in 1741; but he had to resign the equally lucrative office of Cofferer of the Household, which he held at the time. Henry Fox, however, thinking on subsequent consideration that he was able to recognize an ebb in the current of his own unpopularity, determined to remain where he was, as will be seen from two letters which he addressed to Mr. Nicholl.
October 18th, 1762.
Dear Sir,—Mrs. Nicholl very kindly wants you not to think, and if I believed your very great kindness to me would suffer you to be thought less just now, I would not put you in mind of me. I cannot help thinking of your advice and that there is great likelyhood of my following it. Think then of arrangements; with regard to those I leave in the office, with regard to who should succeed me, whether one or two joint paymasters, and who; and with regard to my affairs and my friends in the office as they may be affected by them. The result of these thoughts it will be time enough for me to know when you return; for I shall not have determined till I see you or deliberated with anybody upon it till I see you. Adieu.
Yours ever,
H. Fox.
Dear Sir,—I thank you very kindly for your letter. When I wrote mine I thought the step very proper to be taken and saw it in a light in which its propriety appeared to me greater than it appears now. I likewise thought of Legge and believed (though for some reasons which you don't mention, and not for all those you do) he would have had the offer of it. But now I have great doubts about making the vacancy. Instead of what I expected, I believe that in no fortnight since the year 1756 have I ever been less abused than in this last. The better sort want a system that they can think will last and therefore like this arrangement without any particular regard for me, and the language is very general that I came in very unwillingly and by command; such language, you know is very favourable. There are, who say I ought to have
