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tains all its former warmth for the dignity of England, and the glory of its Sovereign. I have not affociated with the traitors to our liberties, nor made a fingle connection with any man who was dangerous, or even fufpected by the friends of the proteftant family on the throne. I now hope that the rigour of a long-unmerited exile is past, and that I may be allowed to continue in the land, and among the friends of liberty.

I wish, my Lord, to owe this to the mercy of my Prince. I intreat your Grace to lay me with all humility at the King's feet, with the trueft affurances, that I have never, in any moment of my life, fwerved from the duty and allegiance I owe to my Sovereign, and that I implore, and in every thing fubmit to, his Majefty's clemency.

Your Grace's noble manner of thinking, and the obligations I have formerly received, which are still fresh in my mind, will, I hope, give a full propriety to this addrefs; and I am fure a heart, glowing with the facred zeal of liberty, must have a favourable reception from the Duke of Grafton. I flatter myself, that my conduct will juftify your Grace's interceding with a Prince, who is diftinguished by a compaffionate tenderness and goodness to all his subjects.

To his Grace the Duke of Grafton.

Vacare culpâ magnum eft folatium; præfertim cum habeam duas res quibus me fuftentem, optimarum artium fcientiam, & maximarum rerum gloriam, quarum altera mihi vivo nunquam eripietur, altera në mortuo quidem *.

Cicero.

I

My LORD,

AM not yet recovered from the aftonishment, into which I was thrown by your Grace's verbal meffage, in anfwer to my letter of the firft of November. In a conversation I had with Colonel Fitzroy at the Hotel d'Efpaigne, he did me the honour of affuring me, that I fhould find his brother my real and fincere friend, extremely defirous to concur in doing me justice, that he was to tell me this from your Grace, but that many interesting particulars relative to me could not be communicated by letter, nor by the post. I fondly believed these obliging affurances, because on a variety of occafions your Grace had teftified a full approbation of my conduct, had thanked me in the most flattering terms as the person the most useful to the common cause in which we were embarked, and had fhewn an uncommon zeal to ferve a man who had fuffered fo much in the cause of liberty.

I returned to England with the gayeft, and the most lively hopes. As foon as I arrived at London, I desired my excellent friend, Mr. Fitzherbert, to wait on your Grace,

* Thus tranflated: Innocence is my powerful confolation, especially with the two fupports of great knowledge and eminent reputation, of which one will accompany me through life, and the other survive me.

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Grace, with every profeffion of regard on my part, and the resolution I had taken of entirely fubmitting the mode of the application I should make to the throne for my pardon. I cannot express the anxiety, which your Grace's answer gave me, Mr. Wilkes must write to Lord Chatham. I then begged Mr. Fitzherbert to state the reasons, which made it impoffible for me to follow that advice, from every principle of honour, both public and private. I fhewed too the impropriety of fupplicating a fellow subject for mercy, the prerogative good Kings are the most jealous of, by far the brightest jewel in their crown, and the attribute by which they may the nearest approach to the Divinity.

I afterwards wrote the letter to your Grace, which I have feen in all the public prints. I never received any other answer but a verbal meffage," Mr. Wilkes must write to "Lord Chatham: I do nothing without Lord Chatham."

- When I found that my pardon was to be bought with the facrifice of my honour, I had the virtue not to hesitate. I fpurned at the propofal, and left my dear native London with a heart full of grief that my faireft hopes were blasted, of humiliation that I had given an easy faith to the promises of a Minister and a Courtier, and of aftonishment that a Nobleman of parts and difcernment could continue in an infatuation, from which the conduct of Lord Chatham had recovered every other man in the nation. He was indeed long the favourite character of our countrymen. Every tongue was wanton in his praise. The whole people lavished on him their choiceft favours, and endeavoured by the nobleft means, by an unbounded generofity and confidence, to have kept him virtuous. With what anguish were we at last undeceived! How much it coft us to give up a man, who had fo long entirely kept poffeffion of our hearts! How cruel was the ftruggle! But alas! how is

he

he changed? how fallen? from what height fallen? His glorious fun is fet, I believe never to rise again.

We long hoped, my Lord, that public virtue was the guide of his actions, and the love of our country his ruling paffion, but he has fully fhewn omnis vis virtufque in linguâ fita eft*. Our hearts glowed with gratitude for the important fervices he had done against the common enemy, and the voice of the nation hailed him our deliverer; but private ambition was all the while fkulking behind the shield of the patriot, and at length in an evil hour made him quit the scene of all his glory, the only place in which he could be truly useful, for a retreat, where he knew it was impoffible the confidence of the people could follow, but where he might in inglorious eafé bear his BLUSHING bonours thick upon him.

I might, now, my Lord, expoftulate with your Grace on a verbal message, and of such a nature, in answer to a letter couched in the most decent and refpectful terms, coming too from a late member of the legislature. I might regret, that proffers of friendship, and real service, could mean no more than two or three words of cold advice, that I should apply to another. I might be tempted to think it a duty of office in the first Lord of the Treasury to have fubmitted to his Majesty a petition relative to the exercise of the noblest act of regal power, which any constitution can give any Sovereign. Surely, my Lord, my application to the firstCommiffioner of the Treasury, who is always confidered as the first Minister in England, was the very proper application. As I had made no discovery of any new wonderfulpill or drop, nor pretended to the secret of curing the gout or the tooth-ach, I never thought of foliciting Lord Chatham for a privy feal. His Lordship's office was neither important,

portant, nor refponfible. I will not however enlarge on this, but I shall defire your Grace's permiffion fully to state what has happened to me as a private gentleman relative to Lord Chatham, because I would not leave a doubt concerning the propriety of my conduct, in a mind naturally fo candid, and fo capable of judging truly, as that of the Duke of Grafton.

I believe that the flinty heart of Lord Chatham has known the sweets of private friendship, and the fine feelings of humanity, as little as even Lord Mansfield. They are both formed to be admired, not beloved. A proud, infolent, overbearing, ambitious man is always full of the ideas of his own importance, and vainly imagines himself fuperior to the equality neceffary among real friends, in all the moments of true enjoyment. Friendship is too pure a pleasure for a mind cankered with ambition, or the luft of power and grandeur. Lord Chatham declared in parliament the strongest attachment to Lord Temple, one of the greatest characters our country could boast, and said "he would live and die with his noble brother." He has re

ceived obligations of the firft magnitude from that noble brother, yet what trace of gratitude or of friendship was ever found in any part of his conduct? And has he not now declared the moft open variance, and even hoftility? I have had as warm and exprefs declarations of regard as could be made by this marble-hearted friend, and Mr. Pitt had no doubt his views in even feeding me with flattery from time to time; on occafions too where candour and indulgence were all I could claim. He may remember the compliments he paid me on two certain poems, in the year 1754. If I were to take the declarations made by himself and the late Mr. Potter à la lettre, they were more charmed with those verses after the ninety-ninth reading than after the first; so that from this circumftance, as well as a few