expectation upon one great
point, you meanly evaded the question, and instead of the explicit
firmness of a king, gave us nothing but the misery of a ruined grazier."
Never was a speech from the throne more unfortunate, indeed, than this,
for though it slightly adverted to the disturbances in America, yet the
subject of the disease existing among horned cattle was its prominent
feature. It was no wonder, therefore, that it became the jest of the
whole nation. Newspapers, pamphlets, and periodicals teemed with biting
sarcasm on this most extraordinary circumstance. The king's love of
farming was bitterly descanted upon, and he was represented as attending
to cows, stalls, dairies, and farms, while his people were misgoverned
and discontented, and his empire, like a ship in a furious storm, in
danger every minute of being dashed to pieces. In fine, to show the most
profound contempt of such a speech from the mouth of the monarch, at
such a season, the session was nicknamed "the horned cattle session."

Before the opening of parliament, one day the Earl of Chatham stalked
into the drawing-room of St. James's, and after the levee had some
private conversation with the king. What passed between them is unknown,
but Horace Walpole says, that his reception was most flattering, and the
king all condescension and goodness. It does not appear, however, that
the interview satisfied Chatham, for it by no means tended to soften his
opposition. When parliament met, indeed, he took his place in the house
of lords, vigorous and more eloquent than ever, and the administration
was doomed to feel his power, like that of a giant refreshed with wine.

The address, which was moved in the upper house by the Duke of Ancaster,
and seconded by Lord Dun-more, was as general and unmeaning as the
king's speech. Chatham rose to reply, and after glancing at his age and
infirmities, he took a general review of measures since the year 1763.
There never was a period, he asserted, when the serious attention of the
house to public affairs was more imperatively demanded, and he boldly
maintained that it was the duty of their lordships to lay the true state
and condition of the country before his majesty. After indulging in a
quiet sneer at the care the council had bestowed upon horned cattle, he
remarked, that he was glad to hear that the king had reason to believe
the peace of the country would be preserved, since peace could never
be more desirable to a