another child was sent to fill his place, Susan ; this babe too left us behind in this weary journey-The autumn of that year, or the spring afterward, (I forget which) my father got leave of his colonel to fix me at school-which he did near Halifax, with an abie master; with whom I staid some time, till by God's care of me, my cousin Sterne, of Elvington, became a father to me, and sent me to the university, &c. &c. To pursue the thread of our story, my father's regiment was the year after ordered to Londonderry, where another sister was brought forth, Catherine, still living, but most unhappily estranged from me by my uncle's wickedness, and her own folly—from this station the regiment was sent to defend Gibraltar, at the siege, where my father was run through the body by Captain Phillips, in a duel (the quarrel began about a goose); with much difficulty he survived-though with a partial constitution, which was not able to withstand the hardships it was put to-for he was sent to Jamaica, where he soon fell by the country fever, which took away his senses first, and made a child of him, and then, in a month or two, walking about continually without complaining, till the moment he sat down in an arm chair, and breathed his last-which was at Port Antonio, on the north of the island. My father was a little smart man-active to the last degree, in all exercises-most patient of fatigue and disappointments, of which it pleased God to give him full measure-he was in his temper somewhat rapid and hasty-but of a kindly, sweet disposition, void of all design and so innocent in his own intentions, that he suspected no one: so

that you might have cheated him ten times in a day, if nine had not been sufficient for your purpose-my poor father died March, 1731-I remained at Halifax till about the latter end of the year, and cannot omit mentioning this anecdote of myself, and schoolmaster-He had the ceiling of the school-room new white-washed-the ladder remained there-I one unlucky day mounted it, and wrote with a brush, in large capital letters, LAU. STERNE, for which the usher severely whipped me. My master was very much hurt at this, and said, before me, that never should that name be effaced, for I was a boy of genius, and he was sure I should come to preferment-this expression made me forget the stripes I had received. In the year thirty-two my cousin sent me to the university, where I staid some time. "Twas there that I commenced a friendship with Mr. Hwhich has been most lasting on both sides-I then came to York, and my uncle got me the living of Sutton-and at York I became acquainted with your mother, and courted her for two years-she owned she liked me, but thought herself not rich enough, or me too poor, to be joined together— she went to her sister's in S, and I wrote to her often-I believe then she was partly determined to have me, but would not say so-at her

I

1 He was admitted of Jesus College, in the university of Cambridge, 6th July, 1733, under the tuition of Mr. Cannon, Matriculated 29th March, 1735.

Admitted to the degree of B. A. in January, 1736.

M. A. at the Commencement, 1740.

2

return she fell into a consumption-and one evening that I was sitting by her with an almost broken heart to see her so ill, she said, " My dear Laurey, I can never be yours, for I verily believe I have not long to live-but I have left you every shilling of my fortune;"-upon that she shewed me her will-this generosity overpowered me. It pleased God that she recovered, and I married her in the year 1741. My uncle and myself were then upon very good terms, for he soon got me the Prebendary of York-but he quarrelled with me afterwards, because I would not write paragraphs in the newspapers-though he was a party-man, I was not, and detested such dirty work: thinking it beneath me-from that period, he 3 became my bitterest enemy. By my wife's means I got the living of Stillington-a friend of her's in the South had promised her, that if she married a clergyman in Yorkshire, when the living became vacant, he would make her a compliment of it. I remained near twenty years at Sutton, doing duty at both places-I had then very good health. Books, painting 4, fiddling, and shooting, were my amusements; as

? Jaques Sterne, LL. D. He was Prebendary of Durham, Canon Residentiary, Precentor and Prebendary of York, Rector of Rise, and Rector of Hornsea cum Riston, both in the East Riding of the county of York. He died June 9, 1759.

3 It hath however been insinuated, that he for some time wrote a periodical electioneering paper at York, in defence of the Whig interest. Monthly Review, vol. liii. p. 344.

4 A specimen of Mr. Sterne's abilities in the art of designing, may be seen in Mr. Wodhul's poems, 8vo. 1772.

to the Squire of the parish, I cannot say we were upon a very friendly footing-but at Stillington, the family of the C- -s shewed us every kindness-'twas most truly agreeable to be within a mile and a half of an amiable family, who were ever cordial friends. In the year 1760, I took a house at York for your mother and yourself, and went up to London to publish my two first volumes of Shandy 5. In that year Lord Falconbridge presented me with the curacy of Coxwold-a sweet retirement in comparison of Sutton. In sixtytwo I went to France, before the peace was concluded, and you both followed me. I left you both

5 The first edition was in the preceding year at York.The following is the order in which Mr. Sterne's publications appeared:

1747. The case of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath considered: A charity-sermon preached on Good-Friday, April 17, 1747, for the support of two charity-schools in York.

1750. The Abuses of Conscience: Set forth in a sermon preached in the cathedral church of St. Peter's, York, at the summer assizes, before the Hon. Mr. Baron Clive, and the Hon. Mr. Baron Smythe, on Sunday, July 29, 1750. 1759. Vol. 1 and 2 of Tristram Shandy. 1760. Vol. 1 and 2 of Sermons.

1761. Vol. 3 and 4 of Tristram Shandy. 1762. Vol. 5 and 6 of Tristram Shandy.

1765. Vol. 7 and 8 of Tristram Shandy. 1766. Vol. 3 and 4 of Sermons.

1767. Vol. 9 of Tristram Shandy.

1768. The Sentimental Journey.

The remainder of his works were published after his

death.

in France, and in two years after I went to Italy for the recovery of my health-and when I called upon you, I tried to engage your mother to return to England with me,-she and yourself are at length come-and I have the inexpressible joy of seeing my girl every thing I wished her.

I have set down these particulars relating to my family, and self, for my Lydia, in case hereafter she might have a curiosity, or kinder motive, to know them.

In the preceding narrative, Mr. Sterne has given his memoirs nearly to the time of his decease. In the winter of 1767 he came to London for the purpose of publishing his Sentimental Journey, which he had written during the summer at his curacy: his health had been for some time precarious; and, in February 1768, beginning to perceive the approaches of death, with the most affectionate solicitude, he devoted his attention to the future welfare of his daughter. After a short struggle, he submitted to its stroke on the 18th day of March, 1768, at his lodgings in Bond Street, and was interred in the most private manner on the 22d of the same month, at the new burying-ground belonging to the parish of St. George, Hanover Square. The following inscription is placed upon a tomb, erected to his memory by strangers.

From this passage it appears that the present account of Mr. Sterne's Life and Family was written about six months only before his death.