ng flourished it off, as
is his custom, and then quite forgotten it. The Attorney told me
that Gurney overheard one juryman say to another, 'Don't you think
we had better stop the case? It is useless to go on.' The other,
however, declared for hearing it out, so on the whole it ended as
well as it might, just better than an acquittal, and that is all.

July 11th, 1831 {p.158}

Dined with Lord Grey yesterday. In the middle of dinner
Talleyrand got a letter announcing that Leopold's conditional
acceptance of the Belgian throne had been agreed to by a great
majority of the Chamber; and a Mr. Walker, who brought the news
(and left Brussels at five o'clock the day before), came to Lord
Grey and told him with what enthusiasm it had been received
there. Lord Grey wrote to the Chancellor, with whom Leopold was
dining, to tell him of the event.

[Page Head: WELLINGTON AND THE GOVERNMENT.]

This morning I got a note from the Duke of Wellington declining
to attend the Council on Wednesday, and desiring I would impart
the same to Lord Grey and the King. He says that it would give
rise to misrepresentations, and so it would. He is right to
decline. It is, however, Peel who has prevented him, I am
certain. When I told Peel on Saturday, he looked very grave, did
not seem to like it, and said he must confer with the Duke first,
as he should be sorry to do otherwise than he did. Yesterday I
know the Duke dined with Peel, who I have no doubt persuaded him
to send this excuse. The Government are in exceeding delight at
the Duke's conduct ever since he has been in opposition, which
certainly has been very noble, straightforward, gentlemanlike,
and without an atom of faction or mischief about it. He has done
himself great honour; he threw over Aberdeen completely on that
business about foreign policy which he introduced soon after the
meeting of Parliament, and now he is assisting the Government in
their Lieutenancy Bill, and is in constant communication with
Melbourne on the subject.

July 13th, 1831 {p.159}

I took the Duke's note to Lord Grey, who seemed annoyed, and
repeated that he had only intended the invitation as a mark of
attention, and never thought of shifting any responsibility from
his own shoulders; that as there was a deviation from the old
ceremonial, he thought the Duke's sanction would have satisfied
those who might otherwise have disputed the propriety of such a
change. 'Does he then,' he asked, 'mean to at