for being there, and everything shall be ready for you. You may as well send your servant to my manager Bullock, who will arrange everything about cellar and other household concerns."
"Park Place,
"October 1, 1801.
"My dear Wilberforce—I cannot refrain from congratulating you most sincerely on the happy event of the Signature of Preliminaries, which you will, I believe, hear from Addington. The terms are such as I am persuaded you will be well satisfied with, and tho' they are not in every point (particularly one material one) exactly all that I should have wished, I have no hesitation in saying that I think them on the whole highly honourable to the country and very advantageous. The event is most fortunate both for Government and the public, and for the sake of both, gives me infinite satisfaction. I am but just in time for the post.
"Ever sincerely yours,
"W. Pitt."
"Downing Street, Saturday.
"My dear Wilberforce—I shall be very glad if you can call here any time after nine this evening, as I wish to show you a paper from the other side of the water, of a very interesting nature, tho' not such as was most to be wished or at all to be expected.
"Yours,
"W. P."
"Walmer Castle,
"May 31, 1802.
"My dear Wilberforce—I found your letter on my arrival here yesterday, having escaped to Hollwood on Friday only as a preparation for pursuing my journey hither with less interruption than I should have been exposed to, starting from town. An absence of ten days or a fortnight has been so much recommended, and indeed I began myself to feel so much in want of it, that I am afraid I must not think of returning for your motion. Indeed, tho' I should most eagerly support it (supposing you can provide, as I trust you can, means of making the execution in the detail practicable and effectual). I see no chance in the present state of the session of your carrying it, unless Addington can be brought really to see the propriety of it, and to concur in it at once without debate. This last I should hope might be managed, and whatever impression parts of his speech may have made on your mind, I am sure I need not suggest to you that the best chance of doing this will be to endeavour coolly to lay before him the case as it really is, unmixed as far as possible with any topics of soreness, which evidently were not absent from his mind on Canning's motion. I certainly, on the whole, judge much more favourably of his general intentions on the whole subject (or, I should rather say, of his probable conduct) than you do. But I admit that one part of his speech was as unsatisfactory as possible. This I really believe proceeded in a great measure from the evident embarrassment and distress under which he was speaking, and which I am persuaded prevented him from doing any justice to his own ideas. I may deceive and flatter myself, but tho' I know we shall be far from obtaining all that you and I wish, I really think there is much chance of great real and substantial ground being gained towards the ultimate and not remote object of total abolition next session. This is far from a reason for not endeavouring, if possible, to prevent the aggravation of the evil in the meantime, and I heartily wish you may be successful in the attempt.
"Ever affy. yrs.,
"W. P."
"Walmer Castle,
"September 22, 1802.
"My dear Wilberforce, I am much obliged to you for your kind letter of inquiry. My complaint has entirely left me, I am recovering my strength every day, and I have no doubt of being in a very short time as well as I was before the attack. Farquhar, however, seems strongly disposed to recommend Bath before the winter, and if you make your usual visit thither, I hope it is not impossible we may meet. Perhaps you will let me know whether you propose going before Parliament meets, and at what time. I hardly imagine that the session before Christmas can produce much business that will require attendance. I ought long since to have written to you on the subject of our friend Morritt. It would give me great pleasure to see him come back to Parliament, tho' I hardly think the occasion was one on which I
[Rest of letter torn off.]
"Bath,
"October 31, 1802.
"My dear Wilberforce—As you are among the persons to whom the author of the enclosed high-flown compliments refers for his character for a very important purpose, I shall be much obliged to you if you will tell me what you know of him. A man's qualifications to give a dinner certainly depend more on the excellence of his cook and his wine, than on himself but I have still some curiosity to know what sort of company he and his guests are likely to prove; and should therefore be glad to know a little more about them than I collect from his list of the dramatis personæ, which for instruction might as well have been taken from any old play-bill. In the meantime I have been obliged out of common civility, provisoirement to accept his invitation. I was very sorry that I had too little time to spare in passing thro' town to try to see you. I should have much wished to have talked over with you the events which have been passing and the consequences to which they seem to lead. You know how much under all the circumstances I wished for peace, and my wishes remain the same, if Bonaparte can be made to feel that he is not to trample in succession on every nation in Europe. But of this I fear there is little chance, and without it I see no prospect but war.
"I have not yet been here long enough to judge much of the effect of these waters, but as far as I can in a few days, I think I am likely to find them of material use to me. I mean to be in town by the 18th of next month. Paley's work, which you mentioned in your last letter, I had already read on the recommendation of my friend Sir W. Farquhar, who had met with it by accident, and was struck with its containing the most compendious and correct view of anatomy which he had ever seen. I do not mean that he thought this its only merit. It certainly has a great deal, but I think he carries some of his details and refinements further than is at all necessary for his purpose, and perhaps than will quite stand the test of examination.
"Ever affy. yrs.,
"W. P."
"Walmer Castle,
"August 8, 1803 (?).
"My dear Wilberforce—Not having returned from a visit to some of my corps on the Isle of Thanet till Friday evening, I could not answer your letter by that day's post, and I was interrupted when I was going to write to you yesterday. It was scarce possible for me, consistent with very material business in this district, to have reached town to-day; and besides, I confess, I do not think any great good could have been done by anything I could say in the House on any of the points you mention. I feel most of them, however, and some others of the same sort, as of most essential importance; and I have thoughts of coming to town for a couple of days (which is as much as I can spare from my duties here) towards the end of the week, to try whether I cannot find some channel by which a remedy may be suggested on some of the points which are now most defective. I think I shall probably reach town on Saturday morning, and I should wish much if you could contrive to meet me in Palace Yard or anywhere else, to have an hour's conversation with you. I will write to you again as soon as I can precisely fix any day. We are going on here most rapidly, and in proportion to our population, most extensively, in every species of local defence, both naval and military, and I trust shall both add very much to the security of essential points on this coast, and set not a bad example to other maritime districts.
"Ever affy. yours,
"W. P."
"Walmer
