eft behind him a version of
Herodotus, and a system of anatomy, once the most popular and curious
of its kind. After all this turmoil of his literary life, neither his
masked lady nor the flaws in his indictments availed him; government
brought a writ of error, severely prosecuted him; and abandoned, as
usual, by those for whom he had annihilated a genius which deserved a
better fate, his perturbed spirit broke out into a fever, and he died
raving against cruel persecutors, and patrons not much more humane."

Another book before me, and one which shared the fate of Drake's in
Edinburgh, is _The Superiority and Direct Dominion of the Imperial Crown of
England over the Crown and Kingdom of Scotland, the true Foundation of a
compleat Union reasserted_; 4to. London, 1705. This had appeared the year
before, but was reproduced to answer the objections to it from the other
side. It was written by William Attwood, Esq. If it required a nice
discrimination to discover the offence of Drake, there was no such dubiety
about this book, which goes the whole length of Scottish vassalage; and Mr.
Attwood would lead us to believe that he knocks over the arguments of
Hodges and Anderson[6] for Scottish independence with as much ease as he
would ninepins.

{348}

Unfortunately these subjects are again forced upon us, and a reference to
some of the books I have cited will enable gentlemen who are curious upon
the point to judge for themselves in the matter of the present agitation of
"Justice to Scotland."

J. O.

[Footnote 6: Jas. Hodges, a Scotch gentleman, who supported the
Independency in a work entitled _War betwixt the Two Kingdoms considered_,
for which, says Attwood, "he had 4800 Scots Punds given him for nothing but
begging the question, and bullying England with the terror of her arms."

"An Historical Essay, showing that the Crown of Scotland is Independent;
wherein the gross Errors of a late book, entitled 'The Superiority and
Direct Dominion,' &c., and some other books for that purpose, are exposed
by Jas. Anderson, A.M., Writer to His Majesty's Signet," Edin. 1705. For
this work Anderson received the thanks of the Scottish parliament, as well
as some pecuniary reward. (Chalmers' _Life of Ruddiman_.) The authors of
these books having made out a case which was adopted as the national one,
it is nowise surprising that they should hand over Drake and Attwood to the
hangman for attempting to demol