on the goodness and humanity of the queen's difpofition, by reprobating the boundless ambition and avarice which prompted the general to continue a war fo fruitful of mifery and calamity

a war, which might indeed be neceffary to his greatnefs, but which it would be eafy to terminate on very advantageous and honorable terms for the fovereign and nation. The advancement of Sunderland would of course tend to strengthen that influence, which the queen had now learned to dread; and the perfonal confequence of Harley, who feared not the competition of fir Charles Hedges, would be greatly eclipfed by the promotion of a man of Sunderland's high rank, connections, and political abili ty, of which he had already given in a late embassy to Vienna very demonftrative proofs. After a long and obftinate refiftance, the queen thought proper to yield the point in conteft; and the earl of Sunderland was declared fecretary of ftate in December 1706. But from this moment the Marlborough intereft was undermined, and in imminent danger of eventual fubverfion.' Vol. i, P. 463,

When Harley had at length acquired the predominancy, and had put an end to the war, he was involved in a conteft with his chief affiftant. The characters of both are thus fketched.

Oxford was a man not remarkable for capacity; but long and intimately converfant in bufinefs, clofe, plaufible, fubtle, jealous, intriguing, and ambitious. He aimed at engroffing the entire confidence of the queen, and the fole management of affairs; and inftead of admitting Bolingbroke to the rank of co-adjutor, he viewed him with the meannefs of fear and fufpicion, as a competitor by whom he dreaded to be eclipsed, and perhaps fupplanted. On the other hand, Bolingbroke, finding himfelf regarded in the light of a rival, made no fcruple to become fo. This celebrated nobleman, exclufive of the exterior and perfonal advantages by which he was diftinguified, was poffeffed of abilities of the first order of manners the moft captivating, of eloquence the most commanding. In almost every thing the reverse of the earl of Oxford, his temper was open and generous; his conduct, both in public and private life, high-fpirited and magnanimous ; and his measures bold and decifive.' Vol. i. P. 531.

The portrait of the queen is juftly delineated; but perhaps. the fond admirers of Charles I. will not agree with our hifto rian in ftyling Anne the best of the fovereigns of the houfe of Stuart.

Of the favorable opinion univerfally entertained by the English nation respecting the general purity and rectitude of intention which diftinguifhed this laft and beft of the fovereigns of the houfe of Stuart, the epithet of the good queen Anne, fo commonly applied to this princefs, is itfelf a fufficient proof. This good queen, however, had imbibed in a very great degree the hereditary prejudices of her family refpecting the nature and extent of the regal authority; and there is reafon to believe that the

fuccessful refiftance of the nation to the late king James was in her eyes juftified only by the attempts made to establish popery upon the ruins of the protestant religion; to which, in the form of exhibiting itself to her perception, as inculcated and professed by the church of England, the entertained a zealous attachment, or rather a blind and bigoted devotion. As her prejudices, civil and religious, precifely coincided with thofe of the tories, fhe cherifhed a ftrong predilection for that powerful and dangerous faction, in oppofition to the whigs, who were confidered for the most part as latitudinarians in religion, or at best as cool and lukewarm friends of the church; and who certainly regarded the particular mode in which the proteftant religion was profeffed as of little importance, when put in competition with the prefervation, enlargement, or fecurity of the civil and religious liberties of the kingdom. But however blameable were the maxims and meafures of her administration, the queen individually confidered, merits our pity at least as much as our cenfure. Her partiality for her own family, and her diflike of the houfe of Hanover, were natural and pardonable. The queen's own political conduct, notwithstanding her high theoretical principles of govern ment was uniformly regulated by the ftricteft regard to the laws and liberties of the kingdom, for the welfare of which fhe entertained even a maternal folicitude. And if ever the indulged the idea of causing the crown at her decease to revert to the hereditary, and doubtless as the imagined the true and rightful, claimant, it was only on conditions which in her opinion would have effectually fecured both the proteftant religion and the English conftitution from the hazard of future violation. In her perfon the queen was comely and majestic. Her voice was harmonious: she was not deficient in any of the accomplishments of her fex; and fhe was a model of relative and domeftic virtues. Her difpofition was, upon the whole, eafy and gentle, though on particular occafions fomewhat fullen and refentful: and the difcovered an exceffive jealousy of the minutest encroachments upon her autho rity. Her capacity was extremely limited, but her intentions were always upright and laudable; and throughout the entire courfe of her reign, whether under the influence of whigs or tories, fhe could boaft the high and flattering eulogium of a boundless and irrefiftible popularity'. Vol. i. P. 548.

In the fecond of the volumes before us, we observe an'introduction, in which the writer has given a fketch of the reigns. of William and Anne. This was a proper preparative when his hiftory of the kings of Great-Britain of the house of Brunfwick first appeared; but, fince the four volumes which. are now published as one work include the two reigns above mentioned, the introduction is entirely fuperfluous.

* See our XIIIth Vol. New Arr. p. 1.

Among the early additions to the hiftory of George I. we meet with a note which will not please the fucceffors of the tories of that reign.

In a very few places only was the general joy [at the acceffion of the new king] interrupted by any appearance of difaffection. Sacheverel, the reigning idol of the tory faction, on the Sunday preceding the coronation of the king preached at Sutton Coldfield near Birmingham. The effect of his inflammatory harangue was quickly vifible. The loyalifts meeting at a public tavern to celebrate the coronation-day, the rabble affembled in a tumultuous manner, broke the windows of the tavern, and compelled the company to difperfe. The popular cry was, "The church and Sacheverel for ever!-Down with the whigs!" If any one cried "God blefs king George !" his life was in danger. Very late events have demonstrated that the lapfe of eighty years has ferved only to increase the bigotry and brutality of a genuine high-church mob. The name of the king is indeed at prefent combined, in their "bawling and fenfelefs moods," with that of the church. Certainly not because they are become converts to the principles of government, ecclefiaftical or civil, avowed by the ancestors of the monarch, but because they prefumptuously imagine that the monarch has himself become the patron of thofe principles which once formed the bond of attachment to the houfe of Stuart.' Vol. ii. P. 62.

To the account of the arreft of the Swedish minister at the English court, fome extracts from letters are added; but Dr. Johnson's portrait of Charles XII. though drawn by the pen of genius, might juftly have been expunged, as poetical quotations, relative to diftinguifhed characters in hiftory, might with equal propriety be obtruded in every page.

To the character of George I. an anecdote is added, which we are tempted to transcribe.

The following pleafing trait of the characteristic good-nature of this monarch was communicated by a nobleman of diftinguished literary tafte and knowledge. "Soon after the acceffion of George I. to the throne, the duchefs of Buckinghamshire (natural daughter of James II.) was refused a paffage in her carriage through St. James's Park. She in confequence wrote a letter to the king, abufing him in the groffeft language; affirming that he was an ufurper-that he had a better right to go through the park than he, &c. &c. The king, inftead of being offended, only laughed, and faid, "Oh la folle! la folle! qu'on la laiffe paler*!" and gave orders that the thould have liberty of going through the park at her pleasure.' Vol. ii. P. 182.

Two anachronisms of fome confequence in the reign of

"The poor woman is mad! let her pass freely." REY.

George II. we are forry to find uncorrected. The execution of Dr. Cameron, and the impolitic conduct of the court towards the commons of Ireland, are imputed to the influence of the duke of Newcastle, acting as premier after the death of Mr. Pelham. Mr. Belfham, however, might have found, on more attentive examination, not only that Cameron was put to death before the decease of Mr. Pelham, but that the obnoxious orders were fent to the viceroy of Ireland, while that statesman had full fway in the cabinet.

In the narrative of the reign of his prefent majefty, occafional additions are obfervable, particularly in the notes. In one of thefe, Mr. George Grenville is cenfured with fome reafon.

It must be acknowledged, that the conduct of the miniftry relative to the regency bill was calculated to excite great and juft refentment on the part of the king and the princefs of Wales; and it is ftrongly indicatory of that littleness of mind by which Mr. Grenville was characterized. If it were seriously the opinion of this minifter and his colleagues, that the princess was unfit for the office of regent, it was incumbent upon them fairly and explicitly to have stated their objections in council previously to the introduction of the bill. But to fuffer the bill to be introduced under the general prefumption that the princess was comprehended in it, and afterwards to permit, and almost to Anvite, a grofs affront to be paffed upon her, by countenancing a conftruction which excluded her not only from the eventual chance of the regency, but from the actual distinctions of royalty, was a mode of conduct deftitute of ingenuoufnefs or candor, incompatible with equity, generofity, and honor.' Vol. iii. P. 86.

Having affirmed in the former editions of the history of this reign, that the project of American taxation (in 1767) was warmly fupported by a certain defcription of the members of the cabinet, the author now pronounces that statement to be incorrect.

The cabinet (fpeaking from high and indifputable authority) were univerfally adverfe to this foolish and mifchievous scheme of taxation, and in the highest degree incenfed against Mr. Townfhend for involving them in a dilemma fo vexatious and perplexing; and from which they knew no other or better mode of extricating themselves, than by reftraining the duties within as narrow a compass as poffible, with a view to their repeal the first favour. able opportunity. Moft unhappily, when the attempt was made after an interval of two years, the Bedford party had obtained the afcendancy in the cabinet; and the propofition of the duke of

*See our XIIIth Vol. New Arr. p. 320, for an account of the first edition of it.

Grafton was, conformably to the wretched policy of the prefent reign, negatived by a fingle vote.' Vol. iii. P. 133.

In an additional note, very high compliments are paid to the marquis of Rockingham-compliments which, we fear, no statesman now exifting can be faid to deferve, and which are, perhaps, fuperior to the merits of the deceased patriot himself, however eftimable was his character.

In the delineation of character, it is the indifpenfable duty of hiftory to pourtray with a faithful pencil, and to blend with just and difcriminating fkill, the various lights and fhades which enter into the compofition of the picture. But though it is undoubtedly not the lot of humanity to be exempt from imperfection, it may fometimes happen, that the fpots of a distinguished character shall be fo abforbed in the luftre of its virtues, as to render them, to common view at least, and to diftant obfervers, invifible. This appears to have been the cafe with the marquis of Rockingham, who for twenty years acted a very confpicuous part in public life; and in whofe conduct, though placed in the most interesting fituations, and experiencing the mofttrying viciffitudes, envy and malignity have never been able to point out any mixture of weakness or error for which it might be neceffary for those who revere and honor his memory to prefer a claim to indulgence or pardon. In twenty. years' public fervice there is every thing to approve-nothing to cenfure-nothing to forgive, Vol. iv..

P. 191.

Some remarks unfavourable to the character of Louis XVI. are added to the account of French affairs; but the writer is not juftified in faying, that the king finally fell the victim of his own wretched diffimulation.' We have reafon to think, that Louis would have been facrificed, even if he had been the most fincere of men.

An Appendix is fubjoined to the work for the express purpofe of repelling the charges adduced by major Scott; who, "tremblingly alive" to all ftrictures or animadverfions upon the conduct of Mr. Haftings, attacked our author in two pamph lets. Some points Mr. Belham has conceded; but, in the effential parts of his hiftory of the affairs of India, he is not inclined to retract what a partial advocate of the governorgeneral may cenfure or difapprove.

Difcourfes relating to the Evidences of revealed Religion, de livered in Philadelphia, By Jofeph Priestley, LL. D. &c. Vol. II. 8vo. 75. Boards. Doblon, Philadelphia. 1797.

THIS is the fecond * volume of difcourfes on the fame fubject, printed in Philadelphia, and the third of a series, of

See Crit, Rev. New Arr. Vol. XIX. p. 47.