d recovery of His Majesty
averted a struggle that might have gone near to dissolve the connection
of the Executive authority between the two kingdoms; for, had His
Majesty's illness continued much longer, there is too much reason to
believe that His Royal Highness would have been advised to accept the
invitation of the Irish Parliament, by which he would have been created
Regent of Ireland, with full powers, before an Act of Parliament had
passed in England under the Great Seal empowering him to assume the
functions of Sovereignty. The confusion that would have ensued upon such
a state of affairs, and the disastrous issues to which it would have
inevitably led, cannot be contemplated, even at this distance of time,
without an expression of astonishment that men were to be found capable
of entertaining such a proposition. The heroic endurance of Lord
Buckingham, upon whom the whole weight of contending against the madness
in which this scene of folly and violence originated, enabled him,
happily for the repose of both countries, to live down the dangers and
the odium which his steadfast discharge of his duties, and his firm
adherence to the policy of the English Cabinet, had drawn upon him
during this season of political delirium. His own impressions of the
scene around him, and the strength of the resolution he brought to bear
upon it, will be shown in an extract from a hasty note written to Lord
Bulkeley, in the midst of the clamour of the Parliament, on the 14th of
March.

I have not shrunk from my duty in the worst times, and I will not
trifle with it in those which look more prosperous. Much must be
done to save the British Government from an infamous and daring
combination, which might have been yielded to by a more
pusillanimous minister; but could only be met by one confident in
his character and conduct. Do not think this the language of
vanity; the times have been, and still are much too serious for
such a boyish passion: I feel that the dearest interests of both
kingdoms are at stake, and nothing but firmness can save it. I have
been insulted, I may be beat, but I will not be disgraced.

When the victory was finally achieved, he writes again to Lord Bulkeley
in a strain of justifiable exultation, announcing his complete triumph
over the Opposition. The letter is dated the 4th May, and the passage
extracted from it contains an animated picture of the strife thr