(Most Secret.) Whitehall, Oct. 22nd, 1788.
My dear Brother,
I have just received your letter of the 18th. You will have
seen, by my last, the delay which has arisen in examining Lord
Nugent's papers, and proving his will, on account of the absence
of Macnamara and the Drummonds. I sent off a messenger to the
former immediately after I had written to you; and have received
an answer from him, by which I understand he will be in town on
Thursday night.
23rd.--I was interrupted yesterday, and could not, by any
contrivance, return to finish my letter, though I was anxious
that you should hear from me, that there has as yet been no sort
of difficulty or interruption; and I conclude, therefore, that
there will be none.
I have forwarded your letter to the Chancellor, and added to it
one from myself. I mean, _if possible_, to see him, though that,
you know, is no easy matter, as I understand the Duke of Grafton
is asking it, at Selby's request, for a man who was active
against me. I could wish that you would write Wodley a few
lines, to explain that you were hampered by former engagements,
&c., as I found from a conversation with Camplin, that he had
been perfectly satisfied with the explanation you had with him
on the subject of Newport, and that he was in expectation of
having this. Camplin thinks him of considerable importance.
My impatience, in the letter to which your last was an answer,
was owing to my having made no allowance for east winds, which
detained the mail near a week, and brought me two of your
letters together. You must, therefore, excuse a very unprovoked
lecture on punctuality.
I wish I could say to you that anything more is done about your
commissions; but this has been, and continues to be, absolutely
impossible, for a reason which gives us all no small degree of
uneasiness--I mean the King's illness, which begun with a
violent spasmodic attack in his stomach; and has continued with
more or less violence, and with different symptoms ever since.
We put as good a face as we can upon it; and, indeed, I hope
that the danger is now over, but I cannot but own to you that I
think there is still ground for a good deal of alarm. He brought
on this particular attack by the great imprudence of remaining a
whole day in wet stockings; but, on the whole, I am afraid that
his health is evidently much worse than it has been, and that
there is some lurking disorder in his constitution, which he has
not strength to throw out. I have again mentioned to Pitt the
subject of the commissions; and he has promised to endeavour to
bring it to a conclusion as soon as the King is sufficiently
recovered to allow him to see him on that business. But this may
yet be some time, as a part of the King's disorder is an
agitation and flurry of spirits, which hardly gives him any
rest. I need not mention to you, that I should not allow myself
to say all this, but in the strictest confidence, and that,
independently of the King's great dislike to its being known
that he is ill, we have the strongest reasons of policy, both
foreign and domestic, in the present moment particularly, to
wish that idea not to prevail.
Your conjecture about Denmark and Sweden, and your subsequent
reasoning upon it, are both perfectly just. The Cabinet of the
former is, in the present moment, entirely subservient to the
views of Russia, which are to annihilate Sweden, and thereby to
gain the entire dominion of the north. Both Prussia and England
have a strong and evident interest to prevent the accomplishment
of this plan, but it can be done only by a vigorous exertion.
Such an exertion is now making; and I certainly think that if we
had any enemies able to stir, it would involve us in a most
unwelcome, though necessary war. But I rely with no little
confidence upon the weakness of France, whose difficulties,
instead of being at all diminished, are hourly increasing; their
public credit falling even below what it was at the time of
Neckar's appointment, and their discontents again getting to the
most serious pitch. Add to this, that we have every reason to
believe that we have the concurrence and good wishes of Spain in
the object which we are pursuing, and I think we have, I may
say, nothing to apprehend from measures which would, in any
other situation of Europe, be most critical indeed. The K. of P.
has already _required_ Denmark to evacuate Sweden, under the
threat of the invasion of Holstein; and we are seconding him
with remonstrances very near as strong, though couched in more
conciliatory terms. It remains to see what she will do.
I am called away, and have only time to add that the account of
the King this morning, from Sir G. Baker, is _much_ more
favourable; and that if he does well, there is a plan now, I
believe settled, by which the arrangement about which you
inquire will certainly take place before the meeting of
Parliament.
Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.
The lecture on punctuality alluded to, occurs in a previous letter, in
which Mr. Grenville said: "I earnestly wish you would answer the
questions I put to you about your own business with a little more
punctuality. I know your other avocations; but you cannot conceive how
distressing your silence often is to me."
In the above letter, which is marked "most secret," we have the first
announcement of the King's illness and its origin. The utmost pains were
taken to conceal it from the public; and two days afterwards the King
went to the levée, to dissipate suspicion. "I find from Pitt," says Mr.
Grenville, writing on the 25th, "that the King went to the levée
yesterday, in order to show himself, but that he was very weak and unfit
for business." The effect of the appearance at the levée is subsequently
described.