Grace hath often faid, you would never infringe any of our liberties. I will call back nothing of what is paft: I will forget, if I can, that you mentioned to me a licence to be abfent. Neither my age, health, humour, or fortune, qualify me for little brangles; but I will hold to the practice delivered down by my predeceffors. I thought, and have been told, that I deserved better from that church and that kingdom: I am fure I do from your Grace. And, I believe, people on this fide will atteft, that all my merits are not very old. It is a little hard, that, the occafion of my journey hither being partly for the advantage of that kingdom, partly on account of my health, partly on business of importance to me, and partly to fee my friends; I cannot enjoy the quiet of a few months, without your Grace interpofing to disturb it. But, I thank God, the civilities of those in power here, who allow themselves to be my profeffed adverfaries, make fome attonement for the unkindnefs of others, who have so many reafons to be my friends. I have not long to live; and, therefore, if confcience were quite out of the case for me to do a base thing, I will fet no unworthy examples for my fucceffors to follow:

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low: And, therefore, repeating it again that I fhall not concern myself upon the proceeding of your Lordship, I am, &'c.

I

LETTER XLII.

To the Countefs of SUFFOLK.

MADAM,

Twickenam, August 15, 1727. WISH I were a young lord, and you were unmarried: I fhould make you the best husband in the world, for I am ten times deafer than ever you were in your life; and, instead of a pea-pein in my face, I have a good fubftantial giddinefs and head-ache. The beft of it is, that, although we might lay our heads together, you could tell me no fecrets that might not be heard five rooms diftant. These diforders of mine, if they hold me as long as they used to do fome years ago, will last as long as my leave of abfence, which I fhall not renew: And then the Queen will have the misfortune not to see me, and I fhall go back with the fatisfaction never to have seen her fince he was Queen, but when I kissed her hand. And, although

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you

although fhe were a thousand Queens, I will not lofe my privilege of never seeing her but when the commands it. I told my two landlords, that I would write you a love-letter; which, I remember, you commanded me to do last year: But I would not fhow it to either of them. I am the greateft courtier and flatterer you have; because I try your good sense and taste more than all of them put together, which is the greatest compliment I could put upon you: And have hitherto behaved yourfelf tolerably well under it; much better than your Mistress, if what a lady told me was true: That, talking with the Queen about me, her Majefty faid, I was an odd fort of man. But I forgive her; for it is an odd thing in an honest man to fpeak freely to princes. I will fay another thing in your praife, that goodness would become you better than any perfon I know: And, for that very reason, there is no body I wish to be good fo much as yourself, I am, &c.

LET

LETTER XLIII.

To his Excellency the Lord CARTERET, Lord-Lieutenant of IRELAND.

MY LORD,

January 18, 1727-8.

I WAS informed, that your Excellency having referred to the University here, fome regulation of his Majefty's benefaction for profeffors; they have, in their anfwer, infinuated as if they thought it best, that the several profefforships should be limited to their fellows, and to be held only as they continue to be fo. I need not inform your Excellency, how contrary fuch a practice is to that of all the universities in Europe. Your Excellency well knows how many learned men, of the two last ages, have been invited by princes to be profeffors in fome art or science, for which they were renowned; and that the like rule hath been followed in Oxford and Cambridge. I hope your Excellency will fhew no regard to fo narrow and partial an opinion, which can only tend to mend fellowships, and spoil profefforships: Al· though I should be forry, that any fellow should be thought incapable on that ac

count, when otherwife qualified. And I fhould be glad that any perfon, whose education hath been in this university, should be preferred before another upon equal defervings. But that must be left to thofe who fhall be your Excellency's fucceffors, who may not always be great clerks: And I wish you could, in fome measure, provide against having this benefaction made a perquifite of humour or favour. Whoever is preferred to a bishoprick, or to such a preferment as fhall hinder him from refiding within a certain diflance of this town, should be obliged to resign his profefforship.

As long as you are Governor here, I fhall always expect the liberty of telling you my thoughts; and I hope you will confider them, until you find I grow impertinent, or have fome bias of my own.

If I had not been confined to my chamber, by the continuance of an unconverfable diforder, I would have exchanged your trouble of reading for that of hearing. I am, &c.

I defire to prefent my most humble refpects to my Lady Carteret,

Your