fay hath not been univerfally practifed) and by refufing to take a fhilling from a man who most undoubtedly would not have had another left, I had reduced an income of about 500l.* a year, of

A predeceffor of mine ufed to boast that he made 1000l. a year in his office: but how he did this, if indeed he did it, is to me a fecret. His clerk, now mine, told me I had more business than he had ever known there; I am fure I had as much as any man could do. The truth is, the fees are so very low, when any are due, and fo much is done for nothing, that if a fingle juftice of peace had bufinefs enough to employ twenty clerks, neither he nor they would get much by their labour. The public will not therefore, I hope, think I betray a fecret when I inform them, that I received from the govern ment a yearly penfion out of the public fervicemoney; which I believed indeed would have been larger, had my great patron been convinced of an error, which I have heard him utter more than once. That he could not indeed fay, that the acting as a principal justice of peace in Westminster was on all accounts very defirable, but that all the world knew it was a very lucrative office. Now to have fhewn him plainly, that a man must be a rogue to make a very little this way, and that he could not make much by being as great a rogue as he could be, would have required more confidence than I believe he had in me, and more of his converfation than he chofe to allow me; I therefore refigned the office, and the farther execution of my plan to my brother, who had long been my affistant.

And

the dirtieft money upon earth, to little more than 300l.; a confiderable proportion of which remained with my clerk; and indeed if the whole had done fo, as it ought, he would but be ill paid for fitting almoft fixteen hours in the twenty-four, in the most unwholefome, as well as naufcous air in the univerfe, and which hath, in his cafe, corrupted a good conftitution with out contaminating his morals.

But, not to trouble the reader with anecdotes, contrary to my own rule laid down in my preface, I affure him I thought my family was very flenderly provided for: and that my health be gan to decline fo, faft, that I had very little inore of life left to accomplish what I had thought of too late. I rejoiced therefore greatly in fecing an opportunity, as I apprehended, of gaining fuch merit in the eye of the public, that if my life were the facrifice to it, my friends might think they did a popular act in putting my family at least beyond the reach of neceffity, which I myself began to defpair of doing. And though I difclaim all pretence to that Spartan or Roman patriotifm, which loved the public fo well that it was always ready to become a voluntary facrifice to the public good, I do folemnly declare I have that love for my family.

After this conceffion therefore, that the pub lic was not the principal Deity to which my life. was offered a facrifice, and when it is farther confidered what a poor facrifice this was, being in

And now, left the cafe between me and the reader should be the fame in both initances as it was between me and the great man, I will not add another word on the fubject.

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deed no other than the giving up what I faw little likelihood of being able to hold much longer, and which, upon the terms I held it, nothing but the weakness of human nature could represent to me as worth holding at all; the world may, I believe, without envy, allow me all the praife to which I have any title.

My aim, in fact, was not praise, which is the laft gift they care to beltow; at least this was not my aim as an end, but rather as a means, of purchafing fome moderate provifion for my family, which, though it fhould exceed my merit, muft fall infinitely fhort of my service, if I fucceeded in my attempt.

To fay the Truth, the public never act more wifely, than when they act moft liberally in the diftribution of their rewards; and here the good they receive is often more to be confidered than the motive from which they receive it. Example alone is the end of all public punishments and rewards. Laws never inflict difgrace in refentment, nor confer honour from gratitude. For it is very hard, my lord, faid a convicted felon at the bar to the late excellent judge Burnet, to hang a poor man for stealing a horfe. You are not to be hanged, Sir, anfwered my ever-honoured and beloved friend, for ftealing a horse, but you are to be hanged that horfes may not be ftolen. In like manner it might have been faid to the late duke of Marlborough, when the parliament was fo deservedly liberal to him, after the battle of Blenheim, You receive not these honours and bounties on account of a victory paft, but that other victories may be obtained.

I was now, in the opinion of all men, dying of a complication of diforders; and, were ĺ de

firous of playing the advocate, I have an occafion fair enough: but I diflain fuch an attempt. I relate facts plainly and fimply as they are; and let the world draw from them what conclufions they pleafe, taking with them the following facts for their inftruction. The one is, That the proclamation offering 100l. for the apprehending felons for certain felonies committed in certain places, which I prevented from being revived, had formerly cost the government feveral thoufand pounds within a fingle year. Secondly, That all fuch proclamations inftead of curing the evil, had actually increased it; had multiplied the number of robberies, had propagated the worf and wickedeft of perjuries; had laid fnares for youth and ignorance; which, by the temptation of thefe rewards, had been fometimes drawn into guilt; and fometimes, which cannot be thought on without the higheft horror, had deftroyed them without it. Thirdly, That my plan had not put the government to more than 300l. expence, and had produced none of the ill confequences above-mentioned; but, laftly, had actually fuppreffed the evil for a time, and had plainly pointed out the means of fuppreffing it for ever. This I would myself have undertaken, had my health permitted, at the annual expence of the abovementioned fum.

After having ftood the terrible fix weeks which fucceeded laft Christmas, and put a lucky end, if they had known their own interefts, to fuch numbers of aged and infirm valetudinarians, who might have gafped through two or three mild winters more, I returned to town in February, in a condition lefs defpaired of by myfelf than by any of my friends. I now became

the patient of Dr. Ward, who wished I had taken his advice earlier.

By his advice I was tapped, and fourteen quarts of water drawn from my belly. The fudden relaxation which this caufed, added to my enervate, emaciated habit of body, fo weakened me, that within two days I was thought to be falling into the agonies of death.

I was at the worft on that memorable day when the public loft Mr. Pelham. From that day I began flowly, as it were, to draw my feet out of the grave; till in two months time I had again acquired fome little degree of strength; but was again full of water.

During this whole time, I took Mr. Ward's medicines, which had feldom any perceptible operation. Those in particular of the diaphoretic kind, the working of which is thought to require a great ftrength of conftitution to fupport, had fo little effect on me, that Mr. Ward declared it was as vain to attempt fweating me as a deal board.

In this fituation I was tapped a fecond time. I had one quart of water lefs taken from me now than before; but I bore all the confequences of the operation much better. This I attributed greatly to a dofe of laudanum prefcribed by my furgeon. It firit gave me the most delicious flow of fpirits, and afterwards as comfortable a nap.

The month of May, which was now begun, it feemed reasonable to expect would introduce the fpring, and drive off that winter which yet maintained its footing on the stage. I refolved therefore to vifit a little houfe of mine in the country, which stands at Ealing, in the county of Middlesex, in the best air, I believe, in the