Lord H- himself. And, if a sapient ministry should find the thing necessary to its salvation; he may become quite as fit, upon occasion, to enact the 'scapegoat, even as poor good Lord Yth!

CHAPTER II.

OF ELECTIONS.

Different Places to be represented.

WHEN the momentous æra arrives, at which our accomplished youth is to offer himself a candidate for immediate election into the senate; he may be, more or less advantageously situate in regard to ELECTION

INFLUENCE.

Perhaps, he has the command of what is called a close borough.

Or, possibly, he may be Altera Spes of a family that maintains to itself, by a sort of

prescriptive right, the representation of

some county.

Or, he may be able to secure a seat to himself by a congé d'elire from the minister.

Or, he may be without family or ministerial influence; and may have no way to secure his election but by paying down the money for it.

. Or, he may try the enterprize, and it may be justified by the magnitude of his fortune, to attempt the glory of creating the new family and personal influence, in some county or borough, by the merit of an expensive and hazardous competition. . Or, perhaps, he may have it in his choice to come in, as the dependent of an opposition peer, or commoner of great election ins fluence..

Close Boroughs.

A CLOSE BOROUGH, in a gentleman's own command, is, truly, a very snug thing.

The smaller the population of such a borough; it is for election uses, so much the better. Old Sarum is, in this respect, the best borough-property in England. It is, for the convenience of men of fortune, devoutly to be wished, that all our boroughs having elective franchises, were reduced to the same state. What a happy change, if all the borough-population were removed to villages, having, like Manchester, no elective rights, and all the borough-electionfranchises were confined to the sites of ancient boroughs, exhibiting now only Seges ubi Troja fuit! Had we but, as some fo reign countries are said to have had in the good old time, a premier duke or a commoner of overgrown wealth to set the example, within his burgage-property; this grand consummation might, no doubt, be accomplished. In the mean time, it is not unpleasant to know, that our English owls, at their nuptials, adopt the very note of those who, in the eastern tale, are represented as celebrating the glory of Sultan Mahmoud;

and sing, "long live J

of N: for,

"while he survives, we shall never want "depopulated burghs!"

These close burghs are, in truth, a property troublesome and ticklish perhaps even more than in proportion to its value. However dependent upon you, their wretched potwalloppers; you are ever held still more in dependence on them. They must be watched, cockered, threatened, humoured, and checked, with endless solicitude. After all, it shall go hard with them; but, sooner or later, one or another will find means to plot against the lord of the manor's power. And, if that superior be a weak man, of feverish irritability of temper; ten to one but he may be driven, at length, to sell his burgh, in order to rid himself of the vexations it produces to him.

But, the youth who has been prepared, on my plan, for political life, must not act thus with his family borough. He must hold the unruly beast tight by the head He must use whip and spur with spirit. He