Temple applied to be admitted to see him, and were refused. The “general warrant” on which Wilkes was arrested was proved illegal, and on a writ of _Habeas Corpus_, he was set at liberty on the ground of his privilege as a member of Parliament. After his release from the Tower, Wilkes was involved in a duel, and severely wounded; he then fled to Paris, January, 1764, and was, in his absence, expelled from parliament and outlawed for contempt of court. On the issue of writs for the general election, after the dissolution of parliament, March 12, 1768, Wilkes, who had made several vain attempts to get the sentence reversed, suddenly presented himself as a candidate to represent the city of London, in the interval addressing to the king a submissive letter imploring pardon and the reversal of the sentence of outlawry which had been passed upon him. This petition the king rejected with decision. Although Alderman Sir William Baker was the only citizen of note or influence who supported him, Wilkes persisted in his candidature, the lower people embracing his cause with ardour; but he polled the minimum of votes, and was signally defeated, the successful members being the Hon. Thomas Harley, lord mayor, with 3,729 votes; Sir R. Ladbroke, 3,678; William Beckford, 3,402; Barlow Trecothwick, 2,957. The unsuccessful candidates were Sir Richard Glyn, 2,823; John Patterson, 1,769; and Wilkes, at the bottom of the poll, who contrived to secure 1,247 votes. On Wilkes’s return from the Guildhall at the close of the poll, March 23, 1768, where, as seen, he obtained the lowest number of votes, the people displayed their fervour for spurious patriotism by removing the horses from his carriage, and drawing it themselves; other extravagancies of a like nature showed the spirit of the multitude, by whom Wilkes was regarded as the tribune of the people, a situation very much to his taste. Considering his mob-popularity assured, he now proposed to conciliate his opponents; the first step was to make a pretence of submission. On the 22nd of March, he wrote to the solicitor of the treasury: “I take the liberty of acquainting you, that in the beginning of the ensuing term I shall present myself to the court of King’s Bench. I pledge my honour as a gentleman, that on the very first day I will there make my personal appearance.” The letter sent by Wilkes to the king was certainly a plausible composition, but the fervid assurances there given being in direct antagonism with the conduct of the writer at that very time, it may be held that George III. was justified in treating the applicant with indignant contempt. “SIRE,