THE LIVES OF THE LORD CHANCELLORS AND KEEPERS OF THE GREAT SEAL OF ENGLAND, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TILL THE REIGN OF KING GEORGE IV. BY JOHN LORD CAMPBELL, A.M. F.R.S.E. [SECOND SERIES, FROM THE REVOLUTION OF 1688, TO THE DEATH OF VOL. IV. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1846. LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PREFACE TO THE SECOND SERIES OF THE LIVES OF THE CHANCELLORS. I NOW lay before the Public the second part of my Biographical Work, extending from the Revolution of 1688 till the death of Lord Thurlow in 1806, and containing the Lives of two Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal, of one Lord Keeper, and of twelve Lord Chancellors. My anxiety upon this occasion is greatly increased by the very favourable reception experienced by me on my first appearance as an author. I am somewhat disheartened by the consideration that the Chancellors of the 18th century are much less important characters than à Becket, Wolsey, More, Bacon, Clarendon, Shaftesbury, and Jeffreys: but I am encouraged by reflecting that the interest taken in men and in events increases as they come nearer to our own "business and bosoms ;"—and I have to announce that whereas, formerly, I could only make use of materials accessible to all, I am now put into possession of an immense mass of original documents, throwing a new light upon the history of the country and the manners of successive generations. No language could express the deep sense I entertain of the confidence and kindness shown me by individuals of all parties in the state who were the masters of these treasures. In the first place, I must return thanks, though very inadequately, to Lord Viscount Dungannon, for the communication of several letters of his ancestor, Lord Com |