souls to demand constant attendance, yet, methinks, people will believe it ill-bestowed preferment on one, who seems to have no business in life, but in the dignity of polite idleness to gratify himself. The gratification of myself, indeed, will arise from what is ever amiable, ever praise-worthy, the friendship of a man of the best sense and virtue; but this cannot be seen by all, who observe my having nothing here to do; and though it is the hardest, yet it may be a necessary self-denial to refuse an indulgence of those most reasonable satisfactions, rather than injure a reputation; when the power of doing good in life, and the honour of religion, may in some measure depend on it. This will certainly oblige me to spend no small part of the summer in the north, which now I fear will ever be made more bleak and disagreeable to me, than the niggardliness of our sunshine hath yet made it, by the absence of those I love. How vain are the schemes we propose! How did we flatter ourselves with meeting there together next summer, and enjoying the best pleasure of life, the conversation of friends, whose very trifling and unbendings are distinguished by good sense, as well as their collected behaviour. I shall never see you there more! My unkind, though generous fortune, will oblige me to retire from those I love, in that season of the year when only they will be able to have what they and I most value, the leisure of being happy in your company. * Dr. Rundle's preferments were, a prebend of Durbam, and the Archdeaconry of Wilts, prior to his advancement to the mitre. Mrs. Talbot is ill, but bears her misfortune as well as could be expected or wished. I know not how age bears affliction better than youth; passions are not in them so strong, and therefore their less strength is sufficient to support them; passion is one kind of fever, and fevers always are most dangerous in young and healthy constitutions; the mind, as well as the body, grows callous by use; and as age hath been more exposed to afflictions, so it is hardened to them, by having often endured them. She designs to live with her nephew Young, and hath taken a less, but handsomer house, than that my lord lived in, near Grosvenor-square. Where we shall be thrown, is not yet determined; but wherever I am, the whole felicity I can promise myself, must arise from loving and being beloved by those whose virtue and right hearts, and good sense, make conversation an imitation of felicity, superior to mortality; and whilst this is my taste and ambition, you cannot wonder that I am desirous to subscribe myself, your, &c. LETTER XIII. DR. THOMAS RUNDLE TO MRS. SANDYS. 1730. MADAM, MRS. Talbot hath at last prevailed on herself to read your letter; and though she was overwhelmed with tenderness and tears at your sense and partaking of her loss, yet your goodness gave her as great pleasure as it is possible for her to receive in her present condition. Nothing most certainly can afflict any heart with greater anxiety than grief, sickness, and the perplexity of preparing for a new, and, alas! different scene of life, than that in which she hath so long been happy; and all these unite to contribute their share to fill up her distress. If the respect of those who loved my lord can any way lessen her feeling the sad change, she will always be secure of being treated in the best manner that the best people in the world can think it becomes them to behave towards one for whom my lord had the highest affection and esteem. Every day presents us with some new melancholy scene, which awakens our grief, and seems to upbraid us with our loss. At present inventories of all that belonged to him are making, in order to be disposed of; and among the rest his books must be sold: which obliges me to say, that in a short time we will send you down a catalogue of what belonged to him, among those which were sent to you, to desire that you would read those first, as being likely to be sooner wanted than the others. Though we may rob you of part of your entertainment, I hope we shall always be able to send others in the place of them; it is pity you should be deprived of that rational luxury you are fond of. The temper of your mind is most exactly described in a line of Pope's, corrected and improved by Thomson: A friend to learned ease, Content with science in the vale of peace. And since your ambition hath chosen the better part, it is the duty of all that value you, to take care that it shall not be taken from you. There is a new piece of T. Chubb's* which will be soon published, containing a vindication of God's character, against those who represent him as approving his creatures, not in proportion to their goodness and resembling his own perfections; but requiring them to perfect those natural amiable graces by performances of no use or comeliness, but merely because they were appointed. He is insolent enough in his zeal of reason, to dare expostulate with no less a person than the bishop of London, for injuring, as he terms it, in the simplicity of an unlearned heart, the reputation of the Almighty, by abusing reason, the gift of God to man for his conduct; throwing the blame due to their negligence on the imperfection of his imparted light, which proved an ignis fatuus to mislead, instead of guiding them to his approbation and their duty. You shall see what common sense can do, when neither improved or spoilt by reading. I have got a bad habit of writing long letters; but I will not make an apology when I write to you, because you have the leisure to permit me to be impertinent; and if it is no otherwise agreeable, it will serve to give a variety to your solitude. I am your, &c. • Thomas Chubb was originally a mechanic at Salisbury; but, having an extraordinary faculty of reasoning, became a formidable controversialist, without the least knowledge of the classic languages. His first tract was against Dr. Clarke's doctrine of the Trinity. His opinions were absolutely heretical. He died 1747. LETTER XIV. DR. THOMAS RUNDLE TO MRS. SANDYS. MADAM, 1730. I HAVE your watch, which I will send to you by the first opportunity that I can meet with, and at the same time send you the performance of Thomas Chubb against the bishop of London*. How saucy a thing is reason, to dare inspire an illiterate fellow to attack a man of profound learning and power, a very Goliah in controversy, and hope to destroy him by such a weak arm's throwing this smooth stone at his forehead! Fie upon the insolence of human reason! What success he hath, or ought to have, you will know when you read him. He will be railed at by the worldly-learned, the fashionable-wise, the much-commended prudent; and admired by the very few truly knowing and good, and by all the libertines. For, alas! the dissolute think, pulling down any popular argument is pulling down the truth it was offered to support: and foolishly imagine, that destroying the indiscreet reasoning of any writer in defence of religion, is opposing the religion itself, and showing there is nothing in it. And that unhappy voluntary blunder of the abandoned, hath given those, who defend and blend their own schemes and designs *Entitled "A discourse coucerning reason with regard to religion and divine revelation: wherein is shown, that reason either is, or else that it ought to be, a sufficient guide in matters of religion: occasioned by the lord bishop of London's second pastoral letter, 8vo. 1730." |