this evening to tell my Lady Hertford, that we ought to have believed the news, and to have imputed it to the gaming rakehelly life my lady leads at Paris, which scandalises all us prudes, her old friends. In truth, I have not much right to rail at anybody for living in a hurricane. I found myself with a violent cold on Wednesday, and till then had not once reflected on all the hot and cold climates I had passed through the day before: I had been at the Duke of Cumberland's levee: then at Princess Amalie's drawingroom; from thence to a crowded House of Commons; to dinner at your brother's; to the Opera; to Madame Seillern's; to Arthur's; and to supper at Mrs. George Pitt's; it is scandalous; but, who does less? The Duke looked much better than I expected; is gone to Windsor, and mends daily. It was Lady Harcourt's' death that occasioned the confusion, and our dismay. She died at a Colonel Oughton's; such a small house, that Lord Harcourt has been forced to take their family into his own house. Poor Lady Digby' is dead too, of a fever, and was with child. They were extremely happy, and her own family adored her. My sister [Lady Mary Churchill] has begged me to ask a favour, that will put you to a little trouble, though only for a moment. It is, if you will be so good to order one of your servants when you have done with the English newspapers, to put them in a cover, and send them to Mr. Churchill, au Château de Nubecourt, près de Clermont, en Argone; they cannot get a Gazette that does not cost them six livres. Monday evening. We have had a sort of day in the House of Commons. The proposition for accepting the six hundred and seventy thousand pounds for the French prisoners passed easily. Then came the Navy: Dowdeswell, in a long and very sensible speech, proposed to reduce the number of sailors to ten thousand. He was answered by-Charles Townshend-oh! yes!—are you surprised? nobody here was no, not even at his assertion, that he had always applauded the Peace, though the whole House and the whole town knew that, on the Preliminaries, he came down prepared to speak against them; but that on Pitt's retiring, he plucked up courage, and spoke for them. Well, you want to know what place 1 Rebecca, daughter of Charles Le Bas, Esq., wife of the first Earl of Harcourt.— CROKER. 2 Elizabeth Feilding, niece to the fourth Earl of Denbigh, and wife of Henry, first Lord Digby.-CROKER. he is to have-so does he too. I don't want to know what place, but that he has some one; for I am sure he will always do most hurt to the side on which he professes to be; consequently, I wish him with the administration, and I wish so well to both sides, that I would have him more decried, if that be possible, than he is. Colonel Barré spoke against Dowdeswell's proposal, though not setting himself up at auction, like Charles, nor friendly to the ministry, but temperately and sensibly. There was no division. You know my opinion of Charles Townshend is neither new nor singular. When Charles Yorke left us,' I hoped for this event, and my wish then slid into this couplet : TO THE ADMINISTRATION. One Charles, who ne'er was ours, you've got 'tis true: The favours I ask of them, are not difficult to grant. Adieu! my dear lord. Yours ever, H. W. Tuesday, 4 o'clock. I had sealed my letter and given it to my sister, who sets out to-morrow, and will put it into the post at Calais; but having received yours by the courier from Spain, I must add a few words. You may be sure I shall not mention a tittle of what you say to me. Indeed, if you think it necessary to explain to me, I shall be more cautious of telling you what I hear. If I had any curiosity, I should have nothing to do but to pretend I had heard some report, and so draw from you what you might not have a mind to mention : I do tell you when I hear any, for your information, but insist on your not replying. The vice-admiral of America is a mere feather; but there is more substance in the notion of the Viceroy's quitting Ireland. Lord Bute and George Grenville are so ill together, that decency is scarce observed between their adherents; and the moment the former has an opportunity or resolution enough, he will remove the latter, and place his son-in-law' in the Treasury. This goes so 1 It is remarkable enough, that the epigram which Mr. Walpole thus introduces, admits that Charles Yorke had never joined them, and therefore could not be said to have left them.-CROKER. 2 There is some obscurity here: Lord Warkworth (afterwards Duke of Northumberland), who had lately married Lord Bute's third daughter, was, at this period, a very young man, little known but for his attachment to his profession-the army, and the idea of his being placed at the head of the Treasury must have been absurd. His father, Lord Northumberland, indeed, had been spoken of for that office; and, far, that Charles Townshend, who is openly dedicated to Grenville, may possibly find himself disappointed, and get no place at last. However, I rejoice that we have got rid of him. It will tear up all connection between him and your brother, root and branch: a circumstance you will not be more sorry for than I am. In the mean time, the Opposition is so staunch that, I think, after the three questions on Warrants, Dismission of officers, and the Manillamoney, I shall be at liberty to come to you, when I shall have a great deal to tell you. If Charles Townshend gets a place, Lord George Sackville expects another, by the same channel, interest, and connection; but if Charles may be disappointed himself, what may a man be who trusts to him? Adieu! 964. TO THE EARL OF HERTFORD. Arlington Street, Jan. 27, 1765. THE brother of your brother's neighbour, Mr. Freeman, who is going to Paris, and I believe will not be sorry to be introduced to you, gives me an opportunity which I cannot resist, of sending you a private line or two, though I wrote you a long letter, which my sister was to put into the post at Calais two or three days ago. We had a very remarkable day on Wednesday in the House of Commons,-very glorious for us, and very mortifying to the Administration, especially to the principal performer, who was severely galled by our troops, and abandoned by his own. The business of the day was the Army, and, as nothing was expected, the House was not full. The very circumstance of nothing being expected, had encouraged Charles Townshend to soften a little what had passed on Monday; he grew profuse of his whispers and promises to us, and offered your brother to move the question on the Dismission of officers the debate began; Beckford fell foul on the dismissions, and dropped some words on America. Charles, who had placed himself again under the wing of Grenville, replied on American affairs; but totally forgot your brother. Beckford, in his boisterous Indian style, told Charles, that on a single idea he had poured forth a diarrhoea of words. He could not stand it, and in two minutes perhaps, Mr. Walpole, in his epigrammatic way, has taken this mode of explaining the motive which might have induced Lord Bute to advance his son-in-law's father.-CROKER. 2 fairly stole out of the House. This battery being dismounted, the whole attack fell on Grenville, and would have put you in mind of former days. You never heard any minister worse treated than he was for two hours together, by Tommy Townshend, Sir George Saville, and George Onslow,—and what was worse, no soul stepped forth in his defence, but Rigby and Lord Strange, the latter of whom was almost as much abashed as Charles Townshend; conscience flew in his black face, and almost turned it red. T. Townshend was still more bitter on Sandwich, whom he called a profligate fellow,-hoped he was present,' and added, if he is not, I am ready to call him so to his face in any private company :-even Rigby, his accomplice, said not a word in behalf of his brother culprit. You will wonder how all this ended-what would be the most ridiculous conclusion to such a scene? as you cannot imagine, I will tell you. Lord Harry Paulet telling Grenville, that if Lord Cobham was to rise from the dead, he would, if he could be ashamed of anything, be ashamed of him;-by the way, everybody believes he meant the apostrophe stronger than he expressed it: Grenville rose in a rage, like a basket-woman, and told Lord Harry that if he chose to use such language, he knew where to find him. Did you ever hear of a Prime Minister, even soi-disant tel, challenging an opponent, when he could not answer him? Poor Lord Harry, too, was an unfortunate subject to exercise his valour upon! The House interposed; Lord Harry declared he should have expected Grenville to breakfast with him next morning; Grenville explained off and on two or three times, the Scotch laughed, the Opposition roared, and the Treasurybench sat as mute as fishes. Thus ended that wise Hudibrastic encounter. Grenville however, attended by every bad omen, provoked your brother, who had not intended to speak, by saying that some people had a good opinion of the dismissed officers, others had not. Your brother rose, and surpassed himself: he was very warm, though less so than on the first day; very decent in terms, but most severe in effect; he more than hinted at the threats that had been used to him, said he would not reveal what was improper; yet left no mortal in the dark on that head. He called on the officers to assert their own freedom and independence. In short, made such a 1 It seems, from a subsequent letter, that Lord Sandwich was present.-CROKER. 2 Lord Henry Paulet, member for Hampshire, vice-admiral of the White, brother of the Duke of Bolton; to which dignity he himself succeeded on the 5th July 1765. -CROKER. speech as silenced all his adversaries, but has filled the whole town with his praises: I believe, as soon as his speech reaches Hayes, it will contribute extremely to expel the gout, and bring Mr. Pitt to town, lest his presence should be no longer missed. Princess Amalie told me the next night, that if she had heard nothing of Mr. Conway's speech, she should have known how well he had done by my spirits. I was not sorry she made this reflection as I knew she would repeat it to Lady [Betty] Waldegrave; and as I was willing that the Duchess of Bedford, who, when your brother was dismissed, asked the Duchess of Grafton if she was not sorry for poor Mr. Conway, who had lost everything, should recollect that it is they who have cause to lament that dismission, not we. There was a paragraph in Rigby's speech, and taken up, and adopted by Goody Grenville, which makes much noise, and, I suppose, has not given less offence; they talked of "arbitrary Stuart principles," which are supposed to have been aimed at the Stuart favourite; that breach is wider than ever :-not one of Lord Bute's adherents have opened their lips this session. I conclude a few of them will be ordered to speak on Friday; but unless we go on too triumphantly and reconcile them, I think this session will terminate Mr. Grenville's reign, and that of the Bedfords too, unless they make great submissions. Do you know that Sir W. Pynsent had your brother in his eye! He said to his lawyer, "I know Mr. Pitt is much younger than I am, but he has very bad health: as you will hear it before me, if he dies first, draw up another will with Mr. Conway's name instead of Mr. Pitt's, and bring it down to me directly." I beg Britannia's pardon, but I fear I could have supported the loss on these grounds. A very unhappy affair happened last night at the Star and Garter; Lord Byron' killed a Mr. Chaworth there in a duel. I know none of the particulars, and never believe the first reports. My Lady Townshend was arrested two days ago in the street at the suit of a house-painter, who, having brought her a bill double of the estimate he had given in, she would not pay it. As this is a breach of privilege, I should think the man would hear of it." There is no day yet fixed for our intended motion on the Dismission of officers; but, I believe, Lord John Cavendish and Fitzroy 1 William, fifth Lord Byron, born in 1722 died in 1798. The Star and Garter was a tavern in Pall Mall.-CROKER. 2 Her complaint was made in the House by old Lord Winchelsea. Jesse's Selwyn, i 357 and 373.-CUNNINGHAM. |