The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford Volume I Part 44

(723) It was certainly written by Lord Hervey.

(724) Lady Yarmouth.

(725) Sir Charles Wager's nephew, and Secretary to the Admiralty.

(726) Countess Dowager of Deloraine, governess to the young Princesses.

293 Letter 87 To Sir Horace Mann.

Houghton, Oct. 23, 1742.

At last I see an end of my pilgrimage; the day after tomorrow I am affirming it to you as earnestly as if' you had been doubting of it like myself: but both my brothers are here, and Sir Robert will let me go. He must follow himself soon: the Parliament meets the 16th of November, that the King may go abroad the first of March: but if all threats prove true prophecies, he will scarce enter upon heroism so soon, for we are promised a winter just like the last-new Secret Committees to be tried for, and impeachments actually put into execution.

It is horrid to have a prospect of a session like the last.

In the meantime, my Lord of Bath and Lord Hervey, who seem deserted by every body else, are grown the greatest friends in the world at Bath; and to make a complete triumvirate, my Lord Gower is always of their party: how they must love one another, the late, the present, and the would-be Privy Seal!

Lord Hyndford has had great honours in Prussia: that King bespoke for him a service of plate to the value of three thousand pounds. He asked leave for his Majesty's arms to be put upon it: the King replied, "they should, with the arms of Silesia added to his paternal coat for ever." I will tell you Sir ]Robert's remark on this: "He is rewarded thus for having obtained Silesia for the King of Prussia, which he was sent to preserve to the Queen of Hungary!" Her affairs begin to take a little better turn again; Broglio is prevented from joining Maillebois, who, they affirm, can never bring his army off, as the King of Poland is guarding all the avenues of Saxony, to prevent his pa.s.sing through that country.

I wrote to you in my last to desire that the Dominichin and my statue might come by a man-of-war. Now. Sir Robert, who is impatient for his picture, would have it sent in a Dutch ship, as he says he can easily get it from Holland. If you think this conveyance quite safe, I beg my statue may bear it company.

Tell me if you are tired of ballads on my Lord Bath; if you are not, here is another admirable one,(727) I believe by the same hand as the others; but by the conclusion certainly ought not to be Williams's. I only send you the good ones, for the newspapers are every day full of bad ones on this famous earl.

My compliments to the Princess; I dreamed last night that she was come to Houghton, and not at all 'epuis'ee with her journey. Adieu!

P.S. I must add a postscript, to mention a thing I have often designed to ask you to do for me. Since I came to England I have been buying drawings, (the time is well chosen, when I had neglected it in Italy!) I saw at Florence two books that I should now be very glad to have, if you could get them tolerably reasonable; one was at an English painter's; I think his name was Huckford, over against your house in via Bardi; they were of Holbein: the other was of Guercino, and brought to me to see by the Abb'e Bonducci; my dear child, you will oblige me much if you can get them.

(727) Sir Charles Hanbury Williams's ode, beginning "What Statesman, what Hero, what King-." It is to be found in all editions of his poems.-D.

294 Letter 88 To Sir Horace Mann.

Arlington Street, Nov. 1, 1742.

I have not felt so pleasantly these three months as I do at present, though I have a great cold with coming into an unaired house, and have been forced to carry that cold to the King's levee and the drawing-room. There were so many new faces that I scarce knew where I was; I should have taken 'it for Carlton House, or my Lady Mayoress's visiting-day, only the people did not seem enough at home, but rather as admitted to see the King dine in public. 'Tis quite ridiculous to see the numbers of old ladies, who, from having been wives of patriots, have not been dressed these twenty years; out they come, in all the accoutrements that were in use in Queen Anne's days. Then the joy and awkward jollity of them is inexpressible! They t.i.tter, and, wherever you meet them, are always going to court, and looking at their watches an hour before the time. I met several on the birthday, (for I did not arrive time enough to make clothes,) and they were dressed in all the colours of the rainbow: they seem to have said to themselves twenty years ago, ,Well, if ever I do go to court again, I will have a pink and silver, or a blue and silver,"

and they keep their resolutions.- But here's a letter from you, sent to me back from Houghton; I must stop to read it.-Well, I have read it, and am diverted with Madame Grifoni's being with child; I hope she was too. I don't wonder that she hates the country; I dare to say her child does not owe its existence to the Villeggiatura. When you wrote, it seems you had not heard what a speedy determination was put to Don Philip's reign in Savoy. I suppose he will retain the t.i.tle: you know great princes are fond of t.i.tles, which proves they are not so great as they once were.

I find a very different face of things from what we had conceived in the country. There are, indeed, thoughts of renewing attacks on Lord Orford, and Of stepping the supplies; but the new ministry laugh at these threats, having secured a vast majority in the House: the Opposition themselves own that the Court will have upwards of a hundred majority: I don't, indeed, conceive how; but they are confident of carrying every thing. They talk of Lord Gower's not keeping the privy seal; that he will either resign it, or have it taken away: Lord Bath, who is entering into all the court measures, is most likely to succeed him. The late Lord Privy Seal(728) has had a most ridiculous accident at Bath: he used to play in a little inner room; but one night some ladies had got it, and he was reduced to the public room; but being extremely absent and deep in politics, he walked through the little room to a convenience behind the curtain, from whence (still absent) he produced himself in a situation extremely diverting to the women: imagine his delicacy, and the pa.s.sion he was in at their laughing!

I laughed at myself prodigiously the other day for a piece of absence; I was writing on the King's birthday, and being disturbed with the mob in the street, I rang for the porter, and, with an air of grandeur, as if I was still at Downing Street, cried, "Pray send away those marrowbones and cleavers!" The poor fellow with the most mortified air in the world, replied, "Sir, they are not at our door, but over the way at my Lord Carteret's." "Oh," said I, "then let them alone; may be he does not dislike the noise!" I pity the poor porter, who sees all his old customers going over the way too.

Our operas begin to-morrow with a pasticcio, full of most of my favourite songs: the Fumagalli has disappointed us; she had received an hundred ducats, and then wrote word that she had spent them, and was afraid of coming through the Spanish quarters; but if they would send her an hundred more, she would come next year. Villettes has what been written to in the strongest manner to have her forced hither (for she is at Turin.) I tell you this by way of key, in case you should receive a mysterious letter in cipher from him about this important business.

I have not seen Due d'Aremberg; but I hear that all the entertainments for him are suppers, for he -will dine at his own hour, eleven in the morning. He proposed it to the d.u.c.h.ess of Richmond when she invited him; but she said she did not know where to find company to dine with him at that hour.

I must advise YOU to be cautious how you refuse humouring our captains (729) in any of their foolish schemes; for they are popular, and I should be very sorry to have them out of humour with you when they come home, lest it should give any handle to your enemies. Think of it, my dear child! The officers in Flanders, that are members of parliament, have had intimations, that if they asked leave to come on their private affairs, and drop in, not all together, they will be very well received; this is decorum. Little Brook's little wife is a little with child. Adieu!

(728) Lord Hervey.

(729) The captains of ships in the English fleet at Leghorn.

296 Letter 89 To Sir Horace Mann.

London, Nov. 15, 1742.

I have not written to you lately, expecting letters from you; last I have received two. I still send mine through France, as I am afraid they would get to you with still more difficulty through Holland.

Our army is just now ordered to march to Mayence, at the repeated instances of the Queen of Hungary; Lord Stair goes with them, but almost all the officers that arc in parliament arc come over, for the troops are only to be in garrison till March, when, it is said, the King will take the field with them. This step makes a great noise, for the old remains of the Opposition are determined to persist, and have termed this a H(inoverian measure. They begin to-morrow, with opposing the address on the King's speech: Pitt is to be the leading mail; there are none but he and Lyttelton of the Prince's court, who do not join with the ministry: the Prince has told them, that he will follow the advice they long ago gave him, "turning out all his people who do not vote as he would have them."

Lord Orford is come to town, and was at the King's levee to-day; the joy the latter showed to see him was very visible: all the new ministry came and spoke to him; and he had a long, laughing conversation with my Lord Chesterfield, who is still in Opposition.

You have heard, I suppose, of the revolution in the French Court; Madame de Mailly is disgraced, and her handsome sister De la Tournelle(730) succeeds: the latter insisted on three conditions; first, that the Mailly should quit the palace before she entered it; next, that she should be declared mistress, to which post, they pretend, there is a large salary annexed, (but that is not probable,) and lastly, that she may always have her own parties at supper: the last article would very well explain what she proposes to do with her salary.

There are admirable instructions come up from Worcester to Sandys and Winnington; they tell the latter how little hopes they always had of him. "But for you, Mr. Sandys, who have always, etc., you to s.n.a.t.c.h at the first place you could get,"

etc. In short, they charge him, who is in the Treasury and Exchequer not to vote for any supplies.(731)

I write to you in a vast hurry, for I am going to the meeting at the c.o.c.kpit, to hear the King's speech read to the members: Mr. Pelham presides there. They talk of a majority of fourscore: we shall see to-morrow.

The Pomfrets stay in the country most part of the winter-.

Lord Lincoln and Mr. (George) Pitt have declared off in form.(732) So much for the schemes of my lady! The Duke of Grafton used to say that they put him in mind of a troop of Italian comedians; Lord Lincoln was Valere, Lady Sophia, Columbine, and my lady the old mother behind the scenes.

Our operas go on au plus miserable: all our hopes lie in a new dancer, Sodi, who has performed but once, but seems to please as much as the Fausan. Did I tell you how well they had chosen the plot of the first opera? There was a prince who rebels against his father, who had before rebelled against his.(733) The Duke of Montagu says, there is to be an opera of dancing, with singing between the acts.

My Lord Tyrawley(734) is come from Portugal, and has brought three wives and fourteen children; one of the former is a Portuguese, with long black hair plaited down to the bottom of her back. He was asked the other night at supper, what he thought of England; whether he found much alteration from fifteen years ago? "No," he said, "not at all: why, there is my Lord Bath, I don't see the least alteration in him; he is just what he was: and then I found Lord Grantham (735) walking on tiptoe, as if he was still afraid of waking the Queen."

Hanbury Williams is very ill at Bath, and his wife in the same way in private lodgings in the city. Mr. Doddington has at last owned his match with his old mistress.(736) I suppose he wants a new one.

I commend your prudence about Leghorn; but, my dear child, what pain I am in about you! Is it possible to be easy while the Spaniards are at your gates! write me word every minute as your apprehensions vanish or increase. I ask every moment what people think; but how can they tell here? You say nothing of Mr. Chute, sure he is with You Still! When I am in such uneasiness about you, I want you every post to mention your friends being with you: I am sure you have none so good or sensible as he is. I am vastly obliged to you for the thought of the book of sh.e.l.ls, and shall like -it much; and thank you too about my Scagliola table; but I am distressed about your expenses. Is there any way one could get your allowance increased? You know how low my interest is now; but you know too what a push I would make to be of any service to you-tell me,, and adieu!

(730) Afterwards created d.u.c.h.ess of Chateauroux. (Mary Anne (le Mailly, widow of the Marquis de la Tournelle. She succeeded her sister Madame de Mailly, as mistress of Louis XV., as the latter had succeeded the other sister, Madame de Vintimille, in the same situation. Madame de Chateauroux was sent away from the court during the illness of Louis at Metz; but on his recovery he recalled her. Shortly after which she died, December 10, 1744, and on her deathbed accused M. de Maurepas, the minister, of having poisoned her. The intrigue, by means of which she supplanted her sister, was conducted princ.i.p.ally by the Marshal de Richelieu.-D.

(731) "We earnestly entreat, insist, and require, that you will postpone the supplies until you have renewed the secret committee of inquiry."-E.

(732) An admirer of Lady Sophia Fermor.-D.

(733) This was a pasticcio, called "Mandane," another name for Metastasio's drama of "Artaserse."-E.

(734) Lord Tyrawley was many years amba.s.sador at Lisbon. Pope has mentioned his and another amba.s.sador's seraglios in one of his imitations of Horace, "Kinnoul's lewd cargo, or Tyrawley's crew." [James O'Hara, second and last Lord Tyrawley of that family, He died in 1773, at the age of eighty-five.]

(735) Henry Na.s.sau d'Auverquerque, second Earl of Grantham.

He had been chamberlain to Queen Caroline. He died in 1754, when his t.i.tles became extinct.-E.

(736) Mrs. Beghan.