Hoods. Captain SENTREY, my Master's Nephew, ' has taken poffeffion of the Hall-House, and the 'whole Estate. When my old Master saw him a 'little before his Death, he shook him by the 'Hand, and wished him Joy of the Estate which

>

was falling to him, defiring him only to make a 'good Use of it, and to pay the several Legacies, ' and the Gifts of Charity which he told him he 'had left as Quit-rents upon the Estate. The Captain truly feems a courteous Man, though he fays but little. He makes much of those whom my Master loved, and shows great Kindnesses to 'the old House-dog, that you know my poor Mafter was fo fond of. It would have It would have gone to your 'Heart to have heard the Moans the dumb Crea'ture made on the Day of my Master's Death. 'He has never joyed himself fince; no more has any of us. 'Twas the melancholiest Day for the 'poor People that ever happened in Worcestershire. This is all from,

• Honoured Sir,

• Your most forrowful Servant, Edward Bifcuit.

P. S. My Mafter defired, fome Weeks before 'he died, that a Book which comes up to you by the Carrier fhould be given to Sir ANDREW FREEPORT, in his Name.'

THIS Letter, notwithstanding the poor Butler's manner of writing it, gave us fuch an Idea of our good old Friend, that upon the reading of it there was not a dry Eye in the Club. Sir ANDREW opening the Book, found it to be a Collection of Acts of Parliament. There was in particular the Act of Uniformity, with fome Paffages in it marked by Sir ROGER's own Hand. Sir ANDREW found that they related to two or three Points, which he had disputed with Sir ROGER the last time he appeared at the Club. Sir ANDREW, who would have been merry at fuch an Incident on another Occafion, at the fight of the old Man's Hand-writing burst into Tears, and put the Book into his Pocket. Captain SENTREY informs us, that the Knight has left Rings and Mourning for every one in the Club.

Addison.

Page 3. I made a Voyage to Grand Cairo, on purpose to take Meafure of the Pyramid. A half century's contention refpecting the exact admeasurement of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh was a fair fubject for ridicule in spite of Dr. Percy's ftigma that the fatire was "reprehenfible." Mr. John Greaves originated the argument fo long before the publication of this harmless raillery as 1646, in his Work entitled "Pyramidologia," and it seems to have been carried on with burning zeal and wonderful learning to the days of the Spectator, although death had removed. Greaves from the difcuffion in 1652. In No. 7 the Spectator fays, "I defign to vifit the next masquerade in the fame Habit I wore at Grand Cairo."

Page 4. THE COFFEE HOUSES. There is no Place of general Refort wherein I do not make my Appearance. The chief places of refort were coffee and chocolate houses, in which fome men almoft lived, infomuch that whoever wifhed to find a gentleman commonly asked, not where he refided, but which coffee house he frequented? No decently attired idler was excluded, provided he laid down his penny at the bar; but which he could feldom do without ftruggling through the crowd of beaux who fluttered round the lovely bar-maid. Here the proud nobleman or country fquire were not to be diftinguished from the genteel thief and daring highwayman. "Pray Sir," fays Aimwell to Gibbet, in

Farquhar's Beaux Stratagem, "han't I seen your face at Will's coffee house?" The robber's reply is :-"Yes, Sir; and at White's too."

Coffee houses, from the time of their commencement in 1652, ferved instead of newspapers :-they were arena for political difcuffion. Journalism was then in its infancy: the first daily newspaper (The Daily Courant) was fcarcely two years old, and was too small to contain much news; as were the other journals then extant. Hence the fiercely contested polemics of the period were either waged in fingle pamphlets or in periodicals started to advocate or to oppofe fome particular question, and laid down when that was fettled. The peaceful leading article and mild letter to the Editor" had not come into vogue as fafety valves for the escape of overboiling party zeal; and the hot blood, roused in public rooms to quarrelling pitch, was too often cooled by the rapier's point.

Each coffee houfe had its political or literary fpeciality; and of those enumerated in the present paper, WILL'S was the rendezvous for the wits and poets. It was named after William Urwin, its proprietor, and was fituated at No. 1, Bow Street, at the corner of Great Ruffell Street, Covent Garden; the coffeeroom was on the first floor, the lower part having been occupied as a retail fhop. Dryden's patronage and frequent appearance made the reputation of the house, which was afterwards maintained by other celebrated characters. De Foe wrote-about the year 1720-that "after the play the best company go to Tom's or Will's Coffee house near adjoining; where there is playing picquet and the best conversation till midnight. Here you will see blue and green ribbons and stars familiarly, and talking with the fame freedom, as if they had left their quality and degrees of distance at home." The turn of conversation is happily hit off in the Spectator for June 12th, 1712, when a false report of the death of Louis XIV. had reached England: — Upon my going into Will's I found their discourse was gone off from the death of the French king to that of Monfieur Boileau, Racine, Corneille, and several other poets, whom they regretted on this occafion, as perfons who would have obliged the world with very noble elegies on the death of so great a prince, and so eminent

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a patron of learning." It was from Will's coffee house that the Tatler dated his poetry.

CHILD'S was in St. Paul's Churchyard. Its vicinity to the Cathedral and Doctor's Commons, made it the refort of the clergy and other ecclefiaftical loungers. In one respect Child's was fuperfeded by the Chapter in Paternofter Row.

THE ST. JAMES'S was the Spectator's head-quarters. It stood at the end of Pall Mall-of which it commanded a perspective view-near to, if not upon the fite of what is now No. 87, St. James's Street, and close to Ozinda's chocolate house. These were the great party rallying places: "a Whig," fays de Foe, "would no more go to the Cocoa Tree or Ozinda's than a Tory would be seen at St. James's." Swift, however, frequented the latter during his fojourn in London, 1710-13; till, fighting in the van of the Tory ranks, he could no longer fhow face there, and was obliged to relinquifh the fociety of thofe literary friends whom, though Whigs, he cherished. Up to that time all his letters were addreffed to the St. James's coffee house, and those from Mrs. Johnston (Stella) were enclosed under cover to Addison. Elliot, who kept the houfe, acted confidentially for his customers as a party agent; and was on occafions placed on a friendly footing with fome of his distinguished guests. In Swift's Journal to Stella, under the date of Nov. 19, 1710, we find the following entry: "This evening I chriftened our coffee-man Elliot's child; when the rogue had a most noble fupper, and Steele and I fat amongst fome fcurvy company over a bowl of punch." This must have included some of Elliot's more intimate or private friends; for he numbered amongst his cuftomers nearly all the Whig ariftocracy. The Tatler (who dated his politics from the St. James's,) enumerating the charges he was at to entertain his readers, affures them that "a good observer cannot even speak with Kidney ['keeper of the book debts of the outlying customers, and obferver of all those who go off without paying, without clean linen."

*

The Spectator, in his 403rd number, gives a graphic picture of the company in the coffee-room: "I firft of all called in

*Spectator, No. 24.