He wears an Oxford master's gown; his attention seemingly not directed to manner and behavior, not rude, but negligent, dress cleanly, not neat. He is always visiting the numerous societies of his own forming in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland; though near eighty years old, he reads without spectacles the smallest print. He rises at four, preaches every day at five, and once besides; an uncommon instance of physical ability." pp. 154, 155.

“June 1, 1778. Dr. Price, in his fast sermon on Feb. 10, speaking of the dependence of a nation's safety on righteous men, has the following: There is a distant country, once united to this, where every inhabitant has in his house, as a part of his furniture, a book on law and government, to enable him to-understand his colonial rights; a musket to enable him to defend those rights; and a Bible to understand and practise religion. What can hurt such a country? Is it any wonder we have not succeeded? How secure must it be while it preserves its virtue against all attacks."

p. 192.

Feb. 13. To the Moravian chapel; Mr. Washington, the settled minister, preached from, And being fashioned as a man,' etc. The great point insisted on, as usual, was, that the supreme Deity, the God and Father of all, or to use their own language, the eternal Jehovah, suffered death actually, truly, and properly, in the person of Christ, or was the real suffering, dying being, who expired on the cross.' In the course of these extemporaneous or memoriter effusions, such terms and expressions were used that made my blood more than once almost forsake its channels; in truth, I was astonished and hurt to an extreme degree, and it has caused me to resolve on forsaking this and all assemblies of like over-zealous orthodox tenets.". pp. 234, 235.

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April 29, Sunday. At Essex House chapel, Dr. Priestley preached an excellent discourse; proving beyond contradiction that religion and virtue are the only just sources of true delight and joy, or as he modified the language, of settled, calm serenity of mind. It was a discourse worthy a Christian divine, and happy would those be on whose minds those blessed truths were impressed in indelible characters.” — p. 314.

6

May 2. Attended service at Limehouse church; Dr. Watson, bishop of Llandaff, preached a most excellent charity sermon to a crowded assembly. Bidding prayer was long, catholic, and charmingly delivered; concluding sentence was, Now to the King eternal,' etc., instead of the usual one, 'Now to God the Father, God the Son,' etc. His enunciation is loud, sonorous, and manly, his person robust and tall." VOL. XXXIII. -3D S. VOL. XV. NO. III.

p. 400.
48

There are anecdotes of distinguished persons scattered through the volume, which lend to it a constant interest of a very agreeable character. Mr. Curwen was a good observer, and conveys a clear idea of what he sees by a few touches. He sees Lord North.

"March 29. Good Friday; attended worship at Whitehall chapel, Lord North present. Being disappointed in Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's church, (at the former by the lowness of the reader's voice, at the latter by the service not having begun,) proceeding cityward, just as I came to the gate leading from Parliament-street to Scotland-yard, or Whitehall, who should cross me but a large clumsy gentleman with a blue ribbon across his breast, who, on inquiry, I found was Lord North. Following him into Whitehall chapel, I remained during the service. He is rather above the common height, and bulk greatly exceeding; large legs, walks heavily, manner clumsy; very large featured, thick lips, wide mouth, high forehead, large nose, eyes not lively; head well covered with hair, which he wears high before." - p. 341.

Shelburne.

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London, Jan. 6, 1783. Walked for two hours in the Park ; saw Lord Shelburne for the first time to my knowledge. He is of a middling size and well set; walks strong and springy; his dress a brown frock and boots, with a whip in his hand.”

The King and royal family at Windsor.

p. 363.

Windsor, July 15, Sunday. At St. George's chapel, prayers at eight; present, the King, Queen, Princesses Elizabeth and Sophia, about a hundred hearers; we joined the train to Queen's house, or rather to the gates. The King was dressed in blue fly, cuffs small, open, and turned up with red velvet, cape of same, buttons white, breeches and waistcoat of white cotton, an ordinary white wig with a tail ribbon, a round black chip hat, small, as used in riding. He is tall, square over the shoulders, large ugly mouth, talks a great deal, and shows his teeth too much; his countenance heavy and lifeless, with white eyebrows. Queen of the middle size and bulk, height five feet and a half,-though far removed from beautiful, she has an open placid aspect, mouth large, foot splay :- at prayers their voices often heard, and they appeared devout. They take no state upon them, walk freely about the town with only a lord in waiting. At seven, every evening after tea, the King, Queen, Prince of Wales, Princess-royal, Princesses Sophia and

Elizabeth, walk for an hour on terrace half a mile long, amidst two or three thousand people of all ranks. The Prince of Wales appears a likely agreeable person, far more graceful than his father, who is ungainly. The prince affects much the Jemmy' dress and air; age will doubtless soften down the juvenile taste and affectation. The Queen's dress, a riding habit, same color and facings as the King's -a small bonnet with a blue feather. Conducted to picture gallery and state rooms; in one stands the Queen's bed, of a cream color, worked in flowers with silk floss beautifully shaded, about seven feet long and six wide; posts fluted, and gilt tester, having in the centre an oval compartment, thought to be the richest in England except Lady Clifford's at Wybrook, which was wrought and presented to her by the late Duchess of Norfolk, - twelve chairs and a screen, wrought by her present Majesty's own diligent hand. In the evening on the terrace, the King was in full dress, - blue uniform, sword and cockade; the Prince of Wales the The Queen in faint greenish silk full dress, except her head, on which she had a bonnet with a feather of the same color as her dress." - pp. 319, 320.

same.

Private life of the King.

-

"Feb. 7. At the queen's house with Mr. Hopkins to see the plate, etc.; the first object that struck me was three large maund baskets covered of table plate, as dishes, tureens, butter and sauce boats, all with covers, raised, embossed and engraved. The king's service was silver gilt; the prince's, silver. We also were conducted to the kitchen, where were eighteen male cooks busily employed in their several various lines; the men in white jackets and caps, and the women in white aprons and caps. By a late royal order, no one is to appear in the kitchen with their natural hair. When the king arrives from court at St. James's, (where he attends five days in the week, Tuesdays and Saturdays being the only ones he has in the week for his own private amusements, concerns, etc.,) dinner is called, on which a bustle ensues; the assistants of the silver scullery take such pieces as called for out of baskets, place them on a warm stove, whence they are taken by the cook and filled and taken to dining-room door, and delivered to the person appointed to place them on the royal table. Common dinner, five dishes of meat, four of garden stuffs, aud one remove daily, and no more. He is exceedingly temperate, drinks generally water, and rarely partakes of more than one or two dishes. His supper is watergruel, taken in a vessel peculiarly appropriated to his use, called the king's cup, and is of silver gilt, -- shown me by the

yeoman.

The king's company at table is the queen, prince of Wales, (unless on his public dinner days,) the princess royal, princesses Sophia and Elizabeth; the rest of the children at another table in another apartment. The prince's dinner served up by his proper officers in the same manner as the king's. The queen, unless indisposed, always attends court and levee days; as soon as it is over she returns; immediately dinner is served up without waiting for her husband; a proof of good husbandship."pp. 332, 333.

Mr. Curwen finds Mr. Thompson, afterwards Count Rumford, a little too much of a courtier.

May 24. Went early in order to be at Mr. Benjamin Thompson's in time, and being a little before, heard he was not returned home from Lord George Germaine's, where he always breakfasts, dines, and sups, so great a favorite is he. To kill half an hour, I loitered to the park through the palace, and on second return found him at his lodgings; he received me in a friendly manner, taking me by the hand, talked with great freedom, and promised to remember and serve me in the way I proposed to him. Promises are easily made, and genteel delusive encouragement the staple article of trade belonging to the courtier's profession. I put no hopes on the fair appearances of outward behavior, though it is uncandid to suppose all mean to deceive. Some wish to do a service who have it not in their power; all wish to be thought of importance and significancy, and this often leads to deceit. This young man, when a shop lad to my next neighbor, ever appeared active, good-natured, and sensible; by a strange concurrence of events, he is now under secretary to the American secretary of state, Lord George Germaine, a secretary to Georgia, inspector of all the clothing sent to America, and Lieut. Col. Commandant of horse dragoons at New York; his income arising from these sources is, I have been told, near seven thousand a year a sum infinitely beyond his most sanguine expectations. He is besides a member of the Royal Society. It is said he is of an ingenious turn, an inventive imagination, and by being on one cruise in channel service with Sir Charles Hardy, has formed a more regular and better digested system for signals than that heretofore used. He seems to be of a happy, even temper in general deportment, and reported of an excellent heart; peculiarly respectful to Americans that fall in his way." —— p. 316.

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Aug. 11. After one hour's waiting, admitted to Mr. Thompson in the plantation office; he seemed inclined to shorten the

interview, received me with a courtier's smile, rather uncommunicative and dry. This reception has damped my ill grounded hopes, derived from former seeming friendly intentions to promote my views; this, my first, will be my last attempt to gain advantages from a courtier, of which I never entertained favorable impressions." p. 322.

He is much concerned lest Mr. Adams should not wear a sword, if he should chance to be presented at court. What the event was we do not know; but if we remember right, Copley's full length represents him with that to one unaccustomed thereto most treacherous appendage."

"One of your Massachusetts public ministers, Mr. John Adams, is here in all the pride of American independence; by Mr. Gorham I am told he uttered to him the following speech, 'together with the war he had buried all animosity against the absentees.' Though he is of a rigid temper, and a thorough-paced republican, candor obliges me to give him credit for the humanity of the sentiment, being spoken in private, and to one of his own party, and probably without an intention to be published abroad. In a conversation with my informant, he further replied, that he chose to consider himself as a plain American republican; his garb plain, without a sword, which is carrying his transatlantic ideas, I fear, a little too far. Should he have the curiosity, or his public character render it expedient to attend a royal levee, or at a drawing-room at St James's on a court day, I hope he will not deserve and meet with as mortifying a repulse as our late chancellor, Lord Thurlow, at the court of Versailles; whose surly pertinacity in wearing a bob-wig occasioned his being refused admittance into the king's presence. However frivolous a part of dress soever a sword may appear to one of Mr. Adams's scholar-like turn, he is by this time, I fancy, too well acquainted with the etiquette of courts to neglect so necessary an appendage, without which no one can find admittance out of the clerical line."

p. 394.

We must here close our account of this interesting volume interesting to every reader; but especially so must it be to the few remaining survivors of the period of which it treats; to those more especially still, who, in turning over the pages see everywhere the familiar names of those with whom they were either fellow actors, or fellow sufferers, to whose mind will be vividly recalled the persons, the times, and the events of the era when a nation received its birth.