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arrived. Her nephew, Mr. Thomas Pitt, I believe, you will see ere long. A weakness is fallen on his knees, and made him a cripple. He is, I think, set out for Italy, like Æneas, with his Creusa, her father of eighty-seven, and two sucking babes. Let me give you a caution he and I have never been on more than civil terms since Mr. Grenville's reign. He now swears by the ghost of his uncle Chatham, whom in those days he detested.

I saw Mr. Mackenzie last week, who spoke of you with the heartiest kindness; and so does Lady Bett.† Lady Chesterfield is dead, at above fourscore. She was not a girl when she came over with George I.

What can I tell you more? My politics, beyond facts, would be but the conjectures of a private dreamer. Yet I am ashamed to send such a sippet of a letter; especially when you are impatient for mine, and reckon on and depend upon them. But you would not trust to them, if I were not cautious not to send you any thing but truths; no easy task, if I were not brief. Ten thousand lies are propagated every week, not only by both sides, but by stock-jobbers; for those grave folks, moneyed citizens, contribute exceedingly to embroil and confound history, which was not very authentic before they were spawned. Newspapers, that ought to facilitate intelligence, are the vehicles of lies, and blunders, and scandal; and Truth, which formerly could trudge ten miles on foot, cannot now get along the road for the crowds of counterfeits. An historian, who shall consult the gazettes of the times, will write as fabulous a romance as Gargan

tua.

You will wish to know something of Spain's intentions. I am sure I cannot satisfy you. She has a fleet, and she arms; but her Ambassador is here-if to blind us, his purpose is not quite answered, for many have no faith in him. On the other hand, though at war with France, neither country takes notice of it. The English pass through Calais as quietly as just after a peace.

The Spanish Ambassador, whose size makes him look as if he represented the King of Lilliput, diverts the town with his gallantries, which are not at all in the style of the novels of his country, nor consist in mere serenades. He made a visit lately to a house of ill odour, and, though they say his wife is jealous, he left his two footmen at the door with flambeaux. His generosity, too, was not of a piece with the masters of Peru. He gave the nymph but half guinea, and a shilling to the maid. As a pigmy does not pay with his person, the damsels made much noise against the receipt of silver pennies, which might be in proportion to his stature, but not to his character.

* Mr. Thomas Pitt, in 1783 created Lord Camelford, married, in 1771, the daugh ter and co-heir of Pinkney Wilkinson, Esq., of Burnham in Norfolk; by whom he had one son, Thomas, his successor, who was killed in a duel in 1804, and one daughter, who, in 1792, was married to William, Lord Grenville.-ED. Lady Elizabeth Campbell, third daughter of John Duke of Argyll. Count Almodovar.

To stifle their clamours, he declared he was the Venetian Resident; and now he has a quarrel on his hands with that Minister for the double scandal,

LETTER CCXCI.

Strawberry Hill, Oct. 8, 1778.

As you are so earnest for news, I am concerned when I have not a paragraph to send you. It looks as if distance augmented your apprehensions; for, I assure you, at home we have lost almost all curiosity. Though the two fleets have been so long at sea, and though, before their last sortie, one heard nothing but What news of the fleets? of late there has been scarcely any inquiry ;-and so, the French one is returned to Brest, and ours is coming home.* Admiral Keppel is very unlucky in having missed them, for they had not above twentyfive ships. Letters from Paris say that their camps, too, are to break up at the end of this month: but we do not intend to be the dupes of that finesse, if it is one, but shall remain on our guard. One must hope that winter will produce some negotiation; and that peace. Indeed, as war is not declared, I conclude there is always some treating on the anvil; and should it end well, at least this age will have made a step towards humanity in omitting the ceremonial of proclamation, which seems to make it easier to cease being at war. But I am rather making out a proxy for a letter than sending you news. But, you see, even armies of hundred thousands in Germany can exccute as little as we; and you must remember what the grand Condé, or the great Prince of Orange,-I forget which,-said, that unmarried girls imagine husbands are always on duty, unmilitary men that soldiers are always fighting. One of the Duke of Marlborough's generals dining with the Lord Mayor, an alderman who sat next to him said, "Šir, yours must be a very laborious profession."-"No," replied the general, "we fight about four hours in the morning, and two or three after dinner, and then we have all the rest of the day to ourselves."

The King has been visiting camps, and so has Sir William Howe, who, one should think, had had enough of them; and who, one should think too, had not achieved such exploits as should make him fond of parading himself about, or expect many hosannahs. To have taken one town, and retreated from two, is not very glorious in military arithmetic; and to have marched twice to Washington, and returned without attacking him, is no addition to the sum total.

Did I tell you that Mrs. Anne Pitt is returned, and acts great grief for her brother? I suppose she was the dupe of the farce acted by

*After a fruitless search of two months for the enemy, Admiral Keppel returned with his fleet, on the 26th of October, to Portsmouth.-ED.

the two Houses and the Court, and had not heard that none of them carried on the pantomime even to his burial. Her nephew* gave a little into that mummery even to me; forgetting how much I must remember of his avertion to his uncle. Lord Chatham was a meteor, and a glorious one; people discovered that he was not a genuine luminary, and yet every body in mimickry has been an ignis fatuus about him. Why not allow his magnificent enterprises and good-fortune, and confess his defects: instead of being bombast in his praises, and at the same time discover that the amplification is insincere? A Minister who inspires great actions must be a great Minister; and Lord Chatham will always appear so,-by comparison with his predecessors and successors. He retrieved our affairs when ruined by a most incapable Administration; and we are fallen into a worse state since he was removed. Therefore, I doubt posterity will allow more to his merit, than it is the present fashion to accord to it. Our historians have of late been fond of decrying Queen Elizabeth, in order if possible to raise the Stuarts: but great actions surmount foibles; and folly and guilt, would always remain folly and guilt though there had never been a great man or woman in the world. Our modern tragedies, hundreds of them, do not contain a good line; nor are they a jot the better, because Shakspeare, who was superior to all mankind, wrote some whole plays that are as bad as any of our present writers.

I shall be very glad to see your nephew, and talk of you with him; which will be more satisfactory than questioning accidental travellers.

LETTER CCXCII.

Arlington Street Oct. 30, 1778. PRAY allow that I am a miracle of attention, when I have the courage to begin a letter that is, I know, to contain little or nothing, and which is the quintessence of two very long gazettes. We had been amused with a notion that Lord Howe was blocking up M. D'Estaing in Boston, and would certainly take him and his whole fleet. Lest we should build too much on that idea, Lord Howe himself arrived on Monday, having taken nothing but his leave. Being modest he owns that he had no mind to encounter the French squadron. A violent storm solved his difficulties, and dispersed both fleets. The Americans, deprived of thier allies, quitted Rhode Island: and then Sir Harry Clinton raised a contribution of ten thousand sheep and some oxen, which intimates a little want of provisions. However, these escapes have raised our spirits so much that we are going to send twelve thousand men more to America-where they may banquet on mutton. Still, as it is good to have two strings to our

* Mr, Thomas Pitt.

bow, the Governor Johnstone is returned the two other commissioners remain to make peace,† to which we are told the Americans are disposed; a proof of which is our sending another army thither.

* Governor Johnstone had been charged by the Congress with an attempt to corrupt and bribe General Reed with the sum of ten thousand pounds and a public situation in the colonies; to which offer the General is said to have answered, "that he was not worth purchasing, but, such as he was, the King of Great Britian was not rich enough to do it.". In consequence of this, the Congress interdicted all intercourse and correspondence with the Commissioners while Governor Johnstone continued one of them. He therefore resigned, and returned to England. In a letter to George Selwyn, of the 6th of November, Mr. Charles Townshend says, "Governor Johnstone is as mad as a bull. He foams at the mouth, and swears that he will impeach Lord Howe and Sir William for not reducing America. Wedderburn says he talks in a very manly style; and he is much caressed by Ministers, whom he has abused in so coarse a style to the Americans you may be sure he caresses them in his turn. He puts me in mind of a character of King James I., given by an old Scotch Lord at his accession: Ken you an ape! If I'se hold him he will bite you; if you hold him, he will bite me.'"-Selwyn Correspondence, vol. iii. p. 347.-ED.

On the 3rd of October, the Commissioners, preparatory to their quitting America for England, published a Manifesto. "Having amply and repeatedly," they said, "made known to the Congress, and having also proclaimed to the inhabitants of North America in general, the benevolent overtures of Great Britain towards a reunion and coalition with her colonies, we do not think it consistent either with the duty we owe to our country, or with a just regard to the characters we bear, to persist in holding out offers which, in our estimation, required only to be known to be most gratefully accepted: and we have accordingly, excepting only the Commander-inchief, who will be detained by military duties, resolved to return to England a few weeks after the date of this Manifesto and Proclamation." In enclosing a copy to George Selwyn, Lord Carlilse thus speaks of it, and of the country and people he was about to leave: "Tis a sort of last dying speech of the Commission; an effort from which I expect little success; an experiment and duty to our country and ourselves, from which, however, in our circumstances, I fear will originate little public advantage. Our weather is pleasant, and the appearance of the country about us infinitely more beautiful than in summer; for there are some trees, when touched by the night frosts, that have their leaves turned to a bright red, which has a very extraordinary effect among the different shades of green and yellow which predomi nate in autumn. Every thing is upon a great scale upon this continent. The rivers are immense; the climate violent in heat and cold; the prospects magnificent; the thunder and lightning tremendous. The disorders incident to the country make every constitution tremble. We have nothing on a great scale with us but our blunders, our misconduct, our ruin, our losses, our disgraces and misfortunes, that will mark the reign of a Prince who deserves better treatment and kinder fortunes. Whatever may be our reception at home, I think I have strength of mind enough to stem the torrent, let it set against me with all its fury. I have served my King with zeal and attachment for his government and person. If I had succeeded, my country would have reaped the benefit of my labours; as I have not, I only hope the approbation of the attempt will not be refused me."-Selwyn Correspondence, vol. iii. p. 339. As if this unfortunate Commission was to be distinguished from all others, Lord Carlisle, as chief Commissioner, received, a few days before his departure, a challenge to single combat, from the Marquis de La Fayette, for some harshness of reflection upon the conduct of the French court and nation, which had ap peared in one of the public instruments issued by the Commissioners in their political capacity. The proposal, which could only be excused by national levity or the heat of youth, was calmly replied to by the noble Lord: "I confess," he said, "I find it difficult, to return a serious answer. I am solely responsible to my country and King,

Admiral Keppel is returned to Portsmouth, and the Brest squadron is again at sea; taking it by turns to take an airing.

One advantage we certainly have, having taken to the value of two millions in prizes; on the strength of which we shall fling away about double that sum. But we never proposed to be gainers by the war: we had nothing to do, and so we played against ourselves.

The Duke of Queensberry is dead, at fourscore; and leaves a great estate to Lord March, the new Duke. There is a much more melancholy loss, the death of Lord Lincoln. He was sent abroad at the last gasp, and died two posts from Calais. You know he married one of my cousins, a daughter of Lord Hertford. She is a pretty, sensible, amiable young woman, and passionately fond of him. She returned last night with the body.

I came to town on Monday for a day or two, and have been caught by the gout in my foot; but it is very slight, and with very little pain, so that I hope it will be of short duration. It is amazing what the bootikins have done for me by diminishing the mass of the gout. I have had no fit for nearly two years, and the three last were very inconsiderable. As I have worn the bootikins constantly every night ever since my great fit, it is demonstration how serviceable they are to me at least.

Mrs. Anne Pitt, I hear, is in a very wild way, and they think must be confined. She is not the only one I know that ought to be, but I hold my peace. Indeed in this country it would be partiality to shut up only one or two here and there.

. I make no excuse for being so short. I am tired of lamenting; and still live, I doubt, to see the completion of all the ruin I have foreseen, and then one has lived too long!

LETTER CCXCIII.

Arlington Street, Nov. 16, 1778.

I THINK I luckily wrote to you just as I was seized with the gout, and told you so. I am sure I have not been able to write since, for I am confined to my bed; and have been above this fortnight with the gout in every hand, elbow, knee, and foot belonging to me, and not one of the eight is yet recovered. This is so terrible a state to suffer, and so tiresome to hear from any body else, that I shall say as little upon it as possible. There is no danger in it: in every other light it is deplorable.

and not to any individual, for my public conduct and language. The injury alluded to is not of a private nature; and I conceive all national disputes will be best decided by the meeting of Admiral Byron and Count d'Estaing."-ED.

* Lord Lincoln was the eldest son of Henry, first Duke of Newcastle. He married, in 1775, Lady Frances Seymour, daughter of the Earl of Hertford.-ED.

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