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"the of "the defaulter of unaccounted millions. He is allowed, however, to have been a man of great talents and cloquence, and it is but justice to ob serve, that the immense emoluments which he derived from his situation, being, on one hand, restricted by no positive law, and, on the other, countenanced by uniform custom, weré generally considered as the fair and regular perquisites of office *.

Charles James Fox, the third son of Henry Fox, afterwards Lord Holland t, by Georgina, eldest daughter of the late Duke of Richmond, was born on the 13th of January, O. S. in the year 1748. From his birth he was the darling of his father, and the family having just lost his elder brother Henry, he, of course, experienced much indulgence. Indeed, this partiality was carried to a great, and perhaps an unpardonable length; for nothing was refused to him, and all the servants of the family were at length accustomed to pay the most obsequious obedience to his com mands, however whimsical or capri

cious.

Notwithstanding this, his education was not neglected; and as Mon

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the dead languages at an early period of his life, so it was the wish of Lord Holland (for he 9999btained a peerage soon after the accession of his present Majesty that his son should be time in tucted at one and the same living ones he was ac cordingly taught French from his cradle, and spoke it while a boy, with still greater fluency than English.

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As he was intended for public life, so he received a public education, receded and was sent to Eton, whed that sent b school had attained a high degree of celebrity, under the the a auspices of Edward Barnard, M. A. who became MA, head master in 1754and wildeg

At the age of thirteen, be distinguished himself by his exercises, which reflect great credit on his precocious talents, and some of his juvenile friends even then contemplated him as a fu ture statesman and orator essa

From Eton Mr Fox removed to Hertford College, Oxford, where he also distinguished himself by bis talents; and Dr Newcome his sator, was afterwards rewarded with the Primacy of Ireland for his services on this occasion. After remaining there some time, he was immediately Diwas on his travels, according to the tday, by which an Englishman was bound to be bet ter acquainted with the manners, fashions, „vasundə¶ lò diƐi si no sh

taigne's father was particularly anxi sent custom of

ous that he should be instructed in

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shions, and productions, of every other country in Europe than his own. It will be scarcely supposed, by those who have seen Mr Fox, or examined his dress at any time during the last twenty years, that he had been once celebrated as a beau garcon; but the fact is, that at this period he was one w of the most fashionable young men dabont town, a and there are multitudes now living who still recollect his cha, peau bras, his red-heeled shoes, and his blue hair-powder. 9515Meanwhile, his father, still keep ing the original object in view, deter. mined to inspire him with a taste for public business, and accordingly, in the beginning of 1768, he was returned for Midhurst, in the county © of Sussex. Two things are remark rable on this occasion; the first is, that, like the celebrated Waller, be became a Member of the House of Commons before he attained the le. gal age the second, that Midhurst was one of those very boroughs which 10tke himself seems afterwards to have considered a nuisance in a free country

As Lord Holland possessed the favour of Lord Bute, and enjoyed the confidence of his present Majesty, >the career of public employments lay open to his son. Accordingly, he had been only two years in parliament when, on the 13th of February, 1770, he became a member of the Admiral ty Board, at the time when the cele. brated Admiral Sir Edward, after wards Lord Hawke, presided there. On May 6, 1772, he resigned that situation, and on the 9th of January, 1773, was nominated a Commission

er of the Treasury

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At this period his political prineiples appear to have been s Prison with those of his father, and he was often afterwards reminded by his adversaries, that the doctrines advanced by him in the case of the printers who had been imprisoned, were rather unfavourable to the prin

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The reign of the passions now com menced, and swept away his fortune in the torrent; he was also doomed, nearly at the same time, to be deprived of his employment:" for hav ing given offence to Lord North, who was then First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, that wobleman formed a new Board, and having mentioned this eircumstance in a laconic note, added, somewhat ironically, that he did not see Mr Fox's name in the lise of members."

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end of a free goverment, in a political point of view; and on this occasion the author of the " Sublime and Beautiful," then in the zenith of his talents, was his monitor.

Mr Fox obtained the office of Secretary for Foreign Affairs, in the spring of 1782, while the Marquis of Rockingham, the most uniform, honest, and upright statesman, whom we have possessed since the revolution, was nominated First Lord of the Treasury. Much was expected from, and much, it must be owned, was performed by a ministry, the most respectable of any that has been seen in England during the present reign. But the sudden death of the noble man just mentioned, at once afflicted the nation and divided the friends of liberty; while the ex-minister and his adherents knew how to derive advan. tage from the storm, and reap benefit from the dismay that unhappily ensued.

A dispute, as had been foreseen, immediately took place about who should succeed as First Lord of the Treasury. The candidates were, Lord Shelburne, afterwards Marquis of Lansdowne, and the present Duke of Portland; the favour of the King made the interest of the former pre ponderate, and a schism having ensu ed, Mr Fox retired in disgust. As the Earl of Chatham was accustomed to observe " that he would never be responsible for actions which he did not direct ;" so the Secretary of State, when he withdrew, remarked, "that he had determined never to connive at plans in private, which he could not publicly avow."

What those plans may have been, we are left to guess. We have reason to believe, that the only ostensible dispute in the cabinet was relative to the independence of America, which Mr Fox wished to grant as a boon, while Lord Shelburne desired to confer it in the manner of a bargain: the secret, and perhaps leading

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Mr Fox now resumed his old seat, facing the Treasury bench, while his former colleague, the Earl of Shelburne, was busied in concluding a peace with France, Spain, Holland, and the United States of America. This nobleman, although possessed of great talents, forgot to adopt the most obvious means for ensuring his own safety. In the first place, he did not call a new parliament, and in the next, he omitted to secure the immense advantages resulting from the press, which, in a free country, will always influence, if not govern, the nation. But even as it was, he would have triumphed, but for a most odious as well as impolitic coalition, supposed to be bottomed on ambi. tion alone, and destitute of any common principle of union.

The political success of Mr Fox and Lord North was, however, ephemeral. While they agreed in no one great measure for the common good, the nation seemed to unite as one man against them; and the King having become jealous of his prerogative, on the introduction of the

East India Bill, they were obliged to retire, but not until means had been resorted to, which no friend of the constitution could either advise or practise.

Mr Pitt now came into power; while Mr Fox placed himself at the head of the opposition, and a long contest took place between these two illustrious rivals. The events of the subsequent part of Mr Fox's life are so public, and so recent, that there can be little occasion for recalling them to the recollection of our readers.

In 1788, Mr. Fox, worn out, and perhaps disgusted with public business, repaired to the continent, in

com.

company with the lady who has since been acknowledged as his wife, and after spending a few days with Gibbon the historian, at Lausame, entered the classic regions of Italy. But he was suddenly recalled, in consequence of the alarming illness of the King, and the business of the Regency Bill.

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*We understand that he was married to Mrs Armstead in 1780."

Copy of a letter from Mr Gibbon to Lord Sheffield :

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66% Lausanne, Oct. 4. 1788. The Man of the People, escaped from the tumult, the bloody tumult of the Westminster election, to the lakes and mountains of Switzerland, and I was informed that he was arrived at the

Lion d'Or. I sent a compliment; he answered it in person, and settled at my house for the remainder of the day. I have eat and drank, and conversed and sat up all night with Fox in England; but it never happened, perhaps it never can happen again, that I should enjoy him as I did that day, alone, from ten in the morning till ten at night.

"Poor Dey verdun, before his accident, wanted spirits to appear, and has regretted it since. Our conversation never flagged a moment: and he seemed thoroughly pleased with the place and with his company, We had little politics though he gave me, in a few words, such a character of Pitt, as one great man should give of another, his rival: many of books, from my own, on which he flattered me yery pleasant ly, to Homer and the Arabian Nights; much about the country, my garden (which he understands far better than I do,) and, upon the whole, I think he envies me, and would do so were he minister. The next morning I gave him a guide to walk him about the town and country, and invited some company to meet him at dinner. The following day he continued his journey to Berne ond Zurich, and I have heard of him by various means.

"The people gaze on him as a prodigy, but he shews little inclination to converse with them."

4to. Ed, Vol. 1. of Mems. p. 192.

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As the political life and opinions of Mr Fox are so well known, it may be proper to say something of him as a man of letters. His magnum opus, which had engaged his attention for years, was a History of the pe riod which immediately preceded and followed the Revolution; a subject alike congenial to his feelings and his habits. We understand that he was offered a very large sum of money for it, by a spirited bookseller, about three years since; but it was then, and is still, we fear, in an unfinished state.

The materials are said to have been nearly completed, but little or no progress made in the composition. We have understood, on good aus thority, that Mr Fox had, in the course of his researches, been led to form a more favourable opinion than is generally entertained, of the conduct of the unfortunate monarch had at least formed no systematic de James II.; and to suppose that he sign of subverting the liberties of his country. We are hence led to sup pose that this work would have been distinguished, as much by its candour, as by its ability.

His Letter to the Electors of Westminster," published in 1793, and which passed through no less than thirteen editions within a few months, may be in some measure considered as a legacy to posterity, as it con tains a full and ample apology for his conduct during the former war with

France.

Of his compositions while at Eton, the whole have been euumerated in chronological order; and in respect to his fugitive poetry, we shall here affix a list of such articles as have been seen by us.

1. His Verses to Mrs. now Lady, Crewe, beginning with,

"Where the loveliest expression to feature is joined," &

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9. Speech on the King's Message to the House of Commons, on the execution of Louis XVI. January 31, 3793.

10. Speech on the declaration of war by France, Feb. 10. 1793.

11. Speech on Mr. Gray's motion for a Reform in Parliament, May 7, 1793.

12. On the State of the Nation March 24, 1795.

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a new Writ for Tavistock, on the 16th of March, 1802,

In the character of Mr. Fox, the most conspicuous part was that franked ness, bricandour, which distinguished him from most other men, and from all other politicians, Bold and reso-, lute in public; in private life he was peculiarly mild and gentle, bland in his manners, and captivating in his conversation. Thus, while in St. Stephen's Chapel he assailed corrup.../ tion with Stentorian voice and Her culean energy; at St Anne's hill be exhibited all the urbanity, and cul tivated all the blandishments, of do, mestic retirement. '

Possessed of a sanguine tempera ment, his follies at one period of his 1 life, like his virtues at another, were carried to extremes. He sacrificed :his nights and days, his health and fortune, to the worship of the blind: goddess and not content with his triumphs in St Stephen's Chapel, her aspired to give laws to Newmarket! His keen and penetrating eye would follow a favourite courser from these starting post to the goal; his heart. would pant with expectation as the race drew towards a conclusion; and that voice (fated to be more honourably and more usefully employed, in regulating the interests of an empire) was then prodigally wasted in cheering the foaming steed, and applauding the victorious rider. At length, abjuring the follies of the day, the began to use the arms, and practise the arts of a great statesman.

In his person and manner, Me Fox somewhat resembled the sage of Ithaca: he was short and corpulent, his chest was capacious, his shoulders 230 51.9 broad,

A portion of the race ground is aetually called the F. C. or Fox Course, And, 13. A Sketch of the chain this place, however, that Mr Fox alat this day. It ought not to be omitted racter of the late Most Noble Francis ways withdrew his name from Brookes's, Duke of Bedford, as delivered in his the moment he accepted of any employ, Introductory Speech to a Motion for ment.

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