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have (among whom I desire still to reckon you) are not increased since you left the town. I am too old now to create new friendships; and, as the world goes now, few good ones are best. Among those of your profession 1 stick still to honest Dr. Hale, who hath not yet been so fickle and inconstant as to cast me off. "I will not turn my Letter into a newspaper. You have (no doubt) enough of them in the country; and I live too much retired to be able to be a news-writer. My conversation never did, nor doth much lie that way. I had rather read the ingenious description you give of your country villa, than all the North and South news which stuff our daily papers. Your invitation thither is what I wish I could comply with; but the little businesses which still chain me to the town, will not let me enjoy that happiness. Besides, there is a sort of a laziness attends one, who grows old; which maketh him loth to change his sedentary life. The disposition of your rural house (and none better fitted for those things than yourself), and your suitable inscriptions, please me well. The criticism you make upon Horace [in the beautiful antithesis of Te and Me], and the parallel places you bring to prove it, convince me of the truth of your reading.

"I am glad, and congratulate my good friend Mr. Williamson upon his happiness of having you for his neighbour, and enjoying your conversation. Pray my service to him, and to his elder sister, if she liveth with him. His younger sister, you tell me, is married at York; and was your partner. I heartily wish, dear Doctor, you may, some time or other, be blessed with as good a partner as you deserve.

"Your neighbourhood ought to value you, for introducing among them an Assembly; by the means of which good manners, polite entertainment, and honest correspondence, are kept up and preserved; much preferable to our foreign operas and vicious masquerades, which last are like to be still continued.

"I shall now close my Letter with answering the kind conclusion of yours; wherein you are pleased to continue as a Subscriber to whatever I publish; by which I see that distance of place makes no alteration in your friendship. I am just rid of my last volume of the Annales Typographici; and am ready to put to the press a new Edition of Marmora Oxoniensia, by Subscription, every copy Large Paper, the same as what I have used before in the books you have been so kind as to subscribe to. The copies of these books will be as few as I can, and for no other but Subscribers; for I value more the opportunity of experiencing the kindness of my Friends, than the vain name of an Author. I will make bold to acquaint you by a Letter with my Proposals when they are ready..

"After having robbed you of some minutes (and it is a pity any moment of that time you spend so usefully and agreeably should be lost) by this homely scribble, give me leave to subscribe myself, with the honest sincerity of a friend, dear worthy Sir, your most humble and most obedient servant, M. MAITAIRE."

*Ho

"HONOURED COLLEAGUE, July 28, 1728. "I received the favour of yours of July 6, and hope now I shall quickly hear of the Flixweed Seed, that I may at the same time return your expence, with thanks, and with an Oration and lecture, to be left at Mr. Bettesworth's. We lose our Domine's here apace, for want of your assistance. Dr. Freind (54 they say) went off on Friday last of a fever; but an imposthume in the thorax last of all broke and suffocated him. So he will ridicule the Inoculators no more, in his noble Histories. And we have lost our noble man-midwife, Dr. Chamberlane, the D's minion; and the curious Dr. Woodward; all, I think, in their prime; and pretty old Dr. Gibbons (78), who did not receive fees with grief, but alacrity. We may be sure they did not want help; but you were not here, to turn the scale right. I hear not a word of Benefactions to the College, notwithstanding the recited losses and previous gains; and, I believe, we shall not get that way a single penny, until Astræa returns among us, as we might well hope, in this Golden Age, which I still hope that the Cavillations at Soissons will not turn into an Iron Age. Benefactions must, and will always, proceed from plain, honest, and good men, and from them only, and not from Politicians, howsoever confederated. I had almost forgot our late loss also of old Dr. Slare, within a year as old as I am, through God's blessing, now 81 and a quarter. Also we have lost the ingenious and worthy Dr. Wellwood, and Dr. Grimbalston. But we are like to have a good and plentiful supply of new Members, thanks to the King's late visit to Cambridge. Six new ones are to be examined next Friday. But I shall tire you. God governs the world; and men of your sense, and knowledge, and industry, need not doubt the best.-1 am, worthy Sir, your most humble and obedient servant, WALTER HARRIS*." Morpeth, Jan. 22, 1728-9.

"SIR, "I was willing to take the first opportunity of making my acknowledgments for the civilities I met with at Grantham.

"The motto I put down in haste was suitable enough to those studies I was intent on; but I ought to have remembered the change you have made in your state, which readily occurred to me after I had left you; and then I wished I had changed my Antiquarian into a Congratulatory motto: Felices ter et amplius: The rest you will supply in word and deed, and, I doubt not, be found amongst those whom Horace pronounces so happy. I called at Collingham in my way, and was pleased to find your Account of the Station at Brugh so exactly agreeable to matter of fact. It must, no doubt, be Crocolana. The distance of nine computed miles from Lincoln answers exactly to twelve in the Itinerary, according to the proportion I have generally observed to hold true. I cannot say that I am so well satisfied with respect to the other places in the Sixth Iter. Ad Pontem, according to the number in the Itinerary, should not be above two or three miles from Newark, and Margidunum about eight. I observe that * Author of "A Description of Dublin, 1732." 3F

VOL. II.

the

the distance between Rate and Lindum is just 52 miles in the Itinerary, three-fourths of which is just 39 miles, and this I suppose will be pretty near the number of computed miles from Lincoln to Leicester. This, with me, is a strong argument that Rate (not Verometum) is Leicester, notwithstanding what a late Author says to the contrary; and that this Iter, or this part of this Iter, has proceeded directly, without any excursions. As nobody is more capable than yourself of making such discoveries, so I still hope you will find some Remains, or Evidences, at due distances.-I could never yet discover, or hear of any certain Remains of the way that must have gone from Tadcaster to Manchester, any farther than it may have coincided with that from Tadcaster to Castleforth. I have had an account of some part of a Military Way remaining at Dunkam Park (belonging to my Lord Warrington), which must have gone from Manchester to Chester. This favours your opinion concerning Condate, to which I freely accede. But I am much of the opinion, that the Military Way from Chester has returned quick, and coincided in part with the present London Road from Chester. Upon this supposition, it is very possible that the shortest distance between Condate and Mediolanum may be but 78 miles (as in the Tenth Iter); though this can never hold good if Mediolanum be Meiwood. Some -Coins that have been lately found between Nantwich and Whitchurch confirm me in this opinion.-I am still in hopes that you will discover some place more directly upon the Military Way from Durotriva to Lindum, that will answer as to distance with more exactness than Great Paunton for Gansennæ. The want of a river, I believe, is not a sufficient objection, where no river intervenes in so great a space as from Durobrivæ to Lindum. "Your much obliged humble servant, JOHN HORSELEY *." Redmile, Feb. 19, 1728-9. "I return you the Philosophical Transactions. Your drawing is, like all your performances, fine and masterlike. By the simplicity of the materials and figure in the Pavement it is possible it might have been a British imitation, after Agricola had endeavoured to soften the inhabitants of this Isle by Roman arts, delicacy, and luxury. See Tacitus, in Vità Agric. suluberrimis consiliis ea hyems consumpta,' &c.-In my Observations upon your Iter Curiosum, I shall give my reasons why the brave Coritani were a confederate, and not a subdued people; and that therefore their Chiefs might have elegant villas instead of their ancestors' tuguria. I am well satisfied with Dr. Nichols' reasons for the cause of an aneurism. I read your rhymes, but did not, out of great respect to your reputation, communicate them as you desired. I think that empiric brimstone Curate ought to have been despised, and not answered. There is a sublime in your Prose, which shews you might attempt the Epic in Poesy with great success; but this paltry doggrel is beneath your abilities, and a disgrace to your pen. The bearer, who will inform you of his case, desired me to write to Mr. Gale in his behalf.

"DEAR SIR,

As your

* Of whom see the “Literary Anecdotes," vol. VII. p. 187.

acquaint.

acquaintance has been more intimate, and interest more weighty with our learned friend, I have advised him to apply to you; and, if his case deserves pity, I know you have abundance of good nature, making you ready to relieve the distressed; and I flatter myself you have kindness enough for me to write a line or two in the behalf of one recommended by yours E. VERNON *.” "DEAR SIR, Morpeth, March 15, 1728-9.

"I received yours of the 20th ult, with the two Drawings, for which I am deeply indebted to you. I should sooner have made my acknowledgments, but that I was afraid of being too troublesome. I cannot but say, that, upon farther thoughts, I think more favourably of the conjecture I hinted to you in my last concerning the Stations on the Foss between Lincoln and Leicester; for, by what I can judge, the Station near Willoughby will answer both for distance and every thing else very well to Vernometum. If the Station near Bridgeford be upon a Dunum, I shall still more strongly suspect it to be Margidunum; but this is more than I know. I think I observed, in a large Map of Nottinghamshire, that a rivulet runs into the Trent not far from Newark. And upon the Lingula near the confluence would I look for Ad Pontem; but this I submit to your better judgment. "I am glad you agree with me in your opinion about the Sculpture at Netherby. We have, I find, also been both determined by the same reason: only the mural crown, I remember, not to be frequent in Genii; and Mr. Gordon has made the figure very much bearded, though in that he differs from me; but perhaps 1, and not he, may be in the error. I should be well pleased to know how you took it in this respect.

"I took Netherby, when I saw it, to be a proper place for Exploratores, and Middleby is not far from the Frith, so that it may perhaps do well enough as to etymology for latum Bulgium, if we read it so, and suppose the preposition ab to intimate its being beyond the estuary (which perhaps the expression a vallo does imply with respect to the Wall). My reasons for this conjecture are too long to trouble you with at the present. However, as Blatum Bulgium is not mentioned among the Stations per lineam valli, I take it for granted, that Boulness, which is the last Station upon the Wall, cannot be it.

"I like an etymology, where it is easy and natural (as in Itunocelum); but, I own, I pay a much greater regard to remains and proper distances, which are certain matters of fact.

"As for Mr. Gordon, and his friend Mr. Goodman, I shall act a just and generous part to them; but I know them both too well to suffer myself to be insulted or bullied by either. The work is going on as fast as it can; and I have let my Bookseller know how to send any of the proofs of the Plates to you, as soon as they are wrought off-I was agreeably surprized the other day to find that, after I had, by reasoning from the distances, &c.

*Chaplain to John first duke of Rutland, successively Rector of Muston and Redmile, co. Leic.: died 1742. See "Hist. of Leicest." II. 291, 302. 3 F2

placed

placed Rutunium near Wem in Cheshire, there is a Roman place on the river Rodan, not a mile from Wem. The account you will find in Camden. Rodan and Rutun are not unlike; and as every thing else answers with so much exactness, I see no objection against fixing Rutunium here. Mediolanum I believe to be between Whitchurch and Nantwich, where Coins have been found not long ago. Your most obliged humble servant, J. HORSELEY." "DEAR DOCTOR, Bury, April 20, 1734.

"I was much pleased to have it under your hand that we may hope to see you soon. Child and I always talk of you when we meet. As to Sir Isaac, you know I am prejudiced (if any man can be) much in his favour, and Divinity is out of my depth. But I thought his making not only all Daniel's Prophecies, but all the others belong to the state of the Church in all ages, and reach to the end of the world, had been new. His fixing the Ten Kingdoms to the years 408-411; his Interpretation of the Seventy Weeks; his determination of the times of the Birth and Passion of Christ, and the Harmony of the Gospels consequent thereupon; his discovery of the Relation between the Apocalypse and Temple-service; his History of the writing it in Nero's Reign; and many other things of less importance, are also new to me. The Chapters about the Compilers of the Books of the Old Testament, and the Prophetic Language, do not contain much more than what has been observed before; but I think they are well worth considering, as being drawn up with great clearness. Sir Isaac's Account of the Prophetic Style may be called a general proposition formed from Mede's particular cases; and perhaps we may mount up to a theory still more general. Be this as it will, if the grand Revolution be now approaching, it is the duty of every one who wishes well to mankind to consider such things. The Christian Religion is in such a situation, that it must either quite fall, or be confirmed more than ever. Every honest mind hopes for the last, without doubt; and I think it very strongly hinted in many parts of both Old and New Testament, that that will be the case. All the Revolutions that ever yet happened in the world are inconsiderable with respect to this. It is plain that God has made it and the world we live in so, that we may be much happier than we are if we will; and it is plain that Christianity has hit upon the true method of making us so. This is both a strong confirmation of the truth of it, and the highest motive to excite every man to make it take place in its full extent as soon as possible. We may think that we want the Evidence of Miracles again; but you know Christ tells us, that Moses and Prophets are as convincing proofs as those, so that, without doubt, the only reason why they do not appear to be so to us is because we do not take them right. These notions, you see, are Sir Isaac's, and they appeared to me worthy not only of him, but of the Religion itself; and I did not know that any one else had spoke so well of them before. You will forgive me for talking so much out of my province. D. HARTLEY *."

* A Physician at Bury. See before, p. 25.

" DEAR

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