THE EARL OF ROCHFORD TO THE EARL OF

CHATHAM.

(Private.)

MY LORD,

Paris, April 6, 1767.

I FLATTER myself your Lordship will not think it strange that I take the liberty to write to you, in a confidential manner, by the Bishop of Cloyne; but I should not act agreeably to the opinion of your Lordship, nor to my own feelings, if I concealed from you whatever came to my knowledge here, that regarded your Lordship personally. Mr. Wilkes gives out amongst his friends, that he intends soon publishing here a pamphlet he has written, the drift of which is to attack your Lordship's administration; and if it is written conformably to the language I am informed he holds, it will be both abusive and violent. (')

(1) In the autumn of 1766, Mr. Wilkes, who at that time was living in France, came over to this country; and, upon his arrival, addressed a letter to the Duke of Grafton, in which he expressed a hope that the rigour of his long exile was past, and that he might be allowed to continue in the land, and among the friends, of liberty. To this application he received a verbal answer, "that he must apply to Lord Chatham;" but this, he alleged, he could not do "without a sacrifice of his honour." He accordingly returned to Paris, and there gave vent to his feelings by publishing, in the summer of 1767, the abusive pamphlets referred to in the above letter, in which he complains bitterly of Lord Chatham's "flinty and marble heart," and describes his Lordship as "a proud, insolent, overbearing man, always full of the ideas of his own importance, and now become the abject, crouching deputy of the proud Scot."

Sensible, as I am, that such a pamphlet will have no weight with those who are perfectly acquainted with your Lordship's character, yet you will allow me to say, that I should be concerned to see such a production suffered to be published in this government; which would infallibly be the case, if no previous application was made to prevent it: and I have the greatest reason to believe, that by speaking a word to the Duc de Choiseul, he would put a stop to it; this, however, I could not take upon me to do, well knowing your Lordship's delicacy, without your approbation; and after having well weighed the consequences that can result from such a step, I am firmly of opinion, that he will be glad to show your Lordship this mark of his personal regard, and that, even supposing he would not, it would afford at least an opportunity of discovering how far he is your well-wisher; which I flatter myself your Lordship believes I should have penetration enough to discover, by the conversation I should have with him on the subject.

All I have to add is, to beg you would believe that I do not trouble you with this to pay my court, or out of officiousness, but from a conviction that the welfare of England depends on the continuance, as well as wisdom of your Lordship's administration, and that any thing which can affect either must be attended with the worst of consequences.

I will trespass a little further on your Lordship's time to add, that I do not as yet see any reason to change my notions of the system of this country:

they mean peace, but the court of Vienna keeps filling them with jealousies, which the Duc de Choiseul, who desires peace, wards off as well as he can; and if we contribute to diminish their suspicions, the attempts of other courts will not avail. I must again beg pardon for this confidential manner of writing to one I have so little the honour to be personally acquainted with; but I shall esteem myself happy in being furnished with frequent opportunities of assuring your Lordship of the perfect truth and regard, with which I have the honour to be, my Lord, Your Lordship's most obedient

and most faithful humble servant,

ROCHFORD.

JAMES BOSWELL, ESQ. TO THE EARL OF CHATHAM.

MY LORD,

Auchinleck, April 8, 1767.

I HAVE had the honour to receive your Lordship's letter from Bath, and I perfectly feel the sentiments which it contains. I only wish that circumstances were such that your Lordship could have an opportunity of showing the interest you take in the fate of a people, who well deserve the favour of so illustrious a patron of liberty as your Lordship. I have communicated to General Paoli the contents of your Lordship's letter, and I am persuaded he will think as I do.

Allow me to give your Lordship another quotation from a letter of that hero. It is addressed to a friend of mine at Leghorn: -"Essendo al ministero il Conte di Chatham, voglio sperar tutto il buon successo alla generosa premura del Signor Boswell, per la rivocazione dell' ingiuriosa proclama del 1763. Quel sublime genio della Gran Brettagna, e quell' anima grande ne' propri sentimenti e nel sistema della sua politica, ritrovera i più efficaci motivi per far uscir la sua corte dello stato di indifferenza sopra gli affari di Corsica." I leave with the Earl of Chatham these words of General Paoli, and I am persuaded quell' anima grande will not forget them.

Your Lordship applauds my "generous warmth for so striking a character as the able chief." Indeed, my Lord, I have the happiness of being capable to contemplate with supreme delight those distinguished spirits by whom God is sometimes pleased to honour humanity; and as I have no personal favour to ask of your Lordship, I will tell you, with the confidence of one who does not fear to be thought a flatterer, that your character, my Lord, has filled many of my best hours with that noble admiration, which a disinterested soul can enjoy in the bower of philosophy.

I think it my duty to inform your Lordship, that I am preparing to publish an account of Corsica. My plan is, first, to give a geographical and physical description of the island; secondly, to exhibit a concise view of the revolutions it has undergone

from the earliest times till now; thirdly, to show the present state of Corsica in every respect; and lastly, I subjoin my journal of a tour to that island, in which I relate a variety of anecdotes, and treasure up many memoirs of the illustrious general of the Corsicans, memorabilia Paoli.

As for myself, to please a worthy and respected father (1), one of our Scots judges, I studied law, and am now fairly entered to the bar. I begin to like it. I can labour hard; I feel myself coming forward, and I hope to be useful to my country. Could your Lordship find time to honour me now and then with a letter? I have been told how fa

(1) To a letter from Boswell, containing regrets at his own want of resolution, and mentioning his having taken a vow as a security for good conduct, Dr. Johnson makes this admirable reply: - "Your resolution to obey your father I sincerely approve; but do not accustom yourself to enchain your volatility by vows; they will sometimes leave a thorn in your mind, which you will, perhaps, never be able to extract or eject. Take this warning; it is of great importance. The study of the law is what you very justly term it, copious and generous; and in adding your name to its professors, you have done exactly what I always wished, when I wished you best. I hope that you will continue to pursue it vigorously and constantly. You ought to think it no small inducement to diligence and perseverance, that they will please your father. We all live upon the hope of pleasing somebody, and the pleasure of pleasing ought to be greatest, and at last always will be greatest, when our endeavours are exerted in consequence of our duty. If the profession you have chosen has some unexpected inconveniences, console yourself by reflecting that no profession is without them; and that all the importunities of business are softness and luxury, compared with the incessant cravings of vacancy, and the unsatisfactory expedients of idleness."-Life, vol. iii. p. 3. ed. 1835.