92 To the Rev. J. Newton. His intended publication, Character of Caraccioli... 100 To the Rev. J. Newton. Mr. Newton's preface, and 101 To the Rev. W. Unwin. Observations on religious 102 To the same. On his own volume of poems; on his 103 To the Rev. William Bull........ 104 To the Rev. W. Unwin. On the same subject as Letter 102. on parenthesis....... 106 To the same, Dr. Franklin's letter; cape of Captain Cook...... On the anxiety of an author ..June 12 215 Dispensations of Providence...July 16 217 Account of a viper in the green-house; ..Oct. 27 225 poems of Madame Guion.............. .......................Aug. 3 220 110 To Lady Austen. A billet and verses... ....Aug. 12 224 111 To the Rev. W. Bull.............. 117 To J. Hill, Esq. Favourable reception given to his 119 To the same. Nations like ants; etching of the 123 To J. Hill, Esq. Loss of friends, a tax on long life, On his ecclesiastical his- 126 To the Rev. J. Newton. His love of home; styles of Robertson 132 To the same. Madame Guion's poems.........Sept. 7 260 133 To the Rev. J. Newton. On his recovery from a 136 To the Rev. J. Newton. Tendency of the Gospel to HAVING promised to write to you, I make haste to be as good as my word. I have a pleasure in writing to you at any time, but especially at the present, when my days are spent in reading the Journals, and my nights in dreaming of them*: an employment not very agreeable to a head that has long been habituated to the luxury of choosing its subject, and has been as little employed upon business as if it had grown upon the shoulders of a much wealthier gentleman. But the numskull pays for it now, and will not presently forget the discipline it has undergone lately. If I succeed in this doubtful piece of promotion, I shall * The writer had been recently appointed Clerk of the Journals in the House of Lords. have at least this satisfaction to reflect upon, that the volumes I write will be treasured up with the utmost care for ages, and will last as long as the English constitution: a duration which ought to satisfy the vanity of any author who has a spark of love for his country. O! my good Cousin! if I was to open my heart to you, I could show you strange sights; nothing, I flatter myself, that would shock you, but a great deal that would make you wonder. I am of a very singular temper, and very unlike all the men that I have ever conversed with. Certainly I am not an absolute fool; but I have more weaknesses than the greatest of all the fools I can recollect at present. In short, if I was as fit for the next world as I am unfit for this, and God forbid I should speak it in vanity, I would not change conditions with any saint in Christendom. My destination is settled at last, and I have obtained a furlough. Margate is the word, and what do you think will ensue, Cousin? I know what you expect, but ever since I was born I have been good at disappointing the most natural expectations. Many years ago, Cousin, there was a possibility I might prove a very different thing from what I am at present. My character is now fixed, and rivetted fast upon me; and, between friends, is not a very splendid one, or likely to be guilty of much fascination. Adieu, my dear Cousin! So much as I love you, I wonder how the deuce it has happened I was never in love with you. Thank Heaven that I never was, for at this time I have had a pleasure in writing to you which in that case I should have forfeited. Let me hear from |