* * * * * * *
That cheers the brains, makes wit the quicker,
Pays all debts, cures all diseases,
And at once three senses pleases.”
Selwyn was a great admirer of Fox, and was one of his life-long friends, but a courtier first and last.
His friendship for Lord Carlisle also was of the most tender nature. He stood between his two friends as the adviser of Carlisle and the guardian of Fox. The latter was a brilliant politician, and a passionate gamester, who needed the good offices of a diplomat like Selwyn.
Yet Selwyn’s most concern was to keep Fox within a sphere of usefulness, in order that Fox could pay back to Carlisle money that was loaned at the gaming-table. The interests of the three were so involved that one had to maintain the other in order to preserve himself; they repeated the story of Cæsar and Pompey.
“I have the scheme,” ejaculated Selwyn, who was by this time growing enthusiastic over the idea of stopping the American War with the English valor that wins their battles when bayonets fail. “I am acquainted with a young man who is the secret agent of the Bank of England in France and has brought us the innermost information from the French Court by reason of his skill as a diplomat, and his pretended friendship for the American cause.
“He is a personal friend of Dr. Franklin. In America he could be recognized as a supporter of the cause of independence while he kept your Commission informed as to the weakness within the American ranks.
“You could induce him,” continued Selwyn spiritedly, “to undertake the mission by promising the highest position, that of Viceroy in the Colonies. You could also offer a peerage and vast landed estates in America for his success.”