gained
themselves, and the sale of the royal favor was openly avowed and
defended. We acknowledge the piety of St. James', but what has become of
its morality?"

It is now the 12th of December, and on the 19th Junius assaults the
throne. Till now there was no opportunity offered, for up to this time
the king stood within the impregnable fortress, "The king can do no
wrong." Junius, while he acknowledges this maxim, does so merely to get
the ear of the king, for he afterward in his Preface takes occasion to
place himself right before the public. But having once entered the
king's castle, he makes George the Third the most insignificant and
detestable object on earth. It is the most powerful piece of satire
against kingcraft in the English language, and while it remains to be
read by the people, kings may look on and tremble. Junius also in this
not only hints _war_, but threatens _revolution_. In closing he says:
"But this is not a time to trifle with your fortune. They deceive you,
sir, who tell you that you have many friends whose affections are
founded upon a principle of personal attachment. The fortune which made
you a king forbade you to have a friend. It is a law of nature which can
not be violated with impunity. The mistaken prince who looks for
friendship, will find a favorite, and in that favorite the ruin of his
affairs." And the closing sentence is: "While he plumes himself upon the
security of his title to the crown, should remember, that, as it was
acquired by one revolution, it may be lost by another."--Let. 35.

But Junius failed to produce the desired effect. The spirit of
revolution was now at its height. The ocean must ebb. A reaction
follows, and during two years more Junius strives to put new life into
the flagging energies of his countrymen, and to kindle anew the fire of
liberty. But the flame goes out.

The commons have been corrupted by the king, and now the lords give way:
"The three branches of the legislature (king, lords, and commons) seem
to treat their separate rights and interests as the Roman triumvirs did
their friends; they reciprocally sacrifice them to the animosities of
each other, and establish a detestable union among themselves upon the
ruin of the laws and liberty of the commonwealth."--Let. 39.

Of the House of Lords he says: "By resolving that they had no right to
impeach a judgment of the House of Commons in any case whatsoever, where
that house has a competent jurisdictio