LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP SHARP. 299 



of my poor power, faithfully to serve his Majesty in 

 that station wherein his mere goodness, without any 

 desires of mine, hath placed me. '^ 



In the late Queen's reign, soon after the meet- 

 ing of her first Parliament, in 1702, at which 

 time she offered him the almoner's place, and a 

 seat in the Privy Council (both which he at 

 present declined), she put him upon using his 

 endeavours " to make the bishops vote right,'' as it 

 was termed; not suspecting, as may be pre- 

 sumed, his delicacy on that head ; and that the 

 same principle upon which he acted himself 

 would forbid his assuming to direct others who 

 had the same claim of liberty to follow their 

 own judgment which he asserted to himself. 

 Her ministers, who knew him better, and pro- 

 bably from greater freedoms which he took in 

 expressing his sentiments to them, seldom 

 touched upon this head, but sought to work 

 upon him through the Queen, to whom he could 

 deny nothing that was in his power to give. 

 And many a conference had he with her Majesty 

 upon this point. Some of which, on several 

 different occasions, shall be noted down from 

 the short memorandums he made of them in 

 his diary on the days that they happened. 



Diary, 1704-5. Saturday, January 27. ''I 



was with the Queen again She again 



fell a talking about the bill for qualifying people 



