N.B. To bring in an Act to encourage water-mills—THURLOW home in a dilly—we after his horse—children crying, Fox for ever!—DUNDAS stretching to whip them—he off too.
May 22. Sick all day—lay a bed—VILLIERS bored me.
23. Hyde-park—PITT—HAMILTON, &c. Most of us agreed it was right to bow to Lord DELAVAL—PITT won’t to any one, except the new Peers—dined at PITT’s—PITT’s soup never salt enough—Why must PRETTYMAN dine with us?—PITT says to-day he will not support Sir CECIL WRAY—THURLOW wanted to give the old toast—PITT grave—probably this is the reason for letting PRETTYMAN stay.
24. House—Westminster Election—we settled to always make a noise when BURKE gets up—we ballotted among ourselves for a sleeping Committee in the Gallery——STEELE always to call us when PITT speaks—Lord DELAVAL our dear friend!—Private message from ST. JAMES’s to PITT—He at last agrees to support SIR CECIL.
May 25. BANKES won’t vote with us against GRENVILLE’s Bill—English obstinacy—the Duke of RICHMOND teazes us—nonsense about consistency—what right has he to talk of it?—but must not say so.—DUNDAS thinks worse of the Westminster business than—but too hearty to indulge absurd scruples.
26. Court—King in high spirits, and attentive rather to the Duke of GRAFTON—QUEEN more so to Lord CAMDEN—puzzles us all!—So it is possible the Duke of RICHMOND will consent to leave the Cabinet?—Dinner at DUNDAS’s—too many things aukwardly served—Joke about ROSE’s thick legs, like ROBINSON’s, in flannel.
EXTRACTS
FROM THE SECOND VOLUME OF LORD MULGRAVE’S ESSAYS ON ELOQUENCE, LATELY PUBLISHED.
“We now come to speak of Tropes. Trope comes from the Greek word Trepo, to turn. I believe that tropes can only exist in a vocal language, for I do not recollect to have met with any among the savages near the Pole, who converse only by signs; or if they used any, I did not understand them. Aristotle is of opinion that horses have not the use of tropes.—Dean Swift seems to be of a contrary opinion; but be this as it may, tropes are of very great importance in Parliament, and I cannot enough recommend them to my young readers.
“Tropes are of two kinds: 1st, such as tend to illustrate our meaning; and 2dly, such as tend to render it obscure. The first are of great use in the sermo pedestris; the second in the sublime. They give the os magna sonans; or, as the same poet says in another place, the ore rotundo; an expression, which shows, by the bye, that it is as necessary to round your mouth, as to round your periods.—But of this more hereafter, when I come to treat of mouthing, or, as the Latins call it, elocutio.