E. OF OXFORD AND ABP. WAKE TO DR. STUKELEY. 785

the Sark Antiquities, and, if I can, that of my Cup: It is engraving, but not yet finished, though I expect it every day.

"Since I wrote my Letter, the print of my Cup is come home, so that I will send it to you by the first opportunity, being glad to have any thing in my power by which I can oblige Doctor Stukeley, to whom I am a very humble servant, HARTFORD." "SIR, Dover-street, Nov. 30, 1728. "The Bookseller you employ, Arthur Bettesworth, sent to me the other day, to know if I had any thing to send down to you; which I was very glad of, for I had forgot the name you mentioned to me at Grantham. I have sent him your Book of Roads, for the use of which I return you many thanks. I have likewise sent you two sets of the Prints of my Lamp. I think it is a curious piece of Antiquity. I have it at Wimpole. Two Prints of Mr. Prior; they are not to be sold; the Plate is mine: two Prints of Sir Hugh Middleton: two Prints of Mr. Bagford. The Bishop of Chester (Dr. Gastrell) is graving for me by Mr. Vertue, which I shall send you when finished.

"The Prints, though trifles, I hope you will accept from me, though but a small mark of the esteem I have for you.

"Did Mr. Wanley ever shew you some curious Egyptian Antiquities I have? If you have not seen them, I wish you did. When I had the pleasure of your company at Grantham, you mentioned in discourse somewhat relating to the number of Crosses set up in memory of Queen Eleanor, and mentioned where an account was wrote of them, and the places; there is a dispute about them, what number, and the places. I do not remember any account of them but in old Weever. I shall be glad to know from you at your leisure your thoughts upon this. "I am, Sir, your most humble servant,

"GOOD SIR,

OXFORD *." Nov. 4, 1729.

"I am sorry you came at so unlucky a time to the Bp. of Lincoln; but, as his stay at Lincoln will be very short, so I hope a few days will put a full end to your trouble, and fix you in the legal possession of your Church at Stamford. I am much pleased that your lot is fallen in a place so desirable to you, and where you will have the opportunity of doing much, in quality of Physician, both to the bodies and souls, not only of your parishioners, but of your friends and acquaintance round about you. I hope God will long continue your life and health to enjoy your new settlement. It is all I can now do at the end of life; and, as I am very sincere and hearty in it, I hope you will accept of it as a true token of the esteem and friendship with which I am, good Sir, your very affectionate brother and servant, W. CANT." "GOOD SIR, Feb. 19, 1729-30.

"I am glad to hear you are already settled in your parish at Stamford. The place itself is so fine, and its situation so conve

* Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford, D. C. L. &c. the munificent Founder of the Harleian Library. He died in Juue 1741. 3 E

VOL. II.

nient

nient for you, that I hope you will find as much pleasure to yourself, as I persuade myself you will do service to the Church of God in it. What observations you make in reading the Holy Scriptures I hope you will take care to preserve, for the benefit of the world, as well as for your own use: but, as some of the instances you mention have exercised the pens of some of the most learned men, I should advise you, before you come to a final resolution upon them (at least before you publish your thoughts upon them) to communicate your observations to some of your friends, who are both capable of examining them, and will be so faithful to you as to deal freely with you concerning them. This will both secure you from any great mistakes, and render your remarks most useful and valuable when they come abroad into the world. I am, with great truth, good Sir,

"Your very loving friend,

W. CANT." Feb. 13, 1732-3.

" «<< SIR, "There was, a year or so ago, in digging or ploughing, found a parcel of old Coins in your neighbourhood, which a gentleman, who is a Virtuoso in those matters, having heard of, hath desired me to make inquiry after. If, therefore, you know of any such, or there are any to be found, I shall give a handsome reward for the same to the finders; and if you can direct me where to make inquiry, you will oblige, &c. WESTMORELAND *." "Ditton, Jan. 4, 1744-5.

"I give you a great many thanks, dear Doctor, for your Letter, and shall be very glad of a continuation of your thoughts concerning the weddings on the mount; for I am really in earnest about it, and have thoughts of doing something of that kind. I was in hopes you would have been in town before now, and then I might have had the pleasure of seeing you here during these holidays, with your facetious friend Swiney, who is here, and desirous to be remembered to you.

"This has been a very mild season; and, though it is in the middle of winter, yet the flowery banks are in the greatest perfection of beauty, so that it is not possible to look at them without imagining that one sees at the same time Hebe the Goddess of Youth crowned with garlands of them. You remember her figure is in the cieling of my hall at Boughton, which figure some Philosophers imagine was formed there by the steams of your toasts daily repeated there, and ascending from the table towards the heavens; which, if they had not been stopped by the cieling, would have formed a better or finer constellation than that of Andromeda; but, not being able to make their way through the roof of the Hall, they condensed themselves into the figure of Hebe in the cieling. MONTAGU †." London, Jan. 29, 1744-5. "I am the worst Literary Correspondent in the world, and I should almost as soon choose to go to be hanged as to write a * Thomas Fane, twelfth Earl of Westmoreland, died in 1736. + John, the second Duke of that name. See vol. 1. p. 480.

"DEAR DOCTor,

Letter;

Letter; therefore, you must excuse my not having sooner thanked you for your most agreeable one, with the Verses relating to Hebe, which, without any flattery to you, are exceedingly pretty, and not only thought so by myself, but by every body that has seen them. My Model-maker was in town a little before I received your Letter, and told me of the error in the Model of the Arches of the Temple not being the same breadth, but that he would rectify it. I am sure they were right in the plan.

"Before I conclude, I must mention Hebe again: I want to know her birth-day; and I think you could contrive to find that out for me but you must not appear in it yourself, and I beg that you will not let any body whatsoever know that I asked this of you; and you will very much oblige, &c. MONTAGU." "Saturday, 2 o'clock, July 18, 1746.

"As your man tells me you are not so bad as to be confined to your chamber, I flatter myself that, as the Mountain cannot come to Mahomet, it will not be troublesome if Mahomet should go to the Mountain; and as I want to get some information from you, as well as to have pleasure to see you, Mr. Barton and I propose to dine with you to-morrow, but I beg, entreat, and insist, that you will not think of making a feast, but let us have the family dinner only, as a Philosopher ought to have; if you do otherwise, I shall seriously take it very ill of you. It is very fine weather to-day; I hope it will be so to-morrow; and I will come to you, unless it should be an abominable bad day; if it should, we will come on Monday. I once more beg, and insist, it may be only the family dinner, which will oblige MONTAGU."

"SIR, London, Nov. 12, 1747. "I must beg pardon for not having writ to you, though I have received two Letters from you; but, if you knew how abominably I hate writing, you would easily excuse me. As to the first Letter, I return you many thanks for the receipt of the Usquebæ. And, as to the second, about the Prebendary of Worcester, it is not in my power to do you any good : -- but what is in my power to do for you myself, I will do with the greatest pleasure, if it be agreeable to you.-I remember that a few years ago you had a mind to have St. John's Chapel, which I could not then do. At this time, not only the Prebend of Worcester is vacant by the death of Dr. Green*, but the living of St. George, Queen-square, also, which is in my gift. In the valuation of my living, it is called two hundred pounds a year; but I am assured, by those who should know, that it is considerably more.

"If it is what you should like, it is very much at your service. I have had a good many solicitations for it, but I shall wait for your answer and I will tell you one thing in relation to it, which I desire you will keep to yourself absolutely, whether I

*Samuel Green, of Queen's College, Oxford; M. A. 1711; B. and D. D. 1733; Prebendary of Worcester 1731. Dr. Green had also some Church Preferment in Hampshire. He died in 1747. 3 E 2

am

am in the right of what I think or not; which is this:-This Living of St. George's was taken out of the Living of St. Andrew's about twenty-five or thirty years ago; and is not a Living in what they call the King's books; and consequently, I believe, may be held with any other Living, though out of distance; and I have been assured that Doctor Green had another living in Hampshire; if this be the case, you can hold it with the other things you have. Now the reason why I would have you keep this to yourself is, that you know I have a good many people who hold livings of me, and some pretty good ones, who would not, may be, care to exchange what they have for this; but, if they were aware, which I do not find any body as yet is, that they could hold what they have and this into the bargain, I should have them all upon my back for it; and they would think it a great hardship were I to refuse complying with their request. I am your most humble servant, MONTAGU."

Letters of Dr. STUKELEY and Sir HANS Sloane.

"WORTHY AND DEAR SIR,

Grantham, Dec. 6, 1726.

"The real pleasure I always took in the business of my profession was one cause of my quitting London, because I could not meet with it there in such manner and measure, and upon such terms, as were agreeable to my humour. The passionate love I ever had for the country, where true happiness only is to be met with, and the very agreeable situation I am now in, engages me absolutely to abandon any thoughts of returning thither; therefore I have been casting about in my mind to lay a scheme for such sort of business as may best reward me, and encourage my pains in being useful to the world in practice. I have at present a prospect of being chiefly concerned in the best families. The Duke of Rutland is not yet engaged to any Physician; and I beg of you, as I perceive you now and then write to him, to take an opportunity to put in a word for me, which 1 apprehend will no way interfere with your correspondence. My brother is at present his Apothecary.

"At the Duke's seat lately, in an old stable which was the Chapel of the Monastery, they dug up a considerable piece of antiquity, the Coffin of the Founder of the Family, the Castle, and the Monastery; and I wish you would desire of the Duke to have it preserved some way or other, for it is wholly exposed. The inscription on the top is this: Robert de TODENEI LE His bones lie in the stone trough underneath *.

FUNDEUR.

* See Itin. Cur. vol. I. p. 49.-The Coffin was afterwards engraved in the "History of Leicestershire," vol. II. p. 23, with several other curious fragments, in consequence of a visit which I paid to those remains, with my late truly excellent Friends Mr. Gough and Mr. Schnebbelie.

He

He was one of William the Conqueror's concomitants. There are other such stones on both sides, but not yet uncovered.

"I am just preparing my instruments for observation of the weather, and quantity of rain, &c. I shall send you my memoirs of them when ready. I wrote to Dr. West, to know how I must ward off a foolish pretence they have got here of sessing me to the tax for my office, as they call it, meaning my practice; but I have not yet had his answer; and I would not suffer the profession to lose of its privileges through my neglect. -I am, Sir, with wishes of your health,

"Your most obedient humble servant, WM. STUKELEY."

May 2, 1728.

"SIR, "I have perused both yours to his Grace the Duke of Ancaster, and the Letter of his Grace's Housekeeper since the date of yours. I think you did very well, in the circumstances of the young Lord *, to bleed him, and blister; and not to purge, which I have always observed to do more harm than good. I think you should keep him from being bound; which, perhaps, may be done with taking a quarter of a pint of asses milk in a morning. I would also recommend to you a tea made of sarsaparilla china and a little eyebright, which will have no bad taste, especially if there be added to it some cow's milk; and these remedies are easily taken, and very beneficial. If you add to the collyrium I directed a little mucilage of seeds of psyllium, and make use of it to his eyes by way of eye-water, it will be of advantage. You do well not to meddle with the speck on his eye that was hurt, for it is a scar from the wound, which will, by being touched with sharp niedicines, receive harm rather than good. If the inflammation should continue, you must bleed again with leeches, and have an issue made in his left arm, though it be a pity to put him to that trouble if it be not necessary to preserve his sight. I cannot see how it can be a doubt whether he sees with his hurt eye; for sure his favourites about him may, with great ease, cover his other eye, and, by presenting objects to that, know whether he can distinguish them. I am sorry to hear that this disorder continues, and advise you the best I can, which is left to your liberty, who are upon the place, to change or proceed with as you see best. Your most obedient servant, HANS SLOANE."

"HONOURED AND DEAR SIR, Grantham, Aug. 26, 1729. "The following inscription was given me lately. It is cut on the back side of a large silver plate of Roman work in basso-relievo, found by ploughing in Risley Park, in Derbyshire, June 6, 1729: EXSUPERIUS EPISCOPUS ECCLESIÆ BOGIENSIS DEDIT.. The Plate (they tell me) is an oblong-square, 12 inches long,

6

Peregrine Bertie, the young Marquis of Lindsay (afterwards third Duke of Ancaster), who at that time was dangerously ill. He died Aug.

12. 1778.

Of this Silver Plate Dr. Stukeley printed an explanation, with an engraving, in 1736. See "Literary Anecdotes," vol. V. p. 503.

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