368 
guence—this arcumentum ad hominem— 
effeted a reformation which nothing 
elfe would have been able to produce. 
I fhould not forget to notice alfo a lite- 
rary furgeon, who has lately publifhed a 
work of acknowledged utility. It is a 
treatife on thofe phagedenie ulcers which 
are fo apt to affeét the legs of aged per- 
fons ; particularly if they have been in- 
temperate. The cure of thefe had, ac- 
cording to the old practice, been tedious 
and uncertain; but the method of treat- 
ment recommended.in this work, is at 
once effectual and expeditious. Its au- 
thor’s name is BAYNTON. 
The lectures of BowLes and SmiTH 
received the countenance of the celebrated 
Dr. BeppDcoEs ; who, though not indige- 
nous to Briftol, ought to be mentioned 
as a refidentiary ornament, and a promoter 
of every laudable undertaking. It iscer- 
tainly no argument of the want of public 
fpirit in this place, that 12001. have been 
fubfcribed to build a chymical f{chool, over 
which this father of pneumatic medicine 
is to prefide. Inthishe is affifted by a very 
ingenious young man of the nameot Davy, 
who is already known to the public as 
an author in chymifiry. Dr. BEDDoEs is 
engaged alfo in another confiderable plan, 
for erecting a kind of pneumatic hofpital 
for the cure of pulmonary and other com- 
plaints. Toward this fcheme eighteen 
hundred pounds have been fubfcribed. 
Three thoufand are neceflary to bring it 
to completion ; neither will it be entered 
upon til] that fum is enfured. A work 
entitled, ‘¢ Contributions to Phyfcal and 
Medical Knowledge,” is lately publifhed 
by the Do&tor ; it is meant to be conti- 
nued as often as fufficient materials can 
be collected ; and bids fair to become a 
very ufetul repofitory of medical facts. 
_. The literary tafte of Briftcl is not a 
fittle promoted by the eftablifhment of a 
public library ; conducted, perhaps, on 
as liberal a plan as any in the kingdom: 
books on either fide of every queftion, 
whether of religion or politics, being 
freely admitted. A fubferiber, at firit, 
pays five guineas for a ticket, which ts 
transferable, and a guinea a year after- 
wards. It confifts of two fpacious rooms. 
The firft is divided on each fide into com- 
‘partments, by means of fcreens that pro- 
jeét from the fides, leaving_an open {pace 
inthe middle, in the manner of the Bod- 
lean at Oxford. This room coitains a 
valuable colleétion of ancient authors, 
deft by the original founder. ‘Thefe are 
mot fuffered to be taken out by the fub- 
fcribers, ‘The interior room, which is 
Staté of Manners, Sc. at Briffol: 
‘merely a tranf{eriber of them. 
rs Ming 
more modern, and built by a patriotic 
{ubf{cription of the inhabitants, is equally 
{pacious with the other ; but the books 
are difpofed of in a different manner ; 
there being no lateral projections. A gal- 
lery furrounds all the upper part of - 
the room, except on the fide where the 
windows ftand. The books here, which 
are more modern than thofe in the frft 
room, are fuffered to be taken out by fub- 
icribers. A committee meet once a month 
to regulate the bufinefs of the inititution. 
The chief librarian, who is the Rev. Mr. 
JouNns, has a falary of feventy pounds a 
year, and a good houfe for his refidence. 
The sub-librarian is the weil known and ~ 
eccentric Mr. GEORGE CaTCOTT, who 
was remarkable in his younger days for 
riding over five inch bridges, clambering 
fteeples, and exploring {ubterranean ca- 
verns ; fince then his name has made 2 
con{picuous figure in the diffentions that 
have taken place among the learned, re- 
{pecting the authenticity of Rowley’s po- 
ems. Here, contrary to the practice of 
his early days, he has taken his ftand on 
the terra firma et lata of common fenfe ; 
and, in oppofition to the high encomiatftic 
flights of poets, and deep refearches of 
antiquaries, pronounces Chatterton not 
the author of thefe contefted poems, but 
Yet, in 
{pite of his obtufe difcernment on this 
point, CATCOTT ts aman of fingular ta- 
lents. For local memory, and powers of 
{peaking and aéting, (wherein he difplays 
as {trong a conception as Garrick perhaps 
could himfelf) he is juftly admired among 
his friends. As a tribute of refpe& to 
this laft-mentioned excellence of his, the 
manager of the Briftol theatre gives him 
free admiffion to the rehearfal and play, 
whenever he choofes. 
Perhaps there is no place in England 
where public and focial amufements are 
fo little attended to as here. From this 
circumftance, the inhabitants have been 
{tigmatized with a want of tafte, and de- 
{cribed as the fordid devotees of Plutus. 
Another, and more plaufible reafon may 
be alledged for this fingularity : no place 
contains, in proportion to its inhabitants, 
fo many diffenters. Thefe retain much 
of the puritanical way of thinking, which 
prevailed’ in the days of the firft Charles. 
‘To attend theatrical reprefentations, balls, 
card or mufic parties, is to them worfe 
than vanity: it is a vice. Thefe common 
centers ot attraction deftroyed, others are 
wanting to fupply their place, and to con- 
verge the {cattered rays of fociety. Union 
in abftract ideas of religion, is too weak 
a bond 
