52 



VOLTAIRE. 



ance and the security against ecclesiastical oppression. 

 He lived above two years in London and its neigh- 

 bourhood, chiefly at Wandsworth, in the house of 

 a friend, Mr. Falconer, then a respectable Turkey 

 merchant, afterwards Ambassador to the Porte and 

 Secretary to the Duke of Cumberland. During this 

 residence he corrected the ' Henriade :' it was now 

 published under that name, by a subscription, which 

 Queen Caroline, then Princess of Wales, warmly 

 patronized, and which produced a large sum of money. 

 He likewise devoted himself with his wonted zeal and 

 success to the study of the Newtonian philosophy. 

 He lived in the society of our literary men ; though 

 the great age of Sir Isaac Newton prevented him 

 from forming any acquaintance with him whose 

 system he was destined first to make known in Europe, 

 With Pope and with Congreve he had many inter- 

 views: for the former he acquired a respect and 

 esteem which the similarity of their poetical genius 

 naturally cemented, and which no envy or jealousy 

 ever interrupted ; of the latter, he is said to have 

 formed a less favourable judgment. The silly affect- 

 ation of telling him, when he came to admire the 

 Moliere of England, that he valued himself, not on 

 his authorship, but would be regarded as a man of the 

 world, received a just rebuke : " I should never have 

 come so far to see a gentleman," said Voltaire. 



This journey to England had two important conse- 

 quences. The money which he obtained, and which 

 he afterwards increased by a lucky chance in the 

 lottery, and by engaging in one or two successful 

 mercantile speculations, yielded him an ample income 



