1809. ] 
friend, very different from the mild and 
good-humoured benevolence which adorn- 
ed it. Ihave the concurrent teffimony of 
all thofe who furrounded Dr. Darwin on 
the morning of his death, (including the 
two men fervants, with one of whom this 
converfation is fuppofed to have taken 
place, and whom I have queftioned parti- 
cularly on the fubje&t), to prove that zot 
az fingle angry word paffed on that day 
between him and any part of the family; 
but that he was bufily employed in writ- 
ing during the firft part of the morning, 
as was his cuftom; till a cold fhivering 
fit {upervened, and in a few hours termi- 
nated his exiltence. 
There are feveral other little inaecura- 
cies (partly infeparable indeed from a 
memoir drawn up in hafte), which I for- 
bear to notice, as of comparatively trifling 
import ; particularly as I intend publifh- 
ing a detailed Account of the Life and 
Writings of Dr. Darwin, probably at no 
very diftant period.—~Suffer me however, 
to correst, currente calamo, the phrafe of 
Eat, Eat, Eat! which is faid to have been 
' a favorite one of the Doétor’s, into ‘Eat ! 
or be Eaten!”—The former, during a 
very long and intimate acquaintance, I 
never heard him ufe; the latter very fre- 
quently, particularly to .voung perfons. 
*Tis a ftriking, though melancholy law of 
our natures, and was well calculated by 
the novelty of the phraie, to imprets 
ftrongly the mind and memory, and pro- 
duce the permanent effe& he intended. _ 
By inferting the above, you will oblige 
feveral of Dr. Darwin's friends and family, 
and do an a& of juftice to his memory. 
I am, your humble fervant, 
DewHuHuRSsT BiLsBorrow,.* 
Dalby Houfe, Fune 11th. 
: 
* We infert the foregoing letter with 
pleafure, and acknowledge the handfome 
manner in which the writer has corrected the 
miftakes of eur Account, and which forms a 
contraft to the rudenefs of a late advertife- 
ment on the fame fubje¢t, fubfcribed by.a per- 
fon who had difclaimed to us any particular 
knowledge of Dr. Darwin. We hall only 
add, that the circumftance of the fuppofed 
fit of paffion into which the Doétor had fallen 
on the morning of his deceafe, was commu- 
nicated to us on the authority of « gentleman 
intimately acquainted in the family. After 
_all, had fuch an incident taken place, we 
conceive that it would haye concluded no- 
thing againft Dr, Darwin’s moral character 5 
for what man is free from occafional anger ? 
We recorded it analy as a phyfical occurrence. 
oS - EpiTor. 
Brunetto Latini’s Letters: 
| 549 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
{Continuation of the curious unpublihhed 
Letters of BRuNeTTO LATINI, writtes 
about the Middle of the thirteenth Cen- 
tury, and tranflated from an ancient Ma= 
nu{criptin the Romance Tongpe of nearly 
that Period, in the Poffeffion of Mr. Wit- 
114M DuPpRrs&, of Poland-ftreet. | 
Brunetto Latini, at the Court of Henry the’ 
Third, in Loudon, to Guido Cavalcanti, 
Ditesr Greisgsor (a celebrated Poet), iz 
Ficrence. 
OU with me to fend you, my good 
Cavaicanti, fome further fpecimens 
of the compofition of the rhiming monk, 
whofe verfification of a fable of Efopus 
(See Monthly Mag. for Fanuary laf, page 
§24.), you appear to be fo much delighted 
with; and you afk me, befides, for fome 
account of him. All I can inform you 
at preient is, that he isnamed Wil/iam of 
Shene, and that he is of the Ciftercian 
order. You muft know, the monks of 
this order are held in great refpeét here, 
as well for their exemplary piety, as their 
great learning. They are in particular , 
favour with the King, becaufe they made 
a generous offer of all the books belonging” 
to their feveral convents, that they might. 
be fold towards raifing the fum of one 
hundred thoufand pounds, which was de- 
manded by the Emperor for the ranfom 
‘of King Richard, called Cceur de Lion, 
Henry’s uncle. With this letter you will 
_ receive fome rhimes of the compotition of 
this William of Shene, and, as I think, 
the beft he has written. The fubjeét is 
religious, for on what other fhould a monk 
write? You will perhaps remark, that ~ 
the two firft lines are the fame as the firft 
two of the fable, it being his praétice to 
ufe the like prologue to different compofi- 
tions :— ; . 
Alle that will of wyfdom lere, 
Herkeneth to me and ze {chal here 
Of a tale of holy writ,’ 
Saint John Appoftele witneffet hit 5 
How it befel in grete Rome, 
The chef cytee of Chriftendome, 
A child was fent of mygtes moft, 
Thorug the vertu of the Holy Goft, 
To the Emperoure of Rome, 
A nobleman and roys of dome. 
The Emperoure of Rome thanne ah 
Was called Sire Adryanne. 
When the child of gret honoure. 
Was come before the Emperoure, 
Apon his knees he hym fette, arin 
Andthe Emperoure ful faire he grette, 
The Emperoure with milde chere, 
Afked of him whennes he come were ; 
ee eae . The 
