in the remaining part of our journey, till we were set down at the west end of the abbey.

As we went up the body of the church, the knight pointed at the trophies upon one of the new monuments, and cried out, ́A brave man, I want him! Passing afterwards by Sir Chudley St 2 he flung his hand that way, and cried, Sir Cha sley Shovel! a very gallant man.' As we stood be fore Busby's tomb, the knight uttered himself again after the same manner: Dr. Busby! a great in: he whipped my grandfather; a very great man! I should have gone to him myself, if I had not been a blockhead: a very great man!'

We were immediately conducted into the little chapel on the right hand. Sir Roger, planting himself at our historian's elbow, was very attentive to every thing he said, particularly to the account he gave us of the lord who had cut off the king of Morocco's head. Among several other figures be was very well pleased to see the statesman Cecil upon his knees; and, concluding them all to be great men, was conducted to the figure which represents that martyr to good housewifery who died by the prick of a needle. Upon our interpreter's telling us that she was a maid of honour to queen Elizabeth, the knight was very inquisitive into her name and family; and, after having regarded her finger for some time, 'I wonder,' says he, that Sir Richard Baker has said nothing of her in his Chronicle.'

We were then conveyed to the two coronation chairs, where my old friend, after having heard that the stone underneath the most ancient of them, which was brought from Scotland, was called Jacob's pillar, sat himself down in the chair, and, looking like the figure of an old Gothic king, asked

106

I could h quainted me was too late done was out ther, that he man whilst and that he first news of of a sudden. who stood b coach, and drove it.

He then r water, tellin who did mo caries in the that grew tributed her to which th great jointu fain have it truly,' says perhaps I co His discou ing him he to it, after 1 he asked the upon the fel the knight tu honest man, & We had no out his head, box, and, upor asked him if what this wo! way at any go their best Vir

tter, what authority they had to say that as had ever been in Scotland?" The fellow, if returning him an answer, told him that bped his honour would pay his forfeit. I could

e Sir Roger a little ruffled upon being thus teed; but our guide not insisting upon his de

d, the knight soon recovered his good humour, and whispered in my ear, that if Will Wimble were with us, and saw those two chairs, it would go hard bet he would get a tobacco stopper out of one or tether of them.

Sir Roger, in the next place, laid his hand upon Feward the Third's sword, and, leaning upon the pemmel of it, gave us the whole history of the Black Prince; concluding, that in Sir Richard Baker's opinion, Edward the Third was one of the greatest princes that ever sat upon the English throne.

We were then shown Edward the Confessor's tomb; upon which Sir Roger acquainted us, that he was the first who touched for the evil: and afterwards, Henry the Fourth's; upon which he shook his head, and told us, there was fine reading in the casualties of that reign,

Our conductor then pointed to that monument where there is the figure of one of our English kings without a head; and upon giving us to know, that the head, which was of beaten silver, had been stien away several years since; 'Some whig, I'll warrant you,' says Sir Roger; 'you ought to lock up yeur kings better; they will carry off the body too, Г u don't take care.'

The glorious names of Henry the Fifth and que Ebeth gave the knight great opportunities ing, and of doing justice to Sir Richard Be has our knight observed with some sur

the like, is what in all ages persons extremely wise and learned have had in great veneration. For this reason I cannot but rejoice at the following epistle, which lets us into the true author of the letter to Mrs. Margaret Clark, part of which I did myself the honour to publish in a former paper. I must confess I do not naturally affect critical learning; but finding myself not so much regarded as I am apt to flatter myself I may deserve from some professed patrons of learning, I could not but do myself the justice to show I am not a stranger to such erudition as they smile upon, if I were duly encouraged. However, this is only to let the world see what I could do; and shall not give my reader any more of this kind, if he will forgive the ostentation I show at present.

66 SIR,

"UPON reading your paper of yesterday, I took the pains to look out a copy I had formerly taken, and remembered to be very like your last letter: comparing them, I found they were the very same; and have, underwritten, sent you that part of it which you say was torn off. I hope you will insert it, that posterity may know 'twas Gabriel Bullock that made love in that natural style of which you seem to be so fond. But, to let you see I have other manuscripts in the same way, I have sent you inclosed three copies, faithfully taken by my own hand from the originals, which were writ by a Yorkshire gentleman of a good estate to madam Mary, and an uncle of hers, a knight very well known by the most ancient gentry in that and several other counties of Great Britain. I have exactly followed the form and spelling. I have been credibly informed, that Mr. William Bullock, the famous comedian, is the descendant of this

Gabriel, who begot Mr. William Bullock's great grandfather, on the body of the above-mentioned Mrs. Margaret Clark. As neither Speed, nor Baker, nor Selden, take notice of it, I will not pretend to be positive; but desire that the letter may be reprinted, and what is here recovered may be in Italic.

"March 13, 1711-12.”

"I am, SIR,

"Your daily Reader."

To her I very much respect, Mrs. Margaret Clark.

LOVELY, and oh that I could write loving Mrs. Margaret Clark, I pray you let affection excuse presumption. Having been so happy as to enjoy the sight of your sweet countenance and comely body sometimes when I had occasion to buy treacle or liquorish powder at the apothecary's shop, I am so enamoured with you, that I can no more keep close my flaming desire to become your servant. And I am the more bold now to write to your sweet self, because I am now my own man, and may match where I please; for my father is taken away; and now I am come to my living, which is ten yard land*, and a house; and there is never a yard of land in our field but is as well worth ten pounds a year as a thief's worth a halter; and all my brothers and sisters are provided for: besides, I have good household-stuff, though I say it, both brass and pewter, linens and woollens; and though my house be thatched, yet, if you and I match, it shall go hard but I will have one half of it slated. If you shall think well of this motion, I will wait upon you as soon as my new clothes are made, and hay-harvest is in. I could, though I

* In some counties 20, in some 24, and in others 30 acres of land. Virgata Terræ.