which was adorned with the choiceft gifts that God hath yet thought fit to bestow upon the children of men; a ftrong memory, a clear judgement, a vast range of wit and fancy, a thorough comprehension, an invincible elo-, quence, with a moft agreeable elocution. He had well cultivated all thefe talents by travel and ftudy, the latter of which he feldom omitted, even in the midst of his pleafures, of which he had indeed been too great and criminal a purfaer for, although he was perfuaded to leave off intemperance like the loweft clerk in an office. His talent of fpeaking in public for which he was fo very much celebrated, I know nothing of except from the informations of others; but understanding men, of both parties, have affured me, that, in this point, in their memory and judgement, he was never: equalled.. Memoirs of the life of William Pultneys earl of Bath. " 7ILLIAM Pultney, efq;" in wine, which he did for fome W afterwards earl of Bath, time to fuch a degree that he seemed rather abftemious; yet he was faid to allow himself other liberties, which can by no means be reconciled to religion or morals; whereof, I have reafon to believe, he began to be fenfible. But he was fond of mixing pleasure and bufinefs, and of being efteemed excellent at both; upon which account he had a great refpect for the characters of Alcibiades and Petronius, especially the latter, whom he would gladly be thought to refemble. His detractors charged him with fome degree of affectation, and, perhaps, not altogether without grounds; fince it was hardly poffible for a young man, with half the business of the nation upon him, and the applaufe of the whole, to escape fome tinc ture of that infirmity. He had been early bred to bufinefs, was: a moft artful negociator, and perfectly understood foreign affairs. But what I have often wondered at in a man of his temper was, his prodigious application, whenever he thought it neceffary; for he would plod whole days and nights, defcended from one of the moft ancient families in the kingdom, was born in the year 1682. Being fprung to a plentiful fortune, he early had a feat in the house of commons, and began to distin guifh himfelf by being a warm partizan against the miniftry in the reign of queen Anne. He had fagacity to detect their errors, and fpirited eloquence fufficient to expofe them. Thefe fervices were well rewarded by king George I. who.. upon coming to the throne, raifed Mr. Pultney to the place of fecre-" tary at war, in the year 1714. Not long after, he was raised to be cofferer to his majesty's houshold but the intimacy between this gentleman and Sir Robert Walpole, who then acted as prime minister, was foon interrupted, by its being fufpected that Sir Robert was de firous of extending the limits of prerogative, and promoting the intereft of Hanover, at the expence of his country. Accordingly, in the year 1725, the king, by advice of this mini fler, dearing that a fun of money! fhould fhould be voted him by the commonsrin order to discharge the debts contracted in his civil go vernment, Mr. Puliney moved, that an account should be laid be fore the house, of all money paid for fecret fervice during the laft twenty-five years, to the then prefent time. This caufed an irre concileable breach between the two minifters, which in two years after broke out into open invective. Upon the house of commons des liberating, upon the loan of the Bank, which Sir Robert warmly efpoused, Mr. Pultney obferved, that shifting the funds, was but perpetuating taxes, and putting off the evil day; and fome warm altercation paffed between him and the prime minister; however, Sir Robert carried it in the house for this time. Nor did Mr. Pultney confine his difpleafure at the minister to his perfon only, but to all his meafares; fo that fome have been of opinion, that he oppofed Sir Robert often when the measures he pursued were beneficial to the public. However, it would be tedious to our readers, as well as unentertaining, to go through the courfe of the oppofition between them, fince to do this to any pur pofe, would be to analyfe their fpeeches, which the nature of the prefent abftract will not allow us to do. Be it then fufficient to obferve, that this course of steady oppofition at laft became fo ob noxious to the crown, that the king on the first day of July, 1931, called for the council-book, and with his own hand ftruck the name of William Pultney, efq; out of the lift of privy counsel lores his majesty further ordered him to be put out of all commiffions for the peace; the feveral lords lieutenants, from whom he had received deputations, were commanded to revoke them; and the lord chancellor and fecretaries of state were directed to give the neceffary orders for that pure pofe. 1 A proceeding for violent in the ministry, only ferved to inflame this gentleman's refentment, and increafe his popularity! It was fome time after this that he made that celebrated fpeech, in which he compared the miniftry to an empiric, and the conftitution of England to his patient. This pretender in phyfic," faid he, « being confulted, tells the diftempered perfon, there were but two or three ways of treating his disease, and he was afraid that none of them would fucceed. A vomit might throw him into convulfions that would occafion" immediate death; a purge might bring on a diarrhoea that would carry him off in a short time; and he had been already bled fo much, and fo often, that he could bear it no longer. The unfortunate patient, shocked at this declaration, replies, Sir, you have always pretended to be a regular doctor, but I now find you are an errant quack; I had an excellent conftitution when I firft fell into your hands, but you have quite deftroyed it; and now I find I have no other chance for faving my life, but by callingd for the help of fome regular phyfician" In this manner he continued inflexibly fevere, attacking the bad measures of the miniftry with a degree of eloquence and farcafm that worsted every antagonist; and Sir Sir Robert was often heard to say, that he dreaded his tongue more than another man's fword. In the year 1738, when oppofition, ran fo high that feveral members openly left the house, as finding that party, and not reason, carried it in every motion, Mr. Pultney thought proper to vindicate the extraordinary step which they had taken; and when a motion was made for removing Sir Robert Walpole, he warmly supported it. What a fingles feffion could not effect was at length brought about by time; and in the year 1741, when Sir Robert found his place of prime minifter no longer tenable, he wifely refigned all his employments, and was created earl of Orford. His oppofers, among whom Mr. Pultney had long been foremost, were affüred of being provided for, and among feveral other promotions, Mr. Pultney was fworn of the privy council, and foon afterwards created earl of Bath. He had long lived in the very focus of popular observation, and was refpected as the chief bulwark against the encroachments of the crown. But from the moment he accepted a title, all his favour with the people was at an end, and the rest of his life was spent in contemning that applause which he no longer could secure. Dying without iffue on the eighth of June, 1764, his title became extinct; and his only fon having died fome time before in Portugal, the paternal eftate devolved to his brother lieute nant-general Pultney. In his will he left four hundred pounds to his coufin, Mrs. Johnfon; five hundred pounds, with his library, to the reverend Mr. Douglas and an annuity of fix hundred pounds to the ingenious. Mr. Colman, whom, it is faidi by fome, he affilted in writing the Connoif{feur.. Memoirs of Mrs. Johnson, the celsbrated Stella of dean Swift, dravon up by the dean himself. From the tavo last posthumous, volumes of bis works. : On the death of Mrs. Johnsons T HIS day, being Sunday, January 28th, 1727-8, about eight o'clock at night, a fervant brought me a note, with an account of the death of the trueft, moft virtuous, and valuable friend, that I, or perhaps any other perfon, was ever bieffed with. She expired about fix in the evening of this day; and, as foon as I am left alone, which is about eleven at night, I refolve, for my own fatisfaction, to fay fomething of her life and character! She was born at Richmond in Surry, on the thirteenth day of March, in the year 1681. Her father was a younger brother of a good family in Nottinghamfhire, her mother of a lower degree ; and indeed he had little to boast of her birth. I knew her from fix years old, and had fome fhare in her education, by directing what books fhe fhould read, and perpetually inftructing her in the principles of honour and virtue ; from which he never fwerved in any one action or moment of her life She was fickly from her childhood until about the age of fifteen but then grew into perfect health, and was looked upon as. as one of the most beautiful, graceful, and agreeable young women in London, only a little too fat. Her hair was blacker than a raven, and every feature of her face in perfection. She lived generally in the country, with a family, where the contracted an intimate friendship with another lady of more advanced years. I was then (to my mortification) fettled in Ireland; and, about a year after, going to visit my friends in England, I found the was a little uneafy upon the death of a perfon on whom he had fome dependence. Her fortune, at that time, was in all not above fifteen hundred pounds, the intereft of which was but a fcanty maintenance in fo dear a country, for one of her fpirit. Upon this confideration, and indeed very much for my own fatisfaction, who had few friends or acquaintance in Ireland, I prevailed with her and her dear friend and companion, the other lady, to draw what money they had into Ireland, a great part of their fortune being in annuities upon funds. Money was then at ten per cent. in Ireland, befides the advantage of returning it, and all neceffaries of life at half the price. They complied with my advice, and foon after came over; but, I happening to continue fome time longer in England, they were much difcouraged to live in Dublin, where they were wholly ftrangers. She was at that time about nineteen years old, and her perfon was foon diftinguished. But the adventure looked fo like a frolic, the cenfure held, for fome time, as if there were a fecret hiftory in fuch a removal; which, however, foon blew off by her excellent conduct. She came over with her friend on the in For the year 170; and they both Never was any of her sex born with better gifts of the mind, or more improved them by reading and converfation. Yet her memory was not of the best, and was impaired in the latter years of her life. But I cannot call to mind that I ever once heard her make a wrong judgement of perfons, books, or affairs. Her advice was always the best, and with the greatest freedom, mixt with the greatest decency. She had a gracefulness fomewhat more than human in every motion, word, and action. Never was so happy a conjunction of civility, freedom, eatinefs, and fincerity. There seemed to be a combination among all that knew her, to treat her with a dignity much beyond her rank: yet people of all forts were never more eafy than in her company. Mr. Addison, when he Mrs. Dingley,.. But was was in Ireland, being introduced to her, immediately found her out; and, if he had not soon after left the kingdom, affured me he would have used all endeavours to cultivate her friendship. A rude or conceited coxcomb paffed his time very ill, upon the leaft breach of refpect; for, in fuch a cafe, fhe had no mercy, but was fure to expofe him to the contempt of the ftanders-by; yet in fuch a manner as he was afhamed to complain, and durft not refent. All of us, who had the happiness of her friendfhip, agreed unanimoufly, that, in an afternoon or evening's converfation, fhe never failed, before we parted, of delivering the best thing that was faid in the company. Some of us have written down feveral of her fayings, or what the French call Bon Mots, wherein the excelled almost beyond belief. She never mistook the understanding of others; nor ever faid a fevere word, but where a much feverer was deferved. Her fervants loved and almoft adored her at the fame time. She would, upon occafions, treat them with freedom; yet her demeanour was fo aweful, that they durft not fail in the leaft point of refpect. She chid them feldom, but it was with feverity, which had an effect upon them for a long time af ter. January 26th. My head aches, and I can write no more. January 30th. Tuesday. This is the night of the funeral, which my fickness will not fuffer me to attend. It is now nine at night, and I am removed into another apartment, that I may not fee the light of the church, which is VOL. VIII. juft over-against the window of my bedchamber. With all the foftnefs of temper that became a lady, he had the perfonal courage of a hero. She and her friend having removed their lodgings to a new houfe, which ftood folitary, a parcel of rogues, armed, attempted the houfe, where there was only one boy; fhe was then about four-andtwenty and, having been warned to apprehend fome fuch attempt, fhe learned the management of a piftol; and, the other women and fervants being half dead with fear, fhe ftole foftly to her dining room window, put on a black hood, to prevent being feen, primed the piftol fresh, gently lifted up the fafh; and, taking her aim with the utmost prefence of mind, difcharged the piftol, loaden with the bullets, into the body of one villain, who stood the fairest mark. The fellow, mortally wounded, was carried off by the reft, and died the next morning, but his companions could not be found. The duke of Ormond had often drunk her health to me upon that account, and had always an high efteem for her. She was indeed under fome apprehenfions of going in a boat, after fome danger the had narrowly efcaped by water; but he was reafoned thoroughly out of it. She was never known to cry out, or difcover any fear, in a coach or on horseback, or any uneafinefs by thofe fudden accidents with which moft of her fex, either by weaknefs or affectation, appear fo much difordered. She never had the leaft abfence of mind in converfation, nor given to interruption, or appeared ea C ger |