ry, as a profeft chymift, and deal in fuch medicines as were most vendible, by the fale of which to the apothecaries, the expence of the houfe was to be defrayed during the operation. The widow was accounted the houfe-keeper, and the doctor and his man boarded with her; to which the added this precaution, that the laboratory with the two lodging rooms over it, in which the doctor and his man lay, was a different wing of the building from that where he and her little daughter, and maid- fervant, refided; and as the knew fome time muft elapfe before any profit could be expected, the managed with the utmoft frugality. The doctor mean time acted the part of a tutor to mifs in arith, metic, latin, and mathematics, to which she discovered the strongeft propenfity. All things being properly difpofed for the grand operation, the vitriol furnace was fet to work, which, requiring the most intenfe heat for feveral days, unhappily fet fire to the houfe; the ftairs were confumed in an inftant, and as it furprised them all in their first fleep, it was a happy circumstance that no life perished. This unlucky accident was 300l. lofs to Mrs. Thomas: yet ftill the grand project was in a fair way of fucceeding in the other wing of the building. But one misfortune is often followed by another; the next Sunday evening, while fhe was reading to and inftructing her little family, a fudden and violent report, like a discharge of a cannon, was heard; the house, being timber, rocked like a cradle, and the family were all thrown from their chairs on the ground. They looked with the greatest amazemen on each other, not gueffing the caufe, when the operator, pretending to revive, fell to ftamping, tearing his hair, and raving like a madman, crying out undone, undone, loft and undone for ever. He ran directly to the athanor, when, unlocking the door, he found the machine fplit quite in two; the eggs broke, and the precious almagamum which they contained was fcattered like fand among the afhes. Mrs. Thomas's eyes were now fufficiently opened to difcern the impofture, and with a very serene countenance fhe told the empyric, that accidents would happen, but means might be fallen upon to repair this fatal disappointment. The doctor, obferving her fo ferene, imagined the would grant him more money to complete his fcheme; but the foon difappointed his expectation, by ordering him to be gone, and made him a prefent of five guineas, left his defperate circumstances should induce him to take fome violent means of providing for himself. Whether deluded by a real hope of finding out the philofopher's ftone, or from an innate principle of villany, cannot be determined; but he did not ceafe his purfuit, and ftill indulged the gelien delufion. He now found means to work upon the credulity of an old mifer, who, upon the ftrength of his pretenfions, gave him his daughter in marriage, and embarked all his hoarded treasure, which was very confiderable, in the fame chimerical adventure. In a word, the mifer's stock was alfo loft, the empyric himself, and the daughter reduced to beggary. This unhappy affair broke the mifer's E heart heart, who did not many weeks furvive the lofs of his cafh. The doctor alfo put a miferable end to his life, by drinking poifon, and left his wife with two young chil. dren, in a state of beggary. But to return to Mrs. Thomas. The poor lady fuffered on this occafion a great deal of inward anguifh; fhe was afhamed of having reduced her fortune, and impoverished her child, by listening to the infinuations of a mad man. Time and patience at last overcame it; and when her health, which by this accident had been impaired, was reftored to her, fhe began to ftir amongst her husband's great clients. She took a houfe in Bloomsbury, and by means of good economy, and an elegant appearance, was fuppofed to be better in the world than he really was. Her husband's clients received her like one rifen from the dead: they came to vifit her, and promifed to ferve her. At laft the duke of Montague advifed her to let lodgings, which way of life the declined, as her talents were not fuited for dealing with ordinary lodgers; but, added fhe, "if I knew any family who defired fuch a conveniency, I would readily accommodate them."-"I take you at your word," replied the duke; "I will become your fole tenant: nay, don't fmile, for I am in earnest, I love a little more freedom than I can enjoy at home, and I may come fometimes and eat a bit of mutton, with four or five honeft fellows, whofe company I delight in." The bargain was bound, and proved matter of fact, though on a deeper fcheme than drinking a bottle; and his grace was to pafs in the houfe for Mr. Freeman of Hertfordshire. In a few days he ordered a dinner fo his beloved friends, Jack and Tom, Will and Ned, good honeft country fellows, as his grace called them. They came at the time appointed; but how furprifed was the widow, when the faw the duke of Devonshire, lords Buckingham and Dorfet, and a certain viscount, with Sir William Dutton Colt, under thefe feigned names. After feveral times meeting at this lady's house, the noble perfons, who had a high opinion of her integrity, intrufted her with the grand fecret, which was nothing less than the project for the revolution. Though thefe meetings were held as private as poffible, yet fufpicions arofe, and Mrs. Thomas's houfe was narrowly watched; but the meffengers, who were no enemies to the caufe, betrayed their truft, and fuffered the noblemen to meet unmolested, or at leaft without any dread of apprehenfion. The revolution being effected, and the state become more fettled, that place of rendezvous was quitted; the noblemen took leave of the lady, with promises of obtaining a penfion, or fome place in the houshold for her, as her zeal in that caufe highly merited; befides fhe had a very good claim to fome appointment, having been ruined by the fhutting up the exchequer. But alas! court promifes proved an ærial foundation, and the noble peers never thought of her more. The duke of Montague indeed made offers of fervice, and being captain of the band of penfioners, the asked him to admit Mr. Gwynnet, a gentleman who had made love to her daughter, into fuch a poft. This he promised, but upon these terms, that that her daughter fhould ask him for it. The widow thanked him, and not fufpecting that any defign was covered under this offer, concluded herself fure of fuccefs: but how amazed was the to find her daughter, whom he had bred in the moft paffive fubjection, and who had never difcovered the leaft inftance of difobedience, abfolutely refuse to ask any fuch favour of his grace. She could not be pre. vailed upon neither by flattery, nor threatening; and continuing ftill obftinate in her refolution, her mother obliged her to explain her felf upon the point of her refufal. She told her then, that the duke of Montague had already made an attack upon her; that his defigns were dishonourable; and that if she submitted to ask his grace one favour, he would reckon himself fecure of another in return, which he would endeavour to accomplish by the baseft means. This explanation was too fatiffactory who does not fee the meannefs of fuch an ungenerous conduct? He had made ufe of the mother as a tool for carrying on political defigns; he found her diftrefs; and, as a recompence for her services, and under the pre. tence of mending her fortune, attempted the virtue of her daughter, and would provide for her on no other terms, but at the price of her child's innocence. In the mean time, the young Corinna, a poetical name given her by Mr. Dryden, continued to improve her mind by reading the politeft au thors. We have already feen that the was addressed upon honourable terms, by Mr. Gwynnet, of the Middle-Temple, fon of a gentle Upon man in Gloucestershire. his firft difcovering his paffion to Corinna, fhe had honour enough to remonftrate to him the inequa- ` lity of their fortune, as her affairs were then in a very perplexed fituation. This objection was foon furmounted by a lover, especially as his father had given him poffeffion of the greateft part of his eftate, and leave to pleafe himfelf. Mr. Gwynnet no fooner obtained this, than he came to London, and claimed Corinna's promise of marriage: but her mother being then in a very weak condition, the could not abandon her in that dif trefs, to die among ftrangers. She therefore told Mt. Gwynnet, that as the had not thought fixteen years long in waiting for him, he could not think fix months long in expectation of her. He replied with a deep figh, "Six months, at this time, my Corinna, is more than fixteen years have been; you put it off now, and God will put it off for ever." It proved as he had foretold; he next day went into the country, made his will, fickened, and died April the fixteenth, 1711, leaving his Corinna the bequeft of 600l. and, adds fhe, "Sorrow has been my food ever fince," Had the providentially married him, fhe had been fecure from the infults of poverty; but her duty to her parent was more prevalent than confiderations of convenience. After the death of her lover, fhe was barbaroufly ufed: his brother ftifled the will, which compelled her to have recourse to law; he fmothered the old gentleman's conveyance deed, by which he was enabled to make a bequer, and offered a large fum of money to any perfon who would undertake to blacken Corinna's character; but wicked as the world is, he found none fo completely abandoned, as to perjure themselves for the fake of this bribe. At laft, to fhew her respect to the memory of her deceased lover, the confented to an accommodation with his brother, to receive zool, down, and 200l. at the year's end. The first payment was made, and diftributed inftantly amongst her mother's creditors; but when the other became due, he bid her defiance, ftood fuit on his own bond, and held out four terms. He carried it from one court to another, till at laft it was brought to the bar of the house of lords; and that being a tribunal where the chicanery of lawyers can have no weight, he thought proper to pay the money without a hearing: The gentlemen of the long robe had made her fign an inftrument, that they fhould receive the money and pay themselves; after they had laid their cruel hands upon it, of the 200l. the poor diftreffed lady received but thirteen pounds fixteen hillings, which reduced her to the neceffity of abfconding from her creditors, and ftarving in an obfcure corner, till fhe was betrayed by a falfe friend, and hurried to jail. Befides all the other calamities of Corinna, fhe had ever a bad ftate of health, occafioned by a furprising accident, fwallowing the middle bone of the wing of a large fowl, being above three inches long. Her uncommon cafe was given into the college of phyficians. Under all these calamities did oor Corinna labour; and it is difficult to produce a life crowded with geater evils. The small fortune which her father left her, by the imprudence of her mother, was foon fquandered: fhe no sooner began to taste of life, than an at. tempt was made upon her innocence. When she was about being happy in the arms of her amiable lover, Mr. Gwynnet, he was fnatched from her by an immature fate. Amongst her other misfor. tunes, fhe laboured under the dif pleasure of Mr. Pope, whom the had offended, and who took care to place her in his Dunciad. Mr. Pope once paid her a vifit, in company with Henry Cromwell, efq. whofe letters by fome accident, fell into her hands, with fome of Pope's answers. As foon as that gentleman died, Mr. Curl found means to wheedle them from her, and immediately committed them to the prefs. This fo enraged Mr. Pope, that he never forgave her. Not many months after our poetefs had been releafed from her gloomy habitation, he took a fmall lodging in Fleet-ftreet, where he died on the third of February, 1730, in the fifty-fixth year of her age, and was two days after decently interred in the church of St. Bride's. Corinna, confidered as an authorefs, is of the fecond rate; she had not fo much wit as Mrs. Behn, or Mrs. Manley, nor had fo happy a power of intellectual painting: but her poetry is foft and delicate, her letters fprightly and entertaining. Her poems were published after her death by Curl; and two volumes of letters which paffed between her and Mr. Gwynnet. Anecdotes of Monf. de Voltaire in his prefent fituation at Fernex in Burgundy, near Geneva. THE following anecdotes are faid to be authentic; it is, however, evident that the collector of them is not an enthufiaftic admirer of the celebrated writer, whom he profeffes to characterize. IN 'N the preface to an ingenious volume, lately published, under the modeft title of Bagatelles, I lately faw the following obfervation, which my acquaintance with Voltaire has truly, too truly verified. "Authors are, in general, the reverfe of all other objects; they magnify, by distance; they diminish by approach; it reminds me of a city built on a hill, and in perfpective; where the towers, the fpires, and lofty parts, are feen with admiration; but, on a nearer approach, we difcover narrow ftreets, little alleys, and offenfive objects perhaps; till we are, at laft, taught to with we never had quitted our firft diftance; and wish, though in vain, to be thus happily deceived, as before." As this great author had ever in his eye, the realizing a proper for tune to retire upon, he has, fomehow or other, accomplished it; for, at prefent, he poffeffes a vaft tract of land in that part of Burgundy properly called the Pais de Gex: which ftretches almost to that gate of Geneva which opens into France, and that part of Switzerland bounding on the fouth-weft fide of the lake. It is plain, by anecdotes delivered to us from Berlin, that, during his long refidence there, and enjoying thofe fubftantialemoluments which that monarch denies even to his deliverers, the military gentlemen, Voltaire at laft fo enraged the king, by perpetual accounts of his mean behaviour; that one thing bringing on another, and joined to a quarrel with the great Maupertuis, then at the head of the academy of sciences in Berlin, Voltaire was difmiffed with a genteel kind of difgrace; being ordered to leave the golden key he wore, and to depart in twenty-four hours. It appeared that out of the am ple allowance of the king of Pruffia, he had remitted every dollar home; though his majetty gave him a more ample penfion than ufual, to juftify his affectionate choice of this bofom friend, by fuppofing he would diffuse it among his fubjects; and thereby gain, if not a fettled, yet a tranfitory kind of popularity. The king lived to find the fallacy of his judgment in this particular, at leaft; and it is well known that this great little man, when the court went into deep mourning on fome near occafion, borrowed of fome friend a fuit that fitted him, rather than be at the expence of making a new one. That he was vexed to be found out (and his good friend Maupertuis took efpecial care to enflame the bill) appears by the fevere couplet or two left on his table, together with the king's picture and clef d'or; the purport of which was: "I received it with affection, As |