3. Memoirs of a celebrated Literary and Political Character, from the Resignation of Sir Robert Walpole, in 1742, to the Establishment of Lord Chatham's second Administration, in 1757; containing Strictures on some of the most distinguished Men of that Time. 8vo. pp. 118. Murray.

ONE more candidate for the honour of being considered as the Writer

of Junius's Letters"Another, and another still, succeeds." Whatever opinion on the subject may be formed from the present publication, which can only result from the undoubted talents and the means of information which the Author possessed, this little volume is, on various accounts, extremely acceptable.

"The publication," we are informed, "has been occasioned solely by the diversity of opinion which has prevailed respecting the Author of the Letters of Junius, and from the failure of all who have laid claim to that distinction. They are written by a celebrated character, and are only a part of a collection which is now in the possession of his immediate Descendant. He was the intimate associate of Chatham and the Grenvilles; at once possessed of literary reputation and an ample fortune, a Member of Parliament, and alike acquainted with public measures and ministerial intrigue."

Richard Glover, esq. (better known in the literary world as Leonidus Glover) was a very considerable London merchant; and, in that capacity, made a conspicuously distinguished figure, by a Speech at the Bar of the House of Commons, Jan. 27, 1741-2, in support of a most respectful Petition from the Merchants, complaining of the want of due protection to their Trade, from the depredations of the Spaniards; of which an ample extract given in our vol. XII. p. 150; and by which he acquired, and with great justice, the character of an able and steady Patriot; and, on every occasion, shewed a most perfect knowledge of, joined to the most ardent zeal for, the commercial interests of this Nation, and an inviolable attachmant to the welfare of his Countrymen in general, and that of the City of London in particular. In 1751, having, in consequence of unforeseen losses in trade, and perhaps in some measure of his zeal s zealous warmth for the public interests, to the neglect of

pre

"Heretofore I have frequently had occasion of addressing the Livery of London in public; but at this time I find all the difficulties which a want of matmyself at an unusual loss, being under ter deserving your notice can create. Had I now your rights and privileges to vindicate; had I the cause of your suffering trade to defend; or were I now called forth to recommend and enforce the Parliamentary service of the most virtuous and illustrious Citizen; my tongue would be free from constraint, and, expatiating at large, would endeavour to merit your attention, which now must be solely confined to so narrow a subject as myself. On those occasions, the importance of the matter, and my known zeal to serve you, however ineffectual my attempts might prove, were always sufficient to secure me the honour of a kind reception and unmerited regard. Your countenance, Gentlemen, first drew me from the retirement of a studious life; your repeated marks of distinction first pointed me out to that great body, the Merchants of London," who, pursuing your exainple, condescended to entrust me, unequal and unworthy as I was, with the most important cause- a cause where your interest. was as nearly concerned as theirs. In consequence of that deference which has been paid to the sentiments and choice of the Citizens and Traders of London, it was impossible but some faint lustre must have glanced on one, whom, weak as he was, they were pleased to appoint the instrument on their behalf: and if from these transactions I accidentally acquired the smallest share of reputation, it was to you, Gentlemen of the Livery, that my gratitude ascribes it; and I joyfully embrace this public opportunity of declaring, that whatever part of a public character I may presume to claim, I owe primarily to you. To this I might add the favour, the twenty years' countenance and patronage of

one,

whom a supreme degree of respect shall prevent me from naming *; and *Frederick Prince of Wales."

though

though under the temptation of using that name, as a certain means of obviating some misconstructions, I shall however avoid to dwell on the memory of a loss so recent, so justly, and so universally lamented."

From the time of Mr. Glover's misfortunes in trade, he lived in obscurity, known only to his friends, and declining to take any active part in public affairs. At length, having surmounted the difficulties of his situation, he again relinquished the pleasures of retirement; in the Parliament which met in 1761, was elected Member for Weymouth; and afterwards stood forward, on several occasions, in a manner highly honourable to himself, and advantageous to the publick. See in vol. XXIV. p. 51, a "Letter" addressed to him in 1774; in which year he obtained a high degree of credit by his "Evidence before the House of Lords about Foreign Linen,” (see our vol. XLIV. p. 278).

March 16,1775, he made an excellent speech at the bar of the House of Commons, on the West-India Planters' Petition (see vol. XLV. p. 620); and died November 25, 1785.

To Glover and Mallet, it will be recollected, the Duchess of Marlborough, by her last Will, assigned the task of writing the Duke's Life, with a legacy of 1000l. which Glover indignantly rejected.

Of his character see more at large in our vol. LV. p. 922; from which we shall transcribe one extract:

"For upwards of fifty years, through every vicissitude of fortune, he exhibited the most exemplary simplicity of manners; having early attained that perfect equanimity which Philosophy often recommends in the closet, but which in experience is too seldom exercised by

other men in the test of trial. In Mr. Glover were united a wide compass of accurate information in all mercantile concerns, with high intellectual powers of mind, joined to a copious flow of eloquence as an Orator in the House of Commons. Since Milton, he was second to none of our English Poets, in his discriminating, judicious acquaintance with all ancient as well as modern literature; witness his Leonidas, Medea, Boadicea, and London: for, having formed his own character upon the best models of the Greek Writers, he lived as if he had been bred a disciple of Socrates, or companion of Aristides. Hence his political turn of mind; hence his unwarped affection and

active zeal for the rights and liberties of his Country; hence his heart-felt exultation whenever he had to paint the impious designs of Tyrants in antient times frustrated, or in modern defeated, in their nefarious purposes to extirpate Liberty, or to trample on the unalienable rights of man, however remote in time or space from his immediate presence. rious erudition, for his unalloyed patriotIn a few words, for the extent of his vaism, and for his daily exercise and con stant practice of Xenophon's philosophy, in his private as well as in public life, Mr. Glover has left none his equal in the City; and some time, it is feared, may elapse, before such another Citizen shall arise, with eloquence, with charaeter, and with poetry like his, to assert their rights, or to vindicate with equal powers the just claims of free-born men.'

But to return to Junius:

"After the perusal of these pages," says their Editor, "the Reader will be surprized, that, among the numerous have been attributed, the Author of these persons to whom the Letters of Junius Memoirs was never named: and it is

remarkable that he should have been overlooked, while the perspicacity of Horne Tooke and Wilkes, and the phalanx of politicians of his time, was exhausted in unavailing conjectures. will not pledge myself that he was Junius; but this I can safely say, that no one yet named, supported by facts, has any claim to stand in competition with him. These Memoirs sufficiently mark his political relations; and numerous documents, long since before the publick, might be adduced, to strengthen and confirm them. One circumstance, however, I am authorized to mention, which will serve to shew in what estimation his political sagacity was held in his retirement in the decline of life. During the Shelburne and Portland Administrations in 1788, he was frequently visited privately by the late Marquis of Buckingham, then Lord Temple, and closeted with him alone; his visits were always in the evening, and such was the privacy of these meetings, that his name was not announced, and no servant was permitted to open the door when he left the house. At some future time I hope to give a sketch of his character. At present I submit these pages to the publick; valuable, at least, for the information they contain, if not as authority to establish a conjecture on a subject of peculiar literary interest."

This is candid; but at best amounts to no more than proof presumptive.

The

The "Memoirs" commence in the Spring of 1741; are continued to 1757; and develope the secret springs by which many of the great Leaders both in the Ministry and the Opposi tion were in reality actuated. It is a most curious peep behind the curtain, by an intelligent Actor in the Political Drama; and unfortunately demon strates how little are the great!"

Mr. Glover speaks his mind very freely both of the Ins and Outs; as may be judged from the following highly-seasoned character:

"The Duke of Newcastle was a man of whom no one ever spoke with cordial regard; of parts and conduct which generally drew animadversions bordering on contempt, of notorious insincerity, political cowardice, and servility to the highest and the lowest; yet, insincere without gall, ambitious without pride, luxurious, jovial, hospitable to all men, of an exorbitant estate, affable, forgetful of offences, and profuse of his favours indiscriminately to all his adherents; he had established a faction by far the most powerful in this country: hence he derived that influence which encouraged his unworthy pretensions to ministerial power; nor was he less indebted to his experience of a Court, a long practice in all its craft, whence he had acquired a certain art of imposition, that, in every negociation with the most distinguished popular leaders, however superior to himself in understanding, from the instant they began to depart from ingenuous and public principles, he never missed his advantage, nor failed of making them his property at last, and himself their master. Lord Cobham, Chesterfield, the Duke of Bedford, Pitt, and others, found him so in 1743, when be took them into his confederacy to, rout the Earl of Bath and Granville. Pitt found him so in 1757, when this new coalition was formed to destroy the Duke of Cumberland and Fox."

We shall conclude this article with the more immediate object of the publication, "The Politics of Junius."

"His first great and leading principle is, that Magistrates and the Ministers of Government should ever be subservient to the Laws. To preserve the British Constitution, according to his view of the subject, in its utmost purity, is his whole aim: and his violence against men upon ail occasions, is solely with a view to destroy their measures, when en he Bonsidered them to be impolitic or unGENT. MAC. January, 1814.

just. His abuse and invective are go verned by this principle; and when he attacks the private vices of men, he adopts that mode, only as an expedient

to diminish the baneful effects of their

public actions *. To the Duke of Graf

ton he declares himself not to have been

his personal enemy I have no resentments but against the common enemy. And after the most bitter and reiterated. abuse of the King, he says, "I would willingly hazard my life in defence of your title and your crown.' In pursuing this subject, to give force to his political theory, he confesses himself, in some instances,to have overstepped the bounds of correct truth. It was necessary to the plan of that letter, to rate you lower than you deserved.' From the same motive he also bestowed praise, if he saw political good to be derived from it: "I think it good policy to pay these com pliments to Lord Chatham.-To preserve and renovate the Constitution, his favourite theory, in common with Lord Chatham, was to have triennial Parlia ments. - With respect to his political creed, in his fifty-ninth letter he has thus very fully and very clearly expressed himself: I can more readily admire the liberal spirit and integrity, than the sound judgment of any man, who prefers a republican form of government, in this or any other empire of equal extent, to a. monarchy so qualified and limited as ours. I am convinced, that neither is it in theory the wisest system of govern ment, nor practicable in this country. Yet, though I hope the English Constitution will for ever preserve its original monarchical form, I would have the manners of the people purely and strictly republican. I do not mean the licen tious spirit of anarchy and riot; I mean a general attachment to the common weal, distinct from any partial attachment to persons or families; an implicit submission to the laws only, and an affection to the magistrate, proportioned to the integrity and wisdom, with which he distributes justice to his people, and administers their affairs.'-Throughout the whole of Junius there is a feeling of despondency for the public weal: I am convinced, as far as my understanding is capable of judging, that the present: ministry are driving this country to de

* "I am here speaking of the professed principle and intention of Junius; how well or ill he executed or manifested his intentions, or bow far his own private feelings have heightened or inbittered his invective, his works before the publick will declare for themselves."

struction.

struction. I most truly lament the condition to which we are reduced,'-he had, therefore, no resentments but against the common enemy." The same feelings characterize these Memoirs. The Administration of Lord Chatham, then Mr. Pitt, was the only means left to save a ruined nation;' and the details which he has entered into, are only to delineate with accuracy the causes of this nation's fall,' which, to the author's ill-boding judgment, appeared to be inevitable. And though he had intimacies to a degree of friendship with most of the distinguished politicians of his time, yet those intimacies were contracted on the public account, that when his principles were deserted by them, their society was abandoned by him. Of Kings, though necessary to the Constitution and form of Government Junius was attached to, in these Memoirs the Author is equally unsparing of his censure, and unmindful of the mode of inforcing his invective against them. "George II. is a weak, narrow, sordid, and unfeeling master, only calculated by Nature for a Pawnbroker's shop;' and again, he should be made sensible, not only that he should not be master, but that he should know and feel that he ought not to be so. The King of Prussia is a fiend: and of Princes in general, their actions are not to be judged of by the rules of morality, before whose tribunal they would be all condemned in their turns, and undergo the severest punishment, if executioners were not wanting to the laws of Nature and of Justice; and the folly and ser vility of mankind were not the safeguard of Kings. In these Memoirs the political feeling of the Author may be accurately traced in his estimation, and varying hopes and fears of the conduct of Lord Chatham. He admired his talents, and seemed perfectly well to understand their force and influence; at times, strongly attached to his measures, but at other times, doubts of his sincerity, and censures what he considers a dere. liction of principle; and for twelve years withdrew himself from his intimacy from political principles alone. In the Letters of Junius there is the same admiration of his powers, the same sentiment, of disesteem, when he made his great abilities subservient to measures which he disapproved; and even his celebrated panegyrick is guarded by expressions which seem to glance at a comprehensive view of his whole character. In estimating the circumstances on which the true dignity of his character should depend, the tone of feeling, though différently expressed, is very similar in both

these works. When Pitt was first appointed Secretary of State, from his having vacillated in his conduct, the Memoir says, All past offences were buried in oblivion. The love of power and an ardent thirst of fame, were noble passions, honourable to him, and beneficial to his country, when their views were set in comparison with those which ac-. company the base attachment to money, the visible bane of our times.' Junius

says, "I confess he has grown upon my esteem. As for the common sordid views of avarice, or any purpose of vulgar ambition, I question whether the applause of Junius would be of service to Lord Chatham. But if his ambition be upon a level with his understanding; if he judges of what is truly honourable for himself, with the same superior genius which animates and directs him to eloquence in debate, to wisdom in decision, even the pen of Junius shall continue to reward him.'- Junius was an old reader of political controversies, and remembered the great Walpolean battles! The Author of these Memoirs was an antagonist of Walpole. And Pitt incurred discredit, in his estimation, for " an indecent and needless encomium on Sir Robert Walpole, against whom he had been one of the most violent, at the time that Minister was driven from the Administration. Junius also declares himself to have dedicated his life to the information of his fellow-subjects. This Author took an active part in politics so early as the year 1739, and did not cease to direct his attention to that object during his whole life; and, whether his political opinions were well or ill-founded, he invariably adhered to them, believing them to be right.

"The Editor of these Memoirs could increase this Pamphlet to twice its size, if he were to indulge in minute criticism or analysis. He himself believes that they were written by the same Author, known to the publick under the signature of JUNIUS; but if the sentiments and opinions they contain, and the style in which they are delivered, should not convey the same force of evidence to others as to himself, it would be useless to descend to minute particulars to strengthen and support them. Every fact that the Editor is acquainted with perfectly coincides with his hypothesis,, except one, which is an assertion made by Junius, that he was not personally known to George Grenville. How far this might be correctly true, or how far it might be a justifiable ruse under the existing circumstances, must be left for the publick to determine."

And here we also leave the question.