Memoirs, of (ht Life of the Right Hun. JVm. Pi(L 



fT23 



ftrid princely Stowe, ami full of due senli- 

 «nen(s ot" the a^jreeable and kind reception 

 they found there. No less than two danc- 

 tnjiis in the short time they passed there. 

 One escape from a wasp's nest, which 

 proved only an adventure to talk of, by the 

 incomparable skill and presence of mind of 

 Mr. Cotton. Driving our g-irls iu his car- 

 riage with four very line horses, and no 

 po.-ililion, thej' fell into an ambuscade 

 of wasps, more fierce than Pandourx, who 

 beset these coursers of spirit not inferior to 

 Xanfhus and Podart/ev, and stung them 

 to madness ; when, disdaining the master's 

 hand, he turned them short into an edge, 

 threw some of them, as he meant to do ; 

 and leaping down, seized the bridles of 

 the leaders, wbic-h afforded time for your 

 Bisters to get out safe and sound, their ho- 

 nour, in point of courage, intact, as well 

 as their bones ; for they are celebrated not 

 a little on their composure iu this alarming 

 !situalion. I rejoice that your time passes 

 to your mind, in the evacuated seat of the 

 muses. However, knowing that those 

 heavenly ladies (unlike the London fair) 

 delight most, and spread their choicest 

 charms and treasures, iu sweet retired so- 

 litude, I wo'n't wonder that their true vo- 

 tary is happy to be alone with them. Mr. 

 Pretyman* will by no meaus spoil com- 

 pany, and 1 wish you joy of his return. 

 How many commons have you lost of late ? 

 Whose fences have you broken ? and in 

 what lord of the manor's pound have any 

 xirays of science been found, since the fa- 

 mous adventure of catching the horses with 

 such admirable address and alacrity ? I 

 beg ray atfectiouate compliments to Mr. 

 Wilson, aud hope you will both be aware 

 of au inclosed country for the future. Lit- 

 tle James is still with us, doiug penance for 

 tlH^^/(//i livinp, so A^cll described to you 

 in Jfrs. Pain's excellent epistle. All loves 

 follow my sweetest boy in more abundance 

 than 1 have time or ability to express. 



I desire my best compliments to the kind 

 and obliging master, who loves Cicero and 

 3'ou. 



My rcadens will be sony to leain 

 that (Ii(^ following is the last leUerof 

 Lord Cliatiiain, which I am able (o 

 submit to their perusal; it was written 

 only .seven or eight mouths before iiis 

 death. 



hfapes, >iei)1. 22, 1777. 



How can 1 employ uiy reviving pen so 

 well as by addressing a few lines to the 

 /lope and comfort of my life, my dear Wil- 

 liam ? You will have pleasure to see, un- 

 der my own hand, that I mend every day. 

 and that 1 am all but well. 1 have been 

 thi.s morning to Canjden-place, and sus- 



* The author of these IJIemoirs, who in 

 1803 changed his name from Pretyman to 

 Tomliiic. 



taincd most manfully a visit, and all the 

 idle talk thereof, for about an hour by Mr. 

 Norman's clock, and returned home, un- 

 tired, to dinner, where I eat like a farmer. 

 Lord Mahon has confounded, not convinced, 

 the incorrigible soi-disnrit Dr. Wilson. Dr. 

 Franklin's lightning, rebel as he is, stands 

 proved the more innocent ; aud \ViIson'8 

 nobs must yield to the painted conductors. 

 On Friday, Lord Mahon's indefatigable 

 spirit is to exhibit another incendium to 

 lord mayor, foreign ministers, and all lo- 

 vers of philosophy aud the good of society ; 

 and means to illuminate the horizon with a 

 little bonfire of twelve hundred faggots 

 and a double edifice. Had our dear frienrT 

 been born sooner, Neio and the second 

 Charles could never have amused them- 

 selves by reducing to ashes the two noblest 

 cities in the world. My hand begins to 

 demand repose, so with my best compli- 

 ments to Aristotle, Homer, Thucydides, 

 Xenophon, not forgetting theCivilians, and 

 the Law of IN'ations tribe, a'iieu, 

 dearest William, 

 tionatc father. 



my 



Your ever most affec- 

 Cn.\TiiAM. 



IiI.S FIllST SPEECH IN P.iRLI.i.MENT. 



On tlio 2tith of Febniary, a ciretiin- 

 stance of a very reniarliable nature oc- 

 casioned Mr. Pitt to nial<e his first 

 speecji in the House of Commons. The 

 subject of del)atewas, Mr. Hiiil<e's bill 

 for economical reform in tlie civil list. 

 Lord Nugent was speaking against the 

 bill; aud Mr. Byng, member for Mid- 

 dlesex, knowing Mr. Pitt's sentiments 

 upon the measure, asked liim to reply 

 to his lord.ship. Mr. Pitt gave a doubt- 

 ful answer; but iu the course of Lord 

 Nugeiit's speech, he determined not to 

 reply to Iiiin. Mr. Byng, however, 

 understood that Mr. Pitt intended to 

 sj)eal< after Lord Nugent; aud the mo- 

 ment his Lordship sat down, Mr. Byng 

 and several of his friends, to whom lie 

 hadcominunicated Mr. Pitt's supposed 

 intention, called out, in the manner 

 usual in the House of Commons, Mr. 

 Pitfs name as being about to speak. 

 This probably prevented any other per- 

 son from rising : aud iMr. Pitt finding 

 liimselftlius called upon, and observ- 

 ing that the house waited to heat him, 

 thought it necessary to rise. I'hough 

 really not intending to speak, he was 

 from the beginning collected and un- 

 embarr.issed ; lie urged slrongly in fa- 

 vour of the bill, and noticed all the 

 objections which had been urged by 

 file noble lord, who immediately pre- 

 ceded hiiu ill the debate, in a man- 

 ner vihich gi'eatly astonished all who 

 heard him. Never were higher C.xpec- 

 (alions formed of any person upon his 



fiikt 



