[ "The Trial of Philetus" ]
Not an account of the Christian martyr Philetus, this is an anonymous mock-heroic account of a "trial" that satirizes various 18th Century English writers. The entry below is from the final installment of this essay, which appeared in The Town and Country Magazine; or the Universal Repository of Knowledge, Instruction, and Entertainment for Dec. 1775. (This magazine ran from 1769 - 1796.)
Old Mr. Blueskin declared he did not wish any man's death; for the pleasure of considering such a spectacle as a public execution, had ceased as soon as he lost his eye sight; but I cannot say, continued he, but transportation would have pleased me; because I would have requested him to have desired my son Sharp, who was sent on a seven years roar to America some time since, and is now a major in the Provincial service, to have sent me over a Newfoundland dog, my present being too small for the purposes of protection. . . . (641)