"If the receipt of your very obliging and confidential letter had not roused me, I doubt much whether I should have prevailed upon myself to put pen to paper, though there is something within that tells me, I shall at last overcome a disorder so very distressing both to the mind (and to the body). Although the waters agree with me better than any place I have yet tried, yet by my feelings, a journey abroad I fear must be undertaken, before I can obtain a perfect recovery of my health.
"Mr. Grenville's death, though long expected, could not but affect me very severely. Gratitude first bound me to him: a more intimate connection afterwards gave an opportunity of admiring his abilities, and respecting his worth and integrity. The dissolution of our valuable friend has shipwrecked all our hopes for the present; and my indisposition hath not only made me indifferent [to the world of politics[158]], but to the world in general. What effect returning health may have, I cannot answer for; but if I can judge for myself in my present situation, I wish to support that independency which will be approved of by my friends in particular, and by the public in general. My sentiments are the same as yours, with regard to our conduct in the present times.
"Your delicacy towards me serves only to convince me of the propriety of my conduct in leaving you the absolute master of your own conduct in Parliament, free from all control but that of your own judgment, and I am happy in this opportunity"—(defect in the MS.)
"Your great and uncommon abilities must sooner or latter place you in one of the first posts of this kingdom; and you may be assured no man on earth wishes to see your honour and your independency firmly established in this kingdom, more than,
"Dear Sir,
"Your affectionate friend,
"and obedient servant,
"Clive."
Mr. Grenville's death was felt by Lord Clive as a great and almost irreparable loss. That statesman was the person in public life to whom he had always most closely attached himself. Mr. Grenville's great political experience, his honourable disposition, his warm and unvarying friendship, made Lord Clive ever ready to listen to his advice, and in general willing to follow it. On his death, the party, which had been kept together chiefly by his personal influence, separated, some accepting office with the Minister, among whom was Mr. Wedderburn, who was made Solicitor-General; others joining the Rockingham party, then in opposition. For some time Lord Clive seems to have avoided taking a decided part in public affairs, though his parliamentary interest, independent of the weight of his personal character, would have made him a valuable acquisition to any party. Perhaps, before definitively making up his mind, he wished to ascertain the line that each was disposed to take in Indian affairs. He was thus thrown adrift on the sea of politics. That he belonged to no party bound in honour to support and do him justice, and so was occasionally exposed to the hostility of all, was perhaps one of the greatest of evils to one who had so many bitter enemies as Lord Clive, and was one of the misfortunes which he owed to the death of his excellent friend Mr. Grenville.
His time was not wholly occupied by public business. He gave up much of it to the numerous friends who were warmly attached to him, and he did not neglect his private concerns. He had purchased several noble estates in different parts of the country, and in the choice of them was not inattentive to the object of increasing his parliamentary influence. On these properties he had several mansion houses, though Walcot continued to be his favourite residence. He purchased from the Duchess of Newcastle, the noble property of Claremont, and made several changes on that magnificent place: at Bath he acquired the lease of Lord Chatham's house. In London, he still had his house in Berkeley Square. The old family seat of Styche, now much improved, was generally occupied by some of his relations. He indulged the natural liberality of his disposition by living in a style of considerable splendour, and he laid the foundation of a choice collection of paintings, by the purchase of several master-pieces of the Italian schools.
Though only in his forty-sixth year, his friends were already fast falling around him. He had lost two sisters while he was absent in India. In May, 1771, he had to lament the death of his aged father, as he had of his sister, the Honourable Mrs Sempill, before the year was done.
The occupations which engaged him in public life, whether in Parliament or at the India House, were not of a nature to fill or satisfy a mind like his. He lived at a period when there was a rapid succession of administrations, produced more by intrigue and party arrangements than by any grand national object. There was much indecision, and a remarkable want of any commanding talent in all the various ministries that were formed. Clive, accustomed to an almost unlimited command over many provinces, often sickened almost as much at the inadequate and temporising measures of Parliament, as at the quarrels of the Directors, or the petty but exhausting intrigues of the India House; and in many parts of his correspondence vents his longings for the ease and quiet of a country life; longings perfectly sincere and natural, but the indulgence of which, to one of his ardent and restless character, so long accustomed to the agitations of public business, would probably have failed to bring the happiness which he anticipated.