286 Strictures on the Behaviour of English Bishops to Dr. Seabury.

lates to his own fentiments. The words containing the affertion, to which Mrs. Piozzi objects, are printed from my manufcript Journal, and were taken down at the time. The Journal was read by Dr. Johnfon, who pointed out fome inaccuracies, which I corrected, but did not mention any inaccuracy in the paragraph in queftion: and what is ftill more material, and very flattering to me, a confiderable part of my. Journal, containing this paragraph, was read feveral years ago by Mrs. Thrale berfelf, who had it for fome time in her poffeffion, and returned it to me, without intimating that Dr. Johnfon had miftaken her fentiments.

When my Journal was paffing through the prefs, it occurred to me, that a peculiar delicacy was neceffary to be obferved in reporting the opinion of one literary lady concerning the performance of another; and I had fuch fcruples on that head, that in the proof fheet I ftruck out the name of Mrs. Thrale from the paragraph in queftion, and two or three hundred copies of my book were actually printed and published without it; of thefe Sir Joshua Reynolds's copy happened to be one. But while the sheet was working off, a friend, for whofe opinion I have great refpect, fuggefted that I had no right to deprive Mrs. Thrale of the high honour which Dr. Johnfon had done her, by ftating her opinion along with that of Mr. Beauclerk, as coinciding with, and, as it were, fanctioning his own. The obfervation appeared to me fo weighty and conclufive, that I haftened to the printing houfe, and, as a piece of juftice, restored Mrs. Thrale to that place from which a too fcrupulous delicacy had excluded her.

On this fimple ftate of facts I fhall make no obfervation whatever.

Yours, &c. JAMES, BOSWELL.

pofed to yield the homage of adulation to prelates; but furely, if a Proteftant bench refent with juftice any fuch interference of the Pope in their concerns, as the affigning titular diocefans to those fees over which they prefide by virtue of their fovereign's appointment; they acted conformably to the rules of plain common fenfe, and the evangelical precept of doing as they would be done by, if they peremptorily refufed to intermeddle in the ecclefiaftical concerns of America, unless they had been affured their taking a part in them would be acceptable to the rulers of the Thirteen United States. Men heated with the zeal of party, like Jeremiah Leaming and his affociates, are ever inclined to reprefent a backwardnefs towards taking fuch fteps as no prudence could warrant, towards advancing the interefts of their fect in a land where Chrif tianity is prevalent, as equally culpable with a difinclination to propagate its doctrines among the heathen: elfe would they have forborne the affertion, that their imagination can frame no reafon to juftify thofe whom they call the "fucceffors of the apofiles in the church of England." They would have done better to remember, that the original propagators of Chriftianity exerted themfelves in caufing the light of the Gospel to fhine among idolatrous nations, not in obtruding epifcopacy on thofe churches, who, as we learn from various epiftles of St. Paul, St. James, and St. Peter, chofe rather to be guided by a fynod of their most refpe&table elders, than by a fingle bishop; from whom the Prefbyterian mode of difci pline dates an origin equally antient and venerable with the Epifcopal.

The new-created Bishop Seabury, in his gracious anfwer to this curious ad-, drefs, reprefents what he calls the good difpofitions of the firft ecclefiaftical characters in England, as rendered ineffectual by the intervention of civil authority;" which may appear rather furto

who are well aware, that the intervention of common fenfe, and not that of the higher powers, was what prevented the right reverend bench from thus expofing themfelves to the ridicule of all Christendom. The refidue of the paragraph is couched in the following words: "whether it is better to fabmit quietly to this ftate of things in England, or ritk the confufion which would probably enfue, fhould an amend

ment

Strictures on the Behaviour of English Bishops to Dr. Seabury. 287

ment be attempted, requires ferious confideration." Banishing all furmifes of interpolation, I will for a moment credit the above as genuine; and, being unable to decide whether the Americans or English are called on to confider this weighty matter; in order to cut off the jefuitical evafions of my antagonists, and meet them, if poflible, on their own ground, take it fucceffively in either point of view. If conftrued into an exhortation to his hearers at Middletown, it gives hints of fomewhat impending, fimilar to the crufade againft the Saracens in the eleventh century: the Epifcopalians in Connecticut, laft fpring fet forth to us as thirty thousand frong, may by this time have fwollen into an hoft, equal in number to that of Xerxes, under the auspices of their new piritual leader, whofe language is fcarcely lefs temperate than that of Peter the hermit, when he unfurled his confecrated banner, and roufed the princes of Europe to the Holy War. If it be alledged that this "ferious confideration" about fhaking off a lay "defender of the faith," who is entitled "fupreme in all caufes, as we ecclefiaftical as civil," inftead of being addreffed to an American audience, is only meant for the ears of Englifhmen, it will prove Dr. Seabury an utter ftranger to the character of the people,, who have indeed been involved in many broils, but not for the pious purpofe of rendering the crozier independent on the crown: their reprefentatives in par liament are at this very time engaged in the falutary measure of endeavouring to put fome ftop to the moft flagrant enormities of fpiritual courts; instead of railing them above all law. The very fuggefting innovations of a feditious nature to the "ferious confideration" of fubjects to a foreign king, il becomes any minifter of the Gospel of Peace, and ftill lefs one who affumes the

mitre.

But I proceed to another fymptom of genuine British manufacture in this pamphlet, where the addrefs and anfiver are followed by a lift of Scotch bishops fince 1688, when it is univerfally known that all legal epifcopacy terminated in Scotland; this long mufter-roll of names, truly obfcure and unedifying, may probably originate from that correfpondent of yours who in June laft was An Epifcopal Clergyman," but in the Appendix to your läft vol. p. 1919, figned himself, “ An

Epifcopal Prefbyter of the Scotch Church?" thus blending as much confufion as poffible in the fpace of four words. "The Scotch Church," if I have any acquaintance with the language of my native country, Britain, has moft certainly, at this period, nothing epifcopal in it; and if fo, his fignature is entirely of a piece with the rest of his letter, on which I fhall wafte but few words, and not one in obviating the reflections he cafts on me, who, courting neither the fmiles of the powerful, nor the shouts of the multitude, in what I have written on these topics, am little moved by the utmoft acrimony of cenfure. Irafci pro republicâ dicenti non oportet, is an excellent obfervation of Cicero's; and where religion and politics are interwoven, the precept comes with additi onal force. The captious question about the validity of Prefbyterian ordinations in Scotland during the reigns of thofe two laft tyrants of the detefted houfe of Stuart, Cha. II. and James II. even if answered according to his wishes, is totally foreign to the purpose: they who derive their miffion to preach the Gospel from an establishment of one hundred years, are, by every principle both of law and religion, the ecclefiaftical fuperiors of bim a diffenter from the Hated worship of the land; which was the purport of my affertion. The motives of the English bishops for denying ordination to his penitent brethren I prefume not to fcan, not having the honour of admiffion to their privy. council; but from its not being endured that they should hold the smallest preferment, or even officiate in an English church, I leave the reader to judge whether the idea of their being already duly ordained, is prevalent on the fouth of the Tweed. Even the oral traditions of my antagonist I will not cavil at, but receive as authentic, on his fole authority, that of "the illuftrious prelate" confuting those who obferved, that ordaining anew thefe Scotifh Epifcopalian divines was forbidden by no canon, by judiciously ftating that there was no law against parricide in antient Rome : I cannot, however, refrain from obferving, that the talents of this anonymous mitred oracle, and his acutenefs in difcriminating offences, exactly correfpond with thofe of the town-clerk of Meffina in Shakspeare's "Much ado about Nothing," who, on being inforined that Borachio called the prince's brother a villain, is for convicting him

of

288 Advice to Epifcopalians.-Mifs Reeve's Decifion controverted.

of perjury; and, on its being added that he was bribed to accufe Hero wrongfully, cries out, "flat burglary as ever was committed."

Many good men in all countries diffent from the establishment, affigning their motives for fo doing with decency. But he who gives way to fuch intempe-rance of speech, as to infinuate in exprefs terms, that the fpiritual rulers of his country" are, as ecclefiaftics, fuperior to nobody;" and "that the craments administered by them are of a very doubtful nature, if not abfolutely invalid," which he gives out as the publie tenets of his feet; after fuch wild rants of fanaticifm, can have no title to call himself harmless, unlefs from his inabi lity to do any fignal mifchief. Prejudices like thefe are not (as he terms them) "favourable to fubordination and to peace," but of the moft peftilent nature. The refult of the battles of Prefton in 1715, and of Culloden in 1746, may have rendered the nonjurors in one fenfe harmlej's; and it fhall be my earnest prayer, that the excellent form of religion, which owes its eftablishment in Scotland to the loyalty and valour of paft ages, may be tranfmitted down to the lateft pofterity by men who have understanding enough to fpurn the fophiftry of pretenders to fuperior fanctity, and fufficient integrity to emulate the virtues of their ancestors.

To conclude with a little feafonable morality. Divided as this island is between Epifcopalians and Prefbyterians: while the latter remain contented, the former have certainly no reafon to be diflatisfied with their portion of the inheritance, or to complain that their lot is not fallen in a fair ground. As for the oftentatious title of fucceffors to the Apofties," neither party feem to have any exclufive right to it, but in proportion as they exercife the evangelical virtues of the primitive ages; and, above all things, let the minifters of either perfuafion conftantly bear in mind our blaffed Saviour's character of the fcribes and pharifees, and the wholefome inference he draws from it: "they fet abroad their phylacteries and make large the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost feats at feafts, and to fit in the chief place in counfels, and greetings in the market, and to be called of men Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi, for one is your mafter, even Chrift, and ye are all brethren." Yours, &c.

L. L.

MR. URBAN,

March 12, 1786%

WHATEVER interpretation Miss. Reeve may chufe to put upon the fpirited cenfure of her decree, respecting Mr. Richard fon's works, no difcerning mind, that is unprejudiced, can miftake it for a fally of dark-fpirited malice.

Had Mifs Reeve apologized to the world for her ftrange diffent from its univerfal voice on that fubject-had the only faid, that Pamela was more to her tafte than Clariffa, or Sir Charles Grandifon, that tafte had perhaps been pitied in filence; but the cool arrogance of an abfolute decifion, that Pamela is the chefd'œuvre of Richardfon, muft prove a daring contradiction of the general opinion, which deferved the pointed reprehenfion it has met.

In her letter of felf-defence, this lady fhews a confcioufnefs of fomething wrong, fince, referring to the cenfured paffages in her own work, the fuppreffes that offenfive decifion, which produced the comments fo difpleafing to her. Had the faid no more on the fubject than the has there inftanced, viz. that Pamela feemed to her to have the most originality, the unmeaning ftricture had only excited obfervations to the following purpose;

An interefting ftory, carried on through many volumes, in a series of familiar letters, was a new mode of novel-writing, ftruck out by Mr. Richardfon.-Pamela was the first attempt. It was naturally written, and fometimes pathetic; but tedious, and destitute of the higher graces of compofition. The Author afterwards eflablished thofe beautiful and perfect works, Clariffa and Grandifon, upon the fame epiftolary plan. Are they lefs original for being infinitely more various, more abundantly rich in contrafted characters; in wit, in humour, of which there are scarce any gleams in Pamela; more polifhed, more pathetic; and, beyond all bounds of comparison, more fublime? Surely, therefore, the obfervation, that the latter works of Mr. Richardfon are lefs original than his first, is highly irrational. Can an author, thus improving upon his own plan, be deemed, either directly, or indirectly, a Copyift? What former writings of any other author do the Clariffa and the Grandifon refemble? They have every poflible claim to be confidered as great and perfect originals.

Our incenfed Critic will allow no merit to her Hypercritic, for the generous testimony borne to the merit of her ENGLISH BARON. It is very fair to

deng

Remarks on the Works of Richardfon.-The Curate of Aldgate. 289

deny the poffibility of ingenuoufnefs to a decifive preference, fo inconfiftent with the marked ability of that work.

Let the Public judge who is the malicious and unjuft accufer!the perfon who avows the apprehended impoffibility, that a woman of genius can think Pamela the chef d'œuvre of Richardfon, or Mifs Reeve, who afferts, that "this perfon has tenfured the writings of others in a more unjuft and uncandid manner, than that he condemns," becaufe his letter not only difallows the decree of Mifs Reeve, in queftion, but bears honeft teftimony against the critical decifions of a yet greater writer, where they attempt to tear the wreaths from the fhrines of de

parted Genius; alfo against the effrontery of Mr. Heron, who denies poetic fublimity to the fcriptures; and to Virgil and Pope an atom of real genius; and who fentences Thomson to fpeedy oblivion; and against the pofthumous dog mas of Mr. Scott, who attempts to prune, mutilate, and arrange afresh, the ideas and langage of Thomfon, GoldImith, and Gray, without ever having poffelfed a tenth part either of their genius or judgement.

It is the duty of all people, who are themselves candidates for the palm of Fame, to guard with active zeal thofe fhe has already conferred upon their illuftrious predeceffors, when either able, or impotent defamers, directly or inditectly, feek to blight, or eclipfe them.

Surely Mr. Richardfon's daughter ill deferves the honour of her birth, if the could approve the injuftice of Mifs Reeve to the later works of her glorious father. -But I correct myfelf-genius, or accurate literary tafte, are not always hereditary. Mr. Richardfon's daughter may be of that order of beings, who, with plain fenfe, and a thoufand amiable qualities, might poffibly think Pamela a more perfect compofition than Clariffa and Grandifon.

"Peace to all fuch!but fhould there one,

Should fhe, infidious, to the trial bring
The pale crude berries of his earthly Spring,

And fwear their flavour has the fruits outdone
His genius ripen'd in its Summer fun!
"Shall we not laugh if fuch a Judge there be?
"Shall we not rave if ***** ***** is she ?"
A CONSTANT READER.

MR. URBAN,

THE

April 14.

HE curacy of Aldgate having lately become vacant by the death of Mr. Hallings (fee Obituary, Apr. 7.); and lating to it; give me leave to fupply you there being fome curious particulars rewith a little account of it, not perhaps unacceptable to fome of your readers. The living is in the hands of an impròpriator (Mr. Kynafton), who ftands in the place of Lord Abbot, and appoints a minifter, who is, as it were, Monachus ad menfam. This minifter is, at prefent, the rev. Dr. Jackson, Prebendary of The Curate of Aldgate, provided he conWeftminster, who nominates a Curate. tinues a batchelor, fucceeds of courfe to a living in Effex, bequeathed for that purpofe by one of his predeceffors. Here follows the infcription on his monument, now ftanding in the Weft aifle (the church ftands North and, South) of Aldgate Church :

Under this Pavement lieth

interred the Body of Benjamin Pratt, A. M.

for above 16 years late Curate

of this Church. He affected to end his days
in Celibacy, and departed this Life the
3d Day of May, A. D. 1715.
RESURGAM.

Thefe few humble pious words above, were all he defired fhould be here infcribed. Yet it ought not to be concealed, that he bequeathed to the Right Rev. Father in God the Ld. Bp. of London for the time being (only in truft), the perpetual advowfon of the rectory of the parish and parifh-church of Greenftead juxta Chippin Ongar, in the county of Effex, the first prefentation to an intimate friend, and after him to the imme diate reader, or most inferior minifter of this HIS NATIVE PARISH CHURCH for ever, and other churches alternately, which may hereafter be BUILT in this parish, as may be seen more at large in his WILL.

His foul was adorned with great stead faftnefs to the most orthodox principles. He was a person of great PIETY, LENITY, and CHARITY; and, in all his actions, conftantly fignalized himself a zealous, indefatigable, and most industri

290 Remarks on fome felect Paffages in St. Evremont's Effays.

ous labourer in the feveral offices of his SACRED MINISTRY. He continually endeavoured to illuftrate his veneration and efteem for the most glorious and adoreable Trinity, and his high calling of GOD IN CHRIST JESUS.

And fo he proceeded till he was juft arrived at the prime of his age, and then was taken from his labours, to receive an exceeding great reward.

Thus does he ftill fpeak, and yet propofe an eminent and illuftrious example to all his fucceeding brethren.

NUNQUAM OBLIVIONI TRADEREN