ent to London, where he supported himself by writing. In the
course of a short time he dropped the title of Reverend and emancipated
himself entirely from his old religious associations.

His first literary work was the "Life of Lord Chatham," and this was
followed by a defence of the coalition of 1783. He then obtained regular
employment on the "English Review," published by Murray in Fleet Street,
wrote several novels, and became a contributor to the "Political Herald."
He was entirely dependent upon his writings, which fact accounts for the
variety displayed in them. His chief interest was, however, in politics.
He was a Liberal of the most pronounced type, and his articles soon
attracted the attention of the Whigs. His services to that party were
considered so valuable that when the above-mentioned paper perished, Fox,
through Sheridan, proposed to Godwin that he should edit it, the whole
expense to be paid from a fund set aside for just such purposes. But
Godwin declined. By accepting he would have sacrificed his independence
and have become their mouthpiece, and he was not willing to sell himself.
He seems at one time to have been ambitious to be a Member of Parliament,
and records with evident satisfaction Sheridan's remark to him: "You
ought to be in Parliament." But his integrity again proved a
stumbling-block. He could not reconcile himself to the subterfuges which
Whigs as well as Tories silently countenanced. Honesty was his besetting
quality quite as much as it was Mary's. He was unfit to take an active
part in politics; his sphere of work was speculative.

He was the foremost among the devoted adherents in England of Rousseau,
Helvetius, and the other Frenchmen of their school. He was one of the
"French Revolutionists," so called because of their sympathy with the
French apostles of liberty and equality; and at their meetings he met
such men as Price, Holcroft, Earl Stanhope, Horne Tooke, Geddes, all of
whom considered themselves fortunate in having his co-operation. Thomas
Paine was one of his intimate acquaintances; and the "Rights of Man" was
submitted to him, to receive his somewhat qualified praise, before it was
published. He was one of the leading spirits in developing the radicalism
of his time, and thus in preparing the way for that of the present day;
and the influence of his writings over men of his and the next generation
was enormous. Indeed, it can hardly now be measured, since much which he