Roused to devotion in a sprightly air, Dull, doleful diapasons die away; Sleep spreads his silken wings, and, lull'd by sound, Cary, probably in a letter sent after Chatterton to London, had objected to this as too partial to Allen, and as unfair to Broderip. Chatterton, premising that he believes" there are very few in Bristol who know what music is," defends his comparative estimate of the two organists, and reiterates his praise of Allen in strong terms, and his contempt for his rival. “I am afraid, my dear friend," he says, "you do not understand the merit of a full piece; if you did, you would confess to me that Allen is the only organist you have in Bristol.” He then continues : "A song of mine is a great favourite with the town, on account of the fulness of the music. It has much of Mr. Allen's manner in the air. You will see that and twenty more in print after the season is over. I yesterday heard several airs of my Burletta sung to the harpsichord, horns, bassoons, hautboys, violins, &c., and will venture to pronounce, from the excellence of the music, that it will take with the town. Observe, I write in all the magazines. I am surprised you took no notice of the last London. In that and the magazine coming out to-morrow are the only two pieces I have the vanity to call poetry. Mind the Political Register. I am very intimately acquainted with the editor, who is also editor of another publication. You will find not a little of mine in the London Museum, and Town and Country. The printers of the daily publications are all frightened out of their patriotism, and will take nothing unless 'tis moderate or ministerial. I have not had five patriotic essays this fortnight. All must be ministerial or entertaining. I remain yours, &c. "T. CHATTERTON." We have presented the last four letters in their series, with no other remarks than were necessary to make their meaning clear. It is obvious, however, that, if we are to ascertain the real coherent story of Chatterton's London life during the two months they include—¿.e., during the six or seven weeks of his 1 All the letters of Chatterton contained in this chapter, with the exception of that to Cary, were first collected and printed by Sir Herbert Croft in his Love and Madness; from the second edition of which, published in 1786, I have taken them. residence at Shoreditch, and the first two or three of his residence in Brooke Street-we must go over the ground for ourselves, weaving the facts together, with others independently known, and allowing for his exaggerations. In the first place, then, we repeat, there is abundant evidence that Chatterton's activity during his first two months in London, his perseverance in introducing himself and trying to form connexions, was something unparalleled. Very few young men of his age could have gone through this preliminary part of the business with half the courage and self-assurance which he showed. He seems to have been capable of ringing any number of bells, and sending in his card, known or unknown, to any number of persons, in the course of a forenoon; and one wonders at how many of all the doors in London he did actually present himself during his stay there. Fell, Edmunds, Hamilton, and Dodsley were the persons he had begun with; but he soon added others, and still others, to the circle of those whom he favoured with his calls. That he might the more easily carry out his plan of getting acquainted with people likely to be of use to him, he went daily to the Chapter Coffee-house, Toms' Coffee-house, and the like places of resort; entering, we doubt not, into conversation with many who gave him short answers, and he was. wondered who the If we consider how those places were frequented, we can easily suppose that there were men of note at that time in London who had, in this way, seen Chatterton without knowing it. "I am quite familiar," he says in his letter of the 6th of May, "at the Chapter Coffee-house, and know all the geniuses there." One observes, however, that in his postscript to his next letter, of May 14th, he retracts the direction he had given to his mother and his friends to address to him at the Chapter, and bids them address him "at Mr. Walmsley's, Shoreditch, only." Had he received any rebuff at the Chapter, which made him discontinue the house? If so, there were other coffee-houses, besides Toms'. The theatres, too, and other places of amusement, served his purpose. By the 28th of May, indeed, as we have seen, both Drury Lane and Covent Garden were closed for the season; but during the preceding month he had no doubt visited both several times, at once enjoying the play and, as on the occasion he mentions in his letter of the 14th, picking up friends in the pit. After the great theatres were closed, there were still some minor ones, as well as Ranelagh Gardens and Marylebone Gardens, furnishing music and other entertainment; and there, too, Chatterton occasionally paid his halfcrown, flattering himself it was an investment. So much for the effort made. What as to the success? Making every allowance for his own exaggerations, we believe it to have been by no means inconsiderable. Evidently, his great object, after his first arrival in London, was to distinguish himself as a political writer on the "patriotic" or Opposition side. This was to be his short cut to fame and wealth. To write such letters for the Middlesex Journal, the Freeholder's Magazine, and other Opposition papers, as should rival those of Junius, and make him be inquired after by the heads of the party, and so put forward and provided for: this was the immediate form of his ambition. Fell and Edmunds were here his chief reliance; but, above all, he desired to be introduced to Wilkes. Could that be done, his fortune would be made! And Fell, as we have seen, was to manage it for him. Unfortunately, when the promised time came, Fell was not in a position to keep his promise, having been laid up in the King's Bench for debt, where Chatterton visited him. Edmunds, too, was put out of reach about the same time, having been made an example of by the Government, and thrown into Newgate, by way of warning to "patriotic" publishers. The incarceration of these two friends of Chatterton at the very time when he was expecting so much from them must, one would think, have been a misfortune. But he represents it otherwise. The Freeholder had only gone into other hands; and he should be able to write for it still, and, |