ABSTRACT
William Pitt long illness at Bath, which lasted during most of the year 1744, was the first of a series of attacks which prostrated him at ever shorter intervals and returned with increasing severity throughout his life. Pitt may have made little effort to conceal his sufferings at such times, and have had no objection to enforcing his arguments by personal touches likely to produce an effect. But there can be little question of the serious nature of his affliction, and it is evident from the correspondence of his closest friends that his gout was a very real torment and often barely allowed him to crawl to the House. The most remarkable sign of confidence in Pitt came from the Scottish peers and members of Parliament. They were having an unhappy time, with rebellion aflame in their own country and black looks directed against them from all quarters in England.
