of claret. Indeed, Mr. Horne, the publick fhould and will forgive him his claret and his footman, and even the ambition of making his brother chamberlain of London, as long as he ftands forth against a miniftry and parliament who are doing every thing they can to enflave the country, and as long as he is a thorn in the King's fide. You will not fufpect me of setting up Wilkes for a perfect character. The queftion to the publick is, Where shall we find a man, who, with purer principles, will go the lengths, and run the hazards that he has done? The feafon calls for such a man, and he ought to be fupported. What would have been the triumph of that odious hypocrite and his minions, if Wilkes had been defeated! It was not your fault, reverend Sir, that he did not enjoy it completely.-But now, I promise you, you have fo little power to do mifchief, that I much queftion whether the miniftry will adhere to the promises they have made you. It will be in vain to say, that I am a partizan of Mr. Wilkes, or perfonally your enemy. You will convince no man, for you do not believe it yourself. Yet I confefs I am a little offended at the low rate at which feem to value my understanding. I beg, Mr. Horne, you will hereafter believe, that I measure the integrity of men by their conduct, not by their profeffions. Such tales may entertain Mr. Óliver, or your grandmother; but, truft me, they are thrown away upon Junius. you You fay you are a man. Was it generous, was it manly, repeatedly to introduce into a newspaper the name of a young lady, with whom you must heretofore have lived on terms of politenefs and good humour?-But I have done with you. In my opinion, your credit is irrecoverably ruined. Mr. Townend, I think, is nearly in the fame predicament. Poor Oliver has been fhamefully duped by you. You have made him facrifice all the ho nour he got by his imprisonment. As for Mr. Sawbridge, whofe character I really respect, I am aftonifhed he does not fee through your duplicity. Never was fo base a design so poorly conducted.This letter, you fee, is not intended for the publick; but if you think it will do you any fervice, you are at liberty to publifh it. JUNIUS. This letter was tranfmitted privately by the printer to Mr. Horne, by Junius's requeft. Mr. Horne returned it to the printer, with directions to publish it. LETTER LIII. FROM THE REVEREND MR. HORNE TOJUNIUS. SIR, γου July 31: 1771. OU have difappointed me. When I told you, that furmife and general abuse, in however elegant language, ought not to pafs for proofs, I evidently hinted at the reply which I expected: but you have dropped your ufual elegance, and feem willing to try what will be the effect of furmife and general abuse, in very coarse language. Your answer to my letter, (which, I hope, was cool, and temperate, and modeft), has convinced me, that my idea of a man, is much fuperior to yours of a gentleman. Of your former letters, I have always faid, Materiem fuperabat opus: I do not think fo of the prefent; the principles are more deteftable than the expreffions are mean and illiberal. I am contented, that all those who adopt the one, fhould for ever load me with the other. I appeal to the common fenfe of the publick, to which I have ever directed myfelf: I believe they have it, though I am fometimes half-inclined to fufpect, that Mr. Wilkes has formed a truer judg ment of mankind than I have. However, of this I am fure, that there is nothing else upon which to place a steady reliance. Trick, and low cun ning, and addreffing their prejudices and passions, may be the fittest means to carry a particular point; but if they have not common fenfe, there is no profpect of gaining for them any real permanent good. The fame paffions which have been artfully used by an honest man for their advantage, may be more artfully employed by a difhoneft man for their deftruction. I defire them to apply their common sense to this letter of Junius, not for my fake, but their own: it concerns them moft nearly; for, the principles it contains, lead to disgrace and ruin, and are inconfiftent with every notion of civil fociety. " The charges which Junius has brought againft me, are made ridiculous, by his own inconfiftency and felf-contradiction. He charges me pofitively with a new zeal in fupport of adminiftration;" and with "endeavours in fupport of the minifte"rial nomination of fheriffs." And he affigns two inconfiftent motives for my conduct: either that I have "fold myself to the miniftry;" or am inftigated "by the folitary vindictive malice of a monk:" either that I am influenced by a fordid defire of gain, or am hurried on by "perfonal hatred, and "blinded by refentment." In his letter to the Duke of Grafton, he fuppofes me actuated by both : in his letter to me, he at first doubts which of the two, whether intereft, or revenge, is my motive. However, at laft he determines for the former, and again pofitively afferts, that "the miniftry "have made me promifes:" yet he produces no inftance of corruption, nor pretends to have any intelligence of a minifterial connection. He mentions no caufe of a perfonal hatred to Mr. Wilkes, nor any reafon for my refentment or revenge; nor. has Mr. Wilkes himself ever hinted any, though repeatedly preffed. When Junius is called upon to juftify his accufation, he anfwers, "He cannot defcend to an altercation with me in the newf 65 "papers." Junius, who exifts only in the newpapers, who acknowledges," he has attacked my "character" there, and thinks "I have some right "to an explanation," yet this Junius "cannot de"fcend to an altercation in the newspapers!" And because he cannot defcend to an altercation with me in the newspapers, he fends a letter of abufe by the printer, which he finishes with telling me" I am at liberty to publish it." This, to be fure, is a most excellent method to avoid an altercation in the newfpapers! The proofs of his pofitive charges are as extraordinary: "He does not pretend to any intelli"" gence concerning me, or to know more of my "conduct than I myself have thought proper to "communicate to the publick.' He does not fufpect me of fuch grofs folly as to have folicited votes, or to have written anonymously in the newfpapers; becaufe, it is impoffible to do either of thefe, without being detected and brought to fhame. Junius fays this!—who yet imagines that he has himself written two years under that fignature, (and more under others), without being detected! -his warmeft admirers will not hereafter add, without being brought to fhame. But, though he did never suspect me of such grofs folly as to run the hazard of being detected and brought to fhame by anonymous writing, he infifts, that I have been guilty of a much groffer folly, of incurring the certainty of fhame and detection, by writings figned with my name! But this is a fmall flight for the towering Junius: "HE is FAR from thinking "meanly of my abilities," though he is "con"vinced that I want judgment extremely;" and can "really respect Mr. Sawbridge's character," though he declares him to be fo poor a creature, as * I beg leave to introduce Mr. Horne to the character of the Double Dealer. I thought they had been better acquainted.—— "Another as not to "fee through the bafeft defign conduct"ed in the poorest manner!" And this most base defign is conducted in the pooreft manner, by a man whom he does not fufpect of grofs folly, and of whofe abilities he is FAR from thinking meanly! Should we afk Junius to reconcile these contradictions, and explain this nonfenfe, the answer is. ready ;"He cannot defcend to an altercation in "the newspapers." He feels no reluctance to attack the character of any man: the throne is not too high, nor the cottage too low: his mighty malice can grafp both extremes: he hints not his accufations as opinion, conjecture, or inference, but delivers them as pofitive affertions. Do the accufed complain of injuftice? He acknowledges they have some sort of right to an explanation: but if they ask for proofs and facts, he begs to be excufed; and though he is no where else to be encountered" he cannot defcend to an altercation in "the newspapers." And this, perhaps, Junius may think " the li"beral refentment of a gentleman." This skulking affaflination he may call courage. In all things, ass in this, I hope we differ. "I thought that fortitude had been a mean "Another very wrong objection has been made. by fome, who "have not taken leisure to distinguish the characters. The hero "of the play (meaning Mellefont) is a gull, and made a fool, "and cheated.-Is every man a gull and a fool that is deceived? -At that rate, I am afraid, the two claffes of men will be re"duced to one, and the knaves themselves be at a lofs to justify, "their title. But if an open, honeft-hearted man, who has an "-entire confidence in one whom he takes to be his friend, anda "who (to confirm him in his opinion) in all appearance, and ap-on feveral trials, has been fo; if this man be deceived by the: "treachery of the other, must he, of neceffity, commence fool! immediately, only because the other has proved a villain? Yes, fays Parfon Horne: No, fays Congreve; and he, I think, is allowed to have known fomething of human nature. 66 |