[copyist’s hand]

1819 Mar. 30.

To Erskine

Lett 1. Plan

4

Remain the flowers laudatory or laudative. While beset by Athenian enemies, the band of Spartans occupied the Island of Sphagne as sheep do a butcher’s cellar a paste imported by drivers without | | served them for daily bread. In this Sphagne I see Brooke’s. Substantials removed, remains the desert. In the Chair the Whig Lord High Chancellor: before him the sweet compound in a lofty pile: how much in flowers, how much in letters, gingerbread consecrated by the name of Parliament let the Confectioners declare. On the right, Earl Grey; on the left, M r Perry. The noble and learned chairman indefatigable, serving out to right and left the Whig | | Sceptre in one hand, dice-box in the other, concealed from profane men by a cloak of his own words the rest written in a manner quite unintelligible.

On this occasion as on every other, so far as the real state of my opinion will allow my representation of them to take a favourable direction, that direction it would always take with pleasure

1. First then as to Whig merits. Of these I see in your Lordship’s account a good dozen. As yet a dozen and no more but these a sample of the rest. Now for my poor opinion. Of the opinion intimation has been given already. Good deeds all or thereabouts: merits none. Now as to the grounds of it. Merit if in effect as well as in intimation, it requires two things: service rendered, and sacrifice more or less made: sacrifice of immediately self regarding interest. As to merit

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