the earnestness of an honest one.

The quarrel between CAMDEN, the great author of the "Britannia," and
BROOKE, the "York Herald," may illustrate these principles. It has
hitherto been told to the shame of the inferior genius; but the
history of Brooke was imperfectly known to his contemporaries. Crushed
by oppression, his tale was marred in the telling. A century sometimes
passes away before the world can discover the truth even of a private
history.

Brooke is aspersed as a man of the meanest talents, insensible to the
genius of Camden, rankling with envy at his fame, and correcting the
"Britannia" out of mere spite.

When the history of Brooke is known, and his labours fairly estimated,
we shall blame him much less than he has been blamed; and censure
Camden, who has escaped all censure, and whose conduct, in the
present instance, was destitute of magnanimity and justice.

The character of the author of "Britannia" is great, and this error of
his feelings, now first laid to his charge, may be attributed as much
to the weakness of the age as to his own extreme timidity, and perhaps
to a little pride. Conscious as was Camden of enlarged views, we can
easily pardon him for the contempt he felt, when he compared them with
the subordinate ones of his cynical adversary.

Camden possessed one of those strongly directed minds which early in
life plan some vast labour, while their imagination and their industry
feed on it for many successive years; and they shed the flower and
sweetness of their lives in the preparation of a work which at its
maturity excites the gratitude of their nation. His passion for our
national antiquities discovered itself even in his school-days, grew
up with him at the University; and, when afterwards engaged in his
public duties as master at Westminster school, he there composed his
"Britannia," "at spare hours, and on festival days." To the perpetual
care of his work, he voluntarily sacrificed all other views in life,
and even drew himself away from domestic pleasures; for he refused
marriage and preferments, which might interrupt his beloved studies!
The work at length produced, received all the admiration due to so
great an enterprise; and even foreigners, as the work was composed in
the universal language of learning, could sympathise with Britons,
when they contemplated the stupendous labour. Camden was honoured by
the titles (for the very names of illustrious genius become such), of
th