still hopes; greater, from the goodness your Ladyship had in writing before. Don't wonder, Madam, at my eagerness: besides a good quantity of natural impatience, I am now interested as an editor and printer. Think what pride it would give me to print original letters of Ninon at Strawberry Hill! If your Ladyship knows any farther means of serving me, of serving yourself, good Mr. Welldone, as the widow Lackit says in Oroonoko, I need not doubt your employing them. Your Ladyship and I are of a religion, with regard to certain saints, that inspires more zeal than such trifling temptations as persecutions and faggots infuse into bigots of other sects. I think a cause like ours might communicate ardour even to my Lady Stafford. If she will assist in recovering Notre Dame des Amours, I will add St. Raoul' to my calendar. I am hers and your Ladyship's most obedient and faithful humble servant. 526. TO SIR HORACE MANN. Strawberry Hill, Sept. 29, 1757. 2 FOR how many years have I been telling you that your country was mad, that your country was undone? It does not grow wiser; it does not grow more prosperous! You can scarce have recovered your astonishment at the suspension of arms concluded near Stade. How do you behave on these lamentable occasions? Oh! believe me, it is comfortable to have an island to hide one's head in! You will be more surprised when you hear that it is totally disavowed here. The clamour is going to be extreme-no wonder, when Kensington is the head-quarters of murmur. The Commanderin-Chief is recalled-the late Elector is outrageous. On such an occasion you may imagine that every old store of malice and hatred. is ransacked but you would not think that the general is now accused of cowardice! As improbable as that is, I do not know whether it may not grow your duty as a minister to believe it-and if it does, you must be sure not to believe, that with all this tempest the suspension was dictated from hence. Be that as it may, the A favourite cat of Lady Stafford's.-WALPOLE. 2 Known by the appellation of the Convention of Closter Severn, concluded by the, Duke of Cumberland with Marshal Richelieu; by which he agreed for himself and army not to serve again against the French during the war.-DOVER. 3 George II.; he had ordered his son to make the capitulation, and then disavowed him.-WALPOLE. extreme with general is to be the sacrifice. The difficulty will be regard to the Hessians, for they are in English pay. The King of Prussia will be another victim: he says we have undone him, without mending our own situation. He expected to beat the Prince de Soubize by surprise, but he, like the Austrians, declined a battle, and now will be reinforced by Richelieu's army, who is doomed to be a hero by our absurdities. Austrians, French, Russians, Swedes, can the King of Prussia not sink under all these? This suspension has made our secret expedition forgot by all but us who feel for particulars. It is the fashion now to believe that it is not against the coast of France; I wish I could believe so! As if all these disgraces were foreign objects not worth attending to, we have a civil war at home; literally so in many counties. The wise Lords, to defeat it, have made the Militia-bill so preposterous that it has raised a rebellion. George Townshend, the promoter of it for popularity, sees it not only most unpopular in his own county, but his father, my Lord Townshend, who is not the least mad of your countrymen, attended by a parson, a barber, and his own servants, and in his own long hair, which he has let grow, raised a mob against the execution of the bill, and has written a paper against it, which he has pasted up on the door of four churches near him. It is a good name that a Dr. Stevens has given to our present situation, (for one cannot call it a Government,) a Mobocracy. I come to your letters, which are much more agreeable subjects. I think I must not wish you joy of the termination of the Lorrain reign, you have lately taken to them, but I congratulate the Tuscans. Thank you extremely for the trouble you have given yourself in translating my inscription, and for the Pope's letter: I am charmed with his beautiful humility, and his delightful way of expressing it. For his ignorance about my father, I impute it to some failure of his memory. I should like to tell him that were my father still Minister, I trust we should not make the figure we do at least he and England fell together! If it is ignorance, Mr. Chute says it is a confirmation of the Pope's deserving the inscription, as he troubles his head so little about disturbing the peace of others. But our enemies need not disturb us-we do their business ourselves. I have one, and that not a little comfort, in my politics; this suspension will at least prevent further hostilities between us and the Empress-Queen, and that secures my dear you. When I have done thinking of politics, and that is always in an instant, unless such as you and Mr. Conway are involved in them, I am far from passing my time disagreeably. My mind is of no gloomy turn, and I have a thousand ways of amusing myself. Indeed of late I have been terribly frightened lest I must give them all up; my fears have gone to extravagance; do not wonder; my life is not quite irrational, and I tremble to think that I was growing fit only to consort with dowagers. What an exchange, books and drawings, and everything of that sort, for cards! In short, for ten weeks I have had such pains in my eyes with the least application, that I thought I should lose them, at least, that they would be useless. I was told that with reading and writing at night I had strained and relaxed the nerves. However, I am convinced that though this is partly the case, the immediate uneasiness came from a cold, which I caught in the hot weather by giving myself Florentine airs, by lying with my windows open, and by lying on the ground without my waistcoat. After trying forty you should do this's,' Mr. Chute has cured me with a very simple medicine; I will tell it you, that you may talk to Dr. Cocchi and about my eyes too. It is to bathe and rub the outsides all round, especially on the temples, with half a teaspoonful of white spirit of lavender (not lavender-water) and half of Hungary-water. I do this night and morning, and sometimes in the day in ten days it has taken off all the uneasiness; I can now read in a chaise, which I had totally lost, and for five or six hours by candle-light, without spectacles or candle-skreen. In short, the difference is incredible. Observe that they watered but little, and were less inflamed; only a few veins appeared red, whereas my eyes were remarkably clear. I do not know whether this would do with any humour, but that I never had. It is certain that a young man who for above twelve years had studied the law by being read to, from vast relaxation of the nerves, totally recovered the use of his eyes. I should think I tired you with this detail, if I was not sure that you cannot be tired with learning anything for the good of others. As the medicine is so hot, it must not be let into the eye, nor I should think be continued too long. I approve much your letter to Mr. Fox; I will give it to him at his return, but at present he is on a tour. How scrupulous you are in giving yourself the trouble to send me a copy-was that needful? or are not you always full of attentions that speak kindness? Your 1 Sic, in MS.-DOVER. brother will take care to procure the vases when they come, and is inquiring for the liqueurs. I am putting up a stone in St. Ann's churchyard [Soho] for your old friend King Theodore: in short, his history is too remarkable to be let perish. Mr. Bentley says that I am not only an antiquarian, but prepare materials for future antiquarians. You will laugh to hear that when I sent the inscription to the vestry for the approbation of the minister and churchwardens, they demurred, and took some days to consider whether they should suffer him to be called King of Corsica. Happily they have acknowledged his title! Here is the inscription; over it is a crown exactly copied from his coin: Near this place is interred Who died in this parish Dec. 11, 1756, For the use of his Creditors. The Grave, great teacher, to a level brings Bestow'd a kingdom and denied him bread. I think that at least it cannot be said of me, as it was of the Duke of Buckingham' entombing Dryden, "And help'd to bury whom he help'd to starve." I would have served him, if a King, even in a gaol, could he have been an honest man. Our papers say, that we are bustling about Corsica; I wish if we throw away our own liberty, that we may at least help others to theirs! Adieu! my dear Sir. MY DEAREST HARRY: 527. TO THE HON. H. S. CONWAY. Arlington Street, Saturday, Oct 8, 1757. BUT one person in the world may pretend to be so much over 1 This is a mistake, and of a kind not common with Walpole, in any matter relating to Pope, whose works he had evidently by heart. Pope's accusation is not against Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, but against Montagu, Earl of Halifax.-CUNNINGHAM. your joyed as I am at return.' I came hither to-day on purpose to learn about you; but how can you ask me such a question, as do I think you are come too safe? Is this a time of day to question your spirit? I know but two things on earth I esteem more, your goodness and your sense. You cannot come into dispute; but by what I have picked up at my Lady Townshend's, I find there is a scheme of distinguishing between the land and the sea. The King has been told, that Sir Edward Hawke had written, that, after waiting two days, he asked the officers how long it would be before they took a resolution; that if they would not attack, he should carry the fleet home. I should not entirely credit this report, if Mr. Keith, who was present, had not dropped, in a dry way, that some distinction would be shown to Captain Howe and Captain Greaves. What confirms my opinion is, that I have never received the letter you say you sent me by the last express. I suppose it is detained, till proper emissaries have made proper impressions; but we will not let it pass so. If you had not bid me, I should not have given you this intelligence, for your character is too sacred to be trifled with; and as you are invulnerable by any slanders, it is proper you should know immediately even what may be meditated. The Duke [of Cumberland] is expected every hour. As he must not defend himself, his case will be harder than yours. I was to go to Bath on Monday, but will certainly not go without seeing you let me know your motions, and I will meet you anywhere. As I know your scrupulousness about saying anything I say to you privately, I think it necessary to tell you, that I don't mean to preclude you from communicating any part of this letter to those with whom it may be proper for you to consult; only don't let more weight be given to my intelligence than it deserves. I have told you exactly where and what I heard. It may not prove so, but there is no harm in being prepared. 1 From the expedition to Rochfort. The expedition, under Sir Edward Hawke, sailed early in September, and on the 28th, attacked the Isle of Aix; after which, it returned to Spithead, without attempting to land the troops.-WRIGHT. On the 22nd, Mr. Beckford writes to Mr. Pitt, "I hear that Admiral Hawke says, the land-general has acted in a very unbecoming manner, and will declare his sentiments to Parliament. I hope he will; that, if possible, the mystery may be unravelled. I have often lamented the fatality attending conjunct commands. The French avoid them in all their expeditions; for rank is perfectly settled amongst the land and sea officers, and the eldest commission carries the command." Chatham Correspondence, vol. i. p. 279.-WRIGHT. |