loft. It is with fome difficulty, indeed, that we shall be able to procure a fufficient number of pepper-boxes*, and what occafions the delay is probably your not fending me a fufficient quantity of new milkt. What you fent was not enough for a day's confumption. The pancakes, however, and the gilt Spoons, are gone into the country for fome time; and, although I could have wished to have taken advantage of the SnufferStand, I could not do it without giving fome notice in an unbound volume $, which is rather expenfive. Our affairs, upon the whole, wear a very promifing afpect. The twelve bells are ringing in our ears, and the round table fquares exactly with our ideas.

"Yet, Citizen unless we can mufter at leaft fifty thousand toothpicks, and about twenty thousand cats, all our endeavours will be loft. It is not fuf ficient to know what's what ||; we must also secure the devil knows what, and then the maypoles and the Scotch fiddles will fignify nothing. Have you heard lately from the Coachman? He wrote to me lately from Norwich, where, he fays, there are more plums in one pudding ¶, than in any city in the nation. I am glad to hear it. The time fait approaches when the cause of caufes will be left without a motive **. It

* In my humble opinion this must mean muskets.

+ Pamphlets, the great engine of Jacobinifm. It is a great misfortune to this country that the poor have lately been taught to read.Why should they read?

Unless the Members of two venerable Affemblies are meant here, I am at a lofs to know what the meaning can be.

§ An unbound volume is a newspaper :-newspapers, as my lively friend, the late Sir John Hawkins, used to say, are never bound—until the end of the year.

Horrible treason! Is any man fo ignorant as not to know what's

what?

Evidently alluding to the number of members of the Illuminés. **Cause of caufes, without a motive, is ftrange jargon. One would think it had a reference to the independence of men in place.

will be neceffary to cut the cheese more fairly, and thofe who have ends of candles must be provided with favealls. Have you feen Hume's Hiftory lately? He promifed to pay me a vifit, and bring Humphrey Clinker with him. Humphrey may be depended upon, but he made no figure among the pancakes, and he will do us more good among the copper faucepans. By fome industry he has got together a cheft of drawers who may be serviceable. He ought to be inftructed to converse with the red herringst, and ufe fuch arguments as boiled lobsters may be fuppofed to underftand.

*

"I know not how we came to fail in the Blue coat School, and I would not be for trying a fecond experiment for some time. We have in this place a great number of men who have puddings at their elbows ‡. They must be eaten, and who fo proper as the hungry for this purpofe? As to Ifcariot, I have no objection to his bargain for thirty pieces, but he must not have them till the job is done.

"Conundrum Billy has been very filent of late, but ftill keeps a watch over us. He muft grin for this in a three pair of stairs room downward §. There feems among our party a want of wet blankets and extinguishers. The fpirit must be kept up, otherwife we lofe our aim. Those who do not ufe knee-buckles

are

not

* My much-efteemed friend, Mr. Reeves, affures me, that a cheft of drawers means a party provided with fwords, which they draw out of the fheaths.

† A very zealous and loyal publican has explained this. He fays that when his cuftomers wish to relish their beer, they call for a foldier, alias a red herring. How the very beft things may be perverted!

Every true friend to religion muft agree with Mr. Wilberforce, that the clergy are here threatened, whom wicked Jacobins denominate pudding fleeves.

A dungeon. The allufion is plain and horrible.

Mr. Dundas has very kindly affifted me in deciphering this obfcure expreffion. Many of the Scotch are fans culottes, which being

not maliciously difpofed. The petticoats have rifen, and certain heads have proved harder than tones. This is well so far. We have long enough had pokers; let us ftir the fire. Do you ever fee Hervey's Meditations? He is very inconfiderate, but he may be depended on if ever we should open oyfters'

"There has been lately a great increase in the number of the fellows with knobs on their nobst. Tant mieux! A large glafs and a small glafs may be filled, but the larger will hold the most. Do you remember the story in the Arabian Tales of the blue, green, and red fishes? When they were put into the faucepan, the devil flew out of them. This is an admirable ftory. I thought Guthrie's Grammar would have died Faughing. Viner's Abridgment can never contain himfelf when he hears it. By the by, as he is no favourite of yours or mine, you will not be form to hear that he is on his laft legs‡.

"Tantadlin has been at his villa, I hear, with his brother nightmen. He talks of refigning the paringknife; we'll take it from him. He has lately clapt two flices of bread and butter together, and expects they will produce nofegays to the end of time §. How

interpreted, is, that they wear no breeches, and by confequential inference, knee-buckles are unneceffary. The rifing of the petticoats is too indelicate a fubject for me to enter upon.

*Opening oyfters, according to the opinion of John Gifford and John Bowles, Efquires, can mean nothing but beginning their fyftem, which must be a maffacre, because oyfters are opened with a knife. See p. 546 and 729 of their last works.

This paffage feems to fix the date of this letter, or at leaft pretty nearly. It must have been written subsequent to the late promotions. But there are anachronisms in it, purpofely contrived, as my learned friend, Sir John Mitford, thinks, to effect an alibi

It is evident that nothing less than the deftruction of our laws is the object of thefe wretches.

§ My excellent friend, the Secretary of the Treafury, furmifes that a friend of his is threatened here, a man of fo much wisdom, that he has been appointed to manage five hundred others all as wife as himfelf.

little do these people think they are fo near the end of their time! I have fent both Juvenal and Perfius to the big boufe on the hill, from whence there is faid to be a profpect of no less than twenty-two counties *. From it, however, we have a profpect of a great many more counties. Let us only be firm, united, and watch every opportunity, and we thall take fufficient care of Quiflibet, Quælibet, and Quodlibett, notwithstanding they are glorious and immortal. Take good care how you circulate your thread-papers. Some of them fell lately into the hands of the cumulaThis is wrong, because they will get beforehand,

tors. with us.

When we have cracked the filbert, let them

do their worst.

"In this place we are now about to choose a Jackin-the-box S. It does not much fignify whom they choose Bowels, it is faid, will fine, because we have driven him mad with laughing at him, and then we fhall have Nofey. Nofey is the man for us, because he is fo much against us. He vows to G- his attachment to uiflibet, Quælibet, and Quodlibet-that's all we want. Any two being given, the third may be found. The chafe begins foon, and then, hey for the flag in the foreft! It's a very pretty fong, and we'll fing it to some tune. I with, by the by, that

* How abominable! These fellows will not ftop at Hounflow. + Innuendo. King, Lords, and Commons. The manner in which they are declined is nothing better than scan. mag.

Thread-papers. The worthy Secretary at War tells me that in logic it is not uncommon to take a part for the whole. Thus threa' papers are put for pamphlets, of which they are only the connecting materials. Jews and Contractors alfo frequently take 60 or 70 per cent. inftead of the whole, i. e. cent. per cent.

§ My ingenious friend Mr. Alderman Curtis has explained this very fully; but I wave giving the explanation, as I refpect dignities. He affures me that he has known fome dd honeft fellows in that there box.

window

window-blinds and flops were oftener brought forwards, and to these might occafionally be added blackftrap, tatlers, and a long et cætera of fqueezed lemons. There will be a plaguey want of ftuff. Charity Sermons won't do again, and the cobweb over the aperture of the poor's box was fo thin, as to be easily feen through t. Longshanks is trying the children of Ifrael; but they will not make bricks without ftraw.

"Write to me as foon as you can. I fuppofe Copenhagen will foon be in town, and you may send your letter by him.-Sanity and a Hug‡,

"From yours, &c. &c. &c. "P. S. Do you obferve how they peel and roaft the potatoes in Ireland ?"

PARAPHRASE

ON A CERTAIN SPEECH AT THE

SHAKSPEARE TAVERN,

OCTOBER THE 10TH, 1797.

[From the True Briton.]

ULL feventeen years, as I find by my notes,

FULL

You have shown your attachment and given me your

votes;

And nothing can prove you more virtuous and free,
Or do you more honour, than voting for me.

A conduct like this, my good friends, never doubt it,
Is better by far than all riches without it.

*This and other fubfequent phrafes are too obvious to require explanation.

A moft fhocking allufion to the voluntary loan. It is peculiar to bad men to infult the unfortunate.

Sanity, fays Lord Belgrave, is derived from Exos, fignifying health. An eminent Law Lord, who is alfo a great Latin fcholar, derives it from Sanitas. In either cafe, however, the meaning is the fame. Hug, Mr. Juftice Buller tells me, means in Cornwall fraternity. So that we have here rank Jacobinism tranflated into English for the vileft purposes.

On