A second attack was now more carefully prepared by Wilkes' one-time friend Sandwich, now a member of the Government.
By bribery and theft P. Carteret Webb, an under-secretary, secured from Wilkes' private press the proofsheets of an obscene parody written by himself and Potter years before on Pope's Essay on Man, called the Essay on Woman. Wilkes had com menced, but never completed printing twelve copies of this, probably for the Medmenham monks. This disgusting work, together with notes purporting to be by the Bishop of Gloucester, was read aloud with relish on Nov. 15 by Sandwich to the Lords, who voted it a libel and a breach of privilege. The Commons at the same time declared "No. 45" a seditious libel. To face the forthcoming trial before Lord Mansfield after these pronounce ments would have been extremely hazardous. Wilkes, who had been gravely wounded in a duel with Samuel Martin, M.P., one of the vehicles of government bribery, withdrew to Paris, and sent to the Speaker (Jan. i 1. 1764), when a motion for his expul sion was brought forward, a certificate of his ill-health. The Speaker declared that this certificate was not sufficiently authen ticated, and though triple authentication was forthwith provided, Wilkes was expelled (Jan. 19). In these circumstances, Wilkes, who believed that life sentence would be pronounced against him, decided not to stand his trial and was consequently outlawed (Nov. ). He spent the next four years on the Continent, chiefly in "amorous delights." The fall of Grenville in 1765 and the accession of the Whigs to power under Rockingham and then Grafton led him to believe that a pardon would be granted to him and his services rewarded by some honourable place. He only slowly realized that none of the Whigs were prepared to risk the King's displeasure for his sake and that the various offers privately made to him were only intended to keep him amused. When he discovered the truth he was extremely bitter against Chatham and Grafton, those chiefly responsible, and pilloried them in a Letter to the Duke of Grafton, one of his ablest performances.
In 1768 he decided to risk all by a bold stroke, crossed to London, and announced his candidature, first for London (where he was not elected) and then for Middlesex, where he was chosen M.P. by a heavy majority (Mar. 28). He then surrendered to his outlawry and was sentenced to the comparatively light penalty of isoo fine and a year's imprisonment, each, for the Essay on Woman and "No. 45." His popularity was immense, and crowds regularly assembled outside the prison gates (St. George's Fields). On May in a riotous crowd was dispersed with bloodshed and loss of life by Scottish soldiery, who were congratulated by the Government. Wilkes published the government instructions which had led to this, with some bitter comments, in the St. _lames' Chronicle; he also presented to the Commons a petition raising the whole question of the illegality of the proceedings against him. (Subsequent investigations show that in the case of the Essay these included actual forgery.) He had ignored private promises that he would be left undisturbed if he remained quiet; he reaped the reward of his temerity (Feb. 4, 1769) by being expelled again from the House of Commons, this time with hardly a shred of excuse. He now, by his resentment of a patron izing defence by George Grenville, lost his last wealthy patron (Temple) and was nearly £20,000 in debt. But the arbitrary proceedings of the ministry (instigated by the King) brought him power and, through the subscriptions of wealthy admirers to a "Society of the Supporters of the Bill of Rights," even solvency. He was immediately (Feb. 16) re-elected by the Middlesex elec tors and once more expelled. Again he was elected (Mar. 16) and again expelled. The Court then secured a bravo named Colonel H. L. Luttrell to stand against Wilkes at the next election (April 13) ; the figures were Wilkes 1,143, Luttrell 296; but the enraged Commons declared that Luttrell ought to have been elected and actually seated him for Middlesex.