Taken from the GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE for MAY.

TRUE GLORY GUIDES NO ECHOING CAR—as is now exemplified in the noiſeleſs tenour of the way long purſued, in his going about doing good, by the moſt truly glorious of mortal beings. When I give him this title, I flatter myſelf that but few of your readers will want to be informed, that I mean the Conſummate Philanthropiſt, who who has ſo fully and feelingly demonſtrated, that indeed nothing hu⯑man is alien from him, by having given himſelf up to the ſoftening the ſorrows and ſufferings of ſome of the moſt unworthy, as well as of the moſt unfortunate of our race, in that to the horrors of a priſon, where the iron ſo often enters into the ſoul, horrors ſhould not be added. Urged by ſtrong benevolence of ſoul from his pleaſant home, and his more pleaſant friends, who, I ſhould ſuppoſe, do honour him but juſt on this ſide idolatry, he is now, inſtead of rattling in a tri⯑umphal car, gliding tranquilly on the ſea, apparently but an obſcure paſſenger, amidſt all the wants of eaſe and accommodation, at about 60 years of age, in a common veſſel, to dare the vile contagion of the Turks, and, if he cannot purge their air of peſtilence, to try at leaſt to correct its virulence, retard its progreſs, and be bleſſed by thouſands ſaved from untimely death. In the only hour that I had ever the happineſs and the honour of his converſation, two months ago in Italy, [20]I did all but worſhip him. He was then at Rome, which for once ſaw, but knew him not, a true vicar of the God of Mercy, by whom the man that, when his fellow-creature was in priſon came unto him, and performed other acts of charity, ſhall be placed on the right-hand of his throne; and was going to viſit the lazarettos at Naples and at Mal⯑ta, and thence to Conſtantinople. He will be abſent ſomewhat above a year. He cheriſhes a hope, that the means he has diſcovered to check the influence of the jail infection will be efficacious likewiſe againſt the plague; and, to make the trial, abandons his comforts, and riſks his life. Glorious man! God-fulfil his hope, and ſend him ſaſe back, to be ſtill an ornament to human nature in general, and, in porticular, to this glorious country which produced him, and which an accompliſhed daughter of it has lately told us ſhe has the daily delight to hear applanded in others as eminently juſt, generous, and humane! I pleaſe myſelf with thinking what a hoſt will join me in the wiſh. But ſhall we be content with giving him but empty words, and not avail ourſelves of the only opportunity, which in all proba⯑bility we can ever have till he reſt from his god-like labours, of doing ourſelves honour, in doing, to ſpeak humanly, a ſolid and a ſolemn one to him? Suppoſe, Mr. Urban, you were to erect a ſtatue to him? Entertaining as great an opinion of the glorious poſſibilities of the Engliſh character, as Lord Chatham could do of thoſe of the Engliſh conſtitution, I perſuade myſelf that you would be quickly fur⯑niſhed with the means, in only calling, by the publication of the hint in your next Magazine but for a ſingle guinea (though the opulent need not be ſtinted) upon thoſe of the juſt, generous, and humane, amongſt us, who can eaſily afford themſelves the pleaſure of giving a teſtimony to their exalted ſenſe of what our nature owes to Mr. HOWARD. How truly has he ennobled the name! Before this glo⯑rious man aroſe, what has been ever done for mankind by all the [21]blood of all the Howards? Ye little ſtars, hide your diminiſhed rays! More I think will be furniſhed than is requiſite to erect a ſtatue; the overplus will go almoſt ſelf-directed to the jails. A buſt, or picture of him, for a ſculptor to work from, can, without doubt, be ſupplied by ſome friend. You and your correſondents will think of the pro⯑per ſpot in which the ſtatue ſhould be placed, and of the inſcription for it. But no time is to be loſt; for, if it be not executed before his return, Mr. Howard's humble ſenſe of his own inerits would moſt cer⯑tainly prevent it. Alas, alas, Mr. Urban, what are poſthumous ho⯑nours! No! praeſenti illi.—Inſluenced only by our admiration and our love of ſuch virtue as we muſt confeſs hath never yet ariſen but in Mr. Howard, let us render it mature honours whilſt it is yet preſent with us in this world, as the beſt foundation for not deſpairing that equal virtue may yet ariſe.

P. S. Your wonder perhaps, Mr. Urban, and I am ſure your in⯑dignation, will be excited, when you are informed that, in a country pretending modeſtly to be the moſt highly civilized, and in this age, when ſo much more light than heretofore, and, one would hope, con⯑ſequent goodneſs, are diffuſed, ſome of the ruling powers of that country could harbour the thought of ſeizing upon Mr. Howard in his paſſage through it, for having, in the hope they might be re⯑formed, made abuſes known, in a book publiſhed in another country and another language. That he was not ſeized, is undoubtedly owing to the light which is diffuſed.

When I aſked Mr. Howard, with what antiſeptic he arms himſelf when he ventures into thoſe manſions of miſery and infection, which, for the ſake of his fellow-creatures, he has long frequented, and is now again ſeeking in a diſtant land; he told me, that he truſts, under God, to extreme cleanlineſs alone; of the property of which to re⯑ſiſt, or rather afford no hold to, infection, he entertains a great, and, [22]from experience, juſt idea. An additional recommendation this to the decency and the comfort of that charming quality, I had almoſt ſaid, virtue, the concomitant of civiliſation. That the moſt unciviliſed people are the moſt dirty, will not, I believe, be controverted; and, if the converſe of the propoſition be equally true, let it not be for⯑gotten by the travellers in France.

*⁎*Having the ſame opinion with our correſpondent of "this Conſummate Philanthropiſt," and of "the glorious poſſibility of the Engliſh character;" our printer (Mr. Nichols, in Red-Lion Paſſage, Flect-ſtreet) has undertaken to receive ſubſcriptions for this purpoſe till the end of June; before which period ſome reſpectable bankers will be requeſted to aſſiſt this laudable propoſal. EDIT.

From the GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE for JUNE.

TO evince my approbation of erecting a MONUMENT to commemo⯑rate the godlike actions of the living HOWARD, I incloſe a draught for ten guineas, to be appropriated to that DESIGN.

Perſnaded as I am, that his character and writings will ſurvive the moſt durable monument of friendſhip; yet ſuch an example of appro⯑bation appears to me calculated to promote many beneficial purpoſes, though it cannot augment the zeal of this amiable man in the purſuit of leſſening human miſery. Public approbation of private and publick virtues, whilſt it acknowledges a debt due to intrinſic merit, reflects the higheſt honour on the community; for to reward virtue is a pleaſ⯑ing proof of its prevalence; and that it does prevail, the MONUMENT of HOWARD will teſtify.

[23]Virtue, whether ſhining in the public walks of life, or emitting the ſoft rays of human benevolence in the dungeous of miſery, will ever obtain its own internal reward beyond all the powers of ſculpture; but to exhibit that evidence to the public, to excite emulation in vir⯑tuous purſuits, and to induce ſpectators to go and do ſo likewiſe, nothing ſeems more conducive than a MONUMENT to HOWARD.

The preſent moment, during his abſence in TURKEY, is the moſt proper to accompliſh ſuch a DESIGN. With goodneſs of heart he unites exemplary humility; and a perfection of mind, rarely equalled, is veiled by a modeſty that ſhuns praiſe and adulation; but the public applauſe which is due to great and virtuous actions cannot be ungrateſul to the god-like breaſt of HOWARD.

Suppoſe therefore the firſt FIVE perſons who ſubſcribe TEN GUINEAS each, or upwards, be appointed a committee to carry ſuch a DESIGN into execution; which committee may be afterwards augmented, by ſe⯑lecting from the ſubſeribers at large ſuch perſons whoſe taſte and abilities may further aſſiſt in deſigning a MONUMENT to HOWARD.

P. S. If this Paper be thought worthy of inſertion in the Gentle⯑man's Magazine, I have no objection to its publication; nor have I any to being appointed to receive ſubſcriptions with any banker or bankers, further to inſure ſucceſs.

As there are many circumſtances ſingular in the conduct of HOWARD, which tend to his ſecurity, beſides cleanlineſs, I thought of adding ſome outlines of his hiſtory: but, fearful of diverting the public attention from the ſubject of a monument, I have refrained from ſuch addition, though, would it prove acceptable, I could perhaps prepare a little eſſay for a ſubſequent Magazine, and am, reſpectfully, J. C. LETTSOM.

*⁎*We thankfully accept the offers of this truly benevolent cor⯑reſpondent; and ſhall be obliged to him for his propoſed communica⯑tion. [24]Subſcriptions for the MONUMENT to HOWARD will now be received by Meſſrs. R. and F. GOSLING, bankers, Fleet-ſtreet; Dr. LETTSOM, Baſinghall-ſtreet; and J. NICHOLS, Red Lion Paſſage, Fleet-ſtreet; till the laſt day of September: by which time, it is hoped, a ſufficient fund will be raiſed. If our expectations are diſappointed, the ſub⯑ſcriptions ſhall then be punctually returned. EDIT.

From the GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE for JULY.

THOUGH it has been my lot (I will not ſay my happy lot) to have lived with, and converſed much among, what are generally called the great men of this nation, yet I conſider the greateſt honour I have re⯑ceived, during a long and chequered life, to be a viſit made me on perſone by Mr. Howard; his unſolicited name as a ſubſcriber to a poor perſormance of mine; and a preſent of his own immortal deeds; deeds ſo fraught with benevolence, and told with ſuch modeſty, humi⯑lity, and philanthropy, that he, who can read them without feeling a reverential awe for the doer, muſt be unworthy of the name of man. I therefore ſend you a draft on Meſſrs. Hoares for one guinea, that I may contribute my mite towards the erection of a ſtatue to immortalize THE PERSON of Mr. Howard; his virtues and his writings will im⯑mortalize his name. I am ſorry to ſay it is inconvenient for me to do more; yet, rather than the work ſhould not be carried into immediate execution, while the worthy and modeſt object of it is abroad, you may call upon me for nine more; for who would not put themſelves to ſome inconvenience to render reſpect to the memory (as Dr. Lettſom juſtly ſtyles him) of the GOD-LIKE HOWARD? One ſtately tree in my garden has long ſince borne his name on its rind: and may the hand wither, like its leaves in Autumn, who dares to eraſe it!

From the ſame.

OF the propoſal, ſuggeſted by your ingenious and benevolent Cor⯑reſpondent ANGLUS, to erect a ſtatue in honour of Mr. Howard, I moſt cordially approve; and where is to be found a man of ſenſe and virtue that will not ſay the ſame? Stateſmen are the corruption, and heroes the deſtroyers, of the human ſpecies; but Mr. Howard is, in the nobleſt and moſt unequivocal ſenſe of the word, their preſerver. I can myſelf feel the importance of his ſervices more than the generality of his readers, as, from motives not quite diſſimilar from his own, I have been long accuſtomed to viſit priſons, and perform, now and then, thoſe offices of charity which are too much neglected even by wiſe and good men, and which, if I had not been writing on a ſubject endeared to me by long and ſolemn reflexion, I ſhould not have preſumed to mention con⯑cerning myſelf.—Anglus ſeems to call upon your readers in general, not merely for approbation, but aſſiſtance. In what manner then does he mean me to aſſiſt? for it is a righteous cauſe, and my heart is with it. On Mr. Howard himſelf it were a panegyric to expatiate in that language which truth itſelf would warrant. Argument and perſuaſion are anticipated by the general and juſt celebrity he has attained; and it ſeems to me, that merely to propoſe the ſtatue is ſufficient to ſecure the concurrence of thoſe who reverence the character of Mr. Howard: but as to the penurious and the unfeeling, I muſt ſay, with a little accommodation of Salluſt, verba viris virtuem non addere. In the pre⯑ſent ſtate of things, I can only requeſt to be put down as a ſubſcriber, and to be conſidered as a moſt ſincere well-wiſher.

From the ſame.

I VERY ſincerely wiſh you ſucceſs in your ſcheme of erecting a ſtatue to Mr. Howard, towards which I have given you my mite with more pleaſure than I ever gave any thing in my life, as I never re⯑member an occaſion which ſo inſpired me with a ſenſation of doing ho⯑nour to myſelf. And let the Rochefoucault ſchool chew it if they pleaſe. We agree with them that every thing centers in ſelf; nor can it be otherwiſe; but were there not goodneſs in man's nature, how could he be capable of ſuch gratifications as theſe? Even the ſenſation experienced by the inſignificant individual who is ſcribbling to you, is an irrefragable argument againſt their ſyſtem; and how much more ſtrong and noble a one is ſupplied by the life and actions of Mr. Howard, the god-like man, as he has been well ſtyled, and of whom we have ſo much reaſon to be proud! What can be a more glorious part to act, than that of the Friend to Nature, and a Second to God, in the relief of his ſuffering creatures! That is Mr. Howard's part, and his place in the ſcale of beings. A friend of mine amuſed himſelf ſome time ago in delineating that ſcale; but though he employed much thought upon it, he could not ſettle it quite to his ſatisfaction. I ſend it you as a cud for your readers to chew, if you think it worthy of them. My friend, I ſay, could not ſettle it quite to his ſatisfaction, as he doubted whether the ſecond term in the deſcending ſeries ought not to be put lower, nay, ought not to be the laſt but one.

Scale of Beingt, or of Meril. GOD: Friend to Nature: Tyrannicide: Man of Honour: Honeſt Man: PLAIN LABOURER. Knave Secular: Saint: Stateſman: Hero: DEVIL.

From the ſame.

WITHIN the laſt three hours I have received my Gentleman's Magazine for June; and, while warm from the impreſſion of ſome ar⯑ticles which have caught my eye, I ſit down to ſhew that, ſenſible as I am (with Mr. Thickneſſe, ſee p. 485 of the Magazine) that the good I do in the world is but inconſiderable, I am at leaſt a well-wiſher to good⯑neſs, and forward to add my poor teſtimony of approbation to thoſe who have arrived at an exalted degree of it. In this view, I commit to your care a draught for ten guineas, as my contribution to the pro⯑poſed monument for that man who, as we are told was done by the Founder of the religion of which it ſhould ſeem Mr. Howard is a catholic and large-minded member, goes about doing good. I hope, and am perſuaded, there are far too many perſons who would be in haſte to ſtand forward on ſuch an occaſion, and who get your Miſ⯑cellany the moment it comes out, to leave a poſſibility of me, at this diſtance, being one of the firſt five propoſed by Dr. Lettſom, for a Committee; to compoſe which, it would ſeem, none are proper per⯑ſons but reſidents about the metropolis, and who have a knowledge of the arts of deſign ^*, which I am not ſo happy as to be poſſeſſed of.

From the ſame.

IT affords me infinite pleaſure that my valuable friend, Dr. Lett⯑ſom, has ſeriouſly aided your God-like propoſal of erecting a ſtatue for Mr. Howard; as I am certain public and honourable diſtinctions to the ſuperior excellent muſt be deeply impreſſed upon minds diſpoſed to promote private and publick good, and that ſome ſuch perſons will become uſefully active in ſociety; and though in a century there will hardly be a HOWARD, yet actions may be performed that may endear other characters to the community. God grant that many ſuch men may come forward, and prove themſelves valuable members of ſociety!

I have depoſited my guinea with Dr. Lettſom, and recommend to your notice, as a delightful ſpecimen of Howard's exalted worth, Mr. Burke's ſpeech at Briſtol Guild. ^* It is the moſt nervous that per⯑haps was ever penned: I ſpeak from my own feelings.

From the GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE for AUGUST.

AS I was charmed with the idea of erecting a ſtatue to Mr. Howard, I beg your acceptance of my mite towards ſo good a work; and this ſentimental offering ſhould have been larger, were it not for the ex⯑pence of ſome living ſtatues, which I am at this time raiſing to myſelf. A plan ſo truly national meets my ideas in every point of view; but its grand effect I hope and truſt will be, that, by this pointed diſtinc⯑tion, a door may be opened for the revival of good ſenſe, and for the reſtoration of that honour to virtue, which has ſo long been engroſſed by every thing that is oppoſite to it.

It is a melancholy truth, Mr. Urban, that, for theſe laſt twenty years, the epithets of famous, celebrated, &c. have ſcarcely ever been applied, except to perſons anſwering to ſome of the following deſcrip⯑tions; viz. Firſt, rebels; ſecondly, ſtrumpets; thirdly, rogues, high⯑waymen, &c.; fourthly, Atheiſtical or Deiſtical writers. Theſe, I ſay, have for ſome time been the ton; but I flatter myſelf, that the immortal honours, intended to be conferred on our great philanthropiſt, may be a means to prevent the vicious from aſſuming thoſe titles which they and their dupes have been ſo laviſhly beſtowing on each other, May we not, I ſay, indulge a pleaſing expectation, that this, through God's good providence, may become an epoch in the moral hiſtory of mankind; and that, under ſuch auſpices, the public man may henceforth become what he always ought to have been, —uni aequus virtuti atque ejus amicis?— in conſequence of which pious hope, I rejoice and exult in the oppor⯑tunity of contributing my humble ſanction and ſupport to the buſineſs you have in hand.

[31]Beſides this, I think the Britiſh nation is very properly conſulting its own, honour, by perpetuating that of Mr. Howard. This is now the third time that England has produced a Worthy of ſuch eminence as to be not only unrival'd, but even, I think we may add, inimitable—it is eaſy to ſuppoſe I refer to the names of SHAKSPEARE, NEWTON, and HOWARD. Theſe are men whoſe expanſion of ſoul, and exaltation of genius, in their ſeveral lines, have ſet them clearly, and [...], above the reſt of their ſpecies of whatever age or nation—indeed I was tempted to have ſquared the circle, by ſuperadding the name of ALFRED, if our ideas of him had been ſufficiently preciſe and incon⯑trovertible.

I hope it will not be deemed too light and fanciful if I add, that H, which has been ſaid to be no letter, bids fair to become the moſt honourable letter in the alphabet, ſince it has, in the preſent age, produced, or rather introduced, the names of a HOWARD, a HANWAY, and a HETHERINGTON.

From the ſame.
To the Committee of the Subſcribers to the national Deſign of erecting a Statue to Mr. Howard.

I HAVE it in contemplation to erect a conſiderable building, in St. George's Fields, in the form of a Creſcent, after a plan drawn by Mr. George Dance. I ſhould be well inclined it ſhould receive the appellation of Howard's Creſcent, or any other which you may think moſt conducible to perpetuate a name which does ſuch infinite honour to our country, and to human nature; and to the bearer of which you are ſo very laudably engaged in endeavouring to raiſe a monument of public gratitude. The centre of this Creſcent will be in a line with the Obeliſk in St. Geórge's Fields, and that ſtanding at the top of Bridge-Street, oppoſite to Fleet-market, as you will ſee by the plan ^* which I have ſent for your inſpection. Now, Gentlemen, it is for you to conſider whether the centre of this Creſcent may not be a proper ſpot on which to erect this monument; or, if the ſpot of the Obeliſk ſhould be preferred, that erection might be moved to the centre of the Creſcent; and then Howard's Column, and Howard's Creſcent, would be ſeparated but by ſpace enough to prevent the two objects from being confounded.

From the GENERAL EVENING POST ^*
To the Committee of the Subſcribers to the national Deſign of erecting a Statue to Mr. Howard.

FROM the rapid progreſs of the ſubſcription, in which are already many names great in goodneſs, learning, elegance, and ſenſibility, as well as rank, I cannot doubt but that you will ſoon ſee it filled in a manner becoming a deſign formed to enkindle all the ſparks of nature in every lover of virtue and his ſpecies, and becoming, what I have the pleaſure to believe I may truly call, the moſt virtuous, and, in its individuals, the moſt opulent nation under Heaven. But when you have the means, how is this deſign to be completed, and where (is one of the firſt queſtions naturally aſked) is the Statue to be placed? You are pleaſed to invite the correſpondence of any friend to the deſign. I am a warm one to it; and to expreſs how warm a one, I cannot do better than adopt the words of a great Ornament of our country in his letter in the laſt Gentleman's Magazine ^†, and ſay with him, I feel that "It is a righteou cauſe, and my heart is with it." In conſequence of your invitation, therefore, having contributed my mite of money, I beg leave to contribute my mite of ſuggeſtion alſo, in regard chieſly to a ſpot in which to place the Statue, with the moſt general approba⯑tion: I ſay the moſt general approbation, well knowing that, if he ſhed not a miraculous influence on their minds, Michael the Archangel could no more think of a ſpot to place it in, than a Michael Angelo, [34]or even a Phidias or Praxiteles, could ſculpture it, ſo as to pleaſe every critic. And how is that moſt general approbation to be conſulted and collected, but by early throwing out ideas to the public, in the hope to provoke good judgements to amend them, or rather furniſh more acceptable ideas in their ſtead?

I will ſuppoſe then, what at preſent there ſeems to be a happy proſpect of, that the general reſtimony, from ſuch a nation as this, to the virtues of our unparalleled prodigy of a philanthropiſt, will bring in ſo magnificent a ſubſcription as to enable you to erect his Statue on a column, of the Corinthian order, fluted, and of the dimenſions at leaſt of that beautiful one dug out of the ruins of the Temple of Peace, on which Pope Borgheſe, Paul the Fifth, erected a Statue, which is now ſtanding at Rome, in front of the church of St. Maria Maggiore. I will ſuppoſe, further that there will be left an overplus, not only competent to the excellent idea of one of the moſt reſpectable charac⯑ters in the world, a gentleman of Suffolk, of placing a buſt of Mr. Howard in priſons, and houſes of induſtry and correction, but like⯑wiſe to the eſtabliſhment of a conſiderable fund, to be called the How-ardian fund, placed in the public ſtocks, and there to accumulate (I hope for a long while) till Mr. Howard's death; and then the intereſt of it to be applied, by the Howardian committee, whoever they ſhall be, and however ſupplied as the members of it drop off (by acts of Par⯑liament) either in aid of Mr. Howard's reform of priſons, or in that of the benevolent inſtitution for the diſcharge of priſoners confined for ſmall debts. This will be a collateral method of perpetuating his name, as efficacious as the principal one; as it muſt endure as long as the nation has either ſtocks or name. But more of this hereafter. I return to the placing of the ſtatued column.

Now I take it for granted that the ſpot of all others that ought to be preferred would be that, if it could be found, which would natu⯑rally [35]and neceſſarily induce the public to the daily, conſtant, common, and perpetual mention of Howard's Column; and by ſuch means, in⯑deed, ſemper honos nomenque ſuum laudeſque manebunt, which is what you aim at, as well in the mouths of the million, where they otherwiſe would ſoon be loſt, as in philanthropic hearts, where they will for ever live. For this purpoſe, Gentlemen, what think you of the ſpot, where now ſtands the Obeliſk in St. George's Fields? The Obeliſk is a name for ever neceſſarily in common uſe with all the world, in a variety of phraſes, ſuch as—You go by the Obeliſk—You turn to the right or left at the Obeliſk—It meaſures ſo many miles from the Obeliſk, &c. &c. Now, if in the place of that Obeliſk (which has not long exiſted nei⯑ther) were ſubſtituted Howard's Column, will not the name of it, in all ſimilar phraſes, be ſubſtituted too—You go by Howard's Column, &c. &c.? To this, helps might be given by Road-acts, &c. That the Obelisk would not be very readily given up, it would be injurious to the liberal magiſtrates of Surrey ^* to entertain a doubt; as they would inſtantly ſee that the purpoſes for which it was erected, for orna⯑menting and lighting the ſpot, and as a term of meaſurement, would be not only preſerved, but augmented and improved. Howard's Column, ſuch as I can conceive it, and ſomething like it I doubt not I ſhall have the happineſs to ſee, there or elſewhere, would be much more highly ornamental than the Obelisk: eight ſquare pillars, dividing the iron rails into as many compartments, might ſurround the Co⯑lumn, and have inſcribed on their outer ſides as many meaſurements as you will; and from the tops of the pillars branch out an iron work, ſupporting each two lamps, and forming in all a ring, or gloriole, of ſixteen lamps, with which the ſhrine of that god-like man, ſo much [36]more deſerving it than any Saint, I beg to be underſtood as meaning any modern Saint, would be nightly lighted in ſaecula ſeculorum, Amen. —The trifling extra-expence of oil, as well as the repairs of the Co⯑lumn for ever, to be defrayed out of the Howardian fund. This ſpot is what the French call an etcile. When thus enriched, what a bril⯑liant ſtar! And who knows what glorious conſequences to our country its animating influence may produce!

Every Foreigner of Diſtinction enters the town' by Weſtminſter Bridge, the paſſage to which from the Kentiſh road is now by the Obelisk, as having been found ſome yards nearer than the former way; and, it Howard's Column ſhould occupy the ſpot, what Foreigner could paſs it, by day or by night, without acquainting himſelf with the meaning of it, and conſequently with the character of the man to whoſe honour it was erected? His character indeed is well known; and, when I ſay that, I ſay admired, and, I may add, envied to us, by all the preſent ſet of men in Europe, from the Sovereigns down to their loweſt fubjects, who know any thing of the world—with whom, by the way, this nation will loſe no credit by the magnificent exulta⯑tion which it will expreſs in this Monument of gratitude, for having had the honour to produce him.

I ſhall be much ſurprized, Gentlemen, if you ſhould not receive, before the end of September, a ſubſcription more than competent to, all the purpoſes of honouring Mr. Howard than have been here ſug⯑geſted, if they ſhould be approved; which I am far from preſuming to flatter myſelf they will, as I expect to ſee much more judicious ſchemes propoſed; but ſo very material an article, as that of the ſpot where the Statue ſhould be placed, cannot too ſoon be diſcuſſed. Should you think it worthy, you may publiſh my letter if you pleaſe, as it may ſerve at leaſt to ſharpen better wits, perhaps at my expence, how much ſoever it may be itſelf.

From the ſame.
TO THE EDITOR.

THERE are, I ſearce can think it, but am told—Yes, Sir, there are, they ſay, ſome gentlemen who, upon the ſubject of the excellent national deſign which is now on foot, object to the propriety, not of rendering a public honour to Mr. Howard in his life-time, for to that, I believe, no mortal can object, but to the propriety of rendering that public honour in a Statue; Statues, they ſay, relating to the pomp of ſucceſs in war, and the havock of mankind. But I beg theſe gentlemens' pardon. Statues have in all ages been erected like⯑wiſe, at the public expence, to men eminent in the arts of peace as well as war, for virtue, learning, and ſervices performed. Auguſtus cauſed the Statues of all thoſe Romans, who had eminently diſtinguiſhed themſelves in the arts of either peace or war, to be ſet up in the Curia, allotting to each profeſſion its proper place. Thus Tacitus tells us, that the Statue of Hortenſius was placed among the orators. Cato Cenſor had a Statue for being the moſt uſeful ſenator—the quality of ſenator is nothing to the purpoſe, as a citizen may be as uſeful, though he cannot be quite ſo miſchievous out of the ſenate as in it—Lucius Minucius Augurinus, for having reſtored plenty to the city—and Marius Gratidianus for having only taught the marks by which adulterate coins was to be diſtinguiſhed. Here then were Statues erected to Utility, but not joined, as in Mr. How⯑ard's caſe, with the moſt tranſcendent philanthropy; for Cato Cen⯑ſor, I think it was, who, with a heart harder than the nether mill-ſtone, had the practice (imitated, I doubt not, as he was fa⯑mous for his wiſe oeconomy, by many of thoſe barbarous butchers of mankind) of ſending his ſlaves, uſeleſs through age, to be ſtarved to death upon a barren iſland. How happier for them to have been Mr. [38]Howard's horſes ^*! That this gentleman has been moſt uſeful, were it not ſo generally known, we might ſafely credit from a great maſter of eloquence, and equally renowned for information ^†, who ſaid ſix years ago, that ‘his labours and writings have done much to open the eyes and hearts of mankind; and that already the beneſit of his labours was felt more or leſs in every country.’ That a much greater num⯑ber of Statues have been erected to the corrupters and deſtroyers of the human ſpecies, as ſtateſmen and warriors are ſo well called by the moſt illuſtrious literary character now living, in his letter recommend⯑ing this deſign, than to ſuch men as Mr. Howard (if the world hath ever looked upon his like), who, as he ſays, ‘has been in the nobleſt and moſt unequivocal ſenſe of the word their preſerver,’ is moſt true. And if any one will caſt his eye upon the names which flumi⯑nis ritu feruntur, in their reſpective channels, on Prieſtley's inge⯑nious biographical chart which now hangs before me, he will be convinced of the melancholy reaſon; as he will there behold thoſe cor⯑rupters and deſtroyers under the title of ſtateſmen and warriors, ſailing as it were ſecurely along the ſtream of time, in every age, in large, thick, cloſe, well-appointed ſquadrons, whilſt the preſervers, the friends, and ſoothers of mankind, qui vitam excolucre per artes, quique ſui memores alios fecere merendo, appear but here and there one, like the diſperſed remnants of the pious Trojan's fleet, thinly ſcattered, and ſcarce emerging on the ſurface of the watery waſte. But, thank Hea⯑ven, from the opening which the labours and writings of Mr. Howard and the progreſs of philoſophy together, have given to the eyes and hearts of men, there is great room to hope that the condition of the world is about to mend, and that, convinced as it muſt be, that utility, [39]accompanied by virtue, has the trueſt greatneſs, we ſhall ſee it readier than it has been to render to virtuous utility its higheſt honours.

Of all deſcriptions of men, it is our judges and magiſtrates who muſt be the moſt ſenſible of the utility which Mr. Howard has been of to the world; and I make no doubt, Sir, but that we ſhall ſee the thing will be taken up by Grand Juries, and other public bodies of men, and that the example will run through the kingdom in ſuch a manner as to make the Statue become voted, with claſſical propriety, to this our moſt virtuous and uſeful citizen, by his country in his provincial tribes.

But the feeling heart will not want the influence of patriotic wiſdom and example to direct it to its own gratification, in delighting to honour delicately, in his abſence, him by whom our nature is ſo highly ho⯑noured, and the precepts of the Divine Teacher, who hath left us an example that we ſhould do as he did, ſo well obeyed, that, after going about Europe for thirty years, he is now carried beyond the bounds of it, in the moſt glorious of all cruſades, the ſublime ardour of doing good.

HOMO SUM.

Extract from a Letter to Mr. NICHOLS.

I AM well pleaſed at the active part you have taken, along with ſome worthy characters, to ſubſcribe and ſolicit ſubſcriptions to erect a monument of Mr. HOWARD, a man who appears to poſſeſs ſuch mag⯑nanimous humanity, that it ſo debaſes me as that I appear contempti⯑ble to myſelf. Begging, therefore, I may be allowed to ſubſcribe my mite; I incloſe a check on W. Fuller and Son, value five guineas; and, from the good opinion I have of the proper management, you are welcome to call on me for the like ſum, provided the collection ſhould ſall ſhort of expectation.

From the GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE for AUGUST.
To DR. LETTSOM.

THE very laudable deſign, which I obſerve by the Gentleman's Magazine has been ſet on foot greatly, if not chiefly, through you, of handing down to poſterity the unexampled philanthropy of Mr. HOW⯑ARD, meets my ſincere approbation; and, as I long ſince admired his conduct when he was Sheriff of Bedfordſhire, I beg leave to expreſs my attachment to his character, by adding five guineas to the ſubſcrip⯑tion for erecting a Statue to his unremitted exertions for the relief of miſery and diſtreſs.

It was owing to his ideas, and the intercourſe I had with him when Sheriff of Cornwall in the year 1771, that I conceived the deſign of conſtructing a Gaol, Bridewell, and Debtors-ward in this county.— It has ſince been carried into execution; and, I flatter myſelf, the cri⯑minals, as well as the public, are greatly indebted to him for the re⯑ſpective benefits reſulting therefrom. I am, Sir, with great eſteem for this opportunity of ſubſcribing myſelf your very obedient humble ſer⯑vant,

From the ſame.
To the Committee for erecting a Statue to Mr. Howard.

AFTER contributing the trifle which accompanies this letter towards the grateful and generous plan of raiſing a memorial to my worthy Re⯑lation (for ſuch I have the honour to ſtyle him) Mr. HOWARD; I beg leave, with great deference to the gentlemen who compoſe the Com⯑mittee, to offer a thought or two on the ſubject of their propoſal.

Mr. HOWARD appears to me, from my own obſervation, and from all I have heard of him, to be modeſt, and diffident, to an extreme.— Vanity has no ſhare in his compoſition.—His good actions ſpring from native benevolence alone, without a mixture of a wiſh for worldly ap⯑plauſe.

To ſuch a man, who ſhrinks from public approbation, will not the ſhowy tribute intended to his merits be exquiſitely painful?—Statues are not very uſually erected, in theſe modern times, to any perſons (crowned heads excepted) during their lives, more eſpecially when the perſon ſo honoured reſides chiefly near the propoſed ſituation of this elegant memorial.—Should this excellently well-intended Monument give ſo much uneaſineſs to the perſon it commemorates, as to make him avoid the metropolis, which has hitherto been a conſpicuous ſcene of his benevolence; would it not then in vain be wiſhed that the execution of the plan had been deferred until his ideas on the ſubject were at leaſt gueſſed at?

[42]I will hazard one more queſtion.—Suppoſing that the ſums raiſed and to be raiſed for the Statue were to be employed—in alleviating the diſ⯑treſs of priſoners—in rewarding and encouraging proper attendants on their ſouls and bodies—in liberating thoſe confined for ſmall debts— in ſhort, in following up thoſe plans for the welfare of the deſtitute part of mankind which Mr. HOWARD's life and actions have always meant to inculcate;—can there be a doubt of the ſuperior pleaſure which that Friend to mankind would feel, when compared with his ſenſation when he finds, on his return to Britain, an oſtentatious token of gra⯑titude, which can neither extend his fame, or aid the accompliſhment of his deſigns?

It will give me ſincere concern, ſhould I find that my ideas on this ſubject ſhould give offence to a ſet of gentlemen ſo well-intentioned, ſo liberally-minded, as the Committee to whom I addreſs myſelf.—Their candour will, I hope, excuſe a variation from their opinions, a variation in which I am by no means ſingular; ſince the ſame idea has ſtruck many who have peruſed the papers publiſhed on this affair; and among theſe are ſome who ſeem to be well acquainted with the ſentiments of my excellent Relation. I am, Gentlemen, with true reſpect, your de⯑voted humble ſervant,