t on me to struggle with the feelings
of my heart, the indolence of my temper, and the opinion of the world,
which unanimously condemned this voluntary banishment. In the disposal
of my effects, the library, a sacred deposit, was alone excepted: as my
post-chaise moved over Westminster-bridge I bid a long farewell to
the "fumum et opes strepitumque Romae." My journey by the direct road
through France was not attended with any accident, and I arrived at
Lausanne nearly twenty years after my second departure. Within less than
three months the coalition struck on some hidden rocks: had I remained
on board, I should have perished in the general shipwreck.

Since my establishment at Lausanne, more than seven years have elapsed;
and if every day has not been equally soft and serene, not a day, not
a moment, has occurred in which I have repented of my choice. During
my absence, a long portion of human life, many changes had happened:
my elder acquaintance had left the stage; virgins were ripened into
matrons, and children were grown to the age of manhood. But the same
manners were transmitted from one generation to another: my friend alone
was an inestimable treasure; my name was not totally forgotten, and all
were ambitious to welcome the arrival of a stranger and the return of a
fellow-citizen. The first winter was given to a general embrace, without
any nice discrimination of persons and characters. After a more regular
settlement, a more accurate survey, I discovered three solid and
permanent benefits of my new situation. 1. My personal freedom had been
somewhat impaired by the House of Commons and the Board of Trade; but I
was now delivered from the chain of duty and dependence, from the
hopes and fears of political adventure: my sober mind was no longer
intoxicated by the fumes of party, and I rejoiced in my escape, as often
as I read of the midnight debates which preceded the dissolution of
parliament. 2. My English oeconomy had been that of a solitary bachelor,
who might afford some occasional dinners. In Switzerland I enjoyed at
every meal, at every hour, the free and pleasant conversation of the
friend of my youth; and my daily table was always provided for the
reception of one or two extraordinary guests. Our importance in society
is less a positive than a relative weight: in London I was lost in the
crowd; I ranked with the first families of Lausanne, and my style of
prudent expence enabled me to maintain a fair bal