unfavourably of any, as no man can always avoid it; he is muck better pleased to find himself mif taken, and difpofed to afk pardon; than to be able to justify himself by any real accufation, or perfift in any vexatious recrimination: neither fond of paffing over virtues, nor exaggerating failings; willing rather to dwell on the fair fide, than to difguft himself, or displease others, by entering into the dark;

delighted with reprefentations, elevated by examples of the dignity of human nature, forry to find there are any contrafts, any fo mean as to debafe it, or any wicked enough, in order to fatisfy a fplenetic humour, that can odioufly misreprefent it. If he cannot speak well, chafing rather to be filent, where that filence is not criminal, than to speak ill, much lefs do ill to any.

THIS noble earl is defcended from Thomas Parker, who flourished in the reign of king Ed. ward III. and then poffeffed the manor of Lees, near Norton, in the county of Derby, which fill retains the name of Norton-lees.

(ft Earl) Sir Thomas Parker, grandfather of the prefent earl, was member of parliament for the town of Derby in 1705 and 1708; and applying himself to the study of the laws, grew fo eminent in the profeffion, that in 1710 he was appointed lord chief-juftice of the Queen's-bench, and upon the demile of queen Anne, was one of the lords juftices; after which he was created a baron. On the 20th of May 1718, he was appointed lord high-chancellor ; in 1719 and zo, he was one of the lords juftices whilst his majesty went to Hanover; and in 1721 was created a viscount and earl. In 1723 he was again made one of the lords juftices; and having married Janet daughter and co-heir to Charles Carrier of Wirkworth in the county of Derby, Efq; by her had George vifcount Odober, 1766.

Parker, who was member for Wallingford in the last parliament of king George I. and a daughter Elizabeth, married April 7, 1720, to William Heathcote of Hurfley in the county of Southampton, Esq; fince created a baronet, on whom, and her iffue male, wre entailed the honours of baron, vifcount, and earl, in failure of iffure male of the late earl her brother. His lordship dying on the 28th of April 1732, in the 66th year of his age, was fucceeded by

(2d Earl) George his only fon, the late earl, who, in his father's lifetime, was made one of the tellers of the Exchequer for life. a great fhare in framing and carrying on the act for altering the file, and made an excellent fpeech on that occafion. His lordship was member of feveral foreign academies, and fucceeded Martin Folkes, Efq. as prefident of the Royal Society. He married the 18th of Sept. 1722, Mary eldest daughter and coheir to Mr. Lane, a Turkey-merchant, of an antient family in the county of Northampton, and by her, who Zzz

died

died June 4, 1753, had iffue, 1. Thomas, now earl; 2. GeorgeLane Parker, born Sept. 6, 1724, made a captain in the first regiment of foot-guards, November 11, 1755, with the rank of colonel; and 3. a daughter born in May 1733. His lordship married 2dly, in December 1757, Mifs Nefbir; and dying March 17, 1764, was fucceeded by

(3d E.) Thomas, his eldeft fon, born Oct. 12, 1723, who, in 1747, was chofen member of parliament for Newcastle Under-line; and in 1754, being returned knight of the fhire for the county of Oxford, was voted duly elected in 1755. On the 12th of Dec. 1749, he was married to Mifs Mary Heathcote, daughter of Sir William Heathcote, bart.

above mentioned, and hath a fon George, lord vifcount Parker; and two daughters, Elizabeth, and Mary. His lordship is LLD. and F.R.S.

Titles.] The right hon. Thomas Parker, baron Parker of Maccles field in the county of Chefter, vicount Parker of Ewelme in the county of Oxford, and earl of Macclesfield.

Arms.] Gules, a chevron between three leopards faces, or.

Creft.] A leopard's head erafed and guardant, or; ducally gorged, gules.

Supporters.] Two leopards reguardant, proper, each gorged with a ducal coronet, gules.

Motto.] Sapere aude.

Chief Seats.] At Sherburn-cafile, Oxfordshire; Harley-Street, London.

THE perfon, Sir, who I inform

ed you had last year fwallow. ed a fork on Shrove-tuefday, difcharged it by the anus the fame year, 1715, on the 25th of June; I fend you a drawing of it inclofed, that is the fpoon and the fork, this laft coloured black, as you fee. Although thefe two pieces were nearly of the fame weight and fize;, at prefent we find that the fork weighs a good deal less than the fpoon; for this last weighs three ounces one drachm, and the fork weighs but two ounces and two

drachms, wanting a fcruple, and had an impreffion on it for the chief part of its length refembling fhagreen. I imagine that this extraneous fubftance, which was fwallowed when the perfon was cleaning the root of his tongue with the end of the sheath, flipped from him at the inftant, that rubbing too hard the infide of the mouth, might occafion the oefophagus fuddenly to rise up and open; and upon recovering its former fituation laid hold of the fork, which by its own weight dropped down into the flo

mach,

mach, finding an easy paffage by the alimentary duct. It was in his ftomach that he felt the first pains, accompanied by a weight, which he plainly diftinguished in that part, that continued for three weeks or E a month; after which he complained of an inclination to vomit, and of a very fenfible pain in the ftomach, which must have been, according to our judgment, about the time that the fork prefented itfelf at different times to pafs into the duodenum; which feems to be the truth, as the weight after the first complaint became lefs acute, more internally, and fomewhat Flower down. During all this time the patient was in terrible diftrefs, offered up vows to all the faints, had maffes faid every where, and enquired after phyficians of all kinds, to know what would be the confequence of the fituation he was in, looking upon himself already as a dead men.

At length his pain and uneafinefs continued indifcriminately at times through all the lower belly, fometimes provoking a propenfity to vomit, and at others gripings and inclinations to go to ftool, followed by faintings. At laft there came on a fixed and violent pain in the left iliac region, which continued for two months with different fymptoms, proceeding from the place where the fork was obftru&ed, which I judged to be the ileon. Among thefe fymptoms, the most alarming, were ftrings of blood which appeared in his ftools, and gave me caufe to apprehend, (and all the rest of the profeffion who faw it as well as me), that the prongs of the fork were engage

ed in the coats of the inteftines, and making a paffage that way; but after these two months were paffed, this extraneous fubftance changed its fituation, and for fome time gave no more pain than what was fupportable, till at length (as I imagine) it stopped in the cacum; judging to from the pain he felt in the greatest part of the right ileum, accompanied with the most melancholy fymptoms, and fuch confiderable evacuations of all forts of matter and blood, without any medicine being able to ftop them for a moment; till the patient, broke down and emaciated, with a confiderable fever and a weak pulfe, was at the laft extremity, and received the facraments and extreme-unction; the phyficians attending him, believing as well as himself, that he had not above two hours to live. They even hurried

me away from Padro, the royal palace where I was, two leagues diftant from Madrid, to be prefent the next day at the opening of the body, to, fee if it was true that this officer had fwallowed the fork, of which there was no one a witnefs but himself; because the 'greateft part of those who knew that it was faid, he had fwallowed a fork, doubted whether fuch a thing was poffible. But to all appear. ance thofe melancholy fymptoms which preceded, were owing to nothing but the effort nature made to expel this extraneous body out of the cæcum; for being arrived at Madrid the next day, I found the patient a great deal better, with but very little pain about the right lumbal region, all the other symptoms being gone off, Zzz 2

'even