of letters from Mr. Hearne to Edward Lord Harley, one which I could not help particularly noticing. It contains an anticipated encomium on the truly learned Dr. Woide, to whom the Republic of Letters is so justly indebted, for his laborious undertaking-of publishing a fac-simile of the famous Alexandrian Manuscript.-I trust his reward has been more than adequate to his labours,-for empty honours are of poor avail.-The encomium, however just, might appear indelicate, did it not appear in the writing of a stranger, as well as having been written very nearly seventy years since.

"MY LORD,

MSS. Harl. 1757, fol. H.

Oxon, Jan. 3, 1715-16.

"UPON the receipt of your Lordship's very kind letter of the 27th. of last month, I waited upon Dr. Stratford, who hath undertaken the trouble of returning me the five guineas, after he hath seen your Lordship at London. In the mean time I renew my thanks for this designed present, and for your Lordship's generous offer of the use of any MSS. that are to be met with in your own collection. I was never yet in London; but, if I should happen to come thither, I should take the opportunity of noting down whatever curious MSS. (particularly such as concern our own history and antiquities) I should find, that are not to be met with in this place. I shall be very glad if I can satisfy any query of your Lordship's. I have no copy of the better paper of Leland's Itinerary. That which I designed to keep for myself, was long since disposed of by me to Sir Thomas Sebright. 'Tis a great satisfaction to me, that your Lordship is pleased with my edition of the Acts of the Apostles. I wish we had more of the old version besides that which is published with this edition. "Twould be a great piece of service to the public, if the Alexandrian MS. were printed in the same manner; that is, letter for letter, as it is written, without any alteration. Improvements might be made afterwards, either by the publisher, or by other learned men. "Tis pity Dr. Grabe had not taken this method: he might have finished the work before he died. There is as much reason for printing MSS. in capital letters (provided they are written in such characters,) as there is for printing inscriptions in that manner. The only objection I can see is, that the exact bigness and figure of the letters cannot be retained, unless letters be cast on purpose. But the same may be also offered with respect to inscriptions. 'Tis

sufficient that a specimen of the letter is given at the beginning, the make of the letters in these MSS. seldom or never varying; at least the variations are not momentous. I wish your Lordship many happy new years; and am, my Lord, your Lordship's most obliged, humble servant,

THO. HEARNE."

"For the Rt. Honble. the Lord Harley, at Wimpole, near Cambridge."

1787, Dec.

LXV. David Hume to Sir John Pringle, M. D. on the Pretender's being in London in 1753.

St. Andrew's Square, Edinburgh, Feb. 10, 1773.

MY DEAR SIR,

THAT the present Pretender was in London in the year 1753, I know with the greatest certainty, because I had it from Lord Marechal, who said it consisted with his certain knowledge.-Two or three days after his lordship gave me this information, he told me, that the evening before he had learned several curious particulars from a lady (who I imagined to be Lady Primrose,) though my lord refused to name her. The Pretender came to her house in the evening, without giving her any preparatory information, and entered the room when she had a pretty large company with her, and was herself playing at cards. He was announced by the servant under another name: she thought the cards would have dropped from her hands on seeing him; but she had presence enough of mind to call him by the name he assumed, to ask him when he came to England, and how long he intended to stay there. After he and all the company went away, the servants remarked how wonderfully like the strange gentleman was to the prince's picture which hung on the chimney-piece in the very room in which he entered.-My lord added (I think from the authority of the same lady,) that he used so little precaution, that he went abroad openly in day-light in his own dress, only laying aside his blue ribband and star; walked once through St. James's, and took a turn in the Mail.

About five years ago, I told this story to Lord Holderness, who was Secretary of State in the year 1753; and I

added, that I supposed this piece of intelligence had at that time escaped his lordship. By no means, said he; and who do you think first told it me? It was the king himself; who subjoined, "And what do you think, my Lord, I should do with him "Lord Holderness owned that he was puzzled how to reply, for if he declared his real sentiments, they might favour of indifference to the royal family. The king perceived his embarrassment, and extricated him from it by adding, My Lord, I shall just do nothing at all; and when he is tired of England, he will go abroad again."-I think this story, for the honour of the late king, ought to be more generally known.

But what will surprise you more, Lord Marechal, a few days after the coronation of the present king, told me that he believed the young Pretender was at that time in London, or at least had been so very lately, and had come over to see the shew of the coronation, and had actually seen it. I asked my lord the reason for this strange fact. Why, says he, a gentleman told me so that saw him there, and that he even spoke to him, and whispered in his ears these words; "Your Royal Highness is the last of all mortals whom I should expect to see here." "It was curiosity that led me,' said the other; "but I assure you," added he, "that the person who is the object of all this pomp and magnificence, is the man I envy the least." You see this story is so near traced from the fountain-head, as to wear a great face of probability. Query, what if the Pretender had taken up Dymock's gauntlet?

I find that the Pretender's visit in England in the year 1753, was known to all the Jacobites; and some of them have assured me, that he took the opportunity of formally renouncing the Roman Catholic religion, under his own name of Charles Stuart, in the New Church in the Strand! and that this is the reason of the bad treatment he met with at the court of Rome. I own that I am a sceptic with regard to the last particulars.

Lord Marechal had a very bad opinion of this unfortunate prince, and thought there was no vice so mean or atrocious of which he was not capable; of which he gave me several instances My lord, though a man of great honour, may be thought a discontented courtier; but what quite confirmed me in that idea of that prince, was a conversation I had with Helvetius at Paris, which I believe I have told you. In case I have not, I shall mention a few particulars. That gentleman told me that he had no acquaintance with the Pretender; but some time after that prince was chaced out

of France, a letter, said he, was brought me from him, in which he told me, that the necessity of his affairs obliged him to be at Paris, and as he knew me by character to be a man of the greatest probity and honour in France, he would trust himself to me if I would promise to conceal and protect him. I own, added Helvetius to me, although I knew the danger to be greater of harbouring him at Paris than at London; and although I thought the family of Hanover not only the lawful sovereigns in England, but the only lawful sovereigns in Europe, as having the free consent of the people; yet was I such a dupe to his flattery, that I invited him to my house, concealed him there, going and coming, near two years, had all his correspondence pass through my hands, met with his partizans upon Pont Neuf, and found at last that I had incurred all this danger and trouble for the most unworthy of all mortals; insomuch that I have been assured, when he went down to Nantz to embark on his expedition to Scotland, he took fright, and refused to go on board; and his attendants, thinking the matter gone too far, and that they would be affronted for his cowardice, carried him in the night-time into the ship, pieds et mains liés. I asked him, if he meant literally. Yes, said he, literally; they tied him, and carried him by main force. What think you now of this hero and conqueror?

Both Lord Marechal and Helvetius agree, that with all this strange character, he was no bigot, but rather had learned from the philosophers at Paris to affect a contempt of all religion. You must know that both these persons thought they were ascribing to him an excellent quality. Indeed both of them used to laugh at me for my narrow way of thinking in those particulars. However, my dear Sir John, I hope you will do me the justice to acquit me. I doubt not but these circumstances will appear curious to Lord Hardwicke, to whom you will please to present my respects. I suppose his lordship will think this unaccountable mixture of temerity and timidity in the same character, not a little singular.

LXVI. The Rev. Dr. Free to Archbishop Moore.

MY LORD,

Feb. 9, 1788.

I BEG leave to present your grace with the fourth edition of my History of the English Tongue, begun by the permission of his Royal Highness Frederick Prince of Wales, for the use of his eldest son, now King George the Third, which honour was communicated to me by Mr. Drax, Secretary to his Royal Highness; but the prince dying before it was printed, I missed of my reward, and with it my future hopes of preferment.

For though there could not be, in my station, a better subject to one of the best of princes, King George the Second, as your grace will see by the papers which accompany this book; yet I found my services overlooked, or obstructed, by the Duke of Newcastle and his adherents:-Of this I was convinced once for all, by the unsuccessful application of a great man abroad, who was much a favourite of King George the Second, and chancellor of his University of Gottingen, Baron Mosheim, with whom I kept a Latin correspondence, and who, out of friendship, immediately took a journey from Gottingen to Hanover, where the king was at that time, to solicit a prebend of Bristol for me, which was then vacant; but meeting there the Duke of Newcastle, he was told that it was disposed of.

During the administration of my Lord Bute, I presented my petition to the king, a copy of which accompanies this book; by which your grace will see, that by some misrepresentation I was again disappointed.

My dependencies upon churchmen were altogether as delusive as those which were founded upon the favour of ministers of state. I have been connected with three bishops as my diocesans, esteemed by them all, but never preferred by any.

The first was Bishop Peploe, when I was vicar of Runcorn in Cheshire: his politics and mine agreed. I associated with him in the rebellion, for the defence of the king and royal family; but, having relations, he could not gratify me with a prebend of Chester, the height of my request. Upon my return from Cheshire to Oxford, the rebels were advanced as far as Derby, when I preached at St. Mary's, the famous 5th. of November, a sermon, which procured the curses of the other party, who abused me in every Jacobite paper through England.;,and the then ministry