The Sun.
London, England, 1827-10-01 00:00:00

THE INSPECTOR.

A very good number ; with more sound mat-
ter, and less puerility than usual. We roma--
her this periodical a' weak. aickly neophyte; it
is now, ~thanks to judicious nursing, a strong
healthy constitutional sort of being. The letter
on " Classical Education" takes up the subject
with good taste . and gentlemanly feeling ;
none but thOse who are' themselves perversely
ignorant, will ever attempt to underrate the
classics, more especially the Greek dramatists, the
very worst of whose Plays-...-Say the Heraclidw,
is worth all that (out% of Shakspeare) modern
literature can—or is likely to produce. The
" Anecdotes of Fox" possess equal merit, we
subjoin a specimen I— .

. _
The kindness of Mr. Fox's nature was really more than
mortal ;' his only pleasure seemed to be derived from seeing
and making others happy; his only uneasiness, from the
appearance of unhappiness in others. I shall never forget
-an indirect reproof that he gave Dr. Parr for his stern dis-
cipline of youth. . The Detetor (who by the way was in-
'debted to me for his acquaintance with Mr. Fox), Mr.
Fox, and the " Reminiscent," as my old friend Charles
Butler says, took shelter in a cottage one day that we were
welkin!, near—Mr. Coke's hospitable mansion—and were
overtaken by a heavy April shower of rain. Two little
boys were engaged in play as we entered ; they ceased on
our entering ; Mr. Fox importuned them to resume their
amusement ; Dr. Parr frowned, and the urchins were
scared. Mr.'Fox insisted on our leaving the cottage im-
mediately, in order that the children might be uninter-
rupted in their pastime: Dr. Parr demurred, and quoted
Seneca and Aristotle; Mr. Fox, with r+•eat feeling and
emphasis;
.replied, " Doctor, do you forget the lines I not
long since quoted you from our favourite Ovid? I shill
cite them again.

" Et puer 'es, nee to quicquam nisi Indere oportet,
• Lode ; .decent.annos mollia regne tuosqne." . . -
Parr stood .rebuked, though not softened •nor convinced.
Talking of Dr. Parr, it must not be supposed that he was
a frequent visitor at St. Ann's Hill ; in fact, he was never
there but twice in his life—once with, and once. wikout,
an invitation. Mrs. Fox could not bear him ; she detested
his brutal smbking—his gross, selfish feeding ; and with
the quick tact of a woman, she discovered and resented his
disguised contempt for the female intellect, On that ac-
count, the Doctor was not one of the privileged visitors to
St. Aun's Hill, though Mr. Fox justly admired his (lasi-
cal learning and liberal principles. I don't think Parr was
a great Greek scholar (I mean in comparison with Porson.
and Wakefield); 'at all events, I am convinced he was nisi,
an elegant one. I have listened in silence to him and Mr..
Fox 'for hours ; and though it was evident the Doctor was
the more extensive reader; I think it was equally evident
that 'Mr. Fox was the snore tasteful, and I will add, the
'more accurate one. They both had ps'odigious memories;
arid both had recently directed their attention to the sub-
jects of conversation, namely, 'Porson's final V theory as il-
lustrated in his Euripides, and Gilbert Wakefield's* fEolie
, i„
digamma system, and LJELEr2OI theory. Mr. Fox was
versus Porson—the Doctor versus Wakefield ; and though
a drawn battle, it appeared to me and two others (judges)
lit
te
that Bellendenus came Off but second bes . Parr was never
a favourite of mine ;he was Tco, , pedantic, too
selfish, and wore too big e agog wig for my
taste. He aped Johnson's elects mu ore than he
equalled his perfections; an - d less' Warburton's
genius and learning, than, of his oga* a ruffianism.

" I have seen yesterday (16th August) an error in an
excellent analysis -of Dr. Parr's Catal-Ifue in the Times
newsaper. The writer says that a work, Wakefield's
Nodes Carcerice, to which Parr alludes, was never pub-
lished. This is an error: the work was published. I
have a copy of it in my hand when writing,' and I
seen it elsewhere. I will take this opportunity of recom-
mending a perusal of the Correspondence between Mr.
Wakefield and Mr. Pim. If I mistake not, they are, for
interest and instruction, and ease of style, the best letters
in the language. • . •