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those whom we all know by the term of "King's friends;" and there are some who pretend to say that his loss of ground at Buckingham House has been owing to the part he took against Hastings, in which he has the reputation of having engaged Pitt to concur. I have made every inquiry whether the King ever expresses himself to his people about him in favour of Hastings, and I am told he is very guarded and reserved on his subject, but that some females in his house talk loud and warmly in his favour, which occasions the attributing the same opinions to him.

On one of the adjourned questions on Hastings's trial in the House of Lords, Lord Maitland, standing next to Dundas, asked him what he thought would be the result of the inquiry, to which he replied in these words: "I don't care what is done with him, for you and your friends in Opposition have done our business, by keeping him out of the Board of Control." Lord Maitland on this called up Colonel Fitzpatrick and Dudley Long, in whose presence Dundas actually repeated his words, and they, of course, trumpeted them all over town, and they have occasioned much conversation and much abuse of Dundas, in addition to their former abuse on the part of Hastings's friends. The folly of such language, especially to three violent Oppositionists, was very absurd, weak, and illjudged, but the fact is certain.

I hear many complaints of Pitt and his Secretaries' personal inattentions to Members of Parliament, but they will think twenty times before they go into Opposition; and it is most probable that these complaints are not made till impossible jobs have been refused; I therefore only mention them as certainly existing, and most probably as to any consequences, vox et præterea nihil, at least till the last sessions.

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Just as I was scaling my letter a person called on me, who

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tells me that divisions in the Cabinet, or rather among the Cabinet Ministers, certainly do exist, to a great degree, about Mr. Dundas, and has confirmed to me what I have before told you, that every corner of Buckingham House resounds with abuse, and opprobrious epithets against him.

A passage in a letter of Mr. Grenville's, dated the 2nd of May, indicates an approaching event, to which many circumstances, but chiefly the increasing weight the writer had latterly acquired in the councils of Mr. Pitt, had for some time been obviously tending.

I wish to mention to you that Lord S. has taken great offence, from the circumstance of having at last found out that your despatches to him come over enclosed to me. I could wish, therefore, that for the very short time that your correspondence with him is likely to continue you would alter this, as nothing material is likely to arise that can render it necessary, and I am desirous just at this particular moment to avoid any altercation with him. This jealousy on his part, and a just sense on mine of his conduct towards you, has entirely broke off all communication between us with respect to Irish, or indeed any other, business. Some delay and awkwardness necessarily arises from this; but it is unavoidable, and I repeat that it will probably be of very short duration.

The nomination of Mr. Grenville to the Home Office had been delayed only till the arrangements consequent upon the necessary changes it involved could be satisfactorily carried out. The means of effecting it were now within Mr. Pitt's reach; and at the moment this letter was written, Mr. Grenville's appointment was on the eve of being ratified.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

MY DEAR BROTHER,

Whitehall, May 15th, 1789.

Just as I was sitting down to write to you, I received a note from Hobart, informing me of his arrival. I have seen him, and had a long conversation on the different points which he is charged with. My appointment is, I think I may now decisively say, fixed for Friday next, and I hope that you will soon feel the effects of your new correspondent, in the expedition of the various matters which are now lying on hand. You must, I am sure, be sensible that under the circumstances of these last three weeks, it has been quite impossible for me, however ardently I wished it for your sake, to bring forward these different points of business; but on Monday sev'nnight, at latest, I hope to write to you upon them all, though the length of Hobart's memorandum-paper has a little frightened me. I do not complain of it as thinking your bill a large one, considering the value received, but only I think the impression of my début in the closet may be a little awkward. I must, however, meet this as well as I can; and although this ten days' more delay must, I know, be very unpleasant to you, I trust you will see it is unavoidable.

If you find it necessary, for reconciling any of your principal people to the delay, to assign the intended change in the Secretary's office as a reason, there can now be no objection to it, as we have agreed that it would be right that, by the time you can receive this letter, we should begin to buzz it about, as a thing not improbable to happen.

With respect, however, to your peerages, I have, as I promised you, got Pitt to state them to the King, who has consented to them, Marquisates and all. You may now, therefore, recommend them as soon as you please, and I will take care there shall be no further unnecessary delay.

There are, however, still two points with respect to this business. I understand from Hobart that Lord Glerawley wants his promotion to be limited to his brother. This had not been stated in your letters, and I was therefore unable to mention it to Pitt. It is therefore still possible that the King may make some objection to this, as you know it is against one of his rules (though by no means an invariable one) to give a step and a limitation at the same time.

The other is essential, and can, I hope, make no difficulty with you. He is willing to engage that these should all be done without delay, but he seems much to wish that the promotions and creations should be separated, in order that they may not, by coming together, appear to fill too large a column in the "Gazette." There must, therefore, be an interval of a fortnight or three weeks. You will judge whether the promotions or creations should come first.

The only remaining point is that of the Seals. I beg you to believe me sincere when I assure you that, independent of your wishes upon the subject, my own opinion is quite as much made up as yours is on the subject of Fitzgibbon's appointment. But, in the same sincerity, I assure you that it is by no means advantageous towards the attainment of this object, that it should be pressed forward in the present moment. Hobart has asked me whether Fitzgibbon's coming over would not be of use to him? I am strongly inclined to be of opinion that it would; but before I gave him a decisive answer, I wish to consult Pitt, and he is not to write to Fitzgibbon till after that. With respect to the difficulty of your Chancery causes, I can conceive no earthly reason why Carleton, especially as he is to receive so great a favour, should not have to go on with them, just as Lord Loughborough did here when the Seals were in commission for a year. Depend upon it that I do not deceive you, when I say that it is much better to wait for the favourable moment, than to hurry it on to a decision now. That favourable

moment may arise sooner or later, but I am confident that ultimately le bon tems viendra. Your information about the Chancellor's resolution is very curious, because I have reason to know that McNa. is exactly the very person who has most strongly urged Thurlow on the propriety of an English appointment, and who has suggested this curious notion of F.'s unpopularity. But I mention this, relying upon your honour that you will not repeat it to any one, but particularly not to Fitzgibbon.

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I am most sincerely sorry that the consideration of your health should enter at all into the question of your going or remaining. Pray let me entreat you, whether take the one resolution or the other ultimately, not to delay nor put off one day a fixed resolution to use constant and sufficient exercise. I am sure any delay on that head is of a hundred times more consequence than all those which we have been lamenting. Nothing in the world could make up to you for the consequences which your omission in this respect (which I am grieved to learn from Hobart still continues) may bring upon you. You cannot conceive how earnestly I feel on this subject, because I am every day feeling the good effects of a contrary practice, which enables me to go through all the business I have, without hurting my health or spirits.

Adieu, my dear brother,

Believe me ever most affectionately yours,

W. W. G.

The duel between Colonel Lenox and the Duke of York

took place on the 26th of May. The town gossiped about it, but regarded it with indifference; and neither party got much credit in the end. Mr. Hobart, on the 30th, communicates another on dit concerning the behaviour of the Princes.

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