" and that which tastes of the uncleanly pains that "have been bestowed upon it. He makes many

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enemies, by setting an ill-natured example of living, which they are not inclined to follow. His "indifference for preferment, his contempt not only "of splendour, but of all unnecessary plenty, his degrading himself into the lowest and most painful "duties of his calling, are such unprelatical quali"ties, that, let him be never so orthodox in other things, in these he must be a dissenter. Virtues

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"of such a stamp are so many heresies in the opinion of those divines who have softened the primitive injunctions, so as to make them suit bet"ter with the present frailty of mankind. No won"der then, if they are angry, since it is in their own "defence; or that from a principal of self-preserva"tion they should endeavour to suppress a man, "whose parts are a shame, and whose life is a scan"dal to them g."

g With great submission to the editor, Mr. Thomas Burnett, if there ever were any such character of his father in the marquis of Halifax's own handwriting, it must have been wrote by the figure of irony; for it is notoriously known, that the marquis, after he sat with him in the house of lords, made it his constant diversion to turn him and all he said into ridicule; and his son, the last marquis, told me, in his private conversation he always spoke

of him with the utmost contempt, as a factious, turbulent, busy man, that was most officiously meddling with what he had nothing to do, and very dangerous to put any confidence in, having met with many scandalous breaches of trust whilst he had any conversation with him. Therefore I believe Tom must have been mistaken, and that it will appear, if ever he finds the original, to be in his father's, not the marquis's own handwriting. D.

TABLE OF THE CONTENTS

OF THE FOREGOING

VOLUME.

BOOK VII. (continued.)

Of the reign of queen Anne.

a (The pages referred to are those of the folio edition, which are
inserted in the margin of the present.)