ry, as a profeft chymist, 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 house-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 the and her little daughter, and maid- fer. vant, refided; and as he knew fome time must elapfe before any profit could be expected, the ma. naged with the utmost frugality. The doctor mean time acted the part of a tutor to mifs in arith metic, latin, and mathematics, to which the discovered the ftrongeft propensity.

All things being properly difpofed for the grand operation, the vitriol furnace was fet to work, which, requiring the moft intenfe heat for feveral days, unhappily fet fire to the houfe; the stairs were confumed in an inftant, and as it surprised them all in their first fleep, it was a happy circumftance that no life perished. This unlucky accident was 3001. 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 the was reading to and inftructing her little family, a fudden and violent report, like a difcharge 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 fe rene countenance fhe told the em. pyric, that accidents would happen, but means might be fallen upon to repair this fatal difappointment. 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 circumftances fhould 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 golden 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 4

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 children, 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 infinu ations of a madman, Time and patience at laft 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 the 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 smile, 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 furprised was the widow, when the faw the duke of Devonshire, lords Buckingham and Dorset, and a certain vifcount, with Sir William Dutton Colt, under thefe feigned names. After feveral times meeting at this lady's houfe, the noble perfons, who had a high opinion of her integrity, intrufted her with the grand fecret, which was nothing lefs than the project for the revolution.

Though thefe meetings were held as private as poffible, yet fufpicions arofe, and Mrs. Thomas's house 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 least without any dread of apprehenfion.

The revolution being effected, and the state become more fettled, that place of rendezvous was quit. ted; the noblemen took leave of the lady, with promises of obtaining a penfion, or fome place in the houthold for her, as her zeal in that caufe highly merited; befides the 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 such a poft. This he promised, but upon thefe 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 most paffive fubjection, and who had never difcovered the least inftance of disobedience, abfolutely refuse to ask any fuch favour of his grace. She could not be prevailed 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 difhonourable; and that if fhe fubmitted 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 fervices, and under the pretence 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 authors.

We have already feen that the was addreffed upon honourable terms, by Mr. Gwynnet, of the Middle-Temple, fon of a gentle,

Mr. Gwynnet no fooner obtained this, than he came to London, and claimed Corinna's promife 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 fhe 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 she, "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, he was harbarously ufed: his brother ftifled the will, which compelled her to have recourfe to law; he fmothered the old gentleman's conveyance deed, by which he was enabled to make a bequest,

and

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 refpect to the memory of her deceafed lover, fhe confented to an accommodation with his brother, to receive zool. down, and 200l. at the year's end. The firft payment was made, and diftributed inftantly amongst her mother's creditors; but when the other became due, he bid her defiance, flood 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 houfe 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 gentle men of the long robe had made her fign an inftrument, that they fhould receive the money and themfelves; after they had laid their cruel hands upon it, of the zool. the poor diftreffed lady received but thirteen pounds fixteen fhillings, which reduced her to the neceffity of abfconding from her creditors, and ftarving in an obfcure corner, till he 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 furprifing accident, fwallowing the middle bone of the wing of a large fowl, being above three in ches long. Her uncommon cafe was given into the college of phyficians.

pay

Under all thefe calamities did poor 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: she no fooner began to taste of life, than an at, tempt was made upon her inno. cence. When the was about be. ing happy in the arms of her amiable lover, Mr. Gwynnet, he was fnatched from her by an immature fate. Amongft her other misfor. tunes, the laboured under the dif pleafure 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 anfwers. 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 for, gave her.

Not many months after our poetefs had been released from her gloomy habitation, he took ? 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 authore fs, is of the fecond rate; the 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 entertain ing. Her poems were published after her death by Curl; and two volumes of letters which paffed between her and Mr. Gwynnet.

Anec