Volunteer corps and doubtless
other sums towards the Fencibles of the other Cinque Ports.

At all times the servants at Downing Street and the farm at Holwood were
a heavy drain. The amount of the servants' private bills charged to Pitt
at Downing Street is disgraceful. Pitt kept a good table and a good
cellar, as the customs of the age required; but neither these expenses
nor his heavy outlay on his tailor would have brought about a crisis,
had not his town servants and tradesmen plundered him. Morse, the
tailor, charged at the rate of L130 to L140 a quarter for Pitt's
clothes. Now Pitt was neat and punctilious in his attire, but he was no
dandy. As for the farm at Holwood, accounts for straw and manure were
charged twice over, as some friendly accountant pointed out. Probably,
too, his experiments in landscape-gardening were as costly as they had
been to Chatham; for lavishness was in the nature both of father and
son. Pitt once confessed to his niece, Hester Stanhope, that he never
saw a house and grounds without at once planning improvements. In this
phrase as in the suggestive item on farm expenses we can see why the
sale of Holwood was necessary; but for various reasons it did not take
place until the autumn of 1802.

Meanwhile his friends bestirred themselves to prevent the scandal of an
execution. They succeeded in staving off a crisis until schemes of
relief were concerted, but here again there was much difficulty; for, on
hearing of the proposed private subscription on his behalf, he declared
that he would rather return to practice at the Bar than submit to such a
humiliation. Fox might allow friends to pay his gambling debts; but the
pride of Pitt scorned to accept help on behalf of liabilities even if
due to pre-occupation in public affairs. Rose deemed a sum of L25,000
necessary to his peace and quietness, seeing that the total liabilities
were L45,064. The letters which passed between Camden, the Bishop of
Lincoln, and Rose, evince deep affection for the shy, proud man. The
following is a _precis_ of a letter of Rose to Tomline which is among
the Pretyman MSS.:

Christchurch, _July 21, 1801_.

I am in great perplexity about Pitt's affairs. Joe Smith has
been strangely misled respecting them.[636] The unforeseen
demands have been very large. If Holwood fetches a good price,
the sum of L24,000 will set the matter at rest. Pitt's diamonds
have been so