John William Cousin, A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature… (1910)
“ His Excursion, an imitation of Thomson, was pub. in 1728. At the request of the Prince of Wales, whose sec. he had become, he wrote with Thomson a masque, Alfred (1740) , in which Rule Britannia first appeared, which, although he claimed the authorship, is now generally attributed to Thomson. He also wrote a Life of Bacon; and on Bolingbroke bequeathing to him his manuscripts and library, he pub. an ed. of his works (1754) . On the accession of George III., M. became a zealous supporter of Lord Bute, and was rewarded with a sinecure. ”
