piece of schoolboy obscenity, if
entirely disgusting, no less entirely dull. The text of the "Essay"
was composed in great part, if not altogether, by Potter, the unworthy
son of the Archbishop of Canterbury and worthy member of the Medmenham
brotherhood. When Wilkes's papers were seized, or by some other means,
the Government got possession of the proof sheets of the "Essay on
Woman." They immediately resolved, in defiance of public decency, of
political morality, to use it as a weapon against their enemy. It
shows the shallowness of their pretence at justification that they put
the weapon into the hands of the worst and basest of Wilkes's former
friends and allies in profligacy, into the hands of Lord Sandwich. On
the first night of the session Lord Sandwich rose in the House of
Lords, and proceeded to denounce Wilkes and the "Essay on Woman" with a
vehemence of false austerity that impressed the assembly and infinitely
delighted Lord Le Despencer, who had been the common friend, the
brother sinner of accuser and accused, and who now expressed much
entertainment at hearing the devil preach. The spurious virtue of
Sandwich was followed by the spurious indignation of Warburton. The
"Essay on Woman" contained certain notes written in parody of
Warburton's notes {66} to the "Essay on Man," just as the verses
themselves were a parody on Pope's poem. Warburton chose to regard
this as a broach of privilege, and he assailed Wilkes with even greater
fury than Sandwich had done, winding up by apologizing to the devil for
even comparing Wilkes to him. An admiring House immediately voted the
poems obscene, libellous, and a breach of privilege. Two days
afterwards an address from the Lords called upon the King to prosecute
Wilkes for blasphemy.

[Sidenote: 1763--Wilkes as a champion of popular liberty]

Wilkes was unable to face this new attack. He had already fallen a
victim to an attack of another and no less malignant nature. While the
creatures of the Government in the Upper House were trying to destroy
his character, one of their creatures in the Lower House was doing his
best to take Wilkes's life. This was a man named Martin, who had been
attacked in the _North Briton_ some eight months earlier. Martin
seemed to have resolved upon revenge, and to have set about obtaining
it after the fashion not of the gentleman, but of the bravo. Day by
day, week by week, month by month he practised himself in pistol
shoo