Page:Life of William Shelburne (vol 1).djvu/169

Rh "The second, Lord Shelburne, has uncommon abilities, great activity, and loves you sincerely. I need say no more to you of him than that he cannot with decency or ability remain as he now is; if he has an employment it must be a very high one, and he will fill it well.

"The third is a man of strict honour, will go through what he engages in without any indiscretion, has great firmness, with great gentleness of manner, is by his friends both respected and beloved, has few enemies, and no view to popularity.

"Those who are, and should not remain where they are at Court, are, ,.

"The first is vain and presumptuous, aiming at the highest degree of power, and secure in his own mind of universal applause, taking no connections seriously, or that may bind him whenever they become in the least inconvenient to his views, and parting with no connections which he thinks may one day serve him, however they may be offensive or injurious to those he acts with. Such is his present intimacy with Legge, and his leaning to the Duke of Newcastle, &c. Insincere, regardless of his word to a supreme degree, and regardful only of what may serve his vanity and ambition, which are without bounds.

"Of Lord Egremont, you who was witness of his conduct in the summer do not want to be informed. He was then undoubtedly led by Lord Mansfield, through G. Grenville, to very bad purposes, and talked publicly of the necessity of widening your bottom by reconciliation with the Duke of Newcastle. Since I came he has been rather an useless, lumpish, sour friend, than an enemy. But he certainly has not that cordiality that I wish; whenever friendship is professed it ought to be sincere, as of my conscience his ought to be towards you.

"G. Grenville is, and will be, whether in the Ministry or in the House of Commons, an hindrance, not a help, and sometimes a very great inconvenience to those he is