A Letter from Denmark, to Mr. NiCHOLS, Frinter of The Gentleman's Magazine, by the Rev. Sir HERBERT CROFT, Bart. respecting an unprovoked Attack made upon him during his Absence from England.

"THE AUCTHOURE OF THE PIECE WHICH WE ENACTE,

ALBETTE A CLEROYON, TROUTHE

WYLL WRYTTE.

Chatterton's Prologue to Goddwyn.

MY HONEST FRIEND, MY FAULTE HAS BELNE

TO SERVE GODDE AND MYE PRYNCE." Chatterton's Briftowe Tragedie.

I *

DEAR SIR, ***** CANNOT be expected, by any man of honour or feeling, to defcend to anfwer a fcurrilous *** perfon, figning himfelf Robert Southey, in a letter fent to me here by a friend. You, fir, have a gentleman's mind, and one always friendly to literature. Be pleafed to reprint in your Magazine, Mr. S.'s letter (that it may never be faid I garbled his correfpondence as he has mine), along with thefe remarks upon it; and to let a line be written to Mr. S. informing bim you have done fo. This I particularly request, though he thought it juft and gentlemanly to addrefs his letter to the Editor of the Monthly Magazine; and to print and circulate it as a handbill, I am informed, in coffeehoufes and public places, without any communication of it to me, or any friend of mine; at a time he knew I had been for three years out of the kingdom; and precifely at the moment (December) when the froft interrupts all communication with the north of Europe.

1

On an abufive writer, fo little acquainted with the common rules of juftice, I shall never make any further remarks than these ; whatever may come from his pen: unless he should lay any FACTS before the Publick. But I demand of him, what I prefume even this Mr. Southey will not DARE to deny me, that he print, in his edition of Chatterton (whofe little finger I have ever reverenced, more than Mr. Sonthey knows how to refpect the poor boy's whole body), his unjust attack upon me in my abfence; and my remarks upon it, the moment I faw it; and any further fcurrility, with which he may be pleased to honour me. I learn fo much of Mr. Southey's juftice from his abuse, that I thould be afhained of myself, were this perfon ever to difgrace me by his praife; which might happen, did he with to gain money, or fame, by becoming the officious editor of my works. Befides, if Pope were talking of fuch Epic Poets as Blackmore, inftead of the eternal race of fools, I would apply to the author of Joan of Arc two lines, in the Prologue to the Satires, I think

"A fool, quite angry, is quite innocent: Alas! 'tis tentimes worfe when theyrepent:"

The following is what Mr. S.'s ideas of juftice have circulated with uncommon induftry. The Italics are Mr. S.'s own. In this cafe they might be fuppofed to take their name from the Italian ufe of the Stiletto,

The circumftances of the FAMILY of

CHATTERTON, and the treatment they have experienced, are detailed in the following Letter, which was printed in the Monthly Magazine for November, 1799.

"To

"To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine: [Motto, humbly fubmitted to Mr. Southey's better judgement"Whatte woulde I doe? I furious woulde him flee;

His deathe a means unto my life fhulde bee." Chatterton's Goldwyn.

"In Atriving to flee him, ourselves we flee." Id.]

"Sir, As a fubfcription edition of all CHITTERTON's remains is about to be published for the benefit of his fifter and niece, I beg leave, by means of your Magazine, to invite the public attention to thofe circumstances which render this act of justice neceffary.

"It might have heen supposed that the intereft which the fate of Chatterton excited in the public mix, would, in fome meafure, have fupplied his lofs to his famly, by procuring for them active and benevolent friends. The publication of all his works for their emolument would at that time have fecured to them the com. forts of life. Your readers, fir, probably will learn with furprize, that the whole fum they have ever received from the profits of his productions, amounts only to feventeen guineas and fixpence. In this I do not include the voluntary affiitance of thofe individuals on whofe juftice they had no claim. They remember with gratitude the kindness of Dr. Glynn, of Mr. Bryant, above all of Mifs Hannah More and her fitters.

"The papers and poems attributed to Rowley, had been procured from Chatterton, during his life time, chiefly by Mr. Barrett and Mr. Catcott. The poems were purchased for fifty pounds, of which fix guineas were given to the mother and filter. A great part of Mr. Barrett's Hiftory of Brittel is compofed of Chatterton's communications; the only return the family ever received from him was his furgical affiance, pratuitoufly afforded to the fifter, Mis. Newton, once in a complaint of the breaft, once in curing a whitlow on her finger.

"When Chat erton was more particu Jarly the object of public curiosity, a clergyman called upon his fifter, prefented her half a guines, and requested to fee whatever letters of her brother she had preferved. She produced them. He then begged permition to take them away for one bour, affigning as a reason, that it would be too painful to his feelings to read them in the prefence of that fitter, to whom they were addrefíed. On the fame pretext he procured the letters in Mrs. Chatterton's poffeffion, who lived feparately from her daughter; thefe alfo, he promised to return in an bour, and the prefent of a guinea, and the language of confolatory friendship prevented all fufpicion; indeed, fo confolatory and fo full of religion was his lan

guage to the mother, that the faid the almoft looked upon him as a guardian angel.

"A fortnight elapfed, the letters had not been returned, and they knew not the name of the perfon to whom they had entrufted them. At the end of the fortnight Mrs. Chatterton received a letter from that perfon, Mr. H-C-. "Be not alarmed, Mrs. Chatterton," he said; " all the little treafure shall be faithfully returned to you again;" with the originals he promised to fend tranfcripts of all the let ters, with which the curiofry of strangers might be gratified, while the hand-writing of Chatterton fhould be preserved. He again confoled Mrs. Chatterton for the fate of he fon." Perhaps," faid he," he now beholds with pleafure the deferved progrefs his reputation is making every day, and the friends and the affiftances which his name brings to yon and to his fifter:" the date of the letter was Lincoln's-Inn, July 27th, 1778.

"In a fecond letter, August 24th, 1778, Mr. C requested the fifter to write to him, whatever the and her mo. ther could recollect, concerning Chatterton, "Believe me you are writing to one who refpects his memory, and withes you both well; the promife of returning the letters and magazines containing Chatterton's pieces, which he had borrowed at the fame time, were repeated; and in the course of the Autumn they were accordingly returned. Nothing more was heard till in the following July, to the aftonishment of the family, Mr. C― published the let ters, and the information he had obtained from Mrs. Newton, in his Love and MADNESS. The mother wrote to him and upbraided him for duplicity; he replied, by feading ten pounds, to be divided between her and her daughter; again profelling friendship for them, and saying, "Be affured the family of Thomas Chatterton hall never be forgotten by HC-"

"Four months afterwards he again wrote to justify himself, and ufed thefe expreflions, "What has been done was with a view to pave the way for services to your family; and I hope, fooner than you think, to be of more fervice to you than any person who has hitherto enquired a bout your fon, for I have a true regard for his memory."

"In November 1780, he wrote a fifth letter, defiring Mrs. Newton would fend him a particular account of her circumftances, as he was about to promote a public fubfcription for her; and in April 1781, they received a note from him, requiring an acknowledgment of the ten pounds.

"Here Mr. C- dropt his correfpondence with the family; they heard no more of the future fervices and the public fubfcrip.

tion. His Love and Madness had a great and rapid fale, undoubtedly in a confiderable degree owing to the letters of Chatterton; and his purpose was served. Luckily Mrs. Newton preferved his letters. In 1796, the was advised, by a gentleman to whom he had thewin them, to write to Mr. C-; the following is a copy of her letter.

"SIR, The name of Chatterton is, perhaps, yet familiar to your memory. She to whom he was endeared by the tender ties of nature, and who contemplating his many virtues, would remember his errors no more, begs leave to address you with reference to your profeffions of attachment to the remainder of his family. Several years have now elapfed fince you obtained of me his unpublished papers, and communicated them to the world. The difquietude 1 might have felt at fuch a tranfaction, was removed by an apprehenLon, that while you interested yourself, you would render confiderable affiftance to me. The popularity of the concern was an adequate ground for my expectations, which were heightened by the refpectability of your connections in life. Juftice to my fituation would long fince have compelled me to addrefs you, but have been, till a few days patt, unacquainted with your refidence. If any thing in my favour he practicable, to which I trust you will not be indisposed, your early attention will greatly oblige, Sir, Your obedient humble fervant, MARY NEWTON. "H—C—, Efq. Portman Square,

London, June 19th, 1996.

"As no answer was returned, a fecond letter was addreffed to Mr. C-.

"Reverend Sir, a former letter of mine, addreffed to you under the appellation of H-C-, Efq. may probably have reached your hands; the fame motive which urged me to engage in that, induces me to trouble you with this, and I again folicit your attention to the remainder of the family of Chatterton. Juftice to myself, as I before oblerved, was the reafon of my forming the application, on which I had the fatisfactory judgement of fome very refpectable friends. As the fubject of obtaining my brother's papers has of late been particularly investigated here, I trust you will not fuffer an occafion for public cenfure, in a matter where my feelings are confiderably interested. I am, reverend Sir, your obedient humble fervant, “August 4, 1796.

་་

MARY NEWTON,

"Mr C's answer was as follows.

"Mrs. Newton's letter of August 4, is Tent to me here; she is either ill-advifed, or the has not told her advifers the money which I gave her, when I had the copies of the letters, and afterwards. The fort of threatening letter which Mrs. Newton's is, will never fucceed with me; but if the

"Exmouth, Devon, September 1, 1796.

"The money Mr. C alludes to, is the guinea given to Mrs. Chatterton, and the half guinea to her daughter, when he borrowed the letters for an bour, and the ten pounds tent after be had published them.

"Mr. Chas heen privately addreffed upon the fubject, without effect; his conduct is now made public, in the hope that general liberality may be excited by general indignation.

"The mother of Chatterton died in poverty; the fuffered three years with a cancer, and, till i er death, experienced the kindness of the Mifs Mores. Mrs. Newton fupports her felf by teaching children to read; he is now advancing in years, and her fight begins to fail. She is a widow with one daughter. It is hoped thas the profits of the propofed publication will render her old age comfortable.

"The edition will comprize whatever Chatterton left. Mifcellanies, the pieces attributed to Rowley, and the letters publifhed by Mr. C-; fome unpublished poems have been procured, and fome Magazine pieces which had escaped the collector of the Mifcellanies. Dr. Gregory has promifed to adapt the life of this extraordinary young man to the work; it will make two octavo volumes. The price fixteen fhillings, the money to be paid on de livery. Mr. Kearsley receives fubfcriptions. The edition will be under my direction, and every care fhall be taken to render it correct and complete.

"ROBERT SOUTHEY.

ations of the living and of the dead;" as I faid, in my Life of Young, more than 20 years ago. When I had read to Johnfon as far as thefe words, of which the bookfellers' edition in 1791 makes nonfenfe, he stopped me with "Yes, fir-and, if you quit Jones's bar" (the great Sir William)" for the church and literature, as Bithop Lowth advites yon, it is probable you will be taught the truth of your own reflexion, by literature, long before you are my age."

What appears from this paper by Mr. Southey; i. e. what its lite rary author, in the fervour of compofition, and in his officioufnefs to be the Editor of Chatterton, plea fes to ASSERT; I will fubmit to collect. Innocence would lefs often fall a prey to villainy, if it boldly met the whole of a nefarious accufation in its blackest colours. I defy the heart even of Mr. S. to heighten what I fhall tranfcribe from him. But he will allow me to remind him that his

rival Chapelain, in the 9th book of Pucelle ou France Delivrée, chofen by Mr. S. for his epic fubject, fpeaks of a devil, according to Mr. S.'s own account, "the moft mifchievous of all the tribe, whofe body is made of nothing but ears and eyes." This gentleman feems to have lent his friend, Mr. S. in my cafe, all his cars and not one of his eyes. I wonder much Mr. S. did not catch from his friend rather different ideas of republicks and revolutions, fince the patriot Mr. S. tells us, after Chapelain, that "the great devil was grievoufly troubled, when he learnt, from Lis agents, the fuccefs of France. Even in the flames of Hell, he felt his SOUL SHIVER." Joan of Arc, ed. 2. vol. I. p. 63, 5.

But I must keep my word, and arrange the great Mr. S.'s abufe of me (for he writes profe fomewhat like bad poetry, and poetry fomewhat like bad profe), however it may make мY foul fhiver.

I fhall arrange it under different heads,

1. That I was a clergyman (not an atheist, nor a follower of pantif cracy), when I robbed Chatterton's family, in the curious way Mr. S. pretends: though Mrs. N. addreffed her letter 1796, as Mr. S. prints it, H. C. Efq.

2. That, though I voluntarily gave both the mother and fitter money, I made handles of confo lation and religion; and impofed upon them by lies: in order to ess ecute my well-planned robbery of half a dozen letters.

3. That, though I voluntarily. wrote to them in a few days, and acknowledged the ftolen property, I ftill meant to retain it.

4. That, though, in Auguft 1778, I performed every thing; which Mr. S. feems to ftate, from my letter of the preceding month, as promised without ever being performed I, ftill, was fuch a CLERICAL rob ber as he describes.

5. That I completed the robbery, by printing the half dozen letters, making the whole, or the greater part, of my work, (would not any one fuppofe fo); though the book, in which thefe letters, to ferve Chatterton and bis family, fill a few pages, contained more matter than two common volumes.

6. That the mother wrote to me. and upbraided me with duplicity (not very intelligible, in any fente; but, poeticè, for villainy) to which charge I replied by fending 10l.

7. That, four months after, without any apparent reafon for a robber's continuing fuch a correfpondence, I" again wrote to justify my Jelf" (my italics); where, by flipping in the word again, an epic poet afferts, without showing any fuch thing, that I had juftified my felf, before, from a charge, the hinting of which would certainly have prevented my ever fending the fol.

8. That, Nov. 1780, I wrote Mrs. N. a 5th letter, which fays I

was

was "about to promote a public fubfcription for her ;" and the author of Botany-Bay Eclogues, by printing public fubfcription in italics, KNOWS, that he meant to accufe me of having begun and RECEIVED the fubfcription, which I was "ABOUT to promote."

9. Finally, as ** they heard no more of the future fervices and the public fubfcription" (Mr. S.'s italics) the mother of Chatterton died in poverty, after fuffering three years with a cancer" and Mrs. N.'s fight is beginning to fail" while the immaculate, religious, patriotic, and PANTISOCRATIC Mr. S. inftead of writing one word, from September 1796 to October 1799, "what Chatterton's relations confift of," after an interval of almoft 20 years (as I defired), makes my condučł public, keeping his doing to concealed from me; accufes me of having "ferved my purpose" by the means with which I have been forced to foil my paper; and "hopes" (I believe the gentleman) that general liberality" (towards a work which he and his connexions are going to edite, print, and publifh) may be excited by general indignation."

In governments purely pantifocra tical, i. e. LEVELLING, fuch a reafoner and fuch a gentleman would be referred to Johnfon's indignant anfwer to Macpherion, which fays, that "he carried a ftick to repel infult; after which, the law fhould do for him, what he could not do for himself." But I am a clergyman ; as Mr. S. remembered, when he held fuch language and published it in fuch a manner. On my return to England, it is poffible I may fee whether the law can do for me what it would not become me to do for myfelf. In the mean time, I will difpofe of the good fenfe of Mr. S.'s fcurrility under thefe nine heads.

1. Mr. S. very well knows his motives for making fuch a character, as he reprefents me, a cler yman, before I actually was one,

Our country and all countries are in the fituation in which we fee them, becaufe fuch lurking attacks upon religion and government have not been openly met and repelled. If Mr. S. will fay he does not underftand me, or will deny the fact, I can tranfcribe various paffages from his Epic Poem, that confirm my veracity and his artifice. All I know of him is from fome of his writings, and, from an hiftorical note about him in the last dialogue of the Pursuits of Literature, 1. 398. But I appeal to thofe whofe good opinion I value, whether I might not have run a chance at leaft of being treated a little better by Mr. Southey, had my principles been republican, or had I been a diffenter from the religion of my country, or of no religion at all.

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Surely, Mr. S. under each of these heads, anfwers himfelf. But there are ftill other anfwers to this unblushing accufer, which are fo obvious that perhaps fome of his readers will bluth, if I fhould prefent them here to their minds for the first time.—It is more poffible that Rowley exifted, than that an artful man could be FOOL enough to affign fuch a reafon as Mr. S. mentions, or that both the mother and daughter could be weak enough to be fo robbed.-An hour, and which of course an artful man might have extended to two hours, would have been fufficient to copy eight letters; and, then, no fur ther intercourse would have been neceffary.-But innocence generally finds its beft defence, in the folly of its accufer; though thofe, who enjoy the accufation, without confidering what may next happen to themfelves, feldom have wisdom enough to pick it out. "A fortnight elapfed, the letters had not been returned, and they knew_not the name of the perfon to whom they had entrusted them." Could I have been fure that every reader would mark these words, or had they been honoured by Mr. S.'s fkilful italicks, I thould never have

taken