[384] He was an obscure writer, born at Deptford.
[385] He was also a writer of no scientific merit, his chief contributions being religious tracts. One of his productions, however, went through many editions, even being translated into French; Three dialogues between a Minister and one of his Parishioners; on the true principles of Religion and salvation for sinners by Jesus Christ. The twentieth edition appeared at Cambridge in 1786.
[386] This was the Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the proceedings in certain societies in London relative to that event (London, 1790) by Edmund Burke (1729-1797). Eleven editions of the work appeared the first year.
[387] Paine (1736-1809) was born in Norfolkshire, of Quaker parents. He went to America at the beginning of the Revolution and published, in January 1776, a violent pamphlet entitled Common Sense. He was a private soldier under Washington, and on his return to England after the war he published The Rights of Man. He was indicted for treason and was outlawed to France. He was elected to represent Calais at the French convention, but his plea for moderation led him perilously near the guillotine. His Age of Reason (1794) was dedicated to Washington. He returned to America in 1802 and remained there until his death.
[388] Part I appeared in 1791 and was so popular that eight editions appeared in that year. It was followed in 1792 by Part II, of which nine editions appeared in that year. Both parts were immediately republished in Paris, and there have been several subsequent editions.
[389] Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) was only thirty-three when this work came out. She had already published An historical and moral View of the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution (1790), and Original Stories from Real Life (1791). She went to Paris in 1792 and remained during the Reign of Terror.
[390] Samuel Parr (1747-1827) was for a time head assistant at Harrow (1767-1771), afterwards headmaster in other schools. At the time this book was written he was vicar of Hatton, where he took private pupils (1785-1798) to the strictly limited number of seven. He was a violent Whig and a caustic writer.
[391] On Mary Wollstonecraft's return from France she married (1797) William Godwin (1756-1836). He had started as a strong Calvinistic Nonconformist minister, but had become what would now be called an anarchist, at least by conservatives. He had written an Inquiry concerning Political Justice (1793) and a novel entitled Caleb Williams, or Things as they are (1794), both of which were of a nature to attract his future wife.
[392] This child was a daughter. She became Shelley's wife, and Godwin's influence on Shelley was very marked.
[393] This was John Nichols (1745-1826), the publisher and antiquary. He edited the Gentleman's Magazine (1792-1826) and his works include the Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century (1812-1815), to which De Morgan here refers.