Sir R. Steele, he computed, by the alteration of the moon, that he had lain three days. When he came to himself, he found the goat lying under him dead. It was with great difficulty that he could crawl to his habitation, whence he was unable to stir for ten days, and did not recover of his bruises for a long time. The other event was, the arrival of a ship, which he at first supposed to be French and such is the natural love of society in the human mind, that he was eager to abandon his solitary felicity, and surrender himself to them, although enemies; but, upon their landing, approaching them, he found them to be Spaniards, of whom he had too great a dread to trust himself in their hands. They were by this time so near, that it required all his agility to escape, which he effected by climbing into a thick tree, being shot at several times as he ran off. Fortunately, the Spaniards did not discover him, though they stayed some time under the tree where he was hid, and killed some goats just by. In this solitude Selkirk remained until the 2d of February, 1709, when he saw two ships come into the bay, and knew them to be English. He immediately lighted a fire as a signal, and, on their coming on shore, found they were the Duke, Captain Rogers, and the Duchess, Captain Courtney, two privateers from Bristol. He gave them the best entertainment he could afford; and, as they had been a long time at sea without fresh provisions, the goats which he caught were highly acceptable. His habitation, consisting of two huts, one to sleep in, the other to dress his food in, was so obscurely situated, and so difficult of access, that only one of the ship's officers would accompany him to it. Dampier, who was pilot on board the Duke, and knew Selkirk very well, informed Captain Rogers, that, when on board the Cinque Ports, he was the best seaman on board that vessel; upon which Captain Rogers appointed him master's mate of the Duke. After a fortnight's stay at Juan Fernandes, the ships proceeded on their cruise against the Spaniards; plundered a town on the coast of Peru; took a Manilla ship off California; and returned by way of the East Indies to England, where they arrived the 1st of Oct. 1711; Selkirk having been absent eight years, more than half of which time he had spent alone on the island. The public curiosity being excited respecting him, he was induced to put his papers into the hands of Defoe, to arrange, and form them into a regular narrative. These papers must have been drawn up after he left Juan Fernandes, as he had no means of recording his transactions there. Captain Cooke remarks, as an extraordinary circumstance, that he had contrived to keep an account of the days of the week and month; but this might be done, as Defoe makes Robinson Crusoe do, by cutting notches in a post, or many other methods. From this account of Selkirk, Defoe took the idea of writing a more extensive work, the romance of Robinson Crusoe, and very dishonestly defrauded the original proprietor of his share of the profits. I conclude this story with Selkirk's observation to Sir R. Steele, only remarking, that it is a proof how apt we mortals are to imagine, that happiness is to be found in any situation except that in which we happen to be. To use his own words, "I am now (says he) worth eight hundred pounds, but shall never be so happy as when I was not worth a farthing." Yours, &c. MR. URBAN, H. D. Dublin, Feb. 25. In the course of a late conversation with a nobleman of the first consequence and information in this kingdom, he assured me, that Mr. Benjamin Holloway, of MiddletonStony, assured him, some time ago, that he knew for fact, that the celebrated romance of Robinson Crusoe" was really written by the Earl of Oxford, when confined in the tower of London; that his Lordship gave the manuscript. to Daniel Defoe, who frequently visited him during his confinement; and that Defoe, having afterwards added the second volume, published the whole as his own production. This anecdote I would not venture to send to your valuable Magazine, if I did not think my information good, and ima gine it might be acceptable to your numerous readers, notwithstanding the work has heretofore been generally attributed to the latter. 1788, March. W. W. XLVI. Anecdotes of the BLencowes. MR. URBAN, Bath, July 2. I HAD the honour to be nearly related to Mr. Justice Blencowe, the father of Mr. William Blencowe, who was the first person to whom government allowed a salary as decypherer; and I will tell you how he obtained it; it was by going to the minister unknown, and, I believe, unrecommended, and asking for it. The minister, surprised, asked him, what pretensions he, a stranger, had to ask such a boon of him? Because, Sir," said he, "I am qualified to execute it." "Can you," said the minister, "then decypher these two letters" (for the want of a decypherer of those letters occasioned the proposed recompence.) Mr. Blencowe soon returned with the letters properly decyphered, and had the employment, and, I think, two or three hundred pounds a year. He was soon after seized with a violent fever, from which no man could have shewn more anxiety to get over, and did so; but soon relapsed, and shot himself, having previously written an inscription for his monument, which I forget, only there was the following singular expression in it-he died, however, satisfied with life.The good old judge, his father, outliving his faculties, conceived that he had found out the longitude, and wrote several reams of paper upon that subject; and his dutiful son, the decypherer, rather than tell his father it was all absurdity, was at the pains of copying all he had written out, fair, to be laid before the parliament. The judge too had bequeathed a considerable part of the reward, in his will, to a sister of mine. Some time before he died, he told his old trusty servant that he was dead, and bid John lay him out. John, who knew his trim, laid him out upon the carpet; and after he had lain as dead for some time, John observed, that he thought his Honour was coming into life again; the Judge thought so too, and soon after arose from the dead. He died, however, in reality, about the year 1726, for I well remember going to see his lead coffin at Brackley. And now, Mr. Urban, let me give you a specimen of his head and his heart before his faculties left him. An old man, who had been a hewer of stones for the Judge many years, lived to be upwards of ninety, and for some years had daily spoiled the stones instead of rendering them fit for use. Lady Blencowe, perceiving it, desired the Judge to conti-' nue him his eight-pence a day, and let him stay at home. "No, no," said the Judge, "let him spoil on; he has a pleasure in thinking he earns his daily bread at fourscore years and ten: but, if you turn him off, he will soon die with grief." And that was the case; for, when the Judge died, he was discharged, and followed his humane and considerate master a few days after. Though this account of Mr. William Blencowe does not tally with Dr. Wallis's exactly, I am confident all the Blencowe family of Marston related it as I have done. 1788, July. Yours, &c. P. T. XLVII. Anecdotes of the Rev. WILLIAM BICKERSTAFFE, from Original Letters. MR. URBAN, As one instance out of many that I could produce in proof of the justice of the character you have given to an old correspondent, I send you a copy of three of his letters, in recommendation of what with him was a favourite scheme, the foundation of a Sunday School. To that foundation, let me add, he subscribed, out of his scanty pittance, the annual sum of two guineas, and stood forth a volunteer teacher. Subjoined is a short history of himself, in a letter to the Lord Chancellor; the substance of one to the worthy master of Emanuel college; another to a private friend; and a specimen of the good old curate's versi fication. Yours, &c. M. GREEN. 1. To Mr. Adjutant Farmer, at the Hall, Ayleston, SIR, Leicestershire. Leicester, Jan.... 1786 As my absence from Ayleston on the common week days makes it an indispensable duty to spend my time, as much as possible, on a Sunday, among the parishioners, and assist them in private as well as in public; I think the method I have adopted very convenient for that purpose. I bring with me bread and butter, and, with half a pint of friend Chamberlain's beer, take an expeditious refreshment before the family dines, and then go out among the cottagers. I might dine, if I chose it, every Sabbath-day, at Mr. Chamberlain's cost; but that would frustrate my designs. I mention these circumstances previously to informing you, respectfully, that I wish to partake of your favours of the table, and Mr. Chamberlain's, not oftener than once a quarter, who am your humble servant, WM. BICKERSTAFFE. 2. To his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELlency, March 14, 1786. The humble Petition of the Inhabitants of Ayleston, Leicestershire, Old England. If the high and lofty-one, that inhabiteth eternity, waiting to be gracious, is accessible to the prayers of miserable sinners; can we doubt that your Excellency will imitate so sublime a pattern, and be so godlike and condescending as to regard our petition, which affords you an opportunity to perform an act well-pleasing to God and man? A charity-school at Ayleston, your Excellency's manor in Leicestershire, is an establishment highly necessary, to prevent barbarism: therefore, your Excellency's bounty in such a foundation is the favour we solicit at the hands of your humanity. May Divine Providence incline you to supply our necessity, and repay the generous deed, by every needful blessing on your Excellency and your illustrious house! There are, at this time, thirty children here, whose parents are unable to give them the least education; and the school-master of the town is declining his employment, for want of proper encouragement, by a competent number of scholars; and then the distress will extend to the whole community. This is a true state of the case, as witness my hand, WM. BICKERSTAFFE, [Signed by fifty-eight house-dwellers in Ayleston.] 3. To the Subscribers for a Sunday-school. MY BRETHREN, Leicester, Sept. 22, 1787. I rejoice over you for this noble instance of a Christian |