Original Letter from Mr. WORTH to Dr. JOHN POTTER, (afterwards Abp. of CANTERBURY), on the Death of Dr. JOHN MILL, Principal of Edmund Hall, Oxford. My dear Friend,

I

Oxford, June

23, 1707.

CAME to this place on Saturday evening, where, to my very great furprize, I found our good friend Mr. ****Principal in a very dangerous condition. He had been in the hall at fupper, and was obferved, by fome there, to be very much dozed, and to talk lightheaded. Immediately after fupper he went to his chamber, where his bed-maker finding him to grow more and more fenfelefs, fent for an apothecary, who let him blood, which feemed for the prefent to have relieved him; for at my coming into his room he was very fenfible, knew me, and expreffed no fmall fatisfaction at my coming to him fo opportunely. However, we could not prevail to have a phyfician fent for that night; yet we got the apothecary to lay a large blifter to his back, all which the phyficians, Dr. Breech and Dr. Frampton, highly approved of when they came to him yesterday morning, and ordered him to be blooded again, and bliftered from head to foot. We were in fome hopes that, by the blefling of God, he might have found fome benefit by them; but it has been such a sudden and irrefiftible fit of an apoplexy, that he found not the least relief by all the means that have been used. He continued all yesterday and the laft night, when I watched with him, in a profound lethargy, and died this morning about a quarter after

four o'clock, to the very great lofs of all his friends, and that of the Learned World. And yet, I believe, no one is more fenfible of the greatnefs of this lofs than yourself and 1 are, who were particularly happy in fo great a fhare of his friendship. I doubt whether he has left any will, by fomething he faid to me in his illness: but I fhall know more of this when I have looked over his papers. Mr. Viceprincipal, who gives you his fervice, will write to you to-morrow, and perhaps by that time he may be able to inform you more of that matter. The inclofed letter was brought me last night by Mr. Principal's bed-maker, who, knowing your hand, defired me to open it, thinking it might require an anfwer. I accordingly did fo; and no perfon befides myself has seen it; and therefore I thought it pro. per to return it you again.

This of our dear friend's has been fuch a fudden and irrefiftible a ftroke, that I heartily pray God deliver us from the like, or at least fit and prepare us fo that we may not be furprized if it fhall pleafe God to make our own end like his. I am, dear Sir, your moft obliged and affectionate humble fervant,

ing bucks we fee flourishing their broadfwords, and exhibiting their neatly-butkined pofteriors to the admiration of the miffes their fifters, or neighbours, who difplay in their turns all the attractive graees of Grecian gefticulation and nudity. Inftead of dithing butter, feeding poultry or curing bacon, the avocations of thefe young ladies at home are, ftudying dreis, attitudes, novels, French, and mufick, whilft the fine ladies their mothers fit lounging in parlours adorned with the fiddle-faddle fancy-works of their fafhionable daughters. With as much rapidity as pott-horfes can convey them, fafhions fly from London to the country towns, and from the country-towns to the remoteft villages; infomuch, that the exhibitions of girls in the country vie with thofe in the capitol. As the females of each clafs imitate thofe belonging to the clafs above them, fo those below the farmers daughters must have their white dreifes as well as them, even if they appropriate to the purpofe the cloth

that thould make them thifts; and the form of these dreifes they alter as new modes arife fo long as the warp and the woof will hold any connexion with each other. We fee not now the farmer's wives and daughters jogging to the towns in little carts for the purpose of felling the productious of their cartons and dairies; but we fee them rattling in their fpruce gigs to the milliners and perfumers, in order to lavish in fripperies part of the enormous gains extorted by their fathers and hufbands from the groaning publick. In fhort, the characteristics of the modern yeomanry are pride and greedinefs; and whilft by their arts, combinations, and extortions, they are diftrelling their fuperiors, and ftarving their inferiors, they behave towards the former with upftart impertinence, and towards the latter with unfeeling tyranny.

A SOUTHERN FAUNIST.

Mr. URBAN, Water-fide, July 6. Ut fugerem exemplis vitiorum quæque no❤

IN

tands."

HOR.

N turning over Thevenot's Travels, I lately met with the following paffage. It fet me a mufing, and brought to my recollection other matters on the fubje&t of abundant drinking; and thefe have drawn me on to give you the prefent epittle, which awaits your decifion for a column or two in your valuable record of Worthies.

"The burying-places of Surat," fays my entertaining author, "are without the town. The English and Dutch adorn their graves with pyramids of brick, whitened over with line. Whilft

was there, one was building for a Dutch commander, which was to coft

8000 livres. Amongst the reft there is one of a great drinker, who had been banifhed to the Indies by the States General, and who is faid to have been kiufinan to the Prince of Orange. They have raifed a monument for him, as for other perfons of note. But, to let the world fee that he could drink ftoutly, on the top of his pyramid there is a large ftone cup, with one below at each corner of his tomb; and hard

by each cup there is the figure of

a fugar-lonf. When the Dutch have a mind to divert themselves at that monument, they make God knows how many ragouts in thefe cups; and, with other lets cups, drink or eat what they have prepared in the great ones "."

From hence, Mr.. Urban, I am led to conjecture, that, if the gentleman in queition was not fent abroad as a propagandist in good drinking, he found expert difciples to adopt and perpetuate his doctrine.

I claim no particular fkill, fir, in the making of ragouts, but have fome idea that I can build a monument; and you fhall have it in honour of a diftinguished hero; as capital, I am perfuaded, as him at whofe tomb the Dutchmen of Surat fo jollily diftinguithed themfelves, their compatriot, and their wet country, by a pofthumous celebration of his prowels in swallowing liquors.

* 1ev. Part 111, ch. XII. p. 23.