kind, and from the coarfeft bunglers of that vile profeffion, which engaged him to pafs moft of his leifure and jovial hours with people whose blafted characters reflected upon his own - He was loved by many, but refpected by none, his familiar and illiberal mirth and raillery leaving him no dignity-He was not vindictive, but on the contrary very placable to those who had injured him the molt-His good humour, good nature, and beneficence in the feveral relations of father, husband, maf ter, and friend, gained him the warmest affections of all within that circle.

His name will not be recorded in history amongst the best Men, or the beft Minifters, but much lefs ought it to be ranked amongst the worst *.

ing quickness of wit, and a happy turn to the moft amufing and en tertaining kinds of poetry, as epigrams, ballads, odes, &c. in all which he had an uncommon facility. His compofitions in that way were fometimes fatirical, often licentious, but always full of wit.

He had a quick and clear conception of businefs, could equally deteft and practise fophiftry-he could ftate and explain the most intricate matters, even in figures, with the utmost perfpicuity. His parts were rather above business, and the warmth of his imagination, joined to the impetuofity and reftleffness of his temper, made him incapable of conducting it long together with prudence and fleadinefs.

He was a most complete orator and debater in the houfe of commons, eloquent, entertaining, perfuafive, ftrong, and pathetic, as occafion required; for he had arguments, wit, and tears at his command. His breaft was the feat of all thofe paffions which degrade our nature and disturb our reason. There they raged in a perpetual conflict; but Avarice, the meaneft of them all, generally triumphed, ruled abfolutely, and in many inftances, which I forbear to mention, moft fcandaloufly.

No minifter was ever fo liberal in rewarding his authors as W. It has been faid, and I believe proved beyond contradiction, that Arnall, the writer of The British Journal, at different times, had fums from him to the amount of ten thousand pounds. The flighteft favour from the prefs was fure to be amply rewarded; of which the following is a remarkable inftance.About the year 1735, feveral very fevere pamphlets were published against Walpole's adminiftration. Among the reft was a poem called "Are thefe things fo?" A young gentleman of about nineteen years of age, took it into his head to write an answer to this piece, to which he gave the title of, "Yes, they are?" Sir Robert was fo pleafed with it, though but a flimfy performance, that he fent for Roberts the publifher, and expreffed his great fatisfaction at the compliment paid him, by giving a bank note of a hundred pounds; which he defired the publifher to prefent with his compliments to the author,

His

His fudden paffion was outrage ous, but fupported by great perfonal courage.

Nothing exceeded his ambition but his avarice; they often accompany and are frequently and reciprocally the caufes and the effects of each other, but the latter is always a clog upon the former.

He affected good nature and compaffion, and perhaps his heart might feel the misfortunes and dif. treffes of his fellow-creatures, but his hand was feldom or never ftretched out to relieve them.

Though he was an able actor of truth and fincerity, he could occafionally lay them afide to ferve the purposes of his ambition or avarice*.

He was once in the greatest point of view that I ever faw any fubject in. When the oppofition, of which he was the leader in the houfe of commons, prevailed at last against Sir Robert Walpole, he became the arbiter between the crown and the people: the former imploring his protection, the latter

his fupport. In that critical mo ment his various jarring paffions were in the highest ferment, and for a while fufpended his ruling one. Senfe of fhame made him hesitate at turning courtier on a fudden, after having acted the patriot fo long and with fo much applaufe ; and his pride made him declare that he would accept of no place, vainiy imagining, that he could by fuch a fimulated and temporary felf-denial preferve his popularity with the people, and his power at court +. He was mistaken in both. The king hated him almost as much for what he might have done, as for what he had done: and a motley miniftry was formed who by no means defired his company.

The nation looked upon him as a deferter, and he fhrunk into infignificancy and an earldom.

He made feveral attempts afterwards to retrieve the popularity he had loft, but in vain his fituation would not allow it-he was fixed in the house of lords, that hofpital of incurables, and his retreat to

During the course of his long oppofition, his animofity to Walpole led him (as we are informed by the ingenious reviewer of Lord Chefterfield's Characters) into that moft fcandalous practice of betraying private conversation. Mr. Pulteney, in a pamphlet which he published about the year 1735, and which contained a particular defence of himself again a minifterial work called "Scandal and Defamation displayed," declared upon his honour, that Sir Robert Walpole had poken in very flight terms of the king when prince of Wales; he quoted the very words which were fuppofed to be made ufe of by the minifter, and which conveyed great marks of contempt. However, he loft his aim; for the king generously took the part of the perfon betrayed; and, to fhew his indignation against the informer, with his own hand he ftruck his name from the lift of privy counsellors.

+ We are told by the above-mentioned author, that the following accident, which happened during the adjournment of parliament, might poffibly accelerate his determination-As he was riding in Hyde Park, he had an accidental fall from his horse, which gave him a flight bruife; the king happened to come by at the very inftant, and being informed of Mr. Pulteney's misfortune, he immediately went to him, took him into his coach, and fhewed fuch concern for him, as could not but foothe and affect the mind of a perfon fo publicly distinguished by his sovereign at so critical a time.

popularity

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• Upon the death of George the Second, the E. of B. made a tender of his fervices to his prefent majefty.-The offer was accepted, fo far as to the hear ing of his advice; but the Great Perfon knew his character was fo difagreeable to all parties, and fo odious to the people in general, that he could not think of giving him any poft in the adminiftration. It is affirmed with great confidence, that whenever his opinion was afked relating to ftate-matters, he constantly gave it against the popular fide of the question.

In justice to the noble earl's memory, we cannot pafs by this opportunity of fubmitting to the reader's judgment another character, differing in many refpects from that which my Lord Chesterfield has given us of him, and drawn by a perfon of found judgment, ftrict veracity, and who enjoyed a long and intimate connection with him, Dr. Z. Pearce, late Bishop of Rochester.

"William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, defcended from a very ancient family, (the De Pultneys, who, I think, came to England with the Norman Duke, William,) was, by inheritance and prudent economy, poffeffed of a very large eftate, out of which he yearly bestowed, contrary to the opinion of thofe who were lefs acquainted with him, more than a tenth part of his whole income. He was a firm friend to the established religion of his country, and free from all the vices of the age, even in his youth. He conftantly attended the public worship of God, and all the offices of it, in his parish church, while his health permitted it; and when his great age and infirmities prevented him from fo doing, he fupplied that defect by daily reading over the morning-fervice of the church before he came out of his bedchamber. That he had quick and lively parts, a fine head, and found judgment, the many things which he published occafionally, fufficiently teftify. He had twice, chiefly by his own perfonal weight, overturned the miniftry; viz. in 1741 and 1745; though he kept not in power long at each of thefe great events, which was occafioned by his administration; and by fome other means lefs creditable to his affociates than to himfelf, which the writer of this account is well acquainted with. The Bishop of Rochefter had lived near forty years in friendship with him; and for a great part of those years in an intimacy with him.”

He

He had great and clear parts; understood, loved, and cultivated the belles lettres.

He was an agreeable, eloquent fpeaker in parliament, but not without fome little tincture of the pleader.

Men are apt to mistake, or at leaft to feem to miftake their own talents, in hopes perhaps of mifleading others to allow them that which they are confcious they do not poffefs. Thus Lord Hardwicke valued himself more upon being a great minister of ftate, which he certainly was not, than upon being a great magiftrate, which he certainly was.

All his notions were clear, but none of them great. Good order and domestic details were his proper department. The great and fhining parts of government, though not above his parts to conceive, were above his timidity to undertake.

By great and lucrative employ.

Though he had been folicitor and attorney-general, he was by no means what is called a preroga. tive lawyer he loved the conftitution, and maintained the juft prerogative of the crown, but without ftretching it to the oppreffion of the people.

He was naturally humane, moderate, and decent, and when by his former employments he was obliged to profecute ftate-criminals, he discharged that duty in a very different manner from most of his predeceffors, who were too juftly called the Blood-hounds of the

crown.

He was a chearful and inftruc tive companion, humane in his nature, decent in his manners, unftained with any vice (avarice ex cepted) a very great Magistrate, but by no means a great Minister.

Ma. Foz.

*The Marriage Act, fays the reviewer, was a thing of his own creating, and which he efpoufed with all his might and vigour it met with great oppofition in the house of commons, and was thought, by all impartial people, a very improper law in a commercial country, where all poffible methods should be taken to encourage a legal commerce between the fexes. However, by his great power and influence, the chancellor carried this bill triumphantly through both houses. Those who pretended to know his real intentions gave out, that, in the profecution of this bufinefs, he had nothing so much at heart as the fecuring his own children from rash and imprudent marriages.

†The editor of the Characters has corrected this mistake of Lord Chefterfield's, and has given us the following account of Mr. Fox's family.—Mr. Henry Fox was the fecond furviving fon of Sir Stephen Fox. Sir Stephen was one of the younger of many children, and his father, Mr. William Fox, was a gentleman of the county of Wilts, poffeffing a landed eftate of about 300l. ayear; which estate, upon a moderate computation, muft have been at one time

which he foon fpent in the common vices of youth, gaming included. This obliged him to tra vel for fome time. While abroad, he met with a very falacious Eng. lifhwoman, whofe liberality retrieved his fortune, with feveral circumstances, more to the honour of his vigour than his morals.

When he returned, though by education a Jacobite, he attached himself to Sir Robert Walpole, and was one of his ableft eleves. He had no fixed principles either of religion or morality, and was too unweary in ridiculing and explod. ing them.

He had very great abilities and indefatigable industry in bufinefs, great skill in managing, that is, in corrupting the houfe of commons, and a wonderful dexterity in attaching individuals to himfelf. He promoted, encouraged, and practifed their vices; he gratified their avarice, or fupplied their profufion. He wifely and punctually performed whatever he promised, and most liberally re

warded their attachment and dependance. By thefe and all other means that can be imagined, he made himself many perfonal friends and political dependants.

He was a moft difagreeable speaker in parliament, inelegant in his language, hesitating and ungraceful in his elocution, but skillful in difcerning the temper of the houfe, and in knowing when and how to prefs or to yield.

A conftant good humour and feeming franknels made him a welcome companion in focial life, and in all domeftic relations he was good-natured.

As he advanced in life, his ambition became fubfervient to his avarice. His early profufion and diffipation had made him feel the many inconveniences of want, and, as it often happens, carried him to the contrary, and worfe extreme of corruption and rapine. Remi, quocunque modo rem, became his maxim, which he obferved (I will not fay religiously and fcrupuloufly) but invariably and shamefully.

in that family from father to fon at least two hundred years. The prefent Earl of Ilchefter, heir and elder branch of that family, is the prefent poffeffor of it. It is at a place called Farley, where the family has been buried, as appears by their monuments in that church, authenticating the facts here advanced. Sir Stephen Fox was in his earliest youth recommended as a companion to King Charles the Second, then Prince of Wales, by the Earl of Northumberland, who protected and in fome fort educated this young perfon, the fon of his friend and neighbour; as was very customary with the gre, noblemen of that time, who had ufually in their houfes fome of the fons of the lower nobility and of the gentry to be brought up under their care and infpection. Mr. Fox, afterwards Sir Stephen, accompanied his majefty during his exile, and befides receiving diftinguishing marks of the royal favour abroad, upon his return to England, and at the restoration, he was made privy counfellor, paymaster of the army, and was at one time first commiffioner of the treafury. Sir Stephen had by his first lady two daughters, the one married to the Earl of Northampton, the other to the Lord' Cornwallis-two families the most unlikely to have condescended to mean or unfuitable alliances. He died at a very advanced age, leaving two fons, who were afterwards the Earl of Il chefter and Lord Holland, and one daughter, the mother of the prefent Lord Digby.

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