The remembrance of this inconvenience, which the Londoners had suffered
during the stoppage of their supply from Newcastle, made "the committees
of both kingdoms conclude and agree among themselves, that some of the
most notorious delinquents and malignants, late coal-owners in the town
of Newcastle, be wholly excluded from intermeddling with any shares or
parts of colleries;" "but as the parliament might find a difficulty in
_driving on the trade_, they did not conceive it for their service to
put out all the said malignants at once, but were rather constrained,
for the present, to make use of those delinquents in working their own
collieries as tenants and servants." The more stubborn and _wealthy_,
therefore, were selected for example; and the others had this favour
shown them.

* * * * *


LADY-POETS OF ENGLAND.


The following is a Frenchman's expression of homage to our modern female
poets, in which we excel all the world:--

It is remarkable, that in the latter years of the eighteenth century, and
also during the whole course of our revolution, there appeared in England
a whole school, as it were, of female authors, whose pure and graceful
productions are disfigured by no exaggerations, nor are they of that
sombre character which distinguishes the modern literature of their
country. Of the lady-authors of England, the most celebrated is Lady
Wortley Montagu, the contemporary of Pope, who has left poems, but more
especially letters, highly remarkable for their talent and philosophy. It