TWELFTH DAY.

Saturday, November 22.

At the close of the poll, the numbers were as

Mr. BYNG made his bow and retired.

Sir FRANCIS BURDETT.-Gentlemen; Although you have paid every attention due to the Gentleman near me, (Mr. Mellish) an attention excited, perhaps, a little by the curiosity you probably have, in common, participated with me to hear some explanation of the curious mystery he announced to us on a former day, yet we not having obtained any explanation, he thinks, I flatter myself, that, upon this occafion, you may be more fortunate, as well as myself.-Gentlemen; Mr. Mellifh seems to be as determined to keep his secret as close as Launce, the Clown, in one of Shakespear's Plays; who, speaking of his love, fays, "that is a secret, that a team of horses fhall not draw from me."-Gentlemen; Mr. Mellifh yesterday favoured us but with one observation, and that not a very gracious one; Mr. Mellish observed, that all I had said had no effect whatever upon his mind; that my speeches were totally loft upon him. I will not return Mr. Mellish so bad a compliment; I can affure you, that his speeches-I fhould rather say, his speech (for he has

favoured us with only one during the course of this Election); that speech, containing the great discovery before alluded to, was not, I can affure him, loft upon me, Gentlemen; I might add "but the contrary," to use the language of Mr. Byng, who, I truft, will not grudge me the use of it, as he seems to make none of it himself.-Gentlemen; when my mind recovered from the surprize and astonishment with which it was overwhelmed, upon the first announcal of Mr. Mellifh's great discovery, I began immediately to think within myself, and to form conjectures, how it was possible for him to have obtained it! Gentlemen, I have heard many grave and learned men, in the defence of abftruse subjects, ftate it as their opinion, that, although many of their objects were unattainable, that frequently, in the pursuit, they stumbled upon some sort of useful discovery, which turned out afterwards to the great benefit of mankind. Now, Gentlemen, confidering it in this point of view, I was at a loss to imagine what great pursuit or object Mr. Mellish could have been endeavouring to obtain, when he had the good fortune to hit upon his lucky discovery; and, Gentlemen, after a great deal of consideration with myself, (after weighing maturely a variety of pointsafter considering the situation of Mr. Mellish, as a Bank Director), confidering how valuable a commodity, especially just now, GOLD must be at the Bank, it immediately struck my mind, that, when Mr. Mellifh hit upon this magnificent new discocovery of his, he could have been in pursuit of no other object, than that of the philosopher's flone;

and,

and, Gentlemen, it must be a great comfort to you to think, that, when Mr. Mellifh fhall have found out the philosopher's ftone, the Bank will resume its payments in cash.-Gentlemen; I hope that this success of Mr. Mellifh will not tend, in any way, to retard him in his original pursuit; but, on the contrary, that this lucky discovery of his will only operate as a stimulus to his future exertions; because, I am persuaded, notwithstanding the slight opinion Mr. Mellish has been pleased to express of me, I am firmly persuaded, that there is no man more likely to find out the philosopher's ftone than himself. Mr. Mellish has the goodness to inform me, and I thank him for it, that it was not of me, but of my principles, that he thought lightly.-Gentlemen; This calls to my mind an historical fact I have read in a great poet. It is recorded by that great moral hiftorian, Ben Johnson, in his Alchymift, that this wise and learned man, this alchymift, after many years of severe labour and ftudy in pursuits, like those of Mr. Mellish, after the philosopher's ftone, did at length, towards the conclusion of his days, in his grey hairs, and his cheer dayɛ, make a discovery, not indeed of the philosopher's ftone, but a discovery perhaps more useful to mankind; he discovered, Gentlemen, a cure for the itch. Now, Gentlemen, although Ben Johnson's Alchymift certainly will bear away the palm of the discovery, confidered only in the point of utility,-yet, I muft ftill be of opinion, that Mr. MELLISH, in point of ingenuity, and novelty, and subtilty of thought, will, in the estimation at least of the learned few, maintain the precedence,

precedence, and continue a long time their delight; -to please which few, such, for instance, as his profound and learned friend Mr. BowLES and his compeers, if, indeed, that Gentleman is not altogether peerless, which I fhall not take upon me to determine, but certainly, it must be more glorious and honourable to Mr. MELLISH to please those learned few, than either to serve, or please, the Swinifh Multitude, in general.-Gentlemen; It is an observation, not quite so novel as the discovery of Mr. MELLISH, that, in this our lot and condition of humanity no valuable thing can be obtained without confiderable pains and labour. It is equally true that the pains and labour we bestow upon any object, in order to acquire it, is perhaps, the beft criterion of the estimation in which we hold it. Gentlemen; 1 truft, then, that you will see, and that Mr. MELLISH will see, the high value I put upon his sentiments and opinions, if I could hear them, by the pains and labour that I have been at, in endeavouring to elicit a principle, or an opinion from him. But, Gentlemen, I begin to fear, that, unless I fhould be as much favoured by good fortune and inspiration, as he has been in making that wonderful discovery of the power of inftilling unknown principles, into principles unknown, unless I fhould have the good fortune to discover some process of diftillation, by which his principles, in spite of himself, may be distilled from him, I fhall at length, I believe, give up all such attempts in future in despair.-Gentlemen; upon this point Mr. MELLISH seems to be even more discreet and secret than the sapient lord BUR

LEY,

LEY, in the Critic;-he will not even afford us a shake of the head.-Gentlemen; I fhall only make one further observation, and take my leave of you. It is this; I am persuaded, that if Minifters had been but half as wise as Mr. MELLISH,-had they known half as well how to keep an advantage, when obtained, Europe, would not, in all probability, have been in the condition in which we now see it."

Mr. MELLISH. "Gentlemen, I thank you for your support. If the worthy Baronet's speeches please you, I can have no objection to them."

THIRTEENTH DAY.

Monday, November 24.

At the close of the poll, this day, the numbers

Mr. BYNG made his accustomed bow, and retired, amidst the uproar and laughter of the crowd.

Sir FRANCIS BURDETT.-Gentlemen; After the very honourable exertion which the independent intereft of the County has made this day in its own and my behalf, I cannot refrain from returning them my thanks, at the same time that I must lay in

that