te neighbourhood was rare and rustic; but from the
verge of our hills, as far as Chichester and Goodwood, the western
district of Sussex was interspersed with noble seats and hospitable
families, with whom we cultivated a friendly, and might have enjoyed a
very frequent, intercourse. As my stay at Buriton was always voluntary,
I was received and dismissed with smiles; but the comforts of my
retirement did not depend on the ordinary pleasures of the country. My
father could never inspire me with his love and knowledge of farming. I
never handled a gun, I seldom mounted an horse; and my philosophic walks
were soon terminated by a shady bench, where I was long detained by
the sedentary amusement of reading or meditation. At home I occupied a
pleasant and spacious apartment; the library on the same floor was soon
considered as my peculiar domain; and I might say with truth, that I was
never less alone than when by myself. My sole complaint, which I piously
suppressed, arose from the kind restraint imposed on the freedom of my
time. By the habit of early rising I always secured a sacred portion
of the day, and many scattered moments were stolen and employed by my
studious industry. But the family hours of breakfast, of dinner, of
tea, and of supper, were regular and long: after breakfast Mrs. Gibbon
expected my company in her dressing-room; after tea my father claimed my
conversation and the perusal of the newspapers; and in the midst of an
interesting work I was often called down to receive the visit of some
idle neighbours. Their dinners and visits required, in due season, a
similar return; and I dreaded the period of the full moon, which was
usually reserved for our more distant excursions. I could not refuse
attending my father, in the summer of 1759, to the races at Stockbridge,
Reading, and Odiam, where he had entered a horse for the hunter's plate;
and I was not displeased with the sight of our Olympic games, the beauty
of the spot, the fleetness of the horses, and the gay tumult of the
numerous spectators. As soon as the militia business was agitated,
many days were tediously consumed in meetings of deputy-lieutenants at
Petersfield, Alton, and Winchester. In the close of the same year, 1759,
Sir Simeon (then Mr.) Stewart attempted an unsuccessful contest for the
county of Southampton, against Mr. Legge, Chancellor of the Exchequer: a
well-known contest, in which Lord Bute's influence was first exerted and
censured. Ou