The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford Volume II Part 61

(865) Henry Furness had been a lord of the treasury. He was a friend of Lord Bath, and personally an enemy to Sir Robert Walpole.

(866) John first Earl Spencer.

(867) Robert Wood, Esq. under secretary of state, Mr. Dawkins, and Mr. Bouverie. For a notice of these splendid works, see ant'e, p. 191, letter 89.-E.

(868) Mr. William Shipley, of Northampton, being persuaded that a society to give premiums, in the manner of one in Ireland, would be highly beneficial to the country, came to London several times in the year 1752 and 1753, and talked about it to Mr. Henry Baker, who was of the same opinion, but doubted the possibility of bringing it into effect. However, in 1753, a general recommendation of such a society was drawn up, printed, and dispersed; and indefatigable pains taken by Mr. Shipley to put it into the hands of persons of quality and fortune, this scheme was carried into execution. See Nichols's Lit. Anecdotes, vol. v. p. 275.-E.

(869) Charles Lenox, third Duke of Richmond. His grace had recently ordered a room to be opened at his house in Whitehall, containing a large collection of original plaster casts from the best antique busts and statues at Rome -and Florence, to which all artists, and youths above twelve years of age, had access. For the encouragement of genius, he also bestowed two medals annually on those who executed the two best models.-E.

413 Letter 255 To Sir Horace Mann.

Arlington Street, Feb. 10, 1758.

This campaign does not open with the vivacity of the last; the hero of the age has only taken Schweidnitz yet--he had fought a battle Or two by this time last year. But this is the case of Fame. A man that astonishes at first, soon makes people impatient if he does not continue in the same andante key. I have heard a good answer of one of the Duke of Marlborough's generals, who dining with him at a city feast, and being teased by a stupid alderman, who said to him, "Sir, yours must be a very laborious employment!" replied, "Oh, no; we fight about four hours in a morning, and two or three after dinner, and then we have all the rest of the day to ourselves." I shall not be quite so impatient about our own campaign as I was last year, though we have another secret expedition on foot--they say, to conquer France, but I believe we must compound for taking the Isle of Wight, whither we are sending fourteen thousand men. The Hero's uncle(870 reviewed them yesterday in Hyde Park on their setting out. The Duke of Marlborough commands, and is, in reality, commanded by Lord George Sackville. We shall now see how much greater generals we have than Mr. Conway, who has pressed to go in any capacity, and is not suffered!

Mr. Pitt is again laid up with the gout, as the Duke of Bedford is confined in Ireland by it. - His grace, like other Kings I have known, is grown wonderfully popular there since he was taken prisoner and tied hand and foot. To do faction justice, it is of no cowardly nature; it abuses while it attacks, and loads with panegyric those it defeats. We have nothing in Parliament but a quiet straggle for an extension of the Habeas Corpus.(871) It pa.s.sed our House swimmingly, but will be drowned with the same ease in the House of Lords. On the new taxes we had an entertaining piece of pomp from the Speaker: Lord Strange (it was in a committee) said, "I will bring him down from the gallery." and proposed that the Speaker should be exempt from the place tax. He came down, and besought not to be excepted--lord Strange persisted-so did the Speaker. After the debate, Lord Strange going out said, "Well, did I not show my dromedary well?" I should tell you that one of the fashionable sights of the winter has been a dromedary and camel, the proprietor of which has entertained the town with a droll variety of advertis.e.m.e.nts.

You would have been amazed, had you been here at Sir luke Schaub's auction of pictures. He had picked up some good old copies cheap when he was in Spain during the contentions there between the houses of Austria and Bourbon, and when many grandees being confiscated, the rest piqued themselves on not profiting of their spoils. With these Sir Luke had some fine small ones, and a parcel of Flemish, good in their way. The late Prince offered him twelve thousand pounds for the whole, leaving him the enjoyment for his life. As he knew the twelve thousand would not be forthcoming, he artfully excused himself by saying he loved pictures so much that he knew he should fling away the money. Indeed, could he have touched it, it had been well; the collection was indubitably not worth four thousand pounds. It has sold for near eight!(872) A Copy(873) of the King of France's Raphael went for seven hundred pounds. A Segismonda, called by Corregio, but certainly by Furoni his scholar, was bought in at upwards of four hundred pounds. In short, there is Sir James Lowther, Mr. Spencer, Sir Richard Grosvenor, boys with twenty and thirty thousand a-year, and the d.u.c.h.ess of Portland,(874) Lord Ashburnham, Lord Egremont, and others with near as much, who care not what they give. I want to paint my coat and sell it off my back--there never Was such a season. I am mad to have the Houghton pictures sold now; what injury to the creditors to have them postponed, till half of these vast estates are spent, and the other half grown ten years older!

Lord Corke Is not the editor of Swift's History;(875) but one Dr. Lucas, a physicianed apothecary, who some years ago made such factious noise in Ireland(876)--the book is already fallen into the lowest contempt. I wish you joy of the success of the Cocchi family; but how three hundred crowns a year sound after Sir Luke Schaub's auction! Adieu! my dear Sir.

(870) George II. uncle of the King of Prussia.

(871) Lord Chesterfield, in a letter to his son of the 8th, says, "Every thing goes smoothly in Parliament: the King of Prussia has united all our parties in his support, and the Tories have declared that they will give Mr. Pitt unlimited credit for this session: there has not been one single division yet upon public points, and I believe will not."-E.

(872) The three days' sale produced seven thousand seven hundred and eighty-four pounds five shillings.-E.

(873) It was purchased by the d.u.c.h.ess Dowager of Portland, for seven hundred and three pounds ten shillings.-E.

(874) Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley, only daughter of Edward Harley, second Earl of Oxford, and heiress of the vast possessions of the Newcastle branch of the Cavendishes. She married William Bentinck, second Duke of Portland.-D.

(875) Swift's "History of the Four last Years of Queen Anne,"

was first published in this year.-E.

(876) Dr. Johnson, in a review of Dr. Lucas's Essay on Waters, which appeared in the Literary Magazine for 1756, thus speaks of him: "The Irish ministers drove him from his native country by a proclamation, in which they charge him with crimes of which they never intended to be called to the proof, and oppressed him by methods equally irresistible by guilt and innocence: let the man thus driven into exile, for having been the friend of his country, be received in every other place as a confessor of liberty; and let the tools of power be taught in time, that they may rob, but cannot impoverish." In 1761, Dr. Lucas was elected representative for Dublin. He died in 1771, and a statue to his honour is erected in the Royal Exchange of Dublin.-E.'

415 Letter 256 To Sir Horace Mann.

Arlington Street, Feb. 23, 1758.

Though the inactivity of our parliamentary winter has let me be correspondent, I am far from having been so remiss as the posts have made me seem. I remember to have thought that I had no letter on board the packet that was taken; but since the 20th of November I have writ to you on December 14, January 11, February 9. The acquittal of General Mordaunt would, I thought, make you entirely easy about Mr. Conway.

The paper war on their subject is still kept up; but all inquiries are at an end. When Mr. Pitt, who is laid up with the gout, is a little cool again, I think he has too much eagerness to perform something of 'eclatt, to let the public have to reproach him with not employing so brave a man and so able as Mr. Conway. Though your brothers do not satisfy your impatience to know, you must a little excuse them; the eldest lives out of the world, and James not in that world from whence he can learn or inform you. Besides our dear Gal.'s warmth of friendship, he had innumerable opportunities of intelligence. He, who lent all the world money for nothing, had at least a right to know something.

I shall be sorry on my account if one particular(877) letter has miscarried, in which I mentioned some trifles that I wished to purchase from Stosch's collection. As you do not mention any approaching sale, I will stay to repeat them till you tell me that you have received no such letter.

Thank you for the 'eloge on your friend poor Cocchi; you had not told me of his death, but I was prepared for it, and heard it from Lord Huntingdon. I am still more obliged to you for the trouble you have given yourself about King Richard. You have convinced me of Crescimbeni's blunder as to Rome. For Florence, I must intreat you to send me 'another copy, for your copyist or his original have made undecipherable mistakes; particularly in the last line; La Mere Louis is impossible to be sense: I should wish, as I am to print it, to have every letter of the whole sonnet more distinct and certain than most of them are. I don't know how to repay you for all the fatigue I give you. Mr. Fox's urns are arrived, but not yet delivered from the Custom-house. You tell me no more of Botta;(878) is he invisible in dignity, like Richcourt; or sunk to nothing, like our Poor old friend the Prince?(879) Here is a good epigram on the Prince de Soubize, with which I must conclude, writing without any thing to tell you, and merely to show you that I do by no means neglect you;

Soubize, apr'es ses grands exploits, Peut b'atir un palais qui ne lui co'ute gu'ere; Sa Femme lui fournit le bois, Et chacun lui jette la pierre.

(877) The letter of Dec. 17th, which was lost.

(878) Marshal Botta, commander at Florence for the Emperor Francis.

(879) The Prince de Craon, chief of the council, superseded by the Comte de Richcourt.

416 Letter 257 To Sir Horace Mann.

Arlington Street, March 21, 1758.

Between my letters of Nov. 20th and Jan. 11th, which you say you have received, was one of Dec. 11th lost, I suppose in the packet: what it contained, it is impossible for me to recollect; but I conclude the very notices about the expedition, the want of which troubled you so much. I have nothing now to tell you of any moment; writing only to keep up the chain of our 'correspondence, and to satisfy you that there is nothing particular.

I forgot in my last to say a word of our East Indian hero, Clive, and his victories; but we are growing accustomed to success again! There is Hanover retaken!--if to have Hanover again is to have success! We have no news but what is military; Parliaments are grown idle things, or busy like quarter-sessions. Mr. Pitt has been in the House of Commons but twice this winter, yet we have some grumblings: a Navy-bill of Mr. George Grenville, rejected last year by the Lords, and pa.s.sed again by us, has by Mr. Fox's underhand management been made an affair by the Lords; yet it will pa.s.s.

An extension of the Habeas corpus, of forty times the consequence, is impeded by the same dealings, and IS not likely to have so prosperous an issue. Yet these things scarce make a heat within doors, and scarce conversation without.

Our new Archbishop(880) died yesterday; but the church loses its head with as little noise as a question is now carried or lost in Parliament.

Poor Sir Charles Williams is returned from Russia, having lost his Senses upon the road. This is imputed to a lady at Hamburgh, who gave him, or for whom he took some a.s.sistance to his pa.s.sion; but we hope he will soon recover.

The most particular thing I know is what happened the other day: a frantic Earl of Ferrars(881) has for this twelvemonth supplied conversation by attempting to murder his wife, a pretty, harmless young woman, and every body that took her part. having broken the peace, to which the House of Lords tied him last year, the cause was trying again there on Friday last. Instead of attending it, he went to the a.s.sizes at Hertford to appear against a highwayman, one Page, of extraordinary parts and escapes. The Earl had pulled out a pistol, but trembled so that the robber turned, took it out of his hand quietly, and said, "My lord, I know you always carry more pistols about you; give me the rest." At the trial, Page pleaded that my lord was excommunicated, consequently could not give evidence, and got acquitted.(882)

There is just published Swift's History of the Four last Years of Queen Anne: Pope and Lord Bolingbroke always told him it would disgrace him, and persuaded him to burn it. Disgrace him indeed it does, being a weak libel, ill-written for style, uninformed, and adopting the most errant mob-stories.(883) He makes the Duke of Marlborough a coward, Prince Eugene an a.s.sa.s.sin, my father remarkable for nothing but impudence, and would make my Lord Somers any thing but the most amiable character in the world, if unfortunately he did not praise him while he tries to abuse.

Trevor(884) of Durham is likely to go to Canterbury. Adieu!

(880) Archbishop Hutton. He was succeeded by Secker.

(881) Laurence Shirley, fourth Earl of Ferrars, who, in January 1760, shot his land-steward, for which he was tried in Westminster-hall, by his peers, in the following April, and executed at Tyburn.-E.

(882) At the ensuing Rochester a.s.sizes he was tried for robbing a Mr. Farrington, and executed.-E.

(883) Swift himself, in his Journal to Stella, calls it "his grand business," and p.r.o.nounced it "the best work he had ever written."-E.

(884) Dr. Richard Trevor. This did not happen.

418 Letter 258 To Sir Horace Mann.

Arlington Street, April 14, 1758.

As you was disappointed of any intelligence that might be in it (I don't know what was), I am sorry my letter of December 14th miscarried; but with regard to my commissions in Stosch's collection, it did not signify, since they propose to sell it in such great morsels. If they are forced to relent, and separate it, what I wish to have, and had mentioned to you, were, "his sculptured gems that have vases on them, of which he had a large ring box:" the following modern medals, "Anglia resurges," I think, of Julius III.; "the Capitol; the Hugonotorum Strages; the Ganymede, a reverse of a Pope's medal, by Michael Angelo; the first medal of Julius III.;" all these were in silver, and very fine; then the little Florentine coin in silver, with Jesus Rex noster on the reverse: he had, besides, a fine collection of drawings after nudities and prints in the same style, but you may believe I am not old enough to give much for these. I am not very anxious about any, consequently am not tempted to purchase wholesale.

Thank you for the second copy of King Richard; my book is finished; I shall send it you by the first opportunity. I did receive the bill of lading for Mr. Fox's wine; and my reason for not telling you how he liked his vases was, because I did not, nor do yet know, nor does he; they are at Holland House, and will not be unpacked till he settles there: I own I have a little more impatience about new things.

My letters will grow more interesting to you, I suppose, as the summer opens: we have had no Winter campaign, I mean, no parliamentary war. You have been much misinformed about the King's health--and had he been ill, do you think that the recovery of Hanover would not cure him? Yesterday the new convention with the King of Prussia was laid before the houses, and is to be considered next week: I have not yet read it, and only know that he is to receive from us two millions in three years, and to make no peace without us. I hope he will make one for us before these three years are expired. A great camp is forming in the Isle of Wight, reckoned the best spot for defence or attack. I suppose both will be tried reciprocally;