to him, keenly retorted by saying, that he remembered some other lines from the same approved author

"Now it hapt to the country he went for a blessing, "And from his state daddy to get a new lesson; "He went to daddy Jenky, by trimmer Hal attended, "In such company, gook lack! how his morals must be "mended,

"Bow, wow, wow."

To a translation made about this time by Mr. William Bourke, of" Brissot's Address to his Constituents," Mr. Burke, though without his name, gave a masterly preface, which excited general notice, sketching a concise but powerful history of the Brissotin or Girondist faction, its principles and progress till overwhelmed and guillotined by that of Robespierre or the Mountain. The preface produced a considerable demand for the book.

CHAPTER XIII.

Junction of the Old Whigs with Ministry.-Mr. Burke loses his Son, and excessive grief.-Letters to W. Smith, Esq. to Sir Hercules Langrishe (2d) to W. Elliot, Esq.Thoughts on Scarcity.-Receives a Pension.-Letter to a Noble Lord.-Letters on a Regicide Peace.

IMMEDIATELY after the conclusion of the session in July 1794, the junction of the Portland party with Ministry, which previously existed in fact, took place in form by the Duke receiving a blue ribband, the office of third Secretary of State, with the management of Ireland; Earl Fitzwilliam becoming President of the Council first, and then Lord Lieutenant of that country, Earl Spencer Lord Privy Seal, and soon after First Lord of the Admiralty, and Mr. Windham Secretary at War; Lord Loughborough was already Lord Chancellor. This union, which was effected by Mr. Burke, from a conviction of its being intimately connected with the safety of the country, was represented by some of the more inconsiderate friends of Mr. Fox as a wanton desertion of him, and as the same story is occasionally repeated even now, the accuracy of the statement may be examined in a few words.

On being dismissed from his connexion with Ministry, by a contemptuous note from Lord North, in 1774, Mr. Fox, as might be expected, joined the Opposition, particularly, indirectly at least, that division of it of which the Marquis of Rockingham was the head, and Mr. Burke the

efficient leader and soul in the House of Commons. His admiration of the latter, which even at this time was unreserved, as well perhaps as a family disinclination to range himself under the banners of his father's former adversary, Lord Chatham, who led the other branch of the Minority, might have strengthened this determination; but, in addition to it, the Rockingham party contained by far the greater portion of talents, and of numbers, in its general principles he professed his warm acquiescence, and it promised the readiest road to power. A direct junction with it was therefore the only step which an ambitious man, in furtherance of his own views, could well take. Mr. Burke, in a most friendly, and indeed affectionate letter already alluded to, written to him to Ireland, in October 1777, and beginning My dear Charles, instead of attempting to bias his conduct by undue persuasion, expressly says, "Do not be in haste. Lay your foundations deep in public opinion. Though (as you are sensible) I have never given you the least hint of advice about joining yourself in a declared connexion with our party, nor do I now; yet, as I love that party very well, and am clear that you are better able to serve them than any man I know; I wish that things should be so kept as to leave you mutually very open to one another in all changes and contingencies; and I wish this the rather, because in order to be very great, as I am anxious you should be (always presuming that you are disposed to make a good use of power), you will certainly want some better

1

support than merely that of the crown."* The choice of his associates was therefore voluntarily, no doubt wisely, and at least deliberately made by Mr. Fox. He acceded to the Rockingham party in form; he dissented from it in no matter of moment, on the contrary acknowledging after the death of the Marquis, the Duke of Portland and Earl Fitzwilliam as the new heads of the connexion, and consulting them on all public measures of interest, with the deference due to rank and public weight in the country until the occurrence of the French Revolution, when his views either changed, or at least when the change became obvious to his coadjutors.

By this time, however, he had formed a considerable party of his own. He had gathered around him a number of ingenious and able men, many of them young, some of them almost grown up under his eye in Parliament, who, attracted by the splendour of his talents and reputation, eagerly sought his friendship, embraced his opinions, and who, disregarding or not acknowledging any other influence, looked to him alone as their leader. In return for this distinction, he probably found it necessary to accommodate some of his opinions to theirs; and the eventful scenes passing in France being well calculated to engage in their favour the ardent feelings of these friends as well as his own to a considerable degree, added to the hope of strong popular support, their re-action upon each other probably produced that degree of heat in the

* Burke's Works, vol. ix. 8vo. ed. p. 156.

cause, and dissent from his more ancient connexions which had hitherto been evident only on the single question of parliamentary reform. It was also urged by his adherents, that his views and principles in public affairs were more on a level with the free and enlightened spirit of the age than those of Mr. Burke, who was represented as fettered by old systems and prejudices, and too strong an adherence to the notions of the aristocracy in matters of government.

Whatever be the cause, just at the critical moment in question, Mr. Fox appeared to push to excess in theory, and seeming approval in practice, doctrines which the Old Whigs, as well as others, conceived to be at variance with sound discretion. "In my journey with them through life," said Mr. Burke," I met Mr. Fox in my road, and I travelled with him very cheerfully as long as he appeared to me to pursue the same direction with those in whose company I set out. In the latter stage of our progress a new scheme of liberty and equality was produced in the world, which either dazzled his imagination, or was suited to some new walks of ambition which were then opened to his view. The whole frame and fashion of his politics appeared to have suffered about that time a very material alteration." At this period he withdrew his political allegiance from the acknowledged heads of the party, who were no longer consulted on any of his measures, and in Parliament he treated with asperity and ridicule their opinions and their fears for the public safety. Still,