5 10 And Gold but sent to keep the fools in play, No grace 16 20 VER. 20. JOHN WARD, of Hackney, Efq; Member of Parliament, being profecuted by the Duchess of Buckingham, and convicted of Forgery, was firft expelled the House, and then ftood in the Pillory on the 17th of March 1727. He was fuspected of joining in a conveyance with Sir John Blunt, to secrete fifty thousand pounds of that Director's Eftate, forfeited to the South-Sea company by Act of Parliament. The Company recovered the fifty thousand pounds against Ward; but he fet up prior conveyances of his real estate to his brother and fon, and conceal'd all his perfonal, which was computed to be one hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Thefe conveyances being alfo fet afide by a bill in Chancery, Ward was imprisoned, and hazarded the forfeiture of his life, by not giving in his effects 'till the last day, which was that of his examination. B. What Nature wants, commodious Gold beftows, "Tis thus we eat the bread another fows. During his confinement, his amufement was to give poison to dogs and cats, and fee them expire by flower or quicker torments. To fum up the worth of this gentleman, at the feveral æra's of his life. At his ftanding in the Pillory he was worth above two hundred thousand pounds; at his commitment to Prifon, he was worth one hundred and fifty thousand; but has been fince fo far diminished in his reputation, as to be thought a worse man by fifty or fixty thousand. FR. CHARTRES, a man infamous for all manner of vices, When he was an enfign in the army, he was drumm'd out of the regiment for a cheat; he was next banish'd Bruffels, and drumm'd out of Ghent on the fame account. After a hundred tricks at the gaming-tables, he took to lending of money at exorbitant intereft and on great penalties, accumulating premium, interest, and capital into a new capital, and seizing to a minute when the payments became due; in a word, by a conftant attention to the vices, wants, and follies of mankind, he acquired an immenfe fortune. His houfe was a perpetual Bawdy-houfe. He was twice condemn'd for rapes, and pardoned; but the last time not without imprisonment in Newgate, and large confifcations. He died in Scotland in 1731, aged 62. The populace at his funeral rais'd a great riot, almost tore the body out of the coffin, and caft dead dogs, etc. into the grave along with it. The following Epitaph contains his character very juftly drawn by Dr. Arbuthnot: HERE continueth to rot The Body of FRANCIS CHARTRES, P. But how unequal it beftows, observe, In fpite of AGE and INFIRMITIES, In the Practice of EVERY HUMAN VICE; in the undeviating Fravity of his Manners, in Accumulating WEALTH; A MINISTERIAL ESTATE. He was the only Perfon of his Time, When poffeffed of TEN THOUSAND a Year, And having daily deferved the GIBBET for what he did, Think not his Life ufelefs to Mankind! A confpicuous PROOF and EXAMPLE, Of how small Eftimation is EXORBITANT WEALTH in the Sight of GOD, By his bestowing it on the most UNWORTHY OF ALL MORTALS. This Gentleman was worth feven thousand pounds a year in Land, and about one hundred thousand in Money. eftate What Nature wants (a phrase I much distruft) 25. Extends to Luxury, extends to Luft: Useful, I grant, it ferves what life requires, But dreadful too, the dark Affaffin hires: B. Trade it may help, Society extend. P. But lures the Pyrate, and corrupts the Friend. 30 P. But bribes a Senate, and the Land's betray'd. Mr. WATERS, the third of thefe worthies, was a man no way refembling the former in his military, but extremely fo in his civil capacity; his great fortune having been raised by the like diligent attendance on the neceffities of others. But this gentleman's history must be deferred 'till his death, when his worth may be known more certainly. VER. 34. If fecret Gold fap on from knave to knave.] The expreffion is fine, and gives us the image of a place invested, where the approaches are made by communications which fupport each other; as the connections amongst knaves, after they have been taken in by a state engineer, serve to screen and encourage one another's private corruptions. VER. 35. beneath the Patriot's cloak,] This is a true ftory, which happened in the reign of William III. to an unfufpected old Patriot, who coming out at the back-door from having been clofeted by the King, where he had received a large bag of Guineas, the bursting of the bag difcovered his business there, |