DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

( 12) joke on Lord Sandwich, which eventually cost him dear. Wilkes dressed a baboon in imitation of the conventional representation of the devil, and secreted it in a chest in the room where the revellers were feasting. At the very moment Lord Sandwich was addressing an invocation to his master the Evil One, the animal was let loose. In the general conster- nation that ensued, the company actually believed that the devil had answered the summons, the baboon jumped upon Lord Sandwich’s shoulder. Fearmg that his end had come, the terrified nobleman fell on his knees, recanted his previous utterances, and prayed to Heaven for mercy; but when the baboon took his flight through an open window, the revellers recovered their spirits and re- sumed their feast. Lord Sandwich never forgave Wilkes. In the country he made a better use of his life, and was appointed High Sheriff of Bucks in acknowledgment of his services. But he aspired to a more ambitious field for the exercise of his talents, and at the General Election of 1754 appeared as a candidate for Berwick-on-Tweed. He was defeated, but not from any lack of bribery, or pluck. The Delaval family were omnipotent in the borough. To ensure the votes of some of their supporters who resided in London, they chartered a ship to convey