

1804.] THE ROYAL INSTITUTION. 265 



Mr. Homer wrote another letter to Mr. Thomas 



Thompson: 



The Temple, November 21, 1804. 



Our friend Sydney gave his first lecture on Saturday. I 

 was not there, but all the accounts I have collected from 

 different sorts of people agree in its favour, and that it took 

 extremely well. 



During the second course Mr. Homer wrote to Lady 



Mackintosh at Bombay : 



The Temple, April 18, 1805. 



We have all this winter had but two topics of conversa- 

 tion Young Roscius and the lectures of the Right Reverend 

 our Bishop of Mickleham. 1 His Lordship's success has been 

 beyond all possible conjecture from six to eight hundred 

 hearers ; not a seat to be found, even if you go half-an-hour 

 before the time. Nobody else, to be sure, could have exe- 

 cuted such an undertaking with the least chance of this 

 sort of success ; for who else could make such a mixture of 

 odd paradox, quaint fun, manly sense, liberal opinion, 

 striking language ? You must have had more than enough 

 of the other great delight of the public the Roscius. As 

 it is the propensity of all superior minds to admire, I am 

 sorry that this occasion has added another to my own proofs 

 that I must place myself on a very low form ; there never 

 was such a rage except that for Sydney. 



In the 6 Life of Sydney Smith' Lady Holland mentions 

 that Mr. Bernard obtained these lectures for the Insti- 

 tution. She says : 



He obtained considerable increase of reputation by a 

 course of lectures on Moral Philosophy, which Sir Thomas 

 Bernard, who interested himself much about the Royal 

 Institution, proposed to him to give. He continued to 

 lecture for three successive years. 



1 Where Mr. Sharpe, Sydney Smith's friend, lived. 



