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[ No person has contradicted Burnet more frequently or with more asperity than Dartmouth. Yet Dartmouth wrote, "I do not think he designedly published anything he believed to be false." At a later period Dartmouth, provoked by some remarks on himself in the second volume of the Bishop's history, retracted this praise but to such a retraction little importance can be attached. Even Swift has the justice to say, "After all, he was a man of generosity and good nature."—Short Remarks on Bishop Burnet's History.
It is usual to censure Burnet as a singularly inaccurate historian; hut I believe the charge to be altogether unjust. He appears to be singularly inaccurate only because his narrative has been subjected to a scrutiny singularly severe and unfriendly. If any Whig thought it worth while to subject Reresby's Memoirs, North's Examen, Mulgrave's Account of the Revolution, or the Life of James the Second, edited by Clarke, to a similar scrutiny, it would soon appear that Burnet was far indeed from being the most inexact writer of his time.]
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[ Dr. Hooper's MS. narrative, published in the Appendix to Lord Dungannon's Life of William.]
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[ Avaux Negotiations, Aug. 10/20 Sept. 14/24 Sept 28/Oct 8 Dec. 7/17 1682.]
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[ I cannot deny myself the pleasure of quoting Massillon's unfriendly, yet discriminating and noble, character of William. "Un prince profond dans ses vues; habile a former des ligues et a reunir les esprits; plus heureux a exciter les guerres qu'a combatire; plus a craindre encore dans le secret du cabinet, qu'a la tete des armees; un ennemi que la haine du nom Francais avoit rendu capable d'imaginer de grandes choses et de les executer; un de ces genies qui semblent etre nes pour mouvoir a leur gre les peuples et les souverains; un grand homme, s'il n'avoit jamais voulu etre roi."—Oraison funebre de M. le Dauphin.]
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[ For example, "Je crois M. Feversham un tres brave et honeste homme. Mais je doute s'il a assez d'experience diriger une si grande affaire qu'il a sur le bras. Dieu lui donne un succes prompt et heureux. Mais je ne suis pas hors d'inquietude." July 7/17 1685. Again, after he had received the news of the battle of Sedgemoor, "Dieu soit loue du bon succes que les troupes du Roy ont eu contre les rebelles. Je ne doute pas que cette affaire ne soit entierement assoupie, et que le regne du Roy sera heureux, Ce que Dieu veuille." July 10/20]