Fox has done so,or not,in refusing the seals,is a point which I cannot determine.If he is,as I presume he is,animated with revenge,and Ibelieve would not be over scrupulous in the means of gratifying it,Ishould have thought he could have done it better,as Secretary of State,with constant admission into the closet,than as a private man at the head of an opposition.But I see all these things at too great a distance to be able to judge soundly of them.The true springs and motives of political measures are confined within a very narrow circle,and known to a very few;the good reasons alleged are seldom the true ones:The public commonly judges,or rather guesses,wrong,and I am now one of that public.I therefore recommend to you a prudent Pyrrhonism in all matters of state,until you become one of the wheels of them yourself,and consequently acquainted with the general motion,at least,of the others;for as to all the minute and secret springs,that contribute more or less to the whole machine,no man living ever knows them all,not even he who has the principal direction of it.As in the human body,there are innumerable little vessels and glands that have a good deal to do,and yet escape the knowledge of the most skillful anatomist;he will know more,indeed,than those who only see the exterior of our bodies,but he will never know all.This bustle,and these changes at court,far from having disturbed the quiet and security of your election,have,if possible,rather confirmed them;for the Duke of Newcastle (I must do him justice)has,in,the kindest manner imaginable to you,wrote a letter to Mr.Eliot,to recommend to him the utmost care of your election.
Though the plan of administration is thus unsettled,mine,for my travels this summer,is finally settled;and I now communicate it to you that you may form your own upon it.I propose being at Spa on the l0th or l2th of May,and staying there till the l0th of July.As there will be no mortal there during my stay,it would be both unpleasant and unprofitable to you to be shut up tete-a-fete with me the whole time;I should therefore think it best for you not to come to me there till the last week in June.
In the meantime,I suppose,that by the middle of April,you will think that you have had enough of Manheim,Munich,or Ratisbon,and that district.Where would you choose to go then?For I leave you absolutely your choice.Would you go to Dresden for a month or six weeks?That is a good deal out of your way,and I am not sure that Sir Charles will be there by that time.Or would you rather take Bonn in your way,and pass the time till we meet at The Hague?From Manheim you may have a great many good letters of recommendation to the court of Bonn;which court,and it's Elector,in one light or another,are worth your seeing.
From thence,your journey to The Hague will be but a short one;and you would arrive there at that season of the year when The Hague is,in my mind,the most agreeable,smiling scene in Europe;and from The Hague you would have but three very easy days journey to me at Spa.Do as you like;for,as I told you before,'Ella e assolutamente padrone'.But lest you should answer that you desire to be determined by me,I will eventually tell you my opinion.I am rather inclined to the latter plan;I mean that of your coming to Bonn,staying there according as you like it,and then passing the remainder of your time,that is May and June,at The Hague.Our connection and transactions with the,Republic of the United Provinces are such,that you cannot be too well acquainted with that constitution,and with those people.You have established good acquaintances there,and you have been 'fetoie'round by the foreign ministers;so that you will be there 'en pais connu'.Moreover,you have not seen the Stadtholder,the 'Gouvernante',nor the court there,which 'a bon compte'should be seen.Upon the whole,then,you cannot,in my opinion,pass the months of May and June more agreeably,or more usefully,than at The Hague.But,however,if you have any other,plan that you like better,pursue it:Only let me know what you intend to do,and I shall most cheerfully agree to it.
The parliament will be dissolved in about ten days,and the writs for the election of the new one issued out immediately afterward;so that,by the end of next month,you may depend upon being 'Membre de la chambre basse';a title that sounds high in foreign countries,and perhaps higher than it deserves.I hope you will add a better title to it in your own,I mean that of a good speaker in parliament:you have,I am sure,all,the materials necessary for it,if you will but put them together and adorn them.I spoke in parliament the first month I was in it,and a month before I was of age;and from the day I was elected,till the day that I spoke.I am sure I thought nor dreamed of nothing but speaking.
The first time,to say the truth,I spoke very indifferently as to the matter;but it passed tolerably,in favor of the spirit with which Iuttered it,and the words in which I had dressed it.I improved by degrees,till at last it did tolerably well.The House,it must be owned,is always extremely indulgent to the two or three first attempts of a young speaker;and if they find any degree of common sense in what he says,they make great allowances for his inexperience,and for the concern which they suppose him to be under.I experienced that indulgence;for had I not been a young member,I should certainly have been,as I own I deserved,reprimanded by the House for some strong and indiscreet things that I said.Adieu!It is indeed high time.