1822.) 
_At.this,time,.one of the knights 
of, the..shire,. who,. represented. the 
county .of Kent in, Parliament, was 
— Brockman; esq. of Beachborough, 
where a.respectable family of that 
name. has, resided many generations. 
Beachborough is an.elegant seat, in 
the. vicinity of. Newington, in the 
church of. which many of the Brock- 
man family lie buried; indeed, it is 
their family place of sepulture. 
Itis not, I think, at all improbable, 
that in London an acquaintance had 
been formed. between the Russian 
physician and the Member of Parlia-- 
ment.for Kent; that the former had 
been invited to receive the hospita- 
lities of Beachborough on his return 
home, it being only about ten miles 
from. Dover,—the usual place of em- 
barking for the Continent. That, hay- 
ing thus paid a visit to Beachborough, 
he there sickened, and died; and of 
course was buried amongst the Brock- 
mans, in Newington Church. 
Grace-hill, Kent ; Jan. 3. ee 
—a——— 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
REMARKS. on the CHARACTER of VIS- 
_.COUNT. BOLINGBROKE, im REPLY to 
_,the OBSERVATIONS im ARCHDEACON 
_.COXE’s ‘‘ LIFE of WALPOLE.” 
..ORD Bolingbroke bears so little 
resemblance to himself in the 
former and latter periods of his event- 
ful existence, that with Augustus, and 
a few other characters in history, we 
can scarcely regard him as the same 
individual.. For who, in “the calm 
still mirror of retreat,” can recognize 
the statesman who, to adopt the words 
of the speaker Onslow, “ was of a tem- 
per to overturn kingdoms, to make 
way for himself and his talents, to go- 
vern the world?” 
Having experienced strange disap- 
pointments and vicissitudes of fortune, 
we find this nobleman, on attaining the 
season of mature reflection, making the 
most ingenuous confessions of error. 
“The two. parties were, in truth,” says 
he, “‘become factions in the strict sense 
of the word. I was of one, and Iown 
the guilt.’ For this, acknowledged 
guilt he appears strongly solicitous to 
make all the atonement in his power. 
And he was.at this, period of his. life, 
by persons unquestionably competent 
to judge of character, esteemed and 
admired as the greatest ornament of 
his age and country. 
“In his sequestered retreat,” says 
the contemporary historian Smollet, 
2 
Ancient, Epitaph.—Characier of Lord Boiling broke. 
407 
‘he was visited as asainted shrine by 
all the distinguished votaries of wit, 
eloquence, and politicalambition.” The 
Earl of Chesterfield. speaks of him as 
presenting the living model of the omnis 
homo of the Roman, the all-accom- 
plished of the English poet. Lord 
Orrery tells us, ‘‘ that the conversation 
of Lord B. united the wisdom of So- 
crates, the dignity and ease of Pliny, 
and the wit of Horace.” <‘‘ His many 
advantages of nature and fortune,” as 
Swift assures us, “‘ were still inferior to 
the accomplishments of his mind.” 
And the muse of Pope, ever disdainful 
of yenal incense, dictated, that noble 
apostrophe to Lord B.. at the close of 
his Essay on Man, which seems the re- 
sult of almost idolatrous enthusiasm. 
Tt will not, however, be denied, that 
this nobleman, though sincerely adopt- 
ing principles the reverse of . those 
which governed his early life, was ac- 
tuated in no inconsiderable degree by 
personal resentment against the Wal- 
poles, as the enemies who had. barred 
the way to his complete restoration, or 
that this has given too dark,a tinge to 
many of his reflections. . But Lord B. 
with the other leaders opposed.to the 
Walpole administration, clearly, per- 
ceived that the new system of influence 
was, under the present cireumstances, 
far more formidable than the old system 
of prerogative which it had superseded ; 
and, from its subtle and insidious na- 
ture, less likely to exeite alarm. The 
generous mind of Frederic prince of 
Wales had imbibed from the. lessons 
of Lord B. the noble ambition of go- 
verning upon constitutional principles 
alone; and the “ Letters upon Patrio- 
tism,” and the idea of .a) “ Patriot 
King,” were written to place before the 
intellectual yision of the young prince 
a model truly worthy. of his attention 
and imitation. 
Notwithstanding the flagrant injus- 
tice of supposing this nobleman to have 
been for so many years merely acting 
a part, he has by the zealous apologists 
and advecates of the Walpoles ever 
been the object of oblequy. Tindal is 
an historian very estimable.for the fair- 
ness of his statements in relation to 
facts ; but, in his delineation of charac- 
ters, bis political bias is much more 
discernible, He nevertheless acknow- 
ledges of Lord B. ‘that he was natu- 
rally formed with every accomplish- 
ment that could strike and please 
cither in public or private. And that 
a universal prejudice existed in fayour 
of 
