actually took place, being still at Leeds, I wrote* two anonymous pamphlets, one entitled The Present State of Liberty in Great Britain and her Colonies, which gained me the friendship of Sir George Saville, and the good opinion of the Marquis of Rockingham, and many other persons, then in opposition to the ministry. Cheap editions were soon printed of that pamphlet, and they were distributed in great number through the kingdom. Soon after this, at the earnest and joint request of Dr. Franklin and Dr. Fothergil, I wrote another pamphlet, entitled, An Address to Protestant Dissenters, on the same subject, one sentence of which was written by Dr. Franklin, who corrected the press, as was mentioned in my last.† This pamphlet was circulated with more assiduity, and was thought to have had more effect than any thing that was addressed to the public at the time. Dr. Franklin said it was his serious opinion that it was one principal reason with the ministry of that day for dissolving the Parliament a year sooner than usual; and at the next meeting of Parliament I heard Lord Suffolk, then Secretary of State, avow that it was done to prevent the minds of the people from being poisoned by artful and dangerous publications, or some expressions of an equivalent nature.

So far Mr. Burke and I proceeded with perfect harmony, until after I had left the Marquis of Landsdowne; and while I was in his family I was careful not to publish any political pamphlet or paragraph whatever, lest it should be thought that I did it at his instigation, whereas politics was expressly excluded from our connexion. But I thought it right never to conceal my sentiments with respect to events that interested every body, and they were always in perfect concurrence with those of Mr. Burke, with whom I had frequent interviews.

The last of these was when I lived at Birmingham, when, being accompanied by his son, he called and spent a great part of the afternoon, with me.

After much general conversation, he took me aside to a small terrace in the garden in which the house stood, to tell me that Lord Shelburne, who was then prime minister, finding his influence diminished, and of course his situation uncertain, had made proposals to join Lord North. Having had a better opportunity of knowing the principles and character of his Lordship than Mr. Burke, I seemed (as he must have thought) a little incredulous on the subject; but before I could make any reply, he said, "I see you do not believe me, but you may depend upon it he has made overtures to him, and in writing ;" and without any reply, I believe, on my part, (for I did not give much credit to the information,) we returned to the rest of the company. However, it was not much more than a month or six weeks after this, before he himself did the very thing that, whether right or wrong, expedient or inexpedient (for there were various opinions on the subject), he at that time mentioned as a thing so atrocious, as hardly to be credible.

After this our intimacy ceased; and I saw nothing of him except by accident. But his particular animosity was excited by my ↑ See supra, p. 392.

* In 1769. W. XXII. 380.

answer to his book on the French Revolution, in which, though he introduced a compliment to me, it was accompanied with sufficient asperity. The whole of the paragraph, which related to the friends of the revolution in general, is as follows:

"Some of them are so heated with their particular religious theories, that they give more than hints that the fall of the civil powers, with all the dreadful consequences of that fall, provided they might be of service to their theories, would not be unacceptable to them, or very remote from their wishes. A man amongst them of great authority, and certainly of great talents, speaking of a supposed alliance between Church and State, says, Perhaps we must wait for the fall of the civil powers before this most unnatural alliance be broken. Calamitous, no doubt, will that time be: but what convulsions in the political world ought to be a subject of lamentation, if it be attended with so desirable an effect?'t You see with what a steady eye these gentlemen are prepared to view the greatest calamities which can befal their country!"

The sentiment, however, of this offensive paragraph, with which I closed my "History of the Corruptions of Christianity," and which has been quoted by many others, in order to render me obnoxious to the English government, had no particular or principal view to England, but to all those countries in which the unnatural alliance between Church and State subsisted, and especially those European states which had been parts of the Roman empire, but were then in communion with the Church of Rome. Besides that the interpretation of prophecy ought to be free to all, it is the opinion, I believe, of every commentator that those states are doomed to destruction. Dr. Hartley, a man never suspected of sedition, has expressed himself more strongly on this subject than I have done. Nothing, however, that any of us have advanced on the subject implies the least degree of ill-will to any of those countries; for though we cannot but foresee the approaching calamity, we lament it; and, as we sufficiently intimated that timely reformation would prevent it, we ought to be thanked for our faithful, though unwelcome, warnings.

Though, in my answer to Mr. Burke, I did not spare his principles, I preserved all the respect that was due to an old friend, as the letters which I addressed to him will shew. From this time, however, without any further provocation, instigated, I believe, by the bigoted clergy, he not only never omitted, but evidently sought and took every advantage that he could, of opportunities to add to the odium under which I lay.

Among other things, he asserted in one of his speeches, that "I was made a citizen of France on account of my declared hostility to the constitution of England;" a charge for which there was no foundation, and of which it was not in his power to produce any proof. In the public papers, therefore, which was all the resource I had at that time, I denied the charge, and called upon him for the proof

* In 1791, W. XXII. 145.

+ In 1782. See W. V. 504; XV. 548, note ||.

See ibid. pp. 575–578.

of what he had advanced; at the same time sending him the newspaper in which this was contained; but he made no reply. In my preface to a Fast Sermon in the year following, I therefore said that it sufficiently appeared that "he had neither ability to maintain his charge, nor virtue to retract it." This also was conveyed to him. Another year having elapsed, without his making any reply, I added, in the preface to another Sermon, after repeating what I had said before, "a year more of silence on his part having now elapsed, this is become more evident than before."* This also he bore in silence.

A circumstance that shews peculiar malignity was, that on the breaking out of the riots of Birmingham, a person who at that time lodged in the same house with him at Margate, informed me that he could not contain his joy on the occasion; but that, running from place to place, he expressed it in the most unequivocal manner.

After this I never heard any thing concerning Mr. Burke but from his publications, except that I had a pretty early and authentic account of his first pension, which he had taken some pains to conceal. Such is sometimes the fate of the most promising and longcontinued of human friendships. But if I have been disappointed in some of them, I have derived abundant satisfaction and advantage from others.

* See W. XV. 499-501, 526 note †.

J. PRIESTLEY.

INDEX OF SUBJECTS.