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fued, and the field of honour the court in which the proceedings were carried on. From the fpirit of litigation difplayed on both fides, it may be easily conceived that the fuit would branch out into a variety of actions. To fwell the expenfe, they were conftautly changing the venue. One, time it was laid at St. Vincent's, another at the Helder, then at Camperdown, then at Alexandria in Egypt. The cofts of thefe trials were enormous; and, unfortunately, in none of them was the verdict conclufive of the conteft. Hence Mr. Parliament was conftantly employed in loans of money. He raifed his rents upon his tenants more than double. Not content with that, he exacted new duties, and tripled the old: nor did he ftop here; he was mean enough to beg from door to door, foliciting the contributions of the charitable; but ftill unfatisfied, he went the length of demanding a tenth of every man's income, over and above all other impofts, rents, and charges. Notwithstanding all thefe fupplies, we are affured, he died leaving three hundred millions of debt of his own contracting; but if he increafed his rental, it must be admitted that he alfo greatly increased the value of his eftate, by giving conftant encouragement to agriculture, and bringing more waftes, and wilds, and commonable lands into cultivation, than all his ancestors together. These pursuits conftituted the principal occupation of his life, with the exception of his chemical ftudies. His firft effay in this line, which was a procefs for chang ing gold into paper, known by the name of the Antiphilofopher's ftone, was fo complete, that it greatly ftrengthened his natural propenfity. We find him accordingly devoting every moment that he could fpare from more important and preffing concerns, to experiments of this nature. His laft attempt was a mode of making a wheaten loaf of any thing but flour, as a remedy for the late fcarcity and dearth of

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provifions. Lord H-k-~y was ready to fwear that he faw the experiment made with fuccefs upon a red herring in Scotland; and feveral other of the minifterial nobility and gentry were alfo eager to atteft in its favour; but the people at large could never be fo well convinced of its efficacy as they were in the cafe of his firft chemical effay. After a youth and manhood spent in politics, Mr. Parliament turned his eyes in his old age to a matrimonial union with a young Irish woman, who had long paffed for his kept miftrefs. After a good deal of intrigue, and much difficulty in drawing up the marriage articles, his wishes were gratified, and Mr. Parliament furnished in his own perfon a new proof in fupport of the proverb, which fays, that a marriage between January and May feldom proves happy. For fome caufe, avowedly arifing out of the matchi, his chief fervant, who had been his fac totum, and one might alfo fay, from his great influence, his governor and preceptor, quitted his place, leaving the houfe at fixes and fevens. The law-fuit was going on moft furiously, and the oppofite party had taken into the cause an enterprifing young lawyer from Corfica, who gave it as his opinion that Madame Republique, fo far from giving her adversary the indemnity and fecurity for which he was contending, might ouft him, vi et armis, of all his eftates. In this fituation it became neceffary that fomething fhould be done to prevent things from falling into utter confufion. A decent, orderly, goffipping old lady, who had been employed for fome time as charwoman in the family, was accordingly put into the place of the ex-manager until a proper fubftitute fhould be found. From this moment a complete change was wrought in the conduct, tone, and temper of Mr. Parliament. He who, a few days before, talked of nothing but war, and blood, and fury, was now all gentlenefs and peace. He was foon reconciled

with his old friends in the North; and, inftead of executing a writ of partition on the domain of Madame Republique, he increafed her eftates, dropped his pretentions, and gave her whatever the chofe to afk as the price of her friendship, and to reinftate himfelf in her good opinion. The new manager now became alfo his nurfe-tender, encouraged all his pacific intentions, and talked to him daily of economy and moderation. She alfo confiderably reduced his expenfes; and, instead of the high-feafoned, luxurious dainties with which the ex-fteward used to treat him, the fed him conftantly with flummery. His health, however, was evidently upon the decline; and, though the hand of the executive had not interfered, the phyficians acquainted with his conftitution were of opinion he could not have furvived the enfuing winter. In perfon, feature, and difpofition, Mr. Parliament greatly refembled his predeceffor. The family has been remarkable for eloquence for many generations; and the late Mr. Parliament feemed made to equal, if not excel, the greatest orators of his race. Unfor tunately, however, he was attacked early in life with an abfcefs in the lungs, termed by the faculty a feceffion, which nipped his flowers of rhetoric in the bud. His flatterers could fee no fault in him; but the difinterested and ingenuous always contended that there was fomething rotten in his conftitution. The appearance of the body, immediately after its diffolution, places this beyond all doubt, as it dropped all to pieces, and it has been fince fo fcattered and difperfed, that there is no chance of collecting the feveral members for the purpofe of paying the common rites of fepulture. His better half, from her conduct while fingle, it was fuppofed, would turn out very troublefome, paffionate, and contentious. Her deportment, however, except on one occafion, when Parfon Tooke interfered and read her a lecture, has been the reverfe. She was

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filent and referved, and never interfered, except when her own patrimony was in queftion, or fome of her country coufins wanted a favour. We fuppofe, however, the was implicated with her husband, as they were both sentenced to die together.

Aug. 6.

THE GRAND MASQUERADE.

[From the Morning Chronicle.]

THE masquerade in honour of the Prince's birthday was more distinguished by the spirit than the number of the characters; and, what was ftill more remarkable, the greater number were representations of perfons now living.

There is fomething in this mode of perfonating eminent men of our own times extremely amufing; but it has this advantage, that great characters do not always fall into capable hands. This is the more ftriking in proportion to the dignity of the perfonage reprefented; and for this reafon we feriously recommend that K-s and Lord Ch--lains fhould be let alone in future. Indeed there is nothing, however grand, wife, and venerable, that may not be rendered ridicu lous by imperfect imitation.

one.

The mark of Mr. P-t was upon the whole a good His lofty demeanour and founding profe were happily preferved. His panegyric on war and apology for peace were in character, but rather too fervile a copy of his own fpeeches. Yet there was fomething new in the folemn affurance, "That he did not confent to peace whilft a family remained in the country which had not loft a relation, a private gentleman who had not loft half his comforts, or an individual who had not loft all his freedom."

This, to be fure, was well enough rounded; but in fome particulars the mask was miferably deficient.—

What,

What, for example, could be more out of character than his getting drunk before he had finished his fecond bottle? He had previously performed fome tricks which we did not altogether comprehend, fuch as ftealing up to the image of the Prince, and fpoiling it of all its decorations and ornaments, and then rubbing it over with black.

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The G-ny-e was much too furious. He had like to have murdered a very harmlefs-looking gentleman who perfonated Mr. Ad-g-n, but was prevented by ftumbling over the body of P-t, who, as we faid, had got drunk, and fortunately was lying in his way.

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The poor Ad-g-n got as far out of his reach as he could; but the indignant G-nv-e demanding in a loud voice how fo incapable a creature could prefume to wield the premier's ftaff, he mounted a table, and made a fpeech, it must be admitted, a good deal in the Ad-gtonian way. After a long preface, he gravely declared, that it was neceffary to the glory and ftability of his country that fuch a man as he fhould be at the head of the Government; and for this plain reafon, that, if the country could fubfift under his guidance while the firft genius in the world governed our rival nation, how might it not flourish under a man of common capacity? This he declared before G-d was his fole motive in fubmitting to the ridicule of his fituation; for he would not give his children (pointing to a number he had about him) a flice of the national loaf to fave their fouls.

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This of courfe created abundance of laughter; id the midft of which the mock Minifter, laying his hands on a huge loaf*, delivered it to one of his boys! and it was matter of tenfold mirth to fee how nimbly the young whelp whipped it under his arm, and difappeared with it in a moment.

**Labelled, "The Clerkship of the P→ls,” ?
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