His tort). 135 



lory of England, written in the French language, 

 was first published at the Hague, in 1727, and 

 soon afterwards translated into English by Tin- 

 dal. Though Rapin was by no means master 

 of an agreeable style 5 and though his zeal to be as 

 full and accurate as possible, led him to protract 

 his work to a tedious length; yet he is entitled to 

 the honour of having compiled one of the most com- 

 plete, impartial, and satisfactory histories extant. 

 He was one of the last historians of any conspicuity 

 who loaded the text of his work with speeches and 

 state-papers. 



In 1758 another History of England was pub- 

 lished by Dr. Smollet. This production is scarcely 

 equal to the talents of the writer, being compiled 

 in great haste, and rather with a view to profit 

 than fame, and with scarcely any attention to ori- 

 ginal sources of information. Still with regard to 

 style, it was a considerable step in the course of 

 improvement, and exhibited excellences in this 

 respect superior to any preceding English historian. 

 Dr. Smollet was followed by his countryman Mr. 

 Hume, who made trial of his distinguished powers 

 in the same field, and* with splendid success. He 

 far excelled all his predecessors in beauty and ex- 

 cellence of historical style, and at once raised the 

 character of his country, in this branch of literature, 

 to a very high rank. His work, indeed, is charged 

 with glaring partiality; and that spirit of hostility 

 to religion which he was known to possess too 

 frequently appears, whenever, in the course of his 

 narrative, a pretext for this purpose was presented. 

 It must even, further be allowed, that, with re- 

 spect to style, in which his great excellence lies, 

 he 5s not without considerable faults. But in the 

 choice and arrangement of his materials, and es- 

 pecially in native ease, spirit, and force of lan- 

 guage, he has no equal among modern historians, 



