32 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



death. Mrs. Montagu was an ex- 

 cellent scholar, and possessed a sound 

 judgement, and an exquisite taste. 

 Her " Essay on the Writings and 

 Genius ofShakespeare," in answer to 

 the frivolous objections of Voltaire, 

 must always rank with the best illus- 

 trations of the transcendent powers 

 of our great English poet. It is not 

 an elaborate exposition of obscure 

 passages, but a comprehensive sur- 

 vey of the sublimity of his genius, of 

 his profound knowledge of human 

 nature, and of the wonderful re- 

 sources of his imagination. This 

 essay is, we believe, the only work 

 of which Mrs. Montagu publicly 

 avowed herself to be the author; 

 but it is well known that she assisted 

 the first lord Lyttelton in the com- 

 position of his " Dialogues of the 

 Dead;" and some of the best of 

 those dialogues, by his lordship's 

 own acknowledgement, were the 

 efforts of her pen. Lord Lyttelton 

 was very much attached to her ; 

 and, if he had been free from matri- 

 monial connections, she might have 

 commanded his title and fortune. 

 Mrs. Montagu, however, it was 

 imagined,was attached toPulteney, 

 the famous earl of Bath. She ac- 

 companied this nobleman and his 

 lady on a tour through Germany. 

 Mrs. Montagu peculiarly excel- 

 led in epistolary composition ; and 

 her letters, in point of learning, 

 judgement, and elegance, far exceed 

 those of her namesake, lady Mary 

 Wortley Montagu, even supposing 

 that the latter was really the author 

 of the letters attributed to her, 

 which, however, have long been 

 known to be in a great measure 

 fictitious. Mrs. Montagu was anear 

 relation of the celebrated Dr. Con- 

 yers Middleion, on whose care she 



devolved in early life, and who 

 superintended her education with 

 parental fondness. It is said, that 

 she made so early a display of her 

 tendency to literature, that she had 

 transcribed the whole of the Spec- 

 tators, before she was 8 years of 

 age. Incredible as this story seems 

 to be, it has been attested by the 

 best authority, and was always 

 solemnly affirmed by the late Dr. 

 Monsey, physician of Chelsea- 

 college, a particular friend of Dr. 

 Middleton, and of Mrs. Montagu. 

 The epistolary correspondence that 

 took place between Dr. Monsey and 

 Mrs. Montagu, during her tour in 

 Germany, and, indeed, through the 

 whole of their intercourse for up- 

 wards of 30 years, affords proofs 

 of uncommon talents, original hu- 

 mour, and acute observation on 

 both sides. We sincerely hope that 

 these letters, at least those of Mrs. 

 Montagu, will be submitted to the 

 world, as they contain nothing but 

 what would tend to impress man- 

 kind with high reverence for her 

 capacity, her attainments, and her 

 virtues. In private life, Mrs. Mon- 

 tagu was an example of liberal 

 discretion and rational benevolence. 

 Her estates, about 10,000/. per 

 annum, devolve to her nephew, 

 Mr. Montagu. 



SEPTEMBER. 



4th. Two labourers, employed 

 in a warehouse at Deptford to 

 remove brandy, took occasion to 

 broach one of the hogsheads, and 

 by means of a reed, sucked so much 

 liquor, that they were both found 

 dead by the sides of the casks. One 

 of them, a few hours before, was 



