commonly the words put into their mouths by Mr. W. [Walpole].

CHOICE OF THE TREASURY.-Lord T. [Townshend] acts much against his own interest in setting up Mr. Wa. [Walpole] above the rest; but Lord T. [Townshend] was never thought to have a strong judgment, though his languages [sic] and winning carriage and honest intentions made all the Whigs justly wish to see him Secretary of State. He is the fittest man for it in the House of Lords; nothing could have sunk his credit, or can ever make the Whigs see him changed, unless his blindness towards Mr. W.'s [Walpole's] actions should set them against him, as it has made them less for him than they would have been otherwise. Mr. S. [Stanhope] who has doubled his fortune in one year, as he thinks, by the favour of Lord T. [Townshend], will always second what he does; and perhaps his want of judgment, or want of skill in the affairs of the House of Commons, may give him a great opinion of Mr. W. [Walpole]. Of the nine above named, four or five who differ from [him] in this point have been always reckoned above him in judgment; so that what he says are commonly Mr. W.'s [Walpole's] words.

There may be another reason Mr. W. [Walpole] is thus supported. he can.

Baron B. [Bothmar] is said to take what money Mr. W. [Walpole] is the most proper man in England to assist him in getting it; and why should Baron B. [Bothmar] join himself with a man so suspicious, unless he did take it? There are very strong circumstances for suspecting B. B. [Baron Bothmar] has got great sums, and is known to be the director of B. B. [Baron Bernstoff]; and, indeed, this alliance is so well known, that no man ever says anything of Mr. W. [Walpole] unless in praise of him, to any of

them.

Mr. W. [Walpole] is already looked upon as the chief minister, made so by my Lord T. [Townshend]; and when he is in the Treasury, it will be thought the King has declared him so. The Duke of Albemarle, Lord Shaftesbury, Lord Clifford, afterwards Treasurer, and Coventry, were all Commissioners at a time. In K. W.'s [King William's reign] Lord Godolphin was third Commissioner of the

Treasury after having been Secretary of State.

sence.

Mr. Montague was one of the seven Regents in King William's abGreat men have generally been of the Treasury; and when a Commissioner of the Treasury has equal favour with any of the other ministers, he will be first minister. Can it be for the honour of the Government to have a man marked for corruption declared first minister? Can he bear the envy of having such a post? especially when he has already the places of two Paymasters, and a place for his uncle, though a Tory.

If he is to be in it [the Treasury], can it be reasonable he should name all the rest?

The Commissioners of the Treasury have commonly been all men of great figure, and independent on one another, chose by the King's favour.

If the list of the Commissioners of the Treasury in King William's time be looked over, it is plain he chose men not likely to be of the same opinion; it was so in King Charles's time it was plainly so too [sic].

My Lord Oxford was the first commissioner that chose all his brethren, and it was plain what was the ill consequence of giving him so uncontrolled a power.

If there be one or two in the commission who is [sic] not of Mr. W.'s [Walpole's] choosing, he cannot hinder any of his projects, so that he can do no harm; and can do no good but to inform the King of his affairs. This is what Mr. W. [Walpole] will endeavour to prevent all he can.

[What follows was omitted in Lord Wharncliffe's edition :

TWO PARTIES OF WHIGS.-To understand the House of Commons it is necessary to know that there has [been] of late years always two sorts of Whigs and two of Tories.

The Court Whigs had quite lost the esteem of the nation when my Lord O. [Oxford] got into power, so that the Country Whigs did everything that was done against the Court during that infamous ministry. It was they that made a division among the Whigs in the House of Commons in the first session of Oxford's ministry, when Sir Thomas Hanmer spoke against Lord Bo. [Bolingbroke], and they sent up the bill to the House of Lords, upon which there was a majority of 25 lords, and Lord Oxford with great

difficulty wrought of [off?] that majority, and threw it out by 2 votes in the second session. Question [sic] the Country Whigs managed so well that they divided 140 against 180 upon a question to make a tack to the money bill, and exposed the measures of the ministry and the mismanagement of the public money in the third session. It was by their credit, the Court Whigs having no credit to do anything, that the trade bill was thrown which must have proved fatal to the nation had it passed. Mr. W. [Walpole], that by his infamy had hurt his party, was in the 2 last sessions of that Parliament absent, and had he been present, and meddled, the dislike of the Tories to him would have hindered so many of them from joyning with the Whigs. The Country Whigs and Country Tories were not very different in their notions, and nothing has hindered them from joyning but the fear that each have of the others bringing in their whole party.

Notwithstanding that the greatest part of the merit of the Whigs belongs to the Country Whigs, the heads of the others were no sooner got into places, but he declared for restoring all the useless Whigs to their old places, and none of the Country Whigs were preferred but Sir P. K. [Peter King], who was put out of the House, and two others. After such usage it is no wonder if the body of the Whigs has no great esteem of the ministry.

There is to be added to the merit of the Country Whigs that when the Court Whigs opposed the inviting over one of the House of Hanover, the Country were by no means satisfied with it, and many of them voted against the Court Whigs.-WHAT IS A COUNTRY GENTLEMAN?

The manuscript ends here.-T.]

LETTERS TO MRS. HEWET.

HOPE

I my

TO MRS. HEWET.1

dear Mrs. Hewet does not believe that I follow my inclination, when I am two or three posts before I return thanks for her most agreeable letters; but in this busy town there is very little time at one's own disposal. My greatest pleasure is at Mrs. Selwyn's: I came from thence just now, and I believe am the only young woman in town that am in my own house at ten o'clock to-night. This is the night of Count Turrucca's ball, to which he has invited a few bare-faced, and the whole town en masque. I suppose you will have a description of it from some who were at it; I can only give it at second-hand, and will therefore say nothing of it. I have begun to learn Italian, and am much mortified I cannot do it of a signor of Monsieur Resingade's recommendation; but 'tis always the fate of women to obey, and my papa has promised me to

1 Mrs. (afterwards Lady) Hewet, was the youngest daughter of Richard Bettinson, Esq., by Albinia, daughter and coheir of Edward Cecil, Lord Viscount Wimbleton. She married Mr. T. Hewet, who was Surveyor-General of his Majesty's Woods and Works. He was knighted in 1719, and settled at Shireoaks, in Nottinghamshire, where he died in 1726. His lady long survived him, and was remarkable for her accomplishments and beauty, which she retained to an extreme old age.-D. The Letters to Mrs. Hewet were published by Mr. Dallaway in an edition of 1805. He informs us in a note that the originals had been communicated to the publisher by a lady who received them from Lady Wastneys, relict of Sir Hardolph Wastneys, of Headon Hall, to whom they had been bequeathed with other papers.-T.

2 Albinia Bettinson, Mrs. Hewet's eldest sister, married MajorGeneral William Selwyn, of Matson, in Gloucestershire.-D.

a Mr. Cassotti.1 I am afraid I shall never understand it so well as you do—but laissons cela, and talk of somewhat more entertaining.

Next to the great ball, what makes the most noise is the marriage of an old maid, who lives in this street, without a portion, to a man of £7,000 per annum, and they say £40,000 in ready money. Her equipage and liveries outshine anybody's in town. He has presented her with £3,000 in jewels; and never was man more smitten with these charms that had lain invisible for these forty years; but, with all his glory, never bride had fewer enviers, the dear beast of a man is so filthy, frightful, odious, and detestable. I would turn away such a footman, for fear of spoiling my dinner, while he waited at table. They were married on Friday, and came to church en parade on Sunday. I happened to sit in the pew with them, and had the honour of seeing Mrs. Bride fall fast asleep in the middle of the sermon, and snore very comfortably; which made several women in the church think the bridegroom not quite so ugly as they did before. Envious people say 'twas all counterfeited to please him, but I believe that to be scandal; for I dare swear, nothing but downright necessity could make her miss one word of the sermon. He professes to have married her for her devotion, patience, meekness, and other Christian virtues he observed in her : his first wife (who has left no children) being very handsome, and so good natured as to have ventured her own salvation to secure his. He has married this lady to have a companion in that paradise where his first has given him a title. I believe I have given you too much of this couple; but they are not to be comprehended in few words. My dear Mrs. Hewet, remember me, and believe that nothing can put you out of my head.

1 In one of her love letters to Mr. Wortley Montagu, written about June, 1712, Lady Mary says: "Direct to Mr. Cassotti, at Mr. Roberts's, at the Queen's Head, in Lichfield Street, Soho. He is my Italian master. I have made a kind of plausible pretence to him for one letter to come that way, but I dare not trust him."-T.