inental conquest, in which I now
think he was quite right. I am not, however, by any means shaken in the
opinion then advanced, that peace with Napoleon would lead to the loss
of our naval superiority and of our national independence, ... and I
fully believe that the Duke of Wellington's campaigns in the Spanish
Peninsula saved the nation, though no less credit is due to the Ministry
of that day for not despairing of eventual success, but supporting him
under all difficulties in spite of temporary reverses, and in opposition
to a powerful party and to influential writers.' The letter
transmitting the other has only recently been discovered on a
reexamination of the Wordsworth MSS. Both letters have a
Shakespearian-patriotic ring concerning 'This England.' It is inspiring
to read in retrospect of the facts such high-couraged writing as in
these letters.

_(d) Two Addresses to the Freeholders of Westmoreland_, 1818.

The 'Mr. BROUGHAM' of these 'Two Addresses' was, as all the world knows,
the (afterwards) renowned and many-gifted HENRY, Lord BROUGHAM and VAUX.
In his Autobiography he refers very good-humouredly to his three defeats
in contesting the representation of Westmoreland; but there is no
allusion whatever to WORDSWORTH. With reference to his final effort he
thus informs us: 'Parliament was dissolved in 1826, when for the third
time I stood for Westmoreland; and, after a hard-fought contest, was
again defeated. I have no wish to enter into the local politics of that
county, but I cannot resist quoting an extract from a letter of my
esteemed friend Bishop BATHURST to Mr. HOWARD of Corby, by whose
kindness I am enabled to give it: "Mr. BROUGHAM has struggled nobly for
civil and religious liberty; and is fully entitled to the celebrated
eulogy bestowed by Lucan upon Cato--

'Victrix causa Diis placuit, sed victa Catoni.'

How others may feel I know not, but for my own part I would much rather
be in his situation than in that of the two victorious opponents;
notwithstanding the cold discouraging maxim of Epictetus, which is
calculated to check every virtuous effort--[Greek: Aniketos einai
dunasai, ean ouk eis medena agona katabaines, ou ouk estin epinikesai]
[=You may be invincible if you never go down into the arena when you are
not secure of victory: Enchiridion, cxxv.]. He will not, I hope, suffer
from his exertions, extraordinary in every way. I respect exceedingly
his fine abilities, and the purpose to wh