%%EXLIBRIS- X^

John E. Pritchard.

BRISTOL .

ROYAL RECOLLECTIONS

O N
A TOUR TO CHELTENHAM, GLOUCES-
TER, WORCESTER,
AND PLACES ADJACENT,
IN THE YEAR I788.
THE ELEVENTH EDITION.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR JAMES RIDGWAY, NO. 1, YORK-STRSET,
ST. JAMES'S-SQUARE.
MDCCI.XXXVII2.

ROYAL RECOLLECTIONS, &c.

RECOLLECTION L
OF ROYAL LITERATURE.
I AM the firft in the dire6l line of mjT
illuftrious hoUfe, who has ventured into
the republic of letters. Republic ! I like
not the word — I fhall afk Hurd how it
came to be introduced: — wilh my gover
nor and preceptors, inftead of contending
about my management, had taught me a
little Latin and Greek! When I fee them
fcattered through a book, I have great cu-
riofity to know their meaning; and they
are almoft the only things about which I
am afhamed to aik queftions, Hurd has not
done much better by George, Ah ! — why
B do

( 2 )
do I feel a fang at that name ?" Am I not
a good father ? — Let me recolle6l. No ; — •
I will not recolle6l on the fubjeft.
James I. was an author. I wifh I had
Walpole^s catalogue. I may be inferted in
it : — but I fliall outlive Walpole.
The great Frederick has been to me, as
Alexander to Charles XII. — an obje6l of
emulation ; — not for his battles and wars,
for which I have rto inclinations : but for
his fummary, and military power ; for his
difcipline and reviews ; and for his fame as
an author- Fifteen volumes of his works
are publifhingy and by fubfcription. Char
lotte applauds the fubfcription. I may
leave as many volumes behind me: and,
if Charlotte furvive, I warrant the fub
fcription. . The title of my firft literary produ6lion
has puzzled me. I fuppofe it puzzles
all authorSi If I call it hiftory, it may
make no great figure by the hiftories of
Hume, Robertfon, and Gibbon. Memoirs
are French ; and occupied by the great
Frederick* RecoUe&ions are new, except in
trifling

( 3 )
trifling matters ; and novelty will reconi-
mend. I hope my book will fell. It would
difcourage me to lofe by my firft adven
ture; and Charlotte would ppint to the
children, and look grav?.

B 2 RECOL-

( 4 )

RECOLLECTION IL
REASONS OF MY TOUR.
SLEEP is a blefling which feems to have
forfaken my houfe ; I mean the houfe
of Hanover ; — for my attendants and do-
meftics are fufficiently ftfeepy, God knows !
I love to rouze the whole family before the
people are warm in bed. If the elTence of
the foul confifts in motion, mine is the moft
diftinguifhed in England. My brother
Cumberland approaches neareft to me in
reftleffnefs, and difregard of fleep. Jenk-
infon fays I refemble Juftinian, who allowed
himfelf but one hour in bed ; lived princi
pally on vegetables ; and fpent one third of
his time in devotion. I fpend no private
hours in devotion ; all my religious light
is feen : and my diet is regulated, not by
fcruples, but by health.
I am now looking down the vale of life ;
have been eight and twenty years the mo
narch of a great and turbulent people: and

( 5 )
and in the fa6lions which have difturbed
my reign, I have been fometimes in the ma
jority, fometimes in the minority. It is a
ftrange fituation ; and I often fufpe6l I have
been held in it by diflionefty.
The jntrodu6lion of my family was not
by univerfal confent ; and there were fome
pretences fof adopting the views of party
in church and ftate, to fecure a permanent
intereft. In me, born a Briton !— nobler
principles fhould have been cultivated: —
but the wifdom of my mother thought
otherwife. She configned me to a prieft,
and a borough monger ; and I fliall eve^r be
the leader only of a party.
In a period of feventy years, the houfe
of Hanover has not been familiarized to
Great Britain. My two predecelTors, brave-
and worthy men! were ftrangers to the
country they nominally governed! and if
they moved from the fetid vortex of the
capital, it was to gratify a fondnefs for their
native foil. I was left in a blaze of falfe
glory, under the power of Chatham ; who
had frequently wrefted the government from

( e )
from my grand-father: and who infulted
my youth and ignorance ; fecure in the in-^
fatuation of multitudes.
Lord Bute would liave difpelled the faf-
cination of that impoftor ; but he had not
talents: ^nd the ftTuggle funk me into
difgrace. The Scots, like hungry locufts, fuiTolmd--
ed me. The fources of venality were
drained ; and the Scots were not fatisfied.
The oppreflion of America was propofed,,
under the idea of concentrating power ; but
with tl"ie view of obtaining appointments
for Scotfmen. I was deluded by the idea;
and wiflied to rid myfelf of importunities,
fey offices and taxes, which would have ru
ined the colonies. Half my fubj efts revolted
at the thought of taxes, without the ap
pearance of reprefen tation. I was lampoon
ed and libelled hei'e ; fometimes hooted and
infulted: engaged in military jobs in Ame-.
rica; and was really afraid to ftir out of my,
palaces. I contented myfelf with travdling. oi>
maps. I pafTed the furface of Scotland, in-
ftru6led

( 1 )
{lru6led in all its beauties by Bute: and I
fought every inch neceflary to the conqueft
of America, with Sackville. Poor Sackville !
we fympathifed in unpopularity. He was a
milder inftru61:or than Bute ; and he fought
bravely on a map ! The hills which ter
minate the horizon of Windfor, have been
hitherto, to me, the boundaries of the
world ; and I feel awkwardly, at the
thoughts of palling them. Peafants and
artifans, I have been taught to confider as
enemies ! and they have been grievoufly
burthened, to enrich a fucceflion of venal
majorities in my infatiable parliaments. —
What humor they may be in, and how they
may receive me, are ferious queftions.
Jenkinfon treats thefe apprehenfions
lightly : — " Afliime a facred chara6ter, and
" put on a brilliant appearance. Though
" you. drain the blood of the people, they
" will adore you as you pafs \" On this ac
count Jenkinfon wifhed to be a lord. The
word Jenkinfon, was affociated in the pub
lic mind, with perfidious unconftitutional
chicane ; and with every fpecies of political guilt

( § )
guilti. He Could not pafs a turnpike with
out a fcowl or an infult ; and the villages
fet their dogs at him. At the found of lord
Hawkefburyj every hat is t)ff> and every
head to the ground !
This Sawkelbury is a fiiigUlar chafadter !
indeed all whotn I have apparently diftin*
guifhed by niyfavor, are fingularities. In
4-eality, no man has my confidence. An
obje6t had arifen,. bn which I fixed my
heart ; and my attachmehts have been re*
gulated by compliance with my views.—
Poor North I docile and flexible, more from
good humor than interefted ambition, he
thought himfelf peTiiianently fixed ; and if
he had fuCceeded in Altierica, he Would
have been minifter for life. He faw not
far^'before him ; and was fo mlich the dupe
of Roblnfon, and parliamentary brokers,
that he extended to the army which invad
ed America, the thaxims of venality and the
fpeCulations of party: and he funk into dif
grace with the obje61s of his purfuit.
I Was ftunned by the event ; and expe6led
to be the obje6l of general hatred : — but I
have

( ^ )
have been agreeably difappointed. I loft a
dominion equal to Europe in extent ; fuf-
ceptible of advantages beyond the reach
of imagination : but fo managed as to be
come burthenfome to the public, and tea2^
ino: to me ; — and the lofs was not felt. —
Flimzy politicians, feing only the incon*
venience of abufes, rejoiced in the repara
tion ; and ideal profperity has nearly obli
terated the folly,
Jenkinfon is worth all my fervants, in
patient attention to little advantages; in
watching the flu6tuationi of great paflions ;
and accommodating every thing to my
views. He has mingled and incorporated
the difcordant ingredients of parties, io as
nearly to deftroy their credit : and I may
venture into the country vvith hopes of good
reception. My health is ferioufly injured. Twenty-
eight years of contention and warfare with
my people, terminated with fuch a lofs,
have almoft annihilated the habit of fleep ;
and rendered my difpofition reftlefs. Furi-
pup vv^alking, riding, and hunting, confume
C my

( 10 )
my time, and deftroy my attendants and
horfes ; but they furnifh not peace of mind,
or refrelhing intervals of bodily repofe.
In this ftate I am advifed to Cheltenham ;
to unite policy with my aftive curiofity ;
and to aflift in clearing the country of thofe
clouds which the approach of a general
ele6lion is colle6ling,
And what is the event of an ele6lion to
me ? Why fhould I be entangled in the
ftruggles of interefted parties ? What is
the obje6t of thefe parties .'' To be brought
to market ; and I am the purchafer.— I
wifli I had patience to read. Nothing to
my imagination is more diftin6t, than the
executive and legiflative provinces. Nor
do I think laws, without my interference,
would be the more likely to be direfted
againft any of my real interefts. But mi^
nifters and cabinets are aghaft when I
intimate wearinefs of parliamentary influ
ence:— they quote Montefquieu and Black-
ftone; and frighten me with imaginary
dawgers, I have

( 11 )
I have yvaded fo far in the waters of cor
ruption, that I muft not think of tracing
back my fteps ; — and I will Ihew myfelf
in tlie country for the benefit of the general
eleifion.

C s RECOL-

( 1^ y
RECOLLECTION IIL
OXFORD, BLENHEIM, &C.
I RECOLLECT when I firft approached
Oxford, that I felt a fpecies of fhame ;
from confined education. The idea of the
immortal Alfred ftruck forcibly on my
mind ; who was born to create, combine,
and eftablifh, — as I have been to fever and
deftroy. The mind which' delineated the
Britifli conftitution, founded the univerfity
of Oxford : — the former, the moft beautiful
effort of human reafon ; — the latter, the
moft magnificent univerfity in the world : —
both languilhing in my reign. No modcy
which artful venality could contrive, has
been untried on the political conftitution of
England ; and I had reached the age of fifty ,^
without having feen Oxford, or thought
of it, but at general ele6lions.
The number and magnificence of the
colleges, halls, libraries, and fchools; and
the opulence of their appointments, afto-
nilhed

( 13 )
niflied me, even beyond the convidllon of
their difproportionate utility. Oxford, to
difchai;ge its obligations, fliould have thirty
or forty thoufand ftudents ; and it feldom
has one thoufand. Since the acceflion of
the Hanover family, it has not harmonifed
with the court : — and when introduced
among the memorials of ancient kings, I
appeared a ftranger, and not of their kin
dred. It is true, Oxford ftands not in need of
bounty and afliftance ; it wants reformation
and difcipline only, to anfwer the intention
pf its founders. But who will attempt that
reformation againft indolent habits fo; inve
terate, and opulence fo fecured ?
I fhould like to enroll my name among
the Edwards and Henrys, who have ren
dered fervices to this noble inftitution —
but it will not be my fate. I expended an
hundred millions in attempting to reduce
America to flavery : — this will be my ever-
lafting memorial !
Every thing here wears an air of fuperfti-
tious profligacy. The bells are tolling for
devotion

( H )
devotion every hour of the day ; monkifti
drefles and forms, every moment meet the
eye ; but not a face indicates religious fen-
timents: — the ftudents have fauntering idle
manners, and the countenances of the pro-
feflbrs are all on fire.
My beloved architecl;ure has been culti
vated here. I toil through the extenfive vo
cabulary of vertu ; but I believe it is with
out ideas. I fliould certainly have made a
good archite6l ! The grandeur of Chrift
Church, the elegance of Queen's, and the
beauty of the Theatre, delight me. Why
has not the roof of the Theatre been imi
tated ? The allegory of Truth, folicited by
the defcending fciences, is well imagined:
but intereft Ihould be fubftituted for truth.
I love the church ; — it is the firm fupport
of that fpecies of royalty for which Charles
died, and for which my illuftrious houfe have
been gradually forming a paflion: but it
muft be confefled, that intereft is eminently
the ecclefiaftical principle of a6lion. I can
influence laymen by various motives— I can
fecure a churchman only by one. But

( 15 )
¦ But I will turn my thoughts from thefe
gloomy fubje6ls, and recolle6l the impref-
fions of Blenheim.
It has been the Angular misfortune of my
reign ; — with an expenditure beyond exam
ple in the annals of the world, I have been
eclipfed by private noblemen in fplendor
and generofity. It is true, I have faved
millions, as provifion for the worft events ;
and I would not have all my fubje6ls know
they are guarded in foreign banks, and che-
rilh foreign circulations. It was Charlotte's
favorite plan ; and it conftitutes a kind
of independence. I have alked George,
in a witty frolic, " What would you do,
" George, with five and twenty millions, if
*' you could immediately command them ?"
He hefltated : — " Your majefty will be of-
*' fended." " No, no ; fpeak your mind 1"
J thought he meant to build and furnifli an
haram. " I would pay them to the laft fliil-
^' ling towards difcharging the national
<' debt !" I burft into a laugh at the ro
mantic folly of the youth. " What ! return
f^ the money whence it came!" He was
irritated

( 16 )
irratated at my mirth. " Yes, fir ; and
*' mitigate the miferies occafioned by its
" accumulation." " Come, George," faid I,
" don't affeft patriotifm ; the national debt
*' is in a way to be paid." " What by ac-
" cumulating the public burthens? If I
" could reconcile myfelf to fuch hypocrify,
*' I would expend ten millions a year, and
" every farthing fhould go to the encou-
?' ragement of induftry and talents in my
" own country !" and he abruptly left me ;
but with that conciliating grace, which no
temper can refift; and which, united with
prudence, will render him the moft popular
king in the world.
To return to Blenheim — The ground has
been royal ; and the ftory of Henry and
Rofamond throws over it the air of ro
mance. The infirmities of love have ever
been thofe of great minds. I have not thofe
indications ; but they abound in my fon.
The high ftile affefted by the family of
Marlborough ; the difdainful epithets with
which old Sarah ever alluded to the houfe
of Hanover ; the liberal ftate with which
Blenhein:^

( 17 )
Blenheim has been fupported ; and the mag
nificent encouragements occafioi^jilly given
to the progrefs of fcience at Oxford, im-
prefled me with fentiments of difparity
unbecoming my fituation : and when the
park gates were thrown opeuj and pre-
fented the noble view of the palace and
landfcape, I felt not like a great king vifit-
ing a fubje6l.
It is true, the prefent owner inherits the
prudence only, not the genius, of the great
Marlborough. In the obftru6lions of lineal
defcent, all brilliant talents were loft : but
worth, decorum, and the moft rigid oecono-
my, compenfate the defe6l ; and an extenfive
influence artfully applied, renders Marlbo
rough of great political confequence in this
country. He leans towards the adminiftra-
tion of the day, from conftitutional pru
dence ; and we have nothing to apprehend,
unlefs Bedford fhould fix his heart on one of
his daughters.
I was charmed with the coup d'oeil at
the entrance into the park ; but ftarted at
the buft of Louis XIV. at the front, Eliza-
D beth

( 18 )
beth was pleafed. with his countenance ;
the duchfets faid he was the king of
France ; the duke corre6ted her, " he was
« the French king." Charlotte nodded and
fmiled as fe dods when " God fave the
*' king" Ts ftruck ^p at the play-houfe. — I
can i^tiB^iit how the d^ghter of Maria
Therdft %€Jiirld took at Charlotte on fuch-
an occafion.
' The colle6liort of pi^ures is princely;
though I own I know nothing of pi^ures.
The infcription on the pedeftal of the co
lumn in the park, and Vidfory crowning
¦the duke of Marlborpugh on the ceiling,
made my heart bleed. If fuch a man as
the duke of Marlborough had invaded
AiAeriCa ! — ^but I will think no more of it,
Charlotte and the princefles were much
amiifed with the paintings, I took fuffid-
ent time, as ufual, in examining them ;
but" if I Were to make my choice, it would
be Tenier's monkies, in the habits of
inonks. I wonder Bunbury does notlketch
"the prefent clergy from the- animals they
refemble ; — the arehbifliop of Canter-bury, a fpaniel ;

( ^9 )
4 fpaniel; arehbifliop of -York, a tyger ;
bifhop of Durham, a goofe, &c.
Apropos of ecclefiaftical dignities — I
have conferred them m great mimbers ;
and I am fatisfted with Thurlow as the
beft ecclefiaftical broker I ev^had. Proflii-
gate in his own principles, and at heart
indifferent to all, he fees only the point
of intereft in wluch every benefice may
be placed. The obje6t of his incliniation
and power is to deprefs fcrupulous and
confcien tious miflds ; to have but one opi
nion and one wEl in, the country ; and
that didfated by him, di6lating to a cabi
net. The fuddea elevation of his brother
was, however, beyond my opinion even of
bis aflurance. Two boys, defigned.fpj Nor
wich weavers ; the defc^nda^ts of ^ degra
ded family, (if ^ay thing could be degreed
in the fervice of Oliver Cromwell ;) th§
one of moderate abilities, and very confin
ed knowledge ; the other, an incorrigiUe
blockhead :-f-at the head of ^he law, and
nearly at the head of the chprch of Epg^
D a land ;

( 20 )
land ; are inftances of the lavifh exercife of
power, not eafily exceeded in Turkey.
Indeed Marlborough muft feelaukward-
ly on the advancement of a tutor fVom the
fecond table of his family, into an arch-
bifliopric, where he is entitled to prece
dence of his patron. What is the reafon'
ecclefiaftics are peculiarly difpofed to in
temperance? The luxury of Lambeth has'
attracted the land and water rats of Bow-
ftreet ; and the pious primate has loft a fer
vice of plate which could not have been fur-
niflied by the whole property of the twelve
apoftles. The duke feems attached to the clergy,
probably for the reafons that determine me.
They are the moft fteady inftruments of
influence, as they formerly were of power.
One of them prefented me, in the '^duke's
name, with Alfred's tranflations of Boe-
thius, on the very fpot where Alfred is fup-
pofed to have made them ; and the fyca-
mores are held facred where the palace
ftood which flieltered the birth of Edward the

C 21 )
the Black Prince, and v/hich was fo effefilu-
ally demoliflied by Olivier Cromwell. How
wife my late dilTolution of parliament in its
firft moments of reftivenefs, and chufing;
another . to obey my will ; and that by a
youth, whofe early and intuitive hypocrify
aftonifhes me, accuftomed as I have been to
its arts from the moment of my birth !
; NUNEHAM
IS rural, pi6turefque, and. would be com
fortable, if it were not ififefted with thea
trical grimace and fentiment. The nobility
of this family originated from the political fer
vices of the law ; and lawyers' families may
foon fill the Houfe of Lords.— No matter ; a
few odd individuals excepted, they are as fup-
ple as the clergy, and as eafily held in the
great road of profit and honors. They are
likewife more ufeful ; for as every event is to
be attended with a mock debate, it is necef-
fary I fhould, on all occafions, have the
greater number of fpeeches in my favour.
The collection here is trifling. — I obferv-
ed the queen attentive to the pi6lure of the
duchefs

( 23 X
duchefs of Gloucefter — What brothers and
fifters I have ! aud they have lately diftin
guifhed themfelves, and celebjated their
country, by travelling !
The gardens would be pretty, if the
£pe6fators were not fickened with fentiment
tal inftruftions for their tafte ^nd afFe61;ion&
on every fpOt. If I were not the head of
the church, I would fay, " this is a damned
" provoking cuftom !" and I do npt in my
heart love thofe amphibious animals, who
are half actors and half gentry. — I will now
and then fee a private play ; but not one
fliall: ever infeft my faraily.

RECOL-

{ 23 .)
RECOLLECTION W.
CHELTENHAM, JULY 12, 1788.
T WONDER whether my phyficians, pre*
-*- fcribing this place, have taken into the
account the fatigues of the journey. I tra-
verfed the Cat's Path*, at Windfor, an hour
before my ufual time, and was obliged to
exert myfelf to call up the people. The
crowds on the road to fee me, have been
prodigious ; but they generally bowed to
lord Courtown, Charlotte wifhes I would
leave oflT the bi'own bob, and wear a Ger
man major. I am thought to have too much
German already. " What," fays Char
lotte, " in your blood ; that is not from
" me." Whence are the complaints of the
children ? — A queen of England privately
dreffing ifllies in their arras ; and fome of
them barbaroufly mangled for white tu-
• The path which the king takes in a morning to call
up his family, and fometimes his attendants, ii called the
Cat's Path.
mors.

( 24 )
niors. — Charlotte perfifts " they are not
^' from me."— What can it fignify whence
they aire, if they riiay be cured ? And other
families find a cure for them.
Oxford is burfting into a flame, becaufe
RoV/ley applies for a degree ; and his of
fence is, having formerly benefited a hbble
family, by a medicine unknown.
Seeing the difb-efs of his rnbther for me,
and fome of the children, and obferving a
fycophant phyfician dire6ling palliatives
for radical and conftitutional evils ; George
advifed her to fend for a box of Velnos'
Vegetable Syrup. Charlotte looked grave
and offended : which is not ufual in her con-
verfation with George. He delicately faw
her obj'e6tion ; and dexteroufly placed two
holy biftiops; thofe of Peterborough and
Landaff, between him and his mother ; who
he declared, recommended it with as much
zeal and perfeveranCe as if it were their
property. The queen loves bifhops ; and Swainfon
Would have fuperceded all the phyficians
of the houfhold, if, on mentioning it to
Pro-

( 25 )
Porteus, a true prieft, and after the queen's
own heart, he had not demurred ag-ainft
any thing coming from bifliops in oppofi-
tion ; and particularly from Watfon. It is
true, Watfon is not as he fhould be. He
is reftlefs and ambitious, and would have
an opinion of his own; he is therefore no
real churchman. Immediately on afcend-
ing the bench, he recommended a mode of
equalizing the portions of the church reve
nues. One ftep further, in allowing the
parifhes to chufe their minifters, and the
clergy would have been of no utility to ad-
minifb"ation, or to patrons in its intereft — in
fhort, the alliance of church and fiate would
have been totally diffolved.
In the confideration of the commercial
treaty, he difcovered the fpirit of a dema
gogue. But Porteus has pointed out a:
circumftance to Charlotte, which moft effec
tually precluded his advancement, as well
as the influence of his medical opinions.
He dedicated theological trails to the
queen ; the moft remarkable of which have
been written by dilTenting focinians. I
E know

( 26 )
know not precifely in what confifts the
herefy of focinians ; but they are diffenters,
fond of, innovation, and inimical to the in
fluence of the crown.
The Cambridge bifliops muft, therefore,
confine their favourite noftrum to the uni
verfity; for Velnos' Vegetable Syrup fhalj
not approach our family.
By the way, is it not a ftatutable offence,
for the heads of houfes to recommend the
ufe of a nofbum in an univerfity ? — Mem..
—to confult Markham and Hurd on the
fubjedf. The faculty, at leaft, may be infti-
gated ; thefe inftruments of oppofition may
be rendered unpopular and odious; and
that is not to be negle6led on the approach
of an ele6fion.
In the appointment of bifhops, I wifh
more attention were paid to their principles.
— I thought the chancellor was guarded
againft moralifts, men of fcience, and per-
fpns difpofed to inquiry ; for inquiry always
leads to innovation. Horfley is a man after
my own heart ; he keeps the provinces of
letters, and theology, diftin6f ; and would
circum-

( 27 )
circumfcribe the latter with fire and fag
got, if the humor of the times wouM ad
mit of them. Hinchliffe, Watfon, Shipley,
and Rofs, are diffenters in mqfque ; advocates
for toleration, and fond of reform.
SUNDAY, 13.
SLEPT four minutes and ten feconds
longer than ufual at Windfor ; a proof that
the air agrees with rhe. My appearance
on the terrace laft night had a good effe6t
on the people ; and I expe6ted the little
town would have been fet on fire by the
illuminations. This proves they neither
refent the lofs of America, nor the accu
mulation of taxes. I thought it beft to be
grave and ftately on my firft appearance;
but I excel in the arts of familiarity, I
have nodded and capered to the band at
Windfor; until the whole terrace has roared
out a boifterous laugh, in which I heartily
joined, Charlotte is not cordial in thefe
condefcenfions ; but fhe has not diflipated
her German ftatelinefs and gravity ; and
lo^ows not if we make the people laugh
E ^ their

C 28 >
their hearts are always with us. They fhall
laugh' heartily whenever I appear.
At fix, drank the waters ; and I mean to
obferve all their effe6ts. As to their na
ture, the phyficians are as ignoraiit, as of a
noftrum. They contain falts, iron, fulphur,
and earth ; but in what proportions nobody
knows ; and thofe proportions are variable,
and at hazard, from the variations of the
ftrata through which they pafs. It feems
to be a low and defpicable ftate of phyfic,
which depends on the rude and uncertain
pharmacy of nature. But the faculty are
an order in the ftate ; and it would weaken
my influence to fhock the prejudices, or to
hurt the intereft, of any order.
The attendants are very ceremonious
about my royal hands and my royal lips ;
but the water obferves no ceremonies with
my ftomach and bowels. It would be an
eternal fubjedi of laughter againft me, if I
fhould be driven to expofe my royal parts
under a hedge ; the queen would faint at
the idea ; and the princefTes would not fliew
their

( 2Q )
their faces at Cheltenham. I muft,':tliere^
fore, calculate probabilities in the move--
ments of the waters, and my own ;t— and
muft beware of public -accidents.
No time to read the newfpapers ; — the
only compofitions I perufe ; — on account of
preparations for church. I fpend as much
of my time in churches, and I hear as much
facred mufic, as any monarch in Europe:
I hope thefe things will qualify me for
heaven'. I do not, however, much relilh
the thoughts of heaven ; — no diftin6lion of
ranks, no privilege of family ; none but
levelling principles take place there, I wifh
the clergy would review the do6lrine, and
eftablifh it on more monarchical ideas.
The bifhop of the diocefe has thought
fit to take charge of my foul, during the
operation of the waters on my body. Corar
fortably as he is provided for, he will think
it hard to look for his reward in heaven. —
Hallifax is the competitor and relation of
John Jebb, of difcontented and feditious:
memory. He obftrufted the projeifls .of
that

C so )
that vifionary at Cambridge, by an early
acquaintance with his intentions ; and pur-
fued the line of obedience and promotion,
while the other tore off his garments, ha-
ralTed his friends with reveries, and funk
mto the grave in poverty and vexation.
I love to fee a fmooth and oily bifhop,
who has fecureu advantages with the arti-
fice^ of a Jew, infifting on the meeknefs,
fimplicity, and difintereftednefs recom
mended by the gofpel. It is a fblacing.
propf the people will bear any contradic
tion or inconfiftency of profeflRons and pur-
fuits. They regret the tythes, and cheat
the colledlors ; but they would trample to
death the daring reformer who would re
move their PpprefTors, or difpute the fanc-
tity of the conftitutions by which they are
impoverifhed. On this fingle pivot refts all
the regal and ecclefiaftical powers of Eu
rope. But things will hold as they are for
my life, and that of my immediate defcend-*
ants. As to remote pofterities» they are not
included in my anxieties. In

( 31 )
In my ride, lord Courtown threw out
fome religious hints, not being ufed to at
tend me on Sundays; for it is not my cuf
tom to think of religion, after difcharging
its public duties.

RECOL-

( S3 )

RECOLLECTION V.
MONDAY 14.
LEFT the queen, as ufual, in bed ; and
called up the princefs royal. The
queen fleeps abundantly more than I do ;
and yet fhe has as many anxieties. She
wifhes fome of her daughters married ; but
royal marriages are not often happy. My
fifters afford lefTons on the fubjeiSt, which
the queen has frequently given the chil
dren. The princefs royal has a referve
and hauteur which would fuit a northern
court ! but Charlotte will not hear of Den
mark. Our alliances are very confined;
and the princefs has been* inquifitive this
morning on the circumftances which re
gulate them. The waters, in purifying the
blood, may poflTibly accelerate its motion—
«' What," faid I, " do you think of mar-
?' riage?" She looked cloudy, but not dif-
pleafed. " Well, well, I'll get a hufband
" for you !" — " You muft change the mi-
" niftersj

( 33 )
" nifters, then, for they do not love the
" fex."— " What, what," faid I, " are you
" turning patriot, as well as George ?"
PRINCESS.
I wifh the prince was iparried.
KING.
Home Tooke affirms he is ! r
PRINCESS.
You fhould not liften to fuch men ; my
brother is amiable, and incapable of com
mitting an a6l, which fliould offend you,
or his country. KING.
Hufh ! — He countenances thofe who
would drive me out of the country ; or cir
cumfcribe my power in it.
PRINCESS.
We have oftefi heard you fay, you Ihould
be happier without the powers, which are.
the objefts of fa^ons. F KING.

( 34 )
KING.
Ho !— r-ho I— You are becoming a politi-
-cian —remember George !
PRINCESS,
I wifh my brother could marry fuitably
to his rank and accomplifhnients; into
France, Spain, or Auftria. KING,
And you — ^to the emperor. — What, you
are not fatisfied with ftadtholders, ele61: prs,
and dukes ? PRINCESS. ,
If rank, and not choice, is to determine,
I fhould like to moye in the higheft !
c .. KING.
But religion, child! —the proteftant re
ligion! — r
PRINCESS.
' The world feems difpofed, to fndulge, all.
religions. ¦ - . . -
¦•KING.'

( 35 )
KING,
If I were to marry either of you to a
roman catholic, fir Richard Hill, and lord
George Gordon, would form a new faftion.
The very guards would defert me ; and I
fliould have my palaces about my ears.
PRINCESS.
I wifh my brother was more among us'.
—The queen caught the words as we got
up flairs, and was very ferious on indifcreet
converfations with the princefs; faid, fhe
was thoughtful, and difcontented. What
can I do ? If George was cordially to re
turn to court, with an income fuited to his
rank ; if the maxims and manners to which
he inclines were introduced, I fhould be loft
in the blaze of cultivated arts, and the
fplendor of colle6fed talents :-^-he ' would
find fome means to obtain pur treafures, and
would fcatter them through the fbreets ra
ther than fuffer them to accumulate. I wifh
I could live another century. A fifth part
of our treafure, on the principles of com
pound intereft, would, in twenty years, ren^
F a der

( 3^ )
der my minifter the vizier of a divan ; and
clear the fprings of the monarchy of all
their impediments and obftru6lions.
i do not love reafoning with women—
and was glad to efcape to my horfe. Pref-
bury grotto is a romantic objeft, and Ulett
is pretty. But lord Courtown does not
furnifli me with any new phrafes on land
fcape. That is the adlvantage of Weft. He
is to me an elementary treatife on all mat
ters of, tafte ; and George fays, he will ne
ver go beyond the firft elements himfelf.
He is, however, very ufeful to me. Sir Jo-
fhua, and Gainfborough, and Barrett, and
Romney, were mutes. They affented civilly
when they approved ; and fixed their eyes
on the ground, when they difapproved.^
Weft is indefatigable in making me fee with-
llis eyes, and judge by his conceptions. —
What is to be done, when I cannot fee an
inch before rae, and have not leifure to form,
conceptions ?

RECOL-

( 37 )

RECOLLECTION VI.
TUESDAY 15.
THE newfpapers of laft night fhortened
my reft, and accelerated the opera
tions of the waters iii thfe morning. Mem.— ¦
to leflen the dofe, when the newfpapers have
difturbed me. Weftminfter will be once
more in a flame. Pitt fays he fliall lofe his
chara6ler, if all the means of extinguifliing
it be ifTued- from the Treafury ; and that
the civil lift muft contribute a moiety. 1
have declined public tables ; I have boarded
with the queen in habitations which look
like . out-houfes to my palaces ; and I have
harafled the circumftances of the prince, in
order to fave from the civil reyenue. But
parliament is a bottomlefs gulf. I wonder
the people do not fee its inutility, when ma
jorities are fecured ; and fave the expences
pf corruption. But, who is the people? or
where is the people? It is a bugbear, no
where

( S8 )
where to be found ; and employed by artful
partizans to frighten credulous guilt.
Pitt and Dundas do not mean to meet
Fox in the conteft, but to fight by deputies,
Dundas is an arrant, cov/ard, and Pitt's cou
rage is vapouring gafconade.
It is extreraefy mortifying that Weftmin
fter, the refident of my court, nay, of a
numerous Parliament in the confidence of
my fervants, fhould, in fia6f , be attached to
my enemies ; for I reckon every man my
enemy, who oppofes and limits my pre
rogative. Pitt, himfelf, fays Hood is in danger ; and
l3iat .our hopes are in the inability of the
party to fuftain the expence of a conteft.
Hood ferved our turn very well, when the
refeSfed glories of ihe twelfth of April were"
new: but general Prefcott has whifpered
through the country the whole bufinefs of
St. Kitts ; and there feems to be no doubt,
i5 he had fhewn half the bravery he afFefts!
in the Chefapeak, the fate of America would
not have been decided fo fliamefully. Be
sides, the man fives fliabbily, and does not
¦ ' fuftain

(39 )
fuftain the appearance of a gentleman: His
whole family, even his cats and dogs, are
fupported by the profufe hofpitality of
Barwell, both in town and country ; and
he lays up his income for a boOby lordling,
who will never put in claims for public fe-
vour; and who will confole himfelf with
the inheritance of the father's difpropor
tionate rewards.
I wifli they had ftarted a new candidate ;
the expence would have been lefs. But the
Hoods are the clients of the Pitt's. — Hence
the negle6l of Rodney. Poor Rodney !^ —
But a king fliould have no common feel
ings ! —
Zounds ! I fhall run mad ! — My Recol-
le6lions are broken, by a reprefentatioh
from lord Courtown and colonel Digby,
that it will not be proper the roj^al famify
and attendants fliould go into the public
rooms, without fubfcribing! We fliall ne
ver go to their balls ; and wifli we had not
peeped into the rooms ! I muft go to the
queen again ! Schwellenburg will rave her-
felf into fits ! Thank

( 40 )
Thank God, it is fettled moderately ! —
they had the confcience to advife a hundred
pounds for each fubfcription. It is fixed at
fifty to Moreau; and twenty-five to each
room. I wifli the Wefbninfter ele6lion was
as well over.

RECOL-

( 41 )
RECOLLECTION VII.
WEDNESDAY, l6.
THOUGH the papers arrive late, they
occupy my firft Recolledlions at this
time. It is ftrange they are not better ma
naged, the expence hieing fo confiderable.
Walpole often declared, of all venality,
that of the prefs was the moft unprofit
able. " I pay thoufands, faid he, for writ-
" ings in my favour; and they are not
" read; they are good for nothing: while
" lampoons and fatires on me, are replete
" with wit, and fought with eagernefs."
What a creature is this Topham ! to
claim the penfion of David Hume ! Atheifm
cannot gu^rd his fhade from refentment at
fuch indignity ; — and yet Rofe fays he muft
be gratified. When all the papers are paid,
their utility is over ; and we differ only in
illufion from the kingdoms who have none.
This is the ftate we fhould be in, according
to Jenkinfon and Dundas ; who, I muft al-
G low

( 42 )
low, are not difpofed to expenditure. Pitt
afFe6ls to defpife them ; but Dundas fays, it
is palpable affeflation, and that he reaches
them by indirecSf modes. Sheridan is the
man for the papers: — Steel is too cautious
and gentleman like ; and Rofe, once a pur-
fer, and forever a purfer. Let the allow
ance be what it may, the writers are poorly
paid ; and it does not anfwer the purpofe,
that the purfer grows rich.
is there no method of reforming this
d — n'd World? I can get nobody to decy-
pher the paragraphs ; and I have Englifh,
Scots, irifh, Welfli, French, German, and
Dutch, about me. The praifes are fign-
poft daubings, expofing the obje6ls to ridi
cule ; and they are fo indifcriminate, as to
be no compliments. The fame epithets
ferve for the queen, and Mrs. Wells ; and I
fhall be laughed at through Europe, by
being inclofed in parenthefis with Top-
ham and Bell. But all things in govern
ment are connected by ftrong links, Rofe
and Dundas cannot be difpenfed with at
this

( 43 )
this time ; and- Topham muft be paid for
keeping up the laugh at our expence.
Let have him a hint, however, to moderate
his perfonal courage ; and to check BeU in his
perpetual alliifions to bwm bailiffs.
Adzooks ! what a robbery ! The large
diamond of the Devonfhire George ! I have
feen the queen's eye intently fixed on it.
I'll go and tell her, fhe may be taken up on
fufpicion. — Egad fhe was ready to cry. —
Suppofe it were brought round, it muft
not be purchafed under value ; and fuch a
prefent would not be made, but with a
view to change the miniftry. She has an
aftonifhing paffion for diamonds. The poor
milliner-r-poor indeed fhe is not, thanks to
fmuggling ; on dreffing her for the birth
day, difplaying a large ring — it fixed Char-r
lotte's attention. " What a fine ring you
" have, Mrs. B — !" The woman was fright--
ened, knowing her difpofition — " Pleafe
" your majefty, I had a few old diamonds,
" which I had fet for the day." We were
hurrying to court; the milHner efcaped,
Q s and

( 44 )
and will never more appear before the queen
with a ring.
How wonderful that a fmall pebble, ^.dug"
up in Golconda, fliould fafcinate the fancy,
and afFe6l the fate of kingdoms ! Haftings'
wife not only found her way to court under
exceptionable circumftances, but dazzled
pur fenfes away.
How little is the bufinefs of Haftings un-
derftood ! And how imperfe6t the infor
mation of hiftory ! They talk of immortal
fame in its compilation. If the materials
are not more authentic than our newfpa
pers, hiftory is only a romance.
Haftings found his waj'^, not only to biy
favour, but to my good opinion. That
was communicated to adminiftration ; and
the inquiry would have been throvvu out
of the Commons. Oppofition, whofe per
ceptions are keen, underftood the fituation
of things, and was difpofed to avoid dif
grace. Scott infulted and defied the in
quiry, with the fatality which ever attends
his interference. One day only preceeding
the determination to impeach, I communi cated

( 45 )
cated to Pitt my wifli, that Haftings fhould
prefide at the board of controul, fooli after
the reje(Slibn of the impeachment, which
had then been firmly determined. I fiaw
his covmtenaiice change: he inftantly af-
fe6fed doubts concerning the prudence of
fhielding Haftings by the influence of the
crown, in the houfe ; and hinted, that Dun
das would be loft to adminiftration ; Which
I did not believe.
In four and twenty hours, Pitt and Dun
das apprized a fufficient number of their
fi-iends, there were impeachable matters
in Haftings' condu6l: — they pronounced
thofe candid fpeeches, which aftonifhed the
houfe, nay even the nation ; almoft deceiv
ed oppofition ; and they fent the gover
nor general to ftand at the bar of the lords
for a twelvemonth, that he might not prefide
at the board of controul. Rumxbold and Im-
pey, exciting no fuch apprehenfions, are
voted immaculate : the mediate murderers
of lord Pigott, fkulk obfcurely, but unmo-
lefted. Haftings is the fcape-goat of India ;
and if his foul is to bear its fms, the tor
ments

(4^ )
ments of hell fhould be multiplied in inten-
fity and horror. 4
But he muft not be loft ! — He will em
ploy for fome time the firft talents of oppo
fition ; and when difcharged, honours will
footh his fufferings; and his talents and
knowledge will check the rapacious and
unprincipled wiles of Henry Dundas. He
fhall be confidential minifter for India, as
Jenkinfon is for Europe,

RECOL-

( 47 )

RECOLLECTION VIIl,
THURSDAY, I7,
THIS Wefbninfter ele6lion abforbs my
political Recolle6lions. Bakor told me
to keep my mind calm and ferene. He has
the manner of a prieft. His family is eccle
fiaftical ; and I am told he underftands
Greek better than phyfic. Jebb's attention
was to mufic ; Hebberden's to natural hif
tory and religion ; Warren's to money.
Quacks only ftudy phyfic, as diflenters
principally ftudy the fcriptures. If there
were no quacks and diflenters, a general
torpor, ignorance, and profligacy, would
invade the profeffions of divinity and medi
cine. Now a Prieftly, a Velnos, a Price,
or a James, rouze the mercenary bands of
regulars, who dofe in their fortified fta-
tions ; and fome buftle and benefit are the
confequences. But neither quacks nor regulars could,
compofe my mind during the uncertainty of

( 48 )
of events at W^eftminfter . The Shakefpeare
club is formidable. That idiot, Topham,
brands it as loW and needy : — Rofe fhould
reprove his folly ; — he knows not the mode
of throwing dirt at the houfes of Bedford,
Devonfhire, Portland, and Norfolk. What
have we to oppofe to them ? The mattled
offsprihg of Lady Grofvenor ; Macnamara,-
the produce of low gambling and fortune-
hunting ; Churchill the apothecary, who
prefumes to call himfelf gentleman, on the
credit of his deceafed brother ; and John
Home Tooke! Heavens ! what revolutions
have arifen in my time ! If I could touch for-
the evil, as I can for patriotifm, the fpring of
Cheltenham might flow in peace; and can
didates would not wage mortal war for the
recipes of vegetable fyrups . John Home has
thruft his head into my net : — of all eonver-
fions this is the moft extraordinary. Junius'
wrote to be filenced ; but rifqued his life in
every line. The plan of Wilkes was obvious ;
and while he holds a lucrative office by the
city influence of adminiftration, he will be
quiet and docile. But Home's imprifonment made

( 49 )
made his fortune, by its effedf pii the cre^
dulity of old Tooke ; and it gave him lei-'
fure to becorae a grammarian ; the only cir-'
Cumftance for which he will be remembered
with refpe<Sf .
What can Home want ? He cannot re
turn to the church ; — his indeCent profane-'
nefs, and debauchery, would not admit a
decent veil. The benchers at the Temple
have reje6led him ; and Bearcroft fays he^
cannot retradl. Pitt advifes Bearcroft to be
out of the way, and to pafs Home to the
bar. I fhould like to put the unprincipled'
tendencies of fuch minds to the utmoft
ftretch ; to revive the ftar-chamber ; and '
to appoint Horne the judge. The atheifts -
of the reign of Charles were the moft pron©
to intolerance ; and I have no doubt but I
could make Horne fend Gibbon to the
galleys ; take off' the ears of Prieftly ; and
fend David Williams to Newgate for life.
This is the triumph of prerogative, over
the varying affe6lations of principle and
patriotifm !
Horne fliall go to the bar, and into the
oufe ! — he will fnarl at oppofition incef-
H fantly i

1,

C 50 )
fantly ; but he muft not write. Hurd's
opinion pleafes me ; — he may have found
out the meaning of conjun6tioiis and pre-
pofitions ; but he is a ftranger to the beau
ties of Englifh ftyle, and writes in the dia-
le6l of Billingfgate. Have we no fuch wri
ters as thofe of the Rolliad ? I am fick of
the quaint monotony of the World ; and I
hate the pamphlets under the dire6lion of
Rofe. My ride to Tewkelbury has been of no
fervice, fo much are my thoughts perplex
ed. It is a borough, and I muft vifit it
again ! Oh ! I recolle6l how it ftands — One
of the members is a quiet, decent, conform
able man ; the other is the chattering fiar-
ling on the coalition. Martin's folly was of
ufe ; and Dundas fays he may be eafily
fixed, allowing a little fcope to his oddities.
Digby hinted fomething of a battle of
Tewkelbury, and the conteft of the two
rofes ; but they are matters of antiquity
beyond my reading ; and my mind is fo di
vided by anxiety, and the diverting thoughts
of Home's converfion, that it has no relifh
for diftant events. When

( 51 )
When Rofe gave the firft intimation of
Home's defertion, I was curious to know
what had lately impelled his irrafcible tem
per. He faid the prince had negle6led the
honours he had conferred on Mrs. Fitzher-
bert. What a profligate wretch, to pay
court to the prince in a manner that might
difturb the public peace ; and immediately
pafs over to adminiftration, the defpicable
tool of a corrupt ele6tion !
He affe6ls to take merit for his filence
in the bufinefs of young Crefpigny ; to all
the particulars of which he is privy. I will
make him extol the clemency of my guards,
in fuffering the people to walk the ftreets ;
or he fhall not have his wifhes gratified in
being called into political exiftence. So
much for renegade patriotifm I

RECOL-

i 52 )
RECOLLECTION IX.
FRIDAY 18.
WHAT a contraft this morning at the
fpjing, between lord Bathurft, and
the foldierxutting out watch papers! — The
one inviting me to his feat, to difplay his
wealth, and to put in his claims for the
promotion of his fon ; the pther jndiUftri-
oufly earning a.fcanty fubfiftence, by an
ingenuity foreign to his fornier habits.
They have both been my fervants. But
how different in their motives ? and how
ndifferently rewarded ! — The bar called lord
Bathurft, lord Abfque ; playing on the title
of Apfley ; and intimating, he was a lawyer
without knowledge, and a chancellor without
talents! but he was fubfervient and con
formable: a negative merit of great import
ance at the time. — I muft fee his houfe and
woods: they have been the haunts of ge
nius ; and though genius is feldom in har-
-. mony

( 53 )
mony with me, I have a pleafure in tracing
its former fteps.
The old foldier at his watch-papersj
makes me fometimes feel as a man ; and
.when Charlotte and the princefTes ordered
fpecimens, I had momentary difpofitipns to
•be generous. Thofe are dangerous difpofi*
tions in a prince ; and I check them, recol"
le6ling the profpe6l of a general eleflion^
^nd the neceflfity of faving for my n^merous
family. God forbid that fuCh an obje^
^ould ever prefent itfelf to George !
Pitt fays, Apfley muft be fixed at the
Admiralty. I alked if he had ever been at
Xea ?-^No, certainly, was the anfwer ; and
it could be of no importance, as bufinefs pf
x)ffices is generally executed by the princi:*
pal clerks. " What in yours, for inftancer"
" No, not whoUy." "Pray which pf the
" offices do you really execute,— that of firft
" commiffioner of the treafury, or that pf
" chancellor of the exchequer?'^ " Your
••' majefty is pleafed to be witty. You muft
" recolle6l, when the coalition threw go-
¦" vernment into difmay ; when even the
" hairs

i 54 )
" hairs of Thurlow's wig ftood ere6l; I
" was folicited to ftand between your odi-
" ous cabinet and the public, who would
" not have borne the countenances of Shel-
" burne, Jenkinfon, or Dundas, Your ma-
" jefty did not then require me to be ac-
'" quainted with the duties of my offices ;
** and when I obje6fed my own ignorance,
" the anfwer was, — hold them oftenfibly,
" and you . fhall be inftru6led and fupport-
" ed. We only want a fkreen, without ob-
« vious fpots, between us and an irritated
" people ; and thofe whofe hands are ftain-
" ed with the moft pernicious crimes of a
" late adminiftration, fhall defert their prin-
*' ciples, dire6l your movements, and fe-
" cretly accomplifh the purpofes we dare
" not avow. On thefe affurances, I con-
" fented to brave the ridicule and aftonifh-
" ment of the nation. If my fupports are
" withdrawn, I will withdraw the fcreen;
'* for the emoluments of all my offices are
" neceflary to the formation of my fortune."
I was filenced. But the term of this boy's
infolence fhall not be long ! Hypocrify fo
con-

( 55 )
confummate, and fo early, borders on im-
poflTibility. I had been accuftomed to look
up to Shelburne, as the mafter of this art.
Every mufcle of Shelburne's (I fhould fay
Lanfdowne's) frame is verfatile. But hypo
crify in him feems to be nature, and not
principle ; for he would employ his right
hand to deceive his left, rather than not de
ceive. Pitt is a6luated by a folemn deliber
ate perfidy, which holds one obje6f for ever
in view ; — and that is his own intereft,
I tempted him with fuperior advantages
to thofe of his prefent fituation ; as I wifh
ed to divide them ; but he faw the fnare,
and refufed the pells, to fecure his footing.
He has pufhed'his foolifh brother into the
admiralty, to provide for his neceffities, and
to procure a vote in the cabinet againft the
chancellor, who rules it in my abfence. How
Thurlow will take it is yet doubtful, but
not very important ; for though he is of
great ufe in the oratorial fparrings of the
lords, he has no influence but over old Staf
ford's wife and daughters, whom he teaches
to read poetry, to fave expence. She is a
political

( 56 )
political vixen, as my poor mother experi
enced ; and the henpecked old lord has a
little intereft. I am not, by any means, for
difobliging him in favour of Pitt ; whofe
power is becoming formidable ; and who
flily fteals from me, much more than Fox
would have openly taken.
Charlotte juftly obferves, the Chatham fii-
mily will ever be on the parifh — fhe means on
the public. The glorious Pitt, as the fool
ifh rabble call him, was always a penfioned
beggar ; firft to the duchefs of Marlbo-.
rough, in the intereft of Toryifm ; and a:f-
^erwards to government, in all its varying
meafures. Poor Pynfent ftarved his rela
tions to leave his fortune to an imp'Ofior. Hollis
had made ^ will of the fame kind ; but
meeting Chatham at Lyme, he exclaimed —
" He is hollow, noify, empty, vain, and
•' infincere ! 1 will tear my will, and leave
*' my fortune to a man who makes no
" public pretenfions." He was true to his
word, and Brand Hollis got himfelf into
prifbn, for the crime which his benefadlor
abhorred above all others. I hate

( 57 )
i hate thefe patriots ! and I am aftonifhed
at the credulity of the public, which affords
them credit in endlefs fucceffion. Pulteney
took off the mafk when he had acquired a
princely fortune : — the Chatham family
continue it ; becaufe a princely fortune will
not anfwer their wants. Charlotte, in or
dering hew bodies for the childreris' old
frocksj grumbles at the hints of Dundas,
that Pitt has fecured for himfelf, and his
immediate connections, near fixty thoufand
a-year !

RECOL^

( 58 )

RECOLLECTION X.
SATURDAY IQ.
HA! ha! ha!— I have fet am ambitious
blockhead on the toilfome and fruit-
lefs proje6f of moving a wooden houfe. If
he fucceed, he will be a pecuniary fufferer,
for I liave bargained prudently. But he will
be celebrated, and fhall have fame. How
magnificent it will appear in the foreign
gazettes ! — " The king of England, during
" his refidence at Cheltenham, ordered one
" of the houfes of the town to be conveyed
*' into a park, near his refidence, for the
" reception of his fecond fon, the duke of
*' York. Machinery was immediately ap-
" plied to the houfe ; and it was conveyed
" as by magic, &c."
I love fame ; but can obtain none ! Fo
reigners credit libels only ; or newfpapers
in oppofition : never thofe retained by my
minifter. The moft favourable opinion of
me, is a good fort of a man ; — fcanty in ta
lents ;

( 59 )
ients ; with a voracious indifcriminatino-
memory, and un'ceafing volubility of utter
ance ; totally unacquainted with political
fcience ; and a verbofe pretender in litera
ture and the arts. I have made bold ef
forts to obviate thefe fentiments. When
Herfchel difcovered a planet, I took him
under my prote6fion, on condition it fhould
be called by my name. All Europe re
volted at the abfurdity ; and not an af-
tronomer out of England (and the aftro-
nomer royal only in England) will call it
Georgium Sidus.
I dire6led Banks to have proper papers
in the royal fociety to fecure this appel
lation ; and to magnify the importance
of the difcovery, as compenfating the lofs of
America. Banks did ail in his power ; but
declared no good could be done with
the fociety, until all the old independent
members were gone, who were in habits
of intimacy with Franklin ; and they
were replaced by noblemen who would
render the fociety the inlb^ument of my
pleafure. That Banks is an odd animal:
I 2 with

( 6o )
with the phyfiognomy and gait of a fa-
vage ; with a fortune to render him inde
pendent ; and with a love of knowledge to
occupy him— he is a fervile courtier. A
fpy on the philofophical world— he en
ables me, un perceived, to dire<5f my influ
ence againft imperti^ient and innovating
genius ; and I have, by his means, facili
tated foreign negociations, and gratified
the vengeance of German defpots on men
of letters who have taken refuge in Eng
land. Pitt wanted his place for lord Ma-
hon, before Malion difobliged him in op-
pofiiig the plan v/liich he adopted from
Gale, the American, for the payment of the
national debt. Pitt was juftly ' provoked^
that Mahon fliould not have produced his
thoughts to him, as he certainly fliould have
adopted them in preference to thofe of a
ftranger ; and as, in a matter perfeftly un
intelligible tc himfelf, he would, have pro
ceeded with more confidence under the di-
re6lion of a relation. " No ;" fays Mahon,
" I will not labour, when others have the
« profit and fame. You employ a dozen
" fxgs

( ^1 )
•' fags to eolleCl the materials of a fingle
" fpeeeh; aaid fuffer many of them to re-
" main in difficulties, Avhile you wallow in
•' wealth, and are hailed by a venal parlia-
" ment, as a youth of aftonifhing abilities.
*' I will not lend you my brains ; they fliall
*' appear in oppofition, and they will be re-
" eognifed as my own." Thus the brothers
quarrelled ; and Mahon cannot be prefident
(f the royal fociety.
Lord Kenmore paid his court here; be
caufe he could not at St. James's, as a roman
catholic. The papifts have nearly relin-
quifhed all hopes from the Stuarts. Lord
Kenmore warmly invited me to Killarney.
It would be an adventure to pafs over into
Ireland on a vifit to a catliolic. What a
eombuftion I fhould occafion at Dublin 1
where government is a fyftem of jobs that
would difgrace Duke s-place. — I fliould like
to furprife the rogues. When the Ame
rican war broke out, I vifited Mrs. Wright's
exhibition of wax-work. The old hag- —
a furious Araerican — came up to me, and
feized the button of my coat ; — " Why
^' don't

( ^2 )
" don't you go to Araerica yourfelf," faid
fhe, " inftead of hearing the lies of your
" governors ?" " It is the firft invitation I
" have had, Mrs. Wright."— I wifli I had
accepted it ; however impertinent the mef-
fenger. I will go to Ireland. I will fee all
my European dominions before I die ; and
I fhall poffibly learn, too late, that nothing
imaginable can be eafier than to filence their
murmurs, and to render them profperous
and happy.
While I utter a good fentiment, or form
a good refolution, the newfpapers arrive
to obliterate them. The introdu6lion of
failors at Weftminfter has produced riots.
I rejoice I am at a diftance. I hate riots.
For though the guards are faithful to me,
and inimical to the people, a powerful tor
rent might burft their bounds and overr
w^helm me. The foldiers, and the Weft
minfter Juftices, it is to be hoped, will ter^
niinate the bufinefs.

RECOL-

( ^3 )
RECOLLECTION XL
SUNDAY, 20.
THE occurrences at the fpring want
novelty. The people croud the church
on Sunday ; but they feem fatisfied with
feeing us.
Employed myfelf, after fervice, in vifit-
Ing people at their lodgings, in the manner
of the emperor. Charlotte has great vene
ration for the German emperor, and could
not for fome time be reconciled to the
thoughts of his familiar vifits. I like them
vaftly, as filling up my time; and God
knows, I have time enough from five in
morning till twelve at night. I muft be a
httle more on my guard than at Windfor,-
where, if I had continued my familarities, I
fhould have depopulated the neighbor
hood. The doors were fhut up and barri
caded the inftant I appeared ; or a fingle fer-
vant would peep out at the window, and
declare earneftly, " there is nobody at
" horae."

( 6i )
" home." I have hunted families out o
clofets, cellars, and coal-holes, when they
were not difpofed to a little chat with me
in a morning: .and the bufinefs of the
iiioufe-trap occafioned fome uneafinefs; I
ftopped at the houfe of an officer's widow,
meaning only to afl; queftioHS on her fitu
ation. When I burft in, every place feem*
ed deferted. In fearching the kitchen^ and
examining; its contents, I found a little ma-
chine with a bit of cheefe in it. I put my
finger to the cheefe, and the machine pinch
ed rate fo horribly that I bellowed out. The
fervant came in ; the widow left her hiding
place, and with a thoufand apologies libe
rated my finger. I curfed the accident ;
but could not avoid a laugh on being told
I had been caught in a jnoife-trap. By lor^
and minute examination, which I beftow on
every thing to kill time, I underftood its
conftru6fion ; and fet the trap, meaning
not to call again until I thought fome moufe
had been as unfortunate as myfelf. I told*
the ftory to Charlotte; and began my vifits,
in charge of the widow's moufe-trap. But
though

C % )
though Charlotte is not jealous, fhe is pru
dent. I have no gallantry ; no infinuation ;
and my volubility, is not the manner which
engages women. It was not the thing,
however, in Charlotte's opinion, that I
fliould employ rayfelf about the widow's
moufe-trap.
Lord blefs me! the papers are full of
felf-murder ; and they convey the accounts
here on a Sunday, when prayers and fer-
mons have depreffed my fpirits. Say and
Sele! — it is not common to hear of a lord's
departure in fuch a manner. — HefTe, I fup
pofe, could fettle his accounts no other way.
Such :events will affe6l George ; but I can
not fay they move me. Hallifax obferved,
they are owing to the decline of religion,
and the prevalence of infidelity. I fhould
think, if the common people believed firmly
in the promifes of their religion, they would
difpatch themfelves with alacrity into the
other world. A king has no motive for
quitting this ; and I am not in danger of
fuicide. K RECOL-

( ^6 )

RECOLLECTION XIL
MONDAY 21.
T HAVE made the people here get up
-*- early. They fucceeded me fo rapidly
at the fpring this morning, that we drank
it dry. It feemed fo like jollity, that I led
a general huzza ; which terminated in a
laugh. Hunt is nOw become my conftant
companion. He knows every inch of the
country, and there is not a farmer with
whom he has not had fome litigation. I
fee he is hated in the neighborhood ! but
he gives me the minuteft information re
lating to it ; and he clears my way, for
none of the country people come within
fix yards of his perfon.
Mrs. Jordan is arrived. They announce
a player as they do a prince ; becaufe he
fometimes mimics royalty ; or becaufe he
is important to general mirth. Mrs. Jor
dan is the only public favorite, who
thoroughly pleafes me. The puffs of newf
papers

{ ^7 )
papers may buoy up Siddons, Kemble,, and
Brunton ; but there is abundant affe<5lation
and artifice mingled with their merits. —
Little Jordan is, in all points, the very
thing which the poet muft have intended ;
and fhe is the only performer exifting, who
makes me perfectly forget I am in a play-
houfe. I will fee her ; and have a hearty
laugh. Laughing does me more good than
the waters. Chefterfield was a fool in not
perceiving its utility ; and what is ufeful,
cannot be unpolite.
It drizzled a little in my ride ; and made
me think of the . ice ftorm in France. I
afked Digby, if he thought it probable
we fliould have fuch ftorms in England?
He only faid, he never heard of any. He
has no fmattering of philofophy, Cour
town will fpeak about any thing. I fhould
like to have a natural philofopher in my
fuite ; but he may chance to be thoughtful
and mute. I will fpeak to Banks on the
fubje6f . I hope he will not propofe himfelf.
The ftate of France is critical ; — I was
pleafed. to fee it haraffed ; but I like not
K 2 the

( 68 )
tihe language of its remonftrances. This
d  d philofophy, with its rights of nature,
humanity, and reafon, is the mortal and
irreconcilable enemy of power ; and prin
ces have a common intereft in fuppreffing
it. I. do not mean natural philofopliy ; the
profeflbrs of which are as tame and com
pilable as thofe of religion. I mean the
fpirit of difquifition into right and wrong,
in inftitutions and duties ; — they call it the
higher philofophy : — it is cultivated by the
votaries of ancient morality ; and brand
ing them with the odium of atheifm, does
not defkoy their credit. I am aftoriiflied
the clergy cannot filence them. In Eng
land we pay twp millions a year to a mer
cenary band, to defend its religion, and
maintain its credit ; and it is with difficulty
We can procure one to go out againft a
deift, though his hands be tied behind him
by j:ienal laws.
If a reformation take place in France, it
.will be on a plan of greater liberty thaj,i
that of England ; we muft then follow, in
ftead of giyitig, the exainple. Scotland, Ireland,

( ^9 )
Ireland, and even India, will require eman
cipation ; and I fhall be reduced to be only
*' firft among my equals." — Mem. to hint
to Rofe, that the commendations of Frendi
refiftance, in the minifterial newfpapers, are
riqX agreeable.

RECOL-

( 70 )

RECOLLECTION XIII.
TUESDAY, 22.
THE wooden houfe ftopped my way_
The queen is indifpofed, and when
ill, is fuperftitious ;— fo am I. She thought
the obftru6tion ominous ; and that fome
mifchance would befall us at a diftance
from the guards, &c. I only appear to
be unguarded here. Harrington's regi
ment is within call ; and is fufficient,
according to Amherft, to prevent any
thing that can arife here. I walk alone
near Windfor ; but it is always with troops
at fmall diftances. — This has the appear
ance of confidence, with the fecurity of
defpotic fufpicion.
I forgot to tell the queen, when im
peded by the wooden houfe, I jumped the
ditch: — one omen againft the other .-i-
When I had cleared it, I laughed, and
the people laughed. I had not my glafs
out, and could not perceive their mean-^ hig.

( 71 )
ing. Charlotte fays, I am ftill vigorous, but
becoming clumfy. A few leflbns on boxing
would be good exercife ; but George has
been refle6led upon for encouraging it ; and
I rauft not attempt what is unpopular in
George. I fuppofe Sheridan is a proficient,'
or he would not have collared a Weftmin
fter juftice ; who is generally made out of ^
brawny mechanic, and underftands bruifing.
The duke of Beaufort is come to invite
me to Badmington. This is mere ceremony ;
for I have mortaUy offended that hot and
haughty Welfhman. He has more family
pride than money ; and he wifhed to be;
mafter of the horfe : but his parliamentary-
intereft is nothing when oppofed to Nor
thumberland, or Montagu. The Welfh,
counties and boroughs fend fingle memh-
bers ; and he has only moieties of a few of
them. The queen likes the notions and man
ners of all the Beauforts : — they are. Celtic
or Teutonic, and analogous to thofe of
Mecklenbourg. RECOL-

( 72 )

RECOLLECTION XlV.
WEDNESDAY, 23.
THIS day I devoted to packing and ar
ranging for the excurfion to Glocefter.
If I did not attend to the feveral wardrobes
of the familyj no income would fuftain the
expence ! I afked George once, if he knew
the number of his coats ? He faid he did
not ; but would obtain me the information
if I chofe it. He would not mifs a diamond
or a pearl ; and would be ftripped, if I did
not commit him to proper people. The
papers have been jocofe on my locking up
the queen's petticoat, when trimmed for
the birth-day. It is often covered with di
amonds, to the value of feventy thoufand
pounds ; and the jewellery of the family ia
worth three hundred thoufand ! George
would leave them about the rooms like com
mon pebbles. I cannot fleep when they are
all colle6led under my roof ; and I fhould
mif§ the fmalleft article in a moment, RECOL-

( 73 )

RECOLLECTION XV.
THURSDAY, 24.
MY firft vifit to Gloucefter will be me
morable ; as the great cities and
towns of the kingdom have long been
ftrangers to their kings. I had no idea
they wore fo much the appearance of an
tiquity ; and did not participate of modern
and convenient improvements. The con
finement of the court in London, not to
call it imprifonment, has drawn every thing
there, as to a centre ; and the inhabi
tants are angry if the minifter does not
detain parliament three -fourths of the
year. The crowd of fpe6lators, in our ap
proach to Gloucefter, was very great ; and
it alarmed the queen, as it was the firft
time I was really in the power of the
people : lord Harrington having fent only
a fmall part of his regiment into the neigh
borhood. Every thing pafled oft very
L weft:—

( 74 )
well :— ^the farther from London, the more
fuperftitious the people both in religion
and loyalty ! We had ordered prudently
to have our head quarters at the bifhop's
palace ; it gave an air of fandlity to our
proce6di^^. The M^Q^'s children fcat-
terihg fldWer^ at our entrance, was dra
matic. The queen perceived the artifice,
and returned it by kiHjng them. In view
ing the cathedral, and the pin matmfa6lory,
I could not avoid recolle6ting'Jenkirifon's
t:bm'parative iUode of eftimating fuoh fa-

Jenkinfon, if he could occafionally forget
his own triterefi, would be a good politician.
—He hates cathedrals and corporations in
his heart, though he adores them iri ap
pearance ; and eftimates a thoufand modes
in which their revenues might promote in-
dufby and population. In comparing the.
cathedral of Gloucefter and the pin manu-
fa6fory, he would have ftated their refpec-
tive capitals ; the eftates of the churdi
"twenty, perhaps a hundred, times the fum
employed in the manufa^lor}- : the one in
definite

( 15 >
definite in good confequences, by the fup
port of induftrious families ; the other, a
neft of drones, ufeful to adminiftration only
once in feven years. I cannot adopt thefe
fentiments.— I recolleft James's opinion,—
no bifhop, no king,;— rand yet in furveying
old cathedrals, and old c^ftleg, I cannot
help meafuring the ground they occupy in
imagination, and pomputing the ufes tq
which it might be applied. Bu,t in ^
country, where one-third of t^e land is
wafte, we may af&rd rooi? for cathedi;^^
gn4 old caftlgs,

L s RECOL-

( 7S )

RECOLLECTION XVL
FRIDAY, 25.
THE infirmary and prifon at Gloucefter
were the firft places of the kind I had
ever feen ; and infirmaries and prifons, I
think, are analogous ; the firft, places of
^^periinent for" young furgeons, who are
trained, like blood - hounds, to a61:s of
fcmelty ; and the latter, fcenes of ufe-
lefs mifery for thofe who cannot com
pound with magiftrates, conftables, and
beadles. Howard has found a way to immor-"
tality, by fuggefting accommodations for
thofe unfortunate wretches. The tenantry
of the county fuffer for the profufion of
building materials now ufing about prifons.
Hunt, and Sir George Paul, are ere61:ing
monuments to their memor}' — enormous
burthens will keep the people humble.—*
What v,-e want is to clear the lower offices
of juftice of thofe filthy vermin that infeft
them :

( 77 )
iJiem : and when the guilty are difcrimi-
nated from the innocent, their punifhment
fliould be fevere and exemplary. The idea
of folitarinefs, Howard has borrowed froju-
the Baftile, and other prifons of defpo
tic ftates: — it will have the fame effe^
here ;— wretched nefs will terminate in in-
fanity. Gloucefter has fuggeftedfeveral new plans.
The plan of funday fchools originated with
a printer and bookfelier here, whom I
had the curiofity to fee. This is alfo a
popular idea, which I mu/l feem to approve ;
though if has many exceptionable cir
cumftances, which Jenkinfon fuggefted on
its firft appearance. The learning and
difcipline of fchools difqualify children for
labour, give them tender habits, and am
bitious views. An encroachment is made
on the clafs of labourers, to furnifli trade and
manufa6tures with hands, which they do
not call for ; as the children of the manu-
fa<5luring towns are fufficient for their pur
pofes. Thefe therefore muft go, with the
pupils of parifh fchools, and fpundling hof-
pitals

( 7^ )
pitals in London, iato the claftes of thieve*
and pickpockets. Sunday fchools ;, Would
be barbarous prifons for the children of
manufacturing towns, who are faftened ta
their work all the week ; and in other
places they will lefTen the numb&r of labour^
ing peafants, which are furnifhed by y^ga-»
bond uninftru6ted boys, always expofed
to the weather, and accuftomed to hard-
fhip I have no peace of mind during this
ele^ion at Weftminfter ! — I wifh I hadi
thrown the reins of parliament inXa the hands
of Fo3C, inftead of fuffering them to be pur-?
Ipin^d from me by Pitt, Thurlow, and
Dundas ! Macmmara is murdered ! This
is the confequence of introducing the fai-r
lors. The foldiers would h)|ve managed
better, with two or three trading juftices.
Who is Macnamara? — An Irifh gambler
and fortune hunter, made into a gentleman
hy the daughter of old Jones, the Lincoln's-?
inn mifer.' What a fupporter to a virtuous
admihiflxation ! Stackpoole tells a tale;
which, if applicable to the loweft retainer

( 7I> )
of oppofition, would furnifh tlie materials
of ia pamplilet to Horne Tooke, and in
numerable paragraphs in the minifterial
prints. I hope the blockhead will die of
his wounds; as ^bbody funeral would have
a good effe6l ; and the; tragic, event vv'ould
furnifli our ftupid hirelings wkh a fub-
.je6l ; which they have not talents to in
vent. I can hardly believe the old duchefs of
Beaufort, whofe pride borders on infanity,
•would permit her dai^hter, in the very
•^pih of qftentatious zvije, to canvas ^3>i-nft
Towrafliend. Rutland was brutalized to a
.^grE«, that no woman Could regret. iMm.-f-
Qaeenfbury fays, and he knows 'all the .fidfr
.g'afe/fc of .igreat families, that while heat-
tempted any thing ^ecent-and tolerable in
jappearabce, he was under the diredliou of
• Jack Townfhend ; who made his i^eecii^,
,WTX)te His letters, and was the cicefbeo of
the duchefs. But the duchefs has no bmrt;
and never made a lafting impreffion on any.
In a ftate of intoxication, he took liberties
with her in a coach ; and a rupture enfued, which

( ^ )
wlfich her hufband never refented. I do
not 'wonder fhe wiflies to be revenged on
Townfhend ; but Charlotte fays, it is not
for the tranfadtion in the coach.
What a contraft between this vain un
feeling doll, and the duchefs of Devon
fhire ! Animated with intelligence and
goodnefs ; the friend of merit in every form,
I regret the politics that withholds her from
court. Charlotte is not fond of her. She
draws too much attention ; and attention
to her, is attachment : for every thing fhe
fays and does interefts affe6lion, and heigh
tens efteem. How firmly attached to Fox !
Indeed how juftly ! but he awes my genius,
and annihilates majefty, by his prompt
manlinefs, and rapid refolutions ! I will
not think of him; though I am fufficiently
fickened by a profligate bully as the agent
of my confcience, and the joftling and hy
pocritical chicanery of Jenkinfon, Pitt, and
Dundas.

RECOL-

{ Si )
ll^^COLLECTtON ^TV^IL
SATURDAY, sSi
T SKOilJLt) haye had no difHci^lties froj^
A- invitations tp dinnersj Ijut fpr the at-
tadhmieBt pf the queen to etiquette. At
lord Coventry's, the view of the grounds
apjd park, create that fpecies of buftle
in which I delight. But the hills here
dra^vs . ftiowters 5 ai3,4 ±hey refpeCl royalty
t^ little as they dp beggary, I had a little
converfatioii wjth Coventry on parental
affe6tiop. , He fpoke the language of 3
genuine convert to a ftep-mOther. If
George was redjiced to the condition of
Deerhurft, I fhoiild he obliged to take him
tD^myiffms, pr the nation would run m^d.
Vj^t does Coventry want? He is pro-
fjaf^ and unrean^wiag in Qomrnendations pf
prefent minifter^ and prefent meafures ;
and wifhes they would frequ,ently call upon ,
hi^ t9 bea^ his t^ltimony in the houfe of
l$>rds. M Queenf-

( 8^' )
Queenfljury and Salifbury are arrived,
I had fome jokes with them, I cautioned
the old beau to have mercy on the Glou
cefter fhire girlsr who would drop in co-
vies before the charms of his perfon and
addrefs, 1 faw Elizabeth furveying his
whole figure with fatyrical curiofity. Char
lotte would not forgive me if I were to afk
her thoughts. He is ah old battered but
terfly; vvho, if reduced to the exercife of
his real talents, would hardly keep himfelf
firom ftarving as a journeyman taylor." But'
he has rank, fortune, and parliamentary"
intereft both here and in Scotland ; and he
is always with the minifter and court.
Aylfbury, with a fpare and he6fic habit,
would do well to come here on duty imme
diately after the honey-moon. He thought
it dangerous to permit his lady to can
vas at Wefbninfter,* after he had fet her
paflions a-float. But the pretty fellows are
all on the- other fide. And we declaim on
chaftity and virtue.
I can obtain- no. good reafon, why a per
fon of Pitt's youth and health fhould be
averfe

'( »3 )
averfe to women. Bridget Tollemache
fays, the . termination of all the juices are
towards his head and lungs. . His mother
miglit; have managed matters with Pulr-
teney, on the firft blaze of Pitt's good forr
tune ; but the daughter could .not. endur^
him. She is a fpirited girl. — Mem. — to afk
Pulteney, why fhe was educated at a con
vent ; and, why the crown of her head is
fhaved ?
Aylfbury will be unhappy, if it be only
for having furniture in his chamber. A
formalift fliould never marry. Ayllbury's
bed-chamber had only his bed, and a finall
cabinet. He undreffed on the floor, that
he might not admit a chair to harbour duft,
and produce fleas. What a revolution his
wife will occafion in his habits !
The idle gentry here are meditating a
private play ; and they very properly call
their club The Lounge. It is unaccountable
that Richmond, the penurious Richmond,
Ihould take the lead in fuch expenfive
amufements. I have had fome thoughts of
fuftainirtg a part myfelf as a performer ;
M2 but

( H )
but Charlotte was averfe ; and I could hot
fuit my fancy. I thought Siddbns a good
model; mafculine, imperious, and royal;
and fhe read feveral plays for me ; but my
organs moved too rapidly j and the riiattdp
w^$ dropped.

RECOL-

{ «5 )

RECOLLECTION XVIIi,
SUNDAY, 27.
T HAVE plaj^d in a religious farce this
-*- day. Ay ! fays Charlotte, there you
fire a rapital performer ! t rumble over
the refponfes, and keep up the npife and
buftle of the fervice with great effe6f. The
corporation of Glpucefter, in meeting m&
at my entrance, tiiade a grotefque appear
ance. The duke of Norfolk % the fide
of a tallow-chandler. Augufta faid, he
looked a little afhamed. What a phara61:er !
and what a fituation ! The firft duke of
the realm, having juft emancipated the fa-
Ittily from the fhackles of a difadvantagebu^
faperflitipn, and without ifiUe ; the patrbii
pi genius, taking little trouble to difbrimi-
hate ; and the friend of virtue. With jper-
feGt inattention to appearahb6s. ti'lje un
derftood his own ftfength, hfe might pro-
^qfe his WMs at St, James's.
' The

( 86 )
The public fervice was fplendidly per
formed. If the clergy were mafters of their
profeflSon, we fhould have no diffenters or
methodifts ; and they would be valuable
allies to adrninifb'ation. Ihad droll recol
lections and feelings, when feated'on the
bifhop's throne. Hallifax configned it to
me, I fuppofe, as head of the church. I
could not help thinking of the various ma
chinations which had been formed on it ;
and the chara6lers which had occupied it
in the gradations of ecclefiaftical prefer
ment. Among the fhadows which paffed
before my imagination, Warburton feem
ed the moft mighty ; — unprincipled, and
brutal, he employed his force for the in
tereft of the hierarchy, as he would have
done for the devil, if he could have re
warded and promoted him. Tucker, a fi-
milar, but more feeble charadfer, early
miffed his way. He thought to have ren
dered commerce, as Warburton had ren
dered poetry, fubfervient to ecclefiaftical
views. It is nearly over with him ; and his
deanery may be ufeful at the general eleftion.
MONDAY,

( 87 )
MONDAY, 28.
NOT worth recoUedling — Charlotte not
approving my appearance at a country
fair, difplaying my knowledge as a farmer,
and buying a horfe at an extravagant price.

RECOL"

( SS )

RFiCO ELECT ION "itlt*
'TUESD-AYi 2@, AND WEDNESDAY, 50.
I MEANT to have diftiriguiflied Tues
day by my vifit to George Selwyn ; a
wit by profeffioUj and with whom I was
prepared for a conteft. But on repeating
it, the princefles laughed ; and Charlotte
hoped I would not write it down.
Received an invitation to Vifit Briftol— »^
faid I was not well enough to eat turtle.
It is a rich, but ftupid place ; and abounds
with diflenters. Apropos — I have had no
meflage from Birmingham — the principal
neft of fe6faries. They imitate all religions
there, as they produce falfe coins ; and
with the fame views. Prieftly is reviving
focinianifm ; and pafTing for novelties the
rags and tatters of a forgotten herefy. He
goes to the very fhore of infidelity ; but
he prudently ftops, where his intereft will
allow no further licenfe — and the man who
could not render his talents of importance to

( 8a )
to the political difb^effes of Landfdown,
makes a confiderable income from the ver
fatile credulity of the honefi people' of Bir-
mino-ham. Wednefday evening, I entered, for the
firft time, a country play-houfe ; but Char
lotte would have it royal, before it received:
my facred perfon. She has an opinion we
have fomething holy about us. If I were
to confecrate a church, it would be pecu
liarly benefited. I fuppofe I fhall be in
vited to Birmingham — May I not ferve a
meeting-houfe as I have the play-houfe;
and by a confecrating letter, render it fit for
my reception ? The king of Pruftia, on his
acceffion, went to the principal churches of
all the feels in Berlin! The clergy here
would not bear the propofal ; and if I were
to difoblige them, Charles Fox would imr-
mediately become a zealot ; and I fhould find
the houfe of commons filled with impla
cable patriots.
Many of Pitt's private confidants are dif
fenters ; and yet Pitt is at heart a tory. Wil
berforce, Beaufoy, and the Thorntons, have
N fucked

( 90 )
fucked the venom of difaffeSlibn : but they
are renegadoes ; and a6ting under a fpe
cies of fhame for their former conne6lions,
no real inconvenience is to be apprehended
fi"om them.
It is remarkable that the fortunes of
thefe men fhould have been made by fmug
gling ; and that they fhould have fuggefted
Pitt's meafures againft it. I have been well
affured, that an old finner in one of thofe
families, who in the famous conne6tion of
Hull, Liverpool, and Clapham, made pro
digious fums by fmuggling tobacco, allots
fifteen hundred, or two thoufand a year
to refcue his foul from the devil. Should it
not be paid into the treafury, and not in
charity ? for by taking the merit of charity,
he defeats every effe6l of reftitution ; and
the devil will have him as furely as if he
did not beftow a fhilling, Dundas would
manage fuch a fellow very well, if he were
amenable to the board of controul ; and
would dire6l his confcience into the proper
channel. If Dundas had any equity in
Iharing the fruits of his manoeuvres, he
would

( 91 )
would be the beft minifter in Great Britain.
— He fecures the prize, and leaves not a
trace of the tranfa«5lion. THURSDAY, gl. '
INVITATION to Hereford from lord
Oxford. — The queen put me in raind of the
cyder-tax.

-^s. RE^OL-

( 9« )

RECOLLECTION XX.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 1.
THIS is the anniverfary of the acceflTion
of our family to the Englifh throne:
an event celebrated for fome time with en-
thufiafm by the friends of liberty ; but the
enthufiafm has evaporated on their familiarity
with its bleffings. The Stuarts were iU ad
vifed: — the real power of the crown was
never fo great as at the prefent moment ;
but it is not affuming and tyrannical ; it
always moves in a mafque, and faps the
rights of the people unperceived, ' The
lords will foon be as numerous as the
commons ; — the excife will be univerfal ; —
the police will reft on the army ; — and taxes
will be levied by farmers general. Pitt has
made confiderable progrefs in the attain
ment of thefe dbje6ls, and without alarm ;
for the people only are injured. Fox
ftumbled on an iniquitous, but powerful
monopoly ; and the danger of the India
Company

( 9S )
Company alarmed all the chartered 'villainies
of the kingdom. — We had the addrefs to
call this patriotifm ; and Fox was loft. The
annihilation of all the charters in the king
dom would be a national bleffing of ine/ii-
mahle magnitude.— The minifter who extends
the excife over the fmalleft village, on any
pretences whatfoever, fliould be torn to
pieces by its, inhabitants.
We drank the pump dry, in honour of
the day ; and the band playing « the lad's
" alive." I could not help capering a little
before lady. Mary B  y, and crying out
" the lad's alive ;" and I do not yet mean
to die. Lady Mary is prim and fententious
about mufic. I love plain intelligible old
tunes, and the noife of Handel's choruffes.
The commemoration . of Handel will turn
to good account. — Jenkinfon learnt the
mode of combining charity with intereft,
of the duke of . Northumberland ; wlio
prefided at hofpitals, and encouraged fub-
fcriptions wherever he could fecure votes:
and Jenkinfon will render even a mufical
fund, an engine of influence. A hint has
been

( 94 )
been given of a literary fund ; and the
committee of the privy council are enquiring
its deftination. Care muft be taken to pre
vent the independence of men of letters ;
and if the plan be introduced, it muft be re
gulated to our views by the clergy. Pretty-
man advifes the idea of provifion for poor
curates to be tacked to it; which would
frighten away the fubfcribers, br fecure the
management in our intereft. — Mem. to be
very attentive to this bufinefs, as it is of
great importance. If the prefs were free
from influence and power, government would
be modified in a few months.
The duke of York has brought down
Bunbury. — My face will not bear caricature ;
and this Frederic muft tell Bunbury. George
laughs at my calling Frederic " the hope
" of the family;" — I mean only in pru
dence. I am very fenfible George is worth
all the houfes of Hanover and Mecklenburg,
in real talents and difpofitions of mind. But
I dread his popularity ; and muft contrive
that his youthful imprudences be regarded
by the people through refleStors, Frederic covers

( 95 )
-Covers a little mind, deftitute of important
infprmation and good qualities, with the
veil of prudence and ceconomy. If Fre
deric were king ; Lanfdown, minifter ;
Pitt, chancellor of the exchequer ; Wefley,
arehbifliop ; and Wefcott and Eden, Secre
taries of ftate,— government would be effec
tive from its harmony ; and it might rival
that of Cromwell in hypocrify.
Saturday, AugTift the 2d, Sunday, 3d,
. unprodu6f ive of new events.— Monday, 4th,
heavy from prefentiment on the fate of the
Weftminfter eleCfion.

RECOL-

( 96 )
RECOLLECTION, XXI.
TUESDAY,' 5.
'pVREADFULLY alarmed— The lunMic
'•^— ' World brought in mourning for the dif-
comfiture of Hood! The queen fhrieked:
her children being difperfed over the earth.
and waters, and- not encouraging any rea-
fonable hopes. They have been dreadfully,
educated ; and they -make proper returns.
The younger fprouts no fooner touched
the. foil of Germany, but they difcovered
their nature : they have abandoned all ap
pearance of ftudy and reftraint ; . and are
emulating the failor in low diffipation, and
the arts of licentious and petty defpotifm.
Pitt is taken . ill at the event of the
Weftminfter election. — ^The failors fliould
not have been introduced. Fox is the fa
vourite of the common people ; and they
were furnifhed with a pretence for riot and
violence. Horne Tooke, and our newf
papers, are to "xry thief firft." — But the
arts

( 97 )
arts of Bow-ftreet and St. Giles wiE not
doz the manner of affembling the failors
was too bungling :— artful occafions fhould
have been created for the guards. — ^They
are only armed citizens ; and with a little
addrefs in their introdu<5tiop, they may
terrify, maim, and murder thofe who are
unarnied, whenever the views of admini
ftration are endang^ed.
With the impreffion pf this defeat, how
ever, I am obfiged to vifit Worcefter.---
Hurd has a beautiful and noble fituation
at Hartlebury, in the centre of his dioCefe ;
with power and privileges which I do
not enjoy at Windfor. And of what is
this the reward ? Of his daflTic tafte and
jbearning, there niay be no real doubts,
though fome are fuggefted. Is it the re
ward of his theological, moral, and politi-
^ writings, which are only fuftained abovp
contempt by cautious phufibility, and a
laboured fmoothnefs of ftyle? Is it the
reward of his education, of my ^«?— the
prop of my yeffl*s, and the hope of my hingf^
dms^ If rew^ds were adminiftered with
O are-

C 98 )
a retrofpe6l to duty or merit, a cell in
Newgate fliould have been fubftituted for
the charming refidence at Hartlebury. <
'•^ Set beggar on horfeback," they fay,
" and he will ride furioufly," He has dif
play ed here the power and inclination of
a tyrant. A village fkirts a romantic com
mon, which is a mere circumftance in the
light and fhadow of the landfcapes from
the caftle. The inhabitants are rapidly
increafing by the introdu6tion of manufac
tures : they applied to Hurd to inclofe,^ and
build on the wafte ; and alleged their own
accommodation, the encouragement of ma-
nufa6tures, and the future benefit of the
bifhoprick'.- He anfwered, *' the biflioprick
*' will not be benefited in my time ; and as to
¦" trade and manufaetures, they are too much
'"encouraged; they deflroy all order and
•*' fubordination; and fbfter infolence and in-
" dependence. You fliall not have an inch
" of the wafte." — This is truly- epifcopall.
The fituation of Worcefter is pleafant ;
the ftreets ' are fpaeioiiS} and the- houfes
iook cleanly. The country muft 'be very
populous.

( 99 )
populous, or the people very foolifh ; for
the crpuds were fo great that we I could
hardly make our way into the town.

O s RECOL-

( 300 )
RECOLLECTION^ XXIL
WEDNESDAY, 6.
THE wretched inhabitants had no fleep
laft night, underftanding I fhoiild tra-
verfe the town at five or fix in the morn-
I aflced the mayor — a curious figure ! —
how long fince they had been vifited by
a king ? He knew nothing of the matter ;
but referred me to Dr. Nafh, a clerical
antiquarian. Hunt, at Cheltenham, had
pointed him out to me as brother-in-law:
to Martin, the fiaj'ling ; and had intimated,
that Martin's tongue might be regu
lated by the motions of Nafh in Worcefter
cathedral. — ^This hint to Thurlow. But
Thurlow is fuch a bear ! What a break-
faft for a whale, if he, Stafford j and his
amiabTi wife, and the metropolitan, and his
wife'i had been drowned in their watery ex
curfion at Scarborough ! I filled up their
places, in imagination, on the firft hint of
fncka pfoffibility. ' I felt

( 1<31 )
¦ 1 ' felt a. pang at being informed the
laft monarch who vifited Worcefter was
Jaraes IL The Henrys, and the Ed
wards, were familiar in every important
part of their dominions ; and they hc»i«r€d
.this place with their prefence at great
and folemn feftivals. But the moft memo
rable and melancholy event of this region,
is the arrival -and defeat of Charles II. —
.Pitt apd Jei^kinfon are ever aflbciating
Oliv^ Cromwell and Charles Fox; but
I own I cannot fee the firailude. > , .
I recei^red the addrefs of the eorpor-ation
.and clergy. I did not want to be in|iM:ine|l
they were at my devotion- \ybrcefter has
been among theforemoft in sddTeSmg yi^e
crown on all occafions. In the commence
ment of the American \^ar, and in every
_cffort for its continuation, it exhibited its
courtly civility, Wtet agroupol" maipy^-
trates and aldermen !*-4ev«ral >of them-lyiw
been found guilty of bribery at drftfflrer^
.^e^ionsl The corporation, always fupgprt*
Jl liabob, or a creature of sidHiini|lratiDn.
It is much under the influence .iof Co
ventry,

veil try," - who is the recorder ; "^arid he is
'J)^rticukrly devoted to me, in the hopels
that my condu6tto George, may juftify his
cruelty to DeephUrft. But George has-nbt
yet a ftep-mother; dnd the' nation would
notlendure in him the fatie of poor Deer-
hurft.? -w-";-::^ ^::-l ¦^¦¦* :¦* '- H.W..W. :¦;:.;
¦•-.ii e)r/-:j THURSDAY, 7-;..:.u; -Jil: I
V- VISITED the^round on which the bat
tle of 'Worcefter-'' was fought ;- but -had
not fpirits to examine it. Would have feen
'the royal oak ; but was informed 'it was at
-too great a diftance ; that the!^ tree was dead':
'''tLnda.n heir apparent fyroutiiig'upi'^l have
•nb fancy for heirs apparent. ' ;;i - ' • -' -
-^-¦nr-r-y-) c:'; rj .:.... .o !'- ;. j ;: .'O': j
vr.,.3 I'. [-- ,.. FRIDAY, 8. _ ;';,._•
' -' ' teCEiVED ' the trades, with their ri-
¦feulSuS^infignia.' ^ I like the produce of
'tfade ; but I am of Hurd's opinion about
tradefnieri; Vifited the china mariufadl'ory:
-—the place has an infernal -appearance.
They tell me thofe large fires breed fala^
malnddrs.— Muft confult - Baiiks'-upon- the
' - bufi-

t 103 .)
bufinefs. The man who defcribed the
works to me, carries tobacco in his mouth
— Charlotte fays he fraelt horribly. I find
mixing with my people attended with many
difagreeable circumftances. — 'God grant we
may retiirn fafe to Windfof !. The attend
ance at the church and concert' .was rio
novelty to nie, whatever it was to the fpee-
tators.-^I am:foon tired of one place. .'
' Before I took.my leave of Worcefter, Courr
town hinted it would be proper for' me to
¦dtfpenfe fome" marks; of my royaP preroga
tive :— money I had : given as profufely as
the queen's 'oecoriomy would permit. En*
rfuiry was made for an obje6t to. receive the
honors of knighthood: on thefe occafions
I give with pleafure, as the favour confier-
ed gi"atifieis the receiver's vanity ; and the
a'ccuftomed; fees prove ufeful to my attend
ants. At length a curious %ure'wa?,pre-
ifented,: appareUtly better ^calculated for the
¦grave, than temporal honors': a tpuch from
•myimagicfWPrd made him rife — ^Sir Charles
Withers:!— -r what a hapjiy circumftance if he
ycfe an honeft man ! ¦: id, a i. . '
. /) .-, RECOL-

( 104 )

RECOLLECTION XXIIL
SATURDAY, 9..
RETURNED to Cheltenham, where the
people feemed tired of me. ' Sir James
Harris in London ; and the Irifh provoft on
his way here.— Sir James muft be made a
lard'.i — lords will , be as ridiculous as Mar
garet Nicholfon's knights. The nation is
completely duped in the Dutch bufinefs,—
WeafiTifted the king of Prulfia in cramming
the privileges of the ftadtholder into the
throats of the Dutch ; vrithout attending to
the charge of having for^ited them.
Hutchinfon is gafping for the chancellori-
fliip. He is an Irifh fhark ; infatiable in the
purfiiits of places and penfions ; and ready
ibrahy fervices to obtain them :— but an
Englifliman muft ^11 the place — Jenkinfon
feys, he h^ the authority of Montefquiei;i
for excluding the natives. We have walked
to the theatre^ It had a rural air ; but my
f^tiraents are never rural \ ^
Sunday,

( 105 )
Sunday, ii. Nothing.  Monday, 12,
George's birth-day, , I had fome thoughts
on parental love ; but I difmiffed them. I
am called the father or my peOple-r-i^ wha,t
feufe ?

CON-

( io6 )

CONCLUDING RECOLLECTION.
nPHE 13th, 14th, and 15th, I pafled in
vifits to the bifhop of Salifbury, Sir
George Paul, and Martin the /larling, near
Tewkelbury : very different chara6ters, ac
cording to Hunt. The firft was formed in
a puritanic mould : his father and mother
being ftri6l diffenters ; but the children
have underftood their intereft better ; and
the bifhop, in tlig true fpirit of a renegado,
has oppofed every extenfion of indulgence tO
his father's friends : — this proves the fin-
cerity of his converfion ! Kendecomb, the
place of the bifhop's refidence, defcended to
him at the deceafe of Sir William Guife :
the afpe6t forms a beautiful corabination of
wood, lawn, and water. Sir WiUiam was
one of thofe refpe6table beings called, a
country gentleman : — there is not a farmer
who had the happinefs of being one of his
tenants, but what flieds tears on mentio^.
of his name — fuch is the lofs of a good man :
•—Should death call Salifbury afide, there
would

( 107 )
would be few mourners ; for he is covetous,
haughty, and tyrannical. What a pity it is
the clergy pay no more attention to the
humble precepts of their religion. Sir
George is an oftentatious mechanic ; and
Martin is vain of his apparent honefty. Jenk
infon fays, he affords a good tefi of pra^i--
cability in the houfe; for voting always by
confidence, and not by judgment, when an
artifice reaches his underftanding, it is too
grofs to pafs ; and it is high time to withdraw
it : but the political conftitution may be frit
tered into a thoufand atoms before fuch un-
derftandings perceive the danger. I wifh we
had more fuch honefi men ! I highly like
Hunt's fketches of Gloucefterfhire charac
ters. SATURDAY, l6.
RETURNED to Windfor ; and fufpended
my Recolleftions to another excurfion.

FINIS.

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