HIS APOLOGY FOR THE UNDERTAKING.

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particular book called "The Shortest Way with the Dissenters," at a time that he lay under the public resentment for it; and further observes, "Though the government may indeed punish one criminal and let another go free, yet it seems a little hard that I should suffer for printing a book, and another print it in the face of the government to get money by it." In reference to the piracy, he says, "The honesty of the matter I shall not meddle with, because I find 'tis what the person does not concern himself about, but justifies: which he can do upon no other foundation than he may the taking my hat from my head, or my purse on the road."

De Foe sums up his preface by saying, "They that search for faults may find them plenty, and they that will mend them for me shall always have my acknowledgment for the kindness; but he that would make faults when there is none, has little charity and less honesty." A second edition of this volume was printed in 1705, with some additions ; and the tracts published by the author in the intervening time were put into a second volume. In this, as well as in many of his other works, he cautions the public against the spurious collection. (P)

Whilst the minds of men were alternately amused and exasperated at the irony of "The Shortest Way," another publication directed to the same object, and couched also in the language of banter, started into notice. It is intitled, "King William's Affection to the Church of England Exa

(P) The following advertisement appears in some of them :-" Whereas, there is a spurious collection of the writings of Mr. De Foe, author of 'The True-Born Englishman,' which contain several things not writ by the said author, and those that were are full of errors, mistakes, and omissions, which invert the sense and design of the author. This is to give notice, That the genuine collection, price six shillings, is corrected by himself, with additions never before printed, hath the author's picture before it, curiously engraved on copper by M. Vandergucht; and contains more than double the number of tracts inserted in the said spurious collection.'

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mined. London: printed in the year 1703." 4to. pp. 26. If not penned by De Foe, it was the production of a kindred writer, who has well imitated his satire; but there is reason to believe that he has the claim to it. (Q) Behind a masked battery, he points his ridicule at the high party, with whom the reign of William was a sore subject; nor did the government concern itself in the vindication of his character. Upon this account, the writer had nothing to fear, even if he had been ever so serious.

Of the strain of speaking and writing concerning King William, which was then become popular, the following may serve as a specimen : "There is not a more common, nor more credited reflection upon the friends of the church, and the present government, than that of ingratitude to King William. Every Whiggish cabal is full of it; and a man can scarce come into the company of one of these new grumblers, without being deafened by their fulsome cant of forgetting the late king and all his mighty magnified actions for the Church of England." But, continues he, "That the church was in so forlorn a condition when the Prince of Orange came to England; or that he, with his tattered regiments, had the good luck, or the honour to save it; or that he afterwards used the power put into his hands for the service of the church; or that he ever was a true friend to it, are paradoxes which the multitude seem to swallow by wholesale, and are crammed down their throats by a sort of mongrel churchmen, who, indeed, made their own advantage of King William's reign, by engrossing the best preferments. But by such as these, the poor Church of England has ever been betrayed; and I wish the danger of these false friends, these Dutch churchmen, be yet over. But, alas! we have daily experiences of these men's friend

(9) Some of De Foe's enemies charged him with writing against King William; but I know not upon what ground such a notion can have gone abroad, unless it was in allusion to this ironical performance.

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ship to the church, in their constant opposition to those good bills which are designed to settle it on the foot it stood in good King Charles's reign." As the ministers of King James's measures were then in power, the author refers to the circumstance as a sufficient satire upon the Revolution. "Are there not," says he, "many worthy men now in high offices, who bore a great part in that exploded government? These are living witnesses of the innocent designs of that unhappy king, and that whatever the Whigs call his plots to bring in Popery, slavery, and arbitrary power, were barely some mistaken measures which common heads fancied to lean a little that way; but that the true design of that unhappy prince was the establishment of the true Protestant Church of England, and old liberty and property to all his subjects." And that this is a true account of the matter, he says, "What can be more plain than to see the same good mistaken patriots now the ministers and favorites of a government, where we are sure nothing is nearer their hearts than the Church of England."

Towards the close of the work, the author drops his disguise, and referring to the calumniators of William, pours forth his native sentiments in the language of true eloquence: "If men of these principles and practices," says he, "are the only genuine sons of the Church established; if the vilest ingratitude must pass for the characteristic of a true churchman; if an insufferable insolence to the memory of the best of princes must be a mark of affection and sincerity to the Church of England; if thanking God for King William in the offices of the church, and cursing his very ashes upon all other occasions, must be the distinction of the Church's real friends, and they who do such things must be the only men of true undissembled religion; why then sit anima mea cum Philosophis: Let heresy, let schism, let low-church fanaticism, or any other controverted reproach asperse me. But let not base ingratitude, owned by all the

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world to be the vilest, horridest wickedness, and inconsistent with any degree of good, and the sure mark of a soul disposed for all sorts of villany; let not this monster be laid at my door; let it never be said, that I owe my religion, estate, and liberty, under God's providence, to a generous prince, and when he is laid in the dust, that I dare openly call that great benefactor a tyrant or knave: or, though such a wickedness may be charged on a few private wretches, let the sons of the Church of England never suffer by such an unnatural distinction; nor any of its fathers be ever so infamously dignified or distinguished."

If the design of the writer is not so artfully concealed as in "The Shortest Way," his sarcasm is sufficiently pointed to convey the bitterest reproach; and the present work must have been an useful auxiliary to that performance, in unmasking the real designs of the party in power. (R)

(R) With the same design as the above pamphlet, another writer now published "A Satyr upon King William; being the Secret History of his Life and Reign. Written by a Gentleman that was near his Person for many years. The Second Edition. London; Printed in the year 1703." 8vo. pp. 84. In this work, the writer runs through the principal events in William's life, both before and after he came to the crown of England. He also takes a review of the leading points in his character; but his language savours more of panegyric than of satire. Indeed, the work throughout is poor and spiritless, and shews the writer to have been wholly devoid of the talent that is essential to the production of irony. His design is bare-faced from the beginning, and therefore fails in the effect which disguise alone could have communicated to his satire. A perusal of the work afforded a strong suspicion that it was from the pen of Dunton; and a reference to his "Athenianism" confirms the conjecture.

CHAPTER VI.

Samuel Wesley writes against the Private Academies of the Dissenters.Exposure of his Ingratitude.-Answered by Palmer.-Wesley replies.— Remarks upon the subject.-De Foe replies to him, in his " More Short Ways."-Mr. Palmer publishes a second pamphlet upon the subject.-Misrepresentations of party writers.-Wesley closes the Controversy with another pamphlet.-Notice of Mr. Palmer.-Calves'- Head Club.-Made an Occasion to abuse the Dissenters.-Account of it by Leslie.—And Sacheverell. -Brought forward by the Editors of Clarendon.-Oldmixon's Remarks.— Dissenters vindicated from any Participation in it.—By Mr. Shute,-By Thomas Bradbury.—And by De Foe.-Politics of the Dissenters defended.— Publications upon the Calves'-Head Club.-Ward's Account of its Origin and Proceedings.-Remarks upon the Abuse of the Thirtieth of January.— Publication of Lord Clarendon's History.-De Foe's Account of it.

1703.

AMONGST those who assisted to blacken the Dissenters, at this time, in order to render them odious to the government, was the well-known rector of Epworth, the Rev. Samuel Wesley, father of the celebrated founder of Methodism, and who had been born and educated amongst them. Having penned some thoughts concerning their mode of education, intermixed with many gross reflections that deeply affected their character, he transmitted them to a particular friend, who had applied to him for information upon the subject. After slumbering nearly ten years in manuscript, from whence it would have been well for the reputation of the writer if they had never emerged, they were committed to the press; and, as his biographers say, without his consent or knowledge. Truth, however, has