1100 
dom be found to induce any one 
to take so much trouble, that of 
giving her children, and especially 
her eldest son, then about to enter 
on the stage of life,’ a true notion 
of those eventful scenes which had 
just been passing before her eyes, 
and which she well judged must be 
followed by others not less interes. 
ting to the same cause and persons, 
will surely be thought to have pos- 
sessed both the means and the incli- 
nation to paint with truth and cor- 
rectness: in effect she will be seen 
to exhibit such a faithful, natural, 
and lively picture of the public 
mind and manners, takensometimes 
in larger, sometimes in smaller 
groupes, as will give a more satis- 
factory idea to an observant reader 
than he will any where else disco- 
ver. He will be further pleased to 
see avoided the most common error 
of historians, that of displaying the 
paradoxical and the marvellous, 
both in persons and things. But 
surely the use of history being to 
instruct the present and future ages 
- by the experience of the past, no- 
thing can be more absurd than a 
wish to excite and leave the reader 
in astonishment, which instead of 
assisting, can only confound his 
judgment. Mrs. Hutchinson, on 
the contrary, has made it her busi- 
ness, and that. very successfully, to 
account by common and easy causes 
for many of these actions and ef. ° 
fects which others have left nnac- 
counted for, and only to be gazed 
at in unmeaning wonder ; or, in 
attempting to account for them, 
have employed vain subtility or 
groundless ‘ conjecture. She _ has 
likewise not merely described the 
parties in the state by their general 
character, but delineated them in 
thear minute ramifications, and, thus 
enabled us to trace the springs, and 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1806. 
_and greatnesse in their creation, but 
discover the reasonableness, of 
many of those proceedings which 
had hitherto seemed incongruous 
and inconsistent.’’ 4 
Asa specimen of the style and 
manner of this extraordinary work, 
which adds much to the stock of 
historical knowledge, which we de- 
rivefrom Clarendon and Rushworth, 
and the other original writers of © 
the time, we shall extract the life of © 
Mrs, Lucy Hutchinson,(the author) 
written by herself. 
‘6 The almighty author ofall be- 
ings, in his various providences, 
whereby he conducts the lives of 
men from. the cradle to the tomb, © 
exercises no lesse wisdome and 
goodnesse then he manifests power 
such is the stupidity of blind mor- 
talls that insteed of employing their — 
studies in these admirable bookes 
of providence, wherein God dayly 
exhibitts to us glorious characters 
of his love, kindnesse, wisdome, © 
and iustice, they ungratefully re- 
gard them not, and call the most 
wonderfull operations of the greate 
God the common accidents of hu- 
mane life, specially if they be such 
as are usuall, and exercised towards 
them in ages wherein they are not | 
very. capable of observation, and 
whereon they seldome employ any 
reflexion ; for in things greate and 
extraordinary some perhaps will 
take notice of God’s working, who 
either forgett or believe not that he 
takes as well a care and account of 
] 
: 
} 
their smallest concernments, even | 
the haires of their heads. 
‘¢ Finding myselfe in some kind 
guilty of this generall neglect, I 
thought it might be a meannes to 
stirre up my thankefulnesse for 
things past, and to encourage my 
faith for the future, if I recollected, 
as much as I] have heard or can re- 
member | 
