the announcement of a sudden change in his Majesty's indisposition
abated the contest at once. From the 8th to the 20th of February, the
progress to health was palpable. On the 19th, the discussions on the
Regency Bill were suspended in the House of Lords; and on the 6th of
March, the Speaker and several members of the administration were
admitted to present their congratulations to the King, at Kew, on his
recovery.

We cannot resist the temptation of exhibiting Lord Sidmouth in the
unsuspected character of a poet. As several millions of verses were
poured out as the offerings of the Muse on the joyful occasion, as
Parnassus was rifled by the Universities, and as every village school in
the kingdom hung a pen-and-ink garland on the altar of AEsculapius or
Hygeia; it was felt to be the bounden duty of every candidate for
cabinet honours, to put his desk "in order," and rhyme, to the best of
his power. Addington, in consequence, produced the following--

ON THE KINGS RECOVERY.

"When sinks the orb of day, a borrow'd light
The moon displays, pale _Regent_ of the night.
Vain are her beams to bid the golden grain
Spread plenty's blessings o'er the smiling plain;
No power has she, except from shore to shore
To bid the ocean's troubled billows roar.
With hungry cries the wolf her coming greets;
Then Rapine stalks triumphant through the streets;
Avarice and Fraud in secret ambush lurk,
And Treason's sons their desperate purpose work.
But, lo! the Sun with orient splendour shines,"----
&c. &c. &c.

We cannot indulge ourselves with any more of this loyal lucubration--we
think that the slur at the _Regency_ was not quite fair; we were by no
means aware that the moon was so mischievous; and, as our general
conclusion, we must admit that, if his lordship did not gain the
Laureateship, he amply deserved it. However, better times were at hand.
Pitt, like all other eminent men, had a keen insight into character, and
he had long known the especial qualities of Addington. This solves the
difficulty of accounting at once for his continued personal intercourse,
and yet his apparent official neglect. He knew him to be well-informed,
intelligent, and honest; although his retiring habits had already given
full evidence of his indisposition to face the storms of party.

On Mr Grenville's promotion to the Home department, in 1789, Addington
was proposed for the Speaker's chair, and wa