BRISTOL, ETC., IN MAY AND JUNE, 1767. 29 
Monmouthshire ? ' he replied, ' None.' ' How then do you travel ? ' 
' In ditches.' " 
M^" Fidel. — At page 278 of Manby's Picturesque Guide through the 
Counties of Monmouthshire, etc., published in 1802, occurs the follow- 
ing passage : — 
" Detached from the town, two houses are peculiarly attractive, 
from their situation, elegance, and neatness ; and that on the left 
is the mansion of T. Fidell, Esq., M.P. for Boston." 
12 Davis of the Devizes. — According to the Dictionary q/ 
National Biography, James Davis was a Welshman, and became 
a satirical writer. He was a member of Jesus College, Oxford, 
where he took the degrees of B.A. and M.A., and in 1732 the degree 
of M.B. He practised as a physician at Devizes, and died July 13th, 
1755. He was the author of Origines Divisiance or the Antiquities 
of the Divizes, which consisted of some familiar letters to a friend, 
wrote in the years 1750 and 1751, 8vo, London, 1754, a well-written 
jeu d'es|3rit, aimed at the absurd etymologies of Musgrave, 
Stukeley, and others. 
At page 333 of the 25th volume of the Gentleman^s Magazine 
occurs the following obituary notice during the year 1755 : — 
" July 13th, Dr. Davis, physician, at Devizes, Wilts." 
On the south side of the chancel of the Parish Church at 
Chepstow is a monument, Avith the following inscription: — 
M.S. 
^ACOBI DAVIS, M.B. 
OXONIENSIS. 
APXAIO'i'IAOT 
Obiit decimo tertio Die Julii, 
Anno ^tatis 49, DOM. 1755. 
For this Inscription I am indebted to the Eev. E. J. Hensley, 
the Vicar of Chepstow. 
In the Register of Burials occurs the following entry during 
the year 1755:— 
July 17. Mr. James Davis, y*^ Doctor. 
If he died at Devizes, he appears to have been buried at 
Chepstow. 
There are five letters of James Davis in the British Museum, 
ranging from 1741 to 1753, all dated from Devizes. 
The Devizes, — I am informed by Mr. H. A. Grueber, of the 
British Museum, that in the 17th and 18th centuries the town of 
Devizes was generally called "The Devizes." It is so on nearly 
all the 17th century tokens. 
