intending to complete the remaining in the morning early before the gaoler fhould go out. The alarming and dreadful caufe that occafioned this prevention will appear in the fequel; and the reader, I am perfuaded, will excufe the prolixity of detail, when he confiders the infinuations fuggefted by P. R. Newell of the exaggerated account of the Borough Gaol; and, whilft I gratefully acknowledge his perfonal politeness to me, and eftimate his profeffional knowledge in the highest degree, in the prefent iffue fentiments of private efteem must not be allowed to filence expreffions of public duty. I muft fay with Cicero, "Tolle mihi è caufâ nomen Catonis remove, ac prætermitte auctoritatem, quæ in judiciis aut nihil valere, aut ad falutem debet valere." Cicero in Muræti. So far indeed from exaggerating, my friend had in his previous letter ́extenuated the filthy and noxious ftate of this prifon, the bare hiftory of which, copied from his notes, is fufficient to make every nerve tremblingly alive" for the fafety of the Prisoner's Friend, and must remind the reader of the ftrong expreffions of the author of Providence, a poem, b. III. "Stands Death's grim front full in the raufeous cell Where Virtue led her fon, in act to pierce The breaft that melts to fympathetic woe." "On my return from the Caftle, the keeper of the Borough Gaol had not been found; his wife, however, had procured a perfon to fhew me the prifon. I found it in the state defcribed (vol. LXXIV. p. 705). During the time I was taking the dimenfions of the rooms, my cloaths came frequently in contact with thofe of the prifoners; and I had alfo to ftand over the bodies of thofe who were fick on the floor. Over powered at length by putrid efBuvia, I retired to the court-room, and fat down to recover myself by thofe methods which my friend Dr. Lettfom had prefcribed for me. Here I found myself fwarming with vermin, which every where crawled over me, and which induced me to haften to the inn, and change every article of clothing. The town was at this time crowded, and the house filled with people*., Illness increafed, and my ftomach refused fuftenance. In this fituation I determined to try what (on fimilar occafions has proved beneficial) change of air would effect, and fet out for Ipfwich, from which place, after having paffed two fleepless nights, and not having received any nourishment exeept tea and a little bread during the space of three days, I departed for Bury, but was obliged on the road to fend for medical affistance, and from which I experienced unexpected and early relief." I truft the refpectable furgeon, who could fubfcribe a doubt of my friend Neild's veracity, by infinuating "if he ever vifited the prifon," will be amply fatisfied; and who could add, "I know nothing of the Borough prifon, but am informed by two of the magiftrates the account is greatly exaggerated." If he had imbibed the fpirit of Howard, whom he conjures up, or even of a Neild, upon whom he reflects, he might have been undeceived by a perfonal vifit to thofe "fick and in prifon." As there is no furgeon to it, he might have exercised the philanthropy of his profeffion without intruding upon the province of any other medical gentleman. Of his doubts it may be faid with Shakspeare, "Our doubts are traitors, Which make us lofe the good we oft might By fearing to attempt." [gain, In the perufal of my friend's recovery, as stated in his own words, two strong but very different feníations mult agitate the mind-dread for the fafety of an invaluable lifethat danger; whilft every one of difguft for the naufeous fource of juft feeling, will be led piously to * In confequence of the illuminations on the return of Peace, many perfons had flocked to the town to fee them. ponder The wounded heart, to bid the needy rife, of woe." OGILVIE, b. III. 1. 602. Immediately after his recovery he vifited the late Lord Chedworth, to whom he read his remarks, and gave him a copy of them, requefting him, at the fame time, to exert his influence at Colchefter; to which the noble Earl replied, that, "as he was not a magiftrate of the boErough, his interference would be improper." With all the comforts attached to the prisoners of Colchester Houfe of Correction, as defcribed in vol. LXXIV. p. 1097, the managers of the Borough Gaol feem to emulate the magicians who oppofed Mofes, with this difference, that thefe could neither produce nor remove; but the former, although they could not remove, poffeffed the means of ample production: "And the magicians did fo with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not; fo there were lice upon man; nevertheless Pharaoh's heart continued hardened." (Exod. viii. 8, 19). That this may not be the ftate of the guarIdians of this prifon is the hope of JOHN COAKLEY LETTSOM. and jufily appreciated the miferable fr tuation of his fellow-creatures in Cam bridge town-gaol, who are defcribed in this letter as having "no court yard, no water, no chaplain, or divine fervice performed," he would not have referred the "moft wretched" (the prifoners) to the manes of the "moft exalted of human beings" (Newton).] P. S. The letter under the fignature of Clericus Londinenfis (vol. LXXIV. 1182) will be noticed in a future Number. IF Mr. URBAN, Elton, Feb. 16. F Dr. Lettiom will examine the dates of our correspondence, which he published in vol. LXXIV. p. 823, he will find that his ftatement in p. 17 is not quite corre&t; and that one only of my letters, the third, had appeared, or was intended by me to appear, before the publick. The others were private letters; but I am fo far fatisfied with the explanation which the Doctor has given, that I thall fay no more on the fubject. The Doctor appears to accept the propofitions contained in my laft letter (vol. LXXIV. p. 1195) without, I think, really accepting them; for he engages only to produce the fpecimens of wood on which his conviction of the utility" of Mr. Forfyth's compofition "had in fome measure been found ed." But Mr. Forfyth has pofitively afferted, that trees which were once perfectly hollow were converted in to found trees; and that the new wood of fuch trees completely unites and incorporates with the old wood; and that the timber of damaged oak-trees is thus rendered as fit for the navy as though it had never been injured; and Dr. Lett. fom has pofitively attested the truth of thefe affertions. He muft, therefore, permit me to think, that he is called upon to produce parts of trees in which this restoration, union, and incorporation of parts, has actually taken place, or candidly znoft wretched as well as the most exacknowledge that he cannot do it. alted must refer to Newton. I muft beg leave to remark, that If he had perufed the whole letter, the prefent controverfy between [After defcribing the miferable fiate of fome of the prifons in Cambridge. fhire (vol. LXXIV. p. 897), Mr. Neild obferves, that he had been viewing (at Cambridge), among other ftately and venerable edifices, that College where she immortal Newton profecuted his ftudies, and contemplating the moft exalted of human beings-and the moft wretched." A writer, under the fig nature of "A Newtonian," is, fo far from comprehending the import of this contraft as to conclude, that the Dr. Dr. Lettfom and myself relates merely to the preceding affertions of Mr. Forfyth, and to Dr. Lettfom's atteftation of the truth of thofe aftertions; and that any proofs the Doctor proposes to bring, relative to the general utility of Mr. Forfyth's compofition in other points of view, is foreign to the fubject of our correspondence. I muft how ever ftate, that, during the life of - Mr. Forsyth, I repeatedly offered, through the public papers, to ritk any fum, that I could without inconvenience raife, as a bet, that neither Mr. Forsyth nor his friends could repeat with fuccefs his experiment, or pro luce a fingle tranf verfe fection of wood fuch as he ftated to be in his and their poffeffion; and that these propofitions were not accepted. I propofe to attend in town in the end of the prefent month, and have written to inform Dr. Lettfom of my intention in a private letter. I fhall alfo acquaint him with my arrival in town; but if he means only to contend for the utility of Mr. Forfyth's experiments, or practice as a gardener, and waves all defence of his affertions, there re mains no ground of controverfy be tween us. THO. AND. KNIGHT. P. S. I agree in a great meafure with your correfpondent Hantonienfis, p. 17, refpecting the merits of Mr. Hitt as a writer on horticulture; and recommend an examination of his plates and opinions, and a comparison with thofe of Mr. Forfyth. The latter gentleman has, I think (as Mr. McPhail * afferts) borrowed every thing (except thole affertions which I engage to •prove falfe), and has not acknowledged a fingle obligation to preceding writers. I T.A. K. Mr. URBAN, Chefler, Feb. 19. SHOLD be much obliged to your cor fpondent Hantonienfis, p. 17, for his reafon for afferting fo pofitively, that the ferpentine method * Gardener's Remembrancer. of training vines (which is defcribed in the late Mr. Forfyth's publication) does not answer. I will not pretend to fay that it is not taken from a treaufe upen I have made, I cannot implienly ac fruit-trees by Hitt; but, from the trial cition. When I came into this counquiefce in your correfpondent's detry, about three years ago, I found a vine, tra ned in the ufual way, growing again a South wall on the outfide of my garden, in a fituation fully expofed to the most violent winds 1 could not find that it had ever borne much, or ripened any fruit, but was kept merely the beginning of the year 1803, I prus for the leaves to garnifh difhes, &c. In ned this vine in the ferpentine manner, and late in the Autumn following ! gathered feveral bunclfes of the fmall black clufier-grape well ripened. This laft Summer the number of bunches was very confiderable; and, though the grapes were finall, they were ex tremely well flavoured In the Summer of 1801, I had the pleafure of walking through the Royal Gardens at Kenfigion with Mr. Forfyth, and was particularly gratifid with observing his method of covering every yaid of walling (unoccupied with other trees) with vines trained in the ferpentine way, and which then pro mifed a very abundant crop. I had on the fa ne occafion an opportunity of feeing his experiments in recovering decayed trees by means of his plafter. I do not fay that, the ufe of plafter is an invention of his, as I know that Dr. Anderfon has recommended a fimilar thing; but from experience I can a firm, that Forfvih's compofition is much the moft durable; and any one, who will take the trouble to examine fome of the hollow trees in Kentington-gardens, will, I think, be convinced of the poflibility of the cavity growth of the bark at the two fides, the being filled up with new wood by ufe old wood being preferved from farther decay by the plafier; but whether the old and new wood will perfectly unité, can, in my opinion, only be determined by cutting to-pieces and exa mining blocks of fuch wood; an ev periment I had not an opportunity of trying, though Mr. Forfyth fhewed nie feveral fpecimens which to all apI have pearance would bear that teft. no doubt Dr. Lettfom will eafik clear up this mauer. T. W. J. Mr. |