The truth, perhaps, is, that the party Mr. Whitehead firft em. braced, and to which he afterwards confiftently enough adhered, was as much an object of accident as choice. His difpofition, indeed, appears to have had an original turn to farcafm and satire; but to this may be added, that he came into life at a time when the reputation and fuccefs of Mr. Pope, had raised the character of a fatirist much beyond its true ftandard. Mr. Pope, therefore, was chofen as the model, of which our author gloried in the imitation. It muft be confeffed, however, that he followed his adopted guide haud paffibus aquis; at leaft in his poetical career, and the fuccefs attending it; of which he pathetically complains :

What a horrid antipathy, one would think, the author of the above lines muft have to courts and courtiers! And yet when the patrons, to whom a congeniality of fentiment had recommended him, had by a fimilar congeniality recommended themfelves to royal patronage, it was not found that either the fecondary patron or the poet entertained any fuch antipathy to courts or courtiers any longer.

Sir Francis Dashwood, now lord Le Despencer, was Mr. Whitehead's patron, and, when he rofe

to

From the above quotations the reader may fee, that Mr. Whitehead poffeffed a manly ftrength of expreffion, and a flowing vein of poetry. So little tenacious, however, was he of literary reputation, that he could never be prevailed on to collect and publish his productions; altho' fuch a circumftance could not fail of being acceptable to the public; who may hope nevertheless to see a collection of them, if we are rightly informed, by an ingenious gentleman who is favoured with the approbation and communications of all his friends and relations.

Mr. Whitehead departed this life on the 30th of December 1774, at the age of fixty-four, beftowing among other bequests the very fingular one of his heart on his noble friend and patron, lord Le Defpencer, who depofited it in a folemn manner, on the 16th of August of this year, in a Mausoleum erected for that purpose, in his garden at High Wycomb in Buckinghamfhire, as a monument due to fo ac

ceptable a prefent as that of the heart of an honest man.

The following account of this ceremonial appeared in a letter printed in the Whitehall EveningPoft of Aug. 19.

"Dear Sir,

"I was a little disappointed in not having the pleasure to fee you at Weft Wycomb on Wednesday, when the heart of Paul Whitehead, Efq; was depofited in the Maufoleum. I will therefore attempt to give you a defcription of it:

"There was a numerous appearance of ladies and gentlemen affembled upon this occafion. The country people came from various quarters, big with the expectations of the grandeur and folemnity of this unufual fight: and, if you will rely upon my imperfect judgment, I think it equalled and exceeded all the ideas which had been framed of it.

"The day was very fine, and all nature feemed to approve the honour which was fhewn to the memory of the deceafed. The proceffion began at half paft eleven. It confifted of a company of the Buckinghamshire militia with their officers; lord Defpencer at their head, as lord-lieutenant of the county; the officers in their regi mentals, with crape round their left arm; feven vocal performers habited as a choir, in furplices, attended with fifes, flutes, horns, and a drum covered with crape. A certain fpot, adjacent to the

works.

houfe,

houfe, was marked out for the perfons engaged in the proceffion. Here they affembled. The proceffion began with the foldiers, &c. (as above-mentioned) marching round the spot three feveral times, the choir finging felect pieces of mufic fuitable to the occafion, and accompanied with fifes, flutes, horns, and drums, conducted by Mr. Atterbury and Mr. Mulfo. This being done, fix grenadiers went into the grand hall of his lordship's house, and brought out the very elegant urn in curious and variegated marble, which contained the heart.

"The epitaph upon the urn was as follows:

PAUL WHITEHEAD, Efq;
of Twickenham,

Obiit December 30, 1774.
Unhallowed hands, this Urn forbear;
No gems, nor orient fpoil,
Lie here conceal'd-but, what's more rare,
A Heart that knows no guile!

"On one fide of the urn was a medallion of white marble, of elegant workmanship, with the following curious device: three feveral figures, highly finished, appeared in the medallion. I could not learn the hiftory of the first of them. The fecond was the image ef Efculapius, the god of phyfic, attending the deceased in his laft illness but in vain. The third reprefented the deceased at his departure pourtrayed by the foul leaving the body, and afcending into the air. This feems to allude to the Pythagorean notion of the foul afcending into the air, and hovering in it for fome time round the body of the deceased.

"The urn was carried on a bier, fupported by fix grenadiers; who were attended by fix more, who walked as a corps de referve to re

lieve the others. The urn thus carried on the bier, was preceded by a part of the foldiers, by the vocal and inftrumental performers, and by the Rev. Mr. Powell, curate of High Wycomb; and it was followed by lord Defpencer, walking alone; by the officers of the militia, two and two; and the proceffion was clofed by a number of private men in the militia.

"The proceffion, thus formed and conducted, paffed in the most folemn manner from the house through the gardens, up the hill to the Maufoleum; the mufic, vocal and inftrumental, accompanying it almoft all the time. I have read of Elyfian fields, but never had any tolerable idea of them before this day, when the folemnity of the proceffion through the groves, and the pleafing effect of the mufic upon this occafion, gave a degree of probability to the defcription I have read of them. Near two hours paffed in marching from the houfe to the Mausoleum. Being arrived here, a proceffion was made round the infide of the Mausoleum three feveral times, with the mufic accompanying it. At length arrived the time for depofiting the urn in one of the niches. Immediately before this, the following incantation, fet to mufic by Dr. Arnold, was fung, as follows:

proceffion was conducted with great propriety, and gave general fatif faction. I had almost forgot to tell you that minute guns were fired upon this occafion.

To make this celebrity as complete as poffible, a new Oratorio was performed yesterday in Weft Wycomb church. The words were felected by Mr. Arnold, and the mufic compofed by Mr. Atter bury. The name of the Oratorio was Goliah. The chorufes were grand, most of the airs very pleafing and fweet, particularly the following, Help us now, O Lord: O Lord, Send us now profperity. All the mufic was very well chofen and adapted to the words. The performers were too few to do juftice to the mufic. A charming Concerto was performed on the Hautboy, between the first and fecond parts of the Oratorio, by Mr. Fofter. The performance began at half past twelve, and continued till three. No tickets were required for admiffion: but every perfon genteely dreffed was admitted into the church on giving something to the poor's box."

which are periodically given under the patronage of the company, and being poffeffed of quick natural parts, he foon made himself acquainted with the theoretical, as well as practical parts of botany; from whence being recommended by the late D. of Richmond and Lord Petre, he was by them employed in the inspection and arrangement of their botanic gardens.

Afited by the liberality of the fe noblemen, he executed a scheme of travelling over feveral parts of this kingdom, to gather certain of the molt rare and uncommon plants. which he afterwards published by fubfcription; but after great refearches and uncommon industry, which he poffeffed in a peculiar degree, this undertaking turned out by no means either adequate to his merits or expectations.

The tage next prefented itself, as a foil in which geuius might ftand a chance of flourishing; but this plan (after two or three unfuccessful attempts at the Little Theatre, Hay-market, and the Theatre Royal, Covent-garden, at which laft place he played the fecond Spirit in Comus) became abortive; it was found he had no pretenfions either to the fock or bufkin, which once more reduced him to his botanical advantages, and his bufinefs as an apothecary.

In the course of these pursuits, he was introduced to the acquaintance of Martin Folkes and Henry Baker, Efqrs. both of the Royal Society, the former the late prefident, and thro' them to the literary world where he was received and entertained on every occafion with much candour and warmth of friendship; in fhort, he was confidered by them as a young man of great natural and acquired knowledge, ftruggling,

with