me back my guinea I had given, and a reply again to my reply; the validity of which I leave to guess.

There then is my little trait of humanity, and " Ex uno difce omnes:" with grief I fay it, but I do fuppofe in a hundred parallel cafes to one, the same would happen again. The friend attended to, as the reft, who would look after it, or its confequences or antecedencies? And pray recollect, reader, I give not this as a thing to be angry at, but only a thing in part of the compofition of a general man.

With my first friend, that I felt very mad is most certain; for he was and is as genteel a man as can be feen, and thought fo among fuch people, and I was truly partial to him.

> 71 7

What should he have done, as also felt? This to my feelings;-have been extremely hurt at fuch indecency to me, however innocently, through his means; and how afted on it let any one fay. As to his copier, what fhould he have done? let any one fay.

What did he? Nothing; on the contrary, ftrove all he could to suppress my retort to what he had brought on me. And there then are the various tints of my palette for the portrait to be taken from it; and I give it here as, I own, the best of illustrations of fifty things in my Hiftory of Man, for past, present, and to come.

Yes, I defire now at last, and for ever, to say every even trifling thing as exact as poffible, that relates to what was fo much canvaffed at the time, and fince, in regard to the authorship or affiftance, among the trio now pretty well understood; which, though to the common run of people cannot be in the leaft interefting, yet to many others, (reading and literary men) it

poffibly

poffibly may, and e'en let them have what fatisfaction I now can give to that their curiofity.

Let me then not forget one circumftance that occurred to me only two or three days ago, which was about the article of fenfe and genius, with which I have closed up the verse as a quotation from myself. To me it ap- pears ftrong and a good ending; and I had ufed (even till now) to think the conclufion of it, alluding to a planet's course, even fine; that ending is entirely Hawkefworth's, and here and there a touch alfo in the other parts, which I need not fay are effentially mine, fince they are, in other words, or the fame, all over the collection. But that finish, which I used to admire, I now fee to be falfe; fince a planet methinks never does vifit other worlds, unluckily for the paffage; and I am not forry to say it here, though it is plain I might have kept my counsel both for myself and friend.

my

I finish the whole anecdotic little narrative by this, circumftance, which, though not a literary one, is one much better for both affociate and myfelf; viz. that during our entire literary intercourse, there was not a single disagreement, or even coldness; and yet it is plain we differed often, and once I now recollect, (though I did not before) about the long article in gardening, drawn up by me fomewhat I believe in Shaftsbury's manner, and therefore fomewhat romantic, perhaps: now this was rather a favourite with me, and not less fo with my critic Lord Lyttleton; but he totally erafed it, (probably for fome fuppofed inaccuracy) and replaced it with his own. I was partial to my own, however agreed to refer it to Lord Chatham, who was then pleased to read the work, and he faid it was difficult for him to decide between the two; on which, thinking I might be partial, I gave mine up: and to my own feelings then, though perhaps ftill more now, to a very stiff, unflowing, and ungraceful affair; it had no effect, at least that I heard of, any more than the poetry, so I ordered it out of the second edition. And there is the rest of my fo extremely little interesting very little history, which the great majority will, I hope, let pafs for the fake of the fmall minority.

REFLECTION

1

P

[202]

REFLECTION is a kind of ubiquarian!-walk through the fields, go along the streets, circumambulate (lend me your word, Doctor, for a moment, I won't detain it long from you) yes, circumambulate the palace, pierce thro' its guards, afcend to its royalty, even to Majefty itself; in the air, in the apartments, every where, you find her attendant, nay complacent, nay congenial! much more; in even your mental vifion of your whatever objects, still is fhe attendant, complacent, congenial!

I lately found this realized to me; I lately (to speak plainer and properer) found this reflectiveness rife within me in regard to higher objects, higher certainly in local estimation (high affuredly in all) than any herein attempted; yes, even parliamentary, even national objects, ftruck into the receffes of my mind, and I will indulge its poor effufions:

Of what advantage faid I, in foliloquy, to the causes they are to fupport, confequently to the fupporters of them, are those amazingly long speeches? Many an object of parliamentary difcuffion, that has been run into debates without end, and grown into political papers and pamphlets without end, and perfonal difpute and altercation without end; till, like the trick of drinking blindfold port and claret alternately, your palate grows puzzled, and you know not which is which:-even the fame, you know not which fide of the question is right, while per fe, it is clear, and lies perhaps in a nutshell. Some of these, at the time of agitation, have, I say, ftruck my mind in particular, and fince promifcuously.

Voltaire fays fomewhere words to this effect; for I have not the paffage before me, or should know where to look for it if I had the book it belongs to: but the words (or their import at least) I well remember; it was this, viz. "Chez nous, quand le mot d'amour se trouve fur notre theatre, dans quelque "beau vers fur a fujet, tout le parterre fe reveille; a Londres, c'est de meme "fur le mot de liberté."

Now though M. Voltaire a little mistakes, as to this enthusiasm, yet I believe, that to any trait concerning our conftitution, (though perhaps fill

more

more our parliament) that is at all interesting or new, nay, or even that may have been so some time back, we prick up our ears fomething more than to any other fubject.

Under this idea, I venture, and ftill from the pretended authority of my affumed title, to vent a few suggestions that have paffed over my small mind at one time or other, relating to thofe matters. I have juft faid that one was in relation to so very long speeches, where, perhaps, the whole force of the queftion was contained in even a very few words. I will mention two or

three cafes.

Firft; the conteft on Mr. Wilkes's election, it is well known, had its little quinteffence expanded into a little immensity, if so odd an expreffion will be passed me. I have in my time thought that the question for his expulfion might have had its clearness (you fee it is a clear question to my little apprehension) set forth so much better by a very few words, containing the whole of its foundation and only that, as would have made it in a manner refistless; while the expansion, with all its mixture of extraneous matter, weakened instead of serving its caufe, as lofing the fubftance in the digreffions; they being liable to the true attacks of oratory, (i. e. sophistry) which of course goes to the weakest and most defenceless places preferably to the contrary ones, and confequently draws you and your adherents to them in lieu of your own reality.

May I be allowed to offer my speech of two words only, which, to my own indifferent mind at least, contain the whole; and muft, to say no more, certainly, I think, have puzzled even any anfwerer. They are thefe, after fuppofing our Mr. Speaker-the Honourable Gentleman over the way, &c.

"The Gentleman admits that Parliament has the power of expulfion, but "adds fo have the people equally that of election; I grant you your power, ་ grant me mine."-I answer, that if the Parliament has the power of expulfion, you cannot have the power of election in that place; I fay in that place,

because

because in expulfion it is per fe involved, and therefore impoffible. When the conftitution gave explicitly, and without qualification or exception, expulfion, it gave with it, of neceffity, non-election of the member expelled. You argue that there are no words to say this,-fo did Shylock of his pound of flesh; but I want not illustrations, I want only law and common-fenfe,— and no law can be without common sense.

"But here is a difficulty in a new cafe; and the words of the law now "alfo explicitly fay, that every qualified borough is to choose its own mem"ber; this is fact, uncontroverted and uncontrovertible by any power on "earth."

I fay there is no difficulty whatever, and for the above reasons, which you answer not, as no one can. But, though only to repeat or enforce them, when you allow that the constitution gives expulfion, do you attend to the letter or the Spirit? Surely to both in union; and are they not what I say? If the words name not this case, they do not in spirit want to name an absurdity, or even to think about an absurdity happening, or could even guess at fuch a one, if they had. If it does happen, what are you to do? Overturn and disregard it furely; what! in the eyes of all Europe, fhall be feen, in acquiefcence of a great nation's government, a fhuttle-cock playing with a member; beat to me the parliament from the borough, and by me back to the borough, a feffions through!-the mention is enough. But granting it a difputable cafe, who is to decide it? Why, the parliament itself, and by the constitution; this I afk not if you grant ;-it is granted. I want then an answer to that only. Words may be returned, but anfwer is impoffible.

I know not; I may deceive myself, perhaps: but to my small apprehenfion, this is exactly the fame in conclufiveness as the little quotation from Prior, about of the fame length. How much on both has been written, need it be faid; but if this only was my fpeech, what would you answer?-sure you would be puzzled.-No extraneous matter for you to branch out, re-branch, and re-re-branch with. Yes, fure; you'd be puzzled; efpecially with my

calling