these two last intriguing years comes to be published, the world will have other notions of our proceedings. This perhaps will not be long untold, and might already have been, if other people had been no wiser than I. After all, my lord, I grant that, from a distant view of things, abundance of objections may be raised against many parts of our conduct. But the difficulties which gave room to these objections are not seen, and perhaps some of them will never appear; neither may it be convenient they should. If in the end it appears that we have made a good bargain for you, we hope you will take it without entering too nicely into the circumstances. I will not undertake to defend our proceedings against any man who will not allow this postulatum, that it was impossible to carry on the war any longer; which whoever denies, either has not examined the state of the nation with respect to its debts, or denies it from the spirit of party. When a friend of mine objected this to lord Nottingham, he freely confessed it was a thing he had never considered. But, however, he would be against any peace without Spain; and why? because he was not privy-seal. But then, why does he vote with the Whigs in everything else, although peace has no concern? because he was not privy-seal. I hope, my lord, we shall in time unriddle you many a dark problem, and let you see that faction, rage, rebellion, and revenge, and ambition, were deeply rooted in the hearts of those who have been the great obstructors of the queen's measures and of the kingdom's happiness; and if I am not mistaken, such a scene may open as will leave the present age and posterity little room to doubt who are the real friends and real enemies of their country. At the same time I know nothing is so rash as predicting upon the events of public councils; and I see many accidents very possible to happen which may soon defeat all my wise conjectures. I am, my lord, your grace's most dutiful and most humble obedient servant.

TO THE REV. MR. WILLIAM DRAPER.

DEAN, NEAR BASINGSTOKE, HAMPSHIRE.

London, April 13, 1713.

SIR, I am ashamed to tell you how ill a philosopher I am, and that a very ill situation of my affairs for three weeks past, made me utterly incapable of answering your obliging letter, and thanking you for your most agreeable copy of verses. The prints will tell you that I am condemned again to live in Ireland; and all that

lord-treasurer intends, after the peace, to declare for the Whigs. They have spread it in Scotland, to prepare people for the next election; and Mr. Annesley told me the other day at my lordsteward's that he had heard I writ the same to my friends in Ireland; which, as it is wholly without ground, so the fact is what I never had the least belief of, although your lordship is somewhat of his grace's mind, in not refusing to converse with his greatest enemies: and therefore he is censured, as you say you are, upon the same account. And to those who charge him with it, (as some are free enough to do it,) he only says his friends ought to trust him; and I have some reason to believe that after a peace the direct contrary will appear. For my own part, I entirely agree with your grace, that a free man ought not to confine his converse to any one party; neither would I do so if I were free; but I am not, and perhaps much less is a great minister in such a juncture as this. Among the many qualities I have observed in the treasurer there is one which is something singular, that he will be under an imputation, how wrong soever, without the pains of clearing himself to his nearest friends, which is owing to great integrity, great courage, or great contempt of censure. I know he has abundance of the two last, and I believe he has the first.

Your grace's observations on the French dexterity in negotiations, as well as their ill faith, are certainly right; but let both be as great as possible, we must treat with them one time or other; and if ministers will not be upon their guard against such notorious managers, they are altogether inexcusable. But I do assure your grace that, as it has fallen in my way to know more of the steps of this whole treaty than perhaps any one man beside, I cannot see that anything in the power of human prudence, under many difficult conjectures, has been omitted. We have been forced to conceal the best side, which I agree has been unfortunate and unpopular; but you will be pleased to consider that this way of every subject interposing their sentiments upon the management of foreign nego tiations is a very new thing among us: and the suffering it has been thought, in the opinion of wise men, too great a strain upon the prerogative; especially giving a detail of particulars, which in the variety of events, cannot be ascertained during the course of a treaty. I could easily answer the objection of your grace's friends in relation to the Dutch, and why they made those difficulties at

these two last intriguing years comes to be published, the world will have other notions of our proceedings. This perhaps will not be long untold, and might already have been, if other people had been no wiser than I. After all, my lord, I grant that, from a distant view of things, abundance of objections may be raised against many parts of our conduct. But the difficulties which gave room to these objections are not seen, and perhaps some of them will never appear; neither may it be convenient they should. If in the end it appears that we have made a good bargain for you, we hope you will take it without entering too nicely into the circumstances. I will not undertake to defend our proceedings against any man who will not allow this postulatum, that it was impossible to carry on the war any longer; which whoever denies, either has not examined the state of the nation with respect to its debts, or denies it from the spirit of party. When a friend of mine objected this to lord Nottingham, he freely confessed it was a thing he had never considered. But, however, he would be against any peace without Spain; and why? because he was not privy-seal. But then, why does he vote with the Whigs in everything else, although peace has no concern? because he was not privy-seal. I hope, my lord, we shall in time unriddle you many a dark problem, and let you see that faction, rage, rebellion, and revenge, and ambition, were deeply rooted in the hearts of those who have been the great obstructors of the queen's measures and of the kingdom's happiness; and if I am not mistaken, such a scene may open as will leave the present age and posterity little room to doubt who are the real friends and real enemies of their country. At the same time I know nothing is so rash as predicting upon the events of public councils; and I see many accidents very possible to happen which may soon defeat all my wise conjectures. I am, my lord, your grace's most dutiful and most humble obedient servant.

TO THE REV. MR. WILLIAM DRAPER.

DEAN, NEAR BASINGSTOKE, HAMPSHIRE.

London, April 13, 1713. SIR,-I am ashamed to tell you how ill a philosopher I am, and that a very ill situation of my affairs for three weeks past, made me utterly incapable of answering your obliging letter, and thanking you for your most agreeable copy of verses. The prints will you that I am condemned again to live in Ireland; and all that

tell

the court and ministry did for me was to let me choose my situation in the country where I am banished. I could not forbear showing both your letter and verses to our great men, as well as to the men of wit of my acquaintance; and they were highly approved of by all. I am altogether a stranger to your friend Oppian; and am a little angry when those who have a genius lay it out in translations. I question whether "Res angusta domi" be not one of your motives. Perhaps you want such a bridle as a translation, for your genius is too fruitful, as appears by the frequency of your similes; and this employment may teach you to write like a modest man, as Shakspeare expresses it.

I have been minding my lord Bolingbroke, Mr. Harcourt, and sir William Windham, to solicit my lord-chancellor to give you a living, as a business which belongs to our society, who assume the title of rewarders of merit. They are all very well disposed, and I shall not fail to negotiate for you while I stay in England, which will not be above six weeks; but I hope to return in October, and if you are not then provided for, I will move heaven and earth that something may be done for you. Our society has not met of late, else I would have moved to have two of us sent in form to request a living for you from my lord-chancellor: and, if you have any way to employ my services, I desire you will let me know it, and believe me to be, very sincerely, sir, your most faithful humble

servant.

TO ARCHBISHOP KING.

London, April 30, 1713.

pre

MY LORD, I had the honor of your grace's letter of the 14th, which at present I cannot answer particularly: I send this to welcome your grace to the Bath, where we conclude you are now arrived; and I hope the design of your journey is more for vention than cure. I suppose your grace has heard that the queen has made Dr. Sterne bishop of Dromore, and that I am to succeed him in his deanery. Dr. Parnell, who is now in town, writ last post to your grace, to desire the favor of you that he may have my small prebend he thinks it will be some advantage to come into the chapter, where it may possibly be in my power to serve him in a way agreeable to him, although in no degree equal to his merits; by which he has distinguished himself so much, that he is in great

esteem with the ministry and others of the most valuable persons in this town. He has been many years under your grace's direction, and has a very good title to your favor; so that I believe it will be unnecessary to add how much I should be obliged to your grace's compliance in this matter: and I flatter myself that his being agreeable to me will be no disadvantage to him in your grace's opinion. I am, with the greatest respect, my lord, your grace's most dutiful and most humble servant.

TO LORD-CHANCELLOR HARCOURT.

May, 1713. MY LORD, I wonder your lordship would presume to go out of town and leave me in fear that I should not see you before I go to Ireland, which will be in a week. It is a strange thing you should prefer your own health, and ease, and convenience, before my satisfaction. I want your lordship for my solicitor. I want your letter to your younger brother of Ireland,' to put him under my government: I want an opportunity of giving your lordship my humblest thanks for a hundred favors you have done me: I wanted the sight of your lordship this day in York-buildings. Pray, my lord, come to town before I leave it, and supply all my wants. My lord-trea surer uses me barbarously: appoints to carry me to Kensington, and makes me walk four miles at midnight. He laughs when I mention a thousand pounds which he gives me; though a thousand pounds is a very serious thing, &c.

TO MR. ADDISON.

May 13, 1713.

SIR, I was told yesterday by several persons that Mr. Steele had reflected upon me in his "Guardian;" which I could hardly believe, until, sending for the paper of the day, I found he had, in several parts of it, insinuated with the utmost malice that I was author of the "Examiner," and abused me in the grossest manner he could possibly invent, and set his name to what he had written. Now, sir, if I am not author of the "Examiner," how will Mr. Steele be able to defend himself from the imputation of the highest degree of baseness, ingratitude, and injustice? Is he so ignorant of my temper and of my style? Has he never heard that the author of the "Examiner" (to whom I am altogether a stranger)