Indeed, I knew him too well to
believe there was anything solid in his intention or professions,
even when he carried himself so far as to demand a private audience
of the k--, in order to communicate a scheme for suppressing
the rebellion; and that being denied, solicited the duke of D--'s
interest, for permission to raise and head a regiment of Kentish
smugglers. Nay, to such a pitch did his loyalty soar, that he
purchased a firelock of particular mechanism, calculated for the
safety of the bearer, in case he had been placed sentinel at his
Majesty's door, and kept his horses ready caparisoned, with a view
of attending his sovereign to the field. Notwithstanding all these
pompous preparations, had he been put to the proof, he would have
infallibly crept out of his engagements, through some sneaking
evasion, his imagination being very fertile in such saving pretences.
Yet he will talk sometimes so fervently, and even sensibly, on the
subject, that a stranger would mistake him for a man of understanding,
and determined zeal for the good of his country.
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