this great city. At his first arrival indeed he was so unlucky as to
find two of his expected Mæcenases, 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."