habit, that whenever he openeth his mouth, he taketh that opportunity of closing his eyes.

There is one Mr. Gordon,* a middle-aged gentleman with a grave visage, who hath an appropriate but unseemly cognomen, which, as thou wilt probably shew my letter to thy wife, I will impart to thee in a Postscript.

I must not forget a dainty young gentleman of the name of Lambton,† who declaimeth in a very peculiar style. I know not whether there be more of oil in his deportment, or of vinegar in his tongue. I must indulge thee from my memorandum book with a specimen of this youth. Speaking one day of the Congress and the Kings at Vienna, saith he "What, Sir! shall a club of congregated cannibals feed on the carcasses of unoffending Europe? What, Sir! shall his Majesty's Ministers, a set of

* Robert Gordon, Esq. M. P. for Wareham: from the Sporting Intelligence, (p. 59.) and from one of the English Melodies, (p.121.) this unseemly cognomen may be guessed. This it is presumed is the reason that this gentleman is called Mr. B.Gordon.

E.

†M. P. for Durham.

'profligate and perjured swindlers, retain their seats ' in the Cabinet when they ought to be drawn and

quartered without a trial! As for Lord Castlereagh, 'Sir, I thank my God three times a day that the ' noble and unsullied blood of the Lambtons is not 'polluted by any admixture with that of the plebeian 'Stewarts.' Thou must admit that these are hard words, and yet delivered he them with so much composure and good-humour, and to all outward appearance so little moved was he by the spirit, that I conjecture he was by no means in earnest, but perchance a secret partizan of the Ministry: the more so as Mr. Chancellor Vansittart* thrice said Hear, Hear during his declamation; and Friend Martin whispered me, that the jackanapes,' as merrily he

6

called him, did his own party more harm than good.'

There is also a Mr. I. Grant, † a swaggering man, but in my mind a vapid speaker. He seemeth

The Chancellor of the Exchequer seems to be liberal of his ejaculatory approbation to his opponents.-E.

† J. P. Grant, Esq. M. P. for Grimsby: a Scottish barrister.

well contented with himself, but on this and other matters holding strange doctrines, wherein he standeth alone.

I have heard many questions put very genteelly by a Mr. Bennet,* an honourable; who is in my mind mighty well bred, though he disfigureth himself by wearing a green wig. He is attentive to business, and hath lately discovered a mistake of three farthings in an account of thirty millions: but he somewhat surprised me by calling the Secretary at War (the Munro of this Country,) his honourable friend and a very infamous man, in the same breath.

He hath a brothert elder in years but less in sta

* The Honourable Henry Grey Bennet, M. P.for Shrewsbury. At Eton he was sometimes called 'Bennet with a green baize wig,' and sometimes 'frothy Bennet:' the reason of the former name, which is alluded to in the text, I cannot explain; the latter is obvious enough. These names are frequently alluded to in subsequent articles.-E.

+ Lord Ossulston, M. P. for Knaresborough. His Lordship was Comptroller of the Household to his Majesty during the Talents' administration; an office of little or no importance. It is reported

ture than himself, who rarely speaketh, the which J attribute to his having held an important office of the State, which hath taught him to be wise and keep silence. I know not more of his office, than that the insignia thereof consisted of a staff or stick many feet longer than him who bore it.

I must not forget the mention of Sir Charles Monck, whom I reckon a merry and facetious jester. He hath kept the whole House in a state of merriment upwards of three quarters of an hour, by reading an ancient missal respecting something which he called the Order of the Bath. He was, however, despite of his jests, grievously disposed to blame an addition of forty marks to the salary of a deputy messenger, which he said was a violation of the Consti

of him, that the mode of his dismissal was the sovereign's taking the white staff out of his hand, and putting it on the mantle-piece of the closet out of his reach.-E.

* Sir C. Monck, M. P. for Northumberland, appears about this time to have made a motion relative to the new regulation of the order of the Bath, notice of which had been given (as it seems from these papers) by Mr. Robert Gordon. -E.

tution, and a discharge of the subjects of the realm from their allegiance; and such is the wretched state of the finances of this country, that this worthy Country Member protested he did not know where the forty marks were to come from.

Lastly, let me name to thee a youngster, who hath been mistaken for a wit in foreign parts, by the name of North Douglas.*-He seemeth to belong to no party, and yet willing to belong to all. He is a forward and frequent speaker-remarkable for a graceful inclination of the upper part of his body, in advance of the lower, and speaketh, I suspect, (after the manner of an ancient) with pebbles in his mouth. He hath a strange custom, when speaking, of holding his hat in one hand, and smoothing the felt of it with the other, the which made me at the

* The Honourable Frederick North Douglas, son of Lord Glenbervie, M. P. for Banbury. It would seem that the fourth Melody, p. 126, alludes to this Gentleman, who seems by the parliamentary debates, to have voted with the Administration the first half of the Parliament, and with the Opposition the second.-E.