member I owed an excufe both to you and Lady Abney. Dear Doctor accept it, and present it to her ladyship, and Mifs Abney, with all poffible affurances of my fincere gratitude and affection to both. Rejoice that you were honoured as the inftrument of fo much good to the great and pious man, whom God has fuffered to fall among the firft facrifices to this vile rebellion, and go on to do that by your prayers which this truly chriftian hero was not able to effect with his fword. One thing only I must add, which is, that Mr. Tinon, the bookfeller at Amfterdam, defires you to write a fhort preface, to be tranflated into Dutch, and prefixed to my works, vouching for their orthodoxy, without which, he tells me, people will be afraid to read them. Rejoice, dear Doctor, in your own high reputation in this respect, and (while you have it) use it in favour of your poor afflicted friend, and much obliged humble fervant,

P. DODDRIDGE.

P. S. Please to fend the Teftament speedily to Mr. Lengueville, who thinks it will be better than an abstract from the letter in which you spoke fo kindly of me.

My wife and many friends here present their beft fervices. We long to hear how you do,

and what you think of these times. I am not without hopes that these general armaments may fave our country, and therefore have judged it my duty to promote them to the utmost of my little ability and interest. I hope God is awakening our nation in mercy, we had almost slept ourfelves to death.

From

From Lord BARRINGTON to Dr. WATTS.

LETTER I.

REV. SIR,

Gerard-freet, July 8, 1721.

I AM obliged to you, that you would take

the trouble to acquaint me with Mrs. Oakes's dif trefs; and the rather, because you have been the first from whom I have learned the deplorable ftate of her affairs: fhe has never acquainted me with them herself, nor by any other friend than by you. She fent to me, indeed, to defire me to lend her two guineas to buy fome tea in order for fale, fhe having been disappointed in fome monies the expected to receive, which I refused her. But instead of acquainting me or any of our family with her neceffities, fhe and her daughter feemed rather to conceal them. I know not what she has faid to you to induce you to use some expreffions in your letter. But you fee by this, how little my honour, as you exprefs yourfelf, can be really touched by her difficulties, whatever they be: fince she has not thought fit to acquaint me with them, till I received the favour of yours. And, though I do not doubt but Sir Thomas Abney, on his notifying of her extreme want to you, took care

to relieve her, yet, fince I received yours, I have fent her fomething for immediate relief.

I have been always defirous to relieve her fince her husband's death in the most effectual manner. I thought that would not be by my allowing her a penfion, or ufing any intereft I could, or fhe could with other friends to do the like, imagining they would be foon weary of it; but rather to raise a fum of money to put her in a way to maintain herfelf. She told me Sir Thomas Abney was of the fame opinion, and thought that her felling tea, coffee, &c. would be a proper way for her to engage in, and would concur with me in helping her to a fum of money to fet her up. I defired her to tell Sir Thomas I would give my proportion, and defired him to name. She told me he faid I must name first. After that I named twenty pounds; she then told me Sir Thomas faid I must pay it before he would give any thing. I told her I was willing to give my money, but thought it would be of no use unless Sir Thomas would give in proportion, becaufe I knew if I did, it would be money flung away for twenty pounds would not be fufficient to lay in a ftock to fupport a trade, but fifty pounds would. However, the afterwards told me that Sir Thomas would not do any thing, nor say what he would do, till I had paid the money. In confidence that a proportionable al

lowance

lowance would have been made by that family,

I

gave her my money; twenty pounds fhe had from me. She had a great deal before. She had alfo five pounds, I think, from my brother Bendysh, and five pounds they procured her from another friend. And I must say, that I take the lofs of all this money, befides credit that I have given her for fix pounds of tea, and five pounds fince my brother Bendysh has advanced her, to be all owing to her not having that proportionable fupport that induced us all to give her what we have.

She is my relation, but neither the nor any of her family have pretended much friendship or good-will to me or mine. Her and their friendships have been much more elsewhere than with us. I do not think this a reason for me to abandon her in her distress: but, fure, this is a very ftrong reason for others not related to her in blood, to co-operate with me in fupporting her and my uncle Grey. I am fure my family have fuffered a great deal more by that family than Sir Thomas Abney's has done; and I neither have been, nor am wanting to my uncle Grey nor to Mrs. Oakes.

I like the scheme you propofe in relation to Mrs. Oakes's family very well, and fhall be very ready to contribute my share and proportion to it