[176] Mr. Ing’s eminence does not seem to have been derived from his wit. That the men who drive oxen are goaded, seems to be a custom peculiar to Staffordshire. J.B.
[177] Certainly him. It was published in 1697.
[178] In the Poetical Calendar, a collection of poems by Fawkes and Woty, in several volumes, 1763, &c.
[179] A monument of exquisite workmanship, by Flaxman, is erected in Chichester to Collins’s memory.
[180] It is printed in the late collection.
[181] This charge against the Lyttelton family has been denied, with some degree of warmth, by Mr. Potter, and since by Mr. Graves. The latter says, “The truth of the case, I believe, was, that the Lyttelton family went so frequently with their family to the Leasowes, that they were unwilling to break in upon Mr. Shenstone’s retirement on every occasion, and, therefore, often went to the principal points of view without waiting for any one to conduct them regularly through the whole walks. Of this Mr. Shenstone would sometimes peevishly complain; though, I am persuaded, he never really suspected any ill-natured intention in his worthy and much-valued neighbours.” R.
[182] Mr. Graves, however, expresses his belief that this is a groundless surmise. “Mr. Shenstone,” he adds, “was too much respected in the neighbourhood to be treated with rudeness; and though his works, (frugally as they were managed) added to his manner of living, must necessarily have made him exceed his income, and, of course, he might sometimes be distressed for money, yet he had too much spirit to expose himself to insults from trifling sums, and guarded against any great distress, by anticipating a few hundreds; which his estate could very well bear, as appeared by what remained to his executors after the payment of his debts, and his legacies to his friends, and annuities of thirty pounds a year to one servant, and six pounds to another, for his will was dictated with equal justice and generosity.” R.
[183] We may, however, say with the Grecian orator, ὁτι απολλὑμενος ευφραἱνει, he gives forth a fragrance as he wastes away. Ed.
[184] “These,” says Mr. Graves, “were not precisely his sentiments, though he thought, right enough, that every one should, in some degree, consult his particular shape and complexion in adjusting his dress; and that no fashion ought to sanctify what was ungraceful, absurd, or really deformed.”
[185] Mr. D’Israeli’s remarks on Shenstone and his writings, may be profitably compared with Johnson’s life. See last edition of the Curiosities of Literature. Ed.