talents of Bonaparte and the blunders of his rival, Mr. Canning; we
could then support the ruinous and silly bustle of our useless
expeditions, and the almost incredible ignorance of our commercial
orders in council. Let the present administration give up but this
one point, and there is nothing which I would not consent to grant
them. Mr. Perceval shall have full liberty to insult the tomb of
Mr. Fox, and to torment every eminent Dissenter in Great Britain;
Lord Camden shall have large boxes of plums; Mr. Rose receive
permission to prefix to his name the appellative of virtuous; and to
the Viscount Castlereagh a round sum of ready money shall be well
and truly paid into his hand. Lastly, what remains to Mr. George
Canning, but that he ride up and down Pall Mall glorious upon a
white horse, and that they cry out before him, Thus shall it be done
to the statesman who hath written "The Needy Knife-Grinder," and the
German play? Adieu only for the present; you shall soon hear from
me again; it is a subject upon which I cannot long be silent.



LETTER VIII.



Nothing can be more erroneous than to suppose that Ireland is not
bigger than the Isle of Wight, or of more consequence than Guernsey
or Jersey; and yet I am almost inclined to believe, from the general
supineness which prevails here respecting the dangerous state of
that country, that such is the rank which it holds in our
statistical tables. I have been writing to you a great deal about
Ireland, and perhaps it may be of some use to state to you concisely