his affidavit on every occafion, there are fome very good judges who have declared that the eflence of a story con fifts in its truth." "The value of every flory," fays Dr. Johnfon, "depends on its being true. A flory is a picture either of an individual or of human nature in general; if it be falle, it is a picture of nothing." "It is more from careleffhefs about truth, than from intentional lying, that there is fo much falfehood in the world." This fentence may appear harfh, and if executed it may have a tendency to de. creafe the floating flock of bons mots and jokes, but upon the whole it bids fair to be attended with advantages which will more than compenfate for what we lofe, and will very much heighten the value of what we retain.

Mr. URBAN,

Dec. 9: I SEND you the outline of the Legend of Saint Godric of Finchale, near the city of Durham; in honour of whom, after canonization, the beautiful and immenfe Priory (of which Plate II. fhews the ruins as they appeared in 1775) was erected, about the middle of the twelfth century. A larger view of it may be feen in Hutchinson's Durham, H. 320.

"He went, naked, into the river Wear, in the extremeft weather of winter, and flood whole nights up to the chin in water, exercifing prayer.

"The final finger of his left hand, by ufe, was crooked, because of his continually having a fall book of David's Palms hanging upon it.

"He wore out, during the time of his pilgrimage, three entire coats or jackets of iron.

"The Dalways molefted him, but the Saint was fearlefs. One night, as he fat by his little fire in his. thatched cell, the D-l appeared in his molt terrible fhape, but the Saint laughed at him, which fo enraged the D-1, that he gave him a blow on the ear, which knocked him down, when

Mr. URBAN,

Aug. 25. ENTIRELY agree with the Wri ters of the British Critick for June laft, in their Review of Sims's Life of Mr. Mickle, prefixed to the late edi tion of his Poetical Works: "We are forry to fay, that it places the charac ter of one great man, at leaf, in a very contemptible light." One of thefe great men, certainly, deferved treatment very different from a Minister of that religion whose chief characteristicks are Charity and Forgivenels. I am truly forry, Mr. Urban, that tranfactions which had been buried for nearly half a century fhould now be brought to light, with a view to exhibit as a courtly fycophant, a perfonage who food foremoft in the caufe of Revela tion, and, if we may believe two very eminent contemporary authorst, in the caufe of Humanity. The Monthly

* The genuine Legend is preferved in MS. in the Archives of Durham.
Thomifon, after invoking thole generous minds,

-whofe active fearch
Leaves no cold wintry corner unexplor'd,
Like filent-working Heaven, furprizing oft
The lonely heart with unexpected good, &c.
Thefe are the facred feelings of thy heart,
Thy heart inform'd by Reaton's purer ray,
O Lyttelton, the friend!
GENT. MAG. Supplement, 1807.

Add's

Fielding

Reviewers, in reviewing the quarto edition of Mickle's Works, very properly obferve, that Lord Lyttelton could not provide for every one whom he wifhed to patronize; and that Mickle never complained. On the contrary, Mr. Ireland, in his Anecdotes prefixed to that edition, fays, "Mr. Mickle always fpoke of Lord Lyttelton with a refpect bordering upon reverence. Would it not have been more candid, more becoming the Chriflian and the Clergyman, to have adopted the more liberal opinion of the great Cervantes? "Thole incidents which neither affect nor alter the truth of history ought to be omitted, when they tend to depreciate a great character."

As to Mr. Sims's very fevere animadverfions on the conduct of another refpectable perfonage now living, I fhall only obferve, that to speak evil of Dignities is no where to be found among the Apoftolical injunctions. There is no unprejudiced friend of Mr. Mickle, I believe, but muft candidly allow that the judgment paffed upon his Tragedy by Mr. Garrick (though the piece was warmly patronised by both the Wartons) was perfectly juft; that," notwithflanding there are many, many beautiful paffages, it wants dramatic art;" and there is no one, I conceive, who has read the Life of Mr. Cumberland, who, to ufe Mr. Sims's phrase, "knew Mr. Garrick intimately, and knew him long," but mutt with that the extract of a Letter from Mickle to Mr. Bofwell had been fuppreffed, in which, after charging Mr. Garrick with great duplicity in fome tranfactions between Mr. Mickle and him, a converfation is introduced, in which an intimate friend of Mr. Garrick's, after hearing Mickle's account of thefe matters, is faid to have beftowed on Mr. Garrick a moft opprobious epithet.

"The

Mr. URBAN, Banwell, October 12. HAVE lately been greatly entertained, and I truft effentially benefited, by the perufal of a valuable work recently published, intituled, Code of Health and Longevity," compiled and written by that truly great character, Sir John Sinclair, bart.; a man who, though highly exalted by his talents, title, and fortune, is infiuitely more fo by his virtues, public fpirit, and genuine philanthropy; and the work here mentioned, independent of his other writings, is fufficient of itfelf to entitle its Author to the grateful thanks, not only of his contemporaries, but of pofterity for ages to come. In a note at the foot of page 645 of the First Volume of that work, are the following interefting particulars refpecting the virtues of cold water:

"It is recorded of a Scotch Clergyman, that he preserved his health to a very advanced period of life, much owing to a cuftom of bathing his head in cold water from a rivulet that ran below his garden; and this he practifed in winter as well as

fummer, breaking the ice if neceffary;

and perfevered in it for about forty-five years.

"For fome time paft," fays Sir John, "I have followed a fimilar plan, and found it extremely beneficial. Every morning I immerse a flesh-brush in a bafon of water, and in this manner bathe the head. The flesh-brush absorbs as much water as makes a plentiful ablution, and the effect of the cold water is much improved by the friction of the flesh-brush afterwards. There is no practice fo likely to be useful to those who are apt to catch cold, or are troubled with head-aches; and if they once begin it, they may, like the worthy clergyman, be able to continue it for forty years.

"It is only calculated, however, for those who wear wigs, or whose natural hair is very much cropped indeed.

As a farther proof of the efficacy of I cannot conclude without obferv. cold water in the cure of the head-ache, ing, that Mr. Sims feems much more I beg to trouble you with the following difpofed to cenfure than to forgive, as cafe: I had from very early youth, he has not mentioned the very liberal even from infancy, been much afflicted prefent from Mr. Mortimer to his with a nervous head-ache: I may al friend of the very elegant frontispiece mott call it hereditary, as my mother to the fecond edition of the Lufiad de- alfo was fubject to that complaint from figned and engraved by himself, as re- her childhood. As much of my time corded by Mr. Ireland. RUSTICUS. has been employed in writing, reading, Fielding, in his dedication of Tom Jones, after acknowledging that he partly owed his existence to Mr. Lyttelton during a great part of the time in which he was enployed in compofing that work, adds: "If there be in this work, as fome have been pleafed to fay, a ftronger picture of a truly-benevolent mind than is to be found in any ther, who that knows you will doubt whence that benevolence has been copied ?"

and

* In 1514, Edmund Daundy, Portman of Ipfwich, founded a chantry in the church of St. Laurence in the fame town, for a fecular prieft to offer at the altar of St. Thomas, in behalf of himself and his relations, among whom he reckoned Thomas Wolfey, then Dean of Lincoln, and his parents Robert and Jane Wolfey then deceased. All Mr. Daundy's daughters married gentlemen of good fortune; and the iffue of one of them was the wife of

Mr. URBAN, Hungate Street, Beccles, Lord Keeper Bacon. It appears then that Suffolk, June 8.