ough, in
short, all the acts of politeness which are necessary on such occasions:
and though old Tiptoff must have seen my goings on, yet his head was
so much in the clouds, that he never once condescended to imagine his
dynasty could be overthrown in his own town of Tippleton, and issued
his mandates as securely as if he had been the Grand Turk, and the
Tippletonians no better than so many slaves of his will.

Every post which brought us any account of Rigby's increasing illness,
was the sure occasion of a dinner from me; so much so, that my friends
of the hunt used to laugh and say, 'Rigby's worse; there's a corporation
dinner at Hackton.'

It was in 1776, when the American war broke out, that I came into
Parliament. My Lord Chatham, whose wisdom his party in those days used
to call superhuman, raised his oracular voice in the House of Peers
against the American contest; and my countryman, Mr. Burke--a great
philosopher, but a plaguy long-winded orator--was the champion of the
rebels in the Commons--where, however, thanks to British patriotism, he
could get very few to back him. Old Tiptoff would have sworn black was
white if the great Earl had bidden him; and he made his son give up his
commission in the Guards, in imitation of my Lord Pitt, who resigned his
ensigncy rather than fight against what he called his American brethren.

But this was a height of patriotism extremely little relished in
England, where, ever since the breaking out of hostilities, our people
hated the Americans heartily; and where, when we heard of the fight of
Lexington, and the glorious victory of Bunker's Hill (as we used to call
it in those days), the nation flushed out in its usual hot-headed anger.
The talk was all against the philosophers after that, and the people
were most indomitably loyal. It was not until the land-tax was
increased, that the gentry began to grumble a little; but still my party
in the West was very strong against the Tiptoffs, and I determined to
take the field and win as usual.

The old Marquess neglected every one of the decent precautions which are
requisite in a parliamentary campaign. He signified to the corporation
and freeholders his intention of presenting his son, Lord George, and
his desire that the latter should be elected their burgess; but he
scarcely gave so much as a glass of beer to whet the devotedness of his
adherents: and I, as I need not say, engaged every tavern in Tippleton
in my behalf.