Aberdeen told me things were not going on well here.  The King has quite lost the sight of one eye, and the sight of the other is indistinct.  It gives him pain, too, and the fear of blindness makes him nervous.  The Duke of Cumberland is always about him, as mischievous as ever, but pretending not to be hostile.

The Duke of Wellington gives the King up as a bad job.  He sees him very seldom.  At first he liked seeing him and setting things to rights; but he says he found what he did one day was undone the next, and he is in despair.  The King has no constancy.  There is no depending upon him from one day to another.

Aberdeen says the accession of Rosslyn has not produced the effect we anticipated—­that Lord Grey is very hostile.  What we shall do for a majority next session I know not, but I think we shall stand, [Footnote:  This might have been but for the events on the Continent in the year following, which formed a new starting-point in the politics of a large part of Europe.] although we shall not, I fear, be a strong Government.  The Catholic Relief Bill has destroyed our unity and the spirit of party.  It has likewise destroyed that of the Opposition, who have no longer any rallying point.  Thus the formation of a strong Government is difficult.  The Brunswickers cannot form one, and the King cannot be persuaded to make one out of the Opposition.  Indeed, that the Duke of Cumberland would never advise.  The Brunswickers will endeavour to make terms with us as a body—­to make martyrs of some of the old Protestants, particularly of the Duke and Peel, and placing themselves at the head to go on as well as they could with the rest of us.  This will not do.

September 26.

The Chairs, or rather the Court, somewhat impertinently object to the addition I made to a recent draft, recommending an enquiry by practical and scientific men as to the powers India may possess of producing many articles of stores now sent from England.  They say this is liable to misconstruction, and then misconstrue it themselves.  They suppose these practical men, not being servants of the Company, to sit in judgment upon the proceedings of the military Board.  I have corrected their intentional misconstruction, and have acquiesced in the substitution of a draft they propose to send instead, which will, I hope, practically effect my object, and therefore I have said we are willing our object should be attained in the manner most agreeable to the Court of Directors.

It is very lucky I had just sent them my letter about stores.  It will appear to be written subsequently to theirs.  They think to humbug and to bully me.  They will find both difficult.

September 30.

Read the collection respecting the health of the King’s troops.  It is incredible to me that so many things should remain to be done—­nothing seems to have been done that ought to have been done.  I fear our finances make the building of new barracks impossible at present.  We could not build proper barracks for all the European troops in India much under a million.  Still much may be done for their health.