he might have paffed without particular notice of, distinction. In juftice to your friends, let your future labours: be confined to the care of your own reputation. Your declaration, that you are happy in feeing young noblemen come among us, is liable to two objections. With respect to Lord Percy, it means nothing, for he was already in the army. He was aid de camp to the King, and had the rank of colonel. A regiment therefore could not make him a more military man, though it made him richer, and probably at the expence of fome brave, deferving, friendless officer. The other concerns yourself. After felling the companions of your victory in one instance, and after felling your profeffion in the other, by what authority do you prefume to call yourself a foldier? The plain evidence of facts is fuperior to all declarations. Before you were appointed to the 16th regiment, your complaints were a distress to government ;from that moment you were filent. The conclufion is inevitable. You infinuate to us that your ill state of health obliged you to quit the fervice. The retirement neceffary to repair a broken conftitution would have been as good a reafon for not accepting, as for refigning the command of a regiment. There is certainly an error of the press, or an affected obfcurity in that paragraph, where 1 you you speak of your bargain with colonel Gisborne, Inftead of attempting to anfwer what I really do not understand, permit me to explain to the public what I really know. In exchange for your regiment, you accepted of a colonel's half pay (at leaft 2201. a year) and an annuity of 2001. for your own and lady Draper's life jointly.And this is the lofing bargain, which you would reprefent to us, as if you had given up an income of 800l. a year for 3801; Was it decent, was it honourable, in a man who pretends to love the army, and calls himself a foldier, to make a traffic of the royal favour, and to turn the highest honour of an active profeffion into a fordid provifion for himself and his family? It were unworthy of me to prefs you farther, The contempt, with which the whole army heard of the manner of your retreat, affures me, that as your conduct was not justified by precedent, it will never be thought an example for imitation, The last and most important queftion remains, When you receive your half pay, do you, or do you not, take a folemn oath, or fign a declaration upon honour to the following effect? That you do not actually hold any place of profit, civil or military, under his Majesty, The charge which the question plainly conveys against you, is of fo fhocking a complexion, that I fincerely wish you may be able to to answer it well, not merely for the colour of your reputation, but for your own inward peace of mind. JUNIUS. P. S. I had determined to leave the commander in chief in the quiet enjoyment of his friend and his bottle; but Titus deferves an answer, and fhall have a complete one. LETTER VII. SIR; To JUNI U S. Feb. 27. 1769. I Have a very short answer for Junius's important queftion: I do not either take an oath, or declare upon honour, that I have no place of profit civil or military, when I receive the half pay as an Irish colonel. My moft gracious Sovereign gives it me as a penfion; he was pleafed to think I deferved it. The annuity of 200l. Irish, and the equivalent for the half pay together, produces no more than 380l. per annum, clear of fees and perquifites of office. I receive 1671. from my go. vernment of Yarmouth. Total 5471. per annum. My confcience is much at eafe in these particulars; my friends need not blush for me. Juniu Junius makes much and frequent use of interrogations: they are arms that may be easily turned against himself. I could, by malicious interrotion, disturb the peace of the moft virtuous man in the kingdom; I could take the decalogue, and fay to one man, Did you never fteal? To the next, Did you never commit murder? And to Junius himself, who is putting my life and conduct to the rack, Did you never bear false witness against thy neighbour? Junius muft easily fee, that unlefs he affirms to the contrary in his real name, some people who may be as ignorant of him as I am, will be apt to suspect him of having deviated a little from the truth: therefore let Junius afk no more ques tions. You bite against a file: cease viper. W. D. Clifton, Feb.23. 1769. LETTER VIII. To Sir WILLIAM DRAPER, SIR, March 3. 1769. AN academical education has given you an un limited command over the moft beautiful figures of speech. Masks, hatchets, racks, and vipers dance through your letters in all the mazes of metaphorical. confufion. Thefe are the gloomy companions of a disturbed imagination; the me lancholy lancholy madness of poetry, without the infpiration. I will not contend with you in point of compofition. You are a fcholar, Sir William, and, if I am truly informed, you write Latin with almost as much purity as English. Suffer me then, for I am a plain unlettered man, to continue that ftile of interrogation, which fuits my capacity, and to which, confidering the readiness of your anfwers, you ought to have no objection. Even Mr. Bingley promises to answer, if put to the tor ture. Do you then really think that, if I were to afk a maft virtuous man whether he ever committed theft, or murder, it would disturb his peace of mind? Such a queftion might perhaps difcompofe the gravity of his mufcles, but I believe it would little affect the tranquillity of his confcience, Examine your own breaft, Sir William, and you will discover, that reproaches and enquiries have no power to afflict either the man of unblemished integrity or the abandoned profligate, It is the middle compound character which alone is vulnerable: the man who, without firmness enough to avoid a dishonourable action, has feeling enough to be ashamed of it. I thank you for the hint of the decalogue, and fhall take an opportunity of applying it to some of your |