whimsical affinity to the paradox in them. He wrote verses upon dancing, and prose upon the origin of evil; yet he was a very indifferent metaphysician, and a worse dancer. Ill-nature and personality, with the single exception of his lines upon Johnson, I never heard fall from his lips; these lines I have forgotten, though I believe I was the first person to whom he recited them. They were very bad; but he had been told, that Johnson ridiculed his metaphysics; and some of us had just then been making extemporary epitaphs upon each other. Though his wit was harmless, yet the general cast of it was ironical: there was a terseness in his repartee that had a play of words as well as of thought; as, when speaking of the difference between laying out money upon land, or purchasing into the funds, he said, 'One was principal without interest, and the other interest without principal.' Certain it is, he had a brevity of expression that never hung upon the ear, and you felt the point in the very moment that he made the push.

"It was rather to be lamented that his lady, Mrs. Jenyns, had so great a respect for his good sayings, and so imperfect a recollection of

them; for, though she always prefaced her recitals of them with-As Mr. Jenyns says,' -it was not always what Mr. Jenyns said, and never, I am apt to think, as Mr. Jenyns said. But she was an excellent old lady, and twirled her fan with as much mechanical address as her ingenious husband twirled his snuff-box."

The "Epitaph on Johnson," alluded to above, after all, contains, perhaps, the most accurate estimate of that singular and inconsistent being that has ever been published.

"Here lies SAM JOHNSON :-reader, have a care,
Tread lightly, lest you wake a sleeping bear.
Religious, moral, generous, and humane,
He was; and self-sufficient, proud, and vain ;
Fond of, and overbearing in, dispute;

A Christian, and a scholar,—but a brute."

The following may serve as a specimen of his lighter and more numerous productions.

"When first I sought fair Celia's love,

And every charm was new,

I swore, by all the gods above,
To be for ever true.

But long in vain did I adore,
Long wept and sigh'd in vain ;

She still protested, vow'd, and swore,
She ne'er would ease my pain.

At last o'ercome, she made me blest,
And yielded all her charms ;
And I forsook her, when possess'd,
And fled to others' armis.

But let not this, dear Celia, now
To rage thy breast incline;

For why, since you forgot your vow,

Should I remember mine ?"

CHURCHILL.

THE following tributes to our great English satirist, Churchill, are preserved among the manuscripts of the Rev. William Cole, at the British Museum. They appear to have been copied from the "Cambridge Chronicle," and other prints, about the time of the poet's death.

I.

"Churchill no more! O, cruel Death! 'twas hard

So soon to rob us of our favourite bard;

We should not thus bewail the fatal doom,

Hadst thou but plac'd an equal in his room."

II.

"He's gone! great Churchill's gone! 'tis true,

Yet cease the fates to blame;

Years they allowed him but a few,

But gave eternal fame."

III.

"Prose-driving dunces, waddling fools in rhyme;
Scoundrels of every kind, by vengeance led,
Spit forth your venom, poison all your clime;
Churchill, who scourg'd you to your holes, is dead."

POETRY OF AVERY, ALIAS BRIDGMAN, THE
PIRATE.

AVERY was a native of Plymouth, and called Long Ben, probably from his having exceeded most of his contemporaries in height. Receiving a commission for an expedition from the Spanish government, he lay a considerable time at the Groyne, in company with some other vessels. During this interval of leisure, Avery formed the hazardous design of becoming the merciless plundérer of the ships of all nations; and having succeeded in seducing a sufficient number of seamen to navigate the Charles II. of 44 guns, he sailed as her commander, without the least interruption.

In the course of their voyage, they plundered several Swedish and British vessels on their

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F

way to or from Newfoundland, and afterwards visited the Portuguese island of Santa May, where Avery provided himself with every necessary by stratagem.

Taking advantage of the total ignorance of his character in the settlement, this subtle pirate invited the governor, his lady, and attendants, to an entertainment on board the Charles II., which they accepted; but, in the midst of their pleasures, the unfortunate representative of his Portuguese Majesty received the unwelcome information, that he was expected to supply the ship with provisions and stores, or take the alternative of a trip to the Red Sea. The governor preferred the lesser evil of the two, and sent orders on shore for large quantities of the articles demanded. Those were no sooner received, than Avery restored his hostages to their liberty, who were conveyed to their residence, and the former sailed.

On his arrival in the Red Sea, he endeavoured to procure information respecting a convoy of the pilgrimage to Mecca. While waiting for this purpose, the pirate discovered two vessels, one of which mounted 70 guns, and had a com