Mr. Pitt left Walmer Castle, and re-appeared in the House of Commons. Although sad and melancholy at the recent loss of his mother, who died on the 3rd of April, 1803, he was, nevertheless, animated by an ardent patriotism, and decided to defend the declaration of war. When he arose to speak, the whole House cried—"Mr. Pitt! Mr. Pitt!" and the applause drowned the first accents of his voice. Fox himself was loud in praise of the brilliant success of his great rival, who had just re-appeared upon the scene. "It was a speech," he told the House, "which, if Demosthenes had been present, he must have admired, and might have envied."
Pitt ardently approved of the war measures. He sustained, nevertheless, against the advice of the government, a proposition from Fox, tending to accept the mediation of Russia. "Whether we are in peace or in war," said he, "whether we desire to give force to our arms or security to our repose, whether we wish to prevent war by negotiations, or to re-establish peace after the war shall have broken out, it is the duty of the ministers of this country to profit by the good offices of the powers with whom it is to our interest to become allied."
War became inevitable. The mediation of Russia was useless and ineffectual; no one abroad realized the energy or sagacity of the English cabinet. "If that ministry lasts, Great Britain will not last," said Count Woronzow, the Russian Ambassador in England. Parliament rejected the resolutions of censure, indirectly sustained by Mr. Pitt; nevertheless the support of the great orator was necessary to the cabinet in order to carry its financial measures, and Mr. Addington accepted without resistance the modifications demanded by Mr. Pitt.
The First Consul had eagerly renewed his former project of a descent upon England. He established at Boulogne a camp and workshops for naval service; he personally superintended the same, inspecting the works and animating the men by his inexhaustible ardor. Thousands of flat-bottomed boats were to transport to England a hundred thousand soldiers, veterans of the great revolutionary struggles.
Bonaparte exacted from Spain a monthly tribute; he disposed of the resources of the Cisalpine Republic as well as those of Holland and Belgium. "By the end of autumn," he said, "I will march upon London."
Patriotic enthusiasm in England responded to the gravity of the peril. Thiers writes that "a shudder of terror ran through all classes of English society." The alarm, however, did not arrest the zeal. Three hundred thousand volunteers enrolled themselves at once. As lord warden of the Cinque Ports, Mr. Pitt powerfully contributed to the activity of preparation. He personally took command of a brigade, which occupied the most exposed position upon the coast. His health, always tottering, was at this time seriously influenced by so much fatigue. His niece, Lady Hester Stanhope, had charge of his house; she was young and beautiful, but capricious; without family or fortune. She was received by her uncle, towards whom she always manifested a sincere devotion. After his death, she was unable to content herself in England. She established herself in the East, where she long led the life of a queen of the desert. Strange destiny, and very contrary to the regular habits of the mind and life of Mr. Pitt. With the exception of a single journey to France, he had never quitted England.
At the opening of Parliament, on the 22nd of November, Pitt censured some of the measures adopted by the government for the national defence, but he refused to join in the systematic attack that Lord Grenville had prepared, and for which he had allied himself with Mr. Fox. "In all simple and clear questions," said he, "I have decided to sustain the government; if it should omit anything that I believed the state of the country required, or when it shall show feebleness or want of efficiency, I will boldly announce my views; but even then not in a spirit of opposition, for I will only speak after being assured that the government persists in what I disapprove, and does not consent to what I believe necessary."
The king at this time passed through another crisis of his malady. Successive checks had disturbed the ministry decidedly, by the consent of all, unequal to the task before it. Mr. Addington resolved to send in his resignation. The king accepted it with regret; he felt himself, to a certain point, master of the situation, while the power was in the hands of Mr. Addington, and he often spoke of him as: "My Chancellor of the Exchequer." He was nevertheless compelled to consult Mr. Pitt immediately, concerning the formation of a cabinet. The sovereign was convalescent. Mr. Pitt, who had for some time been in correspondence with the Chancellor, Lord Eldon, proposed at once an alliance with Fox. "My opinion is founded," wrote he, "upon the profound conviction that the critical state of our country, at this moment, joined to that of Europe in general, and of political parties abroad, render it more essential, than at any other epoch, to give to the government of his Majesty the greatest possible energy and force, by seeking to unite in his service the talents and influences accounted eminent, without exception, from parties of all names, without care for divisions or past differences." The refusal of the king was peremptory. He sent for Mr. Pitt. "Your Majesty is looking much better than after your former illness," said he, upon entering.—"It is not to be wondered at," cordially replied George III. "I was then on the point of parting with an old friend, and I am now about to regain one."