Chapter II (2)

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.”

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.”

[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.

_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.