Our old friend of wine and other good things (n). Paufanias here again helps me out (o): "The Andrians fay, that at their annual feaft of Bacchus, wine flows fpontaneous from the temple." In general,, you may obferve, that whenever any eminent perfon becomes famous for a wonder-worker, his fucceffors will always claim to themselves the fame powers and privileges which he was fuppofed to enjoy. Another gift that Bacchus bestowed on his favourites, was to handle ferpents without hurt (p): and another, ftill more valuable, was, that when they were closely confined in the ftrongeft prifons (q), their fetters would fall off, the doors of the prifon open of their own accord, and leave : the Bacchanalians free to purfue, their orgies.. I have now, I truft, completely vindicated myself from the charge of difloyalty to the HEIR APPARENT; and I beg leave to add a few words on the fubject of innuendos. If we go on as we have begun, it will be impoffible for a man to write or fpeak without incur ring the danger of a profecution, either for a private or (η) «Ρεῖ δὲ γάλακτι πέδον, • Ρεῖ δ ̓ ἴνῳ, ῥεῖ δὲ μελεσσᾶν, *Αλλη δέ νάρθηκ ̓ εἰς πέδον καδῆκε γης Καὶ μηδε κρήνην ἐξατῆκ' οἴνου θιός, κ. τ. λ. Fas pervicaces eft mihi Thyadas,, Vinique fontem, lactis et uberes Cantare rivos, atque truncis. Euripid. Bacch. 142. Euripid. Bacch. 142. Lapfa cavis iterare mella.Horat. Carm II 19. 9. (6) Λέγουσι δὲ καὶ Ανδριοι παρὰ ἔτος σφίσιν ἐς τον Διονύσου. Τὴν ἐορτὴν ρεῖν οἶνον αὐτόματον εκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ -Paulan. VI. 26. p. 518. (γ) Όφισι καλεζώσαν το λιχμῶσιν γένων.—Eurip. Bacch. 698. Nodo coërces viperino Biftonidum.fine fraude crines.-Horat. Carm. II. 19. 19. (9) Πέπονθα δεινά διαπέφευγέ μ' ο ξένος, Ὂς ἄρτι δεσμοῖς ἦν κατηναγκασμένος.—Eurip. Bacch. 643. Clauditur in tectis; et dum crudelia juffæ Inftrumenta necis, ferrumque ignefque parantur; Sporte fua patuiffe fores, lap afcu lacertis, Sponte fua fama eft, nullo folvente, catenas.-Ovid. Met. III. 696. N 51 public: public libel. I was amufing myself lately with writing a fet of fables, partly tranflated, and partly original. While the rough copy of fome of thefe fables lay on my table, who fhould come into my garret, before I had time to lock up my papers, but a member of the Crown and Anchor Affociation? You know the cuftom of that gang; they immediately lay hands on all the letters and papers they fee, in order to get fome information for the blood-hounds of the law. My friend, therefore, without ceremony, began reading firft to himself, and then aloud, "The dying lion then faid, "The infults of the nobler beafts I could bear, but it embitters my laft moments to think that I muft patiently fubmit to be kicked by the heel of an afs'.". "This is venomous enough," quoth my friend; "but it is no bufinefs of mine; let Dr. Kipling* take it up, 1 if. * Dr. Kipling is distinguished in the university as an author; ás moderator in the divinity fchools, as a preacher, and as a promoter. His firft debut as an author was in the year 1777, when he published a felection (from Smith's Optics, with a preface of his own. in his preface he tells us, that "the following treatife contains many inaccuracies, and even fome errors, of which the editor was fully fenfible before he fent it to the prefs, but was reftrained from correcting them, by the dread of reprehenfion." This dread of reprehenfion he got over in the year 1793, when his fac fimile of the Beza MS. appeared. To this work he gave also a preface, which, from the numerous errors and bad latinity in it, afforded a great deal of amusement to the unive.fity; and in that place were collected in the following epigram, fome of the more notorious faults in the Doctor's ftyle of writing: Pagin bus noftris dicitis mihi menda quod infunt At non in recto vos puto ego effe viri Nam primum, jurat (cetera út teftimonia omitto) Clafficus haud es, aiunt. Quid fi non fum? in facrofanéta Thefe errors were, foon after the delivery of a great number of volumes to the tubfcribers, pointed out to the learned Doctor, who reprinted the paginibus fheet, inferted it in the books remaining with him, and, where he had an opportunity, removed the offending page in other books. A fufficient number, however, retains the original reading, and the bookfellers confider them as literary curiofities. The univerfity was at the expense of this work, paying for the paper, the types, and the printing, near two thousand pounds. The Doctor is fuppofed if he pleafes."-" Dr. Kipling!" haftily interrupted I. "Ay, Dr. Kipling," anfwered he; "who can mistake supposed to have pocketed about fix hundred guineas; for the original price to fubfcribers was two guineas, and he was permitted to demand three for the copies he had in hand; two hundred and fifty copies were printed. In the arduous undertaking of copying the manuscript, the Doctor very judiciously took a coadjutor, his own fervant, whom he taught to read the work as fluently as himself. Appointed by the Bishop of Llandaff to prefide in the divinity fchools, our Doctor had an opportunity every fortnight of fhewing his claffical and theological abilities; and the perfon, manner, ftyle, and whole behaviour of the new moderator being exactly the oppofite to every thing in his predeceffor, the fchools were foon deferted. At times he was, however, obferved to speak for two or three minutes together, with more than ordinary fluency, and this circumftance exciting attention, the poor Doctor was found out: the fpecch was written down, which he took care to introduce by a queftion to one or other of the difputants, fometimes with, fometimes without reason. As a preacher, he was the champion of orthodoxy, the profeffed defender of our most excellent liturgy. His English sermons were not inferior to his Latin prefaces or fpeeches. With fuch talents, he was defervedly raised to a higher (phere in the year 1793, when he became the head of the Cubics and promoters. At the beginning of this year, Mr. Frend published a pamphlet, entitled, "Peace and Union," which fet the Cubics in a rage, because it ventured to exprefs the neceffity of a reform, in fame points, both in church and state. They met in a body of twenty-feven at the first meeting, at the house of the Vice-chancellor. The Cambridge men are mathematicians, and have no objection to a joke. Twenty-feven being the cube of three, and three being the sacred number, which was to be defended, thefe twenty-feven were named the Cubics of the Trinity, or fimply the Cube, and thence commonly the Cubics. The Cube then affembled at the Vice-chancellor's, elected a committee,, of which our learned Doctor was appointed the head, to fuperintend the profecution of Mr. Freud and thus Kipling's name alone appeared, and he acted as profecutor, which, in the language of the Court, is termed promoter. In this character, he outdid all his other outdoings: his ignorance of the law proceedings was amply compen fated by the favour of the Court, but the victory obtained over their opponent was dearly bought. The conflict was much harder than they expected; and even in that time of alarm, when every effort was made by Administration to reprefent its enemies as Jacobins and levellers, the Cube was in a high degree unpopular. The promoter looked for fomething more than barren honour; but the reward was long delayed. He got nothing till this year, and now only the mastership of the Temple; but fuch talents, fuch orthodoxy, and fuch zeal, cannot long remain without their proper covering, the mitre. We have just heard that the deanry of Peterborough has paved his way to a bishopric. N 6 it 2 it? Mr. Frend, for he is plainly typified by the dying lion, would have been eafy if any decent man had been his profecutor; but he laments that he is expelled at the inftance of fuch an animal as Dr. Kipling. But let that pafs. I have more important matter behind." He then read the next fable: FAB. XXXIX. A STORY OF A COCK AND A BULL. A gay, lively, flippant cock was ftretching out his neck, clapping his wings, and crowing with all his might. His dunghill happened to be near a large piece of water, on the other fide of which he fpied a bull. But, Mr. Editor, here my ftory of a Cock and a Bull must be cut fhort; for if the world fhould die in ignorance of the conclufion, F, like my friend Scrub, am determined to fay nothing, till there's a peace." Suffice to tell, that my friend, before he had got half. through it, could hold no longer. 66 "This," fays he," is a more feditious and dangerous libel than any that Sir Archy has yet picked out, not excepting even the Derby Advertisement.". Where is the harm?"" The harm!" cried' he in a paffion; " is it no harm to caft a flur upon the prefent juft, politic, neceffary, glorious, profitable, and, above all, religious war? If I were not your faft friend, I fhould certainly inform against you; but I fhall content myself with giving an hint of your principles. to Mr. Reeves, who, I warrant, will have a watchful eye upon you." So faying, he departed, leaving me in fuch astonishment, that I had not power to tell him that I would difpenfe with his vifits in future. But if ever he darkens my door again, fay my name is not MYTHOLOGUS. ORGIES OF BACCHUS. PART III.. Bacchus et ad culpam caufas dedit.--- Rumpere, et obductum verbis vulgare dolorem. SIR, VIRGIL. You remember, well what treatment I experienced when I published the First Part of the Orgies of Bacchus. Bifhop Horley called it heretical, and faid that it was a libel on the established Church. Mr. Reeves pronounced it feditious; but added, that the feditious tendency was rather obfcure, till it fhould. be illuftrated by that luminous critic, the Attorneygeneral. It is, I know, generally speaking, childish to pefter the public with perfonal grievances; yet there are cafes, where the welfare of the individual is so closely connected with the common good, that a public appeal may be made with propriety. Whether my cafe comes under this defcription is for others to decide. I have for fome time paft kept a great dog, which was palmed upon me for a true old blood-hound, though I afterwards learned that the whelps of this breed were imported into the kingdom not a century back. This dog of mine has one very odd humour; he barks at every other dog that has not a collar about his neck, and worries him if he thinks himself the ftronger. One day, being grown more than ufually valiant, he began first to teafe, and then to bite, a knot of dogs of an outlandish breed. They fet upon him in concert, and fent him limping home with lofs and difgrace. For my part, I own, I thought, hin, very rightly ferved. Without interpofing in the fray, I ftood a fpectator at a little diftance; when who fhould pafs by, but Mr. Reeves? He called me all manner of names; faid that I had not a grain of patriotifm; that no true Briton would tamely look on, and fuffer an English bull-dog to be roughly treated by forcion |