every Palace and Garden propos'd, intended, and happily raised, by the strength of that faculty wherein all great Genius's excel, Imagination. At laft, the Gods. and fate have fix'd me on the borders of the Thames, in the districts of Richmond and Twickenham: It is here I have paffed an entire year of my life, without any fix'd abode in London, or more than cafting a tranfitory glance (for a day or two at most in a month) on the pomps of the Town. It is here I hope to receive you, Sir, returned from eternizing the Ireland of this age. For you my structures rife; for you my Co. : lonades extend their wings; for you my groves afpire, and roses bloom. And, to fay truth, I hope pofterity (which, no doubt, will be made acquainted with all these things) will look upon it as one of the prin. cipal motives of my Architecture, that it was a manfion prepared to receive you, against your own should fall to duft, which is deftin'd to be the tomb of poor Frank and Betty, and the immortal inonument of the Fidelity of two fuch Servants, who have excell'd in conftancy the very Rats of your family.

What more can I tell you of myself? fo much, and yet all put together fo little, that I fcarce care or know, how to do it. But the very reasons that are against putting it upon paper, are as ftrong for telling it you in perfon; and I am uneafy to be so long denied the fatisfaction of it.

At prefent, I confider you bound in by the Irish Sca, like the ghofts in Virgil,

Trifli palus inamabilis unda

Alligat, et novies Styx circumfufa coërcet!

and I can't express how I long to renew our old intercourfe and converfation, our morning conferences in bed in the fame room, our evening walks in the park, our amusing voyages on the water, our philofophical fuppers, our lectures, our differtations, our gravities, our reveries, our fooleries, our what not?

This awakens the memory of some of those who have made a part in all these. Poor Parnelle, Garth, Rowe! You juftly reprove me for not speaking of the death of the laft: Parnelle was too much in my mind, to whofe memory I am erecting the best Monument I can. What he gave me to publish was but a small part of what he left behind him; but it was the best, and I will not make it worse by enlarging it. I'd fain know if he be buried at Chester, or Dublin; and what care has been, or is to be taken for his Monument, &c. Yet I have not neglected my devoirs to Mr Rowe; I am writing this very day his epitaph for Westminster-Abbey.

After

thefe, the best natured of men, Sir Samuel Garth, has left me in the trueft concern for his lofs. His death was very heroical, and yet unaffected enough to have made a Saint or a philofopher famous. But ill tongues, and worse hearts, have branded even his laft moments, as wrongfully as they did his life, with Irreligion. You must have heard many tales on this fubject; but if ever there was a good Christian, without knowing himself to be fo, it was Dr Garth.

Your, &c.

LETTER IX.

To Mr ****.

Sept. 17.

THE HE gaiety of your letter proves you not so stu dious of Wealth as many of your profeffion are, fince you can derive matter of mirth from want of bufinefs. You are none of those Lawyers who deferve the motto of the devil, Circuit quærens quem devoret. But your Circuit will at leaft procure you one of the greatest of temporal bleffings, Health. What an advantageous circumftance is it, for one that loves rambling fo well, to be a grave and reputable rambler? while (like your fellow Circuiteer, the Sun) you travel the round of the earth, and behold all the iniquities under the heavens? You are much a fuperior genius to me in rambling; you, like a Pigeon (to which I would fooner compare a Lawyer than to a Hawk) can fly fome hundred leagues at a pitch; I, like a poor squirrel, am continually in motion indeed, but it is about a cage of three foot my little excurfions are but like those of a shop-keeper, who walks every day a mile or two be. fore his own door, but minds his bufinefs all the while. Your letter of the Cause lately before you, I could not but communicate to fome ladies of your acquaintance. I am of opinion, if you continued a correspondence of the fame fort during a whole Circuit, it could not fail to please the fex, better than half the novels they read; there would be in them what they love above all things, a most happy union of Truth and Scandal. I affure you the Bath affords nothing equal to it: it is

on the contrary, full of grave and fad men, Mr Baron S, Lord chief Juftice A, Judge P, and Counsellor B, who has a large pimple on the tip of his nose, but thinks it inconfiftent with his gravity to wear a patch, notwithstanding the precedent of an eminent judge. I am, dear Sir,

Your, &c.

LETTER X.

To the Earl of BURLINGTON.

MY LORD,

F your Mare could speak, she would give an ac count of what extraordinary company she had on the road; which fince she cannot do, I will.

It was the enterprizing Mr Lintot, the redoubtable rival of Mr Tonfon, who, mounted on a stone-horse (no difagreeable companion to your Lordship's mare) overtook me in Windfor foreft. He faid he heard I defign'd for Oxford, the feat of the Mufes, and would, as my bookfeller, by all means, accompany me thither.

I ask'd him where he got his horfe! He answer'd, he got it of his Publisher: "For that rogue my

Printer (faid he) difappointed me: I hoped to put "him in good-humour by a treat at the tavern, of a "brown fricaffee of rabbits, which coft two fhillings, "with two quarts of wine, befides my converfation. "I thought myself cocksure of his horfe, which he "readily promis'd me, but said that Mr Tonfon had VOL. V.

M m

"had juft fuch another defign of going to Cambridge, 66 expecting there the copy of a new kind of Horace "from Drand if Mr Tonfon went, he was pre "engaged to attend him, being to have the printing " of the faid copy.

"So in short, I borrow'd this stone-horse of my pu"blifher, which he had of Mr Oldmixon for a debt; "he lent me too the pretty boy you fee after me: he "was a smutty dog yesterday, and cost me near two "hours to wash the ink off his face; but the Devil is

a fair condition'd Devil, and very forward in his Ca"techife; if you have any more bags, he shall carry

"thein.

I thought Mr Lintot's civility not to be neglected, fo gave the boy a fmall bag, containing three fhirts and an Elzevir Virgil; and mounting in an instant proceeded on the road, with my man before, my courteous stationer beside, and the aforesaid devil behind.

Mr Lintot began in this manner, "Now damn them! what if they fhould put it into the newspaper, how you and I went together to Oxford? "what would I care? If I should go down into Suf"fex, they would fay Iwas gone to the Speaker. But "what of that? If my fon were but big enough to go on with the business, by G--d I would keep as good company as old Jacob."

Hereupon I enquir'd of his fon." The lad (fays he) "has fine parts, but is fomewhat fickly, much as you are-I fpare for nothing in his Education at West. "minfter. Pray don't you think Westminster to be "the best school in England? most of the late Mi