[523] 



CHARACTERS. 



Anecdotes of the Last Hours, luith 

 a Sketch of the Character of the 

 late Right Honourable WiUiam 

 Pitt. \_From Mr. Gifford's Life 

 of Pitt.-} 



MR. PITT'S health experi- 

 enced a rapid decline in the 

 autumn of 1805 ; and he was re- 

 commended to go to Bath, having, 

 in a former illness, derived great 

 benefit from the waters of tliat 

 place, which, it was hoped, might 

 still have a beneficial influence on 

 a frame now reduced almost to the 

 last stage of debility. He accord- 

 ingly went thither in December. 

 Soon after his arrival he had a fit 

 of the gout, and thought himself 

 better for a short time. But the 

 gout appeared again during his 

 stay at Bath ; and he never after- 

 wards recovered even a moderate 

 degree of strength. His appetite 

 almost entirely failed;and, it being 

 deemed improper for him to drink 

 the waters, he left Bath, and was 

 in such a debilitated state, that he 

 was four days on the road to Put- 

 ney, at which place he arrived on 

 the 11th of January, accompanied 

 by sir Walter Farqubar his medi- 

 cal attendant. 



When a consultation was held 

 the next day, with Dr. Baillie and 

 Dr. Reynolds, they told the bishop 

 of Lincoln, who had repaired to 



Putney, that they saw no danger 

 no disease, but great weakness, in 

 consequence of the gout, and they 

 thought he might recover in a few 

 weeks. They stated the necessity 

 of quiet ; but the approaching 

 meeting of parliament, and the 

 state of Mr. Pitt's affairs, were 

 such as to leave him little prospect 

 of enjoying it. 



Mr. Pitt felt better on the Sun- 

 day, and on tlie Monday morning 

 he took an airing in his coach ; but 

 in the evening, lord Castlereagh 

 and lord Hawkesbury having ob- 

 tained permission from the physi- 

 cians to visit him, entered upon 

 some points of public business, 

 probably relating to thedissolution 

 of the new confederacy, by the 

 peace of Presburgh (which had 

 been concluded about three weeks 

 before) which visibly agitated and 

 affected him. Mr. JPitt, after this 

 interview, observed,thatduringthe 

 conversation he feltsome sensation 

 in his stomach, which he feared it 

 might be difficult to remove. On 

 Tuesday, the Mth, Mr. Pitt again 

 went out in his carriage, for the 

 last time. His strength was mani- 

 festly diminished. On his return, 

 he saw his brother, lord Chatham ; 

 and on Wednesday, the 15th, Mr. 

 Rose was admitted to him for a 

 few minutes, and was very much 

 stricken by his emaciated appear* 



