Chapter IX: Introduction: By the Earl of Sheffield (9)

I am, Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.

167.

_To his Stepmother._

Bentinck Street, May the 5th, 1773.

DEAR MADAM,

Your kind letter and just reproaches, instead of making me do immediately what I had resolved to do every post-night for a fortnight before, put off my letters two or three days longer. The Snail of Love-lane, I saw this morning, and he tells me that he had sent you a satisfactory explanation of his conduct; if it appears otherwise to you, and that his delays are still inconvenient to you, I beg that you would draw upon me, and hope you are persuaded that, as I have two hundred pounds in Fleet Street, you are welcome to one of them.

With Holroyd's assistance, who is determined to extricate me out of all my troubles, the sale of Lenborough by auction at Buckingham is fixed for the 24th of this month. He goes down with me, and the Estate has been carefully divided into four lots, rising successively in value above each other, so that, if any parts should remain upon my hands a while longer, they will be the best. These precautions are requisite in the present scarcity of money, which gives me little hopes of selling the whole together, and even the sanguine Holroyd is apprehensive that I shall be obliged to buy it in again and provide for the mortgage by some other measures, at least of the procrastinating kind.

[Sidenote: A HAPPY MAN.]

Were it not for these worldly cares, I should be a very happy man. I never formed any great schemes of avarice, ambition or vanity: and all the notions I ever formed of a London life in my own house, and surrounded by my books, with a due mixture of study and society, are fully realised. I have seen the Eliotts several times, and think he and I take to one another very well this year. They both express great pleasure at the thoughts of seeing us in Cornwall. I shall be glad to know whether the time I mentioned will suit. I am obliged to you for your invitation to Bath, and am lost in admiration at the size of your house, which enables you to spare a bed-chamber and drawing-room; tho' after all, I can offer you the same apartment in my little Palace, which is absolutely the best house in London. The Waste-coats are _sincerely_ pretty, without gratitude or compliment. The Madeira I have got from Oliver; it is incomparable, but saddled with nine or ten pounds due for cellarage ever since Mr. Scott's arrival in England. Where was the Rum, for Oliver knows nothing about it? Apropos the Beriton pictures; should you think it worth while to frame and put them up at Bath? They will not suit my rooms and will be soon spoilt in a Lumber-room. If you do not chuse them, I believe I shall let them take their choice at Christie's, though I find by a very good painter's opinion that we much over-rated their value. My compliments to the Goulds, &c. Poor Mrs. Porten has long and frequent attacks, but her spirits are still good.

I am, Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.

168.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq._

Boodle's, May 11th, 1773.

DEAR H.,

I hope you got safe to S. P.; that the most amiable Ram, and the less admirable Bull, are both in health and spirits; that Maria remembers me; and that Mrs. H. is quietly metamorphosed from a Lady of the town (an awkward expression) into a country Gentlewoman. We dined to-day at the Romans, seven, who all talked of you--Lord A. was very happy to meet _Holroyd_, and enquired whether _Wilbraham_ was gone into Sussex. Is your plan settled? when do you come? and are you resolved to take a bed in Bentinck Street? You will disapoint me extremely if you do not, for it is a point of ambition I have set my heart upon.

*I am full of worldly cares, anxious about the great 24th, plagued with the public Advertiser, and distressed by the most dismall dispatches from Hugonin. Mrs. Lee claims a million of repairs which will cost a million of money.

[Sidenote: THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.]

The House of Commons sat late last night. Burgoyne made some spirited motions "that the Territorial acquisitions in India belonged to the State" (that was the word); "that grants to the servants of the Company (such as jaghires) were illegal; and that there could be no true repentance without restitution."[185] Wederbourne[186] defended the Nabobs with great eloquence but little argument. The motions were carried without a division; and the hounds go out again next Friday. They are in high spirits; but the more sagacious ones have no idea they shall kill. Lord North spoke for the enquiry, but faintly and reluctantly. Lady C. is said to be in town at her mother's, and a separation is unavoidable; but there is nothing certain. Adieu.*

Sincerely yours,
E. G.

[185] The charges against Lord Clive, the famine in Bengal
(1770), and the financial embarrassments of the East India
Company, had for many months attracted public attention. In
April, 1772, a Select Committee of the House of Commons was
appointed to investigate the Company's affairs. During the recess
(June 10 to November 26) the directors applied to Lord North
for a loan of £1,500,000. On November 26 Parliament met, being
specially summoned to discuss the state of India, and Lord North
proposed and carried a motion for a Secret Committee of Inquiry.
Four months later (March 9, 1773), Lord North proposed to lend
to the Company £1,400,000, on condition that its dividends
were restricted, and its surplus revenues appropriated to the
liquidation of the debt. On these conditions, the Company was to
enjoy possession of the territorial acquisitions till 1779, when
its exclusive charter expired.

On May 3, the General Court of Proprietors of East India Stock
petitioned Parliament against arbitrary interference with their
territorial rights. The petition was ordered to lie on the
table, and Lord North introduced the outlines of his scheme
for the reconstitution of the Company. The chief changes were
the appointment by the Crown of a governor-general and the
establishment at Calcutta of a Supreme Court of Judicature. These
changes and the provisions for the loans were embodied in two
Bills, which received the royal assent on June 21 and July 1
respectively (13 Geo. III. cc. 63 & 64).

On May 10, whilst Lord North's proposals were under discussion,
General Burgoyne moved three resolutions: (1) That all
acquisitions made by military force or by treaty with foreign
powers do of right belong to the State; (2) that to appropriate
such acquisitions to private use is illegal; (3) that such
acquisitions have been appropriated by private persons.

The first two resolutions, which virtually transferred to the
Crown the territorial acquisitions made by the Company in India,
were carried that night without a division. The third, which was
practically an indictment of Lord Clive, was rejected on May 21.

John Burgoyne (1722-1792) married Lady Charlotte Stanley in 1743,
and through Lord Derby's influence was now M.P. for Preston. He
was made a major-general in 1772. His motion on the East India
Company was his chief political achievement, his surrender at
Saratoga (October 17, 1777) the most striking episode in his
military career, and his comedy, _The Heiress_ (1786), his chief
literary success.

[186] Alexander Wedderburn (1733-1805), Solicitor-General
(January 22, 1771), succeeded Edward Thurlow (Lord Chancellor,
1778) as Attorney-General, became Lord Chief Justice of the
common Pleas and Lord Loughborough in June, 1780, was Lord
Chancellor from 1793 to 1801, created Earl of Rosslyn in 1801, and
died in 1805.

169.

_To his Stepmother._

London, May the 27th, 1773.

DEAR MADAM,

I find that I am not the only lazy being in the Universe, and my friends without any diminution of regard can leave me at least _three weeks_ without a line, and totally at a loss what to answer when I am questioned whether they are got into their new house, &c. However, as you will be in suspence about the 24th instant, I must for once break an old rule and tell you that Holroyd accompanied me to Buckingham in his way to Ireland. The auction was very cold, as all auctions are at present, and the highest sum that was bid was £19,000 by an Agent of Lord Temple. By the advice of H., my faithfull friend and Minister, I was immoveably fixed at £20,000, which, _all things considered_, is not amiss. The Agent had gone to the utmost of his instructions, but I have very good reasons to believe, that either from him or some other person I shall get the money very soon. Till that event happens I shall not be easy.

The Snail of Aldermanbury has promised to send you down the Deed transferring from Bucks. to Hampshire. I hope it will be satisfactory to you.

I am, dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.

[Sidenote: A BUYER FOR LENBOROUGH.]

170.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq._

June 12th, 1773.

DEAR H.,

*Lenborough is no more.--Lrd. Temple acted like a Jew, and I dare say now repents of it. In his room Way found me a better man, a rich brutish honest horse Dealer, who has got a great fortune by serving the cavalry. On Thursday he saw Lenborough, on Friday came to town with R. W., and this morning at nine o'clock we struck at £20,000, after a very hard battle, in which he squeezed from me a promise of throwing him back a hundred for trouble, &c. As times go I am not dissatisfied; the worst of it is the time of payment, which I could not prevail on him to fix sooner than November, though he gave me hopes of getting it somewhat earlier. Gosling must wait till then. R[ichard] W[ay] and the new Lord of Lenborough (by name Lovegrove) dined with me; and though we did not speak the same language, yet by the help of signs, such as that of putting about the bottle, the natives seemed well satisfied.

The whole world is going down to Portsmouth,[187] where they will enjoy the pleasure of smoke, noise, heat, bad lodgings, and expensive reckonings. For my own part, I have firmly resisted importunity, declined parties, and mean to pass the busy week in the soft retirement of my _bocage de_ Bentinck Street.

Yesterday the East India Company positively refused the Loan,--a noble resolution, could they get money anywhere else.[188]

They are violent, and it was moved, and the motion heard with some degree of approbation, that they should instantly abandon India to Lord North, Sujah Dowlah, or the Devil, if he chose to take it.*

My respectfull salutations wait on Madame. If with the handkerchiefs she was to bring me over some Irish linnen for shirts, it would be an action worthy of her humanity. Adieu.

E. G.

[187] The king left Kew on Tuesday, June 22, 1773, and reached
Portsmouth between ten and eleven the same morning, in order
to review the fleet at Spithead, consisting of twenty ships of
the line, two frigates, and three sloops. He returned to Kew on
Saturday, June 26. "A very great number of yachts, and other
sailing vessels and boats, many of them full of nobility and
gentry," followed the royal yacht _Augusta_, and "an incredible
multitude of people" lined the shores.

[188] On June 11, 1773, the Court of Proprietors of East India
Stock determined to reject the loan and conditions offered by the
Government; but on June 19 the East India Loan Bill was read a
third time in the Lower House. Parliament was prorogued from July
1, 1773, to January 13, 1774. Sujah Dowlah was the Nawab of Oude
(see note to Letter 192).

171.

_To his Stepmother._

London, June 15th, 1773.

DEAR MADAM,

At length the Buckinghamshire transaction is at an end. Lord T., after tormenting himself or me to very little purpose, absolutely refused to give more than £19,000, but a Mr. Lovegrove, an Oxfordshire man, who has made his own fortune, applied to Mr. Richard Way, viewed the Estate, and after a long altercation agreed with me at £20,000, and an excellent purchase he has made, though the weight of interest, the importunity of the Goslings and the scarcity of money oblige me to be satisfied with what I have been able to get for it. By Michaelmas I shall be a clear, though a poor man; since, when I have discharged the Mortgage and cancelled the bond which I gave Mr. Scott for the Clarke's money, very little indeed that I can call my own will remain of that noble estate. My only comfort, and a very cold one, is that, though these incumbrances must be paid at my expence, they were not contracted by my imprudence. But to leave these melancholy reflections on a subject which is now irretrievable.

Newton will I believe send you down the Deed engrossed in a day or two. The confidence, Dear Madam, which you express in me, pleases without surprizing me, and I hope the business will be settled to your satisfaction. Apropos you forget your half-year, which now at least you must allow to be due. Do you chuse to draw upon me, or shall I send you the money in Bank Notes?

By what I can collect at Spring Gardens, Mrs. E. will go into Cornwall in a few days, but will not pass through Bath in her way. Eliott stays something longer, but, as well as I can judge, the beginning of August will suit them perfectly well. I therefore still persist in my design of attending you about that time, and am impatient to see both your new house and its owner. I wish you could see how comfortable I am established in mine.

I am, Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.

[Sidenote: A VISIT FROM DEYVERDUN.]

172.

_To his Stepmother._

Bentinck Street, July 13th, 1773.

DEAR MADAM,

You will excuse my silence when I tell you I have a friend with me, who takes up the greatest part of my last Friday se'nnight. Mr. d'Eyverdun most agreeably surprized me by walking into my library. His young Lord Chesterfield has come over for a few weeks, and as he went down almost immediately with Lovel Stanhope to the Duke of Chandos, my friend has established himself in my house during the too short period of his visit. You may easily suppose how much I think he embellishes my little habitation. I carry him about, we converse, read and write, and are together almost every hour in the day without the least constraint on either side. The town is growing empty and what is commonly called dull, but with such a companion and my books you will believe me when I say that I do not regret the pleasures of the winter. Even the latter would be sufficient, and were it not to see you, the charms of Cornwall would scarcely induce me to leave London in one of the hottest summers that we have felt for a great while.

The Eliott family is moving away by different detachments. Mrs. Eliott and William, Miss and Edward have already reached Cornwall, but it is impossible to discover when the Lord of St. Germains means to follow them. I have sounded him, and by his dark equivocal hints can only learn that he is certainly not upon the point of his departure. His slowness will I fear retard our intended visit and derange my subsequent operations. He will surely not be in Cornwall till the beginning of next month, and the decent time we must give him to settle himself will soon carry us to the end of it. I will send the earliest intelligence I can obtain of his motions, for I know by experience that a state of suspense even in trifles is painfull.

You will receive, dear Madam, by the Bath coach a representation which is said to be very like a person whom I believe is not indifferent to you. Whatever you may think of his face, be persuaded that his heart is sincerely your own. Adieu. d'Eyverdun desires his compliments and respects to you. If he should go to Bath, which is not impossible, his first visit would be to Charles Street.

173.

_To his Stepmother._

Bentinck Street, July 31st, 1773.

DEAR MADAM,

You know how glad I am to catch at a pretence for not writing; my present one is the uselessness of it when we are so soon to meet; and as your friend John Buncle[189] says, we can talk the value of a good octavo volume in the course of a morning. I still however hang on the good pleasure of the Lord of Boroughs, but he now seems to hint that another week will wind up his stay in town; if so, a fortnight will do my business, and I shall hope to be at Bath about the 15th of next month. I am much obliged to you for your kind offer of coming down immediately, and should with pleasure accept of it, were I not detained here by some things that I wish to finish, and for which my Library is absolutely requisite; laugh at the bookworm if you please, but excuse the nature of the animal. As to poor d'Eyverdun he is not his own master, or you would most assuredly see him. He is now at York with his Lord; but I hope to catch a sight of him before I leave London, and he England. The Eliots testify a strong inclination to see us in Cornwall, a passionate one indeed. I hope we shall like one another, but I could wish Mrs. Bonnefoy[190] were of the party. We are huge friends. Adieu.

Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.

[189] Thomas Amory, into whom, says Hazlitt, "the soul of
Rabelais passed," published (1756-66) _The Life of John Buncle,
Esq._--a curious book, which is in part autobiographical.

[190] Miss Anne Eliot, sister to Mr. Eliot, of Port Eliot,
married Captain Hugh Bonfoy, R.N. Two portraits of her by Sir
Joshua Reynolds are in existence--one painted in 1746, the other
in 1754.

174.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq., at Edinburgh._

Bentinck Street, Aug. 7th, 1773.

DEAR H.,

I beg ten thousand pardons for not being dead, as I certainly ought to be. But such is my abject nature, that I had rather live in Bentinck Street, attainted and convicted of the sin of laziness, than enjoy your applause either at old Nick's or even in the Elysian fields. After all, could you expect that I should honor with my correspondance a wild Barbarian of the bogs of Erin? Had the Natives intercepted my letter, the terrors occasioned by such unknown Magic characters might have been fatal to you. But now you have escaped the fury of their Hospitality, and are arrived amongst a Cee-vi-leezed Nation, I may venture to renew my intercourse.

You tell me of a long list of Dukes, Lairds, and Chieftains of Renown to whom you are recommended; were I with you, I should prefer one David to them all. When you are at Edinburgh, I hope you will not fail to visit the Stye of that fattest of Epicurus's Hogs,[191] and inform yourself whether there remains no hope of its recovering the use of its right paw. There is another animal of _great_, though not perhaps of _equal_, and certainly not of _similar_ merit, one Robertson;[192] has he almost created the new World? Many other men you have undoubtedly seen, in the country where you are at present, who must have commanded your esteem. But when you return, if you are not very honest, you will possess great advantages over me in any dispute concerning Caledonian merit.

[Sidenote: LONDON A DELICIOUS SOLITUDE.]

Boodle's and Atwood's are now no more. The last stragglers, and Clarke in the rear of all, are moved away to their several castles; and I now enjoy, in the midst of London, a delicious solitude. My Library, Kensington Gardens, and a few parties with new acquaintance who are chained to London, (among whom I reckon Goldsmith and Sir Joshua Reynolds,[193]) fill up my time, and the monster _Ennui_ preserves a very respectfull distance. By the bye, your friends Batt, Sir John [Russel], and Lascelles, dined with me one day before they set off; for I sometimes give the prettiest little dinners in the world. But all this happiness draws near its conclusion. About the 16th of this month Mr. Eliot carries me away, and after picking up Mrs. G. at Bath, sets me down at Port Eliot. There I shall certainly remain six weeks, or, in other words, to the end of September. My future motions, whether to London, Derbyshire, or a longer stay in Cornwall, (pray is not "motion for stay" rather in the Hibernian style?) will depend on the life of Port Eliot, the time of the meeting of Parliament, and perhaps the impatience of Mr. Lovegrove, Lord of Lenborough.

One of my pleasures in town I forgot to mention, the unexpected visit of d'Eyverdun, who accompanies his young Lord (very young indeed!) on a two months' tour to England. He took the opportunity of the Earl's going down to the Duke of Chandos's, to spend a fortnight (nor do I recollect in my life a more pleasant one) in Bentinck Street. They are now gone together into Yorkshire, and I think it doubtfull whether I shall see him again before his return to Leipsic. It is a melancholy reflection that while one is plagued with acquaintance at the corner of every street, real friends should be separated from each other by unsurmountable bars, and obliged to catch at a few transient moments of interview. I desire that you and My Lady (whom I most respectfully greet) would take your share of that very new and acute observation; not so large a share, indeed, as my Swiss friend, since Nature and fortune give _us_ more frequent opportunities of being together. You cannot expect News from a Desert, and such is London at present. The papers give you the full harvest of public intelligence; and I imagine that the eloquent Nymphs of Twickenham[194] communicate all the transactions of the polite, the amorous, and the marrying World. The great Pantomime of Portsmouth was universally admired; and I am angry at my own laziness in neglecting an excellent opportunity of seeing it. Foote has given us the 'Bankrupt,'[195] a serious and sentimental piece, with very severe strictures on the licence of scandal in attacking private Characters. _Quis tulerit Gracchos de seditione loquentes?_[196] Adieu. Forgive and Epistolize me. I shall not believe you sincere in the former, unless you make Bentinck Street your Inn. I fear I shall be gone; but Mrs. Ford[197] and the Parrot will be proud to receive you and My Lady after your long peregrinations, from which I expect great improvements. Has she got the Brogue upon the tip of her tongue?*

[191] David Hume, who was now living at Edinburgh, was, from
1763 to 1766, Secretary to the Embassy at Paris under the Earl
of Hertford. The description is quoted from Mason's satire
(published in 1773), _An Heroic Epistle to Sir William Chambers
on his Book of Gardening_--

"David, who there supinely deigns to lie,
The fattest hog in Epicurus' sty,
Though drunk with Gallic wine and Gallic praise,
David shall bless Old England's halcyon days."

[192] William Robertson, the historian (1721-1793), whose
_History of Scotland_ (1758) and _History of Charles the Fifth_
(1769) had already appeared, was now engaged on his _History of
America_ (1777).

[193] After the death of Goldsmith in 1774, Gibbon seems to have
succeeded to his place as Sir Joshua's companion to places of
amusement, masquerades, and ridottos (_Life and Times of Sir
Joshua Reynolds_, vol. ii. p. 273).

[194] The family of Richard Owen Cambridge.

[195] Samuel Foote's _Bankrupt_ was produced at the Haymarket
in July, 1773, Foote himself taking the part of Sir Robert
Riscounter. The play was published in 1776, with a dedication
to the Marquis of Granby. It contains a vigorous attack on the
licence of the press and of the "impudent, rascally Printer."
"The tyranny exercised by that fellow," says Sir Robert, "is more
despotic and galling than the most absolute monarch's in Asia....
I wonder every man is not afraid to peep into a paper, as it is
more than probable that he may meet with a paragraph that will
make him unhappy for the rest of his life."

[196] Gibbon quotes incorrectly from Juvenal (_Sat._ 2, 1. 24)--

"Quis tulerit Gracchos de seditione querentes?"

[197] Gibbon's housekeeper.

[Sidenote: A JOURNEY TO CORNWALL.]

175.

_To his Stepmother._

Bentinck Street, August 7th, 1773.

DEAR MADAM,

I just write two lines to say that Mr. Eliot proposes staying another week, and then escorting you down to Cornwall. My motions are uncertain since they still depend on those of another, but, if no alteration happens in his plan, I think you may expect to see us both at Bath, Monday the 16th. Charming hot weather! I am just going to dine alone. Afterwards I shall walk till dark in _my_ Gardens at Kensington, and shall then return to a frugal supper and early bed in Bentinck Street. I lead the true life of a Philosopher, which consists in doing what I really like, without any regard to the world or to fashion.

I am, Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.

Mr. Barton breakfasted with me yesterday. He seems to think us both very well lodged.

176.

_To his Stepmother._

Newman Street, August 13th, 1773.

DEAR MADAM,

Mr. Eliot dined with [me] to-day, and the time of our departure is positively settled (he desired one day more for particular business) to Tuesday next. I mentioned your fears to him, but he like a hero laughs at them all, and indeed I should have laughed at him if he had not. We mean to accept your kind offer of the two beds, and then to continue our march as soon as may suit with your conveniency. I think we shall reach Bath Tuesday evening, but as heat, accidents, &c., may stop us, we hope you will neither expect nor make any preparation for us. In the mean time your commissions shall not be neglected; though the choice of a present for the _youth_ perplexes me. I think of a pocket-book which will give him the air of a man of letters and Business. Mrs. Porten, who sets out to-morrow morning for Margate on a party of pleasure, with the spirits of five and twenty, desires her compliments to you.

I am, Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.

177.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq._

Port Eliot, Sept. 10th, 1773.

DEAR H.,

*By this time you have surely finished your Tour, touched at Edinburgh, where you found a Letter, which you have not answered, and are now contemplating the beauties of the Weald of Sussex. I shall demand a long and particular account of your peregrinations, but will excuse it till we meet; and for the present, expect only a short memorandum of your health and situation, together with that of my much-honoured friend Mrs. Abigail Holroyd. A word, too, if you please, concerning Father and Sister; to the latter I enclose a receipt from Mrs. G., who is now with me at Port Eliot.

Blind as you accuse me of being to the beauties of Nature, I am wonderfully pleased with this country. Of her three dull notes, _Ground_, _Plants_, and _Water_, Cornwall possesses the first and last in very high perfection. Think of a hundred solitary streams peacefully gliding between amazing Clifs on one side and rich meadows on the other, gradually swelling by the aid of the Tide into noble rivers, successively losing themselves in each other, and all at length terminating in the Harbour of Plymouth, whose broad expanse is irregularly _dotted_ with two-and-forty Line of battle Ships. In _Plants_, indeed, we are deficient; and though all the Gentlemen now attend to Posterity, the country will for a long time be very naked. We have spent several days agreeably enough in little parties; but in general our time rolls away in an equal kind of insipidity. Our civil Landlord possesses neither a pack of hounds, nor a stable of running horses, nor a large farm, nor a good library. The last only would interest me; but it is singular that a Man of fortune, who chuses to pass nine months of the year in the country, should have none of them.* One possession he has indeed most truly desirable; but I much fear that the Danae of St. Germains has no particular inclination for me, and that the interested Strumpet will yield only to a Golden Shower.[198] My situation is the more perplexing as I cannot with any degree of delicacy make the first advance. A propos, do you still think of starting for the Town ... [illegible] will be very serviceable on the occasion.

[Sidenote: LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS.]

*According to our present design, Mrs. G. and myself shall return to Bath about the beginning of next month. I shall probably make but a short stay with her, and defer my Derbyshire Journey till another year. Sufficient for the summer is the evil thereof, of one distant country Excursion. Natural inclination, the prosecution of my great Work, and the conclusion of my Lenborough business, plead strongly in favour of London. However, I desire, and one always finds time for what one really desires, to visit Sheffield Place before the end of October, should it only be for a few days. I know several houses where I am invited to think myself at home, but I know no other where I seem inclined to accept of the invitation. I forgot to tell you, that I have declined the publication of Lord C[hesterfield]'s letters.[199] The public will see them, and upon the whole, I think with pleasure; but the whole family were strongly bent against it; and especially on d'Eyverdun's account, I deemed it more prudent to avoid making them my personal enemies.

Yours,
E. G.*

Pray did you use the house in Bentinck Street?

[198] Alluding to negotiations between Mr. Eliot and himself for
a seat in Parliament.

[199] Lord Chesterfield's letters to his son, Philip Stanhope,
were sold by that son's widow, Mrs. Eugenia Stanhope, and
published in 1774, "from the originals in her possession." M.
Deyverdun was at this time tutor to the young Lord Chesterfield
[1755-1815], a distant kinsman of the deceased Earl. According to
Walpole, an injunction was applied for to prevent the publication
of the letters. Terms were, however, arranged by which the
publication was permitted, on condition that the family expunged
certain passages, and regained possession of such copies as
had been made of the unpublished _Portraits_, or _Characters_
(Walpole to Mason, April 7, 1774).

178.

_To his Stepmother._

Bentinck Street, October the 20th, 1773.

DEAR MADAM,

I am neither dead nor lost, as you might naturally suppose. My visit to Sir William[200] produced another to the Bishop of Landaf[201] in Oxfordshire. We proceeded by slow journeying, arrived safe in town Sunday evening, and yesterday I left my little friend in the hands of his Aunts. I ought to have given you a line sooner--but procrastination---- Next Sunday I go into Sussex. Adieu, and believe me,

Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.

[200] Probably Sir William Guise.

[201] Shute Barrington, afterwards Bishop of Durham.

179.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq._

Dec. 4th, 1773.

*We have conquered; Winton was amazed at the tempest just ready to burst over his head. He does not desire to go to law, wishes to live in peace, has no complaints to make, hopes for a little indulgence. _Hugonin is now in the attitude_ of St. Michael trampling upon Satan; he holds him down, till Andrews has prepared _a little chain of Adamant_ to bind the foul fiend. In return, receive my congratulation on your Irish Victory.[202] Batt told me yesterday, as from good authority, that administration designed a second attempt this session; but to-day I have it from much better, that they always discouraged it and that it was _totally an Iernian scheme_. You remark that I saw Batt. He passed two hours with me; a pleasant man! He and Sir John [Russel] dine with me _some day next week_: you will _have both their portraits; the originals are engaged_.* Walton _is perfectly dry_; both the copies will be done from the first pictures; in both they are unquestionably the best, and my Lady has more spirit and sense than in the second. Ah! my Lady, my Lady, what rumours have you diffused in the regions of Bath relating _to Sappho_[203] and your Slave. Adieu. I am called to cut in for the next Rubber. Town is empty, dirty and comfortable. Newton is at his Villa: I _hope my Cabinet afforded a refined tête-à-tête to the_ congenial souls.

E. G.

[202] A tax had been proposed in the Irish Parliament of two
shillings in the pound on the estates of absentee landlords. The
motion was lost by 122 to 102.

[203] Mrs. Holroyd, through her sister-in-law, Miss Holroyd, who
lived at Bath, had apparently hinted to Mrs. Gibbon at a possible
attachment between Edward Gibbon and Miss Fuller, niece to Mr.
Rose Fuller, of Rosehill, Sussex, M.P. for Rye.

[Sidenote: UNFOUNDED RUMORS OF HIS ENGAGEMENT.]

180.

_To his Stepmother._

Bentinck Street, December 7th, 1773.

DEAR MADAM,

I break a long silence to write a little more than three lines. Though I cannot call it a silence, since we were regularly informed once a week, of the most essential points; each other's healths, and amusements. Of my amusements indeed the Sheffield newspaper (like most other newspapers) reported more than it could easily prove. The intelligence you received of fair eyes, bleeding hearts, and an approaching daughter-in-law, is all very agreeable Romance. A pair of very tolerable eyes, I must confess, made their appearance at Sheffield, and what is more extraordinary were accompanied by good sense and good humour, without one grain of affectation. Yet, still I am _indifferent_, and she is _poor_; remove those two little obstacles: and Miss H.'s intelligence might have some foundation. I came only four or five days ago from Sussex: the pleasing consciousness of being of some use and comfort to my friend, who is greatly mended, kept me there much longer than I intended. I am now pursuing the conclusion of Lenborough; some entertaining delays of the law have driven us a little beyond the appointed time, but I flatter myself we shall finish either before or immediately after the Holydays.

Mrs. Porten is young again. I mentioned Pitman to Sir Stanier, but wished I could have been more particular as to his pretensions and the _precise object_ of his present ambition. I should be glad to be of service to him, especially as you interest yourself on his account; but am not even acquainted with the Johnsons, Governor Duprey, or any people of weight in that line. Besides, one ought to have favours to grant to have a right to ask any.--Caplin packed up your books. The old trunk, he says, was unequal to the weight and journey. However, it is still in Covent Garden.

I am, Dear Madam,
Most truly yours,
E. GIBBON.

181.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq._

Bentinck Street, Dec. 16th, 1773.

Do not be in such a passion. I think I use you very tolerably, nor did I ever set up for the Supplement to the Cambridge Mail.[204] By the bye, you have had a full account from that region of the visit, the picture and the conspiracy, which entirely failed through my blundering management. The surprize was, notwithstanding that disapointment, very fine indeed, and moved me exceedingly. Our day at Twickenham passed off very easily, though two o'clock is a strange hour for dinner; but it suits our Father and consequently must be right. I am glad you was pleased with Sheffield. The designed visit from thence will be I suppose after your excursion. As to my being present at it, fate and circumstances must determine. I neither fly to or from a Baron and Baronne; with regard to these it is probable I shall like them the better for being inclined to like me.

*To the vulgar eye of an Idle man London is empty; but I find many pleasant companions both dead and alive. Two or three days ago I dined at Atwood's with a very select party. Lord G. Germaine[205] was of it, and we communed for a long time.--You know L. Holland is paying Charles's debts. They amount to £140,000. At a meeting of the Creditors, his Agent declared that after deducting £6000 a year settled on Ste.,[206] and a decent provision for his old age, the residue of his wealth amounted to no more than £90,000. The creditors stared till Mr. Powell, a creature, declared that he owed everything to the noble Lord, that _he happened_ to have £5000 in long annuities, and begged he might be permitted to supply the deficiency. How generous! Yet there are people who say the money only stood in his name.--"My brother Ste.'s son is a second Messiah," said Charles the other day. How so? "Because born for the destruction of the Jews."*

[Sidenote: TROUBLE WITH HIS TENANTS.]

My compliments to Mr. Walton, best wishes to Lascelles, duty to My Lady, and love to the Maria and to Sappho[207] if she is with you.--What! nothing for fear of tales being told out of school. Adieu. As to business Lenborough moves slowly, either from temper or design Matthews starts difficulties that will certainly carry us beyond the Holydays--Winton grows pert again, and Hugonin mollifies. I have just wrote him a stinging letter, and insist on a written allowance of time. The House is clear by the Lease. I may carry it away.

E. G.

[204] The Cambridges, the "eloquent Nymphs of Twickenham."

[205] Lord George Sackville, son of Lionel, Duke of Dorset,
assumed, in 1770, the name of Germain on succeeding to the
Northamptonshire estates of his aunt, Lady Betty Germain (died
December 16, 1769), second wife of Sir John Germain, Bart., whose
first wife, Lady Mary Mordaunt, brought him the property. Lord
George was dismissed from the army for his conduct at the battle
of Minden (August 1, 1759). He was at this time M.P. for East
Grinstead. He became Secretary of State for the Colonies in Lord
North's administration, was created Lord Sackville in 1782, and
died in 1785.

[206] The Hon. Stephen Fox, eldest son of Lord Holland, succeeded
his father, July, 1774. He died December 26, 1774.

[207] Miss Fuller.

182.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq._

Bentinck Street, Thursday Morning, 23rd December, 1773.

The enclosed requires an immediate answer, as my business both in respect to Mrs. Lee and Winton seems brought to a crisis. Answer therefore yourself, and in my name send instructions, and if you can, comfort to Hugonin. Whether you decide (as to the Sporting Farmer) for severity or leniency, Hugonin will be desired by to-night's post to comply implicitly with your mandate.--Adieu, I hear you do not go to Denham till to-morrow, and that there was some design to carry my Lady to the School of Wives[208]--proper enough! A wife is taught by that play how to support and reclaim an irregular Husband. Pray what was the meaning of your being in town, but not in Bentinck Street, yesterday morning? _Pray_ be more exact in your return. Again Adieu. Write to Francis Hugonin, Esq., Nursted, Petersfield, Hants, as soon as you can.

[208] _The School of Wives_, a comedy by Hugh Kelly (1739-1777),
was produced at Drury Lane on December 11, 1773. Walpole speaks
of it as "exceedingly applauded," though "Charles Fox says" it
"is execrable."

183.

_To his Stepmother._

Bentinck Street, Dec. 25th, 1773.

DEAR MADAM,

I am in a very awkward situation, detained in town (not that I dislike my prison) by the weekly and almost daily expectation of finishing Bucks, which is still delayed by the cold slow-paced forms of the Law; and at the same time desirous of running down for four or five days to Sheffield Place, on a sort of appointment with Lord and especially with Lady Pelham:[209] in this polite age, married women of Fashion, and not your Miss Sappho Fullers are the object of the Man of the World.

Whenever you please to draw for £100 on Messrs. Gosling and Clive, Fleet Street, they have order to honour, which for the future I should think would be the easiest and properest way. At your conveniency you will be so kind as to enclose a receipt in a letter. Mrs. P. joins with me in the honest old compliments of the season. She is a little out of order to-day! I hope very little. If I knew where Pitman's mother-in-law lived I would call upon her.

Adieu! Dear Madam,
Believe me most truly yours,
E. G.

[209] Thomas, Lord Pelham of Stanmer (afterwards first Earl of
Chichester), was at this time surveyor-general of the Customs
of London. He married Miss Anne Frankland, granddaughter of Sir
Thomas Frankland, Bart.

184.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq._

January, 1774.

Way's letter trifling--He says nothing to the great point of the Modus. I have wrote to him to-night to call for his Evidence, which I should have for some day next week, when I am to meet my Horse-Jockey. Matthews is unaccountable. He declines coming up with his client; more shuffling, I fear.

*I have a letter from Hugo, a _dreadful_ one I believe, but it has lain four days unperused in my drawer. Let me turn it over to you.

Foster is playing at what he calls Whist; his partner swearing inwardly. He would write to you to-night, but he thinks he had rather write _next_ post; he will think so a good while. Every thing public, still as death. Our Committee of the Catch Club[210] has done more business this morning than all those of the house of Commons since their meeting. Roberts does not Petition.[211] This from the best authority, and perhaps totally false. Hare is married to Sir Abraham Hume's daughter.[212] You see how hard pressed I am for news. Besides, at any time, I had rather talk an hour, than write a page. Therefore adieu. I am glad to hear of your speedy removal. Remember Bentinck Street.*

185.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq._

January 29th, 1774.

On recollection it appeared superfluous to send you Hugo's letter. It was wrote before he received yours. Winton bullies, Mrs. Lee scolds, but I am fearless. Clarke[213] promises me Franks from day to day, and prevented me from applying to any body else. I heard from R. Way; his declaration of my not warranting the Modus quite sufficient: it is sent to Lovegrove, whose only objection it appeared to be. He and his Lawyer decline a personal interview, and talk of what they should have done four months ago, laying the abstract of the Title before Mr. Duane. Patience is a virtue.

[Sidenote: DINNER WITH AUTHORS, MANAGERS, ETC.]

*I am now getting acquainted with authors, Managers, &c. good company to know, but not to live with. Yesterday I dined at the Br_ee_tish Coffee-house,[214] with _Garrick_,[215] _Coleman_,[216] _Goldsmith_,[217] _Macpherson_,[218] _John Hume_,[219] &c. I am this moment come from Coleman's Man of Business. We dined at the Shakespeare, and went in a body to support it; between friends, though we got a Verdict for our Client, his Cause was but a bad one. It is a very confused Miscellany of several Plays and Tales; sets out brilliantly enough, but as we advance the Plot grows thicker, the Wit thinner, till the lucky fall of the Curtain preserves us from total Chaos.

Bentinck Street has visited Welbeck Street. Sappho is very happy that she has left Lewes: on Sheffield-place she squints with regret and gratitude. Mamma consulted me about buying Coals; we can't get any round ones. Quintus is gone to head the Civil War. Of Mrs. Frances I have nothing to say. I have got _my intelligence for insuring_, and will immediately get the preservative against fire. Foster has sent me _eight-and-twenty pair of Paris silk stockings_, with an intimation that My lady wished for half-a-dozen. They are much at her service; but if she will look into David Hume's Essay on National Characters, she will see that I durst not offer them to a Queen of Spain. _Sachez qu'une Reine d'Espagne n'a point de jambes._[220] Adieu.*

[210] "The Noblemen and Gentlemen's Catch Club" was founded in
1761, to encourage the composition and performance of catches and
glees. Members were elected by ballot. It met every Tuesday from
February to June at the Thatched House Tavern. The club still
flourishes. Gibbon speaks as if he were a member; but his name
does not occur in the lists of the club.

[211] By the death of Sir R. Ladbroke a vacancy occurred in the
representation of the City. The candidates were the Lord Mayor
(Bull) and Roberts. The result of the poll, by which the Lord
Mayor was elected, was declared on December 4, 1773. A scrutiny
was demanded on behalf of Roberts, but it was abandoned.

[212] James Hare, the politician and wit ("the Hare and many
friends"), was M.P. (1772-74) for Stockbridge, and (1781-1804)
for Knaresborough. He married (January 21, 1774) Miss Hannah
Hume, sister of Sir Abraham Hume, Bart., F.R.S., the famous
collector of minerals and pictures, and one of the founders of
the Geological Society.

[213] Godfrey Clarke, M.P. for Derbyshire.

[214] The British Coffee-house, in Cockspur Street, was a
favourite resort of Scotchmen. The Duke of Bedford, soliciting
the votes of the sixteen Scottish peers in 1750, is said to have
enclosed all the letters under one cover, and addressed it to the
British Coffee-house.

[215] Garrick and Colman were managers of the two rival theatres,
Covent Garden and Drury Lane.

[216] George Colman (1732-1794) was at this time a formidable
rival to Garrick. His five-act comedy, _The Man of Business_,
was produced at Covent Garden in January, 1774. It is, as Gibbon
describes it, made up from Terence and other writers; "so full of
modern lore," writes H. Walpole, "of rencounters, and I know not
what, that I scarce comprehended a syllable."

[217] Goldsmith (1728-1774), whose play, _She Stoops to Conquer_,
had been produced at Covent Garden under Colman's management
(January, 1773), died April 4, 1774, scarcely more than two
months after this dinner. Gibbon signed the Round Robin, drawn up
at Sir Joshua Reynolds's by Burke, asking Dr. Johnson to write
Goldsmith's epitaph in English instead of Latin.

[218] Probably James Macpherson (1736-1796), whose _Fragments
of Ancient Poetry collected in the Highlands_ were published in
1760. At this time he was settled in London, where he was engaged
in historical literature, a translation of the _Iliad_, and
political writing on behalf of the Government.

[219] John Home (1722-1808), the author of _Douglas_ (1756), had
helped to bring Macpherson's Ossianic poems before the public.
His _Douglas_ was played at Covent Garden (1757); his _Agis_
(1758) and _Siege of Aquileia_ (1760) were given at Drury Lane.

[220] Gibbon refers not to the essay on _National Characters_,
but to that on _Polygamy and Divorces_. Hume quotes a story
from Madame d'Aunoy's _Mémoires de la Cour d'Espagne_. "When
the mother of the late King of Spain was on her road towards
Madrid, she passed through a little town in Spain famous for its
manufactory of gloves and stockings. The magistrates of the place
thought they could not better express their joy for the reception
of their new queen, than by presenting her with a sample of
those commodities for which alone their town was remarkable. The
_major domo_, who conducted the princess, received the gloves
very graciously; but, when the stockings were presented, he flung
them away with great indignation, and severely reprimanded the
magistrates for this egregious piece of indecency. _Know_, says
he, _that a queen of Spain has no legs_. The young queen, who at
that time understood the language but imperfectly, and had often
been frightened with stories of Spanish jealousy, imagined that
they were to cut off her legs. Upon which she fell a-crying, and
begged them to conduct her back to Germany, for that she could
never endure the operation; and it was with some difficulty they
could appease her" (Hume's _Philosophical Works_, ed. 1854, vol.
iii. p. 205).

[Sidenote: GARRICK IN HAMLET.]

186.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq._

February 7th, 1774.

Quarrelled with you! aye sure, and if she had beat you it would have been perfectly agreeable to the rule of Right, and the fitness of things. A space of time _not less_ than four natural days, each day consisting of twenty-four hours, My Lady is to pass in Bentinck Street, only making some occasional excursions to various parts of the Cities of London and Westminster. Garrick I believe acts Hamlet to-morrow night, and will probably repeat it once or twice within a fortnight: I am not sure whether I might not muster up interest enough to determine it for one Night rather than another. As to you, I much want your presence. I fear Lovegrove will not turn out much better than Winton. In spite of R. Way's positive Evidence, he insists that I had warranted the _Vicarial Tythes_. Adieu. Gib sends his Love to Maria. I will enquire about _Capability_.[221] Give me intelligence of your motions.

[221] Probably a reference to Lancelot Brown (1715-1783), the
landscape gardener, known as "Capability Brown."

187.

_To his Stepmother._

Bentinck Street, February 16th, 1774.

DEAR MADAM,

The indolence of Bath and the hurry of London are alike enemies to very exact correspondencies, and I much fear that both of us will sometimes experience their baleful influence. I am prepared to give and receive a _reasonable measure_ of Toleration, in the full conviction that the most sincere friendships have the least occasion for the regular repetition of such outward demonstrations.

Besides this general apology for my delay, I have another on this occasion. The Musical Counsellor whose opinion you desired was absent on a visit to Lord Craven. He is now returned, and thus he says, "If the Lady in question, and who wishes to perfect a fine voice, has no other object than her own amusement, Parsons[222] will do very well: but if she considers Music as a profession, Bach[223] is infinitely preferable, both as a much more finished Master, and, as having the principal direction of the Queen's concert," and that chance indeed I should think a much properer one, than poor Sir Stanier. The Under Ministers of the King's business are seldom those of Her Majesty's amusements.

I have received a letter from Mrs. Dawkes, but very little to the purpose, and containing neither facts nor dates. I have called on her, but did not find her.

Holroyd and Madame come to my house next week. I shall be glad to see them on many accounts, and particularly him on my Bucks business. Delays and difficulties are started in which I begin to suspect there may be something more than the mere procrastination of the Law.--I dined with Mrs. P. to-day. She looks forward to Easter as the Jews to their Messiah. I flatter myself that her hopes will be better founded.

I am, Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.

[222] William Parsons (1746-1817) was appointed Master of the
King's Band of Music in 1786, was knighted in 1795, became
instructor in music to the princesses in 1796, and acted as a
stipendiary police magistrate at Great Marlborough Street.

[223] Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782) was organist at Milan
Cathedral, 1754-59. He married an Italian prima donna, and came
to London, where he held the appointment of Director of Public
Concerts.

[Sidenote: NEWS FROM AMERICA]

188.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq._

February, 1774.

*Did you get down safe and early? Is My Lady in good spirits and humour? You do not deserve that she should be, for hurrying her away. Does Maria coquet with Messieurs Divedown?[224] Adieu. Bentinck Street looks very dismal. You may suppose that nothing very important can have occurred since you left Town; But I will send you some account of America[225] after Monday, though indeed my anxiety about an old Manor takes away much of my attention from a New Continent. The mildness of Clarke is rouzed into military Fury; but he is an old Tory, and you are a Native of the Bog. I alone am an Englishman, a Philosopher, and a Whig.*

[224] The Rev. Dr. Dive Downes.

[225] Two recent events had brought American affairs into
prominence. The news of the attack upon the tea-ships in Boston
Harbour (December 16, 1773) had just reached England, and the
Privy Council had voted the Petition of the House of Assembly
of Massachusetts for the recall of Governor Hutchinson and
Lieutenant-Governor Oliver to be "groundless, vexatious, and
scandalous."

189.

_To J. B. Holroyd, Esq._

Heads of a Convention between Mr. Newton and Mr. Gibbon in Love Lane, March the 11th, 1774.

Agreed--

1. That a proposal of Arbitration such as was wished for should be accepted when offered.

2. That Mr. Way, to whom it was made, is the proper channel through which it should be answered.

3. That Mr. Palmer, a man of very fair character, assisted by two gentlemen of the Law, are very proper Arbitrators.