,j- SOUTHERN nEG'Cj':; 
 
 A N E C "- 000 217 006 6 
 
 O F 
 
 JUNIUS. 
 
 TO WHICH IS PREFIXED 
 
 The KING'S REPLY- 
 
 DUBLIN: 
 
 Printed by P. BYRNE, No. io8,XJrafton-streit; 
 
 M.UCC.L^XXVIIS^
 
 ^':'
 
 mn .Li3RAf<r 
 
 Hi 
 
 / N the heji editions of JUNIUS's LET- 
 TERS, the King's Anfwer has hitherto been 
 
 unnoticed. The following reply is fuppofed 
 
 to have been written by a Nobleman, once high 
 in office, but now, "a monument of departed 
 
 GREATNESS." 
 
 I'd which are added fame interefling Anecdotes 
 0/ J u N I u s ; — collet ed in the year 1 7 7 1 . 
 
 I — >WWI— W— — — — "I'll I I
 
 matxTam-r-mmiJi ■ iffHWf 
 
 The KING in REPLY, &c. 
 
 DECEMBER 25^^, 1769. 
 % JUNIUS. 
 
 F 
 
 ACTION may be refembled to bodies 
 
 * in their defcent, their motion is increafed in 
 
 * proportion to the fpace they fall through. 
 
 * No great degree of fagacity was requifite to 
 
 * foretell that a writer who had malevolently 
 
 * attacked the greatefl Officers of the State, 
 ' would at laft lay his hand upon the Throne, 
 
 * and (hake even the Monarch ; who wifhed 
 ' he would not forfeit every title to Clemency. 
 
 * An animating llile is far from inveftigating a. 
 
 ' Subjea
 
 [ 2 ] 
 
 ' Subjetft with a right to raife himfelf upon a 
 
 * level with his fovereign, and to arraign his 
 ' condu(fl in terms that (hew a total difregard 
 
 * to decency and to allegiance. But fuppofmg 
 ' fuch an outrage could at anytime exifl; fup- 
 
 * pofing the Sovereign fhould lay afide the fcep- 
 
 * tre and defcend to th^ charader of a Fellow- 
 ' Subjecfl ; he might exprefs himfelf in terms 
 ' of this kind, which, though abftradled from 
 
 * the forms of royalty, might ftill convey his 
 ' ideas in exprefTions drawn from his real cha- 
 
 * rader, and breathe all the benevolence of 
 
 * one who is paternally affecfled for the welfare 
 
 * of his Subje(5ls.* 
 
 I ATvi not furprifed at the attack lately re- 
 ceived from the pen of Junius. — His pen 
 f pares no charaflers. — Impunity, inftead of fur- 
 nifhing him with fufpicion, has hardened him 
 in effrontery. But calumny and fedition is 
 the charaderifiic of the age: he may have 
 been willingly carried down the ftreamjbecaufe 
 it will land on the fliore of Popularity. To 
 abufe extraordinary talents is the highefl ingra- 
 titude that can be committed againll their do- 
 nor.
 
 [ 3 1 
 nor. It favours much of the condu€l of the 
 firft rebel in the creation, who was both a be- 
 ing of the higheft order of intelligent crea- 
 tures, and was likewife a devil. 
 
 Had Junius urged any thing worthy of no- 
 tice, unlefs it be for its malignity, he would 
 have been indulged all the freedom of a Pa- 
 triot, and I would have laid afide the King to 
 become a Difciple. A long letter, which has 
 a tendency to difturb the tranquillity of my 
 reign, is flretched out to its enormous length 
 by trite maxims ; and every artifice is employ- 
 ed to alienate the affedions of my fubjecfts. 
 The charms of novelty are negleded to intro- 
 duce the poifon of malignity, and I am to be 
 expofed to my people, for being in the fame 
 circumftances as other Kings have been in be- 
 fore me. 
 
 It has been frequently obferved by the vo- 
 taries of the people, that the voice of Truth 
 feldom reaches the ears of a King. This may 
 too often be the cafe with weak and arbitrary- 
 Princes ; but will my greateft enemy, will even 
 
 Junius
 
 r 4 ] 
 
 Junius dare to ftigmatize me with being arbi- 
 trary or defpotic ? Has there never been a po- 
 pular Minifter in this Kingdom ? What is the 
 general charader of Burleigh andWALSiNc- 
 H AM ? They certainly conveyed the di<5latcs of 
 truth to the ears of royalty, and are fufficient 
 to explode the maxim of the peopFe. — A pa- 
 triotic Prince may find it as difficult to be ad- 
 dreflfed with the falfehood of adulation, as a 
 defpotic one with the oracles of truth. 
 
 The language of complaint is not always 
 the language of truth. Grievances may not 
 be real. Faction will create caufes of com- 
 plaint, if fhe cannot find them already exift- 
 ing, and popular difcontents, when traced to 
 their fource, may rather be the murmurs of a 
 few difaffeded, than the real fighs of an in- 
 jured nation. The hiftories of all nations 
 abound with inftances in proof of this affer- 
 tion : pity it is that will not prevent future 
 ages from committing fimilar miflakes I 
 
 The people are too foon feduced to join 
 in the cry againft their fuperiors, and their 
 
 palfions
 
 [ 5 ] 
 
 pafiions are too often captivated by thofe 
 who are unable to convince their underftand- 
 ing. 
 
 But r am to be precluded every topic which 
 I could urge in my defence : my conduft is af- 
 fertcd to be wrong from principle, and the lef- 
 Jons 1 have learned from my youth are ftigma- 
 tized ^s pernicious. Yet ftill I am faid to be 
 natUrfdlly benevolent : but how that could be af" 
 ter my habits were become pernicious by edu- 
 cation, is a problem of which few will under- 
 take the folution. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 It is much in my favour that my nature was 
 originally good, as it has refcued me from an 
 inconvenience that is a fpecies of treafon; for 
 unlefs it had been fo, I am told by one of my 
 fubjeds, that they would long fince have adopt- 
 ed a ftile of remonftrance very diftant from the 
 humility of complaint. What this ftile is, let 
 the nation judge — nay, let Junius explain.— 
 The menace is litde better than the menace of 
 feditioh. — If we fhould trace the thunderbolt 
 
 B t9
 
 [ 6 ] 
 
 to the hand from whence it was caft, it would 
 be found to have proceeded from the hand of 
 Briareus, who was engaged in an attack to 
 dethrone Jupiter. 
 
 The general maxim that the King can do no 
 wrong, which was intended to fecure majefty 
 againft the poifoned ftiafts of m^alecontents, is 
 wrefted to inflidl wounds in my government ; 
 and too often in the natural world, thofe gifts 
 which were defigned by nature to fupport life, 
 are converted into means of deflroying it. — 
 The latter may be afcribed to perverfity of 
 judgment, the former to perverfity of will. 
 
 I ASCENDED the thronc with a fincere and 
 determined refolution to give univerfal fatis- 
 fa^flion to my fubjeds; I looked on myfelf as 
 accountable to the K I N G O F KINGS, 
 in the difchargeof my duty : and when I con- 
 fidered that my willj and pleafure and happi- 
 nefs, depended on following thedicflates of my 
 confcience, I thought myfelf well fecuredfrom 
 doing amifs. The general acclamation and joy 
 
 of
 
 [ 7 ] 
 
 of the nation on my acceffion, made me pro- 
 mire myfelf that my throne would be placed 
 in the hearts of my fubjedls ; and when I con- 
 fidered . the thorns which twine themfelves 
 round the diadem, I imagined the people would 
 be moreready to invite me to aflume the fcep- 
 tre, than I really was to accept it. 
 
 The brighteft funfhine is too often inter- 
 cepted by a cloud. I find, too foon, that earthly 
 glory, like light in its progrefs, is liable to fits 
 and intermilTions. The very means I took to 
 fecure general affedion, were urged againfl me, 
 to deprive me of fo ineflimable an acquifiti- 
 on. Declared the King of feveral, nations, I 
 looked upon the natives of each kingdom as 
 my fubjeds. I thought they ought equally to 
 participate of my afFedions. Impartiality de- 
 manded this ; and I knOw that partiality is in 
 a Monarch a fpecies of injuftice. 
 
 The comprehenfive term of being King of 
 
 Great Br i ta i n, whifpered to me that all the 
 
 fubjefts in Great Britain were equally allied to 
 
 B z me
 
 [ 8 ] 
 me as their fovereign. The Tweed did not 
 bound my dominions : ihofe that were born 
 north of that river were as much my fubjefts 
 asthofe that were born nearer the place of piy 
 refidence. My affection fpread itfclf like the 
 light of the fun, into every corner of my do- 
 minions ; and I knew no other reftraint, no 
 other attracftion to my favors but defcrt. The 
 North as well as the South Briton partook 
 equally of the warmth of my bounty. I was 
 King of both, and was bound to treat them 
 "both as my fubjeds. None but a perfon of a 
 narrow mind, could blame me for making my 
 benevolence general. He that would blame 
 me for this, mufl blame the fun for fhining 
 upon other nations as well as his own. I know 
 indeed that fomemalecontents thought me par- 
 tial, becaufe all my favors were not confined 
 to thofe that were born on tlye fouth of the 
 Tweed ; and they ftigmatized my generofity 
 with the invidious term of predilecflion. I 
 looked upon myfelf as a common Father to 
 all my fubje<fls, wherever difleminated ; 
 furely it is not a crime in a father to let all 
 his children liave a Ihare in his heart] So 
 
 far
 
 [ 9 ] 
 
 far was I from being biafled by any error im- 
 bibed in my education, that I diverted myfeli 
 of the natural predileflion which every one 
 has to the peculiar fpot in which he was born, 
 and I looked upon myfelf in the fame light 
 as the ancient fage ; I looked upon myfelf 
 not as a citizen of the world, but as if born 
 ia every diftrid of my dominion, and bound, 
 to carefs them all with equal portions of affec- 
 tion. 
 
 The alteration made in the fyftem of govern- 
 ment, was the effed of deliberation ; it does 
 not become me to add, of wifdom likewife.-— 
 I do not think myfelf obliged to reveal the fe- 
 crets of government to vindicate myfdf from 
 the afperfions of every one who blames my 
 condud. A condefcenfion of this kind would 
 unhinge every part of ftate machinery, extir- 
 pate the very idea of fubordination, and eredl 
 anarchy upon the ruins of order and govern- 
 ment. It was neceflary to change what would 
 not be controlled, and defpotifm in a minif- 
 ter was efteemed no lefs intolerable than in a. 
 prince It can be no crime in a fovereign to 
 
 rule;
 
 [ 'o ] 
 
 rule ; it would be a weaknefs in him to fuffer 
 himfelf to be ruled by a fervant. 
 
 I AM bUmed fordifcarding a minifter, who 
 was at that Ume very popular ; but fure I can- 
 not be blamed for that flep now, for even the 
 people have diverted him of the feathers with 
 M'hich they had dreflfed him, and have more 
 than once pronounced him unworthy of popu- 
 larity. 
 
 If my condudl may admit a vindication in 
 thefe points, it is not lefs vindicable with re- 
 fpeifl to Mr. Wilkes the godof the people s ido- 
 latry. The outrages he committed againft my 
 perfon, the afperfions which he caft upon my 
 deareft relations, were long fuffered with con- 
 tempt, with impunity, if not with pity. As the 
 highefl: ftretch of law may become injuflice in 
 the opinion of the Roman Moralift, fo when 
 clemency is carried too far, it becomes crimi- 
 nal. I never thought, that when I put on my 
 crown, I ceafed to be a man ; or that at the 
 time when I accepted of the fceptre, I ceafed 
 to be a fon. If filial duty reigned flill in my 
 
 heart.
 
 t " 1 
 
 heart, religion will pardon me the commifiloa 
 6'f that crime ; if filial duty reigned ftill in my 
 heart, let the fon judge, for the fon only- 
 can judge the agonies which I felt at the afi- 
 perfions which were cafi: upon her to vvhom I 
 owe my birth. To defend her could be 
 no crime ; to punilh her calumniator, was 
 to obey the call of Juftice. But even in this 
 point, I fuffered royalty to flifle the agonies 
 of the man, and bearing a public charader, I 
 would not fuflfer myfelf to be roufed, by lefs 
 than a public injury. 
 
 The lawslhowed refentment to be founded 
 upon juftice ; the delinquent is now fufFering 
 no punifhment from perfonal pique, but the 
 puniQiment he has called down upon his own 
 head, by infringing thofe fandions which are 
 the bulwarks of civil life, and the only props 
 of government. Even in the midfl of punifh- 
 ment, I liftened to the voice of mercy, and 
 the lenity of myjgovernment Ihone forth, even 
 in the pains which were inflided upon the 
 delinquent. In this cafe, the Magna Charta 
 and Bill of Rights were: adhered to, with 
 
 unexam-
 
 [ 12 J 
 
 onexampled fcrupulofity. The fatisfadion 
 awarded, was rather the fatisfaclion of a pri- 
 vate perfon than that of a monarch ; it fatiS- 
 fied me; for homo fum, &!c. is as much my fa- 
 vonrive maxim, as that of the mod compafTi- 
 onate individual. The ray's' of royal clemency 
 ivere collet ed iff Oft V^^iLikT.Sy in greater quan- 
 tities than thofe of indignation ; and it was my 
 iiitention to illuminate and inftrucfb, not to con- 
 fume. 
 
 It is no furprifing thing, that he fhould be 
 aggrandized by his punilhments. The lower 
 order of mankind fix their attention more up- 
 on the fufferings than the crime ; and when 
 their hearts are melted into com paflion, they in 
 a manner forget that the fufferer is a criminal. 
 It is not my intention to deftroy, but to fave. 
 When the delinquent is worthy of favour, my 
 arms are open to receive him : and, if I un- 
 derftand the workings of my own heart, I 
 would rather die to fave the meaneft indivi- 
 dual, than force an individual to die, to fave 
 jne. 
 
 FacTioh 
 
 i
 
 [ 13 ] 
 
 Faction will always fow her feeds, in the 
 bell governments ; vvhy not in mine as well as 
 another's? It is her peculiar province to diftort 
 the truth which (lie cannot annihilate: and an 
 erroneous fight is fometimes more pernicious 
 than total blindnefs. Through her glafs, the 
 mod minute objedl: appears »ery confiderable ; 
 why then fiiould we wonder at the aggrandize- 
 ment of Mr. Wilkes, when it is known he 
 appears fo, only through the microfcope of 
 fadion ? 
 
 The expulfion of Mr. Wilkes, and the elec- 
 tion ofCoL. LuTTRELL, afford a wide field for 
 cenfure to expatiate in. Like other controverted 
 points they may be agitated a long time, and 
 may never be brought toa decifion. The law- 
 yers have argued the cafe pro and con ; each fide 
 is fanguine; each thinks himfelf in the right. 
 But how are we to know -on which fide the 
 truth lies, when each opppfite party avers that 
 it lies on his ? The only judge of th-^fe con- 
 iroverfies the House of Commons have indeed 
 decided the cafe. Shall I fnatch the balance 
 out of their hands ? Shall I fhew myfclf arbi- 
 C trary
 
 [ H ] 
 
 irary becaufe I am accufed, falfely accufed of 
 being fo ? Shall I overturn the power of par- 
 liament, one of the pillars of the conflitution, 
 and take a ftep that would give defpoiifin all 
 the advantages it defires over freedom ? No ! I 
 was raifed to govern a free people. I would 
 fcorn to be king over a nation of flaves. The 
 greateft glory of an earthly king is to refemblc 
 the KING OF KINGS ; and his ferviceis per- 
 fecfl freedom. It is a remarkable circumftance 
 in my favour, that the fame perfonsthat cenfure 
 my condu(fV, fixthebrandof calumny upon the 
 great fenate of the kingdom. In days of def- 
 potifm, the monarch and the parliament were 
 always at variance; and it is an infallible fymp- 
 ^om of civil liberty and conftitutional re(flitude, 
 that all the three branches of the conflitution 
 fhould be unanimous. Shall I cut down the 
 prop which fupports my palace.^ The voice 
 of fadion may demand it, but the voice of 
 freedom irrefiftibly forces me to leave the na- 
 tional council without control. It (hall be free; 
 I v/ould fooner be enflaved-myfelf, than pro- 
 mote the triumphs of flavery. The afFedions 
 of my fubjeifls cannot be purchail'd too dearly^ 
 
 I live
 
 [ 15 ] 
 
 I live only to promote their welfare. While I 
 regulate my conduct upon the principles of rea- 
 fon, I am fecure of the love of all the lovers 
 of their country. My intereft is infeparable 
 from theirs, and while they have any regard 
 for themfelves, they cannot but have as great 
 a one for me. The calm anddifpaffionate, the 
 rational fubjed has already aflured me of his 
 loyalty ; I can have no other enemy but the foe 
 to his country, and the enemy of order. T can 
 never be hated or defpifed while I purfue the 
 paths of honour and juftice. Nor fliall my con- 
 dud: be perverted by the clamours of malecon- 
 tents. — Non civium ardor prava jubentium, is a 
 maxim that defcribes and ennobles the duty of 
 royalty. Inconfiftency only can give ^birth to 
 contempt. Malevolence is only the parent of 
 hatred. As I fhall avoid both the progenitors, I 
 am under no apprehenfion from their offspring. 
 Alk me not upon what part of my fubjeds I 
 would rely foraffiflance ! I claim the afliilance 
 of all. I claim it upon the natural right of a 
 parent ; and the fon may as foon draw his 
 fword upon his father, as any of my fubjeds 
 may upon me. 
 
 Cz Ireland
 
 [ i<5 ] 
 Ireland knows I have merited her efleem; 
 though the daughter, flie is not lefs careflcd 
 than the mother. America may be confidcred 
 in the fame light. Neither of them would 
 murmur from what they feel, but from what 
 they have been tauk;ht. The complaints of 
 either are not liie complaints of diflrefs, but 
 the mere echoes of fcditious demagogues. It 
 is true, tliey may make a ncife; but the 
 voice, if articulate, is not fuggelled by a 
 heart, which hath felt a real pang. Not doubt- 
 ful of finding m.any an unperverted fubjecfl 
 in either of tiiofe regions, lam fiill lefs doubt- 
 ful of my northern fubje<fls. If royal favours 
 can fccure fidelity, I may aflure my{e\{ of 
 their's. When their condu(5l is altered from 
 what it has been, they have a claim not only 
 for forgivenefs, but likewife for reward. And 
 having already tafted the fweets of allegi- 
 ance, they can have no caufe for not being 
 faithful. 
 
 The army is neither my lafl nor my bcfc re- 
 fource. The Guards deferye my protection, 
 and being nearcfl my perfon cannot but claim 
 
 my
 
 I '7 1 
 
 my attention. The other regiments may wifli 
 to be guards, and if the guards were to be 
 fubftituted in their place, they would wi(h to 
 be guards again. This is an honour which 
 only one part of the military can enjoy, and 
 to grieve or to grow fullen on that account, 
 would be to realize the fable of the conteft 
 between the belly and its members. The 
 marching regiments have a firong fenfe of the 
 great original duty they owe their country ; I have 
 no caufe to doubt their fidelity. To doubt 
 would be to deferve. — Every department of 
 the army has had all the rewards they purcha- 
 fed by their merits. Their eminent fervices 
 have raifed them to eminent pofts. Nor can 
 there ever exift the fame contefts here as among 
 the Romans ; the praetorian bands and the dif- 
 tant legions will never be at variance, and if 
 they (hould be, it will never be in the power 
 of the diftant legions, nor even of the prseto- 
 rian bands to give away the empire of Great 
 Britain. 
 
 Which way foever I look, I fee no caufe 
 for perplexity or diftrefs. I have deferved the 
 
 afFedion
 
 [ I8 ] 
 
 affe(51ion of my fubjeds and will rely upon 
 them. Our happinefs is interwoven, is incor- 
 porated. God has joined them together — let 
 no mortal therefore dare to put them afunder. 
 To exert prerogative to its full extent, would 
 be to procure a divorce. To exert it in a cafe 
 in which I have no immediate concern^ would be 
 to forfeit more than life; it would be to for- 
 feit the confidence of future parliaments, and 
 even the confidence of all my fubjedls in ge- 
 neral. It is both my intereji and my duty to pre- 
 vent the three ejlaies from encroaching upon the 
 province of each other. With what face then can 
 I begin the encroachment, or depart from the 
 conftitutional line, which terminates the fphere 
 of my prerogative ? 
 
 The liberties taken with the prefent Houfe 
 of Commons deferve no countenance, as they 
 have no foundation. General cenfurc is no 
 cenfure at all ; it is a-tribute which commonly 
 attends defert, and it is the indication of me- 
 rit Hkewife. All parliaments have been blam- 
 ed more or lefs, and till there be a poflibility 
 of meeting with one that Ihall pleafe all par- 
 ties.
 
 L 19 ] 
 
 ties, it would be in vain to flruggle for it. — 
 The very impoffibility is a ftronger proof of 
 the flourifhing ftate of freedom. Only in a flate 
 of flavery, all fubjedsare of one opinion. 
 
 1 fhould be poor indeed, if the fortune which 
 made me a king forbad me to have a friend. Eve- 
 ryone of my fubjecfls is my friend, and I am 
 and will be his. They nioho are convinced that 
 ibeejlablijbment of the family of Hanover ^asne^ 
 ceffaryto thefupport cf their civil and religious li- 
 berties were my friends, — and muft ftill be fo. 
 I defire no other throne but the hearts of my 
 people ; and while I fecure that, I fh-aii fear 
 no revolution, from a convicflion that the fame 
 principles which brought my anceftors to the 
 Crown, will always be powerful enough to 
 keep it in my family.
 
 ANECDOTES 
 
 O F 
 
 JUNIUS: 
 
 SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 
 
 MDCCLXXL 
 
 •mmmmmmmtmmimmHHttKmmm
 
 ANECD OTES. 
 
 o 
 
 F all the political writers that have diftin- 
 guifhed themfelves fince the acceflion of the 
 Houfe of Brunfwick to the throne of Great 
 Britain, the author of Junius's Letters is 
 undoubtedly one of the moft eminent. Others 
 have efpoufed as noble a caufe, and with 
 equal zeal, but few or none equal abili- 
 ties. We have living inflances of popular 
 orators, who rave by the hour, in the fenate, 
 for " Rome and for their country," whofe ta- 
 lents, as writers, are neverthelefs inadequate 
 to the penning a common epiflle of bufmefs 
 D z or
 
 [ -4 ] 
 or compliment with literary elegance, or even 
 grammatical propriety. Eloquent therefore, 
 as fome of them mav be accounted for their 
 manner of delivery, the matter of their argu- 
 ment mufl: ever be held in kifpicion ; unlefs 
 we conceive that modern autliors, like French 
 prophets and fanatical teacliers know by in- 
 tuition, and fpeak by infpiration ; or that men 
 may think more coolly, reafon more juflly, 
 and exprefs themfelves more pertinently, 
 amidfl the interrupting fneers, winks, nods, 
 and noife of a numerous affembly, than when 
 alone and undifturbed in their own clofet. 
 
 Among fuch indifferent fpeakers, and flill 
 more indifferent writers, many cf them not- 
 ^vithf^anding of the firll: rank and diftincftion 
 by birth or fortune, it is no wonder that a 
 man of fupcrior talents and afpiring difpofi- 
 tion fhould make his way into the fenatei 
 -where fuch a dearth of abilities fo prelfingly 
 invited him. It is a little alfo to be won- 
 dered at, that- he rbould be called forward, 
 -by the patronage of thofe who flood in 
 need of his fervice, and were judges of his 
 
 merit,
 
 [ =5 1 
 merit, to the difplay of tliofo literary and 
 rhetorical powers for which he is fo juftly 
 celebrated. 
 
 Thus, by the favour of the difcerning 
 Great, Junius fliw himfe'.f early in life, 
 raifed toa fituation, for which, though by na- 
 ture and education peculiarly qualified, he was 
 not by fair.ily or fortune fo favourably entitled. 
 Junius, however, is of" a good family of a 
 neighbouring kingdom, whofe greatefl: abafe- 
 ment, like that of many others of the fame 
 nation, is that of having been more prolific 
 than rich. 
 
 Having liniilied his acadeniical fludies, he 
 entered the world therefore like a foldier of 
 fortune ; with this difference, that while 
 others of his brave countrymen wielded the 
 fword, or brandiihed the fpontoon, in the 
 fervice of their country abroad, Junius em- 
 ployed a more formidable weapon, his pen, 
 ill the fame caufe at home. This he has con- 
 tinued to do on almoft every important occafi- 
 on, fo effedually, that if his fuccefs hath done 
 honour to his patrons in their choice of fuch 
 a champion, the fide he hath taken on every 
 
 interefling
 
 [ 25 ] _ 
 
 intereflingqueHionhasreflecfled no lefs honour 
 on the recflitude of his underftanding, than it 
 hath recommended that of his heart ; at leall 
 to thofe who have ftill charity enough to be- 
 lieve, that amidfl: a multitude of apoflate pa- 
 triots, there may be yet one faithful Abdiel 
 to be found. 
 
 From the greated abihties, engaged in the 
 bell of caufes, it is natural to exped an end 
 proportional to the means ; and that every 
 point mufl be carried that was once authoriz- 
 ed by reafon, and enforced by rhetoric. But 
 in a country governed by parties, the bed of 
 caufes flands equally in need of the beft fup- 
 port with the worft, and even with all the ad- 
 vantages on its fide is often given up againfl 
 reafon, and abandoned without regret. 
 
 It is not our defign to write a panegyric on 
 the author of the following letters ; the recep- 
 tion they have already met with in the world, 
 hath anticipated that defign, and rendered a 
 more formal execution of it unneceffary. To 
 this general Iketch of the bright fide of the 
 
 pidure.
 
 [ ^7 ] 
 pidure, wefhall therefore proceed to point out 
 fome of thofe particular and diftinguifhing 
 touches of characler ; which, if they do not 
 ferve to foften the colouring, and heighten the 
 beauty of the portrait, will tend at leafl to give 
 it a more flriking Ukenefs, and afford a true 
 and natural refemblance of the original. 
 
 We ihall do thisalfo without fear of giving 
 offence to the author ; as no man of his fenfe 
 and experience would wifh to be flatteringly 
 gnd fallacioufly reprefented as one of thofe 
 ** faultlefs monfters which the world ne'er faw.'* 
 It is with the author as with his works ; 
 
 *' Whoever thinks a perfeft piece to fee, 
 
 " Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er fhall be." 
 
 Were we difpofed, in imitation of Plu- 
 tarch, to draw a parallel, the writer, whofe, 
 talents thofe of Junius feem mofi: torefemble, 
 is the late Lord Boli kg broke. It was pro- 
 bably this congeniality of mental abilities, ra- 
 ther than any error in judgment, that led our 
 
 author
 
 r 2S ] 
 
 iiuihor in one of the earlieft pieces with which 
 he obliged the world, to copy the ftile and fen- 
 timents of that noble writer fo exadly, that 
 the performance paffed, for fome time, even 
 with the critics and connoifTcurs as a poflhu- 
 mous produdion of his LordOiip. 
 
 This piecew as entitled, " A Vindication of 
 Natural Society ; or a View of theMiferiesand 
 Eviisarifing to mankind fiom every Species of 
 artificial fociety*." If the title of this tra<5l 
 carried with it the air of irony, its contents 
 were perfedly conformable ; experience, how- 
 ever, on this, as on many other occafions, 
 ferves fadly to confirm the veracity of that trite 
 though pertinent proverb, that " Truth is of- 
 ten fpoken in jeft." 
 
 This little performance may be regarded 
 as a cert amen ingeniiy a kind of exercife of his 
 
 * Written in the charafter of the noble writer above menti- 
 oned, and in the form of a letter to Lord • • • •, — It was 
 firft printed in the year 1756, and is to be found in Codlley's 
 colle^lon of fugitive pieces, 
 
 hterarv
 
 [ 29 ] 
 
 literary and logical abilities ; and affords no 
 mean proof of the proficiency he had made in 
 the rhetorical and dialedic arts. 
 
 'Of the fame kind are thofe little critiques 
 on political publications, with which our au- 
 thor, about that time, occafionally favoured 
 thofe well-known farragoes of literary and po- 
 litical criticifm, the Reviews : thofe very he- 
 terogeneous works, that during a courfe of up- 
 wards of twenty years, have worn a very dif- 
 ferent face at different times, and have been 
 very unequally executed by different authors, 
 gentle and fimple, whigs and tories, learned 
 and unlearned, fceptical and credulous; com- 
 pofmg the moft motley groupe of writers that 
 ever at once informed and infefled fociety. 
 
 Had Junius the vanity of a certain rival po- 
 litician, now featedat the Board ofTreafury, he 
 would probably wifh to have it forgotten that he 
 ever adled the part of an obfcure and anony- 
 mous reviewer ; but when he refledls that they 
 were both labourers in the fame vineyard with 
 E men
 
 L 30 ! 
 rr.cn, who, like themfdes, have fince rilcn to 
 confideration and eminence, both in church and 
 /late, he muftrefleifl a!fo, with fome compla- 
 cency, on the n-.ejns by v^■liich they whetted 
 their wits to qualify them for the pods and 
 ofiices they {o well do, or fo ardently wifh to 
 fufiain *. 
 
 The reputation our nuthor acquired by 
 his ironical ^indic^lion of natural fociefy, 
 received a confidc-rable addition by his cele- 
 brated treatife on " The Origin of our Ideas 
 
 * The render will pDfOb'y be rot a title diverted at the di- 
 ve, fity of the following fpecimen of a lilt cffuccefTive reviewers. 
 ,. I Archbishop Srcker, 
 
 (^'^^"^^•^*'^^lMAST'^ER'"'oftheTEMFLE. 
 
 C Judge Biack.ftone 
 
 LawVe.ii$Jearr<sters?^« OwbnRurfhkap. 
 
 .. t i Arthur Mu RPHv, EsoR. 
 
 fCH ARI Ks JrNKi NSON, Ee(V « lordof 
 
 ihe T, iafury. 
 \ EriMi'NP EuRKP, EfQR. M. P. 
 Placemrn, Davip IluMK, Eo^R. p. p. 
 
 I Athenian St u art, iicrjcant Painter. 
 Pen«^i»»kjRs, 1 Ralph, 
 
 ■^Guthrie. 
 and Sam. Joh nson, 
 
 Op. Hill, 
 J'^tiT iciANs. Campbell, 
 
 SmoLI BTT, 
 
 Shebbeare, 
 LSheridan, Uz 
 
 of
 
 L 31 ] 
 
 of the Sublime and Beautiful:" a work that 
 made its firft appearance with great eclat, and 
 obtained the writer the diflinguifhing appella- 
 tion of the Englifh Longinus. There is moft: 
 undoubtedly great merit in this performance ; 
 in which the author*s ingenuify is, however, 
 more confpicuous than either the extent of his 
 knowledge, or the profundity of his judg- 
 ment. The afifedation of treating fubjecfts. 
 philofophically, whofe philofophical princi- 
 ples he fhould have firft difcovered, hath in- 
 duced him frequently to amufe us with the 
 fhadow of an argument inftead of its fubftance. 
 Hence he bewilders his readers in the fearch 
 after the origin of abflradt and abftrufe ideas. 
 
 f Captains, 
 I Doctors, 
 
 fBERKENHOUT, 
 Cleland, 
 BlCKESsTAFK, 
 
 I Goldsmith, 
 Poets and \ Doctors, | Rose, 
 
 ■^ \ Kenrick, 
 
 Philosophers. | and Lloyd, 
 
 Langhorne, 
 
 Kelly, 
 
 Shaw, 
 
 .HlFFEUNAN. 
 
 To which may be added, the celebnited John Wilkef, 
 Petrr Annbt, and a long lilt of namelefs pedagogues, par- 
 fons, poetafters, publKhers, printers, prers-raen, and printer's 
 devils. 
 
 t Plain 'Sqjjires. 
 
 E 2 hy
 
 [ 3=t ] 
 
 by direding them to confult their imagination 
 rather than their perceptions :■ their con- 
 ceptions, which are ever mifleading, inftead 
 of their fenfations; which, while they are 
 trufted no farther than they reach, cannot de- 
 ceive. Had he made Lord Bacon his philo- 
 fophical guide, inftead of imitating Lord Bo- 
 LiNGBROKE, he would have confidered that, 
 like many other modern fophifts, he began at 
 the wrong end of inveftigation, by running 
 ralhly into the maze of metaphyfical fpecula- 
 tion, without taking with him the clue of phy- 
 fical experiment. Even Locke might have 
 taught him what he did not pradife himfelf, 
 to diftinguifh between complex notions and 
 fimple ideas, and to admit only thofe of the 
 latjer, which are evidently d/sducible frcnj 
 fenfe. 
 
 The fimilarity of genius, already obferved, 
 which our author pofleflcd, to that of the noble 
 author lad mentioned, is, in this trad, peculi- 
 arly confpicuous. Splendid in his dicfiion, and 
 fpecious in his argument, he commanded the 
 attention, and captivated the fancy of the rea- 
 der ;
 
 [ 3$ 1 
 
 dcr ; but, more florid than perfpicuous, more 
 fuperficial than folid, however the flowers of 
 his rhetoric might dazzle and perfuade, the 
 force of his reafoning was ineffetflual either to 
 inftruft or convince. In foaring up to the 
 fublime, he foared out of fight, and with the 
 eccentricity of a comet ruflied from a blaze of 
 ]ight into darknefs and obfcurity. In purfuit 
 of the beautiful he carried his refinement to 
 fuch a degree of delicacy, that it loft its ef- 
 fential quality of pleafing. The form of 
 beauty is no longer amiable than it is palpable 
 to fenfe. 
 
 Or Junius, therefore, confidered in the ca^ 
 pacity of a philofopher, it may be faid as of 
 his favorite Boling broke, in the words of a 
 late writer, that ** hy having endeavoured at 
 too much, he has done nothing ; though, as a 
 political writer, few can equal, and none ex- 
 ceed him." His forte does not lie in develop- 
 ing the philofophical fecrets of nature, ancj 
 difclofmg the myfterious operations of the hu- 
 pnan mind ; but jn difcoverin^ the political fe- 
 crets
 
 r 34 ] 
 
 crets of fociety, and in expofing the iniqui- 
 tous machinations of government. 
 
 And here the comparifon between Bolinc- 
 RROKE snd Junius ends : the great abilities 
 of the former having been exerted to introduce 
 the tyranny of arbitrary power, and to en- 
 llave his country ; while to the latter, com- 
 mon gratitude induces us to look up, as to a, 
 friend and benefador both of his country and 
 of mankind. 
 
 It has been objetflcd, indeed, and that 
 with fome appearance of reafon, againft the 
 difintereflednefs ani integrity of his characfter, 
 that he has made the public (lation ever fub- 
 fervient to his private intereft ; and that he 
 lias not only been acfluated in his political wri- 
 tings more by a fpirit of party than of patri- 
 otifm, but that private pique hnth often ag- 
 gravated his cenfure, as perfonal attachment 
 has animated his applaufe. 
 
 In anfwer to this objedion, it may be ob- 
 fervedjthat, topofiefs the zeal and difinterefled- 
 
 nefs
 
 [ 35 ] 
 
 nefs of a patriot without the paflions of a man, 
 is impofTible ; and were it poflible, is by no 
 means defirable. ThecofmopoHte, who affecfts 
 a friendfliip for all mankind in general, is fel- 
 dom a friend to any particular individual. He 
 who has a kindnefs for every body, mufl have 
 a large (lock of benevolence indeed to have 
 much kindnefs for any body. General good- 
 will mull flow from a particular fource; and, 
 as the flream muft be proportional to the foun- 
 tain whence it fprings, the more extenfive its 
 furface, the more fhallow will be its depth. — 
 In order that a man may be a friend to others, 
 it behoves him to be a conftant friend tohim- 
 felf If Junius, when in office, had not pro- 
 fited by the accuftomed and legal perquifites 
 of his port, he would have been imprudently 
 his own enemy. That a man (hould make his 
 ftation alfo, in all other reputable refpeds 
 fubfervient to his intereft, who was not born 
 to an affluent fortune, is certainly excufablc 
 in an age and country, which countenance the 
 jirfl fortunes in the kingdom, in the Ihameful 
 pra(5\ices of place-hunting, ftock-jobbing, 
 match-making, and even match-marring, for 
 
 the
 
 [ 36 3 
 
 the fake of gratifying the pitiful paflions of 
 avarice and petty ambition in the faving or ac- 
 cumulation of a few thoufands to add profu- 
 lion to a plentiful patrimony. It is a ftrong 
 prefumption, however, that he cannot be 
 much a knave who is known to be confidera- 
 bly duped: and that Junius is fo little an 
 adept in the tricks of the alley, as to have 
 run great rifqucs of being ftigmatifed, in its 
 cant phrafe, for a lame duck is notorious. 
 
 But our author, it is faid, hath not only con- 
 ftanily oppofed adminiftration, when his pa- 
 trons and himfelf were out of place; but has 
 affe<5^ed to defpife, and has really negledled 
 his fellow-patriots engaged in the famecaufe; 
 and hath even efpoufed the caufe and defend- 
 ed the perfons of its enemies. 
 
 We fhall not take upon us very warmly to 
 tommend his replies to the feveral pamphlets 
 and papers written in fupport of theminifters 
 preceding and fuccetding the Rockingham ad- 
 mini f-
 
 [ 37 ] 
 
 miniftration*. Thefe were undoubtedly dic- 
 tated in fome meafure by the fpirit of party, 
 and were confeJOTedly more immediately cal- 
 culated for the fervice of his patrons than for 
 that of the nation. It is fome extenuation, 
 however, if not a total exculpation of the cri- 
 minality of thofe produdiouL-, if our author 
 really thought, as no doubt he profeffes to do, 
 that the interefl: of his patrons, and that of 
 his country, are infeparably conneded. Be 
 this as it may, the like objedlion cannot be 
 made to the letters contained in the prefent 
 publication ; which mod opportunely made 
 their firfl: appearance at a time, when the moft 
 diredland violent attacks were made and mak- 
 ing on the liberties and conflitution of our 
 country. 
 
 At fuch a junflure, to ftand forth their pro- 
 fefled champion, was worthy the fortitude and 
 abilities of Junius. That he has apparently 
 
 * Among which the replies to the Budget, and the Conjf- 
 derations on the prefent State of the Nation, with others of lefs 
 nore, are imputed tp our author. 
 
 F neglefted
 
 [ 38 ] 
 
 negledted, and even affeded publickly to con- 
 temn the man, in whofe perfon thofe flagrant 
 and flagitious atempts were made, is certain. 
 But, whether he looked on him with an envi- 
 ous eye, as a more favoured rival in the popu- 
 lar efteem, or was caufelefly jealous of his rer 
 putation for literary talents, as a political wri- 
 ter, or from what other motive this feeming 
 negled was occafioned, is of little confequence 
 to the public. It is of much more, that fuch 
 neglecfl was in too great a degree real. It is 
 true indeed, that for fome time our author was 
 a private advocate for Wilkes and Liberty* 
 but it is no lefs true, that he foon after con- 
 ceived 
 
 * Among other inftances that might be given is the followr 
 ing : — Mr. Trecothick, the late Lord Mayor, it is well known 
 owed his eledion, as reprefentative in parliament for the city, 
 greatly to the good offices of Mr. WlLKES; who requefted his 
 friends, at the latter end of the poll, when fingle votes could 
 not poflibly be of fervice to him, to poll alfo for Mr. Treco- 
 THiCK, infteadofSiR Richard Glynn, to whom they 
 were moflly inclined. This requeft had its effeft, and Mr. 
 Trecothick accordingly got a-head of Sir RichARR. — 
 This manoeuvre was the confequence of a previous intimation, 
 if not aiTurar.ce of Jdnius to Mr. Wilkes, that he, with 
 
 the
 
 [ 39 ] 
 
 ceived the words ill-paired, joined not match- 
 ed, and determined therefore in his own mind 
 to part them. In confequence of this deter- 
 mination, he appears ever fince to have care- 
 fully dirtinguifhed on all occafions between the; 
 caufc of Mr. Wilkes and that of the public ; 
 or, rather as fome will have it, between th0 
 perfonal interefl of Mr. Wilkes, a common 
 friend, and that of Lord Rockingham, his 
 particular friend and patron. 
 
 In making this diftind\ion, fatal alas ! in its 
 confequences, it is obfervable that he either fet 
 or followed the example of another great rival 
 in popularity, Lord Chatham ; whofeemed 
 as cautious of being hooked into any connexi- 
 on with Wilkes, as if that unfortunate patri- 
 ot were contagioufly infedled with a political 
 peftilence. 
 
 the other friends of Trec or hick would /o/;V viribus iiip~ 
 port Mr. Wilkes on any other occafion. The then-more- 
 popular-patriot, however has been known, under the chagrin 
 of difappointment, to exclaim more than once fince, *' Out 
 " upon fuch half-faced fellowlhip." Whether Junius or 
 Trecothick has given him mod reafon for fuch exclama- 
 tion, perhaps Mr. Samuel Vaughan can determine. 
 
 Fz Unhap-
 
 r 40 ] 
 
 Unh \PFii,Y for this country, the diffidence, 
 cliRrufi, nnd divifion which thus arofe between 
 tliC parlies To greatly interefled in, and deG- 
 rous of promoting the fame common caufe, 
 have not on!y prevented their private fuccefs, 
 but haih at the fame time occafioned the caufe 
 of the public to miicarry. 
 
 By the thunder of Chatham's elocution 
 vuthin doors, the fpirit and adroitnefs of 
 \V I LKEs's addrefles without, and the flill more 
 powerful and perfuafive ihetoric of Junius's 
 letters and harangues both without and within, 
 what might not have been done ? — Wkat might 
 not the united talents of fuch a triumvirate have 
 effe(fled ? — What people fo daftardly or de- 
 prefTed as not to be aroufed by fuch apathetic 
 reprefentation of their grievances ? — What 
 people fo tame as not to be fired with indigna- 
 tion againft their opprefibrs, and animated to 
 avenge their wrongs? — What favorite fo de- 
 fervedly detelled, what miniflry fo defervedly 
 defpifed, what parliament fo dreadfully de- 
 generated and daringly defied, could have 
 
 flood
 
 [ 41 ] 
 
 flood their ground againfl.ihe dudiHty of a po- 
 fiiive prince fo earneftly entreated, and the 
 clamours of a remonftrating nation fo artfully 
 irritated, and fo furioufly incenfed ? 
 
 Unhappy, we fay again, is it for this king- 
 dom and its colonies, that the demon of dif- 
 cord had thus fown the feeds of diffention, 
 that grew up into a divifion of the three per- 
 fons, apparently intended by Providence to 
 meet at the fame period, to fnatch a great na- 
 tion from long impending ruin. But, alas! 
 the hour is elapfed, the day of grace is palT- 
 ed ! Private pique, diftruft and animofity have 
 proved fatal to the public good. The Britifli 
 Empire is devoted to deftrudion; becaufe its 
 ableft friends could not join in having the ho- 
 nor of contributing to its fafety, or in Ihar- 
 ing the fpoils of thofe who fought that de- 
 flrudion. 
 
 The political wizard, who prophefied we 
 fliould in a month be no longer a nation, knew, 
 like other politic conjurers, well what hefaid. 
 
 He
 
 [ 42 ] 
 Re knew tTiat he had been lately for months, 
 as he hnd been for years before, co-operating 
 to the effc:<flual completion of his prophecy. — 
 A free nation muft ever be free. When it 
 
 lofes its freedom, it is no longer a nation. 
 
 Theconftitution may furvive long debilitated, 
 but when it is once broken, the body politic, 
 and the body natural, meet approaching dif- 
 folution, defcend to the grave together, and 
 {he day of their refurreclion is afar off. From 
 the virility of a favorite, the debility of admi- 
 niilraiion, and the fervility of a parliament, 
 BritiHi liberty hath received its death's wound. 
 It expires under the hands of the ablefl fur- 
 geons, merely becaufe they cannot agree about 
 the punfliHos of their profeffion. Even Ju- 
 nius— -even to you Junius might we fafely 
 appeal. Tell us, if you do not think the 
 united efforts of the patriotic triumvirate alcove 
 mentioned ; if the co-operating talents of the 
 head, hand, and heart of Junius, Wilkes, 
 ar.d Chatham, might not have faved, what 
 each feparately wifhcd to have faved, and 
 what, tliough thofe very efforts were now unit- 
 ed,
 
 [ 43 ] 
 ed, is probably pad redemption: Yes, ]o- 
 Nius, England isdeflinedtoaftate'of flavery, 
 perhaps for ages, unlefs fome ^litical empi- 
 ric, daring and unprincipled as Cromwell, 
 ihould adminifter a remedy as bad as the dif- 
 eafe, and relieve her awhile from one fpecies 
 of tyranny to fubjed her to another. Her 
 chains were forged by her jnofl: inveterate, 
 though intefline enemies : But .when they were 
 brittle, and might pafily have bt^en broken, 
 her difcordant friends, inftead of boldly burfl- 
 ing them afunder, timidly fuffered them (o 
 anneal, and acquire a durable, a dreadful tenv 
 per. 
 
 But if not indebted even to Junius for its 
 prefervation, the nation owes to him at leaft a 
 true fenfe of its loH:, forlorn condition. It is 
 to his unequalled penetration and unparalleled 
 intrepidity it owes the detedion and expofure 
 of numerous errors in theory, and wilful mif- 
 takes in pradice, that have of late years dif- 
 graced both the legiflature and executive part 
 pf government. The coyrt, the camp, the 
 
 bar,
 
 r 44 ] 
 
 bar, the heads of the council, the army and 
 the law, has he boldly brought to tliat bar, to 
 which they all are, and ought to be 'amenable, 
 the bar of the public. It is to Junius the na^ 
 tion principally owe the unwelcome, though, 
 certain and neceJary knowledge, that the fo 
 much admired, and once truly admirable, con- 
 ftitution of England is rotten to the core. It 
 is to Junius we owe the certain information 
 that tyranny apd arbitrary power have feated 
 themfelves, and would prefide in every court, 
 whether of legiflature or judicature, in the 
 kingdom. How much more fhould we have 
 owed him, had he thought himfclf lefs indebted 
 to his patrons than his country, or could have 
 feen their iniereft in different or feparate lights. 
 But if ingratitude be the worft of crimes, how 
 criminal were it in the public to impute grati- 
 tude as a crime to Junius ; however unfortu- 
 nate it may be, that pride and partiality, the 
 common failings of humanity, have prevented 
 
 his being fufficiently virtuous*. 
 
 An 
 
 * Efpecially if, what is auerted on good authorit^y be true, 
 that J II :«i ws has negleded repeated intimations, and refufed 
 
 repeated
 
 - f 45 ] 
 
 An exceptionable paflage in the condu(fl of 
 Junius is doubtlefsthe panegyric he lavilhed 
 before a great aflembly, on the flagitious au- 
 thor of an infamous pamphlet, entitled the 
 ** Falfe Alarm ;" a pedantic pedagogue, who 
 after having fpent half a century of his life in 
 cultivating a rooted antipathy to the family on 
 the throne, and the mod rancorous abufe of the 
 Hanover fucceflion, had accepted of that gra- 
 tuitous emolument from the crown which he 
 had conftantly ftigmatifed as the wages of ini- 
 quity ; and, in his old age, mofl fervilely prof- 
 tituted his pen for that wretched hire he had 
 fo long and fo loudly condemned. And yet, 
 becaufe this formal pedant could expatiate on 
 trifles, fwell infignificance by amplification, 
 give verbofity to fenfe and pompofity to found, 
 he was defended by Junius as a paragon of 
 integrity : as if men of letters were privileged 
 
 repeated overtures, of thenioft advantageous offers, made him 
 under the fanftion of the greateft perfonage in this kingdoni, 
 on condition of his abandoning the patrons, to whom he has fo 
 long and fo faithfully adhered. 
 
 to
 
 L 46 ] 
 
 to betray their country, nnd the fuperior 
 knowledge of what is right entitles men to do 
 wrong. 
 
 Another paifage ftill more exceptionable, 
 is the pubHcation of his pamphlet entitled — 
 ** Confiderations on the Caufes of the prefent 
 ** Difcontents :" in which it is objeded againft 
 him by fome, that he has fairly thrown off the 
 mafk of the patriot, and expofed the bare face 
 of the partifan. 
 
 To this we cannot altogether fubfcribe, 
 tho' certain it is that the difference of fenti* 
 ment, with regard to immaterial circumftances, 
 affected by our popular patriots, like the hair- 
 breadth diftinc^ions of polemical divines, have 
 rather ferved to perplex the general caufe of 
 debate, and puzzle the difputants, than to clear 
 up or enforce the main point of difpute. — 
 Thus, this fpirited and elaborate difcuffion of 
 national grievances, by its author's diifent- 
 ing in particulars from the mode of relief pro- 
 pofed by others, produced a futile altercation ; 
 
 a war
 
 [ 47 ] ■ 
 
 s. war of words with a woman, more profufe 
 in their utterance than accurate in their ufe. 
 But fhe was popular — She was diftinguifhedly 
 called the Female Hiflorian ; and as fuch had 
 be6n long fince fpoken of with recommenda- 
 tory refpeCl in a great auembly by the pom- 
 pous patriotic peer we have fo often mention- 
 ed ; a lord, juft as capable a critic, as the la- 
 dy is an author. The Earl of Chatham 
 however has declared, and that in a manner 
 which no gentleman will contradicft, that Mrs. 
 Macauley is a moft excellent writer; and 
 "who, that knows how well his lordfhip writes 
 himfelf, will dare to doubt it, except thofe 
 who affc6i to lament, that of the two moll fa- 
 vourite hiilories of this country, the one was 
 penned by a man who was a perfed ftranger 
 to the idiom of the Englilh tongue, and the 
 other by a woman equally fo to the grammar 
 of any language whatever ? But the male !$ 
 a Scotch Philofopher, and the female an Eng- 
 lifh patriot ; circumftances which, with their 
 refpedive parties, cover, like charity, a multi- 
 tude of fms, whether againft loyalty, gram- 
 mar or common fc^f&» 
 
 G z As
 
 [ 48 ] 
 As to the extreme feverity with which Ju- 
 nius has occafionally treated fome refpecfla- 
 ble chara(fters, it is to be confidered, that in 
 regard to the circumftances for which they are 
 cenfurcd, they are far from being refpedlable ; 
 and that their allowed merit or accuflomed 
 diftindion, in other refpecfl.^, required for the 
 fake of example, a more than ordinary feve- 
 riiy of chaftifement. The caufe of truth, of 
 juflice, of his country, demanded the caftiga- 
 tion of fuch fuperior delinquents, from the 
 hand of him only who was fo well qualified 
 to inflid it. 
 
 As a mitigation however, of this feverity, 
 and an exculpation of Junius from the ran- 
 cour of fo much perfonal refentment, it is to 
 be farther obferved, that though the ftile and 
 f^ntiment of the letters in queflion may be 
 imputed to one writer, the materials of infor- 
 mation with which they abound, were fur- 
 nifhed by different hands. 
 
 Junius is in this view a junto : of which 
 Nos numer us Junius i might indeed with propri- 
 ety
 
 [ 49 ] 
 
 cty be the motto of fome ; but others had not 
 only their fuggeftions and inflrucftions to offer, 
 but alfo their piques and difappointments to 
 revenge. If Junius was fometimes influen- 
 ced by thefe, he is the more excufable ; as, 
 however fevere his reprehenfions, they appear 
 to have ever been founded on juftice and truth. 
 
 This afiTociation, under a fingle nanne, ap- 
 peared to have been of fome confequence to 
 the perfonal fafety of this writer ; who, as he 
 could not take upon him to be the author of all 
 the anecdotes communicated to him, and at the 
 fame time was not authorized todifclofethe 
 informant, could not be expeded to juflify in 
 his own perfon, every thing for which he might 
 be called to account. The communicating par- 
 ties therefore bound themfelves, it feems, re- 
 ciprocally to fupport each other : a circum- 
 ftance of which the real Junius was wife 
 enough to profit in an altercation that happen- 
 ed between him and a gentleman of rank in 
 the army who had been v ery roughly handled 
 in one of his letters. " I am informed, Sir, 
 *' fajd the officer, that you wrote the letter 
 
 ** which
 
 [ so ] 
 
 *' which appeared in to-day's Public Advertl- 
 ** fer, underthcfignatureof JuNi i I (hall 
 ** be obliged to you if you woulc; tell me 
 " whether you did or not." " Really, Sir,'* 
 replied our author, ** that is a queftion I can- 
 ** not be fo obliging as to anfwer, as I fee no 
 ** reafon for your afking me the queftion. If 
 ** you believe your informer it is needlefs, and 
 ** if you do not, it is rather rude to found 
 " your fufpicion of me pn the information of 
 " one you fufped to be a liar." ** Sir," re- 
 turned the officer warmly, " Lord T — chaN 
 *• lenged Mr. W — on a fimilaroccafion, and 
 " 1 think it is a queftion a gentleman has a 
 ** right to afk, and a reafon to expecfl an an- 
 ** fwer." — •' You, fir," returned Junius cool- 
 ly, *' may adopt the conduct of Lord T — if 
 " you pleafe ; but I affure you I fhall not 
 ** make Mr. Wilkes*s theftandard of mine." 
 ,** I am determined I will fomehow have fatis- 
 *' fadion." " You areperfedly right, fir, but 
 *' you have no right to make me determine the 
 
 ** quQ
 
 I 5« ] 
 
 " quo modoV *' Are not you Junius ?** angrily 
 
 " If I were, fir, and you were to dif- 
 
 " patch one Junius to-day, you would have 
 " another to encounter before the end of the 
 " week," turning round on his heel and walk- 
 ing away. The military gentleman was ready 
 to burft with rage at the afFeded fang-froid of 
 our author, but not having the keen killing 
 ftomach of a Bobadil, he ftifled his refent- 
 ment and fuffered the matter to drop. A more 
 pleafant inftance of this multifarious charac- 
 ter of Junius was given the public, in his 
 hafty and inadvertent reply to a letter ad- 
 dreffed to him in the news-papers by a fup- 
 pofed female writer ; to which our author, in 
 his gait'i de CceuVy returned fo light and ludi- 
 crous an anfwer, that it was condemned, it 
 feems, in full conclave, by the greater parts of 
 the individual units of the junto ; whether be- 
 caufe they judged its wit to be incompatible 
 with politics, or that they thought its levity 
 unbecoming the pen of a writer, engaged in 
 the difcuffion of the important affairs of go- 
 vernment. Junius therefore was reduced to 
 the difagreeable talk of difowning his own 
 
 hand-
 
 [ 52 ] 
 hand-writing, and imputing the fault to a mif- 
 take of the printer, who, it was pretended, was 
 deceived by a firiking fimilllude of the pcn- 
 manfhip. But could this fimilitude be acci- 
 dental ? Or, could a correfpondent not in the 
 fecret of the junto, copy the hand-writing of 
 Junius fo nearly as to dec:;ive the printer ? 
 Credat judceus /Ipella, , 
 
 N