ir Petty and Quarter Sessions.

The last four Lines of this Canto, and the beginning of the next,
contain the miraculous Adventure of the Pudding-Bowl: And, by the by,
we may observe, That it was the Custom of the _Christians_ at that time,
to make Hog-Puddings instead of Minc'd-Pies at _Christmas_; a laudable
Custom very probably brought up to distinguish 'em more particularly
from the _Jews_.

Whereas about a _Christmas_ time,
His Father an Hog had kill'd,
And _Tom_ to see the Pudding made,
Fear that it should be spill'd;
He sat, the Candle for to Light,
Upon the Pudding-Bowl:
Of which there is unto this Day
A pretty Pastime told:
For _Tom_ fell in----

Perhaps some may think it below our Hero to stoop to such a mean
Employment as the Poet has here enjoyn'd him, of holding the Candle, and
that it looks too much like a _Citizen_, or a _Cot_, as the Women call
it: But if we reflect on the Obedience due to Parents, as our Author
undoubtedly did, and the Necessities those People labour'd under, we
cannot but admire at his ready Compliance with what could by no Means be
agreeable to the Heroical Bent of his Inclinations, and perceive what a
tender Regard he had for the Wellfare of his Family, when he took the
strictest Care imaginable for the Preservation of the Hog-Pudding. And
what can be more remarkable? What can raise the Sentiments of Pity and
Compassion to an higher Pitch, than to see an Hero fall into such an
unforeseen Disaster in the honourable Execution of his Office? _This
certainly is conformable to the way of Thinking among the Ancient Poets,
and what a good-natur'd Reader cannot but be affected with._

The following Part of this Canto is the Relation of our Hero's being put
into a Pudding, and convey'd away in a Tinker's Budget; which is
design'd by our Author to prove, if it is understood literally, That the
greatest Men are subject to Misfortunes. But it is thought by Dr.
_B--tly_ to be all Mythology, and to contain the Doctrine of the
Transmutation of Metals, and is design'd to shew, that all Matter is the
same, tho' very differently Modified. He tells me, he intends to publish
a distinct Treatise of this Canto; and I don't question, but he'll
manage the Dispute with the same Learning, Conduct, and good Manners,
he has done others, and as Dr. _Salmon_ uses in his Corrections of Dr.
_Sydenham_ and the _Dispensatory_.

The next Canto is the Story of _Tom Thumb_'s being