Elizabeth Montagu, the queen of the bluestockings, Volume II (of 2) : $b Her Correspondence from 1720 to 1761

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Title: Elizabeth Montagu, the queen of the bluestockings, Volume II (of 2) : Her Correspondence from 1720 to 1761
Author: Climenson, Emily Jane, Montagu, Mrs. (Elizabeth)
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.

*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Elizabeth Montagu, the queen of the bluestockings, Volume II (of 2) : Her Correspondence from 1720 to 1761" ***
OF THE BLUESTOCKINGS, VOLUME II (OF 2) ***

Transcribers’ Note

Words in italics are marked with _underscores_.

Words in small capitals are shown in UPPER CASE.

Please also see the note at the end of this volume.

[Illustration:

_Frances Reynolds pinx.ᵗ_ _C. Townley sculp_

_Mrs. Montagu_

_Emery Walker Ph.Sc._ ]

ELIZABETH MONTAGU

THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE-STOCKINGS

HER CORRESPONDENCE FROM 1720 to 1761

BY HER GREAT-GREAT-NIECE

EMILY J. CLIMENSON

AUTHORESS OF “HISTORY OF SHIPLAKE,”
“HISTORICAL GUIDE TO HENLEY-ON-THAMES,”
“PASSAGES FROM THE DIARIES OF MRS. P. LYBBE POWYS,” ETC., ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

IN TWO VOLUMES--VOL. II

[Illustration: Publisher’s colophon, a coat of arms]

LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET
1906

PRINTED BY
WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED
LONDON AND BECCLES

CONTENTS TO VOL. II

PAGE

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix

CHAPTER I.

Rev. William Robinson--Botham and Bishop Sherlock--Death
of Dr. Chesilden--The Scott separation--South Lodge,
Enfield--“Chinese pomp”--A letter to Edward Montagu--Mount
Morris--Archibald Bower--“Madonna”--Inoculation--Books
to read--History of the Popes--G. L. Scott--The Delany
lawsuit--Turkey Pye--The joyous Berenger--Death of Bishop
Berkeley--A woman in vapours--Mrs. Laurence Sterne--Lady
Bute’s Assembly--A perfect woman--Pitt’s insomnia--Rent
of lodgings--The Penshurst pictures--Trinity College,
Cambridge, Library--Gibside--Stonelands--“Minouets”--Beau
Nash--Pitt at Hayes--The new post-chaise--Bullstrode
menagerie--Richardson’s _Sir Charles Grandison_--Lucian’s
_Triumph of the Gout_--Schoolgirls’ bills--Death of
Pelham--“Tom” Lyttelton--West appointed to Chelsea
Hospital--Elizabeth Canning--Molière’s _Precieuses
Ridicules_--Hateley the artist--Lillingston
Dayrell--History of Bath--Pitt’s engagement and
marriage--Bishop Warburton and Bolingbroke--Pitt’s
honeymoon--“Gossip” Joan--Nathaniel Hooke 1–66

CHAPTER II.

Lord Montfort’s suicide--Mrs. Pococke--Lord
Baltimore’s house--Mr. Bower’s
cottage--Torriano’s marriage--Hatchlands--Sheep
Leas--Painshill--Reading--Sarah Scott’s daily
life--The calm, meek Miss Pococke--The Garrett
Wellesleys--Fears of French invasion--Garrick at Drury
Lane--Earthquake at Lisbon--Death of West--Wortley
Montagu’s pious pamphlet--Captain Robert Robinson’s
death--Byng--David Hume--Morris Robinson’s marriage--The
eccentric Matthew Robinson--Pitt buys Hayes
house--Viscount Pitt’s birth--Lyttelton a peer--The
famous _bas bleu_ assemblies--Emin--Windsor election
riot--Stillingfleet--Culham Court--George Stevens--Battle
of Hastenbeck--The Severn and Wye--Elizabeth
Wilmot--Battle of Kollin--A description of Emin--“Is got
pure well”--The Mordaunt Expedition--Dr. Monsey--Admiral
and Mrs. Boscawen--Battle of Rosbach 67–122

CHAPTER III.

The Delany trial--Death of Dr. Clayton--Emin applies
to Pitt--The attack on St. Malo--Death and will of
John Rogers--The Garricks--Letters to Mrs. Elizabeth
Carter (_passim_)--Lyttelton and Monsey--The Louisburg
blockade--Correspondence with Lyttelton (_passim_)--Molly
West’s marriage--Newcastle--Denton Hall--Lumley
Castle--Hampton Court, Herefordshire--Battle of
Zorndorff--Emin on Frederick the Great--The _eau
de luce_ disaster--Mrs. Garrick--Current price of
food--Athenian Stuart--Viper broth--“Brusher” Mills the
snake-catcher--Illness of George II.--Young Mr. Pitt--The
Session opened--Monsey’s doggerel--Admiral Boscawen
thanked by Parliament--Lady Emily Butler--Helvetius’
_De l’Esprit_--Attempted assassination of King of
Portugal--Lyttelton’s _History of Henry II._--Burke’s
_Sublime and Beautiful_--Dr. Johnson--Emin off to
Armenia--Calves Pluck water--Harleyford--Inverary
Castle--Alnwick--York--Glamis Castle--Scotch
characteristics--Burke’s appeal for Madrid
Consulship--Quebec taken--Bonus, the picture-cleaner--The
Laurence Sternes 123–177

CHAPTER IV.

Correspondence with Lyttelton (_passim_)--Lord Bath--The
Lisbon Embassy--_Dialogues of the Dead_--Lord
Chesterfield--Earl Ferrers executed--William Robinson’s
marriage--Tunbridge Wells--The Stanley family--Ned, the
groom--Lord Bath’s character--Lord Mansfield--“Montagu’s
main”--Sophocles--Hagley House rebuilt--Dr. Monsey’s
ways--Allan Ramsay, portrait painter--Letter to Duchess
of Portland--Macpherson’s _Highland Poems_--Bishop
Sherlock’s letter--Dr. Young--George Bowes’ funeral--Miss
Bowes--Greek Plays and Shakespeare--Green tea and
snuff--Death of George II.--George III. king--George
II.’s will--Floods at Newark--A great lady’s avarice--The
King’s first speech--Attendance at Court--A fashionable
dentist--A languid campaign--Bishop Sherlock’s letter
to the King--_Billets doux_--Chesterfield’s _bon
mot_--An impetuous lover of fourscore--Monsey’s fresh
doggerel--George Colman the elder 178–227

CHAPTER V.

Admiral Boscawen’s illness and death--Wortley
Montagu’s death--“Montagu Minerva”--Voltaire’s
_Tancred_--Macpherson’s _Fingal_--Lord Bath’s gift to
Mrs. Carter--Dr. Young’s letters--Another _Dialogue of
the Dead_--An anonymous letter--the British Museum--A
country gentlewoman--Gesner’s _Mort d’Abel_--Lord Bath’s
character--The future queen--Mrs. Montagu’s advice to
Tom Lyttelton--Monsey’s bloom-coloured coat--Dr. Young’s
_Resignation_--Lord Bath’s portrait--The Coronation--Lady
Pomfret--Lord Bath at Sandleford--Position of
Ministers--An act of humility--Widows’ weeds--The
_Bas-Bleus_ and shells--Laurence Sterne 228–273

APPENDICES.

“Long” Sir Thomas Robinson 275

Sandleford Priory, Berks 278

Denton Hall, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, Northumberland 281

INDEX 283

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

VOL. II.

MRS. MONTAGU _Frontispiece_

_From the engraved portrait by C. TOWNLEY, after FRANCES
REYNOLDS, in the possession of Mr. A. M. Broadley._
(_Photogravure._)

TO FACE PAGE

TEA AND COFFEE IN THE BATH-ROOM 38
_From the drawing by JOHN NIXON, in the possession of
Mr. A. M. Broadley._

THE CIRCUS, AT BATH 40
_From a drawing by THOMAS MALTON, in the possession of
Mr. A. M. Broadley._

THE KING’S BATH, AT BATH 60
_From a drawing by THOMAS ROWLANDSON, in the possession of
Mr. A. M. Broadley._

PHILIP, FOURTH EARL OF CHESTERFIELD 64
_From the picture by WILLIAM HOARE, R.A., in the National
Portrait Gallery._ (_Photogravure._)

DAVID AND MRS. GARRICK 82
_From the picture by WILLIAM HOGARTH, in the possession of
His Majesty The King._ (_Photogravure._)

GEORGE, LORD LYTTELTON 96
_From a picture by (unknown), in the National Portrait
Gallery._

MRS. MARY DELANY 106
_From the picture by JOHN OPIE, R.A., in the National
Portrait Gallery._

ALLERTHORPE HALL, YORKSHIRE 120

CONYERS MIDDLETON 120
_From the mezzotint by FABER, after the picture by
ECCARDT, 1746._ (_Photogravure._)

BENJAMIN STILLINGFLEET 128
_From an engraving by V. GREEN, after ZOFFANY._

MRS. ELIZABETH CARTER 160
_From the picture by SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A._

DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON 164
_From the picture painted for Topham
Beauclerk by SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A., in the
possession of Mr. A. H. Hallam Murray._

EDMUND BURKE 170
_From the picture by SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A., in the
National Portrait Gallery._

DR. EDWARD YOUNG 256
_From the picture by (unknown), in the National Portrait
Gallery._

WILLIAM PULTENEY, FIRST EARL OF BATH 258
_From a picture by SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A., 1761, in
the National Portrait Gallery._ (_Photogravure._)

LAURENCE STERNE 272
_After the picture by SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A., in the
possession of The Marquess of Lansdowne._ (_Photogravure._)

ELIZABETH MONTAGU

THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE-STOCKINGS

CHAPTER I.

1752–1754--CHIEFLY AT TUNBRIDGE WELLS, SANDLEFORD, AND
HAYES--BEGINNING OF FRIENDSHIP WITH PITT--CORRESPONDENCE WITH
GILBERT WEST.

[Year: 1752]

[Page heading: “PEREGRINE PICKLE”]

[1]_January 1, 1752_, an interchange of letters and compliments from
the Wests and Mrs. Montagu take place. Mrs. West sends a huge turkey
and ham pie, half for Mrs. Montagu, half for Temple West, Gilbert’s
brother. Mr. Pitt, Lady Cobham, and Berenger were expected. In a letter
to her sister, Sarah Scott, Mrs. Montagu mentions--

“My Father is going to purchase a fine living for Willy, indeed he
will not enjoy it till after the death of the present incumbent,
but it brings in £470 a year, a fine reversion for a younger
brother, and what, joined to another moderate living, will be a
comfortable subsistence.”

This was the living of Burghfield in Berkshire, purchased from the
Shrewsbury family, for two lives, of which in after years William
Robinson became rector, his son Matthew succeeding him. Further in this
letter it says--

“I recommend to your perusal ‘The Adventures of Peregrine
Pickle.’[2] Lady Vane’s[3] story is well told. Mr. W. Robinson and
the Doctor called on me this morning. The Doctor talks of Bath for
his health, but he is the best-looking invalid I ever saw. An Irish
Bishopric will cure him entirely. Mrs. Delany is not in England.
Poor Mrs. Donnellan has lost her brother, Dr. Donnellan,[4] and is
in great affliction.”

[1] In 1752 the New Style began. I adhere to the dates as placed on
the letters, as I have all through this book.

[2] Published in 1751, by T. Smollett.

[3] _Née_ Anne Hawes, of Purley Hall, Berks. Married, first, Lord
William Hamilton; secondly, Lord Vane.

[4] The Rev. Christopher Donnellan, a friend of Swift’s.

Mr. W. Robinson, afterwards Sir William Robinson, and Dr. Robinson,
were her cousins, brothers of “Long” Sir Thomas Robinson and Sir
Septimus, and sons of William Robinson of Rokeby. Dr. Richard
Robinson[5] was chaplain to the Duke of Dorset, then Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland, and had just been made Bishop of Killala. They were immense
men, with fine features and rosy cheeks. Mr. Richard Cumberland[6]
calls Dr. Richard Robinson “a colossal man.” So attached was Sir
William to his brother Richard that Cumberland says he imitated the
Archbishop in everything, even to the size of his shoes, diet, and
physic!

[5] The Rev. Dr. Richard Robinson, born 1709, died 1794; afterwards
Archbishop of Armagh, and 1st Baron Rokeby.

[6] Richard Cumberland, dramatist, born 1732, died 1811.

On February 10, Mr. West applied to the Bishop of London[7] for further
preferment for Mr. Botham, and writes to Mrs. Montagu--

“Wickham, February 10, 1752.

“DEAR COUSIN,

“Inclosed is my letter to the Bishop of London, which I send open
for your perusal; if you approve of it, be pleased to seal it and
convey it to his Lordship in what manner you think proper. I most
sincerely wish it may have any good effect for my cousin Botham’s
sake, but we must not flatter ourselves too much. Great men often
think their smiles sufficient Favors, and you know there is a
Beauty in that of my Lord of London that must enhance its value....

“Dear cousin,
“Your most affectionate and
obliged humble servᵗ,
“G. W.”

[7] Rev. Thomas Sherlock, born 1678, died 1761.

[Page heading: BISHOP OF LONDON’S LETTER]

The letter was sent to the Bishop. Here is his reply to Mr. West--

“London, ye 18th February, 1752.

“SIR,

“I had the honour of yours of the 10 inst., and tho’ I am disabled
from writing myself with the Gout in my Hands, yet I will not omit
to assure you that there are very few whom I should be better
pleased to oblige than yourself, and the Lady at whose instance you
write.

“I feel very sensibly the distress of Mr. Botham and his wife, and
judge as you do that it is a case that calls for, and deserves
assistance. But in considering where my Patronages lye, I cannot
find that I have any living within distance of Albury, unless it be
in the City of London, where probably Mr. Botham would not choose
to live. When I have the Happiness to see you, you shall be more
fully acquainted how far I am able to assist you.

“I am, Sir,
“Your very obedient, humble Servᵗ,
(Signed by himself) “THO. LONDON.

“Mrs. Sherlock desires to join me in respects to you and Mrs. West.”

In March, Mr. Pitt obtained for Mr. Gilbert West the clerkship of the
Privy Council, a lucrative office.

On March 25, from Hayes to Wickham, Mrs. Montagu writes--

“DEAR COUSIN,

“I thank you most heartily for immediately giving me the sincerest
joy I have felt for this long time. May you long enjoy what you
have so late attained.... You cannot imagine the pleasure I
propose in hearing your friends congratulate you on Fortune’s
first courtesy. Base Jade! to be so tedious and so sparing in her
favours.”

With many congratulations to Mrs. West, etc., to which Lydia Botham,
then at Hayes, added a few lines, Mrs. Montagu announces she will
convey him and Mrs. West to London the next morning in her post-chaise,
and they shall stay in Hill Street, where Mr. Montagu was attending to
his parliamentary business; and, she adds, to fix an hour “so as to be
with the President of the Council at 12 o’clock.”

[Page heading: DR. WILLIAM CHESILDEN]

From London, on April 17, Mr. Montagu writes an account of the
celebrated surgeon, Dr. William Chesilden’s death--

“The papers, I suppose, have informed you of the death of poor
Chesilden. I had an account of the manner of his death from one Mr.
Vourse, an eminent man in his own profession. He told me the poor
man was with Jerry Pierce and others, telling them how soon after
his being seized with the Palsy he had been making a bargain with
an undertaker to bury him, with this he was entertaining them with
his usual humour, and in the midst of his story was seiz’d with an
apoplectic fit which finish’d him in half an hour.... I forgot to
add that Mr. Chesilden had eat a great deal of Bread and drank a
good quantity of ale; being asthmatic, this was reckoned to be the
cause of his death.”

[Page heading: THE SCOTT SEPARATION]

It will be remembered that Mrs. Montagu was always opposed to her
sister Sarah’s marriage to George Lewis Scott. Unfortunately, her
fears as to their felicity were prophetic, for in April, 1752, after
only a year’s matrimony, they separated; incompatibility of temper was
alleged, but from the letters there was evidently much more below the
surface. Mrs. Delany, writing in April to her sister, Mrs. D’Ewes,
says--

“What a foolish match Mrs. Scott has made for herself. Mrs. Montagu
wrote Mrs. Donnellan word that she and the rest of her friends had
rescued her out of the hands of a very bad man: but for reasons of
interest, they should conceal his misbehaviour as much as possible,
but entreated Mrs. Donnellan would vindicate her sister’s character
whenever she heard it attacked, for she was very innocent.”

Sarah was only twenty-nine. Her father and brothers separated her from
Mr. Scott, as is shown in his own letters to Mr. Montagu, who had been
his original friend. He acknowledged “that Mrs. Montagu knew nothing
of the separation till it was communicated to her;” in truth she was
at Hayes at the time. Her letters indicate the enmity and rancour of
a great lady whose name was kept behind the scenes. Mr. Scott wrote
two letters to Mr. Montagu, dated April 29 and May 1, but both are so
involved and mysterious as to shed no real light on his misdemeanours.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Montagu received Mrs. Scott at Hayes, and in a letter
to her husband, whom she was preparing to join in London, says Morris
was urging Mrs. Scott to go to Albury. She says--

“I could leave her at Hayes when I go to town, but her spirits
are so bad and she is so ill she cannot be alone.... Indeed, poor
creature, her situation is miserable, allied to the faults and
the infamy of a bad man, subject to his aspersions, and liable to
the censures of his friends (for the worst have some), as in all
disagreements in wedlock, blame falls ever on the innocent where
there is no harmony. ‘How happy to behold in wedded pair!’ each has
the credit of the other’s virtues; they have double honour, united
interests and all that can make people strong in society. This,
my Dearest, is my happier lot, inriched by your fortune, ennobled
by your virtues, graced by your character, and supported by your
interest.”

Mrs. Montagu accompanied Mrs. Scott to Albury. She writes--

“We had a very pleasant journey here, and our horses performed
well. We found Lydia and Johnny in health and happiness, surrounded
by five of the finest children I ever saw; the youngest boy is a
little cherubim and has the finest white hair imaginable.”

[Page heading: A SEDAN CHAIR]

[Page heading: THE SCOTTS]

Mrs. Donnellan, in May, writes from Delville, where she still was, to
Mrs. Montagu, to say that Lord Holderness was to give up her house in
Hanover Square about August, and as it was too large for her fortune,
and the lease was near its end,[8] she wishes Mrs. Montagu to look out
for a house for her “not farther than Windsor from London. Soon after
our return, the Dean and Mrs. Delany go to Down, and I fear his affairs
will not permit him to go to England this year.” She adds--

“I have writ to Mrs. Shuttleworth to bespeak me a chair of
Vaughan.[9] I would have it plain and light, lined with white
cloath and green curtains, as white and green is my livery. If you
should go to town, I should be obliged to you if you would send to
Vaughan about it....

“I now come to the interesting part of your letter, the unhappy
affair of poor Mrs. Scott. I had heard before I received yours that
she and Mr. Scott were parted, but could hardly believe it, a match
so much of mutual inclination seemed to promise mutual happiness,
and the shortness of the time of their union hardly allowed them
to find out they were not happy, so that you are unwilling to hurt
the gentleman in his character. I must conclude he is very bad,
since in so short a time he could force Mrs. Scott and all her
family to come to such an _éclat_. I am extremely concerned for all
the uneasiness you have had on the occasion, but you have had the
consolation of showing yourself a most generous and kind sister
in supporting her in her misfortunes, and especially as it was a
match made against your better judgment. I beg my compliments to
Mrs. Scott, and I heartily wish her health and spirits to support
her situation; ’tis said here she is returning to Bath to live with
Lady Montagu. On these occasions people love to seem to know more
than perhaps they do; all I say is that you entirely justify Mrs.
Scott, and I am sure you must know the truth. I hear, too, he has
given her back half her fortune, and has settled a 150 pounds a
year on her; this, I think, is a justification to her.”

[8] Mr. Macartney took it on.

[9] Means a sedan chair.

Mrs. Montagu had indeed a great deal of trouble at this time, for
besides sheltering and endeavouring to cheer Mrs. Scott’s failing
spirits, she had, to say nothing of her own constant ill-health,
the additional trouble of her favourite brother Jack’s illness, now
continuing some months, of a nervous disorder, which he never recovered
from.

[Page heading: SOUTH LODGE]

[Page heading: THE REV. WILLIAM ROBINSON]

On May 26, from Sandleford, Mrs. Montagu writes to Mr. West, who is at
her house in Hill Street, attending as clerk to the Privy Council--

“DEAR COUSIN,

“I was informed by Mrs. Isted[10] that you intended to return to
town in the middle of this week, so I imagine that by this time you
are in the Empire of China.[11] The leafless trees and barren soil
of my landscape will very ill bear comparison with the shady oaks
and beautiful verdure of South Lodge, and the grinning Mandarins
still worse supply the place of a British Statesman: but as you
can improve every society and place into which you enter, I expect
such hints from you as will set off the figures, and enliven
the landscape with rural beauty. I grieved at the rain from an
apprehension that it might interfere with your pleasure at South
Lodge. I hope it did not, but that you saw the place with the
leisure and attention it deserves; if you give me an account of
the parts of it which charmed you most, or of the whole, you will
lead my imagination to a very fine place in very good company, and
I shall walk over it with great pleasure. I imagine you would feel
some poetic enthusiasm in the Temple of Pan, and hope it produced a
hymn or ode in which we shall see him knit with the Graces and the
Hours to dance, lead on to the Eternal Spring, through groves of
your unfading bays.”

South Lodge, Enfield, was then the residence of Mr. Pitt, the grounds
of which he laid out with great taste, and designed the Temple of
Pan. Mrs. Montagu had recently been on a visit to him here, as will
be seen in West’s answer. At the end of a long letter, which contains
directions as to the ornaments of her room, comments on her bad health,
in which she quotes Pope’s saying, “ill-health is an early old age,”
she winds up with regretting that Sir George Lyttelton and Miss West
were going to Tunbridge so soon, for “I fear they will leave the place
the earlier, as they go at the beginning of the season.” She finishes
by commending her brother William, who was to spend a day or two in
Hill Street, to West, saying--

“I wrote my advice to him to take this opportunity to pay his
respects to you, but possibly a little College awkwardness, added
to natural timidity, may prevent his doing it. I assure you he is a
very good young man, more I will not say, for having for some years
had a mother’s care of him, I have also a mother’s partiality:
perhaps you may like him the better for his resemblance to your
son.”

[10] Mrs. Isted, Mrs. Montagu’s lady housekeeper.

[11] She was fitting up her big room in Chinese style, and West was
assisting her with hints.

From Albury she had brought Lydia’s second daughter, Bessie--

“Not so handsome as her sister whom you have seen, but she is fair
and well shaped, very sensible and of a sweet disposition, and
though but ten years of age, reads and writes well, and has made a
great progress in arithmetic.”

To this letter Gilbert West answers on May 30--

“Mr. Pitt, as you will easily imagine from your own experience,
received and entertained us with great politeness, and something
still more pleasing and solid, with every mark of friendship and
esteem. He had provided for me a wheeling chair, by the help of
which I was enabled to visit every sequestered nook, dingle and
bosky bower from side to side in that little paradise opened in
the wild, and by the help of my imagination doubled the pleasure I
received from the various Beauties of Art and Nature, by recalling
and participating the past pleasure of a certain person,[12] some
of whose remarks and sayings Mr. Pitt repeated with a secret pride,
and I heard with equal admiration and delight. The weather indeed
was not so favourable to us as we could have wished.... Molly[13]
indeed, who has an insatiable ardour in viewing a fine place, and
an almost implicit faith in Mr. Pitt’s taste and judgment, stole
out often by herself, and in defiance of wind or rain walked many
times over the enchanting round.... Kitty[14] has seemed to be
inspired with an unusual flow of spirits, which not only emboldened
her to undertake, but enabled her also to complete the tour, which
I was forced to make in my chair, attended by her, Molly, and Mr.
Pitt.”

[12] Mrs. Montagu, who had been on a visit to Mr. Pitt.

[13] Miss West, his sister.

[14] Mrs. West.

In the reply occurs the following passage:--

“I am very glad you and Mrs. West went over every part of South
Lodge, as you see with more judgment you must see with more
pleasure than I did, and I think there can hardly be a finer
entertainment not only to the eyes but to the mind, than so sweet
and peaceful a scene. I was surprised to hear Mr. Pitt say he had
never spent an entire week there, this shows one that a person who
has an active mind and is qualified for the busy scene of life,
need not fear any excess in the love of retirement.”

[Page heading: CAPTAIN ROBERT ROBINSON]

[Page heading: “CHINESE POMP”]

Captain Robinson returned from his Chinese expedition in the _Saint
George_ the middle of June, and Mrs. Montagu and Mrs. Scott met him
from Sandleford at her villa at Hayes. “He has brought me two beautiful
gowns and a fine Chinese lanthorn. We are to go on board the _St.
George_ to-morrow,” she writes to her husband. He also brought a gown
apiece for Lady Sandwich and her sister, Miss Fane. The greater part of
the Robinson family went to dine on the _Saint George_, but on a stormy
day, and Mrs. Montagu was very terrified at the tossing of the small
boat they went in. Soon after this, in the beginning of July, Mrs.
Montagu left for her annual visit to Tunbridge Wells, where she had
taken the “White Stone House” on Mount Ephraim. Sarah Scott returned
to Sandleford to Mr. Montagu, _en route_ for Bath, where she was about
to take up residence with her friend, Lady Bab Montagu. At Tunbridge
were Sir George and Lady Lyttelton, Mr. West, Miss Charlotte Fane, Mr.
Garrick, Mr. Bower, the Dean of Exeter, General Pulteney,[15] etc. At a
big ball Mrs. Montagu says--

“I shone forth in full Chinese pomp at the ball, my gown was much
liked, the pattern of the embroidery admired extremely.... Garrick
had an incomparable letter from Beranger which he read with proper
humour one day he dined here.... I go every day to Mr. King’s
lectures.”

[15] Brother of Lord Bath.

On July 22 Mrs. Montagu writes to her husband--

“Sir George and Lady Lyttelton[16] went away this morning, as to
the lady, she is so unsociable and retired, her departure makes
no difference in the Society, in all her manners she signified a
dislike and contempt of the company, and in this, the world is
always just, and pays in kind to the full measure, and even with
more than legal interest at 4 per cent!”

[16] The second Lady Lyttelton, _née_ Rich.

[Page heading: “A COLD LOAF”]

Mr. West from Tunbridge visited his cousins, the Bothams, at Albury,
and found Lydia in a terrible state of health, and worried with the
preparation of her five children to be inoculated. He persuaded her
to go to Tunbridge to consult Dr. Shaw, and writes from Stoke to Mrs.
Montagu to suggest that Mrs. Botham should stay with her at Sandleford
whilst the children are inoculated, and left in their father’s care.
He mentions Mr. Hooke being in a cottage near Stoke, very busy writing.
Lydia Botham, despite of all entreaties, returned to Albury to remain
with her children. Mrs. Montagu contemplated a visit to Horton, _alias_
Mount Morris, with her husband, to stay with her brother Matthew, but
violent rheumatism attacked her in the shoulders. She was reluctantly
obliged to let Mr. Montagu visit “the brethren,” as they termed them,
alone. Meanwhile, West, not being satisfied with the tutor with whom
his son was residing, hastened to Hill Street to remove him to Oxford.
Mrs. Medows[17] writes from Chute on October 3 to say she had taken
her nieces, the Miss Pulses, to see Sandleford, where they ate “a cold
loaf,”[18] and “I was not a little exalted as a planter when I saw
chestnuts I had set nuts, five and forty feet high.” She mentions that
Mrs. Isted gave them a great many good things, “and showed several
pretty pieces of her painting, and one of your curtains finished and
a handkerchief the little girl you are so good as to take care of is
making for you, that will look very like point.”

[17] Mr. Montagu’s sister.

[18] The usual expression for a picnic then.

Mr. Montagu set out on October 2 to Horton, and arrived at Canterbury,
where he ascended the Cathedral tower for the view, his first sight of
that place. His first letter crossed one of his wife’s, in which she
laments her inability to accompany him, and says--

“I suppose you will see the place with great veneration, where your
consort’s virtues, charms and accomplishments were ripened to their
present perfection, besides the pleasure of seeing my brothers,
which would have been great. I should have reviewed the place where
I spent the careless days of infancy and the more gay ones of early
youth with satisfaction. To the Fair, the years from 15 to 20 are
very agreeable.” She continues, “When do my brethren come to town?
I hear my brother Robinson stays to cultivate the maternal acres.
As to the Paternal they will not come yet. I think he will think of
the Père Eternel when he does not say the Lord’s Prayer. I design
to go to Mrs. Donnellan to-morrow, she is at North End, where she
designs to remain till her house is ready for her reception.”

These letters are addressed thus:--

“To
“Edward Montagu Esqr. & Memʳ· of Parlᵗ·
at Matthew Robinson Morris Esqr.,
at Horton,
“Near Hythe,
“Kent.”

Morris Robinson, when not in town on business, lived with his brother,
and it was a home to all the brothers as they required one, their gay
old father, Mr. Robinson, preferring lodgings in London, where he was
the life and soul of the fashionable coffee-houses.

[Page heading: A BACHELOR!]

Mr. Montagu having complained of his horse not liking stony roads, his
wife writes--

“I am sorry your horse does not like hard roads, for the ways about
Horton are very stony; a dull horse is like a dull friend, one is
safe but not much delighted in their company.” She adds, “I hope
the sight of so many merry bachelors does not revive in you the
love of a single state. Theirs is the joy of the wicked, not the
pure comforts of a holy state like matrimony.... Poor Mr. Brockman
is the only man truly sensible of the evils of celibacy, and he
weeps and will not be comforted, as all unmarried men should do,
were they truly sensible of their misfortune.”

This is playfully malicious, as Mr. Brockman had been one of her
earliest admirers.

[Page heading: MOUNT MORRIS]

Her husband, on October 12, answers a long letter of hers about the
monuments in Canterbury Cathedral, and says--

“Since I came here I have passed my time much to my satisfaction,
the entire freedom and liberty that reigns here, the love and
harmony that dwells amongst the brethren, as it is very uncommon,
so is the more agreeable to me, as I cannot but take a part and
be affected with pleasure and pain in everything that relates
to you. If you had been here you would have much added to our
happiness, and I believe this not only to be my sentiments but
that of all the rest of the company. I have never before now had
an opportunity of sufficiently observing this house, which is very
large and perfectly regular, though it is not placed just where one
could wish it, ’tis easy to see is capable of great improvement by
openings and cuttings in a good deal of that fine prospect which is
now shut out by the walls and trees; and by grubbing up the bushes
and hedges and making a kind of Paddock on the South side of the
house. A bason of water like that at Newbold might also be easily
made.... Some of these things the worthy owner is not without
having some thoughts of doing, as well as cutting some walks and
vistas through his wood.”

There is a picture of Mount Morris in Harris’ ‘History of Kent,’
1719, a large square house with a cupola surmounted by a big ball and
weathercock. In front of the house and round it are the small walled
gardens, formally planted, the fashion of the period. These were
eventually pulled down by Matthew Robinson, the hedges grubbed and
all thrown into one large park,[19] in which his numerous horses and
cattle roamed at large. Mr. Montagu seemed to have enjoyed some fine
partridge shooting whilst at Horton. He also frequented “‘Old Father
Ocean’ at Hythe, with whose solemn majestic look I am always delighted.”

[19] A picture of Mount Morris as altered by Matthew is in the Kent
volume of “Beauties of England and Wales”.

[Page heading: ARCHIBALD BOWER]

Visits to the Scotts of Scotts Hall, the Brockmans of Beachborough,
etc., are spoken of. In a letter of the same date, October 12, to her
husband, Mrs. Montagu first mentions Archibald Bower[20] and his wife.

[20] Archibald Bower, born 1686, died 1766; wrote “The History of
the Popes,” etc., etc.

To give the whole biography of Archibald Bower would take too much
space in this book. An account of him can be found in the “National
Biography,” vol. vi. p. 48. He was a Scotsman, was sent to Douai, and
entered the Jesuit Society in 1706. In 1717 he studied Divinity at
Rome; became Reader of Philosophy and Adviser to the College of Arezzo.
Horrified at the “hellish proceedings” of the Court of Inquisition,
where he witnessed the torture of two innocent gentlemen, he fled to
England, and while there made the acquaintance of Dean Berkeley, the
old admirer and friend of Mrs. Donnellan, who was afterwards Bishop of
Cloyne. He entered, as tutor, the family of Mr. Thompson, Coley Park,
Berks, and afterwards that of Lord Aylmer. He revised the “Universal
History.” In 1748 he was made keeper of the Queen’s Library, and in
1749 he married a widow with one child, a niece of Bishop Nicholson.
His first volume of his “History of the Popes” was published in 1748,
the second in 1751, the third in 1753. Though renouncing the Jesuit
order, he seems to have had business dealings with the Society, some of
which brought him into considerable obloquy, but they are too lengthy
to be detailed here.

Mrs. Montagu, returning to Hayes, says--

“Mr. Bower and his wife are to come to me on Friday, and stay till
Saturday or Monday, he is a very merry entertaining companion. He
left all gloominess in that seat of horrors--the Inquisition. I
breakfasted with him on Tuesday, he is but between two or three
miles from Hayes. His wife is civil and silent, so I asked her to
come over with him. I never saw any country more beautiful than
about Chislehurst, where he lives. I cannot say much in praise of
his habitation, which he terms his Paradise, but indeed to a mind
so gay and cheerful as his, all places are a Paradise. He is much
engaged with those old ladies, the Popes, but says he will leave
the Santi Padri for his Madonna. He will teach me the pronunciation
of Italian, which he has reduced to a Method, so it may easily be
acquired. He taught it to Mr. Garrick at Tunbridge.”

[Page heading: “MADONNA”]

Apparently Bower was introduced to Mrs. Montagu by Gilbert West. He was
an intimate friend of Sir George Lyttelton. Both he and Sir George gave
Mrs. Montagu the sobriquet of “Madonna,” but as Bower’s first letter
of 1753 addresses her as “Madonna,” with him probably the nickname
originated. They corresponded for some years in Italian.

In the next letter of October 14, she says--

“The Bowers came here yesterday. Mr. and Mrs. West met them here at
dinner, and to-morrow we are all to dine at Wickham. This morning I
shall carry Mrs. Bower to see Cæsar’s Camp, the prospect from which
is now in high beauty.”

[Page heading: INOCULATION]

The five Botham children had been inoculated! Their mother had been
persuaded in her bad health to leave them in their father’s care.
Lydia, writing to Mrs. Montagu to thank her for a present of Madeira,
says--

“You will desire to hear something of my Babes. My letter from
their good Father to-day says they were well when he wrote, but
that my kind and humane friends, Dr. Shaw and Winchester, who had
both been with them in the morning, said their eyes were so heavy
and their pulses so loaded that they would not hold up long.”

A postscript to this letter gives the next day’s account in Mr.
Botham’s words--

“My dear Babes are all drooping round me, and wonder not if I tell
you I am glad they are so, since from the gentlest symptoms of the
distemper I have a good foundation to hope they will do well. They
are sometimes up and sometimes down, and sicken so gradually that
Winchester doubts not that they will have a favourable sort of the
smallpox. I expect they will be in their beds to-morrow.”

By November 16 the five children were well, and Mrs. Montagu writes to
Mr. West from Sandleford--

“Mrs. Botham returns to her little family to-morrow, they are
all quite recovered, and I hope this lucky event will hasten the
recovery of my Lydia. I should indeed be glad to behold the happy
smile that will illuminate her countenance at her return to her
babes. Mr. Rogers[21] is recovering from another mortification....
I really believe he will live to the age of Methuselah, for he
recovers of those illnesses which destroy the strongest.

“I find the Princess of Wales will have a drawing-room as soon as
the King returns, and I hope you will consult with your friends,
whether it will not be proper you should appear there.... Mr.
Linnell[22] brought me his bill the morning I left town, and
I think I will send a copy of it as a proper warning to your
Mrs. West, and if you will still proceed in spite of my sad and
woeful example, I cannot help it. I shall repent my misdeeds as
the daughters of Israel did theirs in sackcloth and ashes. Adieu
Brocade, Embroidery, and lace, and even the cheaper vanities of
lutestring and blonde.”

[21] John Rogers, of Denton Hall, to whom Mr. Montagu, his cousin,
was trustee, as he was a lunatic.

[22] Linnell had been decorating rooms in her house at Hill Street,
and Mr. West was also employing him at Wickham.

Mr. West took Mrs. Montagu’s advice as to going to Court and “kissing
hands, a ceremony which upon more deliberation I think it most
advisable to go through, however glad I should have been to avoid it.”

[Page heading: NEW BOOKS]

In a letter to Miss Anstey from Mrs. Montagu, of November 23, we gain a
glimpse of the books being read then--

“Mr. Hooke has published a second edition of his ‘Roman
History,’ which is much admired. Mr. Brown’s[23] essays on the
‘Characteristics of Lord Shaftesbury’[24] are well spoken of;
Lord Orrery[25] has just published his Observations on the ‘Life
and Writings of Dr. Swift.’ ... The ‘Biographia Brittanica’ will
entertain you with the Lives of many great men, some of them are
very well written. Mr. Warburton’s[26] Edition of Mr. Pope’s Works
contains some new pieces, and some alterations of old ones. ‘The
Memoires du Duc de Sully’[27] are very entertaining.... The Duke of
Cumberland has been dangerously ill, is now something better. Lord
Coventry[28] they say is to marry Miss Gunning. Some actors have
appeared at the Theatre, and their characters are not of the first
rank. One of them imitates Mr. Garrick.” This must have been Foote.

[23] John Brown, D.D., born 1715, died 1766. Eminent divine,
indefatigable writer.

[24] 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, born 1671, died 1713; wrote
“Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, and Times.”

[25] Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery.

[26] William Warburton, born 1698, died 1779. Divine and writer;
Bishop of Gloucester.

[27] Duc de Sully, favourite minister of Henry IV. of France.

[28] Lord Coventry, married March 5, 1782, to Maria Gunning.

[Page heading: “HISTORY OF THE POPES”]

Gilbert West was busied at this time planting his garden at Wickham
with firs and laurels, and Mrs. Montagu teased him by letter about his
“evergreen-nevergreen garden,” as she called it. She says--

“Remember that while you avoid winter, you exclude Spring, and
forbid the glad return of the vernal season, as well as the sad
approach of autumn. In your garden and in your life, may all that
is necessary for shade, for shelter and for comfort be permanent
and unchanged. May the pleasures and aromatics be various,
successive, sweet and new! ... I shall be much obliged to you if
when you see the incomparable Mr. Bower you will get of him the
second volume of the ‘History of the Popes.’ I have almost finished
Mr. Hooke’s history. I do not care to quit the city of Rome till
I have seen the establishment of its spiritual Monarchy.... I
have just received a collection of letters, wrote by Madame de
Maintenon, though Voltaire has diminished my opinion of her in some
degree; yet I have an impatience to open the book.... I shall like
to see what alteration there is in her from the wife and widow of
poor Scarron to becoming the consort of Louis le Grand.”

On December 2 Lady Courtenay sent feathers and shells to Mrs. Montagu
for her work. She was the daughter of Heneage, 2nd Lord Aylesford, and
married to Sir William Courtenay, afterwards 1st Viscount Courtenay.
She was a sister of Lady Andover’s, and a great friend of Lydia
Botham’s, and in this letter expresses great concern at Lydia’s sad
state of health.

On December 29 Mrs. Montagu writes to her sister Sarah that she had
sustained the great loss of her lady housekeeper, Mrs. Isted, who had
died very suddenly whilst Mr. and Mrs. Montagu had been spending a few
days with Lydia Botham. The latter was then supposed to be dying.

From the letters it appears Mrs. Isted was a widow lady, who had
lost an only child, and had been known to Mrs. Montagu in her more
prosperous years. Lydia Botham rallied for a time.

[Page heading: GEORGE LEWIS SCOTT]

A great dispute was going on at Leicester House at this time on the
subject of Prince George’s tutors. Amongst the sub-preceptors, it will
be remembered, was Mr. George Lewis Scott, Sarah’s (_née_ Robinson)
husband. Soon after this he was dismissed from the list of tutors. One
reason alleged was that he was a Jacobite, but there was little ground
for this supposition. Though a clever man, he seems to have been quite
an unsuitable person to be tutor to the princes, and Mrs. Montagu
comforts Sarah by saying his true character will now appear. “You will
see shortly that he and you will have justice done you, and with this
difference, that to you it will be a guardian angel, to him an avenging
minister. In the mean time ‘leave him to Heaven, and the thorns that
prick his bosom,’ as says good Mr. Hamlet.”

On December 23 she had an assembly, and writes to Mrs. Boscawen that
“the Chinese Room was filled by a succession of people from eleven in
the morning till eleven at night.”

The year ends with a letter to Gilbert West, who had had a terrible
attack of gout, sending him Birch’s[29] “Life of Archbishop
Tillotson,”[30] “which Mr. Birch left for you himself.”

[29] Rev. Thomas Birch, born 1705, died 1766.

[30] John Tillotson, born 1630, died 1694. Archbishop of Canterbury
in 1691.

[Year: 1753]

1753 opens with a letter from Mrs. Donnellan on January 2, to Mrs.
Montagu, then at Sandleford. In this she says--

“Two letters from Ireland informed me of a sort of determination
both of Dr. Delany’s affair and my own. I had a very particular
account of both from my Six Clerk and Manager, Mr. Croker, who is
Six Clerk to Delany’s adversarys, and a short letter from Mrs.
Delany. My Lord Chancellor has acquitted Dr. Delany of a hard word
in the law, called spoliation, but has ordered an account before
two masters in Chancery to be taken of all the late Mrs. Delany’s
personal estate, and what she was worth when she married the Dean.”

This law-suit, which lasted some years, and was a great annoyance and
expense to the Delanys, was caused by his having inadvertently burnt
a paper of importance belonging to his first wife. Mrs. Donnellan’s
brother had claimed the lease of the house lately belonging to their
mother, in London, owing to a defect in the execution of the will. Mrs.
Donnellan got the books, and some few hundred pounds, but, as she had
been residuary legatee in the will, suffered severe loss which she bore
with exemplary patience.

It is probable that at this period her brother-in-law, Bishop Clayton,
being wealthy and generous, gave up his wife’s marriage portion to her
sister, Anne Donnellan.

Anne now took a house in Bolton Row, London.

[Page heading: TURKEY PYE]

On January 3 Mrs. Montagu writes to thank Mrs. West for a portion of
Turkey “pye,” and some verses of her composing with it. She says--

“January 3.

“DEAR MADAM,

“For your pye and your verses what strains are sublime enough to
return proper thanks! You have held the balance of justice so
exactly and directed its sword so well where to fall that Mrs.
Temple West and I are determined to divide the pye this evening
according to the rules prescribed. Though our pye has not yet
been toasted, your verses have been well relish’d by some of the
greatest connoisseurs. About an hour after I had your letter Miss
West came to call on me; I communicated your poetic strains and
we were very merry over them. When Lord Temple and Sir George
Lyttelton came in we let them have a share, and they joined in the
laugh and commendation. Lord Temple desired his best and kindest
compliments to you and my cousin. He is not at all the worse for
his late illness.... Sir George and he were going to dine with Mr.
Pitt, whose health, I believe, is in much the same state as when
you saw him.”

[Page heading: THE DUCHESS OF CHANDOS]

Mrs. Medows wrote on January 6 from Chute, Wilton, then her
brother-in-law’s residence, to wish the Montagus a happy new year, and
in this letter she says--

“The Duke of C(handos)[31] our neighbour kept his Son’s[32]
birthday with great magnificence. I was invited, and not foreseeing
such an occasion for dress, I had neither manto nor sack, and
desired leave to come in a white apron in the evening, but the
Duchess insisted on my coming with it to dinner. You may imagine
how well I dined on two and forty dishes, and a dessert of one and
twenty, very well ordered and served; but the Duchess’s behaviour
was really an entertainment, not in the least embarrassed, she did
the honours perfectly well, and seemed conscious she should make
a good figure, and pleased with the opportunity. In the evening
there was a ball, cards for the grave people. I am pleased to find
that I can still see the young people dance and with pleasure;
our nieces[33] Pulses were the best dancers. I won four rubbers
and past for a good player; content with this, I came away before
supper. I was charmed with Mrs. Ironmonger[34] ... If you would
have me think you well get a Vandike Hankerchief. Mrs. Ironmonger
had one, and I am sure it will become you.”

[31] 2nd Duke of Chandos.

[32] His only son by first wife, afterwards 3rd Duke.

[33] Mrs. Medows’ nieces.

[34] Probably Mrs. _Iremonger_, of Wherwell, Hants.

The duchess here alluded to was the second wife of the duke, Anne
Jefferies, _née_ Wells. In the “Complete Peerage” we read, “See the
story of her being sold with a halter round her neck by her husband,
Jefferies, an ostler at the Pelican Inn, Newbury, and purchased by the
Duke of Chandos in ‘N & Q,’ 4th l. vi. p. 179.” She was married in 1744
to the duke, and died in 1759 _s.p._

[Page heading: THE POET GRAY]

January 18, Miss Anstey, writing from Trumpington, says--

“Have you heard that Mr. Gray[35] is going to publish his whole
stock of poetry, which, though it will consist of only one volume,
and contains but few things which have not been already printed,
the price will be half a guinea; but what seems most extraordinary,
it is expected there will be a very great demand for them, and I
am told there is already a great number bespoke, for they are to
be embellished and illustrated in the most curious and ingenious
manner with copper plates drawn and imagined by Mr. Bentley.[36]
I hear they are all very clever, and was told for a specimen
that the little ode on the cat is to have in the frontispiece
the Fates cutting her nine threads of her life, and the rats and
mice exulting upon the death of their enemy. At the end Puss is
represented as just landed from Charon’s Boat, and in her approach
towards Pluto’s Palace, she sets up her back and spits at Cerberus.
How do you like the conceit? They are said to be very highly drawn,
and Mr. Gray gives his poetry. Mr. Horace Walpole[37] is at the
whole expense of the printing and copper plates for the benefit of
Mr. Bentley....

“I hear the scholar[38] of St. John’s who has admitted himself
of the play house performs much better in a personated than he
did here in his real character. I suppose he does not regret his
being expelled the University, as he finds himself well received
by the Town, for excommunication would not hurt him there. I hear
he is really a good actor, which is a thing, I am afraid, much
more rare than a bad clergyman, so I am glad he has taken to the
stage instead of the Pulpit. I hear there were fourscore of this
University present at his first performance, and that if he has a
benefit the whole body will be present at it.”

[35] Thomas Gray, born 1716, died 1771.

[36] Richard Bentley, junior son of the Master of Trinity,
Cambridge.

[37] Horace Walpole, younger son of Sir Robert Walpole, born 1717,
died 1797.

[38] Is this Churchill?

This edition of Gray was published in March, 1753, printed at Mr.
Horace Walpole’s private press at Strawberry Hill.

[Page heading: BERENGER]

[Page heading: BISHOP BERKELEY]

Mr. West, attacked by his enemy the gout, was now a prisoner at
Wickham. On January 24, in a long letter, these paragraphs are of
interest--

“The joyous Berenger passed five days with us last week, read to us
a play in Shakespeare and the ‘Volpone’ of B. Johnson, and repeated
innumerable scraps out of a hundred others, laughed a great deal,
said many droll and some witty things, and then disappear’d,
after promising to come frequently to strut upon the little stage
of Wickham, which you may perceive has been lately graced with
almost as great a variety of characters as are exhibited at Drury
Lane, so that we have little occasion to run to the great city
in search of company, much less for the sake of society, which
indeed there is almost lost, in the various bustle of Resort, the
busy hum of Men, the embarrassments of Hoops,--Interruptions of
Messages and ostentatious dinners and Drums, Trumpets, Politics,
etc., etc.,--but besides the pleasures of social converse, we
have had amusements of a stiller kind furnished by the obliging
civility of some of my brother Authors; among which are two new
papers, ‘The Adventurer’ and ‘The World,’[39] by Adam Fitz-Adam.
The writer of the former sent me the first 14 numbers with a very
handsome letter. To the other I had indeed a kind of right since I
am inform’d that the judicious Tasters of the Town have declared
it to be written by Sir G(eorge) L(yttelton), by Mr. Pitt, or your
humble servant; with how much sagacity this opinion is form’d I
shall leave you to judge, for I doubt not but this character will
recommend them to your perusal, as it precludes me saying anything
in their favour: of the former I may be so free as to declare I
like them very well, but I will be still bolder in recommending to
you Dr. Leland’s ‘Observations of Lord Bolingbroke’s letter,’ which
was sent me by the author yesterday, and which I have read through
with great pleasure and edification. I must transcribe a part
of my boy’s[40] letter about the death of the Bishop of Cloyne:
‘We have had a great loss at Oxford; the poor Bishop of Cloyne
died on Sunday about 8 o’clock in the evening. Mrs. Berkeley[41]
was sitting by him, and spoke to him several times, and he never
answered, so it is supposed he was dead a quarter of an hour before
it was discovered, for he died without a groan or any sign of pain.’

“He has received Rollin, for which I thank you in his name.”

[39] Edward Moore published “The World.”

[40] His son Richard, then at Oxford.

[41] George Berkeley, born 1684, died 1753. Celebrated divine and
author.

To this Mrs. Montagu rejoins--

“How happy was the Bishop of Cloyne’s exit, or rather entrance,
one should call it into another, than departure out of this life,
for it had none of the agonising pangs of farewell. I pity poor
Mrs. Berkeley, who had so little preparation for so heavy a stroke.
I hope the constant conversation and example of a man so eminent
in every Christian virtue may have given her an uncommon degree of
fortitude and patience. I have heard her temper and understanding
highly commended. She had a perfect adoration of the Bishop....
Dr. Berkeley had formerly made his addresses to Mrs. Donnellan:
what were her reasons for refusing him I know not, friends were
consenting, circumstances equal, her opinion captivated, but
perhaps aversion to the cares of a married life, and apprehensions
from some particularities in his temper hinder’d the match; however
their friendship always continued, and I have always heard her give
him for virtues and talents the preference to all mankind.”

[Page heading: THE VAPOURS]

Mrs. Montagu continues that she had neither health nor spirits to read
with pleasure. “The misfortunes I have suffered and those I have feared
have worn me out; after the various turns of hope and fear on my poor
Lydia’s account, I am at last in despair about her. Mr. Botham sent to
us for a milch ass for her some days ago.” After a long lamentation
on Lydia’s behalf, she ends, “I am that poor little selfish animal,
a human creature, made more poor, more little, more selfish by the
Vapours; in all Sir Hans’ Museum there is not so ugly a monster as a
woman in Vapours.” Lydia becoming worse, Mrs. Montagu wrote to inform
her sister, Mrs. Laurence Sterne, whose curious letter I give in full
as a specimen of her style. Both she and her sister Lydia wrote large,
legible hands, much alike.

[Page heading: MRS. LAURENCE STERNE]

“Sutton,[42] March ye 9th.

“DEAR MADAM,

“I return you my sincere and hearty thanks for the Favour of your
most welcome letter; which had I received in a more happy Hour,
wou’d have made me almost Frantick with Joy; for being thus cruelly
separated from all my Friends, the least mark of their kindness
towards me, or Remembrance of me gives me unspeakable Delight. But
the Dismal Account I receiv’d at the same time of my poor Sister,
has render’d my Heart Incapable of Joy, nor can I ever know Comfort
till I hear of her Recovery.

“Believe me, Dear Madam, you were never more mistaken than when you
imagine that Time and Absence remove you from my Remembrance. I do
assure you I do not so easily part with what affords me so great
Delight, on the Contrary I spare no pains to improve every little
accident that recalls you to my Remembrance, as the only amends
which can be made me for those Unhappinesses my Situation deprives
me of. As a proof of this I must inform you that about three
weeks ago I took a long Ride Through very bad weather, and worse
Roads, merely for the satisfaction of enjoying a Conversation with
a Gentleman who though unknown to you had conceiv’d the highest
opinion of you from the perusal of several of your Letters, for
which he was indebted to Mrs. Clayton. Had this Gentleman nothing
else to recommend him, it certainly would be Sufficient to have
made me desirous of his acquaintance; but he is both a Man of Sense
and good Breeding, so that I am not a little pleas’d with my new
Acquaintance. Your Supposition of my Sister’s having Boasted to me
of her Children is doubtless extremely Natural, I wish it had been
as Just: But I can in three words inform you of all I know about
’em,--to wit their number and their Names, for which I am indebted
to Johnny. Had my Lydia been so obliging as to have made them the
Subject of her Letters, I shou’d by this time have had a tolerable
Idea of them, by considering what she said with some abatement:
but as it is I no more know whether they are Black, Brown or Fair,
Wise, or other wise, Gentle, or Froward than the Man in the Moon.
Pray is this strange Silence on so Interesting a Subject owing
to her profound Wisdom or her abundant Politeness? But be it to
which it will, as soon as she recovers her Health I shall insist
on all the satisfaction she can give on this head. In the meantime
I rejoice to find they have your approbation and am truly thankful
that Nature has done her part, which indeed is the most Material,
though I frankly own I shall not be the first to Forgive any
slights that Dame Fortune may be dispos’d to shew them.

“Your god-Daughter, as in Duty bound, sends her best Respects to
you. I will hope that she may enjoy what her poor Mother in vain
Laments, the want of a more intimate acquaintance with her Kindred.

“Be so good as to make Mr. Sterne’s and my compliments to Mr.
Montagu, and Believe me, Dear Madam,

“Your most affectionate Cousin,
and oblig’d Humble Servant,
“E. STERNE.”

[42] The Rev. Laurence Sterne was Vicar of Sutton-in-the-Forest,
Yorkshire.

[Page heading: LYDIA STERNE]

The godchild was Lydia Sterne, born December 1, 1747, then in her sixth
year. The Sternes had lost their first child, also a _Lydia_, born in
October, 1745.

Lydia Botham did not long survive; I do not know the exact day of her
death, but West, writing on April 2, to Mrs. Montagu, says--

“I cannot conclude without thanking you, my dearest Cousin, for
informing me of your health, about which I should have been under
great alarms upon hearing of Lydia’s Death, of which your letter
brought me the first intelligence. This kind attention to my
happiness at a time when your heart was overflowing with sorrow is
such a proof of your regard for me I shall always remember with
gratitude.”

Though deeply lamented, Lydia’s sufferings, latterly from asthma,
dropsy, and a complication of disorders, made her death more or less a
release. Mr. Botham was now left a widower with five children.

[Page heading: LADY BATH’S ASSEMBLY]

Writing from London, the end of April, to Sarah Scott in John Street,
Bath, where she and Lady Bab were living, Mrs. Montagu says--

“I have been at Oratorios so crowded and plays so hot I have almost
fainted, but first of all crowds and greatest of all mobs, I must
in justice name Lady Bath’s[43] assembly, from whence at hazard
of life and limb I broke away a little after one on Tuesday last.
Her ladyship had happily gathered together eight hundred Christian
souls, many of which had like to have perished by famine and other
accidents. I suffered the most from the first of these; being ill,
I had not eat a morsel of dinner, and there was not a biscuit nor
a bit of bread to be got, and half the company got out through the
stables and garden. The house was not empty till near 3 in the
morning.”

[43] _Née_ Anna Maria Gumley, wife of Pulteney, Earl of Bath. She is
said to have been a great “screw.”

Mrs. Montagu had for some time been expecting Miss Carter, the young
daughter of Mr. Montagu’s faithful agent, to stay with her. She says--

“My little disciple[44] is very good, and takes to me wondrous
well. I expect the eldest Miss Botham next week, you may suppose it
was some denial not to choose the second, but I thought the other
my duty rather, and the eldest would have been much grieved to be
passed over.”

[44] Miss Carter.

Writing to Mr. Montagu (who had gone to Sandleford on business, and to
cure a bad cold) on May 3, his wife describes a Rout she had given. “I
had rather more than an hundred visitants last night, but the apartment
held them with ease, and the highest compliments were paid to the house
and elegance of the apartments.”

[Page heading: “A PERFECT WOMAN”]

Gilbert West from Wickham, on May 23, gives the following account of
Mr. Pitt, whose health had been causing much anxiety to his friends--

“Had I answered your letter last night I should have given you
a good account of Mr. Pitt, who was yesterday in better spirits
than I have seen him in since he came hither, but I find by
inquiring after him this morning that he has had a bad, that is,
a sleepless night, which has such effect on his spirits that I
am afraid we shall see him in a very different condition to-day.
This has happened to him every other night since Friday last, so
I am persuaded there is something intermitting in his case, of
which neither the Physicians nor himself seem to be aware. I think
he ought to go to town to consult with them, but to this he has
so great an aversion that I question if he will comply with our
request. Sir George Lyttelton, who saw him on one of his bad days,
Saturday last, promised to come hither to-day, and his voice added
to ours may possibly prevail....

“Mr. Pitt express’d a due sense of your goodness in inquiring so
particularly after him, and that you may know how high you stand in
his opinion, I must inform you that in a conversation with Molly he
pronounced you the most _perfect woman_ he ever met with.”

[Page heading: MR. PITT’S INSOMNIA]

Mr. Pitt was recommended by his doctors to go to Tunbridge Wells to
drink the waters. Accompanied by Mr. West, Mrs. West, and Miss West, he
set off on May 26. West, writing to Mrs. Montagu, says--

“Tunbridge Wells, May 27, 1753.

“MY DEAREST COUSIN! MY BEST AND MOST VALUABLE
FRIEND!

“Your kind letter which I received on coming from Chapel is the
most agreeable thing I have met with at Tunbridge, where we
arrived last night about 7, after only stopping at Sen’nocks,
and dining at Tunbridge Town. It came very seasonably to relieve
my spirits which were much sunk by the extreme dejection which
appears to-day in Mr. Pitt, from a night passed entirely without
sleep, notwithstanding all the precautions which were taken within
doors to make it still and quiet, and the accidental tranquillity
arising from the present emptiness and desolation of this place, to
which no other invalids, except ourselves are yet arrived, or even
expected to arrive as yet. He began to drink the waters to-day,
but as they are sometimes very slow in their operations, I much
fear both he and those friends who cannot help sympathizing with
him, will suffer a great deal before the wished-for effect will
take place, for this _Insomnium_ his Physicians have prescribed
Opiates, a medicine which, in this case, though they may procure
a temporary ease, yet often after recoil upon the spirits. He
seems inclined to take Musk, and intends to talk with Molly about
it. I think his Physicians have been to blame in giving all their
attention to the disorder in his bowels, and not sufficiently
regarding the Distemperature of his spirits, a Disease much more
to be apprehended than the other; while he continues under this
Oppression, I am afraid it will be impossible for me to leave
him, as he fancies me of the greatest use to him as a friend, and
a comforter, but I hope in God he will soon find some alteration
for the better, of which I shall be glad to give you the earliest
information. In the meantime I beg you will take care of your
health, and as the most effectual means of establishing it, I most
earnestly desire you will follow Mr. Montagu’s exhortations to
repair forthwith to Tunbridge, as by so doing you will not only
contribute to the regaining your own health, but to the comfort
and felicity of some here who love you.... Kitty, Molly and Mr.
Pitt desire their affectionate compliments. Molly begs you will
communicate this account of Mr. Pitt to Sir G(eorge) L(yttelton).”

[Page heading: RENT OF LODGINGS]

In West’s next letter, of May 30, he says--

“I think Mr. Pitt is somewhat better, tho’ his spirits are too
low to allow him to think so, and his nights are still sleepless
without the aid of Opiates. I write this from the ‘Stone House’ to
which we were driven by the noisy situation of our house at the
foot of Mount Sion. How many pleasing ideas our present habitation
recalls I leave you to judge, though there needs no such artificial
helps to make you ever present to my memory.... Mr. Pitt is lodged
in your room, and I in that which was Mr. Montagu’s dressing-room
on the ground floor.”

The Montagus and Wests together had rented the “Stone House” the year
before this. On May 31 West writes to say he is leaving Mr. William
Lyttelton with Mr. Pitt, and will return to Wickham on Saturday, and
dine with Mrs. Montagu at Hayes _en route_. He adds, “Mr. Pitt feels
a little gout in his foot, which we hope will increase so as to be an
effectual Remedy for all his disorders.”

On June 6, West, who had been commissioned to find a house for Mrs.
Montagu, looks at the last two left on Mount Ephraim, a Mr. Spooner’s
and a Mr. Sele’s; he decided on the latter, orders the chimney to be
made higher, and a _hovel_ put on it to stop smoking, and to order the
owners to lie in the beds to air them!

“The price he told me was 4 guineas a week, or thirty-five guineas
for the whole season, that is till Michaelmas, or a week or two
over; for this price you are to have stabling for eight horses,
and a coach house for two carriages.... Mrs. West will be obliged
to you if you will bring her jewels with you.”

Mrs. Montagu arrived at Tunbridge on June 11, and on the 13th writes to
her husband, then in London, to say

“my cough is much abated, and my appetite increased: the asses’
milk sits well on my stomach.... I have a constant invitation to
dinner at the ‘White House’; Mr. Pitt is too ill to dine abroad,
and the Wests cannot leave him, so as often as I am disposed for
company, I dine there; the rest of my time passes in taking air and
exercise, and now and then the relief of a book.”

[Page heading: CANVASSING]

On account of the Jew Bill and other unpopular measures coming before
Parliament, a General Election was anticipated, and Lord Sandwich was
already arranging for it by canvassing his constituents, and those at
Huntingdon, and summoned Mr. Montagu to meet him at Hinchinbrooke the
second week in August. Previous to this he spent a few days with his
wife at Tunbridge hence proceeding to Yorkshire for his annual estate
business. Old Mr. Robinson accompanied his friend, Sir Edward Dering,
to canvass for him in Kent, and his daughter says, “My Father would
have made a good counterpart to Sir Edward Dering; if _bon mots_ could
carry a county, I know few that would care to contend with them.”

Previous to going to Tunbridge, Mrs. Montagu placed her two young
charges, Miss Carter and Miss Botham, in a boarding-school. She writes
to her sister Sarah--

“Mr. Montagu thought Miss Carter’s dancing would be better
improved if she went to School, and he is as desirous she should be
a fine dancer as if she was to be a Maid of Honour. I was the more
willing in regard to Miss Botham going, for my cousin is of such
a ‘diversian’ temper, as Cotes used to express it, that I feared
she would not be easily restrained in a place of this sort; she
is a fine girl, but so lively and so idle, she requires infinite
care. With great capacity of learning she has prodigious desire
to be idle, and thinks it quite hard not to take her share of all
the diversions she hears of. On being asked how she liked London
she said very well, but should do so much better if she was to go
to Ranelagh every night! I have left them at a very good school,
but an expensive one; however, they are only to stay there till
the 15th of August, for then the school breaks up, and if I do not
leave this place sooner, they must come. I believe no gouvernante
ever took half the pains I have done with these children,
explaining to them everything they read, and talking to them on all
points of behaviour.”

[Page heading: PENSHURST]

On July 4, in a letter to Mr. Montagu, who was at Theakstone, his wife
writes--

“All the family at the ‘Stone House’ and myself in their train went
yesterday to Penshurst; we spent a good deal of time in viewing the
pictures. I was most pleased with the portraits, as I know not any
family that for Arts and Arms, greatness of courage and nobility of
mind have excelled the Sydney Race. Beauty too, has been remarkable
in it.”

And on July 8--

“It has been much the turn of the Society I am in to go out
in parties to see places, and last post day we settled upon
an expedition of this sort with such precipitation, I had not
opportunity to write without keeping the company waiting. We went
to see an old seat of a Mr. Brown’s; it is well situated, was
built by Inigo Jones, has some fine portraits.... We went from this
venerable seat to a place called New Vauxhall, where Mr. Pitt had
provided us a good dinner; the view from it is romantic; we staid
there till the cool of the evening, and then returned home. We
drank tea yesterday in the most beautiful rural scene that can be
imagined, which Mr. Pitt had discovered in his morning’s ride about
half a mile from hence; he ordered a tent to be pitched, tea to
be prepared, and his French horn to breathe music like the unseen
genius of the wood: the company dined with me, and we set out,
number 8.... Sir George Lyttelton and Mr. Bower are come to spend a
few days with Mr. Pitt.”

To this her husband replies, “I very much approve of the excursions
you make, and think the more the better, as they both entertain the
mind and give exercise to the body.” He adds, the epidemic then raging
amongst cattle in England had not been so severe on his northern
property as in other parts of the country.

[Page heading: TRINITY COLLEGE LIBRARY]

Mr. Pitt went to Hastings for two days, and on his return, Mr. West
made a tour to Canterbury, Dover, etc., which lasted five days. Dr.
Smith,[45] Mr. Montagu’s old friend, was then at Tunbridge, and Mrs.
Montagu says--

“We fell into discourse upon some embellishments and ornaments to
be added to the fine Library at Trinity College. There are to be 26
Bustos put up, 13 in memory of the ancients, 13 of modern, these
are to be cast in plaister of Paris: but Mrs. Middleton talks of a
fine Marble Busto of Dr. Middleton to be done by Roubilliac,[46]
which I think very proper, as he was so eminent, there should be a
public memorial of him, and as he was long Librarian it is proper
it should be in that place: there are likewise to be 48 portraits
of considerable persons that have been of the College.”

[45] Dr. Robert Smith, then Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Founded “Smith’s Prizes.”

[46] Louis François Roubilliac, born 1695, died 1762. Eminent
sculptor.

To this Mr. Montagu replies--

“I am very well pleased with what Dr. Smith is doing at Trinity
College. I hope he has not lay’d aside the noble design he had
form’d of having a Statue[47] of the great Newton. Such men as he
and Dr. Middleton should be represented in something more durable
than plaister of Paris, and I honour Mrs. Middleton for her
intention.”

[47] In 1755 Dr. Smith gave the statue of Sir I. Newton, sculptured
by Roubilliac.

[Page heading: GIBSIDE]

After seeing to the business consequent on his trusteeship to his
cousin, Mr. Rogers, of Newcastle, Mr. Montagu had returned to
Theakstone on July 29. He describes Gibside, the seat of Mr. Bowes[48]--

“I dined this day sennight at Gibside; it was one of the finest
summer days I ever saw. It set off to great advantage the whole
vale through which the river Tyne runs, which consists of a great
deal of good rich land. The Moors, tho’ not so pleasing to the eye,
make abundant amends by the riches of the mines. All the gentlemen
are planting and adorning their Seats, but nothing comes up to
the grandeur and magnificence of what Mr. Bowes has done, and is
a (_sic_), doing, I mean without doors, for his house is but an
indifferent one. It stands in the midst of a great wood of about
400 acres, through which there are a great many noble walks and
rides interspers’d with fine lawns, with a rough river running
thro’ it, on each side of which are very high rocks, which gives
it a very romantick look. Mr. Bowes is at present upon a work of
great magnificence, which is the erecting a column of above 140
feet high. This, as far as I know, may be the largest that ever was
erected by a subject in this Island, and may yield to nothing but
the Monument at London. I ought not to omit telling you that he
has already erected upon a rising ground a gothick building which
he calls a Banquetting room, in which the night before there was a
concert of Musick (_sic_), at which Jordain and an Italian woman
performed, whom Mrs. Lane[49] brought with her from Bramham Moor,
from which she came in a day.... On Monday I dined with Sir Thomas
Clavering.[50] This gentleman’s house is very old and bad, but
the situation good and prospect pleasant. He has made a long road
leading to his house and improved his park, and made a serpentine
river.... He has also, as well as all the other gentlemen in that
county, made a kitchen garden with very high walls, planted with
the finest fruit trees. I question not peaches and nectarines may
succeed very well, but for grapes they must be beholden to fire.”

[48] George Bowes, of Streatlam Castle, and Gibside, Durham.

[49] Mrs. Lane, of Bramham Park, Yorkshire.

[50] 7th Baronet, related to the Roger family, Oxwell Park.

[Page heading: EXCURSION TO STONELANDS]

From this it would appear that walled kitchen gardens were new things
in the North then; probably “Kail yards” reigned supreme. Miss Carter
and Miss Botham now joined Mrs. Montagu at Tunbridge from their school.
Another excursion to Stonelands[51] with Mr. Pitt took place, and in a
letter to Mr. Montagu on August 3 we learn--

“This dry Summer has been so favourable to the Waters that they
have made several surprising cures. I think Mr. Pitt may be
numbered amongst them. The first time I saw the Duke of Bolton,[52]
I could hardly imagine he would last a month, but seeing him again
yesterday I was amazed at the amendment.”

[51] A seat of the Duke of Dorset’s, now called Buckhurst, in
Surrey.

[52] 3rd Duke; he died August 26, 1754. Married as second wife
Lavinia Fenton, _alias_ “Polly Peacham.”

[Page heading: “MINOUETS”]

In the afternoons Mrs. Montagu and Mr. Pitt were attending Mr. King’s
lectures on philosophy, etc., and “Mr. Pitt, who is desirous of
attaining some knowledge in this way, makes him explain things very
precisely.” In another letter she says--

“Miss Carter will excell in dancing. I did not think it right she
should dance Minouets at the ball till she was quite perfect in it,
but Mr. West, Mr. Pitt and all their family and some other company
were here the other day, and I made her dance a Minouet with Master
West by way of using her to do it in company; she acquitted herself
so well as to get great commendation.”

As usual, the husband and wife exchanged loving letters on the
anniversary of their wedding-day, August 5. Mrs. Montagu mentions--

“There is a report that Lord Coke is dying; his wife, Lady Mary,
is here; she is extremely pretty, her air and figure the most
pleasing I ever saw. She is not properly a beauty, but she has more
_agrémens_ than one shall often see. With so many advantages of
birth, person and fortune, I do not wonder at her resentment being
lively, and that she could ill brook the neglects and insults of
her husband.”

Lady Mary was the daughter of the 2nd Duke of Argyll and Duke of
Greenwich. She is often mentioned by Horace Walpole. Her husband
treated her with great brutality, and she gained a separation from him.
He died August 31, 1753; she survived him till 1811.

[Illustration:

_John Nixon, pxt._]

TEA AND COFFEE IN THE BATH-ROOM.]

[Page heading: “BEAU” NASH]

Mr. Herbert is mentioned as being very ill at Tunbridge; this was the
uncle of the 6th Earl of Carnarvon, of Highclere Castle, Hants.
Mr. Montagu says, “He has done a great deal to adorn and beautify
Highclere; he had designed to do much more, if he dies it will want his
finishing hand.” On August 13 Mrs. Montagu writes to her husband--

“Mr. Nash[53] had a fit yesterday, by which it is imagined this
Monarch will soon resign that Empire over Mankind, which in so
extraordinary a manner he gained and has preserved. The Young
Pretender is now known to be at Passi, near Paris, where he keeps
himself so concealed that he may on any project be able to leave it
without exciting the attention of the people. It is said in case
of a Minority he will make us a visit. Lord Rochford intercepted a
letter from a Cardinal in France to his brother in Italy, in which
he said he had supped with Prince Charles the night before. I hear
this young adventurer is much a favorite with the French officers
and soldiers, whose romantic visions of honour may excite them to
do more than even the policy of their Monarque requires.”

[53] Richard Nash, “Beau Nash,” Leader of Fashion at Bath and
Tunbridge, born 1674, died 1761.

On August 20 Mr. Montagu arrived at Hinchinbroke to stay with Lord
Sandwich, in order to beat up votes for the next election for
Huntingdon and the county. A Mr. Jones, an eminent merchant, was to be
his fellow-candidate.

“On Tuesday we are to go about the town and canvass, where an
entertainment will be prepared for the Burgesses, who will
to-morrow night be treated with their wives, with a ball for them
only, a thing intirely new and which must produce something new and
out of the common. On Friday we shall be at liberty to move off,
but on Monday night we are to meet and entertain the Londoners at
the King’s Head, Holbourn.”

Writing on August 21 to Mrs. Boscawen, Mrs. Montagu mentions--

“I am living in the very house my dear Mrs. Boscawen inhabited
three years ago. At the Stone Castle reside Mr. Pitt, Mr. and Mrs.
West and Miss West. Instead of making parties at Whist or Cribbage,
and living with and like the _beau monde_, we have been wandering
about like a company of gipsies, visiting all the fine parks and
seats in the neighbourhood.”

These excursions were much encouraged by Mr. Pitt, who considered them
“as good for the mind as the body,” and that an occasional day without
drinking the waters gave them a greater effect.

Mention of a ventriloquist now occurs as something new--

“I have been this morning to hear the man who has a surprising
manner of throwing his voice into the Drawer, a bottle, your
pocket, up the chimney, or where he pleases within a certain
distance.... I was last night at Mr. King’s, we had the Orrery and
an astronomical lecture.”

[Illustration:

_Thos. Malton, pxt._]

THE CIRCUS, AT BATH.]

[Page heading: MR. PITT VISITS HAYES]

Mr. Montagu joined his wife for a week at Tunbridge, when he had to
return to London. On September 16 she writes to him--

“I intend to be with you on Thursday.... I find Mr. Pitt has some
intentions, as _I told you when you was here, of going to Heys_,
in case he should not be well enough to take the long journey he
intends, and he seems much pleased that I will lend him that little
tenement; but as I apprehend a feather bed more will be wanted than
used to be, I propose to send one from Hill Street.... Mr. Pitt
leaves this place to-morrow, he is now going to Dr. Ascough’s, and
from thence to Stowe[54] and Hagley.[55] Mr. West goes to Stowe
with him.”

[54] Lady Cobham’s.

[55] Sir George Lyttelton’s seat.

Probably it was from this time that Pitt took such a fancy to Hayes,
which endured all his lifetime.

[Page heading: MR. HOOKE]

The next letter to Gilbert West I transcribe in portions--

“Sandleford, September 27, 1753.

“MY MOST HONOURED COUSIN,

“Your kind and agreeable letter restored me in some measure to the
temper I lost at going out of town the very day you came to it. I
know not what poets may find in the country, when they have filled
the woods with sylvan Deities, and the rivers with Naides; but to
me groves and streams and plains make poor amends for the loss of a
friend’s conversation. You have better supplied Mr. Pitt’s absence
by reading the Orations of his predecessor, Demosthenes, and I can
easily imagine you would rather have passed the evening with the
British than the Grecian Demosthenes, whom in talents perhaps he
equals, and in grace of manners and the sweet civilities of life,
I dare say he excels. But when you seem to say you would even have
preferred the simple small talk of your poor cousin to the Athenian
Orator, I cry out,--Oh wondrous power of friendship, which like the
sun gives glorious colours to a vapour, and brightens the pebble
to a gem, till what would have been neglected by the common herd
is accepted by the most distinguished.... On Tuesday morning about
eight o’clock I called upon Mr. Hooke at his hermitage. I found
him like a true Savant surrounded by all the elements of Science,
but though I roamed round the room, I could not perceive any signs
of the Author, no papers, pen, ink, or sheets just come from the
press. I fear the fine ladies and fine prospects of Cookham divert
his attention from the Roman History.... I desired him to carry
me to Mrs. Edwin’s, which I heard was a pretty place.[56] There
is an old ferry woman who crosses the Thames very often before
Mrs. Edwin’s terrace.... While we were in Mrs. Edwin’s garden he
betrayed my name to her ... she came down, showed me her house and
the pictures, which are very fine, but the views from her windows
gave one no leisure to consider the works of art.... Cliefden Hill
rises majestically in view, and the only flat shore you see from
this place lies straight before it, and is a large plain of the
finest verdure and full of cattle.”

[56] Could this be Hedsor?

[Page heading: THE WICKHAM URN]

To this letter Gilbert West replies--

“I am glad your journey to Sandleford was relieved by the agreeable
digression you made to Cookham, where I hope to find, at least in
the memory of Mr. Hooke, the vestiges of your having been there,
which will be an additional motive to me to make him a visit from
Stoke, for I am going once more from Wickham, notwithstanding the
neighbourhood of Sir Thomas Robinson,[57] the Archbishop,[58] and
Bower, and the arrival of my Urn, which is to come this very day,
and which Mr. Cheer hath taught me to consider as an emblem and
monument of the polished, elegant and accomplished Mrs. Montagu,
by assuring me ‘that it is indebted for all the extraordinary and
highly finished ornaments he hath bestowed upon it, to the great
regard and veneration he hath for her, and that he will not either
for love or money make such another.’ ... I was paying a visit
at Fulham, where I enjoyed the smiles of my beloved Bishop,[59]
the presence of Mrs. Sherlock, and the agreeable conversation of
Mrs. Chester, with the more substantial delicacies of an excellent
English Venison Pasty.”

Further on he says he is going to Lillingston Dayrell to see his
mother, Lady Langham.

[57] “Long” Sir Thomas, Mrs. Montagu’s cousin.

[58] Archbishop Secker.

[59] Thomas Sherlock, born 1678, died 1761. Bishop of London.

[Page heading: THE NEW POST-CHAISE]

In the next letter (Oct. 3) from Sandleford to Mr. West occurs
this sentence, “Mr. Montagu returned hither on Monday with the new
four-wheeled post-chaise; it is the pleasantest machine imaginable
in rough roads, but I think it too easy on even roads.” The coachmen
had nothing intermediate between the two-wheeled vehicles and the
ponderously long six-or four-horsed coach, which required elaborate
skill in turning.

Staying again at Fulham, Mr. West mentions that he has been urging
Bishop Sherlock to publish some of his sermons, which he promised
to do. West had a fresh attack of the gout, which made him return
home. Mr. Pitt had left Hayes suddenly for Bath, Tunbridge waters not
having been of sufficient use to him; and in a letter of October 13,
to West, in capital letters, her inquiries not being answered, Mrs.
Montagu asks, “I desire TO KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD CONCERNING MR.
PITT’S HEALTH?” Describing her daily life, she says she keeps up the
Tunbridge habit of driving an hour or so after dinner (which, it must
be remembered, was then early) over the adjacent common; after these
airings she drank tea, and retired to her dressing-room for two or
three hours of reading.

On October 14 West writes--

“The Duke and Duchess of Portland, with two of their daughters,
dined here last Thursday, and we are to make them a morning’s
visit to-morrow at Bullstrode. Her Grace was extremely courteous
and obliging to me, but never made any inquiry after you, which
piqued me so much, that I put her against her upon talking about
Mr. Botham, and from what she said about the distrest situation of
his family, took occasion to extol you as the most generous and
sincere friend, and indeed the only one the poor man could depend
on.”

[Page heading: LADY BUTE]

The reader will have doubtless missed the frequent mention of the
duchess and her letters. There is no doubt that the coolness between
the quondam intimate friends was on account of the Scott separation.
It will be remembered the duchess sided with Mrs. Scott’s engagement
against Mrs. Montagu’s opinion. After the Scott separation, probably
influenced by her intimate friend, Lady Bute, who with the Princess of
Wales seems to have defended him,[60] the duchess appears to have taken
his part; but his true character is shown by the fact that the Prince
of Wales (George III.), on being given a Household in 1756, begged that
Scott[61] should not be continued about him, and to make up for this
dismissal he was given a commissionership in the Excise. Later on the
duchess and Mrs. Montagu had a _rapprochement_, but the letters were
never as cordial as in previous times.

[60] _Vide_ Walpole’s “Memoirs of the Reign of George III.,”
vol. ii. p. 259.

[61] Scott is said to have been a Jacobite secretly. That he was
double-faced is evident from letters.

[Page heading: BULLSTRODE MENAGERIE]

Writing from Lillingston on October 27, West describes his visit to
Bullstrode--

“I was very kindly received both at Bullstrode and Cookham; at
the former we were shown a great many fine and great many curious
things, both in doors and without; the day proved too cold, and I
was not enough recovered to see all the rarities of the animal as
well as the vegetable kind, which were dispersed over the Park and
gardens. Those that might be seen from the windows, as some spotted
Sheep and a little Bull from Fort St. David’s, whose resemblance
I have often seen in China ware, I beheld with admiration and
applause, and ventured two steps into the garden to take a view
of the orange trees against the wall.... Her Grace promised to
make me a present of some trained up for that purpose. In her
closet we were shown some curious works in Shells, performed by
Mrs. Delany, whom her Grace expected at Bullstrode in a short
time, and expressed great pleasure and not a little impatience in
the prospect of seeing so dear and so ingenious a friend. Of you
she said nothing, till upon her naming Mrs. Donnellan, I said I
could give her some account of her, having been informed by you
that she was gone to town; she then asked when I heard from you,
and where you was, but carried her enquiry after you no further.
At Cookham I spent some hours with Mrs. Stanley, for Mr. Hooke
had gone out with Mrs. Edwin to make a visit to Dr. Freind....”
He further states that he found his mother well, and “very little
alter’d since I last saw her, excepting that she has grown a little
fatter, a circumstance to a woman of seventy is greatly preferable
to wrinkles. In my way thro’ Stowe Park I met Miss Banks riding
out with Lord Vere,[62] of her I enquired much about Mr. Pitt,
and received from her the same answer, which I must have made for
your enquiries after him, that they had heard nothing of him since
he left Stowe.... While he staid at Stowe he was in good health
and spirits, he went from thence to Hagley, and she believed he
intended to go from Hagley to Bath.”

[62] Baron Vere, of Hanworth.

On November 10 Mrs. Donnellan, to whom Mrs. Montagu had lent her house
in Hill Street, whilst she searched for lodgings in the suburbs, her
lungs not permitting her to live in the town during the winter, writes--

“I have taken a little house on tryal at Kensington Gravel Pits
... both Richardson’s house at Northend and Mrs. Granville’s at
Chelsey I think too low for me.... I want you to read ‘Sir Charles
Grandison,’ it is not formed on your plan of banishing delicacy.
I am afraid it carrys it too far on t’other side, and is too fine
spun, but there are fine things and fine characters in it, and I
don’t know how it is, but his tediousness gives one an eagerness to
go on; there is a love-sick madness that I think extremely fine and
touching, but if you have not read it I must not forestall. I think
I will own to you, the great fault of my friend’s writings, there
is too much of everything. I really laughed at your nursery of
‘Clarissas,’ but I hope you did not think of me as the old nurse,
there was nobody there while I stayed!”

[Page heading: “SIR CHARLES GRANDISON”]

Mr. Richardson had just completed his novel of Sir Charles Grandison.
The Clarissas is an allusion to Miss Botham and Miss Carter, then with
Mrs. Montagu.

This same month Mrs. Montagu was again very unwell. West urged her to
go to London, but Mr. Montagu, who loved the retirement at Sandleford,
was unwilling to leave it, and she says--

“Tho’ I am told I may go to town, I know it would not be agreeable
where I ought to please, and I can hardly think it right to be
in such haste to quit the place where I live most in the manner
I ought to do, where only I am useful. I relieve the distresses
and animate the industry of a few, and have given all my hours to
the two girls under my care, whose welfare, whose eternal welfare
perhaps, depends on what they shall now learn.”

Mr. Hooke and Mr. Botham were both at Sandleford. In Mr. Hooke’s
conversation Mrs. Montagu found much enjoyment; as West put it, “He
(Hooke) is a very worthy man, and has in him the greatest compass of
entertainments of any one I know, from nonsense (as Lord Bath calls
it), to sense, and beyond sense to Metaphysics.”

[Page heading: “THE TRIUMPHS OF THE GOUT”]

On December 20 Mrs. West writes to present her Christmas wishes,
and Mr. West’s, to the Montagus, as “Tubby” (Mr. West), as was his
uneuphonious family nickname, had the gout in both hands. Mrs. Montagu
writes to him--

“The 27th of December, 1753.

“And what, my dear Cousin, are both hands prisoners of the gout!
such innocent hands too! Hands that never open’d to receive or give
a bribe, that never dipped into the guilt of the South Sea fraud,
of Charitable Corporations, or pilfer’d lottery tickets, clean even
from perquisite in office, and the most modest means by which the
Miser’s palm wooes and sollicits gain. So far have your hands been
from grasping at other’s gold, they have not held fast your own
with a tenacious grip, but open’d liberally at the petitions of the
poor, for the productions of Art, or to feast your friends at the
genial board. Most of all do I resent the fate of the writing hand,
which was first dedicated to the Muses, then with maturer judgment
consecrated to the Nymphs of Solyma, and shall it be led captive
by the cruel gout? Why did you sing the triumphs[63] of the dire
goddess? Oh, why could you not describe them unfelt, as Poets often
do the softer pains and gentler woes of Venus and her Son?”

[63] West wrote a poem entitled “The Triumphs of the Gout.”

[Year: 1754]

[Page heading: SCHOOLGIRLS’ BILL]

The first amusing paper I have of 1754 is a school bill for the two
younger Miss Bothams, Molly and Kitty. I am sorry that several of the
items are torn away, but it is curious as to things then required, and
also for the extraordinarily bad spelling and wording of the preceptor
entrusted with their care. It is addressed to--

“The Revd. Docʳ Botham,
“These.”

“SIR,

“According to your desire by the honour of your Last, I send you
the Bill of the two Miss’s Botham, your daughters, to ye first of
this month, altho’ wee had spoak of it before the Holydays I had
quite forgot it, and was very easy on that account. I hope, Sir,
that you’r satisfied of us, if so I shall alwise thry, as well as
my wife, to do all wee can to improve your daughters in everything,
especially in their Morals and manners. I was very sorry of your
last indisposition, and hope you’r much better, it is the sincere
wish of

“Sir,
“Your most humble
and obedient Servant,
“E. SAGE ROBERTS.

“Kensington, the 20th January, 1754.

“P.S.--My wife with her compliments to you joyns with me in compts.
of the Saison, wishing you health, prosperity and all you can wish
yourself for many years.”

“_The two Miss’s Botham’s Bill._

£ _s._ _d._
“To Board from the 9th of August, 1753, to
the 1st January, 1754, at £25 per year,
maketh 19 16 0
To a Seat at Church 0 8 6
To copy Books, pens, pencils, Ink, paper, &c. 0 7 0
To the Dancing Master 4 10
To sundry things furnished, viz.--
To a chest of Draws 1 5 0
To silver spoons, knife and Fork. 1 1 0
To a tea chest 0 (torn off)
To a Spelling book, 1 Grammar 0 3 -
To two Hats and two Bonets 0 15 0
To three pair of Shoes 0 (torn)
To Gloves, 6 pairs 0 (torn)
To tea and suger 0 (torn)
To Thread, Tape and pins, needles, worsted,
laces, &c. 0 13 -
To Hair cutting, Pomatum Powder (torn)
To Pocket Money 0 10 9
To Pots and Mugs, &c. 0 1 6
To a percel recd. by the Coach 0 0 2
To Soap, Oatmeal for to wash, &c. 0 2 6
----------
Total 30 15 0”

[Page heading: MR. PELHAM’S DEATH]

In the beginning of March in this year Mr. Pelham, the Premier, died
suddenly, and there was a General Election. Mr. Pelham’s brother, the
Duke of Newcastle, was appointed first Lord of the Treasury; Mr. Legge,
Mr. Botham’s uncle, Chancellor of the Exchequer; Sir George Lyttelton,
Cofferer. Mr. Montagu proceeded to Hinchinbrooke early in April to
canvass, and his wife writes to him on the 11th--

“I hope you had a pleasant journey, and arrived without fatigue.
You are proceeding quietly and well at Huntingdon, while many are
hustling with infinite animosity in other Boroughs. The votes are
eleven hundred paid a piece at Bury as I am informed.... Morris is
very busy with the Canterbury Voters, he does not like them so well
as law Clients.”

Morris was canvassing for his elder brother Matthew, of Horton.

Mr. Montagu writes on April 16 to say, “Yesterday our Election came on,
and was, I believe, one of the most quiet and peaceable that ever was.”

[Page heading: AN ELECTION]

In her next letter to her husband she says--

“I have had a letter to-day from my brother Robinson, informing me
that he is chosen along with Creed; Mr. Best declined the Poll. My
brother has carried his Election without expence.... I cannot take
leave of you without expressing my pride and satisfaction in seeing
you again enter the House of Commons, where you have behaved with
such steadiness and integrity. I have a joy and pride whenever I
reflect on any part of your moral character. May your virtues meet
with the happiness they deserve!”

[Page heading: “TOM” LYTTELTON]

Bower writes to Mrs. Montagu on April 16 from Oakhampton, where he had
gone with Sir George Lyttelton for his election, in fervid Italian.
He was disgusted at the orgy of the election, and says that at the
election dinner given by the mayor and magistrates in their robes to
Sir George Lyttelton, they sat down at 3 o’clock p.m., and none rose
to leave till two in the morning! “e tutti, o quasi tutti partirono
cordialmente ubbriachi” (“and all, _nearly_ all, parted thoroughly
drunk”). He continues, “The cavaliers then went from house to house
to kiss the ladies, as was customary, and ask for the votes of their
husbands.” After fervid speeches made to the “celeste imagine della
Madonna del Monte e della Strada del Monte” (the celestial image of
the Madonna of the Mount and the Madonna of Hill Street), meaning Mrs.
Montagu, his pen is taken up by Lyttelton, who says, “The Italian
language affords such lofty expressions, as the poverty of ours will
not come up to, and therefore the Madonna must be content with my
telling her that the good Father with all his Devotion does not honour
her more than I do....” At the end of his letter he says, “I hear from
my wife that my Boy has been with you: a thousand thanks for your
goodness to him.” This is the first mention of Thomas, afterwards 2nd
Baron Lyttelton, then only ten years old. Lyttelton had early besought
the interest and influence of Mrs. Montagu for his son and daughter by
his first marriage. Both became truly attached to her, would that her
influence had prevailed on “Tom” later in life.

At this period Mrs. Donnellan was very ill, and Mrs. Montagu did
her best to nurse her. Lady Sandwich came to town to inoculate her
daughter, Lady Mary. Miss Mary Pitt had been to see Mrs. Montagu, and
“she assures me Mr. Pitt is in good health, but has had another attack
of gout in his hand, owing, ’tis imagined, to his being blooded for a
sore throat.”

Mr. Montagu at this period sustained the heavy loss of his faithful
agent, the second Mr. Carter, who died at Theakstone, and whose loss
necessitated his immediate journey to the north to attend to his own
and Mr. Rogers’ affairs, all of which had been confided to Mr. Carter’s
care. Taking Mr. Botham as his temporary secretary and companion, they
started off northward by post-chaises, a most expensive process, as Mr.
Montagu called it. On June 13 Mrs. Montagu writes--

“I am sorry Mrs. Carter (the grandmother), has set her heart so
much on having her granddaughter with her, she is of the proper age
to receive instruction and take impressions; a few years passed
innocently will not leave her as amiable a subject as she is now,
her mind will be less flexible.... Mr. Pitt drank tea with me this
afternoon; he has recovered his health entirely, if one may judge
by his looks. He tells me he has built a very good house at Bath
for £1200. He mention’d to me his intention of going on Saturday to
Wickham to propose the place at Chelsea to Mr. West, the offer will
certainly be an agreeable one.”

This place was that of the paymaster to Chelsea College. In the next
letter to Mrs. Boscawen, Mrs. Montagu says--

“The place is call’d a thousand pounds a year, it is in the gift
of Mr. Pitt, and was given with grace that few know how to put
into any action ... they have excellent lodgings annexed to the
place.... Mr. Pitt dined with them on Saturday; I imagine he was
very happy, but he so well deserved to be so. It is a fine thing to
act the part of Providence and bless the good. Miss Carter was sent
for by her old grandmother, last week she left me.”

Writing to her husband on June 15, Mrs. Montagu states she shall be
glad to hear as soon as Mr. Montagu thinks he will return, “that I may
disfurnish Hayes, which I shall quit as a man does a homely but a quiet
wife, with some little regret, but not much tender sorrow; it is not a
beautiful place, but it is quiet, and when one steps out of the bustle
of Town, appears on that account amiable.” She adds that her sister’s
health is greatly improved, and her temper less petulant, on account of
having taken to a milk and vegetable diet.

On July 9 Mrs. Montagu mentions--

“My brother Robinson came to town last night; he dined here to-day,
and we are all going to Vauxhall, where Mr. Tyers has had the ruins
of Palmyra painted in the manner of the scenes so as to deceive the
eye and appear buildings.”

Her sister Sarah and brother Charles were with her. She concludes with
an affectionate appeal to her husband not to apply himself too much to
business at Newcastle, but to take exercise for his health’s sake.

[Page heading: MR. WEST’S APPOINTMENT]

[Page heading: ELIZABETH CANNING]

In another letter undated, but about this period, as it mentions West’s
thanks to Mr. Montagu for his congratulations on his appointment to
Chelsea Hospital, allusion is made to Elizabeth Canning, whose curious
story of having been kidnapped[64] and ill-treated had convulsed
London opinion.

“The town is in great agitation about Elizabeth Canning; she is
condemn’d to Transportation, but her guilt is so far from appearing
certain, that the Sheriffs refuse to conduct her among the other
felons. All the Aldermen but Sir Crispe Gascoigne[65] petition in
her behalf, all the great officers of the State almost, interpose
for her, and the Archbishop of Canterbury also desires that she may
have a decent person of her own sex to attend her over, and then
to board in a private family. Some fear there will be a rising of
the Mob in her favour; in general all seem to agree that the matter
is entirely doubtful. As to Sir Crispe Gascoigne he dare not stir
without being guarded.... I wish the whole affair was brought to
light, there is great iniquity somewhere.”

[64] _Vide_ vol. ix., Smollett, “History of England,” p. 231.

[65] Then Lord Mayor of London.

On July 19, writing from Hayes, she says--

“Miss Mary Pitt, youngest sister of Mr. Pitt, is come to stay a few
days with me, she is a very sensible, modest, pretty sort of young
woman, and as Mr. Pitt seem’d to take every civility shown to her
as a favour, I thought this mark of respect to her one manner of
returning my obligations to him.”

Mr. Montagu and Mr. Botham proceeded to Newcastle to regulate Mr.
Rogers’ affairs, which, as before mentioned, required attention, owing
to the death of the head agent, Mr. Carter.

In consequence probably of worry, Mr. Montagu returned from the north
at the end of July with a fever, “which,” as his wife writes to Sarah,
“bleeding and wormwood draughts have taken off,” and as soon as he was
fit he was to go with her to Hayes to pack up her books. Miss Anstey
was staying with them, and was to accompany them to Sandleford. Mention
is made of a portrait of herself which Mrs. Montagu was going to send
Mrs. Scott: “Mr. Cambridge call’d on me the other day, he spoke much
in your praise. I told him I hoped he would call on you at Bath, he
promised he would.” This was Richard Owen Cambridge,[66] a friend of
Dr. Johnson, who wrote the “Scribbleriad.”

[66] Mr. Cambridge died in 1802.

Writing to West from Sandleford of her neighbours at Hayes, she regrets
the society of Mrs. Herring and the Archbishop,[67] and desires her
regards to them. He answers--

“I made your compliments to the Archbishop and Mrs. Herring, who
dined with us the very day I received your letter. He is very well
and as amiable and polite as ever. Dick[68] has been very dilligent
and very successful in partridge shooting, and t’other day sent the
prime fruits of his labours, a landrail, as a present to his Grace
of Canterbury.”

[67] Thomas Herring, born 1671, died 1757. Archbishop of Canterbury.

[68] Young West.

[Page heading: BRIGHTHELMSTONE]

At the beginning of September, through the influence of West, the
Bishop of London gave the living of Ealing to Mr. Botham. Botham was at
Brighthelmstone with his two boys for sea-bathing, as they were not in
health. The joy of Mrs. Montagu was great at this preferment, as the
bishop permitted Mr. Botham to continue to hold Albury as well, placing
a curate in the living he did not occupy.

[Page heading: “PRECIEUSES RIDICULES”]

Writing again to West, Mrs. Montagu says--

“Dr. Mangey kept a curate at Ealing as he did not reside there, but
undoubtedly Mr. Botham will discharge the duties of the living
he resides at without assistance; the Bishop of London required
Mr. Botham’s residence: as the girls and boys are growing up and
must soon live with him, they will be better placed at Ealing
in a good neighbourhood than at Albury. They will learn nothing
there but eating and drinking plentifully of Lord Aylesford, and
Mr. Godschall’s house is generally full of poetic Misses, who are
addressing each other by the names of Parthenia, Araminta, etc.,
with now and then a little epistle to Strephon or Damon. I was
uneasy whenever they were at home, for fear they should enter into
the _precieuse_ character of Mrs. Godschall.”

This style of conversation is taken off in Molière’s “Precieuses
Ridicules.”

West’s mother, Lady Langham was now paying her son a visit. Mrs.
Montagu writes--

“I think the vast territories of imagination could not afford any
view so pleasing as the meeting of such a son and such a mother;
the pictures not only pleased my mind, but warm’d my heart ... that
you may at Lady Langham’s age be as well able to take a journey,
and your son as well deserve, and as joyfully receive such a visit
is my sincerest and most earnest wish ... another pleasure attends
you all, and which your benevolence and not your pride will feel,
that of setting an example of those various charities, of parent,
child, husband and wife, which make the happiness of domestic life;
and there is surely more honour in filling well _the circle mark’d
of Heaven_ in these spheres of relation, than in running the wild
career of Ambition in its most shining track. Indeed there is no
part of a conduct that so certainly deserves our approbation as an
acquittance of family regards. Actions of a public nature often are
inspired by vanity, domestic behaviour has not popular applause
for its object, tho’ with the sober judgment, as Mr. Pope says of
silence, ‘_its very want of voice makes it a kind of fame_.’”

She then proceeds to thank West eloquently for Botham’s presentation to
_Kingston_ (this must be a mistake for Ealing), and ends with desiring
some paper hangings “she and Mrs. Isted had laboriously adorned” to be
taken down with care at her house at Hayes, but leaves the rest of the
hangings to the landlord. “I presume some retail grocer, haberdasher
of small wares, or perhaps a tallow chandler, will shortly be in
possession of my Castle at Hayes.”

[Page heading: MR. HATELEY]

At Sandleford were staying young Mr. Hateley, an artist, and Miss
Anstey. The latter being in treaty for a house in London, accepted Mr.
Montagu’s escort thither, and Mr. Hateley wishing to accompany them
a portion of the way, mounted a horse, which flung him at the first
start off and grievously cut and bruised him. The doctor was summoned
after the departure of Mr. Montagu and Miss Anstey, who “blooded him,
and he was ordered to take no food but balm tea lest he should have a
fever.... The Harvest Home Supper last night was very jolly, the guests
had as good appetite as those who meet to eat Turtle,” writes Mrs.
Montagu to her husband on September 23.

Miss Anstey, having lost her parents, and Trumpington having become
her brother’s property, had determined to live in London. She took
Mr. Montagu to help her in choosing a residence in Queen Street, a
new-built house for £800. Miss Anstey executed several commissions for
Mrs. Montagu, amongst which she mentions, “I have sent several prints
of Nun’s habits, some one of which I hope may become the beautiful
Eloise, and I shall very much rejoice to hear she has taken the Veil.”

Mention is made in a previous letter of Mrs. Montagu’s of Hateley
painting a picture of Eloise, but who sat for it I cannot say. Hateley
recovered from his accident. A new post-chaise had been ordered for
the Montagus, and Mr. Montagu found it “nothing showy or brilliant,”
but his wife assures him, “I shall find no fault with the plainness of
the post-chaise, neatness being all that is aimed at.”

[Page heading: LILLINGSTON DAYRELL]

West, writing on October 8 from Wickham, says--

“I have the honour to agree with my dearest and most excellent
cousin in looking upon writing letters as one of the evils of
Human Life, and for that reason I have always declined engaging
in a correspondence of that kind with anybody but her, tho’ I was
once invited to it by the great Mr. Pope.... I am now turning
my thoughts towards Chelsea, where I hope to be settled for the
whole winter by the beginning of next month. My Mother and Mrs.
Ives[69] go from hence to my brother’s[70] house in the country,
where they will remain a week or ten days, and from there return to
Lillingston.[71] Mr. and Mrs. Dayrell were prevented by the death
of two of his Aunts from making us a visit at Wickham, by which
accident and the absence of my sister Molly, my Mother lost the
opportunity of exhibiting the pleasing picture of a Hen gathering
with a careful and maternal tenderness all her chickens at once
under her wings, but she will have them by turns.”

[69] Mrs. Ives appears to be Lady Langham’s sister.

[70] Temple West.

[71] Lillingston Dayrell in Bucks.

From this it would appear that Mrs. Dayrell was a daughter of Lady
Langham’s. The Dayrells have owned Lillingston Dayrell for some eight
hundred years!

Mrs. Medows writes from Chute on October 16 to Mrs. Montagu--

“I am impatient to wait on you; all the horses and all the Maids
have been taken up with Wey Hill Fair,[72] now I hope to hire a
couple of cart-horses: I dare not venture with a common postboy and
horses, because the postboys are not used to a four-wheeled chaise,
nor the Road I must go.... I wish you joy of a pleasure for life at
least, the good you have done to Mr. Botham and his family.... I am
pleased you have hired the wood, now one may walk in the bowling
green without coveting what is your neighbour’s. I hope hiring is
a step to purchasing; laying field to field is a natural thought
and not a blameable one, when no injustice is meant. I have often
thought what a pretty place Sandleford would be if it was bounded
by the little river, Newbury Wash, and Greenham Heath.”

This wood was on the east side of Sandleford, and was eventually
purchased, and Sandleford at this moment is bounded exactly as Mrs.
Medows wished.

[72] On October 10 and five following days.

“A Buck, we are told, is come to Grateley, his name is Mitchell, he
has laid out a £1000 in furnishing it completely, altho’ he could
not be sure of having it more than a year. He intends to keep Stags
in the paddocks, and turn them out on the Downs, which will give
him fine chases. He says the Drawing room is a good drinking room.”

[Page heading: BATH EASTON]

Sarah Scott and Lady Bab Montagu had taken a house at Bath Easton for
use in the summer, and desiring plants for the garden there, Mrs.
Montagu sends on November 6 to them a vast number of pinks, roses and
honeysuckles, together with a home-cured ham. In the accompanying
letter she mentions Ealing being

“two hundred pounds a year, his house a very pretty one, a
good garden with a great deal of wall fruit, and there is a
neighbourhood of genteel people, who have all shown him great
civility.... Mr. Hateley is still with us, he has made a very
pretty Landskip (_sic_) with Eloisa, and her figure is pretty,
her face amiably triste. He has done my portrait so like, and got
a good likeness, and with a spirit in the countenance and attitude
that is very uncommon.”

[Page heading: “HISTORY OF BATH”]

To this Sarah writes on November 17, to thank her for the plants and
to say she and Lady Barbara had returned to Bath for the winter, Bath
Easton being too near the water for them. She says--

“Have I sent you word of a subscription making for Nash? I believe
it began since I wrote last. It is entitled a subscription for a
‘History of Bath and Tunbridge for these last 40 years,’ by Richard
Nashe, Esqre., with an Apology for the Author’s life. The whole
money, two guineas, is to be paid down at once, for he does not
pretend any book is to come out. Some have subscribed 10 guineas,
many five, and a great many hundred pounds are already subscribed.
It is to be kept open for life, and people give to him who will
not part with a guinea to relieve the greatest real and unmerited
distress imaginable. The pretence is that he has but little more
than £200 a year, which is not supposed true, but if it was, surely
it is full equal to his merits, whether one considers them as moral
or entertaining. To such ladies as have secret histories belonging
to them, he hints that he knows every one’s private life and shall
publish it. This place grows so full of subscriptions that no
person of moderate fortune will long be able to come to it. The
people of the rooms are endeavouring to obtain a subscription of
half a guinea each man, and a crown each woman for the season. As
yet it has not been complied with, but they require it with such
insolence, that I make no doubt it will be complied with. I shall
be glad to hear you are safely settled in Hill Street. I assure you
the picture[73] you were so good as to give me is a great ornament
to a pretty room, and people are so civil to me as to see the
likeness, which I take well of them; as it is placed near the fire
it may grow warmer, which is all that can improve it.”

[73] A portrait of Mr. Montagu.

“Beau” Nash had reigned a despotic Master of the Ceremonies over Bath
for fifty years, living in a most expensive style, mainly supported
by his success at the gaming tables. The Act of Parliament against
gambling put an end to his chief means of obtaining money. The
Corporation, however, settled a pension of 120 guineas on him for his
services. He was eighty-one years old at this period, having been born
in 1673. His rules for general behaviour and manners are most amusing,
but are too long to insert.

[Illustration:

_T. Rowlandson, pxt._]

THE KING’S BATH, AT BATH.]

[Page heading: MR. PITT’S ENGAGEMENT]

At this time Mr. Pitt became engaged to Lady Hester Grenville, daughter
of Mr. Richard Grenville and his wife, Lady Temple, and sister of
Viscount Cobham. She was a cousin of West’s and Sir George Lyttelton’s.

On November 5 Mrs. Montagu writes to West--

“MY DEAR COUSIN,

“Since the days that Cupid set Hercules to the distaff, he has
not had a nobler conquest than over the elevated soul of Mr.
Pitt. I congratulate you on the affinity, and I hope he will be
happy: his long acquaintance with the lady makes the hazard much
less than where people marry without knowing the disposition of
the person they choose. I believe Lady Hester Grenville is very
good-humoured, which is the principal article in the happiness of
the Marriage State. Beauty soon grows familiar to the lover, wit
may be pernicious, and many brilliant qualities troublesome; but a
companion of gentle disposition softens cares and lightens sorrows.
The sober matches made on reflection, are often happier than those
made by sudden and violent passion, and I hope this will prove of
this kind; and there is an authority in the character of Mr. Pitt,
that will secure him the deference and obedience of his wife;
proud of him abroad, she will be humble to him at home; and having
said so much, I consign them over to Hymen, who, I hope, will join
their hands in the most auspicious hour. I was prevented writing to
you by Sunday’s post, Dr. Pococke having stayed with us on Saturday
night, and the first Sunday of the month I always go to Newbury
Church;[74] the length of the service made me too late to write. I
am glad Mr. Cambridge has been with you at Wickham.... We were in
Wiltshire last week to visit Mrs. Medows.”

She ends with expressing a wish to exchange the country for London, but
is determined not to say a word to Mr. Montagu, whose health had been
recently restored by country air.

[74] St. Nicholas, Newbury. They generally attended Newtown church,
as it was nearer.

[Page heading: REV. W. WARBURTON]

[Page heading: THOMAS HEARNE]

In her next letter to West, of November 14, she says--

“As the Virtues and Graces as well as Cupid and Hymen will assist
at Mr. Pitt’s nuptials, I think he could not choose a better place
for their celebration than Wickham, their capital seat. I wish them
many happy years together, and God bless them with health and every
good.... I hope while you are at Croydon the good Archbishop will
animate you to defy that foul fiend my Lord Bolingbroke; I believe
I shall take some of Ward’s sneezing powder to clear my head of
the impieties and impurities of his book. I am not satisfied with
Mr. Warburton’s[75] answer, the levity shocks me, the indecency
displeases me, the _grossièreté_ disgusts me. I love to see the
doctrine of Christianity defended by the spirit of Christianity.
When absurdity is mix’d with impiety, it ceases to be a jest. I can
laugh at his Lordship’s cavils at Mr. Locke, his envy to Plato and
all the old Philosophers, but I could with great seriousness apply
to him the words of his friend and Poet to the Dunces--

“‘’Tis yours a Bacon and a Locke to blame,
A Newton’s genius or a Milton’s flame.
But oh! with one, immortal one dispense
The source of Newton’s light or Bacon’s sense.’

But I must do his Lordship the justice to say that what he wants in
faith he makes up in confidence, for after having assured you it
is absurd to affirm God is just or good, he declared he is willing
to trust the being whose attributes he cannot know, to dispose of
him in another world, not at all doubting that the Supreme Being
will be good to him, without goodness, and just to him without
justice! He laughs at the faith of Abraham, and I should do so
too, if Abraham had disputed God’s veracity, and then trusted to
His promises. I never read such a mass of inconsistencies and
contradictions, such a vain ostentation of learning, and if I
durst, I would say it, all that can show ‘the trifling head, or
the corrupted heart.’ I think I may venture to say trifling, for
whatever does not relate to the argument is so, and to teize the
gentle reader with all the miserable sophisms that perplex’d the
world 2000 years ago, is barbarous. I wanted to apply to him the
Epigram on Hearne[76] the antiquarian--

“‘Fye on thee! quoth Time to Thomas Hearne,
Whatever I forget, you learn....’

I thank his Lordship, though, for making me once more look into Mr.
Locke and Doctor Clarke,[77] in the veneration of whom I believe I
shall live and dye.”

[75] Rev. William Warburton, born 1698, died 1779. Chaplain to the
King; Bishop of Gloucester; author of various works.

[76] Thomas Hearne, born 1678, died 1735; antiquarian and author.

[77] Samuel Clarke, D.D., born 1675, died 1729; celebrated
theologian and natural philosopher.

[Page heading: MR. PITT’S MARRIAGE]

[Page heading: THE HONEYMOON]

The return letter from West is so interesting that I give it _in
extenso_--

“Croydon, November 18, 1754.

“MY DEAR COUSIN,

“Your admirable letter found me at the Archiepiscopal Palace at
Croydon, where Mrs. West, Dick and I had been ever since Wednesday;
and it was lucky that it found me there, as I had by that means
an opportunity of showing the Archbishop, whom you very properly
style good, your most ingenious and judicious Reflections of Lord
Bolingbroke’s pompous Rhetorical and inconsistent Declamations with
which his Grace (who, by the bye agrees entirely with you in the
censure you there pass’d upon Mr. W(arburton)’s way of answering
him,) was so pleas’d that he desired me to give him a copy of the
whole paragraph, promising that if he show’d it to anybody he
would, however, cautiously conceal the name of the author. After
this I need not tell you how much we both said in praise of you;
I shall only add that I, this morning, received his commands to
present his respects to you, and to tell you in his name that if
you allow’d yourself the liberty of saying fine things of him,
he would be even with you. These are his own words, grounded on
a piece of information I had given him of the great honour and
esteem you had for him. We quitted Wickham, as I told you, on
Wednesday last, that we might throw no obstacle in the way of that
amorous impatience which Mr. Pitt had in all his notes express’d
of bringing Lady Hester to our sweet and hospitable Habitation,
as he call’d it; but to our great surprise, and to the no small
mortification of Mrs. West in particular, who was afraid that all
the good things, with which she had fill’d her larder, would be
spoil’d by their delay--the happy Bridegroom and his Bride did not
arrive till Saturday, on which morning they were married[78] by Dr.
Ayscough[79] with the Archbishop’s License. They came down alone,
and have continued alone ever since, and, I imagine, will continue
during their stay at Wickham, in that Paradisaical Solitude, tho’
by the quantity of provisions which Mr. Campion[80] brought with
him, and more which he has since sent for from Croydon, we conclude
he expected some visitants from Town, as Lord Temple, etc.,[81]
but having heard of no such visitants being expected, I suppose
that all this profusion was owing to Mr. Campion’s solicitude to
testify in his own way his respects to his new Lady, and make his
compliments on this joyous occasion, in the polite, that is, in the
French Phraseology: this is all the intelligence I can at present
give you of this important affair, for we have had no communication
by messages, either to or from Mr. Pitt, whom we were unwilling to
disturb, or interrupt the free course of those pleasures, which
for a time at least, possess the whole mind, and are most relished
when most private; for this reason I cannot yet acquaint you when
we shall leave Wickham, but I believe it will be about the middle
of this week, and I suppose we shall not be able to go to Chelsea
before the latter end of the next, or the beginning of the week
after, and by that time I am still in hopes you will come to Hill
Street, and by giving me the pleasure of seeing you there in good
health, compleat the happy change which you observe is already
begun in the once gloomy month of November. I do often, my dear
Cousin, look back with pleasure and thankfulness on many incidents
of my past Life, and compare them with my present situation, so
much changed for the better in a thousand instances, such as
Health, fortune and Friendship, among which there is none that has
given me more happiness than yours, and which therefore I hope
will continue, till it is lost where only it can be lost, in the
brighter and warmer radiance of an unchangeable and everlasting
Society, where I hope to have it continued to me through all
eternity. I am going to take the air with the good and amiable
Archbishop, and therefore must conclude.

“Adieu, my dear, dear Cousin, and assure yourself that all that
period I shall continue

“Ever most affectionately Yours, etc.,
“GIL. WEST.

“Mrs. West and Mrs. Herring desire their compliments to Mrs.
Montagu and Miss Anstey.”

[78] Married November 16, 1754, by special license, in Argyll
Street.

[79] Rev. Francis Ayscough, D.D., married Anne Lyttelton, Sir
George’s sister.

[80] The chef.

[81] Richard, Earl Temple, brother of Lady Hester.

[Illustration:

_W. Hoare R A Pinx._ _Emery Walker Ph. Sc._

_Philip, 4th Earl of Chesterfield._]

[Page heading: “GOSSIP” JOAN]

I give a portion of the reply to the foregoing letter--

“Hill Street, November 23, 1754.

“MY DEAREST COUSIN,

“From country Joan I am, according to my ambitious views, turned
into ‘Gossip’ Joan, and by no supernatural metamorphosing power,
but merely by the help of so ordinary a vehicle as a post-chaise,
which wrought this happy change between the hours of 7 in the
morning and 5 in the afternoon; the subject, no doubt was well
prepared that would so easily receive the alteration. In my town
character I made 15 visits last night: I should not so suddenly
have assumed my great Hoop if I had not desired to pay the earliest
respect to Lady Hester Pitt. I came to town on Wednesday night,
and was too weary to write to you. I proposed doing it on Thursday
evening, but my brother Robinson hinder’d me by making a long
visit. Yesterday morning was divided amongst Milliners, Mantua
makers, Mercers and such as deal in the small wares of vanity.”

[Page heading: MR. HOOKE]

The year ends with a letter from Mr. Nathaniel Hooke--

“Cookham, December 22, 1754.

“MADAM,

“If it were not for a certain text of Scripture, I should be very
impatient for the time to come when I must be in London for some
days. The idea of Hill Street and what is to be seen and heard
there, is very lively and pressing. But alas! What says St. John
the Divine? _Little children keep yourselves from Idols._ If you
can satisfy my conscience in this point I shall be much obliged
to you, and I beg you will study it thoroughly, and let me have
your Resolution by a line, directed to be left at Mr. Watson’s in
Cavendish Street. ’Tis uncertain just now _when_ I shall move, but
I think it will be some time this week. Till then I am not your
religious worshipper, but Madam,

“Your most obliged and most obedient
and most humble Servant,
“N. HOOKE.

“Give me leave to add best compliments to Mr. Montagu.”

CHAPTER II.

1755–1757--IN LONDON, AT SANDLEFORD, AT TUNBRIDGE WELLS, AND WITH
THE BOSCAWENS AT HATCHLANDS--LETTERS ON EVENTS OF THE WAR.

[Year: 1755]

[Page heading: LORD MONTFORT’S SUICIDE]

In January, 1755, but with no date of day, is a letter of Mrs.
Montagu’s to Sarah Scott on Lord Montfort[82] committing suicide after
gambling heavily.

“I imagine that you will be glad to hear the history of the times,
which indeed bring forth daily wonders; nor is it the least that
the most profound arithmetician and the greatest calculator, one
who carried Demoivre’s[83] ‘Probabilités de la Vie Humaine’ in his
pocket, never foresaw that spending ten times his income would ruin
his fortune, and that he found no way to make the book of debtor
and creditor even, but paying that debt which dissolves all other
obligations. You will guess I mean Lord Montfort and his pistol. He
had not discovered any marks of insanity, on the contrary, all was
deliberate, calm and cool; having said so much of his indiscretion,
I think, with the rest of the world, I may acquit him of the
imputation of cunning and sharping, but what can one say in defence
of a conduct that had all the appearance of deep knavery and the
consequences of inconsiderate rashness and folly.... Many reasons
have been given for his Lordship’s violent act, but by what I
learn from those best acquainted with his person and fortune, he
was not under the pressure of any very heavy debt, but had a true
Epicurean character, loved a degree of voluptuousness that his
fortune could not afford, and a splendour of life it could not
supply, much of his relish for the world was lost, and like one
that has no appetite to ordinary fare, chose to rise from table
unless fortune would make him a feast.... When Lord Montfort’s
children were paid their demands on his estate, I hear he had only
£1200 a year clear, and in table, equipage and retinue he equalled,
and in the first article perhaps excell’d, the largest fortunes. To
retrench or die was the question, he reasoned like Hamlet, but left
out the great argument of a future state.”

[82] Lord Montfort shot himself on January 1, 1755, at White’s
Coffee House, after playing whisk all night. _Vide_ Horace Walpole’s
“Letters to George Montagu,” vol. i. p. 252.

[83] Abraham Demoivre, born 1677, died 1754. Great mathematician;
wrote “The Doctrine of Chances,” etc.

In the same letter is--

“I have lately been engaged in a melancholy employment, condolence
with poor Mr. and Mrs. West on the loss of their son, who died
of a bilious fever, occasioned by his want of attendance to the
jaundice, which attacked him in the season of plays and Operas, and
he preferred them to the care of his health; he died very suddenly,
the poor parents bear the blow with surprising patience. Mr.
Lyttelton[84] is going to S. Carolina as Governor, and his sister
dreading such a separation desires to accompany him.

“Pray have you read Mr. Hume’s History of James I. and Charles
I.? I am afraid it will rather promote Jacobitism, but it is
entertaining and lively and will amuse you.... I suppose you know
there are two volumes of Madame de Sevigné’s letters come out this
winter; they are amusing as the anecdotes of a person one has a
great regard for, but they were rejected in former editions as not
being so brilliant as those published before. My brother Robinson
is emulating the great Diogenes and other budge Drs. of the Stoic
fur; he flies the delights of London and leads a life of such
privacy and seriousness as looks to the beholder like wisdom, but
for my part, I think no life of inaction deserves that name.”

This is the first mention of Matthew’s increasing love of retirement
and the hermit-like habits which he adopted at Horton.

[84] This was William Henry, brother of Sir George Lyttelton.

[Page heading: MRS. POCOCKE]

In March occurs a long letter from Mrs. Pococke, of Newtown, the very
learned lady mentioned before. She dispensed money for charitable
purposes given by Mrs. Montagu. She mentions that her son, Dr. Pococke,
is coming for a few days to see her before going abroad, “probably for
the last time, unless I live to the age of the late Bishop of Man.”
She mentions having walked eight miles that day as an excuse for bad
writing, which was superfluous, as her handwriting is amazingly good
and clear, and she was between eighty and ninety! _Mens sana in corpore
sano!_

[Page heading: LORD BALTIMORE’S HOUSE]

On June 9, presumably in this year, Mrs. Montagu writes--

“I suppose you know that Lady Sandwich has at last left her kind
Lord. To complete the measure of his good usage, he keeps her
daughter to educate with the Miss Courtenays. I hope her Ladyship
will be happier than she has been for many years, she has nothing
to harass her but the apprehensions for Lady Mary, but God knows
that is a dreadful object. She has taken a house at Windsor for the
summer.” This daughter died June 25, 1761.

And in the same month to Sarah Scott, she says--

Mrs. Boscawen and Miss Pitt came from Hatchlands to London to spend
two days with me; we went to Vauxhall each night, and Mrs. Anstey
and I went with them as far as Epsom: we saw Lord Baltimore’s
house, [_sic_] which speaks bad french, so I will not rehearse what
I saw there. Why should I teize your imagination with strawberry
colour’d wainscotts, doors of looking-glass, fine landskips on
gilt leather, and painted pastorals with huge headed Chloes and
gouty legg’d Strephons, with french mottoes to explain those tender
glances. We were glad to quit this palace of bad taste for a little
arbor in the garden of the inn at Epsom. The Sunday following Mr.
Montagu and I went to dine with Mr. Bower at Sidcop, his little
habitation has the proper perfections of a cottage, neatness,
chearfulness, and an air of tranquillity, a pretty grove with
woodbines twining round every Elm, a neat kitchen garden, with an
Arbor from whence you look on a fine prospect. Here he may write
of heresies and schisms, of spiritual pride and papal usurpations,
while peaceful retirement and the amenity of the scene about him,
rob controversy of its acrimony, and allay the bitterness of
censure by a mixture of gentle pity.”

[Page heading: SANDLEFORD]

Writing to Mrs. Boscawen from Sandleford, June 19, Mrs. Montagu
begins--

“‘When the Mower whets his scythe,
And the Milk-maid singeth blythe,
And every Shepherd in the dale
Under the Hawthorn tells his tale,’

there am I, and no longer in the sinfull and smoaking City of
London; this happy change was brought about on Tuesday, by very
easy and speedy measures. We got into our post-chaise between 10
and 11, arrived at Maidenhead Bridge about one; were refreshed by a
good dinner, and amused by good company. Mr. Hooke[85] meeting us
at our inn, we staid with him till after 5, and about ten arrived
at Sandleford.... I have not for these ten years been so early in
the Season at Sandleford, and it appears therefore with greater
charms. It cannot afford to lose any of its natural beauties, as
it owns none to Art, it is merely a pretty shepherdess, who has
no graces but those of youth and simplicity; but my dear Mrs.
Boscawen may turn it into a paradise when she pleases. When may I
hope to see her here.... I spent two days at Wickham last week;
our good friends had left the Archbishop of Canterbury only a few
days before I went to them. Mr. West seemed a good deal affected by
this return to Wickham, as to Mrs. West I cannot so well judge, the
cheerfulness she puts on is _outré_.... Mr. West told me he would
alter the room where poor Dick dyed, for he did not like to go into
it, and then a soft tender shower fell down his cheeks, he added
he had lost much of his relish for Wickham; however on the whole I
found them better than I could have expected!”

[85] He was then living at Cookham.

Directly after this, West was ordered to Tunbridge Wells, where he was
accompanied by Lady Cobham, Miss Speed, and his wife. He writes to Mrs.
Montagu that he hopes she will like a long stay in the country, as its
tranquillity will not

“produce the same effect which an Admiral of my acquaintance found
from the tranquillity of his friend’s house in the country, to
which coming directly from his ship, where he had been so long
accustomed to noise and bustle as to be grown fond of it, said,
after having passed a restless night, ‘Pox on this house, ’tis so
quiet there is no sleeping in it.’”

To this letter she answers--

“Mr. Montagu has been studiously disposed ever since we came to
Sandleford, so that I pass seven or eight hours every day entirely
alone. Five months are to pass before I return to the Land of the
Living, but I can amuse myself in the regions of the dead: if it
rains so that I cannot walk in the garden, Virgil will carry me
into the Elysian fields, or Milton into Paradise.”

[Page heading: MR. TORRIANO’S MARRIAGE]

Mention is also made of Sam Torriano’s engagement to Miss Scudamore,
“who is said to have been handsome, and it was on both sides a marriage
of inclination. He has delicacy enough to make him very happy or very
miserable, and restlessness enough to be very uneasy in a state too
insipid to allow of neither.”

Mrs. Montagu might well make this remark on Torriano’s marriage, as
her friend Sir George Lyttelton’s[86] second matrimonial contract had
by mutual consent ended in a separation. In a former letter it will
be remembered that the haughty tone and unpleasant manners of the
lady were commented on. It was a case of incompatibility of temper
and thought, and a constant imagination of bad health on her part.
Lady Lyttelton was a great friend of the Wests, and from a letter of
Lyttelton’s to West of this year it is evident that a little coldness,
which did not endure long, had sprung up between West and his friend.

[86] With Miss Rich, daughter of Field-Marshal Sir Robert Rich.

[Page heading: MR. WEST ILL]

On July 8 and July 14 Sir George Lyttelton writes to Archibald Bower
a complete diary of his tour in North Wales, accompanied by “Parson
Durant and Mr. Payne.” These letters Bower gave to Mrs. Montagu. They
contain many messages to the “Madonna,” but are, though interesting,
too long to insert here. At this period West was at Tunbridge Wells,
seeking health, but depressed at the absence of Pitt, Lyttelton,
Torriano, and, above all, Mrs. Montagu; and from this letter it appears
that 1750 was the year in which they first made friends at Tunbridge.
“Where are the happy seasons of 1750, 1751, 1752, and 1753?” he cries.
“In the ‘Stone House’ are Mr. Walpole and Lady Rachel, persons with
whom I have no concern.” The only people he now consorts with are Mrs.
Vesey, to whom he talks of Mrs. Montagu, “we both love and honour you;”
and Bishop Gilbert and his daughter.[87] The Bishop of London was
expected. West laments “a difficulty of breathing, accompanied with
wheezing,” he thought asthma. “The Doctors said Hysterical as only
fit for _petticoats_!” They prescribed assafœtida, valerian, and gum
ammoniac. He laments that Torriano “has done the irrevocable deed, and
is married on £500 per annum.”

[87] Miss Gilbert became Countess of Mount Edgecumbe.

In Mrs. Montagu’s answer to West of July 13 she laments Torriano’s
marriage not only as

“the world will lose him, but as he is to lose the world, which
with all its faults is not to be entirely quitted; man and wife
should always have something to charge with their ennui, the
impertinence of society bears the blame very well, in solitude
they must accuse each other of all they suffer of it. I do not
understand why they should live in Herefordshire, unless they
are very fond of cyder, for, in my opinion, London is the best
place for people of moderate circumstances. In the country people
are respected merely according to the acres they possess, an
equipage is necessary, and company must be entertained at a great
expense.... I am afraid his friend Stillingfleet[88] has left
Herefordshire.... Last Tuesday Mr. Botham came hither, as did Dr.
Gregory,[89] an ingenious agreeable man. Miss Pitt[90] has arrived
here to my great joy, and we are to go to Hatchlands on Thursday.”

[88] Dr. Benjamin Stillingfleet, born 1702, died 1771. Author of
“Calendar of Flora,” etc., and a prominent member of the Bas Bleu
circle.

[89] Dr. John Gregory, physician and miscellaneous writer; Professor
of Philosophy at Edinburgh.

[90] Mary Pitt, sister of Mr. W. Pitt.

[Page heading: HATCHLANDS]

Hatchlands, near Guildford, belonged to Admiral Boscawen. Writing
thence to her husband Mrs. Montagu says--

“We were received by Mrs. Boscawen with the most joyful welcome, as
we found her in great spirits on account of the taking of the two
French men of war. Mr. Hoquart had been taken twice by Mr. Boscawen
in the last war, but did not surrender himself in this engagement
till 44 men were killed on board of his ship. Mr. Boscawen writes
that he lived at great expence, having 11 French officers at his
table, whom he entertains with magnificence, and there were 8
companies of soldiers on board the _Alcide_ and the _Lys_. I hope
as Admiral Holborn has joined Mr. Boscawen, we may soon hear of a
more considerable victory.... The Duke[91] declares himself well
pleased with Mr. Boscawen for his enterprise.... Mr. Boscawen was
very much concern’d that the _Dauphin_, which had stands of arms
and some silver on board, has escaped by means of a fog....”

[91] Duke of Cumberland.

On July 27, to West, is this--

“Monsieur Mirepoix[92] threatened us with _la guerre la plus
sanglante qui fut jamais_, but by his _dépit_ I imagine the French
would have been better pleased if we would have let them silently
and quietly possess themselves of the West Indies.

“I walked round the park this morning, it does not consist of many
acres, but the disposition of the ground, the fine verdure and
the plantations make it very pretty: it resembles the mistress of
it, having preserv’d its native simplicity, tho’ art and care has
improv’d and soften’d it, and made it elegant.”

She mentions a miserable inn on Bagshot Heath, which they drove over,
“situated in the middle of a dreary Heath, which has been famous for
robberies and murders. The inn has for its sign the effigies of a man
who practised this dreadful trade 40 years.”

[92] The French ambassador.

[Page heading: SHEEP LEAS]

Whilst at Hatchlands Mrs. Boscawen took her guest to Sheep Leas,
belonging to Mr. Weston, also to Sir John Evelyn’s and Mr. Hamilton’s
places. Of Sheep Leas, in a letter to Sarah, who was with Lady Barbara
at Badminton, is this description--

“The Sheep Lees consists of a most beautiful down, adorn’d with
noblest beeches, commanding a rich gay and extensive prospect,
a prodigious flock of sheep enliven the scene; it has a noble
simplicity, and one imagines it to be the abode of some Arcadian
Prince.... Our next visit was to Sir John Evelyn’s,[93] you pass
over a high hill, finely planted, at the bottom of which lies
the good old seat, which is venerable and respectable, and put
me in mind of the song of ‘the Queen’s old Courtier,’ and it
has a library of good old books, handsome apartments furnished
and fitted up just as left them by their ancestor, the Sylvan
Evelyn.[94] I cannot but own that tired of papier maché ceilings
and gilt cornices, I was glad to see an old hall such as ancient
hospitality and the plain virtues of our ancestors used to inhabit
before country gentlemen used to make fortunes in Parliament or
lose them at ‘White’s,’ hunted foxes, instead of Ministers, and
employ’d their finesse in setting partridges. The garden at Sir
John Evelyn’s is adorn’d with _jets d’eaux_ in the old style, then
you pass on to the woods, which are great and noble, and lye on
each side a fine valley.”

[93] Leigh Place.

[94] John Evelyn, born 1620, died 1706. Author of the “Sylva, or
Discourse on Forest Trees,” etc., etc.

[Page heading: PAINSHILL]

Mrs. Ann Evelyn is mentioned as deserving this habitation.

“Pray follow me to Mr. Hamilton’s:[95] I must tell you it beggars
all description, the art of hiding art is here in such sweet
perfection, that Mr. Hamilton cheats himself of praise, you thank
Nature for all you see, tho’ I am inform’d all has been reformed
by Art. In his 300 acres you have the finest lawns, a serpentine
river playing in the sweetest valley, hills finely planted, which
command charming prospects, winding walks made gay with flowers
and flowering Shrubs, part of a rude forest, sombre woods, a river
deep and still, gliding round the woods and shaded by trees that
hang over the bank, while the serpentine river open and exposed to
the sun, adorn’d with little Islands and enlivened by waterfowls,
gladdens the vallies.”

[95] Painshill.

At the end of this letter mention is made of Travile, a poor lady
originally recommended by Lady Sandwich as lady’s-maid to Mrs. Montagu.
She was dying of consumption. Three doctors had treated her, and now
Dr. Gregory put her on a diet of vegetable and asses’ milk.

Mr. Botham, writing from Albury, July 23, 1755, says--

“A Captain Cunningham past through Guildford last night express
from the Governor of Hallifax in Nova Scotia with advice that
Col. Warburton of the land forces had taken a fort at the back
of Louisbourg called Bouche, (by the bye the most material Fort
belonging to the French settlements), 500 men and 20 cannon; that
the Colonel had blocked up Louisbourg by land, and Admiral Boscawen
had done the same by sea; that the town was very bare of provisions
and must soon surrender, and the sooner as the Colonel has turned
in the 500 brethren to help to consume the faster; so that there
is great reason to suppose we shall soon be masters of Louisbourg,
and the Admiral of the 4 French men of war blocked in the Harbour.
We have taken papers of the utmost consequence, which let us into
the secret schemes of the French, which were nothing less than
a design of taking all our Plantations from us in America, and
Hallifax in the first place, was destined for destruction.”

West, writing on August 22 from Tunbridge Wells, mentions that Lady
Cobham and Harriet had left them for Stoke, Mrs. Vesey was returning
to Ireland, and the Bishop of London had just left, “but while he was
here put into my hands some sheets of a third Volume of Discourses
now printing, which, as I had the chief hand in prevailing upon him
to publish, I received as a mark of his regard for me.” The bishop
was then in very bad health. West was persuaded by the three doctors,
Duncan, Burgess, and Morley, to stay on at Tunbridge Wells.

[Page heading: READING]

In a letter to Miss Anstey, who was with her friends, Lord and Lady
Romney, at Brighthelmstone, Mrs. Montagu says that Miss Pitt had left
her to join her brother, Mr. Pitt, and Lady Hester, at Sunninghill.[96]
Mrs. Montagu accompanied her as far as Reading,

“where we dined in the garden of the inn, from whence there is a
fine gay prospect, and after dinner we walked to see the ruins of
the old Abbey, which was most delightfully situated. The river
winds about the richest meadows I ever saw; hills crowned with
woods and adorn’d by some gentlemen’s houses bound the prospect,
and make it the most soft and agreeable landscape imaginable.”

[96] Sunning Hill, at that time rising in repute for its mineral
wells.

She and Mr. Montagu were contemplating visiting Mrs. Scott and Lady Bab
Montagu at Bath Easton, “but I do not propose to leave poor Travile
as long as she continues in this life; her end draws very near.” The
invalid seems to have been most religious, and one learns that by her
request Mrs. Montagu nightly read her the Service for the Sick.

On September 26, West informs Mrs. Montagu that the Archbishop of
Canterbury[97] had written to tell him of the release of Governor
Lyttelton, who, with his sister, had been taken prisoners by the French
in the _Blandford_, which was conveying the Governor to his province,
South Carolina. This was William Henry, brother of Sir George, and
his sister Hester. The _Blandford_ was soon after this given up by
the French. Mary Pitt, writing to Mrs. Montagu, said that Governor
Lyttelton’s only loss was his wine and provisions on the _Blandford_,
he having sent most of his baggage by another ship.

[97] Rev. Dr. Thomas Herring.

Mr. Pitt was then at Bath, while Lady Hester awaited her confinement
at the Pay Office, of which Pitt was then master. Miss Pitt says, the
sudden arrival of Governor Lyttelton “has proved very fortunate for Sir
George at Bewdley,[98] where, by the Election of a Bayliff, the Borough
was gone, if his brother had not thus dropt out of the clouds to give
his vote and the turn to the scale.”

[98] Bewdley, Worcestershire.

[Page heading: MRS. SCOTT’S DAILY LIFE]

Travile becoming slightly better, Mrs. Montagu went to Bath Easton to
visit Mrs. Scott and Lady Bab Montagu. In a letter to Dr. Gilbert West,
October 16, after her return to Sandleford, the following account is
given of the life led by the two lady friends:--

“My sister rises early, and as soon as she has read prayers to
their small family, she sits down to cut out and prepare work
for 12 poor girls, whose schooling they pay for; to those whom
she finds more than ordinarily capable, she teaches writing and
arithmetic herself. The work these children are usually employed
in is making child-bed linen and clothes for poor people in the
neighbourhood, which Lady Bab Montagu and she, bestow as they
see occasion. Very early on Sunday morning these girls, with 12
little boys whom they also send to school, come to my sister and
repeat their catechism, read some chapters, have the principal
articles of their religion explained to them, and then are sent
to the parish church. These good works are often performed by the
Methodist ladies in the heat of enthusiasm, but thank God, my
sister’s is a calm and rational piety. Her conversation is lively
and easy, and she enters into all the reasonable pleasures of
Society; goes frequently to the plays, and sometimes to balls,
etc. They have a very pretty house at Bath for the winter, and one
at Bath Easton for the summer; their houses are adorned by the
ingenuity of the owners, but as their income is small, they deny
themselves unnecessary expenses. My sister[99] seems very happy; it
has pleased God to lead her to truth, by the road of affliction;
but what draws the sting of death and triumphs over the grave,
cannot fail to heal the wounds of disappointment. Lady Bab Montagu
concurs with her in all these things, and their convent, for by its
regularity it resembles one, is really a cheerful place.”

[99] Mrs. Scott described their life in her novel, “Millenium Hall,
by a _Gentleman_ on his Travels,” 1762,--as there was a popular
prejudice then against a female author. Doubtless many of the
histories are true in it.

[Page heading: MISS POCOCKE]

Writing to Sarah Scott of their safe return from Bath Easton, Mrs.
Montagu says--

“You would hardly imagine that the calm, meek Miss Pococke[100]
is as great a heroine as Thalestris, Boadicea, or any of the
termagant ladies in history. One Wednesday night, she was awaken’d
by a robber, who threw himself across her bed and demanded her
money; she started up, seized him with one hand and rang her bell
with the other, and held him till the maid came into the room,
but at last he broke from her, and by the ill-management of her
assistants made his escape. He is our late Gardener’s son, whom you
may remember a boy in the gardens, his name Moses. He attempted to
break open our house two nights before, opened the parlour sash,
but could not force the shutters, which I am glad he did not do,
for any alarm to the poor sick woman would have been a grievous
thing.”

[100] Daughter of Mrs. Pococke, of Newtown, and sister of the
bishop.

[Page heading: GARRETT WELLESLEY]

Mrs. Donnellan, in a letter from Fulham, August 28, reproached Mrs.
Montagu “for not having visited Mrs. Southwell and me, for actually
from Bagshot to her house is not quite 3 miles and a straight road....
My very near relation and friend, my Lord Mornington[101] and his
son[102] and _my godson_ young Wesley, are at London and come often to
me.”

“I shall hope to make you acquainted with them next winter; you
have known my regards to them, the son is the best creature I ever
knew of his age, his whole attention is to make his Father as happy
as he can, who is greatly hurt since the death of his daughter,
Mrs. Fortescue.[103] The young man’s behaviour to me is like a
tender child to a parent, so you may believe he must engage me; he
says he shall not think of marrying till he is of age, and assures
me I shall have a negative in his choice, you may believe he is not
likely to meet one from the ladies as his estate will be a good
ten thousand a year all within 25 miles of Dublin.... The Duke and
Duchess of Portland, and the Marquis, and young ladies have been at
D’Ewes[104] at Wellesbourne in a tour.”

Mrs. Donnellan was in very bad health at this time.

[101] Baron Mornington, cousin through the Ushers to Mrs. Donnellan.

[102] Garrett _Wesley_, or Wellesley, 1st Earl Mornington; famous
for his musical talent; father of the Duke of Wellington.

[103] Elizabeth Wesley, married in 1743, Chichester Fortescue, of
Dromisken.

[104] Mrs. D’Ewes, _née_ Granville, sister of Mrs. Delany’s.

[Page heading: HAGLEY]

Now occurs a joint letter from Mr. Bower and Sir George Lyttelton
on October 6; the first writing in Italian from Hagley. Bower calls
Hagley, “questo Paradiso ed O! Madonna che paradiso! Non v’é luogo
sulla terra più degno di tal nome.” Further on he assures her that the
first volume of the “Life of Henry II.” which Sir George was engaged
upon, should, as soon as printed, be sent to her. Sir George adds--

“Till Bower came we were very uneasy at your not writing a line to
Miss West, nor am I yet without great anxiety for fear that your
attendance on the Deathbed of your servant should hurt your health.
The goodness of your heart, most amiable Madonna, is too much for
its strength. I hope by this time your servant is releas’d from her
sufferings here, and you from the sight of them; otherwise I am
sure this melancholy office of Virtue and Friendship will cost you
dear. I do not blame your obeying the impulse of that most sweet
Nature which is all tenderness and Benevolence; but remember you
have other friends interested in your health, and for whose sake
you ought to take care of it. I have a 1000 more things to say to
you, but there is a country gentleman just come to visit me whom I
must attend, and Bower brought me his letter, so that the post is
just going out. I shall be in London at latest by 10th of November.
I need not tell you that Mr. Pitt has made Fox, Secretary of State.
After a hard struggle, I have secured my Borough of Bewdley. Adieu,
this vexatious man will have me come to him, and the post will not
wait.”

On October 15, Admiral Boscawen writes to inform Mrs. Montagu of the
birth of a daughter stillborn, but that Mrs. Boscawen was doing well.

On October 20 West writes to say that Miss Pitt

“is gone this morning to congratulate Lady Hester and her brother
on the birth of a daughter[105] of which Lady Hester after a hard
and long labour was delivered on Saturday.... Miss Pitt returns
to us after she has paid her compliments to the happy Father and
Mother, and taken an exact survey of this future fair and fine
lady.”

[105] This was Hester, who became Lady Mahon, afterwards Stanhope,
mother of the celebrated Lady Hester Stanhope.

In a letter to Mr. West of November 1, after congratulating him on the
birth of Miss Pitt, Mrs. Montagu says--

“I wish her nurse in the first place, and then her governess,
would keep a journal of all the instructions the young lady has,
and all her employments, and the world might get a better treatise
of education than any yet extant. Mr. Pope says of Voiture ‘that
trifles themselves were elegant in him,’ a moderate praise to a man
who dealt only in trifles, but Mr. Pitt mixes the elegant with the
sublime.”

[Page heading: EXPECTED INVASION]

Great fears were entertained at this time of an invasion by the French.
Mrs. Medows writes from Chute to say her brother-in-law, Sir Philip
Medows

“has with a grave face told me that in troublesome times such
places as Conhault Farm often escaped, by being unseen and out of
the way, as it possesses both these advantages, I hope we shall
have the benefit of them, and seriously offer you our retreat if
anything should happen to make you prefer it to being near a town.”

At last, Travile having breathed her last, and Parliament being
summoned, the Montagus started for London on November 10, dining that
night with Miss Anstey at her new house. Mrs. Montagu tells Mrs. Scott
that

“I find the town very busy; the men are full of Politicks, the
Ladies of the Birthday Cloaths. New Ministers and new fashions
are interesting subjects, but I hear Messrs. Legge, Pitt, and
Grenville, tho’ against the subsidy, are not to be turned out.
What gives me most concern is Mr. Boscawen’s delay; the Admiralty
do not know where he is or what he is doing, he may be gathering
laurels, but as they are a deadly plant, I could wish he was at
his inglorious fireside. I am very uneasy for the poor woman (Mrs.
Boscawen) who is still at Portsmouth, if any accident should happen
to him I should go post to her. It is thought that a certain
great, very great Dowager[106] has given some discontent to her
Father-in-law.[107] I shall call on the Marechalle D’Ancre the
first time I go out to hear what they say on the present situation
of affairs. I think between his mysteriousness and her openness one
may find out something. I don’t believe Signor Concini advised the
Dowager to offend the old gentleman. The bell is very clamorous.”

[106] Dowager Princess of Wales.

[107] George II.

This last sentence I place here, as I do not think I have mentioned
that at this period a postman was sent round with a bell to collect all
the latest letters.

[Page heading: MR. GARRICK’S PLAYHOUSE]

[Illustration:

_W. Hogarth Pinx._ _Emery Walker Ph. Sc._

_Garrick and his wife_ _from the picture in the possession of H.M. The
King._]

“There is a great bustle at Mr. Garrick’s playhouse[108] about
some dancers, though they are chiefly Germans and Swiss, the mob
considers them French, and I imagine they will be driven off the
stage, tho’ the dancers and scenery have cost Mr. Garrick an
immense sum; this evening is to decide their fate, and I imagine
that at this time there may be a very bloody engagement. I rejoice
with you on the gallant behaviour of Captain Stevens animated by
your brother, to whom L’Esperance struck to Admiral West,[109] but
I met Lord Cadogan last night at Mrs. Southwell’s, who said the
French did not strike till Mr. West came up to them.”

[108] Drury Lane rows every night. On November 15 the Galleries were
victorious over the young men of quality, who protected the dancers.

[109] Temple West.

In this letter it is stated that Admiral Boscawen had just returned.

[Page heading: THE SUBSIDIES]

On November 25, in a letter to Sarah Scott, Mrs. Montagu says--

“The House of Commons sat till after 5 o’clock in the morning on
the motion for the address, which was carried by 311 against 105,
there were many speeches made which were talk’d of in all the
drawing rooms in town; with the same cool spirit of criticism you
would hear the speeches in a new Play of Mr. Whitehead’s,[110] and
Garrick and Mrs. Cibber’s manner of speaking them examined.... I
expected to find the town full of the subsidies,[111] they are
entirely forgot and never did the publick stand by more quiet
and contented. Mr. Fox and Mr. Pitt say a great many very lively
things to each other, which those who are not personally attach’d
to either hear with a great deal of pleasure. Messrs. Legge, Pitt,
and Grenville are dismiss’d, but no one positively named to succeed
them; Lord Egmont, Lord Dupplin, Mr. Doddington, and Charles
Townsend are talk’d of. Sir George Lyttelton is Chancellor of the
Exchequer, which place he was sollicited to accept. I wish the
fatigue of it may not impair his health, which is very delicate.”

[110] Paul Whitehead.

[111] Aid to be raised in supplying additional troops and seamen.

[Page heading: THE EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON]

Remarking on their friend, Miss Grinfield, being dismissed as Maid of
Honour to the Princess of Wales, Mr. Montagu writes--

“I suppose Lord B(ute)’s interest got Mrs. Ditched her place,
there is no man has such instinct for the Heir Apparent as his
Lordship. I would have him take the ‘Ich dien’ for his motto, he
serves and will serve, the hour of his ministry will never come.
I wish he would leave behind him a treatise on hope, or at least
answer Plautus who _grossièrement_ decides that hunger, thirst
and expectation are the greatest evils of human life.... The news
will tell you the sad tydings of an earthquake[112] at Lisbon,
some say a 100,000 persons were destroyed by it. The commotion
began in the Atlantick Ocean.... As to the fuss of an invasion, it
chiefly possesses those who have money in the public funds, the
state of things consider’d it appears probable. The Boom across
the Thames perhaps is to hinder such insults from the French as we
once receiv’d from the Dutch; I cannot describe it particularly to
you, not having seen it.... Lord Temple[113] very generously wrote
a letter to Mr. Pitt in polite and earnest terms to desire his
acceptance of a £1000 a year while he continues out of place.

“Voltaire, in compliance with the taste of the age, has written
a Chinese tragedy, it is called ‘L’orphelin de la Chine.’... I
have not seen Dr. Delany’s remarks on Lord Orrery’s[114] letters,
but they certainly deserved the animadversions of Dr. Swift’s
particular friend.”

[112] Took place November 1.

[113] Richard Grenville, Earl Temple, brother-in-law to Mr. Pitt.

[114] Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery, born 1703, died 1731.

Through Sir George Lyttelton’s influence, Gilbert West was reinstated
in his office at Chelsea, which from the change of parties would lapse
to the paymaster. The following letter from Sir George hints at the
trifling coolness between himself and West:--

“Hill Street, December 13, 1755.

“MY DEAR WEST,

“My endeavours to serve you, which from Lord Dupplin’s goodness
have proved successful, are indeed marks of affection, but not of
_returning_ affection. Mine for you has been constant and uniform.
What variations may have happened in yours for me I can’t tell.
Your behaviour has certainly indicated some, and I could not but
observe it. However, I can most truly assure you that one of my
greatest pleasures in my present situation has been it’s enabling
me to show you that my heart will ever be most eagerly warm in your
service. Indeed no Friend you have can more honour your vertue or
more affectionately desire your happiness than I,” etc.

The last letter of the year, December 31, to West from Mrs. Montagu,
contains this mention of Sir George Lyttelton’s son, Thomas[115]--

“Master Lyttelton paid me a visit yesterday morning, it gave me
great pleasure to find he had an air of health and strength beyond
what I had ever hoped for him; every sentence he utters shows
an understanding that is very astonishing. Mr. Torriano and Mr.
Stillingfleet came in while he was with me, the share he took in a
very grave conversation surprized them very much.”

[115] Afterwards 2nd Lord Lyttelton.

[Page heading: DEATH OF MR. WEST]

1756 begins with two letters of West’s. At the end of January he moved
to Chelsea; soon after this a stroke of the palsy brought him to the
grave on March 26.

[Page heading: MR. WORTLEY MONTAGU’S PAMPHLET]

On March 30 Mrs. Montagu writes to her sister--

“Ye 30th March.

“I imagine my dear sister would see a paragraph in the newspaper
that would excuse my not having written to her a farther account
of my poor friend, Mr. West. On the melancholy event I brought
his sister to Hill Street, where she is to stay a few days to
recover in some measure the consequences of her fatigue and the
shock her spirits have received. Mrs. West is with Lady Cobham.
She is sensible of her great loss, but says she will behave under
her affliction worthy the example of her excellent and worthy
husband, and his sentiments of resignation to the will of God, this
resolution join’d to natural good spirits and vivacity of mind,
supports her in a surprizing manner. I wish the good man could have
known she would have endured her misfortune so well, apprehensions
for her were all that disturbed the peace, I might almost say the
joy of his deathbed. Miss West went thro’ the sad duties of nursing
with great fortitude, but, she is much affected by her loss; the
Admiral[116] his brother is in deep affliction, Lady Langham[117]
finds great resources in a very extraordinary degree of piety. For
my part, tho’ I went thro’ the most melancholy scenes every day
between the sick and the afflicted, I have not suffered so much in
my health as might have been expected.... Lord Chesterfield[118]
has gone to Blackheath in a very bad state of health. The King
has had an ague but is well again.... Mr. Wortley Montagu[119]
has published a pious pamphlet titled, ‘Reflections physical and
moral upon the uncommon Phenomena in the air, water or earth which
have happened from the Earthquake at Lima, to the present time.’
I think you will send to Mr. Lake’s for it, it is written on the
Hutchinsonian[120] principles.”

[116] Temple West.

[117] West’s mother, then over seventy.

[118] The celebrated statesman, and author of the Chesterfield
“Letters” to his son.

[119] Old E. Wortley Montagu.

[120] Rev. John Hutchinson, born 1674, died 1734; author of “Moseis
Principia.”

Miss West being ordered to Bath, Mrs. Montagu gave her an introduction
to Mrs. Scott and Lady Bab Montagu, then residing in Beaufort Square.
In this letter mention is made of Miss Anstey’s death, and her not
having left a will. “Poor Mr. Anstey is not likely to survive his
sister, he has a violent fever.” We also hear of William Robinson,[121]
then recently ordained a curate at Kensington. William seems to have
been rather a _souffre douleur_ all his life, which annoyed his sister
perpetually: his harping on small worries and domestic trifles is
constantly alluded to. Mr. Botham bids him “fight a good fight, and by
diligence and spirit in his curacy to show himself worthy of a good
living.”

[121] William was the intimate friend of the poet Gray, who called
him the “Rev. Billy.”

[Page heading: DEATH OF CAPT. ROBERT ROBINSON]

A heavy affliction now fell on the sisters; early in June came the
tidings that their favourite brother Robert, the sea captain, had died
at sea. This was acutely felt by Sarah Scott, as he was her favourite
brother, probably from being nearest in age to her.

On June 24, in a letter to Mrs. Boscawen, this sad subject is touched
on--

“I know not how to reconcile myself to the loss of one of the
companions of my youth, the recollections of one’s earliest season,
the spring of life is usually pleasant and gay, but whenever it
offers itself to my mind, I cannot help asking where are those who
were my playfellows? Faith should answer, with their Maker, reason,
patience, resignation, should take place, but there is a weakness
and stubbornness too in the human habit.... My poor sister bears
her loss patiently, but it touches her heart very sorely.”

[Page heading: ADMIRAL BYNG]

Mrs. Montagu had been extremely unwell, and had spent some weeks at
Ealing Vicarage, lent to her by Mr. Botham. Dr. Shaw ordered her to
Tunbridge Wells. Mrs. Boscawen had asked for her letters to Mr. West to
be returned; Mrs. West promises to do this. At the end of the letter
one reads this--

“Mr. Montagu had just come in from the coffee-house. Mr.
Byng’s[122] expedition is unfortunate, not to say disgraceful,
instead of throwing succour into Minorca, it was agreed in the
Council of War that as there were 18,000 Frenchmen there, it would
be these men; then it was agitated whether they should engage
with the French, that was also carried in the negative; the third
question was whether they should go to take care of Gibraltar,
which was agreed on. Alas! Alas! the report to-day is that Admiral
West’s son is dead: one should lament this if we had not greater
reason to lament that the English spirit is dead. Arthur was going
to make illuminations and bonfires yesterday, and Lord Anson came
in and forbade it.”

[122] Admiral John Byng, born 1704, was shot in pursuance of the
sentence of a court-martial in 1757.

A letter to Sir George Lyttelton to Hagley in return for his
condolences runs thus--

“Your publick life will raise a high expectation of your son, it is
but just that you should give some of your private hours to qualify
him so as to answer it: his happy genius makes him worthy of such
a Preceptor.... You need but do justice to my affection for him to
give me some share of his love.”

Sir George had specially commended his son “Tom” to the “Madonna’s”
care, and they kept up a correspondence. Alas! that in future years,
despite his brilliantly intellectual qualities, and his careful
bringing up, he should almost break his father’s heart by his wild and
dissolute life. She continues--

“Most people think that Mr. Byng will have some good excuse, if not
justification, for what he has done; but however that may be, Sir
Edward Hawke[123] and Captain Saunders (now made an Admiral) are
gone to take command of the fleet.”

[123] Afterwards Lord Hawke, born 1705, died 1787.

In a letter of July 28, from Tunbridge to Mr. Montagu, one finds--

“The people at the Walks were all rejoicing poor Admiral Byng
was arrested at Portsmouth. I cannot think of him without some
compassion, a criminal is not always an object of mercy, but frail
man is ever an object of pity. People here seem to think that
a shameful death must end his shameful life. Birth and Station
bring a man into an elevated station, but do not give to him the
qualities necessary to become it.”

Lyttelton, in a letter of August 8, writes to the “Madonna,” “the
Admiral (Temple West) triumphs and pouts, and is gone to George
Grenville’s[124] with Jenny Grenville. He blames Byng, though
unwillingly, because he would rather condemn those that sent him.”

[124] George Grenville, born 1712, died 1770; became 1st Lord of the
Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, time of George III.

In another letter is--

“Dr. Shaw tells me that the mob at Portsmouth would not suffer Mr.
Byng to be brought away, lest he should escape punishment. It is
said that Mr. Boscawen has taken a great number of Martinico ships,
and that part of the Brest squadron have got out, and gone to join
M. Galissionière.[125] Mr. Bower’s affidavit has had a very good
effect. I hope Mr. Millar has got some of them to distribute among
his friends in the country. I am sure his good heart will rejoice
to see innocence re-instated in reputation.”

[125] The French Admiral.

[Page heading: MR. BOWER’S ENEMIES]

Bower’s enemies had set about many evil reports of him at that period,
and Mr. Hooke had specially warned Mrs. Montagu against Bower, but she
refused to give up her friendship with one who had been introduced
to her by the saintly Gilbert West, and was the intimate friend of
Lyttelton. Bower’s change in religion from Roman Catholicism to
Protestantism exposed him to all the virulence of the priests, who in
revenge formulated all sorts of charges against him.

Mrs. Montagu now took a house on Mount Ephraim at Tunbridge Wells,
leaving Mr. Montagu in London, from whence he went to Sandleford. She
requiring wine, he sends her, from a “new wine merchant,” Madeira,
port, and claret.

[Page heading: MR. DAVID HUME]

At Tunbridge mention is made of David Hume[126] and his wife, who were
there, the latter in bad health: “I remember her twenty years ago as a
fine woman, though swarthy, but she is now a most melancholy object.”

[126] David Hume, born 1711, died 1776; philosopher and historian.

Writing to her husband at Sandleford, she says--

“Dr. Smith inquired after you this morning, he is much pleased with
your present of Dr. Barrow’s[127] bust to the Library.[128]...
He is angry with Mrs. Middleton for being so tardy as to Dr.
Middleton’s bust, at which, I own, I am a little offended.... All
the people here are impatient for the tryal of Mr. Byng. They say
he was surprised at the reception, tho’ he had so much reason to
expect the treatment he has found. Sir William Milner and his Lady
are here, they are people of considerable fortune in Yorkshire,
they seem very good-natured and obliging.”

[127] The Rev. Dr. Isaac Barrow, born 1630, died 1677; eminent
scholar and mathematician; preceptor of Sir Isaac Newton; Master of
Trinity College, Cambridge. The bust is by Roubilliac.

[128] The library of Trinity College, Cambridge.

Mention is made of Miss Dashwood[129] being at Tunbridge, much gone
off in looks: “Miss Dashwood dined with me yesterday. This place must
appear as melancholy to a lady who has formerly been a reigning beauty,
and is on the decline, as the coronation of an usurper to a dethroned
Prince!”

[129] The “Delia” of Hammond.

[Page heading: MR. MORRIS ROBINSON’S MARRIAGE]

During this summer Morris Robinson, Mrs. Montagu’s third brother,
married Miss Jane Greenland, daughter of John Greenland, of Lovelace,
Co. Kent, who was the eldest son of Augustine Greenland, of Belle Vue,
Kent. Her mother was Jane Weller, of Kingsgate House, Rolveden, Kent,
of a good family. Mrs. Montagu did not like the marriage, though she
finally adopted their second son, her nephew,[130] Matthew Robinson,
and made him take the name of Montagu. There never was any cordiality
between the sisters-in-law. Mrs. Morris Robinson was a violent-tempered
woman, and, despite her good birth, very illiterate, which, to a person
like her sister-in-law, was extremely annoying, the more so as Morris
was one of her favourite brothers, and extremely clever. As mentioned
before, he belonged to the Six Clerks’ office, and managed both the
legal affairs of the Duke of Montagu and Mr. Montagu.

[130] Succeeded his elder brother Morris as 4th Baron Rokeby in
1829.

Writing from Hagley[131] on August 11, Miss West gives an account of
her brave young nephew, who had been wounded, not killed, as at first
reported--

“My nephew[132] is at Portsmouth, not being able to bear
travelling. He has been in danger from his wound, it beginning to
mortify, but he is now in a fair way of recovery. He has shown a
spirit suited to his profession, and to the grandson of Admiral
John Balchen,[133] for when his Father proposed to send him on
board a frigate, with Byng’s nephew, who was ordered to leave my
brother’s ship by his uncle, Admiral Byng, before the engagement
began, being, like my nephew, too young to be of use. My nephew
remonstrated very strongly, ‘that Mr. Byng was only a passenger,
but he belonged to the ship he was in, and therefore it would be
such a disgrace that he could never show his head again, should
he quit it at such a juncture:’ this joined to lamentation and
importunity prevailed; when he received his wound his Father
ran to pick him up and said, ‘I hope you are not much hurt?’ ‘I
believe I am killed, but pray don’t mind me, Papa,’ answered the
poor fellow.... Hagley is now blessed with its master, who came on
Monday last with good health, looks and spirits. I was glad to see
him accompanied by Stillingfleet, so worthy a man deserves such a
countenance, and he is so unexceptionable that no censure can arise
from any favours confer’d on him.”

[131] Sir George Lyttelton’s place in Worcestershire.

[132] Son of Temple West.

[133] Admiral Sir John Balchen, born 1669, died 1744.

[Page heading: MATTHEW ROBINSON’S ECCENTRICITIES]

Sarah Scott at this time had a dangerous fever at Clifton, where she
and Lady Bab had gone to drink the waters. Writing to her, Mrs. Montagu
remarks upon the growing eccentricities of their brother Matthew,[134]
who lived upon almost raw meat, and never touched bread at all,
considering corn as exotic, and therefore diminishing British trade, at
the same time avoiding sugar for the same reason, substituting honey
for it.

[134] Afterwards 2nd Baron Rokeby.

He lived in the plainest, simplest manner himself, but was mighty
hospitable to all who came to Horton. He gradually pulled down the many
walled gardens round the house, as well as hedges, and threw the whole
of his grounds into one large park, where his cattle roamed at will.
He dressed plainly, and allowed his beard (then an unusual hirsute
ornament) to grow; but as Sir Egerton Brydges,[135] who eventually
became his nephew by marriage, remarks, “he carried his hatred of
artificialities through everything.... He was the reverse of his
Father, who was never happy out of the high and polished society and
clubs of London, and thought a country life a perfect misery.” Matthew
was, however, greatly esteemed by his neighbours and constituents, was
a great reader, and wrote some clever political pamphlets.

[135] From Sir Egerton Brydges’ “Biography,” _vide_ vol. ii. p. 2.
Sir Egerton married for second wife, Mary Robinson, niece of
Matthew, daughter of Rev. William Robinson.

[Page heading: MR. PITT BUYS HAYES]

Mr. Pitt had taken such a fancy to Hayes since Mrs. Montagu had lent
him her house there, that he bought it soon after her tenancy expired,
as will be seen by this passage in a letter of Bower’s to Mrs. Montagu--

“Mr. Pitt is doing great things at Hayes, he has bought the house,
and the house hard by, and some fields. He has built a wall towards
the public road 13 feet high. He intends to pull down the old
house, and build another in the middle of the garden. His neighbour
Elly asks an exorbitant price for his house, £500.”

Mary Pitt, writing from Hayes on September 16, mentions she is leaving
to go to Howberry to the Nedhams,[136] in order to make room for
Lady Hester’s extra attendants, as Lady Hester was expecting her
confinement. Mrs. Montagu went for ten days to Bath Easton to see
Mrs. Scott. Lord Lyttelton, writing to Mrs. Montagu on October 23, to
enquire as to her health and Mrs. Scott’s, says--

“Mr. Fox[137] has determined to lay down the seals, because he says
he has not support or credit sufficient to carry on the King’s
business in the House of Commons, and Mr. Pitt will not take them
under the Duke of Newcastle. What will be the consequence of all
this I can’t tell, my fears are great for the publick, for myself
I have none in any event: the worst that can happen to me is to
remain in the office I am in under the Duke of Newcastle, but I
will remain for the same sense of honour and duty upon which I came
into it, if the King and his Grace shall determine to stand the
attacks made upon them. How happy are Mr. Stillingfleet and Mr.
Torriano to enjoy the Madonna’s conversation, instead of hearing
the nonsensical speculations of the town.... Little Tom is quite
well and desires his best compliments. I am charmed with his sister
upon my acquaintance with her during her week’s stay at Hagley.
To make her as perfect as I could wish she wants nothing but the
society of the Madonna.”

This was his little daughter Lucy,[138] afterwards Lady Valentia.
She appears to have been brought up at first by the Fortescues, her
mother’s family.

[136] Mrs. Nedham was her married sister.

[137] Henry Fox, 1st Lord Holland, born 1705, died 1774.

[138] About ten years old then.

[Page heading: VISCOUNT PITT’S BIRTH]

On November 4 Mary Pitt writes from Howberry, “I thank you for your
congratulations on the birth of my nephew, he seems to give prodigious
satisfaction at Hayes.” This was John Pitt, afterwards Viscount Pitt;
he was born on October 9.

On November 6 Admiral Boscawen wrote from the Admiralty Office to Mrs.
Montagu, then at Sandleford--

“Last week the Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Fox resigned, and the
following are those that come in:--the Duke of Devonshire, Mr.
Legge, Mr. Nugent, Lord Duncannon and Mr. James Grenville for the
Treasury; Lord Temple, Mr. Boscawen, Mr. West, Mr. Thomas Pitt, Dr.
Hay, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Elliot of Scotland for the Admiralty; Lord
Bateman, Treasurer of the household, Mr. Edgecumbe, Comptroller of
the Household, Lord Berkeley, the band of pensioners, Mr. George
Grenville, Treasurer of the Navy, Sir Richard Lyttelton,[139] the
jewel office: these have all kissed hands. Mr. Pitt having the
gout at Wickham is not yet Secretary of State. Mr. Amyand is to be
a Commissioner of the Customs, Sir G. Lyttelton and Lord Hillsbury
have both kissed hands for peerages.”

[139] Brother of Sir George, married the Dowager Duchess of
Bridgewater.

[Page heading: LORD LYTTELTON]

On November 19 Charles Lyttelton, Dean of Exeter, afterwards Bishop
of Carlisle, wrote an almost similar account of the new Ministry, and
said--

“Mr. Pitt was in his bed at Hayes with a sharp attack of gout in
his feet; as soon as he is able to get abroad he will kiss hands
as Secretary of State.... Sir George’s patent for a peerage is
making out, which the King granted him in the most gracious manner,
which is a solid consolation to him for loss of so considerable
employment.”

On November 16 Mrs. Montagu writes to Lord Lyttelton from Sandleford--

“MY LORD,

“I think you should have written me a letter of congratulation on
Sir George Lyttelton’s being made a peer: who can feel more joy for
any honour, virtue, etc., he obtains? We congratulate our friends
on the most transient prosperity, but this peerage is a most solid
and lasting advantage, happily timed and accompanied with such
agreeable circumstances, on which I reflect with so much sincere
satisfaction.... I imagine when you take your seat in the House
of Peers, the ghost of Henry II.[140] will claim his seat in the
Temple of Fame near the Heroes, recorded by Livy and the great
Historians of Antiquity, assuring them that your Lordship is making
out his Patent for Eternal Fame.”

[140] Alluding to Lord Lyttelton’s “History of Henry II.”

[Illustration: GEORGE, LORD LYTTELTON.]

To this Lyttelton replies--

“Hill Street, November 18, 1756.

“MADAM,

“Whatever advantages there may be in a peerage, which you set
forth with an eloquence peculiar to yourself, mine has given me no
greater pleasure than your most obliging congratulations.” He then
alludes to his principal pleasure being the advantage to his son,
whose talents he praises, and continues, “An early acquaintance and
intimacy with the Madonna will be a further advantage to him, if
she will be so good as to favour him with it, which will form his
mind to all that is worthy and noble, and make him amends for the
loss of a Mother whose instructions she alone can ever supply.”

Sarah Scott’s husband, George Lewis Scott, was now made a Commissioner
of the Excise. Writing on Christmas Day to Mrs. Montagu, Sarah says
about this--

“Lady Car Fox[141] told Lady Bab that to her certain knowledge the
Prince of Wales[142] had desired he might not be placed about him,
but unless he has committed some very heinous offence against Lord
B(ute) I make no doubt of the Princess[143] providing for him, as
the contrary would be unparalleled, and not to her honour.”

[141] Daughter of Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond.

[142] Afterwards George III.

[143] Widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales.

[Page heading: ADMIRAL BYNG]

The letters for the year wind up with one from Sam Torriano, of
November 13. It begins--

“MADAM,

“If the brave and victorious Admiral Byng should be so lucky as to
meet with so tender an advocate for him as you have been for me,
he stands a good chance of an easy death,[144] and so the mob will
be disappointed, who now wish that everybody may be hanged but
himself....”

[144] Admiral Byng was shot on his own ship, March 14, 1757.

[Page heading: DR. MESSENGER MONSEY]

Further he alludes to Pitt being laid up with gout at Hayes, “a legacy
you left him,” alluding to her formerly owning Pitt’s residence at
that place. Then he mentions Stillingfleet having been staying at
Sandleford, and says, “Monsey swears he will make out some story of you
and him before you are much older; you shall not keep blew stockings at
Sandleford for nothing.” This is the first allusion to blue stockings,
but that Stillingfleet’s wearing blue stockings gave the name to the
coterie entirely, must be false. He was, however, a very learned man,
especially upon botany. In later letters allusion is made to his having
left off wearing blue stockings! The coterie of friends probably was
named thus after the famous _bas bleu_ assemblies of Paris, held in
the _salons_ of Madame de Polignac in the Rue St. Honoré, where the
wearing of blue stockings was the rage: but Dr. Monsey is mentioned for
the first time here. Dr. Messenger Monsey was the son of a clergyman;
he was born in 1698, so was fifty-eight years old at this date. He
was a doctor and surgeon, and became private physician to the Earl of
Godolphin, and afterwards physician to Chelsea Hospital. He was most
eccentric, and, if his portrait at the Soane Museum was like him,
hideous in appearance; but he had a coarse rough-and-tumble wit, and
evidently was so droll in manner, that he became a sort of pet buffoon
of the Montagu and Lyttelton circle. His letters are interminably
long; written in such small though neat writing, a magnifying glass
is required for careful perusal. He was at this time a widower, with
one married daughter, Charlotte, whose husband, William Alexander,
was elder brother to the 1st Earl of Caledon. Mrs. Alexander had one
child, a daughter, Jemima, who married the Rev. Edmund Rolfe, and was
mother eventually of the 1st Baron Cranworth. Monsey’s letters are so
coarse one can hardly imagine the _bas bleus_ putting up with them.
Dr. Monsey begged Dr. Cruickshank, in case of his dying away from his
own doctor (Dr. Forster), to dissect his body before the students,
set up his skeleton for instruction, and put his flesh in a box and
throw it into the Thames. He must either have been very swarthy, or
disliked soap and water, as Torriano, in allusion to Monsey’s threat
of inventing a story about Stillingfleet and Mrs. Montagu, says, “Your
fame, which was as fair as Dian’s visage, will be soon black and
begrim’d like the Doctor’s own face!”

[Page heading: EMIN]

During this year Mrs. Montagu had also formed an acquaintance with an
Armenian named Joseph Ameen, or Emin. He was the son of a merchant, and
born at Hamadan, whither his father had been carried captive by the
Persians. His father at last escaped to Calcutta, after being slave to
Kouli Khan for many years. The Persians, ever since 1604, under Shah
Abbas, had frequently made inroads into Armenia, captured the majority
of the inhabitants, and carried them away as slaves into Persia. Emin
grew up with a passionate desire to free his country from oppression
and the yoke of unbelievers, for the Armenians were then, as now,
Christians. Emin says of his father in a letter to his patron, the Earl
of Northumberland[145]--

“My Father taught me like other Armenians only to write and read
in our own language, and to get Psalms by heart to sing in Church,
but he did not show me how to handle arms to fight for that Church,
as my Uncle did who was killed at his Church door, nor anything to
kindle up my heart to understand great affairs.”

[145] Hugh Smithson, the 15th Earl, made Duke of Northumberland in
1766; born 1714, died 1786.

[Page heading: EMIN’S TROUBLES]

[Page heading: EMIN’S FORTUNES]

Burning to learn “the art of war” as practised by the British soldiers
in India, and his father opposing him, Emin determined on flight to
England, and, taking what money he possessed, he “kissed the feet of
Capt. Fox of the ship _Walpole_ a hundred times to let me work[146]
my passage to Europe before he would heed to me, but he did at last
admit me, and I came to England with much labour.” Arrived in England,
he entered Mr. Middleton’s Academy, and was first a scholar, and
then, when his money was exhausted, worked there as a servant for his
learning. His master becoming bankrupt, Emin lost his all, and was
reduced to the streets. At last he obtained service with a Mr. Rogers,
a grocer, as porter. “In this time I carried burthens of near 200 lbs.
upon my back, and paid out of my wages to learn geometry, complete my
writing, and learn a little French.” Overstraining himself, he could no
longer carry such heavy burthens, and was reduced to living on 1½_d._
a day, but a friend recommended him to a Mr. Webster, an attorney in
Cheapside, with whom he got work for a time. His uncle sent £60 to
Governor Davis to take Emin home to India, but after a while, meeting
“by chance some gentlemen[147] who encouraged me and lent me books, and
advised me to kiss Colonel Dingley’s hands and show him my business, he
was a brave soldier, took me by the hand, spoke to his own Sergeant, an
honest man, to teach me Manuel Exercise, and gave me ‘Bland’s Military
Discipline’ and promised to help me learn gunnery and fortification.”
Unfortunately Colonel Dingley died, and Emin, in despair, and by the
advice of the gentlemen mentioned before, who appear from the letters
to have been a Calcutta lawyer and Edmund Burke, applied to the Earl
of Northumberland in a long letter, passages of which I have quoted.
Emin proposes that his lordship should apply to Governor Davis for some
of the money his uncle had sent to pay for his passage back to India to
enable him (Emin) to join the “black Armenians in the mountains, as I
heard they had never been conquered,” to teach him the art of war. The
Earl of Northumberland at last--after Emin waiting at his house often
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.!--took notice of him, and sent his servant to
fetch him to see him, and on hearing his story, said, “Ameen, it is
very hard to live in this country without friends and without money,
almost four years, therefore the Lord is with you, be contented, I will
from this time provide and furnish you with all necessaries,” and,
said he, “I will mediate to the son of our King, and after you have
learned the art of war, I will send you to your Father and your Uncles:
the noble lady[148] comforted me also likewise.” Lord Northumberland
introduced Emin to Sir Charles Stanhope,[149] and he in turn to Lord
Cathcart,[150] who gave him great encouragement. Lord Northumberland
now introduced him to the Duke of Cumberland, who henceforth took an
interest in him. Emin applied for military service in a long letter to
Heraclius II., King of Georgia and Armenia, who was anxious to shake
off the yoke of the Persians, but evidently the reply was delayed, and
the next we hear of him is that he had been sent to Woolwich Academy,
“to Mr. Heaton’s on Church Hill,” to learn the “art of war.” Having
effected a reconciliation with his father, it is interesting to read
what presents he desired him to send this noble patron, the Earl of
Northumberland--

“Send to my protector Nobleman, spices of the finest Pulam of
Radnagar, 2 pieces of the finest Mul-mul, and 2 pieces of Madras
red handkerchiefs, 2 pieces of Cuzombzar Silk handkerchiefs to be
ornamented at both ends at Dacca.”

[146] The passage took from February 3 (from Hoogley) to December
14,--ten months!

[147] The gentlemen were a Calcutta lawyer, Emin, or Joseph Ameen,
and Edmund Burke, who at once protected Emin.

[148] Elizabeth, only daughter and heiress of Algernon Seymour, Duke
of Somerset.

[149] Sir Charles Stanhope, died 1759.

[150] 9th Lord Cathcart, aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cumberland,
etc., etc.

So ends 1756.

[Year: 1757]

[Page heading: “MY QUEEN OF SHEBA”]

On May 10, 1757, Emin writes from Woolwich to implore Mrs. Montagu
to use her influence with her brother-in-law, Mr. Medows, who was
intimate with the Duke of Marlborough, to get him a commission in the
Royal Artillery, in order to enable him to join the British army then
fighting to defend Hanover, and assist the King of Prussia against the
inroads of the French.

This letter, speaking of Mrs. Montagu, addresses her as “My Queen of
Sheba,” and alludes to all “the noble ladies of her circle,” and Dr.
Monsey as “my honest, dear Dr. Monsey.”

From a letter printed in my grandfather’s collection of his aunt’s
letters, dated March 8, 1757, but which I do not possess, Mrs.
Montagu writes to Dr. Monsey, then at Gog Magog, Lord Godolphin’s
Cambridgeshire seat--

“DEAR DOCTOR,

“That is because you have made me well! Dear Sir, because you make
me laugh!”

In this letter, too long to insert here, she says “there have been
great efforts to save Mr. Byng.” She says Stillingfleet had left off
his blue stockings, and was at gay operas and assemblies each night.

[Page heading: THE WINDSOR ELECTION]

From Windsor Castle, where Lady Sandwich had been granted apartments,
and was living with her sister, Miss Fane, this interesting letter from
Mrs. Montagu, who was on a visit there, is dated--

“Windsor Castle, Friday.

“MY DEAREST,

“I know you will be curious to hear how the famous election has
been carried at Windsor, and the greatest pleasure I can have
is to impart any to you. Mr. Fox[151] had a majority of 52, the
Mayor, who is Mr. Bowles’ friend, owns he had a legal majority of
nine. The boxers and the bruisers Mr. Fox had on his side beat the
Windsor mob out of the Field, but they had once the courage to
attack Mr. Fox’s person, and pulled off his wig, and threw it in
his face. In short the affair has been very tumultuous. The town
is quiet, none are actually dead, but four or five are dangerously
ill, and the Doctors and Apothecarys had a great harvest of bruises
and fractures.... The ladies wore party gowns, Fox’s is partly
yellow and green, and the others blue; our sex have a wise way of
expressing their political principles.”

[151] Henry Fox, born 1705, died 1774; afterwards Baron Holland.

On June 28, being returned to Sandleford, writing to Mr. Montagu, she
mentions--

“The poor are very riotous on Market days, and it was rumoured, as
I am told, that you had some corn in the granary,[152] and also
the same of Mr. Herbert,[153] at which they were very angry; but
I hope they will patiently wait its going to Market, for there is
still a great while to Harvest. Corn fell last week, and bears but
8_s._ 6_d._ a bushell, but gin and idleness give the poor a riotous
and licentious spirit.... Lady Sandwich has got a very pretty
habitation in the Castle, we went into the little park in the
evening, that and all I saw of the environs of Windsor delighted me
extreamly.”

[152] There was a great dearth of corn at this period, and a bill
had to be passed prohibiting exportation.

[153] Mr. Herbert, of Highclere.

Mr. Montagu thanked his wife on July 10 for telling him about the
election, and says, “I hear it cost him (Mr. Fox) £3000, that he gave
£50 apiece for many of his votes, and carried it by 31.”

[Page heading: DR. STILLINGFLEET]

The first letter of Dr. Stillingfleet’s[154] I possess is written on
July 23 to Mrs. Montagu. His handwriting is clear, but he always uses a
small “i” alone instead of a capital “I,” except at the beginning of a
sentence. Portions I copy--

“I have been at Malvern about twelve days, where with difficulty i
have got a lodging, the place is so very full, nor do i wonder at
it, there being some instances of very extraordinary cures in cases
looked on as desperate, even by Dr. Wall,[155] the Physician, who
first brought the waters into vogue. I do not doubt but that the
air and exercise, which at present is absolutely necessary here,
the Well being at over two miles[156] from the town, contribute
very much towards restoring the health of the patients. The road
is very fine, and made on purpose for the drinkers. It is on the
side of a hill, which i am told is found by exact mensuration in
some part to be half a mile perpendicularly high, above a wide
plain that lies at the bottom. Towards the well the road ascends
considerably, so that i imagine the end of it is not much less
than halfway up to the top. A gentleman in the neighbourhood has,
at his own expense, made a walk a little above the well; this walk
runs on a level for about 600 yards, winding with the breaks of the
hill, and makes the noblest terrace i ever saw, the plain over
which you look being bounded by some fine hills, and on it, lying
on one side, Worcester, on the other Gloucester. The hill is fed
with sheep, here and there some cattle graze, overhead I see my
favourite bird, the Kite, sailing, and all the while i tread on
porphyry, the consciousness of which, you may guess, adds not a
little to my satisfaction, when i consider that Princes are proud
to have a few pillars of this material.... The town lies high on
the side of the hill, and still on Porphyry. The church, which
stands a little lower, was a Priory.... Not far below the Church is
a spring of the same nature with that of Tunbridge.... I wish this
place was nearer to London, for it seems exactly adapted to do you
good.... There is a subscription going forward for building a large
lodging-house near the Well. At present there is only one old house
in the town, turned entirely to that purpose, which contains about
fifteen persons, and one large room in it, where once a week there
is a sort of public breakfast and dinner. We have had one public
tea-drinking and card-playing in the afternoon, by particular
invitation; to-day it will begin on another footing, and is to be
weekly.”

[154] Dr. Benjamin Stillingfleet, born 1702, died 1771. Wrote
“Calendar of Flora,” etc., etc.

[155] Dr. John Wall, an eminent physician. First made Malvern known
as a Spa, and founded the porcelain manufactory at Worcester.
Dr. Wall died in 1776.

[156] Matlock Bath now.

[Page heading: TO “KILLUM”]

[Page heading: “KILLUM”]

Soon after the receipt of this letter, Mrs. Montagu set out on a visit
to Lady Bab Montagu and Mrs. Scott at Bath Easton, and Mr. Montagu,
on July 28, writes to say he purposes driving to “Killum”[157] to
see his friend Mr. Stevens.[158] “Killum” was Culham Court, Berks.
George Stevens, a very eccentric character, afterwards, in 1766,
published an edition of Shakespeare, and three years later some notes
were incorporated in it of Dr. Johnson’s. Mr. Montagu writes this
description of “Killum”--

“His house is a very good one, built about fifty years ago,
the rooms large and wainscoated with oak, and three very good
bedchambers with beds that at some time cost a good deal of money,
but are the worse for time. He has been pulling down walls, and
everything lyes rough and without order or neatness, and to finish
the account of it, very much resembled its owner. Its situation
is what I think fine and much pleases me, it is in a Valley
which begins at the foot of that hill which we see on Maidenhead
Thickett, and goes as far as Henley and further. The Thames runs
quite through it, is of good breadth, and with a great number of
little islands scatter’d here and there makes a most beautyfull
appearance. On the bank of this river, on a terrass the house
is built, it is of considerable extent, and if adorn’d with
plantations and buildings would be very pretty and pleasant, but
to do this may require a greater expense than may be convenient,
so that all he at present thinks of doing is the improving the
lawn.... You might blame me if I omitted giving you some account
of one of a kind very uncommon. I mean Mr. Hart’s[159] Chinese
house. This stands in a beech wood of Mr. Stevens about half a
mile from him. Consists of a suite of rooms pav’d with pantyles
and hung with paper, and on the outside is embellish’d with very
costly decoration of the Chinese manner. Mr. Stevens says the cost
has been about two thousand pounds, but I don’t believe three would
pay for it. It seems to me no more than a whim, and so much money
flung away. It stands very high, and has a more extensive view
than Mr. Stevens’. It might be agreeable to entertain a company
there in the finest and warmest weather, but one cannot think of
it as an habitation without shuddering. At present no use is made
of it; three servants are kept there who have no other business
than to look after the house, keep the wood walks in order, and
breed pheasants; in about 15 years the lease expires, and then
it comes to Mr. Stevens.” Mr. Montagu says, “I have some other
thoughts of taking another ramble about the middle of the week to
Winchester, and perhaps Southampton.”

[157] This would place the building of Culham Court as taking place
in 1707. See the first line of the next page.

[158] George Stevens, born 1736, died 1800.

[159] This was Rose Hill, built by Governor Hart, now the property
of General E. Micklem.

Mrs. Montagu had written to ask for a pair of horses and a coachman to
be sent to Bath Easton, in order to convey herself and sister to stay
at King’s Weston with Mrs. Southwell, “a man at Bath Easton will feed
each horse at 6_d._ a day!” Mr. Montagu sends them, but says, “They may
possibly serve to carry you to King’s Weston, and bring you part of the
way home, but for any expeditions out of the Turnpike roads I fear they
will not endure it.”

[Illustration: MRS. MARY DELANY.]

[Page heading: MR. STEVENS]

In replying to her husband, the following character of Mr. Stevens is
given:--

“I look upon Mr. Stevens as a man who has disfranchised himself
from all slavery to custom and fashion, and who as seldom brushes
up or new trims his modes of living as his coat, but wears both
as long as they fit him, in spite of what fops and taylors may
say. I hope he will come to Sandleford, for he has parts enough to
make his singularities amusing. I dare say he was very happy in
the visit you made him, both for the pleasure of your conversation
and from a little vanity, for tho’ the modes of singularity may
give a man an air of designing to live alone and of contemplation,
in the world, I believe one may venture to say, none are more
desirous of regard and notice than those who affect to retire and
be singular; they rather design their peculiarities for a badge of
distinction than a line of separation between them and Society;
and a man in low life may go ungarter’d or cross-garter’d, who in
another station would have been ambitious of a blue garter, and
their installment into a particular character is a matter of great
wit.... We had a report that the Duke had killed 3000 French, but
he is well off if he can keep on the defensive. I had a letter
from Mr. Emin that the Duke of Cumberland received him in the most
gracious manner, and he is so pleased, I believe he thinks one more
step will put him on the Persian throne. It is happy to be born of
a hoping constitution; his day dreams are very pleasant. I wish his
patriot spirit was communicated to a dozen or two of our great men.”

[Page heading: EMIN’S LETTER]

Emin had joined the English army under the Duke of Cumberland, then
fighting the French. On July 30 he wrote to Dr. Monsey, enclosing
a letter to his patronesses, to be copied for each lady. In the
postscript is the first mention of Edmund Burke.

“Now I would have you ask Mr. Burke’s advice about this letter
before you coppy it for my friends. Pray don’t be mad because my
friend is an Irish gentleman, but I can tell you that he is your
beloved son-in-laws[160] countryman. I dare say you will be mighty
pleased at being acquainted with him.”

[160] Dr. Monsey’s only child married William Alexander, elder
brother 1st Earl Caledon.

Emin’s letter begins--

“Limburg, August 1, 1757.

“To all the ladies and Patronesses of Joseph Emin.

“MY NOBLE LADIES,

“I believe your ladyships have been in a long expectation to hear
from this part of the world, more especially of the battle which
began on the 23rd of July. In the morning we were ordered out with
25 horses and 200 foot irregulars to secure a post, where we found
300 husars and 700 foot soldiers, upon which we began immediately
to fire, and they retreated very soon; and in the afternoon his
highness, hearing that the French were advancing with their whole
army, ordered that the part of his army were to advance also, but
it was very unlucky for us that our infantry was too late; and
before they could come up, the enemy begun from some distance to
fire upon us with their cannon, with no manner of execution. His
Royal Highness thought proper to return to his camp in Aferden.
The next day, the enemy, still advancing from their camp at Halla
all along the river Vizer,[161] and were retreating untill we
halted upon a high hill with full of trees, and they on another;
were the firing of cannon began again on both sides, and lasted
till evening. Our situation not being so well as we could wish,
we still retreated till we come to Hamelin,[162] there we posted
the right of our army, and our left at Onsburg, and unfortunate
Hastenbek[163] between us and the enemy, which was soon burnt down.
The 25th, about four in the morning, the enemy began to advance
with their musicks and drums, making a very great noise, more
like Indians than Europeans, and was soon silenced; as a few of
our balls, and cannonading begun of both sides briskly. At that
time your slave was upon a hill with no more than 200 irregulars,
commanded by my friend, Major Freydag, a man of good conduct and
judgment, where we could see the two armies very plain. It was a
place had it not been so dangerous as the cannon balls were flying
like so many flies over our heads, I would wish my noble friend
ladies who are my patronesses and who are so fond of Heros and
hearing of battles, to have seen it, which would really have been
worth their while; then I would have wished again that the heavenly
chariots where descended from the gods above, to have transported
them to their native and blessed Island, peradventure they should
have been in the greatest of dangers, for wee saw about eleven
of the clock the enemy with no less than six thousand of Horses
and Foot comming up to us of all sides with a great fury, except
a little grass that led us down to our army, but this bravery of
theirs was greatly owing to an information which they had of us a
day before. Knowing that we were no more than two hundred men,
or else they woud not be so furious in their attack, for they are
vastly like the black Indians, fire at a great distance and run
away. However, we stood almost half an hour, our men ralyed three
times and killed no less than 300 of them; for our men are brought
up from their infantry (_sic!_) as huntsmen, they never miss their
mark. I have seen them shoot at 300 yards’ distance; they are like
the mountiniers of Armenia and Dagastun, the French husars run
away as soon as they see us. You see, my noble ladies, what great
advantage it is to a Nation who has the liberty not only to kill
the partridges but to kill as many deers and other animals as they
please. The loss of ours was but 20 and 6 wounded, we could not
support any longer and where obliged to retreat, and join the army,
and about 2 a-clock in the afternoon, the enemy retreated with the
loss of eleven cannon, and had taken some of ours, but we retaken
them again, but the battle continued still and lasted from 4 in the
morning to 6 in the afternoon, the loss of their side was about
3000 and about 1200 of ours, we don’t look upon this as a battle in
Persia, but as a scarmish (_sic!_). The inventor of gunpowder tho’
he is cursed by many ignorant people but his invention has been a
very great service towards preservation of Mankind, gunpowder is
a thing which makes a great noise like lightning and thunder keep
mankind distant with an awe. ‘The thought of gunpowder,’ says the
great Marshal de Saxe, ‘is more than the danger itself.’ I woud
wish to have no more than 1500 Persian Horse if it is not too bold
and your humble servant the teacher of them, we could soon show the
French that the effect of symiters (_sic_) would be greater than
that of gunpowder tho’ their number of what we hear is one hundred
fifty thousand men and ours are you very well know. At present we
are upon marches and countermarches.”

At the end of the letter he says he has received nothing as yet from
his royal master, and that if he does not, he must unwillingly return
to his father in India, as he will not be a “begar” any longer on his
noble patrons.

[161] River Weser.

[162] Hamelen.

[163] Hastenbeck.

[Page heading: THE HEALTH OF H.R.H.’S LEG]

This battle was that of Hastenbeck. The Duke of Cumberland had placed
the archives and valuable effects from Hanover in the town of Stadt,
and from Stadt came a letter from Emin to Dr. Monsey, on September
13, just after the famous Convention of Kloster-Seven had, by the
intervention of the King of Denmark, been signed, and peace arranged.
In reply to Dr. Monsey’s inquiry about the Duke of Cumberland’s health,
Emin says, “You are desirous to know how my royal master is. Mr.
Andrews (_valet_), with his compts. to you, says his Royal highness’s
leg is quite well, so you may be easy.”

To return to Mrs. Montagu, staying at Bath Easton, on August 1, writing
to her husband, she expresses herself uneasy, as Admiral Boscawen was
recalled from the fleet, for what he knew not. “Mr. Boscawen will be
busy enquiring the cause of his being recalled, he has merit and a
powerful family, and I hope his ennemies cannot oppress tho’ they may
oppose him. Do not mention this affair.”

In July Mrs. Morris Robinson had presented her husband with a son
and heir, who was christened Morris, after his father, and became
eventually 3rd Baron Rokeby. “Morris’ little boy goes on well.... Mr.
Potter made a fine harangue to the Bath Corporation on Mr. Pitt’s
Election. The circus,[164] I am told, is but little nearer finish’d
than when we were here.”

[164] The circus at Bath.

In the next letter, after comments on the beauties of things at Weston,
she writes--

“Yesterday morning Mrs. Southwell and I got into her postchaise
early, and went to the passage of the Severn, got into the Ferry
boat and cross’d over to Chepstow in Monmouthshire, and from
Chepstow we went to Mr. Morris’ called Piercefield, a place so far
exceeding any thing I ever saw or expect to see, I must reserve
the description till I see you. A reach of the Severn of forty
miles is one of the most inconsiderable advantages of the place,
every beauty of land, sea, rocks, verdure, cultivation, old ruins,
villages, churches are there in the highest perfection; the river
Wye forms a most beautiful half island in one part as the Severn
Sea adorns the other.”

[Page heading: WORTLEY MONTAGU]

Mr. Montagu replies--

“On Tuesday night, as I was at Supper about 10 o’clock, who should
come in to me but my cousin Wortley,[165] he had been making a
visit to somebody near Wallingford ... he missed his way, the roads
were so bad and rough that two of the glasses of his new chaize
were broken and he could not get any reparation at Newbury.” In
commenting on political subjects, he adds, “I suppose now everybody
will be sensible of the folly we have been guilty of in so long
suffering the Wild Boar of Germany to enter and destroy our
vineyard.”

[165] Mr. Wortley Montagu, senior, husband of Lady Mary Wortley
Montagu, first cousin to Mr. Edward Montagu.

Mrs. Montagu answers--

“I assure you it is with a melancholy pleasure I often look on this
charming country, perhaps this is the last summer I may ever be
an idle traveller thro’ a peaceable country; however, I have one
comfort, that as you are innocent of the evils that may overwhelm
us, you will the better support yourself and me under them, and
that the best we can hope is to be tributary vassals to France,
perhaps they will invade and conquer us, but God forbid.”

[Page heading: ELIZABETH WILMOT]

Mrs. Talbot,[166] writing from Barrington,[167] bids Mrs. Montagu
to come and stay with her. The letter is not a remarkable one, but
it says, “Have you heard lately from Lady Sandwich? I find the old
Countess[168] is dead at last at Paris.” This was the eccentric
Elizabeth Wilmot, sister of _the_ Earl of Rochester, and grandmother of
John, Lord Sandwich, widow of the 3rd Earl. It is said she governed her
husband to such a degree that he was almost a cypher and a prisoner in
his own house, she being, though an indifferent wife, a most brilliant
spirited woman. After her lord’s death in 1729, she lived in Paris,
where she was the friend of Ninon de l’Enclos and St. Evremont. Both
Pope and Lord Chesterfield have mentioned her as extremely spirited and
having great intellectual ability.

[166] Mrs. Talbot, widow of Edward Talbot, Bishop of Durham.

[167] Barrington Park, near Burford, Oxon.

[168] She died July 2, 1757, at Rue Vaugirard, Paris.

Her daughter-in-law, Lady Hinchinbroke, _née_ Elizabeth Popham, lost
her husband, Lord Hinchinbroke, in 1722, and I have several curious
letters written by her to Mrs. Montagu in 1739, respecting her son
John, 4th Earl of Sandwich (“Jemmy Twitcher”). He was then eleven
years old, and his mother sent him to sea. Probably he was even then
very unruly, but he could not bear the sea, and through Mr. Montagu
she applied to their common connection, John, Duke of Montagu, to get
him a commission in the Army, buying it “as an ensign in a marching
regiment.” The duke’s reply to this is singularly indifferent in
expression, and his spelling terrible.

On August 6, writing from Bath Easton to her husband, Mrs. Montagu
alludes to the defeat of Frederick the Great at Kollin in Bohemia, on
June 18, by General Daun. Emin had written to her, saying--

“The French seem afraid of us, tho’ so much inferior in numbers....
I hear the King of Prussia takes to himself the whole blame of his
disgrace in the late affair, and says if he had followed the advice
of the Prince of Bevern, it had not happen’d; there is something
more great perhaps in a Monarch owning his error than in gaining a
victory, but it will not have the same effect in establishing his
affairs in Germany, so that in his situation the least advantage
over the Empress Queen[169] would have been of better consequence.
Sir John Mordaunt, General Conway,[170] and Col. Cornwallis are
going abroad with some forces as the Newspapers tell us, and the
French seem again disposed to disturb us with the apprehension of
an invasion.”

[169] Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, born 1717, died 1780.

[170] Seymour Henry Conway, the cousin and bosom friend of Horace
Walpole; born 1720, died 1795.

[Page heading: DESCRIPTION OF EMIN]

Writing to Dr. Stillingfleet on August 7, in return for his description
of Malvern, Mrs. Montagu gives this fine description of Emin--

“Mr. Emin was most graciously received by the Duke, had offers of
money and all marks of regard from his Royal Highness, so that his
letters express the highest satisfaction ... there must be a nobler
seat than the Persian throne reserved for that fine spirit which,
born in slavery and nurtured in ignorance, aspired to give liberty,
knowledge, and civil arts to his country. To compass this he
risqued his life, and endured the greatest hardships, and ventured
all dangers and uncertainties in a country whose very language he
was a stranger to; how different from so many of our countrymen,
who for little additions of power and greater gratifications of
luxury, in spite of their pride of birth and advantage of a
liberal education and the incitements of the great examples of
all ages and nations, will hazard enslaving us to a nation our
forefathers despised.”

In this letter we learn that Lord Lyttelton had returned from a Welsh
tour very unwell, had spent two days with her and Mrs. Scott at Bath
Easton, _en route_ to Hagley, and that on her return to Sandleford she
expected a visit from Dr. Monsey.

[Page heading: LADY LYTTELTON’S TEMPER]

In a letter from Rev. Charles Lyttelton from Hagley of August 17, one
catches a glimpse of the second Lady Lyttelton’s temper. He says--

“My brother Lord Lyttelton returned from his Welsh expedition the
same day I came home, and you will easily believe how welcome he
was to Miss West and me, as we had nobody to converse with or
rather to eat with, but ye amiable Lady of ye house, for she does
not deign to converse or hardly say a single word to either of us.
On Saturday, Hester[171] arrived, so we are now a strong party, and
her Ladyship may be as sulkey and silent as she pleases.... Lord
Lyttelton is got pure well.”

This expression is often used in the eighteenth-century writings;
apparently it meant perfect health at that time.

[171] Lady Hester Pitt.

From Merton, on August 30, Lady Frances Williams[172] writes to Mrs.
Montagu, and in her letter alludes with joy to Emin’s safety, and then
adds--

“By the accounts arrived from Lord Loudoun,[173] _the_
_Mediterranean tragedy_ seems to be acting over again in the
American seas. A Council of War was call’d to advise whether the
10,000 men brought to Louisburgh[174] should be landed or not; it
was determined in the _negative_ upon finding the French had 2 more
ships than we had. Lord Charles Hay’s only entering his protest,
and they are returned to Halifax to wait a reinforcement.

“This brings to my mind the death of Admiral West, and the
disgust given our friend Admiral Boscawen, which I look upon as a
retaliation from the Pittites for the dismission of the former last
Spring.”

[172] Lady Frances Williams was daughter of the Earl of Coningsby;
her husband, Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, was a statesman, poet,
and wit.

[173] Lord Loudoun, Commander-in-Chief of the English army in
America against the French.

[174] Louisburg in Nova Scotia; the English were attacking the
French Canadian Provinces.

[Page heading: THE HAWKE EXPEDITION]

In a letter from Fulham on September 15 Mrs. Donnellan alludes to the
expedition under Sir Edward Hawke[175] and Sir John Mordaunt against
the French, which was kept very secret.

“They say Sir John Mordaunt said to the officers, ‘You will have
but a short bout, but it will be a brisk one, and I hope we shall
all behave as we ought to.’ ’Tis supposed we shall hear in less
than a week something about it.... Whatever it is, Mr. Pit (_sic_)
will either have the glory or disgrace of it, for every one calls
it his scheme. The King, they say, had a fainting fit about a week
ago as he sat at cards, but is now well and seems cheerful.... Lord
Bolingbroke and Lady, were in such a hurry of passion they could
not wait for settlements but were married upon an Article; may one
not think of an old Proverb, ‘Marry in haste.’”

Lady Bolingbroke was a daughter of Charles Spencer, Duke of
Marlborough, and Mrs. Donnellan’s prophecy came true, but not till
1768, when she was divorced, and married Topham Beauclerk, son of Lord
Sydney Beauclerk.

[175] Sir Edward Hawke commanded the navy, and Sir John Mordaunt the
army. It was against the French, and proved a failure, costing
nearly a million.

[Page heading: AN HUMOROUS AFFECTION]

On September 15 Mrs. Montagu wrote a long letter to Dr. Stillingfleet
from Sandleford. In this she alludes to the humorous affection for her
which Dr. Monsey had developed.

“You must know Sir, Dr. Monsey is fallen desperately in love with
me, and I am most passionately in love with him, the darts on both
sides have not been the porcupine’s, but the grey goose quill. We
have said so many tender things to each other by the post, that at
last we thought it would be better to sigh in soft dialogue than
by letter. We agreed to meet, and the rather, as all the lovers we
had read of (and being in love with each other only _du coté de
l’esprit_, you may suppose we woo by book) had always complained
of absence as the most dreadful thing imaginable. He said, nay he
swore, he would come to Sandleford, and twice had named the day,
but each time his grand-daughter fell sick, and I know not whether
he will keep the third appointment, which is for next Monday.
These disappointments have made me resolve, and I really believe
it will not be difficult to keep the resolution, never again to
fall in love with a man who is a grandfather. In all other respects
the Doctor is a perfect Pastor Fido, and I believe when we get to
Elysium, all the lovers who wander in the Myrtle Groves there will
throw their garlands at our feet.”

Further on she alludes to Emin, who was at Stadt, and had written her a
most devoted letter.

“I do not indeed hope to see him on the Persian throne, or giving
laws to the East, but I know he sits on the summit of human virtue,
and obeys the laws of Him who made that world the ambitious are
contending for, and to such only my esteem pays homage.”

[Page heading: MRS. BOSCAWEN]

In a letter to Mrs. Scott of this period occurs Mrs. Montagu’s opinion
of the character of her friend, Mrs. Boscawen.[176]

“She is in very good spirits, and sensible of her many felicities,
which I pray God to preserve to her; but her cup is so full of
good, I am always afraid it will spill. She is one of the few whom
an unbounded prosperity could not spoil. I think there is not a
grain of evil in her composition. She is humble, charitable, pious,
of gentle temper, with the firmest principles and with a great deal
of discretion, void of any degree of art, warm and constant in her
affections, mild towards offenders, but rigorous towards offence.”

[176] _Née_ Frances Glanville, daughter of William Evelyn Glanville,
of St. Clair, Kent.

[Page heading: HER TRUST IN PROVIDENCE]

I make extracts from a splendid letter to Mrs. Boscawen of October 25.
Admiral Boscawen had just received a commission rather unexpectedly,
owing to the failure of the Hawke and Mordaunt expedition.

“I am a little uneasy lest the surprize should have hurt you,
satisfy me in that matter and my imagination will then sit down
and weave laurel garlands for your husband’s head, and I too will
rejoice in the advantage which I hope his country will reap from
his arms, but think me not ignoble if I own, glory is but a bright
moonshine when compared to your welfare, and think me not below
the standard of true patriotism, if I confess, it is for the sake
of such as you, my country is a name so dear. I know you are too
reasonable to wish Mr. Boscawen might avoid the hazards of his
profession. The Duke of Marlbro’ his kinsman, lived to old age
and survived perhaps all the cowards that were born on the same
day, the accidents of life are more than the chances of war. Be
not afraid, but commit it all to the great and wise Disposer of
all events; a firm hope and cheerful reliance on Providence I do
believe to be the best means to bring about what we wish, and that
such confidence does it far better than all our anxious foresight,
our provident schemes and measuring of security. I remember with
sorrow and shame, I trusted much to a continual watching of my
son,[177] I would not have committed him to a sea voyage, or
for the world in a town besieged, I forgot at Whose will the
waves are still, and Who breaketh the bow and knappeth the spear
asunder. What was the reward of this confidence of my own care
and diffidence of His who only could protect him? Why, such as
it deserved, I lost my beloved object, and with him my hopes, my
joys, and my health, and I lost him too, not by those things I had
feared for him, but by the pain of a tooth. Pray God keep you from
my offence and the punishment of it. I do not mean that you should
be void of anxiety in times of hazard, but offer them to God every
night and sleep in peace, the same every morning, and rise with
confidence.... I am much pleased with his Majesty’s confidence in
Mr. Boscawen....

“The Duke,[178] it seems, is gone to plant cabbages; as soon as
these great folks are disgusted they go into the country; the
indignant statesman plants trees upon which he wishes all his
enemies hanged, his occupations are changed, but his passions not
altered. The angry warrior rides a-hunting, ‘mais le chagrin monte
en croupe et galope avec lui,’ nor can the hounds and horn ‘that
cheerily rouse the slumbering morn’ content the sense that wants
‘to hear piercing fife and spirit-stirring drum.’”

Not having been well, she adds she is moving to London to consult her
doctors, leaving Mr. Montagu to plant trees, etc.; before joining her.
“I expect a cargo of Morgans and good folk from Newbury to dine here; I
always endeavour to depart the country in an odour of civility.”

[177] Alluding to her only child, John, _alias_ “Punch’s” death.

[178] The Duke of Cumberland.

[Page heading: THE MORDAUNT AFFAIR]

A letter from Mrs. Donnellan throws a light on the Mordaunt affair.

“All I can gather of this most shameful affair is that there will
be no more known till there is a publick enquiry,[179] and then
if the scheme is proved by the General Officers to have been
impracticable, those who sent them on it must suffer, but if it
is found that they might have made more of it, I suppose they
will.... It will be defered (the enquiry, I mean) till the sitting
of parliament. Sir J. Mordaunt and Admiral Hawke have both been
to Court, the Admiral was received graciously, the other taken no
notice of, ’tis said he stooped to kiss the royal hand, but it was
pulled back from him; wou’d it not have been more kingly to have
forbidden his coming? ’Tis said soon after some of the troops were
in the boats in order to land; there was a council of war called,
and when Hawke thought they were landed, they were ordered on board
again; ’tis certain there were 5 or 6 days spent on councils of
war, and then Hawke, who was not concerned in them, desired them to
come to some resolution, for he wou’d either land them or return
home. Colonel Conway, I hear, showed the most spirit, and that our
commen men showed no unwillingness to action.... The Duke came
thro’ the city on Thursday at four in the afternoon. I saw some
who saw him, there was no sort of notice taken of him; I think he
was well off. I suppose you have seen the King of Prussia’s letter
to our King, ’tis denyed but believed to be genuine. I think your
remarks on the correspondence between the King of Prussia and
Voltair (_sic_) very just; however, I forgive him some levity
when conversed with a wit, and part since he knows when ’tis proper
to the King.... I have got since I came home, Taylor’s Sermons, he
is so good he frightens me, and so witty he makes me laugh.”

[179] The Mordaunt enquiry warrant was not signed till
December 3, 1757.

[Illustration: ALLERTHORPE HALL.]

[Illustration:

_J.G. Eccardt. Pinx._ _Faber. Mezzo._

_Conyers Middleton D.D._

_Emery Walker Ph. Sc._]

Mr. Montagu, writing from Sandleford on November 6, to his wife,
mentions Hawke being sent out again with Boscawen, “was a clear proof
that they had nothing to impute to him which was faulty.” He was busy
planting at Sandleford, and said he must get chestnuts and acorns when
he came to London, as the last sown had been rotten, “according to
Millar the way of trying them is somewhat like that formerly us’d in
the case of witches, such of them as swim are to be rejected and those
that sink esteem’d good.”

[Page heading: MRS. MONTAGU’S ILLNESS]

Mrs. Montagu, with the advice of Dr. Shaw and Dr. Monsey, gradually
recovered her health. Wormwood draughts were prescribed; her illness
appears to have been a nervous fever, with weakness and loss of
appetite. Of Dr. Monsey she says, “He has given me as much attendance
as if I was a Princess of the blood, tho’ I have never given him a
fee.” Dr. Shaw had been called off to the Duchess of Newcastle at
Claremont, who was suffering in the same way. Great discussion is given
as to giving of the “bark” without danger, and when to do so. “Dr. Shaw
has had six guineas of me, I shall give him no more, I had difficulty
to make him accept the last, but he attended me at first twice a day.”
The Mordaunt affair is alluded to in each letter. In one occurs the
following--

“Lord Chesterfield in a letter from Bath to Lady Allen writes thus:
‘Your ladyship may believe all the circles here think they have
a right to form a court-martial to sit on Sir J. M. For my part
I wait for information. I can never believe he wants courage or
capacity, as I imagine he will show the scheme was impracticable
and they must answer who sent him.’”

[Page heading: ROSBACH]

On November 7, Mr. Montagu writes to announce his intention of joining
his wife, and adds--

“I see by the _Gazette_ that the King of Prussia has obtained a
great victory over the combined army under Prince Soubise. This is
an unexpected event, and must give a turn to his affairs. One thing
seems to be collected from it, that this enterprising courageous
Prince has not made peace nor flung himself into the arms of France
as we were given to believe.”

This was the Battle of Rosbach in Saxony, won against the Austrians
and French by Frederick the Great of Prussia on November 5, 1757. The
year’s correspondence ends with a letter to Emin of Lady A. Sophia
Egerton, enclosing a letter of recommendation of him to her uncle, Mr.
Bentinck, then in diplomatic service in Holland. Emin was going to
rejoin the Prussian Army.

CHAPTER III.

1758, 1759--BEGINNING OF CORRESPONDENCE WITH MRS. CARTER, WITH DR.
JOHNSON, AND WITH BURKE.

[Year: 1758] 1758 commences with a letter on March 2, from
Mrs. Montagu to her husband, who had left London for Sandleford. In it
she says--

“I shall enclose an _Advertizer_ in which you will find a curious
article from Warsaw. It astonished all Europe to find the King
of Prussia had got copies of the plans of the Imperial Court and
Dresden, the means by which he obtained them are now discover’d.
To this contrivance his Prussian Majesty and his Country owe their
present being, but one cannot envy the state of a King if it is
necessary to take such means for preservation as would startle a
vulgar man of Honour. To get false keys to cabinets is but a poor
low trick, and it is very strange to see a hero guilty of burglary,
but as Mr. Pope observes, ‘the story of the great is generally a
tale that blends their glory with their shame.’ Mr. Stanhope call’d
on me as I was writing, and I am to dine with my brother Morris,
so must abridge my letter. I can’t hear what pass’d in the House
of Lords yesterday in Delany’s trial.... I was at the Oratorio
last night, where I heard the Dublin man-of-war was sent to Mr.
Boscawen to supply the loss of the _Invincible_. I am to be at Lady
Hillsborough’s assembly to-night.”

The Delany trial had lasted for nearly ten years. It was on account
of Dr. Delany, in inadvertence, having burnt a paper of importance
belonging to his first wife. Sometimes it appeared to be at an end,
but it was as often renewed. At last, on March 5, Lord Mansfield,[180]
after an hour and a half’s speech, decided in favour of Delany. The
cost of the suit exceeded the disputed sum, but the relief to the good
dean and his wife on its decision balanced everything.

[180] “Silver-tongued Murray.”

[Page heading: BISHOP CLAYTON]

On March 9 Mrs. Montagu writes--

“I met Mrs. Delany to-day at Mrs. Donnellan’s, and she is very
happy, the Irish decree is reversed, tho’ even as matters stand,
they will have little left when the £7000 is paid. Lady Frances
Williams is still in grief for her husband,[181] who in his madness
has writt (_sic_) letters to half the crowned heads in Europe. I am
going to the play to-night, to-morrow I shall give up the Oratorio
to stay with Lady Frances Williams as comforter.

“That bright luminary of the Church, Dr. Clayton, Bishop of
Clogher, is dead.... The Bishop has left his wife his whole
fortune, which is very considerable. It is thought we shall not
send troops to the King of Prussia, but whether he will accept of
our money[182] we shall not know till the return of the Express.
The King of Pegu has wrote a letter to the King on a gold plate,
and the stops are made with rubies; I should be glad of his
correspondence tho’ his letters had no wit in them.”

[181] Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, poet and writer, had been
attacked with madness.

[182] Another letter says the King of Prussia will not accept money.

[Page heading: EMIN ADDRESSES PITT]

Emin, anxious for re-employment, now addressed Mr. Pitt. The letter was
addressed to Mr. Pitt, Secretary of State.

“SIR,

“Though I never had the honour to be known to you, yet I have the
boldness to write. I have been over a great variety of the world,
and have seen much people, but I wanted to see men; for the Design
of my Travel was knowledge, and I thought knowledge of real men
was better than books, therefore I have turned my Eyes upon all
ways and at last had the great happyness of seeing and hearing you
in that potent House of Commons, and there I discovered like the
light breaking upon me, what my Friends had often told me, of your
great love to your Country and your wise Eloquence that conquers
more than the Sword of a Hero. I own I grew a little envious; for
I thought no man loved his country better than I have mine, but
I confess it that I am nothing, tho’ I have been sailor, porter,
slave, and suffered everything in every shape, to make my country
what you have made yours. This is my small merit and the only
recommendation I can make to you. Sir, I will observe that a cloudy
day in winter is light enough to see what is about us and to serve
common business, but permitt me to say no man is happy nor in good
spirit untill the sun shines out. Then there is joy upon all men’s
faces. Thus it is, great Sir, with me in this country, I along with
the rest in this happy land, find Benefit of the Light you give us
all by your great wisdom of governing, but I am not happy, and my
Life is dead untill I see the Vezirazam of England.

“If you do me this high Honour, you will see a poor soldier whose
only Fortune is a character with all people which I have been
amongst. I was a Porter for learning not for livlihood, and I was
honest in that low way. This is known when by the goodness of great
Souls I was raised from that. I was not idle nor ingreatefull; I
have been high and low and I was not bad. When I served the last
campaign in Germany, all the officers, both English and the German,
will say more of me than I dare think of myself. I have, Sir, in my
studies for my country, found the way to advance it, and do some
service to your noble Nation at the same time. My humble plan for
this good design I will do myself the Honour to show to you and be
instructed by your great Wisdom and to give me new rights in this
great matter. My scheme has two Qualities which make some laugh at
me, others seem to like me for it. Whatever it is, it is little
without your assistance. If you approve of it, I laugh at those
that laugh at me, at any rate I am resolved and nothing shall stop
me but Death, which is common to everybody, and an honest Heart
need not fear any. I am, with the greatest Respect and Veneration,

“Great Sir,
“Your most obedient most obliged
devoted humble Servant,
“J. EMIN.

“In the Month of March, 1758,
“To the R. H. William Pitt, etc., etc.”

In her next letter to her husband Mrs. Montagu says--

“Emin dines with Lady Medows to-day, if joy can give appetite,
he will make a good meal, for by the solicitation of Lady
Yarmouth,[183] Mr. Pitt has received him, and promised to see what
can be done for him, as great minds are akin. Mr. Pitt was much
pleased with him. Emin repeated to me his discourse to Mr. Pitt,
and it was full of Asiatick fire and figure--if it did not touch
the man, it must the Orator. Mr. Pitt made him great compliments. I
hope they will be realized, and they surely will if Lady Yarmouth
continues her desire to serve him.”

[183] Amelia S. de Walmoden, created 1740, Baroness Yarmouth,
mistress of George II.

[Page heading: EMIN JOINS MARLBOROUGH]

Emin was sent to join the English army under the Duke of Marlborough in
their attempted invasion of France at St. Malo, and wrote on June 11
to say that “Captain Howe had burnt 73 ships and from 10 to 16 guns,
besides small vessels.” After this expedition, Emin joined the army
with the King of Prussia.

[Page heading: AFFAIRS IN PARLIAMENT]

Writing to Dr. Stillingfleet on June 13, after alluding to the attack
on St. Malo, Mrs. Montagu says--

“So much for war and war’s alarms; as to our civil occurences, they
have been so boisterously carried I need not change the tone of my
narrative; the Judges, the Lord Keeper, the Chief Justice, and the
late Lord Chancellor gave their opinions against the Habeas Corpus
bill.[184] Lord Temple, much in wrath, insulted the Judges in some
of his questions; Lord Lyttelton warmly and sharply reproved him
upon which words rose high, the House of Lords interfered. The last
day of this bill, Lord Mansfield and Lord Hardwicke[185] spoke so
full to the matter, even Tory Lords, and these most violent in
their wishes for it, declared they were convinced the new bill was
dangerous to liberty in many respects, in many absurd; so that
had there been a division there would not have been four votes
for it, but Mr. Pitt’s Party discreetly avoided a division. This
affair has not set the legislative wisdom of the House of Commons
in a very high light, but the great Mr. Beckford,[186] whom no
argument can convince, no defeat make ashamed, nor mistake make
diffident, did on the motion for a vote of credit stand up in the
House of Commons and say he would not oppose that measure, as he
had an opinion of the two Commoners in the administration, but in
the Peers that composed it, he had no confidence, and ran in foul
abuse of them and then ended with a severe censure of the House
of Lords in general. Lord Royston[187] answered him that this was
unparliamentary where personal, and indecent in regard to the
House of Peers in general, to which Mr. Pitt answered with great
heat that he was sorry to hear such language from a gentleman who
was to be a Peer; he set forth the great importance and dignity of
Mr. Beckford personally, and above all the dignity and importance
of an alderman, concluding it was a title he should be more proud
of than that of a Peer. This speech has enraged the Lords, offended
the Commons, and the City ungratefully say was too gross. Those who
wish well to this country, and consequently to a union of parties
at this juncture, are sorry for these heats; it is well if they do
not unsolder the Union.... I began Islington Waters to-day.... You
make a false judgment of your own letters. I will allow you to say
it gives you some trouble to write them, but pray do not assert
that I have not great pleasure in reading them; it becomes not a
descendant of the great Bishop Stillingfleet[188] to tell a fib.”

[184] This was occasioned by a gentleman having been impressed for
service in the Navy and illegally detained prisoner. The motion was
to administer the Act more decisively.

[185] Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, born 1690, died 1764.

[186] Alderman Beckford, a remarkable city man and father of the
great millionaire and author.

[187] Son of the Earl of Hardwicke, eventually 2nd Earl.

[188] Edward Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester, author of
“Eirenicon,” born 1635, died 1699.

[Illustration: BENJAMIN STILLINGFLEET.]

[Page heading: JOHN ROGERS]

[Page heading: ROGERS’ WILL]

Mention has been made of Mr. John Rogers, first cousin on his mother’s
side to Mr. Montagu, also of Mr. Montagu becoming his trustee in 1746,
when he was pronounced a lunatic. At first it seems that he suffered
from epileptic fits, which increased to lunacy, but of a mild order.
On June 23 Mr. Edward Steuart wrote to say Mr. Rogers was seriously
ill, and his death expected hourly; he was being attended by Dr.
Askew, then a famous north-country doctor, and several surgeons,
for a mortification in his leg.[189] On the 24th he expired, in his
seventy-fourth year, at his house in Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. Montagu was his principal heir. Mrs. Montagu, in a letter
respecting the estate of East Denton, etc., wrote in later days,
“Mr. M. has half the estate by descent, a share by testamentary
disposition, and a part by purchase.” Mr. Rogers’ lunacy seems to have
been made worse by the death of his wife, Anne Delaval, daughter of Sir
John Delaval, whom he married in 1713, and who died in 1722–23. His
will was made in 1711, and a codicil added 1715, in which he left his
property, after the death of his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Rogers, to his
wife, and failing issue by her, to the Montagus and Creaghs, all first
cousins. Mary Creagh had married Dominick Archdeacon, and her sister
Margaret, Anthony Isaacson; Mr. Montagu’s two brothers, Crewe and John,
being dead, the only other heir was Jemima, Mrs. Medows, afterwards
Lady Medows. The estates were very large; besides Denton, with its
coal-mines, houses in Newcastle, and in Bramston, Lamesley, Harburn,
Parkhead, and Jarrow, in the county of Durham; lands at Hindley,
Sugley, Throckley, Newbiggin, Scotswood, etc., etc.; collieries and
saltpans in Cullercoats, Monkseaton, Whitley, and Hartley, etc., etc.
Mrs. Montagu was at Ealing with the Bothams when the express came. She
writes to her husband, “It gives me pleasure to think I shall see you
with unblemished integrity and unsoiled with unjust gain, enjoying that
affluence many purchase with the loss of honesty and honour.”

[189] Mr. Rogers’ leg swelling, the doctors feared dropsy, and made
him drink two bottles of Hock daily.

Her brother Morris fetched her from Ealing in order to accompany her
husband to the north. Mr. Rogers was embalmed and buried on July 5 at
St. Nicholas’ church in Newcastle. The Montagus did not start for the
North till Tuesday, August 1. A letter from Dr. Monsey of June 26,
while staying with the Garricks at Hampton, congratulates Mrs. Montagu
on her inheritance, but scolds her for leaving her friends to go North.
This contains the first mention of his acquaintance with the Garricks,
who were great friends of Dr. Monsey’s, and he says, “Mr. Garrick[190]
was very near in a apoplectic fit when he found you were gone.... Mrs.
Garrick[191] also abus’d herself for not pressing you to return to the
Temple[192] and enjoy another half-hour.”

[190] David Garrick, born 1716, died 1779; famous actor.

[191] Eva Marie Veilchen, or Viegel, known as “la Violette,” once an
opera _danseuse_.

[192] The temple at Hampton, on the lawn by the river, still
existent; once held Roubilliac’s bust of Shakespeare.

[Page heading: ELIZABETH CARTER]

[Page heading: MRS. MONTAGU’S LETTER]

The next letter is the first I possess to Elizabeth Carter, whose
learned translation of Epictetus was first printed in April of 1758.
Miss Carter, or _Mrs._ Carter (as courtesy termed her), was the
daughter of a clergyman, the Rev. Nicholas Carter, D.D., Perpetual
Curate of Deal, Kent, where he resided; he had been twice married,
and Elizabeth was his child by his first marriage. To his children by
both marriages Mr. Carter gave an excellent education, and at an early
age Elizabeth studied Latin, Greek, and eventually Hebrew. She was a
proficient in French, and taught herself Italian, Spanish, and German;
later in life Portuguese and Arabic were added. Her application to
study produced severe headaches, principally brought on by drinking
green tea and taking snuff to keep herself awake. It appears that Mrs.
Montagu had met her in 1757, but Mrs. Carter had rather avoided such a
brilliant acquaintance, being herself of a most humble and unambitious
character, despite her learning. From the following portions of Mrs.
Montagu’s letter we learn that Miss Carter had been paying her a
visit:--

“Hill Street, July 6, 1758.

“What must my dear Miss Carter think of the signs of brutal
insensibility which I have given in not answering her obliging
letter? As my heart has had no share in the omission, I have no
apologies to make for it; no day has passed since you left us
in which I have not thought of you with esteem and affection;
I look upon my introduction to your acquaintance as one of the
luckiest incidents of my life, if I can contrive to improve it
into friendship; this is, and has been the state of my mind and
I am proud of it: as to my conduct in the commencement of our
correspondence, I am ashamed of it. I was ill when I received
your polite and agreeable letter. I have ever since been drinking
Islington waters, from which I receive some benefit, but with
this inconvenience, that I am unable to write till late at night,
and even then not without headache. The death of a relation of
Mr. Montagu’s in the North, which happened about a fortnight
ago, with a large accession of fortune, has brought me the usual
accompaniment of riches, a great deal of business, a great deal
of hurry, and a great many ceremonious engagements. The ordering
funeral ceremonies, putting a large family in mourning, preparing
for a journey of 280 miles, and receiving and paying visits on this
event, has made me the most busy miserable creature in the world.
As the gentleman from whom Mr. Montagu inherits had been mad above
40 years and almost bed-ridden the last ten, I had always designed
to be rather pleased and happy when he resigned his unhappy being
and his good estate. I thought in fortune’s as in folly’s cup,
still laughed the bubble joy; but though this is a bumper, there
is not a drop of joy in it, nor so much as the froth of a little
merriment. As soon as I rise in the morning, my housekeeper with
a face full of care, comes to know what must be packed up for
Newcastle; to her succeeds the Butler, who wants to know what wine,
etc., is to be sent down; to them succeed men of business and money
transactions; then the post brings twenty letters, which must be
considered and some answered. In about a week we shall set out for
the North, where I am to pass about three months in the delectable
conversation of Stewards and managers of coal mines, and this by
courtesy is called good fortune, and I am congratulated upon it
by every one I meet; while in truth, like a poor Harlequin in the
play, I am acting a silly part _dans l’embarras des richesses_.
I would not have troubled you with this detail, but as part of my
defence for not having written to you. I can perfectly understand
why you were afraid of me last year, and I will tell you, for you
won’t tell me; perhaps you have not told yourself. You had heard
I set up as a wit, and people of real merit and sense hate to
converse with witlings, as rich merchant-ships dread to engage
privateers, they may receive damage and can get nothing but dry
blows. I am happy you have found out I am not to be feared; I am
afraid I must improve myself much before you will find I am to be
loved. If you will give affection for affection _tout simple_ I
shall get it from you....”

Mention is made of Emin’s joining the King of Prussia, so he was known
to Mrs. Carter, probably through Lord Lyttelton.

“I have the pleasure of hearing infinite commendations of Epictetus
every day; from such as are worthy I taste a particular pleasure;
from the multitude I take it in the gross, as it makes the sum of
universal fame. Some praises I heard a few days ago at the Bishop
of London’s I put in the first class.”

[Page heading: LORD LYTTELTON TO DR. MONSEY]

A most amusing letter from Lord Lyttelton to Dr. Monsey of July 24 now
occurs, in which he returns a letter of Mrs. Montagu’s to the doctor,
and summons him to a duel of words in her praise on Hagley turf. He
teases Dr. Monsey with the idea of her going north, and advises him “to
quit Lord Godolphin to follow love, follow him over the Cheviot Hills
and down to the coal-pits at Newcastle.” After a great deal of chaff it
ends, “Your most affectionate, humble Servant,--LYTTELTON.”

[Page heading: MRS. MONTAGU’S SYMPTOMS]

This frightened Monsey, so on July 30 he writes from St. James’s and
gives her strings of advice as to her health.

“I know the generality of Physicians will be cautious of blooding
you, as being what is called nervous; I know nothing of nerves in
the usual sense of the word, if indeed it has any precise meaning
at all, it is used by the wise to quiet fools, and by fools to
cover ignorance.” Then he adds in high fever she may be blooded,
“5, 6 or 7 ounces, and if you flag a blister! will set matters to
right. I say nothing of vomits, you can’t bear ’em, but you will
gentle purging, your lemon mixture and contrayserva with a little
saffron, be cautious of hot medicines, but do not wholly throw them
away, as to spasms and cramps they are such Proteuses, one does not
know how to catch or hold them, Valerian and Castor are in such
reputation for vanquishing those Hussars.... Assafœtida you can’t
bear, I wish you cou’d ... if feverish 3 spoonfuls of a decoction
of the bark by boyling one ounce and half in a quart of water to a
pint, and if your stomach flags put in from 5 to 10 drops of Elixir
of Vitriol, so arm’d a common cold will not have courage to attack
you.”

Finally he consigns her to a Dr. Ramsay’s care, should she require a
physician!

On August 1 Mrs. Boscawen wrote from Hatchlands a long letter
describing a visit to London. Her letters are sprightly, but too much
larded with French words and phrases; the end is interesting--

“_Enfin_ we left this dear odious London at 4 in the afternoon,
_chemin faisant_ I thought within myself, what if I should meet
an express from America, and sure enough upon Cobham Common I met
a post-chaise containing an officer, on him I star’d attentively,
he star’d again; then he cry’d ‘Stop,’ I echoed ‘Stop,’ _enfin_ I
heard him ask ‘is Admiral Boscawen’s[193] lady in that coach?’ I
make quick reply in the affirmative, and soon he produced himself
at my coach window, and told me he was express sent by the Governor
of Nova Scotia with news of our troops having taken the Forts of
Beau Sejour and Chignecto, that he attended Admiral Boscawen for
his orders twenty-three days ago, and left him in perfect health;
he added that Admiral Boscawen had saved North America, where all
our Colonies were in the utmost danger, as well as consternation
till he came. Papers having been found which showed the French
had a design to destroy Halifax, where the people imagin’d the
French wou’d let in the Indians to massacre them.... He added,
‘Mr. Boscawen had taken, or as the phrase there is _detain’d_, six
French merchant ships, and had blocaded Louisbourg.’”

She adds that her letters from her husband were with Mr. Cunninghame
(the Officer), addressed to Mr. Cleveland, so she let them go, and sent
on her black servant “Tom” next day to fetch them, and was going to
Portsmouth to meet the Admiral, who thought he should soon be back.

[193] Admiral Boscawen, Major-General Amherst, and Brigadier-General
Wolfe were combined in this campaign.

[Page heading: ON THE WAY NORTHWARDS]

To return to the Montagus, they set out on August 1 for the North,
and the first letter is from her to Lord Lyttelton on August 6, from
Darlington--

“I am now about 25 miles short of Newcastle, having travelled above
250 miles since last Tuesday, and am better to-night than I was
when I left London, so I will no longer endure that Dr. Monsey
shall call me flimsy animal, puny insect, and such opprobrious
names. I have had a surfeit of being in a post-chaise, that I
have not made many excursions to see the fine places that lay
in the road. In my way to Nottingham I went to see Sir Robert
Clifton’s,[194] which appears to me for beauty of prospect equal to
any place I ever saw. You are led to it from the turnpike road by
a fine terrace on the side of the Trent. From a pavillion in the
garden you see the town and Castle of Nottingham standing in the
most smiling valley imaginable, in which the Trent serpentizes in
a most beautiful manner.... I return your Lordship many thanks for
having lent me so agreeable a companion as Antonio de Solis.”[195]

[194] Clifton Hall.

[195] “The History of the Conquest of Mexico,” by Antonio de Solis,
a Spaniard; born 1610, died 1686.

[Page heading: MARY WEST]

To this Lord Lyttelton writes from Hagley on August 17, to say how glad
he is she bore the journey so well, and the book entertained her. He
had been drinking the waters at Sunning Hill, Berks, and found benefit.
In the end of a long letter he writes, “Miss West and Captain[196] Hood
will be as happy next Monday as mutual love can make them.” Miss West
was Gilbert West’s sister, and her future husband, Captain Hood, became
afterwards first Viscount Bridport. Mary West lived till 1786, but had
no children. Lord Lyttelton alludes to her not being very young and
“having no time to lose.”

[196] He became the celebrated Admiral Hood.

In another letter of August 22, written from Lindridge Vicarage,
Worcestershire, where the Vicar, Mr. Meadowcourt, was a great friend of
his Lordship’s, he writes--

“Tom and I came this afternoon to this sweet abode on our way to
Hampton Court.... I told you in my last that Miss West was to be
married to Captain Hood. Yesterday I had the pleasure to give her
away to him at Hagley Church, after which we made a party to Mr.
Shenstone’s[197] Arcadian Farm in very fine weather. The pastoral
scene seemed to suit the occasion, and the bride owned to me that
the cascades and rills never murmured so sweetly before.... The
Dean[198] came to Hagley just time enough to give Hood and her the
Nuptial Benediction.”

[197] William Shenstone, poet, born 1714, died 1763. His place, the
“Leasowes,” adjoined Hagley.

[198] Charles Lyttelton, Dean of Exeter.

Further on, alluding to Mr. Montagu’s going north to take possession of
the Rogers’ estate, he says--

“I suppose this will find you, like Guyon in Mammon’s Cave, got
down the bottom of your mines,[199] and beholding your treasures
with all the indifference that the Knight of temperance showed when
the Demon of Riches revealed to him his hidden wealth. I paint to
myself the wonder and admiration of the subterraneous inhabitants
when you first came among them. Since the time that Proserpina was
carried by her husband to his Stygian Empire, the infernal regions
have not seen such a charming goddess. But is it sure they will let
you return again to daylight? Upon my word I am afraid you are in
some danger, as the Habeas Corpus Bill was thrown out; for all the
women of the upper world will make interest with the Judges to let
you stay there. Yet I verily think Baron Smith will release you in
spite of them all, and even if he should fail, you have still a
resource, Emin shall come back and deliver you from the Shades as
Hercules did Alcestis.”

[199] Denton was, and is, full of coal-mines, copper, etc.

[Page heading: ARRIVAL AT CARVILLE]

[Page heading: “HURRYS AND CEREMONIES”]

The best description of the Montagus’ arrival in the north is
contained in a letter to Dr. Stillingfleet at “Robert Price’s, Esqre.,
Herefordshire,” sent open to Dr. Monsey, who forwards it with a few
words of his own. It is dated, “Carville, ye 22nd day of August.”
Carville Hall had been hired by them; it was situated at the end of the
Roman Wall, called Wallsend. Portions of the letter I give--

“I desired Dr. Monsey to acquaint you with the death of Mr.
Rogers. Many letters were to be written in order to procure him
most pompous funeral obsequies, according to the fashion of
Northumberland, as he was allied to the people of the first rank
in the county, and they were all to be at the funeral.... The 7th
of August at noon we got to Durham, and there began hurrys and
ceremonies that have continued to this day, and I know not when I
shall see a quiet hour. At Durham we were met by a great number of
Mr. Rogers’ relations, and the Receivers and Agents of his estate,
who attended in great form till we got to Newcastle, where we were
to stay two or three days, with a relation of Mr. Montagu’s till
our house was aired. We had not been an hour at Newcastle before
we had the compliments of the principal persons of the Corporation
and in the town. The next morning visits began.... We had fifteen
people to dine here on Sunday, a family yesterday, people about
business to-day, and three families to dine here to-morrow; in the
morning I am up to the elbows in dusty parchments and accounts,
after dinner as busy as an hostess of an Inn attending her guests,
at night as sick as an invalid in Hospital, and these are the woes
of wealth, and I am not _une malade imaginaire_.... Mr. Rogers’
family Mansion[200] having been uninhabited many years, was not fit
for our reception, his house[201] in Newcastle was not agreeably
situated for the summer, so we hired a house on the banks of the
Tyne for the occasion. It is a very pretty house, extreamly well
furnished and most agreeably situated, ships and other vessels from
Newcastle are sailing by every hour. The river here is broad and of
a good colour, and we have a fine reach of it: we have a very good
turnpike road to the sea-side, where I should pass a great deal of
my time if it was not all engross’d by company, but we are in the
midst of the largest neighbourhood I ever saw, and some of these
gentlemen by means of coal mines have immense fortunes.”

[200] Denton Hall.

[201] In Pilgrim Street.

[Page heading: NEWCASTLE]

In a letter to her sister, Mrs. Scott, Newcastle is described.

“The town of Newcastle is horrible, like the ways of thrift it is
narrow, dark and dirty, some of the streets so steep one is forced
to put a dragchain on the wheels: the night I came I thought I was
going to the center. The streets are some of them so narrow, that
if the tallow chandler ostentatiously hangs forth his candles, you
have a chance to sweep them into your lap as you drive by, and I
do not know how it has happened that I have not yet caught a coach
full of red herrings, for we scrape the Citty wall on which they
hang in great abundance. There are some wide streets and good
houses. Sir Walter Blackett’s seems a noble habitation.”

Mention is made of the Claverings, Bowes, and Lord Ravensworth calling.

In a letter of August 25 to Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Montagu tells her, that
_en route_ to Newcastle, she had visited “Althorpe, the seat of Mr.
Spencer, worthy of regard only on account of a very fine collection of
pictures. The park is planted in a dull uniformity, the ground flatt
(_sic_), little prospect, has not the advantage of a river or lake.”
After repeating the details of her journey, she adds that Denton Hall

“had not been inhabited for 30 years, the poor gentleman having
long been a lunatick, so I imagined the rats and ghosts[202] were
in such full possession, it would require time to eject them, and I
am now placed as I could wish, being within 4 miles of Tinmouth....
We have a very good land as well as water prospect. We see from our
windows the place where once lived the Venerable Bede,[203] some
little ruins show still, I believe, where the Monastery stood: the
place is called Jarrow, the estate belong’d to Sir Thomas Clavering
and the late Mr. Rogers. I shall visit it more from respect to the
old Historian than curiosity to see a new possession.”

[202] Did she know? It is supposed to be haunted to this day.

[203] The monk Beda, or Bede, born 672, died 735.

[Page heading: ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD]

On August 27 Mrs. S. Montagu wrote to young Tom Lyttelton a long letter
describing the country round Newcastle.

“After dinner I ferried over the river Wear to Sunderland, a good
sea-port town. They are making a new pier there, which is done
at the expense of the coal-owners, who have mines near the Wear.
I got a very pleasant walk on the sea-shore; several ships were
sailing out of the harbour fraught only with the comforts and
conveniences of life, they carry out coal and salt and bring home
money. I question whether those who carry out death and bring home
glory are concerned in so good merchandize, though they account
their occupation more honourable. On Thursday I went to see Lumley
Castle; it is a noble habitation, but so modernized by sash windows
and other fashionable ornaments, I admired it only as a good house.
There are many family pictures in the Hall, a succession of 16
Lumleys, all martially accoutred, the Lumley arms on their shields,
their figure and attitudes make them look like scaramouches. They
hang so high I could not read the inscriptions, but I imagine it
is intended one should suppose each picture was taken from life;
but from the dress and character, I am sure they have been done by
one hand from the genealogical tree. There are many old pictures in
the house, and many fair testimonies of the ancient nobility of the
family, but I cannot pass them sixteen[204] generations. There are
large plantations of firs at Lumley Castle, a large park behind the
Castle, to the front a good prospect, and the river Wear at a due
distance.”

[204] She was wrong; the Lumleys descend from Liulph, a Norman
nobleman of merit in 1060.

Mrs. Montagu was connected with the Lumleys, her cousin, Mrs. Laurence
Sterne, being the daughter of the Rev. Robert Lumley, of Lumley Castle.
At the end of the letter she complains of the tediousness of the
post--three weeks before she had any letters from her friends!

[Page heading: THE CAPTURE OF LOUISBURG]

This accounts for the news of the taking of Louisburg on July 27, under
Admiral Boscawen, General Amherst, and Wolfe, not having reached her
when she wrote, as Lord Lyttelton wrote to congratulate her on August
22, “upon the glorious success of Admiral Boscawen. I wrote last post
to his lady, whom I love for a thousand good qualities in herself and
because she loves you. Had her husband commanded in the Mediterranean,
and Amherst or Wolfe at Fort St. Philips, we had not lost Minorca.”

[Page heading: TOM LYTTELTON]

In another letter of August 31, Lord Lyttelton having had a pleasant
tour to Lady Coningsby’s,[205] where he met Sir Sidney Smith, and to
Lord Oxford’s,[206] Brampton Brian,[207]--

“I carried Tom with me through the whole tour, and a more
delightful fellow traveller I never can have, unless his Mother was
raised from the dead or Heaven would give me another Lucy! Wherever
we went he won all hearts, and you may believe mine beat with joy
at the sight of his conquests, my only fear is that hereafter he
may please the ladies too well. You must instruct him, Madonna, as
Minerva did Telemachus to avoid the dangers of the Calypsos he may
meet with in his travels, and let him learn by admiring you that no
charms are truly amiable, but those that are under the government
of wisdom and virtue.”

[205] Hampton Court, Herefordshire, built by Henry IV.

[206] Edward Harley, 24th Earl of Oxford.

[207] In Herefordshire.

Tom was fifteen at this time, having been born January 30, 1743–4. His
father’s fears as to his attractions for the fair sex were prophetic.

Tom writes to Mrs. Montagu on September 9, giving her an account of his
travels. Here is a description of Hampton Court, Herefordshire, the
seat of Lady Coningsby--

“The house stands at the end of a line of regular planted trees,
and looks more like a Monastery than a nobleman’s house. The
garden is very large, and would have been pretty enough if Nature
had been left in it unmolested. In the middle of it is a piece of
water of about an acre, cut into two square lines, in which, to the
astonishment of the beholder, you see Neptune upon his throne, and
twenty Tritons waiting behind him. The carver has express’d great
fierceness in his countenance, and well may the god who shakes the
earth with his Trident, be angry at being confined in a Pool, which
would scarce hold two hundred fish. From the garden one might see
a noble lawn bounded with an amphitheatre of wood, was it not for
the high Yew Hedges clipt into a thousand ridiculous shapes which
hinder the eye from passing them, the park, too, is very large, but
so overrun with Bushes that some of the Lawns resemble bogs....
From my Lady Coningsby’s we went to my Lord Oxford’s, a place where
nature has done a great deal, which by a little money judiciously
laid out may be made the prettiest _ferme ornée_ in England. My
Lord’s House is a very good one, built in a remarkable good taste
for the times of Queen Anne.”

Lord Lyttelton, as usual, adds a few words at the end of the letter,
and congratulates Mrs. Montagu on the King of Prussia’s “most glorious
success, but I am in pain till I hear what has become of Emin.”

Dr. Monsey writes from Claremont on September 6--

“DEAR MADAM,

“I should be asham’d of myself to be in the house of a Prime
Minister, and not let you know the King sent a long letter from the
King of Prussia hither this evening, giving a long detail of his
last victory[208] over the Russians, but it being in French and the
Duke of N(ewcastle) not being the best reader, I am unable to give
you an account, though my Lord G(odolphin) heard it as well as I,
and wou’d have interpreted for me, if he cou’d. However there is
an English account too of which I will give you some particulars.
Eighteen thousand killed by their own account, 6 generals killed,
I don’t remember how many wounded, 7 Generals prisoners in the
King’s Camp, 73 pieces of cannon taken, the military chest with
850,000 Rubles. General Brown killed, refusing quarter. The Russian
infantry as they had behaved like Bears, fought like Lyons, part of
Count Dohna’s foot gave way, or else it had been a most compleat
victory. The King himself took the colours in his hand and brought
’em on again, sure this is too bold for anybody but an immortal and
invulnerable. He had two aide-de-camps killed.”

[208] Battle of Zorndorff, fought August 25.

Monsey picked up the cover to the letter, addressed--

“A Monsieur mon frère,
“Le Roy de grande Bretagne.”

This he intended to send Mrs. Montagu, but the Duke asked for it. It
was sealed with two large seals, the arms and royal Crown under a camp
canopy in black wax.

[Page heading: EMIN DISCONSOLATE]

[Page heading: THE KING OF PRUSSIA]

On September 9 Emin wrote a long letter from the Duke of Marlborough’s
Quarter in Germany, whither he had retired disconsolate at not being
allowed to fight in the battle by General Yorke, Lady Anson’s brother,
to whom he had been recommended by her. Meanwhile he had marched four
days with the Army, and the King of Prussia had taken notice of him,
staring at him hard and saying to Mr. Mitchell he wished he had 12,000
men like him. Emin wished he had a letter to the King, and was furious
at General Yorke’s forbidding him to fight; probably the General was
too anxious for his safety. The following description of the King
of Prussia is so interesting I insert it, the whole letter to Mrs.
Montagu, a folio sheet closely written, being too long:--

“I will do my endeavour to describe the King of Prussia’s person,
and his way of living. He is no taller than Emin the Persian, he
has a short neck, he has one of the finest made heads ever I saw in
my life, with a noble forehead; he wears a false wigg, he has very
handsome nose. His eyes are grey, sharp and lively, ready to pearce
one through and through. He likes a man that looks him in the face
when he is talking to him. He is well made everywhere, with a bend
back, not stupid (_sic_, stooped?) at all, like many Europeans. His
voice is the sweetest and clearest ever I heard. He takes a great
quantity of Spanish snuff, from his nose down to the buckles of
his shoes or boots is all painted with that confounded stuff. His
hands are as red as paint, as if he was a painter, grizy all over.
He dines commonly between twelve and one, and drinks a bottle of
wine at his dinner. I was told that he was very unhealthy in the
time of peace, but since this war he has grown healthy, and left
off drinking a great quantity of coffee, which he did formerly. All
the satisfaction that I have, which is great enough that I have
seen Cæsar alive, nay twenty times greater, he is more like King
Solomon, for he rules his nation by wisdom and understanding....
His armies are not only disciplined to the use of arms, but very
religious, and say their prayers three times a day: it is never
neglected, even when they are on the march.”

Emin winds up with a message of apology to Mr. Burke at not having
written to him from want of time.

[Page heading: A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE]

Meanwhile his adored Mrs. Montagu had nearly lost her life through the
carelessness of a maid. It happened on September 3. Writing to Sarah
Scott, she gives this description--

“On this day sennight at 4 in the morn I was seized with a fainting
fit, in which I lay some time, my maids in their fright let the
_eau de luce_ fall into my eye, nostril and mouth, my eyes were
enflamed and nostril, the mouth and uvula of the throat excoriated.
After a long and cruel struggle for life,[209] a most sharp
contention with this medicine, I awaken’d to find myself in this
terrible condition. Dr. Askew unhappily lay at Durham that night,
so had no assistance till 2 at noon, then I was blooded, which
abated the inflammation so far I could articulate. The Doctor told
me my safety depended on frequent gargling and drinking, so for,
four days, I was never a quarter of an hour without doing so, the
spitting was more violent than from a mercurial salivation.... When
I came out of my fit, to see blood running from eye, nose and mouth
drove Mr. Montagu almost distracted, and I knew not which way my
agonies would end.... Mr. Montagu has shown on this occasion the
most passionate love imaginable. Dr. Askew has been very careful,
and an excellent apothecary has watched me night and day.”

[209] For two days her life was despaired of; for four days she
could swallow no solid, and was salivated for a week.

In a second letter she says, “On the fourth day when I was able to look
up I was surprized at the impression concern had made on Mr. Montagu,
and I should hardly have known him, he looked 20 years older at least.”

In a letter of Monsey’s we learn _eau de luce_ was made of strong sal
ammoniac and quicklime.

[Page heading: LADY BURLINGTON]

Mr. Montagu’s sister, now Lady Medows, wrote on September 14 to say
her brother-in-law, Sir Philip, had been nearly killed in the same way
by hartshorn. At the end of the letter she says, “Lady Bath dyed at
two this morning of the Palsy.” This was the wife of Pulteney, Earl of
Bath, soon after this to become one of Mrs. Montagu’s most intimate
friends. Lady Bath’s maiden name was Maria Gumley, daughter and
heiress of a great glass manufacturer. She had the character of great
penuriousness, and her husband was credited with the same character,
but I hope to show later that he could be very generous. When the news
of Mrs. Montagu’s accident spread amongst her numerous friends, many
were the letters of condolence and rejoicing at her safety from Lord
Lyttelton and a host of others. Dr. Monsey had been staying with the
Garricks; he was a great admirer of Mrs. Garrick, whom he often quotes
in his letters. It was whilst staying with them he heard of it. Both
he and Lord Lyttelton were quite frantic at the risk she had run,
and distressed at her fainting fit. Monsey was suffering from a bad
cough, for which, when staying with Sir John Evelyn at Wooton, he tried
bleeding, cathartics, and syrup of white poppies. He returned to St.
James’s, where Mrs. Garrick came to sit with him, and cheer him up. In
a letter of his to Mrs. Montagu of September 23, mention is made of
Lady Burlington’s death. “Lady Burlington is dead. Mrs. G(arrick) gets
nothing, but rid of her, and that’s a great deal, I think. She gives
the Duke of D. £3000 per annum ... not a farthing to any one servant,
she had some lived with her 20 or 25 years.”

[Page heading: MRS. GARRICK]

Lady Burlington, widow of the 3rd Earl, the celebrated amateur
architect, was the daughter of William, Marquis of Halifax. On Eva
Marie Viegel’s[210] arrival in England from Austria, the Empress
Queen, Maria Theresa, gave her a recommendation to Lady Burlington,
who received her at Burlington House as an inmate. It is said “La
Violette,” as she was called from her exquisite dancing in the operas,
had attracted the Emperor of Austria’s attention so much as to alarm
the Empress, and that she therefore sought to remove her from Austria.
Lady Burlington strongly objected to Garrick’s attachment to La
Violette, having more ambitious projects for her _protégée_, but it
was a true love affair from the beginning even to the end, and not one
word could ever be said against Mrs. Garrick; theirs was indeed a love
match, and after fifteen years of married life Garrick presented her
with a ring on her birthday, with the most touching love verses. From
the letters, I gather it was Dr. Monsey who brought Mrs. Montagu into
personal intercourse with the Garricks.

[210] Eva Maria Viegel, or Veilchen, born at Vienna, 1725; married
David Garrick on June 22, 1749.

Dr. Monsey was so disturbed at Mrs. Montagu’s accident that he wrote
almost daily to her, and no one who reads his letters could imagine,
however eccentric he was, that he was a free thinker in religion, as
is asserted in the “Dictionary of National Biography.” His letters are
so long that it is impossible to print them in full in this book. He
had a bad cough and a sort of vertigo at this time, in the midst of
which he was called to the Earl of Northumberland, who was desperately
ill, whose sufferings Monsey succeeded in alleviating. In a letter
of October 8 we learn that his birthday and Mrs. Montagu’s were on
the same day, viz. October 2.[211] He promises in joke to marry Mrs.
Stuart, a widow lady who had nursed Mrs. Montagu with the greatest
attention. To add to Mrs. Montagu’s troubles, her faithful housekeeper,
Mrs. Crosby, a lady by birth, but reduced to poverty, died of a quinsy
in twelve days.

[211] Monsey, in a letter, said he was sixty-four then.

In a letter of Dr. Monsey’s of October 27, mention is made of Lord
Godolphin drinking “absent friends” as a toast, coupled with special
mention of Mrs. Montagu, and also of Allan Ramsay,[212] the artist.
“Ramsay is one of us, he was born on October 2. I jumped for joy, but
hang it, ’tis the old October. I tell him he must be regenerated,
become a child of grace, and then he shall be adopted into our
family....” Dr. Monsey’s little grand-daughter “loves Missy Montagu
dearly.”

[212] Eminent portrait painter; son of the Scotch poet of the same
name; born 1709, died 1784.

A letter of Atkinson, the farm bailiff at Sandleford, on October 3, to
Mrs. Crosby, the late housekeeper, shows the current price of food:
“Everything continues dear for ye pour, and will do so all this winter,
I am afraid, befe is sold in our market for 3_d._ for a pd. Muton 4_d._
to 4½_d._, it is beyond prise wich I never heard before at this time of
ye year, pork and veal 5_d._ a pound.”

[Page heading: MRS. SHERLOCK]

[Page heading: GEORGINA POYNTZ]

Mrs. Donnellan wrote from Fulham on October 21 condoling with Mrs.
Montagu on her accident, and the loss of Mrs. Crosby. She says--

“I told you how near we were losing our respectable friend Mrs.
Sherlock, she is now quite recovered ... they say there never was a
more moving scene than between her and the Bishop,[213] who would
be carried up to her in the worst of her illness; he got hold of
her hand and it was with difficulty they could get him to let
it go and separate them.” (Bishop Sherlock was born in 1678, so
was then eighty years of age.) “I went yesterday _pour égayer_ a
little to see Mrs. Spencer[214] after her lying in, and there is
nothing but joy and magnificence; the child[215] is likely to live
tho’ it came, they reckon, six weeks before its time. Mrs. Poinne
showed me all the fineries; the pap boat is pure gold, etc., etc. I
like Mrs. Spencer, she is a natural good young woman, no airs, no
affectation, but seems to enjoy her great fortune by making others
partakers, and happy with herself.”

This was Georgina, _née_ Poyntz, who had married Mr. John Spencer,
afterwards 1st Earl Spencer, by whom she had Georgiana, afterwards
the beautiful Duchess of Devonshire; George John,[216] who was born
on September 1, 1758, was the owner of the gold pap boat. and Lady
Besborough. Mrs. Donnellan adds--

“Mrs. Poinne (Poyntz) has the practical moral virtues, and when
I see her good works I think she is worth a hundred such poor
spectators as I am; her present business is attending the foundling
Hospital, and she has six and twenty children nursing under her
care.... The Duchess of Portland and her family are at Bath.”

[213] Thomas Sherlock, then Bishop of London.

[214] _Née_ Georgina, daughter of Stephen Poyntz, of Midgham, Berks.

[215] Became Earl Spencer, born September, 1758.

[216] Became 2nd Earl Spencer in 1783.

The next letter is from Lord Lyttelton on October 10, full of anxiety
as to Mrs. Montagu’s health, and urging her to return South as soon as
possible. In this he says--

“You inquire about my new house,[217] and my History,[218] both are
going on but the first much faster and better than the other. When
the History will be finished I cannot tell, and when it is, I fear
it will be little better than a _gothick house modernised_. The
Goths will think it too Græcian and the Græcians too Gothic.” He
winds up with, “Adieu, best Madonna, take great care of yourself,
your late danger has shown you how dear you are to your friends.
Don’t try their affection that way any more.”

[217] He was rebuilding Hagley.

[218] His “History of Henry II.”

[Page heading: CARVILLE]

Writing on October 20 to Dr. Stillingfleet, who was exploring Wales
with Charles Lyttelton, the Dean of Exeter and brother of Lord
Lyttelton, Mrs. Montagu says--

“Carville[219] is just at the end of the Picts’ Wall, it makes part
of our enclosures, and we have a Roman Altar in the stables. The
din of War has so frightened the rural Deities that even the long
time that has passed since the Union with Scotland, has not brought
them to make their residence with us. Pan, Ceres, and Pomona, seem
to neglect us; we are under the domination of the god of mines.
There is a great deal of rich land in this country, but agriculture
is ill understood. The great gain made by several branches of the
coal trade has turned all attention that way. Every gentleman in
the country, from the least to the greatest, is as solicitous in
the pursuit of gain as a tradesman. The conversation always turns
upon money; the moment you name a man, you are told what he is
worth, the losses he has had, or the profit he has made by coal
mines. As my mind is not naturally set to this tune, I should often
be glad to change it for a song from one of your Welch Bards.”

[219] Carville, the house they had hired.

[Page heading: “ATHENIAN” STUART]

Mrs. Lowther had asked her to spend some time at Lowther Hall,[220] of
which she says, “Lowther is much greater than Gibside, which is too
great for me.” In the next letter of Lord Lyttelton’s he mentions Mr.
Anson and Mr. Steward being at Hagley--

“Stuart seems almost as fond of my hall as of the _Thessala
Tempe_,[221] which I believe you heard him describe when I brought
him to see you.... He is going to embellish one of the Hills with
a true Attick building, a Portico of six pillars, which will
make a fine object to my new house, and command a most beautiful
view of the country. He has also engaged to paint me a Flora and
four pretty little Zephyrs in my drawing-room ceiling, which is
ornamented with flowers in Stucco, but has spaces left for these
pictures. He thinks all my Stucco work is well done.”

This was James Stuart,[222] nicknamed “Athenian Stuart,” traveller and
antiquary, author of “The Antiquities of Athens.” Alluding to Tom, he
says, “Dr. Bernard[223] offered to putt him into the Remove, but rather
advised him to stay in the fourth form in order to learn more Greek,
which advice he has prudently and cheerfully followed.”

[220] Now Lowther Castle.

[221] Mr. Bower’s place.

[222] James Stuart, born 1713, died 1788.

[223] Head-master of Eton.

Mrs. Montagu, being attacked by a choleraic disorder, which kept her in
her room a week, and being still very hoarse from the _eau de Luce_,
Mr. Montagu insisted on her returning to London before himself, so as
to be in reach of Dr. Monsey. On November 6, from Wexford, she writes
to Sarah Scott to inform her she is returning to London. Mr. Montagu
had accompanied her three days’ journey; he then returned to Carville.
She had left behind the post-chaise, and travelled in the “body coach,
but my horses are so stout I believe they will perform the journey from
Carville to London in seven days.” _En route_ she picks up Mr. Tom
Pitt,[224] nephew of Miss Pitt and a friend of his, and carries them
to Durham, putting her maid into their post-chaise. “My gentlemen leave
me at Stilton, from whence they go to Cambridge.” She mentions that Mr.
Montagu had bought all the jewels belonging to Mr. Rogers for her, “and
to-day intimated he should give me a great purse of old gold which fell
to his share in the division; some of the pieces are curious, but there
will be between £60 to £70 of money that one may spend with a good
conscience.”

[224] 1st Lord Camelford, Thomas Pitt, junior, son of Lord Cobham’s
brother Thomas and his wife, _née_ Christian Lyttelton.

[Page heading: VIPER BROTH]

Arrived in London, Mrs. Montagu writes to her husband that his sister,
Lady Medows,[225] was in very bad health, and she had recommended
her to take “Viper broth!” if her doctor approved it, “as it is a
nourishing food, and by its quality supplies deficiency of food.”
I believe vipers are still used as medicine in France, but whether
in England I know not; perhaps “Brusher Mills,”[226] the famous New
Forest snake-catcher, could inform one; it does not sound inviting! In
the same letter she mentions having secured a berth as midshipman for
Montagu Isaacson,[227] Mr. Montagu’s cousin, with Admiral Boscawen. The
Admiral had been most graciously received by the King, “and nothing can
exceed the honours the Admiral meets with from all quarters.”

A Scotch gardener had been hired for Sandleford, and she adds, “The
Scotch Gardener was tired a little, so I thought you would not dislike
his recreating himself and resting his horse a little. I have sent him
to the play to-night.”

[225] She was suffering from cancer and dropsy.

[226] Since this was written, “Brusher” died.

[227] Son of Margaret, _née_ Creagh, and Anthony Isaacson.

In the next letter she writes, “The Carville gardener will set out
to-morrow, he is more happy in London than a young toast, he has seen
St. Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, etc., and sees them with taste; his mind
was made for a higher condition of life.” Mentioning the horses, she
says she shall send three to Sandleford, “it is a shame for a little
animal as I am to keep 7 horses in town.” The team for a big coach was
then six, but a seventh was ridden alongside by a servant in case of
accidents on the way.

[Page heading: ANXIETIES AND ILLNESSES]

George II. had been very ill. “Princess Emilia not well, and the
Duke[228] has got the gout.... Sixteen thousand pounds a year of
annuities on the Duke of Marlborough[229] expire with him, so there
are many sincere mourners; the Duchess[230] bears her loss better
than could have been imagined. Lord Bath[231] is so apparently
rejoiced at his deliverance, it makes people smile, he ordered a
plentiful table to be kept as soon as she was dead, and is gay
and jolly, and at the Bath like a young heir just come to his
estate.... It is thought Mr. Charles Montagu[232] can live but a
few days.”

[228] Cumberland.

[229] 3rd Duke of Marlborough, died October 20, 1758, at Munster in
Westphalia.

[230] Elizabeth, daughter of 2nd Baron Trevor.

[231] William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, had just lost his wife.

[232] Charles Montagu, son of the Hon. James Montagu, cousin of Mr.
Edward Montagu. He died in 1759.

Great anxiety reigned for some days about the health of little Morris
Robinson, Morris’s son. Dr. Monsey stayed with the child four days
and nights, and he pulled through, but it painfully reminded his aunt
of her loss in little “Punch,” Morris being much of the same age. Dr.
Monsey wrote to Mr. Montagu to say he had insisted, when the child was
at its worst, that Mrs. Montagu should not come to see it. Mention is
made of young Mr. Pitt “just come to town, not so well as when you
saw him; he was here on Tuesday night, and I thought looked ill; his
chairmen were drunk and threw him in the street, and cut his face and
hurt him a little, and he had a bad fit that night from the surprise.”
This was Thomas Pitt, junior, son of Thomas Pitt, of Boconoc, Cornwall,
brother of Mr. William Pitt, and afterwards 1st Lord Camelford.

[Page heading: MEETING OF PARLIAMENT]

On November 23 both houses of Parliament met at Westminster, and Mrs.
Montagu writes on the 28th to her husband--

“Mr. Pitt opened the session on Tuesday with a very fine speech,
Mr. Beckford stood up and said the turn things had taken of late
had put him in good humour, so that he was willing to give two
millions towards the war on the Continent; he thought it too little
to be of service, but rather more than could be got. Mr. Pitt
answered the sum must not be limited, a great deal indeed would be
wanted, he knew not how it would be raised, for he did not concern
himself with Treasury business, but the honourable gentleman,
signifying Mr. Legge, understood these matters, and he did not
doubt would raise a proper sum. Poor Legge looked distressed. No
one knows how these great sums are to be raised, taxes on Dogs and
publick diversions are talked of, the King is much pleased with his
Secretary’s declaration of a support of the continent interest at
any rate. I hear Mr. Pitt’s speech was much admired, and nowhere
more than at St. James’s.... Mr. Pitt has a personal dignity
that supports open measures, and I am glad he does not learn
the political art of prevarication. He has the people’s intire
confidence, and I hope he will use it to good ends.”

[Page heading: EMIN HOME AGAIN]

On December 2, writing to Mr. Montagu, she says--

“Emin is come home, he has a great loss of the Duke of
Marlborough, who called him his Lion and kept him always with
him. He has been a sort of aide-de-camp to Count Schullenburg;
he has lately been in Holland where the Armenians have promised
to assist his schemes. Lady Yarmouth has him with her in a
morning and promises him her interest with a very great man;
Lord Northumberland, Lord Anson, and General York are to be his
advocates with Mr. Pitt. He is an astonishing creature to take
thus with all kinds of people. He hopes to go home in January in a
sort of public character. He is full of anecdotes of the King of
Prussia. He says his eyes and forehead are just like mine, and he
is as particular in his description of him as a portrait painter
would be. He marched with him seven days, the Prussian Hero is as
easy and familiar as a private man, knowing his character will give
him more respect than his rank: it is not advisable in general for
Princes to lay aside their rank lest they should not otherwise gain
respect, but a truly great man is above all respect that is not
personal.”

A set of verses sent by Dr. Monsey from North Mimms to Lord Lyttelton
is amusing, but too prolix to insert. Lyttelton had a bad cold, and
wanted to go to Eton to see his boy--

“_L._ I _must_ go to Eaton.”

“_M._ You shall _not_ go to Eaton.”

Much allusion is made to Mrs. Montagu in the verses, which are rank
doggerel.

Louisburg had been taken on July 27. On December 7 Mrs. Montagu writes,
“The House of Commons yesterday returned thanks to Admiral Boscawen and
General Amherst for their services at Louisburg, and to Admiral Osborne
for his conduct in the Mediterranean.”

Dr. Monsey had been reading the “Memoirs of Madame de Maintenon,” in
whom he sees a strong likeness to Mrs. Montagu.

“I take her into my hand and you into my mind as I go along ...
tho’ Lewis was a scrub of a scoundrel and not worthy a crown which
he would not put upon her head, he now and then thought right about
her, instead of a foreign Princess whom he must study to please,
he chose a woman who made it her whole business to please him,
the only one who could inspire him with a lasting passion, and so
revered that in the admiration which the recital of her vertues
occasioned he cried, ‘Let us go and shut ourselves up to talk of
this woman.’ That’s my Lord (Lyttelton), and I!”

[Page heading: LORD ARRAN DEAD]

On December 17 the Earl of Arran died; he had married Mr. Montagu’s
relation, Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Crewe of Stene, who brought him a
large fortune. It was an unhappy marriage, and Mrs. Montagu hints that,
had Lady Arran treated her husband as he deserved, her money would have
come to Mr. Montagu and Lady Mary Gregory. He died at eighty-eight. His
sister, Lady Emily Butler,

“is a surprising woman, healthy and lively at past 99! Mr. Boscawen
yesterday show’d us a box of horrid implements with which the
French cannon was charged at Louisbourg, rusty locks, pieces of
pokers, curling tongs, nails in abundance and all sorts of iron
instruments, and this not for want of ammunition, but wanton
cruelty. He found the cannons loaded with these as well as ball.
General Wolfe had a gridiron shot at him; it fell short of him, but
he had it taken up and straiten’d and eat a beef steak broil’d upon
it.”

[Page heading: EDMUND BURKE]

In a letter undated, but presumably at the end of December, Mrs.
Montagu says--

“Lord Bath said there had been but three speeches in Parliament
this year; one was Lord Middleton’s,[233] who said he would
give all he was worth to support the war; the other Sir Michael
Grosvenor’s,[234] who said he would lend all he was worth; and
the third, Mr. Pitt’s, who said he would take all they were both
worth.... If Mr. Isaacson wants any enquiries made at Cork, I
can get good intelligence by means of Mr. Burke, a young lawyer
by profession, tho’ an author by practice, for he wrote Natural
History[235] preferable to Artificial; he has several acquaintance
of credit at Cork, you have often heard me mention him.”

[233] 3rd Viscount Middleton.

[234] Sir Richard Grosvenor, afterwards 1st Earl Grosvenor.

[235] “Vindication of Natural Society,” his first avowed work copied
for him by Emin, and published in 1756.

This is the third mention of Edmund Burke, the first being in a letter
of Emin’s, whose patron he was, to Dr. Monsey.

On December 28, writing to her husband, who was still at Carville, Mrs.
Montagu says--

“The Parliaments meet on the 16th ... the ardour for carrying on
the war is such it will be rather a point of contention who shall
give most money. Some people think Mr. Boscawen will be sent
against Quebec. General Conway is taken into favour again, he is
going to settle ye dispute between us and the Dutch concerning
the ships we have taken. The Princess of Orange is thought in a
desperate state of health.... My Father call’d on me on Monday; he
was not well, which put him a little out of sorts, he seems uneasy
that he is not immortal, however, he takes the best means for long
life, and I daresay will attain it unless fears of the inevitable
moment should hurt his spirits. Life has been to him one long play
day, he must not expect the rattles and sugar plumbs will hold good
to the last. He has never tasted business, care, or study; _vivre
du jour la journée_, as the French saying is, has been his moral
maxim; it may make a merry day, but it does not make the best
evening; the mind that has employ’d itself in study and application
or in active life has more to look back upon, and old age’s joy is
in the retrospect.”

This ends the letters for 1758.

[Page heading: 1759]

[Page heading: HELVETIUS]

On January 2, 1759, writing to Mr. Montagu, who was still in the north,
his wife says--

“I am now reading a very ingenious, pernicious French author, his
name is Helvetius,[236] a descendant of the famous Helvetius;[237]
he is a man of fortune in France, very amiable in his private
character, good-natured, liberal and witty, so has many disciples
at Paris from respect to his person; I fear he will have many here
from respect to his doctrines well adapted to the corruptions of
the human heart. He endeavours to show it is custom makes virtue
and vice, like Epicurus, placing his good in pleasure but not his
pleasure in good. He thinks a less strict observation of some
moral rules would make man in general happier. He would trust
everything to laws, Legislature is to be the god and conscience
of mankind. He does not consider how many by their situation are
above laws, how many one may say are below it, and how many more
by fraud, evasions, concealment would hope to escape it. I hope
conscience, call’d by Mr. Pope ‘the god within the mind,’ will keep
her empire in spite of Mr. Helvetius.... The church has obliged
him to a retractation, which indeed may in some measure mortify
the author but will not alter the argument of his book.... Lord
Clarendon’s other volume[238] will soon be published.... I forgot
to tell you I have receiv’d great compliments from Mr. Pitt, the
Secretary, since I came to town, congratulations on your accession
of fortune, congratulations on my recovery from the _eau de Luce_,
high expressions of esteem and friendship, but being a person of
moderate ambition, I have not ask’d for a place at Court.”

[236] Claude Adrien Helvetius, born 1715, died 1771. Published “De
l’Esprit” in 1758.

[237] John Claude Helvetius, his father, celebrated physician and
author; died 1755.

[238] His “History of the Rebellion.”

[Page heading: SOCIAL FESTIVITIES]

In the next letter of January 4 she says--

“I was last night at Lady Cowper’s concert, where there was much
good company and good musick. The night before I was at an assembly
at Mrs. Pitt’s, where I found Sir John Mordaunt playing at cards
with Lady Hester Pitt; this might be accident, but among political
folks one is apt to look deeper perhaps than the truth lies, but
this and General Conway being received into grace and sent to Le
Cas[239] to settle the cartel for exchange of prisoners, makes
me suspect some coalition may be designed between the folks at
Leicester House and the D(uke).... I am to go to the play with Miss
Pitt to-morrow night. Mr. Garrick is to act Anthony, he will make
but a diminutive hero; I should not think it a part he would shine
in, but he has taken great pains about it.”

[239] He was sent to Sluys, for which the French is L’Ecluse, not Le
Cas, to meet Monsieur de Bareil.

On January 18, writing to her husband, Mrs. Montagu says--

“It is apprehended the loss of the King of Spain[240] will be
a misfortune to Great Brittain. There is a great conspiracy
discovered in Portugal; it was at first surmised that the
assassination[241] of the King arose from jealousy, but people now
think there was more of ambition than jealousy in it. The Marquis
of Tavora’s family had a nearer claim to the crown than that Duke
of Braganza who got it, but not being personally so well qualified
for so great an attempt, or for want of alliances or other means,
they were quietly governed by Spain, but when the Braganzas gained
the Royal dignity, they grudged it to them, and ambition and envy
may easily form conspiracy and assassination. Twelve of the first
nobility will be brought to the scaffold.”

[240] Ferdinand VI.

[241] Attempted assassination of Joseph I., led to the expulsion of
the Jesuits.

[Page heading: ROUSSEAU]

On the 24th occurs a very long letter to Mrs. Carter. In this
mention is made of Rousseau: “There is a letter from Rousseau to Mr.
D’Alembert[242] upon the project of settling a theatre at Geneva, which
treats of Dramatical performances in general; it is ingeniously written
and with great eloquence.” She also adds that she is sending Mrs.
Carter Dr. Newton’s “Dissertation on the Prophecies,” Leland’s “Life of
Philip of Macedon.”

“Lord Lyttelton’s History is not yet ready to appear; the work
goes on slowly, as the writer is scrupulously exact in following
truth. His delicacy in regard to characters, his candour in regard
to opinions, his precision in facts, would entitle him to the best
palm history can claim, if he had not added to these virtues of
History (if I may call them so) the highest ornaments of style,
and a most peculiar grace of order and method.... I shall send you
a treatise on the ‘Sublime and Beautiful,’[243] by Mr. Burke, a
friend of mine. I do not know that you will always subscribe to
his system, but think you will find him an elegant and ingenious
writer. He is far from the pert pedantry and assuming ignorance
of modern witlings; but in conversation and writing an ingenious
and ingenuous man, modest and delicate, and on great and serious
subjects full of that respect and veneration which a good mind and
a great one is sure to feel, while fools mock behind the altar, at
which wise men kneel and pay mysterious reverence.”

[242] Lettre à d’Alembert (Sur les Spectacles), Amsterdam 1758;
translated into English in 1759.

[243] First published in 1757.

[Page heading: KITTY FISHER]

Soon after this letter, Mrs. Carter paid her first visit to Mrs.
Montagu in Hill Street. Mrs. Carter had been much troubled by the
severe illness of Miss Talbot, her bosom friend, and of Archbishop
Secker, with whom the Talbots lived. Mrs. Montagu, writing to condole
about this, mentions that Lord Waldegrave[244] was going to marry the
illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole, and she continues--

“Miss Kitty Fisher modestly asked Earl Pembroke[245] to make her a
Countess; his family love forms, so perhaps the fair one thought he
would approve the legal form of cohabitation; but he hesitated, and
so the agreement is made for life, a £1000 per annum, and a £1000
for present decorations.”

[244] 2nd Earl Waldegrave, married Maria, daughter of Sir Edward
Walpole, on May 15, 1759. She survived him, and married in 1766 the
Duke of Gloucester, brother to George III.

[245] Henry, 29th Earl of Pembroke, born 1734, died 1794.

Mr. Montagu had now returned to his wife, having bought another portion
of the Denton estate from Mr. Archdeacon, his cousin. He made a codicil
to his previous will of 1752, leaving his wife the whole property, as
well as all he possessed besides. The codicil was witnessed by Ben
Stillingfleet, William Archdeacon, and Samuel Torriano, on April 12,
1759.

[Illustration: MRS. ELIZABETH CARTER.]

On June 7, writing to Mrs. Carter, who was drinking the waters at
Bristol, Mrs. Montagu chaffs her as to her surroundings. “Do you like
pompons or aigrettes in your hair? if you put on rouge, dance minuets
and cottillions? that I may describe and define you in your Bristol
State.” Mention is made of Mr. Mason’s “Caractacus.”

“It is a Drama not dramatized; his Melpomene is too chaste,
too cold for the theatre. She is a very modest virgin, pure in
sentiment and diction and void of passion; her sober ornaments
are a Greek veil and some Druidical Hieroglyphicks, all which I
mightily respect and do not like at all.... Lord Northampton had a
fine suit for the birthday, the wastecoat silver and gold, the coat
gold and silver.”

[Page heading: DR. JOHNSON]

On June 9 occurs the first letter of Dr. Johnson[246] to Mrs. Montagu.

[246] Dr. Samuel Johnson, born 1709, died 1784; the famous
lexicographer and critic.

“MADAM,

“I am desired by Mrs. Williams to sign receipts with her name for
the subscribers which you have been pleased to procure, and to
return her humble thanks for your favour, which was conferred with
all the grace that elegance can add to Beneficence.

“I am,
“Your most obedient
and humble servant,
“SAM. JOHNSON.

“June 9, 1759.”

This letter is printed in Boswell’s “Life of Johnson,”[247] vol. ii.
p. 113; but who introduced him first to her I have not yet been able
to discover, but I fancy it might be through Mrs. Carter. His mother
had died at the age of ninety in January of this year. His “Rasselas,”
published in the following April, is said to have been written to pay
the expenses of the funeral of his beloved parent. Mrs. Williams
was one of Dr. Johnson’s _protégées_, a woman of talent and literary
attainments, who had been a constant companion of his late wife. Her
eyes being affected with an incurable cataract, she became blind, and
Dr. Johnson was trying to raise money enough to buy an annuity for her.
In 1766 she became a permanent inmate of Johnson’s house, and on Mr.
Montagu’s death in 1775, Mrs. Montagu settled £10 per annum on her.

[247] By John Wilson Croker revised, and by John Wright published,
1880.

Dr. Johnson’s writing is singularly clear, and, once seen, is
unmistakable, from his peculiar long _s_’s.

On June 9 also, Emin wrote on board the _Prince Edward_, from the Mole
of Genoa, where they were in quarantine. The letter begins, “To the
most learned and most magnanimous Mrs. Montagu.” He was on his way to
see Prince Heraclius with letters of recommendation from his father and
all the principal Armenians of Calcutta and India to the Prince and the
Archbishop of Armenia. At last his transcendent merit as a leader had
been acknowledged by his own countrymen, who now designated him “their
chief, their Shepherd and Protector.” Emin’s affectionate heart was
rent at the thought of parting with his kind English protectors, and in
this letter he says he was almost glad when he found most of them out
or away from home when he called to bid adieu. He was to cross Turkey
by land to get to Armenia, a most dangerous Journey, and on the way out
two ships had chased them for four or five hours off Spain.

[Page heading: LADY ESSEX’S DEATH]

Writing from Sandleford on July 25 to Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Montagu
narrates the sad death of Lady Essex, carried away at the early age of
nineteen by puerperal fever and throat disease. She was the daughter of
Lady Frances Williams, who was bowed down with this affliction, added
to the terrible lunacy of her husband. Mrs. Carter was at Bristol
drinking the waters for her constant violent headaches. At the end of
the letter we read--

“I am glad you agree with me in detestation of Voltaire’s
Optimism. Are not you provoked that such an animal calls itself a
Philosopher? What pretence can he have to philosophy who has not
that fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom? This creature
is a downright rebel to his God. Some good may arise indeed from
the division of Satan’s household; Voltaire directly opposes Lord
Bolingbroke and those who affirm whatever is is right, and that
there wants not a future state to make the system just.”

[Page heading: “CALVES PLUCK WATER”]

Lady Medows writes that her appetite has been mended by drinking
“Calves Pluck water!”

[Page heading: HARLEYFORD]

On August 3 Mrs. Montagu thanks Lady Barbara Montagu for “the great
favour you have done me in behalf of Mr. Burke,” but what that favour
was I know not. The letter proceeds thus--

“I conducted Mrs. Pitt to Maidenhead Bridge on Tuesday, and on
Wednesday dined at Mrs. Clayton’s[248] at Harleyford.[249] I think
it the most agreeable situation I have seen on the Thames, I mean
as a place of residence, every object speaks peace and plenty,
the silver Thames glides at the foot of their garden, lofty trees
crown the summit, they have fine prospects, sweet lawns, fine
cornfields and distant villages.... I could not get permission from
Mr. Montagu to stay a day or two, but had barely leave for a dining
visit; to my great mortification, my Landlord at the Bridge told me
that to go by Marlow would carry me 8 or 9 miles out of the Road,
so I gave up my scheme, but met Mr. Amyand, who was travelling
through Maidenhead town: he jumped out of his post-chaise, got
into the coach to tell me all the news of the town, and on my
complaining of my disappointment in regard to Mrs. Clayton, he
assured me if I would go two miles out of my road I should find
myself on the bank of the river opposite Mrs. Clayton’s house,
that then I might go on board a flat-bottom’d boat and invade her
territories. I followed his directions, but as my coach could not
pass the river, I proposed only to drink a dish of Chocolate, walk
round her gardens, and proceed to Reading. She kindly desired to
carry me thither early in the afternoon, said she would get Mrs.
Southwell[250] of the party, that my coach should go on to Reading
and I should find my horses refreshed and ready to set forward for
Sandleford: no magical wand could have made a metamorphosis more
to my advantage than converting the rose Parlour at the Inn in
Reading into an elegant _salon_, and my Landlord and his wife into
Mrs. Clayton and Mrs. Southwell; and an empty coach into one filled
with good company. A most incomparable dinner appeared, and Mrs.
Southwell; we went together to Reading, and by 11 I got back to my
darksome pines.”

[248] Presumably the widow of Bishop Clayton, and sister of Mrs.
Donnellan.

[249] Now the seat of Sir William Clayton.

[250] Of King’s Weston.

Soon after her return to Sandleford, Mr. Montagu fell ill of a bad
throat, caught, she thought, at a place built by a Mr. Cottington near
Newbury, on such a hill that, as she says to Lyttelton,

“it would have made a good situation for a college of Augurs, for
here they might conveniently make observations on the flight of
Birds; the ascent is so steep a goat can hardly climb to it; he
built a Belvidere at the top of the house, where perhaps he hoped
to sit as umpire in the battles between the cranes and the pigmies,
for as to looking down from it, it is rather horrible.”

Fortunately, Dr. Monsey was at Sandleford, and promptly “blooded” and
doctored Mr. Montagu. Mention is made of a “magnificent epistle of Emin
to the noble daughters of Brittain,” too long to be inserted here.

[Illustration: DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON.]

[Page heading: INVERARY]

Lord Lyttelton and “Tom” were taking a tour to the Highlands, having
gone from Hagley to Durham, thence to Lord Ravensworth’s and Morpeth,
“on our way to Alnwick.” Lord Lyttelton alludes to the Battle of
Minden, fought on August 1, between the English, Hessians, and
Hanoverians, against the French. Prince Ferdinand[251] of Brunswick
commanded, and under him Lord George Sackville,[252] who commanded the
English and Hanoverians, and incurred some obloquy on the score of
disobeying orders; but Lyttelton says--

“The necessity the French will be under of restoring their army in
Germany by large reinforcements must, I think, putt an end to their
intended invasion, and you Ladies of Britain will not be exposed to
the outrages and brutalities which the poor Ladies of Hildesheim
have suffered from the rage of those polished barbarians.... I
had writt thus far at Taymouth, Lord Breadalbane’s fine seat, but
was forced by some interruption to delay ending my letter till I
came to Inverary, from whence I now write. The House deserves to
be call’d, as it was stil’d by Lord Leicester, ‘the Royall Palace
of the King of the Goths.’ He reigns here in great state, but
Nature reigns in still greater. I have scarce ever seen her more
sublimely majestick; nor does she want some sweet graces to soften
her dignity and make it more amiable. As the Duke of Argyll[253] is
one of your admirers, and, I think, a favoured one too, you ought
to make him a visit here when next you return to your northern
dominions.”

[251] Brother of the Duke of Brunswick.

[252] Afterwards Lord George Germaine.

[253] Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, born 1682, died 1761,
ætat 79.

[Page heading: ALNWICK]

Tom Lyttelton, who was travelling with his father in Scotland, writes
on September 10 from Edinburgh to Mrs. Montagu. Some portions of his
letter I copy--

“The first place I shall mention to you is Alnwick, the seat of the
Earl of Northumberland. The Castle is very gracious, and stands on
the brow of a hill; it was formerly very strong. His Lordship has
shown great judgment in the manner of fitting it up, for instead
of using the modern stile of architecture (as Mr. Lumley has done
at Lumley Castle), he has left it for the most part as it was
in Harry Percy’s time, with this difference, that two or three
rooms which were before ill proportioned and quite unfurnished,
are now much enlarged and fitted very handsomely in the Gothick
stile. He will add many more rooms on the other side of the court,
and will make it in time a very good house, still preserving its
original character. From thence we went to Berwick to Sir Hugh
Dalrymple’s.... The Bass Island is all a vast Rock broken into many
rough and irregular pieces; it is inaccessible to very large ships,
there is but one place where a boat may safely land; in the middle
of the ascent there are still the remains of an old castle, which
was a state prison with houses for soldiers built in the rock;
they tell you that within these sixty years it was garrisoned, but
it is now become the habitation only of an infinite number of sea
birds, of which the Solan goose is the most remarkable.... We went
to dine with Mr. Charters, and from thence the same night reached
Edinburgh, and were lodged in the Royal Palace called _Holy Rood
House_.... My next shall be from Bishops Auckland (a seat of the
Bishop of Durham’s)....”

As usual, Lord Lyttelton adds a postscript, and in it says--

“We dined to-day with the Magistrates and corporation of Edinburgh,
and supped with the Duke of Argyll, who honoured me with his
presence at the dinner, a distinction he never paid to any other
than upon this occasion. Tom and I had our freedoms given us, as we
have had from many other towns with as great compliments as if I
had been a minister of State, or the Head of a faction.”

Young Edward Wortley Montagu writes on September 13 to Mr. Montagu from
“Mrs. Lyster’s in Hyde Street, Bloomsbury Market,” to say--

“I am really greatly concern’d that it has hitherto been out of
my power to wait upon you, and I am afraid will be so the whole
summer, for my book is sold off, and Millar presses me for a second
edition, which I am now about, and since I wish it should appear
in the world as perfect as possible, I must beg the favour of you
to let me know what corrections you think it may want; the world
received the first edition with great indulgence, but the second
will have a right to approbation when it has received a greater
degree of perfection from the corrections of a gentleman of your
abilities.”

[Page heading: YORK]

In an answer to Lord Lyttelton’s letter from Inverary, too long to be
inserted, Mrs. Montagu mentions that she is sending the letter to York--

“I shall be glad to hear that your Lordship and Mr. Lyttelton
like York, to which perhaps I am partial as to the place of my
nativity. One of the strongest pictures in my mind is the funeral
of a Dean of York, which I saw performed with great solemnity in
the Cathedral when I was about 4 years old.... I know, my lord, you
will rejoice with me for Mr. Boscawen’s[254] victory, both from
public spirit and private friendship.”

[254] Admiral Boscawen defeated the French off Cape Lagos on
August 18.

Emin, after a serious illness, was setting off on his dangerous journey
through Turkey, and on September 20 wrote “To the Montagu the Great,”
ending up with, “My dearest, brightest and the wisest Queen of the
East, your very affectionate and faithful, obedient, humble servant and
soldier, Emin of Hasnasari in Persia.”

Lord Lyttelton and his son travelled from Edinburgh to Lord Hopetoun’s
place, Hopetoun House. In a letter to Mrs. Montagu of September 21,
Tom says, “There is one chimney piece done by Risback that cost £600,
my father thinks it the finest he ever saw.” Thence they proceeded to
Stirling, and paid visits to Lord Cathcart and Lord Kinnoull; thence to
Glamis Castle, which he describes “as a very old castle, but has not
a tolerable apartment, and can never be altered much for the better.”
He does not mention the ghost; probably he was not told about it. From
thence to the Duke of Athole’s at Dunkeld, where he is enraptured with
the country, and mentions the window at the Hermitage,[255] “through
which the falls of the Braan appear as a surprise to the visitor.” The
Lytteltons accompanied the duke to his other seat, Blair Athole, after
which they proceeded to Taymouth, Lord Breadalbane’s splendid place,
which enchanted Tom.

[255] Ossian’s Hall.

[Page heading: SCOTCH CHARACTERISTICS]

He now gives Mrs. Montagu a sort of character sketch of the Scottish
nobility--

“The characteristical virtues of the Scotch are courage,
temperance, prudence, economy and hospitality. This last is not
only peculiar to the nobility, but is universally practised by all
kinds of people. _Good breeding_, though it cannot be properly
styled a virtue, is of the highest _consequence_ to Society. This
the Scotch universally possess, and there is not in the North such
a character as that of an English country Squire, whose whole
life is spent in the laudable customs of hunting, drinking,
swearing and sleeping.... Scotch ladies are very handsome and very
sweet-tempered. It is their general character to be rather too free
of their favours before marriage; however that may be, they are
very chaste after that ceremony. They breed up their children in a
particular manner, for they are accustomed from their infancy to go
without shoes and stockings, nor in the coldest weather do their
parents permit them to wear a great-coat; if they are of a puny
constitution they die, if not, they are the better for it all their
life.”

He also remarks that “few of the nobility omit going to Church on a
Sunday, and what is of more importance, when they are there they do
not trifle, but seem seriously to reflect upon the duty they owe their
Maker.” This description from a boy of fifteen is remarkable, and
throws light upon English manners of that period. After several other
visits, Tom returned to his studies at Eton.

[Page heading: MR. EDMUND BURKE]

[Illustration: EDMUND BURKE.]

[Page heading: CONSULSHIP AT MADRID]

Next to this comes a letter from Mr. Burke, which, being the first, is
given _in extenso_. His handwriting is beautiful and very even, but of
a feminine cast.

“MADAM,

“I have now the honour of writing to you for the first time, and
the subject of my letter is an affair that concerns myself. I
should stand in need of many more apologies than I know how to make
both for the liberty I take and for the occasion of it, if I had
not learned by experience that I give you a pleasure when I put it
in your power to exert your good-nature. I know it is your foible
to carry this principle to an extream, and one is almost sure of
success in any application, or at least for pardon for having made
an improper one, when we know judiciously to take advantage of
a person’s weak point. I do not know anything else which could
give me confidence enough to take the Liberty I am now going to
use. The Consulship of Madrid has been vacant for several months;
I am informed that it is in the gift of Mr. Secretary Pitt, and
that it is valuable. I presume, however, that it is not an object
for a person who has any considerable pretensions, by its having
continued so long vacant, else I should never have thought of it.
My interest is weak, I have not at all the honour of being known
to Mr. Pitt; nor much to any of his close connections. For which
reason I venture to ask your advice whether I can with propriety
proceed at all in this affair, and if you think I ought to
undertake it, in what manner it would be proper for me to proceed.
If my little suit either in itself or in the persons through
whose hands it must necessarily pass, should be attended with any
circumstances that may make it disagreeable to you to interfere in
it, I shall take it as a favour equal to that I have asked, if you
will be so good to tell me you can do nothing in it. I shall think
such a declaration a great mark of your confidence. I am sensible
that there are in all people’s connections many points that may
make a person of delicacy unwilling to ask a favour in some
quarters, and yet more unwilling from the same delicacy to tell the
person for whom it is to be asked that they have such difficulties.
There are undoubtedly many circumstances of propriety in every
person’s situation, which none can feel properly but themselves.
I am not, however, if I know myself, one of those expectants who
think everything ought to be sacrificed to their Interest. It
occurred to me that a letter from you to Miss Pitt might be of
great service to me. I thought too of mentioning Mrs. Boscawen. The
Admiral has such great merit with the Ministry and the Nation, that
the want of it will be the more readily overlooked in any person
for whom he may be induced to apply. But these are crude notions
and require the understanding they are submitted to, to bring them
to form and dwelt so long upon so indifferent a subject. Your
Patience is almost equal to the rest of your virtues if you can
bear it. I dwell with far more pleasure on my acknowledgments for
what you have done for my friend[256] in so obliging and genteel a
manner. He has but just now succeeded after a world of delays, and
no small opposition. He will always retain a very grateful sense
of what you have done in his favour. Mrs. Burke[257] desires me to
present her respects to you, and her best wishes for your health.
When last I had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Monsey, he told me that
the country still agreed with you, else I should most wickedly
wish this fine weather over that you might be the sooner driven
to town. This fine weather suffers nothing good to be in Town but
itself. We are much obliged to the Doctor for the satisfaction he
gave you in uniting his care with yours for Mr. Montagu’s recovery.
I congratulate you very sincerely on that event. If I could find
some agreeable circumstance in your affairs for congratulation as
often as I wish I should be the most troublesome correspondent in
England, for nobody can be with greater respect and gratitude,

“Madam,
“Your most obliged and
obedient humble servant,
“EDMUND BURKE.

“Wimple Street, Cav. Sq., Sepʳ 24, 1759.”

[256] This was Emin.

[257] Mrs. Burke’s maiden name was Nugent. She was a Roman Catholic.

[Page heading: GENERAL TOWNSHEND]

[Page heading: GENERAL WOLFE]

In a letter to Lord Lyttelton of October 23, Mrs. Montagu mentions
visiting Lady Townshend to congratulate her on the taking of Quebec,
which had happened on September 13, and in which her son, General
Townshend, had taken a prominent part. In this she says--

“The encomiums on Mr. Wolfe run very high, a great action is
performed and every one can endure to give praise to a dead
man; and there was certainly something very captivating in his
character; he took the public opinion by a _coup de main_, to which
it surrenders more willingly than to a regular siege. The people
had not time to be tired of hearing him called the brave; he is the
subject of all people’s praise, and I question whether all the Duke
of Marlborough’s conquests gained him greater honour.”

In answer to this Lord Lyttelton says--

“I wish that a French invasion from Havre de Grace, which I
have particular reasons to be more afraid of than ever, may not
correct the extravagance of our joy for our unexpected success at
Quebec, and the false security it has produced in the minds of our
ministers.... Mr. Bonus, the picture cleaner, has come down and
has restored my old family pictures to such a state of perfection
that I can hardly believe my eyes when I see them. Few gentlemen,
I assure you, have a finer collection than mine appears to be
now. If Lady Coventry ever comes here, she will cry at the sight
of some of the beauties of Charles the Second’s court, which by
Mr. Bonus’ help exceed hers as much as she does my milkmaids.
There is particularly a Duchess of Richmond whom you have read of
under the name of Mademoiselle Stuart in the ‘Memoirs of the Count
de Grammont,’ whose charms are so divine that my nephew Pitt is
absolutely falling in love with her and does nothing but gaze upon
her from morning till night. What would you living beauties give if
twenty years hence, when you begin to suffer by time, there could
be found a Mr. Bonus to restore you again, as he has done this fair
lady and others at Hagley? Pray come and see the miracles of his
art....

“Pitt sends his best compliments, and we both agree you have indeed
a great deal of a witch about you, but nothing of a Hag.”

Mrs. Montagu evidently refused to exert her influence in favour of Mr.
Burke’s desire to obtain the Madrid Consulship, as on October 6 he
writes--

“MADAM,

“For many publick as well as private reasons I am sorry that you
have not an influence on Ministers of State; but the qualities
which some persons possess are by no means those which lead to
Ministerial influence. The reasons you have been pleased to give me
for not making the application are very convincing and obliging.
Before I applied I was well aware of the difficulties that stood in
my way.”

Further down in the letter (which is not sufficiently interesting to be
given _in extenso_) he says--

“It is not very easy to have access to Mr. Pitt, especially for me,
who have so very few friends. I mentioned those methods, not that
I was satisfied of their propriety, but because I would try every
method which occurred to me.”

[Page heading: MRS. OGLE]

On December 17 Dr. Johnson writes--

“MADAM,

“Goodness so conspicuous as yours will be often solicited and
perhaps sometimes solicited by those who have little pretension to
your favour. It is now my turn to introduce a petitioner, but such
as I have reason to believe you will think worthy of your notice.
Mrs. Ogle who kept the music room in Soho Square, a woman who
struggles with great industry for the support of eight children,
hopes by a Benefit Concert to set herself free from a few debts,
which she cannot otherwise discharge. She has, I know not why, so
high an opinion of me as to believe that you will pay less regard
to her application than to mine. You know, Madam, I am sure you
know, how hard it is to deny, and therefore would not wonder at
my compliance, though I were to suppress a motive which you know
not, the vanity of being supposed to be of any importance to Mrs.
Montagu. But though I may be willing to see the world deceived for
my advantage, I am not deceived myself, for I know that Mrs. Ogle
will owe whatever favours she shall receive from the patronage
which we humbly entreat on this occasion, much more to your
compassion for honesty in distress than to the request of, Madam,

“Your most obedient
and most humble servant,
“SAM. JOHNSON.

“Gray’s Inn, Dec. 17, 1759.”

This letter is printed in Croker’s edition of Boswell’s “Life of
Johnson,” vol. ii. p. 115, published in 1880 by George Bell and Sons.
He probably received the copy, as he did a former letter, from my
grandfather, the 4th Baron Rokeby, as he would have been too young to
obtain it from Mrs. Montagu, who died in 1800, and John Wilson Croker
was not born till 1780.

[Page heading: “TRISTRAM SHANDY”]

[Page heading: THE REV. LAURENCE STERNE]

Though undated, the following letter of Laurence Sterne may be
placed here. Early in 1759 he had been writing the first two volumes
of “Tristram Shandy,” towards the end of the year he was in London
arranging for their publication with Dodsley the publisher, who
declined the venture. They were printed for and sold by John Hinxham,
bookseller in Stonegate, according to Mr. Traill’s volume on Sterne in
the “Englishmen of Letters” series. The allusions to the Dean of York,
etc., referred to a dispute between a Dr. Topham and Dr. Fountayne
(Dean of York), in which Sterne sided with the Dean when he wrote his
“History of a Good Warm Watchcoat,” “a sarcastic apologue,” as Mr.
Traill terms it. I have not time or knowledge enough to enter into the
details of this affair, but hope the letter may throw light upon it to
students of Sterne’s character.

“MADAM,

“I never was so much at a loss as I find myself at this instant
that I am going to answer the letter I have had the honour and
happiness to receive from you by Mr. Torriano; being ten times
more oppress’d with the excess of your candour and goodness than I
was before with the subject of my complaint. It was entirely owing
to the Idea I had in common with all the world of Mrs. Montagu’s
that I felt sorrow at all--or communicated what I felt to my
friend; which last step I should not have taken but from the great
reliance I had upon the excellency of your character. I wanted
mercy--but not sacrifice, and am obliged, in my turn, to beg pardon
of you, which I do from my soul, for putting you to the pain of
excusing, what in fact was more a misfortune, than a fault, and
but a necessary consequence of a train of Impressions given to my
disadvantage. The Chancellor of York, Dr. Herring, was, I suppose,
the person who interested himself in the honour of the Dean of
York, and requested that act of friendship to be done to the Dean,
by bringing about a separation betwixt the Dean and myself--the
poor gentleman has been labouring this point many years--but not
out of zeal for the Dean’s character, but to secure the next
residentiaryship to the Dean of St. Asalph, his son; he was
outwitted himself at last, and has now all the foul play to settle
with his conscience without gaining or being ever likely to gain
his purpose. I take the liberty of enclosing a letter I wrote last
month to the Dean, which will give some light into my hard measure,
and show you that I was as much a protection to the Dean of
York--as he to me. The answer to this has made me easy with regard
to my views in the Church of York, and as it has cemented anew the
Dean and myself beyond the power of any future breach, I thought
it would give you satisfaction to see how my interests stand, and
how much and how undeserved I have been abused: when you have read
it--it shall never be read more, for reasons your penetration will
see at once.

“I return you thanks for the interest you took in my wife, and
there is not an honest man, who will not do me the justice to say,
I have ever given her the character of as moral and virtuous a
woman as ever God made--what occasion’d discontent ever betwixt
us is now no more--we have settled accounts to each other’s
satisfaction and honour, and I am persuaded shall end our days
without one word of reproach or even Incivility.

“Mr. Torriano made me happy in acquainting me that I was to
dine with you on Friday; it shall ever be my care as well as my
Principle ever to behave so that you may have no cause to repent of
your goodness to me.

“I am, Madam,
“With the truest gratitude,
“Your most obliged and affᵗᵉ
“Kinsman, LAUR. STERNE.”

[Page heading: MRS. STERNE]

A fragment, also undated, from Mrs. Sterne may be placed here, but I
have failed to find any allusion to it in other letters--

“Cou’d Mrs. Montagu think this the way to make a bad husband
better, she might indeed have found a better, which I have often
urg’d, though to little purpose, namely some little mark of
kindness or regard to me as a kinswoman, I meant not such as would
have cost her money, but indeed this neither she or any one of
the Robinsons vouchsafed to do, though they have seen Mr. Sterne
frequently the last two winters, and will the next, so that surely
never poor girl who had done no one thing to merit such neglect
was ever so cast off by her Relations as I have been. I writ three
posts ago to inform Mrs. Montagu of the sorrow her indifferation
had brought upon me, and beg’d she wou’d do all that was in her
power to undo the mischief, though I can’t for my soul see which
way, and must expect to the last hour of my life to be reproach’d
by Mr. Sterne as the blaster of his fortunes. I learn from Mr.
Sterne that there was both letters and conversations pass’d
betwixt them last winter on this subject, and though I was an
utter stranger to that and every part of this affair till ten days
ago, when the Chancellor wrote his first Letter, which Mr. Sterne
communicated to me. Yet in several he wrote to me from London he
talk’d much of the honours and civilities Mrs. Montagu show’d
him, which I was well pleas’d to hear, as the contrary behaviour
must have wrought me sorrow. I only wish’d that amongst them she
had mixt some to her cousin, but that I heard not one syllable
of. I beg you will give me one gleam of comfort by answering this
directly. Mr. Sterne is on the wing for London, and we remove to
York at the same time, so that I fear thy letter will not arrive
before me. Direct to Newton. Mine and Lydia’s love,

“Thine most truly and affectionately,
“E. STERNE.”

Commenting on Mrs. Sterne’s character some years after this date, Mrs.
Montagu said she was a woman of good parts, of a temper “like the
fretful Porcupine, always darting her quills at somebody or something!”

[Page heading: LADY MEDOWS’ DEATH]

Lady Medows, Mr. Montagu’s sister, who had long been suffering from
cancer, died at the end of October. Horace Walpole says in his letter
to George Montagu that she left Lady Sandwich’s daughter £9000, after
the death of her husband, Sir Sydney Medows.

CHAPTER IV.

1760 TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE II.--IN LONDON, AT TONBRIDGE, AND IN
NORTHUMBERLAND--CORRESPONDENCE CHIEFLY WITH LORD LYTTELTON.

[Year: 1760]

The year 1760 opens on January 1 with a letter to Lord Lyttelton from
Mrs. Montagu, a portion of which I copy--

“Can I begin the new year more auspiciously than by dedicating
the first hours of the New Year’s Day to that person from whose
friendship I hope to derive so much of the honour and happiness of
every year of my life? Among the wishes I form for myself, not the
least earnest are those of seeing Lord Lyttelton and his son enjoy
all the health, felicity and fame that can be attained in this
world, with the chearing prospect of a better state.... The world
much admires the Pamphlet,[258] and Lord Bath does not deny he is
the author as I am told. I ordered Mr. Bower to send it to your
Lordship, but it is out of print.... The Hereditary Prince[259] is
gone to the King of Prussia with 18,000 gallant men. I was at Lady
Hervey’s last night, she is very well.”

[258] Probably the “Letter to two Great Men” of Walpole’s Memoirs of
George I. Ed. 1847. Vol. iii. p. 250.

[259] Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick.

[Page heading: LORD BATH]

The next letter of January 15, to the same, is as follows:--

“My eyes have at last served me to read the collection of letters
which have afforded me much entertainment, those from the
illustrious I consider as written in their theatrical character,
for though they are written behind the scenes, which gives them
an air of reality, they are made to suit the assumed character.
Lord B(ath) is Patriot and Philosopher, after the manner of the
Ancients, his letters bear a consular and stoical dignity, and
when I expect to see them signed Marcus, Cato or Caius Cassius,
he surprises me with a Christian name and modern title. Those
of another eminent person appear more natural, though perhaps
they are not more sincere, but the modes we are used to by their
familiarity appear less constrained and artificial.... I will send
Mr. Lyttelton the Gazette extraordinary from Quebec next post, it
is from the Indian Savages, and expressed in hieroglyphicks; it
will give him an idea of the expresses sent by the Mexicans and
Montezuma. I will send him the explanation with it.... Mr. Stewart
gave me this curious piece this morning.... I did not say Lord Bath
own’d, but that he did not stoutly deny the pamphlett. Mr. Pitt and
his party are angry at it, and I hear H. Walpole has answer’d it.”

Tom Lyttelton writes from Eton, March 8, to Mrs. Montagu, to beg her to
write to him. Her eyes had been very weak lately, and writing was an
effort. In this Tom says--

“I hear my cousin Pitt is gone abroad with Lord Kinnoul.... I wish
his tour may afford him as much pleasure as it will improvement.
But nothing can ever hinder a mind like his, active and desirous
of knowledge from improving itself everywhere, but particularly in
foreign countries.... I only wish the eyes of the handsome Spanish
Ladies may not make a greater impression on his heart than the
beautiful Vales of Arragon and Castile.”

[Page heading: LISBON]

Thomas Pitt had gone to Lisbon with the Embassy under Lord
Strathmore,[260] which England sent after the attempted assassination
of the King of Portugal. In a letter to Lord Lyttelton from Lisbon on
March 27, 1760, Mr. Pitt describes Lisbon--

[260] John Lyon, 7th Earl of Strathmore.

“The Tagus is extremely noble, and the shore on the other side is
covered with woods of pine and fir. The city is quite destroy’d,
and though they talk of magnificent plans for the rebuilding it,
there is little likelihood that it should rise out of its ruins for
many years.”

He then alludes to the late attempted assassination of the king, but
his account is too long to copy _in extenso_--

“The story of a conspiracy is universally disbelieved, the whole
is attributed to the malignity of the Duke of Aveiro, and the
resentment of the old Marquis and Machioness of Tavora for the
dishonour[261] done to their family since the late dreadful
execution, which is followed by the erection of the Bastile, into
which people of the first rank are committed without any cause
assigned, makes them afraid to be even seen with one another.... I
hear my little friend Tom has not forgot me in my peregrinations,
has apprehensions from the impressions I may receive from the
Spanish ladies. Pray give my love to him, and assure him if they
resemble those of Portugal I never was in less danger.”

[261] The king had opposed the marriage of the Duke of Tavora’s son
to a sister of the Duc de Cadaval.

In his next letter of April 14, to Mrs. Montagu, he says--

“I am going in about a week or ten days into the true country
of Knight Errantry. I shall set out for Spain and pass through
Andalousia and Granada before I go to Madrid, but instead of
Rosinante and the Barber’s basin I shall provide myself with
side-creeping mules and a heavy crazy old coach that has outlived
the earthquake. I propose being at Madrid about the time the King
makes his public entry, which is to be extremely magnificent. I
shall dispute the prize at every tilt and tournament, and expect to
send you a lock of hair plucked as a trophy from the forehead of
a wild bull that I have laid dead at my feet. We have a very good
chance of escaping the Corsairs, and sea-sickness, as the French
Ambassador[262] here has had the goodness to write to his Court
for a passport to enable us to get to Italy through the South of
France.”

[262] Monsieur de Merle.

[Page heading: LORD CHESTERFIELD]

The next letter is from Lord Chesterfield[263] to Lord Lyttelton.

“Blackheath, May 7, 1760.

“MY LORD,

“I return you my sincerest and warmest thanks for your most
entertaining and instructive present.[264] When I heard that you
had undertaken that work, I expected no less, and now that I have
it, without a compliment I could wish for no more from you. You
have applied History to its best use, the advantage of morality;
you have exposed vice and folly, but with so noble a hand, that
both fools and knaves must feel that you would rather correct than
execute them. You have even shown mercy to one who never showed
nor felt it; I mean that disgrace to humanity, that sanguinary
monster of the North, distinguished only by his Barbarism and his
Barbarity, Charles the 12th[265] of Sweden. I would fain have
homicide no longer reckoned as hitherto it has been, a title to
Heroism, and the infamous but fashionable traffick of human blood,
no matter for or against, who, if they pay but well, called by its
true name _assassination_. Your Lordship has still a great field
left open to you for another and yet another volume, which nobody
can range in so usefully to mankind as yourself. I must take the
liberty of troubling your Lordship with a petition to your brother
the Governor of Jamaica,[266] whom I have not the pleasure of being
acquainted with myself. It is to recommend to his protection and
favour a relation of mine, one Captain Stanhope, who is now there,
and, I believe, has some little employment given him by the present
Deputy Governor, Mr. Moore. My kinsman was formerly an Officer of
the footguards, but being a man of wit and pleasure, shared the
common fate of that sort of gentleman, and was obliged to leave
England and go to Jamaica, for (I doubt) more than suspicion of
debt. I am assured that he is now quite reformed, and has a mind to
be an honest man.

“I am with the greatest honour and esteem,
“Your Lordship’s
Most faithfull, humble servant,
“CHESTERFIELD.”

Lord Chesterfield’s handwriting is beautiful, and the easiest possible
to read.

[263] Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield; born 1694, died
1773.

[264] His “Dialogues of the Dead,” just published.

[265] Allusion to Dialogue No. 20 on Charles XII. and Alexander the
Great.

[266] William Henry, son of Sir Thomas Lyttelton; he was created
Baron Westcote of Ballymore in 1776; died in 1808.

[Page heading: “DIALOGUES OF THE DEAD”]

Lord Lyttelton’s “Dialogues of the Dead” had just appeared. Of these
Mrs. Montagu wrote three, viz. Dialogues 26, 27, 28. Writing to Mrs.
Carter, she says--

“I have just received my dear Mrs. Carter’s letter, and am very
happy in her approbation of ‘the Dialogues.’ With her encouragement
I do not know but at last I may become an author in form. It
enlarges the sphere of action and lengthens the short period of
human life. To become universal and lasting is an ambition which
none but great genius’s should indulge; but to be read by a few, a
few years, may be aspired to.... The Dialogues, I mean the three
worst, have had a more favourable reception than I expected. Lord
Lyttelton’s have been admired to the greatest degree.”

[Page heading: EARL FERRERS’ EXECUTION]

Mrs. Montagu had vainly tried to conceal her part as joint author
of the “Dialogues.” Mrs. Donnellan immediately challenged her as to
whether she or Mrs. Carter had written them, and Mrs. Montagu was fain
to confess Mrs. Carter was not responsible for them. The fine ladies
were much offended at Dialogue 27, between Mercury and “Mrs. Modish,”
a modern fine lady, in which they were taken off. The authoress was
disgusted at the fine ladies’ conduct in going to the trial and
sentence of Lord Ferrers[267] for murdering his steward. She says to
Mrs. Carter--

“I own the late instance of their going to hear Lord Ferrers’
sentence particularly provoked me. The Ladies crowded to the House
of Lords to see a wretch brought, loaded with crime and shame, to
the Bar, to hear sentence of a cruel and ignominious death, which,
considering only this world, casts shame back on his ancestors and
all his succeeding family.”

[267] Laurence, Earl Ferrers, was hanged at Tyburn, on May 5, 1760.

[Page heading: WILLIAM ROBINSON’S WEDDING]

The Rev. William Robinson had become engaged to a Miss Mary Richardson,
daughter of Mr. Adam Richardson; she had a portion of £10,000. The poet
Gray called her “a very good-humoured, cheerful woman.” From other
letters it appears she was not good-looking, but amiable. This letter,
written by Mrs. Montagu to her sister Sarah, describes the wedding,
which appears to have taken place at the end of June.

“Saturday night, after ten.

“MY DEAREST SISTER,

“‘I’ll tell thee, Sall, where I have been,
Where I the rarest sights have seen,
Oh! sights beyond compare!’

“The Bride triste, the Bridegroom tristissimo; but to the order of
the nuptials, Pappa Robinson and Mr. Richardson[268] in Pappa’s
postchaize, bride and bridegroom, Mrs. M(orris) Robinson and
Sister Montagu in her coach and six. Brother Morris Robinson
and Mr. Montagu in Brother Morris’ postchaise, so went we to
Kensington Church, the neighbours gazing, the children running,
the mob gathering; from Church we went to Greenwich, where the
Bridegroom gave us a very elegant and splendid dinner: then we
walk’d in Greenwich Park, return’d to the Inn to drink tea, after
tea the Bride and Bridegroom and Mr. Richardson got into my coach,
I carry’d them to Kensington, and there I left the lovely loving
pair.... William smiled and looked in high beauty as we went, as we
return’d he was grave, angry perhaps, that Phœbus did not gallop
apace his fiery-footed steeds and hasten on the happy hour. Never
was wedding so decent, so orderly, so unlike a wedding, none of
your fulsome fondness, I assure you, a few fond glances, but not
a syllable addressed to each other. I believe William will behave
well, and she is sensible and good-natured.... I am glad the
wedding is over that I may depart on Monday to Tunbridge. I have
been disappointed of my lodgings, the lady who was to have left
them being ill, but I have got a house for a week till I can have
that I had hired.”

[268] The bride’s brother; her father was dead.

From Tunbridge Wells on Tuesday, June 30, Mrs. Montagu writes to her
husband, then in Hill Street--

“MY DEAREST,

“I had a very agreeable journey hither, but found my present
lodging too small to receive the maids who are to come in the
postchaise, so cannot send for them till Lady Fitzwilliam is well
enough to leave Dr. Morley’s. I can give but little account of
Tunbridge as yet. I drank the waters at the well this morning, and
have now taken leave of the walks till to-morrow, as this fine
weather will be better spent in an airing than on the Pantiles....
Lord Bath was on the Walks, and General Pulteney,[269] and Mr. and
Mrs. Torriano and Mr. Marriott. Many of the ladies are too lazy to
come down in a morning, and those that do come to the well are an
hour later than when I was here last.”

[269] Lord Bath’s brother.

[Page heading: “MOUNT EPHRAIM”]

Miss Botham now joined Mrs. Montagu, who was looking out for a house
for Lord Lyttelton.

“I believe your Lordship must accept of a house on Mount Ephraim,
which Lady Pembroke laid in last year, for I do not believe I can
get you a better. Order your postillion to stop at Mr. Dowding’s
on Mount Ephraim when you come, and there your Lordship shall be
inform’d of the certain place of your abode.”

On July 14, Dr. Stillingfleet writes from Stratton to Mrs. Montagu to
thank her for a letter, and says he was out of health and spirits;

“this has hindered me from receiving so much pleasure from the
unexpected kindness of Lord Barrington[270] as might naturally have
been expected.” He then comments on her disappointment “at the
smallness of the favour conferred upon me, for it seems to me much
superior to anything i would have expected. However favourable you,
dear Madam, may judge me, i cannot rate my talents so highly as to
think they are undervalued at £100 per ann., when no business is to
be done for it.” This was his appointment as Master of Kensington
Barracks, which took place on June 12. “I had a letter from Dr.
Monsey dated Wotton, that gives me much concern, for by his account
he seems to be in a bad state of health, and i should think by no
means qualified to travel in the _pais_ (_sic_) _du tendre_, but he
is a thorough-paced hero, and can be romantic in the midst of pain.
Should you lose your knight errant i do not think the world can
furnish you with a successor, for amongst all your other admirers
you will not perhaps meet with one who at seventy is capable of all
the tenderness which they have at twenty....” After this he alludes
to the inflammation of the eyes Mrs. Montagu was suffering from.
“If you cannot see to write he and all your friends will lose one
of their greatest pleasures. Has he prescribed the Vitriol Water?”

[270] 2nd Viscount Barrington, Secretary for War in 1755, etc.

[Page heading: THE STANLEY FAMILY]

Miss Anne Stanley, daughter of Mr. Stanley, of Paultons, Hants, and
grand-daughter of Sir Hans Sloane, now joined Mrs. Montagu from
“Clewar,” near Windsor.[271] Anne and Sarah Stanley lived with their
mother, Sarah Stanley, and were the intimate friends of Lord Lyttelton,
whom Anne mentions in a letter of July 29. “Lord Lyttelton returned
to us yesterday, and has had a bad night with the pain in his back,
which has made him resolve to give up Sunning Hill Waters.” Anne
eventually married Welbore Ellis, afterwards Lord Mendip. Sarah married
Christopher D’Oyley, M.P. Their one brother was the Right Hon. Hans
Stanley,[272] Lord of the Admiralty from 1757 to 1763.

[271] Now known as Clewer.

[272] He died in 1780.

On August 2 Lord Lyttelton writes from Hill Street--

“Monsieur des Champs brought me his translation of your three
Dialogues. They are as well done as the poverty of the French
tongue will admit. But such eloquence as yours must lose by being
transposed into any other language.... There is great mourning
in the gay world for poor Lady Lincoln.[273] I have seen her so
lively, so cheerfull, so happy, that it shocks me to think of her
sudden dissolution, and it frights me when I think that I have very
dear friends who may as suddenly die, and especially some whose
spirits, like hers, exceed their strength. Monsey says he cannot
tell what was the cause of her death.”

[273] Catherine Pelham, daughter of Henry Pelham, brother to the 1st
Duke of Newcastle; she died July 27, 1760.

[Page heading: BALL AT TUNBRIDGE WELLS]

In the next letter to her husband, who was going to Sandleford, Mrs.
Montagu says--

“I went to the ball last Friday, it was the first time I had been
to the publick rooms, and it had like to have been fatal to me, for
the coachman not being acquainted with the place, the night dark,
and having no flambeaux, had like to have overturned just coming
out from Joy’s Rooms, down a place where the coach would have been
entirely topsy-turvy; the footmen were thrown off from behind, but
several people being by, the coach was held up, and I got safe out,
and no hurt done to the persons or machine. My fright was such I
did not get my rest till six o’clock in the morning. I had many
civil messages in the morning, and Lord and Lady Feversham came
up the hill to inquire after me; my nerves are still a little the
worse. If the coach had fallen it would have gone down some feet,
but the standers-by behaved with great humanity, bearing a very
heavy load on their shoulders. I believe our new coachman is too
lazy to serve us. The danger I was in when John and the postillion
were drunk and had like to have overturned us on a gallop against
a post when we came from Windsor, and my second peril on Friday,
makes me tremble whenever I get into the machine.”

[Page heading: A GENTLEMAN COACHMAN]

To this Mr. Montagu replies--

“MY DEAREST,

“I am more concerned than j can express at the peril you were in.
I tremble and shudder when j consider how fatal the consequences
might have been if you had been actually overturned.... I have
inquired after the cause of this unhappy affair, and though Ned
says he cannot say the coachman was drunk, still he had been at the
Ale House, and when he came home said there was no danger, and that
the boys made almost as much noise as his Mistress. I find he is a
lazy, proud, and what they call a gentleman coachman, and such as j
would very soon get rid of.”

Ned was the head groom, and Mrs. Montagu proposed substituting him for
the coachman, as he was honest and sober. To this her husband replies,
“I wish he had more experience, but j should with all that think j run
no great hazard in trusting him, besides he might practise to go out
with the six horses of times when you did not want him.” To turn a
lumbering coach and six must have been a most intricate affair. Ned was
promoted to be coachman, but only to practise with the coach and six;
“a coachman to a Mr. Lambard, and afterwards to Captain Pannel’s heir,”
was employed when the coach went out, being then under a job-master,
one Mr. Jarret, and a chaise and pair conveyed Mrs. Montagu to the
Wells.

“The gentleman here ordered the place of my danger to be mended and
acquainted me he had done so, and hoped I should not be frighted
away from the balls.

“Sir Roger Twisden inquired much after you and my Father. He stays
but a few days here. Lord Bath was ill again yesterday, he told me
he was mortified that he had never been able to wait on me, but he
was so weak he could not venture to trouble any one with a visit. I
think he is in a bad way, but has a great deal of witt whenever he
is tolerably well. His Lordship, I know, has been prejudiced in my
favour by some of his friends, who are also friends of mine and Mr.
Domville in particular, which I believe has given him a desire to
be acquainted with me, but I believe he will hardly be able to make
a visit this season, and in London he never visits any one who does
not inhabit a ground floor. He has still a fine countenance, and
those piercing eyes that denote a mind extraordinarily lively and
penetrating.”

[Page heading: CHARACTER OF LORD BATH]

William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, was born in April, 1684, hence he
was at this period turned seventy-six. He had lost his wife, _née_
Anna Maria Gumley, in 1758. Mrs. Montagu must have known him in a
superficial society way, as a description of a great rout given by
Lady Bath some years previously is in this book. But now was to
commence that tender intimacy and affectionate friendship between them
that lasted to his death, and which prompted him, even in the act of
dying, to stagger from his bed and write a few lines of adieu to her
as his last effort--sacred lines which I possess and treasure! For
his political character I must refer the reader to history, and the
“Dictionary of National Biography.” As regards his private character
I cannot do better than quote Elizabeth Carter’s account of him in
“Memoirs of her Life.” It was probable that through Mrs. Carter, who
was a great friend of his, he began to appreciate the manifold charms
of Elizabeth Montagu. This is what Mrs. Carter says--

“None of his friends, I believe, will remember him longer and
very few with equal affection. Indeed, there was something in his
conversation and manners more engaging than can be described. With
all those talents which had so long rendered him the object of
popular admiration, he had not the least tincture of that vanity
and importance which is too often the consequence of popular
applause. He never took the lead in conversation, or even assumed
that superiority to which he had a claim, as he was blessed with
an exemption from many of the pains and infirmities of old age; he
had none of its defects. In so many months as I was continually in
his company last year (1763), I do not recollect a single instance
of peevishness the whole time. His temper always appeared equal.
There was a perpetual flow of vivacity and good humour in his
conversation, and the most attentive politeness in his behaviour,
nor was this the constrained effort of external and partial good
breeding, but the natural turn of his mind, and operated so
uniformly on all occasions that I never heard him use a harsh or
even an uncivil expression to any of his servants.”

[Page heading: LORD MANSFIELD]

At the end of Mrs. Montagu’s letter she states that Lord Mansfield[274]
had shown her

“great civilities the few hours he was here ... an old quaker
of four-score, who was reckoned one of the greatest Chymists in
Europe, and is a man of witt and learning and who was connected
with all the witts of the last age, has taken a great fancy to
me because he will believe, in spite of all I can say, that I
wrote certain ‘Dialogues,’ and he sits by me so cordially and
attends on me so much, that if he was forty and I was twenty years
younger it would be scandalous.... Torriano will be kill’d by the
Archbishop’s[275] sumptuous fare, who feeds more like a pig of
Epicurus than the head of a Christian Church.”

[274] William Murray, Earl of Mansfield, born 1704, died 1793;
eminent statesman, Lord Chief Justice, etc.

[275] John Gilbert, Archbishop of York, 1757 to 1761. Torriano seems
to have been then his secretary.

[Page heading: WINNING A COAL MINE]

Mr. Montagu had been at Sandleford, where Morris, his wife, and
little boy were spending some time. The little Morris was a great
favourite, and delight to poor Mr. Montagu, who loved children. He
was now preparing to set off northwards to Northumberland, having two
collieries which he was going to work, or, as the expression was, to
“win,” viz. Leamington and “Denton.” The first would cost a £1000, the
latter, now called “Montagu’s main,” £5000. He consults his wife about
all this, and adds, “I think j shall not while j live get rid of the
trouble my succession has brought upon me, and have only one object,
who, j hope, will reap the benefit of all my labour.” This meant his
wife. At Tunbridge his wife, with “all our fine ladies and gentlemen,”
was attending Mr. Ferguson’s lectures on Philosophy. In a letter of
Lord Lyttelton’s he mentions his brother Richard. “Sir Richard, or
rather ‘Duke Lyttelton’s’[276] Royall villa at Richmond, a finer room
I never saw, and he seems made to sitt in it, with all the dignity of
a gouty Prince. But though I greatly admired it, I would not have his
gout to have his room.”

[276] He had married the Dowager Duchess of Bridgewater in 1745. She
was second wife to Scroop, 1st Duke of Bridgewater.

To this letter a long answer is returned by Mrs. Montagu, and she
informs Lord Lyttelton that, despite her eyes being very weak, she had
been reading

“the new translation of Sophocles.... The Œdipus Coloneus affected
me extreamly, and would have done so more if it had not been for
the constant presence of the Chorus, but the passions are awed
and checked by a crowd. I am more than ever averse to the Chorus
because, though the translator tells us the Choruses of Sophocles
are less alien to the subject of the Drama, than those of any other
tragedian, yet here they hurt the interest of it very much.”

[Page heading: LADY HERVEY]

[Page heading: HAGLEY PARK]

She adds that she has “sent 4 sets of dressing boxes from hence as
your Lordship desired. At the same time I took the liberty to send
on a cheap set of tea-cups and coffee cups for a Tunbridge faring.”
Lord Lyttelton returns answer, saying, “I dined at Dicky Bateman’s
half gothick, half attick, half chinese and completely fribble house.”
There he met “my old Love, Lady Hervey,[277] and my new love, Mrs.
Hancock[278] not to mention Lady Primrose,[279] for whom I have a great
friendship.” Lord Lyttelton was highly delighted with a favourable
criticism of his first volumes of his “History of Henry II.” by
the great Earl of Hardwicke,[280] too long to be inserted here.
Lord Lyttelton had been rebuilding[281] Hagley House, his seat in
Worcestershire, which was about to be publicly reopened. On August 18
he writes from there to say he has had to put this off till September 1.

“I have the pleasure to tell you that I find everything done
incomparably well, as far as is done, and that the Beauty and
Elegance of my House, upon the whole, exceeds my expectations. The
bed which is adorned with your handywork is so pretty that if you
were to see it I think you would own your pains were not lost.
And then the prospect out of that chamber is so delightful, and
in case of a rainy day the prints it is hung with are so amusing
that if you were at Hagley I believe you would wish to lodge there
yourself, and leave the best apartment to vulgar women of quality,
who love finery better than the delicate beauties of Nature and
Art. My lower print room in the Atticks is also much obliged to you
for the boxes of its Toilette, which suit admirably well with the
furniture of it.”

He then points out to her that “the glass lustres and the feathers for
my bedroom are wanting,” and to order their despatch.

[277] A celebrated beauty, _née_ Mary Lepell, widow of John, Lord
Hervey, Pope’s “Sporus.”

[278] Mrs. Hancock, sister-in-law to Mrs. Vesey by Mrs. Vesey’s
first marriage.

[279] Lady Primrose, widow of 3rd Viscount Primrose.

[280] Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, born 1690, died 1764;
Lord Chancellor, etc.

[281] Mr. Millar was the architect.

In reply to this Mrs. Montagu writes to Tom, to spare his father’s
writing, to say she delivered the girandoles herself to Mr. Griffith.

“I shall be mortified if they do not make part of the glories of
the first.... My imagination will attend all the ceremonies of the
day, and should my spirit appear it will not come like Banquo’s
ghost to frown on the banquet, and least of all to frighten and
menace the noble Master of the feast to whom I wrote a long and
happy enjoyment of his new palace.”

Anne Stanley now left Mrs. Montagu, and her sister Sarah, afterwards
Mrs. D’Oyley, took her place.

Mr. Montagu, who was contemplating going to Northumberland, paid
his wife a short visit at Tunbridge, and started back to London on
September 2. On September 4 his wife, in her letter to him, says--

“You may remember to have heard Lord Bath talk of a robbery here
which a gentleman was suspected to have committed, of Bank bills to
the amount of £300; this person, finding he was suspected, it is
supposed, threw them this morning into the musick gallery on the
Walks, where one of the Fidlers found them, and is entitled to £30
reward. The person who was guilty of this theft is a gentleman,
and his brother is an officer of credit in the army, so one is glad
he escapes, but the circumstances almost amount to a conviction.
The person robbed was so overjoy’d at finding his bills he seem’d
in a fever this morning.”

[Page heading: DR. MONSEY’S WAYS]

Dr. Monsey, seriously unwell, but anxious to see his beloved friend,
paid Mrs. Montagu a short visit at Tunbridge to take farewell of her
before her setting out to join her husband in Northumberland. In a
letter to Lord Lyttelton of September 7 she says--

“The great Monsey came hither on Friday and stays till Thursday,
he is an excellent piece of Tunbridge Ware. He is great in the
Coffee house, great in the rooms, and great on the Pantiles. Bucks,
Divines, Misses, and Virtuosi are all equally agreeable to him.
Miss Sally Stanley leaves me on Friday. There is no abatement of
Lord Bath’s[282] passion and I have had two sides of folio paper
from the Bishop of London,[283] so affectionate, so polite, so
badine it would surprise you. I answered his Lordship’s first
letter, concerning the ‘Highland Poems,’[284] and with great
deference urged the reasons which induced me to esteem them
genuine. His Lordship pays great compliment to what I had said
on the subject, answering other parts of my letter with spirit
and gaiety, and at last concludes that, in spite of 83, without
a voice, and with shaking hands, he had endeavoured to follow my
train of thought, which he should always look upon as a very good
direction.”

[282] Lord Bath had become an ardent admirer of her.

[283] Thomas Sherlock, born 1678, died 1761.

[284] Macpherson’s “Fragments of Ancient Poetry,” from the Gaelic.

She then informs Lord Lyttelton--

“I shall take leave of Tunbridge to-morrow sennight, the 15th of
September. I shall take two days’ rest in London, and propose to
set out on Thursday, 18th....”

[Page heading: MR. ALLAN RAMSAY]

Mrs. Montagu had invited Mr. and Mrs. Allan Ramsay to visit her at
Tunbridge. Allan Ramsay was a portrait painter of note, son of Allan
Ramsay[285] the Scotch poet, who wrote “The Gentle Shepherd” and other
poems. He writes on September 11 thus--

[285] Allan Ramsay, the poet, born 1686, died 1758.

“MADAM,

“By a letter from my wife last post, I learn that you have been
so good as to renew your invitation to us to be your guests at
Tunbridge--an offer so advantageous that my not availing myself of
it sooner must put my understanding in a suspicious light, from
whence I should be glad to have it extricated and not to write
so long an Apology as Colley Cibber’s for my life, thus it is.
Two small daughters were inoculated; it was necessary for me and
mine to perform quarantine at a distance from many of our most
respectable friends, particularly from you; I had some business
to settle in Scotland, and my friend Wedderburne[286] was going
thither alone. Having finished my business within my fortnight of
Quarantine, I have been detained from day to day in hopes of seeing
his Grace of Argyll, of whose setting out we got the first certain
account yesterday by a letter from Grantham. Whether this relation
will give you a more favourable opinion of my sense than you would
have had without it, I don’t know, but by much drinking with David
Hume and his associates, I have learnt to be very historical; and
am nightly confirmed in the belief that it is much easier to tell
the _How_ than the _Why_ of any thing, and that it is, moreover,
better suited to the state of man; who, we are satisfied from
self-examination, is anything rather than a rational animal. I
am sorry to hear that you propose to leave Tunbridge so soon as
the 15th. If you happen to have such heavenly weather there as we
have in this place, you will be probably tempted to stay some days
longer; in which case my wife and I may still enjoy the pleasure,
with which we flattered ourselves, of passing a day or two with
you. I see by the newspapers that Admiral Boscawen is come safe
home, and when you write to the Lady, be so good as to transmit my
hearty congratulations, who am, with the greatest respect,

“Madam,
“Your most obliged
and most faithfull Servant,
“ALLAN RAMSAY.

“Edinburgh, Sept. 11, 1760.”

[286] Sir John Wedderburne, born 1729, died 1803.

[Page heading: LETTER TO THE DUCHESS OF PORTLAND]

[Page heading: HIGHLAND POEMS]

On September 15 Mrs. Montagu returned to Hill Street. On Thursday, the
18th, she enclosed Bishop Sherlock’s[287] letter to her for the Duchess
of Portland to read.

[287] Thomas Sherlock, born 1678, died 1761.

“Hill Street, Thursday.

“MADAM,

“I have enclosed the Bishop of London’s letter, which I beg of your
Grace to keep till you have a leisure hour in which I may receive
it from your hands, either here or at Whitehall; in the mean time
I am perfectly satisfied as to the letter being safe, and shall
not wish to have it return’d till it is most convenient to your
Grace to pay me for any pleasure it may have given you, by that I
shall have in its procuring me an hour of your company. I think
indeed the letter will afford you a good deal of pleasure, it must
be a great comfort to every good mind to see how religion can
impart not only patience but even cheerfulness under the greatest
bodily infirmities. I find it will be necessary to trouble your
Grace with some explanation of the Bishop’s letter. Before I went
to Tunbridge, I sent his Lordship the ‘Highland Poems,’[288] by
the Dean of York, and the day before I went to Tunbridge my Lord
sent them back with a very obliging note to thank me for them, but
express’d his opinion that they were not genuine. I was a little
distress’d by this favour, as I had not an opportunity to wait on
the Bishop before my journey. I thought to write to him and assume
the air of being his correspondent would have too much appearance
of presumption, and not to thank him for his note might look like
neglect, so I waited till the season allow’d me to send him some
wheatears and to assure him I wrote only as his poulterer. As it
was natural to take notice of what his Lordship had said concerning
the poems, I ventured with the utmost deference to give the reasons
why I should have believed them to be genuine and original, and
then return’d back to my character of Poulterer and desir’d his
Lordship to forgive my presumption and order my letter to be put
on the wheatears when roasting to preserve them from being burnt.
I ask pardon for this long story, but it was necessary as a key to
the Bishop’s letter. Your Grace will find some mistakes made by his
Secretary.

“I was misinform’d the other night when I told your Grace Mr.
Wortley Montague was gone abroad, he is in England, but where is
a secret even to his lawyer, and those who are imploy’d on his
affairs. I thought it right to let your Grace know this, as it
appears to me very singular, as he is now under the protection of
privilege. I know you will be so good as not to mention I told your
Grace this unless it be to Lady Bute, who I should think had better
know this circumstance. I beg my best respects to my Lord Duke, and
Lady Harriet Bentinck.

“With the greatest regard,

“I am, Madam,
“Your Grace’s
most obliged most obedᵗ
and faithful humble Servᵗ,
“E. MONTAGU.”

[288] “Fragments of Ancient Poetry,” translated from the Erse or
Gaelic language, by James Macpherson.

[Page heading: BISHOP SHERLOCK’S LETTER]

[Page heading: “MORE LAST WORDS”]

This is the Bishop’s letter--

“Fulham, ye 1st Septembʳ, 1760.

“MADAM,

“When I was a boy at Eton school, I remember it was a Principle of
the Law Marshall (practised there): that he who gave the second
blow was the beginner of the Fray; and there is something in it,
if you consider it; however at this time, it will help to excuse
me from the Presumption and folly of inviting you to a Combat, in
which I can have no hopes of success. When I read on, and observe
with what accuracy and finesse you trace the motions of the Heart,
and call Nature from the inmost recess’s to discover plainly what
arts is usually employ’d to conceal; I am confounded.

“It is true indeed that you have named the Passions and
Qualifications of the person to be Described, but what Work will a
man make, who should think that he had got all the Secrets; tho’
he was unacquainted or incapable to understand it, to such a man.
Alexander the Great and _Diogines_ (_sic_) are Characters alike,
for they were both Actuated by the Spirit of Ambition, one who
wanted a new World to display himself in, the other valued nothing
beyond the Tub he lived in. In the midst of this Philosophical
enquirey about the Passions, you very artfully turn to your Family
Affairs and give (I doubt not) excellent directions to the Cook wᶜʰ
shows you to be as great in the Kitchin as in the Closet, which
indeed is the only way of being great in either.

“Nothing, I think, is more disagreeable than Learning in a Female,
when the Mistress studys Newton, which perhaps she neither does
nor ever will understand, to the absolute neglect of her Children
and Servants. You conclude by putting in your claim for the Lady’s
Privilege, which is a very extensive one; give me leave to tell you
a short story.

“There was a poor Printer who had got a little sum of Money, by
publishing the last words of a dying Criminal, and he grew so fond
of last words, that after the Man had been long dead, he published
another paper called MORE last words. Thus you see, Madam, that I
have in spite of eighty-three, without a Voice, and with shaking
Hands, endeavoured to follow your Strain of thought, which I shall
always look upon to be a very good direction. My time of Life calls
upon me to think of other Subjects, and the greatest of all to
_Justifie the ways of God to men_. This theme can never wear out,
it takes in the whole of God’s Dispensation, with respect to the
Religion of the World, and shows by the connection in the several
parts that the whole is the work of perfect Wisdom.

“But I am going to preach instead of Answering a short letter, you
will pardon me for looking back upon my old profession, and believe
me to be, with the greatest Sincerity,

“Madam,
“Your most obedient Humble Servᵗ,
“THO: LONDON.

“P.S.--Mrs. Sherlock and Mrs. Chester desire their respectfull
compliments.”

The Bishop’s amanuensis’ spelling and capital letters are singular. The
letter is signed in trembling characters, “Tho: London.”

[Page heading: DR. YOUNG]

On September 19 Mrs. Montagu set out from Hill Street on her journey to
Northumberland, starting in a postchaise and picking up Ned and her own
horses at Baldock, and so reached Buckden on the same day. She writes
to Mr. Montagu--

“I call’d on Dr. Young at Welling and staid about two hours with
him, he received me with great cordiality, and I think appears in
better health than ever I saw him. His house is happily opposite to
a church yard, which is to him a fine prospect; he has taught his
imagination to sport with skulls like the grave-digger in Hamlet.
He invited me to stay all night, and if my impatience to see you
had not impell’d me on, I had been tempted to it. His conversation
has always something in it very delightful; in the first place it
is animated by the warmest benevolence, then his imagination soars
above the material world, some people would say his conversation
is not natural. I say it is natural of him to be unnatural, that
is out of the ordinary course of things. It would be easier for
him to give you a catalogue of the Stars than an inventory of the
Household furniture he uses every day. The busy world may say what
it pleases, but some men were made for speculation, metaphysical
men, like jars and flower pots, make good furniture for a cabinet
tho’ useless in the kitchen, the pantry and the Dairy.”

In a fragment of a letter to Lord Lyttelton, Mrs. Montagu describes her
visit to Dr. Young. She had heard “the Dialogues of the Dead praised
to the highest degree, and with taste and judgment in a most delicate
sense of their moral merits.”

Through Mrs. Montagu, Dr. Monsey sends to Dr. Young a powder for his
rheumatism. From “Hog Magog” on September 26, Dr. Monsey writes a long
letter to Lord Lyttelton, describing his visit to Tunbridge to see
“dear Amadissa,” meaning Mrs. Montagu. In it he says--

“It may be new to your Lordship tho’ not strange, that the Earl
of Bath is fall’n desperately in love with one who seems not
insensible of his passion, and I think ’tis time for you and I
to look about us, for an Earl is better than a Baron or a quack
Doctor ... it is impossible for me to tell your Lordship with what
warmth he talk’d to me about her, and so now there are 3 fools of
us. ‘She is the most extraordinary woman in the world’ with a nod
of the head and a grave face, ‘she beats a french Duchess with an
hard name all to pieces, upon my word, Doctor, she is----’ ‘Ay,
so she is, my Lord, but neither I nor you know what.’ ‘Suppose
we say angel.’ ‘No,’ says I, ‘Devil, for she leads us all into
temptation.’”

On receipt of this, Lord Lyttelton wrote to Mrs. Montagu, and says--

“I wish Lady Hervey[289] mayn’t poison you for stealing Lord Bath
from her, as for myself, I will not plead against him as my Rival
that I am a younger man (for that plea you will not regard) but
that I am an older friend. Adieu, inconstant woman, I feel horribly
jealous, but if you won’t love me better, pray love me next to Lord
Bath.”

He also chaffs her for spoiling Miss Stanley’s chance of marrying Lord
Bath.

[289] Lady Hervey was a great friend of Lord Bath’s.

[Page heading: MR. BOWES’ FUNERAL]

[Page heading: SIR JAMES COLEBROOKE]

From Newcastle, on September 26, Mrs. Montagu writes to her father--

“SIR,

“I arrived here last night and had the pleasure of finding Mr.
Montagu very well. He went this morning to Gibside to attend Mr.
Bowes’[290] funeral obsequies, which according to the custom of
this county are to be very pompous. Lord Ravensworth, Sir Walter
Blacket and all the gentlemen of Northumberland and the county of
Durham are to be at it, and I fear it will be late at night before
it is over, tho’ they are to set out about 4 from Gibside to go
to the church. My cousin Rogers’ funeral we had order’d to be as
private as decency would permit, as he had been so long dead to
Society, but even that was attended by 38 gentlemen’s coaches,
so I suppose a publick funeral must be three or four hundred. In
the South people live with more pomp and dye with less. I hope
not to outlive all my vanity, for I have seldom seen a good and
never an agreeable character without it, but I think it should not
survive one, and I should desire not to go to the grave with all
this bustle, not that I should be afraid any one should say of my
funeral, as Pope does of Sir John Cutler’s--

“‘When dead a thousand lights attend
The wretch who, living, sav’d a candle’s end.’

I love a blaze of wax lights and my friends about my living person
very well, but the torches and the crowd about my dead body would
give me neither light nor amusement. Sir Walter Blacket call’d
here this morning, and said he hoped to ride in Hyde Park with
you about the 15th of November. I had a very pleasant journey,
for fine weather, like a good-humoured companion, makes ordinary
scenes appear chearfull and pleasant, but from the time I left
Hertfordshire till I got to Doncaster, the counties I pass’d
through were dreary and barren, but if these prospects in the other
counties were brown, these in Northumberland are bleak, the people
in them a parcel of dirty Savages, so that I cannot say with the
Psalmist that my lot is fallen in a fair ground, it is some comfort
it is in a rich one, as I shall see its produce at Sir James
Colebrooke’s in Threadneedle Street with great pleasure.... I met
Sir Thomas Clavering just before I got to Darlington; he desired me
to present his best respects to you and beg your vote and interest,
he sets up for the county of Durham in the room of Mr. Bowes.
Mr. Montagu gives him all his interest. If the Bishop of Durham
should declare for Mr. Shaftoe (a very young man whose Father
formerly served for Durham), Sir Thomas will be hard press’d. Lord
Darlington will support Mr. Shaftoe, and most people imagine the
Bishop of Durham will do so too. When applied to for Sir Thomas
Clavering, he answered he should act as he found most agreeable
to the majority of the county gentlemen. Now I imagine Bishops as
well as women (both wear petticoats and a character of gentleness)
command while seeming to submit, ‘and win their way by yielding to
the tyde,’ and that my Lord Bishop in a mild way of suggestion will
bring the gentlemen to that side he likes best, while he persuades
them he follows their inclination. I must say his Lordship is much
beloved from his liberality and affability, which are fine moral
qualities, as to Xian graces, no doubt but he has them in a higher
degree, so that as Prince Palatine or Bishop he must influence
many. The Dean of Durham is strongly engaged to Sir Thomas, and
there will be a sort of schism in the church.”

The Montagus were residing in Pilgrim Street, at the town house of the
late Mr. Rogers; “an exceeding good house” it is called. In conclusion
Mrs. Montagu says, “I shall send you some fatted moor game by the first
opportunity.”

[290] George Bowes, of Gibside and Streatlam Castle.

[Page heading: MISS BOWES]

On October 11 Lord Lyttelton writes a long letter to “Madonna” from
Hagley, commenting on Mr. Bowes’ death.

“As his vanity descends with his estate to his daughter, I don’t
wish to see her my daughter-in-law, though she would make my
son one of the richest and consequently, in our present ideas
of greatness, one of the great peers of the Realm. But she will
probably be the prize of some needy Duke, who will want her estate
to repair the disasters of Newmarket and Arthur’s, or if she
marries for love, of some ensign of the Guards, or smart Militia
captain.”

[Page heading: LINDRIDGE]

Lord Lyttelton had just lost his clerical friend, Mr. Meadowcourt, of
Lindridge, to whom he pays a high tribute.

“His house was the abode of Philosophical quiet and disinterested
friendship. The scene about it was elegant, mild and beautifull
Nature. The Hills on each side and the vale underneath it were
covered with orchards, with Hop yards, with corn or fine grazing
grounds thro’ which wound a river.... Now the Master is dead it
is fall’n to the dullest of all dull Divines, one Stillingfleet,
cousin to him you know, who has not taste enough to live there
himself, but leaves it to a curate. He desires his compliments to
Dr. Gregory, who was staying with the Montagus, and adds, ‘I am
glad the Scotch like my Dialogues.’ He also desires if the Bishop
of Ossory (Richard Pococke) is with them to send him on to Hagley,
and assures Mrs. Montagu he is very well and grown quite plump.
His thinness was a constant joke with his friends, who called him
nothing but bones, and he contends if weighed in the balance with
Lord Bath, he would be found ‘very wanting.’ The Devil take him for
having so much witt with so much flesh. He commends his new house
and his daughter, now living with him.”

Dr. Monsey writes to Mrs. Montagu from St. James’s on October 12,
beginning the letter at 10 a.m., continued at 9 p.m., and finished the
next day at Claremont. At the end of this letter he says that he has
been very unwell and reported dead; he had made his will.

“While I am writing I have your letter come in, which gives an
account of my death, which is true, but save yourself the trouble
of an epitaph for me or your funeral sermon, for I have _really_
given my body away by will to a Surgeon at Cambridge, who is to
make a skeleton of my bones for the use of students in Physic, so
if you have begun your epitaph with ‘Here he’s interr’d, etc.,’
change it to ‘Here hang the bones, etc.,’ and convert your sermon
into an Osteological Lecture.”

[Page heading: THE GREEK PLAYS AND SHAKESPEARE]

Mrs. Montagu, in a long letter to Lord Lyttelton upon Euripides’ and
Sophocles’ plays contrasted with Shakespeare’s, says--

“I am actually an inhabitant of Newcastle, and am taking out my
freedom, not out of a gold box, but by entering into all the
diversions of the place. I was at a musical entertainment yesterday
morning, at a concert last night, at a musical entertainment this
morning. I have bespoken a play for to-morrow night, and shall go
to a ball on choosing a Mayor on Monday night.”

[Page heading: MR. RUST]

To this Lord Lyttelton replies from Hagley on October 18--

“You tell me, good Madonna, that you are grown _as robust as a
milkmaid_. If you are so, I have no objection to your going to
Balls, Plays or Poppet Shows if you please every night; but you
have sometimes the spirits of a milkmaid without the strength.
However, I believe Diversions are better for you than too much
reading, and therefore I am not sorry you have no time to committ
excess with your books. If I were to live with you, I would not
trust you in a Library or alone in your Room but at stated hours
with proper Intervals of exercise and conversation.... I am glad
to hear we shall have another volume of Highland Poems. To stay
your stomach (for, as I know, your appetite is eager towards them),
I send you a copy of four of a later date than the others now
printed, and not much inferior to them in the Natural Beauty and
Force of Description, tho’ not, I think, so bold and sublime. Being
purely descriptive, they could have nothing dramatic or passionate
in them as most of the others have. But at the end of these you
will find some objections I have as a Chronologist and Historian to
the authenticity of the printed ones which it will be hard to get
over. Yet I am not persuaded myself they are not genuine, for who
can write so now? Mr. Rust[291] was so struck with them, he read
them every morning and evening aloud to the Family as a Chaplain
does Prayers. And the more I consider them, the more I admire them.
I have seen some specimens in a Latin translation of the Poetry
of the two most admired Welsh Bards, but they don’t in any degree
approach to the greatness and the Beauty of these. I am charmed
with your comparison between the Greek Plays and Shakespear. He
is indeed unequalled in the power of painting Nature as she is
and giving you sometimes the utmost energy of a Character of a
Passion in short Stroke and Dash of his Pen. I also agree with
you that the moral Reflexions in Shakespear’s Plays are much more
affecting by coming warm from the Heart of the interested persons,
than putt into the mouth of a chorus, as in the Greek Plays. I am
glad you like my favourite Philoctetes. The faults you find with
the Ajax are perfectly just, yet I feel the grief of that hero
when he returns to his Reason, and especially in the scene between
him and Termessa. Suppose Belisarius had gone mad with the unjust
Disgrace he had suffer’d, and in his Distraction had done actions
which dishonoured and exposed him to the Ridicule of his enemies,
what a fine subject would it be for a play if he had killed himself
upon recovering the Use of Reason. Setting aside the poetical
Fiction, Ajax is Belisarius, and Sophocles has painted the horrors
of a great mind so overwhelmed and confounded with shame in a very
masterly manner.... I am glad your three Dialogues are well liked
in Scotland, where the Author is not known. Those who know you
and believe they are yours are hardly fair judges. Your form and
manners would seduce Apollo himself in his throne of criticism on
Parnassus itself....”

[291] Mr. Rust was travelling companion to the son of Mr. Hoare, of
Stourhead, the great banker.

Alluding to her visit to Tunbridge and the society there, he says--

“There is Envy and Malice enough against Beauty alone, but
Beauty, Wit, Wisdom, Learning and Virtue united (to say nothing
about Wealth) are sure to excite a Legion of Devils against the
Possessor. It is amazing to me that with all these dangerous things
about you you have not been driven out of Society a great while
ago.”

In a fragment of a letter Lord Lyttelton writes, “I presume Lady Hervey
really likes them (the Dialogues), Lord Chesterfield’s warmth in their
Praise has secured her vote in their favour, in spite of Horace Walpole
and of Lord Bath.”

[Page heading: GREEN TEA AND SNUFF]

From Newcastle, on October 24, Mrs. Montagu writes to Mrs. Carter,
telling her she had been suffering from toothache. She mentions a
sonnet sent to her by Mrs. Carter, “which would have given me a
pleasing melancholy if it had not represented your state and condition
as it did; it cost me some tears and obliged me to go from table where
I received your letter. Teach me to love you less or imitate you
better. I admire the resignation with which you submit to your pain.”
Mrs. Carter suffered from excruciating headaches at this period. Lord
Bath said that if she would drink less green tea, take less snuff, and
not study so much, they would disappear.

Mrs. Montagu says the house at Newcastle was very comfortable, and
instead of an equipage, she could pay visits to her neighbours in a
Sedan chair.

“That I might not offend here I enter’d into all the diversions
of this town, visits, concerts, plays, and balls. The desire of
pleasure and love of dissipation rages here as much as in London.
Diversions here are less elegant and conversation less polite, but
no one imagines retirement has any comforts, so that in a little
while if one would enjoy retired leisure one must dwell amidst
inaccessible mountains and unnavigable rivers.”

Dr. and Mrs. Delany had just paid a visit to Hagley, which pleased them
much. Dean Lyttelton, writing on October 25 from Hagley, regrets that
Bishop Pococke (of Ossory) had not visited Hagley on his return from
Northumberland, where he had been staying with the Montagus. Evidently
old Mrs. Pococke, the Bishop’s wife, was dead, as the Dean says it is
fortunate for the Bishop his sister has made up her mind to remain at
Newtown.[292]

“Such a low-bred, narrow-spirited woman would disgrace an episcopal
house.... Mr. Palgrave spent two days here last week, and brought
us some new Erse poems which Lord Lyttelton sent you a few days
since. His strange figure and awkward silent behaviour did not
recommend him greatly to the inhabitants of Hagley, or do much
honour to my nephew’s taste in his friendships.”

[292] Her mother’s house near Newbury.

[Page heading: DEATH OF KING GEORGE II.]

[Page heading: GEORGE III. KING]

On October 25 King George II. died suddenly. Dr. Monsey wrote to inform
Mrs. Montagu of this event, from St. James’s, and that--

“The suddenness of his Death made people call it an apoplexy, but
I conclude otherwise from it. An apoplexy, except when a vessel
breaks in the brain, is not so very rapid. People live four or six
days or more, that is, they breathe and have a pulse. The King
died in an instant, and from some strange odd faintnesses and
oppressions upon his breath, I was almost sure ’twas in his heart
or the great vessels near. And upon opening him, the Aorta, the
canal which receives the Blood directly, was found burst (a very
uncommon case), the Duke of Leeds says. I have known and seen it
thickened, cartilaginous (crusty), and ossified, but I never met
with a broken one; however, ’tis a species of Death he wished for,
sudden, and nothing could be more so than this, for the instant
that vessel breaks, the heart stops for ever and for ever....

“The King[293] had a levee to-day at one o’clock at Leicester
House, and the Duke of Leeds, who with Mr. Godolphin dined with us
to-day, says he so designs every day. No women are to appear at
Court yet, so you may finish your affairs without being in a hurry.
The Court goes into mourning on Sunday next ’tis said, and about a
month hence the King is to be buried.”

[293] George III.

From Hagley, on October 26, Lord Lyttelton writes--

“MADONNA,

“The sudden death of the King will make me leave this place
to-morrow, a week sooner than I had intended, and I propose to be
in town on Tuesday or Wednesday. This is only to notify you, as I
have not a moment to spare. I suppose all things will go on as they
did for some time in the Court and the Nation. Certainly it is no
season for any great changes. As to my own situation, I doubt not
it will be as it is. The Dean received an admirable letter from you
last Post. I have read it over and over with infinite pleasure.
Come well to London, and let all the world go as it will. Adieu,
you shall hear from me again as soon as I have seen my friends in
Town, and can tell you any news. I am perfectly well, and am, Madam,

“Your most faithfull
and obedient humble Servᵗ,
“LYTTELTON.

“My respectfull compliments to Mr. Montagu.”

[Page heading: ON THE DEATH OF GEORGE II.]

[Page heading: MR. MACPHERSON]

To this Mrs. Montagu replies--

“Newcastle, ye 31st October, 1760.

“MY LORD,

“It would be perfect sacrilege and robbing the mighty dead of his
due rites, if one began one’s letter with any subject but the loss
of our sovereign; on which I condole with your Lordship, in whom
the virtue of Patriotism, and the antequated one of Loyalty still
remain. I know you had that veneration for our late King which
the justice and prudence of his government so well deserved. With
him our laws and liberties were safe; he possessed in a great
degree the confidence of his people and the respect of foreign
governments; and a certain steadiness of character made him of
great consequence in these unsettled times. During his long
reign we never were subject to the insolence and rapaciousness
of favourites, a grievance of all others most intolerable when
persons born only one’s equals shall by the basest means perhaps
possess themselves of all the strength of sovereign power, and keep
their fellow subjects in a dependance on illegal authority, which
insults while it subjects, and is more grievous to the spirits than
even to the fortunes of free-born men. If we consider only the
evils we have avoided during his late Majesty’s reign, we shall
find abundant matter of gratitude towards him and respect for his
memory. His character would not afford subject for Epic poetry, but
will look well in the sober page of history. Conscious, perhaps, of
this, he was too little regardful of sciences and the fine arts; he
considered common sense as his best panegyrist. The monarch whose
qualities are brilliant enough to entitle him to glory, cultivates
the love of the Muses, and their handmaid arts, painting,
sculpture, etc., sensible that they will blazon and adorn his fame.
I hope our young Monarch will copy his predecessor’s solid virtues,
and if he endeavours to make them more brilliant by the help of
poetry, eloquence, etc., etc., the happiness and glory of Britain
will be great. His present Majesty’s religious disposition, and
decent moral conduct, give us hope we shall not be plunged into
riot, and lost in debauchery and libertinism, which, if it were to
take place at Court, would soon affect a rich and luxurious nation,
and the profaneness and immorality of Charles the Second’s days
would, from the more prosperous state of our nation at present, be
outdone....

“I will now thank your Lordship for your letter and the Highland
compositions. Your remarks go far in staggering my faith as to
their authenticity. I think they convince me the poems cannot
be as ancient as pretended. It seems to me possible, that some
great bard might from uncertain and broken tradition, and from
the scattered songs of former bards, form an epic poem, which
might not agree with history. The pillars in the hall of Fingal
struck me at first reading; but I imagined they might not refer
to polished marble pillars, but to smooth lime or beech trees
which one may suppose to have been used as supporters in very rude
buildings, and which would look smooth and shapely to one not used
to polished marble; and I imagine convenience taught the use of
such supporters long before they were introduced as ornaments....
I hear Lord Marchmont says our old Highland bard is a modern
gentleman of his acquaintance; if it is so, we have a living Poet
who may dispute the _pas_ on Parnassus with Pindar and the greatest
of the ancients, and I honour him for carrying the Muses into the
country and letting them step majestic over hills, mountains and
rivers instead of tamely walking in the Park or Piccadilly....
The Bishop of Ossory tells me Mr. Macpherson receives an £100 per
annum subscription while he stays in the Highlands to translate the
poems; if he is writing them, he should have a thousand at least....

“Dr. Gregory, in talking of Mr. Hume, said he had a great respect
for your Lordship. The Dialogue of Bayle and Locke could not be
agreeable to him.... Dr. Gregory says Mr. Hume told him he spent
an evening with me at Mr. Ramsay’s, and he had received very
favourable impressions of me, and, I find, said much more of me
than I deserve. The Doctor told him I was not of his freethinking
system, but Mr. Hume thinks that no fault in a woman.... Dr. Monsey
is revenging my coquetry with Lord Bath by an assiduous courtship
of Miss Talbot, but he can no more be untrue to me than the needle
to the pole!”

[Page heading: “GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY”]

The same day, October 31, Lord Lyttelton writes from his house in Hill
Street--

“MADONNA,

“According to my promise, I now write to tell you the news of the
town; and it is with great pleasure that I can assure you all
parties unite in the strongest expressions of zeal and affection
for our young King, and approbation of his behaviour. Since his
accession he has shown the most obliging kindness to all the
royal family, and done everything that was necessary to give his
government quiet and unanimity in this difficult crisis.... There
will be no changes in the ministry, and I believe few at Court. The
Duke of Newcastle hesitated some time whether he should undertake
his arduous office in a new reign, but has yielded at last to the
earnest Desires of the King himself, of the Duke of Cumberland,
and of the heads of all Parties and Factions, even those who were
formerly most hostile to him. His friend and mine, Lord Hardwicke,
has been most graciously talked to by the King in two or three
audiences, and will, I doubt not, continue in the Cabinet Council
with the weight and influence he ought to have there.... Lord
George Sackville has been admitted to kiss the king’s hand, and
thus ends my _gazette extraordinary_. As for myself, I got well
to town on Wednesday night, was at Court on Thursday morning, was
spoken graciously to by the King, and am told by everybody that I
grow fat.” He then urges Mrs. Montagu to return from Northumberland
at once. “I have often told you that you are a mere hot-house
plant, fine and rare, but incapable of enduring the cold of our
climate, if you are not housed the first day that the white frosts
come in.

“I found Mrs. Pitt in pretty good health and spirits; she is
_well-housed_, though she has left your palace in Hill Street.”

[Page heading: GEORGE II.--WILL]

This was Anne Pitt,[294] late maid of honour, who had been staying in
Mrs. Montagu’s house till her own was furnished. Further on in the same
letter he says--

“The King has opened his grandfather’s Will in presence of all the
royal family, and it is said the Duke of Cumberland is heir to the
much greater part of what his Majesty had to dispose of, but that
is much less than was supposed. The next best share is the Princess
Emilia’s.[295] The sums are not mentioned. Mr. Pitt has just had
a new and very extraordinary mark of the affection of the city,
in an inscription they have put upon the first stone of the new
bridge. I would have sent it you with to-day’s paper in which it is
printed, but somebody has stolen it out of my room. You will see it
in the next Chronicle. It speaks of a certain _contagion_ by which
Generals, Admirals, Armies and Fleets catch valour and prudence
from him, to the great benefit of our affairs.”

[294] Sister of Lord Chatham.

[295] Sometimes called Princess Amelia, daughter of George II.

From Hill Street, on November 5, Lord Lyttelton again writes to Mrs.
Montagu--

“If I were to write the History of my own Times, I would transcribe
into it your character of the late King, and should thereby pay my
Debt of gratitude to his memory. I would only add to it that it
appears from several Wills he has left, that he never had been such
a Hoarder of Treasure as was generally supposed. And of what he
had saved this war has consumed so much that he was able to leave
no more to his three children than thirty thousand pounds in equal
proportions, and I have heard that the Duke has given up his to his
sisters. Princess Emily is come to live in my brother’s House like
a private woman. It is said the Princess of Wales will not come to
St. James’s. The great court offices are not yet settled, but I
believe it is certain that Lord Bute[296] will be continued Groom
of the Stole, and Lord Huntingdon[297] Master of the Horse.”

In a later part of the letter he assures her that Emin, who had been
reported murdered by the Turks, had got back safely to his father in
Calcutta.

“I presume he will go to some Indian Nabob or Rajah, and then you
may have the pleasure of tracing his marches on the banks of the
Ganges, and over many regions _where the Gorgeous East showers on
her Kings Barbaric Pearls and Gold_; and if he is successful, large
tribute of those pearls and gold will come to you.”

[296] John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, born 1713, died 1792; married
Mary Wortley Montagu.

[297] Francis, 10th Earl of Huntingdon, son of the famous Lady
Huntingdon, the patroness of the “Huntingdon Connexion” branch of
the Methodists.

[Page heading: MR. AND MRS. VESEY]

Mention is made of Mr. Vesey visiting Hagley, his wife too indisposed
to accompany him. “Alas! in all that prospect I have not one glimpse of
you. When will you come and dance on my lawns or sport on my hills with
the Muses, or meditate in my woods with the pensive Goddess of Wisdom.”

Mrs. Montagu started on her return to London on November 10. From
Weatherby she answers the above letter on November 11, having journeyed
“48 miles through the roughest roads in the gloomiest day in the
dreariest month of the year.” Mention is made of the King’s funeral.
“I approve much of your Lordship’s prudence in not going to the King’s
funeral,[298] it is a ceremony for those who wish to catch a cold
rather than for one who wants to get rid of one.”

[298] The funeral of King George took place the same day, November
11, 1760.

[Page heading: FLOODS]

From Ferrybridge, on the 15th, Mrs. Montagu writes to her husband that
the rain had been so heavy that the waters of Newark were said to be
impassable.

Arrived at Grantham on Sunday the 17th, she writes--

“MY DEAREST,

“I got here very safe to-night, but the journey from Ferrybridge
has been very unpleasant, from the great depth of the waters. Our
coach is fortunately hung very high, all the people who passed
Newark to-day got a great deal of water into their carriage, but
I had very little. The waters were impassable till this morning,
and it is now raining hard, so I had good fortune to get thro’
in the short interval; some of the water near Barnby Moor was as
deep as at Newark, and tho’ this is only a long day’s journey, I
have got out every day as soon as it was light; the horses perform
admirably. I shall get to Stilton to-morrow, and, I hope, get you
some cheese.”

Writing the same evening to Lord Lyttelton, she says--

“Do not figure to yourself that I sit like Aurora in her car drawn
by the rosy-bosom’d hours, _les jeux et les ris_, but imagine
Dobbin and Whitenose and their 4 companions all mire and dirt,
dragging me through deep water, over huge stones, the winds
blowing, the clouds low’ring and rain darkening the windows of the
coach.”

[Page heading: A GREAT LADY’S AVARICE]

In a letter to Mr. Montagu, from Stilton, is this amusing passage--

“Lord Panmure pass’d me on the road yesterday, and I hear all the
Scotch are gone to town from Peers to Pedlars, and I suppose all
with the same intention to sell something and to get money. I found
that a Scotch countess had bought all the black cloth, crapes and
bombazeen, black ribbons, and fans at Darlington before the poor
shopkeepers knew of the King’s death. She bought a great many suits
of broad cloth and crape, which must be with an intention to sell
them at a higher price in town, but surely nothing could be more
mean than to enter into such a traffick and take advantage of the
Shopkeepers’ ignorance, and it seems to me not honest. This lady
is wife to Lord C----t; I believe I mistook when I called her a
countess. The town was soon inform’d of the reason she had bought
such a quantity of mourning, and I wonder she was not mobbed. The
ladies at Darlington and in the neighbourhood are very angry, for
she left but two yards of crape in the whole town.”

Lady Frances Williams, writing on November 19 to Mrs. Montagu from
Bath, where she was drinking the waters, says--

“I no sooner heard of the loss of our good old King than I thought
with regret of our friend Mrs. Pitt. I believe it has prevented her
coming to this place, where I proposed much pleasure in meeting
her. I hear the G--t minister’s friends, the mob, have posted upon
all the Palaces--

‘_A Pittical administration,--no Sc--tch influence_;’

and on the Royal Exchange--

‘_No petticoat administration, no Lord G. S--k--lle[299]
at Court_.’”

[299] Lord George Sackville.

[Page heading: THE KING’S FIRST SPEECH]

[Page heading: GOING TO COURT]

Writing on November 20 to her husband, Mrs. Montagu says--

“The young King spoke his speech[300] with great grace; his voice,
they say, is very fine, and his delivery most remarkably good. The
Princess Dowager is not to be at St. James’s, and people think she
looks chagrin’d; no doubt she had visions of power and authority
which will probably not be answered; all people seem glad that she
is not likely to have influence. Dr. Wilson made a very flattering
sermon at Court, upon which the King express’d great displeasure,
and order’d all the Chaplains should be told he did not come to
Church to hear himself praised. Lord Egremont[301] made a fine
speech in the House of Lords for the address. Lord Royston is
to move for the address in the House of Commons to-day, and Sir
Richard Grosvenor,[302] who is to be made a peer, it is said,
seconds him. Mr. Pratt[303] is to be made Lord Chief Justice in
room of Willes, whose son is to be Solicitor-General, and Mr. York
attorney. Some say Pratt is to be made a Peer. There seems a very
strong union between Pitt and the Duke of Newcastle, but as yet no
one knows how things will combine. The whole Cocoa Tree[304] and
every human creature has been at Court, and this being said one
day in a large company, I was ask’d when I should go. I said not
till you came to town, but when you did you intended I should be
presented. Mrs. Boscawen said she suppos’d I should be introduced
by Lady Bute, as we were relations, and visited; I answered no, for
I should not go as a courtier....

“I should ask Lady Cardigan to carry me, who was the head of the
Montagu family, and a person who went as a great independant lady
to pay her duty to her sovereign without being a courtier. It
seems if I am to go to Court, I must not appear anywhere till I
have kiss’d hands, which makes it necessary, if done, to be done
soon, but I shall wait your orders, and I beg you to speak freely.”

[300] Parliament met on November 13.

[301] Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont.

[302] Sir Richard Grosvenor, afterwards 1st Earl Grosvenor.

[303] Made 1st Earl Camden, became Lord Chancellor and Lord
President of the Council.

[304] A famous Whig coffee-house.

To this letter Mr. Montagu replies--

“The distance j am now at from you, unhappily hinders me from
discussing an affair of this moment with you and consulting with
myne or your friends. At present j can only say that if you mean
nothing more than paying your duty to our new sovereign j see no
harm in it, and j think Lady Cardigan of all others the properest
person to introduce you; but if you go further, before you give
your attendance at a Court, j wish you would take the consequences
into your most serious thoughts. The principal reason of my
absenting myself ever since j was Member of Parliament was that
j did not concur in the measures that were then taking, and the
Principal members in the opposition thought they had no business
at St. James, and j believe neither the wifes of the Peers nor of
the Members of the House of Commons were found there. If j should
be still so unhappy as out of dislike for the present measures
not to alter my way of acting, and not to appear at Court, would
it be proper for you to be attendant? Indeed, it seems to me that
it would not, but if you can make out the contrary upon any sound
Principles of reason j will readily submit. I have for many years
liv’d in a state of Independancy though j may truly call it of
Proscription, so far as those could make it to those who thought
not, and acted not with them where politics they thought endanger’d
the Liberties and good of their country, am j to alter now, or
maintain the same conduct j hitherto have done? Whilst j flatter’d
myself that we were in the same way of thinking, and that my
conduct met with your approbation, j did hardly suffer anything. I
then thought and still reflect with the utmost sense of gratitude
on the sacrifice you made me in your early bloom, by giving up
all the pleasures and gaieties of a Court, and it was the greater
because you had all the advantages of beauty and sense to shine
and make a figure there. I think that capacity is not so far gone
as you in your modesty are pleas’d to say, and j may add in some
sense perhaps improv’d, either at a Court or anywhere else j wish
you every thing that is good that you may long enjoy that good will
and esteem which your merit has acquir’d you, and leave the rest to
your own candid and impartial consideration.”

To this his wife replies--

“I had yesterday your most kind and judicious letter, and my own
way of thinking coincides so much with yours I have no merit in
acquiescence. Your wonted independancy I hope in God you will ever
preserve.... If you should be in opposition, I shall drop going at
all; as to Peers, all who were not profess’d Jacobites, and also
their wives, always went to St. James’, even the most protesting
Lords, till the Division between the late King and late Prince of
Wales.”

[Page heading: KISSING HANDS]

At the end of the letter Lord Bath is mentioned as urging her to kiss
hands, and she declares she will only attend two drawing-rooms a year,
and not those, if Mr. Montagu disapproves.

[Page heading: MR. PITT AND THE SECRET]

On November 22, from Hill Street, Mrs. Montagu writes to her husband
that her toothache having been very agonizing, she had sent to Mr.
Lodomie to examine her teeth. As he is often mentioned, he must have
been the fashionable dentist of that period. In the same letter we read
that--

“there has been a quarrel between General Townshend[305] and Lord
Albemarle,[306] which had ended in a duel if Mr. Stanley[307] had
not carried the Captain of the Guards to take them into custody.
The story is too long for a letter. Mr. Townshend appears to
have been too hasty: Lord Albemarle behaved very well, and all
is now made up. Mr. Beckford in the House of Commons the day
before yesterday call’d our German campaign this year a _languid
campaign_, for which Mr. Pitt gave him a notable threshing,
repeating languid and languor several times, and once how rash
must that gentleman be, how inconsiderate, if he calls this
languid, after repeating what had been done, and after enlarging
on everything, again, again, and again, retorting the _languid_
upon Beckford, who himself made a languid campaign, not returning
to the charge. I heard of a good piece of witt of Mr. Pitt on my
Lord Mayor of London’s absurdly asking him in the Drawing-room,
where the secret expedition was destined. He ask’d his Lordship if
he could keep a secret, which the grave Magistrate assured him he
could upon his honour, and expected to be inform’d, on which Mr.
Pitt only made a low bow and said, _so can I, Sir_, a very proper
reproof for his impertinent question.”

[305] George Townshend, 4th Viscount and Marquis, born 1723, died
1807.

[306] George Keppel, 15th Earl of Albemarle.

[307] Hans Stanley, of Paultons, Hants.

December 2. Mrs. Montagu writes to Lord Bath--

“Mrs. Montagu presents her compliments to my Lord Bath, and has the
pleasure to send him the Bishop of London’s letter to the King,
which she had never been able to get till yesterday; she begs of
his Lordship not to give any copy of the letter. If the Bishop
should have any human vanity still subsisting, it must be of such
a kind as will be gratified by the approbation of Lord Bath, but
would disdain common and ordinary applause. Mrs. Montagu hopes my
Lord Bath remembers he was so good as to promise her the honour
and pleasure of his company at dinner on Sunday next.

“Hill Street, Tuesday ye 2nd of Decber.”

[Page heading: BISHOP OF LONDON’S LETTER]

The Bishop’s letter is dated Novr. 1, 1760--

“SIRE,

“Amidst the Congratulations that surround the Throne, permit me
to lay before your Majesty the Sentiments of a Heart, which tho’
oppressed with Age and Infirmity, is no Stranger to the Joys of my
Country. When the melancholy news of the Late King’s Demise reached
us, it Naturally Led us to Consider the Loss we had sustained, and
upon what our Hopes of futurity Depended: the first Part excited
grief and put all the tender Passions into motion, but the Second
Brought Life and Spirit with it, and wiped away the tear from every
face.

“O how graciously Did the Providence of God provide a Successor
able to bear the weight of government in that unexpected Event.

“You, Sir, are the Person whom the people ardently Desire, which
Affection of theirs is happily returned by your Majesty’s Declared
Concern for their prosperity; and Let Nothing Disturb this Mutual
Consent. Let there never be but one Contest between them, whether
the King Loves the people best, or the people him, and may it be
a Long, very Long, Contest between them, may it never be decided,
but Let it remain doubtful, and may the paternal affection on one
side, and the filial Obedience on the other, be had in perpetual
Remembrance. As this will probably be the Last time I shall ever
trouble your Majesty, I beg leave to express my warmest wishes and
prayers on your behalf: may the God of heaven and earth have you
always under his protection, and Direct you to Seek his honour and
Glory in all you Do, and may you reap the Benefit by an increase of
Happiness in this world and in the next.”

[Page heading: BILLETS DOUX]

Lord Bath’s answer was--

“MADAM,

“I suppose you intended that I should return you the Bishop’s
letter, which I promise you nobody has taken a copy of, nor have I
done it myself, and I have shown it but to two persons.

“What a charming thing it is to be able to write with such vivacity
and spirit, at past four score; and oppress’d as he says with
age and infirmitys. But strange as that may be, I know a more
extraordinary thing, and that is of a Person near the same age (but
without infirmitys indeed) that is at this Instant over head and
ears in Love. How does he wish he could write with as much Spirit
and Love to his Mistress, as the Bishop does with Loyalty to his
Master, with this difference only, the one wishes this contention
of Love may never be decided, the other hopes it may be brought
to an issue as soon as possible, by the only proper means of
Determination, and let the Posterity arising from thence be a proof
to future Generations of the ardency of the Affection of her

“Most passionate Adorer.

“Wednesday, 10 a clock, Decr., 1760.”

To this Mrs. Montagu replies--

“MY LORD,

“I have sent your Lordship back the Bishop of London’s letters,
which cannot be more honourably placed than in your Cabinet. From
an apprehension that this letter may be degraded by appearing in
a magazine or Chronicle I was desirous to communicate it to my
friends, under such restraints as would secure me from blame in
case of accident. As I do not expect a billet-doux every morning,
I was unluckily asleep (observe that I do not say not dreaming of
Lord Bath) when your letter arrived. I cannot express how much I
admire your Lordship’s parody of a Bishop’s pastoral letter. As
I have got but halfway towards the ardours of four score, your
Lordship will not expect I should immediately comply with your
proposal; but if you will be content with a sentimental love till
I arrive at the tender age of eighty, a person and a passion so
ripened by time must be very yielding. And according to the latest
reckoning of the learned and ingenious Mr. Whiston, the Millenium
will then commence, so that we may have a proper period in which to
prove our constancy and love; and at a moderate computation, may
produce a thousand of those proofs of it which your Lordship seems
to think the best testimony.

“I am now very much, but at the commencement of the next century
hope to be entirely,

“Yours.

“I hope your Lordship will not forget your engagement on Sunday,
for I have been interrupted in my letter by a visit from a very
pretty man of five and twenty, whose conversation is so far from
the spirit of your Lordship’s letter that I cannot but be tired of
the insipidity of these young people.”

[Page heading: LORD CHESTERFIELD’S BON MOT]

Writing to her husband on December 2, Mrs. Montagu says--

“I dined with Lord Bath on Sunday; he was in high spirits. At his
table I heard an admirable _bon mot_ of Lord Chesterfield’s; he
said the King was in doubt whether he should burn Scotch coal, Pitt
coal, or Newcastle coal!... Our young King had a fall from his
horse this morning, but no mischief, except a little bruise on his
shoulder. His attendants seemed much frightened, at which he smiled
and told them they forgot he had four brothers.”

Mr. Montagu writes on December 7 from Newcastle to say that he is going
to the Election at Durham to vote for Sir Thomas Clavering. He says, “I
shall set off with Sir Thomas’ cavalcade to-morrow, and to dine and
lye at Newton, where Mr. Liddell has invited me to take a bed during
the whole time of the Poll.” On December 12 he writes to say the Poll
was not over and cost each candidate £1000 a day.

[Page heading: THE MILLENNIUM]

Lord Bath writes to Mrs. Montagu in return for her last letter--

“MADAM,

“I have sent you some game, which I hope to partake with you
to-morrow. Indeed, Madam, you are too cruel to desire to postpone
my happiness till the beginning of the next century. I can die for
the lady I love any day she pleases to command me, but to live 40
years for her is more than I can promise; besides, Madam, I would
have you consider that in all the conquests Love makes, there is on
the male side, constantly a little pride and vanity; do you think
that I have not something of that kind, in the pleasure I propose
to myself of making Mr. Montagu jealous, and of triumphing and
insulting over Dr. Monsey; and can you yourself promise me either
of these forty years hence? In conscience therefore reduce the
horrid period of forty years to twenty at most, and tell me in your
next, come twenty years hence and be happy. But all you promise
in your letter is, that the beginning of next century, perhaps,
you may begin to listen. This cold proceeding, with an impetuous
Lover of fourscore, who is impatient to convince you how much he
loves you and how passionately he is yours for the remainder of the
millenium, whenever it begins,

“BATH.”

From St. James’s on December 14, Dr. Monsey writes a folio letter to
Mrs. Montagu, beginning--

“SERENISSIMA PRINCIPESSA!

“There are no bounds to Pride, because an Earl is fallen in love
with you, you must kiss a King, and just as he is on the brink of
matrimony. How dare you do so audacious a thing, whilst your Hubby
is alive too? Had he broke his neck down a coal pit the matter had
been nothing, but to inflame the heart of a young monarch when
he can reap no benefit from it without breaking the laws of his
Kingdom, or your breaking the Laws of God. Let me tell you, Madam
(if I now may presume to tell you anything), it is a very imprudent
step. Emin has miscarried in Persia, and so now you will let
yourself down to the deluding hopes of being Queen of England. Can
you sleep this night while Majesty lies tumbling and tossing, and
starts at Montagu peeping thro’ his curtains;--My Kingdom for this
Woman, or this Woman for my Kingdom. Have you chosen your ladies
of the bedchamber, pitched upon your coronation, and made me your
chief Physician....”

[Page heading: DR. MONSEY’S DOGGEREL VERSE]

After a long rhodomontade, he falls into doggerel verse, a frequent
habit of his in his letters. As I have not hitherto recorded any verses
of his in this work, I will give this specimen--

“What power can withstand Gt. Britain’s King,
Where for a Queen he has so fair a thing?
Nations fight Nations, and one fool beats t’other,
And Frederick[308] pommels his dear Polish brother.
He burns a town and then knocks down a Church,
Then Daun comes thundering with a rod of birch.
He scampers, then he rallies, whip goes Daun,
Old boy, I’ll meet you on a Torgau[309] lawn.
They meet, they fight, and then more bloody noses,
And then great victories, as our news supposes.
They both are Victors, yet both beaten well,
And who’s best man the Devil himself can’t tell.
Things are by both into confusion hurled,
Montagu speaks, and she subdues the world.”

[308] Frederick “the Great.”

[309] The battle of Torgau, fought on November 3, 1760.

Lord Bath had been most anxious about his son, Lord Pulteney, who had
been appointed to the secret expedition which Mr. Pitt designed to
send to France. This scheme was given up, and Mrs. Montagu wrote to
congratulate Lord Bath upon this.

[Page heading: BERENGER MADE MASTER OF THE HORSE]

In a letter to Mr. Montagu his wife informs him that “Lord Bute has
given Mr. R. Berenger[310] a place of £300 per annum, with a house in
the Meuse: it came _à propos_, for a few weeks ago he was in danger of
a perpetual lodging at the Fleet.”

It will be remembered Berenger was nephew to Mr. Gilbert West, his
mother being a Temple.

[310] Master of the Horse; author of “The History and Art of
Horsemanship.”

Lady Forbes, mother of Mrs. Gregory, wrote on December 20 to Mr.
Montagu to ask his influence in procuring for Doctor Gregory the
Professorship of Botany at the University of Edinburgh.

[Page heading: GEORGE COLMAN, THE ELDER]

In a letter dated 1760, presumably in February, Lord Bath writes to
Mrs. Montagu--

“MADAM,

“There is more easy natural witt in any two of your most careless
lines than there is in all Colman’s Play,[311] and as for his
dedication you may be sure the Rogue meant to abuse me for
pretending to chide him for his neglect of Lord Cooke;[312]
however, I have this day, to amend his manners, constituted him
a Judge in Shropshire, on condition that he never makes another
Rhime, unless it be an Epithalamium twenty years hence, when the
Millenium begins.

“I return you many thanks for the kind present you sent me, and
will keep them till you do me the honour to dine with me, which I
hope will be Wednesday or Thursday, as you chuse, but on Tuesday
evening I cannot be sure of being free, since Sir Phil Boteler,
Miss Desbouveries, and some other company are to dine with me, and
stay the evening at cards.”

George Colman was nephew, by marriage, to Lord Bath, his mother being a
Miss Gumley, sister of Lady Bath.

[311] George Colman the elder, born 1732, died 1794; dramatist, etc.
His first acknowledged comedy, “The Jealous Wife,” first acted at
Drury Lane on the 12th of February, 1761, and dedicated to the Earl
of Bath as a “lover of the belles lettres.”

[312] Means Lord Coke, in his work upon Lyttelton. In 1757, Colman
had been entered by Lord Bath at Lincoln’s Inn and called to the
bar.

CHAPTER V.

1761--DEATH OF ADMIRAL BOSCAWEN--CORRESPONDENCE WITH LORD
BATH--CORONATION OF GEORGE III.--IN LONDON, AT SANDLEFORD, AND AT
TUNBRIDGE WELLS.

[Year: 1761]

Matthew Robinson, Mrs. Montagu’s eldest brother, who had been member
for the borough of Canterbury, did not propose to offer himself for
re-election to the new parliament, but presented the Canterbury
address to the new king at Court. He was clad in such a peculiar and
uncourtierlike garb that his sister writes to her husband at Newcastle--

“I am glad he is gone into the country, but he has made a most
astonishing appearance at court with the Canterbury address. Morris
says he hears of nothing else. I wish the Beefeaters had not let
him pass the door. Lord Harry Beauclerc on the buzz his appearance
occasioned, desired the people to be quiet, for that he had never
seen the gentleman so well dressed before.”

[Page heading: ADMIRAL BOSCAWEN ILL]

Mr. Montagu, having attended the Durham election in favour of Sir
Thomas Clavering, was preparing to go to Huntingdon for his own
re-election. In Mrs. Montagu’s next letter she says--

“I told you in my last that Admiral Boscawen was ill of a fever,
I hope he is out of danger. The noble admiral does not fight so
well with a fever as he does with the French; he will not lye in
bed, where he would soonest subdue it. Poor Mrs. Boscawen is very
anxious and unhappy about the Admiral, and indeed the loss to her
and her children would be as great as possible.”

In this letter she remarks upon having heard from Mrs. William
Robinson, her sister-in-law, from Lisbon dated November 12: “they
are all well, and going on to Madrid.” “They” were the Rev. William
Robinson, his wife, and her brother, Mr. Richardson, who, being in bad
health, was ordered abroad, and was going to Italy. On December 20,
Admiral Boscawen is reported as out of danger, but on the 27th Mrs.
Montagu writes--

“His fever still hangs upon him, his strength is quite subdued; any
sudden attack, any degree more of fever, and my dear Friend loses a
good husband, her children a fond father, their situation in life
will suffer a grievous alteration, and the publick will be deprived
of a man who serves it with zeal and ability and is always more
tender of the honour of his country than of his own person.”

The admiral had a relapse, and Mrs. Montagu, with her husband’s
permission, flew to see her friend, but, to avoid alarming the admiral,
slept at Mr. Botham’s at Albury. She, however, returned to London, as
the admiral could not bear his wife out of his sight, and begrudged any
friend taking her away from him for an instant. In this same letter she
mentions that old Mr. Wortley Montagu was very ill.

Dr. Monsey, who himself was very unwell, wrote on January 9 to tell
Mrs. Montagu he was sure the admiral would not recover; he begs her to
remember it is God’s will, and “to try and guard Mrs. Boscawen’s mind
and let money and the world be thrown into the Coal Hole.”

[Page heading: DEATH OF ADMIRAL BOSCAWEN]

The admiral expired on January 10 at 7 a.m. He died of a putrid fever,
and before death sent for his sister, Mrs. Frederick, to desire her
to take his wife and children to London the moment he was dead. Mrs.
Montagu went at once to her friend to endeavour to comfort her. Mr.
Montagu, with his characteristic kindness, begged Mrs. Boscawen to go
to Hill Street, but she remained at the Admiralty. Mrs. Montagu writes
of her on January 17--

“I thank God her mind is very calm and settled, she endeavours all
she can to bring herself to submit to this dire misfortune; I know
time must be her best comforter, so that I oppose her lamentations
rarely and gently, but when they continue long, set before her the
merit of her five children, the want they will have of her, and the
comfort she may derive from them.... Mr. Boscawen has left all his
fortune, except a purchase he made in Cornwall, to Mrs. Boscawen at
her entire disposition, the land in Cornwall he has left her only
for life, and then to his eldest son. This estate cost but £10,000,
and so is a small part of his fortune, so that the children are
entirely dependent on her. I hear old Mr. Wortley can last but a
very short time. It is supposed Lady Mary will come to England.”

[Page heading: DEATH OF OLD MR. WORTLEY MONTAGU]

Writing to her husband, still at Newcastle, at the end of January, Mrs.
Montagu says--

“I believe it will be agreeable to you to hear that Lord Sandwich
called on me this morning to desire me to write you word that
he hopes that the second week in February you will be ready for
Huntingdon; his Lordship says he will give you only two days’
trouble, one to canvass, another to be elected.... Mr. Wortley
Montagu dyed last night, the disposition of his effects not known
as yet, by next post you shall hear.”

In her next letter she says--

“I have had a full account of Mr. Wortley’s will, it runs
thus:--‘To his son £1000 per annum rentcharge,’ with an order it
should not be liable to his debts, which by-the-bye is nonsense.
The Leicestershire estate, we know to our sorrow is his. If the
present wife[313] dyes and he has legitimate issue, that issue is
to have the Wortley estate. In case he has not such issue, then
the whole of his personal and real estate is to go to Lady Bute’s
second son, he taking the noble name of Wortley. Two thousand
pounds apiece indeed to each of Lady Bute’s younger children! The
old gentleman’s wealth is reckoned immense.”

[313] Caroline Feroe, _née_ Dormer.

In another letter his estate is stated to be £800,000 in money, and
£17,000 per annum in land, mines, etc.!

Mr. Montagu writes in reply to this--

“I am extremely sorry that Mr. Wortley has made such a will as you
mention. I think he has been unworthy of being a Father. I cannot
pretend to say but his son gave him too good reason to take care
he should not waste and consume his estate, it was mine and the
opinion of others that, as the phrase is, he would have tyed him
up, but if he had done it in the literal sense he would have been
less cruel to him; this poor man was not without very good parts,
he was greatly altered; if he had done kindly by him, it was not
impossible that he might have been reclaimed and have yet made
some figure in life. What is now to become of him I don’t know.
I suppose he is not to come into Parliament again, and if so I
cannot see what he can do but leave his native country, and live in
perpetual banishment abroad. I cannot but greatly commiserate this
poor man, and reflect with horror on his cruel unrelenting parent.”

On February 15 Mr. Montagu writes from Hinchingbrooke, as he spells it--

“MY DEAREST,

“We got here on Friday night. Our canvassing the town is put off
to Tuesday. Lord Hinching[314] is here, who is much grown and
every way improved. My Lord has made considerable alterations
to the house, and by the addition of two or three rooms is very
convenient, and he says without much expense.... Calling at Barnet
j heard poor Wortley’s stock upon his farme was the day before sold
by auction, and fetched a thousand pounds, which j fear will be
devour’d by the creditors.”

[314] Viscount Hinchinbrook, afterwards 5th Earl of Sandwich; born
1742–3, died 1814.

[Page heading: “MONTAGU MINERVA!”]

Soon after this Mr. Montagu joined his wife in Hill Street. A folio
letter from James Stuart[315] (Athenian Stuart) ends the month of
February. In it he represents himself as an English horse--a hunter
dragging Greek treasures to Mrs. Montagu, whom he addresses in verse
as--

“Fairest and best! hail Montagu Minerva!
Smile on my labours. Say that my rich freightage
Amply deserved the Price and Pains it cost.
So that the Muses thy companions dear,
The Graces and the Virtues all approve
My bold Emprise:
And end at once and recompense my toil.”

[315] James Stuart, born 1713, died 1788; author of “Antiquities of
Athens.”

[Page heading: VOLTAIRE’S TANCRED]

Lord Bath writes March 4, 1761--

“MADAM,

“I am sorry that I cannot wait on you this evening, being
engaged to go to Lady Strafford’s,[316] and afterwards to Lady
Darlington’s[317] to play at cards; but on Saturday I will have
the honour to call on you and stay the evening with you, if you
are not otherwise engaged, and your feverish disorder will allow
you to come down stairs. I have sent for your amusement Voltaire’s
Tancred, which has many fine lines in it, but the speeches are too
long, as they generally are in French Plays. When I have the honour
of waiting on you I will bring with me Emin’s letter.

“I am, Madᵐᵉ,
“Yours most truly,
“B.”

[316] Lady Strafford, Anne, second daughter of the 2nd Duke of
Argyll.

[317] Lady Darlington was a cousin of Lord Bath’s; her mother was a
Pulteney.

[Page heading: MACPHERSON’S “FINGAL”]

To this Mrs. Montagu replies--

“MY LORD,

“I return the Tragedy with many thanks. The character your Lordship
gave of it kept up my hopes and my spirits through the long tedious
speeches with which it opens, and upon the whole it appears to
me to be one of the best of Voltaire’s Tragedies, as it is, what
few of his are, interesting. Pompous declamation season’d with
Moral reflections is surely far from the perfection of dramatick
writing, tho’ in a nation too much polish’d and refin’d, it is
prefer’d to the natural sallies of passion in our Shakespear,
as fops love essences better than the flowers from whence they
are extracted. I find in this Tragedy many petty larcenies from
Corneille. The character of Aménaide is in part an imitation of the
Sister of Horatius, but the Roman name supports the _fierté_ of her
character, born in any other city I should call her a termagant,
there I consider her as a She Roman, the female of the Lion. The
fair Amenaide is too much an _esprit fort_ in regard to her duties
to please me. She does not follow Virtue as by law establish’d, but
despises forms and follows sentiment, a dangerous guide. Design’d
by Nature to act but a second part, it is a woman’s duty to obey
rules, she is not to make or redress them. I must confess that
Aménaide is noble and heroick, and a proper mistress for a Knight
Errant, whose motto is ‘l’amour et l’honneur.’ I have seen many
poems form’d on the manners of Chivalry, but I never saw them
before in Drama. They admit of the bombast in honour and love,
which the French and Spanish Theater affect, and will furnish those
brilliant sentiments they so much admire, but which indeed come
better from any Muse but the pathetick Melpomène.

“I shall be very glad of the honour of your Lordship’s company on
Saturday evening. I was to have gone to the play that night, but
if my fever should have left me by that time, I have a cough which
would be louder than Mrs. Prichard.[318] I have taken the liberty
to enclose Mr. Macpherson’s proposals, and if your Lordship designs
to subscribe to the work, and have not already done so, I should
be very glad to have the honour of your name on my list. I have
read the first canto,[319] which far exceeded my expectation. The
various incidents recited take off that sameness of character which
appeared in the detached pieces, and which were their greatest
fault. The original Ersh is to be seen at Mr. Millar’s. I have also
enclosed a letter from Edinburgh which gives an account of these
poems. By this long letter I have taken some revenge upon your
Lordship for not coming here last night, and now I am in perfect
charity, mix’d with some compassion for the trouble I have given
you.

“My Lord,
“Your Lordship’s
Most obliged and obedient Hᵇˡᵉ Serᵛᵗ,
“E.M.”

[318] Celebrated actress.

[319] This must be “Fingal.”

[Page heading: LORD BATH’S LETTER TO MRS. CARTER]

At this period Mrs. Montagu and Mrs. Carter went to stay with Lord Bath
at Ives Place.[320] Dr. Monsey was to have accompanied them, but he was
suffering with acute pain in his back, for which Dr. Gataker gave him a
plaister, which he said would pull his head to his back.

[320] His country house near Maidenhead.

Lord Bath writes to Mrs. Montagu the following:--

“MADAM,

“I am going to entrust you with a most prodigious secret; and in
order to engage you the better to keep it, must desire you to be a
joynt agent with me in conducting it, and carrying it on, and yet
it is not every woman neither that can keep that very important
_secret of joynt agency_, but you, I am very sure, will be true to
me when I tell you what it is. You must know, Madam, that I have
a great desire of making a small present to Mrs. Carter, to make
her fine, when she comes to Tunbridge, and I must beg of you to
take the trouble of buying the silk or Damask, or what you please,
and in order to engage her to have no difficulty or scruples in
accepting it, I will send with it the following letter:--

“‘_To Mrs. Carter._

“‘MADAM,

“‘I have sent you a trifling present which I desire you will
accept, and that you may have no difficulty in doing it I will tell
you the plain truth. The first thing is this--I have found in my
Library some books, which tho’ they may be very good ones, can be
of no use to me, as they are in Greek,[321] and possibly they may
be of service to you. The next thing is that I have two pounds of
very bad tea, which I cannot so much as take myself, nor offer to
anybody else, unless it be to you: the last thing is this: I found
in the drawer of an old India Cabinet a piece of silk with this
wrote in a paper upon it: _Enough for a Mantua and petty coat._
Now, Madam, as I neither wear a mantua nor pettycoats, I do not
know what to do with it, unless you will accept of it, which you
may very readily do, since you may perceive that it lays you under
no manner of obligation to your, etc.

“‘BATH.’

“But after all I have said, if you think, Madam, giving you the
two enclosed Bank bills of 20 pounds each to send privately to her
without letting her know or guess from whom they come, may be of
more real use and service to her, you may do it as you think fit,
and I can venture to say of the Bank Bills just what I have done of
the Greek books, that they are of little use to me, and possibly
may be of great service to her, and more in that I hope than any
other.

“I am, Madam,
“Your most obedient and very
humble servant,
“BATH.

“Piccadilly, April 2, 1761.

“P.S.--I am afraid you will be puzzled at first to know what all
this nonsensical stuff can mean, but you may remember that when you
were at Ives Place, I mentioned something of this kind to you.”

[321] This is an affectation, as he constantly uses Greek phrases in
Greek character in his later letters.

[Page heading: GOING TO WELLWYN]

Mrs. Montagu and Mrs. Carter proposed a visit to Dr. Young at Welwyn,
and on April 9 he writes as follows--

“DEAR MADAM,

“Your letter, etc., lay me under great obligations, but the
greatest lies in the kind promise you make me that I shall kiss
the hands of two fair Pilgrims at Wellwyn. I hope they are too
much Protestants to think there is anything sacred in the shrine
you speak of. I have too many sins beside, to pretend that I am a
Saint. Was I a Saint and could work miracles I would reduce you
two ladys to the common level of your sex being jealous for the
credit of my own; which has hitherto presum’d to boast an usurp’d
superiority in the realms of genius and the letter’d world. For
you, Madam, I shall say nothing, for who can say enough? Miss
Carter has my high esteem for showing us in so masterly a manner
that Christianity has a foil in one of the brightest jewels of
Pagan Wisdom, a jewel which you will allow she has set in gold.
Might not such an honour from a fair hand, make even an Epictetus
proud without being blamed for it? Nor let Miss Carter’s amiable
modesty become blameable, by taking offence at the truth, but stand
the shock of applause, which she has brought upon herself; for tho’
it pains her, it does credit to the publick, and she should support
it patiently, as her Stoical Hero did his broken leg. I rejoice
that you are recovered; I too, Madam, have been very ill of late,
and stand in no small need of a cordial: hasten therefore your
favour, which the sooner it is, will be the kinder to, dear Madam,

“Your most obedient
and obliged, humble servant,
“E. YOUNG.”

On April 28 Lord Bath writes to Mrs. Montagu--

“MADAM,

“I would sooner have answer’d your letter, and sent you back the
enclosed Dialogue, but that I went out to take the air in my
chaize. You may depend upon my secrecy, but should it ever be
published, it will be known to be yours, because nobody can write
like it. I will endeavour to wait on you when you return from Dr.
Young’s, unless I go to Ives Place for a day or two.

“I am, with the greatest regard and truth,

“Your most humble and obedient servant,
“BATH.”

[Page heading: ANOTHER DIALOGUE OF THE DEAD]

[Page heading: BERENICE _V._ CLEOPATRA]

[Page heading: THE “WORLD WELL LOST!”]

This is the dialogue which I believe has not yet been published:--

“BERENICE AND CLEOPATRA.”

_Berenice._ The similitudes and dissimilitudes of our fortune
have long made me wish to converse with you, if the charming, the
victorious Cleopatra by her lover prefer’d to glory, to empire, to
life, will deign to hold converse with the forsaken, the abandon’d,
the discarded Berenice.

_Cleopatra._ The scorns of Octavius, the bite of the aspic, the
waters of Lethe have so subdued my female vanity, that I will own
to you I greatly suspect my greater success with my lover did not
arise so much from my charms as in my skill of management of them.

_Berenice._ I can scarce understand you. Beauty and love I thought
to be the greatest attractions. In the first you must have excell’d
me, but in the second you certainly could not: I had beauty, youth,
regal dignity, and an elevated mind. I was distinguished by many
qualities and accomplishments which were so dedicated to my Lover,
that of all I had been and all I could be, I was, I would be, only
_l’amante_ of Titus. I thought the next person in merit and dignity
to Titus himself was the woman who ador’d him, and I was more proud
of the homage I paid him, than of all I had receiv’d from lovers
or subjects. But you, Cleopatra, had loved Cesar before Anthony,
and other passions besides the gentle one of love seemed still
to have your heart. Yet for you Anthony despised the dangers of
war, the competition of a rival in Empire, the motives of military
glory, and the resentment of a Senate and people not yet taught
to submit to or flatter the passions of a master. Over these you
triumph’d; but I was sacrificed to the low murmurs of the people,
and the cautious counsels of gray-headed Statesmen. Was it that
Minerva desired to triumph over Venus in the noblest and gentlest
heart that ever was contain’d in the breast of mortal? Tell me,
Cleopatra, for 1700 years have not made me forget my love and my
grief?

_Cleopatra._ I have often with attention listen’d to your story;
and your looks, on which still remain the sadness of a lover’s
farewell, move my compassion. I wish I could have assisted you with
my counsels when Titus was meditating your departure. I would have
taught you those arts by which I enslaved the Soul of Anthony, and
brought Ambition and the Roman Eagles to lye at my feet.

_Berenice._ Your arts would have been of little service to me, I
had no occasion to counterfeit love. From Titus’s perfection one
learn’d to love in reality beyond whatever fiction pretended; no
feigned complaisance could imitate my sympathy; if he sigh’d I
wept, if he was grave I grew melancholy, if he sicken’d I dyed. My
heart echoed his praises, it beat for his glory, it rejoiced in his
fortunes, it trembled at his dangers.

_Cleopatra._ Indeed, Berenice, you talk more like a Shepherdess
than a great Queen. You might perhaps in the simplicity of pastoral
life have engaged some humble Swain, but there was too much of
nature and too little of art in your conduct, to captivate a
man used to flattery, to pleasures, to variety. I find you was
but the mirror of Titus, you gave him back his own image, while
I presented every hour a new Cleopatra to Anthony. I was gay,
voluptuous, haughty, gracious, fond and indifferent by turns; if
he frown’d on me, I smiled on Dollabella; if he grew thoughtful, I
turn’d the Banquet to a Riot. I dash’d the soberness of counsels
by the vivacity of mirth, and gilded over his disgrace by show
and magnificence; if his reason began to return, I subdued it by
fondness, or disturb’d it by jealousy. Thus did I preserve my
conquest, establish my fame, and put Anthony first in the list of

“all the mighty names by love undone.”

Had I only wept when honour and Octavia call’d him home I might
have been the burthen of a love ballad, or subject of a tender
Elegy, who now am the glory of our sex, and the great instance of
beauty’s power. Do not you wish you had used the same managements?

_Berenice._ I might have used them had I loved the same man:
Cleopatra, the coquette was a proper mistress for the Reveller
Anthony; but the god-like Titus, the delight as well as Master of
Mankind, left no part of the heart unengaged and at liberty to
dissemble. What had not yielded to his wisdom, submitted to his
witt, was subdued by his magnanimity, or won by his gentleness;
when affection does not vary, behaviour cannot change; and methinks
Anthony should have quitted you from distrust of your love, and
Titus have retain’d me from confidence in mine. After what you have
told me, I am more than ever surprised at your fate and my own.

_Cleopatra._ If you want this explain’d ask Eneas, Theseus, Jason,
and the infinite multitude of faithless lovers, but if my authority
will pass, believe me Anthony was preserved by his doubt of my
love, and Titus was lost by his confidence in yours. Do not look so
concern’d. From the era of your disaster to this very day you will
find every faithful and fond Berenice discarded, while the gay,
vain, and capricious fair one is to her Anthony a Cleopatra and the
“world well lost.”

From the following letter of Dr. Young’s to Mrs. Montagu it would
appear that she had sent this dialogue for him to read.

“DEAR MADAM,

“I hope you will allow that a curiosity is better than a good
thing. I send you a paper which may be called a curiosity, as it is
printed, but not for the publick, only for your ease in perusing it.

“I much thank you for the bright specimen of genius you was so kind
as to send me. I admire it as much as you. I hope you are recover’d
of the Indysposition you mention’d in your Last, and that you, the
cloud remov’d, will continue to shine on,

“Dear Madam,
“Your most obedient
and Humble Servᵗ,
“E. YOUNG.”

“May 26, 1761.”

[Page heading: LIKENESS TO FREDERICK THE GREAT]

Emin, from “Standgate Creek, on board of the ship _Northumberland_,”
writes on May 5 to Mrs. Montagu, addressing her thus--

“To the wisdom of Europe, sister to the great King of Prussia,
excellent Mrs. Montagu.”

Not only did he think Mrs. Montagu equal in cleverness to Frederick the
Great, but he considered her forehead and eyes like his, to the great
indignation of Lord Bath and Dr. Monsey, who pronounced it impossible
she should resemble so bloodthirsty a character.

Mrs. Carter took leave of Mrs. Montagu on May 18, and that very evening
Mrs. Montagu writes to her--

“You left London only this morning, and I am writing to you
to-night; does it not seem unreasonable? I hope not, as you must
know there are habits which it is hard to break, and alas! I was
in the habit of conversing with you every day. I feel like a
traveller, who by the chearfull light of the Sun has pleasantly
pursued his day’s journey, but seeing it below the horizon, enjoys
and would fain prolong the twilight, which tho’ it has not the
warmth and lustre of the noon-day, yet is a kind interposition
between it and the gloom of the night.”

She dates her letter from Ealing, where she had gone to the Botham’s
for the night, “imagining I should hear your tones better from the
nightingale than in the din and chatter of London.” So much did Mrs.
Carter value Mrs. Montagu’s letters that she always noted the day and
year of their reception of them, which is a great help to an editor in
compiling, as many of Mrs. Montagu’s letters are undated. In the end of
this letter she mentions that she is returning to London next day to
spend the evening with Mrs. Boscawen, who was to leave the Admiralty
that day for her new house.

“She will be too apt to reflect on the change of her condition upon
such an occasion, and the less time she has to dwell on the subject
the better. Alas, how few people are there so happily situated that
they can intrepidly look on their condition! Mr. Melmoth[322] made
me a visit this evening. I exhorted him to give his leisure hours
to the publick, and hope he will do it, as his health is now much
improved.”

[322] William Melmoth, born 1710, died 1799. English scholar;
translated the “Letters of Pliny,” etc., etc.

[Page heading: LORD BATH’S HOUSE IN PICCADILLY]

A most curious anonymous letter to Lord Bath concerning his house in
Piccadilly, dated June 5, 1761, is next in order. The handwriting is
large and bold.

“MY LORD,

“A zeal for the glory of the Nation and of the town, also of your
Lordship, induces me to recommend to you to modernize your house
in Piccadilly, at least externally, by facing it with stone or
Stucco, as brick has an ignoble appearance, and is considered by
foreigners only fit for a _Maison bourgeoise_; a Portico with a
_Rampe_,[323] as at the Hotels of Prince Eugene and Swartzenburg
at Vienna, unites Conveniency, Elegance, and Grandeur, as chairs
and coaches can go up the _Rampe_ and under the Portico, whereas
a _Perron_[324] or open steps are always inconvenient, and often
dangerous in snowy, wet, and frosty weather. I hope that your
Lordship will give a Proof and monument of your Taste, Spirit,
and Generosity in architecture, contributing thereby to the
embellishment of the Metropolis. A House of Distinction sho’d be
always _insulated_ without any Building contiguous thereto, which
insulation has many advantages.

“I have the Honour to be, with Respect,
“ETC.

“June 5, 1761.”

[323] Means a rising gradient.

[324] A flight of steps.

[Page heading: THE BRITISH MUSEUM]

The British Museum, containing the library and collection of Sir Hans
Sloane, the Cottonian and Harleian MSS., etc., had been established in
Montagu House, bought of the Earl of Halifax, and opened in 1759. The
following letter from Mr. Charles Morton, the curator, will show the
conditions under which the Museum was then shown. The Earl of Halifax,
who had owned Montagu House, was a cousin of Mr. Montagu’s.

“_To Mrs. Montagu._

“MADAM,

“I am extremely sorry not to have received the Honour of your
Message before eleven o’clock last night, being detained abroad by
Business till that Time. I flatter myself, however, that the affair
you mention will not have suffered by my absence; for on fridays
and mondays the Museum is open in the afternoon only, at the Hours
of four and six, calculated to accommodate for a few months persons
of a different class, and on Saturdays the Museum is shut up. I
have therefore secured places for Mrs. Montagu and her company for
Tuesday sennight, at one o’clock, and promise myself the Pleasure
to send the Tickets on Wednesday next, unless the Time I have
engaged should be inconvenient to you; in which latter case, I beg
the Honour of a note to-morrow some time before noon.

“Madam, I remain, with great respect,

“Your most obedient
and most humble Servant,
“CHAS. MORTON.

“Montagu House, June 7, 1761.”

[Page heading: A COUNTRY GENTLEWOMAN]

[Page heading: GESNER’S “MORT D’ABEL”]

From Sandleford, on June 23, Mrs. Montagu writes to Mrs. Carter--

“DEAR MADAM,

“I told you in my last that I was going to take a flight into
Berkshire; and here I have been ever since Friday evening,
leading a Pastoral life in the finest weather I ever saw. Tho’
the most sage Horace says we change our climate without changing
our disposition, I must be of another opinion, for by only the
difference of latitude and longitude between Hill Street and
Sandleford I am become one of the most reasonable, quiet, good,
kind of country gentlewoman that ever was. In the days when misses
employ’d their crimping and wimpling irons upon cheese-cakes and
tarts, not on flounces and furbelows, and matrons used no rouge,
but a little cochineal to give a fine colour to a dried neat’s-foot
tongue, they could not be further from the temper and qualities and
conditions of a fine lady than your humble servant at this present
writing. My health is much improved by the country air; I saunter
all day, and when Phœbus sets in the material world, he rises in
the Intellectual; then I sit down to read what he has inspired,
and I find the amusements of the day here prepare me well for my
evening’s lecture....

“The mention of poetry puts me in mind to tell you I am very well
satisfied with the share of praise you give to Cowley.[325] He had
a rich vein of thought, but being too ostentatious of it, we are
disgusted at the proud display of his treasures, as at the pomp
of a rich man, when it goes beyond the bounds modesty and a sound
judgment should set to it. I agree with you that his love verses
are insufferable. I think you and I who have never been in love,
could describe it better were we ask’d, _what is it like?_ I think
some of his verses, like Anacreon, very pretty, and the verses by
the god of love in honour of Anacreon are very pretty tho’ a little
too long. I think you was too temperate in your commendation of ‘La
Mort D’Abel.’[326] I was infinitely delighted with it as a work
of genius. On your recommendation I lent it to my Lord Lyttelton,
who sent it back with great approbation. But to be sincere in
spite of you both, some silly prejudices against the Author and
the language the poem was originally written in, a little damped
my expectations, and the beginning, in which he imitates Milton,
with all the faintness of reflected beams, make me advance very
soberly. But what a feast is the Patriarchal dinner! How sweetly
innocent their manners! Eve’s horror at the first storm, her
surprize at Adam’s fastening up the mouth of the cave, concern
at the first sight of death, which is finely supposed to seize a
dove, because in that animal only could the grief of a surviving
friend be shown, with ten thousand other circumstances in hers and
Adam’s narration, all so natural and yet so new that I must call
Mr. Gesner a Poet. A Poet should create, but he should not make
monsters. I think our Author has not the sublime, but his genius
suits his subject. What a noble piety! what a purity of heart in
Abel! and how finely is his character contrasted with Cain’s.
Abel’s are virtues of disposition and temper in a great degree,
and so are Cain’s vices, which rightly imagined in a state of life
where example and discipline could not have so much influence as
in a larger society and more mix’d life. Milton’s and Mr. Gesner’s
pastoral scenes are so ennobled and refined by Religion, that the
Shepherds and Shepherdesses who worship the wanton Pan and drunken
Silenus, make a mean figure when compared to them. I agree with
you in liking Mr. Gesner’s Pastorals extreamly, but let him still
keep to the more than golden age of the Poets. I would fain propose
to him to take the story of Joseph next. He has a fine genius for
Drama! The last three books of Abel make a noble tragedy. Did you
not drop a tear at the lamentation of Cain’s children over Abel’s
body? _Il ne se reveillera plus! Il ne se reveillera plus!_ How
simple! how natural! how affecting! What a witchcraft is there in
words! repeat, _il est mort_, it is nothing, but the simplicity
of children who had not a name for death and the words at once
signifying the circumstance is very touching.... I have taken a
house at Tunbridge from the 3rd of July. I hope my dear friend will
be ready to come to me. I shall send the post-chaize to you as soon
as I am at Tunbridge.

“I am, my dear Madam,
“With most sincere and tender affection,
“Yours,
“E. MONTAGU.”

[325] Abraham Cowley, born 1618, died 1667; poet.

[326] By Salomon Gesner, born 1730, died 1788. “Tod Abels.”

[Page heading: GOING TO TUNBRIDGE]

[Page heading: CHARACTER OF LORD BATH]

Writing from Sandleford on June 26 to Mrs. Scott, Mrs. Montagu mentions
that she is going to Tunbridge

“for 6 or 7 weeks perhaps, and the rest of the summer I shall pass
at Sandleford, except my excursion to Bath Easton. Mrs. Carter is
to come to Tunbridge to me as soon as I get thither, and, I hope,
stay with me the whole season. I was so fortunate as to enjoy her
company much longer in town this year than usual, but that only
makes me wish the more to have her again. She was not in the house
with me in town, preferring the quiet of a lodging to herself, and
indeed it would not be any delight to Mr. Montagu to have her in
the house; tho’ he says she would be a good sort of woman _if she
was not so pious_.[327] My Lord Bath told me he was to go to Bath
on Wednesday, the day we dined with him....

“I shall have Mrs. Boscawen for my neighbour at Tunbridge; she is
to be at Sir Sydney Smythe’s, only three miles from the Wells.
Lady Frances Williams is in the deepest affliction for Lady
Coningsbye.[328] To show the last respect to her, Lady Frances
staid in the house with the dead body in spite of all her friends
could do; she did not leave Lady Coningsbye’s house till last
Saturday; she has been so singularly unfortunate that, had she
not the strongest piety and the strongest reason to support her,
she must sink under the repeated strokes of affliction.... I
suppose you have read Dr. Hawkesworth’s[329] ‘Oriental Tales,’ it
is not written with so much spirit as the Oriental tales in ‘the
Adventurer’ which were by him, but there are some fine things in
it.... I have heard my Lord Bath speak with great regard for you
and Lady Bab Montagu. I believe we shall call on him on Monday,
on our way to London. We were asked to dine or lye there in our
journey down, and at our return. He has recovered his health and
spirits and is the most delightfull companion imaginable. I think
he has great good qualities, and I do not perceive the least of
that covetousness which was attributed to him while his wife lived;
he lives nobly, entertains generously, and I know many acts of
generosity he has done, and I have known them from the report and
acknowledgements of the persons obliged, for by his behaviour to
such of them as I have seen at his house you would think he had
received favours from them, which nobly enhances the benefit. He
seems to have the strongest sense of Religion, and on all occasions
to show it without the ostentation of one who wants to be praised
for piety, nor does he ever in the gayest of his conversation
forget the respect due to every moral duty. It would give one
pain to discover any faults in one who has such extraordinary
perfections and endowments, and I think his Lordship has outlived
the errors which the hustling of a mighty Spirit may in youth
have led him: as to his consort, she was, in Milton’s phrase, _a
cleaving mischief in his way to virtue_.

“I am glad Lord Bath is to be at Tunbridge. Mrs. Carter is a great
favourite, and I hope we shall have a good deal of his company.”

She winds up her letter with high commendation of Gesner’s “Death of
Abel” mentioned before.

[327] Mr. Montagu, though a most moral man and a Church attendant,
objected to religious conversation.

[328] Her sister.

[329] John Hawkesworth, LL D., essayist and novelist, died 1773.

[Page heading: BLIND MAN’S BUFF]

Dr. Young now writes--

“DEAR MADAM,

“You and I are playing blind man’s buff; we both fancy we are
catching something, and we are both mistaken. You say you have sent
me two somethings, and I have not received so much as one, and you
expected one from me, which is not yet come to your hand, which
will kiss your hand this week, and if you are at the trouble of
reading it over you will find a sufficient excuse for my delay. By
what you say in your kind letter, you give me a very keen appetite
for both the books which you promise. I have heard nothing yet of
the time of my going to Kew: when I am there I shall make it my
endeavour to enjoy as much of you as I can. I have been in very
great pain with my rheumatism for some time, but now, I bless God,
I hope the worst is over. May health and peace keep company with
that benevolence and genius which are already with you.

“I am, dear Madam,
“Your much obliged
and most obedient humble Servt.,
“E. YOUNG.

“Mrs. Hallows[330] sends her best respects.

“Wellwyn, the 2nd July, ’61.”

[330] Mrs. Hallows was Dr. Young’s lady housekeeper.

Dr. Young’s allusion to Kew was the fact that he had recently been
appointed Clerk of the Closet to the Princess Dowager of Wales.

[Page heading: THE FUTURE QUEEN]

On July 7 Mrs. Montagu started for Tunbridge Wells, and on the
following Monday sent her post-chaise to fetch Mrs. Carter, and Lord
Bath arrived from London on the same day. Mr. Montagu, who was going to
Sandleford for a while, mentions in a letter of July 11 to his wife that

“there was a great appearance of the privy council when the King
declar’d his intention of demanding the Princess of Mecklenburgh
in marriage, a request that can never be denied. The family is
ancient, and the blood high, but I suppose the Dukedom not very
rich, but this may be helped with subsidies, etc., but this is
not much to be grudged if by making our young Monarch happy it
contributes to that of the Nation, tho’ Princes are under a
disadvantage from which their subjects are free, of marrying those
whom they have never seen or convers’d with, still I hope there is
reason to be believed that this alliance, as it was of the young
Monarch’s choosing and not of the imposing of a Father, and as
money, etc., is out of the case, that care has been taken by those
employ’d to give a true information both of the perfections of the
mind and body of this Princess, and he will be happy.”

Mr. Montagu adds that the pictures at Newbold Verdon were to be sold
for Mr. Edward Wortley-Montagu’s debts, but that a list of them had
been sent to him by Mr. E. Wortley-Montagu, who desired to know which
he would accept of as a present. Mr. Montagu had marked his brother’s
portrait (Mr. James Montagu), and asks his wife to say if there were
any she wished for. Very probably the picture by Sir Peter Lely of the
first Earl of Sandwich, Mr. Montagu’s grandfather, which I possess,
came from there.

Lord Bath conveyed Mrs. Montagu and Mrs. Carter “to Mr.
Pratt’s[331] place, call’d Bayham Abbey, which I believe you once
saw with Mr. Pitt. The ruins of the Abbey are very noble. Tho’ the
Gothick buildings have not in their time of utmost perfection the
beauty of the Græcian; time seems to have a greater triumph in
the destruction of strength than of grace.... I have just now the
pleasure of hearing Pondicherry[332] is taken. I hope this will
depress the spirits of the French.... Lord Bath and Lord Lyttelton
and Mrs. Carter and Doctor Smythe and many others desire their
compliments.”

[331] Afterwards Lord Camden.

[332] Pondicherry in the East Indies was taken on January 15, 1761.

On July 20 Dr. Stillingfleet writes from Stanlake, Berks, the seat of
his friend, Richard Neville Aldworth, expressing his regret that he
cannot accept Mrs. Montagu’s kind invitation to Tunbridge Wells, as
his friend, Mr. Aldworth, had made him promise to spend a summer with
him at Stanlake. “This friend has had his constitution broken so by
the gout, that he is become a valetudinarian, and therefore I can the
less think of leaving him. He is ordered by his Physician to drink the
Sunning Hill Waters, and we are going there as soon as he is able.” Mr.
Aldworth was an ancestor of Lord Braybrooke’s.

[Page heading: MR. RICHARDSON’S DEATH]

Mr. Richardson, the author of “Clarissa Harlowe,” etc., died on July
4, to the great grief of Dr. Young, who was a bosom friend of his.
Mrs. Montagu bade Dr. Young come to Tunbridge to cheer his spirits. He
writes--

“DEAR MADAM,

“On your very kind invitation I have inquired if it is in my
power to accept of it, but I am not yet satisfied in that point.
Probabilities will not excuse me if her R. H. should go to Kew. I
should be very happy to be with you. I have so much to say to you
that at present I shall say nothing. You will hear further of me
in a little while. I beg my humble service to Mrs. Carter. May the
Waters continue to be as serviceable to you as I would be if it was
in my power.

“I am, dear Madam,
“Your obliged
and most obedient humble Servt.,
“E. YOUNG.

“July 21, 1761.”

[Page heading: “COOLING STANZAS!”]

On July 30 Dr. Young writes that he is obliged to refuse Mrs. Montagu’s
kind invitation “as he had a friend with him he could not leave,”
and as “her Royal Highness sent me word she would send for me when
she wanted me; for these reasons I deny myself the great pleasure of
waiting on you. I have ordered some Stanzas to be sent to you; they are
of a cooling nature, and may qualify your waters.”

In this year (1761) a complete collection of the doctor’s works was
printed.

[Page heading: UPON THE FUTURE QUEEN]

On the 8th of July George III. had announced his intention of
demanding in marriage the Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz;
negotiations were immediately commenced. Mrs. Montagu writes from
Tunbridge Wells to her husband thus--

“We are all disappointed here at hearing our new Queen is fair; the
first report was that by a lively bloom she would cast a shade
over the white complexions of our royal family. The sight of our
brilliant Court, the salutations of our navy on her arrival, the
opulent appearance of our towns, and the greatness of our capital
city will astonish her. I hope her mind is more proportioned
to her lot in marriage than such a situation is to her present
circumstances. A noble mind will fill a great situation, and enjoy
it with pleasure and gratitude, without the swellings of insolence,
but such a change is dangerous where there is a mediocrity of sense
and virtue. I heartily wish she may be worthy of our young King,
be pleasing in the domestick scene, and great in the publick; his
good nature will impart to her a share of power and a degree of
confidence, and I wish for the publick she may never abuse the
one, nor misapply the other. There seems not to be a very good
choice of ladies about her, there is not one who is quite fit to
teach her even the forms of her publick conduct, none at all equal
to advise her private, ignorant as she must be of the behaviour
that will be expected of her, she should have had some woman of
quality of remarkable discretion, character, and politeness, whom
high birth and great situation had approached as nearly as a
subject can to the station of a Queen. Lady Bute would have been
the properest person, but I suppose she might out of delicacy
avoid putting herself about the Queen’s person, as thinking it
might look like watching her, and indeed so happy as Lady Bute
is in her circumstances, the slavery of personal attendance is
more than anything but great ambition could pay her for. I think,
however, they have chosen the ladies[333] of the bedchamber; her
Majesty must consult Lady Bute upon everything.... Lord Bath always
inquires after you and sends his compliments. Lord Lyttelton is
gone on a party of pleasure with Mr. Selwyn.[334] This place is
pretty full of I know not who. Sir Edward Dering and his family
and the Lambarts breakfasted at Tunbridge, and go back again.

“I am, my Dearest,
“With the greatest gratitude
and affection, your most faithful wife,
“E. M.”

[333] The Duchess of Ancaster and Duchess of Hamilton were sent to
escort Queen Charlotte to England.

[334] George Selwyn, celebrated wit; born 1719, died 1791.

[Page heading: A LETTER OF ADVICE]

[Page heading: LES BELLES LETTRES]

[Page heading: THE FEAR OF GOD]

Mrs. Montagu’s letter of advice to Mr. Thomas Lyttelton, who had now
left Eton and gone to Christ Church, Oxford, though undated, may be
placed here.

“Tunbridge, 28 (July?).

“DEAR SIR,

“I have often check’d my inclination to write to you while you were
at Eton for fear of calling you off from your school exercises;
but as you are now in a situation, where there is a vacancy of
business and pleasure, I do not feel the same scruples, may write
you long letters, and expect full answers to them. However, I will
be so far reasonable, that if you send me a card, to signify that
you are engaged for the week, or month, to Cicero or Livy, it will
be a more valid excuse to me than if, on inviting you to dinner,
you told me you were engaged to a beauty or a Duchess. My love
for you, my hope of you, my wishes for you, and my expectations
from you, unite in giving me a respect for your time, and a deep
concern for your employment of it. The morning of life, like the
morning of the day, should be dedicated to business. On the proper
use of that ‘sweet hour of prime’ will depend the glory of your
noon of life, and serenity of the evening. Give it, therefore, dear
Mr. Lyttelton, to the strenuous exertion and labour of the mind,
before the indolence of the meridian hour, or the unabated fervour
of the exhausted day renders you unfit for severe application.
I hope you will not (like many young men who have been reckoned
good scholars at Eton and Westminster) take leave of it there,
and fall into the study of _les belles lettres_, as we call our
modern books. I suppose from the same courtesy the weakest part
of the rational species is styled the fair sex, though it can
boast of few perfect beauties, and perhaps the utmost grace and
dignity of the human form is never found in it. As you have got a
key to the sacred shades of Parnassus, do not lose your time in
sauntering in the homely orchards or diminutive pleasure gardens
of the latter times. If the ancient inhabitants of Parnassus were
to look down from their immortal bowers on our labyrinths, whose
greatest boast is a fanciful intricacy, our narrow paths where
genius cannot take his bounding steps, and all the pert ornaments
in our parterres of wit, they would call them the modern’s folly;
a name the wise farmer often gives to some spot from whence the
Squire has banished the golden harvest, to trim it up for pleasure
with paltry ornaments and quaint conceits. I should be sorry to see
you quit Thucydides for Voltaire, Livy for Vertot, Xenophon for the
bragging Memoirs of French Marshals, and the universal Tully and
deep Tacitus for speculative politicians, modern orators, and the
dreamers in Universities or convents. I will own that in Natural
Philosophy and some of the lesser branches of learning the Moderns
excel; but it would not be right for a person of your situation
to strike into any private paths of Science. The study of History
will best fit you for active life. From history you will acquire a
knowledge of mankind, and a true judgment in politics; in moral, as
well as physical enquiries, we should have recourse to experiments.
As to the particular study of eloquence, I need hardly exhort you
to do it; for eloquence is not only the most beautiful of all the
daughters of wisdom, but has also the best dowry; and we may say
of her, as Solomon did of her Mother, riches and honours are in
her right hand. Elevation of sentiment and dignity of language
are necessary to make an orator; modern life and modern language
will hardly inspire you with either. I look upon Virtue as the
muse of Eloquence, she inspired the phillippics of the Grecian
and Roman Orator, her voice awakened Rome, slumbering in the
snares of Catiline. Public spirit will teach the art of public
speaking better than the rules of rhetoric, but above all things,
the character of the orator gives persuasion, grace, and dignity
to the Oration. Integrity of Manners gives the best testimony of
sincerity of speech. If you form your conduct upon the sacred
book which gives rules far more perfect than human wisdom could
contrive, you will be an honour to religion, a support to your
country, and a blessing to your family. It may seem strange that
I have last mentioned what should be first regarded. The Bible
alone will make a good man; human learning without the fear of God,
which is the beginning of Wisdom and the knowledge of Him, which is
understanding, will produce but a poor inconsistent character; but
duties are enlarged and multiplied by the power and circumstances
with which God has intrusted us, and in which He has placed us.
Your talents and situation will fit you for public trusts; it is a
duty in you to qualify yourself for them, to give your virtue every
strength, and then to employ it in the service of your country in
its most important interests, true religion, and good government.
I hope you will excuse my having said so much, that has the air
of advice to one who wants it so little, but young people are apt
to be prodigal of time because they think they have so many years
before them; but if life be long, the season for improvement is
short.

“I hope Mrs. Fortescue[335] liked the Indian paper; it is new
and uncommon, and I thought much prettier than any I could get
at a moderate price. I beg my respects to her and my dear Miss
Lyttelton.[336] I hear there will be a turnpike road between Oxford
and Newbury, and I hope you will frequently make use of it. I shall
leave Tunbridge on Monday. I have enjoyed perfect health here, and
the society of some of my best friends, so you may believe I have
passed the season very happily, but a happy life seems always a
short one. Mrs. Carter was so good as to give me her company in
my house. My Lord Lyttelton and my Lord Bath were often with us;
having had their characters continually before me, you will not
wonder I should think great acquirements as well as great talents
necessary to make all possible perfection. I am sure you will be
pleased to hear that my Lord Bath greatly approves and admires that
part of my Lord Lyttelton’s history which is already printed. I
believe there is not any one living whose approbation would give
Lord Lyttelton so much pleasure; talents and virtues and extensive
knowledge all in the highest degree join to make him a perfect
judge, and his great reputation gives him a decisive authority;
your Father is proud of his praise as a critick, and pleased with
it on motives of friendship, which touch his heart more nearly than
any where vanity has a part, tho’ he is an author and a poet. His
Lordship’s Muse met him in the shades of Penshurst, and with love
or flattery prompted two charming pieces, one to Mrs. Carter, and
one to my Lord Bath. Mrs. Carter, Dr. Monsey and Mr. Montagu desire
their compliments to you.

“I am, dear Sir,
“Your most sincere and affectionate friend
and obedient humble Servant,
“E. MONTAGU.”

[335] Mr. Lyttelton’s grandmother.

[336] His sister.

[Page heading: A BLOOM-COLOURED COAT]

Dr. Monsey, who had recovered from a severe illness, had joined the
party at Tunbridge, and had appeared in a new bloom-coloured coat, to
the amusement of the Montagu circle, who chaffed him upon it.

On August 22 Mr. Charles Morton wrote to Mrs. Montagu the following:--

“MADAM,

“As I conceive the following article which I have just received in
a letter from Paris, to relate to the Countess of Pomfret,[337]
I thought it might be agreeable to you to acquaint Her Ladyship
therewith.

“‘Monsʳ Bejot, who, since the death of the Abbé Sallier, has care
of the manuscripts in the King’s Library, is a most worthy and
obliging gentleman; he has promised me to have copies drawn of the
curious Cuts in the beautiful Manuscript of Froissard’s Chronicle,
for an English lady, a great friend to Oxford.’ This letter is
dated Paris, August 1st; the writer is the Butler who travels with
Mr. Howard, nephew to the Duke of Norfolk. I am much obliged to you
for the Highland Poems; and have the honour to remain, Madam,

“Your most obliged and most humble servant,
“CHARLES MORTON.

“Museum, August 22, 1761.”

[337] Lady Pomfret, widow of the 1st Earl Pomfret, had in 1755
presented the University of Oxford with a portion of the Arundel
marbles which had been purchased by her husband’s father. She was
the daughter of the second and last Baron Jeffreys, of Wem. She had
been Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Caroline.

[Illustration: DR. EDWARD YOUNG.]

[Page heading: DR. YOUNG]

Mrs. Montagu quitted Tunbridge Wells on August 30. On September 2 she
wrote to Mrs. Carter--

“I found on my table a poem on ‘Resignation’[338] by Dr. Young;
he sent me a copy for you which I will send by the Deal coach....
You will be pleased I think with what he says of Voltaire, you
know we exhorted him to attack a character whose authority is so
pernicious. In vain do Moralists attack the shadowy forms of Vice
while the living Temples of it are revered and admired.”

[338] “Resignation” was written with a view of consolation for Mrs.
Boscawen on her husband’s death.

Dr. Young writes on September 2--

“Dear MADAM,

“I was in too much haste and ordered a thing to be sent to you
(which I suppose you have received) before I had read it myself. On
reading it, I find my distance from the Press has occasioned many
errors; so that in some parts I have had the impudence to present
you with perfect nonsense.

“Page 18, Stanza 2nd, should be thus (viz.)--

“‘Earth, a cast Mistress _then_ disgusts, etc.’

“Page 34: It should be thus (viz.)--

“‘Receive the triple prize, etc.’

“Pray pardon this trouble from, dear Madam,

“Your much obliged and most obedient
“H. Servant,
“E. YOUNG.

“P.S.--I know not how to direct the enclosed, excuse my insolence
in desiring you to do it for me.”

[Page heading: LORD BATH’S PORTRAIT]

[Illustration:

_Sir J. Reynolds P.R.A. Pinx._ _Emery Walker Ph.Sc._

_William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath_]

Lord Bath was having his picture (now in the National Portrait Gallery)
painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds for Mrs. Montagu. He left London for
Ives Place, and writes--

“I shall be in town again in a few days, but not till after the
Queen’s arrival, for I have had the opportunity of making my
excuses, in the proper place, for not attending the marriage
ceremony. You will judge of the likeness of the Picture best, when
I am not present, if it could speak, it would tell you, what I can
scarce venture to do. How much I love and am, etc.”

[Page heading: THE CORONATION]

Mrs. Montagu went to London for the coronation, which took place
September 22, leaving Mr. Montagu at Sandleford. She writes to him--

“I have not got any cold or mischief from the coronation, at half
an hour after four I got into the coach, went by Fulham to Lambeth,
from whence I crossed the water in a boat which landed me at the
cofferer’s office, where I was to see the Show. I had a perfect
view of the procession to and from Westminster to the Abbey, and
I must say it rather exceeded my expectation. The ladies made a
glorious appearance; whenever there was any beauty of countenance
or shape or air they were all heightened by the dress. Lady Talbot
was a fine figure. The Queen, being very little, did not appear to
advantage. The King had all the impressions of decent satisfaction
and good-natured joy in his face; looked about him with great
complacency, and tried to make himself as visible as he could to
the mob, but the canopy carried over his Majesty’s head and the
persons who carried his train made him not so conspicuous. His
behaviour at the Abbey pleased much. It was perfectly dark before
the Procession returned from the Abbey, so we lost the second view.
I got into a barge which I hired for 7_s._ 6_d._, and got to the
coach which waited at Yorke buildings. Mr. Botham and his daughters
are just gone. Lord Lyttelton was near fainting away just as the
procession set out from the Hall, and was obliged to sit down
and take drops till a chair could be got to carry him home. Lady
Albemarle fainted presently after. Lord Grantham was ill, but able
to go thro’ the ceremony.

“The early hour the Peers and Peeresses are forced to rise at and
the weight of their robes and all the whole affair is fatiguing,
but they make a good figure, for there is something very majestick
in the dress.

“I believe my Lord Bath will come down to us about Wednesday or
perhaps Tuesday. I shall be at Sandleford on Monday.”

[Page heading: HIS MAJESTY’S BEHAVIOUR]

In another letter describing the coronation to Mrs. Carter, Mrs.
Montagu says--

“It is impossible to say enough of the behaviour of the King.
During the procession his countenance expressed a benevolent joy
in the vast concourse of people and their loud acclamations, but
with not the least air of pride or insolent exultation. In the
religious offices his Majesty behaved with the greatest reverence
and deepest attention; he pronounced with earnest solemnity his
engagements to his people, and when he was to receive the Sacrament
he pulled off his crown. How happy that in the day of the greatest
worldly pomp and adorned with the ensigns of regal power he should
remember his duty to the King of Kings. The Archbishop pleased
much in the Coronation Service. I am indeed grieved at the heart
for Mrs. Chapone:[339] all calamities are light in comparison of
the loss of what one loves, uniquement; after that dear object
is lost the glories of the golden day are for ever overcast, and
there is no tranquillity under the silent moon, the soft and quiet
pleasures are over, business may employ and diversions amuse the
mind, but the _soul’s calm sunshine and the heartfelt joy_ can
never be regained. Mrs. Chapone has great virtues, and if she has
the Martyr’s sufferings will have the martyr’s reward.”

[339] _Née_ Hester Mulso, a friend of Mr. S. Richardson’s, and
authoress of “Letters on the Improvement of the Mind”; born 1727,
died 1801.

[Page heading: LADY POMFRET]

The following letter is from Lady Pomfret:--

“Richmond Hill, October 4, 1761.

“DEAR MADAM,

“The reason you give for my being deprived of the pleasure of a
visit from you before you left London doubles the mortification.
I was in hope Tunbridge had established your Health. The return
of my fever (which has left me but a few daies) was the cause
that I made no attempt to wait on you, the week you stayed after
the Coronation, and when I did found you had been gone the day
before; but soon after, Froissart and your letter informed me that
your goodness to me subsisted, in all the bustle of magnificence
and oppression of sickness, since you found time to read my old
Chronicle with my Lord Lyttelton, to whom, and to you, I know not
how to express my gratitude enough, but I really feel a great deal.

“Your criticism delights me, as it was always my opinion that such
words as you mention ought to be changed for more intelligible
ones, and that it might be done, with propriety, without altering
the idiom, but I was so charged not to deviate from the old
language that, till I had such authorities as you and my Lord
Lyttelton, I did not dare to follow my own judgment, but shall now
with alacrity go about it, being very happy in your approbation
of the rest of the book, which I hope will be finish’d before the
meeting of the Parliament, and that I shall have the assistance of
such friends for the perfecting of it. Your partiality to me, dear
Madam, is very flattering; but let Mrs. Montagu know that if I ever
was or am proud of my discerning faculty ’tis because I see her in
her true light; of brightness with modesty, Reason without Vanity,
and a thorough knowledge of this and the next world as far as is
permitted to mortals; this I might have heard, but I glory that I
see it. I need not add what must be the consequence; that

“I am, Madam,
“Your sincere admirer: and
“Most faithful Humᵉ servᵗ,
“J. POMFRET.

“Lady Sophia Carteret and Mrs. Shelley beg
your acceptance of their best respects.”

Lady Pomfret died on December 16, 1761, at Marlborough, Wilts.

[Page heading: LORD LYTTELTON’S LETTER]

On October 5 Lord Lyttelton writes to Mrs. Montagu from Hagley a long
letter, an extract of which I give--

“Tom proposes to give a ball to some young people of the
neighbourhood on this day sennight, which will add to our number
and our jollity. He desires me to tell you that if you were within
twenty miles of our Ball-room he would invite you to it among the
handsome _young_ women; which you may notify to the cynic Monsey,
when he talks to you next of the _horrid gulph of forty_, and bid
him hold his fool’s tongue. I believe you fib about your age and
make yourself at least ten years older than you are, to be nearer
to Lord Bath. I hope you have been, and are still as happy with
him at Sandleford as your heart can desire. You will not think it
a compliment to either of you when I say, that I would be glad
to exchange all the mirth of our ball for the dullest of your
evenings; but I will add in great truth, that I would give up the
finest day in Hagley Park for a rainy one in your company. I had
a letter last post from the Dean,[340] in which he says, ‘Your
Lordship must not be surprised if you hear in a post or two of Mr.
Secretary Pitt’s and Lord Temple’s being out of their employments.
Unless something extraordinary happens, this event will certainly
take place in a few days. I have this intelligence not from common
report, but from the best authority. The reason given for their
resignation is the opposition made in the Cabinet to Mr. Pitt’s
proposal of sending a fleet immediately to intercept the Spanish
Flota daily expected home, and likewise to attack their men-of-war
wherever they are to be found, but your Lordship knows there are
other causes of discontent.’ If this should be true, I imagine Lord
Egremont[341] will be Secretary of State and Lord Hardwick[342]
Privy Seal. Mr. James Grenville will probably lay down with his
brother, which will make a vacancy at the Cofferer’s Office, one
of the few I might take if there was an inclination to bring me
into employment. I wish much to know Lord Bath’s opinion of Pitt’s
advice. To me it seems to be that of a man who (in a political
sense) _fears neither God nor man_. It certainly must be founded
upon a supposition that a war with Spain is inevitable, which I
should hope is not true; and even in that case I think England
ought to be very cautious not to appear the aggressor, which this
conduct would make her. But I had rather hear his Lordship’s
judgment upon this question than give my own.”

[340] Charles Lyttelton, Dean of Carlisle.

[341] Charles, 2nd Earl of Egremont, born 1710, died 1763.

[342] Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwick, born 1690, died 1764.

[Page heading: LORD BATH’S JOURNEY]

[Page heading: THE POSITION OF MINISTERS]

Lord Bath had left Sandleford before this letter arrived there.

On October 8 he writes--

“I can never sufficiently, Madam, acknowledge my great obligations
to you and to Mr. Montagu for the honours I received at Sandleford.
Six more agreeable days I never passed in my whole Life, but when
one has been excessively happy we always pay most severely for the
change, when forced to quit it. This made the Doctor’s[343] journey
and mine most excessively stupid and melancholy. He was seized with
such a soporifick Torpor (as if a deluge of rain was hanging in
the clouds), and yet we had not a drop the whole way, and I was so
wretchedly miserable, that all I could say to him was, ‘Doctor, I
passed over this same ground yesterday from coming from Padworth
much more cheerfully and happily than I do now, but one comfort
is that we are allowed the liberty of hoping for a renewal of the
same happiness some other time.’ When we got to Reading, where we
stopped for 10 or 12 minutes (without getting out of our chaize),
our landlady seeing we looked melancholy, endeavoured to comfort
us by telling us a piece of good news, that an express was just
arrived with an account of a complete victory obtained by the King
of Prussia over the Russians. On this we speculated and ruminated
for some time, when we met Mr. Cambridge, who assured us it was all
a lye, but that another event had occurred which would surprize us
extremely, and then told us Mr. Pitt[344] had quitted the seals;
this astonished the Doctor more than it did me, who had received
some hint of it before, but we both agreed it was a very unlucky
time for adventuring on such rough measures, so near the Meeting
of Parliament, and before anything was fixed for the obtaining of
peace, or preparing for a further prosecution of the War; in short,
we ended in wishing all Ministers at the Devil, rather than that
their disagreements and dissentions amongst one another should
bring any difficulties or dishonour on the best man in the world,
the master of all of them.... I will make this reflection upon all
human happiness, that the state and duration of it is extremely
uncertain. A minister may be a very great and think himself a very
happy man one day, and nothing at all the very next. Just so was
I, Madam, happy beyond measure a few days ago, and now forced at a
terrible distance to be assuring you that I am, with all possible
respect,

“Your Ladyship’s most humble
and most obedient Servant,
“BATH.”

[343] Dr. Monsey.

[344] Mr. Pitt resigned the Seals on October 5, 1761.

Lord Lyttelton writes on October 14 to Mrs. Montagu--

“Since my last, Mr. Pitt has brought his bark into a happy port. A
Barony for his wife and a pension of £3000 a year for three lives
are agreeable circumstances in a retreat, which delivers him from
the difficulty of carrying on the War, or making the Peace, and
keeps all his laurels green and unfading on his brow. No Minister
in this country has ever known so well the times and seasons of
going in and coming out with advantage to himself. I hope there
will be new gold boxes sent to him by the cities and Boroughs to
express their sense of his noble and _disinterested_ conduct, and
to assure him that their lives and fortunes are all at his service.
In effect, I hear that all over this country since first we had the
news of his resigning the Seals, the cry of the people in Taverns
and Alehouses is, ‘No Pitt, no King.’ However, I imagine that as
he has condescended to accept of this mark of royal favour, he will
be so good as to allow the King to remain on the throne.”

[Page heading: AN ACT OF HUMILITY]

On the same day as this last letter Dr. Monsey writes from St. James’s
to Mrs. Montagu. This paragraph is interesting--

“But here’s a Rout about giving a patriot 3_s._ 6_d._ for his past
services either for speaking to the purpose, or holding his tongue
for a very good one. Why, he might have been Governor-General of
all North America with a pension of £5000. This was confidently
said at the ‘Mount’ Coffee House as offered by the King, and was
told by Manby as coming from P----, _no joke indeed_, no more than
he has advertised seven good horses, ‘_late Mr. Pitt’s_,’ to be
sold. There’s an act of humility for you.”

Miss Mary Pitt, Mr. Pitt’s sister, writes to Mrs. Montagu--

“DEAR MADAM,

“Tho’ I suppose you know all that has happened since last Monday,
I cannot forbear talking to you upon what the King has been so
very gracious as to do for my family, in granting a pension of
three thousand pounds a year to Mr. Pitt for three lives, and as he
knows that he feels a repugnancy to having his name upon the Irish
pensions, his is upon the American Duties, and the Peerage which
his Majesty has also done him the honour to bestow upon his family
is given to Lady Hester,[345] who is made Baroness of Chatham,
by which means he is left still at liberty to be an Alderman; as
to all the rest, which you may know, I will do _comme si vous ne
saviez pas_. My Lord Egremont received the Seals of Secretary of
State yesterday, my Lord Temple gave up his seals yesterday, and I
was informed last night that my Lord Hardwick was to be Privy Seal,
which I do not doubt, tho’ it is not declared. Mr. George Grenville
is not to be Speaker, that he may have the management of the House
of Commons. My Lord Temple is very angry with him, and I believe
very much disappointed; at the same time I am assured that my Lord
Bristol writes in the strongest manner everything that can give
satisfaction to the present Ministry with regard to the intentions
of the Spanish Court, and those despatches are said to have come
Wednesday last.... I heard a few days ago from Paris that the Duc
de Nivernois[346] had got a passport for my nephew.” This was for
Mr. Tom Pitt.

[345] Lady Hester’s patent made out on December 4, 1761.

[346] French ambassador and writer.

At this period Dr. Gregory lost his wife, and was in great despair; she
was a daughter of William, Lord Forbes.

[Page heading: WIDOWS’ WEEDS]

At the end of October Mrs. Montagu set out on a short visit to her
sister, Mrs. Scott, and Lady Bab Montagu at Bath Easton. Dr. Monsey was
then at Bath, whither later Mrs. Montagu also repaired. Bath society
was enthusiastic upon the subject of Mr. Pitt and a political letter
he wrote at this period. From a letter written from Bath to Mrs.
Carter about a Mrs. Talbot, a reduced lady, who was an applicant for
a lady’s-maid situation, we learn that £10 per annum were regarded as
adequate wages for such an attendant. I subjoin a curious paragraph as
to a widow’s dress--

“The fashionable dress for a widow is a gown with two broad plaits
in the back, a short cuff which comes a little below the elbow,
round double ruffles very shallow. The dress weed is made of silk
made on purpose, undress crape, a black silk long apron, black
handkerchief, black hood, and a plain sort of night-cap. Either
a night-gown or sack may be worn with a short train, no flounce
or ornament of any sort, and if a sack scanty, and only two broad
plaits. Many women of condition who are not young, wear merely a
common crape sack, the younger sort wear the dress that denotes
their widowhood, and in a country town I should suppose the full
form must be observed. I imagine your enquiry is for poor Mrs.
Primrose.”

[Page heading: A CALL FOR POETRY]

On November 17 Mrs. Montagu writes from Hill Street to Mrs. Carter--

“MY DEAR FRIEND,

“I had this day the pleasure of receiving my dear Friend’s most
charming ode. I, alas! am like Monsr. Jourdain, I speak nothing
but prose, but I believe my heart feels with all the enthusiasm
of poetry.... My Lord Bath is vastly happy that you are to be in
town the 1st of January. My Lord Lyttelton is better, but his fever
is not quite gone.... I think you should print the verses my Lord
Lyttelton addressed to you from Penshurst. Pray write some more
odes, and let your seamstresses do your plain work, and the Clerk
transcribe your verses.”

This year an edition of Mrs. Carter’s various works was printed. When
Mrs. Carter was in London she lodged with Mrs. Norman in Clarges
Street. Mrs. Montagu having ascertained that she could have her
lodgings there from the 1st of January, adds--

“You do not deign to mention Fingal, etc., but that I could pardon,
for Poet Ossian has been dead full many a day, but there is a head
on which laurels now grow, and it bears more than Parnassian bays,
even wreaths of sacred Virtue, and this head is apt to ake, and
then my heart akes for sympathy. Poor Lady Pomfret by weary stages
reached Marlborough, from thence she yesterday morning quitted
the weary journey of human life and passed with resignation to a
better. I am angry with Dr. James for sending her in so hopeless
a state from her quiet home to the noise and inconvenience of
Inns.... I think Mr. Rivington must be bewitched. I will send the
books as you direct. I had a quadrille table last night; and last
week the Bard Macpherson and many others of the tuneful train and
we had the feast of shells and drank out of a nautilus to the
immortal memory of Ossian. The Nautilus, you know, is a perfect
sailor as the other is a poet by nature. I am a little mortified
that you had not a word to fling at Ossian. Take a modern Poet
Laureate and put out his eyes and see whether he will sing as
sweetly, tho’ he sings darkling.”

[Page heading: THE _BAS-BLEUS_ AND SHELLS]

The _bas-bleus_ from this time constantly celebrated, amongst their
_intimates_, the feast of shells mentioned in Ossian by drinking out of
them on any particular occasion.

Lord Bath’s portrait, not satisfying Mrs. Montagu, had been returned to
Mr. Reynolds for amendment, and Lord Bath writes--

“MADAM,

“I will sitt to Mr. Reynolds either Wenesday or Saturday next,
whichever is most convenient to him, and shall be glad to meet
Mr. Tristram Shandy (as you call him) or Mr. Sterne (as I must
call him) there, but where it is to be you do not mention. If the
alteration can be made in a quarter of an hour, it is scarce worth
taking the Picture out of your house, but if it is to be altered at
Mr. Reynolds’ I will be there on either of the days mentioned. Last
night I slept extreamely well and the better since I went from Mrs.
Vesey’s, happy in seeing you look so charmingly and well....

“3 a clock, Dec. 26th, 1761.”

[Page heading: LAURENCE STERNE]

Lord Bath had remarkably penetrating and brilliant eyes, and one of the
faults found with the picture was in the representation of this feature.

The next letter from Lord Bath runs--

“How cruel was it, before I got out of bed, to receive a letter
forbidding me coming to you this night! but I hope nothing will
prevent me from having that happiness to-morrow. On Wenesday about
one of the Clock, I will most certainly be at Mr. Reynolds’ to mend
my sickly looks, and to sitt down in my chair, as I should do;
instead of being half standing, which criticism of Mr. Sterne’s I
think perfectly right; as for my looks, I fear they will not be
much mended by any Physick of Mr. Reynolds. He has made an old man
look as if he was in pain, which an old man generally is, and so
far he is right.”

Mrs. Montagu took Mr. Sterne to the sittings so that he might amuse
Lord Bath with his _bons mots_! Surely this would form a pretty and
historical picture if any artist would paint it.

On the publication of her poems, to which Mrs. Carter looked forward in
a nervous frame of mind, Mrs. Montagu says--

“I am sorry for your tremors and trepidations, but they are mere
nervous disorders, and the manuscript must be printed, so my dear
Urania, away with your lamentations, sit down, revise, correct,
augment, print, and publish. I am sure you will have a pleasure in
communicating the pious, virtuous sentiments that breathe in all
your verses. My inferior Soul will feel a joy in your producing
such proofs of genius to the world.... The very best of your
poetical productions have never been published, they may indeed
have been seen by a few in manuscripts, but the finest things on
sheets are soon lost--

‘Foliis tantum ne carmina manda;
Ne turbata volent rapidis ludibria Ventis.’

Print them and bind them fast I beg you.”

Writing to her brother, William Robinson, then at Rome, at this period,
Mrs. Montagu congratulates him on the prospect of a son or daughter--

“I desire to have all the share I can in the little one, shall
be happy to be accepted as a godmother, and thank you for being
so obliging as to intend it my name if it is a girl; it will not
disgrace her if she should be a toast, for I once knew a Miss Betty
Robinson that set up for one; if it is not disagreeable to you I
should be glad if it was christened Elizabeth Montagu, which will
be also a compliment to my husband. I envy you, my dear brother,
the pleasure of seeing at your leisure the Queen of Cities,
Imperial Rome.”

[Page heading: STERNE GOES ABROAD]

[Page heading: STERNE’S “MEMORANDUMS”]

The Rev. Laurence Sterne had been in bad health for some time; he had
just completed his fifth and sixth volumes of “Tristram Shandy,” and
with permission from the Archbishop of York for absence for a year or
more, he left Coxwould for the South of France, leaving the following
paper with Mrs. Montagu, who, it will be remembered, was his cousin by
marriage.

“December 28, 1761.

“Memorandums left with Mrs. Montagu in case I should
die abroad.

“L. STERNE.

“My sermons in a trunk at my friend Mr. Hall’s, St. John’s Street,
2 Vols. to be picked out of them.--N.B. There are enough for 3
Vols.--

“My Letters in my bureau at Coxwould and a bundle in a trunk with
my sermons.--

“Note. The large piles of letters in the garrets at York, to be
sifted over, in search for some either of Wit, or Humour--or what
is better than both--of Humanity and good Nature--these will
make a couple of Volumes _more_, and as not one of ’em was ever
wrote, like Pope’s or Voiture’s, to be printed, they are more
likely to be read--if there wants ought to serve the completion
of a 3rd volume--the Political Romance I wrote, which was never
publish’d--may be added to the fag end of the volumes.... Tho’ I
have 2 reasons why I wish it may not be wanted--first an undeserved
compliment to one, whom I have since found to be a very corrupt
man--I knew him weak and ignorant--but thought him honest. The
other reason is I have hung up Dr. Topham in the romance in a
ridiculous light--which upon my soul I now doubt whether he
deserves it--so let the Romance go to sleep not by itself--for
’twil have company.

“My _Conscio ad Clinum_ in Latin which I made for Fountayne, to
preach before the University to enable him to take his Doctor’s
Degree--you will find 2 copies of it, with my sermons--

“--He got Honour by it--What got I?--Nothing in my lifetime, then
let me not (I charge you Mrs. Sterne) be robbed of it after my
death. That long pathetic letter to him of the hard measure I have
received--I charge you, to let it be printed--’Tis equitable you
should derive that good from my sufferings at least.

“I have made my will--but I leave all I have to you and my
Lydia--you will not Quarrel about it--but I advise you to sell
my estate, which will bring 1800 pds. (or more after the year),
and what you can raise from my Works--and the sale of the last
copyright of the 5th and 6th Vols. of Tristram--and the produce
of this last work, all of which I have left (except 50 pds. in
my bookseller Becket’s hands, and which Mr. Garrick will receive
and lay out in stocks for me)--all these I would advise you to
collect--together with the sale of my library, &c., &c.--and
lay it out in Government Securities--If my Lydia should marry--I
charge you,--I charge you over again (that you may remember it the
more)--That upon no Delusive prospect, or promise from any one, you
leave yourself DEPENDENT; reserve enough for your comfort--or let
her wait your Death. I leave this in the hands of our Cosin Mrs.
Montagu--not because she is our cosin--but because I am sure she
has a good heart.

“We shall meet again.

“--Memᵈᵘᵐ. Whenever I die--’tis most probable, I shall have about
£200 due to me from my living--If Lydia should dye before you;
Leave my Sister something worthy of your self--in case you do not
think it meet to purchase an annuity for your greater comfort; if
you chuse that--do it in God’s name--

“--The pictures of the Mountebank and his Macaroni--is in a Lady’s
hands, who upon seeing ’em most cavaliery declared she would never
part with them--and from an excess of civility--or rather weakness
I could not summon up severity to demand them.

“--If I dye, her Name, &c., is inclosed in a billet seal’d up and
given with this--and then you must demand them--If refused--you
have nothing to do but send a 2d. message importing--’tis not for
her Interest to keep them.

“LAURENCE STERNE.

“Memorandums left by Mr. Sterne in
Mrs. Montagu’s hands before he
left England.”

[Page heading: TWO TEARDROPS]

Two teardrops are on this paper, which indicate Sterne’s emotional
temperament.

[Illustration:

_Sir J. Reynolds, pinx._ _E. Fisher. sc._

_Laurence Sterne._

Walker & Cockerell, ph. sc.]

[Page heading: FINIS]

And now, patient reader, I, the Editress of this literary mosaic of
my great-great-aunt’s letters and those of her friends, take leave
of you. If life and eyesight are vouchsafed to me, I hope to write
the remainder of her life some day, for she lived till 1800. Each
year added to her enormous circle of clever acquaintance, British and
foreign. The letters of Garrick and his wife, later ones of Sterne and
Dr. Johnson, Mrs. Vesey, Edmund Burke, Hannah More, and a host of other
notabilities, belong to a different period. As it is, the compilation
of this work has occupied me five years. One whole winter was devoted
to arranging the correspondence in chronological order, as very few of
the letters are dated.

APPENDICES.

“LONG” SIR THOMAS ROBINSON.

Sir Thomas was the eldest of the seven sons of William Robinson, of
Rokeby, Yorkshire, by his wife, _née_ Anne Walters. He was born and
baptized at Rokeby in 1700. After his school-days he made the grand
tour, as was the fashion of the day, and then entered the Army. At the
death of his father in 1719, he succeeded to the family estates in
Yorkshire. At the General Election of 1727 he became M.P. for Morpeth.
On October 25, 1728, he was married at Belfreys, in Yorkshire, to
Elizabeth, widow of Nicholas, Lord Lechmere, and daughter of Charles
Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle. Between the years 1725 and 1730 he
rebuilt the house at Rokeby, removed the church which stood behind
the house and rebuilt it in another spot, he added a stone wall all
round the park, made a bridge over the Greta river, and erected an
obelisk to his mother’s memory in 1730. All these acts were recorded
on two stone piers at the Greta entrance of the park. He planted
many trees at Rokeby. He designed the west wing of Castle Howard for
his brother-in-law, Lord Carlisle. In 1731 he was made a Baronet
of England, with remainder to his brothers. His nickname of “Long”
Sir Thomas Robinson was given to him from his great height, and to
distinguish him from another Sir Thomas Robinson, a diplomat of note,
afterwards created Lord Grantham. These two men were the reverse
of each other in appearance, “Long” Sir Thomas being exceptionally
tall, and the other very short and fat. One of Lady Townshend’s _bon
mots_ about the two was, “Why one should be preferred to the other I
can’t imagine, there is but little difference, the one is as broad
as the other is long;” and Lord Chesterfield, on being told “Long”
Sir Thomas was reported to be “dying by inches,” said, then it
would be some time before he was dead. On April 10, 1739, his wife,
to whom he was tenderly attached, died at Bath, and was taken to
Rokeby and buried under the new church he had erected. A monument was
erected to her there. In accordance with Sir Thomas’s will, though he
himself was buried at Merton Abbey, Surrey, a cenotaph was placed in
Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, to his and his wife’s memory, with
medallion portraits of her and himself, and bearing the following
inscription:--“To perpetuate his grateful sense of the pleasure he had
in the conversation of an accomplished woman, a sincere friend, and an
agreeable companion.” They had no children, so the English baronetcy
went to his next brother, William.

Sir Thomas was greatly given to hospitality; too much so for his
income. On October 22, 1741, he gave a great ball, as Horace Walpole
relates, “to a little girl of the Duke of Richmond’s; there are already
200 invited, from miss in a bib and apron to my Lord Chancellor in bib
and mace.” The ball began at 8 p.m., and ended at 4 a.m. A few days
after Horace Walpole writes, “There were a 197 persons at Sir Thomas’s,
and yet it was so well conducted that nobody felt a crowd. He had taken
off all his doors, and so separated the old and the young that neither
were inconvenienced by the other. The ball began at 8; each man danced
one minuet with his partner, and then began country dances. There
were four-and-twenty couple, divided into twelve and twelve; each set
danced two dances, and then retired into another room, while the other
set took their two, and so alternately.... We danced till 4, then had
tea and coffee and came home.” A month later he writes about a second
ball. What with his numerous entertainments and his building at Rokeby
and elsewhere, he became impoverished, and accepted the Governorship
of Barbadoes in January, 1742, from which he was recalled in 1747.
In Barbadoes he married his second wife, a widow named Salmon, _née_
Booth. She had a considerable fortune, but on her husband’s return
to England, she refused to accompany him, preferring Barbadoes. Sir
Thomas was intimate with Lord Chesterfield, who made an epigram on him,
beginning--

“Unlike my subject will I make my song,
It shall be witty, and it shan’t be long.”

He must have been a bore, for Sir John Hawkins says of him, “Sir Thomas
Robinson was a man of the world, or rather of the town, and a great
pest to persons of high rank or in office. He was very troublesome
to the Earl of Burlington, and when in his visits to him he was told
his lordship had gone out, would desire to be admitted to look at a
clock, or play with a monkey that was kept in the hall, in hopes of
being sent for to the Earl. This he had so frequently done that all
the household were tired of him. At length it was concerted amongst
the servants that he should receive a summary answer to his usual
questions; and accordingly, at his next coming the porter, as soon as
he had opened the gate, and without waiting for what he had to say,
dismissed him with these words, ‘Sir, his lordship is gone out, the
clock stands, and the monkey is dead!’” The Duchess of Portland used to
name him to Mrs. Montagu as “your inimitable cousin!”

Appearing in Paris one day at a dinner in his hunting suit of green
and gold, and booted and spurred, a French abbé asked who he was, and,
on being told his name, and looking at his attire, inquired if he was
Robinson Crusoe. His house at Whitehall he sold to Lord Lincoln, and
he afterwards lived at Prospect Place, Chelsea. He bought the gardens
once belonging to Lord Ranelagh, and, with other shareholders, erected
the Rotunda in 1741–42. This place of amusement lasted for quite forty
years; the site of it is in the gardens of Chelsea Hospital.

At the Coronation of George III. Sir Thomas, probably from his great
height and majestic presence, was chosen to represent the mock Duke of
Normandy and Acquitaine, the kings of England still pretending to own
those provinces.

In 1769 he sold the estate of Rokeby, Yorks, to John Saurey Morritt,
the father of Sir Walter Scott’s friend. The Rokeby estate had been in
the possession of the Robinsons 160 years. On March 3, 1777, Sir Thomas
Robinson died at his house in Prospect Place, Chelsea, at the age of
seventy-six.

SANDLEFORD PRIORY, BERKS.

Sandleford Priory was founded for Austin Canons by Geoffrey, 4th Count
of Perche, and his wife, Matilda of Saxony, grand-daughter of Henry
II. of England, and niece of King Richard Cœur de Lion, and King John,
before the year 1205. The town and manor of Newbury, in Berkshire, were
bestowed on the first Count of Perche, who accompanied the Conqueror
to England. The Priory was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St. John
the Baptist. A dispute arising between the Prior and Richard Beauchamp,
Bishop of Salisbury and Dean of Windsor about 1480, the religious
forsook the house, and King Edward IV. allowed the Priory to be annexed
to the Chapel of St. George’s, Windsor. In the Ayscough Register, folio
50, will be found an account of irregular and scandalous behaviour
of the Prior of that period, which probably was the cause of the
disruption. The Priory now formed a parcel of the properties of the
Dean and Canons of Windsor, and it is stated by the commissioners of
Henry VIII. (_vide_ c. 3, Henry VIII.) to be worth £10 annually.

In the reign of James I. Sandleford was declared to be a separate
parish from Newbury, and not subject to tithes which had hitherto
been paid to the Rector of Newbury. After this a commutation was made
that the lessee of the house paid £8 a year to the Rector of Newbury,
and for that sum had a pew in perpetuity. It is stated that after
this award the chapel of the Priory was allowed to fall into decay.
This chapel was separate from the house, and continued to be so till
1781–2, when Mrs. Montagu employed Wyatt to build her an octagonal
drawing-room with ante-chambers, which united the house and the chapel.
Long previous to this it was used as a bedroom or bedrooms, and in the
Montagu manuscripts Hannah More and others are described as sleeping
in the chapel bedroom when the rest of the house was occupied. At the
beginning of the eighteenth century the lessees of Sandleford were the
Pitt Rivers of Strathfieldsaye, and they were succeeded by the Montagu
family as early as 1730, or perhaps earlier. At any rate, at that
date Mr. Edward Montagu was resident there, and as his mother, _née_
Sarah Rogers, lived with him (as is shown by a letter of 1733 which I
possess), it is possible Mr. Charles Montagu had been lessee before
his son. He died in 1721. At what period the chapel was dismantled
I have no record, but it may have been done by order of the Dean
and Canons of Windsor before their letting it as a residence. Elias
Ashmole, the great antiquarian, who died in 1692, describes the chapel
as he saw it, and says, “Upon the first ascent of steps towards the
high altar lyes a freestone tomb of a knight in mail, cross-legged,
with a deep shield on his left arm, and seeming to draw his sword,
his feet resting on a dragon. Written on the west wall is a Latin
inscription.” In a paper belonging to my uncle, the last Baron Rokeby,
it is stated the inscription was “written on the north wall of the
chapel, but more anciently on the west wall.”

This was the inscription:--

“Lancea, crux, clavi
Spine, mors quam tolleravi,
Demonstrant qua vi
Miserorum Crimmia lavi
In Cruce sum prote qui peccas
Desine pro me desine, do Veniam
Die culpam, Corrige Vitam.”

As to the monument, it has been stated to have been that of the
founder, Geoffrey, Count of Perche; but as he died in France at the
siege of Acre, it is more likely to have been his son Thomas, Earl of
Perche, who died at the battle of Lincoln in 1217; or else it is quite
possible that it might be one of the Earls Marshal of Pembroke, as
at the death of Thomas, Earl de Perche, his uncle William, Bishop of
Chalons, seems to have claimed the property and sold it to William,
2nd Earl Marshal. Anyhow, not a trace of this monument is now to be
found. And it would be very interesting to ascertain if it was removed
to the Temple church, where the other Earls Marshal of Pembroke are
buried and a very similar monument exists; but this is only my surmise.
Behind the chapel, when Mrs. Montagu made her alterations in house
and garden in 1780 to 1782 with the designs of Wyatt and “Capability
Browne,” a number of skulls and bones were found, and, with the
characteristic irreverence of the eighteenth century, were buried in
what is now called “Monkey Lane,” near Newbury. The present library was
originally the refectory. In 1836 Edward, 5th Baron Rokeby, parted with
the lease of Sandleford to Mr. William Chatteris, who eventually, in
1875, enfranchised the property from the Dean and Canons of Windsor,
and, dying a widower and without issue, he left Sandleford to his
second wife’s nephew Mr. Alpin Macgregor. Mrs. Chatteris was the
second daughter of Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, the friend of Nelson.
Mrs. Myers, who has a lease of Sandleford now, will not use the chapel
as a dining-room. Hannah More, writing in 1784, whilst staying at
Sandleford, says, “There is an irregular beauty and greatness in the
new buildings, and in the cathedral aisles which open to the great
Gothic window (alluding to the east end of the chapel, still all
glass), which is exceedingly agreeable to the imagination. It is solemn
without being sad, and Gothic without being gloomy.”

DENTON HALL, NEAR NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, NORTHUMBERLAND.

The history of Denton Hall dates from the ancient Britons, and a
burial-place of theirs, with an urn and bones, was found near the
Roman wall within a quarter of a mile from the hall. It subsequently
became the site of a Roman camp, which was occupied by a garrison of
Hadrian’s soldiers, and a wall was built to keep out the Picts and
Scots. Of the Roman relics there still exist an altar dedicated to
Jupiter, and several carved stones, and in Mrs. Montagu’s time many
Roman coins and objects were discovered. In No. 7, Vol. 2, of the
_Proceedings of Antiquaries of Newcastle-on-Tyne_, 1885, Mr. W. Aubone
Hoyle, then living with his brother at the hall, writes, “A little to
the south-west stood a chapel, of which a baptismal font remains and
a few sculptured stones; adjoining these was a burial-ground, which
is now included in the garden. An incised slab, with a memorial cross
and sword, was found here some years ago, as well as some large stone
coffins; and a cist of ancient British times, containing a funeral urn.
The chapel was removed shortly after the Reformation. The earliest
record we have of the occupants is of a family of the name of Denton,
in the tenth century, who continued to hold lands here and in the
neighbourhood, and also at Newcastle.”

The Widdringtons seem to have succeeded the Dentons, and Mr. Hoyle
continues, “The manor of Denton, saving these rents paid to the
Widdringtons, had been, in 1380, granted to the Prior and Convent of
Tynemouth, and was used by them as a country residence or grange.
Tradition relates that they had an underground passage leading from
Denton to their residence at Benwell Tower. The present building
was probably erected by them at the beginning of the sixteenth
century--1503 being the date of erection. The Roman wall skirting its
grounds appears to have supplied the materials, as most of the stones
are of the Roman type. The roof was formed of flags fastened with pins
made of sheep bones. These have gradually been done away with until
only a few courses remain, and the flags have been replaced by tiles.
At the Dissolution in 1539, the Widdringtons lost their interest in
Denton, and the Erringtons appear.”

The Erringtons being Jacobites, Mr. Hoyle continues, “Their loyalty to
the Stuarts cost them their estates, which now passed to a family of
Rogers, related to the Earl of Sandwich.” As has been shown in this
book, Mr. Edward Montagu, at the death of his cousin, Mr. Rogers,
became owner, to quote his wife’s words, “of Denton; Mr. Montagu has
half the estate by descent, a share by testamentary disposition,
and a part by purchase.” At the death of Mrs. Montagu in 1800, the
estate passed into the possession of her nephew and adopted son,
Matthew Montagu, afterwards 4th Baron Rokeby, who let the hall to
Mr. Richard Hoyle, and his descendants occupied the house till 1889.
Henry, 6th Baron Rokeby, dying in 1883, left the estate of Denton
to his grandson, Lord Henry Paulet, now 16th Marquis of Winchester,
who in 1886 sold the whole estate. The hall was bought by Mr. John
Henderson, of Allendale, who resold it to Mr. William Andrew I’Anson,
the present owner. The Denton ghost, called “Old Silky” by the miners,
one of the most authentic on record, is a beneficent spirit, for
she is said on various occasions to have warned the miners against
coal-damp. A song about her is still sung, I am told, in Newcastle, but
hitherto I have failed to obtain it, or to discover who “Silky” was. A
further account of her can be read in Ingram’s “Haunted Homes,” under
“Denton Hall.”

INDEX.

_The figures in italics refer to the notes only._

Abbas, Shah, ii. 99

Abel, ii. 245

Achard, Mr., tutor, afterwards secretary to Duke of Portland, i. 44,
48, 61, 90, 158, 185

Adam, ii. 245

_Adventurer, the_, ii. 25

_Advertiser, the_, ii. 123

Æsop’s _Fables_, i. 73

Aix-la-Chapelle, Peace of, i. 259

Albemarle, George Keppel, 15th Earl of, ii. 220

Albemarle, Lady, ii. 259

Aldworth, Richard Neville, ii. 250

Alexander, William, ii. 98, 108

Alexander, Mrs. W. (_née_ Monsey), ii. 98

Allen, Lady, i. 267, 268; ii. 121

Allison, A., _i. 179_

Alnwick Castle, ii. 166

Alstone, Mr. and Mrs., i. 286

Ameen, Joseph. _See_ Emin, Joseph

Amelia, Princess (daughter of George II.), ii. 152, 213, 214

Amesbury, i. 249

Amherst, General, ii. _134_, 140, 154

Amyand, Mr., i. 167; ii. 163

Ancaster, Duchess of, ii. 252

Ancaster, Peregrine, 3rd Duke of, i. 279

Ancram, Lady, i. 269

Andover, Mary, Lady (Mrs. Botham’s intimate friend and patroness),
i. 55, 95, 102, 115, 144, 194; ii. 19;
her letters to Mrs. Montagu, i. 230, 231

Andover, William, Lord, i. _55_, _144_, 224, 230

Anne, Queen, _i. 245_

Anson, Admiral Lord, i. 107, 268; ii. 89, 154;
captures a Spanish treasure-ship, i. 186;
_A Voyage round the World_, i. 259

Anson, Lady, i. 268, 269; ii. 142

Anstey, Christopher, _New Bath Guide_, i. 19, _256_; ii. 87

Anstey, Miss, i. 256, 259, 270, 275; ii. 54, 56, 70, 82;
works a panel of Mrs. Montagu’s feather screen, i. 268;
her death, ii. 87;
letters from Mrs. Montagu to, i. 19, 281; ii. 18, 77;
her letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 23

Apreece, Mr. and Mrs., i. 286

Archdeacon, Dominick, ii. 129

Archdeacon, Mrs. D. (Mary Creagh), ii. 129

Archdeacon, William, ii. 160

Arezzo, Collection of, ii. 15

Argyll, John, 2nd Duke of, and Duke of Greenwich, i. 117; ii. 38, 233

Argyll, Duchess of (Elizabeth Gunning), i. 270, 287, 288

Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of, ii. 165, 167, 195

Argyll, John, 5th Duke of, _i. 270_

Arran, Earl of, ii. 155

Arran, Elizabeth, Countess of, ii. 155

Ascham, Miss, i. 286

Ashe, Miss, called by Walpole, the “Pollard Ashe,” i. 287, 288

Askew, Dr., ii. 128, 144

Athole, Duncan de Atholia, Earl of, i. 1

Athole, John Murray, 3rd Duke of, ii. 168

Atkinson, Mr., farm bailiff at Sandleford, i. 145; ii. 147

Atterbury, Bishop, _i. 194_

Audley, Dr., i. 129

Audley, Mr. (Hinchinbroke House), i. 270

Augusta, Princess (daughter of George II.), i. 53

Austin, Sir Robert, i. 27

Austria, Emperor of, ii. 146

Aveiro, Duke of, ii. 180

Aylesbury, Lord, i. 233

Aylesford, Countess of, _i. 269_

Aylesford, Heneage, 1st Earl of, _i. 39_

Aylesford, Heneage, 2nd Earl of, i. 41, _55_, 144; ii. 19, 55

Aylmer, Lord, ii. 15

Ayscough, D.D., Rev. Francis, ii. 40, 63

Ayscough, Mrs. (_née_ Lyttelton), ii. 63

Baden, Prince of, i. 286

Bagshot Heath, ii. 74

Balchen, Admiral Sir John, ii. 92

Balmerino, Lord, _i. 231_

Baltimore, Lord, ii. 70

Banbury, Charles Knollys, 3rd Earl of, i. 22

Banks, Miss, ii. 45

Barbarini, i. 92

Bareil, M. de, _ii. 158_

Barrington, Dowager Lady, i. 269

Barrington, 2nd Viscount, ii. 185

Barrow, Rev. Dr. Isaac, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, ii. 91

Barrows, Mrs., i. 241

Barry, Spranger, Irish actor, i. 279

_Bas bleus_, the, ii. 98;
and shells, ii. 268

Basildon, Lady Fane’s grottoes at, i. 245

Bateman, Lord, ii. 95

Bateman, Richard, ii. 192

Bath, i. 36–41, 254;
“Coffee House” at, i. 255

Bath, William Pulteney, 1st Earl of, i. 102; ii. _11_, _29_, 47, 145,
155, 185, 193, 204, 219, 223, 225, 241, 246, 250, 252, 262, 267;
his wife’s death, ii. 152;
_Letter to Two Great Men_, ii. 178;
“Patriot and Philosopher,” ii. 179;
his character, ii. 189, 247;
“is fall’n desperately in love with Mrs. Montagu,” ii. 200, 201,
212;
on green tea and snuff, ii. 207;
and Mrs. Carter, ii. 235, 236;
on Mrs. Montagu’s _Dialogues of the Dead_, ii. 237;
Reynolds’ portrait of, ii. 258, 268, 269;
letters from Mrs. Montagu to, ii. 220, 222, 233;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 222, 224, 226, 233, 237, 263, 268,
269

Bath, Countess of (Anna Maria Gumley), a “screw,” ii. 29;
death of, ii. 152, 189

Bath, Thomas, 1st Marquis of, i. 17

Bath, Elizabeth, Marchioness of (_née_ Bentinck), i. 17

Bathing tubs, i. 89

Bathurst, Lady Selina, i. 139

Bathurst, Lord, i. 280

Bathurst, Mr. (Lady Selina’s son), i. 167

Bayham Abbey, ii. 250

Beau, description of a, i. 133

Beauchamp, Richard, Bishop of Salisbury, i. 151

Beauclerc, Lord Aubrey, i. 80

Beauclerc, Lord Harry, ii. 228

Beauclerk, Lord and Lady Vere, i. 269

Beaufort, Cardinal, i. 247

Beaufort, 4th Duke of, i. 39, 41, 42

Beaulieu, i. 248

Beaulieu, Edward Hussey, Earl of, i. 201

_Beauties of England and Wales_, _ii. 14_

Beckford, Alderman, ii. 127, 128, 153, 220

Bede, Venerable, _History of the British Nation_, etc., ii. 138

Bedford, Duchess of, i. 63, 269

Bedford, John, 4th Duke of, i. _63_, 216, 218, 219, 248, 266

Bejot, Monsieur, ii. 257

Bell and Sons, George, publishers, ii. 174

Bellardine, Harry, Governor of Hurst Castle, i. 248

Bellegarde, Marquis de, i. 286

Belle-Isle, Duc de, French Marshal, i. 197

Benson, Dr., Bishop of Gloucester, i. 234

Bentinck, Lord Edward Charles, i. 178

Bentinck, Lady Elizabeth (afterwards Marchioness of Bath), i. 17, 150

Bentinck, Lady Frances, i. 69, 100, 146

Bentinck, Lord George, i. 46, 48, 98

Bentinck, Lady Harriet, ii. 197

Bentinck, Lady Isabella, i. 23

Bentinck, Lady Margaret, i. 33

Bentley, Richard, ii. 23, 24

Berenger, Moses, i. 284

Berenger, R., “the little Marquis,” _History and Art of Horsemanship_,
i. 283, 284; ii. 1, 24, 226

Berenice, ii. 238

Berkeley, Elizabeth (afterwards Lady Noel Somerset), i. 42

Berkeley, George, Bishop of Cloyne, ii. 15, 25, 26

Berkeley, Mrs. George, ii. 25, 26

Berkeley, James Symes, of Stoke Gifford, _i. 42_

Berkeley, Lord, i. 167; ii. 95

Berkshire, 4th Earl of, i. 39, 41, 224

Berkshire, Lady (Catherine Grahame), i. 39, 66, 224

Berkshire, Tom, 6th Earl of, i. 39

Bernard, Dr., head master of Eton, ii. 150

Best, Mrs. T. (Caroline Scott), i. 86, 103, 121, 184

Best, Thomas, i. 121, 184; ii. 50

Bevern, Prince of, ii. 114

Bevis Mount, Lord Peterbrough’s place, i. 22

Bewdley, Sir George, ii. 78

_Biographia Britannica_, ii. 18

Birch, Rev. Thomas, _Life of Archbishop Tillotson_, ii. 20

Blackett, Sir Walter, ii. 138, 201, 202

Bland, _Military Discipline_, ii. 100

Blooding, panacea of, i. 33, 83, 98, 100, 135

“Blue Stockings,” first allusion to, ii. 98

Boccacio, _Decameron_, i. 61

Boileau, Nicholas Despreaux, i. 154, 282

Bolingbroke, Lady, ii. 116

Bolingbroke, Lord, i. 89, 280;
_Dissertations upon Partys_, i. 176;
_The Idea of a Patriot King_, i. 265;
_An Occasional Letter_, i. 281;
“that foul fiend,” ii. 61;
his “pompous Rhetorical and inconsistent Declamations,” ii. 63;
his marriage, ii. 116;
Voltaire _v._, ii. 163

Bolton, Duchess of (Lavinia Fenton, _alias_ “Polly Peacham”), ii. 37

Bolton, 3rd Duke of, i. 248; ii. 37

Bonus, Mr., picture cleaner, ii. 172

Boscawen, Admiral the Hon. Edward, i. 277; ii. 81, 83, 84, 123, 151,
155, 156, 170, 190;
captures two French men-of-war, ii. 74;
blockades Louisburg, ii. 76;
the Martinico ships, ii. 90;
recalled, ii. 111, 116;
Mrs. Montagu’s opinion of, ii. 118;
receives a fresh commission, ii. 118, 121;
“had saved North America,” ii. 134;
captures Louisburg, ii. 140;
the thanks of Parliament, ii. 154;
defeats French off Cape Lagos, ii. 167;
his illness and death, ii. 228–230;
his letter to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 95

Boscawen, Mrs. Edward (Frances Glanville), i. 277; ii. 69, 74, 81, 83,
170, 196, 217, 229, 230, 242, 247, 257;
Mrs. Montagu’s letters to, i. 278; ii. 20, 40, 52, 70, 88, 118;
her letter to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 133

Boswell’s _Life of Johnson_, ii. 161, 174

Boteler, Sir Philip, ii. 227

Botham, Rev. John, i. 55, 265, 278; ii. 43, 46, 73, 88, 129, 241, 259;
a legacy, i. 84;
his “sermonical lullaby,” i. 96;
rector of Yoxall, Staff., and chaplain to Lord Aylesford, i. 144;
wishes for a King’s chaplaincy, i. 180, 181;
the Albury living, i. 230;
“such a Johnny,” i. 231;
farming his glebe, i. 235;
his appeal for further preferment, ii. 2, 3;
inoculation of his children, ii. 17;
his wife’s last illness and death, ii. 26–29;
a school-girls’ bill, ii. 48;
in the North with Edward Montagu, ii. 51, 53;
appointed to Ealing, ii. 54, 55, 58;
his letter to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 76

Botham, Mrs. John (Lydia Lumley), i. 3, 55, 95, 143, 152, 194, 224,
265, 268; ii. 4;
an opportune legacy, i. 84;
her character, i. 180, 181;
excessive melancholy of, i. 230;
Mrs. Montagu’s advice, i. 233;
curious remedies, i. 235;
her state of health, ii. 11, 19, 20;
her five children inoculated, ii. 16;
illness and death of, ii. 26–29;
her letters to Mrs. Montagu, i. 84, 228

Botham, Miss, ii. 29, 33, 37, 46, 185

Botham, Miss Kitty, ii. 47, 48

Botham, Miss Molly, ii. 47, 48

Bower, Archibald (_History of the Popes_), ii. 11, 15, 16, 19, 35, 42,
70, 72, 90, 178;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 50, 81, 94

Bower, Mrs. A., ii. 16

Bowes, George, of Streatlam Castle, and Gibside, Durham, i. 234, 290;
ii. 36, 138, 201, 203

Braganza, Catherine, wife of Charles II., i. 111

Braganza, Duke of, ii. 158

Branson, Mr., i. 241

Braybrooke, Lord, ii. 250

Breadalbane, Lord, ii. 165, 168

Bridport, 1st Viscount, _i. 278_; ii. 135

Bridport, Maria, Viscountess (_née_ West), i. 278; ii. 10, 22, 30, 32,
40, 57, 86, 87, 92, 115, 135

Bridgewater, Dowager Duchess of, ii. 95, 191

Bridgewater, Scroop, 1st Duke of, ii. 191

Bristol, George William, 2nd Earl of, i. 234; ii. 266

Bristol, Viscount, _i. 265_

British Museum, established at Montagu House, Harleian MSS. in, i. 8,
83; ii. 243;
Cottonian MSS. in, ii. 243

Broadley’s Bath Collection, _i. 255_

Brocchi, Carlo (Farinelli), i. 16

Brockman, James, of Beachborough, i. 15, 76, 108, 225,; ii. 13, 15

Brockman, Miss, i. 147

Bromedge, Mr., i. 294

Brown, Lieut.-General George, i. 222; ii. 142

Brown, D.D., John, _Essays on Lord Shaftesbury’s Characteristics_,
ii. 18

Bruce, Lord, i. 250

“Brusher” Mills, the New Forest snake-catcher, ii. 151

Brydges, Sir Egerton, _Biography_, ii. 93

Brydges, Mary, Lady (_née_ Robinson), _ii. 93_

Buchan, Earl of, i. 33

Buckley, Mr., i. 125, 202, 234

Bullstrode, i. 13, 49

Bunyan, John, _Pilgrim’s Progress_, i. 73

Burgess, Dr., ii. 77

Burgundy, Louis, Duke of, the Dauphin, i. 291, 295

Burlington, Richard, 3rd Earl of, i. 191; ii. 145

Burlington, Lady, ii. 145, 146

Burke, Edmund, ii. _100_, 101, 108, 144;
_Vindication of Natural Society_, ii. 156;
_Sublime and Beautiful_, ii. 159;
Lady Bab Montagu and, ii. 163;
and the Madrid Consulship, ii. 170;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 169, 173

Burke, Mrs. (_née_ Nugent), ii. 171

Burnet, Bishop, _History of the Reformation_, i. 101

Bute, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of, i. 237; ii. 84, 97, 214, 226

Bute, Mary, Countess of (_née_ Montagu), i. 51, 237, 244; ii. 44, 197,
_214_, 217, 252

Butler, Lady Emily, ii. 155

Byng, Admiral John, ii. 88–93, 97, 102

Cadaval, Duc de, _ii. 180_

Cadogan, Lord, ii. 83

Caffarelli, Gaetano Majoriano, Italian singer, i. 27

Cain, ii. 245

Caledon, 1st Earl of, ii. 98, 108

Calves Pluck water, ii. 163

Cambridge, Richard Owen, ii. 263;
_Scribbleriad_, ii. 54, 61

Cambridge University, i. 256, 257

Camden, Pratt, 1st Earl, Lord Chancellor, and Lord President of the
Council, ii. 217

Camelford, Thomas Pitt, Junr., 1st Lord, ii. 150, 153

Campbell, General, i. 267

Campion, Pitt’s _chef_, ii. 64

Canning, Elizabeth, ii. 53

Canterbury Cathedral, ii. 12, 14

Canterbury Races, i. 9, 17, 31

Cape Lagos, naval battle of, ii. 167

Cardigan, Lady, i. 267; ii. 217, 218

Carlisle, Bishop of, ii. 96

Carlisle, 7th Earl of, i. 104, 209

Carlisle, surrendered to the rebels, i. 218

Carnarvon, 6th Earl of, ii. 38

Caroline, Princess, wife of Christian VII. of Denmark, i. 256

Caroline, Queen, _i. 255_

Carr, Lord Robert, i. 167

Carte, Rev. Thomas, _History_, i. 194

Carter, Edward, agent to Lord Aylesbury, afterwards to Edward Montagu,
i. 130, 139, 233, 234, 289, 291; ii. 51

Carter, Hannah, _Memoirs of her Life_, ii. 189

Carter, Miss, ii. 29, 33, 37, 38, 46, 51, 52

Carter, Mr., “Old Trusty,” Edward Montagu’s steward and agent, i. 107,
118, 141–143, 147, 166, 182, 184;
death of, i. 233

Carter, Mrs. (wife of above), ii. 51

Carter, Mrs. Elizabeth, the Greek scholar, i. 111; ii. 235, 236, 246,
248, 250, 251, 255, 256;
an edition of her _Works_, ii. 267;
Mrs. Montagu’s letters to, ii. 130, 138, 159, 160, 162, 163, 182,
183, 207, 241, 244, 257, 259, 266, 267, 269

Carter, D.D., Rev. Nicholas, ii. 130.

Carter, William, i. 130, 182

Carteret, John, 2nd Baron (afterwards Earl Granville), Secretary of
State, i. 102, 135, 179, 187

Carteret, Lady (Lady Sophie Fermor), i. 179, 181

Carteret, Lady Sophia, ii. 261

Carthagena, naval battle of, i. 79

Cathcart, 9th Lord, ii. 101, 168

Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II., i. 111

Cattle disease, i. 196, 219

Cesar, Miss, i. 46

Chalmers, Anne (Mrs. James Gregory), i. 179

Chalmers, Dr., of Ripon, i. 213

Chandler, Mrs., i. 265

Chandos, 1st Duke of (the “Princely Duke”), i. 273

Chandos, 2nd Duke of, ii. 22, 23

Chandos, 3rd Duke of, ii. 22

Chandos, Duchess of (_née_ Wells), formerly Mrs. Jefferies, ii. 22, 23

Chandos, Dowager Duchess of (_née_ Van Hatten), i. 281;
her letters to Mrs. Montagu, i. 273, 274

Chapone, Mrs. (Hester Mulso), _Letters on the Improvement of the
Mind_, ii. 260

Charlemagne, i. 59

Charles II., i. _80_, 111; ii. 211

Charles XII. of Sweden, ii. 181

Charlotte, Queen, ii. 249, 251, 252, 258–260

Charters, Mr., ii. 166

Chateauneuf, Mdlle. de, i. 44

Chatham, Baroness of. _See_ Pitt, Lady Hester

Chatham, William Pitt, 1st Earl of. _See_ Pitt, William

Chaucer, Geoffrey, i. 155, 199

Chaucer, Thomas (son of above), i. 198

Cheer, Mr., ii. 42

Chenevix, Mrs., her famous _bric-à-brac_ shop, i. 187, 294

Chesilden, Dr. William, i. 196; ii. 4

Chester, Mrs., ii. 42

Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of (_Letters_), i. 198,
238, 253, 262; ii. 87, 113, 121, 181, 207, 223

Chinese rooms, Mrs. Montagu’s, ii. 8

Christian VII. of Denmark, _i. 256_

Chudleigh, Miss, maid-of-honour (afterwards Duchess of Kingston),
i. 265

Churchill, Arabella, _i. 156_

Churchill, General Charles, commonly called “old Charles Churchill,”
i. 156

Cibber, Colley (_Apology for his Life_), i. 91, 200, 242

Cibber, Theophilus, i. 242

Cibber, Mrs. Theophilus (Anna Maria Arne), i. 242;
as “Cordelia,” i. 253

Cistercians, _i. 248_

Clare, Earls of, _i. 204_

Clarendon, Lord, _History of the Rebellion_, ii. 157

Clarke, D.D., Samuel, i. 61; ii. 62

Clarke, William, of Merivale Abbey, i. 2

Clarke, Dr. W., i. 88, 91

Clavering, Sir James, i. 144, 147

Clavering, Sir Thomas, i. 290; ii. 37, 138, 139, 202, 203, 223, 228

Clayton, Robert, Bishop of Killala, afterwards of Clogher, i. 85; ii.
21, 124, _163_

Clayton, Mrs. Robert, i. 25, 85, 93, 129; ii. 27, 163, 164

Clayton, Sir William, _ii. 163_

Clegg, Jenny, i. 139

Cleopatra, ii. 238

Cleveland, Mr., ii. 134

Clifton, Sir Robert, ii. 135

Cobham, Viscount, ii. 60

Cobham, Sir Richard Temple, Baron, i. 102, _189_

Cobham, Lady, ii. 1, _41_, 71, 77, 86

Cock, Sarah (Mrs. John Rogers), i. 111

Cocoa Tree Coffee-house, ii. 217

Coke, Lady Mary, ii. 38

Coke, Lord, ii. 38;
_on Lyttelton_, ii. 226

“Cold Loaf” = a picnic, ii. 12

Colebrooke, Sir James, ii. 202

Collet, Sir James, i. 2

Collingwood, Mrs., i. 48

Colman, the Elder, George, _The Jealous Wife_, ii. 226.

Colman, Mrs. George (_née_ Gumley), ii. 227

Concini, Signor, ii. 83

Coningsby, Earl of, ii. _115_, 140, 141

Coningsby, Lady, ii. 247

Conway, Lord, _i. 265_

Conway, Miss Jenny, i. 265

Conway, General Seymour Henry, ii. 114, 120, 156, 158

Cooke, Lord, i. 235

Cookham, ii. 41, 42

Coombe Bank, i. 267

Cope, Sir John, Commander-in-Chief for Scotland, i. 206, 210–212

Cornbury, Lord, i. 101, 104

Cornwallis, Colonel, ii. 114

Cotes, Dr., i. _95_, 158, 160, 162; ii. 34

Cotes, Mrs., i. 95, 98, 163–166, 181, 224, 271

Cottington, Mr. and Mrs., i. 52

Cottonian MSS., ii. 243

Courayer, LL.D., Peter Francis le (“the little Père”), i. 124, 126,
154, 201, 232, 241–244, 247, 294;
his letter to Mrs. Montagu, i. 250

Courtenay, Lady, ii. 19

Courtenay, Sir William, afterwards 1st Viscount, ii. 19

Courteney, Mr., i. 240

Coventry, Countess of (Maria Gunning), i. 270, 287, 288; ii. 172

Coventry, Earl of, _i. 270_; ii. 18

Cowley, Abraham, ii. 244

Cowper, Henrietta, Countess, i. 19; ii. 158

Cowper, William, 2nd Earl, i. 19

Cowper, William, poet, i. 268

Cradock, William, i. 151

Cranwell, Mrs., i. 240

Cranworth, 1st Baron, ii. 98

Craon, Princesse de, i. 284

Crashaw, Richard, poet, i. 283

Crawford, John, 17th Earl of, and 7th Earl of Lindsey, i. 41

Creagh, Mary (Mrs. D. Archdeacon), ii. 129

Creed, Mr., ii. 50

Crewe, Lady (Dorothy Forster), i. 188

Crewe of Stene, Nathaniel, Baron, i. 188, 190; ii. 155

Croker, John Wilson, _Boswell’s Life of Johnson_, ii. 146, 147

Croker, Mr., Mrs. Donnellan’s Six Clerk and Manager, ii. 21

Cromartie, Lord, i. 232

Cromwell, Oliver, i. 270

Crosby, Mrs., Mrs. Montagu’s housekeeper, ii. 146, 147

Cruickshank, Dr., ii. 99

Culham Court, Berks., ii. 105

Cullen, John, Edward Montagu’s gamekeeper, i. 226

Cumberland, Duke of, acts as proxy at Princess Mary’s wedding, i. 53;
Septimus Robinson, Governor to, i. 177;
his tutor, Dr. Robert Smith, i. 200;
Edward Montagu’s wish, i. 208;
and young Wortley Montagu, i. 238;
dangerously ill, ii. 18;
praises Admiral Boscawen, ii. 74;
and Emin, ii. 101, 108;
battle of Hastenbeck, ii. 108–111;
“is gone to plant cabbages,” ii. 119;
passes through the city, ii. 120;
the gout, ii. 152;
will of George II., ii. 212–214

Cumberland, Richard, dramatist, ii. 2

Cunningham, Captain, ii. 76

Cunninghame, Mr., ii. 134

Curll, Edmund, i. 38

Cutler, Sir John, ii. 202

Dale, Dorothy, afterwards Lady Forbes, i. 179

D’Alembert, ii. 159

Dalrymple, Sir Hugh, ii. 166

D’Ancre, the Marechalle, ii. 83

D’Arcy, Sir Conyers, afterwards 6th Earl of Holdernesse, i. 209, 293;
ii. 6

Darlington, Lady, ii. 233

Darlington, Lord, ii. 202

Dartmouth, William, 2nd Earl of, _i. 231_

Dashwood, Miss, the “Delia” of the poet Hammond, i. 25, 42, 46, 103;
ii. 91;
her letter to Mrs. Montagu, i. 116

Dashwood, Sir Francis, afterwards Lord Le Despencer, leader of the
Hell Fire Club, i. 27, 218

D’Aubigné, Mdlle. (Madame de Maintenon), _i. 38_

Davall, Sir Thomas, i. 273

Davis, Governor, ii. 101

Davis, Sir Paul, i. 194

Dayrell, Mr. and Mrs., of Lillingston Dayrell, ii. 57

Delany, Mrs. (formerly Mrs. Pendarves), _Memoirs_, i. 56, 57, 153,
156, 170, 173, 187, 235, 293, 294; ii. 2, 5, 6, 21, 45, 123,
124. _See also_ Pendarves, Mrs.

Delany, Rev. Dr. Patrick, Dean of Down, Bishop of Clogher, i. 153,
170, 173, 187, 293, 294; ii. 6, 21, 85, 208;
the protracted lawsuit, ii. 123, 124

Delaval, Anne (afterwards Mrs. John Rogers), i. 145

Delaval, Sir John, ii. 129

Delawarr, Lord, i. 248

Delves, Lady, i. 17

Demoivre, Abraham, _The Doctrine of Chances_, etc., ii. 67

Demosthenes, ii. 41

Denton Hall, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, i. 289; ii. 137, 281, 282

Dering, Sir Edward, ii. 33, 252

Desbouveries, Miss, ii. 227

des Champs, Monsieur, ii. 186

Dettemere, Mrs., Mrs. Montagu’s lady’s-maid, i. 183, 258, 259, 272

Dettingen, battle of, i. 154, 157

“Devil’s Drops,” i. 252

Devonshire, Duke of, i. 266; ii. 95

Devonshire, Georgiana, Duchess of, ii. 148

D’Ewes, John, i. 47

D’Ewes, Mrs. John (_née_ Granville), “Pip,” i. 47, 56, 57, 101; ii. 5,
80

_Dialogues of the Dead_, by Lord Lyttelton and Mrs. Montagu, ii. 181,
182, 200, 204, 207, 238

Dickens, Sergeant, i. 82

_Dictionary of National Biography_, i. 7, 97; ii. 15, 146, 189

Dido, Queen of Tyre, i. 64

Dingley, Colonel, ii. 100

Ditched, Mrs., ii. 84

Doddington, Mr., ii. 84

Dodsley, ii. 174

Dohna, Count, ii. 142

Domville, Mr., ii. 189

Donnellan, Rev. Christopher, i. 25, 41; ii. 2

Donnellan, Nehemiah, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, Ireland, i. 41

Donnellan, Mrs. Nehemiah (Martha Usher), i. 41

Donnellan, “Mrs.” Anne, i. 25, 40, 41, 43, 52, 84, 124, 146, 197, 232,
240, 242–244, 252; ii. 2, 5, 13, 21, 26, 51, 183;
her letters to Mrs. Montagu, i. 44, 53, 58, 70, 80, 85, 92, 93, 99,
102, 112, 128, 139, 161, 168, 169, 186, 187, 194, 253, 259, 293;
ii. 6, 21, 45, 80, 116, 120, 147;
Mrs. Montagu’s letters to, i. 56, 68, 72, 86, 91, 92, 96, 139, 159,
160, 184, 248, 254–256, 281

Donnington Castle, i. 155, 198

Dorchester, Countess of (Lady Caroline Sackville), i. 53

Dorset, Duke of, _i. 53_; ii. 2

Dorset, Duchess of (Elizabeth Colyear), i. 53

Douglas, Colonel, i. 80

D’Oyley, Christopher, ii. 186

D’Oyley, Mrs. (Sarah Stanley), ii. 186

Drake, Councillor Robert, of Cambridge, i. 4

Drake, Elizabeth (Mrs. Matthew Robinson), i. 4

Drake, Mrs. Robert (Sarah Morris), afterwards Mrs. Conyers Middleton,
i. 4, 5, 119

Drakes of Ashe, Devon, the, i. 4

Dufour, Mdlle., Mrs. Montagu’s French maid, i. 89, 91

Dummer, Mr., of Cranbury Park, i. 247

Duncan, Dr., ii. 77

Duncan, king of Scotland, i. 1

Dupplin, Viscount (afterwards 8th Earl of Kinnoull), i. 8, 9, 44, 46,
54; ii. 84, 85, 168, 179

Duncannon, Lord, ii. 95

Durham, Bishop of, ii. 202

Earle, Mr., i. 93, 94

Earthquake, in London (1750), i. 274; in Lisbon (1755), ii. 85

_Eau de luce_, Mrs. Montagu’s accident with, ii. 144

Edgecumbe, Mr., ii. 95

Edinburgh, taken by the rebels in 1745, i. 205, 209

Edward IV., i. 151

Edwin, Mrs., ii. 42, 45

Egerton, Lady A. Sophia, ii. 122

Egerton, Bishop, i. 180

Eglinton, 10th Earl of, i. 269, 286

Egmont, 1st Earl, i. 41, 186; ii. 84

Egremont, Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of, ii. 217, 262;
Secretary of State, ii. 265

Elibank, Lord and Lady, i. 269

Elixir of vitriol, a remedy for asthma, i. 235

Elliot, Mr., ii. 95

Elliot, Mrs., i. 164

Ellis, Lady (afterwards Lady Dashwood), i. 218

Ellis, Mrs. W. (_née_ Stanley), ii. 186

Ellis, Welbore (afterwards Lord Mendip), ii. 186

Elstob, Mrs., i. 133

Emerson, William, _Doctrine of Fluxions_, etc., i. 111, 234

Emin, or Ameen, Joseph, an Armenian, ii. 99, 115, 122, 165, 214;
his flight to England, ii. 100;
Duke of Northumberland’s kindness to, ii. 101, 102;
his patron Burke, ii. 101, 108, 144, 156, 171;
his letter from Limburg to “all his ladies and Patronesses,”
ii. 108–110;
Mrs. Montagu’s description of, and tribute to, ii. 114, 117, 154;
his application to Pitt, ii. 125, 126;
joins Frederick the Great’s army, ii. 127, 132, 141;
his description of Frederick the Great, ii. 143, 154;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu--“My Queen of Sheba,” ii. 102, 114;
“To the most learned and most magnanimous Mrs. Montagu,” ii. 162;
“To the Montagu the Great,” ii. 168;
“To the wisdom of Europe,” ii. 241

England _v._ France in Canada--the Mordaunt Expedition, ii. 116–122;
the attempted invasion at St. Malo, ii. 126, 127

Erringtons, the, i. 144

Essex, Lady (_née_ Williams), ii. 162

Euston, George, Earl of, i. 17

Eve, ii. 245

Evelyn, Mrs. Ann, ii. 75

Evelyn, Sir John, _Sylva, or Discourse on Forest Trees_, etc., ii. 75,
145

Falconer, R. N., Lieutenant, i. 287

Falmouth, 1st Viscount, i. 277

Fane, Charles, 1st Viscount, i. _87_, 245

Fane, Miss Charlotte, ii. 11, 102

Fane, Miss Dorothy, afterwards Lady Sandwich, _q.v._

Fane, Mary Stanhope, Viscountess, once Maid-of-Honour to Queen Anne,
her grottoes, i. 245

Farinelli (Carlo Brocchi), i. 16

Fauconberg, Viscount, i. 209

Fausan, M. and Mdlle., i. 48

Fawcet, Mr., i. 140

Feather screen, Mrs. Montagu’s, i. 268

Fenelon, i. 296

Fenton, Lavinia, _alias_ Polly Peacham, Duchess of Bolton, _ii. 37_

Ferdinand of Brunswick, Prince, ii. 165, 178

Ferdinand VII. of Spain, ii. 158

Ferguson’s lectures on philosophy, ii. 191

Fermor, Lady Sophie (afterwards Lady Carteret), i. 179

Ferrers, Robert, 1st Earl, _i. 39_

Ferrers, Laurence, 2nd Earl, executed at Tyburn, ii. 183

Feversham, Lord and Lady, ii. 187

Fielding, Captain and Mrs., i. 21

Fielding, Lady Betty, i. 21

Fielding, Henry (novelist), i. _21_, 164

Finch, Lady Anne, i. 39

Finch, Lady Charlotte, i. 21

Fisher, Kitty, ii. 160

Fitz-Adam, Adam, ii. 25

FitzGilbert, Richard, _i. 204_

Fitzroy, Lord Augustus, i. 17

Fitzwalter, Lord and Lady, i. 269

Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl, i. 209, 294

Fitzwilliam, Lady, i. 294; ii. 185

Foley, Thomas, 1st Baron, i. 83

Foley, Thomas, 2nd Baron, i. 46

Fontenoy, battle of, i. 237

Foote, the actor, ii. 19

Forbes, Lady (Dorothy Dale), i. 179; ii. 226

Forbes, William, 13th Baron, i. 179; ii. 266

Forster, Sir James William, i. 188

Forster, Dr., ii. 99

Forster, Elizabeth (Mrs. Charles Montagu), i. 111, 188

Fortescue, Chichester, _ii. 80_

Fortescue, Mrs. C. (_née_ Wesley), ii. 80, 255

Fortescue, Hugh, of Filleigh, Devon, i. 110

Fountayne, Dr., Dean of York, ii. 174

Fox, M.P. for York City, i. 209

Fox, Captain, ship _Walpole_, ii. 100

Fox, Lady Caroline, ii. 97

Fox, Henry, 1st Lord Holland, ii. 81, 84, 94, 103, 104

Fox, Stephen, i. 105.

France _v._ England, in Canada--the Mordaunt Expedition, ii. 116–122;
the attempted invasion at St. Malo, ii. 126, 127

Franking letters, use and abuse of, i. 12

Frederick, Mrs., ii. 230

Frederick the Great, ii. 120, 123, 124, 132, 154, 178, 225, 241;
his defeat at Kollin, Bohemia, ii. 114;
battle of Rosbach, ii. 122;
Zorndorff, ii. 141, 142;
Emin’s description of, ii. 143

Frederick William, of Prussia, _i. 206_

Frederick V., King of Denmark, ii. 111

Freind, Rev. Dr. Robert, Head Master of Westminster School, i. 30, 52,
192

Freind, Mrs. Robert (Jane de l’Angle), i. 52

Freind, Rev. William, Dean of Canterbury, i. 30, 52, 57, 114, 122,
148, 174, 180, 189, 233, 235; ii. 45;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, i. 66, 79, 191, 192;
Mrs. Montagu’s letters to, i. 49, 52, 58, 63, 75, 78, 81, 106, 109,
131, 177, 179, 190, 219, 225, 248, 269

Freind, Mrs. William (Grace Robinson), i. 30, 40, 66, 143, 148, 174,
177, 189, 191, 233;
Mrs. Montagu’s letters to, i. 49, 122, 227

French invasion, fears of, i. 174–177, 219–226; ii. 82, 114

Freydag, Major, ii. 109

Froissart, _Chronicles_, ii. 257, 260

Fromantel, Mr., i. 145

Furnese, Lady Anne, i. 39

Gage, Miss, i. 39

Galissionière, Admiral, ii. 90

Garrick, David, i. _92_, 131, 284; ii. 11, 16, 19, 83, 129, 130, 145;
as “Richard III.,” i. 107;
“King Lear,” i. _177_, 253;
“Hotspur,” i. 237;
“Romeo,” i. 279;
“Antony,” ii. 158;
his marriage, ii. 146

Garrick, Mrs. (Eva Marie Veilchen, “La Violette”), ii. 129, 130, 145

Gascoigne, Sir Crispe, Lord Mayor of London, ii. 53

Gataker, Dr., ii. 235

Gay, John, poet, _Court of Death_, i. 39, 249

_Gazette_, ii. 122

Gee, Mr., i. 261

George, Prince, ii. 20

George I., i. 206

George II., i. 53, 94, _236_, 256; ii. 83, 87;
his offer to Prince of Wales, i. 99;
creates Walpole Earl of Oxford, i. 100;
the Hanoverian troops, i. 135;
pardons Lord Cromartie, i. 232;
makes Lyttelton a peer, ii. 96;
a fainting fit, ii. 116;
his reception of Mordaunt and Hawke, ii. 120;
Frederick the Great’s report of Zorndorff victory, ii. 142;
his illness, ii. 152;
and Pitt, ii. 153;
death, ii. 208–215

George III., i. 177, 280; ii. _160_, 209–215;
and G. L. Scott, ii. 44, 97;
Lady Yarmouth, ii. 126;
his first speech as king, ii. 217;
Bishop Sherlock’s letter to, ii. 221;
Lord Chesterfield’s _bon mot_, ii. 223;
his engagement and marriage, ii. 249, 251, 252;
coronation, ii. 259

Germain, Lady Betty, i. 269

Germain, Lord George, ii. 165

Geronsterre waters, the, i. 53

Gesner, S., _La Mort d’Abel_, ii. 245, 248

Gilbert, Dr., Archbishop of York, ii. 73, 190, 270

Giles, i. 193

Glamis Castle, ii. 168

Glanville, William Evelyn, _ii. 118_

Gloucester, Duke of, i. 177

Gloucester, Richard de Clare, Earl of, i. 204

Gloucester, Duchess of, _ii. 160_

Goddard, Harry, i. 73, 74

Godolphin, 1st Earl of, i. 285; ii. 98, 102, 132, 142, 147

Godolphin, Lady Harriet, afterwards Duchess of Leeds, i. 51

Godolphin, Lady Mary, i. 51

Godolphin, Mr., ii. 209

Godschall, Miss, i. 265

“Golden Ball,” the, i. 15, 16

Goodwin, John, i. 216

Goring, Viscount, i. 286

Grafton, 2nd Duke of, _i. 17_

Graham, Sir R., i. 209

Grahame, J., of Levens, Westmoreland, _i. 39_

Grammont, _Memoirs of the Count de_, ii. 172

Granby, Marchioness of, _i. 269_

Granby, Lord, i. 269

Grantham, Lord (“Short” Sir Thomas Robinson), i. 259, 260, 277, 288;
ii. 259

Granville, Anne (Mrs. Pendarves’ sister), afterwards Mrs. D’Ewes,
i. 47, 56, 57

Granville, Anne (Mrs. Pendarves’ aunt), afterwards Lady Stanley,
_i. 46_

Granville, Countess, i. 195

Granville, Grace, Viscountess Carteret and Countess, i. 153

Granville, Mr. (brother of Mrs. Pendarves), i. 46, 236

Granville, Mrs., i. 254

Granville, Miss, i. 196

Granville, John, _i. 18_

Granville, John, Earl, i. 102, 104

Granville, the Misses (Lord Lansdowne’s daughters), i. 50

Gray, Thomas, the poet, i. 119, _253_, 285; ii. 23, 24, _87_, 183

Green, Dr., musician, i. 60

Green, Dr. John, Bishop of Lincoln, i. 249, 275

Greenland, Augustine, of Belle Vue, Kent, ii. 92

Greenland, John, of Lovelace, Kent, ii. 92

Greenwich, Caroline, Baroness, i. 117

Gregory, James, inventor of the Gregorian telescope, i. 179

Gregory, Dr. James, i. 179

Gregory, Dr. John, Professor of Philosophy at Edinburgh, i. 179;
ii. 73, 76, 204, 211, 226, 266

Gregory, Mrs. John (Elizabeth Forbes), i. 179; ii. 226

Gregory, Lady Mary, ii. 155

Grenville, Mr., i. 54

Grenville, George, ii. 90, 95, 266

Grenville, James, ii. 95, 262

Grenville, Jenny, ii. 90

Grenville, Richard, ii. 60, 83, 84

Greville, Mr., i. 167

Greville, Mrs., i. 39

Grey, Mr., i. 147

Grey, Rev. Dr. Zachary, i. 62

Griffith, Edward Montagu’s valet, i. 136, 140, 143

Grinfield, Miss, dresser to George III.’s daughters, i. 256; ii. 84

Grosmith, Rev. ----, i. 85

Grosvenor, Mrs., i. 255

Grosvenor, Sir Richard, 1st Earl, ii. 156, 217

Grounen, Mr., i. 261

Guerin, Mr., i. 183

Guilford, Earl of, _i. 63_

Gunning, John, of Castle Coote, Roscommon, i. 270

Gunning, Elizabeth, (1) Duchess of Hamilton, (2) Duchess of Argyll,
i. 270, 287, 288; _ii. 252_

Gunning, Kitty, Mrs. Robert Travers, i. 270

Gunning, Maria, Countess of Coventry, i. 270; ii. 18

Habeas Corpus Bill, ii. 127

Hagley House, Lyttelton’s place, ii. 192

Halifax, Anne, Lady (_née_ Dunk), i. 201

Halifax, William, 2nd Marquis of, _i. 18_; ii. 145

Halifax, 2nd Earl of, i. 256

Halifax, George, 5th Earl of, i. 104, 201; ii. 243

Hallows, Mrs., Dr. Young’s lady housekeeper, ii. 248

Hamilton, Mr., of Painshill, ii. 75

Hamilton, Duke of, i. 167, _270_

Hamilton, Duchess of (Elizabeth Gunning), i. 270, 287, 288; _ii. 252_

Hamilton, Lord William, _ii. 2_

Hammond, the poet, i. 25

Hampton, the Temple at, ii. 130

Hampton Court, Herefordshire, ii. 140, 141

Handcock, Mrs., ii. 192

Handcock, William, i. 267

Handel, George Frederick, i. 27, 44, 70, 92, 131, 274

Hanmer, Lady Catherine, i. 162

Hanoverian troops, employed by England, i. 130, 134, 135, 137, 173

Hardwicke, Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of, _i. 7_; ii. 127, 192, 212, 262,
266

Hardwicke, 2nd Earl of, ii. 127, 217

Hare, Dr. Francis, Bishop of St. Asaph and Chichester, i. 50

Hare, Mrs., i. 50

Harleian MSS. in British Museum, i. 8, 83; ii. 243

Harley, Lady Margaret Cavendish. _See_ Portland, Duchess of

Harley, Mr., i. 104

Harrington, William Stanhope, 1st Earl of, i. 48;
President of the Council, i. 102;
Viceroy of Ireland, i. 260

Harris, _History of Kent_, i. 7; ii. 14

Hart, Governor, ii. 106

Hartley, Dr. David, i. 254

Hastenbeck, battle of, ii. 56, 58

Hawke, Sir Edward, Lord, ii. 89, 116, 118, 120, 121

Hawkesworth, LL.D., John, _Oriental Tales_, ii. 247

Hawkins, Mr., Surgeon, i. 158, 161–163

Hay, Lord Charles, ii. 116

Hay, Rev. Robert, Archbishop of York, i. 47

Hay, Hon. John, i. 51, 61

Hay, Dr., ii. 95

Hayton Farm, i. 66

Hearne, Thomas, _Diary_, _i. 12_; ii. 62

Heberden, Dr. William, i. 276

Hell Fire Club, i. 218

Helvetius, Claud Adrien, _De l’Esprit_, ii. 157

Henrietta Maria, Queen, i. 264

Henry II., i. 150

Henry IV. of France, _ii. 18_

Henry VIII., i. 151

Heraclius II., King of Georgia and Armenia, ii. 101

Heraclius, Prince, ii. 162

Herbert, Mr., of Highclere Castle, Hants, i. 253; ii. 38, 39, 103

Hereford, 6th Viscount, _i. 39_

Hereford, Lady, i. 39

Herring, Thomas, Archbishop of York, i. 209; ii. 53, 54, 61, 63, 71,
78

Herring, Mrs., ii. 54, 65

Herring, Dr., Chancellor of York, ii. 175

Hertford, Lord, i. 249

Hervey, John, Lord, Pope’s “Sporus,” _ii. 192_

Hervey, Rev. James, _The Complaint, or Thoughts on Time, Death, and
Friendship_, i. 136, 138

Hervey, George William, Baron, 2nd Earl of Bristol, i. 234

Hervey, Lady (Mary Lepell), ii. 178, 192, 201, 207

Hesse Cassel, Frederick, Landgrave of, i. 53

Hessians, the, i. 221

Hickman, Dr., i. 149

“Hide” Park, i. 178, 179

Hillsborough, Lady, ii. 123

Hillsborough, Lord, ii. 96

Hinchinbroke, Lady (Elizabeth Popham), ii. 113

Hinchinbroke, Lord, afterwards 5th Earl of Sandwich, i. 138, 271;
ii. 113, 232

Hinchinbroke House, Huntingdon, i. 269

Hinxham, John, bookseller, ii. 174

Hoadley, Dr. Benjamin, _The Suspicious Husband_, i. 236

Hoare, Mr., of Stourhead, the banker, _ii. 206_

Hoare, artist, his portrait of Mrs. Montagu, i. 265, 272

Hoare, Mrs., i. 58

Hog, Mrs., French maid to the Duchess of Portland’s children, i. 89

Holborn, Admiral, ii. 74

Holdernesse, Sir Conyers D’Arcy, 6th Earl of, i. 209, 293; ii. 6

Holland, Henry Fox, 1st Baron, i. 105; ii. 94, 95

Holler’s _Prints_, i. 103

Hollins, Dr., i. 162

Honeywood, General, i. 161

Hood, Admiral, 1st Viscount Bridport, ii. 135

Hooke, Nathaniel, _Duchess of Marlborough’s Memoirs_, i. _103_, 296;
_History of Rome_, i. 296; ii. 12, 18, 19, 41, 45, 46, 70, 90;
his letter to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 65

Hopetoun, Lord, ii. 168

Hoquart, Admiral, ii. 74

Horace, i. 71, 72

Hounslow Heath, i. 164

Howard, Brigadier-General, i. 39

Howard, Thomas, 6th Earl of Berkshire and 14th Earl of Suffolk, i. 39,
46

Howard, Lord, i. 46

Howe, Captain, ii. 126

Hoyle, _on Chess_, i. 252

Hume, David (_History of James I. and Charles I._), i. 263; ii. 68,
91, 195, 211

Hume, Mrs. David, ii. 91

Hunter, Mr., ii. 95

Huntingdon, Francis, 10th Earl of, ii. 214

Huntingdon, Lady, the patroness of the “Huntingdon Connexion” branch
of the Methodists, _ii. 214_

Huntingdon Ball, i. 270

Hurst Castle, i. 248

Hussey, Edward, Earl of Beaulieu, i. 201, 267

Hutchinson, Rev. John, _Moseis Principia_, ii. 87

Inoculation for smallpox, i. 149, 158

Inquisition, Court of, ii. 15

Inverary Castle, ii. 165

Iremonger, Mrs., of Wherwell, Hants, ii. 23

Irvine, Henry, Viscount, _i. 95_

Irwin, Lord, i. 164

Isaacson, Anthony, ii. 129, _151_

Isaacson, Mrs. Anthony (Mary Creagh), ii. 129, _151_

Isaacson, Montagu, ii. 151, 156

Isted, Mrs., Mrs. Montagu’s housekeeper, i. 292; ii. 8, 12, 19, 20,
56

Ives, Mrs., ii. 57

James II., _i. 156_

Jarret, a jobmaster, ii. 188

Jefferies, Judge, _i. 49_

Jefferies, an ostler at the Pelican Inn, Newbury, ii. 23

Jeffreys, Baron, of Wem, _ii. 257_

Jenny, Sarah Robinson’s maid, i. 164

Jersey, Earl of, _i. 50_

Jew Bill, ii. 33

Johnson, B., _Volpone_, ii. 24

Johnson, Dr. Samuel, ii. 54, 105, 162;
_Lives of the Poets_, i. 283;
on R. Berenger, i. 284;
_Rasselas_, ii. 161;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 161, 173

Jones, a merchant of Huntingdon, ii. 39

Jones, Inigo, _i. 242_; ii. 35

Jordain, Monsieur, ii. 37, 267

Joseph I., of Portugal, ii. 158;
attempted assassination of, ii. 180

“Jumps,” a kind of stays, i. 259

Jurin, Dr. James, i. 268

Keith, Field-Marshal, i. 95

Kennet, Mrs., wet-nurse, i. 148, 183

Kent, Duchess of (Sophia Bentinck), i. 60, 61

Kent, Henry (Grey), 1st Duke of, _i. 60_

Kilmarnock, Earl of, i. 231

King’s lectures, ii. 38, 40

Kingston, Duchess of (_née_ Chudleigh), i. 265

Kingston, Evelyn, Duke of, i. _50_, 237

Kingston, 2nd Duke of, i. 149, 190, 286;

Kinnoull, 7th Earl of, i. _47_, _61_

Kinnoull, 8th Earl of, i. 8, 9, 44, 46, 54; ii. 84, 85, 168, 179

Kirke, Gilbert, _i. 55_

Kirke, Thomas, i. 55

Kloster-Seven, Convention of, ii. 111

Knatchbull, Sir Wyndham, 5th Baronet, i. 20, 32, 36

Knatchbull, Lady, i. 21

Knatchbull, Miss, i. 21

Knight, Mrs. (_née_ Robinson), i. 179, 256

Knollys, Lady Katherine, afterwards Law, i. 22, 33

Kollin (Bohemia), Frederick the Great defeated at the battle of,
ii. 114

Kouli Khan, ii. 99

Lambard, Mr., ii. 188

Lambarts, the, ii. 253

Lane, Mrs., of Bramham Park, Yorkshire, ii. 37

Langham, Lady, ii. 43, 55, 57, 87

Langham, Lord John, i. 278

l’Angle, Rev. Samuel de, Prebendary of Westminster, i. 52

Lansdowne, Lady (Lady Mary Villiers), i. 50

Lansdowne, George Granville, Lord, i. 50

La Perche, Count Thomas de, i. 151

La Perche, Geoffry, 4th Earl de, i. 150

Laud, Archbishop, _i. 75_

Law, John, the financier, i. 22, 23

Law, Lady Katherine (_née_ Knollys), i. 22, 23

Layton, Francis, of Rawdon, _i. 55_

Layton, Lucy, afterwards Mrs. Leonard Robinson, i. 2, 4

Le Despencer, Sir Francis Dashwood, Lord, i. 218

Lee, Colonel, i. 60

Lee, Dr., i. 93, 94

Lee, Lady Betty (afterwards Young), i. 59, 60

Leeds, Duchess of (Lady Harriet Godolphin), i. 51

Leeds, Thomas, 4th Duke of, i. 51; ii. 209

Legge, Hon. Harry, Lord of the Treasury, and Chancellor of the
Exchequer, i. 231; ii. 49, 83, 84, 95, 153

Leicester, Lord, ii. 165

Leigh Place, Sir John Evelyn’s, ii. 75

Leland, Dr., _Observations of Lord Bolingbroke’s Letter_, ii. 25;
_Life of Philip of Macedon_, ii. 159

Lely, Sir Peter, his portrait of 1st Earl of Sandwich, ii. 249

l’Enclos, Ninon de, ii. 113

Leslie, Mr., i. 293, 294

Lestock, i. 177

Levens Hall, Westmoreland, Lord Berkshire’s seat, i. 224

Lichfield, Earl of, i. 60

Lichfield, Marquis of, i. 93

Liddell, Mr., of Newton, ii. 224

Light, Anthony, i. 2, 55

Light, Mrs. Elizabeth (_née_ Clarke), afterwards Mrs. Thomas Robinson,
i. 2

Light, Lydia, afterwards Mrs. Thomas Kirke, then Mrs. Robert Lumley,
i. 55

Ligonier, Field Marshal John, Earl of, i. 216, 218

Lincoln, Lady (Catherine Pelham), ii. 187

Lindsey, John, 7th Earl of, and 17th Earl of Crawford, i. 41

Linnell, Mr., i. 294; ii. 17

Lisbon, earthquake at, ii. 85

Lisle, Miss, i. 245

Locke, ii. 61, 62

Lodge, _Peerage of Irish Peers_, i. 191

Lodomie, dentist, ii. 209

Lombe, John, inventor of silk-weaving engine, _i. 201_

Lonsdale, 3rd Viscount, i. 209

Loudoun, Earl of, i. 206;
Commander-in-Chief of English in America, ii. 115

Louis XIV., i. 291, 295; ii. 18

Louis XV., i. 175

Louisburg, ii. 76, 116, 134;
taken, ii. 140, 154

Lovat, Lord, beheaded, i. 235, 253

Lowther, Mrs., ii. 149

Lucian, _Triumph of the Gout_, i. 283; ii. 47

Lumley, Elizabeth (Mrs. Laurence Sterne), i. 3, 55, 73–75, 84, 230

Lumley, Rev. Robert, i. 55, 230

Lumley Castle, ii. 139

Lyster, Mrs., ii. 167

Lyttelton, Rev. Charles, Dean of Exeter, afterwards Bishop of
Carlisle, i. 201, 284; ii. 96, 115, 136, 149, 208, 209, 262

Lyttelton, Sir George, 1st Lord, i. 64, 278; ii. 8, 11, 22, 25, 30,
32, 35, 60, 93, 168, 245, 250, 252, 255, 260, 267;
_Observations on Cicero_, i. 82;
Mrs. Montagu on his Verses, i. 90;
his first marriage, i. 110;
_Monody_, i. 253, 254;
_Dissertation on Saint Paul_, i. 283;
his second marriage, ii. 11;
his friend Bishop Berkeley, ii. 15;
calls Mrs. Montagu “Madonna,” ii. 16, 50, 72;
Hagley, ii. 41, 192;
cofferer, ii. 49;
Bower’s fervid Italian, ii. 50;
his tour in North Wales, ii. 72;
Chancellor of the Exchequer, ii. 84;
Gilbert West’s reinstatement at Chelsea, ii. 85;
a peer, ii. 96;
_History of Henry II._, ii. 96, 148, 159, 192, 256;
“is got pure well,” ii. 115;
reproves Lord Temple in the House of Lords, ii. 127;
his amusing letter to Dr. Monsey, ii. 132;
Mrs. Montagu’s _eau de luce_ accident, ii. 145;
Dr. Monsey’s doggerel verses on, ii. 154;
_Dialogues of the Dead_, ii. 181, 182, 200, 204, 207;
at the Coronation, ii. 259;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 81, 90, 94, 135, 140, 148, 150,
165, 172, 178, 179, 186, 192, 201, 203–205, 209, 212, 213, 261,
264;
Mrs. Montagu’s letters to, ii. 89, 96, 134, 164, 167, 172, 185, 191,
194, 205, 210, 215

Lyttelton, Lucy, Lady (_née_ Fortescue), 1st wife, i. 110, 253

Lyttelton, Lady (_née_ Rich), 2nd wife, ii. 11, 72, 115

Lyttelton, Miss, ii. 255

Lyttelton, Sir Richard, ii. 95, 191

Lyttelton, Thomas, 2nd Lord, i. 253; ii. 50, 86, 89, 140, 150, 165,
167, 168, 261;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 141, 166, 168, 179;
Mrs. Montagu’s letters to, ii. 139, 193, 253

Lyttelton, Sir Thomas, _ii. 182_

Lyttelton, William Henry, created Baron Westcote of Ballymore, i. 284;
ii. 32;
Governor of South Carolina, ii. 68, 78;
Governor of Jamaica, ii. 182

Macartney, Mr., _ii. 6_

Macpherson, _Highland Poems_, ii. 194, 197, 205, 211, 234, 257, 268

Mahon, Lady (Hester Pitt), afterwards Lady Stanhope, ii. 82

Maillebois, Field Marshal Jean Des Marets, i. 220

Maintenon, Madame de, _i. 38_; ii. 19;
_Memoirs_ of, ii. 154

Mainwaring, Mrs., i. 177

Mallet, David, Scottish poet, i. 54

Malton, 6th Baron of, i. 209

Manchester, Isabella, Duchess of, i. 201;
remarries Edward Hussey, i. 267

Manchester, 2nd Duke of, _i. 201_

Mangey, Rev. Dr., ii. 54

Mann, _Horace Walpole’s Letters to Sir H._, i. _264_, 274, 287

Mansfield, William Murray, 1st Earl of, Lord Chief Justice,
“Silver-tongued Murray,” i. 138; ii. 124, 127, 190

March, 3rd Earl of, afterwards Duke of Queensberry, i. 269, 286

Marchmont, Lord, ii. 211

Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, ii. 114, 146

Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of, i. _51_, 267; ii. 118

Marlborough, Charles Spencer, 2nd Duke of, i. 51; ii. 116

Marlborough, Charles, 3rd Duke of, i. 54, 104, 154, 161, 171; ii. 102,
126, 142, 152, 154

Marlborough, Elizabeth, Duchess of, ii. 152

Marlborough, Sarah, Duchess of, i. 54, 94, 157, 165;
her _Account of Her Conduct (Memoirs)_, i. 103, 296

Marriott, Mr., ii. 185

Marsh, Mrs., i. 280

Mary of Hesse, Princess (George II.’s daughter), i. 53

Mason, _Caractacus_, ii. 161

“Matadors,” term used in card-games, i. 40

Matilda of Saxony (Countess de La Perche), i. 150

Matthews, Admiral Thomas, i. 176, 177

May, Mrs., i. 181

Mead, Dr. Richard, i. 17, 82, 86, 88, 98, 128, 153, 155, 158, 160,
162, 199

Meadowcourt, Rev. ----, Vicar of Lindridge, Worcester, ii. 135, 136,
203

Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Princess Charlotte of, marries George III. ii.
249, 251, 252, 258–260

Medows, Sir Philip, i. 277; ii. 82, 145

Medows, Sir Sydney, i. 111; ii. 177

Medows, Jemima, Lady (_née_ Montagu), i. 111, 117, 128, 148, 149, 153,
154, 158, 184, 248, 262, 266, _273_; ii. 12, 61, 129, 144, 151,
163, 177;
her letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 22, 57, 82

Medows, Dorothy (_née_ Boscawen), i. 277

Melmoth, William, _Letters of Pliny_, ii. 242

Mendip, Lord (Welbore Ellis), ii. 186

Merle, M. de, French Ambassador to Portugal, ii. 181

“Merlin chair,” i. 92

Mersham Hatch, Sir W. Knatchbull’s place, i. 20, 32, 36

Micklem, General E., _ii. 106_

Middleton, Dr. Conyers, i. 4, 5, 233, 275;
_Life of Cicero_, i. 6, 29, 70, 71, 82;
his second marriage, i. 10, 11, 14, 16;
fails to obtain the Mastership of the Charter House, i. 19;
_Letters on the Use and Study of History_, i. 90;
his second wife’s death, i. 198;
_An Account of the Roman Senate_, i. 234;
his third wife, i. 237, 239, 241, 257;
_Free Enquiry into the Miraculous Powers_, i. 263;
death of, i. 276, 285, 292;
his bust by Roubilliac in Trinity College, Cambridge, ii. 35, 36,
91;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, i. 119, 123

Middleton, Mrs. Conyers, No. 1 (previously Mrs. Drake), i. 5, 6

Middleton, Mrs. Conyers, No. 2 (Mary Place), i. 10, 11, 14, 16, 180,
198

Middleton, Mrs. Conyers, No. 3 (Anne Powell), i. 237, 241, 257, 275,
285, 292; ii. 35, 36, 91

Middleton, 3rd Viscount, ii. 156

Middleton’s Academy, ii. 100

Midgham, seat of Mr. Poyntz, i. 169.

Millar, architect, ii. 90, 121

Millar, publisher, ii. 167, 234

Miller, Joe, _Book of Jests_, i. 73

Milles, Rev. Isaac, _i. 172_

Milner, Sir William and Lady, ii. 91

Milton, John, i. 172; ii. 245

Mincing, Mrs., i. 65

Minden, battle of, ii. 165

Minorca, ii. 140

Mirepoix, M., French Ambassador, i. 284, 291; ii. 74

Mirepoix, Madame, i. 284

Mitchell, Mr., ii. 143

Moivre, M. de, i. 286

Molière, _L’École des Femmes_, i. 16;
_Precieuses Ridicules_, ii. 55.

Molyneux, Miss, i. 168

Money, _History of Newbury_, i. 150

Monkey Island, i. 54, 154

Monsey, Dr. Messenger, private physician to Lord Godolphin, afterwards
to Chelsea Hospital, ii. 98, 108, 111, 115, 117, 121, 129, 132,
134, 136, 145–147, 150, 152, 154, 165, 171, 186, 187, 194, 200,
212, 220, 225, 229, 235, 241, 262, 263, 266;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 133, 142, 155, 204, 208, 224;
Mrs. Montagu’s letter to, ii. 102

Montagu, Charles (Edward’s father), his first wife Elizabeth Forster,
his second wife Sarah Rogers, i. 111, 188

Montagu, Charles (Edward’s cousin), ii. 152

Montagu, Crewe (Edward’s brother), i. 111; ii. 129

Montagu, Edward, of Allerthorpe, i. 110;
short account of, i. 111;
marries Elizabeth Robinson, i. 114;
the honeymoon, i. 117;
his Whig principles, i. 127;
guardian and manager to John Rogers and his estate, i. 146, 199,
234, 289–291; ii. 36;
arms his tenants, i. 226;
death of his steward and agent, i. 233;
Edward Wortley Montagu, Junior, i. 237, 238, 243; ii. 167;
the Huntingdon Elections, i. 239; ii. 39;
James Montagu’s death, i. 262;
Duke of Montagu’s death, i. 266;
death of Edward Carter, ii. 51;
John Rogers’ death and will, ii. 128, 137;
Elizabeth’s _eau de luce_ disaster, ii. 144;
his illness, ii. 164;
Durham Election, ii. 223, 228;
old Wortley Montagu’s will, ii. 231;
the Newbold Vernon picture, ii. 249

Letters from his wife, i. 123, 127, 136, 159, 200, 235, 240, 252,
266, 270, 276, 281, 284, 285, 288, 291, 292; ii. 6, 11–13, 16,
30, 33–35, 37–40, 49, 51–53, 56, 74, 90, 103, 107, 111, 112,
114, 123, 124, 126, 129, 151, 153, 156–158, 185, 187, 193, 199,
215–217, 219, 223, 226, 228–231, 251, 258

His letters to his wife, i. 129, 134–137, 146, 147, 171, 173–175,
182, 201, 205, 209, 211, 212, 233, 234, 239–241, 269, 282, 285,
286, 289, 290, 292; ii. 4, 14, 35, 36, 39, 84, 104, 106, 112,
188, 218, 223, 231, 232, 249

Montagu, Edward (Elizabeth’s godson), i. 271

Montagu, George, _Horace Walpole’s Letters to_, i. 275; ii. 178

Montagu, James (Edward’s half-brother), i. 111, 188, 232; ii. 249;
death of, i. 262

Montagu, Hon. James (Edward’s cousin), _ii. 152_

Montagu, Jemima (Edward’s sister), afterwards Lady Medows, _q.v._

Montagu, John (Edward’s brother), i. 111; ii. 129

Montagu, John, “Punch” (Edward’s son), i. 149, 165, 166, 168, 169,
178, 182–186, 188;
death of, i. 191; ii. 119

Montagu, Captain John, i. 240

Montagu, Hon. Mrs. Sarah, i. 151

Montagu, Captain William, i. 286

Montagu, Edward Wortley, i. 51, 237, 239; ii. 87, 112;
illness and death, ii. 229–231

Montagu, Junr., Edward Wortley, i. 51, 237–240, 243, 261, 286, 287;
ii. 167, 197, 249

Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley (_née_ Pierpoint), i. 50, 51, 237;
introduces inoculation into England, _i. 35_

Montagu, Hon. Sidney Wortley, i. 237, 239, 244

Montagu, Hon. Mrs. Sidney Wortley (Anne Wortley), i. 237

Montagu, Matthew (Elizabeth’s nephew), 4th Baron Rokeby, _The Letters
of Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu_, i. 6

Montagu, Lady Barbara, i. 256, 260, 266, 270, 284, 293; ii. 7, 11, 29,
58, 59, 75, 78, 79, 87, 93, 105, 163, 247, 266

Montagu, John, 2nd Duke of, Master of the Wardrobe, and Grand Master
of the Order of the Bath, i. 182, _201_, 216, 218, 219, 237,
238, 244, 248, 266, 267

Montagu, 3rd Duke of, ii. 92, 113

Montfort, 1st Baron, i. 286; ii. 67

Moor, Captain, i. 80

Moore, Deputy Governor of Jamaica, ii. 182

Moore, Edward, publisher of _The World_, ii. 25

Mordaunt, Sir John, ii. 116, 118, 120, 121, 158

More, Hannah, i. 284

Morgan, Rev. ----, curate of Newtown, i. 271, 272

Morgan, Jacky and Nanny, i. 272

Morley, Dr., ii. 77, 185

Mornington, Garrett Wesley or Wellesley, 1st Earl, i. 169; ii. 80

Mornington, Baron, ii. 80

Morris, Matthew Robinson (Elizabeth’s brother), i. 194; ii. 13

Morris, Morris Drake, i. 4, 5, 73

Morris, Sarah (Mrs. Robert Drake), i. 4

Morris, Thomas, i. 4, 229

Morritt, John B. Saurey, i. 2

Morton, Charles, Curator of British Museum, ii. 243, 256, 257

Mount Bevis, i. 247, 248

Mount Edgecumbe, Countess of (_née_ Gilbert), ii. 73

Mount Morris, or Monk’s Horton, near Hythe, home of the Robinsons, i.
4, 7, 73, 74, 229; ii. 14

Mountrath, 6th Earl of, i. 169

Murrain, cattle, i. 219

Murray, Secretary, i. 235

Nash, Miss, i. 167

Nash, Richard (“Beau Nash”), i. 167; ii. 39;
his threatened _History of Bath, etc._, ii. 59, 60

_National Biography, Dictionary of_, i. 7, 97; ii. 15, 146, 189

National Portrait Gallery, ii. 258

Naylor, Miss Maria, i. 286, 287

Ned, Montagu’s head-groom, ii. 188, 199

Nedham, Mrs., ii. 94

_Neustra Signora de Cabodonga_, Spanish treasure-ship
captured by Lord Anson, i. 186

Newbold Vernon, i. 188

Newcastle-on-Tyne, Mrs. Montagu’s description of, ii. 138

Newcastle-on-Tyne, John Holles, 1st Duke of, i. 7

Newcastle-under-Lyne, Thomas Pelham, 1st Duke of, i. 51, 288; ii. 49,
94, 95, 142, _187_, 212, 217

Newcastle, Duchess of, i. 288; ii. 121

Newton, Dr., _Dissertation on the Prophecies_, ii. 159

Newton, Mr., valuer, i. 290

Newton, Sir Isaac, _ii. 91_

Newton, Sir T., Roubilliac’s statue of, ii. 36

Nicholson, Bishop, ii. 15

Nicholson, John, i. 145

Nivernois, Duc de, ii. 266

Nixon’s drawing of the Coffee-house, Bath, _i. 255_

Norfolk, Dowager Duchess of (_née_ Sherburne), i. 39, 42

Norfolk, Duchess of (Mary Blount), i. 17, 102, 125, 288

Norfolk, Edward, 9th Duke of, i. _17_, _102_

Norfolk, 15th Duke of, _i. 39_

Norfolk, Edward Howard, 16th Duke of, i. 125; ii. 257

Norman, Mrs., ii. 267

Norris, Admiral Sir John, i. 176

North, 7th Baron, afterwards Earl of Guilford, _i. 63_

North, Lady, i. 93

North American campaign, ii. 134

Northampton, Elizabeth, Countess of, i. 273

Northampton, 11th Earl of, _i. 273_; ii. 161

Northfleet Fair, i. 99

Northumberland, Hugh Smithson, 15th Earl, 1st Duke of, ii. 99, 101,
102, 146, 154, 166

Norwood, J. D., i. 97, 255

_Notes and Queries_, ii. 23

Nottingham Castle, i. 121

Nugent, Mr., ii. 95

Offleys, the, i. 167

Ogle, Mrs., ii. 173

Oglethorpe, General James Edward, i. 210, 213

_Old and New London_, i. 46

Onslow, 3rd Baron, i. 286

Orange, Princess of, i. 86; ii. 156

Orford, Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of, i. 100, 101, 104, 156, 157, 171,
_190_

Orrery, Charles Boyle, 4th Earl, _Observations on the Life and
Writings of Dr. Swift_, ii. 18, 85

Osborne, Admiral, ii. 154

Ossian, ii. 267, 268

Otway, Thomas, _Orphan_, i. 177

Oxford, Robert Harley, 1st Earl of, i. 9, 83, 104

Oxford, Edward, 2nd Earl of, i. 7, 8, 46, 54–57, 62, 82, 83

Oxford, Edward Harley, 24th Earl of, ii. 140, 141

Oxford, Countess of (Henrietta Cavendish), i. 7, 8, 54, _83_, 86, 133,
157, 226

Page, Sir Gregory, i. 28

Page, Mr. (brother of above), i. 28, 29

Palgrave, Mr., ii. 208

Palmer, Sir Thomas, of Wingham, Kent, _i. 21_

Panmure, Lord, ii. 216

Pannel, Captain, ii. 188

Panton, Master of the King’s Racers, i. 279

Paul, Father, _History of the Council of Trent_, i. 124

Pegu, king of, ii. 124

Pelham, Right Hon. Henry, i. 100, 102, 171, 220; ii. 49, _187_

Pembroke, Earl of, _i. 249_

Pembroke, Henry, 28th Earl of, i. 273

Pembroke, Henry, 29th Earl of, ii. 160

Pembroke, Lady, ii. 185

Pendarves, Mrs. (_née_ Granville), afterwards Mrs. Delany, “Pen,” i.
18, 25, 40, 43–47, _50_, 56, 57, 98, 103, 116, 146;
her letters to Mrs. Montagu, i. 101, 116, 131.
_See also_ Delany, Mrs.

Pendarves, W., _i. 18_

Penshurst pictures, ii. 34

Percival, Lord, i. 94

Percival, Mrs., i. 160, 288

Percival, Hon. Philip, i. 41, 160, 259

Perth, 3rd titular Duke of, i. 213

Peter the Great, _i. 95_

Peterborough, Lady (Anastasia Robinson), i. 22, 169

Peterborough, Earl of, i. 22, 247

Petrowna, Czarina Elizabeth, i. 95

Philip, Agnes (Mrs. Ralph Robinson), i. 2

Pierce, Jerry, ii. 4

Pigott, Captain, i. 260

Pinchbeck, Christopher, i. 46

Pitt, Miss Anne, i. 58, 64, 255; ii. 213, 216

Pitt, Mrs. George (Penelope Atkyns), i. 265; ii. 158, 163

Pitt, Miss Hester, afterwards Lady Mahon, then Stanhope, ii. 82

Pitt, Lady Hester (_née_ Grenville), ii. 60, 63, 65, 77, 78, 81, 82,
94, 115, 158;
created Baroness of Chatham, ii. 265

Pitt, John, Viscount, ii. 95

Pitt, Miss Mary, i. 64; ii. 51, 53, 69, 73, 77, 78, 81, 94, 95, 158,
170, 265

Pitt, Thomas, of Boconoc, Cornwall, ii. 153, 266;
his letter to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 180

Pitt, William, afterwards 1st Earl of Chatham, “the great commoner,”
i. 58, _64_; ii. 1, 22, 35, 41, 45, 53, 77, 78, 83, 85, 111,
173, 216;
his speeches in the House of Commons, i. 137, 138, 171; ii. 153,
156;
Sarah Robinson on, i. 167;
obtains for Gilbert West the Clerkship of the Privy Council, ii. 4;
his house, South Lodge, Enfield, ii. 8, 10;
his hospitality to West, ii. 9;
authorship of _The Adventurer_ attributed to, ii. 25;
his insomnia, ii. 30–33;
at Tunbridge Wells, ii. 37, 40;
King’s lectures, ii. 38;
Bath, ii. 43;
gout in his hand, ii. 51;
appoints West paymaster of Chelsea. College, ii. 51, 52;
marries Lady Hester Grenville, ii. 60, 61, 63, 64;
his daughter’s birth, ii. 82;
_v._ Fox, ii. 84;
purchases Mrs. Montagu’s Hayes house, ii. 94;
his son John’s birth, ii. 95;
a sharp attack of gout, ii. 96, 98;
Secretary of State, ii. 96, 262;
the Mordaunt Expedition, ii. 116;
and Lord Royston, ii. 128;
and Emin, ii. 154;
his “great compliments” to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 157;
Burke’s application for the Madrid consulship, ii. 170;
the pictures at Hagley, ii. 172;
a mark of the City’s affection, ii. 213;
Duke of Newcastle and, ii. 217;
and the Lord Mayor, ii. 220;
the intended expedition to France, ii. 226;
receives a barony for Lady Hester and a pension for three lives,
ii. 264;
his “act of humility,” ii. 265

Place, Rev. Conyers, _i. 10_

Place, Mary, afterwards Mrs. Conyers Middleton, i. 10, 11, 14, 16,
180, 198

Plumtree, Dr., i. 276

Pocock, Mrs. (_née_ Milles), i. 172, 173

Pococke, Mrs., ii. 69, 208

Pococke, Miss, ii. 79

Pococke, Rev. Dr. Richard, Bishop of Ossory and Meath, i. 173; ii. 61,
69, 204, 208, 211;
_Descriptions of the East_, etc., i. 241

Polignac, Madame de, ii. 98

Pomfret, Countess of, ii. 256, 260;
her death, ii. 261, 267, 268

Pomfret, 1st Earl of, i. 179; _ii. 256_

Pondicherry, taken by the English, ii. 250

Pope, Alexander, i. 7, _54_; ii. 57, 113;
his epitaph--“Under the marble, etc.,” i. 24;
_Dunciad_, i. _38_, 172;
_Letters_, i. 89;
his villa at Twickenham, i. 163;
at Mount Bevis, i. 247;
_Universal Prayer_, i. 248;
“ill health is an early old age,” ii. 8;
on Silence, ii. 55;
on Virtue, ii. 82;
“the story of the great, etc.,” ii. 123;
conscience “the god within the mind,” ii. 157;
“Sporus,” _ii. 192_;
on Sir John Cutler’s funeral, ii. 202

Porpora, i. _16_, _27_

Portland, Duchess of (Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley), i. 8, 12, 13,
23, 44–46, 48–50, 55, 56, 60–62, 65, 69, 76, 81, 86, 87, 103,
146, 160; ii. 43–45, 80, 148;
her letters to Mrs. Montagu, i. 13, 22, 26, 82–85, 99, 100, 102,
103, 124, 128, 133, 149, 157, 176;
Mrs. Montagu’s letters to, i. 8–12, 14, 16–20, 27, 28, 31, 36,
38–43, 66, 99, 114, 120, 125, 131, 133, 138, 152–155, 158, 163,
169, 170, 172; ii. 196

Portland, William Henry, 1st Duke of, i. 81

Portland, William, 2nd Duke of, i. 12, 44, 45, 48, 61, 92, 100, 115,
170; ii. 43, 80;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, i. 34, 36, 76

Portland, William Henry, 3rd Duke of, i. 26, 28

Portland, Earl of, _i. 49_

Potter, Mr., ii. 111

Potts, Mr., i. 189

Powell, Anne, 3rd Mrs. Conyers Middleton, _q.v._

Powis, Lord, i. 269

Poyntz, Stephen, of Midgham, i. 169; _ii. 147_

Poyntz, Mrs., i. 148

Pratt, 1st Earl of Camden, ii. 217, 250

Preston Pans, i. 206

Pretender, the, i. 174, 175, 205, 216; ii. 39

Price, Robert, ii. 136

Prichard, Mrs., actress, ii. 234

Primrose, Anne, Lady (_née_ Drelincourt), i. 235; ii. 192

Primrose, 3rd Viscount, _i. 235_; _ii. 192_

Primrose, Mrs., ii. 267

Prior, Matthew, i. 38, _57_

Pulses, the Miss, ii. 12, 22

Pulteney, General, ii. 11, 185

Pulteney, Lord, ii. 227

Purdie, Mrs., i. 254

Quadrille, a card-game, i. 40

Quarle, _Emblems_, i. 73

Quebec, taken by English, ii. 171, 172

Queensberry, Catherine Hyde, Duchess of (Prior’s “Kitty”), i. 57, 63

Queensberry, Charles, 3rd Duke of, i. _57_, _63_, 286

Queensborough, Duke of, i. 249

Quin, the actor, i. 47;
as “Falstaffe,” i. 237

Ramsay, Allan, poet, _The Gentle Shepherd_, etc., ii. 195

Ramsay, Allan (son of above), portrait painter, i. 279; ii. 147, 195,
211

Ramsay, Mrs. Allan, ii. 195

Ramsay, Dr., ii. 133

Ranelagh, a masquerade at, i. 264

Ravensworth, Lord, ii. 138, 165, 201

Reynolds, Sir Joshua, his portrait of Lord Bath, ii. 258, 268, 269

Rich, Field Marshal Sir Robert, _ii. 72_

Richardson, Adam, ii. 183, 184, 229

Richardson, Miss M. (afterwards Mrs. William Robinson), ii. 183, 184

Richardson, Samuel, _Sir Charles Grandison_, _Pamela_,
_Clarissa Harlowe_, etc., i. 258; ii. 46, 250, _260_

Richmond, Charles, 2nd Duke of, i. 100; ii. 97

Richmond, 7th Duke of, i. 216, 218

Ridley, Mayor of Newcastle, i. 210

Risback, ii. 168

Rivers, George Pitt, Lord, _i. 265_

Rivers, Pitt, of Stratfieldsaye, i. 151

Rivington, Mr., ii. 208

Roberts, E. Sage, ii. 48

Robertson of Strowan, 7th Baron, i. 2

Robertson, William, of Kendal, i. 2

Robertsons of Struan, or Strowan, the, i. 1

Robinson, Charles, “Poor Pigg” (brother), i. 5, 121, 130, 131, 136,
139, 182, 224, 262, 272; ii. 52

Robinson, Deborah, Lady (_née_ Collet), i. 2

Robinson, George, i. 216

Robinson, Grace, afterwards Mrs. William Freind, _q.v._

Robinson, Henry (brother of above), i. 80

Robinson, Henry, of Kendal, i. 2

Robinson, John (brother), i. 5, 121, 130, 131, 136, 139, 247, 253,
258; ii. 7

Robinson, Sir Leonard, i. 2, 4

Robinson, Matthew (father), i. 2, 3, 6, 11, 14, 16, 34, 76, 118, 129,
219, 232, 243; ii. 23, 156;
his letter to his daughter Elizabeth, i. 237;
Elizabeth’s letters to, i. 54, 62, 104, 236, 287; ii. 201

Robinson, Mrs. Matthew, Elizabeth Drake (mother), i. 4, 7, 34, 35,
149, 215, 227;
her letters to her daughter Elizabeth, i. 176, 180–182, 196, 198,
222, 225;
Elizabeth’s letters to, i. 46, 48, 50, 61, 87, 88, 93, 94, 116, 141,
180, 226

Robinson, Matthew (brother), afterwards 2nd Baron Rokeby, i. 5, 34,
70, 74, 83, 84, 86, 87, 91, 129, 186, 229, 240, 259, 265, 270,
282, 291; ii. 14, 65, 69, 93;
M.P. for Canterbury, i. 252, 253;
presents address to George III., ii. 228;
his letters to his sister Elizabeth, i. 73, 77, 260

Robinson, Rev. Dr. Matthew, i. 122

Robinson, Matthew (son of Morris), 4th Baron Rokeby, i. 1, 6, 254;
ii. 92, 174

Robinson, Morris (brother), i. 5, 107, 129, 166, 174, 187, 233, 235;
ii. 13, 49, 92, 123, 129, 152, 184, 191, 228

Robinson, Mrs. Morris (Jane Greenland), ii. 92, 111, 184

Robinson, Morris (son of above), 3rd Baron Rokeby, ii. 111

Robinson, Ralph, i. 2

Robinson, Rev. Dr. Richard (cousin), Archbishop of Armagh, 1st Baron
Rokeby, ii. 2

Robinson, Captain Robert (brother), i. 5, 18, 24, 47, 128, 131, 182,
224, 233, 262, 266, 279, 282; ii. 10, 88

Robinson, Sarah (sister), afterwards Mrs. George Lewis Scott, “Pea,”
i. 5, 21, 34, 37, 78, 117, 135, 143, 146, 148, 158, 163–165,
174, 194, 195, 208, 213, 224, 252, 256, 260, 266, 293; ii. 10,
52, 87, 88, 93, 94, 105, 266;
engagement, i. 270;
marriage, i. 284;
and separation, ii. 5–7, 44;
her daily life at Bath Easton, ii. 78, 79;
_Millenium Hall, by a_ Gentleman _on his Travels_, _ii. 79_;
her letters to her sister Elizabeth, i. 64, 164, 166–168, 219, 280;
ii. 59, 97, 144;
Elizabeth’s letters to, i. 45–47, 53, 56, 60, 61, 63, 65, 74, 88–90,
95–97, 108, 149, 165, 178, 183, 184, 186, 187, 215, 248, 258,
262, 264, 271, 279; ii. 1, 20, 29, 33, 54, 58, 67, 69, 75, 79,
86, 118, 184, 246

Robinson, Sir Septimus, i. 177; ii. 2

Robinson, “Short” Sir Thomas, Lord Grantham, i. 259, 260, 277, 288

Robinson, Lady (wife of above), i. 277

Robinson, “Long” Sir Thomas, i. 2, 30, 47, 100, 112, 123; ii. 2, 42,
275–277

Robinson, Thomas, i. 2, 3

Robinson, Thomas (brother), _Common Law of Kent, or Customs of
Gavelkind_, i. 5, 32, 97, 129, 137, 140, 251, 254, 255

Robinson, Mrs. Thomas (afterwards Mrs. Anthony Light), i. 55

Robinson, Ursula, i. 2

Robinson of Rokeby, William, i. 2, 177; ii. 2

Robinson, Rev. William (brother), i. 5, 121, 130, 131, 136, 139, 247,
253, 258, 285;
Rector of Burghfield, Berks, ii. 1, 2, 9, 87, _93_, 183, 184, 229,
270

Robinson, Mrs. William (wife of above), _née_ Richardson, ii. 183,
184, 229

Robinson, Sir William (cousin), ii. 2

Robinsons and Sternes, pedigree of the, i. 3

Rochester, Earl of, ii. 113

Roger family of Oxwell Park, _ii. 37_

Rogers, a grocer, ii. 100

Rogers, John, of Newcastle, i. 111, 144, 145

Rogers, Mrs. John (Sarah Cock), i. 111

Rogers, Junr., John, i. 144–147, 151, 234, 285, 289, 290; ii. 17, 51,
53, 128, 129, 151, 201

Rogers, Junr., Mrs. John (Anne Delaval), ii. 129

Rogers, Mrs. Elizabeth, ii. 129

Rogers, Sarah (Mrs. Charles Montagu), i. 111, 144

Rokeby, Sir Thomas, i. 2

Rokeby, Rev. Dr. Richard Robinson, 1st Baron, Bishop of Killala,
afterwards Archbishop of Armagh, ii. 2

Rokeby, Matthew, 2nd Baron. _See_ Robinson, Matthew (brother)

Rokeby, Morris Robinson, 3rd Baron, ii. 111

Rokeby, Matthew Robinson, 4th Baron, i. 1, 6, 254; ii. 92, 174

Rolfe, Rev. Edmund, ii. 98

Rolfe, Mrs. (_née_ Alexander), ii. 98

Rollin, ii. 25

Rolt, Mrs., i. 202, 203

Romney, 2nd Baron, i. 275; ii. 77

Romney, Lady (Priscilla Pym), i. 275, 284; ii. 77

Romney Marsh, i. 223

Rook, Mrs., i. 128

Rooke, Heyman, _i. 4_

Rosbach, battle of, ii. 122

Rosebery, Lord, _i. 235_

Roubilliac, Louis François, sculptor, ii. 35, 36;
his bust of Shakespeare, _ii. 130_

Rousseau, ii. 159

Rowe, Nicholas, Poet Laureate, _Fair Penitent_, i. 177

Royston, Lord, afterwards 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, ii. 127, 217

Rush, Lady, i. 246

Russia, revolution in (1741), i. 95

Russians, defeated by Frederick the Great at Zorndorff, ii. 142

Rust, Mr., travelling companion to Mr. Hoare’s son, ii. 206

Rutland, 3rd Duke of, i. 216

Ryder, Sir Dudley and Lady, i. 277

Sackville, Lady Caroline (afterwards Countess of Dorchester), i. 53

Sackville, Lord George (afterwards Lord George Germaine), ii. 165,
212, 216

St. Albans, 1st Duke of, _i. 80_

St. Evremont, ii. 113

Saint Germain, Comte de, French General, i. 222

St. Lazare, i. 80

St. Malo, attempted invasion of France at, ii. 126–127

St. Real, C. V. de, i. 70

Sallier, Abbé, ii. 257

Sandford, Lieutenant, i. 80

Sandleford Priory, Berks, i. 150–152; ii. 278–280

Sandwich, 1st Earl of, Lord High Admiral of the Fleet to Charles II.,
i. _51_, 111, 151, 237;
Lely’s portrait of, ii. 249

Sandwich, 3rd Earl of, ii. 113

Sandwich, John, 4th Earl of, “Jemmy Twitcher,” i. 87, _138_, 174, 218,
219, 238, 240, 243, 244, 259–261, 265, 266, 268, 270, 286;
ii. 33, 39, 69, 113, 230

Sandwich, John Montagu, 5th Earl of, i. 138, 271; ii. 113, 232

Sandwich, Dowager Countess of (Elizabeth Wilmot), ii. 113

Sandwich, Dorothy, Lady (_née_ Fane), i. 87, 138, 218, 244, 259–261,
265, 266, 269, 271; ii. 51, 69, 76, 113;
her letter to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 103

Sandys of Ombersley, Samuel, 1st Baron, Chancellor of the Exchequer,
i. 102, 105, 130

Sandys, Dr., i. 33, 45, 48, 54, 61, 98, 127, 138, 160

Saumaize, M., i. 86

Saunders, Admiral, ii. 89

Savernake Forest House (Lord Bruce’s), i. 250

Saxes, Maurice, Comte de, Field Marshal of France, i. 175

Scarborough, 3rd Earl of, _i. 63_

Scarborough, Lady, i. 63

Scarron, Paul, French satirist, _Le Roman comique_, etc., i. 38;
ii. 19

Scheemackers, sculptor, i. 190

Schulenburg, Count, ii. 154

Scotland, the 1745 rising in, i. 205–209, 214, 215

Scott, Mrs., of Scott’s Hall, i. 35, 86; ii. 15

Scott, “Cally” (afterwards Mrs. T. Best), i. 86, 103, 121, 184

Scott, Cecilia, i. 86

Scott, George, of Bristo, Scotland, i. 206

Scott, George Lewis, i. 206, 211, 213, 219, 260, 280, 287, 292, 293;
engagement, i. 270;
marriage, i. 284;
and separation, ii. 5–7, 44;
dismissed from tutorship to the Princes, ii. 20;
Commissioner of the Excise, ii. 97

Scott, Mrs. George Lewis. _See_ Robinson, Sarah

Scudamore, Miss (Mrs. Scudamore), ii. 72, 185

Secker, Thomas, Bishop of Oxford, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury,
i. 71; ii. 42, 160, 260

Secker, Mrs. Thomas, i. 71

Selwyn, George, ii. 252

Severn river, ii. 112

Sevigné, Madame de, _Letters_, ii. 68

Shadwell, Sir John and Lady, i. 50

Shaftesbury, 3rd Earl of, _Characteristics_, i. 138; ii. 18

Shaftoe, Mr., ii. 202

Shakespeare, _As You Like It_, i. 47;
_King Lear_, i. 253;
_Hamlet_, ii. 20;
Roubilliac’s bust of, _ii. 130_;
his Plays compared with Greek Plays, ii. 206

Shaw, Dr., of Tunbridge Wells, i. 289; ii. 11, 17

Shaw, Dr. Thomas, Regius Professor of Greek, Oxford, traveller,
botanist, antiquary, etc., i. 44, 189, 236, 258, 259, 288;
ii. 88, 90, 121

Sheep Leas (Mr. Weston’s place), ii. 75

Shelley, Mrs., ii. 261

Shenstone, William, poet, ii. 135

Sherlock, Thomas, Bishop of Salisbury, and of London, i. 249, 269,
284; ii. 2, 3, 42, 43, 54, 55, 73, 77, 132, 147, 194, 220;
his letter to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 198;
his letter to George III., ii. 221

Sherlock, Mrs. T., i. 249, 269; ii. 3, 42, 147

Shirley, Lady F., i. 35

Shobbington family, the, _i. 49_

Shrewsbury, Lord, ii. 2

Shuttleworth, Mrs., i. 160; ii. 6

Sidney, Sir Philip, _Arcadia_, i. 56, _249_

Skerrit, Miss, i. 100, 101

Skipper, Mr., i. 105

Skipton, Dr., i. 82

Sleidan, _History of the Reformation_, i. 124

Sloane, Sir Hans, and his Museum, i. 103, 128; ii. 26, 98, 186, 243

Sloper, Simon Adolphus, of West Woodhay House, i. 166, 242

Smallpox, inoculation for, i. _35_, 149, 158

Smith, Dr. Robert, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, founder of
“Smith’s Prize,” i. 200; ii. 35, 36

Smith, Sir Sidney, ii. 140, 247

Smollett, _Peregrine Pickle_, ii. 2

Smythe, Dr., ii. 250

Solis, Antonio de, _History of the Conquest of Mexico_, ii. 135

Somerset, Earl of Hertford, afterwards Duke of, i. 260

Somerset, Charles, 6th Duke of (“The Proud Duke”), _i. 269_

Somerset, Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of, ii. 101

Somerset, Duchess of (Lady Algernon Seymour), ii. 101

Somerset, Edward Adolphus, 11th Duke of, _i. 49_

Somerset, Lord Noel, afterwards 4th Duke of Beaufort, i. 39, 41, 42

Sophia, Princess, George I.’s daughter, i. 206

Sophocles, _Œdipus Coloneus_, ii. 191;
_Philoctetes_, ii. 206

Soubise, Prince, ii. 122

South Lodge, Enfield (Pitt’s house), ii. 8–10

Southwell, Right Hon. Edward, i. 40, _253_, 293

Southwell, Mrs. Edward, i. 253, 293; ii. 80, 84, 107, 111, 164

Southwell, Sir Thomas, _i. 40_

_Spectator_, the, i. 39

Speed, Miss, ii. 71

Spencer, Hon. John, i. 95, 195

Spencer, Mrs., i. 195

Spencer, Georgina, Lady, ii. 147, 148

Spencer, John, 1st Earl, ii. 148

Spencer, George John, 2nd Earl, ii. 148

Spinckes, Miss, i. 87

Spirit Tax, 1742–43, i. 174

Squire, Mr., i. 216

Stamford and Warrington, Henrietta, Countess of, i. 19

Standen, i. 241

Stanhope, Mr., i. 201; ii. 123

Stanhope, Captain, ii. 182

Stanhope, Sir Charles, ii. 101

Stanhope, the Ladies, daughters of 1st Viscount Stanhope, i. 264

Stanhope, Lady Hester, _ii. 82_

Stanhope, Lady Lucy, i. 255

Stanhope, Philip, 2nd Earl of, i. 18

Stanhope, 1st Viscount, _i. 264_

Stanley, Anne, afterwards Lady Mendip, ii. 186, 193

Stanley, Sarah, Mrs. Charles D’Oyley, ii. 186, 193

Stanley, Right Hon. Hans, of Paultons, Hants, Lord of the Admiralty,
ii. 186, 220

Stanley, Mrs., ii. 45, 186

Stanley, D., his letter to the Duke of Montagu, i. 216

Stanley, Anne, Lady (_née_ Granville), _i. 46_

Stanley, Sir John, i. 46, 101

Sterne, Jacob, i. 75

Sterne, Rev. Laurence, i. 3, 55, 73–75;
_Tristram Shandy_, ii. 174, 268–270;
his letter to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 175;
his “memorandums,” ii. 270

Sterne, Mrs. Laurence (_née_ Lumley), i. 3, 55, 73–75, 84, 230;
her letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 27, 176

Sterne, Miss Lydia, Mrs. Montagu’s godchild, i. 90; ii. 28

Sterne, Richard, Archbishop of York, _i. 75_

Sternes and Robinsons, pedigree of, i. 3

Steuart, Edward, ii. 128

Stevens, Captain, ii. 83

Stevens, George, his edition of _Shakespeare_, ii. 105–107

Stewart, Captain, i. 206, 212

Stewart, Sir James, Lord Advocate of Scotland, i. 206

Stillingfleet, Edward, Bishop of Worcester, _Eirenicon_, ii. 128

Stillingfleet, Dr. Benjamin (_Cabinet of Flora_, etc.), ii. 73, 86,
93, 95, 98, 99, 102, 160;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 104, 185, 250;
Mrs. Montagu’s letters to, ii. 114, 117, 127, 136, 149

Stonehenge, i. 249

Stonelands (now called “Buckhurst”), Duke of Dorset’s seat in Surrey,
ii. 37

Strafford, Anne, Lady (2nd Duke of Argyll’s daughter), ii. 233

Strathmore, John Lyon, 7th Earl of, ii. 180

Stuart, James (“Athenian” Stuart), _The Antiquities of Athens_,
ii. 150, 232

Stuart, Mrs., ii. 146

Suffolk, 11th Earl of, _i. 144_

Suffolk, Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of, i. 39

Suffolk, Lady, i. 229

Sugar, proposed tax on, i. 174

Sully, Duc de, _Memoires_, i. 281; ii. 18

Sunderland, ii. 139

Sunderland, Charles, Earl of, _i. 162_

Sunderland, 4th Earl of, i. 233

Sunderland, Lady (Judith Tichborne), afterwards wife of Sir Robert
Sutton, i. 162, 233

Sundon, William Clayton, Baron, i. 80

Sussex privateers, i. 212

Sutton, Right Hon. Sir Robert, i. _162_, 232, 246

Sutton, Miss, i. 233

Swale river, i. 122

Swift, Dean, i. 7, 25, 41, 153, _184_, 196; ii. 2, 85;
_Letters_, i. 89;
_Four Last Years of Queen Anne_, i. 104;
his Yahoos, i. 113;
“Friend, you make the very crowd you blame,” i. 288;
_Life and Writings_, ii. 18

Taafe, Mr., i. 287

Talbot, Edward, Bishop of Durham, i. 71, 234, 290; _ii. 113_

Talbot, Mrs., ii. 113, 266

Talbot, Miss, i. 71; ii. 160, 212

Talbot, D.D., Rev. W., _i. 71_

Talbot, William, 2nd Baron, afterwards Earl Talbot and Baron Dinevor,
i. 104, 266

Talbot, Mary, Lady (_née_ de Cardonnel), i. 266, 268, 269; ii. 259

Tanfield of Calthorpe, i. 213

Tatton, Miss, i. 46

Tar water, i. 235

Tavora, Marquis of, ii. 158, 180

Tavora, Marchioness of, ii. 180

Taylor, _Perspective_, i. 252

Taylor’s _Sermons_, ii. 121

Temple, Penelope (Mrs. M. Berenger), i. 284

Temple, Richard Grenville, Earl, ii. 22, 64, 85, 95, 127, 262, 265

Temple, Lady, ii. 60

Temple, Sir Richard, of Stowe, i. 278

Temple, Sir William, i. 184

Tennison, Mrs., i. 35

Thanet, 7th Earl of, i. 19, 22, _64_

Thanet, Sackville Tufton, 8th Earl of, i. 22

Thanet, Mary, Lady, i. 18–21, 29, 86

Thompson, Mr., of Coley Park, Berkshire, ii. 15

Thompson, E., Resident in Paris, i. 175

Thomson, James, _Seasons_, i. 54, 177;
_Tancred and Sigismund_, i. 236

Throckmorton, Lady, i. 48

Throckmorton, Sir Robert, 4th Baronet, i. 48

Thynn, J., i. 50

Tillotson, John, Archbishop of Canterbury, ii. 20

Titchfield, Marquis of, i. 26, 28, 295; ii. 80

Tonbridge Castle, i. 204

Topham, Dr., ii. 174

Torgau, battle of, ii. 225

Torriano, Samuel, i. 277; ii. 72, 73, 86, 95, 99, 160, 175, 176, 185,
190;
his letter to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 97

Torriano, Mrs. (_née_ Scudamore), ii. 72, 185

Townsend, Charles, ii. 84

Townsend’s _Translation of the Conquest of Mexico_, i. 259

Townshend, General, ii. 171

Townshend, George, 4th Viscount and Marquis, ii. 220

Townshend, Lady, ii. 171

Traill, _Life of Laurence Sterne_ in the _Englishmen of Letters_
series, _i. 74_; ii. 174

Travers, Robert, _i. 270_

Travers, Mrs. Robert (Kitty Gunning), i. 270

Travile, Mrs. Montagu’s lady’s-maid, ii. 76–78, 82

Trelawney, i. 107

Trentham, Lord, i. 286

Trevor, 2nd Baron, _ii. 152_

Trevor, Mrs. G., i. 255

Trevor, Mrs. John Morley (_née_ Montagu), i. 264

Tufton, Lady Mary, i. 64

Tull, Jethro, inventor of the four-wheeled post-chaise, i. 266

Tullibardine, William Murray, Marquis of, i. 231

Tunbridge Wells, i. 9, 17, 199, 202, 269; ii. 11

Turner, M.P. for Yorkshire, i. 209

Turvin, Lieutenant, i. 80

Twisden, Sir Roger, ii. 188

Twycross, Captain, i. 135, 141, 213

Tyers, Mr., ii. 52

Vaillante, bookseller, i. 275

Valentia, Arthur, Viscount, i. 253

Valentia, Lucy, Viscountess (_née_ Lyttelton), i. 253; ii. 95

Vanburgh, Mr., i. 167

Vandyck, i. 249

Vane, Anne, Lady (_née_ Hawes), afterwards Lady William Hamilton,
ii. 2

Vane, Lord, _ii. 2_

Vanharen, Mr., i. 261

Vaughan, chair of, a sedan chair, ii. 6

Ventriloquism, ii. 40

Vere, Baron, of Hanworth, ii. 45

Verney, Mrs., i. 45

Vernon, Admiral, i. 58, 79, 91, 97, 107, 208, 222, 224

Vertue, George, engraver, etc., i. 62

Vesey, Agmondesham, M.P. for Harris Town, i. 267; ii. 214

Vesey, Mrs. A. (formerly Mrs. William Handcock), i. 267; ii. 73, 77,
_192_, 214, 268

Vesey, Sir Thomas, Bishop of Ossory, i. 267

Viper broth, ii. 151

Voltaire, i. 207; ii. 19, 120, 163;
_L’Orphelin de la Chine_, ii. 85;
_Tancred_, ii. 233;
Dr. Young on, ii. 257

Vourse, Mr., ii. 4

Wade, Field Marshal George, i. 177, 207, 208, 212, 214, 216

Wadman, Mrs., i. 166

Waldegrave, 2nd Earl, ii. 160

Waldegrave, Maria, Countess (_née_ Walpole), afterwards Duchess of
Gloucester, ii. 160

Wales, Frederick, Prince of, i. 95, 99, 280

Wales, Augusta of Saxe Gotha, Princess Frederick of, i. 103, 284;
ii. 17, 44, 83, 84, 97, 214, 217, 249, 251

Wall, Dr. John, founder of porcelain manufactory at Worcester, ii. 104

Waller, the poet, i. 108

Wallingford, Lady (Mary Katherine Law), i. 22, 25, 33, 35, 44, 48,
160, 196, 199, 235

Wallingford, Lord, i. 22, 48, 49

Walmoden, Amelia S. de, created Lady Yarmouth, ii. 126

Walnut medicine, i. 215

Walpole, Sir Edward, i. 28, 29, _156_; ii. 160

Walpole, Horace, i. _28_, 33, 124; ii. 24, 38, 114, 207;
_Letters to Sir Horace Mann_, i. _264_, 274, 287;
_Letter to George Montagu_, i. 267, 275; ii. 67, 177;
_Memoir of the Reign of George III._, ii. 44;
_Memoir of George I._, ii. 178

Walpole, Sir Robert (Earl of Orford), i. _28_, 94, 99, 100

Walton, Miss, i. 8

Warburton, Colonel, ii. 76

Warburton, Dr. William, Bishop of Gloucester, _Pope’s Works_, ii. 18;
on Lord Bolingbroke, ii. 61, 63

Watson, R.A., Colonel, i. 80

Webster, attorney in Cheapside, ii. 100

Wedderburn, Sir John, ii. 195

Weller, Jane (Mrs. Greenland), ii. 92

Wells and Hartley, i. 181

Wemyss, James, 5th Earl of, i. 177

Wentworth, M.P. for York City, i. 107, 209

Wentworth, Edward, 9th Baron, i. 201

Wentworth, General, i. 210

Weser river, ii. 109

Wesley, or Wellesley, Garrett, 1st Earl Mornington, i. 169; ii. 80

West, LL.D., Gilbert T., “Tubby,” i. 278, 279, 288; ii. 1, 11, 12, 38,
40, 72;
translation of _Pindar_, i. 90;
and of Lucian’s _Triumph of the Gout_, i. 283; ii. 47;
Clerk of the Privy Council, ii. 4;
introduces Bower to. Mrs. Montagu, ii. 163;
his “evergreen-nevergreen” garden, ii. 19;
Paymaster to Chelsea Hospital, ii. 51, 52, 85;
death of son, ii. 68;
his death, ii. 86, 87;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 9, 24, 28, 30–32, 42–44, 54, 57,
63, 71, 77, 81;
Mrs. Montagu’s letters to, i. 294, 295; ii. 8, 9, 17, 19, 20, 25,
41, 43, 46, 47, 55, 60, 61, 65, 71, 73, 74, 78, 82, 83, 86

West, Mrs. Gilbert T. (Catherine Bartlett), i. 90, 278, 279; ii. 1, 4,
10, 16, 18, 30, 32, 40, 63, 68, 71, 86, 88;
letter from Mrs. Montagu, ii. 21

West, Maria (Viscountess Bridport), i. 278; ii. 10, 23, 30, 32, 40,
57, 86, 87, 92, 115, 135

West, Dr. Richard, i. 278

West, Richard, ii. 12, 25, 38, 54, 63, 68, 71

West, Admiral Temple, ii. 1, 57, 83, 87, 89, 90

West, Mrs. Temple, ii. 22

Westcote, of Ballymore, William Henry, Baron, i. 284; ii. 32;
Governor of South Carolina, ii. 68, 78;
Governor of Jamaica, ii. 182

Westmorland, Lord, i. 90, 104

Wey Hill Fair, ii. 57

Weymouth, Lady, i. 50

Wharton, Duke of, i. 60

Wheatears, i. 160, 200, 286; ii. 197

Whiston, Mr., ii. 223

Whitehead, Paul, ii. 84

Widdrington, Lady, i. 39

Willes, John, Lord Chief Justice, i. 222; ii. 217

William Rufus, i. 204, 247

William of Wickham, i. 247

Williams, Sir Charles Hanbury, ii. _115_, 124

Williams, Lady Frances, ii. 115, 124, 162, 216, 247

Williams, Mrs., ii. 161, 162

Williamson, Mr., i. 142

Wilmington, Earl of, i. 100

Wilmot, Elizabeth (Countess Sandwich), ii. 113

Wilmot, Dr., i. 162, 254

Wilson, Dr., ii. 217

Wilton House, Lord Pembroke’s place, i. 249

Wimpole, Lord Oxford’s seat, i. 7

Winchester, Dr., ii. 17

Winchester Cathedral, i. 247

Winchilsea, Lady (Molly Palmer), i. 21

Winchilsea, Daniel, 7th Earl of, i. 21

Winchilsea, Daniel, 8th Earl of, i. 102

Windsor, Lord, i. 166

Windsors, Miss, i. 39

Winnington, Mr., i. 100

Witney blankets, i. 179

Woffington, Margaret, i. 92, 93

Wolfe, Brigadier-General, ii. _134_, 140, 155, 172

Woodward, Dr. John, geologist, i. 241

Worksop Manor, i. 125

Wortley, Mrs. Anne, _i. 51_

Wortley, Sir Francis, i. 237

Wortley, Sidney (Montagu), i. 237

Wright, John, publisher, _ii. 161_

Wye river, ii. 112

Yarmouth, Lady (Amelia S. de Walmoden), ii. 126, 154

York, county meeting at, i. 209

Yorke, Mr., ii. 217

Yorke, Mrs., i. 129, 194, 195

Yorke, General, ii. 142, 143, 154

Young, Dr. Edward (_Night Thoughts_), i. 59–61, 84, 85, 90, 91, 95,
133, 169, 199, 202–204, 213; ii. 199, 200, 236, 250;
Clerk of the Closet, ii. 249;
his letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 240, 248, 251, 257;
_Resignation_, ii. 257

Young, Sir William, i. 100, 235

Zincke, Christian Frederick, miniature painter, i. 45–48

Zorndorff, battle of, ii. 142

THE END.

PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.

Transcribers’ Note

Variant spelling, inconsistent hyphenation, punctuation and spelling
are retained, however a few changes have been made to correct apparent
errors, these are listed below.

Page headings have been moved to appropriate positions. Dates from
these headings have been retained for each new year. Both page headings
and years are shown here in square brackets. Punctuation in page
headings has been made standard.

Footnotes have been moved to end of the paragraph or letter to which
they refer.

In captions of illustrations, “Mr.” “Mrs.”, “4th” and “1st.” were
originally printed with all but the first character as superscripts,
and variant spellings of “née” have been standardized.

In the printed book there were a few blanks where characters or parts
of characters did not print. These have been corrected.

Mismatched quotation marks have been made standard.

Other changes that have been made:

Footnote 47: “Sir T. Newton” changed to “Sir I. Newton”. Note
that “Roubilliac” has been left as printed.

Page 69: Duplicate “of” removed from “To complete the measure of of his
good usage”.

Page 88: “_souffre douelur_” changed to “_souffre douleur_”.

Footnote 145: “Northumerland” changed to “Northumberland”.

Page 148: In “... the gold pap boat; and Lady Besborough.” the
semicolon was originally printed as a full stop. Note that “Besborough”
has been left as printed.

Footnote 312: “In 1775, Colman” changed to “In 1757, Colman”.

Page 278: “_neé_” changed to “_née_”.

The following changes have been made to the entries in the Index:

“Fitz-Adam, Adam”: “FitzAdam” changed to “Fitz-Adam”.

“Hawkesworth, LL.D., John, _Oriental Tales_”: “Hawksworth” changed
to “Hawkesworth”, and the entry has been moved up one to keep it in
alphabetic order.

“Helvetius, Claud Adrien, _De l’Esprit_”: “Adrian” changed to “Adrien”.

“Lyttelton, Sir George, 1st Lord,”: sub-entry for “a pea” changed to “a
peer”.

“Thanet, Sackville Tufton”: “Tutton” changed to “Tufton”.

“Place, Rev. Conyers”, the reference has been changed from volume ii.
to volume i.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Elizabeth Montagu, the queen of the bluestockings, Volume II (of 2) : Her Correspondence from 1720 to 1761" ***

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