against the happiness and quiet of your Majesty's government, been concerned in publishing a pamphlet, called, "Sir R. Gwynn's Letter," &c.

That your Petitioner has had a liberal edu

cation

"their confent to the propofed invitation of the Princess Sophia "into England. The Commons, on the eighth of March, voted "Gwynn's Letter a fcandalous, falfe, and malicious fibel. The "Lords concurred with them in an address, upon this occafion, to "the Queen; who replied, that, being fully fenfible of the per"nicious tendency of the paper which they had cenfured, the "would comply with their requeft, and give orders to profecute "the printer and author." Hift. of Great Britain, fub ann. 1705.

* Sir Rowland Gwynn had been one of the reprefentatives for Beeralfton in two parliaments during the reign of King William III.

+ Charles Gildon was born and educated at Gillingham, near Shaftesbury, Dorfet fhire. Richard, his father, who was of the Society of Gray's Inn, and a zealous Roman Catholic, dying when his fon was but nine years old, Charles was fent by his relations to the English college at Douay, in order to be made a prieft; but, quitting the fuperftitions of the church of Rome (from conviction, as he himself said, on reading a Difcourfe by Dr. Tillotson on Tranfubftantiation), ran into the extremes of Infidelity and Deifm. He was author of feveral dramatic pieces, moft of which were unsuccessful; and of fome poetical and other performances. He has been ranked among the Deiftical Writers, from having ushered into the world "The Oracles of Reafon," written by Charles Blount, efq. and published by Mr. Gildon in 1693, after that author's unhappy end, with a pompous elogium, and a preface in defence of felf-murder. He was afterward, as Dr. Leland candidly obferves (View of Deistical Writers, vol. I. p. 43)," convinced of his error; of which he gave a remarkable proof in a good book, which he published in 1705, intituled, The Deift's Manual;' the greateft part "of which is taken up in vindicating the doctrines of the exift❝ence and attributes of God, his providence and government of "the world, the immortality of the foul, and a future ftate."-W are told, in the notes on the Dunciad, that "he fignalized him"felf

66

cation and fortune, and expects this term a fentence worse than death for the fame :

That he is under the greatest forrow and contrition for this his high offence against fo good. and gracious a Queen; and fhall hereafter abhor and avoid all licence in fpeech and writing unbefitting a quiet, humble, and peaceable fubject.

Your Petitioner, therefore, most humbly prays, &c. +

LETTER

CCCLXXVIII.

Mrs. MARY SCURLOCK to her MOTHER.

DEAR MADAM,

BY

Y a letter I had from Coufin Betty Scurlock, I find you are refolved to winter in Wales,

"felf as a critic, having written fome very bad plays; abused "Mr. Pope very scandalously in an anonymous pamphlet of the "Life of Mr. Wycherley, printed by Curll; in another, called "The New Rehearsal;' in a third, intituled, 'The Complete "Art of English Poetry,' in two volumes; and others." He died January 12, 1723-4.

He had been tried at Guildhall, Feb. 14, 1706-7, and found guilty; and received fentence, May 17, to pay 100l. fine. This petition, and the feven following articles, were commu nicated too late to come into their proper order of time.

From circumftances it must have been written on or about Aug. 16, 1707. It is addreffed, "This-For Mrs. Scurlock, at her "Lodgings inCarmarthen, South Wales."-It cannot have escaped the notice of an attentive reader, that Mrs. Mary Scurlock soon made up her own mind on the fubject of marrying Steele; and it does not appear that, her determination was lefs peremptory for having been expeditious. To facilitate her fixed purpose,

and

Wales, which is the cause of this speed in my writing, having kept a fecret from you, through fear that a letter might (by the usual impertinent curiosity of people) make a discovery of what is proper for your own ear only, and not to divert any in that tattling place where that wretched impudence H. O. reforts, who (left we should think God had not wholly forfaken him), had the boldness to fend me a letter, which I had the very laft poft. I tore it without once reading it, he being beneath my scornful laugh.

But the matter in hand is this. Your frequent declarations of your earnest wishes that I might happily please you in obliging myself by my choice of a companion for life, has emboldened me, now fate has put it in my power, to give fo far encouragement as to promise speedy marriage upon condition of your confent, which I do not queftion having, when I tell you I not only make use of the most weighing confideration I am mistress of, but also hope my inclination is the direction of Providence, whofe guidance, in every particular of this nice affair more particularly, I ceafe not to implore continually. I cannot recommend the perfon to you as having a great estate, title, &c. which are generally

and fruftrate all oppofition, the feems to have fubftituted this letter instead of the letters written by STEELE, containing the Statement of his circumftances, &c. published pp. 17 and 24; and, having actually married in the mean while, the waited tiently for her mother's confent.

pa

a parent's

a parent's chief care; but he has a competency in worldly goods to make eafy, with a mind fo richly adorned as to exceed an equivalent to the greatest estate in the world, in my opinion: in short, his person is what I like; his temper is what I am fure will make you, as well as myself, perfectly happy, if the refpect of a lover, with the tender fondness of a dutiful fon, can make you fo; and, for his understanding and morals, I refer you to his "Chriftian Hero," which I remember you feemed to approve. By this I believe you know his name; but, left memory may not befriend me, it is the furvivor of the perfon to whose funeral I went in my illness. Enquiries about him, any farther than I have made, are altogether needlefs, for I am fully fatisfied, and do not queftion but you will be fo when bufinefs will permit you to be an eye-witnefs and partaker of my happiness. In the mean time, what I defire is, your confent and bleffing to my putting it out of my power to delay, and fo perhaps to lofe, my first and only inclination; for I fhall never meet with a profpect of happinefs if this fhould vanish. You doubtlefs wonder at the affurance of my ftyle, for really I do myself; but then, if you confider the neceffity of it, it will palliate the boldness. For, first, the

*See p. 279.

+ We no where find the name of Steele's first wife, nor the time of her marriage.

2

distance

distance between us is fo great, that the speedieft answer to a letter terminates an age of days; then the conftant vifits, in the form fit for a lover, make a mighty noise in an idle, prying neighbourhood; fo will caufe the uneafinefs of an endless nine days wonder, as they call it. But the main matter of all, fince Fate I believe has ordained him mine, is the neglect of his bufinefs, which his coming in the manner he does muft cause. These confiderations, with feveral more when known, though now too tedious to write, will, I hope, leffen the cenfure this comprehenfive letter may at firft fight caufe.

There is nothing I fhould more defire than your prefence at the giving my hand, with that part of my heart you can fpare: but the misfortune of your lameness, if you were here, would deny me that happiness, unless public doings were intended, which is what I abhor; infomuch, if you confent to my changing the name of lover for hufband, it fhall not be in the power of the town to more than guefs there may be fuch a thing, until your affairs will permit you to come and be a witnefs to our manner of living and appearing in the world, which God Almighty direct us in the way of, and also *

this letter to your dutiful Molly; there being no roon

for long confideration

understood.

*The original is here accidentally torn.

A PRAYER,