Page:Letters of Junius, volume 2 (Woodfall, 1772).djvu/195

something about him which even treachery cannot trust. For the present, therefore, the best of Princes must have contented himself with Lord Sandwich.—You would long since have received your final dismission and reward; and I, my Lord, who do not esteem you the more for the high office you possess, would willingly have followed you to your retirement. There is surely something singularly benevolent in the character of our Sovereign. From the moment he ascended the throne, there is no crime of which human nature is capable (and I call upon the Recorder to witness it) that has not appeared venal in his sight. With any other Prince, the shameful desertion of him in the midst of that distress which you alone had created,—in the very crisis of danger, when he fancied he saw the throne surrounded by men of virtue and abilities, would have outweighed the memory of your former services. But his Majesty is full of justice, and understands the doctrine of compensations. He remembers, with gratitude, how soon you had accommodated your morals to the necessity of his service;—how cheerfully you had abandoned the engagements of private friendship, and renounced the most solemn