desires me to recall her to Dr. Parr's remembrance. It is with sentiments of cordial esteem and regard that I am, dear Sir, respectfully yours, ROCHEMONT BARBAULD. SIR, Lord Selkirk, to Dr. Parr. London, May 31, 1802. I was much concerned to hear from my friend Mr. Barbauld, that you have declined to communicate the Epitaph you have taken the trouble to compose at his request for my brothers. Your reasons are such, that I feel it a matter of too much delicacy to urge you on the subject; but the circumstanees seem to require explanation from me; and I trust that when they are understood, you will acquit me of that impropriety with which I should have been justly chargeable, had I applied to you at a time when I was not fully as liberty to make use of your assistance. When Mr. Barbauld made that request in my behalf, I was under no engagement, nor should I have entered into any had I known that you had undertaken the subject; but you are acquainted with the accident which detained for five months the letter Mr. Barbauld had written to inform me of it. From so long a silence I inferred he had been unsuccessful. Not being able to turn the English inscription to my own satisfaction, and despairing of procuring one in Latin, I yielded to the instances of my friends, and referred the matter to their determination. I am sensible of the delicacy which attends a composition of that nature, and the propriety of your refusing to undertake any without the full confidence of those who apply to you. At the same time, it is scarcely possible for the parties immediately concerned so absolutely to resign their own judgment, as to give an unreserved acquiescence without even seeing that which must appear to the public in their name. Such an acquiescence I am confident you would not require, and that you would always allow the friends of the deceased, the ultimate choice of a negative. Had you agreed to communicate the scroll 1 requested, I should not have considered either my friends or myself as entitled to more than this, either to accept the inscription as proposed, or to reject it in toto; a partial adoption, or minute and cavilling criticisms, I should have considered as equally unjustifiable. I have trespassed thus far on your time, from the anxiety I feel to obtain your approbation. As your determination seems absolute, I have written to my friends to proceed in the manner they had themselves proposed. But though I have thus, much to my own regret, sacrificed all expectations of making use of the epitaph you have had the goodness to write, I am very desirous to be allowed a perusal of it, a favour I trust you will not deny; and to which if you chuse to annex any condition, it shall be religiously observed. In any event I shall fee much obliged to you for the pains you have bestowed upon the subject, and remain with the highest esteein, Sir, your most obedient humble servant, SELKIRK. MY LORD, Dr. Parr, to Lord Selkirk. Salwarp, June 11, 1802. I have been favoured with your Lordship's letter, dated May 31st, and among the contents of it I met with an opinion widely different from that which I had myself been led to form by long observation, and by personal experience. It is however quite unnecessary for me to enter into any discussion with your Lordship on the general question; and as to the particular measure, which I took at the request of our excellent friend Mr. Barbauld, you are already acquainted with my final resolution, with the circumstances under which it was made, and with the reasons upon which it was founded. Yet I was glad to find that the unforeseen detention of Mr. Barbauld's letter at Shrewsbury completely accounts for those delays which embarrassed him, and surprised me. Your Lordship, I trust, will excuse me for confessing that, consistently with my own sense of propriety, I cannot send you the Latin epitaph. But you will permit me to add that, from the respect I bear to the honour of your antient and noble family, and to the memory of your heroic brothers, I shall have great pleasure in hearing that the English inscription now preparing, does justice to their distinguished merits, and gratifies the amiable feelings of your Lordship. My accomplished friend Mr. Robert Douglas, of Salwarp, desires his best remembrances to you. I write this letter at his house, and by his advice it is directed to your Lordship's mansion in Scotland, because I was not acquainted with your address in London. I have the honour to be my Lord, your Lordship's respectful and obedient servant, S. PARR. Lord Selkirk, to Dr. Parr. SIR, Glasgow, May 3, 1803. Notwithstanding the ill omen which seemed to attend my last application to you, I hope to be pardoned for again intruding to request the assistance of your classical talents upon a lapidary subject. That on which I am now anxious that you would bestow some attention is an epitaph for my eldest brother, Lord Daer. I am ashamed to think that this should still be to put up; but circumstances which it is needless to detail, have hitherto rendered it impossible to bring home from Rome, the marble which had been ordered for the purpose. Though I am not certain whether my brother enjoyed your personal acquaintance, yet I believe you will not be wholly a stranger to his character and history. For more particular information, however, I beg leave to refer you to Professor Dugald Stewart of Edinburgh, whom I have the happiness to call my most intimate friend; and who is more fully and minutely acquainted with the circumstances of my brother's life, and with his character in every respect, than perhaps any person now living. I am not certain what prospect there may be of your seeing Mr. Stewart; but at any rate he will be ready to communicate by letter all the particulars which may be requisite for you to judge upon what points the force of the inscription ought to rest. I need only add that whatever shall be concerted between Mr. Stewart and you shall have my entire acquiescence. My immediate departure for the Western world, leaves me no possibility of hearing soon from you, in reply to this; but I beg you will have the goodness to acquaint Mr. Stewart whether you accede to my request, and will do me the favor to undertake the subject. I remain with the highest esteem, Sir, your very obedient servant, SELKIRK. Epitaph on Thomas Twining.-See vol. iv. p. 597. DEAR SIR, Rev. R. Twining, to Dr. Patr. London, May 17, 1805. I have long wished to apply to you upon the subject of an inscription, to the memory of my dear brother, and during the very short conversation which I had with you, you kindly encouraged me to do so. I should have been very glad if I could have talked this matter over with you; but as I know not when I may be able to do so, I must have recourse to correspendence. You will not, I trust, be offended, if I merely notice such circumstances, or such parts of my brother's character, as I should be glad to see mentioned in the inscription. There is no man who is better qualified to judge of, and to do justice to his learning, and his taste, than you are. You know, too, how conscientiously he discharged the important duties of his profession, and how much he was beloved by his parishioners. It might be difficult to mention with propriety, in an English inscription, his acquaintance with, and his relish for, the fine arts; and in particular music, both as to theory and practice. But perhaps these peculiar circumstances in his character might be noticed, in classical language, without impropriety. I shall not be accused of partiality by those who were well acquainted with my brother, when I say that he possessed an abundant share of wit and humour; and that in him those qualities were always under the direction of good sense and good nature. I have always considered, as a prominent feature in my brother's character, that humility which led him to be thoroughly contented with a situation in life far beneath that to which his attainments would fairly have entitled him. His kindness to all those with whom he was connected was manifested upon all occasions. I cannot tell you how large a share of that kindness I experienced, or the impression which it has made upon me. I will just add that, unless you saw any objec tion to it, I should like to have it mentioned, that the tablet was erected to his memory by me, his brother and his friend. The inscription would probably be contained in a tablet of a moderate size; and indeed it would not be easy to find a good situation for a large tablet, in my poor brother's church. I will not apologise to you, my dear Sir, for the freedom with which I have thus delivered my sentiments, and expressed my wishes. I well know that you loved my brother. If I did not know this, I would not apply to you upon the present occasion. I remain, dear Sir, with much respect and regard, your obliged and sincere friend, R. TWINING. Bishop Bennet, to Dr. Parr. MY DEAR PARR, Cloyne, Aug. 23, 1806. Your copy of my epitaph is now perfectly correct, and meets with my entire approbation. I leave ejus at the end of the line as you first arranged it; reading it often over has familiarized me to the position and rhythm. Though I like deamarent with the elegant force of de, I resign it for the superior accuracy of diligerent. I received the copy of Twining's epitaph from his brother, and have placed it with your other epitaphs to which it makes a most respectable addition. He dated his letter London, which precluded me from writing a line to thank him for the trouble that at your request he took to oblige me. If therefore, you see him, explain the reason of my apparent unpoliteness. Epitaph on Mr. Phillips' Dog-See vol. iv. p. 598. MY LORD, Dr. Parr, to Bishop Bennet. Dec. 9, 1804. I wrote the foregoing inscription last week. I hope you will like it. I know you will see the difficulty of collecting so many particulars into one sentence, and I desire that you will read it and translate it, and explain it historically, critically, and theolo gically, to Mrs. Bennett and Miss Cockayne ; and particularly in |