Priestley took the objection quite seriously, and at one point he reported that he was leaning against the offer. But rather than stewing over his internal pros-and-cons list, he went out and collected more data. Specifically, he sought the advice of people who knew Shelburne, and the consensus was clear: “Those who are acquainted with Lord Shelburne encourage me to accept his proposal; but most of those who know the world in general, but not Lord Shelburne in particular, dissuade me from it.” In other words, the people who knew the lord best were the most positive about the offer. Based on
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