tance would have been very agreeable to him, could he have enjoyed it peaceably: The fharp Contests, which daily broke out between the Mayor and the Officers, fcarce allowed him a Moment's Quiet. He often spent his Time in ftifling them, and was a great Means to hinder them from proceeding to Extremities. Mean while, the Fear he was under that Matters might at last be brought to fuch a Pitch that there would be no Remedy, made him gladly embrace the Opportunity of going to command Two Companies in another Place. Some Time after he joined his Regiment again at King fale, where he contracted an intimate Friendship with Sir James Waller who commanded there. About the End of the Year 1693 he received an Order to come to England, without being told the Reafon; but at the fame Time, a Letter from Mr. Belcaftel informed him, that he was to be Governour to the Earl of Portland's Son, who was afterwards created a Duke. He could not conceive how it came about, having never dreamt of any fuch Thing: And it was fome Time firft before he came to know that he had been recommended by the Lord Galloway. He repaired therefore to London and entered upon his Office. Here was an End of all his Hopes of rifing in the Army to fuch Pofts as feveral of his Friends, who were not fo forward as he, attained to. All the Amends he received, was Leave to refign his Company to his Brother, who died in 1719, having been Lieutenant-Colonel in a Regiment of English Dragoons. It is true indeed, fome Time after the King granted him a Penfion of a Hundred Pounds a Year till he should better provide for him, which never happened. So he enjoyed his Penfion several Years; but after that Prince's Death it ceased, and inftead of it he had a Place given him, which brought him in but a moderate In come. His new Employment of Governour obliged him to go very often to Holland, and back again to EngVOL. XIII. B land, land, and alfo to France, whilft the Earl of Portland was Ambaffador there, till fuch Time as the young Lord fixed himself at the Hague, where he learned his Exercises. During which Time, that is, in the Year 1699, Mr. DE RAPIN married Mariamne Toftart, a good Match, of whom I fhall fay nothing as fhe is living. This did not hinder him from minding his Pupil, and attending him in his Travels. He began with Germany, where they made fome Stay at feveral Courts, and particularly at Vienna. From thence they paffed into Italy, by Way of Tyrol, where they faw Marfhal Villeroy there a Prifoner, who gave Mr. DE RAPIN a Letter for Cardinal d' Etrées who was at Venice. At his Return, his Employment being at an End. he went back to his Family, who in his, Abfence lived at the Hague, where he spent fome Years. Al that While he made good use of his leifure Hours a far as the common Duties of Life would allow, in refuming the Study of the Art of Fortification, and a bove all of History, which put him upon drawing u abundance of Genealogical and Chronological Tables; a well General as Particular. But what was mo agreeable to him, and as he thought, equally in ftructive, was his being a Member of a Society o Club ftill in Being, to the erecting of which he wa proud of having contributed, where feveral Perfor of Learning and Merit reafoned upon fuch Subje& as occurred, and spoke their Thoughts on fuch Que tions as were ufually propofed. Neverthelefs, as h found his Family increafing, he refolved to facrific to the Good of his Children the Pleasures he enjoy ed at the Hague, by retiring to a cheaper Country Accordingly he removed to Wezel in the Dutchy Cleves, in the Year 1707. He found here a goo Number of French Refugees, among whom were fev ral Officers, Men of Quality, with whom he live in a friendly Manner; and he was alfo received kindly as could be expected, by Perfons of the hig eft Rank, who were chiefly concerned in the G vernme vernment of the Country, and who, on all Occasions, gave him Marks of their Favour. The Way of living at Wezel, different in many refpects from that at the Hague, made him more Master of his Time than ever he had been, and allowed him almoft as much Leifure as he could defire, to ftudy the Hiftory of England, and the Nature of the Government. This was a more extenfive Defign than perhaps it feemed to be at firft; for it led him, not only to perufe all the English Hiftorians, but those of other Nations too, who had any Thing in Common, or any Contests with the English, in order to get Information, and come to the Truth of the Facts by comparing them together. He would have found it a difficult Task to fucceed, or rather he would probably have never accomplished his Defign, had he not before qualified himself for reading in their original Tongue all the Books he was obliged to confult. But befides Greek and Latin, which he learnt at the College, and had fince improved, he under food Italian and Spanish, not to mention High and Low-Dutch, of which indeed he was not fo much. Mafter as of the Reft. As for English, which was the moft neceffary of all, he had made that his particular Study. About this time, he was one Day at the Count de Lottum's, Velde-Marthal of Prussia, Governour of the Dutchy of Cleves, where, in talking of the AFfairs of England, a good deal was faid about Whigs and Tories. Mr. DE RAPIN thought their Difcourfe fhowed, they had not a true Notion of these two Factions. Wherefore he refolved to digeft into Order the Remarks he had made on that Subject. And this was his Differtation on the Whigs and Tories This Treatife perhaps would never have been publifhed, had it not happened to be shown to Sir An drew Fountain (late Vice-Chamberlain to her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, now Queen of Eng * It will be printed at the End of the XIVth Volume. VOL. XII. B 2 land) T land) who having long expreffed great Kindness and Friendship for Mr. DE RAPIN, spent fome Days with him at Wezel. Sir Andrew, who is a very curious polite Gentleman, thought this Differtation deferved to be made publick, and brought it himself to the Hague, in order to have it printed, which was accordingly, done in the Year 1717. I should now fpeak of the Hiftory of England, which was Mr. DE RAPIN's main Employment: but he acquaints us himfelf how he came to be engaged in this Work, the little Satisfaction he found in it, and by what means he was encouraged not only to purfue it, but even to form a more extenfive Plan than what he at firft defigned. All I fhall add relates to his unexpected Help, I mean, the Collection of the Publick Acts of England. I fhall not stay to remark that in order to make the beft Ufe of thefe Acts, he was obliged to perufe and examine Seventeen Volumes in Folio, a long and tedious Work; and what chiefly deferves notice is, that Mr. DE RAPIN's Extracts from thence are of great Moment to the Hiftory of England. This no doubt will be allowed, if it is confidered that the Collection itself [ being printed at the Charge of the Government ] was not expofed to Sale, and confequently hard to come at. But I verily believe, were it as common as it is fcarce, the Extracts would not ceafe to be useful, not only because they contam within a moderate Compass whatever is remarkable in fo voluminous a Work, but chiefly by reafon fuch Books are feldom or never confulted, but on fome particular Account; and fo much time and pains are required to find what lies difperfed in fo many Volumes whereas it prefently occurs in these Extracts where the fame Matters are ranged under proper Heads. Thefe Extracts were printed all to gether in Quarto and in Octavo, at the Charge of the famous Mr. Fagel, Regifter to the States-General, who gave away all the Copies. I do not know that Mr. DE RAPIN has writter any thing befides what has been mentioned, excep Tome Remarks on feveral Histories. Thoug Though he was of a very strong Conftitution, yet Seventeen Years intenfe and conftant Application to the compofing his Hiftory, entirely deftroyed his Health. About three Years before he died he found himself quite spent, and frequently feized with violent Pains in his Stomach. He might have recovered if he would have given over his Work, and unbent his Mind for a time. This he was convinced of, but could not prevail with himfelf to do as he ought. All the Indulgence he allowed himself was, not to rife before Six a-Clock, after which it was impoffible for him to fleep or lie in his Bed. As to his Diverfions, whereof walking was the chiefeft, he was quickly tired with them; and if his Indifpofition permitted him he returned to his Work, which was the Cause of his Illness, and properly the only Thing he delighted in. Al laft, a violent Fever, attended with an Oppreffion upon his lungs, carried him off the Seventh Day being the 16th of May 1725 He left one Son and Six Daughters. ed From what has been faid, it appears that Mr, DE RAPIN was naturally grave and ferious. This led him, whilft he was in the Service, to feek the Converfation of fuch as loved to reafon, which drew on him the Ill-will of feveral of his Comrades, and of fome of his Superiours too, who would have had him partake of all their Diverfions. But on the other Hand, it gained him the Efteem and Friendship of many Perfons of Merit, who filled very confiderable Pofts. We are not however to imagine that he was an Enemy to Mirth: he could be merry on occafion, though not fo frequently nor to that Excels as many Men are. Nay he wrote feveral little Things in Profe and Verfe, with a good deal of Humour and Gaiety: but as they were on comick or ludicrous Subjects, and defigned only for a few Moments Diverfion with his Friends, he never thought them worth revifing, and I question whether there is fo much as one to be found among his Papers. What has heen faid of his Application to Study, and to his Works, is fo to be B 3 un |