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Why, not to mention its being a capital exercise of patience," said Lord Rochfort, “it is one of the pleasures of hope;' one keeps hoping that every sentence will be his last. Just as our friend Gloomly," added he, "added he, "never fails to gratify every company into which he goes-that is, at the moment when he gets up to go away."

Here one of the company expressing surprise at a celebrated literary peer being married to so silly a wife

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Silly, do you call her ?" said Lord Rochfort; "I declare I always thought her a very sensible woman, for the only thing I ever heard her say was, that she wondered what anybody could find to admire in her lord's writings."

Lord Castleton now complained of a busy public character, the Earl of, who was as mischievous, he said, as his understanding would allow him to be.

"If that be all the mischief there is in him," said Lord Rochfort, "he'll never do harm to anybody."

Granville then turned the discourse upon a very voluble member, just come into Parliament, who was perpetually talking on all sorts of subjects. "In fact," said Granville," he seems to know every thing."

"Every thing," observed Lord Rochfort, "except how to hold his tongue."

Being then asked how Lord B., a great miser, lately dead, had left his fortune, he said he had bequeathed every thing to his wife, even his crabbed temper and his avarice.

After this Granville expressed surprise that such a run was made by Paragraph in his paper against poor Sir Job Prosser (whom the marquess called Sir Job Proser), an inoffensive man, though a would-be politician and author, whose only fault was a little vanity.

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Depend upon it," said the marquess, "they understand each other. Sir Job is rich, and he has made it worth Paragraph's while to abuse him; for Paragraph's abuse is worth paying for, though his praise is not."

In this style, but in spirits evidently forced, he ran on, to the amusement of us all, except Lord Castleton himself, who seemed to lament what he thought this distortion of mind, though in every thing he shewed Lord Rochfort the greatest consideration.

I wondered; for with all this, his personal manner was of great good-nature, though he spared no one, and, like Jacques,

CHAPTER XV.

MORE OF LORD ROCHFORT, TO WHOM I AM SENT

ON A MISSION INTO NORTHUMBERLAND.-I AM BUT FORGET IT BY AN

FULL OF AMBITION,

INCIDENT

IN YORKSHIRE,

ANOTHER PASSION.

WHICH

REVIVES

Flaminius.-No care! no stop! so senseless of expense, That he will neither know how to maintain it,

Nor cease his flow of riot!

1st Lord.-Come, shall we in,

And taste Lord Timon's bounty?

2nd Lord. He pours it out. Plutus, the god of gold, Is but his steward.

SHAKSPEARE.-Timon of Athens.

Soon after this dinner at Lord Castleton's, Lord Felix died, leaving not a single regret behind, except among his tradesmen ; a sad memorial of the vanity of riches.

Lord Rochfort did not die; better, perhaps, if he had, rather than live to eat his heart, and waste his substance; proving not only the same vanity of riches, but also the insufficiency of abilities and

accomplishments, however great, to procure whatever summum bonum we propose to ourselves.

As Lord Rochfort was frequently at Lord Castleton's, I had a full opportunity of knowing him. Vehemence, and the carrying every feeling, and even opinion, to extremity, though little persisted in, were his distinguishing features.

I cannot say he was "stiff in opinions," for he frequently changed them; nor "always in the wrong," for his penetration often proved him right; but whatever he was bent upon, he was headlong in pursuing. Shining, too, was necessary to him, whether in public or private, and he exemplified what was said of Wharton ::

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Though listening senates hung on all he spoke,

The club must hail him master of the joke."

This versatility and this vehemence, conjoined, were, however, next to his imprudence, his greatest enemies.

Yet Lord Castleton had so high. an opinion of Lord Rochfort, as a man of genius and commanding talent, and, in fact, bore him such great good-will as a friend, that I expected daily to see a closer union between them in politics. In this I was disappointed; for though, supported by the whole strength of Lord Castleton, who deemed him, in point of ability, equal to all the rest of the ministers put together, his advancement was opposed by them all, for reasons drawn from the cha

racter I have described; and as their influence in Parliament was great, however wanting individually' in talent, my patron was forced to yield.

Thus, a seal seemed set upon Lord Rochfort's peculiar ambition, which was to influence Europe, and direct the counsels of his sovereign, not to vegetate on any thing subordinate, however lucrative or splendid. Hence, though every thing short of the cabinet had been offered him- the great court offices, Ireland, and even India-he had refused them all; and then, from indignation at his disappointments, or, as he called them, his affronts, he would be all for renouncing a rascally world— would declaim against riches, and be ready, in a fit of temperance,

"To feed on pulse."

In these capricious moments it was in vain to expect any consistency from him; for, flying from politics, and even society, he would for a week or two shut himself up in the country, and swear that there was no happiness to be found in grandeur, but only in retreat and moderation.

Why he failed in his greater object, was a problem to most, but was attributed by Granville to his dictatorial as well as satirical temper, not at all softened by a consciousness of his superiority to others. Not only the ministry, but the sovereign himself, was afraid of him for this.

Yet he was too valuable an ally to slight, and no