only in the disposition of the heart. Mr. Burke, who by the sorcery of his eloquence had captivated the senate, agitated a whole people with indignation and terror, and stirred up sovereigns to hostile confederacies, is at this hour almost forgotten by those whom he had endeavoured to please, and those whom he had wantonly provoked-by the supple race of courtiers, and by the "swinish herd."76 Mr. Pitt seems to be less censured by his former adversaries, and less idolized by his former panegyrists. The gratitude of some for favours received, the predilection of others for the system of politics which is now thought to prevail, the pleasing remembrance of personal friendship, and the sincere participation of that respect which all his countrymen felt for his magnanimous contempt of pelf, 77 preserve some degree of veneration, and I add, affection for his name. No man was ever more applauded in the zenith of his power, and conspicuous, most assuredly, will be his talents in the records of history. Yet the brilliancy of many of his speeches has fainted with the freshness of the occasion which produced them, and the sentiment of popular admiration, which during his lifetime was most lively, has undergone a partial decay. But Mr. Fox, who had little to give beyond good wishes, and little to receive from other men beside the same wishes as the recompence of his good meaning, even now keeps a hold, which from the regret that mingles with it, is stronger, perhaps, than that which he had when he was living, upon our attention, esteem, and love. He will long con

tinue to keep it, because his actions were not at variance with his professions, because his political virtues were not disproportionate to his political abilities, and because his errors and infirmities were not accompanied by cowardice, fickleness, dissimulation, or venality.

"Felix Agricola," says Tacitus, “non vitæ tantum claritate, sed etiam opportunitate mortis." The force of this reflection I have sometimes felt, when for the purpose of alleviating my own sorrows I have pondered, and exhorted others to ponder, on certain circumstances in the time of Mr. Fox's death. Having lived long enough to soften, we may hope, though I fear not to overcome, the prejudices of his sovereign, of the nobles, and of a deluded and ungrateful people-having remained long enough in office78 to exhibit a mind stored with a perfect knowledge of the complicated relations 79 in which the British empire stands to foreign powers having manifested, even in the few measures which he proposed, and in the spirit which he suddenly infused both at home and abroad, the extraordinary superiority of his practical abilitieshaving again and again given the most unequivocal proofs of that disinterestedness and magnanimity which made him regardless of popularity, fortune, and power, when opposed to the real and permanent welfare of his country, Mr. Fox was overtaken by a most painful and dangerous illness. But the prospect of approaching dissolution served only to enliven his zeal, and to accelerate his exertions. In his correspondence with the wily and eloquent minister of

France, written as it was under the pressure of disease, and even on the verge of the grave, we still see the same noble qualities of his heart co-operating with the same wonderful powers of his judgment. We see in it no vestiges of that ambiguity upon which the cunning rely for success, and the base for shelter-no subtleties of sophistry-no artifices of reservation-no arrogant assumption of false dignity-no insidious abandonment of that which is genuine and becoming-no deviation from those sacred rules of sincerity and truth, which extend the authority of their obligation over the whole agency of moral beings, and diffuse their happy influence over the pursuits of individuals, and the negociations of statesmen.

Might we not rest the credit of our friend's sagacity, moderation, steadiness, and honour, upon his manifesto to the court of Berlin, about the seizure of Hanover? I read it six times attentively, and with fresh satisfaction from every fresh perusal. I have heard of the serious impression which it made in the best informed circles at home, and in every court upon the continent. But how shall I describe it? Shall I say that it was conceived and expressed, more majorum? It was so-Shall I add, as Dr. Young said of Johnson's Rasselas, "that it was a mass of sense:" it was that, and more. Let me characterize it then in the emphatical words of an ancient critic

4

Πολλῆς ἦν πείρας τελευταῖον ἐπιγέννημα.*

*Longin. sect. vi.

You and I have long been convinced, that manners, and the spirit which regulates them, have a very extensive influence over the affairs of public as well as private life; and of that influence we saw the very happiest effects in the proceedings, not of Mr. Fox only, but of other persons who were lately his associates in power. They were men of sense, men of letters, gentlemen, and statesmen. Their language was sometimes elevated without arrogance, and sometimes temperate without pusillanimity. They restored the old and venerable character of a free, a just, and strong government in the view of the people and of Europe. When I think of Mr. Canning, Lord Harrowby, and Lord Chatham, I shall not say that their predecessors engrossed" all the talents." They never themselves harboured such a presumptuous thought. They never uttered such a silly expression. But their intentions were honest, their measures were wise, and their fall was unmerited by themselves, though not unexpected by those who have observed of what stuff court-favourites and novi homines are sometimes made.

Some men will ask, was I not personally interested in the continuance of their power? For aught I know, I might be, and for aught I know, I might not be. But thus much I do know, and to those who would insult me with the question I should confidently say thus much, from my youth upward to the present moment, I never deserted a private friend, nor violated a public principle-that I have been the slave of no patron, and the drudge

of no party-that I formed my political opinions without the smallest regard, and have acted upon them with an utter disregard to personal emoluments and professional honours-that for many, and the best years of my existence, I endured very irksome toil, and "suffered" very galling" need;" that measuring my resources by my wants, I now so" abound" as to unite a competent income with an independent spirit, and above all, that looking back to this life, and onward to another, I possess that inward "peace of mind, which the world can neither give nor take away."

But let us return from this digression, to a more important subject.

After enjoying health of body, and serenity of mind, to an advanced period-after tasting the purest pleasures of friendship and literature-after deserving the confidence of his countrymen-after obtaining the respect of surrounding nations-after devoting a long and laborious life to the freedom of England, the tranquillity of Europe, the abolition of the African slave trade, the correction of Asiatic enormities, and the general happiness of all his fellow-creatures, Mr. Fox was doomed to pay the last debt of nature. But he died, let us remember, before his faculties had been impaired by gradual decay-before the comprehensive and salutary plans, which he was beginning to execute, had been counteracted by domestic intrigues, or foreign violencebefore the baneful systems of authorized corruption and protracted war, which he had so loudly condemned, and so firmly resisted, were once more