THE ANALYST 



REMARKS UPON BISHOP BURNETT'S HISTORY 

 OF HIS OWN TIME. 



Lord Dartmouth, in his Notes upon the best known and most 

 popular of Bishop Burnett's works, the History of his own Time, 

 has made this unqualified declaration, — a declaration in accordance 

 with the rest of the calumnies against our author, whether avowed 

 or anonymous : " I wrote" says his Lordship, " in the first volume 

 of this book, that I did not believe the Bishop designedly published 

 anything he believed to be false ; therefore, think myself obliged to 

 write in this, that I am fully satisfied that he published many 

 things that he knew to be so:" and at the close of the work, where 

 Burnett " prays God that his History may be read with the same 

 candour and sincerity which he had written it," his malignant cen- 

 surer adds, " thus piously ends the most partial, malicious heap of 

 scandal and misrepresentation that was ever collected for the laud- 

 able design of giving a false impression of persons and things to all 

 future ages." However, a more liberal and enlightened commen- 

 tator has justly refuted this sweeping accusation. '^ His History," 

 observes Dr. Routh, " is one which will never lose its importance, 

 but will continue to furnish materials for other historians, and to 

 be read by those who wish to derive their knowledge of facts from 

 the first sources of information. The accuracy of his narration has 

 often been attacked with vehemence, and often, it must be con- 

 fessed, with success; but not so often as to overthrow the general 

 credit of his work. On the contrary, it has, in many instances, 



October^ 1835. — vol. hi. no. xiii. b. 



