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Extracts From The Memoirs Of The Life And Writings Of Edward Gibbon, Esq.
by the Princ of Conde , with his son and grandson ; but I was too much indisposed to see them . They have , or have had , some projects of a counter-revolution : horses have been bought , men levied : such foolish attempts must end in the ruin of the party . Burke ' s book is a most admirable medicine against the French disease , which has made too much progress even in this happy country . I admire his eloquence , I approve his politics , I adore his chivalry , and I can forgive even his
superstition . The primitive church , which I have treated with some freedom , was itself at that time an innovation , and I was attached to the old Pagan establishment . " In a subsequent letter , in the year 1792 , he goes more at length into the character of Mr . Necker . "Of that father I have really a much hiher idea than I ever had
g before ; in our domestic intimacy he cast away his g loom and reserve ; I saw a great deal of his mind , and all that I saw is fair and worthy . He was overwhelmed by the hurricane , he mistook his way in the fog , but in such a perilous situation , I much doubt whether any mortal could have seen or stood . In the" meanwhile , he is abused by . all partiesand none of the French in Geneva will set their footin his house .
, He remembers Lord Sheffield with esteem ; his health is good , and he would be tranquil in his private life , were not his spirits continually wounded by the arrival of every letter and every newspaper . Hi * sympathy is deeply interested by the fatal consequences of a revolution , in which he had acted so leading a part ; and he feels as a friend 'for the danger of M . de Lessart , who may be guilty in the eyes of
the Jacobins , or even of his judges , by those very actions and dispatches which would be most approved by all the lovers of his country . " We have been particular in the'detail of Mr . Necker ' s character : it is the character of a man who has made a most conspicuous figure on the Theatre of Europe , drawn by the pen of " the Historian of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , " who was for years in habits of domestic intimacy with him .
Our author ' s sentiments are sometimes very aristocratical . He is , at all times , a strong enemy to a reform in this country ; and his arguments against it are certainly very specious . " I shuddered at Grey ' s motion ; disliked the half-support of Fox , admired the firmness of Pitt ' s declaration , and excused the usual intemperance of . Burke . Surely such men as *** , ******** ******* ,
have talents for mischief . 1 see a club of reform which contains some respectable names . Inform me of the professions , the principles , the plans , the resources , of these reformers . Will they heat the minds of the people ? Does the French democracy gain no ground ? Will the bulk ofyour ' party stand firm to their own interest , and that of their country ? Will you not take some active measures to declare your sound opinions , and separate yourselves from your rotten- members ? If you allow them to perplex government , if you trifle with
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Extracts From The Memoirs Of The Life And Writings Of Edward Gibbon, Esq.
by the Princ of Conde , with his son and grandson ; but I was too much indisposed to see them . They have , or have had , some projects of a counter-revolution : horses have been bought , men levied : such foolish attempts must end in the ruin of the party . Burke ' s book is a most admirable medicine against the French disease , which has made too much progress even in this happy country . I admire his eloquence , I approve his politics , I adore his chivalry , and I can forgive even his
superstition . The primitive church , which I have treated with some freedom , was itself at that time an innovation , and I was attached to the old Pagan establishment . " In a subsequent letter , in the year 1792 , he goes more at length into the character of Mr . Necker . "Of that father I have really a much hiher idea than I ever had
g before ; in our domestic intimacy he cast away his g loom and reserve ; I saw a great deal of his mind , and all that I saw is fair and worthy . He was overwhelmed by the hurricane , he mistook his way in the fog , but in such a perilous situation , I much doubt whether any mortal could have seen or stood . In the" meanwhile , he is abused by . all partiesand none of the French in Geneva will set their footin his house .
, He remembers Lord Sheffield with esteem ; his health is good , and he would be tranquil in his private life , were not his spirits continually wounded by the arrival of every letter and every newspaper . Hi * sympathy is deeply interested by the fatal consequences of a revolution , in which he had acted so leading a part ; and he feels as a friend 'for the danger of M . de Lessart , who may be guilty in the eyes of
the Jacobins , or even of his judges , by those very actions and dispatches which would be most approved by all the lovers of his country . " We have been particular in the'detail of Mr . Necker ' s character : it is the character of a man who has made a most conspicuous figure on the Theatre of Europe , drawn by the pen of " the Historian of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , " who was for years in habits of domestic intimacy with him .
Our author ' s sentiments are sometimes very aristocratical . He is , at all times , a strong enemy to a reform in this country ; and his arguments against it are certainly very specious . " I shuddered at Grey ' s motion ; disliked the half-support of Fox , admired the firmness of Pitt ' s declaration , and excused the usual intemperance of . Burke . Surely such men as *** , ******** ******* ,
have talents for mischief . 1 see a club of reform which contains some respectable names . Inform me of the professions , the principles , the plans , the resources , of these reformers . Will they heat the minds of the people ? Does the French democracy gain no ground ? Will the bulk ofyour ' party stand firm to their own interest , and that of their country ? Will you not take some active measures to declare your sound opinions , and separate yourselves from your rotten- members ? If you allow them to perplex government , if you trifle with