that Franklin, shrewd, cool observer though
he was, went too far when he wrote in his journal that if George the
Third had had a bad private character, and John Wilkes a good one, the
latter might have turned the former out of his kingdom. But it is
certain that the signs of the King's unpopularity were now as
significant as were the signs of Wilkes's popularity. It had been said
that at this time a good half of the King's subjects preferred Wilkes
to their King. The estimate is probably under rather than above the
fact. Wilkes was placed in the position of being the champion of all
the rights and liberties that Englishmen most prized; the King in the
{133} position of being their most uncompromising, most obstinate
opponent.

Thus, while honors were offered daily to the prisoner of the King's
bench, insults were daily offered to his royal enemy. The King could
scarcely go abroad without becoming the object of a demonstration of
popular disfavor, and even in his palace he could not escape from
deputations empowered to protest against the conduct of his ministers.
In all parts of the kingdom public meetings were held, and from these
public meetings petitions poured in upon the King calling upon him to
dissolve his Parliament. It has been truly observed that the custom of
holding public meetings for the discussion of public grievances dates
from this period. On two solemn occasions the Lord Mayor of London,
accompanied by the sheriffs, presented addresses to the King
remonstrating against the action of the House of Commons. To the first
address the King replied that it was disrespectful to him, injurious to
Parliament, and irreconcilable to the principles of the Constitution.
After which reply he could think of nothing better, nothing more kingly
to do than to turn round to his courtiers and burst out laughing. He
treated the second address with the same insolence, an insolence which
provoked from the Lord Mayor an uncourtierly reply which reminded the
King that those who endeavored to alienate the King's affections from
his subjects were violators of the public peace and betrayers of the
Constitution established by the glorious Revolution. Those words were
afterwards inscribed in gold upon the monument of the mayor who spoke
them. If those words, and words of like purport and temper, at first
moved the King to laughter, they soon exasperated him past laughing.
Once he clapped his hand to his sword-hilt and de