The Life of ... Charles James Fox

claimed, and he has often profésted that there was not that man upon earth against whom he harbored the least personal antipathy."Malignity," he has said, "is, I thank God, a sensation totally foreign to my feelings." Those, however, who recollect the pointed and personal abuse which Mr. Fox never failed to lavish upon every occasion, upon Lord North, during the American contest, will justly be inclined to doubt the sincerity of these declarations. The bold and undisguised manner in which he spoke of men and their actions, not only involved him in altercations, but, in one instance, brought his life into danger.

In the session of 1779, Mr. Adam, a Scotch gentleman, and representative for Catton, who had previously acted in concert with the minority, hinted to the house that he should vote with administration. This secession greatly áltered the opinion of Mr. Adam's former friends concerning the integrity of his views, and raised the tone of the party he had joined. Ministers countenanced the idea that all the misfortunes and disasters in the prosecution of the war wéie chargeable to the opposition, who impeded the measures of government, and defeated its operations. Mr. Fox warmly defended himself and his friends from the imputation of struggling, as a party, merely for place, power and emolument. Such a preposterous mode of slandering opposition, he observed, scarcely merited a serious answer. "I can bear well enough, in some res

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pects," said he, "and even make allowance for the ignorance, folly, incapacity, corruption, love of place, emolument and power in these men. I can even pity them for their wants, their impudence, and their gross stupidity. I feel for their miserable infatuation, not knowing whether to rush headlong into immediate ruin, or retreat with safety. Despicable and unprincipled as they are, I have nevertheless learned to regard their persons with respect, from the conspicuous stations they hold in the view of the public. But when such men, thus involved, and involving others in every possible misfortune and disgrace, urge their claims of merit for what deserves an axe or a halter, and, under'a complication of great national calamities coolly contend that those disasters, which every individual feels, do not exist, or if they do, that they ought justly to be ascribed to opposition; such a lump ofdeformity and disease, of folly and wickedness, of ignorance and temerity, thus deeply and incurably smitten with pride, and distended by audacity, breaks all measures of patience."

This portraiture of the new associates of Mr. Adam, was rather galling to that gentleman; it is, therefore, not very surprizing that a misconstruction in a warm debate should lead him to think his personal honour implicated by the pointed allusions to the whole party of which he had become a member. Mr. Adam was a lawyer, but he forgot that it was wrong to strengthen by his own example, a custom sanc

tioned by the savage etiquette of puerile resentment, which often stakes a valuable life against the most worthless, and involves the innocent in those calamities which should be the exclusive portion of the guilty.

The day after the obnoxious expressions had been uttered by Mr. Fox, he received a note from Mr. Adam to the following effect:

"Mr. Adam presents his compliments to Mr. Fox, and begs leave to represent to him, that upon considering again and again what passed between them last night, it is impossible for him to have his character cleared to the public, without inserting the following paragraph in the newspapers;

"We have authority to assure the public, that, in a conversation that passed between Mr. Fox and Mr. Adam, in consequence of the debate in the House of Commons on Thursday last, Mr. Fox declared, that, however much his speech may have been misrepresented, he did not mean to throw any personal reflection upon Mr. Adam."

In a postscript was added:

"Major Humberston does me the honour of delivering this to you, and will bring your nswer."

The reply of Mr. Fox was as follows:

"SIR,

"I am sorry it is utterly inconsistent with

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pects," said he, " and even make allowance for the ignorance, folly, incapacity, corruption, love of place, emolument and power in these men. I can even pity them for their wants, their impudence, and their gross stupidity. I feel for their miserable infatuation, not knowing whether to rush headlong into immediate ruin, or retreat with safety. Despicable and unprincipled as they are, I have nevertheless learned to regard their persons with respect, from the conspicuous stations they hold in the view of the public. But when such men, thus involved, and involving others in every possible misfortune and disgrace, urge their claims of merit for what deserves an axe or a halter, and, under'a complication of great national calamities. coolly contend that those disasters, which every individual feels, do not exist, or if they do, that they ought justly to be ascribed to opposition such a lump ofdeformity and disease, of folly and wickedness, of ignorance and temerity, thus deeply and incurably smitten with pride, and distended by audacity, breaks all measures of patience."

This portraiture of the new associates of Mr. Adam, was rather galling to that gentleman; it is, therefore, not very surprizing that a misconstruction in a warm debate should lead him to think his personal honour implicated by the pointed allusions to the whole party of which he had become a member. Mr. Adam was a lawyer, but he forgot that it was wrong to strengthen by his own example, a custom sanct