4

to make up for him. Poor Lady Gage' is parting from her discreet spouse for a mere trifle. She had a mind to take the air this spring in a new yacht (which Lord Hillsborough' built for many good uses, and which has been the scene of much pleasure and pain): she went in company with his Lordship, Fabrice, Mr. Cook, Lady Litchfield, and her sister, as far as Greenwich, and thence as far as the buoy of the Nore; when to the great surprise of the good company, who thought it impossible the wind should not be as fair to bring them back as it was to carry them thither, they found there was no possibility of returning that night. Lady Gage, in all the concern of a good wife, desired her lord might be informed of her safety, and that she was no way blamable in staying out all night. Fabrice writ a most gallant letter to Lord Gage, concluding that Mr. Cook presents his humble service to him, and let him know (in case of necessity) his "Lady Margaret was in town:" but his lordship not liking the change, I suppose, carried the letter straight to the King's Majesty, who not being at leisure to give him an audience, he sent it in open by Mahomet: though it is hard to guess what sort of redress he intended to petition for the nature of the thing being such, that had he complained he was no

1 Benedicta Maria, daughter and sole heir of Benedict Hall, of High Meadow, in the county of Gloucester, Esq.-W.

2 Lord Hillsborough, father of the Lord Hillsborough who was secretary of state under George the Third, and ancestor to the Marquis of Downshire, had the fame, both in England and Ireland, of being the wildest and most scandalous libertine of the age.-W.

3 Sometimes written "Fabricius." Riva, the Duke of Modena's minister, speaks of him as "a Hanover gentleman, and in high favour with the king." (Coxe's "Walpole," 4to. ii. 512.) Fabrice was with the king when he died on his journey to Hanover.-T.

4 Frances, daughter of Sir John Hales, of Woodchurch, Kent.-D. 5 Thomas, first Lord Gage.-W.

6 Lady Margaret Tufton, daughter of the Earl of Thanet, was married to Thomas Coke, of [Holkham] Norfolk (afterwards created Earl of Leicester), July 2, 1718.-W. [This lady afterwards became Baroness de Clifford in her own right.]

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A servant of George the First. Pope, in his Epistle to Martha Blount, On the Characters of Women, calls him honest Mahomet :" and adds, in a note, "Servant to the late king, said to be the son of a Turkish Bassa whom he took at the siege of Buda, and constantly kept about his person."-T.

cuckold, his Majesty at least might have prevailed that some of his court might confer that dignity upon him, but if he was, neither king, council, nor the two houses of parliament, could make it null and of none effect. This public rupture is succeeded by a treaty of separation and here is all the scandal that is uppermost in my head. Dear sister, I should be glad to contribute any way to your entertainment, and am very sorry you seem to stand in so much need of it. I am ever yours.

I wish you would think of my lutestring, for I am in terrible want of linings.

TO THE COUNTESS OF MAR.

[July, 1723.]

I can

DEAR SISTER, I have received by Lady Lansdowne the very pretty nightgown you sent me; I give you many thanks for it; but I should have thought it much more valuable if it had been accompanied with a letter. hardly persuade myself you have received all mine, and yet can never spare time from the pleasures of Paris to answer one of them. I am sorry to inform you of the death of our nephew, my sister Gower's son,' of the small-pox. I think she has a great deal of reason to regret it, in consideration of the offer I made her, two years together, of taking the child home to my house, where I would have inoculated him with the same care and safety I did my own. I know nobody that has hitherto repented the operation: though it has been very troublesome to some fools, who had rather be sick by the doctor's prescriptions, than in health in rebellion to the college.

I am at present at Twickenham, which is become so fashionable, and the neighbourhood so much enlarged, that 'tis more like Tunbridge or the Bath than a country retreat. Adieu, dear sister. I shall write you longer letters when I am sure you receive them; but it really takes off very much from the pleasure of your correspondence, when I have no assurance of their coming to your hands. Pray let me know if this does, and believe me ever affectionately yours.

1 John Leveson Gower, her eldest son, died July 15, 1723.-T.

TO THE COUNTESS OF MAR.

[Indorsed "1723."]

I AM heartily sorry to have the pleasure of hearing from you lessened by your complaints of uneasiness, which I wish with all my soul I was capable of relieving, either by my letters or any other way. My life passes in a kind of indolence which is now and then awakened by agreeable moments; but pleasures are transitory, and the groundwork of every thing in England stupidity, which is certainy owing to the coldness of this vile climate. I envy you the serene air of Paris, as well as many other conveniences: here, what between the things one cannot do, and the things one must not do, the time but dully lingers on, though I make as good a shift as many of my neighbours. To my great grief, some of my best friends have been extremely ill; and, in general, death and sickness have never been more frequent than now. You may imagine poor gallantry droops; and, except in the Elysian shades of Richmond, there is no such thing as love or pleasure. It is said there is a fair lady retired for having taken too much of it for my part they are not at all cooked to my taste; and I have very little share in the diversions there, which, except seasoned with wit, or at least vivacity, will not go down with me, who have not altogether so voracious an appetite as I once had: I intend, however, to shine and be fine on the birth-night, and review the figures there. My poor friend the young Duchess of Marlborough, I am. afraid, has exposed herself to a most violent ridicule; she is as much embarrassed with the loss of her big belly, and as much ashamed of it, as ever dairymaid was with the getting one.1

I desire you would say something very pretty to your daughter in my name: notwithstanding the great gulf that

1 This passage, with the previous allusion to the approaching "Birthnight" (see note on next letter), would seem to be inconsistent with the year indorsed on this letter; but the allusion to the death of "uncle Fielding," which took place at Epsom on the 22nd of September, 1723, confirms it. The duchess had a daughter born 23rd November, 1723.—T.

is at present between us, I hope to wait on her to an opera one time or other. I suppose you know our uncle Fielding is dead: I regret him prodigiously.

1

TO THE COUNTESS OF MAR.

Oct. 31.

I WRITE to you at this time piping hot from the birthnight; my brain warmed with all the agreeable ideas that fine clothes, fine gentlemen, brisk tunes, and lively dances, can raise there. It is to be hoped that my letter will entertain you; at least you will certainly have the freshest account of all passages on that glorious day. First you must know that I led up the ball, which you'll stare at; but what is more, I believe in my conscience I made one of the best figures there; to say truth, people are grown so extravagantly ugly, that we old beauties are forced to come out on show-days, to keep the court in countenance. I saw Mrs. Murray there, through whose hands this epistle is to be conveyed; I do not know whether she will make the same compliment [complaint ?] to you that I do. Mrs. West was with her, who is a great prude, having but two lovers at a time: I think those are Lord Haddington and Mr. Lindsay; the one for use, the other for show.

The world improves in one virtue to a violent degree, I mean plain-dealing. Hypocrisy being, as the Scripture declares, a damnable sin, I hope our publicans and sinners will be saved by the open profession of the contrary virtue. I was told by a very good author, who is deep in the secret, that at this very minute there is a bill cooking-up at a hunting-seat in Norfolk,2 to have not taken out of the commandments and clapped into the creed, the ensuing session of parliament. This bold attempt for the liberty of the subject is wholly projected by Mr. Walpole, who proposed it to the secret committee in his parlour. William Young3 seconded it, and answered for all his acquaintance voting

1 The birth-night of the Prince of Wales, October 30.-T.

2 Houghton; Mr. (afterwards Sir Robert) Walpole's, then prime minister.-D.

3 Afterwards Sir William Yonge.-T.

1

right to a man: Dodington very gravely objected, that the obstinacy of human nature was such, that he feared when they had positive commandments to do [so], perhaps people would not commit adultery and bear false witness against their neighbours with the readiness and cheerfulness they do at present. This objection seemed to sink deep into the minds of the greatest politicians at the board; and I don't know whether the bill won't be dropped, though it is certain it might be carried with great ease, the world being entirely "revenue du [sic] bagatelle," and honour, virtue, reputation, &c., which we used to hear of in our nursery, is as much laid aside and forgotten as crumpled riband. To speak plainly, I am very sorry for the forlorn state of matrimony, which is as much ridiculed by our young ladies as it used to be by young fellows in short, both sexes have found the inconveniences of it, and the appellation of rake is as genteel in a woman as a man of quality; it is no scandal to say Miss - the maid of

honour, looks very well now she is up again, and poor Biddy 2 Noel has never been quite well since her last flux. You may imagine we married women look very silly; we have nothing to excuse ourselves, but that it was done a great while ago, and we were very young when we did it. This is the general state of affairs: as to particulars, if you have any curiosity for things of that kind, you have nothing to do but to ask me questions, and they shall be answered to the best of my understanding; my time never being passed more agreeably than when I am doing something obliging to you: this is truth, in spite of all the beaus, wits, and witlings in Great Britain.

TO THE COUNTESS OF MAR.

[February, 1724.]

I DO verily believe, dear sister, that this is the twelfth if not the thirteenth letter I have written since I had the

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1 George Bubb Dodington, afterwards Lord Melcombe-Regis, whose Diary" has been published.-D.

2 Bridget, daughter of the Hon. John Noel, of Walcot House, Northamptonshire, a son of Viscount Campden.-T.