buried in the House of Lords.

His retirement (1742) amid the beeches and oaks of his country seat
was irksome and insipid. He had no taste for history, or science, or
elegant literature, or quiet pleasures. His tumultuous public life had
engendered other tastes. "I wish," said he to a friend, "I took as
much delight in reading as you do. It would alleviate my tedious
hours." But the fallen minister, though uneasy and restless, was not
bitter or severe. He retained his good humor to the last, and to the
last discharged all the rites of an elegant hospitality. Said his
enemy, Pope,--

"Seen him I have, but in his happier hour
Of social pleasure--ill exchanged for power;
Seen him, uncumbered by the venal tribe,
Smile without art, and win without a bribe."

He had the habit of "laughing the heart's laugh," which it is only in
the power of noble natures to exercise. His manners were winning, his
conversation frank, and his ordinary intercourse divested of vanity
and pomp. He had many warm personal friends, and did not enrich
himself, as Marlborough did, while he enriched those who served him.
He kept a public table at Houghton, to which all gentlemen in the
country had free access. He was fond of hunting and country sports,
and had more taste for pictures than for books. He was not what would
be called a man of genius or erudition, but had a sound judgment,
great sagacity, wonderful self-command, and undoubted patriotism. As a
wise and successful ruler, he will long be held in respect, though he
will never secure veneration.

It was during the latter years of the administration of Walpole that
England was electrified by the preaching of Whitefield and Wesley, and
the sect of the Methodists arose, which has exercised a powerful
influence on the morals, religion, and social life of England.

[Sidenote: John Wesley.]

John Wesley, who may rank with Augustine, Pelagius, Calvin, Arminius,
or Jansen, as the founder of a sect, was demanded by the age in which
he lived. Never, since the Reformation, was the state of religion so
cold in England. The Established Church had triumphed over all her
enemies. Puritanism had ceased to become offensive, and had even
become respectable. The age of fox-hunting parsons had commenced, and
the clergy were the dependants of great families, easy in their
manners, and fond of the pleasures of the table. They were not
expected to be very great scholars, or very grave companions. If t