no doubt about the issue of the election to the Speakership.
"Your brother William will certainly be Speaker," writes Lord Bulkeley
on the 3rd, "and has already stood the hoax at White's, where it was
debated last night whether he should wear a wig or his own hair." The
election went off to the entire satisfaction of Mr. Grenville, who,
reporting the event, says that "the majority, though quite large enough,
would have been larger if they had divided half an hour later, as nearly
forty of my friends were locked out below, and about eleven of theirs."
With his customary philosophy, he made the best of everything; but he
does not disguise from Lord Buckingham that he had strong doubts in his
mind whether he ought to have accepted the Chair. The Opposition might,
probably, have been stronger against his election, but for the belief
that prevailed that the King was getting rapidly better. "The progress
of the King," observes Mr. Grenville on the 7th, "is such, _according to
our accounts_, that it is by no means impossible, nor even a very
improbable case, that before the Irish Bill can pass, he may re-assume
his Government."

Another contingency that weighed with the floating mass of undecided
politicians was the rumour which now began to be circulated that the
Regent would not dismiss the existing Ministers till the end of the
session.

LORD MORNINGTON TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Jan. 6th, 1789.
MY DEAR LORD,

As I understood that Sir W. Young and Bernard wrote you an account
of the division last night, which placed Grenville so honourably in
the Chair of the House of Commons, I did not trouble you with any
letter by the post of yesterday; but I cannot deny myself the
pleasure of acquainting you, that nothing could be more perfectly
satisfactory to all our friends than the conduct of the new Speaker
on an occasion naturally distressing; his speech of excuse, and his
speech from the steps of the Chair, were universally admired, they
were both so composed and delivered as to render a scene, which I
have always understood to be very ridiculous, really interesting
and affecting. It is deemed a misfortune amongst our friends, that
the practice of printing the Speaker's speeches on this occasion in
the journals is now disused. Grenville's speeches would have done
him the highest credit, as well as afforded an excellent precedent
to fut