some hasty reproaches that he had received on his return from having accepted the seals, and he hastily took some strong liquor which was accidentally placed near the sideboard, and by its occasioning great sickness he broke a blood-vessel. The friend from whom I received the account assured me that he was present when the corpse was left openly in the chamber that the attendants. might gratify their curiosity, and see that his death could not be truly attributed to the direct means which had been so publicly and so confidently reported." That this may be the true version of the circumstances under which Charles Yorke met his fate, is of course not impossible. But, on the other hand, if we take into consideration the significant facts that the person from whom Cradock received his intelligence was a member of the deceased's own family, and therefore was interested in keeping back the truth; that two such well-informed contemporaries as the Duke of Grafton and Horace Walpole apparently entertained not a doubt but that suicide was the cause of death; that it was preceded by a copious effusion of blood; and lastly, when we call to mind that not only did a strange and impolitic mystery, if not secrecy, prevail in the household of the unhappy chancellor at the time of his approaching dissolution, but that his family made but slight, if any endeavours, to relieve his memory from the odium which attaches itself to self-slaughter, we

are assuredly furnished with strong, though certainly not conclusive evidence, that, in a moment of uncontrollable frenzy, the gifted orator and lawyer perished by his own hand.

CHAPTER VI.

Resignation of the Duke of Grafton - Perplexity of the King Lord North Appointed Premier - His Qualities as a Minister-Deputations to the King - Lord Mayor Beckford - His Celebrated Speech to the King - Contest between the City of London and the House of Commons - The Lord Mayor and Alderman Oliver Committed to the Tower - The Proceedings against Alderman Wilkes Abandoned by the House Wilkes's Subsequent Career.

THE unexpected demise of Charles Yorke increased not a little the vexation and distress of the king and the diffiuclties of his ministers. So precarious had become the existence of the administration, so unpopular had it rendered itself by the dismissal of Lord Camden from the chancellorship, that not a lawyer could be found who was at the same time sufficiently competent to hold, and bold enough to accept, that highly prized and honourable office. Of the principal law-advisers of the Crown, Lord Mansfield wanted nerves; Sir Eardley Wilmot and Sir William De Grey 3 wanted health; Sir Fletcher Norton wanted char

2

'Chief Justice of the King's Bench.

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.

3 Attorney-general.

Chief Justice in Eyre south of the Trent.

acter; and lastly, Dunning' had chosen to array himself as a patriot by the side of Lords Camden and Chatham. Moreover, the removal of Lord Camden had led to several inconvenient retirements from office. The Marquis of Granby, the most popular soldier of his time, insisted, notwithstanding the earnest entreaties of the king and the Duke of Grafton, on throwing up all his appointments with the exception of his regiment of Blues. The Duke of Beaufort resigned his post as master of the horse to the queen. The Duke of Manchester and the Earl of Coventry vacated their situations as lords of the bedchamber; and lastly, the Earl of Huntingdon threw up his appointment as groom of the stole, and James Grenville that of Joint Treasurer of Ireland.

Such was the embarrassing situation of the king's affairs, when, on the 22d of January, Lord Rockingham moved in the House of Lords that a day be appointed to take into consideration the state of the nation. Ever since his Majesty's accession to the throne, he said, the condition of public affairs had continued to grow more and more deplorable, and the discontent of the people more widespread and formidable. A new maxim, he insisted, had been introduced into the government, which foreboded alike the extension of the royal prerogative and the destruction of the liberties of the subject. That maxim, he said, 1 Solicitor-general.

had been encouraged by his Majesty's present ministers. Their policy, both domestic and foreign, he denounced as monstrous. Their invasion of the Constitution, he exclaimed, had thrown the whole country into a flame. Surely, concluded the marquis, it was the province of their lordships, under such circumstances as these, to indicate to the Crown the means best adapted for correcting the errors of the past, as well as for establishing a form of government more in harmony with the genius and the interests of the people, and more consistent with the spirit of the Constitution.

If the language of Lord Rockingham was calculated to give offence to the king, much more so was the philippic delivered by Lord Chatham in the course of the debate. Let the breach in the Constitution, he said, be effectually repaired, and the people of their own accord would return to a state of tranquillity; but if not, he solemnly added, "may discord prevail for ever!" A great constitutional question, he said, was at issue, which must, sooner or later, be decided. "Rather," he exclaimed, "than I would give it up; rather than the nation should surrender its birthright to a despotic minister, I hope, old as I am, to see the question brought to issue, and fairly tried between the people and the government."

It was while the king was still smarting under