might become the companions of our leisure, as well as the directors of our households. No man had a greater relish for the pleasures of society, when restrained within the rules of decorum; but he had a great contempt for that 'low-prized wit,' which was shot off at the expense of decency and morals. With his companionable habits, united to a lively imagination, a good understanding, and a general knowledge, it is easy to conceive that he must have communicated as much pleasure as he derived from society; and we may be assured, that the man who attended the levees of Godolphin and Harley, and could ingratiate himself with King William and Queen Anne, must have possessed gentlemanly manners. To the natural goodness of his temper we have the testimony of his contemporary, Dunton, who knew him personally; and his writings sufficiently attest its peaceableness. Although frequently engaged in controversy, and treated with the utmost bitterness by his opponents, he rarely departs from gentleness of language, and studiously avoids the mixing up of personal animosities in general arguments; yet, when aroused by repeated injuries, he could exhibit the manliness and vigour of an upright and independent mind. Of his personal courage no one can doubt who looks into his Reviews.' For his freedoms in attacking the vices of the age he was often threatened with violence, but always treated such threats with ridicule. Against the absurd practice of duelling, in which the injured party puts himself upon a level with the party who commits the injury, he declares himself in forcible terms: yet it appears that he was once concerned in an affair of honour,' for which he expresses his penitence.

"With regard to his petty habits but little can now be told. His religious scruples led him to discourage the theatre, the ball-room, and the card-table, from an apprehension that they are injurious to morals. In this opinion he concurred with many eminent persons, as well of the laity as of the clergy, who signified their approbation of his writings upon those subjects. There was nothing of effeminacy in De Foe's constitution. He was a friend to many sports and athletic exercises, as not only conducive to health, but calculated to support the reputation of the British character.

"His political opinions were as sound as they are useful, as liberal as they are just Until the change in the ministry, towards the end of the reign of Queen Anne, he was commonly identified with the Whigs, because he advocated their political doctrines; but it does not appear that he ever derived from them any solid marks of favour. He seems to have possessed too much of a public spirit for the climate of party. He therefore never entered into the private views of the Whigs, nor lent himself to their schemes for personal

• Amongst his correspondents was William Melmoth, Esq., a worthy barrister, and author of 'The Great Importance of a Religious Life,' &c. Being in pursuit of the same object as De Foe, he sought the assistance of his literary friends, and, says the writer of his life, wrote a letter to the famous author of a miscellaneous and instructive Review,' part of which is as follows:-" Sir,The regard you have shown to the request I have lately made you, to pursue your design of exposing the stage, obliges me to repeat my thanks to you, which I assure you I do with great sincerity, being always pleased, I must own, whenever I see the play-houses attacked; for I am persuaded they greatly contribute to corrupt the present age. I have taken the freedom to send you Mr Bedford's new book, by which you will see that my charge is not ill-grounded, when I told you how little respect had been shown to her Majesty's order. I am the more induced to trouble you with this book, as thinking it may be of some use to you in the design in which you are engaged. I have likewise sent you the opinion of Archbishop Tillotson touching plays, which has lately been printed and dispersed in great numbers, and which, if it were still made more public, as it might be if printed in one of your Reviews,' would prove, I hope, of some use. His opinion, perhaps, may have some weight with those who are proof against other arguments; at least one would think it should make them consider a little what they are doing, when they give countenance to a set of men who seem to bid defiance to all that is serious, &c. &c."-Memoirs of a late eminent Advocate, pp. 54, 55.

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aggrandizement. Before he lost their good word, he had said, 'I have never loved parties, but with my utmost zeal have sincerely espoused the great original interest of this nation, and of all nations; I mean truth and liberty: and whoever are of that party, I desire to be with them." "% His obligations to Harley naturally linked him to that minister, and so far fettered him as to impose silence upon some measures that he could not approve. But he owed nothing to the Whigs, and was so far free to follow his patron, whose opinions upon all essential points corresponded with his own. De Foe, however, was not the man to sacrifice his independence to any minister. Whoever employed him, he made a reserve of his liberty to write upon any subject his judgment dictated; and we have seen that he delivered his sentiments freely upon various measures that emanated from the government of his patron. But this the Whigs either had not the sense to see, or the honesty to acknowledge. In their vituperations of Harley they were equally unsparing of De Foe; making him responsible for opinions that he never maintained, and for books that he did not write. With little regard to truth, and less charity, they accused him of political delinquencies which they could never establish; whilst, in giving vent to their malice, they lost sight of their own factiousness. He who serves his country faithfully must expect reproach; which he will be sure to get from the violent and the venal of all parties. Thus it was with De Foe. The Whigs hated him for his supposed alliance with the Tories: the latter, for his real attachment to the principles of the Whigs. In fact, no man was further removed from Toryism than De Foe, nor wrote more strenuously against it; yet it was his fate to be misunderstood by the party he served, and that with more honesty than those who were loudest in their clamours against him. If upon some occasions he condemned the conduct of the Whigs, as proceeding from a spirit of faction; and differed from them upon others that involved questions of national or commercial policy, posterity will give him praise for the greater patriotism and the sounder judgment: he never swerved, like them, from the principles of liberty, nor lost sight of those distinguished features that first gave them reputation as a party. Amidst the versatility of the times few men were less open to the charge of political apostacy than De Foe; yet no man suffered more unmerited obloquy upon that account. His attachment to Harley, founded upon a sentiment of honour, and strengthened by the persecution of the Whigs, was attended by no compromise of principle, although it led him, perhaps, into some compliances with the times, which his better judgment disapproved; but Harley's friendship was a crime which they could never forgive. The fall of that minister, therefore, was the signal of his own ruin; for the Whigs, ascending to power, made him responsible for offences that were his greatest abhorrence. Of his overtures to them for a reconciliation; of their unforgiving disposition; and of the manner in which he reconciled himself to his lot, he gives a pathetic narrative in the Serious Reflections.'

"De Foe's religious opinions were conformable to the current standard of orthodoxy among Protestants. He appears to have been well acquainted with the theological controversies of his day, and evinces considerable skill as a disputant; but, when speaking of his attainments, he always expressed himself with modesty. Living at a period when disputes were conducted with much intemperance, he protests earnestly against such a mode of warfare. It is not to be expected that a man of De Foe's temperament would be without his prejudices; indeed, who amongst the sons of men can be said to be free from them? If his zeal occasionally betrayed him into intemperate expres sions, and led him to draw conclusions unfavourable to the character of those who differed from him, they are blemishes which occur but seldom in his writings. In the ecclesiastical disputes of the times he took part with the Dissenters. This was no

.. Hist. of the Union,' p. 123.

small disadvantage to him in a financial view, as it incapacitated him for those employments in the state to which his talents and his connexions might lead him to aspire. But he gloried in the profession of Non-conformity, and was one of the ablest advocates of which the Dissenters could boast. His treatment by them was not of the most generous kind; for, if they had but little to give in the shape of honour or promotion, yet they were a wealthy body; and as he suffered in their cause, he had a right to look to them for some assistance in his troubles, and for more comfort and encouragement than he appears to have received. Oldmixon, who delights in misrepresentation, repeatedly calls him an Independent and a Republican; but he was as far from the one as from the other: in his religion he was a Presbyterian, and in his politics a friend to the British Constitution, as settled at the Revolution. Of his personal piety no one can doubt who has perused his writings. The cast of it was similar to that of the Puritans, but free from moroseness, and chastened by a free conversation with men and things. That he was a man of prayer, and made a conscience of religious duties, are no less evident; and there can be no doubt that he carried into his own family those admirable lessons which he laid down for the instruction of others. From the tenour of his writings it may be easily seen that religion was uppermost in his mind, that he reaped its consolations, and lived under an habitual sense of its practical importance. The earnestness with which he enforces it upon his readers leaves no doubt of his sincerity; whilst his language intimates that it had taken full possession of his heart. Of his benevolence in private life the following instance, communicated by a late respected friend, is one doubtless out of many others, which, if known, would illustrate and exalt his character. Mr Isaac James, in a letter to the author, says, 'I have a manuscript account of one Thomas Webb, of Devizes, who afterwards removed to London. After lamenting the death of his wife, in 1724, he says, "And poor distressed I left alone, and no one to go and speak to, save only Mr Deffoe, who hath acted a noble and generous part towards me and my poor children. The lord reward him and his with the blessings of upper and nether spring, with the blessings of his basket and store, &c."

"We must now," proceeds Mr Wilson, "consider De Foe's pretensions as a writer, and the bare catalogue of his works will be sufficient to show that, like the elder Scipio, 'he was never more employed than when at leisure, nor less solitary than when alone.' That he possessed talents of no ordinary cast is a sentiment now so fully established, as to triumph over every contemporary effort to destroy his fame. Though his abilities, in certain respects, were generally acknowledged, full justice was far from being done to his reputation, either during his life or for a considerable time after his decease. By some persons he has been spoken of with contempt, and others have regarded him as a ready miscellaneous writer; but the world is at last become sensible of his great and various talents. De Foe affords one out of many examples, that literary merit, however oppressed for a time by the influence of party, is sure, at length, to find its proper place in the estimation of mankind. He has now outlived his century, when, as Mr Chambers observes, he must be acknowledged as one of the ablest, as he was one of the most captivating writers, of which this island can boast.'

"For the qualities that constitute the basis of his fame De Foe was more indebted to nature than to any acquired endowments. Being shut out from the universities by barbarous statutes, his education was defective, and his learning rather various than profound. He appears, however, to have had a respectable acquaintance with the ancient and modern languages, was well read in history, aud had improved himself by an extensive acquaintance with the world. Few men were better versed in the controversies of his time, whether political or ecclesiastical; or possessed more adroitness in the management of an argument. To extraordinary energy of mind he united the most perfect selfpossession; being as provoking by his coolness as his pertinacity was galling. He pos

sessed a large share of that dry, caustic wit, which gave a peculiar force to his language, and told more significantly than whole pages of sentiment. Perfect master of his own resources, he adapts himself to the humour of his opponents. When they argue fairly, he reasons with acuteness, vigour, and judgment; but when they lose their temper, he laughs at their weakness, and answers their railings by sarcasm. Unfettered by the opinions of other writers, and unawed by the authority of custom and precedent, he never fails to avow his convictions; justly considering that true wisdom consists in the right adaptation of means to existing circumstances, and that novelty should be no bar to improvement. In canvassing the most important subjects of human inquiry, he had to contend with strong prejudices, fortified by imposing sanctions, and defended with bitterness. To encounter them required skill, knowledge, and perseverance; and these De Foe possessed in an eminent degree. It will be found, upon a candid examination, that his sentiments upon most subjects are distinguished by good sense, and a profound acquaintance with human nature; and that his writings, generally, have for their object the diffusion of knowledge and happiness, and the advancement of the best interests of mankind.

"De Foe paid but little attention to the graces of composition. He wrote too fast to study correctness, and seems to have read more for the purpose of storing his mind with ideas, than to express them tastefully. His style is often negligent, and sometimes coarse and verbose. Yet there are many fine passages in his writings, distinguished alike for vigour of thought, smoothness of language, and even elegance of expression; but his usual characteristics are plainness and simplicity. He writes with ease, and generally expresses himself with force and perspicuity; and whilst he pleases by his familiarity, he is often so impressive as to awaken the deepest attention, and to produce impressions that are never effaced. Many of his works appear to have been composed upon the spur of the moment, and the materials gathered from the inexhaustible stores of a retentive memory. Having read and thought much upon almost every subject, he was never at a loss for ideas; and so accurate was his recollection, that he often quotes at a distance from his books, with all the freshness of a recent impression. But De Foe was a perfectly original writer. He gathered his knowledge from men as well as from books; and the use that he made of it discovers equal penetration and judgment. He was not only a keen observer of passing events, but dives into the recesses of the human heart. Whilst the surface of nature furnished him with pictures for delineation, its study enabled him to develope the secret springs that set it in motion. With a lively imagination, and powers of invention that have been rarely equalled, he brings up new worlds of ideas to the mind, that insensibly rivet the attention, and engage the best affections of the heart. Such was the acuteness of his perceptions, that he readily seizes upon every circumstance that constitutes an item in the great drama of life, and renders ít available, by his genius, either for amusement or instruction. Having studied nature in her own school, he acquired a knowledge of her capabilities; whilst he drew upon the resources of his own mind for those lessons of prudence which were suggested by her wants, or dictated by her teachings. In estimating the claims of De Foe to literary merit, it would be unjust to measure him by the standard of a more advanced period. Addison and Swift, to whom he was inferior in the graces of style, and even Johnson himself, with all his vigour and discernment, would be unable to bear such a test. To judge rightly of an author,' observes the last great writer, 'we must transport ourselves to his time, and examine what were the wants of his contemporaries, and what were his means of supplying them. That which is easy at one time was difficult at another.'

"In the number and variety of his works, De Foe stands unrivalled by any writer in the English language; his prototype, William Prynne, perhaps, only excepted. Such was the versatility of his talents, that he wrote upon almost every subject within the

range of human speculation. Whether it were politics or morals, trade or religion, history or fiction, he seems to be equally at home, and to wield his pen with a power and facility that point him out as no ordinary man. Even the worst of his pieces, in spite of their uninviting style or forbidding subject, display marks of talent and genius that distinguish him from the herd of common-place writers. The number of his works, when | we consider his other numerous engagements, evinces extraordinary rapidity of composition. As an illustration of his readiness, we are told, that he wrote two twelvepenny pamphlets in one day; and those productions had not then attained the ample margin and loose printing of modern times. That he sometimes wrote for present support, may be as true of him as of Steele and others, and entails no discredit in either case; but it appears that most of his writings were directed to some topic of public interest, in which he evinced greater zeal for the national welfare than for his own private advantage. The charge of his being a mercenary writer, therefore, is as unfounded as it was malicious; and being circulated for party purposes, can no longer deceive. He had a great dislike to personal altercations, and thought the public, illused when concerned in such debates. Although few men gave stronger evidence of moderation, yet even this was turned to his disadvantage; for such was the violence of the times, that no man was safe in his reputation who had not the prevailing appetite for extremes.

"Perhaps few writers obtained distinction in so many walks of literature, and still fewer who deserved it so well. In one department only can he be said to have failed. It will now be scarcely believed that De Foe took his station with the poets of his day; yet there were many who read and admired his verses. This might be partly owing to the excitement of the times, and the temporary nature of his subjects. The readers of poesy, however, will find little to gratify them in De Foe, beyond propriety of sentiment, keenness of satire, and benevolence of design; and these, probably, compensated with the vulgar for a want of harmony. Considered as a poet,' says Cibber, Daniel De Foe is not so eminent as in a political light. He has taken no pains in versification; his ideas are masculine, his expressions coarse, and his numbers generally rough. He seems rather to have studied to speak truth by probing wounds to the bottom, than, by embellishing his versification, to give a more elegant keenness. This, however, seems to have proceeded more from carelessness in that particular than want of ability. Poetry was far from being the talent of De Foe. He wrote with more perspicuity and strength in prose; and he seems to have understood as well as any man the civil constitution of the kingdom, which indeed was his chief study.' With the exception of the 'TrueBorn Englishman,' in which are some tasteful and even elegant lines, his poetry would scarcely rescue his name from oblivion. The peculiar circumstances under which this poem was written, its political allusions, and its, caustic satire, rendered it a favourite with the public long after the occasion that produced it, and raised a durable memorial to the author. From his perseverance in composing verses, it may be inferred that he was enamoured with the occupation, and thought better of them than has fallen to the judgment of posterity. That he had a relish for poetry, although his ear was not formed for music, may be conjectured from his criticisms upon the poets of his time, of whom he had but a mean opinion, and his judgment was probably correct. From Dryden to Pope, there was a dearth of English poets. De Foe accounts for it by the drums and trumpets of war, together with the more terrible clamours of the street mobs, and all the et ceteras of parties; and I am told,' says he, 'they can never make any music

since.'

“As a political writer, De Foe takes a much higher rank.

Cibber's Lives of the Poets,' vol. iv.

Possessed of an acute