ABSTRACT
Leigh Hunt drew on an inheritance from his American grandfather Stephen Shewell, who had recently died, and turned to generous relatives and friends. Hunt explained that his money troubles were temporary and came from the late arrival of the last instalment of his American inheritance. Hunt assured his brother that he could live within his weekly income were it not for the accumulation of debts. To discharge those he was prepared to sell part of his share in the Examiner. Hunt had other anxieities to weaken his ‘command of happiness’: the Examiner was again under the gaze of the Attorney General. In 1811, in consequence of the King’s insanity, the Prince of Wales had become Regent. The Examiner began a concentrated attack upon him; for two numbers it made fun of the Prince in odds and ends and ridiculed him in anonymous verses called ‘Triumph of the Whale’ written by the enthusiastic punster Charles Lamb.
