church of Rome and its pontiff; and as to what concerns points of doctrine, he exhorts them not to sacrifice truth to temporal advantages, or even to a desire of peace. It would carry us too far, were we to give a minute account of Dr. Wake's correspondence with the Protestants of Nismes, Lithuania, and other countries; it may, however, be affirmed that no prelate, since the Reformation, had so extensive a correspondence with the Protestants abroad, and none could have a more friendly one.

It does not appear, that the dissenters in England made to the archbishop any proposals relative to an union with the established church; or that he made any proposals to them on that head. The spirit of the times, and the situation of the contending parties, offered little prospect of success to any scheme of that nature. In queen Anne's time, he was only bishop of Lincoln; and the disposition of the House of Commons, and of all the Tory part of the nation, was then so unfavourable to the dissenters, that it is not at all likely that any attempt toward reuniting them to the established church would have passed into a law. And in the next reign, the face of things was so greatly changed in favour of the dissenters, and their hopes of recovering the rights and privileges, of which they had been deprived, were so sanguine, that it may be well questioned whether they would have accepted the offer of an union, had it been made to them. Be that as it will, one thing is certain, and it is a proof of archbishop Wake's moderate and pacific spirit, that, in the year 1714, when the spirit of the court and of the triumphant part of the ministry was, with respect to the Whigs in general, and to dissenters in particular, a spirit of enmity and oppression, this worthy prelate had the courage to stand up in opposition to the Schism bill, and to protest against it as a hardship upon the dissenters. This step, which must have blasted his credit at court, and proved detrimental to his private interest, as matters then stood, showed that his regard for the dissenters was friendly and sincere. It is true, four years after this, when it was proposed to repeal the Schism bill and the act against Occasional Conformity, both at once, he disapproved of this proposal. And this circumstance has been alleged as an objection to the encomiums that have been given to his tender regard for the dissenters, or, at least, as a proof that he changed his mind; and that

Wake, bishop of Lincoln, was more their friend than Wake, archbishop of Canterbury. I do not pretend to justify this change of conduct. It seems to have been, indeed, occasioned by a change of circumstances. The dissenters, in their state of oppression during the ministry of Bolingbroke and his party, were objects of compassion; and those who had sagacity enough to perceive the ultimate object which that ministry had in view in oppressing them, must have interested themselves in their sufferings, and opposed their oppressors, from a regard to the united causes of protestantism and liberty. In the following reign, the credit of the dissenters rose; and, while this encouraged the wise and moderate men among them to plead with prudence and with justice their right to be delivered from several real grievances, it elated the violent, and violent men there are in all parties, nay even in the cause of moderation, to a high degree. This rendered them formidable to all those who were jealous of the power, privileges, and authority of the established church; and archbishop Wake was probably of this number. He had protested against the shackles that were imposed upon them when they lay under the frowns of government; but apprehending, perhaps, that the removing these shackles in the day of prosperity would render their motions toward power too rapid, he opposed the abrogation of the very acts which he had before endeavoured to stifle in their birth. In this, however, it must be acknowledged, that the spirit of party mingled too much of its influence with the dictates of prudence; and that prudence, thus accompanied, was not very consistent with Dr. Wake's known principles of equity and moderation. As I was at a loss how to account for this part of the archbishop's conduct, I addressed myself to a learned and worthy clergyman of the church of England, who gave me the following answer; "archbishop Wake's objection to the repeal of the schism act was founded on this consideration only, that such a repeal was needless, as no use had been made, or was likely to be made, of that act. It is also highly probable, that he would have consented without hesitation to rescind it, had nothing farther been endeavoured at the same time. But, considering what sort of spirit was then shown by the dissenters and others, it ought not to be a matter of great wonder if he was afraid, that from the repeal of the other act, viz.

that against occasional conformity, considerable damage might follow to the church, over which he presided; and even supposing his fears to be excessive, or quite groundless, yet certainly they were pardonable in a man who had never done, nor designed to do, any thing disagreeable to the dissenters in any other affair, and who, in this, had the concurrence of some of the greatest and wisest of the English lords, and of the earl of Islay, among the Scotch, though a professed presbyterian."i

However some may judge of this particular incident, I think it will appear from the whole tenour of archbishop Wake's correspondence and transactions with Christian churches of different denominations, that he was a man of a pacific, gentle, and benevolent spirit, and an enemy to the feuds, animosities, and party prejudices, which divide the professors of one holy religion, and by which Christianity is exposed to the assaults of its virulent enemies, and wounded in the house of its pretended friends. To this deserved eulogy, we may add what a learned and worthy divine, has said of this eminent prelate, considered as a controversial writer, even, "that his accurate and superior knowledge of the nature of the Romish hierarchy, and of the constitution of the church of England, furnished him with victorious arms, both for the subversion of error and the defence of truth."

i Dr. William Richardson, master of Emanuel college in Cambridge, and canon of Lincoln. See his noble edition, and his very elegant and judicious continuation of bishop Godwin's Commentarius de Præsulibus Angliæ, published in the year 1743, at Cambridge. His words (p. 167) are; "Nemo uspiam Ecclesiæ Romanæ vel Anglicanæ statum penitus cognitum et exploratum habuit; et proinde in disputandi arenam prodiit tum ad oppugnandum tum ad propugnandum instructissimus."

AUTHENTIC COPIES OF THE

ORIGINAL LETTERS,
ACCOUNT IS DRAWN.

FROM WHICH THE

PRECEDING

NO. I.

A LETTER FROM ARCHBISHOP WAKE TO MR. BEAUVOIR.

Lambeth, Nov, 28, S. V. 1717.

I AM indebted to you for several kind letters and some small tracts, which I have had the favour to receive from you. The last, which contains an account of the new edition that is going on of Chrysostome, I received yesterday. It will, no doubt, be a very valuable edition; but, as they propose to go on with it, I shall hardly live to see it finished. They do not tell us, to whom here we may go for subscriptions; and it is too much trouble to make returns to Paris. They should, for their own advantage, say where subscriptions will be taken in London, and where one may call for the several volumes as they come out, and pay for the next that are going on.

Among the account of books you were pleased to send me, there is one with a very promising title, Thesaurus Anecdotorum, 5 volumes. I wish I could know what the chief of those anecdotes are; it may be a book very well worth having. I admire they do not disperse some sheets of such works. What they can add to make Moreri's Dictionary so very voluminous, I cannot imagine. I bought it in two exorbitant volumes, and thought it big enough so. While I am writing this, company is come in, so that I am forced to break off; and I can only assure you, that, upon all occasions, you shall find me very sincerely, Reverend Sir, Your faithful friend,

W. CANT.

N. B. This is the earliest letter in the whole collection; and, by the beginning of it, seems to be the first which the archbishop wrote to Mr. Beauvoir.

NO. II.

MY LORD,

A LETTER FROM MR. BEAUVOIR TO ARCHBISHOP WAKE.

Paris, Dec. 11, 1717. O. S.

I HAD the honour of your Grace's letter of the 28th ultimo but Sunday last, and therefore could not answer it

sooner. A person is to be appointed to receive subscriptions for the new edition of St. Chrysostome, and deliver the copies. Enclosed is an account of the Thesaurus Anecdotorum. Dr. Du Pin, with whom I dined last Monday, and with the Syndic of the Sorbonne, and two other doctors, tells me, that what swells Moreri's Dictionary are several additions, and particularly the families of Great Britain. He hath the chief hand in this new edition. They talked as if the whole kingdom was to appeal to the future general council, &c. They wished for an union with the church of England, as the most effectual means to unite all the western churches. Dr. Du Pin desired me to give his duty to your Grace, upon my telling him, that I would send you an arrest of the parliament of Paris relating to him, and a small tract of his. I have transmitted them to Mr. Prevereau, at Mr. Secretary Addison's office.

NO. III.

A LETTER FROM ARCHBISHOP WAKE TO MR. BEAUVOIR.

Aug. 30, 1718.

I TOLD you in one of my last letters, how little I expected from the present pretences of an union with us. Since I received the papers you sent me, I am more convinced that I was not mistaken. My task is pretty hard, and I scarce know how to manage myself in this matter. To go any farther than I have done in it, even as a divine only of the church of England, may meet with censure; and, as archbishop of Canterbury, I cannot treat with these gentlemen. I do not think my character at all inferior to that of an archbishop of Paris; on the contrary, without lessening the authority and dignity of the church of England, I must say it is in some respects superior. If the cardinal were in earnest for such an union, it would not be below him to treat with me himself about it. I should then have a sufficient ground to consult with my brethren, and to ask his Majesty's leave to correspond with him concerning it. But to go on any farther with these gentlemen, will only expose me to the censure of doing what, in my station, ought not to be done without the king's knowledge; and it would be very odd for me to have an authoritative permission to treat with those who have no