fered for the book before he addressed the Doctor, who requested to see it, and, as he turned over the leaves, a three-penny bidding being nodded by him, induced Dr. Gosset, who sat opposite, also to request a sight of it; another nod was the consequence, and the biddings for this book, which might at first have been knocked down for a few shillings, increased to the sum of one pound five. Mr. Patterson had rather an impediment in his speech, which rendered him incapable of pronouncing every word with equal correctness; but, notwithstanding, his excellent judgment and extensive reading were so great, that he delivered in his auctionroom a series of Lectures upon Shakspeare's Plays, to which he admitted me gratis. They were very well attended; George Steevens, Edmund Malone, and Barry the Painter; being among the auditors.
Mr. George Keate has observed, that a man of business should not indulge in much reading, if he wish to make money; and it was certain that Patterson gave up too much of his time to the contents of his books, without looking to the amount of his gains: indeed, so little did he profit by his occupation as an auctioneer, that he was at length glad to become the Librarian of the first Marquess of Lansdowne,
