Page images
PDF
EPUB

the same party, "That both their lordships, about "the time of lord Godolphin's removal, did, upon "occasion, call to mind what I had said to them "five years before."

In my journeys to England, I continued upon the same foot of acquaintance with the two lords last mentioned, until the time of prince George's death; when the queen, who, as is before related, had for some years favoured that party, now made lord Somers president of the council, and the earl of Wharton lieutenant of Ireland. Being then in London, I received letters from some bishops of Ireland, to solicit the earl of Wharton about the remittal of the first-fruits and tenths to the clergy there, which the queen had long promised, and wherein I had been employed before, with some hopes of success from the earl of Godolphin. It was the first time I ever was in company with the earl of Wharton: he received me with sufficient coldness, and answered the request I made in behalf of the clergy, with very poor and lame excuses, which amounted to a refusal. I complained of this usage to lord Somers, who would needs bring us together to his house, and presented me to him ; where he received me as dryly as before.

It was every body's opinion, that the earl of Wharton would endeavour, when he went to Ireland, to take off the test, as a step to have it taken off here: upon which, I drew up and printed a pamphlet, by way of a letter from a member of parliament here, showing the danger to the church by such an intent. Although I took all care to be private, yet the lieutenant's chaplain, and some others, guessed me to be the author, and told his excellency

U 4

excellency their suspicions; whereupon I saw him no more until I went to Ireland. At my taking leave of lord Somers, he desired I would carry a letter from him to the earl of Wharton, which I absolutely refused; yet he ordered it to be left at my lodgings. I staid some months in Leicestershire, went to Ireland; and immediately upon my landing, retired to my country parish, without seeing the lieutenant, or any other person; resolving to send him lord Somers's letter by the post. But, being called up to town, by the incessant intreaties of my friends, I went and delivered my letter, and immediately withdrew. During the greatest part of his government, I lived in the country, saw the lieutenant very seldom when I came to town, nor ever entered into the least degree of confidence with him, or his friends, except his secretary Mr. Addison, who had been my old and intimate acquaintance. Upon the news of great changes here, he affected very much to caress me; which I understood well enough to have been an old practice with him, in order to render men odious to the church party.

I mention these insignificant particulars, as it will be easily judged, for some reasons that are purely personal to myself, it having been objected by several of those poor pamphleteers, who have blotted so much paper to show their malice against me, that I was a favourer of the low party: whereas it has been manifest to all men, that, during the highest dominion of that faction, I had published several tracts in opposition to the measures then taken; for instance, A Project for the Reformation of Manners, in a Letter to the Countess of Berkeley;

The

The Sentiments of a Church-of-England-man; An Argument against abolishing Christianity; and lastly, A letter to a Member of Parliament against taking off the Test in Ireland, which I have already mentioned to have been published at the time the earl of Wharton was setting out to his government of that kingdom. But those who are loud and violent in coffeehouses, although generally they do a cause more hurt than good, yet will seldom allow any other merit; and it is not to such as these that I attempt to vindicate myself.

About the end of August 1710, I went for England, at the desire, and by the appointment, of the archbishops and bishops of that kingdom; under whose hands I had a commission to solicit, in conjunction with two bishops who were then in London, the first-fruits and tenths to the clergy, which had been many years solicited in vain. Upon my arrival in town, I found the two bishops were gone into the country; whereupon I got myself introduced to Mr. Harley, who was then chancellor of the exchequer, and acted as first minister. He received me with great kindness; told me," that he "and his friends had long expected my arrival ;" and, upon showing my commission, immediately undertook to perform it; which he accordingly did in less than three weeks, having settled it at five meetings with the queen, according to a scheme I offered him, and got me the queen's promise for a farther and more important favour to the clergy of Ireland; which the bishops there, deceived by misinformation, not worth mentioning in this paper, prevented me from bringing to a good issue.

When the affair of the first-fruits was fully dispatched,

[ocr errors]

66

patched, I returned my humble thanks to Mr. Harley, in the name of the clergy of Ireland, and in my own; and offered to take my leave, as intending immediately to return to that kingdom. Mr. Harley told me, "He and his friends knew very well what useful things I had written against the principles of the late discarded faction; "and that my personal esteem for several among them, would not make me a favourer of their cause That there was now entirely a new scene: "That the queen was resolved to employ none but "those who were friends to the constitution of "church and state: That their great difficulty lay "in the want of some good pen, to keep up the

[ocr errors]

66

spirit raised in the people, to assert the principles, "and justify the proceedings of the new ministers." Upon that subject he fell into some personal civilities, which will not become me to repeat. He added, "That, this province was in the hands of "several, persons, among whom some were too

busy, and others too idle to pursue it ;" and concluded, "That it should be his particular care, "to establish me here in England, and represent "me to the queen as a person they could not be "without."

"He

I promised to do my endeavours in that way for some few months. To which he replied, expected no more; and that he had other and greater occasions for me."

6:

[ocr errors]

Upon the rise of this ministry, the principal persons in power, thought it necessary that some weekly paper should be published, with just reflections upon former proceedings, and defending present measures of her majesty. This was be

the

gun

gun about the time of the lord Godolphin's removal, under the name of the Examiner. About a dozen of these papers, written with much spirit and sharpness, some by Mr. secretary St. John, since lord Bolingbroke; others by Dr. Atterbury, since bishop of Rochester; and others again by Mr. Prior, Dr. Freind, &c.; were published with great applause. But, these gentlemen being grown weary of the work, or otherwise employed, the determination was, that I should continue it; which I did accordingly about eight months. But, my style being soon discovered, and having contracted a great number of enemies, I let it fall into other hands, who held it up in some manner until her majesty's death.

It was Mr. Harley's custom, every Saturday, that four or five of his most intimate friends, among those he had taken in upon the great change made at court, should dine at his house; and after about two months acquaintance, I had the honour always to be one of the number. This company, at first, consisted only of the lord keeper Harcourt, the earl Rivers, the earl of Peterborough, Mr. secretary St. John, and myself; and here, after dinner, they used to discourse, and settle matters of great importance. Several other lords were afterward, by degrees, admitted; as, the dukes of Ormond, Shrewsbury, and Argyll; the earls of Anglesey, Dartmouth, and Poulett; the lord Berkeley, &c. These meetings were always continued, except when the queen was at Windsor; but, as they grew more numerous, became of less consequence, and ended only in drinking and general conversation of which I may, perhaps, have occasion to speak hereafter.

:

My

« PreviousContinue »