I know a medalist, who at first set up with little more than a paltry series of English coins fince the Reformation, which he had the good luck to pick up at their intrinfic value. By a pliant use of his fingers he foon became possessed of most of the Traders; and by the fame flight of hand, he, in a fhort time after, made himself mafter of great part of the Cæfars. He was once taken up for coining; a forge, a crucible, and feveral dies being found in his cellar: but he was acquitted, as there was no law which made it high treason to counterfeit the image of a Tiberius or a Nero; and the coin, which he imitated, was current only among Virtuofos.

I REMEMBER another, who picqued himself on his collection of scarce editions and original manufcripts, moft of which he had purloined from the libraries of others. He was continually borrowing books of his acquaintance, with a refolution never to return them. He would fend in a great hurry for a particular edition, which he wanted to confult only for a moment; but when it was asked for again, he was not at home, or he had lent it to another, or he had loft it, or he could not find it; and fometimes he would not fcruple to swear, that he had himfelf delivered it into the owner's hands. He would frequently

fpoil a fet by ftealing a volume, and then purchafe the reft for a trifle. After his death his library was fold by auction; and many of his friends were obliged to buy up their own books again at an exorbitant price.

A THOROUGH-BRED Virtuofo will furmount all fcruples of confcience, or encounter any danger to ferve his purpose. Most of them are chiefly attached to fome particular branch of knowledge; but I remember one, who was paffionately fond of every part of Virtù. At one time, when he could find no other way of carrying off a medal, he ran the risk of being choaked by swallowing it; and at another, broke his leg in scaling a garden-wall for a tulip-root, But nothing gave him so much trouble and difficulty as the taking away pictures and ancient marbles; which being heavy and unweildy, he often endangered his life to gratify his curiofity. He was once locked up all night in the Duke of Tuscany's gallery, where he took out an original painting of Raphael, and dextrously placed a copy of it in the frame.

At Venice he turned Roman Catholic, and became a Jefuit, in order to get admittance into a convent, from whence he ftole a fine head of Ignatius Loyola; and at Conftantinople he had almoft formed a refolution of qualifying

qualifying himself for the Seraglio, that he might find means to carry off a picture of the Grand Signior's chief mistress.

THE general dishonesty of Connoisseurs is indeed fo well known, that the stricteft precaution is taken to guard against it. Medals are fecured under lock and key, pictures fcrewed to the walls, and books chained to the shelves; yet cabinets, galleries, and libraries are continually plundered. Many of the maimed statues at Rome perhaps owe their prefent ruinous condition to the depredations made on them by Virtuofos: the head of Henry the fifth in Westminster-Abby was in all probability ftolen by a Connoisseur; and I know one who has at different times pilfered a great part of queen Catherine's bones, and hopes in a little while to be master of the whole skeleton. This gentleman has been detected in fo many little thefts, that he has for several years paft been refused admittance into the Mufæums of the curious; and he is lately gone abroad with a defign upon the ancient Greek manuscripts discovered at Herculaneum.

It may seem surprising, that these gentlemen fhould have hitherto been fuffered to efcape unpunished for their repeated thefts; and that a Virtuofo,

Virtuofo, who robs you of an Unic of ineftimable value, should even glory in the action, while a poor dog, who picks your pocket of fixpence, fhall be hanged for it. What a fhocking difgrace would be brought upon Tafte, should we ever fee the dying fpeech, confeffion, and behaviour of a Connoiffeur, related in the Account of Malefactors by the Ordinary of Newgate! Such an accident would doubtless bring the ftudy of Virtù into ftill more contempt among the ignorant, when they found that it only brought a man to the gallows; as the country fellow, when he faw an attorney stand in the pillory for forgery, shook his head, and cried, Ay, this comes of your writing and reading." It were perhaps worthy the confideration of the legiflature to devise fome punishment for these offenders, which should bear fome analogy with their crimes and as common malefactors are delivered to the furgeons to be anatomized, I would propose, that a Connoiffeur fhould be made into a Mummy, and preferved in the Hall of the Royal Society, for the terror and admiration of his brethren.

66

I SHALL Conclude this paper with the relation of a circumftance, which fell within my own knowledge when I was abroad, and in which I declined a glorious opportunity of fig

nalizing

nalizing myself as a Connoiffeur. While I was at Rome, a young physician of our party, who was eaten up with Virtù, made a ferious proposal to us of breaking into one of the churches by night, and taking away a famous piece of painting over the altar. As I had not quite Tafte enough to come at once into his scheme, I could not help objecting to him, that it was a robbery. Poh, says he, it is a most exquisite picture !—Ay, but it is not only a robbery, but facrilege.-Oh it is a moft charming piece!-Zounds, doctor, but if we fhould be taken, we fhall all be broke upon the wheel. Then, faid he, we shall die MARTYRS.

T

NUMB. XIX. Thursday, June 6, 1754.

Pofcentes vario multùm diverfa palato.

HOR,

How very ill our different tafles agree,

I

This will have beef, and that a fricaffee.

HAVE felected the following letters from a great number, which I have lately been favoured with from unknown correspondents; and

VOL. I.

H

as