'A noble mind disdains not to repent.' And I doubt not that you will readily suspend those unfavourable impressions which that report has made on your mind, and which my present letter is designed to do away. Your friendship, or that of any other gentleman, I should be ambitious to acknowledge, and solicitous to retain; but such overtures as are revoked through error carry a presumption that they are offered through caprice, and leave the person to whom they are made, and from whom they are taken, but little reason to lament his loss. Whatever is held by a precarious tenure sinks in value in proportion to its instability. "I have not written this to renew hostilities, but to convince you of your deception; not to upbraid your credulity, but to mark the folly of depending on conjecture and report. It is for you, sir, after the reception of this letter, to say on what foundation your letters stand, and to decide whether or not I have acted unworthy of that confidence which you have reposed in me. 6 "To ask you now to reveal your name may, perhaps, be imposing a task for human frailty too severe. I shall not, therefore, urge my solicitations. I will, nevertheless, frankly tell you, that the avowal of your name is essential to the reciprocity of that friendship which the concealment of it forbids me to express: I therefore sincerely say-Give me your name, and I will give you my hand. 66 Animosity, sir, has never formed the smallest part of my character in my conduct towards you; and this letter will convince you that I scorn to avail myself of those advantages which your error might occasion. Should you, sir, think proper to avow your name, if Providence spare me to take another journey in your neighbourhood, I will do myself the pleasur of waiting upon you; when, I doubt not, a renewal of hostilitie: will (in a general sense) be precluded by a concurrence of sentiment. And would you, sir, act in the same manner, I should esteem it as a favour. In the mean while, passing by those mistakes and differences which will unavoidably arise from the checkered state of human life, and sincerely wishing you every blessing for time and eternity, "I subscribe myself your well-wisher, SECTION XIII. Progress of Mr. Drew's Essay on the Soul-Interview with Mr. Whitaker-Acquaintance with Mr. Britton-Essay on the Soul published-Its favourable reception-Mr. Polwhele's generous conduct. We now advert to Mr. Drew's more important work, the "Essay on the Immateriality and Immortality of the Human Soul," the publication of which placed him in the highest rank of Christian metaphysicians. Although he had received so many marks of kindness from his friend and adviser Mr. Whitaker, and there had been a frequent interchange of letters, yet, until the close of the year 1800, no personal interview had taken place. In a letter from his friend and printer Mr. Flindell, dated October 10th of that year, this question occurs :-" Why do you deprive yourself of the opportunities that open to you of becoming acquainted with great characters? Go and see Mr. Whitaker, Dr. Hawker, and all that fall in your way. Exchange a little of your modest worth for my impudence. You love what is curious and excellent, in art and nature. What is more curious, more excellent, more to be admired, than wise and good men-the noblest work of God?" Acting probably upon this suggestion, and recollecting the frequent and pressing invitations which he had received from Mr. Whitaker, he called soon afterward upon his literary friend. The result of that interview, which was mutually gratifying, may be gathered from the following letter of Mr. Drew. It was given by Mr. Whitaker, as a literary curiosity, to John Britton, Esq., the well-known antiquarian and topographical writer, and was thus preserved. "To the Rev. John Whitaker. "Rev. and Dear Sir, "St. Austell, July 27, 1801. "It was with the sincerest regret that I heard of your departure from Cornwall, and the occasion which rendered that departure necessary; and the same motive which then gave me regret now urges me to congratulate you on your return. "You will, perhaps, recollect, when I had the honour of spending a few hours in your company, some months since (in which I never felt myself so completely awed into silence by superior greatness'), that among other incoherent expressions which I dropped, I hinted that I had revolved in my mind this abstruse and important subject-the Immateriality and Immortality of the Human Soul. You gave me encouragement to proceed. Stimulated by this encouragement, I returned home and devoted my leisure hours to that subject. I had brought it to the state of forwardness in which you saw it before you went off to Bath, but had no opportunity of sending it for your inspection. During your absence it has lain in a torpid state. No human eye (but my own) has ever seen it; and I have reserved it for this purpose,-if it has any merit, Mr. Whitaker shall discover it; if not, he alone shall witness its disgrace. "To descant upon its excellences or defects would betray a vanity which I would not wish to expose. I therefore send it naked into your hands; and if I have not been deceived in those ideas which I have been accustomed to associate with the name of Mr. Whitaker, he will give it a patient and impartial perusal. Were it in print, I would solicit mercy; as it is not, I now ask nothing but that candour which rigorous justice will allow; and can only say— 'Consent, it lives; it dies if you refuse!' I would not wish to direct your attention to the anomalies which float upon its surface, but to the solidity of its contents, and to the rotundity of its figure. Mark those pages which are inconclusive; and separate the ore from the dross. Pardon, dear sir, the liberty which I take. The only apology I can make is, that I address myself to a gentleman who has more than called himself the friend of his friend and servant, "SAMUEL DREW. "P.S.-Should you recommend it to the world, I shall be under the same necessity of soliciting you to examine the polish of its surface, that I am now of requesting a deeper inves tigation. "I had almost forgotten to observe, that I have purposely omitted to give any title, till I have the result of your opinions. The subject divides from immateriality to immortality at the seventy-ninth page." In the letter which follows, addressed to another literary clergyman in the neighbourhood of St. Austell, from whom Mr. Drew had received various marks of kindness, the opinion of Mr. Whitaker relative to the MS. is intimated. It supplies a vacancy which the loss of Mr. Whitaker's own expression of his sentiments would otherwise occasion. 3 "To the Rev. Philip Lyne, LL.D. "REV. SIR, "St. Austell, October 29th, 1801. "After a delay for which I know not how either to account or apologize, I return you your book. A treatise of that kind I had never seen before, but have found on its perusal a mirror in my mind. I have found it of great service to me in methodising and arranging my ideas, and in separating those ideas which nature had made distinct, but which habit and prejudice had associated together. In addition to that benefit which I have received from the perusal of Dr. Watts's Logic,' I have to acknowledge my obligation to Dr. Lyne, for his kindness in favouring me with it, and for assuming that manly fortitude which he has manifested, in noticing a person in my situation, and complimenting with marks of approbation a man whom sordid minds would shun with abhorrence and contempt. "You will remember, that when I was at your house, I hinted that I had a MS. in a state of forwardness, on the Immateriality and Immortality of the Human Soul; and that I had reserved the perusal of the MS. for Mr. Whitaker.' On his return from Bath, I presented it to him; since which he has examined and returned it, with an opinion which it would discover vanity in me to express, and ingratitude to conceal.Judge, therefore, into what a dilemma I am brought. If you, sir, feel a wish to peruse it, you have only to signify your desire, when it shall be readily forwarded by him who wishes you happiness in time and in eternity. Guided by Mr. Whitaker's advice, and authorized to use his name to any extent, in the way of recommendation, Mr. Drew,' early in the year 1802, issued his proposals for publishing by subscription. These were received in the most flattering manner; and within a few months, his subscription list comprised a large proportion of the nobility and gentry of Cornwall. While the Essay on the Soul was in this stage, Mr. D. became acquainted with Mr. Britton whose name has just been mentioned. This gentleman was then engaged on his "Beauties of England and Wales," and was preparing his " Cornwall" for publication. Arriving at St. Austell, he called on Mr. Drew, as a man of literary note in the town; and this call laid the foundation for future intimacy and reciprocal acts of kindness. Alluding to their interview, Mr. Britton says, in a letter to Mr. Drew," Believe me, I felt peculiarly happy in your company, and longed for further conversation. I found your remarks and suggestions replete with thought, and gladly observed that you darted out of the commonplace track of prejudice and illiberality which nine-tenths of mankind rigidly pursue." In a letter to Mr. Britton, dated July 26, 1802, Mr. Drew observes, "My work goes on slowly, but regularly; about sixty pages will be finished this day. I intend to dedicate it to Mr. Whitaker, if he will permit. Seven hundred copies are printing, and about six hundred and forty are subscribed for; so that I expect to have but few on sale after the work enters the world. I have been sanctioned, beyond my most sanguine expectation, by all orders and ranks in Cornwall. I can repay them with gratitude, which is all that poverty has to bestow. The sanction of the Rev. John Whitaker has given me a celebrity which I fear I cannot support; and I have my doubts whether expectation be not raised to be disappointed.” His book being nearly through the press, Mr. Drew asked permission of Mr. Whitaker to dedicate the work to him, and received the following manly and characteristic reply.. "DEAR SIR, "Saturday, September 4, 1802. 1 "I received your letter, and perused your address, some days ago; but I deferred to write, because I wished not to write by the post. I am, however, compelled to do so at last; and I now reply with my free leave for you to do as you propose. I am always happy to serve you, and shall always be happy. I might, indeed, object to some expressions of gratitude towards me. But to object would look like affectation; and I feel myself superior to all affectation. In that spirit, I wish you all imaginable good from your publication, and subscribe myself very cordially, "Your friend and servant, 2 "JOHN WHITAKER. "Mr. Samuel Drew, shoemaker, St. Austell.” If the patron were above the affectation of humility, the |