LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP SHARP. 273 



Queen's accession, upon occasion of his pre- 

 senting her Highness with his coronation sermon. 

 There was indeed an odd circumstance attend- 

 ing this first piece of respect from him, owing 

 partly to unusual inadvertency in himself, and 

 partly to the dexterity and dispatch of the 

 bearer of it, viz. that this sermon was trans- 

 mitted to the princess by the hands of Mr. John 

 Toland*, which, though in reality an accidental 

 thing, yet might have proved unlucky in its 

 interpretation to the Archbishop's character. 

 The Bishop of Sarum, whom nothing could 

 escape, laid hold of it, not indeed more severely 

 than the thing seemed prima facie to deserve. 

 But it either was not believed when reported, 

 or his credit was too well established to suffer 

 by it, though, as the prelate just now named 

 said upon it, " Had any of us done so, hoiv should 

 we have bee?i talked of" 



But the true account of this whole matter 

 appears in his diary, minuted by himself at the 

 time when the accident happened, and while every 

 circumstance of it was yet fresh in his memory. 



" While I was making up my list of persons 

 to whom I should present my coronation sermon, 

 my servant came up, and acquainted me that 

 one from Sir Robert Clayton and his lady was 

 below. I ordered the man should be brought 



* The *« Free Thinker" and Infidel Author. 



