who was a very profound Scholar, declared to be his Opinion, though he would not take upon him to ascertain their Number. Several other Virtuofi, of more Prefumption, though perhaps not more Learning, have ventured to give their Conjectures upon this nice Point, in very curious and elaborate Dissertations. And for two hundred and fifty Years past, not only Italy, but the greatest Part of Europe, have been in a very grofs Error, concerning the particular Drefs of Priapus; whereas now there is nothing clearer, than that the aforesaid God had feveral Drefes, which feveral eminent Men are now employed in making out. Pliny's two floating Islands are not yet found out; but what has not been, may in Time be effected. The learned Perfons who are at prefent in Pursuit of them, conceive they have made a greater Progress towards that Discovery, than the most diligent of their Predeceffors.

Whilft this ingenious Writer is doing Juftice to thefe learned Foreigners, he cannot help difcovering a manifeft Partiality and Prejudice to our own Countrymen, and often infinuates, with a malicious Sneer, their Ignorance or Neglect of these valuable Branches of Learning. He profeffes himself to be an Englishman, that has lived moft of his Time abroad, which must be allowed to be the beft Apology for his Ignorance of the State of Learning among us. I myself am able to furnish out a goodly Catalogue of very learned and profound Inquiries, intirely of British Growth, no whit inferior either in Bulk or Utility to the most elaborate Performances of other Nations. Has he never read or heard of the many useful Difcoveries we have made in the feveral Branches of Learning? Has he never feen a learned Differtation

upon

upon the Antiquity and Ufes of Weather-cocks? Where we have proved to a Demonftration, that though they are much in modern Ufe, they are by no means a modern Invention, but were as antient as the Argonautic Expedition, being invented by Zethys and Calais, the Sons of Boreas, though greatly im proved fince their Time; we have found out, and proved beyond Contradiction, that the Sybarites were the first that laid Rofe-cakes and Lavender among their Linen; and that no less a Person than Sardanapalus was the firft Inventor of Cufhions, and, by confequence, of Squabs and Easy-Chairs, to the great Eafe and Refreshment of the Learned and the Lazy, to all fucceeding Generations; but our most valuable Work is a MS. Treatife de Umbraculis, of the Nature and Ufe of Screens, which, though a very antient and useful Invention, and of a very fimple Nature, has received fuch Improvements from the united Studies and Encouragements of the greatest Men among us, that it may juftly be esteemed one of the most valuable Utenfils, even in the greatest Families, This ufeful Machine was not unknown to the Greeks, who called it 'Emára; and by an Expreffron common among them Κακῶν ἐπικάλυμμα ἔσιν ὃ πλέτο, one would be apt to conclude it was always made of Gold or Silver. But the learned Scriblerus has found out, from comparing antient Authorities, that the true Reading is not me, but Tw; which, as it cannot well be rendered into English, I fhall leave to the Confideration of the Learned, though it feems rather to exprefs the Name of the Inventor, than the Materials of which it is made. Of these the Public may foon expect to fee a very ample and cus

rious Specimen, being the Collection of my much honoured Friend and Kinfman, Jeffery Piddle, Efq; who has been many Years employed in picking up whatever was curious and valuable in every Branch of Literature. I fpeak with the more Confidence of this inestimable Work, because one of the most extraordinary Pieces was communicated to him through my Hands; of which I beg Leave to give your Lordship a fhort History.

The learned and worthy Dr. Trimeter was a Profeffor, and Head of a learned Society; from whom, as a Friend and Relation, I had often received diftinguishing Marks of Affection and Efteem. In a dangerous Illness, that he sent for me, and told me, he had a Secret of great Importance to communicate to me; that he was in Poffeffion of a Piece of Learning, the Labour of fourteen Years, which, he modeftly believed, no Man in Europe was Mafter of but himself; and that he had long determined to put it into my Hands, that it might not die with him, and be irrecoverably loft to Posterity. The Knowledge I had of his great Abilities and ferious Turn of Mind, and the great Gravity with which he expreffed himself, made me conceive, it was fome Roficrucian Mystery, in which Society he had been initiated many Years ago. Sometimes I fancied, he had discovered the Grand Elixir, or fome other Chymical Secret- But he delivered me a little Roll of Paper, with this remarkable Speech. Coufin, (faid he) you are now in Possession of a great Secret, which, when I am dead, you will poffefs without a Rival. It is not easy to conceive the Gratitude and Transport

with which I received this inestimable Depofitum. I
made all the Hafte I decently could, to my Study,
in order to examine the Contents. I double-locked
my Door, fhut up my Windows, lighted up two
large Candles, washed my Hands, and compofed
myself with all the Gravity required of a Philosopher,
and a Student in the Occult Sciences, and then
opened my Packet; and, to my unspeakable Sur-
prize, found it to be nothing lefs than a Critic upon
Wafes Senarius, fhewing, to a Demonstration, that
that Great Man, who was in the highest Reputation
for his critical Knowledge in the Metre of Plautus •
and Terence, had fallen into the common Miftakes of
vulgar Critics and Grammarians; that he had fre-
quently confounded the Anapaftus with the Tribrachus,
and in no less than five several Places, had mistaken
the Bacchius for the Antibacchius, with feveral other
unpardonable Miftakes in the Rules of Scanfion:
Shewing alfo, at the fame time, that the true Scan-
fion is the only infallible Way of ascertaining the true
Reading.-A noble Discovery! But as my Head was
not violently turned to this Sort of Erudition, and I
was unwilling that the Labour of fo many Years
fhould be loft to the learned World, by falling into
vulgar Hands, I made a Present of it to my learned
Kinsman, who will foon make a Present of it, and
fome other Rarities, to the Public, with the fame
Generofity, that I did to him.

The fame great Genius has composed several other
Pieces of equal Use and Value, which I hope to re-
cover, and convey to the Public by the fame Canal.
The first was a little Treatife De Tripode, or, The
Ufes and Antiquity of three-legged Stools; hewing them

to

to be much more useful and antient than the fourlegged or Joint-ftool, in which many curious Points both in History and Philofophy are occafionally dif cuffed. Another, De Mufcipulis; or, A Differtation upon Moufe-Traps; intended as a Kind of Critic upon Mr. Holdsworth's celebrated Poem, fhewing the antient Ufe of them among the Greeks and Romans ; and that he was intirely mistaken as to the Occafion and Manner of their Invention.-I have also seen two Theological Differtations (as he calls them): 1. Upon Gehazi's Leprofy. 2. Upon Judas's Thirty Pieces of Silver. In order to make the firft quite a complete Work, he wrote to a Friend of his, who was travelling in the Levant, to make all the Inquiry he could, whether any Branch of Gehazi's leprous Family were living; and, if poffible, to procure a Twig or two to be fent over at his Expence, which he intended to make a Present of to the College of Phyficians, to be fhewn among their exotic Curiofities whilft living, and afterwards to be preferved in Spirits of Wine, as a perpetual Argument against Infidelity; and a Standing Admonition to Minifters of all Sorts, how they foul their Fingers with Gratuities, Jobbs, and Perquifites, for doing nothing more than the common Offices of Juftice and Humanity. As He was one Day gravely reading his MS. to me, allof a sudden he stopped fhort, and threw himself back in his Chair; and, after a long Paufe, he began as follows: Coufin, (fays he) I have been confidering the Character of this fame Gehazi, and the Office he fuftained under his Mafter. He feems to have been his prime, if not his sole, Minister; for it does not appear, that he fuffered any body to fhare with him in that pretty

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