"The Rev. ** * Dr. To printing and paper, 35,000 copies of sermon - 785 Cr. By the sale of 17 copies of said sermon Balance due to Mr. Bowyer 5 6 1 5 6 £784 0 0 "They who know the character of this most amiable and excellent printer, will not be at all surprised to hear that, in a day or two, a letter to the following purport was forwarded to the clergyman. - "Rev. Sir, I beg pardon for innocently amusing myself at your expense, but you need not give yourself uneasiness. I knew better than you could do, the extent of the sale of single sermons, and accordingly printed but fifty copies, to the expense of which you are heartily welcome, in return for the liberty I have taken with you," &c. &c. Scarron, a good judge, says, the most general complaint, and founded on the latest antiquity, is that of authors on the badness of the times and the ingratitude of the age. Old Luther, speaking of "the Trade" of his time, says, "I have no plenty of money, and yet I deal thus with my printers I receive nothing from them for recompense of my many copies. Sometimes I take of them one copy; this I think is due to me; whereas other writers, yea translators, for every eight leaves have an angel." To speak commercially, the authors of the olden time were determined that their articles should take, for they puffed off their own productions in their own title-pages: "A righte merrie and wittie Enterlude, very pleasaunte to reade;" "A marvellous witty Treatise, &c. ;" "A pleasaunte, pithie, and profitable worke." The moderns have a practice of sending their works to the beaux esprits of the day for perusal, or rather--approbation : now this was met by Sheridan by a general formula he had long established, running thus: "Dear sir, I have received your exquisite work, (poem, tract, play, treatise, &c. as it might be,) and I have no doubt I shall be highly delighted af ter I have read it." Ben Jonson advanced, or attempted to establish a very dangerous axiom, (if the fraternity of this age be considered,) which was, that a great poet must be, first of all, a good man! (See his preface to Volpone). Delicacy prevents our entering upon the investigation; suffice to say, the point is untenable, although Strabo himself said the same thing a thousand or two thousand years before. Jackson, of Exeter, says, unceremoniously, if you present to the public any publication they are not up to, persons who feel they know nothing, yet have the credit of knowing a great deal, instantly abuse it, to shew their judgment, and discover their ingenuity, by pointing out particular parts for disapprobation not apparent to the common eye: others, who have no great reputation in the world, look vacant, and say nothing: but those who are esteemed wits, turn it to ridicule-and noisy wit is more than a match for silent truth. It is this want of knowledge in the public that is the real cause why most original genuises are starved. The world is not malicious, but it cannot be said to be interested in the advancement of genius : the public is only indifferent in the affair, when indifference arises from ignorance of the value of the thing. How many first volumes of the works of an author have been published, and no second, for want of patronage? And yet the first fetches a high price. Unhappy authors! Ungrateful public! Ergo, while some people ride out to get an appetite, it is the interest of an author to contrive to lose his. HONE'S TRIAL, An affair of late days, probably as well known to the people in or out of England as the Christmas carol. This is not, however, the only trial of William Hone which we have met with, and though there is a wonderful coincidence as to names, (which is the reason why we insert it,) there is none at all in the offence for which the parties were indicted. In this case no comparison will hold. That which we allude to, took place on the 12th of July, 1683, when William Hone was indicted on the Rye-House plot conspiracy, for an intent to kill the king. Hone first pleaded not guilty, but the next day retraced his plea, saying he was guilty. One Kneeling, an evidence, then deposed, that this question was discussed among them, (the conspirators,) how many swan-quills, goose-quills, and crow-quills, and how much sand and ink they must have. By swan-quills were meant blunderbusses; by goose-quills, muskets; and by crow-quills, pistols; and by sand and ink, powder and bullet. Hone said to him, it would never be well till the blackbird and the goldfinch were knocked on the head; by whom he said he meant the King and the Duke of York. The lord-chief-justice asked Hone, "What religion are you of?" Prisoner, "Religion, my lord! I hear several sorts of men; sometimes Baptists, sometimes Independents, and sometimes Presbyterians." This Hone was found guilty, (State Trials, vol. 4, 8vo. p. 97,) but t'other Hone, the intrepid defender of his own cause, was THREE TIMES ACQUIT TED! KALENDAR. DURING the French Revolution, the spirit of alteration introduced those reformers to reform the kalendar, by re-baptising the names of the months, as follows :— An English wag, disgusted with this mawkish and unreasonable act of the French, ingeniously burlesqued it as follows: le, "Fox is! After his long and exhaustech on Hastings's trial, he was seen handlies into their coaches, with all the gaiety rattle of an idle gallant." rke's melodramatic trick was a complete te, when he flung the dagger on the floor of House of Commous, and produced nothing a smothered laugh, and a joke from Sheri1: "The gentleman has brought us the knife, where is the fork?" Then Lord Erskine made his début at the bar, HE bed to a rumored appointment to a new judge MAGAZINE. , said it was all moonshine. Lyndhurst, in Pitt and Fox were listened to with profound Bout the flesh on them; and were induced to -WRITING dured by those who have the rs: they dare not write familiarfriends: they know their letters less written in a polite style. that what you had considered flashes, were this yoke; and many a person ely primings kept ready for the occasion. Mr. Burke, on one occasion, had just risen in his inferiors, who begin their letHouse of Commons, with some papers in mmon style, thus: Dear sir, I hand, on the subject of which he intended to to inform you, &c. The many ake a motion, when a rough-hewn member, had no ear for the charms of eloquence, he same rank, found themselves ely started up, and said, "Mr. Speaker, e the honorable gentleman does not mean to y of bestowing several months that large bundle of papers, and to bore Stilo Historico.) Angelo Politian with a long speech into the bargain." Mr. Ve know that the finical Walpole was so swollen with rage, as to be incapa ication of his letters. uf utterance, and absolutely ran out of the e. On this occasion, George Selwyn re rked that it was the only time he ever saw of a few epistles, which may be table realized-a lion put to flight by the bray their manner, mode, style, or of an ass. 1 g and, first, we find that there are some who affect a remarkable brevity in their letters. Lord Sandwich had a very laconic mode of answering letters. Having received one from Mr. Eden, afterwards Lord Auckland, who just then was quitting his old political friend, Lord Sandwich, in reply, wrote these words :-" Sir, your letter is before me, and it will presently be behind me. I remain your most humble servant." But the better part of the joke lay in the quarrel between the Quarterly Reviewers and Sir N. Wraxall, whether this marvellous affair was or was not the property of Lord North! Foote's mother, at the close of life, was dependant on the bounty of her son, who allowed her one hundred pounds a year. Under a temporary embarrassment, she wrote the following laconic epistle to Foote. Dear Sam, "I am in prison for debt; come and assist your loving mother. E. Foote." His answer was, "Dear mother, "So am I; which prevents his duty being paid to his loving mother by her affectionate son, Sam. Foote. "P. S. I have sent my attorney to assist you in the mean time let us hope for better days." Humphreys, the boxer, after beating Mendoza, wrote to his friend, simply, "I have done the Jew." Julius Cæsar's Veni, Vidi, Vici, to be sure, was more laconic, though we should add, more pompous. Quin and Rich, the actor and manager, were always quarrelling; but, at length, Quin, wishing a reconciliation, sent this laconic epistle. "I am at Bath." Rich replied, 66 Quin. A French wife wrote this affectionate and laconic letter to her husband. "Je vous écris parceque je n'ai rien à faire : Je finis, parceque je n'ai rien a dire." I write to you, because I have nothing to do: I end my letter, because I have nothing to say. We have heard of two other very short letters from the country. Parson to the Farmer. I desire you would send me a fat pig, or else Farmer to the Parson. I have no fat pig, and if I had Anonymous and threatening letters are punishable by sta tute. The following threatening letter, however, once sent to Mr. Bray, master of the Red Cow, Cow Lane, Smithfield, may not come under the act. Mr. Bray, London, Jan. 16, 1761. You are hereby desired to despatch yourself; I have heard a very good character of you, and, therefore, leave it to your |