the Welsh historics, and to have head inGerard's-street,Soho, one evenchanged them for feigned ones, had ing in every week at seven o'clock, been at once idle and destructive of where they supped, and usually contithe historic truth of the poem in its nued their conversations to a late hour. leading circumstance: Three out of But this tavern, where the club had conthe seven are very musical-David, tinued their meetings about sixteen Hoel, Llewelyn; and surely Yor years, being let for a private house, worth, Ririd, Rødri, and Goervýl, are they removed to different houses that not more inharmonious than Tydides, were open for the entertainment of Ajax, and Smintheus, or than An- social meetings, and changed their dromache, or Dido. Perhaps the Cri- plan to a dinner once a fortnight tic would have chosen the royal bre- during the meeting of Parliament, thren and their sister to have been when it was usually styled The Litenamed Damon, Philander, Collin,rary Club, and sometimes THE CLUB, Strephon, Corydon, Thirsis, and par excellence *. Chloe. What's in a name, provided it be common-place and meau! The ear soon becomes reconciled to the harshest, if it be attached to the performance of heroic actions. MRS. ANNE ORD, LATE OF QUEEN ANNE-STREET WEST. Tivated, bada mingea of guy seHIS lady had a mind so highly culful acquirements, and ornamental accomplishments,—adorned with beauty and grace in early youth, and was gifted with such superior intellects, as, in riper years, inclined her friends to regard her reflections as flowing from wisdom, and her opinions as almost oracular. She was connected, for the last forty years of her life, with persons of so high a class in society for learning, wit, and talents, that it seems as if a female of such worth, faculties, and prudent conduct, should not be allowed to quit the world unnoticed.. Few of her most intimate and illustrious friends are now living, who by the young, active, and thoughtless, at a balf, and the old, sour, and censorious, at a card-table, in derision, were called Blue - stockings; a title which, according to Mr. Burke, originated at Bath, from Mr. Stillingfleet, the learned and scientific Naturalist, and perhaps some others, who used to walk about, and attend Mrs. Vesey's converzationi, in roll-up blue ribbed stockings. This beautiful, natural, and ingenuous lady, was the wife of Mr. Vesey, an Irish gentleman of an antient family, with some literature and some caprice, who was one of the early members of the club instituted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Dr. Johnson, and Mr. Burke. This meeting was first held at the Turk's Mrs. Vesey, without conversing much herself, was the first who assembled at her house in London persons of both sexes eminent for learning, science, general literature, and the fine arts; and to remove all for mality about place and precedence, and that each might equally hear and be heard by the rest, she formed them into a circle, not indeed encom passing a round table, but one of the company, whom she seated in the centre. Mrs. Montague was the second who invited to these meetings all the firstrate people who loved conversation better than cards, which she never admitted. Mrs. Ord was very early enlisted in this corps, and had frequent meetings at her house. Of the early part of this lady's life, the author of this ar ticle can only speak by tradition, as she was turned of forty before their acquaintance began. Miss Anne Dillingham was the sole and darling daughter of Mr. Dillingham, an eminent anatomist and surgeon, who having himself a taste for literature and the fine arts, had her educated by masters of the first rank, in music particularly, of which art her father was passionately fond: she was taught the elements, and to perform on the harpsichord, by Mr. Keeble, a master in the highest esteem among the first nobility and gentry of his time; but in her vocal studies, having a clear and powerful voice, she had the advantage of receiving lessons from Signior Ginsippe San Martini, the celebrated performer on the hautbois, and composer, which fixed her taste and partiality for Italian musick. The history of this club is given in an ample and satisfactory manner in Boswell's Life of Dr. Johnson. She 1 She drew well, and was a very good judge of painting; she had read every eminent book in our language, in French, and in Italian. She wrote a fine hand; and in her letters and discussions on particular subjects to her confidential friends, her style was correct and elegant. She was constantly loyal,d a devout Christian of the Established Church, equally free from bigotry and fanaticism. She was married early to Mr. Ord, antienian of a large estate in Northumberland, where he had two beautiful places, which his grandson, one of the members for Morpeth, now enjoys. Mr. Ord, this gentleman's ancestor, had an uncle who was Lord Chief Baron in Scotland. When Mrs. Ord, soon after her marriage, went into the North, her voice, person, and accomplishments, were very much admired, and soon placed her at the head of dilettanti vocal performers in the neighbourhood of Newcastle, as the beautiful Lady Milbank was of the instrumental; being the favourite scholar of Mr. Avison, an ingenious, polite, and cultivated man, who, having been in Italy, was more partial to the compositions of Geminiani and Marcello, than to those of Handel: and Rameau's harpsichord concertos he adopted and imitated in preference to those for the Organ by the great Saxon Timotheus, who despotically reigned in England. Avison, from being an agreeable, well-informed, and gentlemanlike man of the world, directed the musical opinions of his circle to his own taste, and, in some instances, prejudices; and Giardini, in high favour with Mrs. Fox Lane, afterwards Lady Bingley, and the Marchioness of Rockingham, his scholars, generally spending his summers in the North, joined Avision's party against the votaries of Handel. Mrs. Ord, after the decease of her most kind and affectionate husband, who left all his great property at her disposal, except the entailed estate, quitting the North, settled in London; but in musick, remained a firm adherent to the Avisonian school; yet without hostility to the Handelians, in whose faith she had been confirmed by the three Northern musical luminaries, the Rev. Mr. Allet, a great traveller and collector of musick, Sir Lionel Pilkington, a severe and caus tic critick, and the all-knowing and decisive Dr. Brown. Mrs. Ord had a mother who lived to a very great age at Bath, with whom she piously spent several months every year. Her society in town was select; seldom having any other company at dinner previous to the BLUE party, than Mrs. Boscawen, Mrs. Montague, Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Garrick, and Hannah More. The income of which she was possessed enabied her to live in a most respectable style; but when she gave dinners to friends of both sexes, her hospitality breathed good sense, good taste, and plenty, but no splendour was affected, or useless expence; a prudent parsimony enabled her to succour calamity and patient poverty, unasked, as well as to accumulate a large sum for posthumous remembrances. She was sometimes rigid, severe, and inexorable against her greatest favourites who had taken any imprudent step, short of criminality, of which she thought them incapable; but those of whose worth and firness of inind she was convinced, she honoured with a friendship that was steady, zealous, and in a high degree liberal. When she was between sixty and seventy, her head had a constant vibration, which threatened palsy ; but subsequent to that, she seemed to enjoy a renovation of youth, health, activity, and spirits; and though she ceased going to public places, she seldom let a night pass without a converzationi at home, or going to one, or to musick abroad. She was very unfortunate in the loss of her children. Mrs. Bigge, her eldest daughter, the most accomplished, intelligent, and best - bred woman of her time, died of a consumption only two years before her mother. Her second daughter, highly educated, beautiful, and amiable, had the misfortune to have a muslin gown set on fire by a spark from a coal in extremely cold weather, during a deep snow. She was just able to ring the bell; but when the servant came up she was all in flames, and the carpet being nailed down, he could propose no other expedient for extinguishing the blaze, than that of going into the street and rolling her in the snow; but she was so dreadfully burnt, that after existing four or five days days in excruciating torture, her last breath was an agonizing scream. Out of seven sons only one survived, a clergyman, whom she had not seen for many years. He is mar ried, and has many very fine children. Mrs. Ord has left £20,000. entirely in legacies; £500. to a faithful butler, who seemed much at tached to her; £500. more to an old and worthy housekeeper; and to several friends, as mementos, she bequeathed a hundred or two hundred pounds each. Yet still her Executor and Residuary Legatee will not be a disappointed expectant. We have seen a letter of his to one of his mother's fr ends who had been remembered in her bequests, in which he does not express himself with the coldness of discontent or frustrated hope, but laments his having "the melancholy task of announcing the decease of his mucn-loved and honoured mother, which took place on the 28th of May, at the advanced age of eightytwo: it is a consolation to reflect, that she expired without a groan or struggle, and in full possession of her mental faculties, after a short illness of three days." Though Mrs. Ord had survived almost all her old, dear, and confidential friends, she will be extremely, missed in the circle of her acquaintance, which she graced and embellished with her knowledge, experience, and penetration into characters, and enlivened with biographical anecdotes well narrated. THERE Mr. URBAN, May 18. HERE are some very judicious observations by Mentor in p. 302. I think the plan he suggests would go a great way towards remedying the inconvenience he complains of, but might not quite reach to the extent he seems to hope; for the mere alteration of the interior of the present Churches would, I am afraid, not be equal to the demands of the increased population; and I believe it may not be improbable that the increase of Dissenting Chapels is not so much owing to the increase of Dissenters as to the want of accommodation in our Churches for those who prefer some public observance of Religion to the total want of it, because not able to find room at Church. I take the liberty, Sir, to offer a few hints of a plan which, coupled with Mentor's, might perhaps be of some avail, The thought that strikes me is, that a society should be formed, to be called the Chapel Institution, to be sanctioned by Legislative Authority. To be under the direction of a President, Vice-president, and Governors. That the Archbishops, each alternately for a year, should be President; that the Bishops should be Vice-presidents; that every person subscribing a certain sum should be a Governor. That in every Church and Chapel of the Established Religion a Sermon should be annually preached, and a collection made for the benefit of the Fund. That the object of the Fund should be, the erection of new Chapels of ease in populous districts, and annexing them to the Vicarage thereof. That wherever such a Chapel was erected, two additional Church wardens should serve for the parish, so that some two of the Churchwardeus might attend such Chapel for its occasions. That, upon the erection of each such Chape', such a sum should be set apart from the Fund, as that the interest thereof would pay salaries, To the Vicar £.... who should always have and pay out of this Stipend a Curate expressly for the Chapel. To the Afternoon Lecturer £.. the presentation to which Lectureship should be in the gift of the President for the time being. To the Clerk £.... who should also act as Secretary to the Committee after-mentioned, and should be elected by them, To the Organist. who should also be elected by the Committee. For contingent expences of the Ch pel, £.... per annum. That the Parish should pay all other officers, and all expence of repairs, &c. that might be over and beyond the sum so provided for contingencies. The first complete finishing of the buildings, with all their requisites, being effected at the entire expence of the Fund of the Society, the Chapels, with their yard, &c. should, immediately after being consecrated, become parts of the respective Vi carages. That the Chapels should be built in the Gothic Style-plain, lofty, and substantial; with steeples and roomy Chancels (I cannot bear to see the Altar-table huddled up into a mere projection, as if it had been something originally forgot), The body of the Chapel to be entirely free; reserving only such accommodation for strangers, &c. as proposed by Mentor. The Lofts to be lett off under the direction of the Committee; such seats to be taken as from the Vicar, for the sake of legal precision; but the Vicar himself to be only in respect of such rents a Trustee, to pay the same over to the Committee of the. Chapel, who should themselves act as Committee to the Institution, and annually pay over the rents and collections, and make up the accounts to the Institution accordingly. That the Vicar, the Lecturer, the Churchwardens, and every Governor of the Institution personally attending the meetings of the Committee, to be periodically held in the Vestry of such Chapel, should, being so assembled, be the Committee of the Chapel to manage and direct the local concerns thereof. That it should be imperative upon the Committees to keep the Chapels thoroughly neat and clean. That the Institution should have power to purchase land for the Chapel-yards, not exceeding for each a certain number of acres. That the Institution should hold general meetings, &c.; elect its own officers, such as Treasurer, Secretary, &c. &c.; have power to make byelaws for its own regulation, &c.; and, in general, such powers and authorities given to it as would but effectuate the intentions of it. That parishes should not have power to hinder the erection of such Chapels as the Institution, which would act under the venerable authority of the Archbishops and Bishops, should deem it proper to construct. That one-tenth part of the disposeable money of the Institution might, at the discretion of the Institution, be applicable towards the building and repairing of any Churches or Chapels whatsoever, as might seem expedient. I Mr. URBAN, H. June 14. SHALL be obliged to you if you will favour me with the insertion of the following lines in your most excellent Publication, and hope that some of your learned and liberal Correspondents will be induced to deliver their sentiments on the subject. It has been my lot unfortunately to be situated where several Suicides have been committed; some of the unhappy objects were known to be real Lunaticks, and several others were driven to undertake the fatal resolution, on account of their profligacy and extravagance; but in all these instances the fashionable verdict of Lunacy has been invariably returned. Now, Mr. Urban, I beg to premise, that I am far from being of that inhuman or uncharitable disposition as to wish to injure the feelings of the relatives of such unfortunate persons: -no, I trust that very dffierent motives influence me whilst I am writing. But I feel that I have a Conscience, which tells me that I ought not to insult my Maker in the most solemn of all Services, by reading "Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy to take unto himself the soul of our dear brother here departed." And again, "We give thee hearty thanks, for that it hath pleased thee to deliver this our brother out of the miseries of this sinful world." How can I call it the great mercy of God in taking to himself a person whom he did not take, but who daringly rushed into his presence without being - called for? And how can I return hearty thanks unto God, for that it hath pleased him to deliver this our brother out of this miserable world? Can I thank God for the greatest calamity that a mortal can inflict, and blasphemously say, that an act which his holiness and justice must abhor and forbid, hath pleased him! No! I cannot; my mind revolts at the idea. I shall therefore be much obliged to any of your worthy Correspondents, if they will inform me, whether a Minister can be compelled, by law, to read the Burial Service over a person that hath committed Suicide, whilst the Rubrick, at the commencement of that Service stands thus? "Here it is to be noted, that the Office ensuing is not to be used for any that die unbaptized, or excommunicate, or have laid violent hands upon themselves." If so, I hope they will be so good as to point out the |