A Calculation
AFTER the death of the poet Chatterton, there was found among his
papers, indorsed on a letter intended for publication, addressed to
Beckford, then Lord Mayor, dated May 26, 1770, the following memorandum:
Accepted by Bingley, set for, and thrown out of, the North Briton,
21st June, on account of the Lord Mayor's death:--
Lost by his death on this essay L 1 11 6
Gained in elegies 2 2 0
Gained in essays 3 3 0
Am glad he is dead by 3 13 6.
Yet the evident heartlessness of this calculation has been ingeniously
vindicated by Southey, in the Quarterly Review.