had some reverence for George II. 'Reverenced
his Office,' says a simple reader? Alas, no, my friend, man does not
'reverence Office,' but only sham-reverences it. I defy him to reverence
anything but a Man filling an Office (with or without salary) nobly.
Filling a noble office ignobly; doing a celestial task in a quietly
infernal manner? It were kinder perhaps to run your sword through him
(or through yourself) than to take to revering him! If inconvenient
to slay him or to slay yourself (as is oftenest likely),--keep well to
windward of him; be not, without necessity, partaker of his adventures
in this extremely earnest Universe!...

"No; Nature does not produce many Pitts:--nor will any Pitt ever again
apply in Parliament for a career. 'Your voices, your most sweet voices;
ye melodious torrents of Gadarenes Swine, galloping rapidly down steep
places, I, for one; know whither I'"...--Enough.

About four months before this time, Elliot had done a feat, not in
the Diplomatic line at all, or by his own choice at all, which had
considerably astonished the Diplomatic world at Berlin, and was
doubtless well in the King's thoughts during this introduction of the
Dozen. The American War is raging and blundering along,--a delectable
Lord George Germaine (ALIAS Sackville, no other than our old Minden
friend) managing as War-Minister, others equally skilful presiding at
the Parliamentary helm; all becoming worse and worse off, as the matter
proceeds. The revolted Colonies have their Franklins, Lees, busy in
European Courts: "Help us in our noble struggle, ye European Courts;,
now is your chance on tyrannous England!" To which France at least does
appear to be lending ear. Lee, turned out from Vienna, is at work in
Berlin, this while past; making what progress is uncertain to some
people.

I know not whether it was by my Lord Suffolk's instigation, or what had
put the Britannic Cabinet on such an idea,--perhaps the stolen Letters
of Friedrich, which show so exact a knowledge of the current of events
in America as well as England ("knows every step of it, as if he
were there himself, the Arch-Enemy of honest neighbors in a time of
stress!")--but it does appear they had got it into their sagacious heads
that the bad neighbor at Berlin was, in effect, the Arch-Enemy, probably
mainspring of the whole matter; and that it would be in the highest
degree interesting to see clearly what Lee and he had on hand. Order
thereupon to Elli