used to sing at the Foundling Hospital, occur to my mind. “For those, whose goodness founded this, A better house prepare, Receive them to thy heavenly bliss, And nay we meet them there.” This gentleman spent seventeen years, in endeavouring to obtain a charter, for building and establishing the Hospital, which was, at last, granted, in the year 1762; and in the first fourteen years, 14,400 helpless infants were received: in the year 1756, Parliament voted the sum of £10,000 for the support of the Charity: the next year £30,000 more was granted to it; this was encreased to £50,000, in two years more. On its first establishment, it admitted all children, without any restrictions; but this bad plan gave much scope to the vices of the age; seductions became more prevalent; and numberless infants were torn from the affectionate embrace of their mothers, by the cruel hand of unnatural fathers: thus tender mothers were left, like Rachael, “weeping for her children, and refused to be comforted because they were not.” Fathers became the sacrificers of their children. Worse characters, in a certain sense, than Herod:—it is an awful thing to charge a father with such heinous intents; but it is the prevailing opinion, that if there were no Foundling Hospital in the country, or any similar institution, for the purpose of receiving the unfortunate offspring of seduction, many wicked parents would contrive some means or other of getting rid of them. Doubtless many mothers are culpable; but it is more easy to prove, that the father is the greater murderer, who first seduced perhaps a lovely woman, and afterwards most basely, cruelly, and inhumanly deserted both mother and child. I think the father will be found the most culpable in the last great day. This excellent institution, speaking after the manner of men, has saved its thousands of lives, and must be reckoned amongst the rest of those excellent charities, which are the glory of British humanity, notwithstanding all the depravities of our fallen nature. The children are under the care of the Hospital, until 21 years of age; better treatment the children cannot have; though I have sometimes thought it rather hard, that the rules of the Charily forbid, that any mother should have a personal knowledge of her child; but the governors will, at any time, inform her respecting its life and health, while under their guardianship. Every child, I believe, is re-christened, when taken in, and consequently has a different name to that of the parents. All hopes of seeing them again, on the mother’s part, is effectually prevented; they can never expect it, nor can it be attained, but by the knowledge and consent of the governors, unless they have it in their power to provide comfortably for them; on this condition, I have been informed, they may have them back; or they are bound apprentices. I am sorry to say, some mothers have brutality enough