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and almost blushing, for it was on their quibbles and evasions he fell most heavily, at the same time answering a whole session of arguments on the side of the court. No, it was unique; you can neither conceive it, nor the exclamations it occasioned. Ellis, the forlorn hope, Ellis presented himself in the gap, till the ministers could recover themselves, when on a sudden Lord George Sackville led up the Blues;1 spoke with as much warmth as your brother had, and with great force continued the attack which he had begun. Did not I tell you he would take this part? I was made privy to it; but this is far from all you are to expect. Lord North in vain rumbled about his mustard-bowl, and endeavoured alone to outroar a whole party: him and Forrester, Charles Townshend took up, but less well than usual. His jealousy of your brother's success, which was very evident, did not help him to shine. There were several other speeches, and, upon the whole, it was a capital debate; but Plutus is so much more persuasive an orator than your brother or Lord George, that we divided but 122 against 217. Lord Strange, who had agreed to the question, did not dare to vote for it, and declared off; and George Townshend, who had actually voted for it on Friday, now voted against us. Well! upon the whole, I heartily wish this administration may last: both their characters and abilities are so contemptible, that I am sure we can be in no danger from prerogative when trusted to such hands!

Before I have done with Charles Townshend, I must tell you one of his admirable bon-mots. Miss Draycote, the great fortune, is grown very fat: he says her tonnage is become equal to her poundage.

There is the devil to pay in Nabob-land, but I understand Indian histories no better than stocks. The council rebelled against the governor,3 and sent a deputation, the Lord

Mr. Walpole tinges his approbation of Lord George's politics by this allusion to Minden, where his lordship had not "led up the Blues."—C. 2 Miss Anna Maria Draycote, married, in April 1763, to Earl Pomfret. To taste Mr. Townshend's jest, one must recollect, that in the finance of that day the duties of tonnage and poundage held a principal place.-C.

3 Governor Vansittart, contrary to the advice of his council, had de

knows why, to the Nabob, who cut off the said deputies' heads, and then, I think, was disnabob'd himself, and Clive's old friend reinstated. There is another rebellion in Minorca, where Johnson has renounced his allegiance to viceroy Dick Lyttelton, and set up for himself. Sir Richard has laid the affair before the King and council; Charles Townshend first, and then your brother, (you know why I am sorry they should appear together in that cause,) have tried to deprecate Sir Richard's wrath: but it was then too late. The silly fellow has brought himself to a precipice.

I forgot to tell you that Lord George Sackville carried into the minority with him his own brother1 Lord Middlesex; Lord Milton's brother; young Beauclerc; Sir Thomas Hales; and Colonel Irwine.

We have not heard a word yet of the Hereditary Prince and Princess. They were sent away in a tempest, and I believe the best one can hope is, that they are driven to Norway.3

Good night, my dear lord; it is time to finish, for it is half an hour after one in the morning: I am forced to purloin such hours to write to you, for I get up so late, and then have such a perpetual succession of nothings to do, such auctions, politics, visits, dinners, suppers, books to publish or revise, &c. that I have not a quarter of an hour without a call upon it; but I need not tell you, who know my life, that I am forced to create new time, if I will keep

posed the Nabob Meer Jaffier, and transferred the sovereignty to his son-in-law, Cossim Ali Cawn. The latter, however, soon forgot his obligations to the English; and, in consequence of some aggressions on his part, a deputation, consisting of Messrs. Amyatt and Hay, members of council, attended by half a dozen other gentlemen, was sent to the new Nabob. While this deputation was on its return, hostilities broke out, and these gentlemen were put to death as they were passing the city of Moreshedabad. About the same time the English council at Patna and their attendants were made prisoners, and afterwards cruelly massacred. These events necessitated the deposition of Cossim, and Jaffier was accordingly, after a short campaign, restored.-C.

Charles, afterwards second Duke of Dorset.-E.

John Damer, member for Dorchester. Lord Milton had married Lord George's youngest sister, Lady Caroline.-E.

3 The Duke and Duchess landed safely at Helvoet on the 2nd of February.-E.

up my correspondence with you. You seem to like I should, and I wish to give you every satisfaction in my power.

Tuesday, February 7, four o'clock.

I tremble whilst I continue my letter, having just heard such a dreadful story! A captain of a vessel has made oath before the Lord Mayor, this morning, that he saw one of the yachts sink on the coast of Holland; and it is believed to be the one in which the Prince was. The city is in an uproar; nor need one point out all such an accident may produce, if true; which I most fervently hope it is not. My long letter will help you to comments enough, which will be made on this occasion. I wish you may know, at this moment, that our fears are ill placed. The Princess was not in the same yacht with her husband. Poor Fanshawe,' as clerk of the green cloth, with his wife and sister, was in one of them.

Here is more of the Duc de Pecquigny's episode. An officer was sent yesterday to put Virette under arrest. His servant disputed with the officer on his orders, till his master made his escape. Virette sent a friend, whom he ordered to deliver his letter in person, and see it read, with a challenge, appointing the Duc to meet him at half an hour after seven this morning, at Buckingham-gate, where he waited till ten to no purpose, though the Duc had not been put under arrest. Virette absconds, and has sent M. de Pecquigny word, that he shall abscond till he can find a Your discretion will naproper opportunity of fighting him. turally prevent your talking of this; but I thought you would like to be prepared, if this affair should any how happen to become your business, though your late discussion with the Duc de Chaulnes will add to your disinclination from meddling with it.

I must send this to the post before I go to the Opera, and therefore shall not be able to tell you more of the Prince of Brunswick by this post.

'Simon Fanshawe, Esq. member for Grampound. He had married a lady of his own name.

TO THE EARL OF HERTFORD.

MY DEAR LORD,

Arlington Street, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 1764.

You ought to be witness to the fatigue I am suffering, before you can estimate the merit I have in being writing to you at this moment. Cast up eleven hours in the House of Commons on Monday, and above seventeen hours yesterday,―ay, seventeen at length, and then you may guess if I am tired! nay, you must add seventeen hours that I may possibly be there on Friday, and then calculate if I am weary.' In short, yesterday was the longest day ever known in the House of Commons-why, on the Westminster election at the end of my father's reign, I was at home by six. On Alexander Murray's affair, I believe, by five- on the militia, twenty people, I think, sat till six, but then they were only among themselves, no heat, no noise, no roaring. It was half an hour after seven this morning before I was at home. Think of that, and then brag of your French parliaments!*

2

What is ten times greater, Leonidas and the Spartan minority did not make such a stand at Thermopylæ, as we did. Do you know, we had like to have been the majority? Xerxes5 is frightened out of his senses; Sysigambis has sent

The important debate on the question of General Warrants, which is the subject of the following able and interesting letter, has never been reported. There are, indeed, in the parliamentary history, a letter from Sir George Yonge, and two statements by Sir William Meredith and Charles Townshend, on the subject, but they relate chiefly to their own motives and reasonings, and give neither the names nor the arguments of the debaters, and fall very short indeed of the vigour and vivacity of Mr. Walpole's animated sketch.-C.

2 On the 22nd December 1741. This was one of the debates that terminated Sir Robert Walpole's administration: the numbers on the division were 220 against 216.-C.

The proceedings on the 6th of February 1751, against the Honourable A. Murray, for impeding the Westminster election; but Walpole, in his Memoires, states that the House adjourned at two in the morning.-C.

The disputes between Louis XV. and his parliaments, which prepared the revolution, were at this period assuming a serious appearance.-C. The Princess Dowager.

5 The King.

an express to Luton to forbid Phraates1 coming to town tomorrow: Norton's impudence has forsaken him; Bishop Warburton is at this moment reinstating Mr. Pitt's name in the dedication to his sermons, which he had expunged for Sandwich's; and Sandwich himself is at Paris, perhaps, by this time, for the first thing I expect to hear to-morrow is, that he is gone off.

Now are you mortally angry with me for trifling with you, and not telling you at once the particulars of this almost-revolution. You may be angry, but I shall take my own time, and shall give myself what airs I please both to you, my Lord Ambassador, and to you, my Lord Secretary of State, who will, I suppose, open this letter—if you have courage enough left. In the first place, I assume all the impertinence of a prophet, aye, of that great curiosity, a prophet, who really prophesied before the event, and whose predictions have been accomplished. Have I, or have I not, announced to you the unexpected blows that would be given to the administration? -come, I will lay aside my dignity, and satisfy your impatience. There's moderation.

We sat all Monday hearing evidence against Mr. Wood, that dirty wretch Webb, and the messengers, for their illegal proceedings against Mr. Wilkes. At midnight, Mr. Grenville offered us to adjourn or proceed. Mr. Pitt humbly

1 Lord Bute. Luton was his seat in Bedfordshire.

2 Mr. Walpole was too sanguine: Sir Fletcher had not even lost his boldness; for in the further progress of the adjourned debate, we shall find that he told the House that he would regard their resolution of no more value (in point of law, must be understood) than the vociferations of so many drunken porters.-C.

3 Lord Sandwich was an agreeable companion and an able minister; but one whose moral character did not point him out as exactly the fittest patron for a volume of sermons; and he was at this moment so unpopular, that Mr. Walpole affects to think he may have been intimidated to fly.-C.

Robert Wood, Esq. under-secretary of state; against whom, for his official share in the affair of the general warrants, Mr. Wilkes's complaint was made.-C.

5

Philip Carteret Webb, Esq. solicitor to the treasury, complained of on the same ground. Mr. Walpole probably applies these injurious terms to Mr. Webb, on account of a supposed error in his evidence on the trial in the Common Pleas, for which he was afterwards indicted for perjury, but he was fully acquitted. The point was of little importance -whether he had or had not had a key in his hand.-C.

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