438 CHAPTER IX. Politics-Frend-Gerrald, &c. It was my plan not to mingle politics of any kind in this piece of biography, when I commenced the work: but it must have been already remarked that such a plan would have narrowed my scheme, and deprived it of many of its most essential and useful qualities. The preface to Bellendenus, though a specimen of Latinity, which marked the period of its publication as a kind of classical era, was full of party allusions, and of the delineations of the characters of party men, and could not therefore be treated of without some allusion to the politics of the day. After this publication Parr himself became a political character by profession, connected with the Whigs in opinion, and almost enthusiastic in supporting their cause on every public occasion. Of the Right Honourable Charles James Fox he was the devoted partisan to the end of that statesman's life; and to the end of his own his enthusiastic admirer. He was zealous in defending the characters, and promoting the interests of all good Foxites, the Cokes, the Russells, the Spencers, and all other distinguished persons who held the same sentiments. He obtained votes in several places merely to serve their cause, and instantly obeyed the call to every election in every place where he had a vote. He paid no attention to distance of place, length of time, trouble, or expense; though his friends were neither in power, nor had any chance of being so, he adhered to them with the same ardour, and same fidelity, as other men do to Ministers, from whom they have received preferment, or expect to receive it. About the elections at Warwick, he was ever most anxious, and there remain many documents proving his desire to serve the candidates of the representation of that borough who opposed the interest of the Castle. Mr. Greville, Mr. Ladbroke, Mr. Knight, Mr. Greatheed, all appear to have received his most zealous support, and I find by the following letter that Mr. Charles Mills began his political career under the same banner: DEAR SIR, Warwick, 27th June, 1802. I am sure it will give you sincere pleasure to hear that the cause of freedom is likely to prevail, owing to the great and generous exertions of my friends belonging to this borough. Mr. Gaussen having, upon a vigorous canvas, been unable to make any considerable impression upon the voters in our interest left the town yesterday morning, first signifying to me his determination to relinquish the contest. Amongst those who have come forward to support my cause, and that of independence, I know no person to whom I have greater obligations than yourself. I have the honour to remain, dear Sir, your very faithful and obedient servant, CHAS. MILLS. Though in his general habits of thinking as he professed, He did actually dread all extremes under all pretences, and was not very forward in recommending sudden and strong experiments; though he did look with dismay and with horror on the poisonous maxims which have been broached in a neighbouring country, yet he felt no obligations to speak smooth things upon all that is passing at home.* In politics, from the end of 1792, he thought there was, as Warburton said of those in 1756, "neither end, nor measure, nor sense, nor honesty." The nation ran stark mad into the French war, goaded on by a Minister, of whom, in the notes on Rapin in 1783, he spoke with applause. He looked forward, perhaps, to an association of his rising talents, and his then professed principles, as auxiliary in future to the establishment of his own party, and of his own political opinions. But when that party had been routed by the stripling, he could not hold in the reins of his anger: deiva has been pourtrayed in unfading colours: he disdained to use common terms ψυχρά τε καὶ ἀνωφελὴ ὀνόματα καὶ ανοήτων ἄνδρων φιλοτιμήματα: he could not laugh him to scorn: he collected the whole armoury of his eloquence, and hurled the sharpest weapons at the hateful foe. And the Preface to Bellendenus will be hereafter studied as a catalogue of the chief errors of Pitt, dressed up in the most classical and eloquent terms that the fancy of the Editor could devise. * Remarks on Combe's Statement. ↑ Letters to Hurd, p. 373. Bellendenus de Statu, wozu dieses Herausgebers Vorrede wegen ihres echten Lateins so hochberühmt ist, &c. &c. F. A. Wolf, Lit. An. iv. 554–1820. But the year 1792 was to him, as well as all his contemporaries, the era of promise* and disappointment-that proud era in our history, when holding, as we did, the destiny of the world in our hands, we suffered it to slip from our grasp, and thus involved ourselves in trouble, greater at the moment than he who was not conversant with the transactions of the time can well conceive, and so pregnant with consequences, that it is impossible to look through the long vista of futurity without the most awful apprehensions. Great in arms, in arts, and science; refined above all other nations, perhaps virtuous above them all; industrious, active, enterprising, brave, our empire stretching on either side of the globe, our language, our habits establishing themselves in the east and in the west; with a polite literature equalling the most vaunted compositions of Athens or of Rome, and with science and philosophy far exceeding all that the known earth had hitherto produced, the year 1792 beheld us emerging from the difficulties of an unprosperous war, our resources increasing, our wounds healing, and the form and feature of our constitution regaining all its pristine beauty. At this very period France had broken her bonds asunder, and like a froward and wanton youth, wasted her strength, and frolicked in every abomination of restraint thrown off, and freedom newly acquired. It was the part of wisdom to watch the temper and disposition of our neighbours, whilst this tendency * See Mr. Pitt's speech, displaying the resources of the empire, in a blaze of eloquence seldom paralleled. to insubordination and delirium lasted. To stand on guard, not to assail, even to protect rather than annoy. Our insular situation gave us sufficient arms for defence, even if our greatness had not placed us out of the reach of our enemies. The time had come, too, when our national riches offered at least the hope of paying off our national incumbrances. Our repose was in some measure insured by the disturbances of France, and the dissolution of credit occasioned by those disturbances, made the commerce of the world safely our own. In fine, the pinnacle of our greatness seemed placed on a base which nothing but our own folly could undermine. Our power made us the arbiters of nations, and even France herself might have been restrained in her madness, and half her enormities prevented, had we been wise. At this crisis, had Mr. Fox been the confidential Minister of Great Britain, I agree with Dr. French Lawrence in his letter to Mr. Burke, it would have been well for us, and for our posterity. Perhaps he was the fittest individual of the human race to be made mediator of the world's debate; and though the storm of dissension and discussion ran too high to be at once lulled and assuaged by human power, yet might his influence have prevented the pouring out of more bitter waters, and at length restored the calm. But at this crisis peace no longer continued to govern the counsels of our rulers, they held up their heads proudly against a system which they were determined to crush, but did not attempt to modify or control. The passions were roused, the |