of a son, whom she left with a sum of money under the care of a person in the same parish, and promised to fetch him at a certain age, but has not since been heard of ... if living, she is asked to send a letter to "J.E.", at the Chapter Coffee-house, St. Paul’s Churchyard ... this advertisement is published by the person himself [_i.e._, the son, born near Bath] not from motives of necessity, or to court any assistance (he being by a series of happy circumstances possessed of an easy and independent fortune).’ It would, I fancy, be difficult at the present day to find anyone, having a reputation of any note to keep up, willing to receive answers to such an advertisement, which, if it was not a fraud, looked terribly like an attempt at one. It happened in those days, as it occasionally does now, that the estates of gentlemen who married late in life passed away to remote branches; the ’young gentleman’ had no doubt reflected on this subject. The Turk’s Head seems, to judge by advertisements, to have been somewhat heathenish. Here is another advertisement, also from the _Morning Post_, answers to which it took in: ’Whereas there are ladies, who have £2,000, £3,000, or £4,000 at their command, and who, from not knowing how to dispose of the same to the greatest advantage ... afford them but a scanty maintenance ... the advertiser (who is a gentleman of independent fortune, strict honour and character, and above reward) acquaints such ladies that if they will favour him with their name and address ... he will put them into a method by which they may, without any trouble, and with an absolute certainty, place out their money, so as to produce them a clear interest of 10 or 12 per cent.... on good and safe securities. Direct to "R.J.," Esq., at the Turk’s Head Coffee-house, Strand.’ We pity any lady who fell into the clutches of this ’gentleman of independent fortune’! And how the Turk’s Head must have grinned when answers to ’R.J.’ arrived! About the same time a gentleman advertised that he knew a method, which reduced it almost to a certainty to win a considerable sum by insuring numbers in the lottery. For ten guineas the gentleman was prepared to ’discover the plan.’ Answers to be sent to the York Coffee-house, St. James’s Street. Another gentleman is willing to lend £3,000 to anyone having sufficient interest to procure him a Government appointment, worth £200 or £300 per annum. Answers to this were to be sent to the Chapter Coffee-house, St. Paul’s. To some of the coffee-houses it would seem porters were attached, ready to run errands for customers, or the outside public; some of them seem to have earned a reputation of a certain character. Thus Cynthio (_Spectator_, No. 398) employs Robin, the porter, who waits Will’s Coffee-house, to take a letter to Flavia. ’Robin, you must know,’ we are told, ’is the best man in the town for carrying a billet; the fellow has a thin body, swift