XXIX 



and beneficence, and who was so struck with the 

 genius, the learning, and probity of Mr. Ray, that he 

 was almost at the entire charge of erecting the monu- 

 ment to him; the Earl of Scarborough, an accom- 

 plished nobleman, immortalized by the enchanting 

 pen of Pope, and the fine pen of Chesterfield; the 

 Earl of Gainsborough ; the great Chatham, whose 

 taste in the embellishment of rural nature has been 

 exultingly acknowledged by Mr. Walpole, and by 

 George Mason ;* with numerous other men of rank 



* Lord Chesterfield thus speaks of this distinguished man : — 

 " His private life was stained by no vices, nor sullied by any mean- 

 ness. His eloquence was of every kind ; but his invectives were 

 terrible, and uttered with such energy of diction and countenance, 

 that he intimidated those who were the most willing and the best 

 able to encounter him." Sir W. Chatham Trelawney used to 

 observe of him, that it was impossible for the members of the side 

 opposed to him in the House of Commons to look him in the face 

 when he was warmed in debate : he seemed to bid them all a 

 haughty defiance. " For my own part," said Trelawney, " I never 

 dared cast my eyes towards his, for if I did, they nailed me to the 

 floor." 



Smollet says, that he displayed " such irresistible energy of argu- 

 ment, and such power of elocution, as struck his hearers with as- 

 tonishment and admiration. It flashed like the lightning of heaven 

 against the ministers and sons of corruption, blasting where it smote, 

 and withering the nerves of opposition ; but his more substantial 

 praise was founded upon his disinterested integrity, his incorrupti- 

 ble heart, his unconquerable spirit of independance, and his inva- 

 riable attachment to the interest and liberty of his country." 

 Another biographer thus mentions him : — " His elevated aspect 

 commanded the awe and mute attention of all who beheld him, 

 whilst a certain grace in his manner, conscious of all the dignities 

 of his situation, of the solemn scene he acted in, as well as his own 



