lation which he practifed to come at them, of which latter difpofition he has given fuch inftances in the dedications to his Satires to the feveral perfons of high rank, to whom they are addreffed, as alfo in the exordium to each of the Night-thoughts at their first coming abroad, for in the later editions they are omitted, as are a disgrace to manhood, and must have put the vaineft of his patrons to the blufh.

Mr. James Ralph was another of his dependents, of whom, as a pretender to genius, much may be learned from the Dunciad. He was the tool of that party, of which his lordship laboured in vain to become the leader; and, to ferve its purposes, by inflaming the minds of the people, wrote a weekly paper called the Remembrancer *. For this and other good deeds of the like kind, he is, in the diary abovementioned, held forth as an exemplar to all writers of his profeffion, and dignified with the character of an honeft man.

Another of these men of genius, who enjoyed the favour of Mr. Dodington, was Mr. Paul Whitehead, whose love for his country, and knowledge of its interefts, became first known by a satire of his writing entitled, The State Dunces,' which, as he was a pa

* Whoever is defirous of being acquainted with the intrigues of contending factions, and the methods of exciting popular difcontent, may receive ample information from the perufal of lord Melcombe's Diary, and will there find, that to effect this purpose, and furnish the unthinking multitude with topics for clamour, the publication of a political news-paper was by him and his party thought expedient. I have been credibly informed, that dean Swift would frequently boast, that with liberty allowed him for the free exercife of his pen on the measures of government, he was able to write down any miniftry whatever.

triot, and, as all patriots pretend to be, a firm friend to what they call the conftitution, bears this candid motto: I from my foul fincerely hate

Both kings and minifters of ftate.'

He also wrote Manners,' a fatire; a libel of a more general tendency, as including in it many invectives against some of the nobility, and most eminent of the dignified clergy. Of this libel the fale was fo rapid as to exceed the author's moft fanguine wishes, infomuch that, in afew days after the publication thereof, the price rofe to a guinea *.

Of this man, who many years was my neighbour in the country, I know much to blame and fomewhat to commend: he may be fuppofed, in his younger days, to have imbibed that malevolence against the Hanover fucceffion, which was the fentiment of many at the beginning of this century, and by an eafy tranfition, to which the perufal of fuch papers as the

* Johnson has remarked, that no expectation is more fallacious than that which authors form of the reception which their labours will find among mankind. Scarcely (fays he) any man publishes a book, whatever it be, without believing that he has caught the moment when the public attention is vacant to his call, and the world is disposed, in a particular manner, to learn the art which he undertakes to teach.' An inftance of this fallacious hope I recollect in the cafe of a London clergyman, who, being about to publish a fermon which he had compofed, confulted his bookfeller as to the number which he should print: the bookfeller told him, that five hundred copies were as many as would fell. Five hundred!' (faid the author) Why, man, confider there are in England near ten thousand parishes; and if we fuppofe that only the minifter and clerk of each buy one, double that number of copies will be difpofed of. With great difficulty he was perfuaded to yield to the advice of his bookfeller, and the greater part of the impreffion became wafte paper.

Craftíman,

Craftsman, Common-sense, and other publications of the time, and, moft of all, the converfation of fuch perfons as he chofe for his affociates, might probably lead him, to have engendered in his mind. a hatred of all whofe offices in the ftate had made the fupport of government their duty, and a refolution to acquiefce in that fallacious difcrimination of two claffes of men, the one whereof was in, and the other out of power, into the court and country parties.

It is not much to the credit of the latter of thefe two, that fome of the writers on the fide of it were fuch avowed enemies to religion, as might beget, in thofe acquainted with their characters, a fufpicion that, as in the language of politics, there is an alliance between church and state, a fimilar relation fubfifts between infidelity and patriotifm, proofs whereof have not been wanting in these our late times; for it is evident, that as the injunctions to obedience imply religion, the want thereof, quoad the person who is to pay it, vacates the obligation, and leaves him at liberty to form an alliance with the other fide.

And that fome of the writers on the fide of the country party, as it was called, particularly in the Craftsman, were men of this character, is certain. Amhurst, the oftenfible author of the paper, was expelled his univerfity, and was, moreover, a friend and affociate of Strutt, an attorney of the Temple, who wrote feveral letters or effays in his paper, and a treatife with fome fuch title as, A philofophical enquiry into the nature of human liberty,' wherein the freedom of the human will is denied, and the actions of men are made to refult from an irrefiftible necessity. This tract I have heard Whitehead commend, and af

fest

fert that it contained a full refutation of all that Dr. Clarke, in his controverfy with Leibnitz, has advanced in favour of the contrary opinion, and at the fame time fpeak of the author as one whom the greatnefs of his parts, had he lived, would have raised to the dignity of lord-chancellor. But of his moraland religious principles a judgment may be formed, by means of the following letter, which, for the atheiftical expreffions contained therein, was the ground for the expulfion of the writer of it from the univerfity of Cambridge. I forbear remarking on this blafphemous epiftle farther than, that the regret I have often felt in the perufal of it has been not a little increased by the figure that my friend Paul makes in it, and the intimacy between him and Strutt which it discloses.

To Mr. STEPHEN G--BBS.

Dear Stephen,

Oct. 3, 1734.

I received yours, with the guinea and the partridges, for which I return you many thanks, and need not fay how much I fhould rejoice in your company at the eating of them. But we not only 'fuffer the lofs of that, but of PB's too, 'who went to London incog. laft Monday, and it is ' uncertain when he'll have power to break from the

arins of his charmer; but V--will fupply his ' place at the Tuns to-day, who is as great a hero in the cause of truth.

'I am very glad to hear WB——— appears fo well in the world again, and, when you fee him, beg you would remember my kind refpects to ‹ him, wishing him all joy. And as to any farther

pro

' progrefs in atheism, I was arrived at the top, the ne plus ultra, before I enjoyed the beatifick vifion (the 'night I was born in the fpirit from you) being fixed ⚫ and immoveable in the knowledge of the truth, to which I attained by means of that infallible guide 'the Philofophical Enquiry; and I am glad to hear, 'what I did not at all doubt of, that it would equally 5 enlighten your understanding; and am perfuaded 'that you fee the neceffary connection between every propofition, and confequently, that the points now in debate are strictly demonftrated. If any material objection should arife (which is barely a poffible fuppofition) I beg you will confult me, or fome other able minifter of the word of truth, to the

quieting of your confcience, and avoiding all feru་ ple and doubt.

'I was inexpreffibly happy with the most adorable and omniscient Father Strutt, his brother Whitehead, W-- &c. completely fulfilling the fcene propofed in his letter.

'On Saturday we came to Cambridge, where we had the full enjoyment of theirs till Tuesday, when they returned to Bury; and laft Saturday I went thither again by appointment, but they were oblig⚫ed to set out that day for London, and I went with them to Sudbury, where we lay. You'll imagine. I was tranfported with their company, and would not have left them before they got to London, but that I was obliged to return to college to pray. 'I've fent you one fong as a tafte of our mirth *. I ' received a letter from the prefident yesterday, which obliges me to return to Horkfley next Tuesday.