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elbow of the Speaker's chair, who, whenever a pernicious meafure like that under confideration is brought forward, fhould repeat inceffantly to the Treasury Bench, "difgraceful, fhamelefs coalition." I fhould not have been hurt to the degree I now feel myself, if the right honourable Secretary had deferted alone, and had not feduced numbers of men, who stood high in public estimation, with whom I have formerly thought it a very high honour to associate, but who now, however elevated their station, compared to my humble lot, I fhall endeavour to keep myself free from, for the infection has spread far and wide, and has taken effect upon many gentlemen, whose constitutional principles I thought free from danger. Mr. Martin, Dec. 1, 1783.

It is impoffible to be too greatly alarmed at the vast effect the influence of his Eaft-India Bill will have on the right, honourable Secretary, (Mr. Fox), to whom I at present am ready to fubfcribe as a man of unmoved integrity: but I cannot help citing here the following lines from Shakespeare's Julius Cefar;

He would be crown'd

How that might change his nature, there's the question.

It is the bright day that brings forth the adder;

And that craves wary walking; crown him--that-

And then I grant we put a fting in him,
That at his will he may do danger with.

Th' abuse of greatnefs is, when it disjoins

Remorfe from Power; and, to fpeak truth of Cefar,
I have not known when his affections fway'd
More than his reafon. But 'tis a common proof,
That lowlinefs is young ambition's ladder,
Whereto the climber upwards turns his face;
But when he once attains the upmoft round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back!
Looks in the clouds, fcorning the bafe degrees

By which he did afcend: so Cefor may :
Then left he may, prevent-

Mr. Arden, Dec. 1, 1783.

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We have this day been honoured with the counfels of a complete gradation of lawyers. We have received the opinion of a Judge, (Kenyon); of an Attorney General in petto, (Bearcroft); of an ex-Attorney General, (Lee); and of a practising barrister, (Taylor). I agree with the learned gentleman (Mr. Bearcroft) in his admiration of the abilities of honourable friend (Mr. Fox). What he has faid of his quickness and of his profoundness, of his boldness and his candour, is literally just and true, which the mental accomplishment of my honourable friend is, on every occafion, calculated to extort even from his adverfaries. The learned gentleman has, however, in this infidious eulogium, connected fuch qualities of mind with thofe he has praifed and venerated, as to convert his encomium into reproach, and his tributes of praise into cenfure and invective. The boldnefs he has defcribed is only craft, and his candour hypocrify. Upon what grounds does the learned gentleman connect thofe affemblages of great qualities and of cardinal defects? Upon what principles either of justice or of equity does he exult with one hand, whilst he infidiously reprobates and destroys with the other? If the wolf is to be feared, the learned gentleman may rest afsured, it will be the wolf in fheep's cloathing, the mafked pretender to patriotifm. It is not from the fang of the lion, but from the tooth of the ferpent, that reptile that infidiously steals upon the vitals of the Conftitution, and gnaws it to the heart ere the mischief is fufpected, that deftruction is to be feared. With regard to the acquifition of a learned gentleman, (Mr. Taylor), who has declared that he means to vote with us this day, I am forry to acknowledge, that, from the declaration the learned gentleman has made at the beginning

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of his speech, I fee no great reafon to boaft of fuch an auxiliary. The learned gentleman, who has with peculiar modefty ftiled himself a chicken lawyer, has declared, that thinking us in the right with respect to the fubject of this day's difcuffion, he fhall vote with us; but he has at the fame time thought it neceffary to affert, that he has never before voted differently from the Minister and his friends, and perhaps he never fhall again vote with those whom he means to fupport this day. It is rather fingular to vote with us profeffedly, because he finds us to be in the right, and in the very moment that he affigns fo good a reafon for changing his fide, to declare, that in all probability he never shall vote with us again. I am forry to find the chicken is a bird of ill omen, and that its augury is fo unpropitious to our future interests. Perhaps it would have been as well under thefe circumftances, that the chicken had not left the barn door of the Treafury, but continued fide by fide with the old cock (Mr. K——n) to pick thofe crumbs of comfort which would, doubtless, be dealt out in time, with a liberality proportioned to the fidelity of the feathered tribe.

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Mr. Sheridan, Feb. 9, 1785.

Thhe right honourable gentleman (Mr. Fox) allows no opportunity to flip, in which he can be at all of service to his favourite object of purfuit. I think, however, that for fome time past he has been engaged in pursuits which were unworthy of the ambition and dignity of fo noble a mind as he poffeffes. He has taken a kind of whim and craze respecting this faid Westminster Election, and whenever any caufe occurs in which it is in any refpect concerned, there he is fure to be. He is fometimes to be feen on a scaffold in a Court of Request, and sometimes on a coach-box in Palace Yard. Imyfelf was lately engaged in a cause, in which there was, some how or other, reference to the Westminster Election, and, to my great astonishment, I there found the right honourable

gentleman.

gentleman. I happened to fay, during the course of my pleadings, that I wished to put all thoughts of the Westminster Scrutiny out of the queftion, as it would overwhelm all ideas of law and juftice. The trial was on Saturday laft, and I went that morning, Monday, to the coffee house in full expectation of feeing my name and fpeech in the newspapers, but, to my mortification, I found neither. The right honourable gentleman, however, was not disposed to treat me with fo much gentleness: he had taken a note of my expreffion with a pencil when uttered, and has this day brought it up in the debate. To all his other great characters, by so doing, he has thereby added that of a word-catcher!

Mr. Bearcroft, Feb. 9, 1785.

Before I fit down, I cannot but take notice of the honourable gentleman's (Mr. Powys) address to me about the word trumpery. I do affure the honourable gentleman I did not apply that phrase to him. I talked of Generals, and Serjeants, and Corporals, and I know not what; but I ain astonished the honourable gentleman should have taken the phrase to himself, or have thought that I could have regarded him in any fubordinate rank, or as any thing lefs than a General! I admit him to be fuch! I have feen him head armies of obfervation, and even as an Admiral of a fleet failing under a neutral flag. In all the different manœuvres of political tacticks, I know him to be perfectly skilful. And what ftill more aftonishes me is, that the honourable gentleman should think I meant him, when I was talking of perfect confiftency at the moment that I let drop: the filly expreffion.

Mr. Dundas, Feb. 23, 1785.

SIMIL E.

SIMILE.

THE honourable gentleman who spoke last but one talked

of prophefies, and asked, what thofe prophets had prophefied. Had they, faid he, prophefied this? or had they prophefied hat? What prophets or prophefies he means I do not know; ut I may fay, that without any great spirit of prophefy, the Moment you feparated the courts of Vienna and Spain, every thing that has fince happened might have been eafily foretold. The gentleman likewife talked of pamphlets. I have likewife lately seen a pamphlet, just published; and whether from the stile it is wrote in, or the perplexity in the way of thinking, which is discovered in every part of it, I think I can be almost certain as to the author of it. The whole of this fine performance refults in this, that the nation is in a very bad situation; fomething must be done; but what is to be done, the author does not know if we do one thing, we are ftili in the fame fituation we were before, perhaps worfe; if we do another thing, our cafe will ftill be the fame. In fhort, he at laft leaves us in the fame wretched fituation he found us; upon which, I must fuppofe this cafe: fuppofe a phyfician to have a patient for fome time under his hands; the patient lingers and decays, and at laft finds himself in fo low and weak a condition, that he begins to despair; the phyfician is sent for; the patient complains, and asks what is to be done; the doctor anfwers gravely-Sir, you are, indeed, in a very bad ftate; there are but two or three different ways of treating your diftemper, and I am afraid that neither of them will do; a vomit may throw you into convulfions, and kill you at once; a purging may give you a diarrhoea, which would certainly carry you off in a short time; and to bleed you, Sir-I have already

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