you shall give me in return, and so we'll defy the world, and sing Tol de rol,' &c. His abilities and his conversation taking this turn, habit had so confirmed it that, when I knew him, he looked upon every other reasoning as mere loss of time, or as a sure mark of folly or the greatest knavery, 'for every set of men are honest; it's only necessary to define their sense of it to know where to look for it; every man is honest and dishonest, according to the sentiments of the man who speaks of him; every man is artful too to the extent of his abilities. God made man so, and has given it to him in lieu of force; only one man places his art in deceiving publick assemblies, another in deceiving particular men, another women, &c. Nor are honesty and art absolutely opposite qualities, but I can conceive a sensible man very easily to do what is called honest, that is punctual in his dealing, and meaning well to the man he deals with to the best of his abilities, and very artful at the same time.' Mr. Fox was thus extremely honest in all his dealings with individuals. His good sense made him so, if his nature did not. He was extremely artful too, and for this purpose was really to the greatest degree open, except in cases of the greatest necessity. Possessed by this means of this short road to power, he despised as it were knowledge, or at least put men of that stamp in a second class, and looked on all publick spirit as the spirit of faction. This was his political creed in which he believed himself, and recommended to others. He excelled in everything that came within it. He was clear, had a great spirit of order, arrangement, and economy in regulating everything that came before him; but formed to this his ambition was a mean one, never daring to look very high, ready to submit to everything, consequently timid, with a certain dread of the publick: the natural consequence of his system, for how could it be otherwise? His sense told him it was necessary to deal with individuals, and secure them each by particular services of consequence. He must have been apprehensive of such of them as were unsecured by bribes and promises, which being far the greatest part, his very
