"His [Sid's] blood recoils with an indignant rage,
'Gainst the base hirelings of a venal age.
Wretches! that spare nor ministers nor kings,
Blend good with bad, profane with sacred things;
Whose vengeful hearts, with wrath and malice curst,
Blast virtuous deeds; and then, with envy burst,
They dart their arrows, innocence traduce,
And load e'en G——n with their vile abuse."
To this passage he appends the following note, which occupies, in his magnificent typographical volume, a whole quarto page:
"It is observable that this amiable personage [the Duke of Grafton], and most consummate statesman, has been bespattered with as much low calumny and abuse, from various quarters, as if he had been the declared enemy of his country, instead of having manfully and courageously stood up in support of its true interests.—S."