those intrigues and adventures, to which the Romantic tafte has confined modern tragedy; and, after the example of his predeceffors in Greece, would have employed the drama to wear out of our minds every thing that is mean, or little; to cherish and cultivate that humanity ⚫ which is the ornament of our nature; to foften infolence, to footh affliction, ' and to fubdue our minds to the dispen⚫ fations of Providence *.

Upon the death of the late Queen, the Lords Juftices, in whom the adminiftration was lodged, appointed him their Secretary. Soon after his Majesty's arrival in Great-Britain, the Earl of Sunderland being constituted Lord - Lieutenant of Ireland, Mr. Addifon became a fecond time Secretary for the affairs of that kingdom; and was made one of the LordsCommiffioners of Trade, a little after his Lordship refigned the poft of LordLieutenant.

• Spectator, N° 39.

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The paper, called the Freeholder, was undertaken at the time, when the rebellion broke out in Scotland.

The only works he left behind him for the public, are the Dialogues upon Medals, and the Treatife upon the Chrif tian Religion. Some account has been already given of the former, to which nothing is now to be added, except that a great part of the Latin quotations were rendered into English, in a very hasty manner, by the Editor, and one of his friends, who had the good-nature to aflift him, during his avocations of bufinefs. It was thought better to add these tranflations, fuch as they are, than to let the work come out unintelligible to those who do not poffefs the learned languages.

The fcheme for the treatise upon the Chriftian Religion was formed by the Author, about the end of the late Queen's reign; at which time he carefully perused the ancient writings, which furnish the materials for it. His con

tinual

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tinual employment in business prevented him from executing it, until he refigned his office of Secretary of State; and his death put a period to it, when he had imperfectly performed only one half of the defign; he having propofed, as appears from the introduction, to add the Jewish to the heathen teftimonies, for the truth of the chriftian history. He was more affiduous, than his health would well allow, in the pursuit of this work; and had long determined to dedicate his poetry alfo, for the future, wholly to religious subjects.

Soon after he was, from being one of the Lords-Commiffioners of Trade, advanced to the poft of Secretary of State, he found his health impaired by the return of that afthmatic indifpofition, which continued often to afflict him during his exercise of that employment, and at last obliged him to beg his Majesty's leave to refign. His freedom from the anxiety of business so far reestablished.

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established his health, that his friends began to hope he might laft for many years; but (whether it were from a life too fedentary or from his natural conftitution, in which was one circumftance very remarkable, that, from his cradle, he never had a regular pulse) a long and painful relapse into an asthma and dropfy deprived the world of this great man, on the feventeenth of June 1719. He left behind him only one daughter, by the Countess of Warwick, to whom he was married in the year 1716.

Not many days before his death, he gave me directions to collect his writings, and at the fame time committed to my care the letter addrest to Mr. Craggs (his fucceffor as Secretary of State) wherein he bequeaths them to him, as a token of friendship. Such a teftimony, from the first man of our age, in fuch a point of time, will be perhaps as great and lasting an honour to that gentleman, as any even he could acquire to himself; and yet is no more than

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than was due from an affection, that justly increased towards him, through the intimacy of several years. I cannot, without the utmost tenderness, reflect on the kind concern, with which Mr. Addison left me as a fort of incumbrance upon this valuable legacy. Nor must I deny myself the honour to acknowledge, that the goodness of that great man to me, like many other of his amiable qualities, feemed not fo much to be renewed as continued in his fucceffor; who made me an example, that nothing could be indifferent to him, which came recommended by Mr. Addifon.

Could any circumftance be more severe to me, while I was executing these laft commands of the Author, than to fee the perfon to whom his works were prefented, cut off in the flower of his age, and carried from the high office wherein he had fucceeded Mr. Addifon, to be laid next him in the fame grave! I might dwell upon fuch thoughts,`as naturally rife from these minute refemblances

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