JAMES, an ingenious historical and political writer, of whose birth and country nothing has been ascertained. He was first known as a schoolmaster in Philadelphia, in North America. He came to England about the beginning of the reign of George I., and wrote some things in the dramatic way, which were not received with great applause; but though he did not succeed as a poet, he was a very ingenious prose-writer. He wrote a History of England, commencing with the Stuarts, which is much esteemed; and so also were his political essays and pamphlets, some of which were looked upon as masterpieces. His last publication, the Case of Authors by Profession, is an excellent and entertaining performance. He died in 1762.