The only attack, however, to which Gibbon deigned to make any reply was that of Davies, who had impugned his accuracy or good faith.
In 2778 the Few Remarks by a Gentleman (Francis Eyre), the Reply of Loftus, the Letters of Apthorpe and the Examination of Davies appeared.
Gibbon's Vindication (1779) called forth a Reply by Davies (1779), and A Short Appeal to the Public by Francis Eyre (1779).
The most foolish and discreditable was certainly that of Davies; his unworthy attempt to depreciate the great historian's learning, and his captious, cavilling, acrimonious charges of petty inaccuracies and discreditable falsification gave the object of his attack an easy triumph.
Messrs Sampson and Davies, refusing to appeal to the executive for a reconsideration of their sentence, were retained for over a year.
