Solomon is under-tenant to a Bishop's leafe: He is bound by articles to his Lordship to renew and pay a fine, whenever the Bishop renews with his landlord, and to raife his rent as the landlord fhall raise it to the Bishop. Seven years expire: Solomon's landlord demands a fine, which he readily pays; then afks for a leafe: The landlord fays, he may have it at any time. He never gets it. Another feven years elapfe: Solomon's landlord demands another fine, and an additional rent: Solomon pays both; afks to have his leafe renewed: The fteward anfwers, he will speak to his master. Seventeen years are elapfed: The landlord fends Solomon word that his leafe is forfeited, because he hath not renewed and paid his fines according to articles; and now they are at law upon this admirable cafe.

It is Solomon's great happiness, that, when he acts in the common concerns of life against common fenfe and reason, he values himself thereupon as if it were the mark of a great genius, above little regards or arts, and that his thoughts are too exalted to defcend into the knowledge of vulgar management; and you cannot make him a greater compliment than by Ff4 telling

telling inftances to the company, before his face, how careless he was in any affair that related to his intereft and fortune.

He is extremely proud and captious, apt to refent as an affront and indignity, what was never intended for either.

He is allured as easily by every new acquaintance, especially among women, as a child is by a new play-thing, and is led at will by them to fufpect and quarrel with his best friends, of whom he hath loft the greatest part, for want of that indulgency which they ought to allow for his failings,

He is a generous, honeft, good-natured man; but his perpetual want of judgment and difcretion, makes him act as if he were neither generous, honeft, nor good-natured.

The person above-mentioned, whom he lampooned, and to whom he owes his preferment, being in the country and out of order; Solomon had appointed to come for him with a chaife, and bring him to town. Solomon fent him word that he was to fet out on Monday, and did accordingly, but to another part of the kingdom, thirty miles wide of the place appointed, in compliment to a lady who was going that way; there ftaid, with her and her family, a month, then fent the chaife, in the midst

of

of winter, to bring the said perfon, where Solomon would meet him, declaring he could not venture himself for fear of the froft: And upon the faid perfon's refusing to go in the chaise alone, or to trust to Solomon's appointment, and being in ill health; Solomon fell into a formal quarrel with that person, and foully mifreprefented the whole affair to juftify himself.

Solomon had published a humourous ballad, called Balyfpellin *, whither he had gone to drink the waters, with a new favourite lady. The ballad was in the manner of Mr. Gay's on Molly Mogg, pretending to contain all the rhymes of Balyfpellin. His friend, the perfon fo often mentioned, being at a gentleman's houfe in the neighbourhood, and merry over Solomon's ballad, they agreed to make another, in difpraise of Balyfpellin-wells, which Solomon had celebrated, and with all new rhymes not made use of in Solomon's t. The thing was done, and all in a mere jeft and innocent merriment. Yet Solomon was prevailed upon, by the Lady he went with, to refent this as an affront on her and himself; which he did accordingly, against all the rules of reason, taste, + Ibid. p. 237.

* See Vol. XIV. p. 233,

good

good-nature, judgment, gratitude, or con

mon manners.

He will invite fix or more people of condition to dine with him on a certain day, fome of them living five or fix miles from town. On the day appointed he will be absent, and know nothing of the matter, and they all go back disappointed: When he is told of this, he is pleased, because it fhews him to be a genius and a man of learning.

Having lain many years under the obloquy of a high Tory and Jacobite, upon the prefent Queen's birth-day he writ a fong, to be performed before the Government and those who attended them, in praife of the Queen and the King, on the common topics of her beauty, wit, family, love of England, and all other virtues, wherein the King and the Royal Children were fharers. It was very hard to avoid the common topics, which were mentioned in abundance. A young collegian, who had done the fame job the year before, got fome reputation on the account of his wit: Solomon would needs vie with him, by which he loft all the esteem of his old friends the Tories, and got not the leaft intereft with the Whigs; for they are now

too

too ftrong to want advocates of that kind: And therefore one of the Lords Juftices, reading the verses in fome company, faid, "Ah, Doctor, this fhall not do." His name was at length in the title-page; and he did this without the knowledge or advice of one living foul, as he himself confeffeth.

His full conviction of having acted wrong, in a hundred inftances, leaves him as pofitive in the next inftance as if he had never been mistaken in his life: And if you go to him the next day, and find him convinced in the laft, he hath another inftance ready, wherein he is as pofitive as he was the day before.