and the thoughts of prosperity can bind a man to the interest of his country, I am certainly bound to stand by liberty; and when you see me forgetful of that, may you treat me like Traulus and Pistorides.* I am impatient for four volumes, said to be your works, for which my wife and I have subscribed; and we expected a dozen of copies from Mr. Tickell last packet. I intend these works shall be the first foundation of the libraries of my three grandsons. In the meantime they will be studied by my son and sonsin-law. I desire you will condescend to make my compliments to Dr. Delany, for whom I have a most hearty esteem, though I know he thinks me not serious enough upon certain arduous points of antiquity. Sir, that you may enjoy the continuance of all happiness, is my wish; as for futurity, I know your name will be remembered, when the names of kings, lords-lieutenants, archbishops, and parliament politicians, will be forgotten; at last, you yourself must fall into oblivion, which may happen in less than a thousand years, though the term may be uncertain, and will depend on the progress that barbarity and ignorance may make, notwithstanding the sedulous endeavours to the contrary, of the great prelates in this and succeeding ages. My wife, my mother, my mother-in-law, my &c. &c. &c., all join with me in good wishes to you; and I hope you will continue to believe, that I am, with the greatest respect, Sir, Your most humble and most obedient servant, * Joshua, Lord Allen, and Richard Tighe, Esq., against whom the Dean had written some severe satires, while Carteret was lordlieutenant. SIR, TO MR. PULTENEY. Dublin, March 8, 1734-5. MR. STOPFORD going to England upon some particular affair, I gladly complied with his desire, that I should do myself the honour of writing to you, because, as useless as I am, and although I shall never have the happiness to see you, yet my ambition to have some small place in your memory, will live as long as myself. I will do an unmannerly thing, which is, to bequeath you an epitaph for forty years hence, in two words Ultimus Britannorum. You never forsook your party. You might often have been as great as the court can make any man so; but you preserved your spirit of liberty, when your former colleagues had utterly sacrificed theirs; and if it shall ever begin to breathe in these days, it must entirely be owing to yourself and one or two friends. But it is altogether impossible for any nation to preserve its liberty long under a tenth part of the present luxury, infidelity, and a million of corruptions. We see the Gothic system of limited monarchy is extinguished in all the nations of Europe. It is utterly extirpated in this wretched kingdom, and yours must be the next. Such has ever been human nature, that a single man, without any superior advantages either of body or mind, but usually the direct contrary, is able to attack twenty millions, and drag them voluntarily at his chariot-wheels. But no more of this. I am as sick of the world as I am of age and disease, the last of which I am never wholly without. I live in a nation of slaves, who sell themselves for nothing. My revenues, though half sunk, are sufficient to support me in some decency. And I have a few friends of great worth, who, when I visit them, or they me, agree together in discovering our utter detestation of all proceeding both here and there. Hac est vita solutorum misera ambitione gravique. I am under the displeasure of the court for fixing up a true whig epitaph in my cathedral, over the burying-place of old Schomberg,* and for some other things of equal demerit or disaffection, wherewith I am charged; perhaps also for some verses laid to my charge, and published without my knowledge or consent; wherein you and another person are understood to be meant by initial letters. I desire your pardon for the trouble I gave in recommending a gentleman to your protection, who has an appeal before the House of Lords; wherein I was prevailed on by an eminent person in the law, who, by a miracle, was raised to the bench in these very times, although he be a man of virtue and learning in a great degree. Dear sir, you have nothing to desire in this world but good health, good times, the prosperity of your family, (wherein you have my constant prayers,) and deserving friends. I have often said, that I never knew a more easy man to live with than yourself; and if you had only a poor forty thousand pounds a-year, I would command you to settle one thousand of it on me to live in your next neighbourhood; but as for our friends at Twickenham and Dawley, I have told them plainly that they are both too speculative and temperate for me to accept their invitation, and infinitely too philosophical. The bearer, Mr. Stopford, has such infinite obligations to you for your See the Countess of Suffolk's rebuke to the Dean for his indiscretion in this particular. Vol. XVII. p. 392. favours to him, and is, in all respects, so very deserving a gentleman, that I am sure you never repented the good office you have done him at my recommendation. But he only attends you on perfect gratitude; for he knows very well you are what is now called a disaffected person. You are, in the modern sense, a friend to Popery, arbitrary power, and the Pretender; and, therefore, he has just politics enough not to trouble you with helping him by the hand to better preferment; and I pray God, while things continue as they are, that it may be never in your power to make a curate, or an exciseman. You will hear, perhaps, that one Faulkner has printed four volumes, which are called my works; he has only prefixed the first letters of my name; it was done utterly against my will; for there is no property in printers or booksellers here, and I was not able to hinder it. I did imagine that after my death, the several London booksellers would agree among themselves to print what each of them had by common consent; but the man here has prevented it, much to my vexation, for I would as willingly have it done even in Scotland. All this has vexed me not a little, as done in so obscure a place. I have never yet looked into them, nor, I believe, ever shall. You will find Mr. Stopford the same modest, virtuous, learned man that you last saw him; but with a few more years, and a great deal more flesh, beside the blessing of a wife and children. I desire to present my humble service to yours. I pray God bless and assist you in your glorious endeavours for the preservation of your country, and remain, with the truest respect, Sir, Your most obedient, and obliged humble servant, You will see, by the many blunders in words, syllables, and letters, what a condition my giddy head is in. FROM MR. PULTENEY. DEAR SIR, London, March 11, 1734-5. I HAVE often desired our friend Pope, when he wrote to you, to allow me a corner of his letter, to assure you of my most humble service; but the little man never remembered it, and it was not worth troubling you with a letter of my own on so insignificant an occasion. Your recommending Mr. Lorinan to me, gives me great pleasure and satisfaction, as it is an instance of your kind remembrance and friendship. I promise you, whoever at any time comes to me from you, shall be sure of meeting with the utmost of my endeavours to serve them. I am glad I can acquaint you, Mr. Lorinan has all the success he could expect or wish for; his cause was a good one, and he had the honour of having it greatly attended. When it was over he asked me, (but in a very modest way,) whether it was possible to get him made receiver of the new Bishop of Derry's rents? I told him, I would try; I did so, found it would not succeed, and so dropped it immediately. What do you say to the bustle made here to prevent the man* from being an English bishop, and There was a dispute concerning Bishop Rundle's promotion, between the Chancellor and Bishop of London. The former pro posed him for the see of Gloucester, which was warmly opposed by the latter, who alleged some heretical doctrines against the |