XVIII.

WHERE I am to find my counsellor, my guide, and my companion, I know not; this whole week have I not once seen this Hebrew crawl out of his hole. But, whether he be sitting among the doctors in the seminaries of learning, or whether he be among the sick thrown up upon the baggage wagon, I cannot tell. As to thy friend Samson, they are endeavouring to bind him, and send him in bonds to Gath: the Philistines are upon him. Two days ago came an epistle from Sinai, from the woeful set called lawyers; last night came John Doe and Richard Roe, both strangers to me, being not so much as once mentioned in all the Bible; and this morning came a sacred bird of the air, skimming upon even wing over the mountains, with this voice, "The rod of the wicked shall not always rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth his hands to iniquity." I call the former the raven, but the latter the dove, because the better and surer messenger, which bears better tidings. Could I call at Bolt Court I should get advice about this disease gratis: but it is levee day, so one of you, either Tommy or Jemmy B. must wait upon me, and they may expect their fee when the doctor's finances are in better health.

W. H. S. S.

Dated from Mars Hill, Athens, the day before Christmas Eve, 1796.

Previous Letter

Next Letter