bequest, paid them down twelve hundred pounds for their prayers for the rest of his soul; but this bargain was not entirely settled until the gentlemen had returned him twelve months interest by way of discount; his usual demand for prompt payment! It appears that his enormous fortune devolved to two relatives in the country; whilst those of his kindred in London, in consequence of being cut off, have altered the tenor of their prayers, in one article at least, by praying for their deceased uncle, as the papists. pray for the souls of Luther and Calvin. His name now adorns the donation board of the ancient church of St. Savior, in the borough. He died in 1793. WILLIAM TELL. An illustrious Swiss patriot, and the chief instrument of the revolution which delivered the Swiss cantons from the German yoke in 1307. Geisler, the governor of these provinces for the emperor Albert, ordered him, on pain of death, to shoot an apple placed on the head of his son. Having fortunately succeeded in the task imposed upon him, without hurting the child, he told the tyrant, that, had he been ess remate, he had another arrow in reserve, sould have directed to his heart. d by his courage and Sus dew to arms, wh to the sinking fund, under the direction of parliament. The heirs at law have since applied to the Court of Chancery to set aside the will; but, after long and learned arguments, it was fully established. seldom exceeded half a crown in price; noz did it ever, after falling into his possession, undergo the operation of either washing or mending, but was doomed to perpetual slavery, till it literally dropped in pieces from his back. Hence, it may naturally be supposed, that, though Mr. Dancer seldom associated with his neighbors, he was at all times attended by a very numerous company, whose personal attachment rendered mankind extremely cautious of approaching him. In the purchase of an old shirt, he once supposed himself cheated by a woman of the vast sum of three pence; in consequence of which, he commenced a suit against her in the Court of Conscience; the poor old man was, however, nonsuited: and, beside the original debt of three pence, he incurred the expense of near five shillings for costs. To add to his distress, he expended on the road from Pinner to London, and back again, three halfpence more, Lady Tempest was the only person who had the least influence on this unfortunate miser; and, though she knew that she should share the bulk of his fortune with Captain Holmes, she endeavored to persuade him to enjoy the good things of this life, but in vain. Once, indeed, she prevailed upon him to purchase an old hat (having worn his own for thirteen years) from a Jew for a shill.ng: but, to her great astonishment, when she called the next day, she beheld the old chapeau on his head. On inquiry, it appeared, that he had prevailed on old Griffiths his servant, to purchase the hat of him, at the advanced price of eighteen pence, and congratulated himself on his dexterity in clearing sixpence by the transaction. One day, Lady Tempest sent him a present of trout, stewed in claret, of which he was extremely fond; it was frosty weather, and the whole, from being kept all night, was frozen almost into ice: being much afflicted with the toothache, he could not touch it, and to light a fire he thought expensive; therefore, as he generally lay in bed to keep himself warm in cold weather, he caused the fish and sauce to be put between two pewter plates, on which he sat till the rich repast was tolerably warm. Of lawyers and physicians he enter tained a very unfavorable opinion. Sooner than have any connection with a lawyer, he said, he would deal with the devil; and, to use his own expression, "All the gentlemen of the faculty are medical tinkers, who, in endeavoring to patch up one blemish in the human frame, never fail to make ten." He seemed to have had something of the leaven of predestination in his composition, for, while his sister lay upon her death-bed, being importuned to call in medical assistance, he sternly replied, "Why should I waste my money in wickedly endeavoring to counteract the will of Providence ?" Perhaps, the dread of expense operated more powerfully upon him than his religious tenets. During his ast illness, Lady Tempest accidentally called |