50

REVIEW.-Wilson's Memoirs of De Foe.

The consequence of this was at length a bankruptcy, but to his eternal honour it is recorded that he never thought his obligations to his creditors discharged until he had repaid them in full. Obtaining subsequently employment in a political character, by the favour of King William, he says, in 1705, that with a numerous family, and no help but his own industry, he had forced his way with undiscouraged diligence, through a sea of misfortunes, and reduced his debts, exclusive of composition, from 17,000l. to less than 5000l.;" which shews, by the bye, that his commercial ventures must have been considerable. On this occasion he utters a sentiment which must place the principles of his character on the highest point of estimation in the eyes of every just man and good Christian, of what denomination soever, and which nobly atones for his inveterate prejudices in other matters:

"Never think yourself discharged in conscience (says De Foe), though you may be discharged in law. The obligation of an honest mind can never die. No title of honour, no recorded merit, no mark of distinction, can exceed that lasting appellation-an honest man. He that lies buried under such an epitaph, has more said of him thau volumes of history can contain; the payment of debts after fair discharges is the clearest title to such a character that I

know, and how any man can begin again,
and hope for a blessing or favour from God,
without such a resolution, I know not."-
(Review, vol. iii. p. 148.)

William the Third was now embarked in an expensive war with France in support of his title to the crown, and De Foe was engaged by some eminent persons of the state in proposing ways and means to raise money for the public exigencies. He also obtained an appointment as Accountant to the Commissioners of the Glass Duty. This tax being repealed in 1699, he became Secretary to the Tile and Brick-kiln Works at Tilbury, in Essex. Pan-tiles had hitherto been brought from Holland, and were now first made in England; the speculation did not, however, succeed, and was abandoned about the year 1703. De Foe lost 3000l. which he had embarked himself in a share of the undertaking. While he was resident at Tilbury, he relates an incident which will be read with interest by the lovers of natural history. Speaking of the

[Jan.

ant being supplied with wings at a certain period of its growth, he proceeds:

"I once knew a flight of these ants come over the marshes from Essex, in a most prodigious quantity, and black cloud; they began to fall about a mile before they came to the Thames, and in flying over the river they fell so thick that the water was covered with them. I had two servants rowing a small boat over the river just at that time, and I believe near two pecks of them fell into the boat. They fell so thick, that I believe my hat full came down the funnel of two chimneys in my house, which stood near the river's edge; and in proportion to this quantity they fell for the space, as I could observe, of half a mile in breadth, at least. Some workmen I employed there said they spread two miles; but they then fell not so thick, and they continued falling for near three miles."-Review, vol. iv. 317, 319.

Under the year 1694 we have a notice of the death of Queen Mary; and we are told, on the authority of Oldmixon, that the King said, " during the whole course of their marriage he had never known one single fault in her; and that there was a worth in her, which nobody knew besides himself." The King cherished her memory during life, and after his own death a ringlet of her hair was found attached by a black ribbon to his arm. Tillotson died a few weeks before the Queen, and a well deserved tribute is paid by Mr. Wilson to this eminently good man, and champion of sincere and unostentatious religion.

"Tillotson had what was far better than the praise of bigots, the approbation of an enlightened conscience, and the esteem of the wise and good, of all religious persuasions. King William's eulogy upon him was, 'I never knew an honester man, and I never had a better friend.' He was, in all respects, an ornament to his order. As he was a careful observer of human nature, so he made a large allowance for the frailties of others, and was disposed to put the best construction upon their actions. This amiable prelate died in his sixty-fifth year, upon the 22d November, 1694. It was observed of him, that he despised wealth any further than as it was a means for charity."-p. 240.

The affair at Glenco afforded a subject for De Foe's pen, in defence of King William. This unfortunate bu siness presented too good a handle for the King's enemies to be neglected by them. In February, 1692, the Highland chieftain Macdonald, and about thirty of his clan, were put to the sword on account of their suspected

1831.]

REVIEW.-Wilson's Memoirs of De Foe.

adherence to the cause of the ex-king, and their having neglected, within the time limited by a proclamation, to come in and take the oaths to the existing government. The just summary of this business appears to be, that the faithful attachment of the Highland ers to the line of Stuart rendered some measures of extraordinary severity necessary, as their disaffection towards the ruling powers was ripe to shew itself in open revolt at the first opportunity. The discretionary faculty lodged in the King's agents, was carried to an extent of cruel severity which William himself had never intended to authorize. Lord Stair, then Secretary of State for Scotland, is charged with this abuse of the King's commission, and his instructions were executed with all the cruelty that is the consequence of party violence, by the subordinate agents concerned. Indeed all historical experience has taught us, that party violence is inseparable from the existence of men as a body politic. All that therefore can be done by prudent statesmen, is to endeavour to keep its consequences within the bounds of humanity, and to give it a right direction, as to its ultimate purposes. As to concessions to faction, they are but weak and shallow experiments in the Utopian state of liberalism, which are sure to endanger the wisest institutions, to generate anarchy and confusion, and to subject good men for a time to the dominion of the worst of tyrants, the mob.

In 1697, De Foe published his "Essay upon Projects." It may be observed, as years have rolled on, that most of these have, sooner or later, been adopted by the public. Among them are found schemes for banks in general, and a royal national bank in particular, which was to lower the interest of money, by discounting bills for merchants, and making advances on their goods, and other securities. He recommends branch banks in the country, in connexion with the national bank; the improvement of highways, in structure and durability; friendly or benefit societies; a pensionoffice in every county, to receive the deposits of the poor, an anticipation of savings banks; an asylum for idiots; an academy for military studies. "Men," says he," are not born with muskets on their shoulders, nor fortifications in their heads; neither is it natural to

51

shoot bombs, and undermine towns. As long as nations continue the practice of war, they should be prepared to enter upon it with effect." An office for registering seamen ; and an institution for the education of females, are suggested; which last gives occasion to his breaking out into a beautiful eulogy on the female character, of which we subjoin a portion.

"If a woman be well bred, and taught the proper management of her natural wit, she proves generally very sensible and retentive; and, without partiality, a woman of sense and manners is the finest and most delicate part of God's creation, the glory of her Maker, and the great instance of his siagular regard to man, to whom he gave the best gift either God could bestow, or man receive; and it is the sordidest piece of folly and ingratitude in the world, to withhold from the sex the due lustre which the ad

vantages of education give to the natural beauty of their minds. A woman well bred and well taught, furnished with the additional accomplishments of knowledge and behaviour, is a creature without comparison. Her society is the emblem of sublimer enjoyments; she is all softness and sweetness, love, wit, and delight; she is every way suitable to the sublimest wish; and the man that has such a one for his portion, has nothing to do but rejoice in her, and be thankful."

An academy for the English language, to polish and preserve it in purity, was a matter which engaged the consideration of De Foe, as well as of Swift.

An occurrence which took place in the year 1697, gave rise to the controversy about occasional conformity.

The dissenters, on accepting office, had not refused to comply with the qualifying test established by the legis lature, and the church party accepted this compliance as an approximation in point of charity and good-will towards their tenets. Sir Humphrey Edwin, a Presbyterian, being elected to the mayoralty, carried this principle as far as it could go, and attended the church and the conventicle on alternate Sundays. Halting thus between two opinions, it is not surprising if he gave satisfaction to the advocates of neither. On one occasion, it being the turn of the Puritans, he ventured to carry the regalia of his office to the meeting-house.

Swift, in his admirable allegory, the "Tale of a Tub," alludes to the official influence obtained by dissenters in the

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REVIEW.-Wilson's Memoirs of De Foe.

manner above related, by telling us that Jack's tatters had come into fashion in court and city, that he got upon the great horse, and ate custard.* De Foe strenuously opposes the propriety of dissenters, under any plea, submitting to the test; he says, none but Protestants halt between God and Baal: "Christians, of an amphibious nature, who have such preposterous consciences, that can believe one way of worship to be right, and yet serve God another."-"How can you take it (the sacrament) as a civil act in one place, and a religious act in another?" This he calls " playing bo-peep with the Almighty." And by these remarks he indeed but proves the impossibility of divesting the opponents of the Reformed Church of that degree of party feeling, which determines them to see nothing in her sublime offices and decent ceremonies but a remnant of Romish superstitions. This is the trite and vulgar objection, which is current even in the present day. It is vain to argue with such cavillers, unless they would approach the subject in a different spirit.

In the year 1700, De Foe produced his historical poem, "The True-born Englishman" of the popularity of which it is sufficient to say, that he himself published nine editions, at the price of a shilling; and that of pirated cheap copies, above 80,000 were disposed of in the streets of London. The object was to show the absurdity of his countrymen abusing King Wil liam as a foreigner, and his followers as upstart nobility and gentry. He levels some keen strokes of satire at "the boast of heraldry.”

"Tis well that virtue gives nobility,
Else God knows where we had our gentry,
Since scarce one family is left alive
Which does not from some foreigner derive.
Of sixty thousand English gentlemen,
Whose names and arms in registers remain,
We challenge all our heralds to declare
Ten families, which English Saxons are."

[Jan.

"A true-born Englishman's a contradiction,
In speech an irony, in fact a fiction;
A metaphor, invented to express
A man akin to all the universe!"
And he sums up all with the axiom
"virtus sola nobilitas," expressed in
two lines:

"For fame of families is all a cheat,
"Tis pers'nal virtue only makes us great.”

The famous Kentish petition of remonstrance to the Parliament, was presented to the House of Commons on

the 8th of May, 1701, and drew down upon the five Kentish Gentlemen, who brought it to London as deputies for the county, the severest censure of the House. They were committed to the Gate-house (Newgate) during the

session. It was on this occasion that

De Foe drew up his celebrated Legion Paper; and it was reported at the time, delivered it to the Speaker as he enthat, disguised as an old woman, he tered the House. The fact however seems to be, that he gave it in person, accompanied by about sixteen gentlemen of quality, who, in case of necessity, were prepared to act as his proenclosed in the following letter to Rotectors. The Legion Memorial was bert Harley, esq. the Speaker:

"Mr. Speaker-The enclosed memorial you are charged with, in behalf of many thousands of the good people of England. There is neither Papist, Jacobite, seditious, court or party interest concerned in it, but honesty and truth. You are commanded by 200,000 Englishmen to deliver it to the

House of Commons, and to inform them

that it is no banter, but serious truth, and a serious regard to it is expected. Nothing but justice and their duty is required; and it is required by them, who have both a right to require, and power to compel, viz. the people of England. We could have come to the House strong enough to oblige them to hear us, but we have avoided any tumult, not desiring to embroil, but to save our native country. If you refuse to communicate it to them, you will find cause in a short time to repent it."

The language of the Memorial itself was bold, and even threatening, pointing out to the Parliament, in fifteen articles, various imputations against them, as violating the Bill of Rights, imprisoning subjects for exercising the right of petition, suffering saucy and indecent reproaches upon his Majesty's person, delaying to grant him the necessary supplies, being scandalously vicious themselves, both in morals and

REVIEW.-Excerpta Historica..

*They were gentlemen of family and respectability in the county: William Colepeper, Thomas Colepeper, David Polhill, Justinian Champneys, and William Hamilton, esquires. Mr. Polhill, whose seat was near Otford, was met on Blackheath by 500 of his tenantry and friends on horseback.

+ We are happy to announce the appearance of the Privy-purse Expenses of Henry's Queen, Elizabeth of York, edited by Mr. Nicolas, in 8vo, uniformly with those before published of King Henry the Eighth. A similar volume, edited by Mr. Madden, will contain those of the Princess Mary, afterwards Queen: and we shall thus have such a Tudor series, as, though broken, will be sufficient to throw great additional light on the reigns and characters of the sovereigns of that house. When the original of Henry the Seventh's book is found (now supposed to be buried among the ill-stored records in the body of Westminster Hall) that also, with additions, may form a valuable volume.-We must not omit to mention also in this place, the proposal of Mr. T. Duffus Hardy to publish the Wardrobe Accounts of the 6th, 18th, 14th, and 18th years of King Edward the First, from the originals in the Tower. These are the earliest records of the kind that have been hitherto discovered.

REVIEW.-Excerpta Historica.

"On the 25th of September," says the note, Henry wrote from Knaresborough ;" quoting for authority Ellis's Letters, where the King's billet is dated "Knaresburgh.' The original (in the Bodleian Library) must, we imagine, have been here misread; the place appears to be between Woodstock, where the King was on the 23d of September, (Ellis, p. 38); and Cirencester, where he was on the 27th (Excerpta, p. 113).