support of Addison, indeed, conferred a weight and consequence upon his character which it could not otherwise have acquired; but, independent of this assistance, the mental and moral merit of Budgell were, at this period, adequate to the establishment of a very estimable reputation,

It is one of the most useful provinces of biography to point out the fatal consequences of vice and folly; and the future life of this unfortunate man furnishes us with a striking and lamentable example of the fairest hopes and fame obscured and blasted by excess of vanity and passion.

The nomination of the Duke of Bolton to the lord lieutenancy of Ireland in 1718 was the crisis of our author's fate. This nobleman had for some time patronised a Mr. Edward Webster, who, when his grace visited Dublin, not only accompanied him as a friend, but was immediately appointed his chief secretary, and a privy counsellor. Budgell, whose ideas of his own importance had led him to expect much attention from the Duke, was extremely mortified at the preference and respect paid to a man for whom he professed to entertain the utmost contempt. Webster was not tardy in retaliating, the affront, and soon after irritated the comptroller almost to madness, by insisting upon quartering on him

one of his friends and favourites. Budgell resisted the demand with high indignation; and, not content with pouring forth a torrent of abuse on the family, education, and abilities of his adversary, he was indiscreet enough, in a succeeding pamphlet, to implicate the Duke in the controversy, and to accuse him of extreme folly and imbecility. The consequence was such as might naturally have been expected; the Duke, very justly offended at the intemperance of Budgell, procured his removal from office; and he was under the necessity of immediately leaving Ireland, to escape the storm which he had so wantonly raised.

On his arrival in England, he instantly waited upon his friend Addison, by whose advice had he regulated his conduct he would have altogether avoided this disgraceful retreat. Addison had now relinquished the seals, and, with a view to the recovery of his health, was altogether resident in the country. No two characters could be more opposed than were, at this time, those of this amiable man, and of Budgell. Mildness, resignation, and forgiveness were descriptive of the former; in the latter, an exasperated mind and a keen spirit of revenge were the prominent fea tures. The influence of Addison upon his temper and conduct ceased now to act; and though

strongly urged by his friend to forbear any further discussion of the subject, he almost immediately published a statement of his case; which, though written with some address, and circulated with such rapidity, that eleven hundred copies were disposed of in one day, only served to increase the number and virulence of his enemies.

Addison, notwithstanding he felt much hurt at the pertinacity and violence of Budgell, exerted every nerve in his favour, and obtained a promise from the Earl of Sunderland, that when the clamour of party had subsided, he would support and patronize him. The kind effort, however, was rendered unavailing by the usual imprudence of Budgell, who, in 1719, by writing a pamphlet against the peerage bill, so offended the Earl, that he no longer considered himself as under any obligation to promote his views. This event was speedily followed by the death of Addison: a loss irreparable to Budgell, and which not only deprived him of an invaluable and faithful friend, but at once annihilated all probable prospect of his ever enjoying court preferment.

To divert his chagrin, he passed over to France, in the autumn of this year (1719;) and having travelled through part of its provinces, and seen the chief cities of Flanders, Brabant, and Hol

land, he joined the court at Hanover, and in November, accompanying the royal suite, revisited his native country.

If Budgell commenced his tour with the expectation of allaying that irritation and fever of mind which, in the opinion of his friends, had already nearly placed him in the situation of a delirious man, he was completely disappointed. Though possessed of a fortune which, with regulated wishes, might have enabled him to live with perfect dignity and independence, his restless ambition and unsubdued revenge were perpetually prompting the means of acquiring some official situation under government. In all his efforts and applications, however, and they were numerous, he was, through the influence of his enemies, altogether unsuccessful; and he at length relinquished in despair his political views, to embrace the still more hopeless scheme of gambling in the stocks.

He began this ruinous practice in the year 1720; and very soon imbibing all the national enthusiasm and infatuation relative to the Southsea scheme, he deeply engaged in that delusive undertaking, and saw himself speedily deprived of twenty thousand pounds! the stroke, though severe, did not deprive him of his wonted energy, and he entered into the business and debates of

the general courts of the company with so much spirit, activity, and elocution, as to attract the attention and admiration of the Duke of Portland, who, having lost nearly the whole of his property, likewise, by this wretched bubble, had been just nominated, with a view to the retrieval of his affairs, governor of Jamaica. This nobleman generously offered to take Mr. Budgell with him as his secretary, to treat him as his friend and brother, and to make his interest his own. Budgell received the proposal with joy and gratitude; but while he was making the necessary arrangements for his new office, preparatory to embarking, a secretary of state waited upon the Duke with information, " that he might take any man in England for his secretary, excepting Mr. Budgell; but that he must not take him."

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In this instance Mr. Budgell was certainly more sinned against than sinning;", the severity of ministers was cruel and excessive, and in its consequences, to a man of such irritable feelings as was the object of their persecution, almost irreparably destructive. His resentment, as might be imagined, knew no bounds; he endeavoured, though in vain, by every effort to procure a seat in parliament; and in these fruitless attempts he sunk the remainder of his property, to the amount, it is said, of five thousand pounds.