209 war, were openly expofed in the triumph, and then lodged in the capitol for the public fervice. So that, upon the whole, we are not yet quite fo bad at worst, as the Romans were at best. And I doubt, thofe who faife this hideous cry of ingratitude, may be mightily mistaken in the confequence they propofe from fuch complaints. I remember a faying of Seneca, Multos ingratos invenimus, plures facimus; We find many ungrateful perfons in the world, but we make more, by fetting too high a rate upon our pretenfions, and undervaluing the rewards we receive. When unreasonable bills are brought in, they ought to be taxed, or cut off in the middle. Where there have been long accounts between two. perfons, I have known one of them perpetually making large demands, and preffing for payments; who, when the accounts were caft up on both fides, was found to be debtor for fome hundreds. I am thinking, if a proclamation were iffued out for every man to fend in his bill of merits, and the lowest price he fet them at, what a pretty fum it would amount to, and how many such iflands as this must be fold to pay them. I form my judgment from the practice of those who fometimes happen to pay themselves, and, I dare affirm, would not be fo unjust to take a farthing more, than they think is due to their deferts. I will inftance only in one article: A lady of my acquaintance appropriated twenty-fix pounds a-year out of her allowance for certain ufes, which her woman received, and was to pay to the lady or her order, * * Supposed to be her late Majefty Q. Anne. The matter was this. At the Queen's acceffion to the government, the used to lament to me, that the crown being im poverished by former grants, fhe wanted the power her predecef fors had enjoyed to reward faithful fervants; and the defired me to take out of the privy purfe 2000 1. a year, in order to purchase for my advantage. As her Majefty was fo good to provide for my children, and as the offices I enjoyed by her favour brought me in more than I wanted, conftantly declined it, till the time he was pleased to difmifs me from her fervice. Then indeed I fent the; Queen one of her own letters, in which The had preffed me to take the 20col. a-year; and I wrote at the fame time to ask her Majefty, whether the would allow me to charge in the privy-purfe accounts, which I was to fend her, that yearly sum from the time of the offer, amounting to 18,000l. VOL. II. S Her order, as it was called for. But after eight years it appeared upon the ftrictest calculation, that the woman had paid but four pounds a-year, and funk two and twenty for her own pocket. It is but fuppofing, inftead of twentyfix pounds, twenty-fix thoufand; and by that you may judge, what the pretenfions of modern merit are, where it happens to be its own paymaster. No 17. Thursday, November 30. 1710. Quas res luxuries in flagitiis, avaritia in rapinis, fuperbia in contumeliis efficere potuiffet; eas omnes feje, hoc uno prætore per triennium, pertuliffe aiebant. W Hen I firft undertook this paper, I was refolved to concern myself only with things, and not with perfons. Whether I have kept or broken this refolution, I cannot recollect; and I will not be at the pains to examine, but leave the matter to thofe little antagonists, who may want a topic for criticifm. Thus much I have discovered, that it is in writing as in building; where, after all our schemes and calculations, we are mightily deceived in our accounts, and often forced to make use of any materials we can find, that the work may be kept a-going. Befides, to fpeak my opinion, the things I have occafion to mention are fo clofely linked to perfons, that nothing but time (the father of oblivion) can feparate them. Let me put a parallel cafe: fuppofe I should complain, that last week my coach was within an inch of overturning in a footh even way, and drawn by very gentle horfes; to be fure all my friends would immediately lay the fault upon John, because he knew he then prefided in my coach box. Again, fuppofe 1 fhould difcover fome uneafinefs to find myself, I knew not how, over Hier Majefty was pleafed to anfwer, might charge it. This therefore I did. Account of the conduct of the dowager Duchess of Marlborough, p. 294 295. Hawkes. head head and ears in debt, although I were fure my tenants paid their rents very well, and that I never spent half my income; they would certainly advife me to turn off Mr Oldfox* my receiver, and take another. If, as a juftice of peace, I fhould tell a friend, that my warrants and mittimufes were never drawn up as I would have them; that I had the misfortune to fend an honeft man to gaol and difmifs a knave; he would bid me no longer trult Charles and Harry †, my two clerks, whom he knew to be ignorant, wilful, affuming, and ill-inclined fellows. If I fhould add, that my tenants made me very uneafy with their fquabbles and broils among themfelves; he would counsel me to cashier Will Bigamy t, the fenefchal of my manor. And lastly, if my neighbour and 1 happened to have a mifunderstanding about the delivery of a meage, what could I do lefs than ftrip and difcard the blundering or malicious rafcal who carried it? It is the fame thing in the conduct of public affairs, where they have been managed with rafhnefs or wilfulness, corruption, ignorance, or injuftice. Barely to relate the facts, at leaft while they are fresh in memory, will as much reflect upon the perfons concerned, as if we had told their names at length. I have therefore fince thought of another expedient, frequently practifed with great fafety and fuccefs by fatirical writers; which is that of locking into history for fome character bearing a refemblance to the perfon we would defcribe: and with the abfolute power of altering, adding, or fuppreffing what circumftances we pleafe, I conceive we must have very bad luck, or very little fill, to fail. However, fome days ago in a coffeehouse looking into one of the politic weekly papefs, I found the writer had fallen into this fcheme; and I happened to light on that part, where he was defcribing a perfon, who from fmall beginnings grew (as I remember) to be conftable of France, and had a very haughty imperious wife. I took Lord Godolphin. + Earl of Sunderland, and Henry Boyle, Efq; were at this time Secretaries of State. Lord Chancellor Cowper. S 2 the the author for a friend to our faction (for fo, with great propriety of fpeech, they call the Queen and miniftry, almoft the whole clergy, and nine parts in ten of the kingdom); and I faid to a gentleman near me, that although I knew well enough what perfons the author meant, yet there were feveral particulars in the husband's character, which I could not reconcile; for that of the Lady, it was juft and adequate enough. But it feems I miftook the whole matter, and applied all I had read to a couple of perfons, who were not at that time in the writer's thoughts. Now, to avoid fuch a misfortune as this, I have been for fome time confulting Livy and Tacitus to find out the character of a princeps fenatus, a prætor urbanus, a quaftor ærarius, a Cafari ab epiftolis, and a proconful: but among the worst of them I cannot discover one, from whom to draw a parallel without doing injury to a Roman memory: fo that I am compelled to have recourse to Tully. But this author, relating facts only as an orator, I thought it would be beft to obferve his method, and make an extract from fix harangues of his against Verres, only ftill preferving the form of an oration. I remember a younger brother of mine, who deceafed about two months ago, prefented the world with a fpeech of Alcibiades against an Athenian brewer. Now, I am told for certain, that in those days there was no ale in Athens; therefore that fpeech, or at least a great part of it, must needs be fpurious. The difference between my brother and me is this; he makes Alcibiades fay a great deal more than he really did, and I make Cicero fay a great deal lefs. This Verres had been the Roman governor of Sicily for three years; and, on his return from his government, the Sicilians intreated Cicero to impeach him in the fenate; which he accordingly did in feveral orations, from whence I have faithfully tranflated and abftracted that which follows. "MY LORDS, A pernicious opinion hath for fome time prevailed, * Earl of Wharton, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. ss not 66 "not only at Rome, but among our neighbouring na “tions, that a man who hath money enough, although " he be ever fo guilty, cannot be condemned in this place. "But, however industriously this opinion be spread to caft "an odium on the fenate, we have brought before your "Lordships Caius Verres, a perfon for his life and actions "already condemned by all men: but, as he hopes and gives out, by the influence of his wealth to be here ab"folved; in condemning this man you have an opportu "nity of belying that general scandal, of redeeming the "credit loft by former judgments, and recovering the "love of the Roman people, as well as of our neighbours. "I have brought here a man before you, my Lords, who ❝is a robber of the public treasure, an overturner of law. “and justice, and the difgrace as well as deftruction of "the Sicilian province; of whom if you shall determine "with equity and due feverity, your authority will remain "entire, and upon fuch an establishment as it ought to be: "but if his great riches will be able to force their way "through that religious reverence and truth, which become "fo awful an affembly; I fhall however obtain thus much, "that the defect will be laid where it ought; and that "it fhall not be objected, that the criminal was not pro66 duced, or that there wanted an orator to accuse him. "This man, my Lords, hath publicly said, that those ought to be afraid of accufations, who have only robbed enough for their own fupport and maintenance; but that he hath plundered fufficient to bribe numbers; "and that nothing is fo high or fo holy, which money "cannot corrupt. Take that fupport from him, and he can have no other left: for what eloquence will be able “to defend a man, whofe life hath been tainted with fọ 66 many fcandalous vices, and who hath been fo long con. "demned by the univerfal opinion of the world? To pafs over the foul ftains and ignominy of his youth, his "corrupt management in all employments he hatli borne, "his treachery and irreligion, his injuftice and oppreffion; " he hath left of late fuch monuments of his villanies in "Sicily, made fuch havock and confufion there, during "his government, that the province cannot by any means. be restored to its former ftate, and hardly recover it 66. 66 $ 3 « felf |