634 Letter on Affairs in general. (pDeé. 
the whole ease is conspiracy—and that he will yet weather the storm.” 
Y don't’ know; myself, anything particularly about tlie ‘business of! the 
forgery ;) but I should think, upon general conclusions, Mr Wilks’ as 
likély ‘to’ weather a storm,” as any man'I ever was acquainted with. 2"! 
“At the ‘same time—speaking of this immaculate borough of Sudbury 
=I trust’ some public spirited member of ‘the House of Commons will 
move—and suddenly — for its disfranchisement. © Here are a'set of elee- 
tors actually holding meetings to turn their representative ‘owt’ of Patlia- 
ment,’ because he has refused to pay them the money which’ was promised 
as the price of his election. Our corruption is pretty gross, ‘and pretty 
open : but I do not recollect a case of such unblushing impudeneeé ‘as this: 
‘The cant terms of particular trades and professions are sotietimes 
very whimsical. This morning, I find in the papers, under the head of 
« Ship News”—that the ‘ Earl Percy,” Greenland vessél, has ’artived 
at Dundee, from Davis's Straits, having “ caught eight fish and-a-half” 
Now a man of plain understanding might be curious to think,’ what’‘the 
other ship could be which had caught the other half: It gaidiidesh 
The new Lord Mayor held his inauguration entertainment,’ on’ the 
9th of this month; and on the 10th a poor creature who had waited 
at table at the dinner was carried before Mr. Alderman’ Ainsley, 
charged with having abstracted two pepper-castors—value, something less 
than sixpence. His new Lordship indeed—who is a gentleman’ of the. 
name of Brown, an attorney—does not seem to have’ commenced ‘his 
official career under very favourable auspices; for the worthy aldernian 
(Ainsley), in the course of the culprit’s examination, took occasion ‘to 
comment upon the peculiar shabbiness of the appointments ofthe table 
on the preceding day :—Piince Polignac, the ambassador, whovattended 
(to eat, in fact, for all France)—having been allowed only a three-pronged 
horn-handled iron furk—with very little opportunity for changing it. 
But such an affair as our Guildhall dinner—independent of the goose- 
berry wine for champaigne, and the hoek made of sour beer—must seem 
very strange to a foreigner. The treatment of the gtiests is 'so odd! LT 
went to one, I recollect, three or four years since; and at a ‘table meant’ 
to be reserved for the Lord Mayor and his private friends, found the'fol~ 
lowing pleasant’ intimation, painted and stuck upon ‘a large board, 
« Whoever takes a seat 'at this table, will be immediately’'turned’ out ‘of 
it.” In another place, over the door, was set a’second board—this was 
addressed to the company at large,—“ Whoever leaves the hall, on’any 
pretence, will not be permitted to return!” LOT 
Presently venturing to sit down at a sort of centre table, where’a great 
many other persons were sitting—and, as I afterwards understood, had 
been sitting since two'o’clock, it was then six—I found the.system of — 
“ turning out” was well understood all round. For a worthy gentleman 
askéd~-“ if I “belonged to Bread-street Ward?” And, on my protest~’ 
ing that “I hoped not,” announced at once that “I could not sit there !"”” 
for that from tirae immemorial all that table had been allottéd-to «« Bread-* 
street Ward.” Meanwhile, another wretch ‘suggested, that—«as'T did’ 
not '‘seém to belong any where —I had better go and get my dinner iw the’ 
Court of King’s Bench ;” and proffered, as well as I could undérstand)! 
to help me to the speech of one or two of the scullions,’ At length; to! 
my great relief, it was discovered that my card was for the “eress table”! 
—the Lord Mayor's own! and there I dined in very high company“with> 
a profusion of feathers and brocade, and very sufficient ‘women indeed? 
