not describe it. Five or six
peers had spoken, and one of the ministers had just sat down when the
Duke of St. James rose. He was extremely nervous, but he repeated to
himself the name of May Dacre for the hundredth time, and proceeded. He
was nearly commencing 'May Dacre' instead of 'My Lords,' but he escaped
this blunder. For the first five or ten minutes he spoke in almost as
cold and lifeless a style as when he echoed the King's speech; but he
was young and seldom troubled them, and was listened to therefore with
indulgence. The Duke warmed, and a courteous 'hear, hear,' frequently
sounded; the Duke became totally free from embarrassment, and spoke
with eloquence and energy. A cheer, a stranger in the House of Lords,
rewarded and encouraged him. As an Irish landlord, his sincerity could
not be disbelieved when he expressed his conviction of the safety of
emancipation; but it was as an English proprietor and British noble
that it was evident that his Grace felt most keenly upon this important
measure. He described with power the peculiar injustice of the situation
of the English Catholics. He professed to feel keenly upon this subject,
because his native county had made him well acquainted with the temper
of this class; he painted in glowing terms the loyalty, the wealth, the
influence, the noble virtues of his Catholic neighbours; and he closed a
speech of an hour's duration, in which he had shown that a worn subject
was susceptible of novel treatment, and novel interest, amid loud
and general cheers. The Lords gathered round him, and many personally
congratulated him upon his distinguished success. The debate took
its course. At three o'clock the pro-Catholics found themselves in
a minority, but a minority in which the prescient might have well
discovered the herald of future justice. The speech of the Duke of St.
James was the speech of the night.

The Duke walked into White's. It was crowded. The first man who welcomed
him was Annesley. He congratulated the Duke with a warmth for which the
world did not give him credit.

'I assure you, my dear St. James, that I am one of the few people whom
this display has not surprised. I have long observed that you were
formed for something better than mere frivolity. And between ourselves
I am sick of it. Don't be surprised if you hear that I go to Algiers.
Depend upon it that I am on the point of doing something dreadful.'
'Sup with me, St. James,' said Lord Squib; 'I will