No More Learning

In the subsequent months of 1769 and
1770 there are several other pieces in the same Magazine, which are
undoubtedly of his composition.

In April 1770, he left Bristol and came to London, in hopes of
advancing his fortune by his talents for writing, of which, by this
time, he had conceived a very high opinion. In the prosecution of this
scheme, he appears to have almost entirely depended upon the patronage
of a set of gentlemen, whom an eminent author long ago pointed out, as
_not the very worst judges or rewarders of merit_, the booksellers of
this great city. At his first arrival indeed he was so unlucky as to
find two of his expected Maecenases, the one in the King's Bench, and
the other in Newgate. But this little disappointment was alleviated
by the encouragement which he received from other quarters; and on the
14th of May he writes to his mother, in high spirits upon the change
in his situation, with the following sarcastic reflection upon his
former patrons at Bristol. "_As to Mr. ----, Mr. ----, Mr. ----, &c. &c.
they rate literary lumber so low, that I believe an author, in their
estimation, must be poor indeed! But here matters are otherwise. Had_
Rowley _been a_ Londoner _instead of a_ Bristowyan, _I could have
lived by_ copying _his works_. "

In a letter to his sister, dated 30 May, he informs her, that he is to
be employed "_in writing a voluminous history of_ London, _to appear
in numbers the beginning of next winter_. " In the mean time, he had
written something in praise of the Lord Mayor (Beckford), which had
procured him the honour of being presented to his lordship.
In the
letter just mentioned he gives the following account of his reception,
with some curious observations upon political writing: "The Lord
Mayor received me as politely as a citizen could. But the devil of
the matter is, there is no money to be got of this side of the
question. --But he is a poor author who cannot write on both
sides. --Essays on the patriotic side will fetch no more than what
the copy is sold for. As the patriots themselves are searching for a
place, they have no gratuity to spare. --On the other hand, unpopular
essays will not even be accepted; and you must pay to have them
printed: but then you seldom lose by it, as courtiers are so sensible
of their deficiency in merit, that they generously reward all who know
how to dawb them with the appearance of it. "

Notwithstanding his employment on the History of London, he continued
to write incessantly in various periodical publications. On the 11th
of July he tells his sister that he had pieces last month in the
_Gospel Magazine_; the _Town and Country, viz. _ Maria Friendless;
False Step; Hunter of Oddities; To Miss Bush, &c. _Court and City;
London; Political Register &c. _ But all these exertions of his
genius brought in so little profit, that he was soon reduced to real
indigence; from which he was relieved by death (in what manner is not
certainly known), on the 24th of August, or thereabout, when he wanted
near three months to complete his eighteenth year. The floor of his
chamber was covered with written papers, which he had torn into small
pieces; but there was no appearance (as the Editor has been credibly
informed) of any writings on parchment or vellum. ]

[Footnote 2: One of these fragments, by Mr. Barrett's permission, has
been copied in the manner of a _Fac simile_, by that ingenious artist
Mr. Strutt, and an engraving of it is inserted at p. 288.