ALEXANDER GORDON, THE ANTIQUARY. 139 



John Wilcox, bookseller in the Strand ; hut his education, temper, 

 and manners did not suit him for a trade." Whiston appears to 

 have had some prejudice against him, as he says farther, " He had 

 some learning, some ingenuity, much pride, much deceit, and very 

 little honesty, as every one who knew him believed. Poverty 

 tempted him to dishonesty ; his national character and constitution, 

 to pride and ingenuity ; and his dependence on the great, to flattery 

 and deceit." The allusion to his "national character" reminds us 

 of the prejudices Avhich the revolution of a little later date inten- 

 sified into the passionate antagonism of Smollett's "Briton," and 

 Wilkes' " Noi'th Briton," Avith the pungent bitterness of Churchill's 

 " Famine, a Scottish Pastoral," and others of his satires. ISTo doubt 

 the poor Antiquary found it hard enough to meet all demands, and 

 keep his accounts square with printers, booksellers, traders, and 

 housekeepers. Dr. Laing has recovered a letter, addressed by Gordon, 

 in October, 1739, from his lodging in St. Martin's Lane, to Mr. 

 Nourse, a bookseller at Temple Bar, in which he says : "I shall be 

 obliged to you if you will at your leisure diaw out the Credit part of 

 our accomj)t, what you shew me in your shop last time is the Debtor 

 side of your books I had of you ; but I can instruct that you had 24 

 setts of my Dessertations on the Mummies sent to you, and not 18 as 

 your memory misleads jow in thinking, and as such I shall instruct 

 it upon oath if reqiiired ; besitles I cannot possably be owing you a 

 ballance of a guinea, for you may remember after you had your 

 Diogines Laierbius you told me youi-self and since, that the ballance 

 due you from me was about 18 or 19 shillings, and I dare Siiy if you 

 ever have stated your number of those Dissertations you received, 

 and sold, right in your books, you will find I owe you no more. I 

 should be sorry to have the same difficulty with you in settling this, 

 as Mr. Mackerther says he has had in his accompts with you. What 

 I have told you is facts I can prove, therefore I am determined I 

 will pay you no more then the ballance we had before settled, and 

 what I realy owe you." 



Three years before the date of this letter Gordon had been appointed 

 Secretary to the Society for the Encouragement of Learning ; and had 

 succeeded Dr. Stukeley in the Secretaryship of the Society of Anti- 

 quaries. He was also indebted to the latter for his introduction to 

 the Egyptian Club, for which also he performed the same duties for 

 a time ; and so had his attention diverted to what constituted there- 



