iS 
MUNIFICENCE. 
It is recorded of Canute, one of our antient kings, that he 
took occafton at this place to check the parafites of his court, 
who wantonly extolled his power. As he fat on the fhore, he 
bid the tide not to approach him to wet his feet. You fee what 
little incidents are handed down to us by hiftorians. No body 
can doubt but that knaves and fools were as plenty in early times, 
as they are now ; and juft as little may be learnt from the 
whim of that prince, as from your itinerant letter-wri- 
ters, who record the pinking the fteeves of a bathing habit. 
But what can we fay of any town in the kingdom ! How ea- 
gerly we fly from it to fome rural fcene, to fuck in the ambro- 
ftal air ; to delight the ear with the melody of birds, and the 
eye with fhady groves, and verdant lawns. This you remem- 
ber was our cafe ; we had hardly dined before we went to pad- 
worth to fee bevis-mount, the feat of the late lord Peter- 
borough, now the property of colonel mordant. 
In our way to this place, we pafled under the north gate of 
the town, over which is the prifon : here we heard the praifes 
fung of lady a****, who lately lodged in the neighbourhood 
of it, and the relief fhe afforded the wretched perfons confined, 
is recorded to her great honor, whilft all the balls and enter- 
tainments which have been made in this town, from the reign 
ot Canute down to the prefent time, are buried in utter obli- 
vion. If the memorial of adts of beneficence are regifter’d in 
heaven, carelefs as we often are, how that account may fhnd, 
we muff not be furprized that a lady’s charity fhould be talked 
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