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[PRICE ONE SHILLING AND SIX-PENCE.l U ' 'U\^ * , : ! if V m I ' i ' TH V- i 1: i* ■»' LETTER TO THE KING; IN WHICH THE CONDUCT OF MR. LENOX, AND THP: MINISTER, IN THE AFFAIR WITH HIS ROYAL HIGHNE ESS e I* • THE DUKE OF YORK, IS FULLY CONSIDERED. BY THEOPHILUS SWIFT, ESQ, rhe King covered his Face ; and the King cried with a hud VoiccOmySonl ii. Sam. xix. 24. THE SECOND EDITION. LONDON: "•MINTED FOR JAMES RIDCWAV, YO^.-STRrET, ST, JAMES'S-SQJ/ARE. MDccixxxrx, ! h m . > - ,1 ( I n TO THE K I N G- s i R, A N individual who has both the happinefs and the honour to be perfonally known to Your Maj eily, begs permiflion to approach Your throne, and to lay before You liis ientimentsof alate public tranfa6lion, thro' which the dignity of Your crown has been invaded, and the fafet} of Your people alarmed and endangered. I fhould not, however, have pre- fumed to addrefs my Sovereign on a fubjc6l of fuch magnitude and im- portance, had others of more confe- B queniT I \ t ! ii4 ( 2 ) qiience than myfelf, and of more abi- lity to execute the very arduous un- dertaking, come perfonally forward on an occafion fo prefling and inter- efting to the empire. Much as I refpecl and love the whole Houfe of Brunfwick ; — much as I regard the rights of fucceffion, and the facred images that reflett Your Royal Per- fon ; — much as I revere the blood that, defcending from the pureft founts of Glory and Virtue, rolls he- reditary in the veins of Your illuftri- ous offspring ; — it is poUible I might not have engaged in fo painful a taflc, liad not the conducl of Your Ma- jefty's minifrer excited a fufpicion of an alarming nature. The nation, with equal horror and amazement, liave beheld an attempt made by an ilk'gitimate ( 3 ) illegitimate defcenclant of the Stuart family, to cut off the lawful iilue and prefumptiveheir of Your crown*. Had the attempt been raflily hazarded by a hot-headed young man, whohad con- ceived his own polluted pcrfon infulted by Royalty, pity for his weaknefs had perhaps ftified the ftrongcr emotions of contempt or indignation. But when feveral days had elapfed between the fuppofed aftront and the execution of vengeance, by a deliberate attack on the life of Your Second Son, to what impulfe, to what motive, fnall we im- pute fuch extraordinary conduct ?— To fay that Mr. Lenox was ftimulat- ed by the feelings of honour, were * Perhaps more properly dvfignatcd *' Prc- <• fumptivc ritir to the licir Apparent." B 2 an % ( 4 ) L:il II 1 an affront to the dignity oi Huina^ Nature ; an affront to truth ; an at- front to every officer that bears Your Majefty's commiirion. Men of warm and nice feelings refent on the fpot : the voice of honour is a call fuperior to delay: Offended Virtue is an im- portunate creditor ; fhe drazvs at fight, and will be paid on demand. The claims of nature arc (Irong ; they will be fatislied ; and the laws of the country , which, philofophically fpeak- ing, are devoid of paffion, wifely make allowance for the impulfe of the moment. Men of honour are not apt to plan away the lives of others, much lefs of the Princes of the em- pire, whereof they themfelves are fubje6ls. They confult not whif- perers; neither run they up and , • down ( 5 ) down in corners and club-rooms to acquire proof of imaginary provoca- tions. They are governed by no fuch procraltiiiated refentments, fuch illiberal ideas, fuch narrow notions of honour ! To what motive then fhall we afcribe the condu6l of that man who hath difcovered fo fmall a por- tion of thokffie fenfations by which men of dignified and exalted feelings are influenced ? Shall we impute it to the blood that runs polluted in bis veins ? or to the cabals of fome other perfon ? To one, or to the other of thefc, his condu6l muft fi- nally be referred. If to the firft, then is Mr. Lenox beneath the refentment pf thofe whofe generous birth ranks them in the clafs of gentlemen. If to the latter, on whom is it natural that . ')' \: : I '{1} }:i il!i I' ( <^" ) that we fliould turn our eyes ? On a flranp*er? or on the man who had fo re- cently attempted to cramp and cripple, by a mod dangerous, moft unprece- dented, and moll unconilitutional Bill of Regency, the immediate Succeflbr and l^eprefentative of Your Majefty? If it fhall appear that fuch man hath uniformly infulted the Princes of Your houfe;— if he hath beenobferved,atthe very inftant that the iron of Mr. Le- nox's rage flamed the hotteft, to walk in amity and familiarity with the very man vA\o had meditated the deflruc- tionof his Prince; — fhall it befaid that his condu6t does not juflify fufpicion ? or that injuflice is done to him by prefuming him the guilty fuggefler of the deed ? Shall not a deluded people take the alarm ? Shall their juft } ( 7 ) juft fufpicions be lulled into a dan- gerous fecurity ? Shall they paflive- ly endure the infult ? Shall they fi- lently behold their Prince degraded, and his life expoled to the revenge of an imperious ambition ? — to that haughty hatred of your crown and family which has fyllematically mark- ed the condu(5l of Your minifter ? As a father, Your Majefty mud ever bleed for the dark and daring attempt that has been made on the life of a deferv- edly beloved child, not more the darl- ing of Your heart, than the mirror of Your own diftinguifhed greatnefs. As the father of Your people. You mull lament, with them, the vengeance employed againft an excellent and amiable youth, to whom the nation ;'^oked up with equal joy and rever- ence ; I II ( 8 ) *' HI U 1 • • ■ ;» il » i ■ i 1 M K ' ill 1 ence ; and vvliofe facred perfon eveii foreigners regard with efteem: for Your Majefty does not require to be told, that all Europe, at this moment> {lands aflonifhedat the deed, and can fcarcely credit the unrefented vio- lence that has been offered to Your Houfe. The condu6l of the Royal Duke has excited the admiration of every court in Europe. His Majefly ofPruf- fia, when the report of the Princess magnanimity reached his ear, ex- claimed in a rapture, *' Were my " uncle living, how would the vete- " ran rejoice to find that his pupil " had a6led up to his inil:ru61:ions 1" If fuch W'cre, and fuch undoubtedly xvas, the language of the Pruffian Mo- narch, with what contemp':;, with what i I. C 9 ) what indignation, with what horror muft he behold the condudl of Mr. Lenox— of that man whom Your mi- nifter has had the addrefs to convert from a Coward to a Hero ; — from a Bravo to a Soldier of Honour ? But, alas ! England is the only country in which Mr. Lenox is reputed a hero. Sir, for myfelf , I am neither afliam- ed nor afraid to fay, that I love my king, and regard all the branches of his houfe. My anceftors loft much of their blood, and much of their fortunes in the Royal fervice. I am not a boaftful man ; but fhould their defcendant be called on, it is pofTible he might not Ihrink from his duty, or difhonour his birth. Sure I am, he would defend with his blood the life of the excellent youth which has C been S.' i I t / H ■i. ! I ■ !1 r ;| \hl been wantonly, and I will add, moft deliberately endangered. I tnift, therefore, that howfoever feebly the prefent queftion may be argued by me, I (hall at lead obtain credit for my zeal and fmcerity in defence o£ the honour of Your houfe, the fafety of Your throne, and the dignity of the country at large. Under this fan6lion, I have ventured to throw myfelf at the feet of Your Majefty, and to claim Your indulgence, whilft I exprefs the emotions of a loyal and bleeding heart. It is a duty which I owe to my Prince ; and, in the dif- charge of that duty, I feel myfelf confidently right. Forward, how- ever, I have not been found on the prefent occafion : hoping the fangui- nary fcene at Wimbledon would have - beea ( 11 ) been confined to the fpc'c* and that it would never have penetrated behhid the royal curtain ; — dear as I deemed the life and interefls of the Prince, I delayed to draw my pen until other nations had taken the alarm, and publicly exprefled their fears and aftonifhment. Thefe, I truft, will be found fufficient motives both for my having continued filent fo long, and for my being the only man who has, even thus late, pcrfonally met the queftion. But if, as a fubjeB, (and it is my boaft. Sir, that I am Yoiir's,) I de- plore and fhudder at the defperate attempt, what mull be the fufferings of an injured and infulted Monarch, whofe parental feelings do honour, * not lefs to Royalty than to Human C 2 Nature > 1] I! ii (I I'-* ) n I : 117 'i' i:i i ( " ) Nature itfelf? — Of Him, whofe affec- tion for the children of his loins is the theme of thoufands, and an example all mankind ? It is not for me to paint the diftrefles of a wounded mo- narch, and afflidled father ; but allow me to fay, that my heart rains tears whilft I but think of it. On the Beloved Paitner of Your griefs and pleafures, with unaffedled concern I would turn my eyes: on Her, to whofe foftnefs of foul, whofe mildnefs of heart, whofe parental af- fedlion the whole nation has borne ample teflimony. How vaft then, and fevere, how deep and fearching the diftra6lions which tear and rend the bofom of that amiable woman I To vent them aloud in fighs, or dif- charge them in tears, is the privilege of 7 1; ( 13 ) of the meanefl fubje6l ; yet this, it feenis,is denied unto Her ; and her ma- ternal feelings are publicly facrificed on the altar of State-Policy, to gratify the inordinate ambition and infulting pride of a young, imperious minifter. The very SahBum of Your palace has been violated, and the fenfibility of a wounded mother unnaturally fport- ed with, to give colour to the deed. Pregnant, however, with alarm and horror, as this inftance of your minifter's condu6l appears to the na- tion, a more dreadful danger lurks in the back-ground. From his ftudied irreverence towards all the branches of Your Royal Houfe, what may not be prefumed? I am not a man dif- pofed to anticipate evil, or indulge fufpicion; but God forbid that any man, , <\ h » li,! if :1 I' ■A ( H ) man; mifled by a falfc ambition, fhould afluine a parity with Your royal olTsj^ring ; or iliould flart up in any fhape, or under any pretence, tlie rival of their claims ! Human Na- ture, I truft, is not wholly capable of fuch infidious depravity : but fhould the feveral branches of the BrunfwicK houfe be lopped off one by one — . I beg leave to ftate a fair propofi- tion ; and I implore Your Majefty^§ gracious attention: — That, had Your illuftrious houfe confifted of two branches only ; and if, by any conr- fphracy, one of them had been cut off, it remained with Heaven alone to fay where the national confufioa and calamity would have ended ! but ever praifed be the King of Kings, who hath guarded Your throne with a thick jf ( 15 ) a thick fhade of furrounding branch*^ es ; which neither the lightning of a mortal arm can pierce, nor the thun- der of difloyalty deftroy. But though a man fhould be found ^ho might lop the branch, it were yet impoflible to root the ftock out of the heart of every Englilhman! For one, I can tell him, that it is deeply planted there: and I hope to hear this expreflion echoed from Eng- land, from Ireland, and from the re- moteft Ikirts of the Britilh empire. But it may be afked, could a cold and cautious miniRer all at once throw of the mafk, and openly em-» brace the man who had fired at the fon of his royal mailer? The queftion furprifes, but the anfwer is ftill more aftonilhing. By fuch unufual condu(5l he ll )i i..^! Hi ( 16 ) he invited the nation to look upoii him : the door of perfonal protection flew open ; the afylum of office pre- fented itfelf to the minifters of fac-^ tioHj impatient to thin the number of thofe that flood in the way of his ambition. This is the anfwer that mud be given to it : — let Corruption find another, if (lie can. I fhall not here draw a pi6lure of the hated Houfe of Stuart, and its detelled adherents; neither (hall I enlarge on the virtues and the glo- ries that follow the illuftrious line of Brunfwick. Comparifon would only enflame, and a parallel render that odious which was meant to be merely juft. This, however, muft not be paffed by without particular attention ; That if the bar of baftardy caft ( 17 ) caft between Mr. Lenox and Your Son, be of no confideration in the queftion, (as Your niiniftcr, and his friends, affe6l to fay) then is the competitor of Your Son one degree nearer to the Throne of tliefe king- doms than the Prince. Refpecl, Sir, forbids me to fay more ; and I draw a curtain over the ofFcnfive pi6lure. On the other hand , fhould it be urged that the bar of illegitimacy does ftand acrofs the efcutcheon of this proud young man, and therefore that the apprehended danger doth hot apply, this conclufion naturally flows from it ; that the perfon of Mr. Lenox re- quires that purity which conftitutes the gentleman, by rendering him an obje(5t defcrving a competition with D thofe If !■• :-t' i ■ i^i *■ j! ;ii- ( 18 ) tliofe whoboaftan unpollutecl delcent ; and therefore, not havin<]j the purity in himfelf, that he condefcended to become the inftrument of another. Let lis not be told that Your Ma- jefty purified his blood, and made Mr. Lenox a gentleman, the day you made him an officer, and gave him a commiflion to guard and defend Your own facred perfon. This argu- ment, however, will hardly be urged ; for the condu(5l of Mr. Lenox were but the more culpable on that very account. Thus, which ever way the queftion is turned, the advocates for Mr. Lenox are foiled and defeated. Had the Royal Duke fallen by the hand of a Ruffell or a Howard, (dread- ful as the thought mufl ever be ! ) it had not been fo lamentable. Pofle- rity i ii ( 19 ) rity might fay, that the gallant youth had greatly died, as he greatly lived. Had he fallen even by the legitimate houfe of Stuart, no dilhonour had attended his fall; — fome portion of the old Britifli honour had revived amongfl: us, to confole us for the irre- parable lofs of his much-valued life ; —to awaken in our bofoms the virtu- ous flames that had flept fo long ! But, for a moment, I will fuppofe, with Your minifter, that the feelings of Mr. Lenox were ilung by fome- thing the Prince had faid either to him, or of him. The queftion will then ftand thus : Not whether Mr. Lenox had a right to challenge the gentleman, who, he conceived, had offended him? But, whether he had ANY RIGHT AT ALL TO FIRE AT THE * Da PRE- ) ■: iii i 1 I It ■ ( 20 ) PRESUMPTIVE HEIR OF THE CROWN? This fimplifies the queftion, and it does not require much labour of ar^ gument to determine the point. For my own part I am free to fay, at the hazard of my legal reputation, that to challenge, or to^r^ at the pre- fumptive heir of the crown, are a6ls beyond thofe of a fimple mifdemea- nour ; and that if they be not high treafon, they approach to fomething extremely like it. When a Prince is born to us, the legiflature always ad- addrefs the throne on the joyous oc- cafion ; juflly obferving, thatfuch birth is a fredi acceflion of fecurity to the empire. In like manner, whenever the vifitation of God fnatches from the world a Prince of the realm, an addrefs of condolence waits upon the throne, ( 21 ) throne, commemorating a circum" ftance fo unfortunate to the country. For the famerealbn, and to preferve the rights of fucceflion inviolate, the life of a Prince of Wales is wifely hedged round with llatutes ; — the fliade of thofe flatutes covers and extends over the heir prefumptive, as the fword of the Angel turn- ed every way to guard the tree of life. But even Paradife has ceafed to be fecure from pollution ; nor is the hereditary tree of monarchy al- ways fafe from the unhallowed hand of violence. I am no friend to the multiplica- tion of penal flatutes ; but as a pro- feflbr of the laws, and an aflertor of the rights and fecurity of the throne, I feel myfelt more immediately called on [ r i )• 'ir { 22 ) on to fuggeft the neceffity of a folemn a6l of the whole legiflature to prote6l the lives and perfons of the feveral Princes of the Royal Blood. When the Scythian philofopher * obje6ted to Solon, It J. ;■'] i i\ i I » 'Hi * Anacharjis. This philofopher is, perhaps, the ftrongefl: inftance on record of the uncultivated powers of the human mind. Born and living in a barbarous, uncivilized country, fo vafl: were the depths of his wifdom, and fo wide the extent of his reputation, that the celebrated Solon travelled into Scythia on purpofe to confult him on the framing of the laws, which he afterwards cfta- blifhed at Athens ; and which, no doubt, derived confidcrable advantage from the advice of Ana- charfis. It was at this famous interview that the Scythian Sage delivered that memorable faying, which has fmce been retailed, without acknow- ledgment, for more than two thoufand years. It is time, however, that it fhould be reflored to its original author, though Valerius Maximus has been ( 23 ) Solon, that his code of laws had not provided againfl: the crinae oi parricide, the law-giver of Athens anfwered, « That crime is impoffible/' Expe- rience, however, proved this famous been beforehand with me : «' Qiiam porro fubtlli- «* ter Anacharfis leges Arancarum telis compa- " rabat/' ' De Sap. Dia. The good and learned Prieft of Apollo thus commemorates the faying : — «AX ug eneivu, t8? (xiv uu'hevsig ncti heirrsQ tuv Thsa-iuv Siei^^u'y£:::i ^1: legiflator to be miftaken ; for, not long after, it was found expedient to ena.61 an exprefs law againft this /m- poffible crime. A late event has de*- monftrated, that the laws of Great Britain have not yet provided againft every poffible Ipecies of parricide; thus evincing the neceffity of an im- mediate and irrevocable a6t of parlia- ment, rendering it high treafon for any perfon to confpire or compafs the death of a Prince of the empire. Were an a6l to guard Your children and all future Princes of the country from confpiracies or violence recom- mended from the throne, Your loyal people, with one heart and one voice, would fpring to meet the wiflies of Your Majefty ; and I will venture to fay, without fear of contradiction, there ;i ( 25 ) there would not be found a duellift in the kingdom hardy enough to op- pofe it. The more the condu6t of Mr. Le- nox is confidered, the more planned and premeditated the whole of it ap- pears. His firff attack is made on the elder brother of the Royal Duke, who, he well knew, was conftitu- tionally prevented from refenting the infult. This (ingle circumflance marks, by the way, that fort of fpirit which a6luated Mr. Lenox. But this is not all : he infults the Heir Apparent of the crown, with toafting in his teeth a name defervedly odious and offenfive to his Royal Highnefs ;— a name that had fown the feeds of family diffenti- on in the very bofom of the Court ;— a name that the Prince himfelf, it is E con- * ' I ■ ( 26 ) confidently faid, had ironically thank- ed for thofe diffentions ; — a name that had queftioned the Prince's na- tural right of Regency ; — a name that had falfely villified the virtue, and traduced the honour of that high and mofl illuftrious chauafter ; — a name on thele, as well as on other accounts, which Mr. Lenox well knew that his Prince detefted. Here then we be- hold Your Majefty's minifter become the very founder and condu6lor of the tragedy ; he appears in the firft a6l ; then (lands behind the curtain ; now prompts the a6lor ; now manages the puppet: and were any thing wanting to complete the unfolding of the plot, he appears again, in his own proper perfon, in the very laft fcene. It Ti ( 27 ) It is not fair to judge of a man's condu6l by detached parts. Con- fiflence, and an apt concurrence of circumftances, are the proper guides to afcertain the truth of a complicate fa6t. Thus, had not fome one of Your Majelly's family been marked for • deftru6lion, the fickle of Mr. Lenox's courage might have reaped its full harveil of fatisfa6lion in that field of honour to which others were anxious to attend him. The members of D'Aubigny's Club, almoft to a man, flamed with refentment, and ftood on tiptoe with their fvvords, in de- fence of their infulted Prince. But this did not fuit the purpofe of Mr. Lenox ; he muft have Royal Blood, or none: and fince he could not challenge the Heir Apparent of the E 2 Crown i I ■'.ik'- ,ir;; ( 28 ) Crown without incurring a praemu- nire, the Heir Prefumptive mud be made the facrifice ! This, Great Sir, is the man, for whom Your minifter gathers laurels, as a proof of his at- tachment to the Houfe of Brunfwick ! For my own part, I feel no dif- ficulty in declaring, that Mr. Lenox does not appear to me to be a hero. If his courage required fatisfacSlion, it ftill continues unfatisfied ; for to flioot at another, is no mark of per- fonal valour. Had the Prince re- turned his fire, his honour might poflibly be faid to receive fatisfac- tion from that circumfiance ; but at prefent, his courage ftands pre- cifely in the fame fituation that it flood in before be fired at Tour Son. A decifion indeed of his brother-officers has ( =9 ) has given this matter a different turn, and therefore it does not become me to queftion it ; but a rumor prevails, and it is generally fuppofed to be founded in truth, tliat His Kighnefs, with that greatnefs of foul which fhould diRinguiih princes, and which always chara6lerifes the brave, re- quefted the officers of the regiment to make a favourable report of Mr. Lenox. A requefl coming from fuch a quarter was met, no doubt, half- way, by the lenity and generofity of thofe to whom it was dire6led ; and I honour the gentlemen for the determination which they came to. — Should the fa6l be true, and, from all the circumflances of the cafe^ there is no reafon to diibelieve it, the ami- able humanity of the Duke fliines as diftinguifhed out of the field, as his magnanimity * ( 30 ) ^\^ 'f ■ ' ' ; t magnanimity in it was confpicuous. If, however, the fentence on Mr. Lenox arofe from the uncourtcd opi- nion of his brother-officers, the necejfity of his quitting the regiment does not ftrike me. To relinquiih the good opinion of his own officers, in order to leek it among others, with whom, it is pofiiblc, he might not find it, were inconfiftent with that delihera^ tion whicli Mr. Lenox appears to have iifcd in every other part of the bMO- ncfs. Every fubjecl of the Britifii em- pire has virtually fworn allegiance to the Houfe of Brunfwick. An attempt therefore to deftroy any part of it, is a breach of that civil obligation by which the fever al members of the ftate are bound to Your Majefty. — The lifted arm of violence, levelling dertru6lion Mi' ( 31 ) deftru6lion at one of Your children, is a pii^ture the moft awful that hu- man imagination can form ! — A civic wreath was decreed to the Roman who had faved the life of a common citizen : but with Us, Christians and Britons, the deflru6tion of a prince, in the opinion of the very minifters of the country, merits an ovation ! I would, however, afk this plain and obvious queftion ; — which difcovered the greater magnanimity and the greater patriotifm, the Prince, who preferved the life of a fubje6l ? Or, the Subjedl that would have taken away the life of his Prince ? There is no fubtilty, no ambiguity in the queftion : lifping fimplicity might an- fwer it. The coolnefs, not lefs than the courage !iii f ' ' 1 Mi; ■ ,'i< u »lr ( 32 ) courage of the Prince, is a theme of damiration to every thinking mind. But coolnefs is always the attendant on true courage, as mercy and meek- nefs are its infeparable companions. This the gallant Duke manifefted in an eminent degree. He preferred the life of a citizen, at the fame time that he expofed his own to a rafh intem- perate man. By his condu6l he has tauffht the world this admirable lef- fon, That to take away the life of another, is an offence againft Him who originally gave it ; — an offence againft the ftate from which we derive prote6lion. That a Prince, like Him who delegates his power to his images on earth, fhould have more delight in fparing than dejlroying ; and that pardon is the privilege of greatnefs. m ( S3 ) greatnefs. Above all, his moderation has fer\ired the lives of all future Princes in this country. No man, who is not content to pafs for what he would not be thought, can here- after challenge his Prince. The ex- ample of the great is prevalent, and that of Kings and Princes more ge- iierally extenfive. When Harry IV. of France had publilhed an arret againft duelling, within the fpace of twenty-four hours he defeated the very obje6t of that edi6t. On his journey to Fontainbleau, obferving a foldier that had fallen in a duel, the native ardour of his foul broke out with an involuntary impulfe in the following indifcreet exclpmation,— «* That man lies in the bed of ho* ** nourl" The expreffion was in- F ftantly ' i I ( S4 ) ftantly echoed through the kingdom^ and was urged, upon all affairs of honour, as the firft and laft excufe for duelling. So vaft is the influ- ence of a great authority I But the more glorious, becaufe tlie more vir- tuous Prince of thefe days, has, by his great example, checked the falfe ardor that has gone abroad, without diminifliino; the luftrc of his own he- roic fpirit. Virtue is true dignity; and never appears to more advantage than when flie waits on Princes. But, for a moment, let us fuppofe^ that the Prince had a6lually fired at this hot young man. What. a crowd of ferious refle6lions rife before us and occupy our minds, whilft we but barely fancy the pi6ture ! What ?— * a Princo fet fo dreadful an example to ( 35 ) to poller ity ? — a Prince defcend from liis dignity, to indulge the pride, bv flieddins: the blood of a contami- nated rival ?-^a Prince degrade him- felf to an equality with a man fo vaftly his inferior in the race of glory ?— • When Alexander was challenged to run at the Olympic Games, he made this great reply ; " I would accept *« the offer, were kings my competi- ** tors '/' The loftineis of the anfwer proved the dignity of the mind that delivered it ; and I giv j it in Englijhy that every Englijhman may under- Hand it. The next pi6lure, though much too flattering to pafs for real, is, *^ Mr. Lenox fufpending the rage of f* his arm, and waiting the fire of his V Prince/' A more beautiful pic- ^ Fa ture ( 36 ) ::i'[\i\ t'l nil nil . ' it Ir -I- f?l % n tiire cannot well be imagined. Greats minds may conceive it, and heros per- haps believe it. It was referved for Mr. Lenox and the Minifter to re- verfe the tapeflry. Having detained Your Majefty fa long, I fhall not flop to enlarge on the condii6l- of Lord Winchelfea, who, like Mr. Lenox, does not appear to me to be a hero, or to have confulted either the fafety of Your Houfe, or the dignity of Your Throne. As a domed ic attendant on the perfon of Your Majefty, it was his ftrong and indifpenfable duty to have defended Your palace from violence. As aa hereditary counfellor of the Crown, he fliould not have advifed or abetted the deftruclion of any part of it. Robed in the fcarlet of honour, he ihould lU ( 37 ) fiiould not have tamiflied Its luRre, or dipped in the dye of fa6lion, by becoming the Second of the Second in a tranfac^lion that has brought fuch difgrace upon the country. Here, Sir, allow me to clofe the unhappy fcene. An affe6lionate and loyal fubje6l, than whom You have not in your dominions one that loves You better, or that refpedls You more, befeeclies You to pardon the freedom that his zeal has prompted him to ufe with his Soverei2;n. He be