The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-19
SOME NEW BooKA
an nariy oessssas CAsssst~s.

al readers Of that work. The buck
now In question II The LIE and Writ.
tNDs Of PhtHp Duke OF Wharton, BY
Lswis MELvILLs John Lane Company.
The subject 10 not 20 Immediately or
WtAeiy attractive a. that Of the former
volume seeing that almost every In
tslligent reader had already. before the
appearance Of MIR. Meiville's volumes.
had some curiosity about CObbstt. while
only . small minority o. readers can
even Identify Philip Duke Of wharton
Most readers. one tma9ineA will 10 apt
TO confuse him with his father. Thomas.
who was only Q marquis. and to
imagine that the parent whom
Swift described a. the most universal
villain ! ever knew" was the same
person as he whom Johnson described
N "the Infamous Duke Of Wharton"
Neither Of them was an exemplary sort
Of person In public and still less In
private life. But the son, the subject
Of the present biography. considerably
outdid his father In infamy In both
departments, and his eminence and YER
satilfty. or. as Swift has II, universal
ity' in scoundreism IL really entitled
to some celebration. Mo. lover. he was
connected. sometimes In Q leading
capacity. with important historical
events. and his writings and the writ.
inGs Of others to him shed much light
uDon the Jacobits intrigues Of the
times Of the nrst two Georges. Pope's
linea, a. usual. are highly character.
istng and ought to stimulate curiosity:
wharton. the sosrs and wonder Of eur
dAya
~sss ruling passion was the tuss q praise;
Ben with whAt3ss could via Il frsm the
wise,
Wsmen ana feels must like him. Or he dies.
II IL curious. a. Mr.. Melville remarks,
that a character so fitted by intrinsic
and extrinslc considerations to attract
an intelligent curiosity should have re-
manned throughout these two centuries
without any comprehensive biography.
There was q life by J. r. Robinson.
published In 1896, which made use Of
most Of the Information at that time
accessible. But. as in the case Of Cob
bett, the present bOokmaker POUNDS
his pretentions upon recently dis
covered documents. In this case these
are the stuart manuscripts" for a
long time concealed In the archives Of
Windsor Castle. and only lately put at
the disposal Of historical students.
These are really the only documents
available for tracing the course Of
WhaItvn's intrigues with THE Old
Prstepder." who called himself James
Ill. and whose claims to the throne
Of England were taken seriously by a
very and II now seems a wonderfully
great proportion Of the people Of Eng
land. and still more Of Scotland
I.
Tho whartons were people Of great
antiquity. and in early days Of great
efficiency. The family has been traced
back to the beginning Of the thirteenth
century, though It was near the end
Of the fifteenth that one Thomas
distinguished himself by his activity
against the Scotch as q warden
of tho West Marches and com.
mander Of Carlisle Castle. In l54.
he helped to repel a much larger force
Of Scotch than ne comma nded OF Eng.
llsh, and two years later he was en-
nobled as Baron Wharton. The fourth
baron II was who took part In tn,
civil wars and came to be known, b,
way VI contradistinction, to his de-
scendants, II not to his ancestors, q.
'the good Lord Wharton" As a goot
Presbyterian. though his persona
tastes and habits were not especial,
austere or ascetic. he took the IariIa
mentary side. He had a regiment d
Edgehill, but the remainder OF his ser
vice to tho Commonw ealth was rem
dered in a civil capacity. Natural,
at the Restoration he was looked upor
with little favor. He even came nea
to being excluded from he act Of OBJ
hvlon. When he reer'ered politics
was to take part against the court b,
opposing the conventicle act and III
non-resistance test. When James II
came 10 the throne, In .pite OF the (
forts OF Wharton and OF men VIII
thought like Wharton TO exclude hin
Wharton found It prudent to betak
himself TO the Continent, where h
conspired actively 10 bring In tn
Prince OF Orange. After 1858 William
showed his gratitude by creating Whar
ton Privy Councillor and by visitln
him al Woburn. which by the assist
6nce OF his wifc's fortune he had i'm
proved and embelished at cost q
$4,000. This Lord Wharton, Phil!
by name. died IN 1895 and was sue
ceeded by Thomas, Swft's "un!versa
villain" who along with the title an
tho estates succeeded to the paterns
politics but by no means to the pater
nal virtues. He had already been &C
tive In politics on the Whig side as
member for Wendover and had sur
ported all the Pr, testant measures tina
came before the House. He had eve
tried 10 procure the indictment {
James III. while still Duke OF York O
the charge of not going to churcl
As matter Of course no voted for III
exclusion bill Thomas's religioslt,
however. was purely political. and u,
at all personal. His politics had doub
less much 10 do with earning for hi,
the dislike of Swift. On the other han
Macauiay admires MIN for the stead
ness and sturdiness OF his Whicisn
which with Macaulay covered q mutt
tude OF sins But even Macatilay hs
TO admit that though the truest ,
Whigs he was the falsest OF mankln
In all other relations. His ioosene
OF life. so notorious as to constitute
scandal even In that loose living az
Macaulay- Is fain to account for ,
explaining that he had been brougl
up In a slngularly strict and puritan
cal fashion and consequently broke o,
when the restraint was removed. Al
this although there was nothing so,