nd an
amendment on the Address in each House. The Duke had very
indiscreetly called the distress 'partial' in the Speech, and the
consequence was an amendment moved by Knatchbull declaring it to
be general. The result shows that Government has not the
slightest command over the House of Commons, and that they have
nothing but casual support to rely upon, and that of course will
only be to be had 'dum se bene gesserint.' For a long time Holmes
and their whippers-in thought that they should be in a minority;
but Hume and a large party of Reformers supported them (contrary
to their own expectations), so they got a majority of 50 out of
250. The division was very extraordinary, Brougham, Sadler, and
O'Connell voting together. It is pretty clear, however, that they
are in no danger of being turned out, but that they are
wretchedly off for speakers. Huskisson made a shabby speech
enough, O'Connell his _debut_, and a successful one, heard with
profound attention; his manner good and his arguments attended
and replied to. In the Lords there was nothing particular, but
nothing was concerted by any party, for the subject of the
amendment in the Commons was not even touched upon in the Lords,
which is very remarkable. Lord Chandos has refused the Mint,
because they will not give him a seat in the Cabinet, but many
people think it is because he has been pressed to refuse by
his High Tory friends. Charles Ross is the new Lord of the
Admiralty,[6] and Abercromby Chief Baron of Scotland, which
everybody is glad of.

[6] The appointment has not taken place.

There is a charlatan of the name of Chobert, who calls himself
the Fire King, who has been imposing upon the world for a year or
more, exhibiting all sorts of juggleries in hot ovens, swallowing
poisons, hot lead, &c.; but yesterday he was detected signally,
and after a dreadful uproar was obliged to run away to avoid the
ill-usage of his exasperated audience. He pretended to take
prussic acid, and challenged anybody to produce the poison, which
he engaged to swallow. At last Mr. Wakley, the proprietor of the
'Lancet,' went there with prussic acid, which Chobert refused to
take, and then the whole deception came out, and there is an end
of it; but it has made a great deal of noise, taken everybody in,
and the fellow has made a great deal of money. It was to have
been his last performance, but 'tant va la cruche a l'eau
qu'enfin....

February 13th, 1830 {p.276}

In