time." "That is your final resolution?" "It is, my Lord." "Then," says he, "you must abide the consequence ;" and I immediately got up, made obeisance, and walked down to my seat at the bottom of the room, when for a few minutes there was a total silence; and then his Lordship, accompanied by the Archdeacon, the Chaplain, and other attendants, left the room, the remainder of the company ceremoniously standing up until the door was closed. They then took their seats, put about the bottle, drank many loyal toasts, and we spent, between twenty and thirty of us, as cheerful an afternoon as I ever passed in my life. The Bishop's assertion respecting the laxity of discipline at Cambridge soon reached that University, by what means I know not, but it gave umbrage to the Heads of many Colleges, and was a subject of converse for some time. For the three years that I resided at Trumpington, I was not so idle and neglectful of my professional duties as Bishop Pelham deemed me to be; for very few Sundays passed but I lent my assistance to some one or other of the clergymen of the neighbourhood, not only in performing the service of the Church on that day, but often the weekly duty also, particularly to the worthy Vicar of Trumpington, Mr. Heckford, who had two Churches of his own, and was very frequently engaged as preacher at Great St. Mary's Church, Cambridge *. This is well known to our good Bishop of Bristol, Dr. Mansell, who has always been very kind and indulgent to me. Some few years before I retired to Trumpington, his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales occupied Mr. Sturt's superb mansion and large domains at Critchill, about three miles from Chettle. I was The Rev. Thomas Heckford, of Trinity-college, B. A. 1776, being the eighth Senior Optime of that year; M. A. 1779. He is still living. introduced to his Royal Highness's notice by Mr. Churchill of Hanbury, a confidant of his Royal Highness, and I believe chief manager of his Household at Critchill; and I was recommended by him as a proper person to execute a commission for his Royal Highness, no way political, but merely relative to fox-hunting. His Royal Highness wished to extend his hunting country, but was unwilling to do so without the consent of some gentlemen, who were confederates in keeping another pack of fox-hounds, and hunted in the country which his Royal Highness wished to add to the Critchill Hunt. I was honoured and entrusted by his Royal Highness with a commission to negotiate this important business, in which I used my best endeavours, but I had persons to deal with of tempers not very compliant; and, although they were all intimate acquaintances, I could not prevail upon them to grant my suit in full. During this negotiation, which lasted some time, I had several pri vate conferences with his Royal Highness; and when he was absent from Critchill for a short time he condescended to write several letters to me on the subject; and, although I could not succeed so well in my embassy as I wished, and the Prince expected, yet he never laid any blame on me, but I was taken more into favour than before, and was invited to attend his Royal Highness in his field sports, both in hunting and shooting; and to enable me to attend him in the former, he made me a present of a very fine hunter. At that time, Mr. Napier, whom I have before mentioned, was taken much notice of by his Royal Highness. He was a spirited lad, and rode a very fleet poney of his own, of the New Forest breed, which cost him four guineas; and he was in at the death of many foxes after fine runs with the Prince's hounds. About this time, a very remarkable circumstance took place. One morning his Royal Highness called upon me alone, without any attendant, not even one servant, and desired me to take his information for a robbery, and to grant him a search warrant. He insisted on my administering the oath to him, which I reluctantly did; and he informed me, that the head groom of his stables had his trunk broken open in the night, and a watch and many valuable articles stolen and carried away; and that it was suspected that they were concealed in such and such places, and that he chose to come himself, lest an alarm may be given and the goods removed. His Royal Highness sat by my side, while I filled up a search warrant, which his Royal Highness hastened home with, and saw the execution of it himself; the goods were found in the suspected places, a nest of thieves were detected, and all brought to condign punishment. Should his Royal Highness become Sovereign, as by the grace of God he may soon be, what a strange story it will be to tell, that a King of Great Britain did apply to a poor country justice to grant him a search warrant for stolen goods! But this would be a real fact. A few days before I left Chettle for Trumpington, our good King made his second excursion from Weymouth, to visit Lord Dorchester at his magnificent seat at Milton Abbey, where he spent some days, and took a critical view of all the fine paintings, pictures, and family portraits in the various apartments; and in the library he saw the portraits of all the officers of the Dorsetshire Yeoman Cavalry, painted by Beach *, an old school-fellow of *Thomas Beach was for many years a well-known portraitpainter at Bath. He was a native of Milton Abbas; and having, from his earliest years, evinced a strong desire to become an artist, was patronized by the family of the Earl of Dorchester, and became a pupil of Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1760. His works are very numerous in the neighbourhood of Bath; but the picture by which he obtained most credit, was one of the domestics of H. H. Coxe, Esq. of Penmore. This was in the possession of mine at Milton school, and afterward a pupil of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Among them was my portrait as Chaplain to the corps, under his Lordship's command; it was drawn dressed in a canonical form, sitting on an armed chair, leaning one hand on an arm and holding a book in the other. His Majesty took much notice of this portrait; and inquired of Lord Dorchester whether he thought it a good likeness, to which his Lordship answered that he did, and that it was generally deemed to be so; and that it was probable his Majesty may see the original soon, and be a more competent judge. Either on the next day or the day following, his Majesty made a morning visit (which is omitted in Mr. Hutchins's History) to Lord Rivers, at his grand lodge at Rushmore, situate in the centre of his extensive Chase, called Cranbourne Chase. The road to it was the great western turnpike, until they came to a direction post near my house, where a private road branches off leading to the lodge; but my house was in view for near a mile before the carriages came to that spot; and I believe his Majesty had noticed it, and had made some inquiries about it. His Majesty's journey being made known, many persons went out of curiosity to see the cavalcade pass by; and, among others, my two nieces and I were standing near the place where the road turned, when his Majesty's carriage suddenly stopped, and the late Sir J. C. Hippisley, of Stone Easton. An excellent mezzotinto engraving of Dr. Harington is from one of his paintings; as is the portrait of Dr. Cuming, given in volume IX. of the "Literary Anecdotes," p. 589. "To Mr. Beach's professional excellence we must add, that no man ever possessed a more friendly and benevolent disposition. He was a good scholar, and exemplary in the exercises of religion and charity; yet no man more enjoyed the social circle, or more contributed to its mirth: Happy life's duties with its joys to blend, Beach died at Dorchester, Dec. 17, 1806, aged 68. Gent. Mag. vol. LXXVI. p. 1252. a horseman rode up to us, whom I immediately knew to be Lord Walsingham, and he knew me; for, some time before, I had a Bill pending in the House of Lords, and his Lordship was at that time Chairman of the Committee, and in the process of the business (in which I did not succeed) I had the honour of having several conferences with his Lordship, which I gratefully acknowledge. His Lordship, addressing me with a smile on his countenance, said, “His Majesty wants to speak to you; he wants to see whether your picture at Lord Dorchester's is a good likeness." I was much confused at this notice; and was hastening towards his Majesty's carriage, when I observed a favourite little dog of my nieces' running under the wheels of another carriage, and in great danger, which with some difficulty I released, and took it up in my arms, and in that situation presented myself at the side of his Majesty's chaise. His Majesty very graciously begun a conversation. with me, by asking me, if that house, pointing to it, was not mine. I answered his Majesty, that it was. He observed, that it was pleasantly situate, and appeared a good old mansion; I informed his Majesty, that it was built by my father; he said, that he thought it must have been much older; and then very quickly added, "Walsingham tells me, that you are about to leave this fine healthy country for the foggy one of Cambridgeshire." I answered, "Yes; and please your Majesty I do it for reasons, with which, if your Majesty was acquainted, I think you would not much blame me." He instantly said, "I know, I know all." And then, looking earnestly at me, he said to Lord Walsingham, "Beach has done justice; it is a good likeness, a good picture." Then looking at me again, with a smile on his countenance, said, "In your picture you are drawn with a book in your hand, but now you have a dog, a pleasanter companion, |