tifed even on Sundays, fairly gave him the meeting; but after a cuff or two on each fide, received fuch an unlucky dowse in the guts, that down he dropped, and was carried back to his own house for one dead. Now his enemies triumphed, for they all concluded he was effectually done for. However, after keeping his bed for fome time, by the help of a good conftitution, and an able furgeon, he found himself well enough again to venture abroad; which he immediately did, not among his enemies indeed, for he was told that they had yet very dangerous machinations against him, but into a diftant part of his majefty's dominions; a part indeed fo very diftant, that his majefty hath in reality no dominion there at all; where, for feveral years paft, he hath remained in voluntary exile, hoping that time would mitigate the resentment of his enemies, or death, or the juft indignation of his fellow citizens remove them out of his way. But vain, alas! were thefe hopes; for, returning the other day to revifit the dear place of his nativity, he found his enemies as mighty and implacable as ever. His very exile was alledged against him as a fresh crime, and being with all convenient speed apprehended, he was carried by them before a juftice of the peace, and by him, after a long and full hearing, committed to the fhameful durance in which you behold him, there to remain till fuch time as he fhall be difpofed to give his caufe a rehearing; after which, there is all the reafon in the world to apprehend, that a heavy punishment will be inflicted on him. This, fir, ftrange undoubtedly as it muft appear to you, is the real hiftory of the gentleman in the ftocks. As for the crowd of people which you fee gathered about him, they almoft to a man are his friends, and would willingly, in fpite of the conftables, take him out of confinement; but this he endeavours, by all the means in his power to prevent; for being now, he says, legally, however injurioufly, committed, he is determined, like a good citizen, to await with patience the determination of the law. Here the gentleman appearing to have ended his narration, I could not help obferving, that I had all along understood the mob to have been Mr. Periwinckle's enemies, on account of the indignity

They were fo at first, replied he, but compaffion for his many and long fufferings have at laft foftened their hearts; befides, many things have fince happened

Why, really fir, faid I, according to your account of this matter, which from your grave manner of relating it, however ftrange and ridiculous it is in itself, I cannot doubt of being true. Your neighbour, Mr. Periwinckle, hath been

very

very hardly dealt with. But are there not crimes of a truly ferious nature likewise laid to his charge? For a little before I joined you, I heard, if I mistook not, a person accufing him of impurity and blafphemy. O yes, replied he, bursting into a loud laugh, with these likewife has he been charged, and I alluded to them in the course of my narration: but being an utter ftranger to our affairs, to be fure you did not understand me. You will laugh as loud as I when you fhall know what thefe mighty charges amount to. The poor gentleman going one day along the street, and feeling an inclination to make water, turned himself, at a convenient place for that purpofe, against the wall. This, you know, is a very common practice; and fuppofing fome indelicacy in it, yet in a perfon of Mr. Periwinckle's infirmity, for I told you before that he is troubled with an incontinency of urine, the very niceft perfon, provided it is done with decency, might excuse it. Whilft he was in the middle of this bufinefs, a couple of fturdy fellows, hired by the fhew-man to dog him for that or any other bad purpose, laid hold of both his arms, pinioned them down clofe, and by main force turned him about, unbuttoned as he was, expofing his nakedness for a confiderable time to the whole ftreet; and notwithstanding Mr. Periwinckle ftruggled hard all the while to get loose, and even croffed his thighs to conceal that which cuftom hath decreed fhameful to exhibit in public, yet the coundrels had the impudence to spread abroad all over town, that they found him, freely, and of his own accord, making that most shameful exhibition; pronouncing it infamous for any woman whatever to be seen for the future in his company.

This, fir, is the mighty matter which his enemies have to accuse him of in regard to impurity. And as for blafphemy their charge against him upon that fcore is not lefs ridiculous; it being no more than this, that when the fhewman's two bullies broke into his houfe, as I told you before, and feized his papers, they found among the reft a few filly verfes in ridicule of that old game, which poffibly you have often played at in the chriftmas holidays, that of repeating this odd jumble of words "Three blue beans in a blue bladder, rattle, bladder, rattle," without the least hesitation, or variation, three times in one breath and on the whimfical penalty of kiffing fome or other perfon's backfide through a gridiron. Which game because it was invented by a great Romish faint- * * * * * * * * * * ** The fhew-man whofe relations are known to have forfeited three eftates for their bigotted attachment to the Romish religion, was very defirous of getting the verfes compofed in

*

mockery

mockery of it interpreted into blafphemy, and indeed there were many of our parfons, who in expectation of preferment from the favourite, both of whom are very confiderable patrons, gave proots of a moft zealous difpofition to pronounce it fuch. And now, fir, except that he is poor, which I dare fay he is most heartily forry for, and that he has a certain fquint in his eyes, for which it be a crime he hath long time fince fufficiently attoned, having been pilloried for it in effigy, you have heard every thing which malice has to alledge against the gentleman who is the object of your enquiry. Unhappy gentleman! replied I; But pray what fort of people are you in this town, to fuffer a fellow-citizen to be used thus?. why, fir, what would you have us to do? do! O to be fure lay yourselves flat upon the ground for the Scotch fhewman, to pifs on you-you are inclined to be merry, fir,why then, to be ferious, what you should do is this, you fhould

roll him neck and heels in the kennel.-But, fir, the law! the law ay that indeed is a thing to be confidered; but fuppofing that a few of you fhould be fent to Bridewell, and get heartily flogged for fuch a thing, would it not be much better than that all of you fhould be thus infulted and trampled on? for depend upon it, if you fuffer one of your members to be thus treated with impunity, your whole body by and by will in like manner fuffer.-Here interpofed a third perfon, I really think the gentleman is in the right on it, for by making examples of fuch fcoundrels, we fhould take a revenge, which would do honour to our corporation, not only throughout the kingdom, but with all pofterity, and terrify others from attempting in the like manner upon us for the future;

*

This

yes they may talk it, said a person who had not spoken before, but, depend upon it, it will there end. For our people now, brave as they were formerly, have not the leaft fpark of spirit left in them. What with the flackness of trade, and what with the high price of provifions, they are in a manner half-ftarved; and an Englishman can do nothing noble, unless his infide is well lined with beef and pudding. at least is a reproach, which the people of all other nations affix to our countrymen, and from this principle I suppose it hath been that our Scotch t- ever fince he came into power, hath ufed all poffible means, to render beef and pudding invifible amongst us; for if I can keep, might he think within himself, thefe fturdy beggars upon the thin diet of French-men, I fhall render them after a while as abject flaves

flaves as the most flavish Frenchmen of them all. Here he held down his head for a short time, as I obferved did all his companions, in forrowful filence, and then added in a faint voice, for my own part, of ever seeing this town again in a free and flourishing condition from any noble attempt of the people, I abfolutely defpair.---And do you, fir, faid I briskly, then 1 am moft heartily glad that I am not one of the people of your town. I am a native of a far, very far, diftant parish; and for that, left your abominable tyrants fhould take it in their heads to shut their gates upon me, will I with all poffible expedition depart; and thus faying gathered up the reins of my bridle into my hand, made a low bow to the company, set spurs to my horfe, and rode off.

THE POLITICAL BAROMETER.

May 31. Died, the earl of Stamford. He is fucceeded by his eldest fon lord Grey, by which his lordship vacates his feat in parliament, as member for Staffordshire; and John Wrottefly, efq; member for Newcastle-under-line, is candidate for the county: and Dr. Hay is candidate for Newcaftle.

June 3. Two gentlemen took an exact measurement of the ground in St. George's-fields, when they found it upwards of five-hundred yards from the place where the officer and the three foldiers left their ranks to the spot in the cowhouse, in Blackman-ftreet, where the unfortunate young Allen was fhot.

5. Died George Cooke, Efq; joint-paymafter, prothonotary of the court of common pleas, and one of the knights of the shire for the county of Middlesex. Mr. ferjeant Glynn, is candidate for the county. Lord chief juftice Wilmot, has appointed Wm. Manwaring, Efq; prothonotary; and the right hon. Richard Rigby, was on the 10th appointed Sole paymafter, the salary of which is ufually eftimated at 7000l. per annum. The right honourable Mr. Thomas Townshend,who was the other joint paymaster, in confequence of this appointment is now entirely out of place.

9. This morning at eight, Mr. Wilkes was brought from the prison of the King's-bench to the court. The judges came about nine. It had been mentioned the laft term, that a new argument was defired, and that new ground might be taken for the reverfal of the outlawry. At the opening of

the

the court, Mr. Wilkes made a fhort fpeech, that he was perfectly fatisfied with the ftate of the argument, as it was left by Mr. Serjeant Glynn, that he did not mean to quit the firm and folid ground on which it refted, and was perfuaded, from the juftice of the court, that his outlawry must be reverfed. The attorney-general then in fupport of the outlawry entered upon a very long argument, to which no one of Mr. Wilkes's council replied. The judges afterwards delivered their opinions very fully, and were unanimous that the outlawry was illegal, and must be reversed. Their lordfhips differed as to fome reafons, but all concurred in the reverfal, and the irregularity of the proceedings.

The attorney-general then demanded judgment on the two verdicts. Mr. Wilkes defired to avail himself of several points in arrest of judgment. He faid, that when he had the honour of appearing before that court on the 29th of April, he had stated the cafe of the alteration of the records at lord Mansfield's own houfe; that his lordship had replied; but that however his lordship had delivered only his own opinion; and the opinion of one judge, however diftinguished for great ability, was not the judgment of the court, which he defired, and fubmitted to; and begged that his counsel might argue that, and fome other points of importance. Several things were afterwards mentioned by the attorney-general, and by Mr. Wilkes's Counfel. At laft the court fixed the next Tuefday to debate, whether both verdicts ought not to be fet afide on the objections as to the records having been altered, and that the informations were not filed by the proper officer, but by the folicitor-general.

The right honourable the lord Mansfield made a very long and elaborate fpeech on the fubject of Mr. Wilkes's outlawry, and in juftification of his own conduct, which had been the cause of much popular abufe being thrown out againft his lordship.

In the afternoon Mr. Wilkes's counfel and folicitor attended him at the King's-bench prison, and fettled the farther proceedings against lord Halifax, which were suspended by the outlawry.

11. At a meeting of the, to confider of the beft method of applying for an expulfion, the matter was said to stand thus: For the expulfion, dof G, lord Gr, lord Wth, Sir G- -t E-t, lord N. ; against the expulfion, lord C-n, lord S-ne, lord G-y, Sir E-H-ke, G-1 C-y. A-y G-1 was for the expulfion. The S-r G-1 declined being any ways concerned, as an officer of

the