Say, thankless toil, Harsh and unpleasing, that, instead of praise And due reward, meets oft’ner scorn, reproach, Fierce opposition to the clearest measures, Injustice, banishment, or death itself, Such is the nature of malignant man. [Sidenote: _THE KING, IN PUBLIC._] Quin, as Agamemnon, rolled his measured lines out with double emphasis, his anti-Stuart feelings adding to the force. The ‘fierce oppositions’ of Ægisthus were not to be found in factious shape, at least, in the next session of Parliament. The debates at the opening of the session had but the slightest touch of Jacobitism in them; and that was in a speech by Lord Gower,――whom Horace Walpole classed with the Prince of Wales himself as a thorough Jacobite! Lord Gower spoke ill of the ‘so-called’ King’s Speech as being no royal speech at all, but one which conveyed the dictates of the Ministry to the country. ‘The King,’ said Lord Gower, ‘has no more share in the councils of the country than I have.’ A faint allusion in the Commons to his Majesty and family being less popularly esteemed than formerly, Mr. Lyttelton remarked: ‘I’ve repeatedly seen proofs to the contrary. In the streets of London I’ve seen the people clinging to the wheels of his coach, so as almost to impede it;’――and the inference was that they would not have so affectionately clung to the chariot-wheels of the Pretender. Other proofs, during the session, were adduced of the satisfactory condition of things. Recruiting for his Majesty’s army was successfully going on in Scotland, and the last cargo of old firelocks, resulting from the disarming of the Highlanders, was just then being landed at the Tower. Nevertheless, there were Jacobites who were hoping for the best, and keeping their powder dry. [Sidenote: _POLITICAL DRAMA._] Thomson made another effort in the year 1739 to introduce politics on the stage. His ‘Edward and Eleanora’ (after being publicly rehearsed) was advertised for representation, on March 29th, at Covent Garden; but, before the doors were open, the licenser withdrew his permission, and prohibited the performance absolutely. Thomson’s almost servile worship of the reigning family was manifested in the dedication of the tragedy to his patroness, the Princess of Wales. ‘In the character of Eleanora,’ he says, ‘I have endeavoured to represent, however faintly, a princess distinguished for all the virtues that render greatness amiable. I have aimed particularly to do justice to her inviolable affection and generous tenderness for a prince who was the darling of a great and free people.’ As Eleanora loved Edward, so, it was hinted, did Augusta love Frederick!