JET 34.] COURT POLITICS. 529 



" You may easily believe that as soon as I received 

 the duke's letter I set about making inquiries, both 

 as to "Worcester and seats of a different description. 

 Ward informs me that Bromley having started on the 

 same interest on which it was proposed to me to stand, 

 that is out of the question; but he is to make further 

 inquiries. He seems to think he is to be out of Par- 

 liament himself, by virtue of Curwen's wise bill ; for 

 though he is willing to give 5000, he can get nobody 

 to take it. This, I own, amazes me, nor can I quite 

 credit it, if he has made a fair trial. Of course he 

 wishes this to be concealed. Thank God, I always 

 entertained a due horror of that most foolish if not 

 pernicious act, though I own I rather expected to 

 see it negatory than mischievous rather evaded, 

 than used to give the Treasury a monopoly. 



"Ward says that Frederick Lamb thinks Lord 

 "Wellesley is rising fast with the prince, and I can 

 answer for George Lamb (who has just been here) 

 having the worst opinion of his friend. Michael 

 Taylor is in doleful plight ; he must either give up 

 Parliament or his party, unless the prince acts right. 

 What he is to do I presume not even himself knows, 

 certainly not the ministers. The Lowthers, who hear 

 regularly from them, are quite at sea about it. One 

 can scarcely believe in his going altogether wrong, 

 till it happens. The ministers believe in a skirmish 

 in Spain, but that the Liverpool story is false. 



" Your illness prevented me from calling your at- 

 tention to that abominable book of Trotter's, of 



VOL. I. 2 L 



