534 



Ooiginal Anecdote of Sterne. 



[July 1, 



.and she bocamc an insulated being and 

 a misanthroiM*. 



;' When she travelled between London 

 and Sliipton I^ady Reade atti-acfcd as 

 iiiitch ittU^ntion as monan^hy itself. At 

 the inns wliere slie stopped tlie gates 

 were usually shut, to afford her an op- 

 portunity ot disembarking and landing 

 her cargo of parrots, nionkies, and 

 other living attendant^, who were 

 stowed in and about her carriages. As 

 soon as she cot to Miuijdalen Bridge, at 

 Oxford, a crowd was sure to collect, if 

 it were in tlieday-tlme,who followed or 

 preceded, accnmulatingasshe advanced, 

 so that by the time she arrived at the 

 Star inn, it was sometimes difficult to 

 make way ; and it must be owned her 

 gi-ofesf]ue appearance, in the midst of 

 her living animals, was calculated to 

 excitt; curiosity in an eminent degree. 



She is said still to have possessed the 

 power to re-assume the lady, and to 

 have kept up a correspondence with 

 the late Duke of Marlborough and 

 two or three other old acquaintance. 

 With her daughter-in-law, the widow 

 of her son, and mother of Sir John 

 Reade, bart. of Bleddingtcm, she held 

 no intercourse wliatever ; but was re- 

 ported to fi^el, amidst all her singula- 

 rities, a powerful affection towards her 

 grandson. And if, amongst what were 

 termed " the old standards.,'''' any case of 

 sadd(!n distress occurred, I was .informed 

 she would secretly administer relief. 



Since this visit in 1S12, this most 

 singular lady has paid the debt of na- 

 ture, having attained to a very old age. 

 Her aviaiy she left, partly to the Queen, 

 and j)art to the Duke of Marlborough ; 

 the whole .are probably dispersed, and it 

 may be long before any person of fortune 

 is again seized with a similar t.aste. 

 Her collection was m.agnificeiit, and 

 presented to the eye the wondrous va- 

 riety of tlie feathered tribe, in all the 

 Ipomp of radiant plumage; but I iTiust 

 'cou fcss, the wild songsters of hei' groves, 

 ' '^har gaily pcnu'ed their morning and 

 "feveniug carols, gave uie far greater 

 ^Ij)leasure than the whole of iier costly 



lr;)jT(uh ■)(.' i>t hi.,;' ■ «,.: .. .. 



J* STERNE. 



J**^' The following' anecdote of Sterne was 

 "-'V^ittrrated to me by my late uncle, Mr. Geo. 

 "'Smith, of St. Saviour's Church-yard, and, 

 'I lis the value of such biographical gleauiug's 

 •"Mdepcnds eiUivcly upon their geuuineuess, I 

 'X! think it proper to state that my above rela- 

 i;f..tive was an eye witness, as well as his 

 rttJtldtBi*! .brother, tlie late highly respected 

 -,rf.l '.-.„... 



Thomas Smith, sen. esq. who died alderman 

 and father of the city of York iu IHIO. 



I'^NORT Smith. 

 Black Swan-yard, Bermoiuhei/street. 



During the time this celehratcAl ch.a- 

 racter was one of (he prebendaries of 

 York, his Royal Highness Kdward, 

 late Duke of York, paid a visit to tlie 

 Cathedral, one Sunday, purposely to 

 hear him preach. Such an occurrence 

 drew together a more than ordinary 

 congregation, most of whom were w(dl 

 acquainted with Sterne's peculiar 

 powers as a preacher, and who well 

 knew how beautifully his mind could 

 meander througli the diversities of 

 every subject, 

 "From grave to gay, from lively to severe." 



His Royal Highness was observed 

 to enter his pew with a most compla- 

 cent smile on his countenance, antici- 

 pating, no doidjt, a few of those well 

 strung c(«npliinents being paid him, 

 such as servile genius too often disho- 

 nours itself in bestowing upon mere 

 worldly rank and exterior splendo(u- : 

 but thepreiicher shewetl himself in a far 

 difl'erent light from that of a flatterer 

 and fawner upon power. He felt the 

 due importance of iiis sacred office, and 

 with a voice well suited to the solem- 

 nity of th(! occasion, he pronounced to 

 his numerous and .admiring audience 

 the following forcible text: — "It is 

 better to trust in the Lord than to put 

 any confidence in princes.'" 



Never did the genius of Yorick dis 

 play itself more divinely. His dis- 

 course was a masterpiece of well-tem- 

 pered, acute reasoning, aiming its gol- 

 den shafts with irresistible force and 

 acumen against the vain corruption 

 and suporciliousuess whicli too often 

 SAV.ay the bosoms of the mighty in this 

 life. On this occasion the patron of 

 Falconer sat abashed, with his eyes 

 fix(><l on the ground ; his features red- 

 dened with confusion, and perhaps in- 

 wardly working with shame. I hope 

 he felt as he ought, and that the lecture 

 was not lost upon him ; and I sincerely 

 wish we had a few more such honest 

 interpreters of Divinity as Sterne ; who 

 could dare to waive all distinctions 

 whenever morality requites it — and 

 who bad courage to hurl on the heads 

 of high-raised licentiousness and de- 

 pravity, the thunderbolts of Christian 

 reproof and admonition, shewing that 

 it is not iu the outward glare of cir- 

 cumstances that their weight in society 



* Psalm 118, verse 9. 



