curtain, and the envy which always
attends success has delighted to pull down his reputation, so
that he now appears something like the jackdaw stripped of the
peacock's feathers.

November 30th, 1831 {p.220}

Went to breakfast at the Tower, which I had never seen. Dined
with Lady Holland, first time for seven years, finished the
quarrel, and the last of that batch; they should not last for
ever. In the morning Wharncliffe came to me from Lord Grey's,
with whom he had had a final interview. He showed me the paper he
gave Grey containing his proposals, which were nearly to this
effect: conceding what the Government required, with these
exceptions and counter-concessions, an alteration in Schedule B
with a view to preserve in many cases the two members; that
voters for the great manufacturing towns should have votes for
the counties; that London districts should not have so many
representatives; that when the franchise was given to great
manufacturing towns, _their_ county should not have more
representatives; that corporate rights should be saved, though
with an infusion of L10 voters where required; that Cheltenham
and Brighton (particularly) should have no members. These were
the principal heads, proposed in a paper of moderate length and
civil expression. Grey said the terms were inadmissible, that
some parts of his proposal might be feasible, but the points on
which Wharncliffe most insisted (London, and town and county
voting) he could not agree to. So with many expressions of
civility and mutual esteem they parted. He is disappointed, but
not dejected, and I tried to persuade him that an arrangement on
this basis is not less probable than it was.

The fact is it would have been nearly impossible for Government
to introduce a Bill so different from the first as these changes
would have made it, as the result of a negotiation. They would
have been exposed to great obloquy, and have had innumerable
difficulties to encounter, but if the Bill goes into a Committee
of the Lords, and the other clauses pass without opposition, the
Government may not think themselves obliged to contest these
alterations. I think the Government would accept them, and
probably they feel that in no other way could they do so. It
seems to me that the success of these amendments depends now very
much upon the Opposition themselves, upon their firmness, their
union, and above all their reasonableness. Saw Talleyrand last
night, who said