■ 5"? t>'^ SOME ENGLISH HISTORIANS. Miy IJ, 



*^cafo, that this philofopher had been confined 

 *' but for a month, in one of the dungeons of the 

 ■'''Holy Office at Liibon, and that he was on the point 

 *' of mnking his efcape. Q^iery, Would he have re- 

 ** fiifed freedom* for fear of injuiing the Inqiiiiitor 

 *' who arrefted him;? or, would he not have enjoyed 

 *■* « tranfport of honelt fati^faclion, in knocking out the 

 "" brains of the whole fraternity. And is not this com- 

 " parifon in point ? I confider as wafte paper our cjuaint 

 *' wire-drawn hiilorical portraits ot Becker, Knox, 

 *' Beaten, IMarray, Morton, Maitland, Strafford, Eli- 

 *' r.abeth, and her four immediate worthy fucceffors. 

 " It is like flarting a moral diftin£lion between Tur- 

 *• pin and Cartouche, or Barrington and j^ck Shep- 

 ■•• pard." 



On the ancient hiflory of England, few writers have 

 thrown more light than the famous Froissart. His 

 chronicle commences \vith the acceflion of Edward IM. 

 and ends with the death of Richard 11. corftaining a 

 period of fcventy three years. Like almolf every other 

 writer, he has numercus and obvious impiirfeftions. 

 But what Plutarch has remarked of an ancient hiftori- 

 an, may with equal judice be applied to this author. 

 FroilTart does not del'cribe a march, a battle, a fiege, or 

 a pnrfuit, but he places them before our eyes. By the 

 firft ftroke of hi^ artlefs, yet magic pen, xve are tranfport- 

 •cd intothetumultof aftion, and are forward to forget that 

 we continue in the clofet. He has not indeed attempted 

 the hifijher walks of eloquence. He is neither a Thu- 

 Cydidts nor a Sallufl, nor does he difplay the judgment 

 and accuracy of Polybius ; bu^ he delerves to be term- 

 rd the Xenophon -of his age. Replete with materials, 

 it is true that he has inferted a multiplicity of parti- 

 culars, which are no longer intercfting at the dilfance 

 of four centuries. But wherever his fubje£l rifes equal 

 to his abilities, full, without redundancy, intelligent 

 ;tr»d inflruftive, without oftentation, he charms us by 

 •th.it pathetic fimplicity of manner, that, minute but 



