Soon afterwards, the death of the king furnifhed a general fubject for a poetical contest, in which Mr. Savage engaged, and is allowed to have carried the prize of honour from his competitors; but I know not whether he gained by his performance any other advantage than the increase of his reputation; though it must certainly have been with farther views that he prevailed upon himself to attempt a fpecies of writing, of which all the topics had been long before exhausted, and which was made at once difficult by the multitudes that had failed in it, and those that had fucceeded..

He was now advancing in reputation, and though frequently involved in very diftrefsful perplexities, appeared however to be gaining upon mankind, when both his fame and his life. were endangered by an event, of which it is not yet determined, whether it ought to be mentioned as a crime or a calamity.

On the 20th of November 1727, Mr. Savage came from Richmond, where he then lodged, that he might pursue his ftudies with lefs interruption, with an intent to discharge another lodging which he had in Westminster; and accidentally meeting two gentlemen his acquaintances, whofe names were Merchant and Gregory, he went in with them to a neighbouring coffee-houfe, and fat drinking till it was late, it being in no time of Mr. Savage's life any

part

part of his character to be the first of the com. pany that defired to separate. He would wildingly have gone to bed in the fame house, but there was not room for the whole company, and therefore they agreed to ramble about the ftreets, and divert themselves with fuch amufements as fhould offer themselves till morning.

In their walk they happened unluckily to difcover a light in Robinson's coffee-house, near Charing-crofs, and therefore went in. Merchant, with fome rudeness, demanded a room, and was told that there was a good fire in the 'next parlour, which the company were about to leave, being then paying their reckoning. Merchant, not fatisfied with this anfwer, rufhed into the room, and was followed by his companions. He then petulantly placed himself between the company and the fire, and foon after kicked down the table. This produced a quarrel, fwords were drawn on both fides, and one Mr. James Sinclair was killed. Savage, having wounded likewise a maid that held him, forced his way with Merchant out of the house; but being intimidated and confufed, without refolution either to fly or stay, they were taken in a back-court by one of the company and fome foldiers, whom he had called to his affistance.

Being fecured and guarded that night, they were in the morning carried before three juftices,

who

who committed them to the Gatehoufe, from whence, upon the death of Mr. Sinclair, which happened the fame day, they were removed in the night to Newgate, where they were however treated with fome distinction, exempted from the ignominy of chains, and confined, not among the common criminals, but in the Prefsyard.

When the day of trial came, the court was crouded in a very unusual manner, and the public appeared to intereft itself as in a caufe of general concern. The witnesses against Mr. Savage and his friends were, the woman who kept the house, which was a house of ill fame, and her maid, the men who were in the room with Mr. Sinclair, and a woman of the town, who had been drinking with them, and with whom one of them had been seen in bed. They fwore in general, that Merchant gave the provocation, which Savage and Gregory drew their fwords to justify; that Savage drew first, and that he ftabbed Sinclair when he was not in a posture of defence, or while Gregory commanded his fword; that after he had given the thrust he turned pale, and would have retired, but that the maid clung round him, and one of the company endeavoured to detain him, from whom he broke, by cutting the maid on the head, but was afterwards taken in a court.

There

There was fome difference in their depoftions; one did not fee Savage give the wound, another faw it given when Sinclair held his point towards the ground; and the woman of the town afferted, that he did not fee Sinclair's fword at all: this difference however was very far from amounting to inconfiftency; but it was fufficient to fhew, that the hurry of the difpute was fuch, that it was not eafy to discover the truth with relation to particular circumstances, and that therefore fome deductions were to be made from the credibility of the teftimonies.

Sinclair had declared feveral times before his -death, that he received his wound from Savage, nor did Savage at his trial deny the fact, but endeavoured partly to extenuate it, by urging the fuddennefs of the whole action, and the impoffibility of any ill defign, or premeditated malice, and partly to justify it by the neceffity of felf-defence, and the hazard of his own life, if he had lost that opportunity of giving the thruft he observed, that neither reason nor law obliged a man to wait for the blow which was threatened, and which, if he should suffer it, he might never be able to return; that it was always allowable to prevent an affault, and to preserve life by taking away that of the adverfary, by whom it was endangered.

With regard to the violence with which he endeavoured to efcape, he declared, that it

was

was not his defign to fly from juftice, or decline a trial, but to avoid the expences and severities of a prifon; and that he intended to have appeared at the bar without compulfion.

This defence, which took up more than an hour, was heard by the multitude that thronged the court with the most attentive and respectful filence: those who thought he ought not to be › acquitted, owned that applaufe could not be refufed him; and those who before pitied his misfortunes, now reverenced his abilities.

The witneffes which appeared against him were proved to be perfons of characters which did not entitle them to much credit; a common ftrumpet, a woman by whom ftrumpets were entertained, and a man by whom they were fupported; and the character of Savage was by feveral perfons of distinction afferted to be that of a modeft inoffenfive man, not inclined to broils, or to infolence, and who had, to that time, been only known for his misfortunes and his wit.

Had his audience been his judges, he had undoubtedly been acquitted; but Mr. Page, who was then upon the bench, treated him with his ufual infolence and feverity, and when he had fummed up the evidence, endeavoured to exafperate the jury, as Mr. Savage ufed to relate it, with this eloquent harangue:

Gentlemen