[A] He was said to have been confined to his bed during the defence of Minorca, for which he was so extravagantly rewarded.
[B] The gallant but unsuccessful affair of Cassel in which the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick was wounded.
The political libels on the King are thus sarcastically described:
“Recast the royal virtues, which before The nation worshipped, and cry down the ore, To teach the people this indulgent reign With every charge of tyranny to stain,-- To swallow every contradiction down,-- In Antonine’s mild look see Nero’s frown,-- Wrest his intention and distort each fact, And lend them treason till they long to act; In terms of duty wrap each boisterous deed,-- Kneel while we stab, and libel while we plead.”
“Who from the sceptre no exemption draws, And is but the first subject of the laws.”
His gratitude to Lord Bute has flowered in a panegyric, which may interest the reader from being one of the very few poetical tributes obtained by that nobleman approaching mediocrity.
“Oh! if we seize with skill the coming hour, And re-invest us with the robe of power-- Rule while we live--let _future_ days transmute To every merit all we’ve charged on Bute. Let late Posterity receive his name, And swell its sails with every breath of fame: Downward as far as Time shall roll his tide, With every pendant flying let it glide; And Truth emerging from the clouds we raise, Gild all their orient colours with her blaze. Let his loved arts, attendant on his way, Their wanton trophies to the gale display; While each dispassionate, each honest pen, (Deterred by clamour, nor allured by gain,-- Bard or Historian--) shall from either shore, Hail its approach, and its great course explore; Faithful to Probity and Virtue’s cause, Pursue its progress, and direct th’ applause. Glad Gratulation shall with shouts approve, And own him worthy of his Sovereign’s love.”
The success of this satire brought an accumulation of favours on the author, as, in addition to a commissionership of lotteries, and other small places, he received a pension for the lives of himself and his wife of 500_l._ per annum. He was the only son of the celebrated critic, and dabbled a little in criticism himself, though he was too careless to become eminent in it. He wrote several party poems in support of Lord Bute’s administration--all long since forgotten, as is his unsuccessful play of “The Wishes,” which his nephew Cumberland warmly praises for the brilliancy of its dialogue. “Philodamus,” another of his dramas, equally failed, but was honoured with an elaborate commentary by Gray; in return, perhaps, for the author’s beautiful designs to the 4to edition of that poet’s works. These designs, indeed, generally show considerable taste; and he was no doubt an eminently accomplished person. Unhappily, he was also eminently improvident, and notwithstanding a handsome patrimony which descended to him from his father, and the substantial bounty of Lord Bute, he fell into pecuniary difficulties, which harassed him to the end of his life. The editor has seen in the Island of Jersey a lonely house formerly belonging to Lord Granville, where he is described by Walpole as residing for some years with a large family of daughters. He died towards the close of the last century.--E.