Mrs. Hawkesworth to Mrs. Duncombe.

DEAR MADAM,

BROMLEY, 14th. Dec. 1773.

I am infinitely obliged to you for your kind letter, particularly so for the truly pathetic manner in which you mention my dear departed friend. Though I have no claim to philosophy on other occasions, I hope that on the late melancholy visitation I have availed myself of all the power that an humble sense of the superintendence of a wise, powerful, and good being, who does not wantonly afflict its creatures, can give: and being perfectly persuaded that our separation can be but short, I am not without hope, but look forward to that happy period, when we shall meet to part no more, in those regions of bliss where I trust he now contemplates that wonderful goodness which he so often and so eloquently, though doubtless so inadequately, endeavoured to describe. Nothing but a persuasion of these truths could have enabled me to think of my irreparable loss without despair; but I thank God my mind is comparatively calm, and my situation is attended with so many temporal blessings, that I should detest myself if I could for one moment repine for my loss, when that dear spirit, for whose happiness I could while on earth have sacrificed my own, is now superlatively happy, freed from all those pains and anxieties which were the natural consequences of a constant exertion of his mental faculties, and a want of that exercise so necessary to health. The labours of the last two years were more than human nature could support, and had so much exhausted his powers both of mind and body, that a premature old age destroyed him. I do

not mean that his mental faculties were in the least impaired, for he gave to the last moment proofs of a superior understanding, quick and clear perception, and solid judgment; but his nerves were so shattered as to render every little accident almost intolerable; his sensations were too keen to let him enjoy life, and though he frequently lamented that he had been unreasonably moved by trifles, yet he owned that he had not power to resist a sudden impulse either of joy or dissatisfaction, but yielded to both even to agony. These things considered, could I wish that to gratify me, he should have been still detained in this vale of tears. God forbid !-though the stroke was sudden and severe, and though in the first transport of my grief I was ready to say--" What good will my life give me?"-yet I now humbly kiss the rod and say" Shall we receive good at the hands of God, and shall we not receive evil?"—"Not my will but thy will be done O Lord!"-" It is good for me that I have been afflicted;"-I do indeed now know that God is not less kind when he takes away than when he gives; such comfortable reflections will make me cheerfully acquiesce, and though the effusions of tenderness will flow in tears, those tears are my great relief, and I do not suffer them to excite sadness in those who by every friendly and affectionate effort, try to please and

amuse me.

"Whilst my dear Doctor was ill, I received a billet which you sent, in which you proposed a difficulty concerning the effect of prayer, in consequence of your having inferred that the Divine Being was in the preface to the voyages, supposed to have guided the world by immutable laws; nothing was farther from the opinion

which urged Dr. Hawkesworth to take so fit an oppor tunity of giving his sentiments on such an important subject. Upon a supposition that God was perpetually operating, and that he acted through all endurance, could it also be supposed that the world was guided by immutable laws? I wish you to reconsider the subject as contained in parts of page 19 and 20 in the first preface; and what he says upon the subject in consequence of the general mistake, which will be found in the preface to the second edition. As to the arguments; they are not to be imputed to him as his sentiments, but are supposed, that every objection or difficulty might be obviated to those who might be inclined to raise difficulties or objections. Had my dear Doctor been well when your billet came to hand, I know the receiving it would have given him pain, as he had flattered himself, that but few of his friends, particularly his thinking friends, would have mistaken the sublime tendency of doing justice to the Supreme Being, by considering every evil as judicial, not accidental; and only alleviated by his intervention; which I am sorry to say is among the lower people too generally believed to give that honour which is due to omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, connected with divine goodness.

"As to the use and effect of prayer, as I could not verbally consult my dear Doctor, I refer you to the Adventurer, No. XXVIII, which contains his sentiments upon that important subject, and which strictly coincide with every principle which he has endeavoured to impress upon those readers who read for information, and are open to conviction. That all good may attend

your whole self, is the ardent wish of dear Madam, your much obliged

"A. HAWKESWORTH."

Is it possible that the man thus feelingly and beautifully lamented, and in the purest strain of Christian piety, by the beloved companion of his life, could have merited the appellation of an infidel and a libertine ?

The following character of Dr. Hawkesworth is from the pen of the late Mrs. Duncombe, and we have adopted it for various reasons, in preference to any opinions of our own. It is the composition of one who knew him well, and judged him impartially, and whose comprehensive mind was equal to the task of faithfully delineating the mental faculties even of this superior being.

"A Character of Dr. Hawkesworth.

"The world has lost in Dr. Hawkesworth one of its first literary ornaments; who, before his late publication, was ranked in the first line of moral writers; whose perspicuity, force, and elegance of style, evinced in every page of his Adventurer, has scarce an equal in the English language, which language is much indebted to him for giving it a power not called forth before by any pen except that of Dr. Johnson, whose energy was harmonised by Dr. Hawkesworth's more easy dialect.

"His fugitive poetical pieces that have been published, must enroll his name among the best of English

This excellent woman survived her husband many years; she continued to reside at Bromley, and died there in 1797, The lady from whom our information is derived, was personally acquainted with Mrs. Hawkesworth, and always admired her as a "very sensible and charming woman."

poets, and the morality, true taste, wit, and humour of his " Arachne," with the graver moral of the "Ode on Life," will mark his poetical abilities as long as poetry and sense united can charm the candid reader.

"His translation from Cambray will prove to all who read with pleasure Telemaque, that Fenelon's fine genius was not inimitable, since the spirit of the original is so justly transfused into the translation, that one elegant muse seems to have inspired both writers.

"All who know the value of a feeling heart, an affectionate friend, and an instructive and agreeable companion, must long lament the loss of Dr. Hawkesworth; of whose conversation to say it was entertaining is not sufficient, since he had talents peculiarly adapted to inform as well as please; having a ready easy elocution, intelligible on all subjects, with humour and vivacity that never failed to enliven his chosen guests at his ever hospitable board.-Yet, though alas! he is lost too soon to those who knew him intimately, and loved his virtues, he may have lived too long for reputation, since many of his warmest friends lament that the author of the justly esteemed Adventurer, should, when more advanced in life, publish what they apprehend to be questionable sentiments, in his introduction to the South Sea Voyages; which they cannot justify, however partial, on Christian principles, though it is hoped he might have reconciled the seeming difficulty to his own mind.-But further to remark is an invidious and a painful task, now the unhappy author can no longer explain or justify his sentiments to man, and is beyond the reach of human scrutiny. And much it may be feared his dissolution was hastened by the unfeeling attacks so cruelly poured forth in public.on