t
career as an orator in the House of Commons.

[Sidenote: 1736--Pitt--Pulteney]

Pitt came of a good family. His grandfather was the Governor of Madras
to whom Mary Wortley Montagu more than once alludes: the "Governor
Pitt" who was more famous in his diamonds than in himself, and whose
most famous brilliant, the Pitt diamond, was bought by the Regent Duke
of Orleans to adorn the crown of France. William Pitt was a younger
son, and was but poorly provided for. A cornet's commission was
obtained for him. The family had the ownership of some parliamentary
boroughs, according to the fashion of those days and of days much later
still. At the general election of 1734 William Pitt's elder brother
Thomas was elected for two constituencies, Okehampton and Old Sarum.
When Parliament met, and the double return was made known to it, Thomas
Pitt decided on taking his seat for Okehampton, and William Pitt was
elected to serve in Parliament for Old Sarum. He soon began to be
conspicuous among the young men--the "boy brigade," who cheered and
supported Pulteney. William Pitt was from almost his childhood
tortured with hereditary gout, but he had fine animal spirits for all
that, and he appears to have felt from the first a genuine delight in
the vivid struggles of the House of Commons. He began to outdo
Pulteney in the vehemence and extravagance of his attacks on the policy
and the personal character of the ministers. His principle apparently
was that whatever Walpole did must _ipso facto_ be wrong, and not
merely wrong, but even base and criminal. Walpole was never very
scrupulous about inflicting an injury on an enemy, especially if the
enemy was likely to be formidable. He deprived William Pitt of his
commission in the army. Thereupon Pitt was made Groom of the
Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales. When the address was presented to
the King on the occasion of the prince's marriage with the Princess of
{55} Saxe-Gotha, it was Pulteney, leader of the Opposition, and not
Walpole, the head of the Government, who moved its adoption. It was in
this debate that William Pitt delivered that maiden speech from which
so much was expected, and which was followed by so many great orations
and such a commanding career. As yet, however, William Pitt is only
the enthusiastic young follower of Pulteney, whom men compare with, or
prefer to, other enthusiastic young followers of Pulteney. Even those
who most loudly cried up his maiden