Distinguished, under the cloud of a proscription,
Which had not been entirely taken off,

By zeal to maintain the liberty,
And to restore the ancient prosperity
Of Great Britain.

In the same vault

Are interred the remains of

MARY-CLARA DES CHAMPS DE MARESILLY,
Marchioness Vilette and Viscountess

Bolingbroke:

Born of a noble family,

Bred in the court of Louis XIV.
She reflected a lustre on the former,
By the superior accomplishments of her
Mind:

She was an ornament to the latter,
By the amiable dignity and grace of her
Behaviour.

She lived

The honour of her own sex,
The delight and admiration of ours;
She died

An object of imitation to both;

With all the firmness that reason,

With all the resignation that religion
Can inspire.

Lord Bolingbroke possessed a splendour of talent, of which there are few examples: of his eloquence, Lord Chesterfield, a living witness, and a judge beyond all challenge, declares himself unable to give an adequate idea: of his superiority as a statesman and a writer, his works inform the present, as they will every future age. Of the social charm, in which he maintained a characteristic pre-eminence, we find repeated and affectionate testimonies in the letters of Pope and the Dean of St. Patrick.

According to contemporary authors, nature seemed not less kind to him in his external embellishments than in adorning his mind. With the graces of a handsome person, and a face in which dignity was blended with sweetness, he had

a manner of address, that was irresistibly engaging. His vivacity was always awake, his apprehension was quick, his wit refined, and his memory of a tenacity that nothing escaped his subtlety in thinking and reasoning was profound; and all these talents were adorned with an elocution that bore down every thing before it. But, as if it were to vindicate the imperfection of human nature, his early years were passed in a carcer of extreme dissipation: and as the object of his whole life was pre-eminence, it appears at this period to have been his determination to be the first of profligates. It seems, however, that at the age of twenty-eight he be gan to be satiated with a life of sensual pleasure; as he then took refuge from it by marrying a lady who brought him a large fortune, and a considerable portion also of mental endowments. But, as it has been generally believed, he did not, on this occasion, discard all his former habits: such at least was the subject of her complaint; and, after some time, they parted by mutual consent.

The history of this great man's public life must involve that of the public transactions in which he was concerned. His eloquence, his talents, and the influence which he derived from them, soon introduced him into the service of his country. The latter end of Queen Anne's reign was the period in which he shone with the greatest lustre. That critical juncture required the exertion of all his eminent qualities, and it is universally acknowledged, that he managed the contending factions which then divided the nation, an expensive continental war, an intriguing court, and a fickle queen, with unexpected success and transcendent ability.

On the accession of George the First, he shared in the ruin of his party; and as he considered it unsafe for him to remain in England, he took refuge in France; when a bill of attainder was preferred against him. His engaging in the service of the Pretender has been attributed by some to resentment and disgust, by others to his ambitious spirit; it may perhaps be more justly ascribed to the blended influence

of those emotions.

But in this little Utica he suffered such

continual mortification, that, in less than twelve months, he retired from it. To this interval we are indebted for his Reflections on Exile, which has been styled, by no ordinary judge, to be one of the most masterly, most elegant, and most affecting moral compositions in the English language.

It was owing, perhaps, more to the intrigues of the court, than to the zeal of friends, or any other cause, that Lord Bolingbroke was recalled to his country, and restored to his rights of inheritance; but still he was excluded from every other. He, therefore, for some time, devoted himself to the amusements of rural life, the charms of philosophy, and social friendship. While, however, his friends. thought him perfectly reconciled to his fate, he petitioned the House of Commons to be reinstated in his former capacities, in order that he might emerge again into the career of public duty; but the cabals of the cabinet defeated his wishes. This instigated him to take part with Mr. Poulteney, in his opposition to Walpole; and, during this great political controversy, Lord Bolingbroke, in his various publications, elucidated all the excellence of the British constitution with equal strength, elegance, and perspicuity.

The latter part of his life he passed in dignity and splendour, his superior faculties in continual exertion, and his ambition controuled by his disappointments. He had long wished to breath his last at Battersea, and fortune, who had long thwarted his views of life, at length gratified him in that which respected his death; and there he died on the verge of fourscore years.

It was aptly, wittily, and prophetically said of him, by Pope, that when he wrote of any thing in this world, he was more than mortal, and that if ever he trifled, it must be when he turned divine. Thus it has proved, that his metaphysical works have been but little read, and are already forgotten, while his political writings will be lasting as the language in which they are composed.

Bolingbroke House, which was an ancient, plain, and roomy

mansion, was pulled down about the year 1778, and the site is now occupied by a malt distillery, and an horizontal windmill, which is a very conspicuous object on the bank of the river. The form of this mill is that of a truncated cone, an hundred and forty-three feet in height, fifty-two in diameter at the base, and forty-five feet at the top. The external and internal parts of the machine are nearly similar. The out-frame, or case, is composed of ninety-six planks, placed perpendicularly on moveable pivots, so that the apertures may be encreased or diminished according to the force of the wind. The inner part, which nearly fills the diameter of the outer one, is, in like manner, formed of ninety-six perpendicular moveable planks, fixed to an upright shaft. When these are properly adjusted, which can be done by pulling a rope, the wind rushing through the openings of the outer frame, acts upon the flat surfaces of the inner planks or sails, and turns the shaft round with the degree of velocity required by the person who regulates it. This shaft acts upon the other parts of the machinery in the same way as the water-wheel of a common mill. This curious building was first erected for the purpose of grinding linseed, but is now applied to the uses of the adjoining distillery.

The church was rebuilt in the year 1777, and is a neat structure of brick, with the addition of stone coins and ornaments. It has a square tower at the west end, with a clumsy spire, in which the architect seems to have borrowed the form of an extinguisher. It is without either aisles or chancel, and the communion-table stands in a recess. Above it is an ancient window of painted glass which belonged to the old church, and was carefully preserved to decorate the new one. It contains the portraits of Henry the Seventh; his grandmother, Margaret Beauchamp; and Queen Elizabeth. Over the portraits are the royal arms in a central compartment; and, on each side, the arms and quarterings of the St. Johns. The portraits are likewise surrounded with the arms of the families united to them by

marriage. Against the south wall is a monument to the memory of Sir Edward Wynter, a captain in the East India service, in the reign of Charles the Second, whose exploits, as recorded on his tomb, are of such an extraordinary nature, as required a far more credulous age to allow of its admission into a place of Christian worship. His bust, which is of a large size, and ornamented with whiskers, is at the top, and his adventures are represented, in basso-relievo, beneath the inscription which records them. One of these is the total defeat of forty Moorish horsemen by the sole prowess of his single arm; and the other, the overthrow of a tyger, by the following stratagem. Being pursued by that fierce animal in the woods, he took his station by the side of a pond; and when the tyger flew at him, he caught the beast in his arms, fell back into the water with him, got upon him, and held him down till he was completely drowned. The truth of these deeds, however, which rival the renowned feats of Baron Munchausen, are vouched for in the epitaph.

The bridge, which stretches across the river from Chelsea to this place, and bears its name, is a wooden structure, and unworthy of its vicinity to the metropolis. It is also most injudiciously placed, as it does not stand in a right angle with the stream, so that its piers are continually receiving injury from the vessels and barges striking against

them.

By the custom of the manor of Battersea, lands descend to the younger sons; but, in default of sons, they are divided equally among the daughters.