“Dear Sir,—I received a visit more than twelve months ago from Mr Morley of Hampton Lucy, the express purpose of which was to vindicate himself from any supposed concern in a foolish story that was propagated of my having been, through the influence of a certain melancholy event, converted to Christianity. This was the first time I had ever heard his name joined with that story. His vindication with me was therefore easy. From all that I know of Mr Morley, I should feel great difficulty in persuading myself that a conduct pitiful and unmanly could justly be imputed to him, and I had no hesitation in completely acquitting him.
“I felt some inclination on that occasion to have written to you for the purpose of removing any unpleasant impression that might remain on your mind in connexion with that story. This inclination, after an interval, was renewed in my mind with still greater force, in consequence of my being told, though I cannot now recollect by whom, that you had been heard to do me the honour to express your regret at some unfortunate misunderstanding that had arisen between us. But procrastination is of very fatal influence. I deferred my explanation; I reserved it for the occasion that now presents itself, which I calculated would have occurred much sooner than it has done. I said, I will request Dr Parr’s acceptance of a copy of my second attempt in the way of a novel, and will then write to him on the subject at large.
“The story was first brought to me by a very amusing
and good-natured young man, Mr Basil
Montagu. He represented you as the assiduous propagator of the
tale. If his representation had been true, I should have regretted the
circumstance, but I should have looked upon it as a ground of misunder-
| 376 | WILLIAM GODWIN |
“I ordered my bookseller to send you a copy of my new novel. I hope you received it in due course. It would give me great pleasure if you did not hold it lost time to communicate to me, with your usual manliness, your sentiments respecting it: if you would give yourself the trouble, in case of your discovering in it any fundamental mistake, to set up a beacon to direct me better in my future efforts, and in case you thought it did not disgrace me, to cheer me with one breath of your applause, that I might proceed with greater confidence and strength to future exertions.
“You made a long visit at Norwich last summer. If I
had heard of it in time, I should, perhaps, have been tempted to review the
scene of my boyish years. You saw, I am told, a good deal of Mackintosh; you therefore, no doubt, settled
accounts with him as to your opinion of his political lectures. I am, myself,
exceedingly disgusted with some of their leading features. Sheltering himself
under, what I think, a frivolous apology of naming nobody, he loads
indiscriminately the writers of the new philosophy with every epithet of
contempt,—absurdity, frenzy, idiotism, deceit, ambition, and every murderous
propensity dance through the mazes of his glittering periods: nor has this
mighty dispenser of honour and disgrace ever deigned to concede to any one of
them the least particle of understanding, talent, or taste. He has to
| DR PARR’S SPITAL SERMON. | 377 |
