Neither politics nor literature wholly absorbed Lyttelton's mind, and in his manhood he studied deeply and profitably subjects, which in his youth he had treated with levity and indifference. He had been led by the example of others while a young man to entertain, or at least to profess, sceptical opinions. Certainly he at that time had no sure and active faith. To employ the words of Johnson, who on this occasion does Lyttelton justice, "he thought the time now come when it was no longer fit to doubt or believe by chance, and applied himself seriously to the great question. His studies, being honest, ended in conviction. He found that religion was true, and what he had learned he endeavoured to teach, by 'Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul,' printed in 1757 a treatise to which infidelity has never been able to fabricate a specious answer. This book his father had the happiness of seeing, and expressed his pleasure in a letter which deserves to be inserted, and must have given to such a son a pleasure more easily conceived than described :-' I have read your religious treatise with infinite pleasure and satisfaction. The style is fine and clear, the argument close, cogent, and irresistible. May the King of kings, whose glorious cause you have so well defended, reward your pious labours, through the merits of Jesus Christ, to be an eye-witness of that happiness, which I don't doubt He will bountifully bestow upon you! In the mean time I shall never cease to thank God for having endowed you with such useful talents, and given me so good a son. Your affectionate father, THOMAS LYTTELTON.'" The writer of this letter died in 1751, and Sir George Lyttelton (as he then became) continued his exertions in Parliament, and gradually was raised to posts of higher distinction. In 1754 he resigned his office of Lord of the Treasury, and was made Cofferer to his Majesty's household, and sworn of the Privy Council. After filling the offices of Chancellor and Under Treasurer of the Court of Exchequer, he was, by letters patent, dated 19th November, 1757, created a Peer of Great Britain, by the style and title of Lord Lyttelton, Baron of Frankley, in the county of Worcester. He was a frequent and successful speaker in Parliament. His speech on the Repeal of the Jews' Naturalisation Bill is considered. the best ever made by him in the Commons. (26th November, 1753.) The peroration of this is remarkable both for the senti T ments which it embodies, and for the grace with which they are expressed. Sir George Lyttelton said, "The more zealous we are to support Christianity, the more vigilant should we be in maintaining toleration. If we bring back persecution, we bring back the anti-Christian spirit of Popery; and when the spirit is here, the whole system will soon follow. Toleration is the basis of all public quiet. It is a charter of freedom given to the mind, more valuable, I think, than that which secures our persons and estates: indeed they are inseparably connected together; for where the mind is not free, where the conscience is enthralled, there is no freedom. Spiritual tyranny puts on the galling chains, but civil tyranny is called in to rivet and fix them. We see it in Spain and many other countries: we have formerly both seen and felt it in England. By the blessing of God, we are now delivered from all kinds of oppression: let us take care that they may never return.” The speech in the House of Lords which added most to his reputation was delivered in the session of 1763, upon a debate concerning the privileges of Parliament, in which he supported the dignity of the Peerage with a depth of knowledge that is said to have surprised the oldest Peers present. Lord Lyttelton's principal publications are his "Dialogues of the Dead," and his "History of England during the reign of Henry the Second." The idea of the first of these two works was probably suggested by the author's studies of Lucian while an Eton boy. Lord Lyttelton's "Dialogues" were very popular. The characters are well selected, and the conversations are conducted with spirit, and with due regard to the age and national habits of each imaginary interlocutor. The "History" is a very erudite and elaborate composition. Lord Lyttelton commences it by a preliminary view of the state of England from the death of Edward the Confessor down to Henry the Second's coronation; and the numerous subjects of constitutional interest connected with this monarch's reign, and also with the general state of Christendom at that period, are fully and philosophically investigated. Much new light has been thrown of late years on the Anglo-Saxon and AngloNorman periods of our history by the researches of Hallam, Palgrave, Kemble, Lappenfeldt, Guizot, Thierry, and others; so that 6 Parliamentary History, vol. xv., p. 131. The speech is said to be printed from a copy corrected by Lord Lyttelton. a book which only gives the opinions entertained before the time of these writers has now little chance of finding a reader. But Lyttelton's "History" deserves a better fate than that of becoming thus obsolete. The subject of it is well chosen, the arrangement is good, and the style clear. The great bulk of it is still useful; and an edition which should retrench some superfluities, correct some inaccuracies, and embody the pith of the best recent works on the same subjects, would be a standard book for every student of English or general mediæval history. Lord Lyttelton died in July, 1773. The physician who attended him drew up a very interesting account of Lyttelton's last days, which, as Johnson truly observes, is the best commentary on his character. Part of it is as follows:: "On Sunday, about eleven in the forenoon, his Lordship sent for me, and said he felt a great hurry, and wished to have a little conversation with me in order to divert it. He then proceeded to open the fountain of that heart, from whence goodness had so long flowed as from a copious spring. 'Doctor,' said he, 'you shall be my confessor. When I first set out in the world, I had friends who endeavoured to shake my belief in the Christian religion. I saw difficulties which staggered me; but I kept my mind open to conviction. The evidences and doctrines of Christianity, studied with attention, made me a most firm and persuaded believer of the Christian religion. I have made it the rule of my life, and it is the ground of my future hopes. I have erred and sinned, but have repented, and never indulged any vicious habit. In politics and public life, I have made public good the rule of my conduct. I never gave counsels which I did not at the time think the best. I have seen that I was sometimes in the wrong, but I did not err designedly. I have endeavoured, in private life, to do all the good in my power, and never for a moment could indulge malicious or unjust designs upon any person whatsoever.' "At another time he said, 'I must leave my soul in the same state it was in before this illness: I find this a very inconvenient time for solicitude about anything.' "On the evening, when the symptoms of death came on, he said, 'I shall die; but it will not be your fault.' When Lord and Lady Valentia came to see his Lordship, he gave them his solemn benediction, and said, 'Be good, be virtuous, my Lord; you must come to this.' Thus he continued giving his dying benediction to all around him. On Monday morning a lucid interval gave some small hopes, but these vanished in the evening; and he continued dying, but with very little uneasiness, till Tuesday morning, August 22, when between seven and eight o'clock he expired, almost without a groan." (Johnson's Lives of the Poets.-Chalmers's Biog. Dict.) HENRY FOX. ABOUT the year 1720 there were four sons of commoners at Eton, each of whom became an eminent statesman, and the founder of a peerage. These four were William Pitt, afterwards Earl of Chatham; Charles Pratt, afterwards Earl Camden; George, afterwards Lord Lyttelton; and Henry Fox, afterwards Lord Holland. I have placed them together in this chapter; and the last-named of the four now alone remains for consideration. Henry Fox was the second son of Mr. Stephen Fox, by his second wife, Christian Hope, daughter of the Rev. Charles Hope, of Naseby in Lincolnshire. He was born in September, 1705. He had the misfortune to lose both his parents while he was yet a youth; and was early allowed to rush into the gaieties and frivolities of fashionable life. He became a reckless gamester, and quickly dissipated the greater part of his patrimony. Family occurrences restored him to independence, but the habits of his youth clung to him throughout life. He left Oxford in 1724, and spent some years on the continent. At Aubigny he became acquainted with the Duchess of Portsmouth, the mistress of Charles II., whose descendant he some years afterwards married; and it is said, that from her own lips he then heard what his son has stated in his historical work, that it was her firm persuasion that Charles died of poison. He remained on the continent for several years; during which time he formed an intimate acquaintance with Lord Hervey, Pope's literary antagonist, and Sir Robert Walpole's staunch political supporter. On Fox's return to England he was introduced to Walpole, who was pleased with his ready ability, his frank, manly character, and his strong common sense, and who was not easily displeased with faults of the class to which those of Fox belonged. Walpole ranked him among his friends, and Sir Robert, as has been mentioned in the memoir of him, was singularly warm and cordial in his friendships. By the interest of that minister Mr. Fox was appointed, shortly after his return to England, one of the Commissioners of the Treasury. His robust constitution enabled him to support without illness or inconvenience a close application to business, and a free participation in the convivial indulgences of his Parliamentary friends. In all the graces of elocution, in imagination, and in fluency he was decidedly inferior to his great competitor Pitt; but he was a strong and close reasoner, he was a ready though a careless speaker, had excellent natural abilities, and quickly acquired great skill in Parliamentary tactics. In 1743, on the fall of Sir Robert's opponents, he was appointed one of the Commissioners of the Treasury; and in 1746, soon after the abortive attempt of Lord Grenville to assume the Premiership, he was named Secretary at War. Two years before this latter elevation, Fox had married Lady Caroline Lennox, eldest daughter of the Duke of Richmond. The marriage was a clandestine one, and at first gave great offence to the lady's family; but with the rise of Fox in public life and political influence, his noble father-in-law's prejudices towards him softened, and ultimately he was fully recognised by his wife's relatives. Fox was a warm adherent of the Duke of Cumberland, and drew upon himself no small share of the unpopularity which attached to that prince. He was accused of arbitrary principles, and branded as one of the most corrupt members of a corrupt political school. Still, his talents, his energy, his habits of business, gave him great influence in the House; nor was the King displeased at Fox's adherence to the Duke. In the discussions which took place after the death of Frederick, Prince of Wales, as to the regency bill, Pitt and Fox, the two most rising men of the day, and upon one or other of whom it was generally expected the Premiership would ultimately devolve, began to manifest considerable discordance of opinion and political views. Two parties were at this time secretly struggling for pre-eminence in the cabinet. One of these consisted of the Pelhams and their adherents; the other was headed by the Duke of Cumberland and Bedford. The former party patronised Pitt; the latter, Fox; and then was begun the rivalry betwixt these two great men which was perpetuated in their sons. The Pelhamites were successful in |