doubt she does not think that it has left a stick of the wood !-no offence to Mrs. Anne, who, I allow, has great parts, and not less ambition: but Fortune did not treat her as a twin.

Tuesday morning.

Last night the House of Commons voted a funeral and monument to Lord Chatham at the public expense, and the members are to walk at the burial.

LETTER CCLXXXV.

Strawberry Hill, May 31, 1778.

I AM forced to look at the dates I keep of my letters, to see what events I have or have not told you; for at this crisis something happens every day; though nothing very striking since the death of Lord Chatham, with which I closed my last. No?-yes, but there has, All England, which had abandoned him, found out, the moment his eyes were closed, that nothing but Lord Chatham could have preserved them. How lucky for him that the experiment cannot be made! Grief is fond, and grief is generous. The Parliament will bury him; the City begs the honour of being his grave; and the important question is not yet decided, whether he is to lie at Westminster or in St. Paul's; on which it was well said, that it would be robbing Peter to pay Paul.* An annuity of four thousand pounds is settled on the title of Chatham, and twenty thousand pounds allotted to pay his debts. The Opposition and the Administration disputed zeal; and neither care a straw about him. He is already as much forgotten as John of Gaunt.

General Burgoyne has succeeded and been the topic, and for two days engrossed the attention of the House of Commons; and probably will be heard of no more. He was even forgotten for three hours while he was on the tapis, by a violent quarrel between Temple Luttrell, a brother of the Duchess of Cumberland, and Lord George Germain;t but the public has taken affection for neither them nor the Ge

Chatham, describes him as "a great and celebrated name; a name that keeps the name of his country respected in every part of the globe; it may be truly called Clarum et venerabile nomen

Gentibus, et multum nostræ quod proderat urbi."—Ed.

*The House had voted, that the remains of Lord Chatham should be interred in the collegiate church of St. Peter's, Westminster; upon which, the Common Council petitioned that they might be deposited in St. Paul's as a mark of their gratitude and veneration.-ED.

† On General Burgoyne's return to England, on his parole, in May, the King refused to see him, and he in vain solicited a court-martial. Under these circumstances, he threw himself upon Parliament, and a motion was made in the House of Commons, on the 26th, for an inquiry into the Convention at Saratoga; which was got rid of by the previous question. Mr. Temple Luttrell, in the course of the de

neral; being much more disposed at present to hate than to loveexcept the dead. It will be well if the ill-humour, which increases, does not break out into overt acts.

I know not what to say of war. The Toulon squadron was certainly blown back. That of Brest is supposed to be destined to invade some part of this country or Ireland; or rather, it is probable, will attempt our fleet. In my opinion, there is no great alacrity in FranceI mean, in the Court of France-for war; and, as we have had time for great preparations, their eagerness will not increase. We shall suffer as much as they can desire by the loss of America, without their risk, and in a few years shall be able to give them no umbrage; especially as our frenzy is still so strong, that, if France left us at quiet, I am persuaded we should totally exhaust ourselves in pursuing the vision of reconquest. Spain continues to disclaim hostility, as you told me. If the report is true of revolts in Mexico, they would be as good as a bond under his Catholic Majesty's hand.

you

We shall at least not doze, as we are used to do, in summer. The Parliament is to have only short adjournments; and our senators, instead of retiring to horse-races (their plough,) are all turned soldiers, and disciplining militia. Camps every where, and the ladies in the uniform of their husbands! In short, if the dose is not too strong, a little adversity would not be quite unseasonable.-A little! you will cry; why what do you call the loss of America? Oh! my dear sir, do think a capital as enormous as London has its nerves affected by what happens beyond the Atlantic? What has become of all your reading? There is nothing so unnatural as the feelings of a million of persons who live together in one city. They have not one conception like those in villages and in the country. They presume or despond from quite different motives. They have both more sense and less, than those who are not in contact with a multitude. Wisdom forms empires, but folly dissolves them; and a great capital, which dictates to the rest of the community, is always the last to perceive the decays of the whole, because it takes its own greatness for health.* Lord Holdernesset is dead; not quite so considerable a personage as he once expected to be, though Nature never intended him for any thing that he was. The Chancellor, another child of Fortune, quits the Seals; and they are, or are to be, given to the Attorney-General, Thurlow, whom no body will reproach with want of abilities.

bate, having made a personal attack on Lord George Germain, who replied, that "old as he was, he would meet that fighting gentleman and be revenged," the House interfered; and Mr. Luttrell was about to be taken into the custody of the Sergeant-at-arms, when the affair was got rid of by both parties making an apology to the House, and engaging that the dispute should go no farther.-ED.

* When Constantinople was taken by Mahomet II., the whole empire of the East had been long reduced to the capital itself.

Robert Darcy, last Earl of Holdernesse, had been Ambassador, Secretary of State, and Governor to George Prince of Wales. [Afterwards George IV.] Lord Bathurst resigned his high office in the following month, and in Novem ber 1779 was appointed President of the Council. He died in 1794.-ED.

As the Parliament will rise on Tuesday, you will not expect my letters so frequently as of late, especially if hostilities do not commence. In fact, our newspapers tell you every thing faster than I can: still I write, because you have more faith in my intelligence; yet all its merit consists in my not telling you fables. I hear no more than every body does, but I send you only what is sterling; or, at least, give you reports for no more than they are worth. I believe Sir John Dick is much more punctual, and hears more; but, till you displace me, I shall execute my office of being your gazetteer.

LETTER CCLXXXVI.

Strawberry Hill, June 16, 1778.

As I have just received yours of May 30th, I will begin to answer it, though I wrote to you on the first of this month, and think I shall not have enough additional to fill a whole letter yet.

The public imagined there would have been some changes on the rising of the Parliament; but they began and ended in the Law, and with bestowing the three vacant Garters. The Toulon squadron is certainly gone to America; if to Boston, it is possible with the immediate view only of getting sailors and two ships that are building there for France. If they can resist the temptation of burning Halifax, attacking Lord Howe, or the West Indies, they are as great philosophers as Sir William Howe, who has twice gazed at General Washington. The last account from that quarter had a little spirit in it; they have burnt above forty American sloops and fry in the Delaware. For these last days there have been rumours of disposition in the Americans to treat; but they do not gain much credit. Admiral Byron is sailed to America, and Admiral Keppel is at sea. At home we are spread with camps. This is all that amounts to facts, or to the eggs of facts. Sir William Howe is expooted in a week or ten days As the Parliament is not sitting, that topic may be suspended. Next we are to await the news of the reception of the Commissioners ;† perhaps,

The rumour of changes in the Administration is thus adverted to in a letter from James Hare, Esq., to George Selwyn, of the 27th of June: "A great part of the Opposition have certainly had offers of coming in, but not on terms that they like. Charles [Fox] eats and drinks and talks, and, though he never loses sight of the Treasury, confesses it is rather a distant prospect at present. I do think it does him, or ought to do him, great credit, that under all his distresses he never thinks of accepting place on terms that are in the least degree disreputable; and I assure you, upon my honour, that he has had very flattering offers made him more than once of late, and has never for a moment hesitated about rejecting them." Selwyn Correspondence, vol. iii. p. 292.-Ed.

The following interesting account of the treatment of the Commissioners by Congress, on their arrival at Philadelphia, is contained in a letter from the Earl of Carlisle to George Selwyn, dated Wednesday, June 10th: "We arrived at this place after a voyage of six weeks, on Saturday last, and found every thing here in great confusion; the army upon the point of leaving the town, and about three thou

their return. It would be easy to dilate reflections on all this suspense; but I do not write to display my sagacity, but to inform you.

The meteor of the reading world is dead, Voltaire.* That throne is quite vacant. We shall see whether his old friend of Prussiat maintains that of war, or cedes it to a young Cæsar. He seems to me to be aiming at a more artful crown-that of policy; and, in all probability, will attain it; at least, I am not much prejudiced yet in favour of his competitor. It is from beyond the Atlantic that the world, perhaps, will see a genius revive. They seem to set out with a politeness with which few empires have commenced. We have not shown ourselves quite so civilized. We hectored and called names, talked fire and sword, but have made more use of the first than of the second. Our Generals beg to be tried, and our Ministers not to be tried. This does not sound well when translated into other languages. For my part, who hold that Chance has much more to do in the affairs of the world than Wisdom, I wait to see what the first will ordain. This belief is a sovereign preservative against despondency. There have been very gloomy moments in my life; but experience has shown me, either that events do not correspond to appearances, or that I have very little shrewdness; and, therefore, I can resign the honour of my penetration with satisfaction, when my foresight augurs ill. If Lord Chatham knew that he should conquer the world, or Dr. Franklin that he should reduce us lower than Lord Chatham found us, I should respect their penetration indeed! But, without detracting from their spirit or abilities, I do not believe the first expected half the success he met with, or the latter half the incapacity that has been exerted against, and, consequently for him.

sand of the miserable inhabitants embarked on board our ships to convey them from a place where they conceive they would receive no mercy from those who will take possession after us, to follow the army, and starve when we can no longer continue to feed them. Our letters are sent to Congress this morning. We have thought fit to bring forward at once all the powers delegated to ns.—I am lodged in one of the best houses in the town; and, indeed, it is a very excellent one, perfectly well furnished. I am not, I own, quite at my ease; for coming into a gentleman's house without asking his leave, taking possession of all the best apartments, and placing a couple of sentries at the door, using his plate, &c. &c. are very repugnant to my disposition. I make him and his wife a visit every day; talk politics with them; and we are the best friends in the world. They are very agreeable, sensible people, and you never would be out of their company.-I have this morning, at five o'clock, been taking a ride into the country, about ten miles; grieved am I to say, eight miles beyond our possessions. Our lines extend only two, and the provincial army is posted very strongly about six and twenty miles distant. We have had no answer from the Congress. They may send us one to New York; for which place we must instantly embark. Things go ill, and will not go better. We have done our duty; so we ought not to be involved with those who have lost this country." Selwyn Correspondence, vol. iii. p. 283.-ED.

*In consequence of the refusal of the Archbishop of Paris to allow Voltaire Christian sepulture, his body, after being embalmed, was interred in the Benedictine Abbey of Scellières, in the diocess of Troyes; whence it was brought in 1791, by a decree of the National Assembly, and interred at St. Généviève.-ED.

+ Frederick III.

The Emperor Joseph II.

LETTER CCLXXXVII.

Strawberry Hill, July 7, 1778. You tell me in yours of the 23rd of last month, which I received to-day, that my letters are necessary to your tranquillity. That is sufficient to make me write, though I have nothing very positive to tell you. I did not mention Admiral Keppel's skirmish with and capture of two frigates of the Brest squadron ;* not because I thought it trifling, but concluding it would produce immediate declaration of war; and, for the fact itself, I knew both our papers and the French would anticipate me. Indeed, Sir John Dick has talked to me so much of his frequency and punctuality with you, that I might have concluded he would not neglect so public an event; not that I trust to any body else for sending you intelligence.

No Declaration has followed on either side. I, who know nothing but what every body knows, am disposed to hope that both nations are grown rational; that is humane enough to dislike carnage. Both Kings are pacific by nature, and the voice of Europe now prefers legislators to heroes, which is but a name for destroyers of their species.

It is true, we are threatened with invasion. You ask me why I seem to apprehend less than formerly? For many reasons. In the first place, I am above thirty years older. Can one fear any thing in the dregs of life as at the beginning? Experience, too, has taught me that nothing happens in proportion to our conceptions. I have learnt, too, exceedingly to undervalue human policy. Chance and folly counteract most of its wisdom. From the Mémoires de Noailles I have learnt, that, between the years 1740 and 1750, when I,— ay, and my Lord Chesterfield too,-had such gloomy thoughts, France was trembling with dread of us. These are general reasons. My particular ones are, that, if France meditated a considerable blow, she has neglected her opportunity. Last year, we had neither army nor a manned fleet at home. Now, we have a larger and better army than ever we had in the island, and a strong fleet. Within these three days, our West-India and Mediterranean fleets, for which we have been in great pain, are arrived, and bring not only above two millions, but such a host of sailors as will supply the deficiencies in our unequipped men-of-war. The country is covered with camps; General Conway, who has been to one of them, speaks with astonishment of the fineness of the men, of the regiments, of their discipline and manoeuvring. In short, the French Court has taught all our young nobility to be soldiers. The Duke of Grafton, who was the most in

*La Licorne and La Belle Poule. From papers taken on board these frigates, Admiral Keppel found to his astonishment, that the French had thirty-two sail of the line, besides ten or twelve frigates, in Brest Roads. He also found written orders, "not to molest that useful navigator, Captain Cook, on any account whatever."-ED.