addressed to George the Third, might, perhaps, as matters of mere form, be applied to a Sovereign, who neither had proved wisdom nor regard for his subjects in one act of his reign, and proceed to the substance and matter of the complaint itself. It sets forth, "That the Petitioner, Mr. Thomas, had "been many years a maker of Poetry, as his "friend Mr. Sadler, the pastry-cook, of Ox"ford, and some other credible witnesses, "could well evince: that many of his works "of fancy, and more particularly that one "which is known by the name of his Cri"ticisms upon Milton, had been well received by the learned; that, thus encou

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raged, he had entered the list, together "with many other great and respectable "candidates, for the honour of a succession "to the vacant Laureatship; that a decided "return had been made in his favour by the "officers best calculated to judge, namely, “the Right Hon. the Earl of Salisbury, and "the learned Signor Delpini, his Lordship's "worthy coadjutor; that the Signor's deli

cacy, unhappily for the Petitioner, like "that of Mr. Corbett, in the instance of the

"Westminster election, had inclined him to

"the grant of a SCRUTINY; that in conse quence of the vexatious and pertinacious

6.6

perseverance on the part of several gentle"men in this illegal and oppressive mea. "sure, the Petitioner had been severely in"jured in his spirits, his comforts, and his interest: that he had been for many years

engaged in a most laborious and expensive "undertaking, in which he had been ho"noured with the most liberal communica

tions from all the universities in Europe, "to wit, a splendid and most correct edition "of the Poemata Minora of the immortal "Mr. Stephen Duck; that he was also under

.46

positive articles of literary partnership "with his brother, the learned and well"known Dr. Joseph, to supply two pages per day in his new work, now in the

766

press, entitled his Essay on the Life and Writings of Mr. THOMAS HICKATHRIFT; " in both of which great undertakings, the * progress had been most essentially inter"rupted by the great anxiety and distress of "mind, under which the Petitioner has for "some time laboured, on account of this inequitable scrutiny; that the Petitioner is bound, by his honour and his engage

ment, to prepare a new Ode for the birth"day of Her most gracious Majesty, which "he is very desirous of executing with as "much poetry, perspicuity, and originality, "as are universally allowed to have charac"terized his last effusion, in honour of the "Natal Anniversary of his Royal Master's "sacred self: that there are but six months "to come for such a preparation, and that "the Petitioner has got no further yet than

Hail Muse!' in the first stanza, which very much inclines him to fear he shall "not be able to finish the whole in the "short period above-mentioned, unless His "Majesty should be graciously pleased to

order some of his Lords of the Bedcham"ber to assist him, or should command a

termination to the vexatious inquiry now "pending. In humble hopes that these "several considerations would have their "due influence with His Majesty, the Peti "tioner concludes with the usual prayer, and signed himself as underneath, &c. &c. &c.

"THO. WARTON, B. D. &c. &c."

Such was the influence of the above admirable appeal on the sympathetic feelings

of Majesty, that the sermon, which we understand was founded upon the text, "Let "him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips "that they speak no untruth," and which was not preached by Dr. Prettyman, was entirely neglected, and a message instantly written, honoured by the Sign Manual, and directed to the office of the Right Hon. Lord Sydney, Secretary for the Home Department, enjoining an immediate redress for Mr. Thomas, and a total suspension of any further proceedings in a measure which (as the energy of Royal eloquence expressed it) was of such unexampled injustice, illegality, and oppression, as that of a scrutiny after a fair poll, and a decided superiority of admitted suffrages. This message, conveyed, as its solemnity well required, by no other person than the Honourable young Tommy himself, Secretary to his amazing father, had its due influence with the Court; the Noble Lord broke his wand; Mr. Delpini executed a chacone, and tried at a somerset'; he grinned a grim obedience to the mandate, and calling for pen, ink, and paper, wrote the following letter to the Printer of that favourite diurnal vehicle, through whose

medium these effusions had been heretofore submitted to the public:

* Monsieur,

"On vous requis, you are hereby com"mandie not to pooblish any more of de Ode Probationare-mon cher ami, Monsieur George le Roi, says it be ver bad to vex Monsieur le petit homme avec le grand paunch-Monsieur Wharton, any *more vid scrutinée; je vous commande

derefore to finis-Qué le Roi soit loué! “God save the King! mind vat I say—ou *le grand George and le bon Dieu damn "votre ame & bodie, vos jambes, & vos "pies, for ever and ever-pour jamais.

(Signed) DELPINI."

Nothing now remained, but for the Judges to make their return, which having done in favour of Mr. Thomas Warton, the original object of their preference, whom they now pronounced duly elected, the following Iniperial notice was published in the succeeding Saturday's Gazette, confirming the Nomination, and giving legal Sanction to the Appointment.

BB