fore the best and most unequivocal means of satisfaction shall be always attended to.

"Five o'clock, P. M. "So far I had proceeded when I was, on some business of importance, obliged to break off till now; and, on my return, found your letter;-I need not, I hope, say your confidence is as safe as if it was returned to your own mind, and your advice will always be thankfully adopted. The event we looked for last night is postponed, perhaps for a short time, so that, at least, we shall have time to consider more maturely. The doctors told Pitt they would beg not to be obliged to make their declaration for a fortnight, as to the incurability of the king's mind, and not to be surprised if, at the expiration of that time, they should ask more time; but that they were perfectly ready to declare now, for the furtherance of public business, that he is now insane; that it appears to be unconnected with any other disease of his body, and that they have tried all their skill without effect, and that to the disease they at present see no end in their contemplation: these are their own words, which is all that can be implied in an absolute declaration, for infallibility cannot be ascribed to them.

"Should not something be done about the public amusements?. If it was represented to Pitt, it might embarrass them either way; particularly as it might call for a public account every day. I think the chancellor might take a good opportunity to break with his colleagues, if they propose restriction: the law authority would have great weight with us, as well as preventing even a design of moving the city;-at all events,

I think parliament would not confirm their opinion. If Pitt stirs much, I think any attempt to grasp at power might be fatal to his interest, at least, well turned against it.

"The prince has sent for me directly, so I'll send this now, and write again."

In the words "I think the chancellor might take a good opportunity to break with his colleagues," the writer alludes to a negotiation which Sheridan had entered into with lord Thurlow, and by which it was expected that the co-operation of that learned lord might be secured, in consideration of his being allowed to retain the office of chancellor under the regency.

The negotiation for his alliance on this occasion was managed, if not first suggested, by Sheridan ; and Mr. Fox, on his arrival from the continent (having been sent for express upon the first announcement of the king's illness), found considerable progress already made in the preliminaries of this heterogeneous compact.

The following letter from admiral Payne, written immediately after the return of Mr. Fox, contains some further allusions to the negotiations with the chancellor:

"MY DEAR SHERIDAN ;—I am this moment returned with the prince from riding, and heard, with great pleasure, of Charles Fox's arrival; on which account, he says, I must go to town to-morrow, when I hope to meet you at his house some time before dinner. The prince is to see the chancellor to-morrow, and therefore he wishes I should be able to carry to town the result of this interview, or I would set off immediately. Due deference is had to our former

opinion upon this subject, and no courtship will be practised; for the chief object in the visit is to show him the king, who has been worse the two last days than ever: this morning he made an effort to jump out of the window, and is now very turbulent and incoherent. Sir G. Baker went yesterday to give Pitt a little specimen of his loquacity, in his discovery of some material state-secrets, at which he looked astonished. The physicians wish him to be removed to Kew; on which we shall proceed as we settled. Have you heard any thing of the Foreign Ministers, respecting what the P. said at Bagshot? The Frenchman has been here two days running, but has not seen the prince. He sat with me half an hour this morning, and seemed much disposed to confer a little closely. He was all admiration and friendship for the prince, and said he was sure every body would unite to give vigour to his go

barrassing. In addition to the distaste which he must have felt for such a union, he had been already, it appears, in some degree pledged to bestow the great seal, in the event of a change, upon lord Loughborough. Finding, however, the prince and his party so far committed in the negotiation with Thurlow, he thought it expedient, however contrary to his own wishes, to accede to their views; and a letter, addressed by him to Mr. Sheridan on the occasion, shows the struggle with his own feelings and opinions which this concession cost him:

"DEAR SHERIDAN ;-I have swallowed the pill-a most bitter one it was and have written to lord Loughborough, whose answer of course must be consent. What is to be done next? Should the prince himself, you, or I, or Warren, be the person to speak to the chancellor? The objection to the last is, that he must probably wait for an opportunity, and that no time is to be lost. Pray tell me what is to be done: I am convinced, after all, the negotiation will not succeed, and am not sure that I am sorry for it. I do not remember ever feeling so uneasy about any political thing I ever in my life. Call if you can. Yours ever, 12." "C. J. F."

The situation in which Mr. Fox was placed, by the treaty thus commenced, before his arrival, with the chancellor, was not a little em

ordughborough, in the mean time, with a vigilance quickened by his own personal views, kept watch on the mysterious movements of the chancellor; and, as appears by the following letter, not only saw reason to suspect duplicity himself, but took care that Mr. Fox and Mr. Sheridan should share in his distrust:

"MY DEAR S.;-I was afraid to pursue the conversation on the

circumstance of the inspection committed to the chancellor, lest the reflections that arise upon it might have made too strong an impression on some of our neighbours last night. It does indeed appear to me full of mischief, and of that sort most likely to affect the apprehensions of our best friends (of lord John for instance), and to increase their reluctance to take any active part.

*

"The chancellor's object evidently is, to make his way by himself and he has managed hitherto as one very well practised in that game. His conversations, both with you and Mr. Fox, were encouraging, but at the same time checked all explanations on his part, under a pretence of delicacy towards his colleagues. When he let them go to Salthill, and contrived to dine at Windsor, he certainly took a step that most men would have felt not very delicate in its appearance, and, unless there was some private understanding between him and them, not altogether fair; especially if you add to it the sort of conversation he held with regard to them. I cannot help thinking that the difficulties of managing the patient have been excited or improved to lead to the proposal of his inspection (without the prince being conscious of it), for by that situation he gains an easy and frequent access to him, and an opportunity of possessing the confidence of the queen. I believe this

* On one occasion, during these manoeuvres of the chancellor at Windsor, he betrayed (to the no small amusement of his colleagues) the secret of an interview which he had just had with the Prince, by coming to the Council with His Royal Highness's hat in his hand, instead of his own.

the more from the account of the tenderness he showed at his first interview, for I am sure it is not in his character to feel any. With a litte instruction from lord Hawksbury, the sort of management that was carried on by means of the princess-dowager, in the early part of the reign, may easily be practised. In short, I think he will try to find the key of the back stairs, and, with that in his pocket, take any situation that preserves his access, and enables him to hold a line between different parties. In the present moment, however, he has taken a position that puts the command of the House of Lords in his hands for *

'I wish Mr. Fox and you would give these considerations what weight you think they deserve, and try if any means can be taken to remedy this mischief, if it appears in the same light to you.

"Ever yours, &c."

What were the motives that induced lord Thurlow to break off so suddenly his negotiation with the prince's party, and declare himself with such vehemence on the side of the king and Mr. Pitt, it does not appear very easy to ascertain. Possibly, from his opportunities of visiting the royal patient, he had been led to conceive sufficient hopes of recovery, to incline the balance of his speculation that way; or, perhaps, in the influence of lord Loughborough+ over Mr. Fox, he saw a risk of being supplanted in his views on

• The remainder of this sentence is effaced by damp.

+ Lord Loughborough is supposed to have been the person who instilled into the mind of Mr. Fox the idea of advancing that claim of Right for the Prince, which gave Mr. Pitt, in principle as well as in fact, such an advantage over him.

the great seal. Whatever may have been the motive, it is certain that his negotiation with the whigs had been amicably carried on, till within a few hours of his delivery of that speech, from whose enthusiasm the public could little suspect how fresh from the incomplete bargain of defection was the speaker, and in the course of which

he gave vent to the well-known declaration, " that his debt of gratitude to his majesty was ample, for the many favours he had graciously conferred upon him, which when he forgot, might God forget him!"*

*"Forget you!" said Wilkes, "he'll see you dd first."

As an illustration of Mr. Sheridan's love of betting-the only sort of gambling in which he ever indulged the following curious enumeration of some of his wagers for the year 1793 is not unamusing:

"25th May, 1793.-Mr. Sheridan bets gen. Fitzpatrick one hundred guineas to fifty guineas, that within two years, from this date some measure is adopted in parliament which shall be (bona fide) considered as the adoption of a parliamentary reform."

"29th Jan., 1793. Mr. S. bets Mr. Boothby Clopton five hundred guineas, that there is a reform in the representation of the people of England within three years from the date hereof."

"29th Jan., 1793.-Mr. S. bets Mr. Hardy one hundred guineas to fifty guineas, that Mr. W. Windham does not represent Norwich at the next general election."

29th Jan., 1793.-Mr. S. bets gen. Fitzpatrick fifty guineas, that a corps of British troops are sent to Holland within two months of the date hereof."

"18th March, 1793.-Mr. S. bets lord Titchfield two hundred guineas, that the D. of Portland is at the head of an administration on

or before the 18th of March, 1796: Mr. Fox to decide whether any place the duke may then fill shall bona fide come within the meaning of this bet."

“25th March, 1793.—Mr. S. bets Mr. Hardy one hundred guineas, that the three per cent. consols are as high this day twelvemonth as at the date hereof."

"Mr. S. bets gen. Tarleton one hundred guineas to fifty guineas, that Mr. Pitt is first lord of the Treasury on the 28th of May, 1795.-Mr. S. bets Mr. St. A. St. John fifteen guineas to five guineas, ditto.-Mr. S. bets lord Sefton one hundred and forty guineas to forty guineas, ditto."

-

"18th March, 1793. Lord Titchfield bets Mr. S. twenty-five guineas to fifty guineas, that Mr. W. Windham represents Norwich at the next general election."

19th March, 1793.- Lord Titchfield and lord W. Russel bet Mr. S. three hundred guineas to two hundred guineas that Mr. Pitt is first lord of the Treasury on the 19th of March, 1795."

As a sort of moral supplement to this strange list, we subjoin a letter, connected evidently with one of the above speculations :—

"SIR;-I am very sorry that I

#

*

have been so circumstanced as to have been obliged to disappoint you respecting the payment of the five hundred guineas: when I gave the draughts on lord * I had every reason to be assured he would accept them, as had also. I enclose you, as you will see by his desire, the letter in which he excuses his not being able to pay me this part of a larger sum he owes me, and I cannot refuse him any time he requires, however inconvenient to me. I also inclose you two draughts accepted by a gentleman from whom the money will be due to me, and on whose punctuality I can rely. I extremely regret that I cannot at this juncture command the money.

"At the same time that I regret your being put to any inconvenience by this delay, I cannot help adverting to the circumstance which perhaps misled me into the expectation that you would not unwillingly allow me any reasonable time I might want for the payment of this bet. The circumstance I mean, however discreditable the plea, is the total inebriety of some of the party, particularly myself, when I made this preposterous bet. I doubt not you will remember having yourself observed on this circumstance to a common friend the next day, with an intimation that you should not object to being off; and for my part, when I was informed that I had made such a bet and for such a sum,-the first, such folly on the face of it on my part, and the latter so out of my practice,-I certainly should have proposed the cancelling it, but that,

from the intimation imparted to me, I hoped the proposition might come from you.

"I hope I need not for a moment beg you not to imagine that I am now alluding to these circumstances as the slightest invalidation of your due. So much the contrary, that I most perfectly admit that from your not having heard any thing further from me on the subject, and especially after I might have heard that if I desired it the bet might be off, you had every reason to conclude that I was satisfied with the wager, and whether made in wine or not, was desirous of abiding by it. And this was further confirmed by my receiving soon after from you 100l. on another bet won by me.

"Having, I think, put this point very fairly, I again repeat that my only motive for alluding to the matter was, as some explanation of my seeming dilatoriness, which certainly did in part arise from always conceiving that, whenever I should state what was my real wish the day after the bet was made, you would be the more disposed to allow a little time;— the same statement admitting, as it must, the bet to be as clearly and as fairly won as possible; in short, as if I had insisted on it myself the next morning.

"I have said more, perhaps, on the subject than can be necessary; but I should regret to appear negligent to an application for a just claim. I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,

"R. B. SHERIDAN. "Hertford St., Feb. 26."