e in.' This was before the ladies left the room.
After they were gone he made another speech in French, in the
course of which he travelled over every variety of topic that
suggested itself to his excursive mind, and ended with a very
coarse toast and the words 'Honi soit qui mal y pense.' Sefton,
who told it me said he never felt so ashamed; Lord Grey was ready
to sink into the earth; everybody laughed of course, and Sefton,
who sat next to Talleyrand, said to him, 'Eh bien, que pensez-vous
de cela?' With his unmoved, immovable face he answered only,
'C'est bien remarquable.'

In the meantime Reform, which has subsided into a calm for some
time past, is approaching its termination in the House of
Commons, and as it gets near the period of a fresh campaign, and
a more arduous though a shorter one, agitation is a little
reviving. The 'Times' and other violent newspapers are moving
heaven and earth to stir up the country and intimidate the Peers,
many of whom are frightened enough already. The general opinion
at present is that the Peers created at the coronation will not
be enough to carry the Bill (they are a set of horrid rubbish
most of them), but that no more will be made at present; that the
Opposition, if united, will be strong enough to throw out the
Bill, but that they are so divided in opinion whether to oppose
the Bill on the second reading or in Committee that this
dissension will very likely enable it to pass. Up to this time
there has been no meeting, and nothing has been agreed upon, but
there would have been one convened by the Duke of Wellington but
for Lady Mornington's death, and this week they will arrange
their plan of operations. From what Sefton says (who knows and
thinks only as Brougham and Grey direct him) I conclude that the
Government are resolved the Bill shall pass, that if it is thrown
out they will do what the Tories recommended, and make as many
Peers as may be sufficient, for he said the other day he would
rather it was thrown out on the second reading than pass by a
small majority. With this resolution (which after having gone so
far is not unwise) and the feeling out of doors, pass it must,
and so sure are Government of it that they have begun to divide
the counties, and have set up an office with clerks, maps, &c.,
in the Council Office, and there the Committee sit every day.

Stoke, September 18th, 1831 {p.194}

I came here yesterday with the Chancellor, Creevey, Luttrell, my