eftate by the death of her uncle, a wealthy Jew, who refided at London. This made it neceffary for him to take a journey to England; nor would the care of his pofterity let him fuffer his wife to remain behind him. During the voyage he was perpetually taken up on the one hand, how to employ his great riches; and on the other, how to educate his child. He had already determined to fet apart feveral annual fums for the recovery of manufcripts, the effoffion of coins, the procuring of mummies, and for all thofe curious difcoveries, by which he hoped to become (as himself was wont to fay) a fecond Peireskius *. He had already chalked out all poffible schemes for the improvement of a male child, yet was fo far prepared for the worft that could happen, that, 'before the nine months were expired, he had compofed two treatises of education; the one he called, A daughter's mirror, and the other, A fon's monitor. This is all we can find relating to Martinus, while he was in his mother's womb, excepting that he was entertained there with a concert of mufic once in twenty-four hours, according to the cuftom of the Magi: and that on a particular day †, he was obferved to leap and kick exceedingly, which was on the first of April, the birth-day of the great Bafilius Valentinus. *There was a great deal of trifling pedantry and curiofity in that great man's character. + Ramfay's Cyrus. It was with judgment, that the authors chofe rather to ridicule the modern relator of this ridiculous practice, than the ancients from whence he took it; as it is a fure inftance of folly, when, amongst the many excellent things which may be learned from antiquity, we find a modern writer only picking out their abfurdities. The The truth of this, and every preceding fact, may be depended upon, being taken literally from the Memoirs. But I must be fo ingenious às to own, that the accounts are not fo certain of the exact time and place of his birth. As to the first, he had the common frailty of old men, to conceal his age: As to, the fecond, I only remember to have heard him fay, that he first saw the light in St Giles's parish. But in the investigation of this point Fortune hath favoured our diligence. For one day as I was paffing by the Seven Dials, I overheard a difpute concerning the place of nativity of a great aftrologer, which each man alledged to have been in his own ftreet. The circumstances of the time, and the description of the perfon, made me imagine it might be that univerfal genius whofe life I am writing. I returned home, and having maturely confidered their feveral arguments, which I found to be of equal weight, I quieted my curiofity with this natural conclufion, that he was born in some point common to all the feven streets; which must be that on which the column is now erected. And it is with infinite pleasure that I fince find my conjecture confirmed, by the following paffage in the codicil to Mr Neale's will. I appoint my executors to engrave the following infcription on the column in the centre of the feven freets which I erected. LOC. NAT. INCLYT. PHILOS. MAR. But Mr Neale's order was never performed, because the executors durft not administer. Nor was the birth of this great man unattended with prodigies: he himself has often told me, that on the night before he was born, Mrs Scriblerus dreamed the was brought to bed of a huge inkhorn, out of which iffued feveral large ftreams of ink, as it had been a fountain. This dream was by her husband thought to fignify, that the child fhould prove a very voluminous writer. Likewise a crabtree that had been hitherto barren, appeared on a fudden laden with a vast quantity of crabs. This fign alfo the old gentleman imagined to be a prognoftic of the acutenefs of his wit. A great fwarm of wafps + played round his cradle without hurting him, but were very troublesome to all in the room befides. This feemed a certain prefage of the effects of his fatire. A dunghill was feen within the space of one night to be covered all over with mushrooms. This fome interpreted to promise the infant great fertility of fancy, but no long duration to his works; but the father was of another opinion. But what was of all moft wonderful, was a thing that feemed a monstrous fowl, which juft then dropped through the fky-light, near his wife's apartment. It had a large body, two little difproportioned wings, a prodigious tail, but no head. As its colour was white, he took it at first fight for a fwan, and was concluding his fon would be a poet; but, on a nearer view, he perceived it to be fpeckled with black, in the form of letters, and that it was indeed a paper-kite which had broke its leath by the impetuofity of the wind. His *Virgil's laurel. Donat. † Plato, Lucan, etc. back back was armed with the art military, his belly was filled with phyfic, his wings were the wings of Quarles and Withers, the feveral nodes of his voluminous tail were diverfified with several branches of science; where the doctor beheld with great joy a knot of logic, a knot of metaphyfic, a knot of cafuiftry, a knot of polemical divinity, and a knot of common law, with a lantern of Jacob Behmen. There went a report in the family, that, as foon as he was born, he uttered the voice of nine leveral animals: He cried like a calf, bleated like a fheep, chattered like a magpie, grunted like a hog, neighed like a foal, croaked like a raven, mewed like a cat, gabbled like a goofe, and brayed like an afs. And the next morning he was found playing in his bed with two owls which came down the chimney. His father greatly rejoiced at all thefe figns, which betokened the variety of his eloquence, and the extent of his learning; but he was more particularly pleafed with the last, as it nearly resembled what happened at the birth of Homer * CHA P. II. The Speech of Cornelius over his fon, at the hour of his birth. O No fooner was the cry of the infant heard, but the old gentleman rushed into the room, and fnatching it in his arms, examined every limb with * Vide Euftath. in Odyff. I. 12. ex Alex. Paphio, et Leo. Allat. de patr. Hom. p. 45. attention. attention. He was infinitely pleased to find, that the child had the wart of Cicero, the wry neck of Alexander, knots upon his legs like Marius, and one of them shorter than the other like Agefilaus. The good Cornelius also hoped he would come to ftammer like Demofthenes, in order to be as éloquent; and in time arrive at many other defects of famous men. He held the child fo long, that the midwife, grown out of all patience, fnatched it from his arms, in order to fwaddle it. "Swaddle him quoth he, "far be it from me to fubmit to fuch a pernicious cuftom! Is not my fon a man? and is not man the lord of the univerfe? Is it thus you ufe this monarch at his first arrival in his dominions, to manacle and hackle him hand and foot? Is this what you call to be free-born? If you have no regard to his natural liberty, at least have fome to his natural faculties. Behold with what agility he spreadeth his toes, and moveth them with as great variety as his fingers! a power, which, in the small circle of a year, may be totally abolished by the enormous confinement of shoes and stockings. His ears (which other animals turn with great advantage towards the fonorous object) may, by the miniftry of some accurfed nurfe, for ever lie flat and immoveable. Not fo the ancients; they could move them at pleafure, and accordingly are often defcribed arrectis auribus." "What a devil," quoth the midwife, "would you have your fon move his ears like a drill?" "Yes, fool," (faid he), why should he not have the perfection of a drill, or of any other animal?" Mrs Scriblerus, who lay all this while fretting at her husband's discourse, at last broke out |