HECATE-Oh, well done! I commend your pains, A By the WITCHES, who joining hands, dance round the CALDRON. Bubble, bubble! toil, and trouble! March 14. [Exeunt omnes. MORE OF THE DOCTOR. [From the Oracle.] Effugere eft triumphus! IN former times, when France provok'd the blow, BROD. ANECDOTE. [From the Morning Chronicle.] THE language now held in Parliament reminds us of a story to be found in an early edition of Joe Miller. A Jack Ketch infifted upon leading an innocent man to execution. While the noofe was preparing, the unhappy victim remonftrated with great earneftnefs, and said there must surely be fome mistake, as he had committed no crime, and there was no warrant for his death. "Put in your neck," faid Jack; you can complain against me if I am wrong. know my refponfibility." You THE אן THE KETTLE AND THE POT; OR, THE [From the Morning Poft.] "Let him change his opinion with decorum." Debate on Sir John Wrottefly's Motion. N the debate above alluded to, a Right Hon. Gentleman, whom we fhall defignate as the Kettle, taunted a brother Privy Counsellor, who will probably not be miftaken, as the Pot, with "inconfiftency and coalition!" As imputations have double force when they come from clean hands, it may poffibly amufe your readers to be reminded of fome ftrokes of character in the Kettle, which will demonftrate at once his peculiar fitnefs for venting fuch a reproach, and the juftice of his title to thofe encomiums which his panegyrifts fo frequently mingle with their vefpers. Mr. Kettle's outfet in public life was in the loftieft flight of Toryifm; and the first object of his worship, Mr. Pitt-difappointed in certain Oriental fpeculations (an early prefage of recent realization), a few months difplayed him upon the directly oppofite extreme a blazing Whig-a flathy Foxite. The only difficulty was to decide, for which of the two fystems honeft Kettle was moft refolute; that which, trampling upon the Commons of England, and reducing the Imperial Magiftracy of the British Conftitution to the likeness and the littlenefs of private life, afferted, that the King had as clear a right to appoint or difmifs a Minifter, as any gentleman to hire and turn off his groom; or this which, though never denying the legal prerogatives of the Crown, maintained that all the functions of the English Kingship are public trufts, confided for the benefit of the people, not for the capricious gratification of the reigning Sovereign, always to be exercifed with reference to the feelings of Parliament and the interefts of the Nation (as contradiftinguished diftinguished to the whim and fancy of the Prince), and marking, more than by any other act of authority, the eternal difference between limited monarchy and abfolute defpotifm. Of thefe contrary principles, the fame year faw the good Kettle as the zealous difciple, equally ardent on both fides. A new and grand epoch furnished a fine opportunity for Kettle's tranfitions; à fcene where many a Kettle flourished and faded the French Revolution. Before their fhoes were old who trod the Baftille to duft; whilft the Revolution was as yet only reproached with excefs of benevolent philofophy, and aiming at Utopian perfection; even then, when as yet Mr. Burke had fearcely made one convert even then, was honeft Kettle a profound alarmift! A Court of Law, folemnly deciding upon human life, recognifed the moral decorum and legal difcretion of the firft public celebration of the French Revolution which took place in this country, namely, on the 14th of July 1790; but though the Chief Juftice and Primate of England could not but vindicate every fentiment that was uttered on that occafion, yet honeft Kettle was the firft," and almoft the only man in England, to afcribe to fuch a meeting inflammatory views;-but mark ye, when, by and by, the Revolution affumed a new character, when the butcheries of September, the murder of the King, the Queen, the Princefs, the flaughter of the Deputies; when Robefpierre turned France into a charnel-house; and when thofe friends of freedom in England, "who, only in a general honeft thought, and common good of all the world," withed well to the Revolution, hung their heads with forrow and with fhame-then it was that the admirable Kettle came forth in a new guife, quite worthy of himfelf. Tame and torpid, and fenfelefs and lifelefs, was every other advocate of the French Revolution, in comparison with the infpired Kettle. He became the fudden hope of British British Jacobinism; the ftar by which it was guided, either to spare or fall on. The Whigs!—they were impoftors! Even the fociety of the Friends of the, People" were but cold white mortals after all, whofe moderation chilled the energies of the fudden apofile, In a word, the ftigmatizer of those who rejoiced in the French revolution, whilft the French revolution was yet unftained by crimes, became himself fo totally revolutionized, that his patronymic was abfolutely loft, and he was, for years, flattered by being called after the bloodieft ruffian that France ever produced! Well, therefore, and truly did honeft Kettle vaunt, on Wednesday fe'nnight, that his antagonists" would find it no eafy talk to fix inconfiftency upon him." After fome years spent in a fyftem of hints against Mr. Fox for languor! indifpofition to popular courses! illicit aristocracy! in fhort, for not rifking the uproar of univerfal peace-behold the honeft Kettle stand forward in the face of the Whig Club, fpontaneously own his repented error, and proclaim, with the phlegm of a true profeffor, "unalterable adherence" to the object fo fufpected-(his hearers on that day will never forget his words.) He is a candidate at a popular election; the Foxites fuftain him; they canvass; they fubfcribe; they write for him, in profe and in verfe; they make his caufe their own. Trace him onward, he plays a game moft embarraffing to his connexions, and gives a glimpfe of that fpirit which his conduct has fince fo notably verified. Reafoned with, he pleads "duty," and juftifies himself by criminating all his friends in a body. Does the motive break through the difguife? he gets defperate; renounces all tie; declaims against party (the common practice of the venal), declares he never belonged to any; libels upon a huftings the object of his for* Cicero probably knew as much of thefe matters as our accom plished mer devotion (in fealty for whom the Whig Chub can teftify, that he would not fuccumb to even the earliest friends of his life, whom he then fo worshipped) vindicates his right to make the most of himself, and changes his opinion with decorum! In the war, you fee him as in a magnifier. He oppofed the late war with fury, as being frantic and abfurd; in which war the diftrefs of France (who fought fingle-handed), and the alliance of the ftates of Europe (who fought with us), rendered any vital blow at our national exiftence hardly poffible: the prefent war, in which all Europe refufes to co-operate, in which our all is put to hazard for a rock in Africa, confeffedly againft the latter; and in which the contraft of poffible refults ftands thus-though the invafion fail, France continues great and mighty; if it fucceeds, we are utterly extinguifhed-fuch a war the wife Kettle fupports as fane and judicious, and, in favour of that, he has no objection to a coalition with Pots, or pipkins. |