The friendship of the tutor and pupil renică animpaired through life; and the former, having obtained the living of Stradishall, through the friendship of James Vernon of Great Thurlow, esq. whose son he accompanied on his travels, had the satisfaction of receiving for many years the long and frequent visits of his first pupil, and of superintending the early education of his eldest son Duncan Forbes, in his own vicinity. In one of his letters to Mr. John Forbes, dated Jan. 14th, 1737, he says; "As to my own affairs, I have "given up with travelling for good and all. Mr Vernon "has offered me a snug little benefice down in Suffolk, "which I am to be put in possession of in a few weeks, "and where I propose to pass the remainder of my days in study and retirement." In another letter to the same person, dated Aug. 15th 1738, he thus describes his situation at Stradishall; "As to my own "affairs which you so kindly enquire after, you know I am fixed here in a 100£. living, with which, "thank God! I am very well content, when I see the misery that people born to no fortunes are reduced to, "when they take it in their heads to through themselves "into the grand monde. The duties of my office are "by no means disagreeable, and the solitude I live in, though sometimes a little irksome, has its conve"niences. If I had books, I want not time; and "I am pleased to find that so long rambling has not "abated my love of study. When I came hither, my "house was in exceeding bad order. I have now fitted "up a parlour, bed-chamber, and closet, to my mind; " and hope to be snug and decent enough next winter.” He was a polite scholar, an ingenious mathematician and philosopher; was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1745, and communicated several papers. He was admitted at Cambridge to the degree of M. A. per Literas Regias in 1748. In 1749 he was presented to the rectory of Kettlebaston, by William Leman, gent. which he resigned in 1760, when he was presented by Edward Vernon, esq. to the vicarage of Great Thurlow. He died in 1774. 66 He was the intimate friend of James Thomson, who gives him the following character in his Castle of Indolence. "Of all the gentle tenants of the place, His publications are, "Genesis Curvarum Newtoni "per Umbras," and a "Life of James Thomson," the poet, which is usually prefixed to his works. In the "Culloden Papers" 4to. 1815, are the following letters by this Gentleman, viz: No. 147. 182. 184. 189. 223. 224. 320. 353. 355. 357. 358. 359. THUS safely low, my friend, thou can'st not fall: Men, woods, and fields, all breathe untroubled life. Description of the Coast at ALDEBURGH. BY THE REV. GEORGE CRABBE, L L. B. The following description of the Aldeburgh coast is from the pen of that truly original poet, the Rev. George Crabbe. In the early part of his life he was a resident here; and consequently was enabled to give a finished picture of the characteristic features of its scenery; and a just delineation of the manners and customs of its inhabitants. Till within the last fifteen or twenty years, Aldeburgh, depopulated and impo verished by the incroachments of the sea, was hastening to complete decay; but several families of late, who wished for a greater degree of privacy and retirement than can be enjoyed in a more fashionable wateringplace, having made this town their summer residence, its appearance has been totally changed. To the deep sands, which formerly led to it, have succeeded excellent turnpike roads; and instead of the dirty clay-built cottages, which gave the place a mean and squalid appearance, are now seen many neat and comfortable mansions, the property and occasional retreat of persons of rank and fortune. The manners and morals of the lower classes likewise are very much meliorated; and it may fairly be presumed, from their general good conduct, civility and decorum, that the improvement of these has been commensurate with that which has of late years taken place in the general appearance of the town. A portrait of Mr. Crabbe was published in the New Monthly Magazine for February, 1816. -CAST by Fortune on a frowning coast, Which neither groves nor happy vallies boast; Nor you, ye poor, of letter'd scorn complain, Lo! where the heath, with withering brake grown o'er, Lends the light turf that warms the neighbouring poor; From thence a length of burning sand appears, O'er the young shoot the charlock throws a shade, Here joyless roam a wild amphibious race, Here too the lawless merchant of the main Where are the swains, who, daily labour done, With rural games play'd down the setting sun ; Who struck with matchless force the bounding ball, Or made the pond'rous quoit obliquely fall; While some huge Ajax, terrible and strong, Engag'd some artful stripling of the throng, And fell beneath him foil'd, while far around, Hoarse triumph rose, and rocks return'd the sound? Where now are these? Beneath yon cliff they stand, To shew the freighted pinnace where to land; To load the ready steed with guilty haste, To fly in terror o'er the pathless waste; Or, when detected in their straggling course, To foil their foes by cunning or by force; Or yielding part (which equal knaves demand) To gain a lawless passport through the land. Here wand'ring long, amid these frowning fields, I sought the simple life that Nature yields; Rapine and Wrong and Fear usurp'd her place, And a bold, artful, surly, savage race: Who, only skill'd to take the finny tribe, The yearly dinner, * or septennial bribe, † Wait on the shore, and as the waves run high, On the tost vessel bend their eager eye; Which to their coast directs its vent'rous way, Their's, or the ocean's miserable prey. As on their neighbouring beach yon swallows stand, And wait for favouring winds to leave the land; While still for flight the ready wing is spread: So waited I the favouring hour, and fled; Fled from these shores where guilt and famine reign, And cry'd, Ah! hapless they who still remain ; • Given by the Corporation at the election of its Annual Officers. + Aldeburgh is one of those mockeries of Representation, that sends two Members to Parliament. |