extravagance, and added, "if he had lived he would have spent my whole estate." This almost comes up to sir Robert Brown, who, when his eldest daughter was given over, but still alive, on that uncertainty sent for an undertaker, and bargained for her funeral in hopes of having it cheaper, as it was possible she might recover. Lord Bath has purchased the Hatton vault in Westminster-abbey, squeezed his wife, son, and daughter into it, reserved room for himself, and has set the rest to sale. Come; all this is not far short of sir Robert Brown. To my great satisfaction, the new lord Holland has not taken the least friendly, or even formal notice of me, on lord Waldegrave's death. It dispenses me from the least farther connexion with him, and saves explanations, which always entertain the world more than satisfy. Dr. Cumberland is an Irish bishop; I hope before the summer is over that some beam from your cousin's portion of the triumvirate may light on poor Bentley. If he wishes it till next winter, he will be forced to try still new sunshine. I have taken Mrs. Pritchard's house for lady Waldegrave; I offered her to live with me at Strawberry, but with her usual good sense she declined, as she thought the children would be troublesome. Charles Townshend's episode in this revolution passes belief; though he does not tell it himself. If I had a son born, and an old fairy were to appear and offer to endow him with her choicest gift, I should cry out, "Powerful Goody, give him any thing but parts!" Adieu! Yours ever. TO THE HON. H. S. CONWAY. Strawberry-hill, May 1, 1763. I FEEL happy at hearing your happiness; but, my dear Harry, your vision is much indebted to your long absence, which Makes bleak rocks and barren mountains smile. I mean no offence to Park-place, but the bitterness of the wea teers at Madrid. His lordship went over with his regiment in the defence of Portugal. He died the 16th February 1763. [Ed.] ther makes me wonder how you can find the country tolerable now. This is a May-day for the latitude of Siberia! The milkmaids should be wrapped in the motherly comforts of a swan-skin petticoat. In short, such hard words have passed between me and the north-wind to-day, that, according to the language of the times, I was very near abusing it for coming from Scotland, and to imputing it to lord Bute. I don't know whether I should not have written a North Briton against it, if the printers were not all sent to Newgate, and Mr. Wilkes' to the Tower-ay, to the Tower, tout de bon. The new ministry are trying to make up for their ridiculous insignificance by a coup d'eclat. As I came hither yesterday, I do not know whether the particulars I have heard are genuine-but in the Tower he certainly is, taken up by lord Halifax's warrant for treason; vide the North Briton of Saturday was se'nnight. It is said he refused to obey the warrant, of which he asked and got a copy from the two messengers, telling them he did not mean to make his escape, but sending to demand his habeas corpus, which was refused. He then went to lord Halifax, and thence to the Tower; declaring they should get nothing out of him but what they knew. All his papers have been seized. Lord chief justice Pratt, I am told, finds great fault with the wording of the warrant. I don't know how to execute your commission for books of architecture, nor care to put you to expense, which I know will not answer. I have been consulting my neighbour, young Mr. Thomas Pitt, my present architect: we have all books of that sort here, but cannot think of one which will help you to a cottage or a green-house. For the former you should send me your idea, your dimensions; for the latter, don't you rebuild your old one, though in another place? A pretty green-house I never saw; nor without immoderate expense can it well be an agreeable object. Mr. Pitt thinks a mere portico without a pediment, and windows removeable in summer, would be the best plan you could have. If so, don't you remember something of that kind, 1 Wilkes was arrested in the night of the 29th, but his threats induced the officers to defer the execution of their warrant until the next morning, the 30th April 1763; when he was carried before the Secretaries of State for examination, and by them committed to the Tower. [Ed.] 2 Afterwards created lord Camelford. [Or.] which you liked, at sir Charles Cotterel's at Rousham? But a fine green-house must be on a more exalted plan. In short, you must be more particular, before I can be at all so. I called at Hammersmith yesterday about lady Ailesbury's tubs; one of them is nearly finished, but they will not both be completed these ten days. Shall they be sent to you by water? Good-night to her ladyship and you, and the infanta,3 whose progress in waxen statuary I hope advances so fast, that by next winter she may rival Rackstrow's old man. Do you know that, though apprised of what I was going to see, it deceived me, and made such an impression on my mind, that thinking on it as I came home in my chariot, and seeing a woman steadfastly at work in a window in Pall-mall, it made me start to see her move. Adieu ! Yours ever. Arlington-street, Monday night. The mighty commitment set out with a blunder; the warrant directed the printer, and all concerned (unnamed) to be taken up. Consequently Wilkes had his habeas corpus of course, and was committed again; moved for another in the Commonpleas, and is to appear there to-morrow morning. Lord Temple being, by another strain of power, refused admittance to him, said, "I thought this was the Tower, but find it is the Bastille." They found among Wilkes's papers an unpublished North Briton, designed for last Saturday. It contained advice to the king not to go to St. Paul's on the thanksgiving, but to have a snug one in his own chapel; and to let George Sackville carry the sword. There was a dialogue in it, too, between Fox and Calcraft the former says to the latter, "I did not think you would have served me so, Jemmy Twitcher." TO THE HON. H. S. CONWAY. Arlington-street, May 6, very late, 1763. THE Complexion of the times is a little altered since the beginning of this last winter. Prerogative, that gave itself such airs in November, and would speak to nothing but a Tory, has 3 Anne Seymour Conway. [Or.] had a rap this morning that will do it some good, unless it is weak enough to do itself more harm. The judges of the Commonpleas have unanimously dismissed Wilkes from his imprisonment, as a breach of privilege; his offence not being a breach of the peace, only tending to it. The people are in transports; and it will require all the vanity and confidence of those able ministers lord S*** and Mr. C*** to keep up the spirits of the court. I must change this tone, to tell you of the most dismal calamity that ever happened. Lady Molesworth's house, in Upper Brook-street, was burned to the ground between four and five this morning. She herself, two of her daughters, her brother," and six servants, perished. Two other of the young ladies jumped out of the two pair of stairs and garret windows: one broke her thigh, the other (the eldest of all) broke her's, too, and has had it cut off. The fifth daughter is much burnt. The French governess leaped from the garret, and was dashed to pieces. Dr. Molesworth and his wife, who were there on a visit, escaped; the wife by jumping from the two pair of stairs, and saving herself by a rail; he by hanging by his hands, till a second ladder was brought, after a first had proved too short. Nobody knows how or where the fire began; the catastrophe is shocking beyond what one ever heard: and poor lady Molesworth, whose character and conduct were the most amiable in the world, is universally lamented. Your good hearts will feel this in the most lively manner.3 1 Wilkes was discharged on the 6th of May, by the lord chief justice Pratt, who decided, that he was entitled to plead his privilege as a member of parliament; the crime of which he was accused, namely, a libel, being in the eyes of the law only a high misdemeanor, whereas the only three cases which could affect the privilege of a member of parliament, were treason, felony, and the peace: the last signifying, as his lordship explained, a breach of the peace. [Ed.] Captain Usher.-Lady Molesworth was daughter of the rev. W. Usher, archdeacon of Clonfert, and the second wife of Richard third viscount Molesworth, who was aide-de-camp to the duke of Marlborough at the battle of Ramilies, and had the honour of saving his grace's life in that engagement. He afterwards obtained the rank of lieutenant-general in the army, and filled the high offices of master-general of the ordnance, and commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces in Ireland. [Ed.] 3 The king, upon hearing of this calamity, immediately sent the young ladies a handsome present, ordered a house to be taken and furnished for VOL. II. I go early to Strawberry to-morrow, giving up the new opera, madame de Boufflers, and Mr. Wilkes, and all the present topics. Wilkes, whose case has taken its place by the side of the seven bishops, calls himself the eighth-not quite improperly, when one remembers that sir Jonathan Trelawney, who swore like a trooper, was one of those confessors. There is a good letter in the Gazetteer on the other side, pretending to be written by lord Temple, and advising Wilkes to cut his throat, like lord E***, as it would be of infinite service to their cause. There are published, too, three volumes of lady Mary Wortley's letters, which I believe are genuine, and are not unentertaining.-But have you read Tom Hervey's 5 letter to the late king? That beats every thing for madness, horrid indecency, and folly, and yet has some charming and striking passages. I have advised Mrs. H*** to inform against Jack, as writing in the North Briton; he will then be shut up in the Tower, and may be shown for old Nero. Adieu! Yours ever. DEAR SIR, TO THE REY. MR. COLE. Strawberry-hill, May 16, 1763. I promised you should hear from me if I did not go abroad, and I flatter myself that you will not be sorry to know that I am much better in health than I was at the beginning of the winter. My journey is quite laid aside, at least for this year; though as lord Hertford goes ambassador to Paris, I propose to make him a visit there next spring. them at his expense, and not only continued the pension settled on the mother, but ordered it to be increased £200 per annum. [Ed.] 4 This was a surreptitious edition.-Her ladyship's works, including her Correspondence, Poems, and Essays, were published in 1803, from papers in the possession of John first marquis of Bute, under the editorship of Mr. Dallaway. [Ed.] 5 "A Letter from the right hon. Thomas Hervey to the late King." The author was son of John first earl of Bristol, and uncle of George William the second earl. [Ed.] • An old lion there, so called. [Or.] |