Retrospect of Domestic Literature—Miscellanies. N61 
this fatal 1st of November, preparing to 
hoist sail for England. _He looked to- 
wards the city in the morning, which 
gave the promise of a fine day, and saw 
that proud metropolis mse above the 
waves, flourishing 1n wealth and. plenty, 
and founded on a rock that promised a 
poet’s eternity, at least to its grandeur, 
He looked am hour after, and saw the city 
involved in flames, and sinking in thunder, 
A sigh. more awful mortal eyes could not 
behold, on this side the day of doom. 
And yet does not human pride make us 
miscalculate? A drunken begvar shall 
work as horrid a desolation with a kick 
of his foot against an ant-hill, as subter- 
raneous air and fermented minerals to a 
populous city. 
universe of things, rather with a philoso- 
phic than a religious eye, where is the 
difference in point of real importance be- 
tween them? A difference there is and 
avery sensible one in the merit of the 
two societies. The little Troglodytes 
amass neither superfluous nor taaginary 
wealth; and consequently have neither 
drones nor rogues ainong them, In the 
confusion we see caused by such a de- 
solation, we find, by their immediate 
care to repair and remedy the general 
mischief, that none abandons himself to 
despair, and so stands not in need of 
Bedlam’s and coroners’ inquest; but as 
the poet says, 
© In this ’tis God directs, in that, *tis man.” 
«* And you will say, remember the 
sovereignty of Reason. To this Ireply, 
And if we take in the 
think, much more than they were worth. 
But I must finish the history both of the 
lrishman and the papers, Soon after, 
he got acquainted with Sir William 
Younge, wrote for Sir Robert, and wag 
made Attorney-general of Jamaica: he 
married there an opulent widow, and died 
very rich, a few years ago here in Eng- 
land; but of so scoundrel a temper, that 
he avoided ever coming into my sight, se 
that the memory of all this intercourse 
between us had been buried in silence 
till this moment. And who should this 
man be but one of the heroes of the Dune 
ciad, Concannen by name? ie 
‘* The papers had a similar fortune. 
A few years before Curl’s death, ‘he wrote 
me a letter to acquaint me, that he had 
bought the property of my excellent dis- 
course, and that, as it had been long out. 
of print, he was going to reprint it, only 
he desired to know if [ had any additions 
or alteration to make, he should be glad 
of the honour of receiving them. The 
writer and the contents of his letterwery 
much alarmed me. SoI wrote to Mr. 
Knapton to goto the fellow and buy my 
own book of him again, which he did. 
“And so ended this ridiculous affair, 
Which may be a warning to young scrib , 
blers.” 
Letter CLXIX.—“ You say true, I 
have a tenderness in my temper which 
will make me miss poor Siwkeley; tor, 
not to say that he was one of my oldest 
acquaintances, there was in him sucha 
mixture of simplicity, drollery, absurdity, 
ingenuity, superstition, and antiquarian- 
that the common definition of man is false: '8™, that he often afforded me that kind 
he isnot a reasoning anvnal. The best 
you can predicate of him is, that he is an 
animal capable of reajon, and this too 
we take upon old tradition. For it has 
not been my fortune yet to meet, I won’t 
say with any one man, but I may safel 
swear with any one order of men, who 
ever did reason. And this I am afraid 
our friend ‘Towne will soon find to his 
- cost.” 
Letter XCIIIZ—“ [ was very mucha 
boy when I wrote that thing about pro- 
digies, and I had never the courage to 
look. into it since, so I have quite forgot 
all the nonsense that it contains. But 
since you mention it, I will tell you how 
it came to see the light. I met man 
years ago with an ingenious Irishman at 
a coffee-house, near Gray’s-inn, where I 
lodged. He studied the law, and was 
very poor; I had given him money for 
many a dinner, and at last I gave nim 
those papers, which he soid to the book- 
Sellers for more money than you would 
X 
of well-seasoned repast which the Freneh 
call an Ambigu, I suppose, from a come 
pound of things never meant to meet toe 
gether. IT have often heard him laughed 
at by fools, who had neither his sense, 
his knowledge, nor his honesty, though 
it must be confessed, that in him they 
were all strangely travested. Not a week 
before his death he walked from Blooms- 
bury to Grosvenor-square, to pay me.a 
visit: was cheerful as usual, and as full 
of literary projects. But his business was 
{as he heard Geekee was not not likely 
to continue long), to desire I would give | 
him the earliest notice of his death, for 
that he intended to solicit for his prebend 
of Canterbury, by Lord Chancellor and 
Lord Cardigan. ‘ Fur,’ added he, £ one 
never dies the sooner, you know, for seek- 
ing preferment.” artery 
An * Appendix” contains five letters 
from the Honourable Charles Yorke, 
which had previously been in. part used 
by Bishop Hurd) in the life of Warburton. 
la 
