which the gentlemen of the
town exerted themfelves, and prevented the farther
propagation of methodifm as ,*
'* The ladies by fympathy feem to difcover

** l~he advantage of having a fpiritual lover.
*' They were fadiy'afraid that wives, widows, and mifTes,
" Would confine to all their favours and kiffes."
There was in Salilbury, fome few years, ago, a con-

gregation of methodiils in connection with the late
Mr. Weflcy ; and amongft the poorer members, a
young man, who with honourable profeffions, paid
his addreffes to a young woman. They generally
met in the dulk of the evening, after their daily la-
bour
;
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. i^^

bour was ended. One evening in particular he prcllcd
her to marry him it was mutually agreed on,
; and
the day fixt tor the celebration of their nuptials and ;
by way of binding the bargain (as odd as it may feem)

he prefented the young woman with half-a-guinea,
A few evenings after, being in company with her as
iifual, he began to offer rudenefs to her; alledging
in cxcuie, that as they were to be married in a few
days, the congrefs would be perfectly innocent. But
the girl relented the ufage highly and foon after,;
complained to the other methodilis in that city, of the

infult ftie had received from him. The young man
was accordingly challenged with it; but he fllfly de-
nied the whole alledging that he had not been in
;
her company ror fome tim.e paft that he had miide

;
no matrimonial contrad with her; and confequcntly

did not give her the half-guinea ailcrted and the ;
man who ufually worked s\ith him in the fame (hop,

averred pofitivcly that he was prefent with them on
the evening in queftion, at his ufual employment.
Upon this, the methodifts ivi/ely concluded, that it
mull have been the devil who hacl carried on this

affair wifh the young vvoinan that when he gave her
;
the half-guinea^ file had fold herfelf to him, and

that on the day fixt for the marriage, he would come
and fetch her away: or at leafl that fome greai evil
might befal her.
Peter Pindar in his ode to the devil, fays,
<*What thoufands hourly bent on Un,
« With fupphcations-call thee m,
" To aid them to purfue it
" Yet when detedted with a lie
" Ripe at their finger's ends, they cry,
« The devil bid me do it.'*
As Mr, Wefley was to be at Newbury foon, they

prudently determined upon fending a deputation of
certain of their members to him, for his advice in fo
critical an affair which was accordingly done.—
;
After having flated the cafe to him inftead of open- ;
ing their eyes, as fo learned a man ought to have

done; he treated the whole as truth; and directed
them to fafl and pray on that day when they expeded
H 3 _ fata a
154 LIFE OF J. LACKIxNTGTON.
fatan to make appearance
his ; and after the deputies
had left Nevybary, he faid to the good people of the
f
houfe where he then was, I thought a little aft ing and
prayer would not do them any harm.
The author/of a letter to Dn Coke and Mr. More,
publifiied lince the firft edition of my Memoirs, informs
lis, that a Gentleman of Chefliam had a daughter
about feventeeli years of age, whom he put into the
hands of a methodift parfon, to have her converted,
and was exceedingly kind and liberal to him; and
we are informed that this Fafcal converted her firft,
and debauched her afterwards.
Some time lince, as one of thefe itinerant difpen-
fers of the gofpel w^s travelling in Derbyfliire, night
coming on, he flopped at a fmall inn on the road, antf
defired to have a bed, but was informed that all the
beds were full our preacher, however, feated him-
;
fclf d( wn by thefire, and refrelhed the outward man,

and at bed-time delired liberty to (it up by the fire,
which was granted. Eut our hofl having oberved
by his behaviour and black coat, that he was a metho-
difr preacher, waj refolved, if polTible, to '* have a
little fun with the canting parfon.'* Some hours be-
fore the arrival of our pious man, a woman had died
in this inn, and at that time lay in the bed in which
-file died. So our holl returned, and very gravely in-
formed the Man of God, that on fccond thoughts, he
recollected that he had a bed to fpare, but added,
that it was in a two-bedded room, and that a woman
occupied the other bed; but, continued he, you may
go foftly into the room, and as her curtains are drawn,
ihe may not fee or hear you, and you look like too
good a man to diilurb a woman in her fleep on which
:
Gur faint turned up the whi.es of his eyes, and faid,

*^ the Lord forbid.*' As foon as the parfon was re-
tired, the landlord made all quiet in his houfe as fafl
as poilible, and placed himfelf and a few laughing
companions in the room next to that occupied by the
dead woman, and the methodill. They had not wait-
ed more than half an hour before the preacher roared
out aloud, on which our hoft and his companions
ruflied into the roorn^ and found the fpiritual man in
a tennbl^.
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 15;
a terrible fright, fitting up in the bed by the fide of
the dead coife. The good man declared, that the de-
vil had taken him to that bed while he'was alleep.
So you fee, my dear friend, by the above examples
(were it neceflary, I could give you many more) that
not all the converted and fan6tified females are be-
come fo abforbed in the fpirituil dt lights of the
myfllcal union, as to be totally infenfible to carnal
conne6tJons ; as we find that many among them are
blefTed with a mind fo capacious, as to be able to
participate in the pleafures of both worlds.
Ill tliis nauirhtv world

The garb of virtue affum'd by vice,
is
And hard it is for an experienc'd eye,

To fay who merits. Huddi4»
1 am,
Dear Friend,
yuurst
H4
—
1S6 LIFE OK J. Lx\CKINGTONV
LETTER XXIV,
Pomeilic happinefs, thou only blifs
Of parauife that has furviv'd the fall }
Thou art the nurfe of virtue, in thine a*ms
She 1 miles appearing, as in truth fhe is,
Heav'n-horn, and ueftin'd for the Ikies again. Cowper.
Woman,, man's chiefeft good, by Heav'n defign'd

To glad the heart, and humanize the mind ;
To footh each angry care, abate the ftrife,
And lull the paiTions as we walk through life.
Art of living in'LoKDON.
DEAR Friend,
now return to my own

A FTER a
affairs,
long digreffion, I muil
I continued in the above-mentioned dreadful fever

tnany weeks, and my life was defpaired of by all who
came near me, During which time, my wife, whom
'
1 affedionately loved, died and was buried, without

jiiy once having a fight of her.
She was — I cannot fay how good—.God knows.

Adrian.
What added much to my misfortunes, feveral
nurfes that were hired to take care of me and my
wife, proved fo abandoned and depraved as to have
loll all {enCe of moral obligation, and every tender
feeling for one who to all appearance was jufton the
point of death : feveral of thefe monflers in female
iliape robbed my drawers of linen, &:c. and kept them-
/Îves drunk with gin, while I lay unable to move in
my bed, and was ready to perifh, partly owing to
want of cleanlintfs ajid proper care. Thus fituated,
I mufl: inevitably Kave fallen a vidim, had it not
been for my filler Dorothy, wife of Mr. Northam of
I.ambcth, and my fifter Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Bell
in Soho.
— ^Dreadful
I
Dreadful are the ills
Which cruel fortune brings on human kind.
Franklin's Sophocles.
Thefe kind fillers, as foon as they were informed

of the deplorable Hate in which I lay, notwithftand-
ing fome mifunderflanding which fubfifted between
us, and prevented me from fending for them, haflened
to me, and each {at up with me alternately, fo that
I had one or the other with me every night and, con-;
trary to all. expectation, I recovered. But this re-

covery was in a very flow maimer; ^
Health, lovieil handmaid of the immortal train,

With thee may all my future moments flow,
Of >tiis fhort life what fleeting hours remain ;
Come thou and tinge them with thy chearful glow.
Beloe,
As foon as I was able to enquire into the flate of

my found that Mr. Wheeler, fack and rope-
affairs, I
maker in Old-ftreet, Meflrs. Bottoinley and Shaw,
carpenters and faih-makers in Bunhill-row, had faved
me from ruin, by locking up my f hop, which con-
tained my little all. Had not this been done, the
nurfes would no doubt have contrived means to have
emptied my lliop, as effedtuaUv as they had done my
drawers.
The above gentlemen not only took care of my
fliop, but alio advanced money to pay fuch expences
as occurred ; and as my wife was dead, they affiiled
me in liaking ray will in favour of my mother.
Thefe worthy gentlemen belong to Mr, Wefley V
fociety (notwithilanding they have imbibed many
enthuliaflic whims) they would be an honour to any
fociety, and are a credit to human nature. I hope
that never fhall recolle6l their kindnefs without be-
I
ing filled with the warmeil fentiments of gratitude

towards them.
I never had any opportunity of returning Mr.
Whcder's kindnefs. But Melfrs. Bottomley and
%Shaw have received many hundred pounds of me for
work, and are llill my carpenter?, and ever fliall be
cs long as I lliall live near them, and have a houfe
to repair.
<' He hath Nature in him mufl be grateful :
tliat
'' 'Tis the Creator's primary great law,
** That links the chain (^f being to each other,
*^ Joining the greater to the leifer nature,
^' Tying the weak and ftrong, the poor and povverfu^,
** Subduing men to brutes, and even brutes to men/*
There is a fine pafTage in Ajax, a tragedy, by St5^-

phocles, as tranllatedby Dr. Francklin, and as it is a
wife fpeaking to her huiband, is the more remarkabie,
Tecmefla lays to Ajax,
i< Thou art my all,
*' My only fafeguard : do not, do not leave me !
<*Nought (o becomes a man as gratitude

" For good received, and noble deeds are ftill
** The oifspring of benevolence, whilft he
** With whom remembrance dies of bleflings pafl,
<* Is vile and worthlefs."
There are alfo two fine lines on this fubjeft in W,

Whitehead's Epillle to Dr. Lowth, which I mull
quote
—
:
<* %The next virtue to beftowing good,

" Thou know'fl, isgratitude for good beflow'd."*'
The fubje6t warms my heart, and if I obtrude

four lines more from a lady, I am fure you will for-
give me.
Of the feehngs, human fenfe can boaft,
The fui^ is gratitude, it charms the moft;
-* With joy adopted, and with joy obey'd,
A debt that's always paying, and never paid '.
Mrs. Gunning's Virginius and Virginia.
On my learnt that Mifs Dorcas

recovery I alfo
Turton (the young woman
that kept the houfe, and
of whom I then rented the fliop, parlour, kitchen and
garret) having out of kindnefs to my wife, occa-
fionally aflifbed her during herillnefs, had caught the
fame dreadful diforder; flie was then very dangeroufly
ill, and people fliunned the houfe as much as if the
plague had been in it. So that when I opened my

fliop ^gain, I was flared at as though I had a6tually
returned from the other world t and it was a confider-
able time before many of my former cuftomers could
credit
;

credit that I really was exigence, it
in having been
repeatedly reported that J was
alfo dead.
Montaigne fays " That forrow is a paffion which
the world has endeavoured to honour, by cloathing
it with the godly titles of wifdom, virtue^&c. which
is a foolifli and vile difguife the Italians call it by
;
its proper name, ill-nature for, in truth (fays he) it is

;
always a ine^n bafe paliiion ; and for that rcafon the

ftoicks forbid their wife men to be any way affeded ^
with it."
Whether Montaigne is right or not, I will not de-
termine ; but 1 got rid of my forrow as fail as I could,
thinking that I could not give a better proof of my
having loved my late wife, than by getting another
as foon as I could.
Man may be happy if he will,

I've faid fo often, and I think fo flill
Do<5lrine to make the millions flare !
Know then, each mortalan a6lual Jove ;

is
Can brew what weather hs (hall mofl approve,

Or wind, or calm, or foul, or fair,
But here's the mifchief-r— man's an afs, I fay :

Too fond of thunder, lightening, ftorm, and rain ;
He hides the charming, chearing ray,

That fpreads a fmile, o'er hill and plain !
Dark he muft court the fcuU, and fpade, and fhroud,

The miftrefs of his fonl muft be a cloud !
Peter Pindar.
Mifs Dorcas Turton v/as a charming young woman,
and you mufl now be made farther acquainted with
her. She is the daughter of Mr. Samuel Turton, of
Staffordfhire ;her mother, by marriage, ftill retained
her maiden name, which was Mifs Jemima Turton,
of Oxfordfliire, grand-daughter of the honourable
Sir John Turton, Knight, one of the Judges of the
Court of King's Bench. Mr. Samuel'Turton had a
large fortune of his ov/n, and about twenty thoufand
pounds with his wife Mifsjemima ; but by law-fuits,and
an unhappy turn for gaming, he dillipated nearly the
whole of it, and was obliged to have recourfeto trade ^
to help to fupport his family.
H 6 »Tis ^
6o LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
** what ancient honour won,
'Tis loft at dice,
*^ Hard, when the father plays away the fun.'*
He opened a
fliop as a fadler's ironmonger ; but be-
ing but acquainted with trade, and as his old
little
propenfity to gaming never quitted him, it is no
wonder that he did not fucreed in his bufinefs ; and
to crown all his other follies, he was bound for a falfe
friend in a large fum ; this completed his ruin.
His wife died in Jan. 1773, and his final ruin en-
fued a few months after ; fo that from that time to his
death he was partly fupportedby his daughter, Mifs
Dorcas Turton, who cheerfully fubmitted to keep a
fchool, and worked very hard at plain work, by
which means fhe kept her father from want.
The worft of ills to poverty ally'd,
Is the proud feoff, it hurts man's honeft pride.
Owen's Juvenal.
The old gentleman died a few months after I came

into the fhop. Being partly acquainted with this
young lady's goodnefs to her father, I concluded that
io amiable a daughter was very likely to make a good
wife ; I alfo knew that flie was immoderately fond of
book's, and would frequently devote half of the night
to. reading; this turn of mind in herwas the greateft
of all recommendations to me, who having acquired
a few ideas, was at that time relllefs to increafe them :
fo that I was in raptures with the bare thoughts of

having a women to read, with, and alfo to read to
me*
Of all the pleafures, noble anj refin'd, /
Which form the talte and cultivate the mind,
In ev'ry realm where fcience darts its beams.
From Thalc's ice to Afric's golden ftrcam^,
_From climes where Phoebus pours his orient ray.
To the fair regions of declining day,
, The " Feaft of Reafon, which from reading fprings,
'
To reas'ning man the higheft folace brings.

'Tis Books a lafting pleafure can fupnly.
Charm while we live, and teach us how to die.
Lackinoton's Shop Bill.
I embraced the firft opportunity after her reco-

very to make her acquainted to my mind ; and as wc
were
LIFE OF J. i;.ACKINGTON. i6j
were no ftrangers to each other's charaders and cir-
cumftances, there was no need of a long formal court-
fliip
; fo I prevailed on her not to defer our union
longer than the 30th of January, 1776, when, for the
fecond time, I entered into the holy ilate of matri-
mony.
I muft here inform you, that although this young
lady had never been married before, yet this was the
fecond time of her being led to the altar for that pur-
pofe. When flie was between fixteen and feventeen
years of age, her parents fixed on a gentleman of forty
for her hulband, and partly by perfuafion, and part-
ly by force, they got her to church ; but when (in
a part of the fervice) t}ie clergyman alked her if flie
would *'' have this man to be her wedded hufband ?"
She, to the great allonifliment of her lover and the
oldparfon, anfwered " No !" The good old divine, in
a very gruff manner, afked her why flie came there ?
" becaufe I was forced to it," fhe replied ; and
away flie ran out of the church as fafl: as flie could,
leaving her father, mother, lover, and the old doc-
tor to fettle matters, as they would,.
Wedded Love is founded on efVeem,.

Which the fair merits of the mind engage :
For thofe are charms that never can decay,
But Tim?, which igives new whitenefs to the fwan.
Improve tht?ir luftre. Fen Tot?-
I am^.
Dear Sir^
Yours.
; : !
i62 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
LETTER XXV.
Reafon re-baptized me when adult
Weigh'd true from falfe, in her impartial fcale.
Truth, radiant goddcfs fallies on my foul
!
And puts delufion's dulky train to flight. Yo-uNav
All the myftic lights were quenched, Lee^
To thee, Philofophy t to thee, the light,

The guide of mortals through their mental night,
By whom the world in all its views his Ihewn,
Our guide through nature's works, and in our own,
>wn,
Who place in order being*s wond'rous chain,
Save where thofe puzzling, ftubborn links remain^
lin, t
By art divine involv'd,, which man can ne'er explai
)lain.
J
Crabbe.
DEAR FRIEND,
I Am
now, in February 1776, ar-
rived at an important period of my life. Being lately
recovered from a very painful, dangerous, and hope-
lefs illnefs, I found myfelf once more in a confirmed
ftate of health, furrounded by my little ftock in trade,
which was but juft faved from thieves, and which to
me was an immenfe treafure.
Pafs fome fleeting moments by,>
All once the tempefts fly
at
Infl:ant fhifts the clouded fcene ;
Heav'n renews its fmiles ferene, Wes x's Pindar,

The following lines by Ifaac Hawkins Browne, Efq.
on Pleafure and Pain, are alfo worth quoting ;
<^ Ceafe then, ah! ceafe, fond mortal to repine

'
" At laws, which Nature wifely did ordain;
<« Pleafure, what is it ? rightly to define,
* \Tis but a fhort-lived interval from Pain j
*' Or, rather each alternately renewed, ^
« Gives to our lives a fweet viciffitude/*
Add to the above, my having won a fecond time

in a game where the odds were fo much againit me ;
or
;
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 16$

or to life another fimlle, my
having drawn another
prize in the lottery of wedlock, and thus like John
Buncle, repaired the lofs of one very valuable woman
by the acquifition of another fllll more valuable.
O woman !let the libeitine decry,
Rail at the virtuous love he never felt,
—
Nor wifli'd to feel. Among the fex there are
Numbers as greatly good as they arc fair
Where rival virtues ftrive which brightens moft.
Beauty the fmalleft excellence they boaft;
Where all unite fubftantial blifs to prove.
And give mankind in them a tafte of joys above.
Hayward,
Dr. Watts, in his poem entitled Few Happy
Matches, fuppofes that fouls come forth in pairs,
male and female, and that the reafon why there are fo
many unhappy matches, is occafioned by many fouls
lofing their partners in the way to this lower world*
That the happy matches take place when fouls ar-
rive fafe, and meeting again iniHn6tively, impel the
bodies they animate towards each other, fo as to
produce an hymeneal unjon. Thus, according to the
good do6lor's hypothefis, it mufl be very dangeous
indeed for a perfon to be married more than once ;
but perhaps fuch cafes as mine, might be exceptions
to the general rule, and three fouls might come out
together but how very fortunate was I to meet with
;
both my partners.
Marriage is itfelf, I take it,
Juft as the parties pleafe to make it. Humphreys.

Refieffing on the above united circumftances, I
found in my heart an unufual fen'ation, fuch as until
then I had been a ftranger to, and fomething within
me adopted the fentiments of Anacreon, when he
faid,
*' Hence, forrows, hence, nor rudely dare

*< Difturb my tranfient fpan ;
" Be mine to live (adieu to care)

" As cheerful as I can."
My mind began to expand, intelle^lual light and plea-

fure broke in and difpelled the gloom of fanatical me-
*
lancholy
;
164, LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

iancholy the fournefs of my natural temper, whicl^
;
hfl^been much increased by fupcrftition, (called by

Swift, " the fpleen of the foul,") in part gave way,
and was fucceeded by cheerfulnefs, and foiiie degree
of good- nature.
As when a wretch from thick polluted air,.
And dungeon-horrors by kirnlfate difcharg'd,
Climbs. fome fair eminence, where aether pure,,
SurroUhds him, and Elyfian profpe($ls rife,.
His heart exults, his fpirits caft their load ;
And if new f)orn he triuqaphs in the change. YouNGr
It was in one of thefe cheerful moods that
1 one day took up the Life of John Buncle ; and it
is impoifible for. my friend to. imagine wdth what
eagnefs and pie afu re I. read 'through the whole four
volume^ of this whimfical, fcnfible, pleafing work;
it was written by Thomas Amory,,Efq. (who was
living in the year 1788, at the great age of 97.) I

know not of any work more proper to be put into the
hands of a poor, ignorant, bigotted, fuperftitious me-
thqdiil but the misfortune is, that fcarce one of
;
them will read any thing but what fuits with their
own narrow notions, fo that tKey fliut themfelves up
in darknefs, and exclude every ray of intelle6lual
light which puts me in mind of the enthuiiails on
;
the banks of the Ganges, who wall not look at any

^ thing
beyond the tips of their nofes. By. the time. I
had gone through the lafl: volume,
"^
My foul had took its freedcftn up. Green.
John Buncle's merry life put^ me in mind of Peter

Pindar's fenfible, whjjmfical lines:
" Who told'.man that he nrvufl be curs'd on earth ?
" The GOD of NATURE ? no fuch thing!

<< Heav'n whifper'd him, the moment of his birih, .
" Don't cry, my iad, but dance and fnig ;

•
*< Don't be too wife, and^bean ape,

" In colours let the foul be drefs'd, not crape.
^
« Rofes (hall fmoc^ti LIFE'S journey, and adorn ;
<f Yet mind me, if through want of grace,

« Thou mean'ft to fling the bleffing in my face.
** Thou hall full leave to tread upon a thorn."
Yet
Yet fome there are, of mea I think the worft,

poor imps unhippy iF they can't be curs'd ;
!
For ever brooding over mis'ry's eggs,

As though life's pleafure were a deadly fin ;
MouHng for ever for a gin'
To catch their happinefs by the legs.
I alfo received great benefits from reading Coven-
try's Philemon to Hydafpes
confifts of dialogues
; it
on extravagant devotion, Sec, in which

falfe religion,
are many very curious remarks on viiionaries of va-
rious ages and fe6ls. This work is complete in five
parts odavo. 'There has alfo been a decent Scotch
edition, publlflied in twelves; both editions are rather
fcarce.
I now began many innocent pleafures and
to enjoy
recreations in without the fear of being eternally
life,
damn'd for a laugh, a joke, or for fpending a fociable

evening with a few friends, going to the play-houfe,
&CC. &:c.
Diverfions,when well timM and juflly chofe,

Neither good fenfe nor reafon can oppofe j
Happy they whom bounteous Heav'n has blefsM,
With fenfe to judge, and will to choofc, the beft.
Rev. W, RAYNEHt
The hours fofpent fhalUive,
Not unapplauded in the book of heav'n j
For dear and precious as the moments are

Permitted man, they are not all for deeds
Of a(5live virtue, give me none to vice.
And heav'n will not reparation alk,
For many a fummer's day and winter's eve,
So fpent as beft amufes us.
We trifle all, and he that beft deferves,
Is but a trifier— 'tis a trifling world.
Village Curate.
In flioVt, I faw that true religion was no way incom-
patible with, or an enemy to rational pleafures of any
kind. As life (fays one) is the gift ot heaven, it is
religion to enjoy it,
F;oo1s by excefs make varied pleafure pall,

The wife man's moderate, and enjoys them all.
Voltaire, by Franklin,
I know
; ; :
i66 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON'.

I now alfo began to read with great pleafare the
rational and moderate divines of all denominations
and a year or two after, I began with metaphyiics; iti
the intricate, though pleafing labyrinths of which, I
have occafionally fince wandered; nor am I ever
likely to find my way out.
" Like a guide in amift Nave I rambled about,

** And now come at lall where at fiift I fet out ;
** And unlefs for new lights we have reafon to hope,
** In darknefs it muft be my fortune to grcpe."
I have been aftonifhedand confounded among th-e

Monades of Ariftotlc ; with Malbranche, I have
clearly *' feen all things in God ;" have been very
much confufed in the Pre-eftabliflied Harmony of
Leibnitz with Billiop Barclay I have fometimcs left
:
the '' univerle of grofs and fenfelefs matter ;" and

have feen the " Omnipotent Being, raife ideas in the
mind of intelligent creatures, by an expanfion of his
own." With Dr. Prieftley, I have Humbled through
an univerfe of matter ; and with the good BiQiop of
Cloyne, I have been ready to conclude, that there
was no matter at all. The old hypothefis relative
to inate ideas, kept pofleffion of my mind, until Locke
clearly ihewed me, that all ideas were begotten by
outward objefts.
^< Who (hall decide w^hen dodlors difagree,

<< And fouiidefl cafuifls doubt Ukeyou and me.''
I am not in the leaft uneafy on thofe heads, as I

have no doubt of being in my
able to laft moments
adopt the language of one of the greatefl men that
ever exifted
<^ Great God whofe being by thy works is known,

!
f^ Hear my words from thy eternal throne

laft :
f* If I miftook, 'twas while thy law I fought,

>' I may have err'd, but thou wert in each thought
« Fearlefs I look beyond the opening grave,
** And cannot think the God who being gave,
(^ The God wh(;fe favours made my bhfs o'erfiow,
<* Has doomM me, after death, to eadlefs woe."
In
; ! ;
LIFE OF J.
LACKINGTON, 167
mean time I can
la the lincerely pronounce the
following lines of Mr. Pope :
" If I am righr, thy grace impart,

*« 'Still ill the right to flay
" If I am wrong-, G teach my heart,
« To fiaU the better way."
Having begun to think rationally, and reafon free-

ly on religious matters, you may be fure I did not
long remain in Mr, Welley's fociety. No :
A ray of welcome light difclofed my path

Joyful I the fhadowy realms of death.
left
And hail'd the op'ning glories of the Iky,
Boyd's Dante's Inferno*
What Is remarkable, I wellremember that fome ycarf

before, Mr. Wefley
told his fociety in Broadmead,
Briftol, in my
hearing, that he could never keep a
bookfeller fix months in his flock (ail fanatics are
enemies to reafon.) He was then pointing out the
danger that attended clofe reafoning in matters of
religion and fpiritual concerns, in reading contro-
verfies, &c. At that time I had not the leafl: idea of
.my ever becoming a bookfêller; but I no fooner be-
gan to give fcope to my reafoning faculties, than the
above remarkable aflertion occurred to my mind
Impatient of reflraint, the a<^tive mind.
No more by fervile prejudice confin'd,
Leaps from her feat, as waken'd from a trance,
_ And darts through nature with a fmgle glance.
Night, a Poem.
But that which rather haftened my departure from

methodifm was this : —
The methodifl: preachers were
continually reprobating the practice of matters and
miilrefTes keeping fervants at home on Sundays, to
dref» dinners, which prevented them from hearing
the word of God (by the word of God they mean
their own jargon of nonfenfe;) afTuring them if the
fouls of fuch fervants were damned, they might in a
great meafure lay their damnation at the doors of fuch
mailers
1.68 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
mailers and millreiRs, who rather than eat a cold
^dinner, would be
guilry of breaking the fabbath, and-
rifking the fouls of their fervants. great was How
my furprize, when I difcovered that thefe very men
who were continually^ preaching up fading,' abili-
nence, &c. to their congregation, and who .wanted
others to dine off cold dinners, or eat bread and
checfe, &:c, would themfelYes not even fup, without
roalled fowls, &c.
This I found to be facft. as T feveral times had oc-
*
caiion, after attending the preaching, to go into the
kitchen behind the old Foundery (which at that
tiaiewas M'r. Wellcy's prcaching-houfe) there I \
faw women who had been kept from hearing the fcr-
mon, &c. they being employed in ro;rii:ine fowls,
and otherwife providing good fupper^ for tha
preachers.
" A cart-load, lo ! their ftonvachs ileal j
!"
** Yet fwear they cannot make a meal
So," faid T, ^' you lay burthens on other men^s

**
but will not fo much as touch them your-

llioulders,
felves with one of your fingers.'*
A ridiculous inlfance of the fame nature happened'
alfo fome years iince at Taunton, One of Mr. Wef-
ley*s preachers, whofe name wa^ Cotterrell, aifured
his congregation, from time to time, that every baker
that baked meat on Sundays would be damned, and
every perfon that partook of fuch meat would alfo be
damned; on which a poor baker fliut up his oven on
Sundays; the confequence was, that he.Jofl his cuf-
tomers, as fucli bakeis as baked their viduals on
Sunday, had their c.uftom.on other days, of courfc
the poor baker's family was nearly reduced ta the
workhoufe when one Sunday paffing by the houfe,
:
where he knew the preacher Was to dine, he was

very much furprized to fee a baked leg of pork car-
ried into the houfe, and after a few minuteJkre-
fledion, he milled in, and found the pious preacher
eating part of the baked leg of pork on which he ;
bid farewel to the methodiils, and again took care of

bis family.
It
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON, 169
It IS perhaps worth remarking, that many poor
hair-dreflers in Mr. Weiley's fociety are reduced ro
extreme poverty; they cannot get employment, as
they will not drefs hair on Sundays ; and I find that
a poor milkwoman, who until the beginning of the
year 1792, maintained her family in a decent man-
ner, was lately frightened out of her underftanding by
a methodift preacher ; her crime was felling milk on
Sundays. The poor wretch is now confined in Bed-
lam, and her five children are in a work-houfe. But
driving people mad they treat as a trifling affair. A
few weeks fince, a methodift preacher in Grub-ftreet,
in one of his difcoiirfes, made dife of the fpllowing
language to his auditory.—" You fpread, a report, I
am informed, that my do6lrine has fuch effect upon
fome, that they run mad but I fliould much rather
;
fend five thouilind to Bedlam, than that one foul

fhould be fent to hell."
I at this time know a bookfeller, wTio being a me-
thodift, is fo confcientious as to have his hair drefTcd
on the evening of every Saturday, and to prevênt its
being difcompofed in the night, he on thofe nights
always flijeps in his elbow chair. Indeed fome, tell
the ftory different, and fay, that his hair is dreffed
Saturday morning, and by~^fleeping in his chair he
faves the expcncc of dreffing on Sundays others fay
;
that the firft is the fa6l, and that he hinted at it in his

fliop-bills, in order that the public might know vvhere
to find a tradefman that had a very tender confcience;
I was one day called afide, and a band-bill was
given me thinking it to be a quack doctor's bill
:
for a certain difeafe, I exprcfTed my furprife at its

being given to me in fuch a particular m.anner
; but
on reading found it contained a particular ac-
it, I
count of the wonderful converfion of a John Bio^gs,
when he was twenty-one years of age. Mr.
Biggs fays, that ever fince that time he has had com^
God his Father every hour. He publiflies
munioji nvith
(he fays) for the glory of God; but that
this' bill
the public might have an opportunity of dealing
with this wonderful faint and perfcdly holy man, he
puts
%
!
tjo LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

puts his addrefs in capitals, John Biggs, No. 98,
Strand. I keep this bill as a curiolity.
The following note was fome years fince given to
the clerk, for the clergyman of St. Michael's church,
Briftol :
—
'' I, Mary Lockhart, return Almighty God
my molt hearty thanks, for the benefits received in

my foul, through the burning and fliining lights, Mr.
Cennick and Mr. Hall. I have not only received re-
miffion for my fins pail, prefent, and to come, but
am now entered into the reft (or made perfect) of the
children of God. Mary Lockhart.'*
I will conclude this letter in the words of Col.
Lambert, in the comedy of the Hypocrite. '' I —
cannot fee with temper, Sir, foraany religions moun-
tebanks impofe on the unwary multitude WTetches,
;
who make a trade of religion, and iliew no uncom-

mon concern for the next world, only to raife their
fortunes with greater fecurity in this, I always re-
fpe6t piety and virtue, but there are pretenders to re*
ligion, as well as to courage ; and as the truly brave
are not fuch as make much noife about their valour,
fo, I apprehend, the truly good feldom or never deal
in much grimace. I can never pay the fame regard
to the malk that I do to the face.**
Where is the man, who, prodigal of mind,
1q one wide wifh embraces human kind ?

Ail pride of fe<5ls, all party-zeal above,
Whofe guide is reafon, and whofe god is love,
Fair nature's friend, a foe to fraud and art—
Where is this man, fo welcome, to my heart
J.
LANC^tRNE.
I am,
Dear Friend,
you]:s.
LETTER
LETTER XXVI.
Gocnl morrow to thee How dofl do ?
:
I only jiift call'd in to fliew

My love upon this blelled day,
As I by chance came by this way.
B u T L E r's Pofth. Works.
*^ Let not your weak unknowing hand
*< Prefume God's boks to throw,
** And deal damnation round the land
** On each you judge his foe."
DEAR FRIEND,
I
Had no fooner left Mr. Wefley's
fociety, and began to talk a little fnoie like a rational'
being, but I found that I had incurred the hatred of
feme, the pity of others, the envy of many, and the
difpleafure of ^// Mr. Wefley's— o/<^ women.
No feared confcience is fo fell,

As that which has been burnt with zeal;
^ For chrillian charity's as well
A great impediment to zeal,
As zeal a peflilent difeafe
To charity and peace. Butler's Remains.
So that for a long time I was conflantly teafed
with their impertinent nonfenfe. I believe that never
was a poor devil fo plagued.
SuperflitJon is dreadful in her wrath,
Her dire anathemas againft yon dart. Henriade.

Some as they pafled by my door in their way to
the Foundery, would only make a flop and lift up
their hands, turn up the whites of their eyes, fliake
their heads, groan, and pafs on. Many would call in
and take me afide, and after making rueful faces,
addrefs me with, " Oh, Brother Lackington lam !
very forry to find that you who began in the Spirit

are now like to end in the flefli. Pray Brother, do
remember Lot's wife.*' Another would interrupt me
in my bufmefs, to tell me, that *' He that putteth
~^
his
172 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTOISF.
his hand to the plough, and looketh back, Is unfit
for the king-dom." Another had juft called as he was
paffing by, to caution me agalnft the bewitching
fnares of profperity. Others again called to know
if I was as happy then as I was when I conilanrly
fought the Lord with my brethren, in prayer-meet-
ing, in clafs, in band, Scc. When I afTured them
that I was more happy, they in a very folemn man-
ner afTured me, that I was under a verygreat d^lufioii
of the devil ; and when I by chance happened to
laugh at their enthufiaftic rant, fome have run out of
my iliop, declaring that they were afraid to ftay
under the fame roof with me, left the houfe Ihould
fall on their heads*
Each zealot thus date with ghoflly pride.

Adores his God, and hates ttie world befide
J. Langhorne.
Sometimes I have ben accofted in fueh an alarm-
ing manlier as though the houfe was on fire, with
*' Oh brother brother ! you are fafl afleep
! and !
!
the flames of hell are taking hold of you j" which

reminds me of the following lines :
Were hell demolilh'd now.

Another muft be had for you ;
That providence were falfely nam'd.

If fuch a moniler is not damn'd.
Lord Gari>enston^
A certain preacher afTured me, in the prefence of
feveral gentlemen, that the devil would foon tofs me
about in the flames of hell vvith a pitchfork. This
fame eloquent mild preacher ufed occalionally to flrip
to his fliirt to dodge the devil.

Mr. E. a gentleman of my
acquaintance, going
through fome alley, one Sunday, hearing a very un-
common noife, was led by curiofity tothe houfe from
whence it proceeded, and there he faw elevated above
an affembly of old women, ^c. this taylor, flript in
his fhirt, with his wig off, and the collar of his fhirt
unbuttoned, fweating, foaming at the mouth, and
bellowing like a baited bull. In the above rnanher
k leems he would often amufe himfelf and his con-
eresfiition for near two hours.
^ ^ .
Curfing .
Cuifiiig from his fvveating tub>
Tlie cavaliers of Beelzebub. Butler^s Pofth. Work^.
Some of the Taiernaclg Joints alTured me, that I

never had one grain of faving grace, and that when I
thought myfelf a child of God, 1 was only deluded
by the devil, who being now quite fure of me, did
not think it worth his while to deceive me any longer.
Others advifed me to take care of linning againll
light and knowledge, and pioufly hoped that it was
hot quite too late ; that I had not (they hoped) com-
mitted the unpardonable fin againft the Holy GhoH.
Others again, who happened to be in a better hu-
mour, often told me that they fliould fee me brought
back to the true fheepfold, as they really hoped I had
once been in a ftate of grace, and if fo, that I al-
ways was in grace, in fpite of all I could do :the
Lord would never quit his hold of me that I might
;
fall foully^ but that it was impolfible for me to fall

finally^ as in the end I fhould be brought back on the
fliouldcrs of the everlafting gofpel for when God
;
came to number his jewels, not one would be miffing.

One of thefe righteous men, after palling fome en-
comiums on me for my moral charader, affured me
that I had by no means fallen fo low as many of
God's dear children had fallen but fall as low^ as
;
they potTibly can, faid he, they are flill God's chil-
dren ; for although they may ** be black with fin,
they are fair within." He then read to me the fol-
lowing pafiage out of a pamphlet written againft Mr.
*' David ftood as
Fletcher, by R. Hill : completely
** juftified in the everlafting righteoufnefs of Chrilr,
" at the time when he caufed Uriah to be murdered,

'* and was committing adultery with his wife, as he
*' was in any part of his life. For all the fins of the
«' eleft, be they more or be they lefs, be they paft, pre-
" lent, or to come, were for ever done away So that

:
*' every one of thofe elcH ftand fpotlefs in the fight
** of God." Is not this a very comfortable kind of

do6trine ? The pernicious confequences of fuch te-
nets, impreffed on the minds of the ignorant followers
of thefe quacks in religion, muft be obvious to every
perfon capable of reflexion. They have nothing to
I dd
;
I -'4 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

do but enliil themfclves in the band of the ek6l, and
no inattei then how criminal their life.
Thus, my dear friend, I was for a long time coaxed
by fome, threatened with all the tortures of the
damned by others, and conflantly teafed by ail the
inethodifls who came near me.
<' Surrounded by foes, as I fat in my chair,

<< Who attacked like dogs that are baiting a bear."
I at lail determined to laugh at all their ridiculous
perverfions of the fcripture, and their fpiritual cant.
As Peter Pindar fays,
<^ My honefl anger boil'd to view
*^ The fnuffling, long-fac'd canting crew.''
For as Dr. Dalton juftly remarks,

*' A confcience void of fear her front ere6LS,
" Her God Hie fears, all other fear rejedls."
The confequence (as might beexpe61ed) was, they

piouily and charitably configned me over to be toi »
mented by the devil, and every where declared thai
I v/as turned a downright Atheift. But the afperfions
of fuch fanatics gave me no concern ; for
m. If there's a power above us,

(And nature cries aloud
that there is, all
Thro' all he works) he mufl delight in Virtue

And that which he delights in mufl be happy.
Addison's Cato.
*' when or v*^here."
And no matter After relating
fuch ridiculons ilufFas the above, I think that I can-
not conclude this better than -whh Swift's humorous
and fatirical account of the Day of Judgement ; fo
humorous that 1 would not have quoted it, had it
not been written by a divine of the Church of Eng-
land.
<« With a whirl of thought opprefsM,
<' I funk from reverie to reft,
<^ An horrid vifion feizM my head,
" I faw the graves give up the dead :
<< Jove arm'd with terrors burfls the fkies 5

^' And thunder roars, and light'ning flies I
^^ Ama2*d,
; !

'< Amaz'd, confus'd, its fate unknown,
« The world ftands trembling at his throne !
<< While each pale finner hung his head,
** fove nodding, fhook the heavens, and faid,

<« Offending race of human kind,
" By nature, reafon, learning blind ;
**You who thro' frailty ftept afide,

*< And you who never fell thro' pride,
" You who in different fedls were fliamm'd,

** And come to fee each other damn'd !
^* (So fome folks told you, but they knew
'* No mbre of Jove's defigns than you.)

*< The world's mad bufmefs now is o'er,
** And I refent thefe pranks no more.
<* -p-
I to fuch blockheads fet my wit
*• 1 damn fuch fools go, go, youVe bit."
!
I am, Dear Friend, Yours.
LETTER XXVII.
—Say, what founds my ear invade.
From Delphi's venerable Ihade ?
The temple rocks, the laurel waves !
The god the god the fybil cries.

! !
Her figure fwells (he foams, flie raves,

:
Her figure fwells to more than mortal fize.

Streams ot rapture roll along,
Silver notes afcend the Ikies
Wake, Echo, wake, and catch the fong, .
Oh, catch ere it dies.

it
The fybil fpeaks, the dream is o*er.

The holy harpings charm no more,
In vain fhe checks the God's controul.
His madding fpirit fills the frame^
And moulds the features of her foul,
Breathing a prophetic flame.
The cavern frowns ! its hundred mouths unclofe !
And, in the thunder's voice the fate of empire flows ?
Superstition, a Poem.
DEAR FRIE^D^
T
paflage in Roufleau on Fanaticifm.
HERE
is a very extraordinary
It is printed in
his Thoughts, publifhedby Debrett, vol. I. page ii.
I z " Baylc
'' Biiyle (fays he) has acutely proved that Fanati"
*' cifni is more pernicious than Atheilm. This is in-
*' conteilable. What he has been very careful, hovv-
*' ever, not to nventlon, and which is not lefs true is,
*' that Fanatlcifm, although ianguinary and cruel, is
*• ilillan exalted paffion, w^hich elevates ihe heart of
*^ man, raife^s him above the fear of death, multi-
" plies his refources exceedingly, and which only
*' wants to be better dire6ted, to be produtftive of the
*' niuft fublime virtues. (He adds) the argumcnta-
^' tive fpirit of controverfy and philofophy, on ihe
*' contrary, attaches us to life, enervates and debafes
*' the foul, cocentratcs all pallions in the bafenefs
'* of felf-intercfl, and thus gradually laps the real
*' foundation of all fociety/*
I have lomewhere read of a man, who having

been cured of madnefs, he, inftead of thanking his
friends and the phyfician, was difpleafed with them,
for having deprived him of the happinefs he pofTefled
in a Hate of infanity. And methinks Roufleau feems
to be much of the fame mind. But how was it polli-
ble that he fliould fo glaringly contradi6t himfelf in
fo few lines ? Plutarch was the firft that afferted, that
fnperilitlon was worfe than atheifm. Lord Bacon, in
his Eiri}s, fays the fame and Baylc has inconteftably
;
provi d it, as Rouffeau acknowledges. We

know
from a great authority that " Fanaticifm is to fuper-
flition what a delirium is to a fever, and fury to anger.
He who has extaiies and viiions, who takes dreams
for realities, and his imagination for prophehes, is an
enthuiiail ; and he who Oicks not at fupporting his
folly by murder, is a fanatic ;"
and yet Rouileau,
when he acknowledges that fanaticifm is fanguinary
and cruel, calls it "an exalted pallion, which ele-
vates the heart of man, and raifes him above the
fear of death, multij^lies his recourfes exceedingly."
Of all the abfurdities wrote by great men, this feems
to me the greateil. If we except that which he alTerts
in the following lines *' Philofophy attaches us to life,
:
enervates and debafes the foul, concentrates all the

paffions in the bafenefs of felf-intereft, and thus gra*
dually
dually, fays he, faps the real foundation of all fo-
ciety ?" that the very reverfe of what RoufTeau here
aiferts is the truth, muft he obvious to every rational
being" : help thinking >e muft have
no one can
wrote thefe fit of infanity, in a fanatical
lines in a
conventicle. " The fuperflitious (fays Plutarch) are
in continual fear of the divine powers, whom they
fuppofe to be cruel, and hurtful beings ; and he that
fears the divine powers fears every thing. The land,,
thefea, air. Iky, darknefs, light, iilence and dreams.
Even flaves forget their cruel maflers, and prifoners
their fetters but fuperflition fills the foul even in
;
deep, with prodigious forms and ghoftly fpedres.'*
Byt ftill fome fome furious threats.

fng.itful tales,
By -r formM
thofe grave and holy cheats,
Invent new fears, whofe horrid looks fhould fright,
And damp thy thoughts. Cre ech's Lucretiu?*-
A greater man than Roufleau fays, *^ The

much
only remedy for the infei5lious difeafe of Fanaticifm,
is a philofophical temper, which fpreading through f )-
clcty, at length foftens manners, and obviates the

excelTes of the diilemper ; for whenever it gets
ground, the befl way is to fly from it and Hay till the
air is purified. The laws and religion are' no prefer-
vative againli this mental pedilence religion, fo far ,•
from being a falutary aliment in thefe cafes, in in-

fe6led brains, becomes polfon.
*' The laws likcwife have proved very
ineffectual
againfl this fpiritual rage; it is indeed like reading
an •rder of council to a lunatic. The creatures are
firmly perfuaded, that the fpirit by which they are
aduated is above all laws, and that their enthuliafm
is the only law they are to regard.

*' What can
be anfwered to a perfon who tells you,
that he had rather obey God than man ; and who, in
confequence of that choice, is certain to gain hesrven
by cutting your throat ?
<< Hence, to the realms of night, dire demon,
" Thy chain of adamant can bind
« That little world, the human mind,
I 3 «' And
178 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON^
'' And fink its noblefl powers to impotence.
<* Wake the lion s loudelt roar,
" Clot his fhaggy mane vvitli gore,
'* With fiallii ng fury bid his eye-balls fhine,
** .M:ek is his favage fullen foul to thine
!
** Thy touch, Superftition has fleel'dthe breafl,

!
** Where thro* her raiubow-lliovver, foft pity fmil'd j

** Has clos'd the heart each god-hke virtue bltfl,
** To all the filent pleadings of his child.
•* At thy command he plants the da ger deep,
*^ At thy command exults, tho' nature bid him weep."
Wasit polTlble to keep the enthuiiaft at all times
free from fanaticiim, I believe the mifchief to fociety
would not be i'o great, as in that cafe, enthuRafm
would be a more harmlefs madnefs but it feems im-
;
poiTiblc to keep the two characters feparate, which h

the reafon that the terms are often ufed by writers in-
Ciifcriminately.
iinihuliaJLS and fanatics are in general confcious of
- their own inability to rcafon, hence they all exclaim
agalnft it, and '' immediate revelation being a much
eaiicr way to eilablilh their opinions,*' they have re«
courfe to in all difficulties,
it and nothing is more
common among the methodiils,
than to hear them
aficrt that they become acquainted with the truth of
all the myfterics of Chriflianity, by their being re-
vealed to them by *' the Spirit of the Lord." Mr.
Locke fays, (fpeaking of enthufiads) " They under-
Hand that God has promifed to enlighten the mind,
by a ray darted into the mind immediately from the
fountain of light and who then has fo good a title
;
to exped it, as thofc who are his peculiar people."

''
Their minds being thus prepared, whatever
'
groundlefs opinion comes to fettle itfelf ftrongly upon

their fancies, is an illumination from God. And
whatever odd a6tion they find in themfelves a flrong
inclination to do, that impulfe is concluded to be a
call from heaven, and muft be obeyed; it is a com-
milfioa irom above,' and they cannot err in executing
it.
This I take to be properly enthufiafm, which,

''
though founded neither on realon nor divine revela-

tion, but rihng from the conceits of a warmed, or
over-
;
LIFE OF J. LACKING TON. 179

over-weenlng brain, works yet where it once gets
footing more powerfully on the perfuaiions and
actions of men, than either of thofe two, or both to-
gether ; men being moil forwardly obedient to the
impulfes they receive from themfelves, and the whole
man is fure to a6l more vigorouily where the whole is
carried by a natural motion. For ftrong conceit, like
a new principle, carries all eafily with it, when got
above common fenfe and treed from all reftraint
;
of reafon, and check of reflection, it is heightened

into a divine authority, in concurrence with our own
ttmper and inclinaticn."
I feel him now
Like a ftrong IpiriL, charm' d into a tree,
That leaps and moves the wood without a wind :
The roui'ed goî, as all the while he lay

Entomb'd alive, ftarts, and dilates himfelf j
He ftiviggles, and he tears my aged trunk.
With holy fury : my old arteiies buril
My Ihricvell'd Ikiii, like parclimenc, crackles at the IeoIv tire,
DRYDEN'sCEdlpUS.
Thefe impulfes and revelations have been made the

pretext not only for thou fanes of abfurdities and ri-
diculous whims, but alfo for every kind of wicked-
nefs. It is but a few years lince, there were in Po-
land a feet of thefe fanatics, who all at once were
feized with an impulfe to kill their own children,
which they did moil devoutly, in order to fecure the
ialvation of thofe innocent vidims. Lucretius fays,
" Such :mpious ufe was of religion made,

<* Such dcv'lilh a<5ts religion could perfuade.**
One may with more proprie'^y exclaim with Alca-

nor in the tragedy of Mahomet,
O, fuperftition tliy pernicious rigours.
1
Inflexible to reafon, truth, and nature,

BaniQi humanity from the gentleft breafts.
"What, my
dear friend, can preferve mankind from
this philofophy, which
pcftilence lb effectually as
Roufieau attempts to degrade. " Paintul and cor-
poral punifliment (fays Beccaria) lliould never be ap-
I 4 plied
iSo LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
plied to fanaticxfm, for being founded on pride, it
glories in perfccution. Infamy and ridicule only
Ihoiild be employed ap;ainft fanatics in the firit, :
their pride wiii be overbalanced by the pride of the

people and we judge of the power of the fecond, if
:
we confider that even truth is obliged to fummon all

her force, attacked with error ^rmed with ridicule.
Thus by oppoling one paffion to another, and opinion
10 opinion, a wife legillature puts an end to the admi-
ration of the populace occafioned by a falfe principle,
the original abfurdity of which is veiled by fome
well deduced conlequences."
It is for the above reafons that I have held up to
public ridicule that fed of fanatics, among whom I
loll fo much of my time in the early part of my life
;
and for the fame reafons I hope you will read with
patience a few more of my letters, in which I pur-
pofe to excite you to join with me in laughing a little
more at the abfurdities of the methodifts.
K.eligion is a generous hvely flame.

That brightens, not deforms, the human frame :
la the clofe covert of the heart it hes,

Blooms there, noriternly threats/isin the eyes ;
An unaffe6ted eafe, its actions grace,

Known by the motions of the foul, not face.
No four rsftraint, no forc'd concern it wears,
No hidden fighs, or oftentatious tears ;
felf-applauding Ihrugs, no cenfure, flrife ;

IS'O
No fpleen at all the blamelefs joys of life ;
As wide from this are virtue's native charms, ^
As fettled courage (]ôm confus'd alarms,
As fohd reafoii's calm confiderate train,
Fiom the wide frenzies of diftemper'd brain.
MOXON.
I am,
Dear Friend^
Yours*
1
LETTER XXVllI.
In London fti eets is often feen

A hum-ch am faint with holy mien, '
His looks moll jM'imitively wear

An ancient Ahrahamick air,
ATid like had copies ot a face,
The g6od oiiginal difgrace.
Bu T L E r\s Poflh Works.
" Some there are who feek for private holes,

** Securely in the dark to damn their fouls,
« Wear vizards of hypochfy to fteal,
** And flink away in mafquerade, to hell."
DEAR FRIEND,
IT being g-enerally known that I

had for many years been a itrid merhodift, fiiice I
have freed mylelf from their lliackles, I have been
often afked if I did not believe or rather know, that
the methodifts were a ylle fe6l of hypocrites altoge-
ther ? My
reply has been uniformly in the negative,
r am certain that they are not in general fo. The
major part of them indeed are very ignorant (as is thc^
cafe with enthufialis of every religion); but I believe
that a great number of the methodills are (incerc, ho-
nelf, friendly people in juflice to thofe of that dcfcrip-
;
tion it may not be amifs to obferve, that many artful,

fly, defigning perfons, having noticed their character,
connc6tion, &c. and knowing that a religious perAni
is in general fuppofed to be honeft and confcientious,
have been induced to join their focietics, and by af-

fuming an appearance of extraordinary fandtity, have
the better been enabled to cheat and defraud fuch as
were not guarded agai nil their hypacridcal wiles.
Rochefoucault iays, that ^' truth does not fo much
good in the world, as its'appearance docs mifchief/*^'
Making relig'.on a difguife, '
Or cloak to ail liieir villanies.

B u T L E r's Pofth. Works,
I'S J have
j82 life of J. LACKINGTON-
I have alfo reafon to believe tliat
there are not a
few, who
think they can as it were aiford to cheat
and defraud, on the fcorce of having right notions of
religion in their head, hearing what they deem or-
thodox teachers, going to prayer-meetings, &c.
There are again others who think, that grace is' fo
free and fo eafy to be had, or in other words, that
as they can have pardon for all kinds of fins, and
that at any time whenever they pleafe, they under
this idea make very little confcience of running up
large fcores, to which pra6tice I fear fuch dodrines
as I noticed in my laft, from the pen of Mr. Hill,
have not a little contributed.
The wrath of gods, the' dreadful, is but flow.
With tardy footfleps comes the avenging blow>
If the bad are punifh'd, 'twill be long
ail
Ej e my
turn comes to fuffer in the throng.
I may find mercy from the power divine,
They oft overlook fuch moderate guilt as mine,
Crimes, quite the fame, oft meet a different end.
Owen's Juvenal.
have often thought that great hurt has been done

I
to fccietyby the methodift preachers, both in town
and country, attending condemned malefadlors, as
by their fanatical converfation, viiionary hymns,
bold and impious applications of the fcriptures, &:c.
many dreadful offenders againll: law and juflice, have
had their paifions and imaginations fo worked upon^
that they have been fent to the other worM in fuch
raptures, as would better become martyrs innocently
fnfFering in a glorious caufe, than criminals of the
fit ft magnitude.
A
great number of narratives of thefe fudden con-
veriions aivd triumphant exits have been complied,
many of them publillied, and circulated with the
grcateft avidity, to the private emolument of the edi-
tors, and doubtlefs to the great edification of all lin-
ners, long habituated to a courfe of villainous depre-
dations on the lives and properties of the honeft part
of the community and many fuch accounts as have
;
not appeared in print, have been affiduoufly pro-

claimed in all methodift chapels and barns, through-
out
:
LIFE OF J. LACKIKGTON. 183

out the three kingdoms ; by which the good and pious
of every denomination have l:)een rcnndali'/ied, apd
notorious offenders encouraged to perf.vere, trufling
fooner or hiter, to be honoured with a ilmilar degree
of notice and thus by a kind of hocus pocus, be fud-
;
denly transformed into faints.

Belief 'inhires his glory in the fkies,
Ev'n in the nwfe he catches at the prize.
On Chrill the frantic villaialays hold fail, .
And in the arms of Jefus breathes his laft.

Perfection, a Poem.
The following remarks made ty the compilers of

the Monthly Review for 1^88, p. 286, and are fo ap-
plicable to the prefent fubjecft, that 1 hope mj- in-
troducing the paffage will not be deemed im]>r-oper.
After mentioning a couplet in one of the methodifli-
cal hymns ; where it faid
*« Bdhnje^ and all your fin's forgiven.

<' OrAy believe and f your's is heaven."
they proceed thus

*' Such dodrine no doubt mufl: be comfortable to
poor wretches fo circumftanced as thofe were to whom

this pious preacher had the goodnefs to addrefs his
difcoiirfe but fome (and thofe not men of (liallow
;
rcfle6lion) have queilioned whether it is altogether

right, thus to free the mofl flagitious outcafrs of fo-
clety from the terrors of an after -reckoning , iince it is
too well known, that moft of them make little account
®f their punifliment in this world. In Head of tke
^"^^
*' fearful looking
for of (future) judgment they are
enraptured with the profped of a joyful flight '* to
the expanded arms of a loving Saviour longing to —
embrace his long loft children.'' Surely this is not
the way (humanely fpeaking) to check the alarming
progrefs of moral depravity ; to which, one would
think, no kind of encouragement ought to be given."
I muft obferve farrher, that the unguarded manner
in which the methodift preachers make tenders of
pardon and ialvation, has induced many to join their
fraternity, whofe confciences wanted very large plaif-
ters indeed many of thofe had need to be put under a
!
I 6 courfc
—
courfe of mortification and penance, but they gene-
rally adopt another method ; a few quack noilrums,
which they call faith and afTurance, dries up the
wound, or as Peter Pindar fays of hia Roman Ca-
tholic Pilgrim,
One ifaw the Virgin foon peccavl cry'd, •
Had his foul white-walli'd all fo clever 5

Then home again he nimbly hied,
Made fit, with faints above, to live for ever.
They then make themfelves as hateful by afFeffing
to have fqueamifii confciences, as they really, have
been obnoxious, for having confciences of very wide
latitude indeed. And notwithftanding the affeded
change, they often are as bad or worfe than ever.
Butler fays, .
<* * That which owns the faireft pretext,

" Is often found the indiredt'fl.
•* Hence 'tis, that hypocrites flill paint
*' Much fairer than the re*il faint ; .f
*< And knaves appear more jufl and true

* J'han honefl men, who make lefs fhew»"
As a friend, permit m.e to advife you never to pur-
chafe any thing at a iliop where the maftar of it crams
any of his pious nonfenfe into his fliopbill, &c. as
you may be alTured you wilU nine times out of ten,
find them, in the end, arrant hypocrites, and as f«ich,
make no fcruple of cheating in the way of trade, if^
pollible.
This puts me in mind of one of thefe pious bre-
thren in Petticoat-lane, who wrote in his fliop-win-
dow, *' Rumps and Burs fold here, and Baked Sheep's
heads, will be continued every night, if the Lord per-
;/?//." The Lord had no objection fo Rumps, Burs, :
and Baked Sheep*s heads were fold there for a long

time. And I remember to have feen on a board,
near Bedminfter-down, *' Tripe and cow-heels
fold here as ufual, except on the Lord's-day, which -
the Lord help me to keep h§ly.^^ And on my enquiring

about the perfon who exhibited this remarkable fliew-
board, at the inn juil: by, I was informed that the
pious tripe-feller generally got drunk on Sundays,
after he returned from the barn-preaching ; which
accounts lor his not felling tripe on that day, having
full
."LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 185
fall employment (though poflibly not fo inoffenfive)
elfe where.
I alô faw in a village near Plymouth, in Devon-
flilrc, *' Roger and mercy ^ kills
Tuttel, by God^s grace
rats, moles, and all forts of vermin and venomous
creatures." But I need not have gone fo far for
pious cant, as, no doubt you mud remember that a
few years f;iice, a certain pious common councilman
of the metropolis, advertifed in the public papers, for
a porter that could carry three hundred ^weighty take
care of horfes, and Jer've the Lord. Of the fame
worthy perfonage I have heard it aflerted, that fo
very confcientious is he, tharhe once flaved a barrel
cf beer in hi? cellar, becaufe he detected it in ^working
on. the fabbath-day, which brought to my recol-
lection four lines in drunken Barnaby's Journey,
<* To Banbury came I j O prophane one I
" Where I faw a puritaae one,

<< Hanging of his cat on Monday,
'' For killing of a moufe on Sunday/*
—
Mr. L e, a gentleman of my acquaintance in-
formed me» that a methodic neighbour af his, in
St. Martin's-lane, who keeps a parcel of fowls,
every Saturday night makes a point of confcience of
tying together the legs of every cock he has, in order
to prevent them from breaking the fabbath, by gal-
lanting the hens on Sundays as Col. Lambert fays
;
Dr. Cantwell ufed to do by the turkey-cocks.

I have a few more obfervations to make on this
remarkable fed, but fearing I have already tired you,
lliall referve them for my text.
Seeming devotion doth but gild the knave,.
That's neither faithful, honeft, jufl, or brave.
But where religion does with virtue join,
It makes a hero like an angel Ihine. Waller,
I am,
Dear Sir,
Yours.
:
LETTER XIX»
Under this Hone refls Hiulibras,.
A knighl as errant as e'er was ;
The controverfy only lies,

Whether he was more fool than wife f:
Full oft he fuffereci bangs and drubs,
And full as oft took pains in tubs
And for the good old caufe flood bulf,
'Gainft many a bitter kick and cuff,
Gr which the moll that can be faid,
He pray'd and preach'd, and peach'd and pray'd.
Butler's PoUh. Worksv
DEAR FRIEND,
IT IS very remarkable that while I

was writing the la il five lines of my former ktter to
you, on Wednefday the 2d of March, 1791, I re-
ceived the news of the death of Mr. John Wefley,
who I am informed died that morning at his own
houfe, in the City- road, Moorficlds, in the eighty-
eighth year of his iige. He had no illnefs, biu the
wheels of the machine being worn out, it flopt of
courfe. As I am on the fubjed of methodifm, 1
hope you will not deem it impertinent, if I devote a
few lines to this great parent of a numerous fe6t,
whom I well knew, and feel a pleafure in fpeaking of
with fome refpe61:.
Several days preceding his interment, being laid in
his coffin, in his gown and band, he was expofed to
the view of all his friends v/ho came, and the public ;
and I fuppofe that forty or lifty thoufand perfons had
a fight of him. But the concourib of people was fo
great, that many were glad to get out of the crowd
without feeing him at all and although a number of
;
conflables were prefent, yet the pick-pockets con-

trived to eafe mnny of their purfes, watches, &:c.
To prevent as much as polfiblc the dreadful effe^ls
of a mob, he was interred on Wednefday, March the
Qth, betwixt five and fix o'clock in the morning, in the
burial ground behind his own chapel in the City -road.
After
LIFE OF J. Lfl^CKINGTON, 187
After which Dr. Whitehead (the phyfician) preached
his funeral fermon but notwithilianding the early-
;
hour, many thoulands attended more than the chapel

would hold, although it is very large.
As foon as it was known that Mr. Wefley was de-
ceafcd, a number of needy brethren deemed it a fair
opportunity of profiting by it, and each immediately
fet his ingenuity to work, to compofe what he chofe to
call a life of him and for fome weeks fmce the funeral
;
the chapel-yard and its vicinity have exhibited a

truly ludicrous fcene, on every night of preachihg,
owing to the different writers and venders of thefe
hafty performances exerting themfelves to fecure a
good fale ; one bawling out that his is the right life ; a
fecond, with a pious lliake of the head, declares his
the real life ; a third protefls he has got x.]\q only genuine
account ; and a fourth calls them all vile cheats and
impoflors, &c. fd that between all thefe competitors,
the faints are fo divided and perplexed in their opi-
nions, that fome decline purchaling either ; others
willing " to try all, •and keep that which is good,"
buy of e^ch of thefe refpeftable venders of th^ life
and laft account of that celebrated character ; while
the unintcrefted paiilnger is apt to form aconclulion
that the houfe of prayer is again become a den of
thieves. Thus we fee thofe holy candidates for hea-
ven are fo influenced by felf-intereft, that it
Turns meek and fecret fneaking ones,
To raw-heatls fierce and bloody-bones » Hudibb-AS.
I cannot help thinking that Mr. John Wefley, the

father of the methodifts, was one of the mod rerpe6l-
able enthufiafls that ever lived ; as it is generally
thought that he believed all that he taught others,*
and lived the fame pious exemplary lite, that he
would have his followers pra6tice. The %le of his
numerous writiiigs produced net profits to the amount
of near two thousand pounds per annum; and
the weekly colledlon of the clafTes in London and
Weftminiler amounted to a very large fum befides ;
this, great fums were collected at the facraments and

love-fealls, for quarterly tickets, private and public
'
fubfcriptions,
i88 LIFE OF J. L/VCKINGTON",
fubfcriptions, &c. &:c. In a pamphlet which was
publilhc^d in the beginning of the year 1792, by an
old member of their fociety, it is aflerted that for the
laft ten years, the fums colle6ted in Great Britain
and Ireland, have amounted to no lefs than four
HUNDRED thousand POUNDS per annum, which.!
me of Peter Pindar's humorous lines
reminds :
" IVe often read thofe pious whims^.

" MethodilVslweet damnation hymns,
" That chant of heav'nly riches ;
** "What have they done r Thofe heav'nly ftrainr,,

** Devoutly fqueez'd from canting brains, >
« But fiil'd their earthly breeclies."
Befides the above, many private coWecîons are

made in throughout the three king-
all his focieties
dom^, fo that Mr. Welley might have amaiTed an
immenfe fortune, had riches been his obje6t. But:
inftead of accumulating wealth, he expended all his
own private property .and I have been often in-?
:
formed, from good authority,,^ that he never denied

relief to a poor perfon that aiked him. To needy-
tradefmcn 1 haye known him to give ten or twenty,
pounds at once. la going a fevv^ yards from his ftudy
to the pulpit, he generally gave away^ an handful of
half-crowns to poor old people of his fociety. He
wâs indeed charitable to an extreme, as he often gave
to unworthy objefts, nor would he keep money fuffi-
cient to hold out on his jouinies. One of his friends
informs me that he left but 4I. los. behind him ^nd :
I' have heard him declare that he would not die worth .
twenty pounds, except his books for fale, which he

hasleft to the. " general methodiit fund, for carryiVig
on the work of God, by itinerant preaGhers,'^chargpd
on with a rent of eighty-five pounds a-year, which
he has left to the wife and children of his brother
Charles.
His learning and great abilities are well known.
But I cannot help noticing "that in one of his publica- ^
tions (itepping out of his line) he betrayed extreme

weaknef^ and credulity, though no doubt his inten-
tions were good.What 1 allude to is his Primitiiê Phyjic,\
the majority of remedies therein prcfcribed arc moil
afliiredly
LIFE OF J LACKINGTON. 189
afliiredly inefficacious, and many of them very dan-
gerous, if adminiftered. The confequence of the
firfl is, that while poor ignorant pec^le are trying
thefe remedies (be fides the very great probability of

their miilaking the cafe) the difeafes perhaps become
fo inveterate as to refift the power of more efficacious
remedies properly applied ; and with regard to thofe
of a highly dangerous nature, how raflitotruil them
in the hands of fuch uninformed peopleâs this book
was almoil folely intended for, efpecially when fanc-
tioned by the name of an author wbofe influence im-
preflêd the minds of the unfortunate patients with the
moil: powerful convicîion. Many fatal efte6ts, I fear,
have been produced by a blind adherence to this
compilation which carries with it more the appear-
;
ance of be?hg the produ^'îon of an ignorant opi-

nionated old woman, than of the man of fcience and
eduation. One melancholy inftance is frefli in my
memory ; a much efleemed friend having fallen an
immediate facriffce to an imprudent application of
one of thefe remedies.
Permit me juft to give you one fpecimcn of the
author's wonderful abilities, by quoting a receipt,
which if not an infallible remedy ^ muil at leaft be ac-
knowledged to be a lingular one :
" To cure a windy Cholic.*'

*' Suck
a healthy woman daily ; this (fays Mr.
Wefley) was tried by my father."
Should you, my dear friend, be defirous of peru-
fing a variety of remedies., equally judicious as well
as efficacious with thofe of Mr. ^'V'edey, you w}ll meet
with ample fatisfacîon by turning to '' Dom Pernety^s
Voyage to the Falkland IJlands.^* page 153 to 162.
quarto edition. ^
Many of the receipts there inferted are fo truly

curious^ I can fcarce refrain from treating yQU with
a few fpecimens, but fomc of thcai being 'very indeli-
cate, I muft be cautious in feleding ; for, like Simpkin*
i^ I pity the ladies fo modeft and nice."

Tak©
I9» LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
Take the two following, one being no doubt an
effedual remedy for a grievous complaint of that iife-
ful quadruped the boi le ; the other at leaft equally
certain for the cure of one of the inoft dangerous dif-
orders human nature is fubjed to.
" To Cure a Foundered Horfe.''
" Let him take one or two fpoonfuls of comtnoTi
!"
Jalt in half a pint of water
For a malignant Fever/'
''
''A livetench applied to the itct for t'lvelve hcnrs^

then buried quietly^ or thrown down the houje of cjfia:^
and the patient will foon recover."
It was a circum fiance peculiarly happy for the
praditloners of phyiic, though no doubt a terrible
misfortune to the public, that the diiierence in re-
ligious principles of thefe two reverend gentlemen
proved an efrecLual bar to the union of their medical
abilities, which appear fo exactly correfpondent ; had
fuch an event fakeJi plaee, that horrid monfter dijcctfe
might by this time have been baniftiedfrom the earth,
and the fons of ^fculapius would be doomed- to feed
on their own compofitions or ilarve The Rev. Dr.
I
Fordyce, in alatepublication, has al o given the vvorld

a remedy for the cramp, ?^s delicate as efficacious.
But here, I think I fee you ^mile at my cenfuring
Mr, Welley for ficfping out of his lint^ when at the
very moment I am committing the fame error by ob-
truding my judgment upn the fcicnce of phylic—
I iliall only reply, many thought I did the fanie when
I commenced bookfeller and a frif^nd once taught
;
me the adage, (be not offended, 'tis the only fcrap of

Latin I fhall give you) ^^ 'N futor ultra a eplchifn.'''^
But the event has provîd it otherwife, and I iiatrcr
myfelf every candid and judicious per ;;o capable of
judging will think with mrôntheab.v ubj 61. I
alfo muil inform you, that in one d 'v.; 1 hp.ve
been fuccefsful even in pl.yHe. 'IV is this :
Mrs. Lackinjrton havino: feveral rime c c\ued of
-
the dropfy in :he chell, bybioom te. I prei'.iihed

:
it to others, nor has it once failed. 'J'.iC lafl infla: ce
was in 1792, a young lady, an only daugh:er, beit g

nearly
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. igr
nearly loft toher family, flie having had the dropfy
two years, by my dciire took broom tea, a little at a
time, once or twice a day, weak or ftrong as flie
could bear. She continued this for feveral months,
by which flie perfedly recovered her health, and I
hope file will foon have a good hufband, and get
another kind of dropfy. But to refume my narrative.
What a pity that fuch a character as Mr. Wefley
was, upon the whole, fiiould have been a dupe and a
rank enthuiiaft! A believer in dreams, vilions, im-
mediate revelations, miraculous cures, witchcraft,
and many other ridiculous abfurdlties, as appears
from many pailages of his Journals, to the great
difgrace of his abilities and learning; which puts one
in mind of Caefar, who in his Commentaries turns
bridge-builder, and a maker of engines; of Peiiander,
who, although he was an excellent phyfician, quitted
phyfic to write bad verfes Sir Ifaac Newton's Expo-
;
fition of the Revelations, Milion's Paradife Regained,

Dr. Johnfon's unmanly and childilh Devotions, &:c«
&c. and (to compare fmall things with greater) J. L's
turning author.
This Verro's fault, by frequent praifes fir*c1,
He feveral parts at try'd, in each admir'd j
That Verro was not ev'ry way complete,
'Tvvas long unkown, and might have been fo yet 5
—
But mad, th' unhappy man purfu'd
That only thing heav'n meant he never fhou'd;
And tlius his proper road to fame negle<5led,
He's ridicurd for that he but effvided. DALACoirkr.
However, I have always thought that Mr. Wef-

ley was a good fincere and honeft enthufiaft, who.
denied himfelf m.any things, ; and really thought that
he difregarded the praife and blame of the world, .
when he was more courted, refpeded, and foH©wed

than any man living, ruling over a hundred ^wd.
twenty thoufand people v/ich an abfolute fway the ;
love of power feems to have been the main fpring of

all his adions. I am inclined to believe that his
death will be attended with confequences fomewhat
limilar to thofe which followed the'death of Alexan-
der the Great. His fpiritual generals will be putting
in
in their pretenfions, and foon divide their inaftcrV
conqueds. His death happened at a time rather
critical to the methodifls, as the S<voedenbornans. or
Sêijo JerufaJemites^ are g.aining ground very fall. Many
of the method lii, both preachers and hearers, are
already gone over to their party ; many more will
now, undoubtedly, follow and the death of that
:
great female champion of methodifm, the Countcfs

of Huntingdon, which has fmce happened, will in
allprobability occalion another confidcrsble defedion-
irom that branch of methcdiils, and an addition;! 1 re-
iniorcement ta the Swedenborgians a proof of the;
fondnefs of mankind for novelty, and the marvellous^

even in religious matters.
Great difcoveries and improvements have of late
years been made in various branches of the arts and
iciences ; but valuable and important as thefe difco-
veries are, how tr»fiing do they appear when com-
pared with the afloniflring and wonderful difcoveries
which have been made by the Swedenborgians, who
are, iX. {ttv[\^^ beyond a doubt ^ " the only true chmch of
God'y^^ by them the *' true fcknce of the language of
correfpondence^^ is difcovered^ fo that mankind are no
longer left in the dark; the divine arcana is no v/ laid
open, and myfleries are no longer myfleries. " God
in me fpeaks to God in you fo that I can talk to
;
you of feafling on chariots and horfes, and be per-

fe6tly underflood. Although they read aiay chapter
in the Bible, v\ ithout exception, publicly in the con-
gregations, yet this excites no blufh in the mo/i prudi/f>
lady^ or the moft delicate virgin, they being quite
fpiritual, and acquainted with the *' true language of
correfpondence,^^ They never notice Indelicate ex-
preffions, being wholly occupied in applying the fpi-
ritual correfponding words, Thcfc, my fiiend, are
glorious difcoveries indeed. And what a pity it is
that fo many thoufand pious learned men fliould
have wafi'ed fo much time in endeavouring to explain
the myfterlous parts of the Prophet? and the Revela-
tions to no purpose, but to incieafe the trade of book-
fellers. It was very providential for them that the
Swedeabcrgians did not appear in the more early
age a
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTOM. 193
a-o-fs of the church; but a very great lofs to mairklnd
in o-eneral ; tiie great man,
the more fo, as it fcems
aUei- whom named, compofed the whole
the lect are
of his numerous works under the immediate guidance
of the Holy Ghoi}, and are more valuable than the
Bible. I mull jull take notice' of another wonderful
coinmunVty.
In the beginning of the year 1786, a ftrange fed:
of religious fanatics iprung up near Dumfries in
Scothmd the liril of whom feems to have been a
;
Lady Buchan, as from her they were called Buchail-

itcs. They were but few in number, and all lived in
one houfe together, both men and women, and had
all things in common In 1791* an Englifhman of
fome property joined their fociety, and gave all that
he had to the common flock. The next day, Lady
Buchan proclaimed a fall, which was to be flridly
kept for fix weeks; this was no ways pleaiing to the
Englilliman, fo that alter he had failed two days, he
applied to the fhcriff, in order to recover his property
from out of the llock of the holy community but .the ;
fheriff informed him, thar as it was a free gift, it was

not in his power to recover it.
Lady Buchan at times called hcrfelf the Holy
Spirit, and in that chara6ler applied to many people
in order to make them converts to this new feet.
The chief article of their faith was, that -they
fliould never tatle of death, but fliould be tranllated,
and when any one of them happened to die, the reft
faid that it was for want of fairh and when Lady Bu-
;
chan died, they in lifted on keeping her unburied,

declaring that Ihe could not be dead under this af-
:
fu ranee Ihe was kept a long time the magi fi rates

;
however at laft had her buried by force, to prevent

any bad confequence that might arife from the horrid
ftench, which began to make the neighbourhood in-
fupportable.
Alittle before (lie expired, fhe called her followers
near her, and informed them, that tlie had a fecret

to communicate to them, which was, that fhe was
the Virgin Mary, the real mother of Jefus ; the fame
woman mentioned in the Revelations as being clothed
with
with the fun, &c. who was driven into the-wildernefs ;
that file had been wandering in the world ever lince
our Saviour's days that though fhe here appeared
;
to die, they need not be difcou raged, for flie would

only fleep a little, and in a fhort time vifit them
again, and condu6l them to the New Jerufalem. I
had this curious account from fome gentlemen in
Scotland, except that part where (he calls herfelf the
Virgin, which I had from the Bee for July 179 1.
A
(hort time after Mr. Wefley's chapel was finiflied
in the City-road, an old ge;itleman was buried in the
burial ground behind it, who on his death-bed in-
formed his wife, that he fliould foon come to life
again ; on which account the door of the vault was
not faflened, and the old lady paid him a vifit every
day, expelling the performance of his promife; this
practice did flie continue two years, when the poor
old lady paid him her lafl: vifit, and was laid by his-
fide.
I will make fome further remarks on the methodifti
in my next.
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours.
LETTER
;
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 1^5
LETTER XXX,
More haughty than the reft, the

Appear with belly gaunt, ani\ famiftiM face : ,
Never was fo deformed a babe of grace, Dry dew.

Olio's made of conflagration,
Of gulphs, of brimftone, and damnation.
Eternal torments, furnace, worm.
Hell-fire, a whirlwind, and a ftorm
With Mammon, Satan, and perdition,
And Bee/xe/?iib to help the diHi on j
Selial, and Luafcr, and ail
The nicknames which Old Nick wa call. E. Lloyb.
DEAR FRIEND,
poiTjiTeJ of a very great

A LTHOUGH ftiare
Mr. Wefley was
both of natural and ac-
quired abilities, yet i fuppofe it fcarcely neceffary to
inform you, that this is by no means the cafe with his
preachers in general ; for although there are amongft
them feme truly fenfible, intelligent men, yet the
major part are very ignorant and extremely illiterate;
many of thefe excellent fpiritual guides, cannot read
a chapter in the Bible, though containing the deep
myfteries, which they have the railinefs and pre-
fumption to pretend to explain,- Many others canno
write their own names.
A motley crew from various callings fprung.
Some of you have been gypfies, others failors ;
Some drays have whiftling driven, or cnrts of dung.

And others mighty barbers been and taylors.
Mat. Bramble
But fo great is the ignorance of Mr. Wefley's peo-
ple in general, that they often negle6t the more ra-
tional and fenfible of their preachers, and are better
pleafed with fuch as are even deftitute of common
fenfe ; really believing that the incoherent nonfenfe
which they from time to time pour forth, is dictated
by the Holy Spirit.
Thus
: ,

Thus folly attends to the vapid oration,
And madaefs miilakes for ah apt infpiration.
Anthony Pascûin.
Asthefe nolfy declaimers never fcruple tocall them-

felves the *' fervants of the moft
high God, ambai-
fadors from Heaven," &c. Peter Pindar, fpeaking of
one of that ftamp, feems to think that if he was fent
from God, heaven had made a bad choice take his :
own words
*< Whene'er I hear that {Inpld parfon H—
*< God's houfe with every nonfenfe fill 5
« And when with blafphemy each fentenCe crammMj

** And when I hear the impoftor cry,
** I've news, you raggamufhiis, from tiie fky ;
*^ I'm come to tell you tliat you'll all be darnnM :

" —
I'm come from God, ye ftrumpets come from God—
*' I'm God Almighty's fervant, hear my voice.
^
" Which if it were fo, would be vallly odd,

" Since Heav'n would Ihew bad judgment in the choice. »*
It IS always obfervable, that the more ignorant

people are, the more confidence they polTefs. This
confidence, or impu<knce^ paiTes with the vulgar, as a
mark of their being in the right, and the more the
ignorance of the preachers is difcovered, the more
are they brought down to their own ftandard. Again,
the more ignorant preachers having very contra6led
ideas of real religion and manly virtue, of courfe fup*
ply the want of it with a ridiculous fufs about trifles,
which pa fTes with the ignorant for a mo;*e fan6tified
deportment, and hence arifes much of the mifchief
which has been fo juilly charged on the methodills.
For by making the path to heaven fo very narrow,
and befet with ten thoufand bugbears, many defpair-
ing to be ever able to walk in it, have thrown off all
religion and morality, and funk into the abyfs of
Tice and wickednefs. Others have their tempers fo
foured, as to become loft to all the tender-connexions
ofhufband, wife, father, child, &:c. really believing
that they are literally to hate father, mother, &c. for
Chrift's fake. Thus is fvveet domeftic peace and hap-
pinefs for eve^ blafted :
, Enlivening
,

*
Enlivening hope and fond defire,
Refign the heart to fpleen and care j
Scarce frighted love maintains her fire,
And rapture faddens Co defpau'. Dr. Johnson.
Many have fit of defpondency put a period to

in a
their exiftence, having become a burthen too iutd-
it
Icrable to be borne. Some have been fo infatuated

with the idea of failing to mortify the flefli, that their
UrivSt perfeverance in it has been produ6live ofthe
mofl ferious confeqwences Two inftances of 'which
:
lately occurred in one family, in the City-road^—

The miilrefs was deprived of her fenfea, and the maid
Uterally fafted herfelf to death. Bedlam and private
mad-houfes now contain many very melancholy in-
ftances of the dreadful effects of religious defpond^
ency not to mention the hundreds that have died
:
from time to time iî fuch places, and the numerous

filicides which have been traced to the fame fource.
Gloomy fcene,
Eflrang'd from the chearful ways of menj
all
There luperflition works her baneful pow'r,
And darkens all the melancholy hour.
Un number'd fears corrode and haunt his breast,
With all that whim and ignorance can fugged.
In vain for him kind nature pours her fweet* :
The vifionary faint no joy admits,
'But fick with pious fplscn fantaftic woes,
And for heav'n's fake, heav'n*s offer'd good foregoes,
^
W. Melmot^.
The following paifage is fo pointed, and fo muck
to the purpefe, that I muft give it you. It is taken

from the Rev. — ——
' «* 's letter to ,
«. *' While
. I am (fays he) tracing the outlmes
of your chara61er, , I cannot reprefs the
carneft wifh to do the like juflice to your illuftrious
•
, that truly reverend divine, with whofe
praifes every private raad-houfe within three miles i»
known to ring the proprietors hail him as their be-
:
nefactor ; the patients exemplify the bleffed efFeds of

his doctrine ; .
- ——
i^ in one refpe(5l at leaft
unparalleled he is the only preaclêr that ancient
:
or modern times have ever yet produced, who couUi

vaifc his hearers above allthofe weak fears aad childiflt
K. Uonof*
!
u)8 LIFE OF J, LACKINGTON,

horrors, \\hich n{\ture, reafon, and religious preju-
dices have annexed to luicide : his prolelytes have
given Jfveral proofs that they could ImiJe at the ra-
zor's cdge^ or at the halter's noofe, that was to launch
their iculs into eternity; and the glowings of love
have been fo burning hot in fome of them on the re-
turn from his evening ledures, that they could find
no relief but in the cool bottom of the Thames
Black Friars Bridge is now become as famous as the
Lover^s Leap of old: and many modern Sapphos,
^fter chanting one of • 's celeftial hymns,
have plunged with intrepidity into the overwhelming
tide."
I knew one man who for many years believed him-
felf to be the Holy Ghofi, and endeavoured to make
his acquaintance believe the fame : in other refpeds
he appeared to be in his right fenfes
Mr. Bentley fays, in his letter to the members of
the houfe of commons, dated May 12th, i79r, that,
although' he had a fortune of one thoufand pounds,
and naturally liked good living, yet that he lived on
horfe and ais flefh, barley bread, itinking butter, &c.
and when he found that his eating fuch things gave
offence to his neighbours, he left oft eating afs tlefli,
and only lived on vegetables, as the common fort of
food by their dearnefs hurt his cmfcknce^
A few years fince I faw in a iield not feven miles
from China-hall, Mr. Taylor, a fliip-carpenter, of
Deptford, tolTmg up his bible in the air. This he
often repeated, and raved at a ftrange rate. Amongft
other things, (pointing to a building at fome diflance)
*' 'Ihat (faid he) is the denjiPs houfe, and it ihall not
ftand three days longer!'* On the third day after

this, I faw with furprize an account in one of the
public papers of that very building having been fet
on fire, and burnt to the ground ; and thus the poor
itinerant difciples of Thefpis who exhibited there,
loft the whole of their wardrobe and fcenery.
This religious maniac afterwards preached very
often in Smithfield and Moorfields ; but he did not
wholly depend x)n the operntions of the Holy Spirit,
as at lad he feldom began to preach until he was
nearly
nearly drunk, or filled with another kind of fpirir,
and then he was " a very powerful preacher indeed/'
Great were his looks, his eyes With hollow ftaie
Deep, deep within the burning fockets roll'd,
Like Gorgon's crefl, or ftern Ale<i>o's hair.
His tempeft beaten locks eredl and bold,
With horrid Ihade his temples i*eem\l to fold,
His beard the reil conceal'd, a_black difguife.
Orlando Furiosi.
But the good man happening feveral times to exert
hiinfelf rather toomuch, had nearly tumbled head-
long out of his portable pulpit thefe accidents the
;
mob uncharitably afcribed to the liquor that he had

drank, and with mud, ftones, dead cats, &c. drove
him oiFevery time he came, until at lail our preacher
took his leave of them with faying, '' That he per-
cived it was in vain to attempt their converlion, as
he faw that God had given them over to the hardnefs
of their hearts."
I muft inform you that this devout zealous preacheu
lived many years before this, and fome years after,
with a very holy fifter, and begot fons and daughters,
without being brought into bondage, by fubmitting-
to the carnal ordinance of marriage.
If he errs now and then, and his faults meet deteîon.

It but proves that the befl are not iieirs of perfedlion.
Anthony Pasojitin.
I have been lately informed, that hi9 enthuiiafm

and fuperftition, at lait, entirely deprived him of the
fmall remains of rcafon, and that he died in a private
mad-houfe.
But although this holy man deferred them, yet
other fpiritual knights-errant were not wanting, fo
that a little time before the heaps of ftones which lay
for years in Moorfields were rem.oved, for the pur-
pofe of building on the fpot, I have ittw five or fix
in a day preaching their initiation fermons from thofe
elevated fuuations, until they could colled a fufficici^t
fum of money to purchafe pulpits.
I'ôr gsnuine manna, true eye fiih of grace,
Hie to Moorfield;*—the noted cheapeil place*
K z Loft
Loil the foul that 'ftablilh'd churches tries,
is
S;;eking a refuge in mere forms and lies.

Perfection, a Poem,
Some of th</e excellent preachers received tlie
whole of their divine education, and took up their
degrees inMoc/rfields ; and in due time, after having"
given ample and fatisfa6lory proofs of being properly
qualified, have been admitted to profelTorfliips in the
noble College, fituated on the louth fide of tbofe
fields, generallyknown by the name of Bedlam.
You muft know,Sir, that many of the lazy part of
the community fet up ftalls in Moorfields, to buy
and fell apples, old iron, &c feveral of thefe having
;
heard fuch edifying difcourfes frequently repeated

as they fat at their flails, and obferving the fuccefs
which thole kind of preachers met with, boldly re-
folved to make trial of their fpiritual gifts on the
heaps of ilones, and have now totally abandoned
their flails, and arc gone forth as ambaffadors of
heaven.
Thus poor Crifpin, crazy for the praife.
Of pulpit eloquence to preach eifays,
His 'prentice, clerk his cohbling flool, his ftage;
;
F]i6o to the tielils with tabernacle rage !
With Rowland's fkill eredls his orbs of fight.

Or turns them ravilhM on the inward light
'
!
New faith, all faving faith, proclaims aloud !
Now deals damnation to the trembling croud.

Afk'd why for preaching he deferts his flail,
(Bred at Moorfields, or Tottenham) hear him bawl,
Becaufe as how I feels I has a call.
Busby's Age of Genius.
One of thefe who cannot read, lately informed me,

that he had quitted all temporal concerns for the good
of poor ignorant finners*
They added that by which themfelves were winners.
It ferv'd no purpofes but faving fmners.
R, Bentlf-Y, Esq.
John Turpi n, a waiter at an Inn in Dartmouth,

feme time late in 1791, made free with fome of his
mailer's plate, and was whipped at the tail of a cart
round the town, after which he went to Totnefs,
about
about 12 miles from Dartmouth, and commenced me-
thodifl preacher; and a few months after he had the
aiTurance to return to Dartmouth to proclaim his con-
verfion, and to preach what he was pleafed to call-
the gofpel, and in that capacity he foon colle6ted to-
gether as great a number of people round his pulpit,
as before he had done round his cart ; and among
others he made a convert of the clerk of the parifti,
who entertained him in his houfe at free coH:. Some
timeîn the fpring 1792, as he was one Sunday morn-
ing going towards the church with the clerk, he pre-
tended to be feized on a fudden with griping pains,
and told the clerk that he miHt go back, on which
the old fool of a clerk gave him the key of his houfe,
and alfo a key of a clolet where he kept fome brandy,
and advifed him to go and take a giaf?. On the old
'
man's return from church, he miffed a watch, and on

farther feafch he miired another watch, and upwardii
of twenty guineas in gold. Aird as the preacher Was
not to be found, he hired horfes, and with a conllablc
fct off in purfuit of this heavenly minded rafcal, and
about fifteen miles from Dartmouth they took him,
with the whole of the property on him.
At Ezeter Aiiizes, in March, he was tried, found
guilty, and condemned to hs hanged; bin was reprieved,
and is lince fent to Botany- Bay, where, perhaps, he
may have addrefs enough to get himfelf made chap-
lain to Barrington. On his trial, he told the judge,
that if he would fend him to Botany-Bay, he would
do much towards the glory of God, in fending one
among the abandoned tranfports, to call them to
repentance, and bring them to Chrift the friend of
iinners.
But before I. take my leave of the fubjecl, I will
in few words inform you how the preachers were go-
verned and fupported. Mr. Weiley every year or-
dered the major part of his travelling preachers in
Great Britain and Ireland, which were upwards of
two hundred in number, to meet together, one year
at London, the next at Brlflol, and the following at
Manchefter this meeting he called a conference. At
;
thofc conferences, the buiinefs of the whole focietv

K3 was
was tranfa(fted, new
preachers admitted, and fomc
turned off, complaints heard, differences
or filenced ;
adjuiled, &:c. Mr. Wefley, having divided Great

Britain into circuits, at thofc conferences, he ap-
pointed the preachers to every circuit for the following
year; and as he well knew the general want of abi-
'
liries among hi5 preachers, he limited their time of
preaching in one circuit to a year, and fo in fom«
meafure, made up the want of abilities by variety ^
moil of thofe circuity had three or four preachers
every )^car, and in many country places^ they had
but one fermon a week from the travelling preachers,
{o that each preacher preached about twelve fermons
(fcmetimes it may be twenty) at each place. In
every circuit one of the preachers was called the alUff-
ant ; to him the various contributions were paid, and
of him might be had any of Mr. W'elley's publica-
ti<ms. He alfo admitted new members, or turned
out any who were judged unworthy of bearing the
high appellation of a methodiff. '
Each itinerant preacher had a horfe found him,

which, with himfelf, are maintained by fome brother
or iiiler wherever they go, as the preachers do not
put up at any inn, and yet they have as regular images
to call at as the coaches have, they having made con-
verts at convenient diilances in moll parts of Great
Britain and Ireland^
Each travelling preacher was then allowed twelve
pounds a year, to find himfelf cloaths, pay turn-,
pikes, &c. exclufive of what he could get privately out
of the old women's pockets. But beiides thofe cir-
cuit-preachers, there were in the year 1790, in Eu-^
rope and America, thirteen or fourteen hundred of
local holdersforth, whp do not preach out of their
own neighbourhood, and thofe in general are moft
ignorant of all.
Many of the circuit preachers only travel until
they can marry a rich widow, or fome ignorant young
convert with money, which has often been the caufe
of great unhappinefs in many refpe6Vable families.
The following poetical defcription of the methodill
preachers^
: ;

preachers, it is fo much to my purpofe, that I rauft
ijftfert it
** Every mechanic will commence

" Orator, without mood or tefife ;
*< Pudding pudding flill they know,

is
«< Whether it has a phim or no.
<* So, tho* the preacher have no fkill,
'< AJernwnis^fermcn&Wl.
*' The Rricklay'r throws h's trowel by,
" And now builds man/ions in thejky j
** The CobUry toiich'd with holy pridcf
^^ FUngs his o/dJh§es ^nd laj} alKle,
^ And now devoutly fets about
^* Cob!)ling oi Joids th^t ne\r ivear out j
** The BiiktKy now a preaiher grown,
** Finds man I'l'ves not by bread aloney
** And now his cuftomers he feeds
** With pray rs, with fennonSf groans, and creed: \-
** The Tinrnany movM by warmth within,
'* Hammers the go[pel ] ufl rke ///; -l
<* iVcavers injpir% tiieir (huttUs leave,

** Sermons 2ii-\i\Jilmfy hym.îs to weave ;
'* Barbers unreap'd will leave the chin,
« To trim, and fliave the man 'wittm'^
** The Waterman forgets his wherry,
<* And opens a cekjiial ferry j
<* The Brewer, bit by frenzy's grub,
** The mafoing for the preaching tub
«' Refigns — fô/^ 'waters to explore,
'< you drink, you thirft no more;
Which, if
" The Gard'ner, weary of his trade,
" rir'd of the mattock and the fpade>
" Chang'd to yfp:IIo\ in a trice,
" Waters the plants oi Paradife ;
" The Fi/herm^n no longf-.r let

<^ For
fjh the melhes of their net,
" But catch, like Peter, menoffm,
^* For catching is to take them in,*''
I now take a final leave of methodlfm, with af-

furing you,,that in giving a general idea of thetenets
and pradices of a numerous fe6l who have excited
much public attention, I have invariably had in
view to " fpeak of them as they are, nothing to ex-
tenuate, nor fet down aught in malice.'* Should you
wifli to fee the errors of the mcthodiils particularly
expofed, you may read Bidiop Lavington's *' Enthu-
fiafm of the methodifts and papills compared/' It is
KL 4 efteemcd
S04 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
eftcemcd a very goqd work, and will amufe as well as
inilru6l you. In my next,, I intended to have re-
Anncd the account of my own affairs but an extrav ;
ordinary publication will tempt me to add one letter

more on the mcthodifts.
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours.
L E T T E 11 XXKI. .
Religion, faireft maid on earth,

As meek as good, who drevv^ her br&nth
From the blefl union when in heaveni
P'eafnre was bride to Virtue given j
Rc'-igion ever pleas'd to pray,
PolTefs'd ihQ precious gift one day
j
Kypocrify, of Cunning born,
Crept in and ilole it ere the morn. CiiURCHitLt
PEAR FKIEND,
in
A LTHOUGH I was many years
connexion with Mr. Wellcy's people, it feems,
according to a pamphlet publifhed a few months
afrer the two firfl: editions of my Memoirs, that I was
but fiiperficiall^ acquainted with Mr. Wefley and his
preachers. The pamphlet is entitled, *' A Letter to
the Rev. T. Coke, LL. D, and Mr. H. Moore."
To which is added, '' An Appeal' and Rcmonftrance
to the People called Methodifls, by an old Member
of the Society." This old member informs ns, that
he has been acquainted with the methodifls twenty-
eight ye.irs, and if their preachers are but half as bad
as he has drawn them, thev are a deteflable fet of lly
deceiving villains. The ktter was occafioned by Dr.
Cuko
-

Coke and Mr. Moore's propofals for publifhing Mr.
Weiley's Life, in oppolition to that advert! fed, under
the fandion of the executors, to be written by Dr«
Whitehead.
This writer informs us, that after Mr. Weflcy's
manufcripts and private papers had been given up to
Dr. Whitehead, the DoClor appointed to write his
Life, and this Life announced to the public by the
executors as the only authentic vôrk on a mifunder-
:
Handing taking place between Dr. Whitehead and the

preachers, becaufe the Do61or would not fubmit his
work to be infpe^ted, altered, &:c. and alto becaufe the
Do6tor would not confent to give the preachers at
the conference, nearly- the whole of the profits dc-^
rived from his labours, they then fent a circular letter
iigned by nine of their head preachers, to ^11 their
focicties, advifing them to return the fuhfcripttov^ that
they had taken for Dr, Whitehead's Life of Mr. JVefey^y
and to procure all the fuhfcriptions in their power for ano*
ther Life of Mr, Wejley^ to be written -by Dr, Coke
and Mr. Moore.
'The following- quotations I think will pleafe you,
page 8, &:c. " That Mr. Wefley \yas a great man
is an undeniable truth; that is comparatively —
Great
amongll little people."
' *' Nothing can exhibit his chara(5ler as an ambi-
tious man, more than the following anecdote, which

I can give from the moil authentic authority. Wvhcn
a boy, he was in the Charter-Houfe School the Rev*
; •
An Jooke^ the author of the Pantheon^ was then matter,

and obferving that his pupil, who was remaikably
forward in his ftudies, yet he conlJantly afTocAated ^
with the inferior clailes, and it was his cullom to bvj

furrounded by a number of the little boyi, haranguing
them. Mr. Tooke once accidentally broke in upo<i
him when in the middle of an oration, and inter-
rupted hirn, by dcfiring him to follow him into ths
parlour. Mr. Wclley, offended by being thus abruptly
deprived ot an opportunity of difplaying his fuperior
abilities, obeyed his mafter very relunctantly. When
they had got into the parlour, Mr. Tooks fai'd to him :
Kj 'V^Johtyv
2o6 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
^' John, I wonder that you, who are fo much above
the lower forms, fliould conikntly affociate with
them for you lliould now conlider yourfelf as a man,
;
and affect the company of the bigger boys, who are

your equals." Our hero, who could hardly ftifle his
refentment while his mailer fpoke, boldly replied :—
** Better to rule in hell^ thafifer^ve in heaven,^^
Mr. Tooke difmilTed his pupil, with this remarJc-
*'
able obfervation to the affiftant mailer. That boy,—

though deiigned for the Church, will never get a
living ill it for his ambitious foul will never acknow-
:
ledge a fuperior, or be confined to a parifli.

*' That he was fuperior to the prejudices he incul-
cated to his followers, and with what contempt he

fometimes treated the lay-preachers, the following
willlhew: —
Being at fupper, one Sunday night, (a
fliort time before his death) with feveral of th«
preachers, one of them obfcrved, that whenever Mr*
Wefley travelled, he was always invited to the houfes
of the neighbouring nobility and gentry ; but when
the preachers travelled, no notice was taken of them,
which he could not account for. Mr. Wefley replied,
** It was the way of the world to court the great
;
i)utlfay —
love me, love my dogi" enjoying his triumph
with a heavy laugh at their expence*
After this old member's Letter, com^s his Appeal
and Remonftrance to the methodifts, which, as
coming from an old methodift, contains fome very
extraordinary aflertions and fa6ls, and letters more
extraordinary, I lliall give you fome extrads from
^' Faith is the ground-work of (me-
it in page 28.
thodili) evidence —
it precludes the neceffity of every
virtue —
it is to be feared it has fent more of its vota-
ries TO Bedlam than to heaven —

is to wife men a
ftum'bling-block, an unintelligible jargon of myflical

nonfenfe, which common {^n^t and common honefly
reje6t.''
Page 30, has been computed that the
Sec. ** It
contributions raifed among
the members of the difFe--
xent focietVes in Great Britain and Ireland, for the
lad ten years, has atnounted to no Icfs than FOUJR
HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS per annum.
It
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTO.V. 207
It has been further proved one eighth part
that about
of this Turn is appropriated to the purpofes tor which
it was railed, and the remaioder is ditpoled of at the
difcrerion of the conference, the preachers, and the

ftcvvards. This calculation dies not. include the
enormous fums known to be raifed privately by the
influence of the preachers in their relpevîve circuiu
under the various preteniions ofdiflrefs, &c.
" How various and innumerable
" Are allwho live upon the rabble!*''
u However, I do not pretend to vouch for the ac-
curacy of this calculation, yet I think it by no means-
exaggerated. What has come within my -own know^
ledge I can alTert with confidence, and I challenge
any one to refute it.
*' Of King/wood School^ I can fpeak with certainty
:
for this foundation, many thoufands have been raifed

which never will, and I believe never were intended
to be applied to that charity. During eight years
that I was at Kingfwood, it not only fupported itfelf,
but produced a confiderable annual furplus,
'' Or\^ of the mafters of King's School, being de-
ficient in his accounts, he was judged an improper

perfon to enjoy any place of tru{f,and was accordingly
difmifTcd, and appointed to a circuit as a travelling
preacher^-^hut any will do for that, who has but impU'
dence and hypocrify —
no matter whether he polTclTes a
grain of honefty. Now if this was the cafe with re-
fpect to Kingfwood, may we not conclude that the
fame iniquitous principle pervaded the adrainillra-
lion of the finances in all the different departments ?"
Page 33, &c. ** O how long, y^Jheep, will ye be
the prey oinvol'ves^ who fleece and devour you at
pleafure and, ycfools^ be the dupes of hiavepy and
!
hypQcriJy f
"Open your eyes, and behold the 'villain 2inA, hypo-
crite unmalked, in inftances of the moft flagitious
crimes, and deeds of the blacked die perpetrated!
by wretches, whom you tamely fuffer to devour your

fuhflance, and w^hom you cheerfully contribute to
fupport in idlenefs aiid luxury, which brings into
K 6 contempt
iio8 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
contempt the gofpel, and whofe example .has Jone
more harm to religion, than that of the moil aban-
doned arid profligate open (inner: admitting at the
fame time that there may be, and I hope there are,
ibmc honeft and iincere men amongft them. '
.
** To begin then with the late Rev.

J. Wefley. As
the founder and head, he mult be coniidered as the
prlmum mobile^ or firfl: mover of this mighty machine
of hypocr'ify^ frauds and villainy / Yet were his motives
originally laudable in their intention, virtuous in their
objed, but unhappy in their confequences. This I
will endeavour to make appear, by an impartial re-
view of his life, chara6i:er, and condu(ft. I flatter
myfelf that I am in fome meafure qualified, being
totally divefled of prejudice, and having no intereft
either in reprefenting him as ^faint or a deûil.
*' From what have obferved during near twenty-
I
eight years that I have known him, I have uniformly
found him ambitious, imperious, andpofitive even to
obilinacy. His learning and knowledge various and
general, but fuperficial his judgment too hafly and
;
decifive to be always jull— his penetration acute yet :
was he conftantly the dupe to his credulity and his

unaccountable and univerfal good opinion of man-
kind. Humane, generous, and jull. In his private
opinions liberal to a degree inconfiilent with fl:ri6l
Chrifljanity'; in his public declarations rigid almoll
to intolerance. From this obfervation of the incon-
fiftency of his private opinions and public declara-
tions, I have often been inclined to doubt his fince-
rity, even in the profeflion of the Chrillian Faith.
In his temper impetuous, and impatient of contra-
diction but in his heart, a flranger to malice or re-
;
fentment ; incapable of particular attachment to any

individual he knew no ties of blood or claims of
:
kindred ; never violently or duraibly affected by grief,

forrow, or any of the paffions to which humanity is
fubje6t ; fufccptible of the groflTefi: flattery, and the
moft fulfome panegyric was conftantly accepted and
rewarded. In his viev/s and expectations, fanguine
and unbounded, but though often difappointed, never
dejected of his benevolence and charity much has
;
been
been faid : but it is to be obferved, benevolence is
but a palTive virtue, and his charity was no more than
bribery ; he knew no other ufc of money but to give
it away, and he found out that an hundred pounds
would' go farther in half-crowns than in pounds ; fo

that his charity was little more than parade, as he
hardly evea* eflentially relieved an obje6t of dillrefs : ,
in fa(^ his charity was no more than putting money

to interelt, as the example excited his followers to the
pra6ticeof the fame virtue, and doubled their fub-
fcriptions and contributions. In his conftitution
.
warm, and confe(juently amorous ; in this manner of

living luxurious and ilridHy epicurean, and fond of
difnes highly reliflied, and fond of drinking the richefl
wines, in which he indulged often, but never to ex-
cefs. He was indebted more to his commanding*,
politive, and authoritative manner, than to any in*
trinfically fuperior abilities^
" Having thus given the outlines of his charac'êr,
I only obferve, that he appears to have been
fliall
more a philofopher than a Chriftian ; and fliall then

proceed to fome anecdotes and circumftances which
will corroborate my afTertions, and juftify my con- ^
clulion.
" As the woi'k of God^ as it is called, was the fphere
of a6lion in which he was more particularly and con-^
fpicuoufly engaged, and as I have ventured to quef-
tion the iincerity of his profeiTions, it is proper that
I fliGuld flate my reafons for fo doing. Firit, then, of
converfion in the mtihodiftkal {qx\{q of the word, for
:
in the true {tn^t^ I apprehend" to be neither more nor

lefs, than forfaking vice, and pradiiing virtue ; but
however, the methodiuical {twi^. imports quite a dif-
ferent thing,and it is in that lenfe we il}aU view it.
I have made it an invariable obfervation, that Mr.
Wefley, although he was often in company of fenli-
ble men, who were capable of for;ning an opinion,
and prefumcd to judge for themfelves by the light of
nature, the evidence of the fcnfes, and the aid of
reafon and philofophy ; but of fuch, he never at-
tempted the converlion. In his own fainily, and
amongfl his relations, he never attempted, or if he
did
2lo LIFE OF J. EACKINGTON.
did attempt, be never fuccceded except now and
:
then with a "female, in whom he found a heart fufcep-

tible of any impreffion he pleafed to give, Ic is re-
markable, that even the children of Mr. C. W. were
never converted —ccaufe they, and mofl of his rela-^
i
tions, pofTeiled fenfe enough to difcover hypocrily*

and honefty enough to reject the advantage they
might have derived from alTuming it. But what is
ftiil more extrordinary, ib, that out of fo many hun-
dreds, who have been educated at Kingfvuood^ in the

mofl rigid difcipline of methodifm, hardly any have
embraced their tenets, or become members of the
fociety. The reafon pretty obvious, they wqyq
is
taught too much to imbibe the ridiculous prejudices

the founder wiflied to be inflilled into their minds :
philofophy and methodifm are utterly incompatible.
When the human mind is formed by the ftudy o£
philofophy, it expands itfelf to the contemplation of
things,
*' It is true indeed, thewd?r^was fometimes attended
with power among the children at Kingfivood, Con^

*ver/ions were frequent ; butmever durable. I myfelf
was converted Ibme ten or a dozen times ; but un-
luckily my clafs leader was detetêd in having ftolen
a pair of lilver buckles. This was a dreadful flroke
to the nxjork^ and a glorious triumph to the ^cked one*
The whole fabric oi falth^ grace^ and all its conco-
mitant vices, as hypocrify^ Iffc, fcsfr. experienced a total
overthrow The ferious boys, as they are called by
!
way of eminence, fell into the utmoft contempt, and

ever after, the leader of a clafs was ftiled Captain of
the Gang : a convert and a thiefy were fynonimous
terms,
^' A general converfion among the boys was once
effeded, by the late excellent Mr. Fletcher- one poor
boy only excepted, who unfortunately refilled the
influence of the Holy Spirit ; for which he was ic-
verely flogged, which did not fail of the delired effet^
and imprelTed proper notions of religion on his mind.
Unhappily thefe operations of the Spirit, though
violent, were but of a fliort duration,
" As
*' As theconveriion of men and women is a more
ferious concern than that of children, I will defcribe
one, to which I was an eye-witnefs among the poor
colliers Kingfwood. One of thofe prefumptuous
at
and impious fanatical wretches who alfume the
chara6i:er of miniflers of God, and take upon them in
his moil holy name, to denounce his curfes and ven-
geance againft thofe who are far lefs guilty than them-
fclves : a fellow of this defcription, of the name of
Sanderfotiy preaching to a congregation of ignorant,
but harmlefs people ; this fellow took \ipon himfelf,
in the name of God., to condemn them all to eternal
damnation, painting their deplorable- ftate in the moil
dreadful colours fome of his hearers were foon evi-
:
dently aiFe6ted by this difcourfe, which he took care

to improve, and taking the advantage of the kindling
fpark, addrefled himfelf more particularly to them,
whom he foon " made roar for the difquietude
their fouls." The whole congregation were quickly
affeded in the like manner one and all exclaimed,
;
*' What (liall I do to be faved ? Oh I'm damned

! !
I'm damned I'm damned to all eternity! What fliall

!
I do ? Oh! Oh Oh !" Our performer obferving to

!
what a ftate he had reduced his audience, redoubled

his threats of divine wrath and vengeance, and with
a voice terrible as thunder, demanded, " Is there
any backfliders in the prefence of God ?" A dead
—
and fplemn paufe enfued till he exclaimed, '* Here
is an old grey headed linner :" at the fame time ftrik-
ing with his hand violently on the bald pate of an
honeft old man who fat under the defk ; the poor
man gave a deep groan ; whether from convi6lion, or
from the pain of the blow, I know not, for it was far
from being gentle. The farce was not yet concluded,
when they were ftrongly conûlfedvîxh. thefe con^vi^lons^
he fell down upon his knees, and with the greatell
fervency, accompanied with abundance of tears, he
entreated the Lord in mighty prayer, to have'com-
paffionon the poor defponding finners whom he had
brought to a proper fenfe of their danger the prayer
:
continued about ten minutes, accompanied by the

%hs
212 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON^.
lighsand groans of the converted and alarmed finner^^
in concert making a moft divine harmony when fud~
:
denly ftarting up, he pretended to have received a

gracious anlwer to his prayer, and with a joyful and
fmiling countenance, pointing towards the window,
exclaimed, Behold _the Lamb! Where! Where!
W^here was the cry of every contrite and returning
!
iinner, (and they were ail of that defcription.) There 1
(continued the preacher, extending his arms towards

the window where he pretended firft to have efpied
the Lamb). In Heaven! In Colo! making intercef-
fion for your lins ! And I have hh authority to pro-
—
claim unto you—" Your lins are forgiven- depart in
peace/'— O, my dear brethren, how fweet is the
found of thofe extatic words " Behold the Lamb
!
of God, who taketh away the lins of the v/orld !'*'

Eut could you but feel the peculiar energy, the di-
vine force, the rapturous and cheering import of the
original, your mouths will be filled with praife, and
your hearts with divine joy, holy exultation, and un-
fpeakable gratitude. —Only mark the found of t|ie
words, even that will convey an inexpreiiible pleafure
to your fouls, " Hecca hangus Dei ! Ki dollit pekhaltus
Monday /" The fchool-boys (who were feated in a
pew detached from the congregation on account of
their prophane and contemptuous behaviour during
fervice) immediately burftinto a loud laugh, on one
of the congregation faying, ^' O the blefled man!
we lliall fee him again on Monday."
In fome pages following we have an account of the
methodift preacher's firft converting his benefador's
daughter, and then debauching her ; alfo'of a preacher
at Beverly,' in Yorkdiire, that colle6led fifteen pounds
for a poor man in great dillrefs, and gave him only
fifteen flîllings, referving to himfelf fourteen pounds
five iliillings for the trouble of coUeding it, with
which, and twenty pounds more he was entrufted
with, he decamped the next day, to the aftonilliment
of tht limple on whom he had impofed.
I wifli the author, as be propofes, may foon give us
a more particular account of the methodifls, preachers,
an4 people, and alfo of fome of Mr. Welley's pri-
vate opinions, &c.
Thia
LIFE OF J/LACKINGTON. 213
This pamphlet concludes with very curious letters
written Mr. p. Wefley ; and he informs us, in a
note, that 'the publiQier has his addrefs, in order to
dire6l any perfon to the author, where they may fee
the original letters. I here give you the whole of
thefe extraordinary letters in order to help you to
Break thofe fetters bigots would impofe.

To aggravate the feufe of human woes 1
W. T. Fitzgerald.
Page 50, Sec.
" Dear Sir,

FOR your obliging letter which I re-
*'
ceived this morning, I return you thanks.

*' Our opinions for the moil part perfedly coincide
refpeAing the ftability of the connexion, after rpy

head is laid in the duft. This, however, is a fub-
je6t, about which I am not fo anxious as you feem
,to imagine ; on the contrary, it is a matter of the
utmoll indifference to me ; as I have long forefeea
that a diviiion mud necelfarily enfue, from caufes
fo various, unavoidable, and certain, that I have long
fince given over all thoughts and hopes of fettling
it on a permanent foundation. You do not feem
to be aware of the moll: effeiîve caufe that will bring
about a divifion. You apprehend the mofl ferious
confequences from a ftrugglc betvvecn the preachers
for power and pre-eminence, and there being none
among tliem of lufficient authority or abilirjes to fup-
port the dignity, or command the refped and exaft
the implicit obedience, which is fo neceflary to up-
hold our conftitution on its prefent principles. This
is one thing that will operate very powerkilly againfl
unity in the connexion, and is, perhaps, what I
might polTibly have prevented, had not a flil) greater
difficulty arifen in my mind I have often wiOied for
:
fome perfon of abilities to fucceed me a^-. the head of

the church I have with fuch indefatigable pains, and
aftoniihing fuccefs eflablifhed but convinced that
;
none but very fuperior abilities would be equal to the

undertaking, was I to adopt a fuccelTor of this defcrlp-
tign,
•
214 LIKE OF J. LACKINGTON.

tion, I fear he might gain fo much influence amonf^
the people, as to ufurp a fliare, if not the whole o£
that abfolute and uncontrolable power,, which I have
hitherto, and am determined I wMl maintain fo long
as I live ; never will I bear a rival near my throne—
You, no doubt, fee the polky of continually chang-
ing the preachers from one circuit to another at fliort
periods for (hould any of them become popular with.
;
their dift'erent congregations, and infinuate themfelves

into the favour of their hearers, they might poifibly
obtain fuch influence, as to eftablifh themfelves inde-
pendently of me, andthe general connexion. Befides,
the novelty of the continual change excites curiofity,
and is the more neceffary, as few of our preachers
have abilities to render themfelves in any degree tole-
rable, any longer than they are new.
'^ The principal caufe which will inevitably effe(Sa
diminution and diviiion in the connection after my

death^ will be the failure of fubfcriptions and contri-
butions towards the fupport of the caufe, for money ra
as much the iinews of religious, as of military power-
If it is with the greateii: difficulty that even I can
keep them together, for want of this very neceffary
article, I think no one elfe can. Another caufe,
which with others, will effe6l the diviiion, is the
difputes and contentions that will arife between the
preachers and the parties that will efpoufe the feveral
caufes, by which means much truth willbe brought to
light, which will reflc6l fo much to their difadvantagc,
that the eyes of the people will be opened to fee their
motives and principles, nor will they any longer con-
tribute to their fupport, when they find all their pre-
tenfions to fandity and love are founded on motives
of interefl: and ambition. The confequence of which
will be, a few of the mofl popular will ellablifli them-
felves in the refpe6live places where they have gained
fufficient influence over the minds of the people the
;
refl: muft revert to their original humble callings*

But this no way concers me I have obtained the
:
obje6l of my views, by efl:ablifliing a name that will

not foon periQi from the face of the earth ; I have
founded a fe6l which willboafl my name, long after,
mj difcipline and doftrines are forgotten.
"
4i
My
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 2IJ
My chara^^cr and reputation for fan6tity is now
*'
beyond the reach of calumny nor will anything that

;
may hereafter come to light, or be faid concerning

me, to my prejudice, however true, gain credit.
*< My unfoil'd name, th' aufterenefs of nay life.

Will vouch againfl it.
And fo the accufation overweigh
That it will ftifle in its own report,
And fmell of calumny."
" Another caufe that v/ill operate more powerfulty

and efFe6tually than any of the preceding, is the rays
of philofophy which begin now to pervade all ranl;5,
rapidly difpelling the mills of ignorance, which has
been long in a great degree the mother of devotion, of
llavifli prejudice, and the enthufialHc bigotry of reli-
gious opinions the decline of the papal power i«
:
owing to the Cime irreliilible caufe,, nor can it be

fuppofed that methodifm can fland its ground, when
brought to the teJl of truth,. reafon,ând philofophy,.
I ani, &c«
City Road, Thurfday Morn.
Our author informs us, that the following was

written to a very amiable and accomplifhed lady,,
fome years ago. The lady was about three and
twenty years, of age,
*^ Madam,
'^ IT is with the utmoft diffidence I pro-
fume to addrefs fuperior excellence : emboldened by
a violent yet virtuous paffion, kindled by the irre-
fiiHble rays, and encouraged by the fweetly attractive
force of tranfcendant beauty, the elegant iimplicity
of your manners, the facinating melody of your voice,
and above all, the inexpreffible fire of an eye, that
the extragance of the mufes has given to the god-
defs of love, but which nature has bellowed on you
alone :
<< They fparkle with the right Promethean fire !"
" Believe
;
zt6 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

*' Believe nie, my dear madam, this is not thr
language of romance but the genuine exuberant ef-
;
fulions of an enraptured foul. The impreirion of your

charms wasnolefsinflantaneousthanirieliflible whea :
firft I favv you, fo forcibly was I flruck with admira- .
tion and loveof your divine perfections, that my Ibul

was filled witS fenfations fo wild and extravagant,
yet delightful and pure! But I will not indulge in
declaring what are my real fentinients, left I (liould
incur a fufpicion of flattery. Your mind, fuperior
to fulfome panegyric, unfufceptible of the incenfe of
affe6i:ed adulation, would, with juft indignation, fpurn
at thofe impertinent compliments, which are com-
monly offered with a view to impofc upon the vanity
and credulity of the Vvêakcr part of your fex : I will
Dot attempt it ; but confine myfelf to the di(!âtes of
fincei ity and truth, nor fliall a compliinent efcape my
pen, that is not the fentiment of a dc/oted heart.
" As beauty has no pofitive criterion, and fancy
alone direds the judgment and influences the choice,.,
we find different people fee it in various lights, forms,,
and colours I may therefore, without a fufpicion of
:
flattery, declare, that in- my eye you are- the moil

agreeable obje6t, and moft perfect work of created
nature nor does your mind feem to partake lefs of
:
the divinity than your perfon.

" I view thse over with a lover's eye
" No fault haft thou, or I no fault can fpy/'
*' Thereafon I did not before declare myfelf, was
.the profound and refpeclful diftance I thought it be-
came me to obferve, from a confcious fenfe of my
own comparative unworthinefs to approach, much
lefs to hope for favour from, the quintefTcnce of all
female perfedion. —
Forgive me,, my dear Eliza, and
compaffionate a heart too deeply imprciicd with your
divine image, ever to be crafed by time, nor can any
power, but the eold hand of death, ever obliterate
from, my mind the fond imagination and fweet re-
membrance of Eliza's charms Nor can even death !
itfelf divide the union that ftibfifls between kindred

fpuU.
** Ycfterday^,
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. l^^
" Yeflcrday, my dear Eliza, the charms of your
onverfation detained me too late to meet the /)^;7//e';2//,
as I had promifed to do but ;
" With thee Converfing, f forget

<* All times, all feafo'.is, and their change/*
cc
I hope, however, the difappointment of my com-
pany did not deprive them of a bleiling.
" This being my birth-day, refledHon on the re-
volution of years and the (hortnefs of life, naturally
intrude on my mind, I am now eighty one years of
age, and I thank God I enjoy the fame vigour of

conilitution I polTeired at t^wenfyone ! None of the
infirmities that ufually accompany years, either cor-
poral or mental and I think it not impoflible that 1
;
may fulfil my hundred years, the refidue of which

lliall be devoted to love and Eliza,
J. W."
a perfon to the author of the above pamphlet,
I fcnt
to define him to give me a fight of the originals of the
preceding letters but he returned for anfwer, that
;
he had fent them back to the perfons to whom they

were written ; fo that I cannot be certain uIj to their
authenticity,
Voltaire, in that letter in which he writes in the
character of Father Charles Goujer to his brethren
thejefuits, fays, "*A man may believe in God, and
yet kill his father; but is it poffible hefliould believe
in God, and pafs his whole life amidft daliberate
crimes, and an uninterrupted feries of fraud and im-
poilure ? The man that killed his father mufi: repent in
his lail moments ; but I defy you to find in hidory,
one fingle divine who ever acknowledged his crimes
on his death-bed."
In this letter Voltaire is not writing as a Deift,
but as a real Chriilian, and is proving that fuch
priefts as lived fuch diabolical lives could never believe
in the religion which they taught to others. '' Think
you (fays he) that fucll as are polluted with incefrs,
aiTaflinations,- fo many fovereign pontiffs furrounded
by miftrefles and baftards, laughing at the credulity
of mankind in the bofom of riot and debauchery ;
think
!
2i8 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

think you, that thefe ever lifted up to God hands filled
with gold, or llained with blood ? Did one of them
ever repent in their retirement ? No. I' will for-
feit ten thoufand crowns, if you can produce me one
penitent divine."
Methinks Voltaire might have added, or one penitent
hypocrite among the laity. For of all vice hypocrify
moft degrades and hardens the mind ; and I declare
that I never faw, or heard of a repenting hypocrite in
religion. And although it is acknowledged that the
methodifts are enthufiaflical, fuperflitious, and fana-
tical, yet that by no means excufes fuch as connect
themfelves with them, merely from mercenary mo-
tives for, notwithflanding they may have much better
;
informed heads, yet are funk by hypocrify beneath

the dregs of mankind ; and the moll ignorant^ unin-
formed, felf-conceited fanatic among them, if he it
really fincere in what he profelTes, is a refpedtable,
dignified charader, when compared with the fneak-
ing, cunning, religious, hypocritical rafcal, who
has been claiming an acquaintance with God and di-
vine things, the better to cheat and defraud mankind.
Hypocrites
« , . Thefe herd togetlier,
" The common damnM fhiin their fbciety,
'^ And look upon themfelves as fiends lefs foul.
I am,
Dear Friend, .
Yours.
j
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. zjg
LETTER XXXII.
Whoe'er fo lives that proving we may find,

A honefl, equal, open mind ;
faitliful,
To no toul iuft, or impious wifh, a Have
Mild to a hrotbtjr, bold againfl a knave;
Whom innocence with foiutude fupplies,
Who follows natui e ciole, this man is w'\(e»
Poem, On Frieni>ship.
Pafiions 'tis true, may luirry us along ;
Sometimes the juft may deviate into wrong.

Vo L '!•
A I R E, by Francklin*
©EAR FRIENJD,
M
Y new wife's attachment to
books was a very fortunate eircumflance tor us both,
not only as it was a perpetual fource of rational
ainufement, but alfo as it tended to promote my
trade : her extreme love for books made her deliglu
to be in the fliop, fo that fne foon became perfedly
acquainted with every part of it, and {as my flock
increafed) with other r-ôms where 1 kept books, and
could readily get any article that was. alked for. Ac-
cordingly, when I was out in bufinefs, my fhop was
well attended. This conllant attention, and good
ufage, procured me many cuitomers, and I foon per-
ceived, that I could fell double and treble the quan-
tity of books, if I had a larger ftock. But how to en-
large it, I knew not, except by flow degrees, as my
profits fliould enable me ; for as I was almofl a
ftranger in London, I had but few acquaintances,
and thefe few were not of the opulent fort. I alfo
faw that the town abounded with cheats, fwindlers,
&c. who obtained money and other property, under
falfe pretences, of which the credulous were de-
frauded, which often prevented me from endeavour-
ing to borrow, left I fhould be fufpeded of having
the fame bad defigns.
. I was feveral times fo hard put to it, for cafh la
purchafc parcels of books which were offered to me,
that
;

that I more than once pawned my watch, and a fuit
of deaths, and twice I pawned fome books for money
to purchafc others.
Soon after I commenced boo'kfeller,I became ac-
quainted with what Pope calls " the noblcft work of
God," an honest man, .
Boaft they, who will, of an enlighten'd age,

Of poli{h'dmanners, and of fenfe refin'd j
Still let the mufe with facred candour throw

Her flowers, and of her praiies fpread
The incenfe, where true merit challenges.
RiCKMAy,
This was Mr, John Denis, an oil-man in Can-

non-ftreet (father of the prefent Mr. John Denis,
bookfeller.) This gentleman had often vifited me
during my long illnefs, and having feen me tranquil
and ferene when on the very point of death, he
formed a favourable conclulion that I too muft be
an honeft man, as I had fo quiet a coii^fcience at
fuch an awful period. Having retained thefe ideas
of me after my recovery, and being perfedly well
acquainted with my circumftances, he one day offered
to become a partner in my bulincfs, and to advance
money in proportion to my llcck. This confidential
offer I foon accepted; early in 1778 he became part-
ner; and we very foon laid out his money in fccond-
hand books, which increafed the ftock at once to
double,
I foon after this propofed printing a fale catalogue,
to which, after making a few objedions, Mr, Denis
confented. This catalogue of twelve thoufand vo-
lumes (fuch as they were) was publiflied in I779»
My partner's name was not in the title-page, the ad-
drefs was only ''
J. Lackington &
Co. No, 46,
Chifwell-ftreet, our firft publication, pro-
This,
duced very oppofitc effects on thofe who perufed it
in fome it excited m\ich mirth, in others an equal
propcnion of anger. The major part of it was writ-
ten by me> but Mr. Denis wrote many pages of it;
and as his own private library confifled of fcarcc old
myflical and alchymical books, printed above a cca-
- tury '
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 22V
tury aô, many of them were in bad condition;
this ledhim to infcrt neat in the catalogue to many
articles, which were only neat when compared with
luch as were in very bad condition fo that when vvê
;
produced fuch books as were called neat in our cata-

logue, we often got ouifelves laughed at, and fome-
times our neat articles were heartily damned. We had
«lfo a deal of trouble on another fcore; Mr. Deni»
inferted a number of articles without the authors
names, and allured me that the books were well
known, and to mention the authors was often ufelefs.
The fa<^ was, Mr. Denis knew who wrote thofe ar-
ticles ; but was foon convinced that many others did
not, as we were often obliged to produce them merely
to let our cuflomcrs fee who were the authors wc ;
however took twenty pounds the firfl week the books

were on fale, which we thought a large fum. Tlie
incrcafe of our flock augmented ourcuftomers in pro^
portion; fo that Mr. Denis, finding that his money
turned to a better account in bookfelling than in the
funds, very foon lent the ftock near two hundred
pounds, which I ftill turned to a good account. We
went on very friendly and profperoufly for a little
more than two years when one night, Mr. Denis
;
hinted, that he thought I was making purchafes too

faft, on which 1 grew warm, and reminded him of
an article in our partnerQiip agreement, by which I
was to be fole purchafer, and was at liberty to make
what purchafes 1 fliould judge proper. I alfo re-
minded him of the profits which my purchafes pro-
'duced, and he reminded me of his having more money
in the trade than I had. We were indeed both
very warm; and on my faying, that if he was dif-
pleafed with any part of my condu6^, he was at li-
berty to quit the partnerfliip; he in great warmth re-
plied'that he would. The above palled at Mr. Denis's
houfe in Hoxton-fquare I then bade him good nights
;
When Mr. Denis called at the fliop the next day, he

alked me if I continued in the fame mind I was in tht
preceding night ? I affur^d him that I did. He then
demanded of me whether I inCfted on hi» keeping his
word to cjuit rhc partncrflnp ? I replied^ I did not
%iz LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
ivjyi on it, as I had taken him a partner for three
years, nearly one third part of which time was un-
expired; but, I added, that, as I had always found
him ilridly a man of his word, I iuppofed he would
prove himfelf fo in the prefent inllance, and not af-
fcrt one thing at night and another in the morning.
On which he obferved, that as he was not provided
with a fliop, he mufi: take fome time to look for one.
1 told him that he might take as long a time as he
thought neccHary. This was in March 1780. He
appointed the twentieth of May tollowing. On that
day we accordingly dilTolved the partnerihip; and, as
he had more money in the trade than myfeU, he took
rny notes for what I was deficient, which was a great
favour done to me. We parted in great friendfliip,
which continued to the day of his death he generally
;
called every morning to lee us, and learn our con-

cerns, and we coniiantly informed him of all that
had palled the preceding day as hov/ much cafli wc
;
had taken, what were the profits, what purchafes wc

had made, what bills we had to pay, &g. and he
fometimes lent me money to help to pay them.
At his death he left behind him, in his private li-
brary, the bell collection of fcarce valuable myllical
and alchymical books, that ever was coUeded by one
perfon. In his lifetime be prized thefe kind of books
above every thing in colleding them he never cared
:
what price he paid for them. This led him to think,

after he became a bookfeller, that other book-collec-
tors fliould pay their money as freely as he had done
his, which was often a fubje6l of debate between him
and me, as I was for felling every thing cheap, in
order to fecure thofe cuftomers already obtained, as
well as incrcafe their numbers.
In Sclden's Table Talk is the following odd pafTage :
*' The giving a bookfclleF his price for his books has
*' this advantage

; he that will do fo, fliall have the
*' refufal of whatfoever comes to his hand, and fo
*' by that means get many things which otherwife
*' he never would have feen." He adds, *VSo it is

*' in giving a bawd her own price." But I hope he
did not mean to compare the bookfellers to old bavv<'
Different
:

Different profeirions arc oddly jumbled togctlier in
the following lines
«< No fiirjreon will extradl a tooth,
" No ftrumpet exercife her trad?,
*< No parfon preach eternal truth
'*'
VVhere not a fixpence can be made."
Mr. Denis was, time of his death, about
at the
fifty years of age. He
informed me that in his child-
hood and youth he was weakly to an extreme, fo that^
no one who knew him ever thought he could live to
be twenty years of age however, he enjoyed an un-
;
interrupted flate of health for nearly the lafl forty

years of his life ; this he afcribed to his ftri6lly ad-
hering to the rules laid dowa by Cernaro and Try on in
their books on Health, Long Life, and Happinefs,
His unexpe6led death was in confequence of a fever
caught by fitting in a cold damp room.
" O'er the fad reliqnes of each friend fincere,
" The happiell mortal, fure, may fpare a tear.**
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours.
LETTER XXXin.
There atuie in the affairs of mec,
is
Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune.

Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in fti allows and in miferies :
On fuch a foul fea are we now afloat,
And we muft take the current when it ferres.
Or lofe our ventures. Sh ak f. « p e ar e's Julius Cxfan
BEAU FRIEND,
IT
was fonue time in the year
1780, when I refolvcd from that period to give no
perfon whatever aiiy credit.
J was induced to make
L 2 thh
this refolution from various motives: I had obfcrvcc!,
that where was given, moll bills were not paid
credit
wdthin fix months, many not within a twelvemonth,
r.nd fome not within two years. Indeed, many tradef-
Tîen have accounts of fcven years ihinding; and fome
bills are never paid. The lolTcs fuftained by the in-
tcrefl of money in long- credits, and by thofe bills
that were not paid at all; the inconveniences attend-
ing not having the ready money to lay out in trade to
the bcil advantage, together with the great lofs of
time in keeping accounts, and collc^ling debts, con-
vinced me, that it I could but ellablifli a ready -money
bufinefs nx:ithout /jny exceptio?is^ I fliould be enabled td
fell every article very cheap.
" Let all the learn'd fay all they can,
" 'Tis ready- money makes the man.**
When I cominimicated my ideas on this fubjeft to

fome of my acquaintances, I was much laughed at
and ridiculed; and it was thought, that I might as
well attempt to rebuild the tower of Babel, as to
eilablifli alarge bufinefs without giving credit. But
iiotwithftanding this difcouragement, and even Tou^
my dear friend, expreffing your doubts of the pradi-
cability of my fcheme, I determined to make the ex-
periment and began by plainly marking in every
;
book facing the title the loweft price that I would

take for it ; which being much lower than the com-
mon market prices, I not only retained my former
cuflomes, but foon increafed their numbers. But,
my dear Sir, you can fcarce imagine what difficulties
I encountered for feveral years together. I even
fometimes thought of relinquilhing this my favourite
fcheme altogether, as by it I was obliged to deny
credit to my ve^y acquaintance I was alfo under a
;
neceifity of refufing it to the moil refpedable charac-

ters, as no exception vj'c\s^ or now is made, not even in
favour of nobility ; my porters being ftriftly enjoined,
by one general order, to bring back all looks notpre-
vioufly paid for, except they receive the amount on
delivery. Again, many in the country found it diflT-
*cultto remit fmall fums that were under bankers notes,
(which
LIFE OF J. L/VCKINGTON. iz;
(which di-fhtuity is now done away, as all poft-maf-
ters receive fmall fiims of money, and give drafrs-
for the fame on the poil-oihce in London) and other»
to whom I was a llranger, did not like to lend ths:
money firft, as not knowing: bow 1 ihould treat them,,
and fafpeding by the price of the ahiclcs, there ma ft.

certainly be- fo:nc deceptirjn. M.uiy un:icqualaei
with my plan of bufinefs, were much oifeiided, until
the advantages accruing to them from it were duly
explained, when they very readily acceded to it. As
to the anger of fuch, who, tliough they were ac-
quainted with it, Vvêre llUl determined to deal on
credit only, I confidered that as of little confequence,.
from an opinion that fome of them would have been,
as much enraged when their bills were fent in, had
credit been given them,
1 had alfo difficulties of another nature to encoun-
ter; when firfl I began to fell very cheap, many
€ame to my fliop prepolTefTed againfl my goods, and
of courfe often faw faults where none exifted fo that ;
the bell editions wêre merely from prejudice deemed

very bad editions, and the bell: bindings faid to be in-
ferior workmanfhip, for no other reafon, but becaufe
I fold them fo cheap and I often received letters
;
from the country, to know if fuch and fuch articles

were really as I ilatcd them in my catalogues, and
tf they REALLY ivere the bejl editions y if REALLY in
calf; and reall-Y elegantly bound \ with many other
really 5, Oh, my friend! I really was afraid for fome
years thai fnould be really mad with vexation. But
I
th«fe letters of reallys have for years happily ceafed,-
and the public are now really and thoroughly con-
vinced that I will not allert in my catalogues what is
not really true. But imagine, if you can, what I
muil have felt, on bearing the very bed of goods de-
preciated, on no other accouni vvhatevcr, but becaufs
they were not charged at a higher price. And
many laughable imlances have occurred on this head.
Some have came to my fliop to purchafe, who, on
feeing my prices (for I mark in t\c\y book theloweft
price) have refufcd to take them, ;nerely on the fcore
of cheapnefs, that is, their being maiked foloWjiiave
L 3 led
226 life; of J. LACKINGTON,
led them not to believe that they were the right editi-
ons. Thefe very people have given their orders to other
bookfellers, u'ho have come to my fhop, and purchaf-
ed the identical books, which were refufed as inferior
editions, and by charging them the full price have
fatisfied the very pcrfons who refufed them at a much
lower price.
It is alfo worth obferving, that there were not
wanting among the bookfeliers, fome who were mean
enough to aifert that all my books were bound in
llieep, and many other unmanly artifices were prac-
tifed, all of which fo far from injuring me, as bafely
intended, turned to my account for when gentle- ;
men were brought to my fliop by their friends, to

purchafe fome trilling articles, or were led into it by
curiofity, they were often very much furprized to fee
many thoufands -of volumes in elegant and fupei-b
bindings. The natural conclufion was, that if I had
not held forth to the public better terms than others,
I fhould not have been fo much envied and mifreprc'-
fented,
i<
To malice fufe Tm much obliged,
*< On
every fide by calannny befieg'd ;
" Yet Envy 1 could almoll call thee Friend.*'
So thatwhether I am righteous or not, all thefe

afflidions have worked together for my good. But I
alTure you, that my temporal lalvation was not efle6ted
without conditions. ^^
'-^
As eveiy envious tranfadiq;!
was to me an additional fpur to exertion, I am there-
fore not indebted to Mefli's. Envy, De-
a little
traction, &
my prefent profperity though
Co. for ;
I allure you, this is the only debt I am dctermine4

not to pay. Green fays,
Happy the man who innocent,
(ifieves not at he can't prevent :
ills
^ And when he can't prevent foul play,

iEnjoys the f(jllies of ihe fray. $p t een.
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours.
LETTER
LIFE OF J. LAlCKINGTON. 22>
LETTER XXXIV.
" CoiiflarU at fnop and 'Change, his gains were fure t-
** His giviiigs rare ; fave halfpence to the poor.*'
When Fortune, various goddefs, lovv'rs,

ColTe<5lyour ftrength, exert your pow'rs;
But when (he breath<^.5 a kinder gaje,
Be wife, and fui I your fwelling fail.
Francis's HoRaq5>
t)EAR FRIENH,
IN
the firft three years after t rc<
fufed to give credit to any perfon, my bufinefs in-
creafed much, and as the whole of my profit (after
paying all expences) was laid out in book?, my ftoclc
was continually enlarged, (o that my Catalogues ia
the year feventeen hundred and eighty-four, were very
much augmented in iize. The firft contained Twelves
thoufand, and the fecond Thirty rhoufand volumes:
this Increafe was: not merely in numbers, bur alfo in
valiie, as a very great part of thefe volumes were
hater^ that is, books of an higher price. But not-
withflandtng the great increafe of my bufin^fs, I fliH
met with many difficulties on account oF my felling
books cheap ; one of thcfe, I confefs, I did not forefeer
as the more convinced the public were of my ailing'
ftri£lly conformable to the plan had adopted, the
I
more this objedion gained ground, and even to the

prefcnt day is not entirely done away. This difficulty'
was, in making private purchafes of libraries, and par--
eels of books, many of my cuflomers for feveral years-
had no objedion to buying of me becaufe I fold che^^p,-
but were not equally inclined to y2r// me fuch books as
they had no ufe for, or libraries that were left them
at the death of relations, 8e:c, They reasoned (very
plaufibly, it muft be confefTed) thus; *' Lackingtou
fells very cheap; he therefore will ro: give much for
what is offered him for fale. I will go to thofe who*
fellvery dear as the more they fell their books for'
;
the moie they can afford to give for them,'*

L 4. This^
22% LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
This mode of reafoniiig, however fpeclous it feems
at fj'fl, will on due reliedion appear nugatory and er-
roneous, for the following reafv)ns:

I believe no one ever knew or heard of a covetou3
man tliat would fell his books cheap: But every one-
has heard of fuch chara^lers felling 'very dear; and
when a covetous perfon makes a purchafe, is it likely
that he fliould offer a generous price ? Is he not;
when buying influenced by the fame avaricious diN
poiition as when felling r And on the other hand, I
cannot help thinking (I am aware of the inference)
that one who has been conilaiitly felling cheap ior a.
ieries of } ears muft poliefs feme degree of generolity ;
that this difpofition hu:^ prevailed in Uie when I have
been called to purchafe, and when libraries or parcele
o\ books have been fcnt to mc, thoufands in the three
kirgdcnT: can Vv'irncrs. And however paradoxical it
ni.-^y appear, I will add, that 1 can afford to give
n^.ore ior books now, than I could if I fold them much
dearer. For, were 1 to fell them dear, I fliould be
ten times longer in felling them and the expences
;
for wareboufe-room, infuiance from fire, together

with the interefl of the money lying long in a dead
flock, would prevent my giving a large price when
books were offered for falc.
But it did not appear in this point of view to the
public in the more early ftagcs of my bufinefs, until
beino^ often fent for after other bookfellers had made
offers for libraries, and finding that I would give
nôre than they had offered, it was communicated
fiom one to another, until it became publicly known ;
and the following method which I adopted fome yeaj s.
fincc, has put the matter beyond the fl)adovv of a
doubt.
When I am called upon to purchafe any library or
parcel of books, either n)yiblf or my alhffants care-
fully examine them, and if defired to fix.^ price, I
mention at a word the utmofl that I will give for them»
which I always take care (hall be as much as any
bookfeller can afford to give; but if the feller enter-
tains any doubts refpeCting the price offered, and
choo'fes to try other bookfellers, he pays mc ^\yQ per
cent*
LIFE OF J. EACKINJGTOlSr. 7T(y.
Gent, for valuing the books; and a^ he knows what

1 have valued them at, he tries among rhc trade, and
when he finds that he ciinnor get any ^n'cater i'uni of-
fered, on returriing to inc, he not oiviy rece'r-es the
price I at firll oftered, but alfo a return of the five per
cent, which was paid rne for the valuation.
But to fuch as fix a price on their own books, I
make no ch.arge (if in, or very near town) either
taking tiiern at the price at which they are orFcred to
me, or ii that appear too much, imineuiaiely declining
the purchafe.
This equitable mode, I have the pleafax'e to find,
has given the public the utaiolt fatistacflion.
if M - « Though forr.e htcle merit I bonfl,
** Yer. raisM by indulgv.nce to fame,
" I fuik. iucoiifufion, bevviluer'cl and lofl,
**-
Aiid wonder I am what I e.m."
*
I am,
Dear Friend',
Yours,
LETTER XXXV.
Behold, Sir Balaam, now a man of fpiiit.
Afciibeshis gettings to his parts and merit. Bop i.
Weak truth can't your reputation fave,

The knaves will all agree to call you knave:
Wrong'd Ihall he live, infulted, o'er oppieft.
Who dares be lels a villain tiian the reft.
Satyr AG-AiNST Maic.
DEAR
V^,HEN I was firft initiated into

the various manoeuvres pra^tifcd by bookfellers, I
found it cutlomary amoni^ them, (which pra(ftice fi:ill
L. 5 continues)
;

continues) when any books had not gone off
that
lb rapidly expeded, or lo faft as to pay for
as
keeping them in ftore, they would put what icmained
of fuch articles into private fales, where only book-
IcUers are admitted, and of them only fuch as were
invited by having catalogues fent them. At one of
thefe fales I have frequently feen feventy or eighty
thoufand volumes fold after dinner, inclnding books
of every defcription, good, bad, and indifferent; by
this means, they were diftrlbuted through the trade.
When firil invited to thefe trade fales, I was very
much furprifed to learn, that it was common for fuch
as purchafed remainders, to defiroy one half or three
fourths of fuch books, and to charge the full publi-
cation price, or nearly that, for fuch as they kept on
hand and there was a kind of {landing order amongft
;
the trade, that in cafe any one wâs known to fell ar-
ticles under the publication price, fuch a perfon was
to be excluded from trade fales —
fo blind were copy-
right-holders to their own interefl.
For a fnort time I cautioufly complied with this
cullom but I foon began to refle6t that many of theli
;
books fo deflroyed, polTeffed much merit, and only

wented to be better known ; and that if others were
not wôrth fix fliillings, they were worth three, or two,
and fo in proportion for higher or lower priced books.
From that time, I refolved not to dcflroy any books
that were worth laving, but to fell them off at half,
or a quarter of the publication prices. By felling
them in this cheap manner, I have difpofed of many
hundred thoufand voluuics, many thoufands of which
have been worth their original prices.
intrinlically
This part of my however, though evidently
condutSl",
highly beneficial to the community, and even to
bookfellerr, created me many enemies among the
trade fome of the meaner part of whom, inflead of
;
employing their time and abilities in attending to the

inci cafe of their own bufincfs, aimed at reducing mine
and by a variety of pitiful infmuations and dark
inuendoes, flrained every nerve to injure the reputa-
tion I had already acquired with the public, deter-
mined, (as tkey rifely concluded) thus to effe6l my
ruin I
'
LIFE OF J tACKINGTON. 13^'
flUin; which indeed they daily prognofucatcd, with

ad«mofj-Hke fpirit, m'uft meritably rery fpcedily
folio A'. Thif conduct, however, was far from in-
ikTi.i-ting fDC, as the effect proved direftly oppofitc
W what they wifhed for and expe€êd, and I foun4
the refpeci and confidence of the public continually
iBcreafing, which added very conliderably to the
number of my cuitoftiem: it being an uaquftionabjc*
{^j that bctorc I adopted thu plan, great numbers
of perfons were very delirous of poiTeffin^ fome parti-
cular books, for which however (from viiriouf mo--
tiTeO they were not inclined to pay the original price ;
a* foraeavaikd thetnfelres of the opportunity of bor-
roik ing from a friend, or from a circulating library,
or having onte read them, though they held tnc
woiks in efteem, might deem them t<xf dear to pur-
chafe; or the}^ mi^ht hare a copy by tiietn, which,
from their own and fimilyh freq-uem ixf^ (or leading
to friends) luight net be in fo good a condition as th-ey
coold Miih, though nuj&er than porchafe them agaia
at die full price, they would ke«p thofc they^d •
or agaic^ ,tr>ey nsi^ht be dcfi'rous to pwrchafe tbem
ta make preictits of; or tiicy jii:ght iiavc a commif-
fico from a correfpondent in the country, or afar</ad,
aiid wiibed to gain a fmall pro& oa the zt6ela fcr
their tr6uUe, not to mentaon the great numbeis that
wouk' ' '^"^ given to ^be poorer
'
'
*-
T. - xhccr hare beeneffbdttally^pferentei

fro-TB parcna^ng (though an^îoos fo to do) whoCe -
circuxnltances in life would not permit them to peiy

the full pri'.e^ and thus were touUy excluded from
the advantage of improvksg tlieir nndfrfiandings, and
efljoying a rational entertainment* And joo RKiy be
affared, that it affi»rds me tile mot pleating tuii£K:-
don, itsdependent <^ the emolumems wlueh liave de-
emed to me from this plan, when I re§e& what pro-
digious iium2>ers in mfenor or reiiaaed fituatioiH of
li&, haTebeen eflbntially benefited in omlbq^jence of
V,. r.^ thiu
enabled to indulge their n^* ^ 'opcnfity
=ieatLqui£tion of knowledge, one< -.%- raj^
i coj": i almcil be vain enoîtgh toaicrt, tiiat I have
:: - ' ^^-- ^'f^''- infirumentai is-dtlbfiog- thsu
L. 6 jeaeril
genefal delire for reading, now fo prevalent amony
the inferior orders of fociery which moft certainly^
:
though it may not prove equally infl:ru6live to ail,

keeps them from employing their time and money, if
»ot to had^ at leafl: to hfs rational purpofes.
How happy fhou Id I have deemed myfelf in the
earlier flage oPmy life, if I could have met with the
opportunity which every one capable of reading may
now enjoy, of obtaining books at fo eafy a rate had :
that been the cafe, the catalogue of my jwvenik lihrary^

with which I prefented you in a former letter, would
have made a more refpedable appearance, and I
might poffibly have been enabled, when I purchafed
Young*s Night Thoughts for a Chrifttnas dinner^ to
"have at the fame time bought a joint of meat, and
thus enjoyed both a mental and corporal feaft, as
well as pleafed my wife, (which I need not inform
you, the ladies fay, every good huiband ought to do.)
But after all, quere. Whether if I had enjoyed fuch
an*advantage, fliould I ever have thought of com-
mencing bookfeller? If not, fliould I have been the
great man I now feel myfelf, and hope you acknow
ledge me to be ?
For life or wealth, let Heav'n ray lot affign,

A firm and even foul fhall flill be miae. C. Pj t t.
In my next I will make a few obfervations on pur-

chafing manufcripts —
bookfellers liberality, authors
turning publiflicr^, &c. In the mean time,
lam.
Deal? Friend,
Yourt.
LETTER
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON-. ^33
LETTER XXVI.
High in the world of letters and of wit,
Enthron'd hke Jove behold Opinion fit I
As fymbols of her fway, on either hand-

Th' unfailing urns of praife and cenfure ftand ;
Their mingled ftreams her motley fervants (lied
On each bold author's felf-de voted head. Hay lit.
BEAR FRIENB,
I Promifed in my laft to give you

a few remarks on purchafing manufcripts ; and as I
feldom make fuch purchafes, being out of my line,
and but rarely publifli any new books, I think you
may fairly credit me for impartiality. Nothing is
more common than to hear authors complaining againft
publifliers, for want of liberality in purchafing their
manufcripts. But I cannot help thinking that moil: of
thefe camplaints are groundlefs ; and that were all
things conlidered, publifliers (at leafl: many of them),
would be allowed to pofTefs more liberality than any
bthsr fct of tradefmcn, I mean fo far as relates to the
purchaiing manufcripts and copy-right.
Not to trouble you with a long enumeration ot
inilances in confirmation of this alTertion, I fliall
barely mention the following :
It is owing to the encouragement of book fellers

that the public is poffeded of that valuable work
Johnfon's Didionary ; and the fame liberality to the
Doclor in refpc.51 to that publication, his edition of
Shakefpeare, and the Lives of the Englifli Poets, will
always refle6t honour on the parties. So fenlible was
the Do6lor of this, that he afferted bookfellers were
the befl Mcecenao's.
Pope, the late Sir John Hawkins, Dr. Cullen,
Hume, Dr. Hill, Dr. Robertfon, Mr. Gibbon, &:c.
&c. are all llriking iiaftances of the truth of my
obfervation.
As I feel a plcafurc in mentioning a(51:s of liberality
wherever tbey occur, fuffer me to quote the follow-
ing
: ;
234 LIFE OF J. LACKlNGTOKTv

ing pafTage from Sir John Hawkins's Life of Dh'
Johnfon
'* The book/ellers with whom Mr, Chambers had ^
contrad:eci for his Dit51:lonary, finding that the work

fucceeJed beyond their cxpe^flations, made him avo-
luntary pre cnt of, I think, 500I. Other inftances
of tlie like gcneroiit)^ have been known^ of *a profcf-
fion of men, who, in the debates on the qucflipn of
literary property, have been defcribed as'fcandalous
monopolizers, fattening at the expence of other men's
ingenuity, and growing opulent by oppreiiibn/' Hs-
alio fays, that Dr. Hill earned in one year 1500I. by
hi,<| pen, . In vol. 4, of Bell's Fugitive Pieces, page
182, we are informed that Dr. Goldfmith cleared ia -
one year 1800I. by his pen.

The late Mr» Elliot, bookfeller, of Edinburgh, gave
Mr. Smeilie a thoufand pounds for his ill vol. of the
Philofophy of Natural Hiliory, when only the heads of
the chapters were wrote. Hume received only 200U'.
for one part of the Hiliory of Britain,, but for the re-
mainder of that work he had 5000!. Dr. Robertfoii
was paid' for his Hiilory of Scotland but 600I. but
for his Charles V, he received 45001. Dr. Blair ob-
tained the higheft price for Sermons that ever was
given : they were purchafed by Mr. Cadell in the
Strand, and Mr. Creech of Edinburgh ; and after the
ii-r(l two volumes of thefe Sermons were publiflied,,
D\\ Blair was farther rewarded from another quarter

With a penlion of 2col. a-year Sherlock's Sermons
;
had a very great fale, as had Dr. White's and many

other.% but none ever fold fo well as Dr. Blair's, and
the fale of them is fcill as great as ever.
It is confidently afferted, that the lare Dr. Hawkef-
worth received6oool. for his compilation of Voyages
if fo (and I have never heard it contradided) I leave
it to any confiderate perfon to judge, whether la
paying lb enormous a price, the publiiliers did not
run a great rifk, when it is confidered how great the
expences of bringing forward fuch a work mull have
been. 1 have alfo been informed, that David Mailer,
Efq. v/as offered 2000I. for Lord Bolingbroke's Phi-
lofophical Works, v/hit:h he rchikd,
A
very
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 255;
A very few years fince,«Mr. R —
was paid 1600L to
io a work, but he died without pertbrming, and the
money being fpent, it was not recoverable. Before
Dr. Rces engaged to revife and improve Chambers's
Didionaiy of Arts and Sciences, very large fums foe
that purpofe had from time to time been obtained
from the proprietors,, by perfons who never fulfilled
their engagements.
It ought alfo to be confidered, that frequently the
money which is paid for the copy, is but triflings
compared with the expence of printil^, paper, ad-
vertifing, &c. and hundreds of inftances may be ad^
duced oFpubliihers having fuftained very great loffes,
and many have been bankrupts, through their libe-
rality in purchalingmanufcriptaand publilhingthem ;
and on the other hand, it muft be acknowledged that
feme publifliers have made' great fortunes by their
copy-rights, but their number is comparatively fmall.
1 have been told of bookfellers who frequently offer
as low as half a guinea per volume for novels in ma-
nufcript ; it is a fliocking price to be fure, but it
fhould be remembered that as there are fome of the
trade who are mean enough to wi(h to obtain valuable
copy-rights for nothing; fo, on the other hand, many
novels have been offered to bookfellers indeed, many
;
have adually been publiflied, that were not worth

the expence of paper and printing, fo that the copy-
right was dear at any price ;.and it fliould be re-
marked, that authors in general are apt to form too
great expedations from their productions, many in-
liances of which I could give you, but I will only
produce one.
A gentleman a few years fince fliewed a manufcript
to a publifher, whi'ch he refufcJ to purchafe, but
offered to be the publiflier if the gentleman would
print it, &c. at his own expence, which he readily
agreed to do the publlflier then deli red to know how
;
many copies fliould be printed, on which the gentle-

man began to compute how many families there were
in Great Britain, .and affured the publiflier that every
iamily would at kqfi purchafe one copy ; but the pub*
lifiier not being of the fame opinion, our author then
faid
T^6 LITE OF J. LACKINGTON^.
feiid that he would print iixty thoufrind copies 9:uly^.
but added, he was afraid that another edition could
not be got ready as fooii as it would be wanteds
'
However, after a long debate, thepublifiier prevailed

on him to print only tnxelve !Td?ithe.d and fifty infi:ead
^
oijixly thoiifand^ but promifcd in cafe another edition

fliould be wanted in hafrc, to make the printers work-
night and day, in order not to difappoint the public.
This work \v as foon afterwards pubiiPied andadvertifed.
at a great rate, and for a long time, hut to the infinite
mornfication Qt our author, not one hundred copies
were fold, not even enougH'îndeed to pay for the ad-
verdfement^. in the precedjng inilancc, I am per-
fuaded the publifner did his bell to promote .the fale
of the work but in general v/here authors keeptheii^
;
own copy-right they do not fucceed, and many books-

have been configned to oblivion, through the inat-
tention and mifmanagement of publifliers, as moil of
them are envious of the fuccefs of fuch works as ^lo
not turn to their own account very many jull: com-
;
plaints are made on this head, fo that I am fully of

opinion, that for authors to fucceed well, they fliould.
fell their copy-right, or be previouily v;ell acquainted
with the charaders of their publitbers.
Many works might be mentioned that never fold^
w^ll, whilft the author retained the copyright, which
had a rapid fale after itwas fold to the trade and ;
no wonder, for the

ifpublifner wiflies to purchafe
the copy-right, hefometimes will take care to prevent
the fale of the work, in order to make the author out
of conceit with the book, and be willing to part with
the copv-right for a mere trifie ; but this is only true
of fome piiblifliers ; I am forry that any fuch fliould
be found, but I am fure as to thefa6t.
As I have before r^bferved, there are fome authors
who become their own piiblijfhers, but that mode will
feldom or ever anfwer, as fifty to one might be fold
by being c^jspofed to view, and recommended in book-
fellers iliops, where ladies and gentlemen are conti-
nually calling to purchafe fome, books, and to turn
over othcri:, and often hy dipping into publications
are led to purchafe fuch as they had no intention to
buy.
buy. But authors fliould be reminded that there
are many who would not go to private houfes
to look over books when they are not certain io
purchafe, and where if they do purchafe, they
are to take them home in their pockets, or be at
the trouble of lending for them, which is not the
cafe when they purchafe at a bookfelkr's rtiop. And
all authors fliould be fure to give the full allowance
to the trade, or their works can never have a great
fale, a« no bookfeller can reafonably be expe61ed to
promote the fale of a work in which he is abridged of
his ufual profits, and the more libeiality authors ex-
ercife towards the trade, the greater will be their
profits in the end. For it is inconceivable what mif-
chief bookfellers (T^/i and often W// do to authors, as
thoufands of books are yearly written for to Lon^ôn^
that are never fent ; and in thefc cafes many plaulible-
reafons are affigned by them for fuch omiiiionss as,
'* The book is too dear, or it is out of print the ;
author is icarce ever at home; he gives too much,

trouble ; he does not keep his work bound, or fewed ;,
he is gone from his former lodging, and no one
knows where to find him ; the work is not worth
your purchafing fuch a one has wrote much better
;
on the fubjed," &$c. &c. and in fuch cafes, what

:
Vedrefs can an author have for foeflential an injury ?.
I am,
Dear Sir,
Yoursc
;
23S LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
LETTER XXVII.
Books, of all earthly things, my chief delight^,
My exercife by day, and dreams by night
Bifpanioii'd mafters, friends without deceit,.
Who flatter notcompanions ever fweet ;
;
AVith whom I'm always cheerful, from whom rif*-

Improved and better, if not good and wife -j
Grave, faithful counfellors, who all excite,

Inftrudl and ftrengthen to behave aright ;
Admonifh us, when fortune makes her court,
And when lhe*s abfent, foiace and fupport.
Happy the man to whom ye are well known,.
*Tis iiis own fault if ever he's aloue^ Anonymowsu
DEAR FRIEND,
plan \vhich
A LTHOUGH the refult of the-
adopted for reducing the price of books^,
I
as mentioned in my laft, was a vafl increafe of pur-
chafers, yet at the fame time I found a prodigious-
accumulation of my expences which will notappear-
;
ftrange, when I inform you, that I made propor-

tionably large purchafes, fuch as two hundred copies
of one book, three hundred of another, five hundred
of a third, a thoufand of a fourth, two thoufand of
a fifth, nay, fometimes I have purchafed fix thoufand
copies of one book, and at one time I adluallyhad no
lefsthan ten thousand- copies ofWatts's Pfalms,
and the fame number of his Hymns, in my poiTeffion,..
In addition to^thefe, I purchafed very large numbers
of many thoufand different articles, at trade fales of
all forts, as bankrupt fales, fales of fuch as had re-
tired from bufinefs, others caufcd by the death of
bookfeljers, fales to reduce large fl )ck.s, annual fales,
&c. To enable you to form fome idea on the fubje6l,
I mufl: inform you that at one of the above fales, I
have purchafed books to the amount of i;oooL in one
afternoon. Not to mention thofe purchafed of au-
thors, and town and country bookfellers, by private
coatra6l,.&c. to a very confidertible amount. My
expences
txpencc« were alfo exceedingly increafed by the nc-
ceifity I was under in keeping each article in a varity
of different kinds of bindings, to fuit the various
taftes of my cuftomers ; befides paying my bills for
the above, I was always obliged to fine ready money
to pay for libraries and parcels of fecond-hand books,
which after a while poured in upon me from towa
and country. So that I often looked back with afto-
nifliment at my courage (or temerity, if you pleafe)
in purchafing, and my wonderful fuccefs in taking
money fufficient to pay the extenfive demands that
were perpetually made upon me, as there is not ano-
ther inftance of fuccefs fo rapid and conftant under
fuch circumllances. Some indeed there have been,
who, for two or three years, purchafed away very fafl",
but could not perfeverc, as they were unable to fell
with equal rapidity : for no one that has not a quick
ifale can poflibly fucceed with large numbers. For,
fuppoiing that a bookfeller expends loool. in the pur-
chafe of four articles (I have often done that in
only one^ article) and thefe are bought at a quarter
the ufual price, the intercfl of the money is 50U a-
year ;befides which, fome allowance muft be made
for warehoufe-room, infurance from fire, &c. now, ;
granting he might fell a hw of each aiticle every

year, at four times the price he firll paid for them,.
yet if he docs not fell enough to pay the intereft and
other expences of thofe that remain, he is, after all,
on the lofing fide ; which has been the cafe with the
ifiajor part of fuch as have purchafed a large number
of one book ; and I have known many inllances of
bookfellers purchafing articles at a quarter the price,
and felling them at the full price, and yet have not
had two per cent, for their money.
For feveral years together I thought I fliould be
obliged to defifl: from purchafing a large number of
any one article ; for although by not giving any cre-
dit I was enabled to fell Very cheap, yet the heavy
flock of books in flieets often fo dilheartened me, thaf
I more than .once refolved to leave off purchafing all
fuch articles where the number was very large. But,
a torrent
240 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTOFT^
a torrent of bufinefs fuddenly pouring in upon
nic on all lides, I very foon forgot my refointiou
of not making large purchafes, and now find my ac-
count in firmly adhering to that method i and being
iiniverfally known for making large purchafes, moit
of the trade in town and country, and alfo authors of
every defcription, are continually fuiniiliing me with
opportunities. In this branch of trade it is next to
impoflible for me ever to have any formidable rivals,
as it requires an uncommon well as
exertion, as
"very uncommon fuccefs, and that
years to-
for many
gether, to rile to any great degree cf eminence in that
particular line. The fuccefs muit be attained too,
without the aid of 7ion.)elty^ which found to be 1
of very great fervice to me: and iliould any per-

fon begin on my plan, and fucceed extremely
well, he could never fupcrfedc me, as I am iliiL
enlarging my bulinefs every year, and the more
it is .extended the cheiiper I can afford to fell ;
lO that though I may be purfued, 1 cannot be
overtaken, except I fliould (as fome i^thers have
done) be fo infatuated and blinded by profperity, as
to think that the public would continue their fa-
vours, even though the plan of bufincfs was re-
rerfed,
*< Let Lackington remember how he rofe,
" Nor till a his back ou miii who made huTi great.'*'
The author of the fable oi Fire, Water, and:

Fame, concludes very jufily :
QHoth Fire, —
'« For ms you need not fear.—
For, iV.e
Quotli Water, — —
but imoke âiid 1 am there."
" T am ever found
— —
In b(.ggy ^lov/ and fw.impy ground."
« All this,'' quoth F:'P--!e,'' T J.'., approve,
Butthere's a rub you rpn't remove ;
Therefore, my fi'ieu.lc. wharc^:;i b-tide,

!
Stick clofe —
nor ever leave my fide ;
For ne'er cou'd any m,in aUve

Hotiour or Famcy once Icj}^ retri.n'e.**
As the firll king of Bohemia kept his country

fiiocs by him, .to remind him from whence he was
taken,
LIFE OF J. LA.CKINGTON. 245
taken, I have put a motto on the doors of my car-
riage, conllantly to remind me to what I am indebted
for my profperity, v'lTi*
SMALL PROFITS DO GREAT THINGS.

<< May Fortune once be con(}^xnty if The can,
" And fhcw the world fba' loves cne honefl man,'*
And I UfTurc 3''ou, Sir, that reflecting- on the

means by which 1 have been enabled to fiipport a-
carriage, adds not a little to the pleafure of rid^
ing in it, I believe I may> without being deemed
cenforious, alTert, that there are fome who ride in
their carriages, who cannot reflcfl: on the means by
which they were acquired with an equal degree of
fat is fact ion.
If fpendor cliarm not, yet avoid the fco^rn

That treads on lowly flations, think of fome
Afliduous booby mountiniij o'er your head,
And thence with fancy giandenr looking doWn;'
Think of (refleelion's flab 1) the pitying friend.
With flioulder aiiugg'd, and forry. Ttiink thtit tim«
Has golden minutes, if difcreetly feiz'd,
Kiclies and fartie are indnftry'^s reward.
The nimble runner courfes fortune down,
And then he banquets, for fhe feeds the bold.
Dr. Sneyd Davies to F. Cornwallts.
I am,
Dear Friend,
Yours.
LETTER
; ! ;
242 LIFE OF J. LAGKINGTON.
L E T T E R XXXVIIL i
Thofe who would learning's glorious kingdom find,

The dear-bought treafure of the trading mind,
From many dangers mud themfelves acquit,
And more than Scylla and Charytdis meet.
Oh what an ocean muft be voyagM o*er,
!
To gain a profpe(5l of the fhining ftore !
Refilling rocks oppofe th' enquiring foul.

And adverfe waves retard it as they roll.
The little knowledge now which man obtains.
From outward objects and from fenfe he gains
He like a wretched flave muft plod and fweat.
By day muft toil, by night that toil repeat
And yet, at laft, what little fruit he gains,
A beggar's harv.eft glean'd with mighty pains
P0MFRET»
• EAR fHIENI),
IT
has been afked, times hmume-*
rable, how acquired any tolerable degree of know-
I
ledge, fo as to enable me to form any ideas of the
merits or demerits of books ; or how I became fuffi-
eicntly acquainted with the prices that books were
commonly fold for, fo as to be able to buy and fell ;
particularly books in the learned and foreign lan-
guages. Many have thought that from the beginning
I always kept Ihopmen to furnifli me within{lru<5lion5
necefTary to carry on the bufinefs : but you and all
my old friends and acquaintances well know that not
to have been the cafe ; as for the firft thirteen years
after I became a bookfeller, I never had one fhop-
man who knew any thing of the worth of books, or
how to write a finglc page of catalogue properly,
much lefs to compile the whole. I always wrote
them myfelf, fo long as my health would permit ; in-
deed I continued the practice for years after my health
was much impaired by too conftant an application to
that and reading ; and when l was at laft obliged to
give up writing them, I for feveral catalogues ftood
by and dictated to others ; even to the prefent time, I
take
;

Hke fome little part in their compilation ; and as I
ever did, I flill continue to fix the price to every
book that is fold in my fliop,except fuch articles as
are both bought and Ibid again while I am out of
town. I have now many affiilants in my fliop, who
buy, fell, and in fliort tranfad the major part of my
bulinefs.
As to the little knowledge of literature I poiTefs, it
was acquired by dint of application, in the begin-
ning" I attached myfelf very clofely 19 the fludy of
divinity and moral philofophy, and thus became to-
lerably acquainted with all the points controverted
between divines after having read the great cham-
;
pions for Chrilliauity, I next read the works of Toul-

min, Lord Herbert, Tind.il, Chubb, Morgan, Collins
Hammond, VVoolfton, Annet, Mandeville, Shaftef-
bury, D'Argens, Bolingbroke, Williams, Helvetius,
Voltaire, and many other free-thinkers.
If to ohjecSl, fyflem, fcene confin'd,

The fure effe<5l is narrowncfs ot'mind. J. Lancmorne.
I have moll of our Englifli poets, and the

alfo read
beft tranflations of the Greek, Latin, Italian and
French Poets,
What pure d slights poffefs the captive foul

To hear the Mantuan, or Majonian roll,
The ftream of fong fliil fvvelhng on its way,
That keeps by turns each human fpring in play f
What pure delight when Pindar fweeps the lyre,
!
Or the g.iy Anacreon breathes his fire ;
Or courtly Horace wakes Alcaeus lay,

Who ftily laihes while he feems to play.
When, with high Milton's foul he takes his flight
To Stygian horrors, or the realms of light,
Riding on Fancy's boldefl wing t* explore
Regions which mortal eye ne'er pierc'd before.
When moral Pope <he lovely form difplays
Of truth or beauty in his polilh'd lays ;
Or Young, envelop*d with funereal gloom,
Rifes to radiant glories from the tomb ;
Or Thomfon traveifes the changing fields,
To cull each hidden flow'r which nature yields
Or while th' eventful line his thought engage,
Peduc'd from hiflory's religious page,
What
i44 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTOK.
What pleafing tvontler holds him, while the fccnt
AlTumes, fuoceflive, each contracting mien I
Like the proud velfel which the tempeft pliesj

Nowhuman glory feems to reach*the ikies 5
Now plunges in th* abyfs of advcrfe fate,
Or ftruck by juftice, or o'erwhelm'd by hate,
How lie contemns, with generous pride, a race
Whofe baftard morals mark her with difgrace.
For him to life the mimick pencil calls
A new creation round the glowing walls.
Effay on Sensibilitv.
1 have with great pleafure, and, I hope,

alfo read
with fome mofi tranllations of the Greek and
benefit,
Roman authors in profe Hiflory, Voyages, Tra-
;
vels, Natural Hiflory, Biography, &:c.

Survey the globe, each ruder redm explore^
'From reafons faintefl ray to Newton foar;
What fpheres to human blifs îffign'^d
difi-'erent !
What flow gradatiors in the fcale of mind.

Yet mark in each thefe myftic wonders wrought.
Oh mark the fleeplefs energies of thought.
Pleasures of Memory.
At one thne I had a ftrong inclination to leara
French, but as^foon as I was enabled to make out
and abridge title-pages fufficiently to infert them right
^
in my catalogues, I left it oft' for what appeared to

me more pleafing as well as more necefiary purfuits,
rcfledingthat as I began fo late in life, and had pr6-
bably but a very fliort period to live, (and I paid fom^
regard to what Helvetius has allcrted, viz. that '• No
man acquires any new ideas after he is forty-five yeai's
of age.") I had no time to bellow on the attainment 'of
languages.
'< *Tis weak in any man to lavilh pains,
** And rifle and confound his brains.*
1 therefore contented myfelf with reading all tht

tranflations of the clafiics, and inferted the originals
in my catalogues as well as I could ; and when fome-
times I happened to put the Gemti^ve or Dadnfe caUe-
infleadof the Nominative or Accufative^ my cuftomer*
kindly confidered this as a venial fault, which they
readily pardoned, and bought the books notvvith-
ilanding.
As
:

As have indefatigably ufed my bell endeavour^
I
to acquire knowledge, I never thought I had th^'
fmalleil reafon to be afliarned on account of my de-
ficiency, efpecially as I never made pretenfions to
cpudition, or afteded to poflefs what I knew I was
deficient in. *' A bookfeller (fays Mr. Paterfon in
his Joineriana) is in general, a bad judge of every
thii?g —
but his flupidity lliines moft confpicuoully ia
that particular branch of knowledge by which he is
to get his bread." Dr. Young's coupler, you will
therefore think equally applicable to maay others as
well as myfelf
Unlearned men of books affume the care,
As eunuchs are the guardians of the fair.
Love of Fame*
I had almoft forgot to inform you, that I have alfo

read moft of our heft plays, and am fo fond of the
Theatre, that in the wînter feafon 1 have often beem
at IXrury-lane or Covent-garden four or five evenings
m a week.
There cultivate my mind

With the foft thrillings of the tragic muf«,
Divine Melpomen©, fweet pity's nurfe,
(^leen of the {lately ftep,- and flowing pall* ^
Now let Monimia mourn witU^ftreaming eyes^
, Her joys incefluous, and polluted love : .
*
Now
let foft Juliet ill the gaping ômb .
Print the laft ki"fs on her true Komeo*s lip?,.

His lips yet reeking from the deadly ^raughi.
Or Jaffier kneel for one forgiving look.
Nor feldom let the Moor on Defdemona
Pour the mifguided threats of jealous rage.
By foft degrees the manly torrent fteals:
From my fwoirn eyes, and ac a brother's Woe
My big heart melts in fympathifing tears.
What are the fplendours of the gaudy couit,
ItsYmfel trappingSj^'and its pageant pomps *
To me far happier feemsthe banilh'd Lord,
Amid Siberia's unrejoieing wilds. War.tov^v
. Another great fource of amufcment as well r&

knowledge I have met with, in reading almoft all the
beil novels ; (it was the opinion of M. Turgôt» thit
•'
more grand moral trut-hs have been promulgated
M by
;

by novel writers, than any other clafs of men") by
tho, bejiy I mean thofe written by Cervantes, Field-
hig, Smollet, Richardfon, Mifs Biirney, Vcltaire,
JVlartnontel, Sterne, Le Sage, Goldfmith, Macken-
"zie, Dr. Moor, Green, C, Srnith, Gunning, Lee,
Iêeyes, Lennox, RadclifF, and fome others, In*^
deed, 1 have often thought with Fielding, that fome
of thofe publications have given us a more genuine
hjftory of Man, in what are called Romances, than
isTometimes to be found under the more refpedlable
titles of Hiilory, Biography, &;c. I have indeed
dipped into every thing as Dr. Armflrong advifes.

Toy with your books, and as the various fits
Of humour feize you, from philofophy
To fable (hift from ferious Antonine
;
To Rabelais* ravings, and from profe to fong 5
While reading but iX) longer read ;

pleal'eS,
'
And read alou<l refounding Homer's fliains,
And wield the thunder of Demofthenes
The cheft fo exercifed, improves its ftrength.
And quick vibrations thro' the bowels driv^p
The retllefs blood, which in una(5live days
Would loiter elfe, through unelaftic tubes.
Deem it not trifling, while I recommend
Wh^t pofture fuits to (land and fit by turns,
;
As nature prompts, is beft, but o'er your leave?

To lean for ever, cramps the vital parts,
And robs the fine machinery of its play.
Art of Preserving Healt«.
In order to obtain fome idea's in Aftronomy, Geo-
graphy, Pneumatics, &c. I attended a
Ele(5lricity,
Itw lectures given by the
late eminent Mr. Fergufon,
the prefent very ingenious Mr. Walker, and others
and for fome time feveral gentlemen fpent two or
three evenings in a week at my houfc, for the pur-
pofe of improverqent in fcience. At thefe meetings
wê made the beft ufc of our time with globes, tele-
fcopes, microfcopes, electrical machines, air pumps,
air guns, « good bottle of ivwej and oiber philofophical
inftruments
i— —
He a chofen few around hirn fees
V^^hofe worth attaches, and whofe manners pleafe,
'Towhom he gives, from whom receives again,
Augmejited pleafure, and diminilh'd pain.
Essay on Sensibiiîty.
The
:
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTO>J. 247

The mentionof which revives in my memory the
iofs 1 by the premature death of a worthy
fa ftained
philofophical friend, whom you have met, when you
occaiionally did us the honour of making one' of the
evening party, and beneating us by your inftruiStions.
I could fay much in his praife, but Hill forbear, as
another friend, who was alfo one of this (I may truly
fay) rational ajjemhly^ has compofed what I think a jufl
character of him, free from that fulfome panegyric
which too
_ often degrades thofe it is meant to cele-
^ «_>
brare, and conveys to ail who knew the parties, the

idea of having been deiigned as a burlefque inllead
of an encomium ; howCver, as you may not have itcw
it (though in print) and it will engrofs but a very
little of yoi^r time to perufc, I (hall here beg leav©
to infert it
** With what furprife polarity fhnll fee

<< A panegyric nenn'd without a fee !"
"On Sunday, May 24, ?789, died at hishoufevin

*' Worftiip flreet^ Mooifields, aged 50, Mr, Ralph
" Tinley one who had not dignity of birth or ele-
:
** Viited rank in life to boall: of, but who poffefTed

*' what is far fuperior to either, a folid underlland*
'* ing, amiable manners, a due fenfe of religion,
and
* an induilrious difpolition. Inftead of riches, Pro-
*' videncc blelfed him with a good ihare
of heahh,
*' and a mind contented with an humble
lituation*
*' Thofe hours which he could fpare
from a proper
" attention to the duties of a hulband and a father,
** and manual labour as a (lioemaker,
were incellant-
*' ly employed in the improvement of
his mind in va-
** rious branches of fcience in many of which he
;
*' attained a proficiency, totally diveiied

of that affeda-
**
tion of fuperiority which little minds alTume. Thefe
** qîalities rendered him refpeded
by all who knew
' him, as an intelligent man, and a mofl agreeable
*• companion.
Among other acquifitions, En tomo^
** LOGY was> Ivis peculiar delight. Thus far the
** pr»fpc£t i? pleafing. It is a painful tafk to add,.
M^2 ^'
tlur
24B LIFE OF J, LACKINGTON.
*' that this amiable perfon fell a vi6tim to an unhappy
*' error in taking a medicine. The evening previous
*' to his deceafe he fpent in a philofophical fociety, of
** which he had many years been member, and where
a
*' his attendance had* been conftant; but finding him-
'* felf indifpcfcd, he in the morning early had re-
*' eourfe to a phial of antimonial wine, which had
*' long been in his poflbilion, and of which only a
** fmall part remained. This, mofl unfortunately, he
*' fwallowed ; and it having, by long maceration, ac-
** quired an extraordinary degree of llrength, and
•' being rendered turbid by mixing with the metallic
*' particles, it produced theeited of a violeflt poifon,
*' occaiioning almofl inilantaneous death. May his
** fate prove a warning to others, to be careful hovV
** they venture to confide in their own judgment in
** fo intricate a fcience as medicine ! —
His valuable
•* cabinet of infe^ls, both foreign and domeftic, fup-
ii
pofed to be one of the completell (of a private col-
ledion) in the kingdom, all fcicntifically arranged
with peculiar neatnefs, and in the finefl prcferva-
tion, will (if it falls into proper hands,) remain a
<»
monument of his knowledge and application.*^
Honour and (hame from no condition rife ;
<
A6\ weU your part, there all the honour lies.

Fortune in menhave fome fmall difference made,
One flaunts in rags, one flutters in brocade ;
The cobler apron'd, and the parfon gown'd,

The friar ho«ded, and the monarch crown'd,
What differ more (you cry) than crown and cowl ?
I'll tell you friend —a wife man and a fool.
You'll find, if once the monarch a6ts the monk,
Or, cobler-like, the parfon will be drunk ;
Wôrth makts the man, and want of it the fellow,
The refl is all but leather or prunella. . Poi'e.
Mythirft wâs, and flill is fo great for literature,

that I could almoft fubferibe to the opinions of He*
rillus the philofopher, who placed in learning the fo-
vereign good', and maintained that it was alone fuffi-
cient to make us wife and happy; others have faid
that *' Learning is the mother of all virtue, and that
vice 18 produced from ignorance,'* Although that is
not
. ;
LIFROF J. LACKINGTON. 21^

njt ftndl)r true, yet I cannot help regretting the 'dif-
advantages I labour under by having been deprived
of the benelits af an early education, as it is a lofir
that can fcarcely be repaired, in any fituation* How
nauch more difficult then was it for me to attain any
degree of proficiency^ when involved in the concern*
©f a large bufinefs ?
Without a genius, learning foars in vain,. "I
And genius fniks ag'tiin;

vvithcût learning, v
Their force united, crowns the fpnglicly reign. J
Elphinstone's Horace.
The inilrudions that I received from men and book*

were often like the feeds fown among thorns, the
cares of the world choaked them :
My lieaJ was full of houfshold care,

And neceffary duM affairs. Lord Ly t t e i» t ow-
So that although I underftand a little of many branches

©f literature, yet my knowledge is, after all, I freely
confefs, but fuperficial ; which indeed I need not
•have told you. .
For me, on this life's fea which we explore,

1 llrive to furmfh out a and oar.
Ikiff
To regulate defire, the tem pert «heck.
And, if I can, fave reafon from a wreck,
BoiLEAU to J — K— , Efq.
As Montaigne faid two hundred years ago, I may

fay now, *' I have a fmatch of evsery thing, and no-
*' thing thoroughly a-la-mode de Francoife. As to
*' my natural parts,
I often find them to bow under
" th-e burden ; my fancy and judgment do but grope
** in the dark, daggering, tripping,
and flumbling
*' and when I have gone as far as f can, I am by no
*' means fatisfied ; I fee more land flill before me,
*^ but fo wrapped up in clouds,
that my dim light
*' cannot diftinguiih
what it is." However, fuper-
ficial as my knowledge is, it affords me an endlefs
fource of plcafu re.
And books are ftill my highefl joy.
Thefe eadieft pleafe, and Uteft cloy. SoameJenyns.
M3 b
It has alfo been of very great ufe to to me in bufincfs,
enabling me to put a value on thoufands of articles,
betore 1 knew what fiich books were commonly Tola
at : true I was fometimes miflc.kcn, and have fold
'tis'
a very great number of different articles much lower

than I cughr, even on my own plan of felling very
cheap, yet that never gave me the fmalleft concern ;
but if I difcovered that 1 had (as fcmetimes was th^
cafe) fold any articles too dear, it gave me much un-
eafinefs for whether I had any other motives I vvill
;
leave to fuch as aie acquainted with me to determine ;

but I reafoned thus if I fell a book too dear, I per-
;
Iraps lofe that cuftomer and his friends for ever but ;
if I fell articles conliderably under their real va-t

lue, the purchafer will come again and recommend
my fhop to his acquaintances ; lo that from the prin-
cipks of felf-inteieil I would fell cheap. I always
was inclined to realon in this manner, and in the year
1 ; 83 a \ ery trifling circumftance operated much upon
hiy mind, and fully convinced me my judgment wat

right on that head. Mrs. Lackington had bought a
piece of linen to make n>e fome fliirts ; when the li*
nen-draper's man brought it into my fliop, three
ladies were present, and on feeing the cloth opened,
alked Mrs, L. what it coll per yard on being tolcJ^ :
the price, they all faid it was very cheap, and each
lady went and purchafcd the fame quantity, to make
hu (bands ; thofe pieces were again dif<^
{[utt$ for their
played to their acquaintance*^, fb that the linen-draper
got a deal of cuilom from that very circumflance j
and I refolved to do like wife. Trivial as this anec-
dote may appear, you will pardon me for introducing
It, when you refled that it was produ6live of very
benficial ccnfcquences, and that many greater effe6^s

have arifen from We are even told
as trivial caufes.
that Sir Ifaac Newton would probably never have
flu died the fyflem of gravitation had he not been un-
der an apple tree, when fome of the fruit loofened
from the branches and fell to the earth. It was the
queHion of a fimple gardener concerning a pump,
that led Galileo to fludy and difcover the weight of
the air. To the tones of a Welch harp, are we in>
d^bted
— :
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTOISr. 25-1
dcbted for the bard of Gray ; and Gibbon formed

the dciign of that truly great work, his Hiftory of
the Decline of the Roman Empire, while viewing
the ruins of the Capitol,
LuU'd the countlefs chambers of the brain.

ill
Our thoughts are linlt'dby many a hidden cfiaiti;

Awake but one, and lo> what myriads rife !
Each ftamps its image as the other flies.

Rogers's (Banker) Pleafur^s of Memory;*^
Dear Friend^
Yours*
'
giLiJSJ.
LETTER XXXIX.
——• Honeft Enjiifhmen, who never were abroad^
Like England only, an<t its tafte applaud.
Strife ftill fubftfts, which yields the better gout;
Books or the world, the many or tne few :
True tafte to me is by this touchftone known,
» h^t's always beft that's neareft to my owh,
Man of Taste.
In Polemicks deeply fkill'd

Aflert the Rights ofMan with Paine, or Kings
With Burke, to States prefcribe or peace or war ;
Pefe^t the Auftrian, leinftate the Pok,
And form Republics tho' not' worth a groat.
Pr. Walsh*
©E'AR FRIEND,
i T has been long* fincc remarked,

that a perfon may be well acquainted with books, or
in other words, may be a very learned man, and yet
remain almort totally ignorant of men and manners,
as Mallet remarks of a faanous divine
M 4. While
^Sa LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
While Bently, long to wrangling fchools confinM;
And but by books acquainted with mankind,
Bares, in the fuhiefs of the pedant's pride, ^
' ' " Tho* no judge decide.
Verbal Critic ISM.
Hence many fine chimerical fyftems of law, ge-

vernment, &c, have been fpun out of the prolific
brains of the learned, which have only ferved to
amufe others as learned and as unacquainted with
rtiankind as the authors, and have frequently pro-
duced a number of remarks, replies, obfervations^
fevere (not to fay fcurrilous) criticifins, and new
fyflems and hypothefes ; thefc again gave birth to
ircflx remarks, rejoinders, &c. ad {înfnitem)
On government, Sir, Ihave read all that fmart is,

From Hobbes to the — fam'd differtation on parties— <
And find that not one of them all worth a —

f t is.
Which no-body can deny.

Norfolk Miscellany.
Thefe learned men, after tiring themftlves and the

public, have gene^rallyleft them jufl as wife oit the
fubje6l as when they began ; nay often
From the fame hand how various is the page ;

What civil war their brother pamphlets rage \
Trails battle tra<5ls, felf-contradi<5tions glare. Younc.
The reading and ftudying of Hiftory, Voyages,

Travels, &c. will no doubt contribute much to that
ufeful kind of knowledge, but will not alone be fuffi-
cient; in order to become a proficient, *' man, know
THY SELF !" was a precept of the ancient philofo--
phers. But I canfcarce think it pofiible for any man
to be well acquainted with himfelf, without his pof-
feffing a tolerable degree of knowledge of the reil of
mankind.
«' — His
" And the Creator's
favorite ftudy is
brighteft
manhndj
image —mind!**
In the former part of my life I faw much of what
Is Ciilkd lo'w lift\
Who
LIFE OF J.
LACKINGTdNT. ^Sl
Who often feel
Jpys more Jiiftlyfounded, and more firm

' Thau the light pleafures of fuperior life.
Rickman's Fallen Cottage.
And became acquainted with the Culloms, manners^

difpofitions, prejudices, &c. of the labouring part,
of the community, in viirious cities, towns, and"
villages;.
I Ibv^ to fee
How hardly fome their frugal morfel earn,
It gives my own a zefl> andferves to damp
The longing appetite of dilconterit. Hcddis.
For years paft, I have fpent fome of my leifure^
hours among that clafs of people who are called opu-
lent or genteel tradefmen nor have I been totally
;
excluded from higher circles.

A flow of good fpirits I've feen with a fmile
To worth make
a (hallow pretence ;
And the chat of goo<l breeding with eafe, for a while>
May pafs for good nature and fenfe. -
W", Whitehead.
Themiddle ftation of life (fays Hume) is themoft^
favourable to the acquiring of wifdom and ability, as
.well as virtue, and a man fo fortunate has a better
chance of attaining a knowledge both of men and
things, than thofe of a more elevated ftation. He
enters with more familiarity into human life ; every
thing appears in its naturaL-colours before him he ;
has more leifure to form obfervations, and has befides

the motive of ambition to pufh him on in his attain-
ments, being certain that he can never rife to any
diftin(îon, or eminence in the world, without his
.
own induftry.
** He fuitst J nature's reign th* enquiring eye,
" Skiird all her foft gradation to defcry :
«* From matter -s modes, through inftind's narrow fway,
<* To reafon's gradual, but -unbounded way,
** Thefe hold ten tlioufand wonders to liis fight,
"Which prompt enquiry, and infpire delight ;
<* Relations, properties, proportions, ends,
" Burft into light as the refeareh extends,
** Until unnumberM fparks around
him fall
•* From the great fource of light, and life, and ail"
254 LiTfe OF J. LACKINGTON.'
But among all the fchools where the knowieJge of
mankind is to be acquired, I know of none equal to
that of a hookfelkr^s Jhop, A bookfeller Who has any
tafte in literature, may in Ibme meafure be faid to
feed his mind as cooks and butchers wives get fat by
the fmell of meat. If the mafter is of an inquifitive
and communicative turn, and is in a confidcrable
line of bufinefs, his fhop will then be a place of re-
fort for men, women, and children, of various na-
tions, and of more various capacities, difpofitions,
&c.
** VVho there but wilhes to pi oloilg his flay,
Antlonthofe caftscaft a iing'ring look:
**
" For who to thoughtless ignorance a prey

" Negledls to hold fhort dalliance with a book.
**Reports attra6lihe lawyer's parting eyes,
" Novels Lord Fopling and Sir Plume require,
" For longs and plays the voice of beauty cries^
" And fenfe and nature Grandifon defire." .
To adduce a few inftances by way of illuftration :

—Here you may find an old ba^d enquiring for,
** The Countefs of Huntingdon's Hymn-book;" an
old worn-out rake, for '' Harris's Liil of Covent-

garden Ladies;" fimple Simon^ for "The Art of
writing Love-letters ' and Dolly for a Dream-book,
;
or a book about Moles the lady of true tafte and de-

;
Jicacy wants Louifa Matthews and my lady's maid^

;
**
Ovid's Art of Love ;" a doubting Chriftian, calls
for " The Crurpbs of Comfort;" and a practical
Jntino/maîy (or "Eton's Honey-comb of Freejuftifi-
cation ;" the pious Churchnxjomany for " The Week's
Preparation ;" and the Atheift^ for " Hammond's
Letter to Dr. Prleftky, Toulmin's Eternity of the
World, and Hume's Dialogues on Natural Religion ;
the Mathematician^ for " Sanderfon's Fluxions ;" and
\S\Q Beau, ior "The Toilet of Flora;" the Cour^
tier, for " Machiavel's Prince," or
" Burke on the
Revolution in France;" and a Republican, for
" Paine's Rights of Man ;" the rap-room Politician^
wants " The Hiftory of Wat Tyler," or of " The
Fifherman of Naples ;" and an old Chelfea Penjioner,
calls for " The Hiftory of the Wars, of glorious
Queen
LrPE OF J* EACKINGTON. 255
Qu-een Anne the Critic calls for " Bayle's Hiftori-
;'*
cal Di6lionary— Blair's Lectures —

^Johnfon's Lives of
the Poets, and the laft month's Reviews;" and my
Barher wants '• The SdTion Paper," or '' The Trial
of John the Painter;" the Freethinker afka for
Hume's RlTays," and the young Student^ for ** Le-
l^nd's View of DeilHcal Writers ;" the Tortttne-teller
wants " Sibley's Tianflation of Plaeidus De Titus,'*
or " Sanderfon's Secret of Palmiftry :" and the
*Srf/)//V wants " Cornelius Agrippa's Vanity of the
Arts and Sciences i" an old hardened Jinner^ w^rnis

** Bunyan^s Good News for the vileft of Men ;" and
a moral Chrifiian wants " The Whole Duty of Man ;^'

the Roman Catholic wants *' The Lives of the Saints;"
the Protejiant Book of Martyrs;" one
'* Fox's
afks for " An Account of Animal Magnetifm;'*

another for " The Vidorius Philofopher's Stone
difcovered;" one wants '' The Death of Abel ;'*
another defires to have ** The Spanidi Rogue ;" one
wants an " Ecclefiailical Hiftory ;" another, "The
Tyburn Chronicle;" one choofes '^ Johnfon's
Lives of tbe Highwaymen :" another " Gibbons's
Lives of pious Women ;" Mifs W- h calls for
*'
Euclid in Greek and a young dinjine for " Juliet
;
Grenville, a novel ;" and the philofophet dips into

books on every fubje6t.
But it would be an endle's tafk to fet down the va-
rious and oppofite articles that are condantly called*
for in my fhop. To talk to thefe different purfuers >
after happmefs, or amufement^ has given me mucb^^

pleafure, and afforded me fome knowledge of man-
kind, and alfo of books.
Go, read mankind ; he fairly claims the prize,

Who in £hat fchool finds leifure to be wife.
Murphy.
To hear the debates that frequently occur between
the different purchafes is a 6ne amufement ; fo that
1 have fometimes compared my fliop to a ffage. And
I affure you that a variety of chara6ters, flrongly
marked, conftantly made their appearance*
M 6 Yt
;
a56 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

Ye who pulh'd on by noble ardour aim ^
In focial life to gain immortal fame,

Obferve the various paffions of mankind.
General, peculiar, fmgle and combined ;
How youth from manhood differ in its views.

And how old age ftiU other paths purfues j
How zeal in Prifcus nothing more than heats.
In Codex burns, and ruins all it meets
How freedom now a lovely face fhall wear,
Kow fhock us in the likenefs of a bear ;
How jealoufy in fome refemblance hate, ,
In others feems but love grown delicate ;
How modefty is often pride refin'd.

And virtue but the canker of the mind ;
How love of riches, grandeur, life, and fame,
Wear diff rent ihapes, and yet are ftill the fame.
Essay ON Conversation^
Would my health permit my conftant attendance^
I fhould prefer it to every thing in life (reading ex-
cepted) and you may recolle6l for fome years I
fought no other amufement whatever. It was at a
bookfeller's fliop at Athens, that Zeno, after his great
lofs by fliipwreck, found confolation in reading Xe-
nophon there he foon forgot his lofs Where (fays
: :
be to the bookfeller) do thefe fort of men live ? The

philofopher Crates was at the door, whom Zeno fol-
lowed, and from that hour became his difciple.
Having been long habituated to make remarks on
whatever I faw or heard, is another reafon why I
have fucceeded fo well in my bulincfs. I have for the
laft feven years fucceflively told my acquaintance be-
fore the year began, how much money I fliould take
in the courfe of it, without once failing of taking the
fum mentioned. I formed my judgment by obferving
what kind of ftock in trade I had in hand, and by
confidering how that ftock was adapted to the different
taftes and purfuits of the times ; in doing this I was
obliged to be pretty well informed of the ftate of
politics in Europe, as I have always found that bcok^
felling is much affe6Ved by the political ftate of affairs*
For as mankind are in fearch of anjufement, they of-
ten embrace the firft that offers. If there is any thing
in the newfpapers of confequrnce, that draws many
to the coft'ec»houfe, where they chat away the even-
ings*
in^, inftead of vititing the fliops of bookfellers (as
they ought to do no doubt) or leading at home. The
beft time for bookfelling, is when there is no kind
of news iUrring th^n many of thefe who for months
;
would have done nothing but talk of war or peace,

revolutions, and counter-revolutions,. &c, &:c. for
want of other amufement, will have recourfe to
books ; fo that I have often experienced that the re-
port of a war, or the trial of a great man, or indeed
any fubje6l that attrads the public attention, has
been fome hundreds of pounds out of my pocket in a
few weeks.
Before I conclude this letter, I cannot help ob«'
ferving, that the fale of books in general has in*
creafed prodigioufly within the lafl iwenty years.'
According to the bell eftimation I have been able to
make, I fuppofe that more than four times the num-
ber of books are fold now than were fold twenty
years fince. The poorer fort of farmers,, and even the
poor country people in generalywho before that period
fpent their winter evenings in relating iluries of
witches, ^ ghoils^ hobgoblins, &:c. now fliorten the
winter nights by hearing their fons and daughters
read tales, romances, &c. and on entering their houfes,
you may fee Tom Jones, Roderic Random,, and
other entertaining books, ftuck up on their bacon*
racks,, &c. If John goes to. town with a load of hay,,
he is charged to be fure not to forget to-bringh(»me
** i-êregrine pickle's Ad vent ur'CS ;'^ and when Dolly
is fent to market to fell her ^%gs^ fhe is commillioned

to purchafc " The Hillory of Pamela Andrews.'' In
fhort all. ranks and degrees now read. But the moft
rapid increafe of the fale of books have been lince the
termination of the late war.
A number of book-clubs are alfo formed in every
part of England, where each member fubfcribes a
certain fum quarcerly to purchafe books : in fome of
thefe clubs the books ailter they have been read by all
the fubfcribers, are fold among, them to the higheft
bidders, and the money produced by fuch fale, is ex-
pended in freflipurchafes, by which prudent and ju-
dicious mode, each member has it in his power to
become
: ^
258 LITE OF J. LACEIWGTOm

bee<>me poffjlTed of, the work of any particular antlior
he may judge deferving a %-cri-^r de.vFce of atten-
tion and the menVbers at larg; njoy ;hc advantage
; •
ef a continual fucccilion of dinerent pubHL?:ti n , in-

ftead-of bein^ rcftrided to a repeated pevinalof
the fame authors which inuft have been the cafe
;
with many, if ib rational a plan had not been adopted.

The Sttnday Schools are fpreading very fail lii ^moft^
parts of England.
Millions condemn'd, by earl iefl error taught,

To live without the privilsge of thought* Merry..-
which will accelerate the diffufion' of knowledge

among the lower claifes of the community, and in a-
very few years exceedingly increafe the fale of books.
—Here permit me earuellly to call on every ho n eft
bookfeller (I truft my call will not be in vain) as
well as on every friend to the extenfion of knowledge^
to unite {as you I am confident will) in a hearty.
—Amen. ,
Perifh the illiberal thouglit which would debafe

The native genius of the loiuer race !
' /
*
Peuth the proud philofophy, which fought
To rob them of the pow'rs of equal thought.
Mrs. H, Moore.
Let fuch as doubt, whether the enlightening of the

tinderrtandings of the lower orders of fociety makes
them happier, or be of any utility to a ftate, read
the following lines (particularly the laft twelve) by
Dr. Goldfmith, taken from his Traveller
Thefe are the charms to barren flates aflign'd,

Their wants are few, their wifhes all confin'd ;
Yet let them only fhare the praifes due,

If few their, wants, their pleafures are but few ;
Since every want that fl'mulates the breafl,
Becomes a fource of pleafure when redreft.
Hence from fuch lands each pleahng fcience fiies^
That firft excites dehre, and then fupphes.
Unknown to them, when fenfual pleafures cloy,
To fill the languid paufe with finer joy j
Unknown thofe powers that raife the foul to flame.

Catch every nerve, and vibrates thro* the frame ;
Tlieir
; :

Their level life is but a mouici'ring fire,
Nor quench'd by want, norfann'dby ^longdefire i
Unfit for raptures, or if raptures cheer.

On fome htgh feftival once a year,
In mikl excefs tlie vulgar breaft takes fire,.
^Till buried in debauch, the blifs expire.
But not their joys alone thus coarfely flow,

Their morals, like their ple^'fores, are but low ^
For, as refincnnent ftops, from fire to fon,
Unaltered, uniraprov'd, their manners lun ;
And love's and friendfhip's finely pointed darr
Fall blunted from each iiulurated heart
Some flerner virtues o'er the mountain's breaf^.
May fit like falcons low'ring on the nefl,
But all the gentler morals, fuch as play
Thro* life's more cultivated w alks, and charm our way ;,
Thefe, far difpersM, on tim'rous pinions fly,

To fport and flutter in the kinkier fky.
I muft beg leave quote a pafTage from the
alfo to
Abbe Rochan's Voyage Madagafcar and the Eaft
to
Indies, tranilated from the French by Jofeph Trapp,
A. M. 8vo. page 3r.
'* The improvement of reafon has on the happinefs
of man an influence, which the heart of the mofl fubtle

fophifter cannot invalidate. From that only period
knowledge is fufceptible of increafe and the amelior-
;
ation and happinefs of a man has no other fcalc of

proportion than that very knowledge for can there;
be a fyftem more dangerous, more falfe, than that

which would be founded on an oppoiite principle,'*
But to fliew you the abfurdity and inconfiftency of
Inankind, 1 muft inform you, that a fmall book, ia
the French language, was piiblirtied at the Hague in
1792, entitled, L'Homme Bon, i. e. The Benevo-
lent Man.
In this work the author literally curfes all the arts
and improvements in civil fociety ; reprefents the
purfuits of fcience,. and the employment of all the
noble faculties of man, as tlve means of plunging us
into deeper mifery, than can be known to unculvated
favages who, according to him, are the only beings
;
that are happy, and are worthy to inhabit the earth.

He concludes his view of human life with this gloomy
exprellion
i6o LIFE OF J, LACKINGTONT.
expreffion :
"
Jf the mifery of our fatal condition
were duly it would not be necefla-ry to menace
felt,
us with everlafting fire. —

This world is a hell !" See
Monthly Re<vtefw Englargedy vol. ix. paê ^47, &c.
Prior feems to have been partly of the fame^ mind
when he wrote the following lines:
. If >v'e fee right, we fee our woes,-

Then what avails us to have eyes^ *
'
From ignorance our comfort flows.
The only wretched are the wife.
I do notrecolle<Slthe author of the following^ lijic?,,

t)Ut tfiey plcafe. me much better :
Hail, Knowledge \ gift of Heaven ! I. cried,^

Ev*nallthe of Heaven befide,
gifts
Compar'd to thee, how Itiw !
The bleflings of the earth and air
The beaf^s of fold and forefl ihare,.
But godlike beings know. Knowledge an Odb.
Thefollowing fhort pafTage from the firfl: volume
of Man as he Is, is not fo very far from th«.-
truth, as the French author;
Swoh is the eonditicnof human liffe,
Without certain refle(5lions,.man is an idiot

With them, toooften a wretch.
It is worth remarking that the introducing hiftories^,
romances, flories^ poems, &c. into fchoi^ Is, has been
a very great means of difFuiing a general taile for
reading among all ranks of people. While in fchools,
the children only read the Bible, (which was the cafe
in many fchools a fiew year ago) children then did
not make fo early a progrefs in reading as they have
fince they have been pleafed and entertained, as well
as inf^ru6led ; -^nd this re iifli for books, in many,. will
laft as long as life*
I am alfo informed that literature is making a fliU
more rapid progrefs in Germany^ and that there are
at this time, feven thoufand living authors in.that.
country, and that every body reads.
At nature's birth, Oh had the power divine-
!
Commanded the moral fun to fhine,

BeamM on the mind all reafon's influence bright.
And the full day of intelkaual light,
Then
Then the free foul, on truth's drong pinion born,
Had never languilh'd in this fhade forlorn.
J.
Lanc*iorne,
The great rife of paper falls heavy on bookfellers,

particularly publifliers : it will in fome degree retard
the progrefs of literature, by preventing the publica*
tion of many works, that, but for the great price of
paper, would have appeared. All new publications
are greatly advanced in price, which muft partly
prevent the circulation,
Churchill was miftaken when he wrote the follow-
ing lines :
No ftatefman e'er will find it worth his pains

To tux our labours atui oKeife our bmn%,
lîOHTi a Poem*
The high price of inferior papers, ufcd by grocers,

cheefemongcrs, chandlers, &c. Sec* have already
caufed many thoufand volumes to be deftroyed, that
othcrwife would have been preferved, and fold at a
low price. The old long-winded folio divines are
unmercifully facrificed, as are many of the Greek and
Latin fathers, faints, fchoolmen, phyficians, &c* &c.,
I am>
Dear Friend,,
Yourt.
>63 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
L E T T E R XL.
mufe with generous ardour try
Firft let the .
To chafe the mift from dark opinion's eye :

Nor mean we hear to blame that father's care,
Who guards from learned wives hts booby heir }
Since oft that heir with prudence has been knovvi"^,
To dread a^ genius that tranfcends his own :
The wife tiiemfelves lliould with difcretion choofe^
Since lettered nymphs their knowlege may abufo,
And hulbands oft experience to their coil
The pruOent houfewife in the fcholar loft :
But thofe incur deferv'd contempt, Avho prize

Their own high talents, and their fex defpife,..
With haughty rpein each focial blifs defeat.
And fully all thei-r learning with conceit :.
X)f fuch the parent juftly warns his fon,
And fTich the mufe herfelf will bid him Ihun*,
But lives there one, whofe unalfuming mindj
Tho' grac'd by nature,^ and by art refin'd,
Plea^*d with dome{îc excellence, can fpare
Some hours from ftudious eafe to foc.iwl caret
And with her pen that time alone employs,
Which others wafte in vifits, cavds,,and noife ;-
From affectation free, tho* deeply read,
?'*
<< With wit well naturM, and with books well bred
With fuch (and fuch there are) each happy day
Muft fly improving, and improvd away ;
Inconftancy mvght fix and fettle there.
And wifdqm's voice approve the chofen fair.
J.
Puncom»e's Feminead*
DEAR FRIEND,
Jt Have been informed, that when

circulating libraries were firft opened, the bookfellers
were much alarmed, and their rapid increafe added
to their fears, had lei them to think that the fale of
books would be much diminiftied by fuch libraries.
But experience has proved that the fale of books, fo-
far from being diminiflied by them, has bean
greatly
promoted, as from thofe repofitories, many thoufand
families have been cheaply fup plied with books,
by
which th£ tafte; of reading has become much more
every
£eiieral, and thoufands of bc>oks are purchafcd
* year^.
;
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 36}

year, by fuch as have borrowed them at thofe
firft
libraries, and after reading, approving of them, be-

come purchafers.
Circulating librares have alfo greatly contributed
towards the amufement and cultivation of the other
fex : by far the greatefl part, of ladies have now a
tafte for books*
«< »- Learning, once the nnan's exclufive pride,.

<* Seems verging faft towards the female fide.''
It is true, that I do not, with MifsM^Wolftonecraft^

** earneiHy confounded
wifli to fee the ditlindtion of fex
in focicty,'* not even with her exception, " unlefa
where love animates the behaviour. *' I differ widely,
however, from thofe gentlemen, who would prevent
the ladies from acquiring a tafle for books; and as yet
I have never feen any folid reafon advanced, why
ladies fliouldnot polirti their undcrltandings, and
render thcmfelvcs fit companions for men of fenfe*
Long o'er rhe world did Prejudice maintain,
By founds like thefe, her undifputed reign ;
<* Women 1 (fhe ciy'd) to thee, indulgent heav*a

'Has all the charms of outward beauty given ;
Be thine the boaft, unrival'd, to enflave
The great, the wife, the witty, and the brave ;
Deck'd with the Paphian rofe's damafk glow,
And the vale lily's vegetable fnowj
Be thine, to move majeftic in the dance,
To roll the eye, and aim the tender glance
Or touch the firings, and breathy the melting fongj.
Content to emulate that airy throng,
Who to the fun their painted plumes îfplay,
And gaily glitter on the hawthorn fpray ;
Or wildly warble in the beechen grove,
Carelefs of ought but mufic, joy, and love.
Female Genius.
I have, indeed, often
thought that one great reafon,
why fome gentlemen fpend all their leifure hours
abroad, is the want of rational companions at homc^
for if a gentleman happens to marry a fine lady, as
juflly painted by Mifs Wolltonecraft, or the fquare
elbow family drudge, as drawn to the life by the
fame Uand, I inuftconfefs that I fee no great induce-
ment he can have tp defire the company of his wife,
as
264 LIFS OF J. LACKINGTON.
SLS file fcarce can be calkd a rational companion, or
one fit to be entrufted with the education of her
children. , ^
*' Hence
(fays one) coldnefs^ indifftretice and cort-
tempt fucceed to the tenderefl endearments —
Hence w«
are too often brought to defpife whom, but now we
doated upon, and fondly folicited with the mod paf-
fionate courtfliip- Unhappy injured woman I The
—
obje6l6four loofer wifhes The idol of a month^
perhaps but of a day ; who wert born to be the fulace
-of our whole lives.'*
Even RoulTeau is obliged to acknowledge that it
*' is a melancholy thing for
a father of a family,,
who is fond of home, to be obliged to be always
wrapt upin himfelf, and to have nobody about him
to whom
he can impart his fentiraems.*' Zimmer-
man, by having a more exalted opinion of the fex,
has drawn a fine pi6i:ure of domeftic happinefs.
" Of what value are all the babblings and vai»
boaftings of fociety to that domeflic felicity which we
experience in the company and converfation of an
amiable woman, whofe charms awaken all the dor-
mant faculties of the foul, and infpire the mind with
finer energies than all our own exertions could attain ;
who in the e^fecytioa of our enterprizes prompts us by
her affiflance, and encourages us by her approbiation^,
to furmount every difficulty : who imprefTcs us with-
the greatnefs of her ideas, and the fublimity of her
fentiments who weighs and examines with judicious
;,
penetratioa our thoughts, our actions, ôur whole

charader; \yho obfcrves all our foibles, warns us^
with fincerity of their confequences, and reforms us-
with gentlenefs and ^fledion ; who, by a tender com-
munication of all her thoufc^hts and obfervations, con-
veys new inftrudion to our mind^, and by pouring
all the warm and generous feelings of her heart into
our bofoms, animates us incefTantly to the exercife of
(every virtue, and. completes the poliflied perfedion
of our charadcr, by the foft allurement of love, and
the delightful concord of her fentiments."
Lord Littletoa advifes well in the two following
Do
:

Do you, my fair, endeavour to polTefs
An elegance of mindi ^s well as drefs*
The following iketch of the life of a fine lady,

well defer\ês a place here :
Mafcalia dreams of laft night's ball till ten,

Drinks chocolate, flroaks fops, and fleeps again |
Perhaps at twelve dares ope her drowfy eyes,
Alks Lucy if 'tis late enough to rife ;
By three each curl and feature juftly fet.
She dines, talks fcandal, vifits, plays piquet.
Mean while her babes with fome foul nurfe remain;
For modern dames a mother's cares difdain ;
Each fortnight once fhe bears to fee the brats,
" For, oh they ftun one's ears like fqualling cats 1"
! .
Tigers and pards prote<fl and niirfe their young,

The parent fnake will roll her forked tongue.
The vulture hovers vengeful o'er her nefl.
If the rude hand the helplefs brood infeft.
Shall lovely woman, foftefl frame of heav*n.
To whom were tears, and feeling pity giv'n,
Moft fafhionably cruel, lefs regard
Her offspring, than the vulture, fnake and pard ?
Dr« J. Wartcn on Falhion.
I cannot help thinking, that the reafon why feme

of the eaftern nations treat the ladies with fuch con-
tempt, and look upon them in fuch a degrading point
of view, is owing to their marrying them when mere
children, both as to age and underftanding ; which
laft being intirely negledêd, they feldom are capable
of rational cbnverfation, and of courfe are neglected
and delpifed*
In educationall the difference lies j
Women, taught, wotild be as braVe, and wife.
if
As haughty man, improved by art and rules
Where God makes one— negle6l makes^ twenty Ibols.
Epiilloto Pop.E.
However fome may rail againft their country and

the times ; I cannot help thanking my ftars that I
am a true born Engliftimen ; and the more fo as I
live in an age, when in general the fair part of the
community have great opportunities for improving
the underftanding ; and by fo doing, render them-
fclvcs ten hundred times more interefting to the
fenfiblc
:
tb6 LIFE J.OF LACKINGTON.

fenfible part of our fex. You may believe I include
myfelf among the number of the fenfible ones*
Our Britilh nymphs with happier omens rove,

At freedom's wifdom's facred grove |
call, thro*
And, as with lavilh hand> each fifter grace
Shapes the fair form, and regulates the face.
Each fifter mufcj in blifsful union join'd,
Adorns^ improves, and beautifies the mind J
Even now fond fancy in our polifh'd land
Affembl'd, fliovvs a blooming, fludious band i
"With various arts our revYence they engage,
Some turn the tuneful, foms the moral page j
'thefe, fed by contemplation, foar on high.
And rage the heavens with philofopliic eye :
While thofe, furrounded with a vocal choir.
The canvafs tinge, or touch the warbling lyre.
Here, like the ftar's mix'd radiance, tliey unite
To dazzle and perplex our wand'ring fight
The mufe each charmer fingly ihall furvey,
And tune to each her tributary lay.
So when in blendid tints, with fweetfurprizc>
Aflembl'd beauties ftrike our rdvifhM eyes,
Such as in Lely's melting colours fliine.
Or fpring, great Kneller from a hand Uke thine*
!
On all with pleafmg awe at once we gaze,

And, loft in wonder, know not which to praife :
But hngly view'd, each nymph delights us more,
^Difclolmg graces unperceiv'd before. Female Genius.
Ladies now in general read, not only novels, al*

though many of that clafs are excellent producftJons,
and tend to polifli both the heart and head but they ;
atfo read the beft books in the Englifli language, and

many read the beft authors in various languages and ;
there are fome thoufands of ladies, who frequent my

lliop, that know as well what books to choofe, and
are as well acquainted with works of tafte and genius,
as aivy .gentleman in the kingdom, notvvithftanding
they fneer againft novel readers, Sec*
The rights of women, fays a female pen,

Are todo every thing as well as men. '
And fmce the fex at length have been inclined

To culliv-ate that ufeful part> the mind ;
Since they "have learnt to read) to write, to fpell ;
Since fome of them have wit, and ufe it weU 5

Let
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTO?^. 267
Let US not force them back with brow fevere>
Withia the pale of ignorance and fear I
Confiii'd entirely to doncieftic arts,

Producing only children, pies, and tarts. Nares.
I am foriy that Dr. Gregory had fome reafon for
giving the following- advice to his daughters " If :
you happen (fays he) to have any learning, keep it

a profound fecret, efpecially from the men, who ge-
inerally look with a jealous and malignant eye on a
woman of great psirts."
Upon my life, the men ?.re fucM odd fellows,
They're even grown of female /earning jt^lous ;
'Thefe nvgkty Lords came all fo learn'd From college^
They gi udge poor us our little Ihare of knowledge !
Ladves, tince things are thus, take this advice^

Be in your choice of men extremely nice.
Keate's Epilogue to the Wonder*
My God what fort of men muft thefe be and
! I
what degrading ideas mull they have of women !—

Burler when he wrote this couplet, feems to have
been one of that fort :
The fouh of women are fo fmall,

That, fome believe they ve none at all, Rem ain^*,
Hughes writes in the fame depreciatii^g llrain.
Who twirl a fan, to pleafe fome empty beau,

Andjing an idleJong — the mo$t they k now.
The following fine lines of Peter Pindar dlfcovetg

more generous fentiments I will add, that I have
:
often been able to repeat them with fenfations aln\ufl:

bordering on rapture :
Why, yes, it may happen, thou danrfcl divinfy

To.be honcfl, I freely declare,
That e'en now to thy converfe I fo much incline,
I've already forgot thou art fair,
f^ gentleman of my acquaintance, lately rode fifity

miles, for the pleafureof feeipg and converging wiiii
a learned women, but very littleknown her name is
;
Eliziibeth Ogilvie Bengcr ; when very young, flie

wrote a poem, entitled the Fernale. She not only
underftands Latin, Greek, Italian,^ Spanifli and other
languages,
languages, but is well verfed in various branches of
arts and fciences. She is a tide-waiter's daughrer, in

or near Portfmouth ; it feems flie learned to read and
write, by picking up bits of paper in the ftrcet, with
which ilie would retire to her garret.
Shall lordly man, the theme of every lay^
Ufurp the mufe's tributary bay ?
In kingly ftate on Pindus' fnmmit fit^
Tyrant of verfe, and arbiter of wit >
By falic law the female right deny,
And view their genius with regardJes eye ?
Juftice, forbid and every mufe infpire
I
To fmg the glories of the filler choir ?

îfe, bold fwarn ; ahd to the liil*ning grbvfe
rife,
Refound the praifes of the fex you love j
Tell how, adorn'd with everf charm, they (hme,
In mind and perfon equally divine.
'Till man, no more to female merit blind,
Admire the perfon, but adore the jnind.
To thefe weak drains, O thou the fex's friend
!
And conftant patron, Richardfon attend : !
Thou, who fo oft with pleas'd, but anxious care.

Haft watch*d the dawning genius of the fair.
With wonted fmiles wilt hear thy friend difpUy
The various graces of the femal« lay ;
Studious front folly's yoke their mind to free.
And aid tTie generous caufe efpousM by thee.
Duncombe's Epiflle to Richardson.
'
The polite author of the Letters concerning Taftc,

fays, **The frequent converfation with women har-
*' monlzes the fouls of men, and gives them an en-
** chanting grace. I am of opinion {fays he) it was
*' this conflant idea of delicacy andfoftnefs, collected
** from an habitual intercourfe with the fair polifliers
*' of our fex, and united into one complicated form
•* of beauty, which playing perpetually in the foul of
•* Raphael, diffufed itfelf through his pencil over all
*' his works ; and through his looks, deportment,
** and tongue, over all his words and adions. Such

*' has ever been, and ever will be the power of thofe
*• amiable creatures !
—
Women are the fountains from
** whence flow the blended ftreams of tafte and p!ea-
*' furc and the draught of life is more or Icfs i\vcet

;
** as they are mingled in the cup*'*
**
A beau'i
:
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTONT. 26^

•* A beautiful woman, Bruyere) with the
(fays
iûalifications of an accomplifhed man, is, of all the
converfations in the world, the moft delicious. In
her the merits of both fexes concentre,"
I have infertcd the preceding quotations for the
fake of a clafs of gentlemen which I have often fccn,
(but never wi(h to fee again) who are never eafy after
dinner until the ladies are withdrawn. This horrid
cuftom is very much on the decline; it is a remain
of barharifm, which many fenlible gentlemen com-
plain of, and wifli to fee it quite done away ; was
that the cafe, the ladies would have greater motives
to, and more opportunities of, cultivating their un-
derftandings. I muft give you a quotation from the
produdion of a poor miik-woman, who is another in-
fiance to prove that *' the foul Is of no fex."
O arrogant, imperious man.

\Vlw boafl,
Perfections fo excinfuê are thy powers
!
Nearer approacliin^; to the Deity ? Canft thou fote

Qîellions whicli higii Infinity propounds,
Soar nobler flights, or dare immortal deeds,
Unknown to woman, if fhe greatly dare
To ufe the powVs aflign'd her > A<5tive ftrcngth,
^he hoaft of animals, is clearly thine t
By this uphold, thou thinfl'll the leiTon rare
That female virtue teach, poor the height
Which female wit obtains. The'theme unfold:?
lt'samj>le maze, for Montngue befriends
Thie puzzled thought, and blazing in the eye
Of boKlenM oppofition (Irait prefcnts
The foul's beft energies, l>er keeneft powers,
Clear, vigorous^ and enlightened. Mrs. Years. ley.
Notwithftanding my having (quoted fo much in

this letter already, I mull; add tht following fro.m the
Village Curate
I do not xvifh to fee the female eye
Wafte all its iuftreat the midrTrght lamp;
I doTiot wifli to fee the female cheek
Grow pale with .application. Let their care
Be to preferver their beauty; that fecur'd,
Improve thojr judgment, that the loving fair
May bavean eye to know the man of worth,
And keep fecilre the jtr.vel of her charnts
N From
470 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON',
i^rom hirn that ill deferves. Let the fpruê hc:\Vip
That beau, fweet-fcenred, and palav'rdus fool,
'Who^talks of honour and his fwf^-d, and plucki
The man that dares advifehim by the nofc :
That jHiny thing, that hardly crawls about,
Reduc'd by wine and women, yet drinks on,
And vapours loudly a'er his glafs, refolv'd
To a tale of nothing, and out-fwear
tell
The northern tempeft ; let that fool, Iây,
Look for a wife in vain, and live defpis'd.
I wouldthat all the fair ones of this ifle

" Were fuch as one 1 knew. Peace to her foul.
She lives no more. And I a genius need
To paint her as ihe was^ almoft like, methinks,
That amiable maid the poet drew,
Stealing a glance from Heav'n, and caiFd her Portia.
Happy the man, and happy fure he was,
So w-edded. Bleft with her, he wandVed not
To feek for happinefs ; 'twas his home.
How often have I paus'd, and chain'd my tongue,
To hear the mufic of 'her fober words !
How often have I wonder'd at the grace

Inflrudtion horrow'd,from her eye and cheek !
Surely that maid is wôrth a nation's gold,
Who has fuch rich refources in herfelf
For them (he rears. A
mother well-inform*d
Entails a bleffing oaher infant charge
Better than riches ; an unfailing crufe
She leaves behind her, which the fafter flows
The more 'tis drawn j where ev*ry foul may feed,
And nought diminifti of the public ftock.
Say, man, what m.ore delights than the fair ?
Why Ihould we not be patient to endure

If they command ? We rule the noify world.
But they rule Then teach them how to guide,
us.
And hold the rein with judgment. Their applaufe
May once again reftore a quiet reign
Of virtue, love, and peace, and yet bring back
The blufli oi folly, and the Ihame of vice. Hvddis.
I am,
Dear Frierid,^
I ^
Yours.
!
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
t E T T E 11 XLI.
Happy man that has each fortune try'd,

the
To whom Ihe much has given, much deny'u^
With abftinence all delicates he fees,
And can regale himfelf with toaft and cheefe.
Art of Cookerv;
*< One week-day meals affords,

folid difli his
<* And added pudding confecrates the Lord's."
Your bufmefs neêr defer from day to day.

Sorrow aud poverty attends delay;
But lo the careful man (hall always find
I
Encreafe of wealth according to îs mind.

Cooke's Hefiod^
DKAR FRIEND,
fellers in particular,
TH E
public at large, and book-
my encreafing flock
have beheld
with the utmoil aflonifliment, they being entirely at
a lofs to conceive by what means I have been enabled
to make good all my payments and for feveral years,
;
in the beginning of my bulinefs, fome of the trade

repeatedly afTerted, that it was totally impoflible that
I could continue to pay for the large numbers of
books which I conflantly purchafed ; and ten years
fince, being induced to take a journey into my own
country, with a view to the reftoration of my health,
materially injured by intenfe application to catalogue*
making, too much reading, &:c. During the fix weeks
that I retired into the wefl, Pvlrs. Lackington was
perpetually interrogated refpe(fling the time that X
wa^ expedied to return. This was done in fuch a
JTianner as evidently (hewed that many pretended to
think that I never intended to return at all.
Ye Gods above ! —^ye blackouard boys below

Oh, fplalh theif ftockiags, and avenge my woe.
ilERQtc Epistle to Twiss.
N 2 How-
'

How great was their furprife, when, as a prelude
to my return, I lent home feveral waggon loads of
tbooks which had purchafed in the country.
I
As I never 'had* any part of the mifer in my compo-
fition, I my expences according
always proportioned
to my profits have for many years ex^
; that is, I
pended two thirds of the profits of my trade ; which

proportion of expenditure I never exceeded.
^* He is rich, fays Bruyefe, whofe income is more
than his expences; and he is fpoor whofe expences

eîceed his income/^
<* Things to their owners minds, their merit fqnare,"

<< Good, if well ufed*p-if ill, they evils* are.
If you will pleafe t6 refer to Dr. Johnfon's *' Idler'*

^^ for theprogrefs of Ned Drugget,^' you will fee
much of the progrefs of your humble fervant depided^
Should fortune capricioufly ceafeto be coy.
And in torrents of plenty dcfccnd,
% doubtlefs, like others, (hould cl<afp her with joy>
And my wants and my wiîes extend.
VV. Whitehead.
Like Ned, in the beginning, I opened and fliut my

own fliop, and welcomed a friend by a fliake of the,
hand. About a year after, on fuch occafions I beckoned
acrofs the way, for a pQt of gaod porter. A few years
after that, I fometimes invited my friends to dinner,
and provided them a roaftedjf/&/ ofnfeai: in a pro-
greffive courfe, the ham was introduced ; and a pudding
was the next addition made to the feaft. For fome
time a glafs of brandy and *water v^^ls a luxury; a glafs
of Mr. Beaufoy*s r^//& w/Vr^ fucceeded ; and as foqn
as fuio thirds of my profits enabled me to afford good
red poii^ it immediately appeared : iiof was flierry long
behind.
^< Wine whets the wit, improves its native foKce,
<* And gives a pleafing flavour to difcourfe,
<* By making all our fpirits debonair,
*• Throws off the lees, the fedimcnts of care.**
** M
EIFE OF j: LACKING TC»ri a?.i
**
' As April, when painting the furrowsj
" Drives wmt^r away to the pole ;
** Old port, by difpelling life's borrows,'

*• Relaxes the froft of tlie foul."
It was Ibiiie years before I diicovered that n lodg-

ing in country was very conducive to
tl\e my health*
Gay's ll-oes were then repeated :
*' Long in the noify town I've been immairM,^

" Refpir'd in fmolie, and 'all it's cares endur'd."
The year after, rny country lodging by fegular gra-

dation wa$ transformed into a country-/6o;//f ; and iii
HiAother year, the inconveniences attending Jiage- 2^.
coach w^re reined kd by z chariot*
My precjous f*ib has veiatnrM to declare,

'Xis vuljâi put>nVs legs to take the air.
CoMôKTS OF Mark AC It. I
> Eor fouc yeari^, XJî>p^' HoUoiiâj was to me an flyfiwn*

* Fled from the dear dehifive to%vn, -
<• Frmn fcenes of trade and noife

5
« Here, undifturbed, I fet me down,

•* And tafle ferener joys.
•< Here, happinefs muft ever live,

**Here, health and peace unite,
<* While art and nature join to give
** ReUelShim^nt with deligiit.**
Here, (although fcarcely out of the fmoke of Lon-*

don,) I ffcutted backward.and forward in my garden,
and the adjacent fields ; and felt myfelf as great, and
as. happy^ ia repeating the following lines, as ever
J^mmy ThqmCaa wa^, in writing them :
Hail, ever pleafin^^ foUtnde !
Companion of the wife and good *
(You may be fure, my dear friend, that I include^

number.)
csailclf in that
But fmm whofe holy, piercing eye,

The herd of fools, and villains fly,
—
Oh how I love witii thee to walk f
And liflen to thy whifper'd talk >
K 5 •
V^Tiich
:
^74 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON,

/ Which innocence, am] truth imparts,
And melts the moft obdurate hearts.
A
thoufand fhape<5 you wear with eafci
And ftill, in every Ihape you pleafe
''^
^
Now wrapt in fdme myfterious dream,
A lone philofopher you ieem ;
Now quick from hill to vale you fly, ^
And now you fweep the vaulted Iky, v
And nature triumphs in your eye. J
HvMN to Solitude.
.^.SimeynQ-^t appeared unqueflionably the moft beau-

tiful county in England, and Upper Merton the moft
rural village in Surrey; So now Merton is feleded as
the feat of occafional philofophical xetirement*
Here on a fingle plank thrown fafeafhorei

J hear the tumult of the diftant throng,
As that of leas remoto or dying ftorms.
Here, like a fliepherd gazing from his hut,
Touching his reed, or kaningon his ftaif.
Eager ambition's fiery chace I fee;
I fee the circling haunt of noify men,
Burft law's indofure, leap the mounds of righti
Purfuing and purfu'd, each other's prey, Youno.
But I alTure you, my dear friend, that in every
ftep of my progrefs, envy and malevolence has purv
fued me clofe.
When Envy, rifmg from the realms b.elow,
Look'd round the world, her vengeance to beflow,
"No little fcheme of fupercilious pride,' . .
No mean, malicious arts Ihe left untryM.

Mifs M. Falconer.
When by the advice of that eminent phyfician-^

/Dr. Lctfom, I purchafed a horfe, and faved my lifp
by the exercife it afforded me the old adage, *' Set
;
a beggar on horfehack and heUl ride to the Devil^^^ was

xleeincd fully verified; but wheti Mrs. Lacklngton
mounted another, *' they were very forry to fee
people fo young in bulinefs run on at fo great a rate !*^
The occaiional relaxation which we enjoyed in the
country, was cenfured as an abominable piece of pride;
but when the carriage and fervanti in livery appeared,
" they
: ;
Uf-E 0¥ J..LACKINGTON. lyt;.
.*^ they would not be the iirft to hart a foolifli tradef-

man's charader; but if (as v/as but too probable) the
ilscht was not ah'eady ftruck, the Gaaette would fooa
*
Icttle that point."

/ . , .
Bafs Envy withers at another's jo7,

And hates that excellence it carmot reach. Thomson*.
*' It is no lefs a proof (fays Dr. Johnfon) of emU

hence to have mahy enemies, thaii maîy friends.'* -
Swift was of the fanK opinion when.' he wrote the

following lines :
Ye wife^ inftruft me to enui^re'

An evil, which admits no cure-: ••
Or how this evil can lê borne,

Whicl> breed' at on<:e hate' and fcorn*
Stand high in honour, wealth or wit

All others wher inferior fit, •
'
Conceive themfelves in confcience bound,

To join and drag you to the ground.
' '
Your altitude offends the eyes
0£ thofe^ who want the povt'er to rife.
'
-
The would, Ji willing ftander-by,.

Inclines to aid a ipabious eye.
Thofe envious peribns will appear in a imore ur-

fevourable point of view when 1 inform you that
they all well knew that I could with propriety adopt
the foUowirig lines of Thomfon :
All is the gift of Indus try > whate'er
£xalts, embellfflics and renders lite

Delightful. SEASONS.
But I .have been lately informed that thefe gooJ*

Hfitured and compajjionate^to^\t have for fome time
fp.und it necefTary to alter their ftory.
No more (hall want thy weary hand conflrain,

Henceforth good days and plenty fhall betide ;
The gods will for thy good old age provide;
A glorious change atcenJs thy low eflate ;
Sudden and mighty riches round thee wait
JBe wife, and ufe th^ lucky hour of fate.
RowE*s Lucan,
N4 It
It feems that at laft they have difcovered the fecr^t
fprings from whence 1 .drew my wealth ; however,
they do not quite agree in theif accounts, for ahhough
fome can tell you the very number of my fortunate
lottery ticket, others are as pofitive that I found
bank-notes in an old book, to the amount of many
thoui'and pounds, and if they pleafe, can even tell
you the title of the very fortunate old book that con-
tained this treafure. But you Ihall receive it froio
me, which you will decin authority to the full as
unexceptionable. \ allure youthen, upon my honour,
that I found the whole of what I am polfelTed of, in
sMAi.L PROFITS, hund by industry, and cla/jf>e4
by OJbCOMOMY*
Gilt ti)i1s Por gain at honour's vaft expencCi

Jitaven throws the trifle into innocence^
And fixes happinefs in bell's defpitc,
The necclfary coiii'equence of right.
I'aii N t GENT to Lord Cornb r ry.
Read this, yc covetous wretches, in all trades^

who, when you get a good cuftoiner, are for making
the molt of h'xm ! But if yoU have neither honour nor
honeity, you lliould at leaftpoHefsa little commonJenfe.
\<^^î:i on the many cuftomers that your over-charges
have already driven from your fhops do you think that
!
you can always find a fufficient number of cuftomers^

ib deficient in penetration as not to difcover your cha*
ra(5lers ? no fuch thing. Your exorbitant charges
are a general fubjecS of converfatlon and diflike : you
cannot with confidence look your own cuftomers in
the face, as you are confcious of your meannefs and
in)pornion, and your fordid difpofition is evidently
the reafon, that fome gentlemen are led to look wiiiV*
contempt and difdain on tradcfmen. But when men
iti trade aie men of honour, they will in general bQ
treated as Itich^ and were it otherwife,
One felf-approving hour whole yeai*s outweighs.

Of ftupitl liarcrs, and of loiid huzzas :
And mort true joy Marcelhis exii'd feels,

Than Caefar \vi;h a fenate at his heels. Pop? .
<i
Self.
;
LIFE' OF J. L'ACKIJTGTON. 277

^' Self-eiteem (fays a French author) rs one of the
fifll: ingrcdicnrs of mau's happinefs."
The author of Man As He Is, a novel, fomewhere
in the firil volume, fays, ** It is on our own little felt-
complacencies, well or ill founded, vv€ build the far
greater part of our happinefs ; and when thefe are
produdire of laudal:)le, or no illaudable purfuits, i^
-
is a fpecies of robbery to deprive a perfon of the pof*
fclEon."
**• From thence fiich fenfations, fach high pleafures flow,
«* As mean fouls ne'er dream of, as bad hearts ne'er know. "^
I pity from my foul many wretches whom I ob-^

^crve bartering away their conftitutions, and what
few liberal fentiments they may pofTefs ; rifijig early
and fitting up late, cxeriing all the powers of
body and mind, to get what they call a competency, ,
no matter by what rtieaits this is efle£ted.
Silver to gold, we own,

fliould yield the prixej .
And gold to virtue louder folly cries.

;
Ye foils (.rf care, let money firft be fought

Virtue is only worth a fe com! thought.
My friends get money ;
get a large eftate.
By honeft means ; but "get at any rate,
Thts maxim eclioes flill from flreet to ftreet^
While young and old the pleafuig flrains repeat*
Francis's Horace.
Thpufands atSlually deftroy themfelves in accom--

piiHiing their grand defign.
—— I fee with what grovelling profpe6ts in view,
Human creatures feU-niiefell unceahag purfue^
Dr. DoDD.
Others live to obtain the long-wiflied for country

retreat. But, alas! the promifed happineis is as far
from them as ever, ofû farther. The bufy builling
fcene of bufinefs being over, a vacuity in the'minii
takes place, Iplcen and vapour fucceed, which en-^
creafe bodily infirmities, death flares them in the face.
The mean dirty ways by which much of their wealth
has been obtained, make retrofped refietîons intoler-^
ablie. Philofophy (lands aloof, nor ever deigns to
V kit the fordid foui. Gardens and plcafure-g rounds
N 5
be<:on?vef
! ; !;
5 78 LIFE OF J, LACKINGTON.
become dreary dcferts And :
** To their new
rooms fad thoughts do foon repair,
" And round their gilded roofs hangs black defpair."
The miferable poiTelTors linger out a wretched ex*
iftencc, orput a period to it with a halter or piftol:
and the world goes on as well without them
Sated, k>athing, hopclefs hear of blifs,
Some plunge to feek it into death's abyfs.
Lord NuCENT.
*< Were this not common would itnot be flrange >
*^ That 'tis fo common, this is llranger Hill."
I cannot omit to, quote the following fine lines

from Mr. Soame Jenyns, as they naturally occur to
my recolle6lion :
Ufelefs in bufmefs, yet unfit for eafe,

Nor ikill'd to mend mankind, nor form'd to pleafe*
The mind not taught to think, no ufeful ftore
To fix refledlion, dreads the vacant hour ;
Turn'd in itfelf, its numerous faults are feen,

And all the mighty void that lies within.
'Tis confcious virtue crowns the bleft retreat.
Solitude (fays Cowley) can be well fitted and

*^
fet bu't upon very

aright, few perfons. They
have knowledge enough of the world to fee the follies
of it ; and virtue enough to defpife all vanity,*'
Sweet folitude has charms to footh thy foul
' To purge thy mind from thoughts that wouifd thy peace,
And fill that reafon which fhould be thy guide.
But let the guilty murderer beware
He come not near theife happy plains of peace ;
Each bufh he meets fhaM nriake him ftart amaz'd.

And
each bright ftar ftrike horror to his foul \
as he wanders thro' the mazy grove,
Lofl
(Affrighted nature {hrinking from his touch)
The warbling birds, whofe notes melodious found
On every bufh their great Creator's praife,
And Philomel ftrike murder to his ears
Dagger to the guilty minds and balm to thofe, !
Whofe confcience, free from guilt, afiliftion feels.

() folitude thou fpring of earthly blifs.
!
Where lionefl wortl\ may meet a fure reward,

And, free from fondnl, pride and envy, live
Cojitent on t:;i Lh, till it grows ripe for Heaven
Swain.
The
!
JLIFE J. OF LACKINGTON, 279

The profits of my
bufinefs the prefent year 1791^
will amount to four thousand pounds ^. What
it will increafe to I know not ; but if my health will
permit me to carry it on a few years longer, there is-
very great probability, coniidering the rapid increafe
which each fucceeding year has produced, that the
profits wHl be double what they now are ; for I here
pledge my reputation as a tradefman, never to deviate
from my old plan of giving- as much for libraries aS'
it is tradefman to give, and felling them
poifible for a
and neiv publications alfo, for the fame small pro-
fits that have been attended with fuch aftonifliing:
fuccefs for fonje years paft." Arid I hope that my
partners and affiftants will alfo perfevere in that at-
tentive obliging mode of condu6l which fo long
diftinguidicd Nos. 46 and 47 Chifwell-flreet, Moor-
fields f ; confcious, that fliould I ever be weak enough
to adopt an oppofite line of condutt, or permit thole
who a6l under my dlredion fo to do, I fliould no
longer meet with the very extraordinary encourage-
ment and fupport which I have hitherto experienced;
neither fliould I have the fmallefl: claim to a continu-
ance of it under fuch circumilances.
But may confufion on the wretch avv;iit
jêpoverty, difgrace, contempt his fate ?
Who rhe juft end and means can difregard,

Yet arrogantly hops the jult reward.
Epistle to a Barr-istf.ti. .
T cannot here help addreifing my cuftomers in the

following lines :
Unhke th' ingrate, tho* favours ceafe to flow, !
Nevei' may get the debt I owe.

I foi
ScUl as Q.\ch circhuj^ ieafon ftiall return.
May gra'ilude within "my bofom burn.
Unhid, be mindful of your fmiles before.
Make it my ftudy to deferve them m(n"e,
Aa ley's Occafion.'il Fpilcpu n
I am, Dear Friend, Yours.
* Since this was wrote, my bufmefs is enlarged. In 179*,

my profits were about ;oool —
in 1793 «'^ôut the fame fum-'-uk
1^794, more.— I fuppofe, hid it not been for the v/ar, the profits
.of 1793 and 1791, .would have been at lea ft OcocL eachyea;\
^' Nov.- (The Tetnple of the Mufcs,> rinibarv Square.
'
"•
N 6
;
«8o LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
LETTER XLII.
Be mine by prudence to enhance my fame,

AikI rear o'er fons of gold my deathlefs fame
PVom trade, yet great, my competence I bring,
Nor grudge, tho' riches from a courtier fpring.
Juvenal Imitated.
But by your revenue meafure your expence,

And to your funds and acres join your fenfe.
Young's Love of Fame*
Learn what thou ow*ft thy country and thy friend,

What's requifite to fpare, and what to fpend.
Dry DEN'S Perfius.
DEAR FRIEND,
profits will
THE open manner of ftating my
no doubt appear ftrange to many who are
not acquainted with my Angular conduft in that and
other refpects. But you, Sir, know that I have for
fourteen years part kept a llri6t account of my profits.
Every book in my polTeffion, before it is offered to
fak is marked with a private mark, what it coft me,
and with a public mark of what it is to be fold for ;
and every article, whether ihe price is fixpence or
fixty pounds, is entered in a day-book as it is fold,
with the price it coft and the money it fold for: and
each night the profits of the day arc caft up by one of
my iliopmen, as every one of them underftands my
private mark?. Every Saturday night the profits of
the week are added together, and mentioned before
all my fliopmen, &:c. the week's profits, and alfo the
cxpences of the week arc then entered one oppofite
the other, in a book kept for the purpofe the whole ;
fum taken in the week is alfo fet down, and the fum
that has been paid for books bought. Thelc accounts
are kept publicly in my fliop, and ever have been {o^
as I never faw any rcafon for concealing tlicm, nor was
€ver>jcaU>tts of any of my men's profiting by my exam-
ple and taking away any of my bufinefs; as I always
found that fvich ct'thcm ns did fetJip for ibemfelves
came
time to my fliop, and purchafed to the amount often
times more than they hindered me from felling. By
keeping an account of my profits, and alfo of my
cxpences, I have always known how to regulate the
latter by the former. '*
To live above our ftation,
Ihews a proud heart; and to live under it, difcovers
A narrow foal.'' Horace fays,
w A part I win enjoy as well as keep,

" My heir may figh and think it want of grace; .
<* But fiire no llatute in his favour fays,

** How free or frugal I fhall pafs my days.
<* I getand fometimes fpend, and at othei-s fpare,
** Divided between careleiTnefs and care>
And have done that, without the trifling way of

I
fetting down
a halfpenny -worth of matches, or a
penny for a turnpike.. I have one perfon in the iliop
whofe conftant employment it is to receive all the caib,
and difcharge all bills that are brought for payment,
and if Mrs. Lackington wants money for houfe-keep-
ing, &c. or if I want money for bobhy-borfes^ &:c. we
take five or ten guineas, pocket it, and fct down the
fum taken out of trade as expended ; when that is
gone we repeat our application, but never take the
trouble of Tetthig down the items^ But fuch of my
fervants as are entrufted to lay out money are always
obliged to give in their accounts, to fliew how each
fum has been expended.
Blefs'd who with order their affairs difpofe,
But rude confarion is tlie fource of woes.
Cooke's Hefiod.
It may not be improper here to take a little notice
of fome very late infiuations of my old envious
friends. It has been fuggefted that I am now grown
immetifely rich^ and that having already more property
than I can reafonably exped to live to expend, and
no young family to provide for, I for thefe reafons
ought to decline my buiinefs, and no longer cngrofe
trade to my felf that ought to be divided into a number
of channels, and thus Tupport many f:imilies. In
anfwer to which I will obferve, that fon:ê of thefe
objet^ôrs were in trade before me, and when I firll
emb;trkcd
V
29z LIFE OP J. LACKIMGTON:.

embarked the profeftion of a bookfeller, defplfej
in*
tnt for my mean- beginning. When afterwards I

adopted my plan of felling cheap, and for ready-
money only, they made themfelves very merry at my
cxpcnce, for expeding to fucceed by fo ridiculous
fti (as they in their confumniate wifdom were
projei6t,
pUafed term
to it) and predefined my ruin, {o that
no doubt I ought to comply with any thing they de-

fire, however unreafonable it may appear to me.
To deny that I have a competence, would be un-

pardonable ingratitude to the public, to go no higher :.
*Tisone thing madly to defpife my flore ^

Another not to heed to treafure moi'6 ;
Glad like a boy to fnatch the firftgood day,.
And pleas'd if fordid want be far away.
What is't to me (a paffenger, God wot)
Whether the veffel be firft-rate or not,
The (hip itfelf may make a'better figure,
But I that fail, neither lefs nor bigger ;
I neither ftrut with ev'ry fav'ring breath.
Nor flrive with all the tempefl in my teeth j
In pow'r, wit, figure,, virtue, fortune, placV^.
Behind the foremoft, and before the lafl,
Divided between carelelfnefs and care.
Sometimes I fpend, at other times 1 fpare*
EORTESXÛE^
But to infinuate that r am getting money for no

good purpofes, is and invidious. The great
falfe
apolile St. Paul, who was an humble follower of
Christ, thought he might be permitted to boaft of
himfelf a little.
*' If a man (fays Selden) docs not take notice of
that excellency and perfe6lion that is in himfelf, how

can he be thankful to God who is the author of it.
Nay, if a man hath too mean an opinion. of himfelf,
it will render hi'm unferviceable both to God and
man.'* He adds, *' pride may be allowed to this or
that degree^.elfe a man cannot keep up to his dignity."
Montaigne fays, '' that to fpeak. more of one's felf
than is really true, is not only, prcrumption,.but folly.;
and for a man to fpeak lefs of him -elf than he really
is, is folly —
not modeily and to take that for current
;
pay, which is under a man's value, is cowardice and

pufilianimiry,^'
:
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. ;^%

pufillanimity." Ariftotle fays, *' no virtue affifts itfelf
with falfehood, and that truth is never fubje^l matter of
error." " Falfe modefty (fays Bruyere) is the moil
cunning fort of vanity ; by this a man never appears
what he is.'* After which, I fuppofe it will not be
thought very prefumptuous in me, if I fliould ftate a,
few fa(!^s, merely to juftify my condu6l in carrying on
fny trade beyond the time that certain perfons would
prefcribe to me.
And if I fhould even wi(h to be praifed by my^
friends, I fee no damning fin in that,^ as I fliould only
be like other great men.
We are told that Demoflhenes would ftand on tip-
toe to hear an old balket-woman fing his praifes, and
** Cicero panted after eulogies
of the whole Roman
people/*
There^s nought beneatii the welkiiVs vault^.
So much my fpirits can exalt,
As that applaufe a mind heftows,
The blifs for which my bofom glows*.
Pleafure this —
own conveys
I
And what devoid of praife T
is life
The greateft pleafure of the mind,

True friandftiip, is but praife refin'd.
Epilogue to J— T— , Efq,.
Take the witty Peter's opinion alfo on the fuh-

je6t
Fair praife is fterling gold— all fhould defire it-—

Flatt'iy, bafe coin — â cheat upon the nation;.
And yet, our vanity dotli much admire it,.
And reaUy gives it all its circulation.
Peter Piuda*.
It is now about five years (ince I began to enter-
tain ferioas thoughts of going, out of bufinefs, on ac-
count of the bad ftate of health which both Mrs.
Lackin^ton and myfelf then laboured under ; and
having no dcfire to be rich,, we adopted Swift's
prayer ;
" Preferve, Almighty Providence l
" J all what you gave me, competence^

" Remov'd
—
S'^ EIFE- OF Ji LACKINGTON".
**• RemovM from all th' nmbitious fcene,
^<* Nor ivjff'd by prule, nor iiiiikby fpleea."
But it was then fug^êfted b)pfeveral of my.friendif

that as I hadabour titty, poor refations, a great num-^
ber of whom are chiidren, orhers are old and nearly.
helplefs^ and that many had jullly formed foStfe ex-
pectations frora me: therefore, to give up fuch a
trade as I was in pofTellton of, before I was abfolutely
pbliged to doit, wouldi)c a kind of injuilice to thofe
wlv5m by the ties of blood I was in fome meafure
bound to relieve and proteft.
Twice five and twenty confins have implof'cJ,

That help, .his purfe^ they 017, can well afford. >
CoM*EoRT« OF Marriage,;^
Thefe>and other confiderafcions induced me to waV^^
the thoughts of precipitating myfelf out of fo exten-
iive and lucrative a bufinefs 5 ,and in the mean time
I .apply a part of the profks of itto maintain my good
oldnrother, who is alive at Wellington in Somerfet*
fliire, her native place, I have two i\ged men and
one woman, whom I fupport: and I have alfo four
children to maintain and educate ; three of thefe chil-
dren have loft theirfather, and alfo their mother (who
was my In November 1794, died my bro-
lifter.) : .
ther Philip, who

together with his family had long
been fupported by me ; he left a wife and three very
fmall children without a {lulling. Many others of my
relations are in the fame circumftances, and ftand in
need of my afliftance, fo that f-—
« If e*er Tye mourn'd my luimblet lowly jftate,
** If e'er I've bow'd my knee at fortune's fhrine,
« If e'er a wi(h efcap'd me to be great,
** The fervent prayer, humanity, was thine.
<* Periili the man who

hears ihe-pittous tale
" Unmov'd, t!]3 heart-felc glow's unknown
to whom ; ;
'** On whom the widow's plaints could ne'er prevnÎ,

** Nor made the injurd wretch's caufe his, own.
w How little kfiows he the extatic joy,

« The thrilling hliis of cliesring wan defpai^ !
•< How little knows

the pleafing v/arm employ,
^ That calls the grateful tribute of a teai,
« T?i»}
LIFE OF J, LACKINGTON. 285
<* The rplendiU dome, tê vauked rock to rear,
« The glare ot pride and pomp, be, grandeur, thine I
** To wipe from mifery's eye the wailiug tear,

** And foothe the opprelled orphan's woe, be mine.'*
It has alfo been frequently faid, that by felling my

books very cheap, I have materially injured other
bookftllcrts, both in town and country.
For hard anger'd eye,

fufpicic^n's
Deems unjuft ^
all it fees
And jaiuidic'd envy, low'ring by,
Supports the foul miftruft. Ar L e y's ComplainC.
But Ideny the charge: and here I will firft

ftill
©bferve, that have as juft a reafon to complain of

I
them for giving credit, as they can have for my.

felling cheap and giving no credit as jt is well knowii^
;
that there are many thoufandsof people every where

ru be found who will decline purchaling at a Ihop
where credit is denied, when they can find fliop*
keepers enough who will readily give it and as I fre» j
quentlylofe cullomers who having always been ac*

cullomed to have credit, they will not take the trou*
ble to pay for every article as fent home: thefe of
courfe deal at thofe (hops who followed the old mode
0f bullnefs ; fo that in fuch cafes, I might fay to thqt
proprietors of thefe fliops, * You ought not to give
• any perfon credit becaufe by fo doing you are
:
* talcing cuftomers from me.' As to my hurting the

trade by felling clxap^ they are, upon the whole,
itiiftaken ; for although, no doubt, fome Jnftanceswill
occur, in which they may obferve that the preference
IS given to my ihop, and the books purchafed of me
on account of their being cheap they never confider
;
how many books they difpoie of on the very fame ac-

count. As, however, this may appear father para-,
doxical, I will explain my meaning farther:
I now fell more than one hundred thoufand vo-
lumes annually ; many who purchafe part of thefe,
do fo folely on account* of their cheapncfs many* ;
thoufands of thefe books would have been dedroycd,

as I have before remarked, but for my felling them
on thofe very moderate terms now when thoufandu
:
of thefe artiglcs are fold, they become known by being

handQd-
^86 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
handed about in various circles- of acquaintances^
inan;f of whom
wifliing to be pofTelTed of the fanie
books, without enquiring the price of their friends, ftt;p
into the firft bookfeller's* fhop, and give their orders
for articles, which they never would have heard of,
had not by felling them cheap, been the original
1,
caufc of their being difperfed abroad; thus, by meahs^
of the plan purfued in my fliop, whole editions of
books are fold off, and new editions printed of the
works of authors, who, were it not for that circum-
ftahce, would have been fcarce noticed at all.
-
But (fay they )^ you not only fell fuch books chsap,
as arc but little known, but you even fell a great deal
under price the very firft 4*-ate articles, however well
they may be known, or however highly th.ey may be
thought of by the literary world. I acknowledge tho^
charge, an4 again repeat that as I do not îve any
credit, I certainly ought to do fo, and! may add^
that in fome meafure I am obliged to do it for who
,•
would come out of their way to Finfbury-fquare tp

pay me the fame price in ready money, as they might
purchafe for at the firft fhop they came to, and hava
<:redit alfo.
And although firft rate authors are very well known,^,
yet I am conifident that by felling them cheaper than
pthers, many are purchafed of me that never would
tave been bought at the full price; now every book
that fold tends to fpread the fame of the author,,
is
rapidly extends the fale, and as I before remarked,

fends more qullomers tp other fliops as' v/ell as to my
own.
I muft inform you, that be fides five or fix
atfo
private catalogues of books in flieets, for bookfeller$
only, I publifli two catalogues for the public every
year, and of each of thofe public catalogues I print
between fou-r and five thpufand copies^ moft of thcfe
copies are tent about from one to another; fo that fup-
pofing only four perfons fee each copy, above thirty
thoufand perfons look over my catalogues annully;.
no other mode of advertifmg bears the leaft propor-
tion to ir.
Icould enlarge confiderably on this fubje£l:>, .but

will not unneccifarily tak« up your time, as I truii
LIFE OF J. Li\CKrNGTON, 287
what is here advanced will convey full convi6lion to
-your mind, efpecially as I believe it is uni\*erraUy
known and allowed, that no man ever promoted the

i'ale of books, in an equal degree, with your old friend;
and as in reading I have experienced many thoufand

happy hours, fo it flill engrofTes the largeft portioa
of my time, and gives me more real plcafure and folid
fatisfadion than all other things in the world. You
cannot conceive what agreeable fenfations I enjoy^
when I refle<^ on my having contributed fo much to-
wards the pleafures of others, in difFufing through
the world, fuch an immenfe number of books, by
which many have been enlightened and taught to
think, and from mere animals have become rational
beings. With a book, the poor man in his intervals
from labour, forgets his hard lot, or learns to bear i^t
with pleafure, whilft in intellectual pleafures he caa
vie with kings. Books afford comfort to the afflidted^
and cohfolation to the prifoner ; books are oui moft
conftant and mofl faithful companions and friends, of
which we never are cloyed.
Dr. Zimmermann, in his excellent book oh Soil*
tude, fays, ** Reading is, perhaps, one of the moft
fure and certain remedies againft laflitude and difcon-
tent.'*—" Every fpecies of misfortune, however ac-
cumulated^ may be overcome by thofewho pofTefstran-
^quility at home, who are capable of enjoying the
privacy of ftudy, and the elegant recreation whicla.
books afford."-^*' The man to whofe bofom neither
riches, nor pleafure, nor grandeur, can convey fellr-
city, may, with a bpok in his hand, learn .to forget his
cares under the friendly fliade of a tree."
*' Petrarch,
by being deprived of hfs books three
days, was thrown into a fever : he was always gloomy
dîd lefs fpirited, except while he was reading or
•writing.'*-^'* Pliny the younger, read wherever it
was polTible, whether riding, walking, fitting, ojr
whenever the fubjetSt of his employment afforded him
the opportunity.'*
'^ Pliny
the elder, had always fome perfon to
read to him during his meals ; and he nevec tra-
velled without a book and a portable writing defk."—-*
" Alcxsmder
2U LIFE OF J. LACIUNGTON.
** Alexander was remarkably fond of reading, and
amidil his conquefts felt himfclf unhappy in Alia for
—
want of books," ** Brutus, while feiving in the
array under Pompey, employed all the moments he
could, fpare from the duties of his ftation among
books ; while the army was repofing, he was reading/^
^— "' Plutarch fays, that he entirely lived on hiftory :.
and while (fays he) I contemplate the pidures it;
prefents to my view, my mind enjoys a rich repaft
•from the reprefentation of great and virtuous charac-
ters." — '* The flreams of mental pleafuiês, thofe
which of courfe all men of whatever condition may
c<[ualiy partake, flow from one to another the ft ream :
of which we have moft frequently tailed, lofes neither

"
its flavour nor its virtues^ but frequentiy acquired

new charms, and conveys additional pleasure the
oftener it is tailed. The fubjje^ts of thcle pleafures
are as unbounded as the "reigî of truth, as extenfive
as the world, as iHiliinited a$ the divine pe^-feîohs^.
The incorporeal plcafuies^ therefore, are more-
durable than all others. Thtiy neither difappcar with
the light of the day_, nor change with the etenial form
of things. They accompany us under all viciiritudegf^.
fecure us in the darknefs of the night, and compen-
sate for all the miferies we are doomed to fuffer/;*'
^ Men of exalted minds, therefore, have always, amidft
the buftle of the world, and even in the brilUaulti
•career of heroifm,^ preferved a tafte for books.*'
The great Dr. Young, in his letter to Richardfo%
•fays, ** gull do we retire to our dif-
With what a
and immorta4 friends in our clofet, and find
•intereftfed
our minds, when applied to fome favourite theme,
as iiaturally, and as eafily quieted, and refreftied, as^
a peevifli child, when laid to the breaft.*'
" I Know not of any pleafures more lively (fay^^
Zimmerman) than thofe I e^jperienced in conv^rfing-'
with the dead.*'
What heart-felt blifs ! what pleafurc^-wiiig'iiiours,.

Traiifportcd are we to Rome's letter'd foiis ;
We by their favour Tyber's banks enjoy, .
%hc temples trace, an J ftj^rp their noble games 5
Ejotet.
;
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. *8f

"tnter the crowded theatre at will
March to the F(;riiî, hear the Conful plead,
Are prefeni in tlie- thmid'ring Gapitol
When Tufly fj-êaks ; at fofter hours attend
Harmonious Virgil to his Mantuan farm,
'Or liaia's fhnrc how <lften drink his ftrains,
:
Rural or epic fweet How often rove

!
'With Horace, bard and moralift benign,

AVith happy Horace rove, in Fragrant paths
t>f myrtle bowers, by Tifoli's cafcade.
"Hail, precious pages that amufe and teach,
!
Exaltthc genius, and improve rtie bread ;

But chiefly thO\i, fupreme philofopliy,
Shed thy bed influence, with thy train appear
Gf graces mikl. .
Tutor of human life] airfpicious guide,

Whofe faithful clue unravels ev'ry maze,
Whofe Ikill can difengage the tangled thorn.
And fmooth the rock to dmvn whofe magic powers !
ôntioul each dorm, and bki the roar be dill.
Dr. S. Daviis,
I am,
©ear Friend,
Yours,
»90 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
L E T T E R XLIII.
—This is a traveller, Sir knows men and manners; and liaji

;
plough'd up lêa fo tar, 'till both the poles have knwck'd ; has
feen the fun take coach, and can diftinguilh the colour of his
horfcs, and their kinds, and had a Flanders mare leap'd there.
Beaumont and Fletcher^s Scornful Lady,
In many an author of renown

I've read this curious obfervation,
That) by much wand 'ring up and down,
Men catch the faults of every nation,
And k)ofe the virtues of their own, Ver—Ve^t a.
DEAR FRIEND,
A MONGST the variety of oc-

cnfrences with which I have endeavoured to enterr
tain you, perhaps not all equally interefting (and the
moft material of them, I am duly fenfible, not en-
titling me to the claim of being efteemed a writer
pofTefl'ed of* the very flrft abilities this age or nation
has produced,) I recolletft my not yet having given
you an account of my principal travels. Foffibly
you might very readily pardon that omiffion, as from
what has already appeared it muft be evident, the en-
gagements which from time to time have fviUy en-
grolTed my attention, have not furniftied me with an
opportunity of making the tour of Europe, or tracing
the fource of the river Nile, much lefs circumnavi-
gating the glooe. And even fuppofing I had been
poflelTed both of the time and inclination for fuch ex-
icnlive undertakings, the difadvantages which I la-
bour under for want of having received a proper edu^
cation, would have difqualified me from making fuch
remarks and obfervations as naturally prefent them-
felves to thofe who have been fortunate enough to
poflefs that advantage, and of courfe are qualified to
prefent the wonld with a variety of fubje6ts equally
curious and inftrudive: though it is not without re-
luftance I think it neceffary here to obfcrve, that
fome
»

Tome of ihcfe gentlemen^ not content with giving a
true account of what actually occurred to them,
and fuppofing that plain matter of fadt would not be
fufficiently intereiHng to excite that fuperior degree
of attention and admiration which they were ambitious
fts authors to acquire, they have thought proper to
intermix fo much of the marnjelhus into their narra-
tions, as has been the occaiion of many perfons read-
ing them with fuch diffidence, as to doubt the truth
of many relations, which though really flri6tly con-
fident with veracity, yet being novel and uncommon,
they were unwilling to credit, left they fliould incur
the ccnfure of being polTelTed of a fuperior degree of
weaknefs and credulity. This I am alfo confident
has induced many a modeft author to omit paflages/
which though really true, he was cautious of pub-
lifliing, from a fear of being fubjeded to the fame
fevere animadveriions, or what vis ilill worfe, being"
fufpedtcd of wilfully impoling on his readers. Recent
inftances of which, were it necelfar^, I could ad-
duce but I fliall proceed with cautioning you front
;
being alarmed, left I fliould fall into either of thefe

errors. Nothing ^very mawellous will occur in what L
mean to prefent you with ; though I fliall not be in-
timidated from relating real fads ^ from the appre-
henfion of not being credited. As an additional rc-»
commendation, (no doubt) the hiftory of my travels^
will be interfperfed with fuch remarks on. men and
manners as have prefented themfelves to me during,
my peregrination ; and this I pre vioufly warn you
will be well done in my *' accullomed defultory n\an-
ner," from which, as Mr. Pennant fays in his Hif-^
tory of LQndon^ " I am too old to depart," that is, a»
Dr. Johnfon might poifibly hav^ explained it, *' Sir,
you are then too old to mend.'* But you, my dear
friend, are not fo faftidious a critic ; although you
may find the whole very dull^ it fliall not be very
Icng ; fo that if it does not aft as a cordial to enliven
your i4)irits, it may (if read in the evening) prove a
powerful narcotic y2i\\iX aiFordyou fome pleafing dreams,
when
2()i LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
<« Tir'd nature's fweet reftorer, balmy fleep,
** His ready vifit pays."
not trouble you with a detail of bad

I fliall therefore
roads, the impofitions of innkeepers, what food I
partook of, how many bottles of wine were drank,
the height of fteeples. Nor will I
•— —
Tell how Richard ftrayM from poft to poft,
What towns he din'd in, and wh;»t bridges croft j
How many eagles by the way were Icen,
How many aflfes grazed along the green.
Heroic Epiftle to Twiss.
A fufficiency of this, I truft, has already appeared in

different writers. Thus much by way of preparation
for my journies. Inowfetout.
In feventeen hundred and eighty-fevcn,
Sepiember^^
Ifct Edinburgh; and in all the principal towns
ojfF for
through which I paffed, was led from a motive of
curiofity, as well as with a view towards obtaining
ibme valuable purchafes, to examine the bookfellers
fkops for fcarce and valuable books ; but although I
went by the way of York, Newcaflle-upon-Tyne, &c.
and returned through Glafgow, Carlifle, Leeds,
L»ancalrcr, Preflon, Manchefter, and other confi-
durable places, Lwas much furprized, as well as difap-
pointed, at meeting with very few of the' works of
the moft efteemed authors ; and thofe few confifted
in general of ordinary editions, befides an aflemblagc
cf common trifling books, bound in flieep, and that
too in a very b^d manner. It is true, at York and
Leeds there were a few (and but very few) good
kooks ; but in all the other towns between London and
Edinburgh nothing but traih was to be foundk in the
latter city indeed, a few capital articles are kept, but
in no other part of Scotland.
In feventeen hundred and ninety, T repeated my
journey, and was much mortified to be under a ne-
ccffity of confirming my former obfervations. Thi«
remarkable deficiency in the article of hooks, i« how-
ever not peculiar to the northern parts cf Engl^^d ;
as I have repeatedly travelled into the wcftern parts,
»ad found abundant caufe for diiTatisfadtion oi* the
fame
fame account ; fo that I may venture without fear of
contradi61:ion ro aiTert, that London, as in all other
articles of commerce, likewife the grand emporium
is
of Great Britain for bodks, engroffing nearly the

whole of what is valuable in that very cxtenfive, be-
neficial, and 1 may add lucrative branch of trade. As
to Ireland, I fliall only obferve, that if the bookfel-
lers in that part of the empire do not fliine in the
pofleffion of valuable books, they mufl: certainly be
allowed to poflef? fuperior indullij in reprinting the
works of every Englifli author or merit, as foon at
publiflied, and njery liberally endeavouring to dilTemi-
nate them, in a furreptitious manner through every
part of our iiland, though the attempt now generally
proves abortive, to the great lofs and injury of the
ingenious proje^lor?.
At Newcaitle, I pafTcd a day or two in the year
1787, where I was much delighted with viewing a
fingular phoenomenon in natural hillory, namely, the
'Celebrated eron)j*s nefi affixed above the weather-cock,
on the upper extremity of the Exchange, in the rrtar-
ket-place. In the year i 783, as I was well informed,
'
the crows firft built this curious nelT, and fucceeded

in hatching and rearing their young. In die follow-
ing year they attempted to rebuild it: but a cbntefl
cnfuing among fom.e of the fable frateihity, after a
fierce engagem.ent they were obliged to relinquifli it,
and the neft was demoliOied by the vi6foriolis party
before it was iiniflied. This bad fuccefs, however,
did not deter the original builders and poileirors from
returning, in the year 1785, when they took quiet
poiTeffion of their freehold, rebuilt rfhe premifes, and
reared ânother family. This they repeated the three
following years with equal fuccefs; and when I was
there in the year 1790, much of the nefl remained,
but the crows had forfaken it. The above occur-
rence, though to many it may appear incredible, is aa
undoubted fact. That a-ows Ihould come into th'e
center of a populous town to build their nefts, is
of 'itfelf remarkable, but much more fo, tbat they
mould prefer a weathercock to any other lituation,
where the whole family, and their kabitation turned
O round
294 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON-.
round with every puff of wind, though they were
perfe6tly fee u red from falling, by the fpikc of iron
which rofc abave the vane, around which the whole
made their revolutions and as on one iide the neft
;
was higher than on the other, that part being alwâys

to windward, by this ingenious contrivance of the
feathered architects, the inlide of the nell: was conti^
nually kept in a proper degree of warmth, I never
recolle6t thefe various circumftances, without being
loft in admiration at the extraordinary fagacity of thefe
birds. While I am on the 'fubje6t of birds, I will
relate another odd circumftance that happened not
far from Moorfields In the fummer of 1781, in a
:
tu rial-ground near Pecrlefs-Pool, there was one corner

where human bones were piled up, and in one of th«
fkulls a blackbird made her nefl, and hatched five
young ones,, three or four of which being cocks, were
kept by the neighbours, and turned out line fingers.
In Newcaitle, however, I met with a greater curio-
lity, as well as a more amiable fubje6l of it than %
arrow's nefl: to excite my aftoniftiment.
In my firll journey, Mr. Fijher^ the bookfeller, in-
troduced me to his daughter, a charming young lady,
who being unfortunately born deaf, was confequently
dumb, till a gentleman a few years fince taught her
to underftand what was faid to her by the motion of
the lips. I had the pleafure of converfing with her
feveral times, and found that flie had much of the
Scotch accent, which, as Mr. Fiflier informed me, fhe
acquired of the gentleman who taught her not only
to underftand the converfation of others, but to/peak^
he being a native of that country he remarked alfo, :
that file never had fpoken the Newcaftle diale6t. This

young lady, I was alfo informed, dances exceedingly
well, keeping exaft time with the mufic, whether it
as played How or quick. When it is confidered what
an intenfe application. muft have been ufed, both on
the part of the teacher and his fair pupil, to produce
fuch a happy effect, it furcly rcflefts great credit on
each of the parties.
In the year 1790, when I again vifited Newcafl:lc
ivith Mrs. Lackington, this young lady became the
flrfc
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. jc,-
fiVil objea of inquiry, and we were both introduced
to hgr.
I have lately been informed of a lady now in
Lon-
don, who although flie is deaf, takes great Mhht
in mujic, and when afked how (he is aftedted
by it Ihe
anfwers, that Ihe feels it at \xtx bnaji, and at th bot-
tom of herfeet.
Being on the fubjeaoi Curiofities , and ha vino- juil
related the pleafure I experienced on
account of a
lady acquiring the ufe of fpeech, permit me
now to
prefentyou with another rarity indeed
I—fomewhat
connedkd with the former, no doubt, but intended
as
an cffedual remedy (temporary, at leaft) for
an op-
pofite complaint of the fame organs, viz. too ereat a
niclubdity offpeech, with which (as it is faid) many fe-
males are fo infefted, as fometimes to lead
them to ex-
ceed the bounds of due moderation and
female deco-
rum, and even difplay itfelf in the utterance
of fuch
barih (though frequently inarticulate)
terms as tend
too much to difgrace the unhappy patient,
and vio-
lently affeft the auditory nerves of
all perfons withia
^ confiderable diflance.— To
quit metaphor:
At the town-hall I was fliewn a piece of
antiquity
called a hank. It confifts of a combination of irou
fillets, andfaftened to the head by a lock fixed
is
to
the back pait of t ; a thin plate of
iron goes into the
mouth, fufliciently ftrong. however, to
confine the
tongue, and thus prevent the wearer
from making
any ufe of tliat reftiefs member. The ufe
of this piecl
of machinery is to punifli notorious
fcolds. I am
pleafed to hnd that it is now confidered
merely as a
matter of curiofity, the females of
that town hap-
pily having not the fmalleft
occafion for the applica-
tion of fo harih an inftrument
: whether it is that all
temales, apprehenfive of being
included in that de-
icription, have travelled fouthward
to avoid the
danger of lo degrading an exhibition,
or whatever
Qther reafon is affigned, I forgot to
enquire. It how-
ever affords me pleafure to reflea,
that the ladies of
Newcaftle are left at hberty to adopc
a head-drefs of
^' ^V'^"/'"^'
confident that theypoffefs a more
refined tdfte thao to Ajj upon
one byjô means calcu-
O g.
]ated
296 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. '
iated to diipkiy-thcir lovely countenances to ndvan-

tage, as I am.periuadcd the ^r^;^^^ would caft fuch a
gloom on the faircll of them, as would tend much to
diminifli the influence of their charms, and give paiu
to every beholder. It may be prudent, notwithftand-
ing, flill to preferve it in terrorem^ as who knows what
future times may produce ? As I efteem it a very in-
genious contrivance, and a^ there may be parts of tha
country flill to be found, where the application of
I'uch amachine may be ufefiil in fome chriftian fa*
milies (I will not fay in all^ having fufficient grounds
for averting the contrary) I here prefent you witk aji
Accurate &etch of it,
together with the manner of its application: that I

any ingenious artift fliould be applied to, he may no
be at a lofs how it is to be made. I would, however
ladvifehim to be cautious in offering them to publij
^âle,and by no means to adv^rtife them, efpecially i
a married man, or having any views towards mat;*!
;
LIFE OF J. LAGKINGTON. 297

'Tis thus tlie nuptial ilate affords
Uninterrupted joy
When no diicordanl hafty wrtrd*
The hufoand's peace deftroy.
His leifure feeks no gay re fort,
But to his partner iteals ;
And thinks thelongeftday too ilkort

To I'pcak the biiCs he feels.
But when the gales which pailions blow,

The bofoni's calm remove ;
He flics the fair one's angry brow, .
And fcorn fucceeds to love.

Bell's Britiili Albani.
I L-m,
Dear Friend,
Ymifi.
LETTER XLIV.
^< O, land of cakes how oft my ^yes
I •
<< Delire to fee thy mountains rife ;
*< How fancy loves thy lleeps to climb,
" So wild, fo folemn, fo fublime."

<^ All the flage-coaches that travel fo fafl,
" Muft set now and then an unforfennate call.
DEAR FRIENT),
I N my
firfi: journey to Scotlanci, I
fometimes travelled but often entered the difie-

poft,
rent flage coaches, &:c. for a llagc or two, when I
happened to fc.e any fetting* out lb as to fuit my time
and inclination; but at laft I had pretty nearly paid
dear for it, as the driver of the diligence from Dar-
lington to Durham, happened to be much inebria'ted,
and before his quirting Darlington had almoil over-
let us; not obfcrving the man was drunk, we attri-
O z ^ blued
buted the fault tothchorfes; we were, however, very
ipccdily undeceived in that refpc^l by many concur*
rent cii cum (lances, being one minute nearly in the
ditch on the right hand, and the next butjuil e-
icaping that on the left ; at other times we experienced
flriking proofs of the inability of our conductor agairift
the number of one-horfe coal-carts^ not to mention
tlielr frequently running fowl of us for being on the
wrong fide of the road (for drivers of coaches and
:
carts can be to the full as favagc towards each othef

in the country, as in London) however, notwith-
:
ilanding all thefe " hair-breadth efcapes,"we retained

our feats, till we arrived within three quarters of a
mile of Durham, when at length tlveripecific gravity
of the driver's head preponderi/ting over all the
other parts of his frame united, precipitated him with
violence from the deviated ftation he had, till then,
(though with difficulty) poflefTcd, to his parent earth.
There were three unfortunate paflengers in the car-
riage^ left to the difcretion of the horfes* viz. a gen-
tleman, an innkeeper's wife, and your humble fer*
vant ; the lady in fl:ri6l compliance with the pradic'c
of her fex in fimilar fituations, on feeing the rapid
dcfcent of our charioteer, immediately honoured us
with a loud and ilirlll fliriek ; this the quadrupeds^ not-
accuilomed to this pretty female note fo much as the
fonorous voice of a coachman, miflook for a fignal to
mend their pace, and they, habituated to pay all due
obedience to the commands of their fuperiors of the
biped creation, when underflood by them, and find-
ing no check, inftantly proceeded to a full gallop ;
and we, however relu61antly, followed them down a
gentle defcent, not at a gentle rate, but with prodi-
gious velocity. As I was quite calm and coUeded,
I coolly reconnoitred the road before us, and obferv-
ing that it was perfectly clear, as for half a mile not
a coal-cart was to be feen, although we had lately
paired feveral fcore, I began to realbn with my com-
panions, and they fpcedily became calm enough to
ailiil in holding a council what was bell to be clone
in our critical fituation. Our debates were quickly

ended, ae wc were uuanimous ijii opinion, that if we
ongd
.
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 29^-

cnce entered the Durham, the carriage mil ft
city of
inevitably be torn to pieces, owing to the variety of
turnings and obilrudions we fliould have to encounter.;
\ve, therefore, entered into an immediate refolution,-
nem, con. that to open the doors, and exhibit our
agility, by leaping out, was, of " two evils chufinar
the leall :" this, wê inilantly did, in as careful a man-
ner as poffible ; we firH: alighted on our feet, and
next complimented the ground with our nofes, with-
out receiving much injury.
' — Awoncl'rous token
Of beav n's kind care, with necks unbroken. Pkxk ant.
Our female companion indeed, by being rather too
precipitate, alighted in a manner which on any other
OGcafion would not have appea4*cd llridly ^lecent, of
which ilie, poor lady! was fo fenhble, that (lie im-
mediatly '* hoped as hew we were both married gcn^
tlemen ;" which v/;is quickly replied by both in th?
affirmative and tluis we faved our faironethe trouble
;
of exerting herfelf in another fcream, and ourfelve»

the punifliment of hearing it.
Being no longer parties concerned in the danger, it
afforded us fome entertainment to obferve the progreft
of our vehicle nowconiidcrably lightened byourefcape
from it, and becoming every moment ilill lighter by
the excluhon of fmall trunks, boxes, parcels, great
coats,&G. they, in imitation of our example, making
leaps,fome from the infide of the carriage, and others
from the boot; wheihcr occafioned by the repuJjiorf
of the carriage and its appendages, or the attradion'
of the earth, am
not fufficiently verfed in philofophy
I
to decide. when they perufe my labours,
Pofterity,
no doubt will determine this ivelghty point, and tranf-
mit it to the remotell period of time, properly digni-
fied by F. R. S. in Pbil. Traî/]
The horfcs finding themfelves le'fs incumbered,
and urged on by the noife of the doors continually
flapping, increafed tljeir fpeed happily, however,
:
the carriage was Hopped before it entered the city,

and no damage was fuilaiiied either by the horfes or the
carriage. Before we left the inn, our carefuiyo72 0/
t/je ivbi/> arrived, not in the leaft injured, but rather
O 4, benefited
30® LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
benefited by his di/'n-ftcr, being fuddenly transformed
into a flate of perfc6t fobriety ; after him followed
two countrymen, laden with the feveral articles which
had been fo violently ejeded. As I reflc^-ed that thi»
unguarded man might not alwaysbe equally fucccfsful^
cither to himfelfor his pafCengers, as in the prefentin^
llancc, I obtained a promife from the innkeeper never
to permit him to drive any carriage in future, in tht
management of which he had any concern. But I
have lincc learned, that the innkeeper did not keep his
vvord, as he foon permitted >him to drive the fam«e di-
ligence, and a few months after, being drunk as
iifuaf, he fell from the box, and was killed on thc<
f^ôt.
It is aftonifliing what a number of fatal accident«
continually happen from carelefsncfs and want of fo-
briety in this thoughtlefs race of beings. I was in*-
formed that only two days preiîous to my arrival a£

Durham, a coachman quittUig his box to ftep mtonn
adjacent houfe, in his abicnce the horfe^^ begnn to
, move gently, and a lady in the carriage giving a loud
fcream, the noife occafioiuxl the horfcs to fet off full
gallop, in confequcncc of whlcb^^ a lady of Durham,
happening unfortunately at that inftant to be croffing
the ^vay,^"was thrown down, and the wheels paffing
•over her, flie died on the fpot. One of the many
melancholy effe61:s refulting from the ridiculous prac-
tice of fcreaming. But I crave pardon of the ladies;
when I begin paffing cenfure on them, it is hightims
to clofe my epiille, (which if not very long^ may per-
haps be deemed fufficiently pertinent.)
I am,
Dâr Sir,
Yours.
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON, sî
LETTER XLV.
O that the too cenforio'js world would learn
This wholefomc ivile, ai;id with each other bear !
But mail, as if a foe to his own fpecies,

T;ikes plcafure to report his neighbour's faults,
Judguig with rigour- ev'ry ("mail offence,
m
And prides him 'elf fcandal.
Haywood's D. of Brunfwick.
A nation fam'd for fong, and beauty's charms j

Zealous, yet modell innocent, though free :
;
Patient of toil ; f^.ilcere amidfl alarms j

Inflexible in faith : iavuicibie in arms.
Beat tie's Minflrcl.
I>EAR FRIEND,
I
•T is reported of a very eminent
author, that he never blotted a line of what he had
once written on which it has been, remarked, that it
:
was a pity he had not blotted a thoufand. Now

though my extreme modeily will not permit mc to
put myfelf on a level with that great man as an '
author, whatever the impartial world may think of

our comparative merits, I muftconfefs I do not like
to blot what I have once w^ritten, fearful leli when I
begin, (another proof of my modefly ) I fliould defaca
the major parr of my manufcripts, and thus deprive
the public of the great advantages which may ixfult
from them. What 1 allude to, is an unfortunate Hip
of my pen in my lall; however, as *' confeiiion of a
fault makes fome amends," and I immediately checked
myfelf, craved pardon, abruptly clofed my letter,
and threw the offending pen from me vyith fome dp*
gree of anger, I hope thofe lovely fair ones^, who
might think I meant to affront them,, will, wîth their
accuftomed benignity, forgive, and indulge me with a
fmile on my future labours; and, as a convincing
proof how fenlible I am of their kind condefcenfion,
I here engage never more to exprefs my dillike of
their fcrea??iingy except they flioukl omit pujfchafmg
O 5
books
books of me, which I am fnre every candid fair (and
what fair one is not candid !) will think fufficiently
provoking.
But in order to remind them that every great man
does not always conduct himfelf with equal politenefs
towards the ladies, I beg permiiTion to introduce a
very great man to them no lefs a perfon than Dr.
:
Johnson ; of whom indeed fo much hath already

been fung and faid, that the fubjc6t may be fuppofojd:
to be nearly exhaulled ; which is, however, fo far
from being the cafe, that notwithftanding two quarto
volumes of his life, by Mr. Borwcll,are juft publiflied,
we are taught to expe6t another Life by a different
hand. Lideed, until fome other great man makes his
exit (myfelf out of the queflion) we are likely to be
entertained with frefli anecdotes of him ; but wheix
that period once arrives, then, farcwel John/on I
The Do6tor, whofe extreme fondnefs for that agree-
able beverage tea^ is well known, was once in com-
pany with a number of ladies, affembled to partake
with him of the fame refreflimcnt. The lady of th«
houfe happened to be one of thofe particularly atten-
tive to pun£lilio,and had exhibited herfineftfet of china
for the entertainment of her guefts ;the Doctor, who
drank large qCiantities, and with confiderable expedi-
tion, could not always wait with becoming patience
ceremonioufly to afk for and receive in due form the
addition of a lump of fugar when neceifary he there-^
;
fore, without permiflion, put his finger and thumb into

the fugar-difh, tumbling the contents over, till he
met with a piece of the proper iize the lady kept
;
her eye fixed on him the whole time, and deeming

\i\% conduct a great breach of decorum, refolved to
make him fenfible of it, by immediately ordering the
fervant to cliange the fugar-difli. The Do6lor, tho'
apparently attentive only to his tea, noticed it, and
as foon as he had emptied the cup, put it together
with the faucer under the fire-place, with due care,
however, not to break them. This was too fevcre
u trial for the poor lady, who, apprehenfive for the
fate of her dear china, after a decent fcream, with
warmthj demanded the reafonof his treating her info
rud«
rude a manner. '' Why, my dear madam,
(replied
''he) I wa3 alarmed with the idea that whatever I
** touched was thereby contaminated, and impreiled
*' with anxious defire to contribute towards your

*' felicitv,- I removed the objecl: {o defiled from
your
" pre fence with all poffible expedition." This reply,
though it extorted a fmile from all the company pre-
fent, did not fatisfy the lady to whom it was add re IFed,
who, notwithftanding (lie exerted herfelf to appear in
good humour, was too much otfended to forget the
—
afiront. This anecdote has been related to me with
fome addenda which heighten the ftory, though more
to the difadvantageof the Doilor bur, I believe, as
;
here related, it may be depended on as the real facft.

During my continuance in Scotland, which was
about three weeks the fii-3t time, and about a month
the lall, I often reiieded with pain, on the illiberal,
not to fay brutal treatment, the inhabitants received
from the Dofior. At Edinburgh, I heard various
anecdotes related of him, which were perfectly novel
to me, and in all piobability uill be fo to you. I
ikall, therefore, give you a fpecin"ien :
Being one day at a gentleman's houfe in Edinburgh,

feveial ladies and gentlemen came in to pay their re-
fpe«5ls to him ; and among others the then Lord Pro-
voil went up to the Doctor, bowing repeatedly, and
expreffing the highell refpe6l for him, to all which
the Doctor paid not the leail attention. Exceedingly^
hurt at fo flagrant a mark, of difrefpect, he turned
round, and put a ihiiling into the hand of the gentle-
man of the houfe on beiny: allied what the fliillins:
:
was intended for, he replied, " Have not I fee 11

your hearV
As the Do6tor was one day drinking tea at another
gentleman's houfe, the ladyâfked hi^n if he did not
choofe another cup it feems llie had forgot her hav-
;
ing before afked him the fame quefrion and on her

:
repeating it, he replied, " Wo;ur.n, ha\'€ I not ai*

ready told you that I had done ?" On which the lady
anfwered him in his own grruff manner. During^ hia
continuance m her houfe flie always talked to him
^vithoiU ceremony, and it \\ as remarked that llic had
O 6 moi^
more influence with him than any other perfon in
Scotland,
i was much plcafed with the politenefs of the gen-
tleman who related me this flory of the Dp£tor, as
he appeared anxious to excufe him for his want of
due decorum, and thus to palliate a moil: obvious
blemifli in the character of one of the moil: eminent
of my countrymen. I could wi(h the compilers of
the biograpical dqp'artmcnt of that truly great and
ufeful work, the ^^ Encyclopoedta Brita?inica,^' would
obferve the fame politenefs and impartiality. And I
hope that this hint will alfo induce them in fome fub-
lequent edition, when 1 am gone to
*^ That bourne from^whence no traveller returns,"
to do julHce to my greal and ajionlfhing merits^ by way

of compenfation for having fallen fliort in fpeaking
of other great men ; and fliould I happen to be out of
print by the time the editors of the Biographia Brit an*
nica arrive at letter L, which feems extremely proba-
ble, according to the very deliberate progrefs of that
work, I hope they will not flightly pafs ?ne over. If
they fliould, let them take the confequence as I here :
give them fair and timely notice, and they have not
to plead as an excufe, the want of materials.
I will give you one anecdote more of the great
Do6lor, hecaufe it relates to a Scotchman very emi-
nent in the literary world. I had it from Mr. Samuel,
who was one of the party. ^
'
Dr. Johnfon being one afternoon at the houfe of

Mr. Samuel's uncle (whofe name I have forgot) who
lived in one of the ftreets that leads from the Strand
to the Thames, a number of gentlemen being prefent
they agreed to crofs the water and make a litile excur-
iion on the other fide in ilepping into the boat one
;
of the company faid, Mr. Hume, give me your hand.

As foon as they were featcd, our DocStor afked Mr.
Samuel if that was Hume the Deifl. Mr. 'Samuel
replied, that it was the great Mr. Hume, the deep
mctaphyfician and famous hiilorian. Had I known
th:it (fajd the Do6tor) I would not have put a foot in
tha
the boat with him. In the evening they had all
agreed to fup together at a houfe near St. Clement's
Church in the Strand, and Do6tor Johnion coming,
in after the reil: of the company had fome time been
met, he walked up to Mr. Hume, and taking him by
the hand, faid, Mr. Hume, I am very glad to fee
you, and feemed well pleafed to find him there ; and
it appeared to Mr. Samuel, that the Do61or had thus
chofe to atone for his hafty exprelfion before related. ^

As 1 do not recolle6l any thing being recorded re-
fpeeîng the Doctor's pugilifiic abilities (excepting his^
knocking down Ofborn the bookfeller, be conlidered
as fuch) I fliali beg leave to relate another anecdote
which I received from the gentleman who favoured
me with the preceding one;
Dr. Johnfon being at the water fide when fome
latlies had jull quitted a boat and were endeavouring;
to fettle the fare with the wâterman ; this fon of the
Thames, like too niany of his brethren, infided on
much more than his due, accompanying his demand
in the ufualftyle of^^loquence, with abufive language,
the Do6tor kindly interfering, furniflied the ladies
with the opportunity of retreating, and transferred
the whole abuê to himfelf, who tindirg that argu-
ment made no impreffion on the waterman, tried what
he could eiTc^t by the flrength of arm, and gave
his
the refracftory fellow a hearty drubbing, which had
the defired efFe^f,
One word more concerning our great Lexicogra-
pher. It muft be allowed by every candid and im-
partial perfon, that the extreme contempt and pre-
judice he entertained towards our friends of North
Britain reiietted a very lirong fliade on his charadter,
which his warmell admirers cannot juftify.
How fondly partial are our judgments grown.
We deem all ma.u:crs odious but our own 1
Look from the fiigid to the torrid zone,

By cuftom all are l'.^d, by nature none.
Dr. Wharton onFalhlon.
Were I, as a South Briton, called upon to give my

tiir and unprejudiced opinion refpeding the national
chaj:a6ter
;
3o6 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

€liarav5ier of the natives of Scotland, and thofe of
England, and I flatter myfelf I have had ample op*
portunitics of obferving the pixuliar traits of both-

countries I would fay, that if we in England excel
;
them in fome virtues, they no lefs fliine in others ;

and if the North Britons polTcfs fome peculiar frailties
and prejudices, we of the South are not entirely free
from ours; To that were the virtues- and vices of a
.certain number of each country placed in an hy-
drollatical balance (it muft however be a pretty large
one,) I believe it very difficult to prognofticate which
of the two would preponderate. It is true, 1 have
met with one very great villain in Scotland, in Mr. S.
which only tends to prove there are probablyyôz/^^/r^/j-
to be found every where, and that without taking the
troublewhich Diogenes did, infearch oidin honeft mayi ;
and I am much afraid, were I to enquire of fome North
Britons, ihey could without any great difficulty point
out to me fome of my own countrymen as bad.
Fiilimany a youth, fit^for each horrid fcene,
The dark and footy luies of chimnies bear ;
Fnll many a rogue is born r.o cheat unfeen,

Aiid dies unhanged for want of proper care.
Let not ambition mock their humble toil,

Their vulgar crimes and villainy obfcure
Nor rich rogues hear with a difdainful fmile
The low and petty knav'ries of the poor. -
The titled villain, and the thief in power,

The greateft rogue that ever bore a name.
Await alike th' inevitable hour,
The paths of wickednefs but lead to ihame.
Eleoy in Covent-Gardeni'^
I" dctefb allnational prejudices, as I think it be*

trays great weaknefs in the parties who are influenced
by them. Every nation of the habitable globe, nay,
each particular province of thofe countries has cer-
tainly fome peculiar traits belonging to it which dif-
tinguiflies it from its neighbours. But-if we are dif-
pofed to view one another with the feverity of cri-
ticifm, how eafy, nay,how frequent it is to difcover
fuperior virtues (as we think) as well as abilties in
that particulair fpot which gave birth to ourfclve?,
.
LIFE OF J. LACKIKGTOTT. 307^

and equally divefted of that ftridl impartiality which
alone can enable us to judge properly, difcover pro-

portionable blemirties in the natives of other countries*.
" But travellers who want the ivill
*< To mark the fhapes of good and ill,
*' With vacant flare thro' Europe range,.
** And deem all bad^ beeaufe 'tis ftrange,^

<* Thro' varying modes of hfe, we trace
** The finer ti ait, the latent grace,
** Quite free from fpleen's incumb'ring load;>.
** At little evils on the road;.
" So while the path of life I tread,
<* A path to me with briars fpread ;
'^ Let me
tanglM mazes fpy,
its
<* Like you, with gay, good humour eye^-
" And be my fpirii light as air,

" Call life a jeft, and laugh at care."
In faying thus much,. I do not mean to infer, that
we ought not to be infpired with a laudable ambition
to excel, not thofe of other countries only, but even
thofe with whom we are more intimately conne6i:ed:
but that fliould be done without drawing invidious
comparifonsof the merits and demerits of others. In
Ihort, let it be the earneft endeavour of each country,
and every individual of that country in particular^
united under our amiable monarch, to Urive which
fliall have a fuperior claim to the title of being good
MEN, ufeful members of fociety, friends to the whole

human race, and peaceable fubje6ts of a government,
which though not abfolutcly in a Hate of perfedion--^
(and can that man be really deemed wife who expe6ls
to meet with perfection in any human ellablifliment ?)
is fHll happily fuperior to every other in the .known
world.
Britain now one ! thro' all her various parts,
No diff'rent name fliould know, no difTring hearts :
Strong by conne6lion,.like to tougheft cords.

Strain only one, one no defence affords j
Unite them firm, behold a flrennous rope.

Baffling refiftance, and confirming hope.
May Britain this refifllefs fliength employ,
Her foes fubdue, and every blifs enjoy. Bruciab.
iBut to return to Edinburgh. The Old Town, fo
called, has not much to boail of; but the New Town
is
3o8 LIFE OF J, LACKINGTON^.
k by far the moil complete^ and elegant I ever fa w. In
various towns of England and Scotland, I have indeed
feen fome good ftreets, and many good houfes, but
in this the whole is uniformly hne ; not one houfe,
much lefs a whole ftreet that can be termed indifferent
in the whole town.
And here let me do jufl:ice to North Britifli hofpi-
tality, and their very polite attention to fuch Englilh-
men who happen to travel to the '' land of cakes.'*
I can truly fay, that the polite and friendly behaviour
oF the inhabitants towards Mrs. Lackington and my-
felf, claims our warmeft gratitude and fincerefirthanks.
This the nnore civilized part of my countrymen will
readily believe ; and as to thofe of another defcriptioa
(happily but a Comparatively fmall number, 1 trufl) ^
are welcome to treat my aflertion with that contempt

ufually attendant on prejudice, which is the refult of
Ignorance
The fubje6t I now mean to enter Into beilig a de-
licate one, permit me here to clofe my letter; thus af-
fording you a fliort refpite, and rayfelf a little time for
conlideration on the propriety of ^fubmltting my ideas
(as you feem determined all thofe I fend you fhall be)
to public notice, and I mufl confefs,
<* Indeed, my friend, I much delight,
" That you are pleas'd witii what 1 write."
lam.
Dear Sir,
Yours •
LIF.1 OF J. LACKING TON. 309.
L E T T E R XLVI.
Set tvoinan in his eye,' nnd in. his walk.
Among the daoi^hters of meiilhe-fairell i"oUild>
Many .nre in each region pnfling fair
A^ the noon Iky, more like to goddefles
Than mortal creatures gracsfal and \^\(i:\'ctXf
j
E>iperL in amorous arts, enchanting tongues ;
Perfuafive, virgin, majefty, with mild

And Cweet ahay'd, yet terrible to.approrch j
Skiird to retire, and in retiring draw
Hearts aftei»them^ tangl'd in amorous nets;
Such obje6ts have povVer to foften and tame
Severed temper, fmooth the rugged ft brow>
Enerve and with voluj[>tuoiis hope difTulve*
Draw out with credulouii defire,
At will, the m^nlieft r^jfolnteil bi'eall* Ml t f.0 ^'*
DiiAJl IfRlfiNP,
I N my laft I ex'pi-effed fome dI{H»

dcncc refpeiîng the propriety of committing to paper
my thoughts on a particular fubjec^t ; I have fuice^
weighed it with due caution, and the confidenitioii
of my having, during the long courfe.of my epiftolary
correfpondence, always declared my fentiments freely
on every fubje6t, foon determined me not to degrade
myfelfby flirinking back, novv it is fo near drawing to
aconclufion.
The fubjecSi: then is —
that bright lovely part of the
creation, woman ! — the fource of all our joys, the
a/Tiiager of our griefs deprived of whofe power-
all :
ful attractive charms, man would be a wretch indeed.

But alas the utmofl: efforts of my abilities are far in-
!
aviequate to dojuftice to their merits happily that ;
pleaiing theme engaged the attention of the ablell

and worthiell: of men, from the remotell: period dowtx
to theprefent time and I trutl ever will, nay muil^
;
fo long as a fpark of virtue remains in the humaa

hi'eall.
Weak tho' her fame, not her's to yield

To ileal, to fire, to dart, or fliield ,^
— .
3IO LIFE OF J. LACKINTGTONr.

Vain are tlV embattl 'd Avarrior's arms
No proof 'gainft beauty't- heav'nly chaims; .
,
Beauty whole fmiler, with loft controul,

!
At onc€— can pierce him to the fout.

Fa w k e s '^s a nac i eoii
And when I refied, that
" They are not only fair, but just as f.iir."*
1 have nought to fear.

I therefore proceed with cheerfulncfs to fay, thi^r
.
in Edinburgh, Glafgow, Stirling, &:c. there are
more real fine women to be found than in any placQ.
I ever vlfittd,
BEA-»r*rY, that attribute of Heaven \
* In various forms to mortals given,

With magic ikill enflaves mankind j
* As fponive fancy fvvays the mind.
Search tlie wide world, go where you will^.
Variety purfues ynu ftill j
Capricious nature knows no bound,
Her unexhauiled giftsare found
In every clime, in every face,
Eacji has its own peculiar grace j
With various charms delight the mitid;
Mrs. RoBTNso:?.
I do not mean to fay that we have not as manj.

feand/bme women, in England ; but the idea I wifli:
t<> convey, is, that we have not io many in propor-
tion ; that is, go to any public place where a num-

ber of ladies arc aflembled, in either of the above
towns, and then go to any place in England where
^n equal number are met, and you will notice a
greater number of fine women among the former^,,
that among the latter.
Of beauty, natural and moral, view

The gradual climax, how nmmtely true ;
From herb, worm, bird, beaft, man, how it afcendsj .
Till in a woman's finifli'd form it ends ;
In her, ten thoufand different fliapes it wears,

j^nd in ten thoufand lovely flill appears.
R'YNER. .
It muft be obvious that in making this declaration,,

i allude to the gcntceler part; for among the lower
clafTea.
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON". 311
claffesof women in Scotland, by being more expofed:
to the inclemency of the weather, the majority ^re
very homely, and the want of the advantages of ap--
parel (which thofe in higher fphere caji well avail
themfelves of, and k^now how to apply) together
with their lluttifli and negligent appearance, does not
tend in the leafl: to heighten their charms.
I fuppofe A. Swinton, Efq. is no favourite of our
ladies of quality or he would not have been fo very
;
impolite towards them. In page 79 of his Travels,

into Norway, Denmark, and Ruilia, he fays,, " The
higher claffes of the Englifli, and the lower ranks of
the Scotch women, are, no doubt, of Danifti ex-
tradlion, if we may judge from a parity of uglinefs."
If Mr. Swinton would take my old ftation in the.
centre of the pit of Drury-lane, or Covent-garden
theatre, I think he would be obliged to beg the la-
dies' pardon for being the author of fo rude and gene-
ral an affertion.
Having both read and heard much related of the-
manner of wafliing their linen, which I muft'confefs
I could not credit without having ocular demonflra-
tion ; during my continuance at Glafgow, curiolity
ledme to the mead by the river lide. For the poor
women here inftead of the water coming to them, a^
in London, are obliged to travel loaded with their
linen to the water ; where you may daily fee great
numbers wafliing, in tJyeir way which if feen by
;
fomc of our London prudes, would incline them to

form very unjuft and uncharitable ideas of the mo-
deity of thefe Scottifli laffes. Many of them give a
trifle to be accommodated with the uf^ of a large
wafli-houfe near the water, where about a hundred
may be furniflied with every convenience for their
purpofe. But by far the greateft part make fires, and,
heat the water in the open air, and as they fi nilli their
linen, they fpread it on the grafs to dry ; wh ich is the
univerfal mode of drying throughout Scotland. Hare,
ths
*^ Maidens bleach their fumraer fmocks."
ihai
Sii L1F.E OF J. LACKINGTON.
I had walked to and fro feveral tunes, and [legatr to--
(Conclude that the cuftom of getting into the tubs* and
treading on the linen, citherneyer had been prad'tlfedj.
or was come into difufe ; but t had not waited mor«
than half an hour, when many of them-jumped into
the tubs, vvithout llioes or (iocUngs, with their fliifs
and petticoats dravv^n up
far above the knees, and
Hamped away compofure in their counten-
v/ith great
ances, and with all their flrength, no Scotchman
taking the leatl: notice, or even looking towards them,.
c?onftant habit having rendered the fcene perfectly
familiar*
On^converiing with fome gentlemen of Glafgow
on thiscarious fubjcfl, they affured me that thefc
fingular laundrelTes (as they appeared to me) wer«
'
ilric^ly modeft women, who only did what others of
unblemiifhcd reputation had been accuftomcd to for a^
long ih'hi of years and added, that at any other-
j
time a purfe of gold would j>ot tc^mpt them to dniw th^

curtain fo high. By way of contrail let me obferve,
that many of our London {ervani'mards^ though not
always fo nice in other refpe^s, would not be feen
thu8 habited m public on any terms, left their preciousi
characters fliould be called in queftion. A ftriking
inftance of the powerful influence of habit Pomfret. I
fays,
Ciiftom's the world's great Idol v^ê adore,

And knowing that we leek to know no more.
Moft of the female fervants in Edinburgh, Glaf-

gow, &c. do all their work, and run about the
town the fore part of the day without flays, Ihoes, or
ftockings and on Sundays I faw the country-women.
;
going towards kirk, in the fame manner ((lays ex-

cepted); however, they do not go into kirk, till
they have dreffed their legs and feet for that purpofe ;
they feat themfelves on the grafs, fomewhat near,,

put on their flioes and ilockings, and garter up very
*
delibrately,
*^'
Nor heed the pafTenger tlaat looks that way.'*
Moft.
ITFE OF J. LACKINGTON, 315
Mod of thcfe poor young country»\vomengo with«
vx)ut any caps 6v hats ; they have in general fine heads
of hair, many plait it, others let it hang loofe down
their backs ; and I ailure you, my friend, they look
very agreeable*
s»
J. S's deicription
of the ** Tweed's Bonny Sidc^
came frefa to my mind ;
There, lads md lafTcs do conveen
To feail and dance upou the green,
Aa' there fic brav 'ry may be {een
As will confound yc,
An* gar yc glour out baith your een,
At a' around yo»
To fee fae mony bofoms bare,
An' fic hnge puddins i* their hair,
An' iome o' them wi' naithhig mair
Upon their t^t^.
I returned each time through Buxton, where flay-

ing a week or two, I vifttcd Cailleton, and fpent fc-
veral hours in exploring that ftupendous cavern, called
The Devil's A ^'— in the Peake, I alfo furveyed
'
Poole's Hole, near Buxton, and purchafed a great

variety of petrifacHons. In our way home I faw the
great marble manufactory at Afton, in the Water,
ipent fome days at Matlock, the moft romantic village
that I ever faw, but the fight of it coil me dear as' ;
we were conveyed rhcre in an old crazy poftvchaife,

in which I caught a violent cold, the lining being
very damp.
Dear Sir,
Yeurs.
: ;
31+ LIFE OF J, LACKINGTON.
LETTER XLVIL
ôoS feen expedled, evil iinfdrefeen,
Appear by turns as fortune (hifts the fcene :
Some rais'd aloft come tumbling down amain,

Tlien fall fo hard, they bouild and rife again,
Drydek's Virglti
êw turns and changes every day

Are of inconftant chance the conflant arts
"Soon fortune gives, foon takes away ;
She comes, embraces, naufeates you, and parts.
But if Ihe flays, or if ilie goes,
The wife man little joy or little forrow knows i
For over all there hangs a doubtful fate.

And few there be that 're always fortunate.
Dne gains by what another is bereft
The frugal deftinies havfi only left
A comiVion bank of happinefs below.
Maintained, like nature, by an ebb and flow.
How's Indian Emp.
« They fay there's a Providenee fits up aloft,

<< To k€«p watch for the life of poor
Jack.'*
DEAR FRIEND,
I
Did not intend to trouble you or
the public with an account of any more of my nôn^
>derful travels^ but being now at Lyme, for want of
other amufements this rainy morning, I thought that
a fhort acount of this journey might afford you fomc
entertainment.
My flate of health being but indifferent, and Mr?.
Lackington*s ftill worfe, I was induced to try what
€ffe6t a journey would produce ;
« When med'cine fails, amufement fhould be fought,
<< Though but to footh the miferies of thought."
Itbeing immaterial what part I travelled to and as :
I'had not for a long time feen my native place, and

perhaps might not be furniflied with another oppor-
tunity, we rcfolved 4o yifitit.
An*
— ! : «
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 31J.

And many a year elaps'ti, return to view ^
Where once the cottage flood, the hawthorn grew,

"Remembrance wakes with her bufy
Swells at my
breaft -* — all
-^
train,
I flill had hopes, for pride attends us flill,

Amidll the fwains to fhew my book-iearn'd fkilL
Yes, let the ricii dertde, with proud difdain
The fimple bleflings of the lowly train ;
To me, more dear, congenial to my heart.
One native charm, than all the glofs of art
Spontaneous joys, where nature has it? play,
"The foul adopts, and owns their firft-born fway
JLightly they frolic o'er the vacant mind,
Unenvy'd, unmolleiled, uciconfinM."
Goldsmith.
Accordingly in July lad-, 1791^ we fet out from
Merton, which I now make my chief reiidence, ta-
king Bath, Briftol, &;c* in our way to my native place,
Wellington.
In Briftol, Exbrldge, Brldgewater, Taunton,
Wellington, and other places, I amufed myfclf in call-
ing on fome of my mailers, with whom I had about
twenty years before worked as a journeyman flioe-
makcr. I addrelfed each wdth, ^^ Fray^Sir^ ha<veyougot
any occafion /"' which is the term made ufe of by
journeymen in that ufeful occupation, when feeking
employment. Moil of thofe honeft men had quite
forgot my perfon, as many of them had not feea me
iince I worked for them fo that it is not eafy for you
:
to conceive with what furprife and aftonifliment they

gazed on me.
Alteration ! alteration 1
Oh, what a wonderful alteration Collins.

For you muft know that I had the vanity (I call it
humour) to do this in my chariot, attended by m,y
fervants and on telling them who
; I was, all appear-
ed to be very happy to fee me,
" Up fprings at «very flep, to claim a tear,
<* Some little friendfhip formed and cheri/h'd here/*
And I affure you, my friend, it afforded me much

jsal pleafure to fee fo many of my old acquaintances
alive
:
.îG LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

oliVeand well, and tolerally happy. The following
lines often occurred to my nund :
" Far froiTJ,rhe niaiMiii^ crowd's ignoble (Irife,

" Their fobcr wilhcs never learnM ro ftray ;
** Along the coo! tecjuefler'd vale of life

*^ They keep the uolfelefs tenor of their way."
The following imkation of the preceding is not

aniifs
Far from the circle of rlie fplendiJ throng,

They treadobfciirity's fequetteiM vale ;
ThiCir lonely hours unvaried creep along,
Unfann'd by pleafure's ever (hifting gale.
Nunnery, an Elegy.
At Taunton and Wellington it fi?emed to be the
unanimous determination of all the poorer fort, that
I fliould by no means be deficient in olJ acquaintances^
Faithful nienVry wakes each paft delight,

Each youthful tranfport burfling on the fight,
£qual in yeai-s wiien frolic I'poris difplay,
And Phoebus^gladdens with a brighter ray.
Green's AppoUonius Rhodius.
Some poor fouls declared that they had known me for

fiftyyears (that is, years before 1 was born);, others,
had danced me in their arms a thoufand times ; nay,
better llitt, fome knew my grandmother ; bur, beft
of all, one old man claimed acquaintance with me,
for having feen me many times on the top of a fix-
and-twcnty round ladder, balanced on the chin of a
merry-andrew^ The old man was however egregioully
!
jTiiftaken, as I never was fo piccarioully exalted, my

ambition, as you well know, taking a very different
turn- But that was of no confequence all the old :
fellow wanted was ay2'/7//;/§— and I gave it him. No

matter (as Sterne fays) from what motive. I nevW'
examine into thcfe things.
A fmall gratuity dilates their heai t,
And many a bitîling fuUuvvs as we part,

J.
FlT7CIilALD.
This I obfcrred, that none of them were common

beggars, but poor ufeful labouring people ; (giving to
common
'
ilFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 317

common ftrollers is but encouraging idlenefs and every
other vice) and as fmall matters made many happy ^ 1
was fupremely fo, to be the means of contributing to
their comfort. And indeed who would hefitate at
being the means of dlffuling h&ppinefs on fuch eafy
terms, and with fo little trouble ?
His faithful kin, though forty times removed,
Will let him tiear how tenderly he's lov'd ;
Silence when he harangues will ne'er be broke>

But ev'ry tongue repeat his poorefl joke.
Lord Gar© ENS TON.
The rang merrily all the day <>f my arrival.

bells
I was honoured with the attention of many of
alfo
the moft reirpe6table people in and neiir Wellington,
and other parts Some of whom were pleated to in-
;
form me, that the reafon of their paying a particular

attention to me was their having heard, and now having
themfelves an opportunity of obferving, that I did
not fo far forget myfelf, as man)- proud uptlai ts had
done ; that the notice I took of my poor relations
and old acqaintance merited the refpe(^ and appro-
bation of every real gentleman.
By dear experience every ^X)' wc find,

That iicl?es commonly degn'.de the mind,
That he, who trainM through want's inftruclive fchdi>l.
Had prov'd a man of fenfe, becomes fool. :i
As dirt (» all beneath himlelf looks down,

ôr feels for any forrow but his own.
Lord Gari>en~3tcn^
They were alfo pleafed to cx^p'refs a wifll, that as

foon as could difpofe of my bufinefs, I woxild come
I
down and fpend the remainder of my days among
them. Thofe ideas were pleaiingto me, and perhaps
may be realized I wlQi it may be foon.
;
** There could I trifle carelefsly away;

<* The milder evemng of life's tlmided day^
*< From bufmefs, and the world s intrulioa free,
"*< With books, with love, with fi'iendlhip, aiul ^vilh t!.ce.
" No farther want, no wilh yet un^ôirdl,
^* Could e'er diilurb ray unambitious bieail,
P TlSullus
; :
3j8 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON-

Tibullus was much of the the fame mind nearly
two thoi^faud years fince. Although he had been
iiiu^h better acquainted with flate and grandeur, yet
when the foldiers of the Triumvirate were rewarded
with his pofTelTions, he would not make his court to
Auguftus, in order to recover them, but in retirement
obtained a tranquility of mind not to be found in the
gay, or bufy world in his firft elegy, he fays,
:
For trcafurM wealth, for ft ores of golden wheat,

The hoard of frugal fires, Til never call
A little farm be mine, a cottage neat.
And wonted couch, where balmy lleep may fall.
What joy to hear the temped howl in vain,

Andclafp a fearful miflrefs to breaft; my
Or luird to flumber by the beating- rain,
.Secure and happy Cnk at laft to reft.
Content with little, I would rather ftay

Than fpend long months amid the wat'ry wafte :.
In cooling Ihade, elude the fcorching ray

Befide fome fountain's gliding waters placM.
There are that fame, and wounds, and riches prize;

For me, while I poffefs one plenteous year,
I'll wealth and meagre want alike defpife.
In his fourth elegy_ is the following ufeful hint
IVe feen the aged oft lament their fate.

That fenfelefs they had learnt to live too late.
In elegy the fixth, he fays,
The fons of opulence are folly's care,

•Etit want's rough child is fenfe and honour's heir.
Grainger,
tDften has fuch thoughts as thefe cheered mc v/ith

"liopes, and then
».. I Uefcend,
To join the worldly crowd perchance to talk,
:
To think, to a6l as they.j then all thefe thoughts,

That left the expanded heart above this fpot
To heavenly mufing; thefe pafs away,
(Even as this goodly profpe<5l from my view)
Hidden by near and earthly-rooted cares :
So palTsth human life j our better mind -^
Is
Is as a Sunday's garment, then put on
When we have nougtit to do ; but at our w^rk.
We wear a worfe for thrift.
Growers Lewcfdcn Hiil, a Pofm.
The above reception was the more pleafing, as I

have fometimes oblerveda contrary condu(ft pradtifcd
by feme, who have been pleafed to ftile themfelves
gentlemen, and on that fcore think that they have a
right to treat men of bufinefs (however rcfpedable
they may be) as by much their inferiors ; and it too
often happens that one of thofc petty gentry who pof-
felTes but a hundred or two per annum, will behave
in a haughty manner to a man in bulinefs who r|:^nds
as many thoufands but fuch (hould be told, that a real
;
gentleman in any company

will never either by word
or a6lion, attempt to make the meaneft perlon feel his
inferiority, but on the contrary.
Tliey (liould be informed alfo how highly impolitic
and unjuft it is to attempt to iiix a lligma on trade and
•ommerce, the very things that hath caufed England
to rile fo high in the political fcale oF Europe*
•Mighty Commerce, h.îl !
By thee the fons of Attic's Hcrile land,

A fcanty number, Laws imposed oti Greece.
Nor aw'd they Greece alone; vaft Afia's king,
Tho' by rich arm'd myriads, at their frov, r^
girt
Felt his heart wither on his faitheft throne.
Perennial fource of papulation, thou I
While fcanty peafants plough the flow*r>' plain?.
What fwarms of ufeful citizens fpring up,
Hatch'd by thy foftcrin^ wing.
Grainger's Sugar-cane,
Dean Swift was in the right '' If a proud man

:
(fays he) makes me keep my diftancc, the comfort i^-,

he keeps his at the fame time."
'Tis true that even in England you may fee great
numbers of very opulent tradefmen who have not
an idea but what tbey have acquired behind the coun-
ter, or at their punch-clubs but you may alfo find
:
jnany thoufands of the fame clafs of life who are pof-

feffed of very liberal fentlments, and who would not
commit an aftion that would difgraoc a title.
F z ''
U
:
320 LIFE OF J. LACfCINGTON.

*'In England (fays IhicknefTe) one may traft the
honour of a refpcc^table tradefman in France and ;
Flanders Inever experienced a (ingle inftance of it :"

he adds, * and an Englifli merchant, who has re-
fided many years at Marieilles, allured me that there
was not a merchant in that great city, who would not
only over-reach him if he could, but would boaft alfo
all over the town of having fo done." And 1 think
, that we may ealily account for this very great dif-
ference, in the national chara^lers of merchants aiid
.,tradefmen. On the continer.t, merchants and tradef-
men are looked upon in a degrading point of view ;
merely .for being of thatclais, nor would the moft
.honourable or refpeîable behaviour iver raife them
in ihe i<leas or eilimation of the nobles or gentry,
.who are taught to treat them with neglect, and even
contempt. Thus being deprived of that great motive
to noble or liberal adiona, the love of honour, rank,
the notice of the grear, &c.^&c. their minds become
depr-eiled and degraded j whilll in England the mer-
chants and rêfpedable tradefmen, being held in higher
eilimation, and often admitted to. the. company, con-
verfation, and honours of higher clafTes, the fordid
mind by degrees imibes more liberal fcntiments,.and
the rough manners receive a degree of polifli. For
my part, 1 will endecivour to adhere. to the advice
given bv Perfius, as it is tranllated.
<< Study ihyfelf, what rank, or what- degree
<< The wife Creator has ordain'd for theej
<* And all the ofhtes of that ftate

.** Perform; and with tiiy prudence guide thy fate^"
We are informed that Dr. Johnfon leaped over the

fame ports vbi^h he had often lei^ped over when a
boy. I dill much the fame, and with gr-vat pleafure
vifitedmoi^ of the. lanes, gates, hedges, fields, trees,
&:c. with which I had been acquainted, when a bojj

while
. FaathfuLmemorys friendly hnnd,
That waves her all-eniiv'ning wand,
And brings to fancy's view ;
What nme, when wiiig'd wirh gay delight,

J'achfthoiightleis day arid eafy night.
On pleafure's pinions iiew.
Ther«
;
LIFE OF^ J. LACKINGTON.. 32!

There, pleas\l trace the ftow'ry mead,
I
And rviuiul the well known ehii-trees tread.
Where oft I've cnrelefs play'd ; ^
And I'ure my choiceft dny<? were fpent,
Cheer'd with the fmiles of glad conrenr,,
Beneath their peaceful lliid*.
The church, the yard, the neighbVi-.i^ yew,

AH warm my henrt anew,
join to
And paftimes pafl recall !
*Twa<? here I lafh'd the mnrmVinj^ top,

Hpre drove the tile with e^gQr hop.
There flruck. th? bounding ball.
Hail, happy flate of infant years !
There lovjly peace her temple rears^

And.fmiling ftands confcC'd ;
There virtue holds her chearfnl oourt,

And youthful gay defires rel'ort
To charm the tranquil bread.
No lawlefs p;iflr)ns wound the mind,
There i)leaUires leave no iling behind,
S.:d f(M]rce of other's care;
Kor fell remorfe, nor envious ire,
Nor bh'xk revenge, with purpofe dire,
Occafion dark dufpair.
Their's is the rofy bloom of health.

The boundlefs tranfport fnarch'd by ftealth,.*
The heart devcnd of guile ; /
What riper manho(jd feldom fcnows>
The r?acefnl undifturb'd repofe,
And undillembl'd fm le.
Aiiiicilion's loadthey feldcwn bear,

'Ti^ their's to fhed a fhort-liv'd tear.
Nor forrows foon forgot
The fvveets thatfronT cotitentment flow.
That health and peace of mind beftovv,
Complete their happy lot.
Bel i.'s B; Itifh Album.
I alfo with renewed pleafure vifxted the deliri^htful

hanks of the river Tone, near Xaunton where :
tormerly I had taken lb many pleafing walks with

Nancy Smith and Hannah Allen, and in imagination
kiifed them over anJ over again in every old relHng
pkice, ** The
impreilion (fays Zimmerman) is in-
deliable, the bofom
for ever retains a fenie of that
highell extacy of love, and of the place where the
P ^ .
^ fint
341, LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON-
firfttime that happy difcovcry, 'that fortunate mo-
ment, when two lovers pcFceive their mutual fond-
'
nefs.''
With gratitude^s tears I'll her kindnefs repay, s
'Twas here in this grove I firft told her I lov*d ;

And ever remember'd be that happy day,
Tiie day on ivhich Hebe my paflion approvM.
G. M. Woodward.
*' Precious moments (fays RoufTeau,) fo much
regretted oh 1 ! begin again your delightful
courfe ; flow on with longer duration in my remem-
brance, if poffible, than you did in reality in your
fugitive fucccllion." Petrarch, fpeaking of the fine
fenfations of a pcrfon in love, fays, '' This is a con-
dition which every young man ought to wifli for,
who wilhes to fly from the mcrcilefs approaches of a
cold eld age."
No fweet foliGitude to know

Kor other's blefs, for other's woe y
A frozen apathy to find,
A fad vacîity of mind ;
O, hafien back,»'then, Iieav'nly" boy,

And with thy anguifn bring thy joy 1.
Return with a 14 thy toraients hete>..
And let Hi€ hope, and doubt, and fear.
O rend my heart with ev'ry pain !
But let me, let me U)vc again. - Bella Chusca..

William Jones, Efq. of f"oxdown, near Wel-
lington, informed me of a remarkable progncjiicaiion
in my favour ; he told me that when I was a boy,
about twelve years of age, INIr. Paul, then a very
confiderablc wholcfale linen draper, in Friday flreet,
London, (I believe flill living) palling by my father's,
houfe one day^ Hopped at the door and alkcd various
queftions about fome guinea-pigs which I had in a
box. My anfwers it feems pleafed and furprized him,
and turning towards Mr. Jones, faid, '* Depend upon
ity Sir, that bey "-will one day rife far above the filiation
that his prefent nieati circumfiancesfeem to promifeJ* So

who knows what
haps
a great man I may yet be (
— per-
" A doubU pica in the book of fame^'*

Give
LIFE O F J, LACKINGTON. 32.5 ,
Give me leave ro introduce another prcdidxcn,

though not altogether lb pleafing as that jufl:" related*
An Italian gentleman, awd if we may judge by ap-
pearance, a peribn of rank, /was fomc years iince
looking at fome books o^palmljiry in my fliop, and ac'
the fame time endeavoured to convince me of the
reality of that fcience. In the midfl of his difcourfe
he fuddenly feized my right-hand, and looking for
fome time with great attention on the various lines,
he informed me that I had twicfe been in danger of
lofmg my life, once by water, and once by a wound
in my head ; he was certainly right, but I believe by
chance, as I have many other times been in \'f^\y
great danc;er. He added, that I had much of the
goddefs Venus in me, but much more ot Mars jind ;
allured me that I fliould go to the w^lrs, and arrive tu

great honour. He likewife informed me, that 1
fbould die hy Jire- arms pointed over a ivall. How far —
the former part of this gentlcman^s -predi6tion may
be I'elicd on, I will not pretend to decide, but the
lafl part of ic was lately very near coming tg fuch a
decilion as would have proved the fallibility pf thru
part cf his prognoftication though even in that caiV^
;
he might have pleaded his being pretty near the mat-

ter of fa61:, only fubilituting gunpoivJcr inftcad. o^jire."
arms^ and I fliould not have had it in my pou'er to
contend the point Vvîth him. I will endeavour to
render this intelligible On Tuefday the fifth of
:
July 1 791, 1 very nearly efcaped being blown up witlt

the powder-mills belonging to Mr. Bridges, at Ewell,
near Merton, in Surry. A
quarter of an hour before
-that event took place, I was riding out within org
mile of the mills, and having enquired of IMr. Rofc,
at Coombe-Farm, for the way that leads round by the
mills, I adually rode part of the way, with an in-
tent of vifiting them. But fomehow or other, I
fcarce knew why, I turned my horfe about, and a
few minutes after faw the fatal cataftrophe which ;
happening by day, refembled alarge cloud of fmokc, ^
of a very light colour, and the report reached m,y ears '
immediately after. I inftantly concluded, it could be

npthing lefs than the powder-mills blown up ; and on
P. f my
;
^2^ LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

my return to my houfe at Merron, I ibon leariTed
that it powder-mill that in all pro-
Wtis the identical
bability I Ihould have been in, or clole by, at the
time ot the explolion. By this accidem it feems four
men were killed, 'Ibiiê of whom had large families*
'1 he
bodies were i*o much mangled by the efffplolion^
that they coakl not be dillinguilhed iron\ each other,
inul the head of one of them was thrown to a great
diibnê.
On the TQth of March, 1794, Dr. Sinclair died
i'uddenly ia a booklcller's (hop in Birmingham,
i'hc doftor a few months previou.^ to his death, cafl
the nativjiy of Mr. Hindmaifli the primer, and pro-
j^heficd rhat he would die fuddenly within twelve-
inonihs. How tâme the dodor not to fee, that it
woiiidbe his ©wn fate (o to end his life, and with-
in the time that he v\as plrafcd to appoint for Mr.Hind-
iruirfii r 1 wiili it was made banifliment for anyone to
piefMid to (orerel ihe death of another.
Horace aJvifcs Leuconeto enjoy the prefent hour;
to make no euc|uiry of fortune-tellers relative to the
luture.
Sti-ive not, Leiiccne, to pry

Into Uie fecret will of fate,
Kf>r impiDiis magic vainly trv,
To know our lives' unceitain tlf.te.
Whether tir intlulgent pow'r divine

Hath nriany feafonr yet in flore,
Oy this the latnft v^'inter thine
Which breaks its waves againfl the fhore»
Tliylife with vvifer arts be crownM,

Thy filttr'U wines abundant ]->()ur ;
The lengthen'd lu>pe with prudence bound

' Proportioned to tUfi^ flying hour.
Ev n while we talk in carelefs eafe,

Our envious minutes wing their ftiglit
Then fwift the fleeting pleafure feize,
Nor truft to-morrow's doubtful light. Francis.
But to proceed with my journey. I eileem my*

felf peculiarly happy, on one account in particuhir,
that 1 undertook it and have only
; to regret it
did
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 3^5
diet not take place. fooiier, as it tended to undeceive
me in a matter m
which I had long been in aa
error.
How much one ôod vvell-natur'U deed

Exhilirates the mind !
Self-love Hiould prompt each humaii heart -
To ftady to be kind !
Remembracvce of a little a<5l
Will fmiling look,
alvv:iys
Which, though 'twas nfeful and humane,'^
Small coil and labour took
Dr. DoDDS Poem to Humanity*
The cafe was this ; Ihad for {even years pad fup-^
poied that the parents of my firft wife were dead ;
•
anfl on enquiring after them of Mr. CaQi at Bridge-

water, he confirmed the report. However, as we
paiTed through North Petherton, being bat a mile
from the place where they formerly lived, I could
not help flopping to find out the time when thev died,;,
and what other particulars I c^^nld learn relative to
tiTcm ; but,' to my
very great furprife, I was inform-
ed that they were both living at NevVton,.two miles
diilant. On this information I gave the coachman
orders to drive me there, but ilill could fcarcely credit
that they really were alive.-- Bur, O my dear friend !
it is utterly impolFible f;)r m.e to defcrlbe the fenf;i«
tions of Mrs, Lackingcon and myfelf, on entering

" The cobwebM cottage,
<< With ragged wall of mouldering mud"
which contained them !
Then Poverty, grim fpe6lre, rofe, .
And horror o*er the profpeft thrpw- Am w ell.

There we found — two
" Poor human ruins, tottering o"*er the grave."
The dim light on our entrance feemed a little to flafli

in the focker, ,and every moment threatened to dif-
appear for ever while their *' pale witherM hands
!
were ibetch'd out towards mc," trembling at once

P 5 with
;
326 LIFE OF*^J. LApKINGTONi

with eagernefs and age. Never before did I feel th€
full force of Shakfpeare's defcription,
Laft fcene of all

** That ends this ftrange eventful hiftory,
'* Is fecond childifhnefs, and mere oblivion :
<* Sans teeth, fans eyes, fans tafte, fans every thing.'*
Prom fuch a ftate of poverty and wrctchedncfs, good

God, deliver every worthy chara6ler.
The old man is ninety years of age, and the good
old woman eighty. The old man's intelleds are m.uch
impaired ; he for a moment knew me, and then his
recolledlion forfook him- His behaviour brought to
my mind, the paliage in the Odyfley, where the good
©Id man meets his long loll fon :
** He he finks, with mighty jnys oppreft,
faints,
** But returning life regains its feat,
as
" And his breath lengthens, and his pulfes beat
** Yes, I believe, he cries, almighty Jove 1
** Heav'n rules as yet, and gods there are above/*
The old woman retained her fenfes and know-

IcJgie during the whole of the time we were with
them.
'^ Thef-brenth'd their prnyer, long may fuch goocinefs livel
" 'Tvvas all thty gave, 'twas all they had to give."
On inquiry we found, that what little property

they had polfclTcd had been all expanded tor fome
years.
And now pale poverty, with haggard eye

And rueful afpedl, darts her gloomy ray,
Tlieir wonted guefl, their proffei'd aid deny.
R. Ferguson.
How many once in Fortune's lap high fed.
Solicit the cold Iiand of Cliarity !
To flrock us more — folicit it in vain ! Pr. Young.

Amidfl this dreary fcene, it was fome alleviation to
learn that their pious fon had given them weekly as
much as he could afibrd from his own little family,
and I have added enough to render then^ as comfort-
able as their great age can poffibly admit of. But for
your
:
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTONT." 327

your fake and my own, I will drop this gloomy fub'
jc(ft ; which to me proved one
of the moll: aficding
fcenes that ever I experienced in the whole courfe of
my life; and I believe that had I not afforded them
relief, the dreary fcene would have followed my
haunted iniagination to my grave.
Oh, Charity (jnr helplefs nature*s pride.
!
Thou friend to him who knows no friend befide*

Is there a morning*s breath, or the fweet gale --
That fteals o'er the tir'd pilgrim of the vale,

Cheering with fragrance frefh his weary frame.
Aught like the incenfe of the holy flame ?
Is aught in all the beauties that adorn
The azure heaven, or purple light of ? mam
Is aught fo fair in evening's hng'ring gleâm.
As from thme eye the meek and penf>ve beam^ .
That falls, like faddefl moon-light on the hill

And diflant grove, when the wide world is Hill.
BoWL£S.
It is a fine fpeech that Metaftafio puts int6 the
mouth of Titus
What would'fl thou leave me, friend, if thou deny'H me
The glorious privilege of doing good?
Shall I my only joy forego ;
No m<$re my kind prote4iîon fhcw,

To thofe by fortunu'o Frown purfu'd;
No more exalr each virtuous fiienJ,
No more a bounteous haiul extend, ^
T' enrich the woi thy and the good ? ^ Hooter,'.
BLicklock begins his byma to Benevolence, with

the [i?:'oIlo\ving lines :
Hiiil fou-ce of tranfpoit, ever new;

!
Wjiile I tliy jflcong im[niife purfue,

I taile a joy hnccre ;
Too valt for Uttle minds to know, .
Who on therafelves ;done bellow

Their wifhes and their care.
During our continuance at Wellington, I oi>e

morning rode over to Black Down, on purpofe to
iiifpein: an immenfc heap of floncs on the top of the
hill, flraight before the town, which I remembered
to have feen when a boy. The diflance from Welling-
ton is about two miles, Thefe ftoncs cover about an
P ^ acre
328 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON..
ncre of ground, and rife to a great height. THc
country people informed me with great gravity, that
*' the devil brought
them there in one night, in his
leathern apron,'^ But the name of it, a? well as the
form, proves what it was. It is called Symmon's
Borough or Bano'iv; which, you know, fignifies aba*
rial- place, I Ihould not have taken any notice of it here,
had i ever fecn any Barrow oi ftones befides this, and
five other fmallcr Barrows, about half a mile from
the large one. The country people informed me that
the devil brought the five heaps there in his gJove^
I alio obferved the remains of a large camp near the
fpot. Camden has taken notice ot a large camp at
Roach Caitle, three or four miles from hence ; it is
llrange that neither he nor Gough fliould take any
notice of fo fingular a Barrow as this certainly is,
1 am.
Dear Friend^
YoiH'S.
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTGN. 329
- LETTER XLVIU.
Ye who amid this feveridi world would wear .
A body free of pain, of cares the mind,

Fly the rank, city ; fliun its turbid air :
Breathe not the chaos of eternal fmoke
And volatile corruption from the dead,
I
The dying, fickenuig, and tlie living world
Exhal'd, to fully heaven's tranfparent dome
With dim mortality. It is not air
That from a thoufand lungs reek back to thine^
Sated with exhalations, rank and fell,
The fpoil of dunghills, and the putrid thaw
Of Nature; vhen from fiiape and texture ihe
Rclapfed into fighting elements.
It is not air, but floats a naufeous mafs
OF aH'obfcene, corrupt, offenfive thuigs.
Much moiflure hurts here a fordid bath,
:
With daily rancour fraught, relaxes more

The folids than fimple moiflure can.
Armstrong's Art of Health*
I once infeveral years am feen,.

At Batli or Tunbridge, to careen. SrLE:ENr
Lyme^ Sept* 4* l79i»

deas.' friend,
B E I NG now at
places ufualty called ^)at€ring-plac€s, that is, a place
one of thofe
where invalids relort in great numbers for the real or

pretended purpofe of drinking the waters for wiiich
each particular fitua-tion is in repute, and bathing in
thctn with a view to the rcftoration of their health ;
I fliall trouble you with a few obfervations which
have occurreil to me on the fubje6l. I cannot enter-
tain a doubt but that many by this pradice have beea
highly benefited; but ?x the fame time I muft ob-
ferve, that fuch reliei is only to be reafonably expe6t-
cd where the parties pofTcfs a fufficient fliare of pru-
dence to conform to fuch rules as are laid down to
them by thofe who are bell acquainted with the na-
ture oi the feveral complaints, tke ilrength or weak-
he fs of their conflitutions, and the different virtues
thofe
: :

thofe feveral waters poflefs, fo as properly to adapt
them to each particular cafe, by drinking the waters
at proper llated periods, as well as in proper dofes
bcfides conforming to fuch a regimen as Ihall co-
operate with them in pro.iucing the defired efFed.
But where invalids negle6t all/or ind«ed any of thofe
rules, is it not rather an abfurdity to expedt relief?
—I will endeavour to explain myfelf
Thofe waters either pofT&fs powerful virtues, or
they do not. If they do, is it not obvious that fome
judgment and caution is neceffary in the ufe of them?
which muft either produce good or bad effects, ac-
cording to the prudence with which they are applied.
If on the other hand, they are of fo infigniiicant a
nature, that they may be ufed at any time, and in
^ny proportion, without injury; and that too in dif-
orders and conftitutions very much vârying from each
other, then fu ly the inference muft be, that no de-
pendence is to be placed on them, and conlequently
it matters not if they are never ufed at all. For what
purpofe then do fuch numbers put thcmfelves to the
inconvenience, expence, and trouble of travelling
(frequently from dillant parts of the kingdojij) and
that too when many of them arc in fo debilitated a
flate, that their very lemoval is attended with ex-
treme danger, and fometimcb proves fatal ? But
that thofe waters are not lna6tivc, i am well con-
vinced, having .feen the bad eftetfts arliliig from the
Imprudent ufe of them, in many inft nee, as well as
the happy confequences attending their being ufed
with due caution.
I was firfl: led into thefe reflections by iiaving been
highly diverted, \vh';n I vilitcd Buxton ieveril fum-
mers, with the prcpofterous and abfurd conduct of
fome of tlic company who rcfortcd thither for the
purpofe of reftoring heir health. I remember fix or
.
feven gentlemen informing me, that they were vio-

lently afiilfted with the gout and rheumatifm, and had
undertaken this journey iu hopes of receiving benefit
by the waters. Thcfe gentlemen often road or walk-
ed about the the cold dreary hills, in very damp wet
mornings, and afterwards drauk claret from three
o'clock
b*clock in the afternoon to three the next morning :
But I did not continue there long enough to be a
witnefs of the happy effe6ts which mail inevitably be
produced by a perfeverance in fuch a judicious regi-
men.
I alfo vilited Freeflone, near Bofton in Lincoln-
fhire: to which place a number of tradefnT^n and
farmers reforted with their wives, in hopes of receiv-
ing benefit from the ufe of the fait water, in a variety
of complaints which they had been advifed to do by
;
the faculty, for a month, with particular directions

to bathe every other day, and on the intermediate
days to drink half a pint of the water in the covirfe
of that day. But thefe wife people on duly conlider-
ing the matter, were fully convinced that this would
detain them from their families and bufinefs longer
than was altogether convenient ; and alfo (which
they fuppofed their medical fri::*nds never thought of)
that they could bathe the fuil r.un.ber of times, and
drink the prefcribed quantity of the water in a week
or a fortnight at fartheft, and thus not only expedite
the cure, but likewife enable them tj returi tj their
families and buhnefs fo much earlier, as well as fave
the necelTary expcnces attending their continuing for
fuch a length of time ar the watering-place. Thefe
united confidcrritions appearcu to tlem fo confiftent
with prudence and ceconomy, that they refolvcd to
put them into immediate practice. 1 remonflrared
with feveral of tl.ele gcod people on the impropriety
of their condudl ; but whether they concluded I was
a party inter fted in detaining them on the f}:ot, or
whether thcv deemed mv ludsTnient inferior to their
own, I know not but I obfcrvcd that fome of them
;
bathed feveral times in a day, and drank fait water by

the quart, the confequence of which was, ^-hat tney
left the place, when the time e:xpireci which tbey had
prefcribed to themfelves, much worf<^ than they came.
Some indeed were fo very weak, that I am perfuaded
they could with diihculty reach their homes alive.
And in thefe cafes the want of fuccefs, inilead of being
attributed to the filfy of the patients, is generally
transferred
,,
3^32. LIFE OF J, LACKINOTOI^..

transferred to the ^waters^ and to the want of judj^-
ment in thofe who advifed the ufe of them.
I afTure you, my dear friend, this is pretty much
the cafe at Lyme. My
rooms commanding a view
of the fea, I have this and feveral other days noticed
many dect nt looking men going down the beach three
or four times in as many hours, and drinking a pint-
of water each time. I have made the fame obferva-
tion at Margate^ Bright on^ Hajlings^ Eafihowne, Seatotty-
Cbarmojithyixwdi other places ; fo that the exclamation
of Crabfhaw's nurfe, in the Adventures of Sir
Launcelot Greaves, has frequenily occurred to me :
** Bleil'td be G— (faid (he) my patient is in a fair
w^y his apozcm has had a bleffed eftedl five and.
! !
twenty ftools fince three o'clock in the morning!"

Relating thefe particulars to a medical friend, he
informed me that fuch fpecimens of ignorai ce and
obftlnacy were by no means confined to the watering-
places ; as he had in the C(Uirfe of his pra6lice met
with repeated inftances, where patients with a view,
of haftcning the cure, and getting out of the Doôr^s
hands (whom the vulgar charHaUy fuppofe wiQi to re-
tain them there as long as poiTiblc) have fwallowed a
half pint mixture intended for feveral dofes at onc«,
and a whole box of pills in the fame manner. The
confequcnces of which have been, that from the vio- x
lence of the operations, they have remained in his.
hands a conliderable time, fome fo long as life (ihuft^
fooliflily trifled with) Jafted*
But here are many of another clafs ; fome of whom,
though not all^ came on purpofe to bathe, but during
the whole of fhtir continuance, never found time to
bathe once. Some hallcn to the billiard-room as foon
as^ tiiey are out of their be<Js in the morning, and
there they continue until bed-time again. few of A
thefe are indeed mucli benefited, being cured of cow
Jumptions in thir purfes^ while others become propor-
ticnably as much emaciated. And a great number,
both of ladies and gentlemen, devote the whole of
their time to dreffing, eating, and playing at whift.
Charming <?;>ffrf//^ it muflbe! as they frequently fit
ftill in their chairs, for eight or ten hours together.

Where
Where l^nights, and beaux, and lords, and (harpers run;
Some to uikIo, but more to be undone-
Of all the plagues that from the buLli of time,
Have rang'd by turns this fubhinary chme,
And forms the nations cursM,
in tlicir various
Tlie boundlefs love of play is fure the worft.
Whist,^ a Poem.
Her« are others again, who, like the f^fentlemert

at Buxton, fit drinking (often red port after falt-ixjater):
until three or four in the morning making a de-;
lightful noife, to compoft thofe In the fame houfe who

are real invalids^ and who, defirous of obtaining reft,
retire early, though frequently to very little purpofe.
1 have alfo obferved, that all the above places are
as healthy for horfes, as they arc for their mafters*
For depend almoft entirely on the
as the innkeepers
feafoD, they take great caie, and do all they can to
make thefe places comforr?.ble. So that if gentlemen
have fat, lazy, prancing horfe?, and want to reduce
them in fize and temper, they may be fure to have it
done in fome of the inns and ilables at th^ various
watering-places; where fuch hay is procured as muft
infallibly anfwer the purpofe, even though they be
allowed a double portion of corn.
There is yet another very great advantage (which
I had like to have forgot) refulting frtrm attending
the watering-places. Such gentlemen who happen
to have fervants too honeft, too induftrious, too
attentive, too cleanly, too humble, too fober, &c.
by taking them to any of thefe plnces, where they
have fo much leifure time, and where thefe party-
coloured gentry meet together fo often, and in fucH
numbers, no one can go away unimproved, except
—
he is a very dull fellow indeed. This is not merely
my own obfervation for ieveral gentlemen of my
:
acquaintance affured me that they had aKvays found

their fervants improved prodigioully after each of
thefe excurlions.
We purpofe fetting out for Weymouth in a day or
two: but as I intend that this fliall be my laft epifllcj
I will not conclude it until I arrive at Merton,
:
334 LIFE OF J, LACKINGTON.

'* If into diflanr parts I vainly roani,
<* And novelty
froni varied object? trv,
^
" My bufy thoughts refeek their wonted home,
" And ficken at the vain variety/*
^
I think Lord Bacon fomewhcre fays, thiit no man
IS as happy abroad, as he is at home: ana lean.
Without much fcruple of confcience, fwblcribe to the
following lines of the poet
ilappy the man who truly loves his home.
And never wanders farther from his door
Than we haye gone to-day 5 who feels his heart
Still drawing homeward, and delights like us
Once more to reft' his foot on his own thre/hoTd.
Hud D IS.
il/^;7a», Sept. nth. We arrived here fafe laft
Bight, being- my birth-day.
*' Here, here for ever could I ftay,
'" Here calmly loiter life away,
^* No more thofe vain connediions know
*•Which fetter down the free-born minJ,
** The fiave of interefl or of fhow/*
At Wevmouth we had the honour of walking fe-
veral evenings on the Efplanade, with their majefties
and the four princelTes. Hi^ majefty, feems.in p-srfecSl-i
heahh and fpirits, and diffufes life and fpirits to alt
around him. Long, very long may he continue to
enjoy the fame degree of health and happinefs But I !
could not help pitying Mr. Hughes, the manager of

the Theatre there as the company in general feem
;
to pay but very little attention to plays, while they

can partake of the pleafure of walking and breathing
the lea air with fo many of the royal family. But
his majefly, vvhofc humanity is by no means the
Icaft of his many virtues, will no doubt confider Mr.
Hughes, who is induftrious to an extreme, as he is
fcarce a moment idle. For, befides managing his com-
pany, performing himfelffix, fometimes eight cha-
racters in a week, he paints all his own fc^nes, and
attends to many other fubjeCls and although he has :
had a large expenfive family (nine children,) the

theatre there, and that alio at Exeter is his own.
Weymouth theatre he rebuilt about four years fince;
every thing is very neat his fcenes ure fine, and his
;
company a very good one. I fa,w them perform four

pieces
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON". 33;
phceswith a deal of pleafure, notwithftanding I had
often feen the fame in London. I remarked here, as I
had long before done at Bath, that the parts were
more equally fupported than they often are at Drury-
lane and Covent-garden; for ahhough at thofe places
we have many firil-rate a^lors and adtreffes, yet fomc*
times parts are given to fuch wretched performers as
would not grace a barn, which 1 never faw done at
Bath or Weymouth.
In our ro:id home, within half a mile of Dorcheiler,
we flopt and fpent half an hour in looking round the
famous Roman Amphitheatre. It is clofe to the road,
on the right-hand iide, and covers about an acre of
ground. It is judged that ten thoufand people might
without interruption have beheld fuch exercifc3^;js
were exhibited in this fchool of the ancients ; it is
called Mambury, and is fuppofcd to be tbe com-
pleateil antiquity of the kind in England.
I amufed myfelf, as I travelled through Dor-
alfo
fetfliireand WiltHiirc, in furveying many of the nu-
merous camps, fortifications, and barrows: which
lading jnonuments of antiquity are to be feen in abun-
dance in thcfe counties, a great number of then^ rQ«.
laaimng in a perfe^l: flate.
Nor could I any longer omit the opportunity of
feeing that ftupendous piece of antiquity on Saliibury
Plain, the famous Stonehenge^ two miles from Ambref-
bury. We fpent near two hours there in aftonifh-
ment ; and had not night came on, we fhould not have
been able to have parted from it fo foon. We found
a very good inn at Ambrefbury, which proves very
convenient to fuch whom curioiity may detain on
this wonderful fpot until it is late. It is remarkable,
that although fo many able antiquarians have devoted
their time and attention to the inveftigation of Stonc-
henge, it remains ftill a matter undjr'ded when and
for what purpofe this amazing pile was formed nor
;
is there lefs caufe of admiration, how Hones of fuch
magnitude were brought hither I fliall uot prefume,

!
either to decide on this curious point, or ofter any

conje6lures of my own.
I have now, Sir, not only given you the mod ma-
terial cirpumftances of my life, but have alfo fuper-
added
;
3^6 LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.

adde^ a fhort fkerch of fome of my travels. And.
fnould the fine air of Merron preferve the flock of
health and fpirits, which I have acquired in this laft
excurfion, I intend during the fnmmer to fpcnd a
few hours in the middle of three or four days in every
week, in my fliop, devoting the mornings and the re-
mainder of the evenings to my rural retreat,
" Where cheerfulnefs, triunjphant fair,
•' Difpels the painful cloud of care,
** O, fvveet ©f langtâge, mild of mien,
*' O virtues frieivl, and pleafure's queen!
" By thee our board with fiow'rs is crownM,
*
** By thee with fongs our walks refound ;
*' By thee the fpiightly mornings (hine,
** And evening hours in peace decline."
•fes my
houfe at Morton is not far from the churcho.
yn¥d, I was a few evenings fince walking in this
recsptack of mortality.
Oh melancholy ! magic powV,
filch thy
That to the foul thofedreams are often fweet,
^ And foothe the penfive vifionary mind.
Mrs. C. Smith.
Here recollcding the fcene between Sir Lucius

O'T^'rigger and Acres, faid to myfelf, " Here is
good fnug lying,*' in this place. So I fat down on
one of the graves, and wrote the following lines,
which I hope when I am gone to heaven (I am not
in hafle) my friends will have engraved on my tomb*
itone:
LACKINGTON's EPITAPH.
Good pafTengcr, one moment ftny^
And contemplate this heap of clay
'Tis Lackington that claims a paufe,
Who llrove with Death, but lo(\ his caufe ;
A flranger genius ne'er need be,
Tlian many a merry year was he.
Some faults he ha^l ; fome^ virtues too ;
fThe Devil himfelf (hould have his due:)
And as Dame Fortune's wheel turn'd round^
Whether at top or bottom found,
He never once f rgot his ftation,
Nor e'er difown d a poor i elation j
In poverty h^ fouiid content,
Riches neer made him lufolent.
; ;
IIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 337

"Wnien poor, he'd lathei lead than eat;
When nch, books form'd his higheli treat.
His ftrd with care,
<Treat willi, to att,
The feveral parts afligiVd him htre :
And, as his heart to Criith incha'd>
He ftudy'd liard tb.e ti\nh to find.
Much pride h-e had, twas lev of fame,
Ai'.d fliglited gold, to get a n \'ue ;
But fame herlelf prov'd greateft gain^

For riches foUovv'd in her train.
Much had- he read, and much had thought,
And yet, you fee, he's come to aouglit j
Or oul of -print, as he would (ay.

To be revis'd lorae future day ;
Freefroinenaca, with addition,
A new, and a complete edition.
When wrote the preceding, I did no>: think that
I
have the melancholy talk of writing
I (liould lb fooii
one for Mrs. Lackingtoh flic died January 57, 1 795-,
:
The following Hnes are engraved on her tomb-ftone

in Merton church-yard :
Mrs. LACKlNGTON's EPITAPH.

Ladie?> who chance to frifle this way,
With honeft hearts, and fpirits gay,
A ferious moment giv-e to one,
Who (leeps beneath this earth and flone.
A hetter daughter never liv'd
A better wife ne'er hufband griev'd
To her the claims of kindred dear.
The tender orphan would fhe rear';
,Kor e*er did to the grave defcend,
A more fincere and faithful friend.
Think on her virtues ; heave a fi^h,
1 hat goodnefs fuch as her's fhould die 1
And whether you be maid or wife,
'Go imitate her former life ;
-And when to heaven you yield your breath,
May you, like her, have peace in death !
I wifhall epitaphs were as truly applicable to the

.perfons for whom
tlmy were witten, as the preceding
lines are ;fuch as were acquainted with Mrs Lacking-
ton will acknowledge that 1 have not laid too much.
It has hitherto been my fate to be joined to the beft
of women, with the worfl of cohftitutions the late :
'Mrs,'L, had from a cliilti a very poor ftate of health :
during the lafl nine years of her life, ihe was gene-
rally confined by a complication of diibrders, and
was often given ovei' by the faculty j but I muH:
return
;

return from this melancholy digreirion, and hope,
that Providence has yet in flore another good wo-
man for me. My
dear friend, you may laugh if you
pleafe, but I pofitively cannot bear the idea of liv?
ing without a wife. '^ Marriage," fays Dr. Johnfon,
*' has many cares,*' but he adds, " celibacy
has no
pleafures." 1 always was, and ever ihall be, of the
good dodor's opinion.

In fine weather I never leave this place for Lon-
don, but with great reluctance. I have a good pri-
vate library here, and with a book in my hand I
wander from field to field ; and during fuch hours
feel not a wifli unfatisfied. And was my immenfe
ilock of books turned into money, great as the profits
are at the Temple of the Mufes, Finfbury Square, they
would be no temptation to me, ever to fee it more.
I feel the mind
Expand wider liberty.
itfelf in
The diftant found breaks gently on my fenfc,
Soothing to meditation 5 fo methinks,
*
pven fo, fequefter'd from tlie noify v/orld,
Could I wear out this tranfitory being
In peaceful contemplation and calm eafe.
I would'not make this life a life of toil

For wealth o'erbalanc'd with a thoufiind cares ;
Or power, which bafe compliance muft uphold ;
Or honour lavifli'd moft on courtly flaves

Or Fame, vain breath of a misjudging world I
Who for fuch perilhable gaudes would put

A yoke upon his free-unbroken fpirit,
And gall himfelf with trammels and the rubs
Of this woi'ld*s bufmefs ?
Crowe's Lewesdown Hill* a Poem.
The following lines exprefs the idea which have

often been my own : -
Refolv'd the roving, refllefs mind to cure.

And guide the future different from the paft,
I fought for fweets that might thro' life endure,
And fondly fancied they were found at laft.
British Album.
During the winter I purpofe fpending mofl: of my
lime in town where I hope again to enjoy the com-
;
pany of you, Sir, and fome others of our old philo-

fophical friends and when tired of philofophizing,
;
"We will again fingour old verfes ;

^ LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 33t
« What tho' the many wholly bend,
<< To things beneath our flate,
<* Some poorly to be rich contend,

" And others meanly great.
*< There liv'd a few in ev'ry fpace,
" Since firft «nr kind began,
'< Who ftiil maintain'd, with better grace,
" The dignity of man.
In the mean time, I am,

Dear friend, yours,
P. S, I fliould deem myfelf deficient in point of

juftlce to the ingenious artifl: who painted the por-
trait from which the engraving affixed as a frontif-
plece to this volume is taken, if I did not embrace
this opportunity of acknowledging the approbation it
has been honoured with by all who have Icen it, as a
flriking likenefs.
The following circumftance, though to many it
may appear in a ludicrous point of view, yet as it is a
fa6t which does not depend folely on my alTertion, I
jhall not hefitate to mention it.
Before the portrait was finiflied, Mrs. Lackington,
accompanied by another lady, called on the painter to
view it. Being introduced into a room filled with
portraits, her little dog (the faithful Argus) being
with her, immediately ran to that particular portrait,
paying it the fame attention as he is always accuf-
tomed to do the original ; w^hich made it necelFary to
remove him from it, left he (liould damage it though ;
this was not accompliflied without expreffions of dif-

fatisfadion on the part of poor Argus.
He knew his lord, he knew and flrove to meet.
And all he could, his tail, his ears, his eyes,
Salute his mailer, and confefs his joys. Pope's Odyfifey.
Thofe who are converfant in hiflory will not doubt

•the fa6t ; feveral fimilar inftances beinj^^ recorded of
the fagacity ând nice difcrimination of thefe animals.
Permit me to add to what has already been written
about dogs, the following inftances :
Mr. C. Hughes, a fon of Thefpls, had a wig that ge-

nerally hung on a peg in one of his rooms. This wig
he lent one day to another fon of Thefpis, and fome
time after called on this mail to know how he did ;
Mr.
34^ LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON.
IVlr, Hughes had his dog with hun, and the mart
liappened to have this borf )vvcd wig on his head ;
but when Mr. Hughes bid this pcrfon good morn-
ing, the dog remaine.i behind, and for fome time
flood looking full in the man's face as he fat in his
chair ; at la ft he fuddenly Ic-aped on his flioul-
ders, feizcd the wig, and run off with it as faft as he
could ;and when he got home, he for fome time
kept jumping againft the wâll in order to hangup
the wîg on tlie peg it had ufually hung on,
I mufl: give you another inftance of this dog's fur-
prifing fiigacity :
Pompey was one afternoon pafling through a field

in the Ikirts of Dartmouth, where a waflier-woman
had bung out her linen to dry he flopped on a fud-
;
den, and furveyed one particular fliirt with attention ;

and after having noticed it fome time, he feized it,
and away he dragged it through the dirt home to his
mailer, whofe fliirt it proved to be.
A PRAYER.
O may my work for ever live !
(Dear friend, this f^lfilh zeal forgive:)

May no vile mifcreant fancy cook
Prefume to tear my learned book,
To finge his fowl for nicer gueft,
Or pin it on the turkey's breafl.
Keep it from paftry bak'd or buying. ./
From broiling ileak, and fritters frying j
From lighting pipes or wrapping fnuff,

Or cafmg up a feather muff; ;.^
From all the fcveral ways the grocer 1;

(Who to the learned world's a foe, Sir,)
Has found in tvvifting, folding, packing.
His brain and ours at once a racking ;
And may it never curl the head
Of either living block, or dead.

Thus whsn all dangers they liave pafV,
My leaves like leaves of brafs ihall lall.
No blaft fliall from a critic's breath, _ J

By vile infedion caufe their death,
'Till they in flames at laft expire.
And help to fet the world on fire. '
AMEN »
2d P. S
!
LIFE OF J. LACKINGTON. 34r

ad P, S. Juil as the laft flieet of this work was prinf-
ing off, Mr. Lackington received the following verfes
—
trom a poetical admirer. The natural furprize with
which a perfon mufi: have been flriick upon whofe
light and imagination, a view of Finfbury Square had
buril, all at once, upon a recoUedion of its original
fituation, ought to be admitted as a fufficient apology
for the warmth of the expreffions in confecûence :
UPON A GENERAL VIEW OT
FINSBURr SQUARE,
AND THE
TEMPLE OF THE MUSES,

AND READING THE
ELEVENTH EDITION
OF
Mr. LACKINGTON^ LIFE,
Written after jet' eral Tears Abfewefrom the Spot,

*«<-
VV HAT new ideas the prefent fcenes invite!
It feems as tho' inchantment rtiock'd the fight

Thefe fplendid piles befpeak fome Mailer's hand-»^
From what ©onfufion was this ord^r plann'd 1
How wide the prefent, and the paft between.

Extends the contraft, in each different fcene I
The fir ft, a 'void, to MemVy muft difpenfe j
The laft, a plenum, and magnificence.
Bur, what is that which peers above the reft,
Aad, turret-trown'd, exalts its tow'ring creft 5
CL Thai
! :
34» LIFE OF J, LACKINGTOW.

That bears cIiftin<5lion on its lucid face.
The firft in beauty, as the firft in grace ?
SurprizM I read, "The Muses' Temple" nam'4

This fpacious dome—Was this by title fram'd?
Or was its origin from noble birth,
And proud diftin6tion, with the fons of earthf

Not fo !—but from a fource of better fame—
From felf- ennobling induftry it came ;
Trom jiarts to names and titbs feldom join'd,
/ And Genius for each great attempt defign'd..
To Lackin&ton ! that praife we may afcribe.

That fills with envy all the fordid tribe ;—»
His efforts fan(5lion'd by the Public voice,
Supply'd our wifhes, and improved our choice
Hence, gen'rous Fortune gave the ample ftore,
Which the charm*d fight is almoft tir'd t' explore.
The fplendid volumes that fo much delight

Would but perplex, and pain the aching fight,
Pid not the elegant arrangement tend
Their noim'rous lights with proper Ihades to blend j
But I, too weak, the Temple's praife decline,
And, to its merits, leave the grand defign.
Still, when I read its favoured patron's Life,
Joy and fuprize produce an equal ftrife :-—

Tho* Methodifm produc'd the thickefl gloom,
Increafmg moft, when falfely faid t' illume ;
Denouncing vengeance from th* Almighty's throne;,

To Juflice, and each attribute unknown :
Yet from each fetter, burft his adlive mind,

Who all this intelleaual treat defign'd
Even where this Temple rears its flately head.
The ftool has been for th* Enthufiafl fpread ;
Here fuch have rav'd, and dealt damnation's day,

Jo gaping crow4s, lefsigQoraiu than they.*—*-
B\K,
:

But, happy change I fmce Providence is feen
Difpenfing light, where Er-ror's mift has been.
For, fince each Mufe has (hewn her glad'niug face,
Fanaticifm iliuns the awful place i—
Her brawls, no more, the favoured fpot can reach,
Where, now, th' unnumberM volumes better teactv
What the vaft circle of the Akxs combine,
And all th^t Science and Discovery join ;
All that Variety, immenfe, can bring,

And bland Amufement's unexhauftlefs fpring :
Hence, the gay throng, from life's exalted fphere^

And Taftc, and Falhion, feem to centre here \
The Graces on the Mufes' feat attend ;
Beauty and tbeje^ the Mujes* coftflant frUnd/
Oh, friend to Learning f may thy weli-cain'U fame

On late pofterity enforce thy claim ;—
Long as your merits in this Temple Jive,
And grateful feelings, to Reflection give,
May ev'ry Mufe that Ihares Apollo's bay,
Entw'wt your MtrrCr^ ivitb th^ twntort allay*
POETICUS,
<iî risiPEX,,
— —•* • •
I J4S ]
INDEX.
A UTHOR's motives for publiftiing his life —

Page
lo
Author's gratitude to his cuftomers
Author *s thanks to fome bookfellers
17
17
Additions fince the firft edition, why not printed feparately 17
—
All alive, ahve O, in Cathedral W—
Author's birth not predicted, nor his nativity calculated
33
25
bound 'prentice to a fhoemaker
'" -* 45
learns to read, is born again 5*
—
—
.
^
his rigid application to fludy of divinity 6a

— leaps out of a two ftoFy window to hear a naethodifl
fei inon - -^ ^. 1
64
becomes a backflider "
77
arrives a: Briftol - — 8S
forms a friendfhip with Mr. Johrf Jones 8S
.
. ftrange mode of life __. g-
— « relapfes into mcthcKlifm

converts hiF friends
lucubrations Uke "to prove fatal
lives on bread and tea only _
1
—
1
94
95
99
—— 03
-'
..
—-
bridge
teaches himfelf to write
.
~
travels to Bridgewater, Taunton, Exeter, and Kingf-
I6«;
106
I
leaves iCingfbridge, returns to Briftol loS —
falls in love with a dairy-maid, his fpiritual court-
Ihip 112
attaches himfelf to Hannah Allen, another holy
fitter 113
——
m married to Nancy Smith, the dairy-maid
begins the world with a halfpenny •—
1
iiS
1
7
/n/es on loater-gyuel tofupport hisfick

fets offfor
is fhocked
and arrives
at the
in London
wickednefs of London
wife
—— his confo-
12?'
12 J
—
'
lation
j
— 126
—~- goes to receive his legacy, lofes part, conrrrAts a faux pas 11%
turns book feller his mo t I've far fo doing — 13?
—
I'
'y
. marries Mifs Tvirton 1 58

hi? -^rtention to metaphyfics 166
— quits the methodifts ; ôme reafons why 167
^ general opinion of the methodifts - * 182
»»'i» »i « * cannot be rivalled in bufinefs «— — 240
0^3 Author's
—.
34* 1 N t) E X.
Page
Author's mode of ftating his profits and expences 2>io
'
—V i fit s h if. old mailers . 31^
Armftrong ou reading . 1 .1
246
Anftotle's opinion of love jti
Âmoroui gentleman and, bhnder'mg cJlJer, ajicry — 82
Abfiinence taught, btit not pra(5lifec], by preachers 167
^pple and old iron-ftall keepers turn i-)reachers 199
Almanack vender
An old buck tempted by his maid and the devil
. «— ^
7a
A man to fpeak lefs of himfelf than he. really is, is folly, not
modefty _. 28Z
A man believes himfelf to be the Holy Ghoft — 198
Anecdotes ('ucrycurkusj of very Jpintual lad'iez .«• 14I
Anecdctei of n) ry carnal arid vcryfpiruual ladies -
147
Authors piiblifhing and felling their own
anfwers
Authors fhould be careful in choofnig their publilhers
_ books never
— 23^
236
Addrefs to covetous tradefmen 276
Anecdote of ar. author's great expe6lations — 235
Birth and genealogy of the author
Bay-horfe, a ftoi'y
Plack and wliice devil, a (lory
_"
.
25
.37
32
liowdon family, charadlers of their library ; — 45

JjOu don, George afid John, converted
Band meetings, account of
~ fele<5l .'nly for fuch as are perfect
— 47
70
71
Bookfellers are benefited by our author'^ felling cheap
Baukiin (Mr,} a ftrange Jlory of
Eookfelhng fucceeds with our hero
- — 285
13^
34.
JSottomiey^ Stv'.w, and Wheeler fave the author from ruin i

^q
Bunc'e's Memoirs enlarges our hero's mind — 164
BcckjeUer has his hair dreJJ'ed on Saturday y ar.dfUeps all night in bis
ell} 01V chair <

1
69 .^_
Biggs (John) a perfe6l man his curious hand-bill
; 169
Bakers threaterêd v\'ith damnation for baking meat on Sun-
days, a ftory, 168
Book feller's deilroy large nunvbers of books to fell fome
dear — 230 —
Books preferved by our hero, and fold cheap 230
Bookfellers often prevent the fale of books fold by authors 237
Bookfellers liberality to authors, inftances of 233 —
Bargam hunters, learned dilfertation on 138 —
Bentley eats afsî flejh for corjcience Jake »— 298
. Bookfeiler's Diop an excellent fchool for knowledge 254
Booic-clubs promote the fale of books 257,
Books, fale of extiemely encr; afsd of late years 257
Bank-notes faidto be found by our author in an okl book 276.
Blank, a remedy for (.olds, defcribed — 297
Barrows, casrips, fortifications, &c. — 335
BiiChaniics, a curious fc^ of fawatics, near Dumfries 1 94
3ucha;i
I « * —— • ^
. ^
INDEX. 357
Page
ûchan (Laily) thought herfelf the Virgin Mary, &c. 1^4*
Blair s
White's —
Sermons have a greater fale than either Sherlock's or
— 234
lities —
B^gerj Eli?iîbeth, a 'very extraordifiary inftanfe of female ahi-
Books afford real andlafting pleafares to rich and poor

167
287
Blackbirds neft found in a ikull 294»
Cruden would not marry, becaufe he could not propagate

children without propagating fin —
146
Children, a doubt if they ihould act be taught to defpife
unnatural fathers — — 29
Controverfies, curious, in the Bowdon family *— 47
Children liable to damnation ! ' >' — 48
— — •—
Children in he i
Clafs meeting, account of .—

Curious library of the author and his friend at Briilol
48
70
98
Chaplain of the author
Cowley's verfes on Envy
—
Chifwell ftreet, or hero opens a fliop there
— -«
—
107
44
137 —
Criminals, bad pra6lice of methodifis towards them, under
fentence of death — —
183
Cocks pre\'enred from breaking the fabbath by treading
hens on Sundays — •— 186
Conference of Mr. Wefley's preachers
Converfion at Kingfwood ridiculed ~
Credit, inconveniences to tradefmeri attending it ; our hero

——
201
210
refolves not to give ai*/ '
223
Claflics, tranflation of, read by our hero 244. —
Chariot fet up by the author, with remarks on it 274 '
Crow's neil, remarkable one at Newcallle -— 293

ChiUlren educated as methodifis, never remain fuch 209,
Cat longs for a f01V Ii and marh her kittens tuth ivings 1 37
Circulating libraries increafe the fale of books liz,
Dogs, ftories of •
339
Dead man and tl e furgeon 43 —
Death of the authors mailer haflened by his fons turning
methodifis - - — — 66
Death of the author's firft wife during hisTillnefs 140
Voxn '^'nvnGity's 'wo?7derful receipts — 190
Death of Mr. Diner; his chara6ler — 220
Difficulties attending the author's ready-money plan 224
Difoflers in travelling from Darlington to Durham 298
Defcartes's opinion of love 110
Diincombe's Femmead, quotations from -— 262
Davies's verfes on the plealure of re; ding — 288
Drnnfy, broom tea, an inf.^lhblerem.^dy for 191
Dioll fcenes at bookfellers Taops 254 —
Diffufing thrmigh thi world immenfe numbers of books,
gives oar hero great pleafure 287
Envious bitch poiiUer ^— 44 —
EpiUle
i . ^^
348 INDEX.
Page.
Epiftle (poetical) to Mr. Xackingfon on his Memoirs lo^
Epigrams by our hero, on a methodift preacher, &c. &c. 107
happier __
Enlightening the minds of the lower order, makes them'
Expences of our hero proportioned to his income

— 258
274
Envious obfervations made on omr author s expences 274
Edingburgh, North Britifh hofpiiBlity, &c. — • 305
Epicure, a t«rm wrong applied, pleafures, &c. 104
Enthufial'm, its nature — — •-« 176
Fitzgerald's Ode — 119
Fergufon on hope — ^. •-« 139
Father of the author dies unregretted by his children 28
Fanatics in every age found their account in dreadful pre-
di6tions — — î* 60
Fortune-teller foretold a perforCs 4eatb — 86
Four hundred tboufand pounds a year colleêd by Mr, Wejlefz
preacher •— — — 2o6
Freethinkers read by our hero — 243
Farmers and hufbandmen now read — 257
Four old people and four children fupported by our hero 284
Father and mother of our author's firll wife, unexpedledly
dilc<'vered ; a dreadful fcene — 325
— —^
"
Fanaucifm worfe than atheifm 17S

Fanatics in Poland killed their ovvn children 280
Goddy -mighty'' I little mutton 97 — •
Good confequence^ to the public of felling books cheap 230

Gentlemen and petty gentry adl differently 319 —
G" Mrs. leaves her hufband and children to follow
Wefley — ^145
Great men have foible'^ mftances of
; 192 —
Gregory, Dr. a remarkable quotation from, on ladies hav-
ing learning • — — 267
Germany, feven thoufand living authors there 260
Ghcft that loved pou' try — — 39
Goldfmith cleared by hi pea 1800I. in one year 234
—
.
Haunted houfes, ftories of «—* 38

Hofpital haunted m
London — 40 —
Horrid 'pedtre appears — 34 —
Higley's ghoft ^ — 42 —
Huntington procures by prayer a pair of breeches, fhoulder
of mutton and fifh, &c. -*• 66 —
Hill, an txtraordinary quotation from 173 —
Hypocrlttv; among the methodifts *— 168
Hume on female devotion and gallantry r— 75
Hayden (Mr.) wanteci to caft the author's nativity ; his rea-
fons for not having it .tone 86 —
Hypocrites are Jo hardened as ne'ver to repent 217 —
Humorous verfes on methodift preachers
^
203 —
Hill (Dr.) earned by his pen in one year 1500I. 234
Tuvenile exploits of the author
•*
3^ —
Invalids,
» •
.. .
INDEX. 34f
Pa^
Invalids, nbfiirJ pra(5lice of, at Avatering-places 33b
fohiifon (Dr.) tea-table anecdote of 30a .
—
m -— and the Lord Provoft, anecdote of 303
^ —
and a lady, anecdote of —303
—— and David Hume, anecdote of

and a waterman, anecdote of
'— much prejudiced againft the Scotch
505
305
305
—
—
Knowland's child returns to life after it had been in the
coffin five days — 2^ —
Kinjfbridge, oar hero's life there 105 —
Kmgfwood fchool, large fums colle(5led for, never applied
— — —
Knowledge
Knowledge
tothatnfe
of books, how acquired by the author
of the world, how attained by the author
Lavater, a quotation from, on wômen
Love-fealls, account of — -^
—
Lackingtpn can afford to give more for libraries than thofe
who fell dear — —
242
242
75
68
207
227
Lady killed, fcrearning fet the horfes going — 300
Kadies allowed to fcream en certain terms — 301
Ladysre'vengey a dreadful fi(rry -— — IÔ
Learned men are often unaccjuainted with men andmanners 251
Ladies now read and are become rational companions, have
a juft tafle for books — - — 260
Ladies born deaf and dumb dance to mufic, &c. 294
Lackington fells more than one hundred thoufand volumes
a year — — ,^^ 285
Lackington's epitaph on himfelf and wife 33« —
Xives of fick people endangered by vifits from the metho-
difts
*
— — 58 —
Methodifl preacher and a dead woman, a droll flory 154
Milk-woman drove mad by methodifts 169 —
Moorfields qualifications for preachers «— 202
Manufcripts, remarks on purchafing them 233
Miferable lives and untimely end of fame opulent tradefmen 277
Mambury amphitheatre — —
235
Mary Hubbard's two old fmocks .— 67
Mother of the author's very extraordinary conducft 27
Methodifls ruin the peace of mind of many innocent people 54
Meth.ndiftical convidlion, a dreadful ilate 54 —
Mechodifts are unhappy — -^ ^8
! their prophecy of the world being at an end on a
— —
I
'
certain day 59
"
—
are alarmed by a comet's tail 59 —
their treatment of ouu. hero on his leaving their
fociety — • — 171 —
Methodifl preachers, their number ^— 201
Merton, our hero partly refides there — 274
>forton's (Mrs.) deed of gift to Reilly fet afide 60
. 1 t
^5« . 1 N D E 5:..
Nurfes robbed our author, and

negleêd Iiim ivhile hi^^^^
wife lay dead, and himfelf nearly
fa -^ .rc6
Novels and romances read by our
hero 2!^ —
Js jure to ha-ve the full njalue
-^ — ii*-
Ned Drugget^s charaêr fuits our hero
Objedôn of fome in felling to the
_ "
author anfwered
rarnajjtan bulhet «... _ 227'
Pie-merchant — .^ J^ ^
Preachers, remarks on dull inanimate
Prayer-meetings of methodifts defcribcd
ones
^
— H
^latonifts,, their opinion
66
.-(-....WAV on
wii the
miw pa
âper, effefts of its rifing inpricc
paflion of love no
Pnefts, Roman, however abandoned,
261
never repent 217
^lealures of youth, love, &c renewed
by recolieaiea ^^
Pleafures of recolleîng youthful
Pawnbroker's fell books and other
fcenes — ,20
articles not pawned i^-g
prolific meLhodifts at Wellington
and near Oxford i c i
Pious dealer inllieep's heads, tripe,
&c. — 1%.
Pious common-councilman's advertifement
Preachers (Wcfley's) many very ignorant,
— isl
often liked the
better for being fo «~. ». ôj
Playhoufe fet on fire by a preacher .^
jog
Parrnerfhjp commenced with Mr. D.
Pubhfhers often hinder the fale of books when
^\^ —
the copy.
right remains the author's •^ 236
Purchafes, very large ones made by the avithor
s^S
profits, aunual, of our author - * ,
279.
, ,
Poor relations, the reafon why the author does not decline
bufmefs —
Proofs, that his cheap mode of felling has not been
.
28x
injurious
but beneficial to bookfellers ^^ 28c
Pred'iBions relative to our her 9 *^m mmm ozz
powder-mills, our hero narrowly efcapes death
Fitcairn, {Dr,) and the collier •», — 323
87
(Quotation, very curious, from L'Homme Bon —• 259
Quotations from an extraordinary pamphlet againft the me-
thodilis, by an old member .— 206
Rochon's Voyage to Madagafgar, a quotation from.
259
Ready-money plan adopted to fell cheap -^ 223
Rational alfembly at our hero's houfe 246 —
RofTeau, an extraordinary quotation from 176 —
Ridicule and contempt the only punifhment for fanatics 180
Swinton impolite to ladies i- •»• 3^^
Story of praying a perfon to death* — 85
Story ofa methodtfl poll-parrot — tmm 96
Shilling on the red cock —^ i.«i
^
Supernatural appearances, opinion of •— ^6
Shuter (Ned) was a'methodift mk -89
Stoics read and greatly admired by the author #— 10
Salesman
. . • •• ••
INDEX 35f
Page
âh/man anJ great coat, a story •• 127 '
Stories from Dr. Moore and Suetonius •— 65

Sympathetic matter operates in producing the paffion of
love — — — III
Story, very remarkable, of a murderer 86 —
Songs, compofed by the author before he could write 91
Swain's verfes on folitude — —
27S
St. Auguftine prayed that God would make him chafte, but
not too foon — •.• 78
Sinclair's (Dr.) prophecy and fudden death -^ 324
Swedenborgians increaling faft ; their wonderful difcove-
ries — — *— 193
Sunday-fchools promote the fale of books 258 —
Small profits and induftry the real caufes of the author*s
profperity — — 276
^Scarcity of valuable books in various parts of Great Bri-
tain : London the grand emporium 295 —
Symmon's Barrow, near Wellington, brought by the De-
vil, in his leathern apron — 327
Stonehenge vifited by our hero — 335
Salifbury, a young woman there fold herfelf to the Devil,
an odd ftory — •^ 15A
Swift's very curio¥W verfes or his dream -« 174
Selden, a quotation from him on bookfellers zzz
Turton (Mifs Dorcas) inftead of faying << I will,*' faid No,
and run out of church — 161—
Terrible inflance •fa real guilty confcitnce^ attended ivithfuicide 55.
Taylor (a) and takes off his wig to preach 17*
ftrips to his Ihirt,
Theatrical entertainment much attended by our hero 445
Tinley (Mr.) an extraordinary character 247 —
îbuUus, a quotation from, en retirement 318 —
Travels of our hero in the north fc- 292
Travels of our hero to the weft of England, in 1791 314
Turton (Mifs Dorcas) her family and charadler, is married
to our hero — — i^S
Thankfgiving note for being made pcrfe6l 170 —
Turpin (John) a methodift preacher, tried at Exeter, and
found guity of robbing a houfe,fent to Botany Bay 200
Tooke's anecdotes of Mr. Wefley -» 205
Trifling circumftances produce great events 250
Tradefm^n, remarks on their getting fortunes, country
feats, yet are unable to fupport exiftence
Tickets of admiflion to claffes, baads, &c.
Village Curate, a quotation from on ladies improving their
— Z77
74
underftanding -^ — 269
Village Curate, long quotation from — zi^
\^^. to H. R. H. a quotation from •—
Jîredraiver fold when drunk to L
Walch-nights, account of
^
;ff| ai adeadjuhje^
^w
197
43
7"^
v
Whitficii
1 J
^.-L
^^
INDEX. - '
Pag«
attend Shuter's benefit 9
Wliitfieia advlfed his people to
-., a -vtry droUJiory of
— t r
*°^
.
, T •
Women when converted, refufe to lleep with their ^^^'^

her
Woman deprived of her fenfes by a methodlft, and
fervant killed by fafting
— ^9
/^
Wages of methodift preachers ^ -* '."^

,
,
*- 205
Warton's fketch of the life of a fine lady —
Wefley's death, funeral, &c.
— q'
i^^
annual income, his difregard of money
......
Primitive Phvfic dangerous

—
^^J
,^ ruled defpotically ^^,T. ,L'
deceafe very injurious to
Methodifm ^ )|
epicure, a deilt 2o»
charaaer by an old member, an
^
•-^—
,
extraordinary letter to a friend

— ^3
*
amorous letter to a young lady^ .-- ; i
^
Woman vifited her hufband's tomb ev^y day for^two y^^^'> _
hanci^ne women in Scotland

Womc^rSn^^rr:^
Wellington, our hero's reception

there m 1791
__
3 4
Watenng^pjaces
--f-'^^.^.îes for fervants 33
'
ways offpending time at
— 33^
^1
Weymouth
;
vifited by our author

—
ace all rafca s 33J
^,3^'
Why tradefmen on the continent
wned philofophei, at abooK
^
XeJ. found confolation, and ^^^
preacher "**
•
r -^ 26a
-^ -^
and the pleafure of reading
f I N X %
M

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'i'^ii;

In Forty-seven Letters to a Friend.

Fair praife is flerling gold — all fliould defire it—

And yet, our vanity doth much admire it.

and foid by all oth*^/ Bookfellers.

fi^ This Edition (being printed on afmall type) is not

accu domed declamatory ftrain whicli has long been

Permit me indulge the plealing fiope, that,

And devoted humble fervant,

'To that part of the numerous body of BOOK-

Whofe candour and liberality he has in numerous inftancei

And laftly, (though not leaft in Famef)

To thofe fordid and malevolent BOOKSELLERS,

•—I'll give every one a fmart lalh in my \Va3\"'—

To whofe afiiduous and unwearied labours to injure his re-

are, with all due dlfcrimination of the refpefliye merits of each,

For who would bear the impatient thirfl of fame.

To groan and fvveat under a load of wit ?

'Tis Critics that make cowards of us all.

CUSTOM, has been repeatedly

marked, that '' law of fools. ^^ Thofe

that perfon is I do not wifli publicly to declare, as

folved to have one, efpecially as thofe who deem

to the works of his friend Theophile, with thefe re-

amongft all the dead and all the living, there is no

ment fo I will only quote for them four lines more

Never fliould I have ventured to appear in this

were confident I coidd not write at all, while others

nues to be tortured, the following flieets fliould afford

admirers for the fame reafon. Pineda has quotted

big with intcrefting events, my difpofing of feveral

pleafing fenfations in them, I will readily

tyof laughing, if not at them, at leafl with them.

If they obferve any perfon by induftry and appli-

he accounts for a perfon in a triumph, oi* any exalted

Of thofe, who want the power to rife.

Their utmoft malice cannot make

The moll: effe6lual way to baulk

SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT EDITIONS.

'Tis nothing new, I'm fure yovrknovv,

And if their prais'd, or render'd vain,,

Ye grumbling curs; I'd have yotr know,

The herd of fnarlers I defy.—'^ Ji Mdxo«f^

old envious friends, mentioned in the Third Chifs

of my Dedication, found out that it was '' d n'd

Pray, how ftioiild he obtain

We know his narrow education

XVI PREFACE TO THE SECOND

*' They growl at you, becaufe they cannot write

*^ That envy, which was woven in the frame

Ij; feems that feveral of thofe liberal-mmditd. men,

either from principle, or from knowing that my ma-

at, and expofed the mean contrivance, to the very

'Tis hard to fay, what myfteries of fate.

1 am overpaid, and remain their debtor !

" A truce with jefting; what I here impart

But your philofopbers will fay,.

I will not let flip any opportunity of making them

ing them, others occurred to my memory, fo that

* This is only meant of the o£lavo edition.