advantageous character to a great and wife lady; of which I could easily produce infances. Mr. Pope, befide his natural and acquired talents, is a gentleman of very extraordinary candour; and is, confequently, apt to be too great a believer of affurances, promifes, profeffions, encouragements, and the like words of course. He asks nothing, and thinks, like a philosopher, that he wants nothing. Mr. Gay is, in all regards, as honest and sincere a man as ever I knew; whereof neither princes nor minifters are either able to judge or inclined to encourage: Which, however, I do not take for fo high a reach of politicks as they ufually fuppofe. For, however infignificant wit, learning, and virtue may be thought in the world, it perhaps would do government no hurt to have a little of them on it's fide. If you have gone thus far in reading, you are not fo wife as I thought you to be. But I will never offend again with fo much length. I write only to juftify myself. I know you have been always a zealous Whig, and fo am I to this day: But nature hath not given you leave to be virulent. As to myself, I am of the old Whig principles,

ciples, without the modern articles and refinements.

Your Ladyfhip fays not one fyllable, to inform me whether you approve of what I fent you to be written on the monument, nor whether you would have it in Latin or English. I am ever, with true refpect and high esteem,

MADAM,

Your Ladyfhip's, ¿x.

The friend I named, who I was afraid would die, is recovered; and his preferment is by turns in the Crown and the Primate, but the next vacancy will not be in the Crown's difpofal.

I

LETTER LVII.

To the BISHOP of CLOGHER. *

MY LORD,

July, 1733.

HAVE been often told by fome of our

common acquaintance, that you have fometimes expreffed your wonder that I never waited on you for fome years past, as I used to do for many years before; and that you could not guefs the reason, be

* Dr. John Stearne,

cause,

cause, to your knowledge, you never once difobliged me. As nothing is more common than dropping acquaintance by the ufual occurrences of life, without any fault on either fide, I never intended to fay or think any thing of the matter, until a late proceeding of yours, which no way relates to me, put me upon a defire of finding matter to juftify you to your friends here, as well as to myself; because I always wished you well, and because I have been more than once inftrumental to your fervice. When I first came acquainted with you, we were both private clergymen in a neighbourhood: You were afterwards Chancellor of St. Patrick's; then was chofen Dean, in which election I was the most bufy of all your folicitors. When the compromife was made between the Government and you, to make you eafy, and Dr. Synge Chancellor, you abfolutely and frequently promised to give me the curacy of St. Nicholas Without: But you thought fit, by concert with the Archbishop, to hold it yourself, and apply the revenue to build another church; against which it became me to fay nothing, being a party concerned and injured, although it was generally thought by others, as well as myself, that

it was an ill and dangerous precedent to build a church with the revenue of the minifter. I defire no thanks for being inftrumental in your next promotion, becaufe, as things then flood, I confulted my own advantage. However, upon the Queen's death, when I had done for ever with Courts, I returned to refide at my poft, yet with fome kind of hopes of getting fome credit with you; very unwifely: Because, upon the affair of St. Nicholas, I had told you frankly, That I would always refpect you, but never hope for the leaft friendship from you. But, trying to forget all former treatment, I came like others to your house; and, fince you were a bishop, have once or twice recommended perfons to you, who were no relations or friends of mine, but merely for their general good character: Which availed fo little, that those very persons had the greateft fhare of your neglect. I then gave over all thoughts of being inftrumental to place merit and virtue under your protection by my recommendations; and, as I was ever averfe from mingling with multitudes and strangers, I forbore by degrees to be a partaker of your hospitality, rather than purchase a share of it at so dear

a rate.

a rate.

This is the hiftory of my conduct with regard to your Lordship: And it is now a great comfort to me, that I acted in this manner. For, otherwife, when those two abominable bills, for enflaving and beggaring the clergy, (which took their birth from Hell) were upon the anvil, if I had found your Lordship's name among the bishops who would have turned them into a law, I might have been apt to discover fuch marks of indignation, horror, and defpair, both in words and deportment, as would have ill become me to a perfon of your ftation. For, I call God to witness, that I did then, and do now, and shall for ever firmly believe, that every bishop, who gave his vote for either of thefe bills, did it with no other view (bating further promotion) than a premeditated defign, from the spirit of ambition and love of arbitrary power, to make the whole body of the clergy, their flaves and vassals until the Day of Judgment, under the load of poverty and contempt. I have no room for more charitable thoughts, except for those who will anfwer now, as they muft at that dreadful day, that what they did was out of perfect ignorance, want of confideration, hope of future promoVOL. XVI.

N

tion,