ME

INISTERS, like other men, have their paffions, and their filles de joie, and these filles de joie, like those of an inferior clafs, will fometimes play their keepers false. It was to this infidelity that I am indebted for the difcovery of certain mens politics. About a fortnight fince, a valet of mine (a fmart, young Irishman) in one of his twilight faunters in the Park, was accofted by Mrs. Harvey*; and after a short preliminary or two, conducted to her apartments in G-to ·t0- d Street. It feems that she had heard that the Irish furpaffed all other nations in gymnastic exercises, and fecretly refolved to embrace the first moment of putting their boafted pre-eminence to the test. Her keeper, Lord Churllow, happily was at that period in the country; and a more favourable one she never could look for: fhe feized the golden opportunity, and was convinced that the pre-eminence was more than imaginary. The fellow, the naturally con

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The lady will be better known perhaps by the name of Poll H

S M

es.

B 2

cluded,

1

1

you

cluded, would expect a recompence for his
trouble; and her purfe was inftantly tendered,
but, with the true fpirit of an Irishman, he
fcorned to receive wages from the Fair, and
begged to be excufed. His difinterestedness
charmed the lady, and determined her to fe-
cure his further acquaintance, ".I cannot
think (cried fhe) of difmiffing you without
fome tokens of my gratitude for the trouble I
have given you."-"Far from thinking it any
trouble at all, at all, I fhall be always ready, tho'
I fay it, who should not fay it, to wait upon
your fweet ladyship, whenever you shall do
little Roger O' Tickle the honor to fummon
him." "I take you at your word, but you must
accept fome token."" Not I, upon my
confcience."-"Some little keep-fake only
then; here, step to the toilet, and make your
election of the things on it." He obeyed;
and, as my lucky fars would have it, pitched
upon
a little Green Box, which feemed to court
his acceptance, and which Lord Churllow
had that morning, in his hurry, left there,
The lady, ignorant of its precious contents,
(for the conceived his Lordship had left it as
a prefent) confented to his taking it away
with him. I happened luckily to be at my
door juft as O' Tickle returned with the
box under his arm. I had several times at
my friend Lord Toper's feen a ministerial
green box, and knew this to be one. I quef
tioned

7

tioned the fellow about it; and as, like the reft of his countrymen, he has too much spirit to tell a lie, I collected to a tittle what I have just communicated. Sufpecting that it might poffibly contain fomething worthy the fearch, I begg'd this treasure of fecrefy of him, and was gratified. I had not poffeffed it half a dozen feconds before I hastened to my library, full of the difcoveries I knew I was about to make. I own at first some scruples of conscience about opening the box preffed impertinently upon my mind; but the recollection that Count ****** (a man of acknowledged nice honor) had fully debated, and fettled the matter before me, determined me to open it, and prefto cockilorum up flew the lid fans further ceremony or delay.

The general applaufe the count gained from his countrymen by his conduct on that occafion, bids me hope for the approbation of an English public. O you, my countrymen and fellow-fufferers, whofe perdition I cannot help anticipating, and whofe eyes I wish to open, fhall it be faid of you, whose annals record your fpirited and fucceffful oppofition to powerful ufurpation, that you wage unjust and favage war with your fellow fubjects, with freemen, gloriously ftruggling for their rights and immunities? Shall fons of the men who dethroned mighty potentates fubmit to be the flaves of

things

things as impotent as they are corrupt? and bear from petty engroffers of delegated power, what their fathers would not fuffer from true proprietors of the royal authority? Will you not at last think and act like Englifhmen of true fpirit? or will you Лlumber on till forely galled by the yoke, you find yourselves neceffitated, like oppreffed America, to folicit protection of your haughty and natural enemies?

t I trust it will not be imputed to me, that I mean the three things a patriotic earl (whofe zealous exertion of his fine talents in the caufe of civil liberty cannot be too much applauded) Stooped to make mention of in the great debate on the Spanish manifefto, viz. the gewgaw turtleeating drowsy thing; the catch and glee frefh-water thing; and the thing without candor, without veracity, without faith, which no man could truft, or fafely venture upon the fmalleft intercourfe with.No, God help them, they are poor, infignificant, harmless things; --mere puppets, without fouls, wills, hearts, or tongues of their own. The things I fquint at are in one word the two Scotch things, which keep behind the curtain, and want the common fpirit of men to come forward and avow their deteftable principles.

A day or two before I determined to publish these papers, I fully intended to put thefe four queries in my feat to the reprefentatives of the people, but Mr. Fox faved me the fweating, by doing the fame thing in one of the most eloquent, mafterly, and fpirited fpeeches that ever was, or perhaps ever will be delivered within thofe or any other walls. I faw too plainly how poor a chance I ftood of acting upon the auditory, when fuch eloquence could perfuade a third part only of the mem bers prefent to be honeft and faithful to their trust.

THE EDITOR.

.

The EDITOR, in close imitation of the Count, has published the present papers without any arrangement, but merely as he drew them out of the box; and he can, with Christian fincerity, add, without erafing a tittle, or without the fhadow of a hope of getting a penfion for his pains. He leaves it to the penetration of the Count's readers to determine whether he has been in like manner impartial and unexpectant.

The Editor held himself at full liberty to fubjoin his own remarks, and to enlarge more or lefs on particular parts, not in proportion to their importance, but just as fancy dictated; and this he did without caring to be at the trouble of correcting or revising them. It may be faid that this is not the most despicable apology in the world for fuppreffing one's fentiments, but an infufficient vindication of them after their appearance.-Granted. And therefore he fhall only obferve, that if they have the good luck to gain the public approbation, no excufe need be given for them; if they have not, he fears none will be admitted. Thus much however he affirms, they are offered to the public in the humble language of truth and fincerity, as untainted by churlish humours of malcontentedness, as uncorrupted by flattery. Tho' a fenator, he is not enlifted under either of the banners of party, and knows the great only