pose. That philosophic divine supposes, that,
in the period between death and the resurrection, human souls exist
without a body, endowed with internal consciousness, but destitute of
all active or passive connection with the external world. "Secundum
communem dictionem sacrae scripturae, mors dicitur somnus, et morientes
dicuntur abdormire, quod innuere mihi videtur statum mortis esse statum
quietis, silentii, et {Greek expression}." (De Statu Mortuorum, ch. v.
p. 98.)

I was however encouraged by some domestic and foreign testimonies of
applause; and the second and third volumes insensibly rose in sale and
reputation to a level with the first. But the public is seldom wrong;
and I am inclined to believe that, especially in the beginning, they
are more prolix and less entertaining than the first: my efforts had
not been relaxed by success, and I had rather deviated into the opposite
fault of minute and superfluous diligence. On the Continent, my name and
writings were slowly diffused; a French translation of the first volume
had disappointed the booksellers of Paris; and a passage in the third
was construed as a personal reflection on the reigning monarch. [Note:
It may not be generally known that Louis XVI. is a great reader, and a
reader of English books. On perusing a passage of my History which seems
to compare him to Arcadius or Honorius, he expressed his resentment to
the Prince of B------, from whom the intelligence was conveyed to me. I
shall neither disclaim the allusion, nor examine the likeness; but the
situation of the late King of France excludes all suspicion of flattery;
and I am ready to declare that the concluding observations of my third
volume were written before his accession to the throne.]

Before I could apply for a seat at the general election the list was
already full; but Lord North's promise was sincere, his recommendation
was effectual, and I was soon chosen on a vacancy for the borough of
Lymington, in Hampshire. In the first session of the new parliament,
administration stood their ground; their final overthrow was reserved
for the second. The American war had once been the favourite of the
country: the pride of England was irritated by the resistance of her
colonies, and the executive power was driven by national clamour into
the most vigorous and coercive measures. But the length of a fruitless
contest, the loss of armies, the accumulation of debt and taxes, and the
hostile confederacy