4799-] 
toidie, or live, juft as it might hap- 
-on the mention of its name, Phillis. 
pen. This was about ten o'clock in the 
morning. Some time after this, the dog 
was feen endeavouring to crofs ‘over the 
ftreet at the top of Ludgate- hill, but his 
weaknefs was {fo great, that, unfopported 
by a wall, he could not accomplith his 
purpofe. .The miferable appearance and 
fituation of the dog again excited the com- 
paffion of a boy; who; inftead of abufing 
a poor creature already weighed down 
‘with misfortune, readily lifted it over 
to the pavement on the other fide of the 
ftreet. was able then, by the affiftarice 
of the houles, to get down to Fleet-market, 
and furmount two or three narrow croffings, 
till it reached Holborn bridge. Here 
once more, by a peculiar deftiny, for which 
I feel a momentary veneration for my {pe- 
cies, humanity ftepped in a third time to 
its aid. This was fuflicient j—and about 
eight o’clock in the evening it reached its 
mafter’s houfe, in Red-lion-ftreet, Hol- 
born, and Jaid itfelf dewn on the fteps; 
having been ten hours on_its journey to 
that place from St. Paul’s. It was fo 
much altered in appearance, that the 
matter could not recognize his old, taith- 
ful companion. T he « eyes were (ae into 
its head, and fcarcely could be difcerned. 
When Hs left its malter, it was fuppofed 
to weigh twenty pounds ; when it return- 
ed, curiofity led the mafter to examine 
what weight it had loft, and it was found 
to be fixteen pounds two ounces; for the 
dog, or rather fkeleton of the dog, then 
weighed only three pounds fourteen 
ounces. The firft indication it gave of 
knowing its mafter, was wagging its tail 
For 
a long time it was unable to eat or drink; 
and the miftrefs of the houfe, being very 
humane, ufed.to feed it with a tea-fpoon, 
till poor Phil at length recovered. What 
however falls, famine, and a thoufand 
accidents could not do, was effected a 
fhoit time after, by the wheels of a coach, 
which unfortunately went over her, and 
ended her mortal days 
Tt will be afked, idan did this animal 
live near nine weeks without food ?—This 
was not the cafe. When. fhe met with 
her fall, fhe was with young, and nea 
the time of littering. This circumfta: 
certainly took place when fhe was in fhe 
dome. of St. Paul’s; but at the time of 
her deliverance, no veftize of any off- 
{pring remained ; 
have eaten chee 
other dog were faid to be found near her 
—this is fuppofed to be one le‘s. fortu- 
nate than herfelf, who was killed by the 
_Montuiy Mac. No. WEL Xs 
fhe rhuit confequently 
The remains of an-. 
Critique on Criticifins. | 
a 
‘ 
621 
fall which Phil had furvived: fhe there- 
‘fore converted him to the moft urgent of 
all natural purpoies. When this treat 
was gone, the fhoe fueceeded, which was 
almott half devoured. Singular. e!capes 
of’ men, ‘Mr. Editor, are ‘often related, 
and read with pleafure ; and perhaps, to 
fome of your readers, the efcape even 
of 4 poor dog may not be agaether uns 
interefting. Ai am, Sir, 
Augu/t a E7995 on B, 
a 
To the Editor of fH Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, . 
HE liberty of criticifm, no lefs than 
Te the liberty of the prefs in general, 
fhould be afferted by every ingenuous 
writer, as being eflential to the ae of 
literature. Nothing ' in this letter, there- 
fore, muft be conftrued into a conte of 
that facred claim, and none of your readers, 
I hope, will re fale that li iberty to others in 
which they indulge ee ale In full 
reliance on this canddur, lay before them 
emer le ot ciuedinier ve ther obfer- 
vations on fome criticifm, that have ap-- 
peared in your mifcellany; my objeé& 
being to point out inftances,-in which 
fome writers have, I apprehend, {carcely 
Kept the proper bounds of criticifm. 
‘The firft was, when, from fome acknow- 
ledeed inaccuracies of an excellent and ufe- 
ful writer, a {weeping conclufion was 
drawn agaiuft his writings in general. 
Aa ete wor hiftory and eflays, Hume 
has obtained confiderable, and, I think, 
juft celebrity. Inhis ftyle of writing there 
are unqueftionably many improprieties, 
and in his Hiftory of England fome mif- 
taken politics. His frequent departure 
from the Engtifh idiom has been noticed 
by Dr. Prieftley in his.Englifh Grammar. 
Bifhop Hurd in his Dialogues on the Eng- 
lith Conftitution, and Dr. Towers in his 
Traéts, have attacked his politics. 
Several criticifms on the ftyle of Hume 
have appeared in. your, Magazine; many 
of which, as might. have been & cpected 
from the acumen oF the writer, were cer- 
tainly accurate; but feveral, I recollect, 
appeared to me at the time inaccurate: 
and when Mr. Wakefield aflerted, there are 
not two well-written peri jods in all Hume's 
works and when, invoking ins1PipiTy and 
vuLeariry, he {poke fo See ney 
of all the EE of Hume, wt 1cal and 
netaphyfical al, I ferupled not tofay, he leap’d 
the bounds it criti ete Ne 
Hume, it muft be acknowledged, is 
fometimes bald, and fometimes clumfy; 
he is alfo frequently inaccurate: and where 
4L many 
