108 JOSEPH PPJESTLEY. 



Commodore Trunnion, so strikingly characterised sailors, 

 does not appear; but, at any rate, they objected to 

 Priestley " on account of his religious principles," and 

 appointed the two Forsters, whose "religious princi- 

 ples," if they had been known to these well-meaning 

 but not far-sighted persons, would probably have sur- 

 prised them. 



In 1772 another proposal was made to Priestley. 

 Lord Shelburne, desiring a "literary companion," had 

 been brought into communication with Priestley by the 

 good offices of a friend of both, Dr. Price ; and offered 

 him the nominal post of librarian, with a good house 

 and appointments, and an annuity in case of the termi- 

 nation of the engagement. Priestley accepted the offer, 

 and remained with Lord Shelburne for seven years, 

 sometimes residing at Calne, sometimes travelling abroad 

 with the Earl. 



Why the connection terminated has never been ex- 

 actly known; but it is certain that Lord Shelburne 

 behaved with the utmost consideration and kindness 

 towards Priestley ; that he fulfilled his engagements to 

 the letter; and that, at a later period, he expressed a 

 desire that Priestley should return to his old footing 

 in his house. Probably enough, the politician, aspiring 

 to the highest offices in the state, may have found the 

 position of the protector of a man who was being de- 

 nounced all over the country as an infidel and an atheist 

 somewhat embarrassing. In fact, a passage in Priest- 

 ley's "Autobiography" on the occasion of the publi- 



