I think I lent our friend Hawkins Browne the poems publifhed by Lauder; and I think he has not returned them; afk, when you fee him. That ftrange man has fent me another volume of felect authors, as he terms it, Miltono facem prælucentium. I have read Mafenius's Sarcotis 1, and I know it will pleafe you. The fentiments are great, the verification very eafy and harmonious, and I think the fiction very fine and poetical; fo much fo, that, were it not for the authority attached to a real divine ftory, as Milton treats it, I should doubt which method to prefer. If Milton ever read Mafenius, he most certainly digest

cit him.

ing, is a moft dark and faturnine creature. His pictures may frighten weak people, that, at the fame time, are wicked, but, I fear, he will make few converts, except for a day. I have read his "Serious Thoughts," but, for my own part, I think the rifing and fetting of the fun is a more durable argument for religion, than all the extraordinary convulfions of nature put together. Let a man be good on right principles, and then, impavidam ferient rvine; to fz Horace was as good a preacher as any cí us. For myfelf, I cwn I have no corflitution for thefe frights and fervours: and, if I can but keep up to the regular practice of a Chriftian lif, upon Chatan reafons, I fhall be in no pain for feturity; nor do I think it an effential part of religion, to be pointed at for any foolith fingularities.

The fubjects you mention, of the methodist preaching, are excellent in the hands of wife men (not enthusicft ). Religion, for the practice of the word, must be plain and intelligible to the loweft understanding. This is felf-evident; and the gospel itialf affures us, that “the "love of God is keeping his command"ments ;" and what need we furthe evidence? As to their notion, that ma are by nature devils, I can call it by m other name than wicked and blafṛtemous, and the highest reproach that m can throw upon his wife and good Cres tor. I am, dear Sir, your affùred inese

"On the earthquakes at Lisbon." If w the auther had advanced in thi, pamphlet bad men true, the carth, by le return of the great 66 mt is he ca t) in 1758, wue bave m fet on fir, ane buint to a coal; as he ab that the comet, in this revolution, wield Te ntaly in the fame line, but in the fare p of the line, in which the earth mov«%• mange mistake atole from Mr. Welley scanf uter ing the comet of 1682, whofe period is 75 years, with that of 1680, whofe period is gag years, applying, totidem verbis, what Dr. Haley Lays of

car Cologne, in the year 1650.

I Th. incarnation.

By Dr. H.

Mr. John Wefey.

whofe trajectory will coincide with the carth's or bit, to the former, which did appear in 1993, but never approached nearer to the body of the sarta than four millions of miles.

you

I

From the fame to the fame. Dear Sir, Croydon-house, Jan. 3, 1757*. AM very much obliged to you for a noble prefent †, and, I am fure, you will approve my difpofal of it, for it went this morning, accompanied with a parcel of wine, to colonel Canitz 1, of the Heffians, who are quartered here. I would endeavour to have Croydon excepted out of the general reproach §; They fhall have every accommodation I can procure them.

Your obliged and affured friend.

Archbishop Herring died at Croydon-houfe on March 13 following, aged 64. He was (fays the Earl of Corke) what a bishop ought to be, and, as I doubt not, where all bishops ought to be. Honour and reverence will attend his name while

this world lafts: happiness and glory will remain with his fpirit for ever."

A Yorkshire pye. His regiment was quartered at Croydon and Bromley.

No provifion being made by law for quartering foreign troops, the inn keepers refused to lodge them, and they were obliged to build huts, and continue in camp till the 22d of December 1756, when a bill for quartering them, &c. having received the royal affent, their camp broke up, and they marched into quarters.

LETTER LVIII.

EFORE

Dr. Thomas Secker to Dr. Ifaac Watts. Rev. Sir, Gloucester, Nov. 18, 1711. BE I give you an account of the state of our academy, and thofe other things you defired me, pleafe to accept of my hearty thanks for that fervice you have done me, both in advifing me to profecute my ftudies in fuch an extraordinary place of education, and in procuring me admittance into it. I wish my improvements may be anfwerable to the advantages I enjoy; but however that may happen, your kindness has fixed me and spend my time to good purpofe; and in a place where I may be very happy. where, if I do not, the fault will be all my own.

I am fenfible how difficult it is to give a character of any perfon or thing, because the most probable gueffes we make very often prove falfe ones. But, fince you are pleased to defire it, I think myfelf obliged to give you the best and most impartial account of matters I can.

Mr. Jones then I take to be a man of real piety, great learning, and an agreeinftructing all under his care, very well able temper; one who is very diligent in qualified to give inftructions, and whofe make him refpected. He is very ftrict well-managed familiarity will always in keeping good orders, and will effectually preferve his pupils from negligence and immorality. And accordingly I believe there are not many academies freer in general from thofe vices than we are. In particular, my bedfellow Mr. Scott is one of unfeigned religion, and a diligent fearcher after truth. His genteel carriage and agreeable difpofition gain him the efteem of every one. Griffith is more than ordinary ferious and grave, and improves more in every thing than one could expect from a man who seems to be not much under forty; particularly in Greek and Hebrew he has made a great progrefs. Mr. Francis § and Mr. Watkins are diligent in ftudy, and truly religious. The elder Mr. Jones, having had a better education

Mr.

§ Not improbably Mr. Henry Francis, for fome time affiftant in London to the Rev. Mr. John Foxon, and afterwards paftor of the church at Southampton.

than

than they, will in all probability make a greater fcholar; and his brother is one of quick parts.

Our logic, which we have read once over, is to contrived as to comprehend all Heereboord, and the far greater part of Mr. Locke's Eflay, and the Art of Thinking. What Mr. Jones dictated to us was but fhort, containing a clear and brief account of the matter, references to the places where it was more fully treat ed of, and remarks on, or explications of the authors cited, when need required. At our next lecture we gave an account both of what the author quoted and our tutor faid, who commonly then gave us a larger explication of it, and fo proceeded to the next thing in order. He took care, as far as posible, that we underflood the fenfe as well as remembered the words of what we had read, and that we should not fuffer ourselves to be cheated with obfcure terms which had no meaning. Though he be no great admirer of the old logic, yet he has taken a great deal of pains both in explaining and correcting Heereboord, and has for the most part made him intelligible, or hewn that he is not fo.

The two Mr. Jones's, Mr. Francis, Mr. Watkins, Mr. Sheldon, and two more gentlemen, are to begin Jewish antiquities in a fhort time. I was defigned for one of their number, but rather chofe to read logic once more; both because I was utterly unacquainted with it when I came to this place, and becaufe the others having all, except Mr. Francis, been at other academies, will be obliged to make more hafte than thofe in a lower clafs, and confequently cannot have fo good or large accounts of any thing, nor fo much time to ftudy every head. We fhall have gone through our courfe in about four years time, which I believe nobody that once knows Mr. Jones will think too long.

I began to learn Hebrew as foon as I came hither, and find myfelf able now to confree, and give fome grammatical account of about twenty verfes in the cafier parts of the Bible after lefs than an hour's preparation. We read every day two verfes a-piece in the Hebrew Bible, which we turn into Greek (no one knowing which his verfes fhall be, though at firft it was otherwife). And this with logic i. our morning's work.

Mr. Jones also began about three months ago fome critical lectures in order to the expofition you advised him to. The principal things contained in them are about the antiquity of the Hebrew language, letters, vowels, the incorrup tion of the Scriptures, ancient divisions of the Bible, an account of the Talmud, Mafora, and Cabala. We are at prefent upon the Septuagint, and shall proceed after that to the Targumim, and other verfions, &c. Every part is managed with abundance of perfpicuity, and idl dom any material thing is omitted that other authors have faid upon the point, though very frequently we have medl additions of things which are not to be found in them. We have scarce been upon any thing yet, but Mr. Jones has had thofe writers which are most valued on that head, to which he always refer us. This is what we first fet about in the afternoon; which being finished, we read a chapter in the Greek testament, and after that mathematics. We have gone through all that is commonly taught of algebra and proportion, with the i firft books of Euclid, which is all Mr. Jones defigns for the gentlemen I mentioned above, but he intends to read fomething more to the clafs that comes

after thein.

This is our daily employment, which in the morning takes up about two hours, and fomething more in the afternoca. Only on Wednesdays in the morning we read Dionyfius's Periegefis, on which we have notes moitly geographical, ba with fome criticisms intermixed; and the afternoon we have no lecture at 2. So on Saturday in the afternoon we have only a thefis, which none but they wha have done with logic have any conc.ra in. We are alfo just beginning to read Ifocrates and Terence, each twice a week. On the latter our tutor will give us fe notes, which he received in a college from Perizonius.

We are obliged to rife at five of the clock every morning, and to speak Lan always, except when below flairs amer24 the family. The people where we live are very civil, and the greatet inconve nience we fuffer is, that we fill the house rather too much, being fixteen in number befides Mr. Jones. But I fuppote the increase of his academy will oblige him to remove next fpring. We pils

Sect. II.

our time very agreeably betwixt ftudy and converfation with our tutor, who is always ready to difcourfe freely of any thing that is ufeful, and allows us either then or at lecture all imaginable liberty of making objections against his opinion, and profecuting them as far as we can. In this and every thing elfe he shows himfelf fo much a gentleman, and manifects fo great an affection and tendernefs for his pupils, as cannot but command refpect and love. I almoft forgot to mention our tutor's library, which is compofed for the moft part of foreign books, which feem to be very well chofen, and are every day of great advantage

to us.

Thus I have endeavoured, Sir, to give you an account of all that I thought maAs for terial or obfervable amongst us. my own part, I apply myself with what diligence I can to every thing which is the fubject of our lectures, without preferring one fubject before another; becaufe I fee nothing we are engaged in, but what is either neceffary, or extremely useful for one who would thoroughly understand thofe things which moft concern him, or be able to explain them well to others. I hope, I have not fpent my time, fince I came to this place, without fome fmall improvement both in human knowledge, and that which is far better; and I earnestly defire the benefit of your prayers, that God would be pleafed to fit me better for his fervice both in this world and the next. This, if you please to afford me, and your advice with relation to ftudy, or whatever elfe you think convenient, muft needs be extremely useful, as well as agreeable, and fhall be thankfully received by your moft obliged humble fervant.

Sir,

LETTER LX.

From the fame to the fame. Cuddefden, Sept. 14, 1743. I HEARTILY thank you for your obliging letter, and, had I known that you had printed a fermon on the subject ‡, I fhould not have failed to enrich my own from it. I hope the things I have faid in favour of our charity-schools are true. I hope the Chriftians of this nation in general are grown much milder towards each other, and I am fure we have great need to gain in this virtue what we lofe in others, and become a more united body as we become a smaller, which I apprehend we do. But, fear not, little flock. May God direct and bless us all in our poor endeavours to ferve him! May he give you every needful fupport under your long ficknefs, and reftore you fpeedily to your former usefulness, if it be his holy will! I am with great esteem, Sir, your, &c.

ter, which brought me that good news, to continue unanswered fo long, if more than ordinary buimefs had not fometimes put it out of my power, and fometimes cut of my thoughts, to make you my acknowledgments for it. The civilities for which you thank me are no more than a very imperfect return of justice for the great fervices you have done to religion; and you have made a valuable addition to them in the bock you have now been pleafed to fend me: particularly by what you have written in to ftrong and awful yet fo compaffionate and good-natured a manner, in defence of the fcripture-doctrine concerning the duration of future punishments. I pray God to continue you long in a capacity of being fill farther ufeful, and am with great regard, Sir, your, &c.

LETTER LXII.

Dr. Jofiah Hort, Arcbiep of Tuam, to Dr. Ifaac Warts.

I

Reverend Sir, Dublin, Dec. 15, 1743. AM brought into the circumftance of an infolvent debtor, who is afraid to fce the face of his creditor; and yet it is not through idlenefs or difregard that I remain fo long in my friend's debt for his kind letter of the laft femmer; but I am really oppreffed with letter-writing, and bufinefs of various kinds; fome of any own, but more of other perfons; fome private but more public, both ecclefiaftical and fecular, which are incident to my Aation.

However, I have at laft found a fpare hour for thanking you for the prefent of your book, which ought more properly to be done by my wife, who prefently laid hands upon it, and took it into her own library. She is much taken with the vein of piety, which breathes in your works, and buys them up.

nerves.

I am truly concerned for your info nia, which I fuppofe proceeds from weak If you could ride an eafy pad, increasing your journey every day from one to four or five miles, as your firength would permit, I thould hope for fome

Dr. Watte Dite u 2. on the World to come.

good effect, as the laffitude occafioned by that exercife would incline you mor naturally to rest than the ufe of drugs. I blefs God, I enjoy good health, which enables me to go through much budas; but I have for many years been going down the hill, and, if the doctrine of gravitation takes place in the life of Jaan, the motion muit accelerate as I come nearer the bottom. Your cafe is the fame, though more aggravated by dilemper. God grant we may be useful while we we and may run clear, and with unclead a minds till we come to the very dr g I fend you my visitation charge: clergy of Tuam. The former copy of my charge to the cr more and Ardagh, which being ral ufe, I faw no occal to The latter part is new, .Ifa. to your judgment. I am, car to your, &c.

LETTER LXIII.

Dr. Edmund Gibsen, Bishop of London, to Dr. Jaac Watts.

I

Good Sir, Whitehall, March 7, 1732-5
THANK you heartily for your k

kind prefent, but, as the courie di my life has led me into fludies of anether kind, I am fenfible I cannot pro fit fo much by it, as others will do, whet thoughts have been more emploved in that way. It is certainly a very landable exercife of the mind, especially you apply it throughout to the good religion; and what you have put Hibe will, I doubt not, be of great use to the growing generation by leading them in a juft way of thinking and reafoning One thing I wonder at, and that is, how a mind that thinks fo closely, can at the fame time frame itself to that eafy and familiar way which appears in forec your other writings. I commend you and your labours to the divine care and direction, and remain, with Sir, your, &c.

great

trute,

Not improbably the Doctor's Treaties Logi, or, the Right Ufe of Reafa.