tired me and others. I do not think we really differ in politics so
much as you suppose; or at least, if we do, that difference is in
the means, and not in the end. We both love the Constitution,
respect the King, and abhor the French. But though you love the
Constitution, you would perpetuate the abuses which have been
engrafted upon it; though you respect the King, you would confirm
his scruples against the Catholics; though you abhor the French, you
would open to them the conquest of Ireland. My method of respecting
my sovereign is by protecting his honour, his empire, and his
lasting happiness; I evince my love of the Constitution by making it
the guardian of all men's rights and the source of their freedom;
and I prove my abhorrence of the French, by uniting against them the
disciples of every church in the only remaining nation in Europe.
As for the men of whom I have been compelled in this age of
mediocrity to say so much, they cannot of themselves be worth a
moment's consideration, to you, to me, or to anybody. In a year
after their death they will be forgotten as completely as if they
had never been; and are now of no further importance than as they
are the mere vehicles of carrying into effect the common-place and
mischievous prejudices of the times in which they live.



LETTER VI.



Dear Abraham,--What amuses me the most is to hear of the INDULGENCES
which the Catholics have received, and their exorbitance in not
being satisfied with those indulgences: now if you complain to me