The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford Volume II Part 59

The certificates I suppose can swim. Adieu, my dear lord!

(837) Mr. Onslow, the Speaker.

402 Letter 244 To Sir Horace Mann.

Strawberry Hill, Oct. 12, 1757.

I shall Write you but a short letter for more reasons than one--there are you blus.h.i.+ng again for your country! We have often behaved extravagantly, and often shamefully-this time we have united both. I think I will not read a newspaper this month, till the French have vented all their mirth. If I had told You two months ago that this magnificent expedition was designed against Rochfort, would you have believed me? Yet we are strangely angry that we have not taken it! The clamour against Sir John Mordaunt is at high-water-mark, but as I was the dupe of clamour last year against one of the bravest of men,(838) I shall suspend my belief till all is explained.

Explained it will be somehow or other: it seems to me that we do nothing but expose ourselves in summer, in order to furnish inquiries for the winter; and then those inquiries expose us again. My great satisfaction is, that Mr. Conway is not only returned safe, but that all the world agrees that it is not his fault that he is SO. He is still at Portsmouth to see the troops disembark. Hawke is come, and was graciously received.--poor Sir John Mordaunt, who was sent for, was received -as ill. I tell you no particulars of their campaign, for I know it slightly, and will wait till I know it exactly.

The Duke came last night. You will not hear much more of his affair: he will not do himself justice, and it proves too gross, to be possible to do him injustice.

I think all the comfort we extract from a thousand bitter herbs, is, that the Russians are gone back, gone precipitately, and as yet we don't know why.

I have received yours of the 17th of last month, and you may quiet your fears about posts: we have received all that each has written, except my last, which could not be arrived at Florence when yours came away. Mine was of the 29th of last month, and had many particulars; I hope not too many to stop its journey!

To add to the ill-humour, our papers are filled with the new loss of Fort William-Henry, which covered New York. That opulent and proud colony between their own factions and our folly is in imminent danger; but I will have done--nay, if we lose another dominion. I think I will have done writing to you, I cannot bear to chronicle so many disgraces. Adieu!

(838) Admiral Byng.

403 Letter 245 To The Hon. H. S. Conway.

Strawberry Hill, Oct. 13, 1757.

If you have received mine of Tuesday, which I directed to Portsmouth, you will perceive how much I agree with you. I am charmed with your sensible modesty. When I talked to you of defence, it was from concluding that you had all agreed that the attempt(839) was impracticable, nay, impossible; and from thence I judged that the ministry intended to cast the blame of a wild project upon the officers. That they may be a little willing to do that, I still think-but I have the joy to find that it cannot be thrown on you. As your friend, and fearing, if I talked for you first, it would look like doubt of your behaviour, at least that you had bid me defend you at the expense of your friends, I said not a word, trusting that your innocence would break out and make its way. I have the satisfaction to find it has already done so. It comes from all quarters but your own, which makes it more honourable. My Lady Suffolk told me last night, that she heard all the seamen said they wished the general had been as ready as Mr. Conway.

But this is not all: I left a positive commission in town to have the truth of the general report sent me without the least disguise: in consequence of which I am solemnly a.s.sured that your name is never mentioned but with honour; that all the violence, and that extreme, is against Sir John Mordaunt and Mr. Cornwallis. I am particularly sorry for the latter, as I firmly believe him as brave as possible.

This situation of things makes me advise, what I know and find I need not advise, your saying as little as possible in your own defence, nay, as much as you can with any decency for the others. I am neither acquainted with, nor care a straw about, Sir John Mordaunt; but as it is known that you differed with him, it will do you the greatest honour to vindicate him, instead of disculpating yourself. My most earnest desire always is, to have your character continue as amiable and respectable as possible. There is no doubt but the whole will come out, and therefore your justification not coming from yourself will set it in a ten times better light. I shall go to town to-day to meet your brother; and as I know his affection for you will make him warm in clearing you, I shall endeavour to restrain that ardour, of which you know I have enough on the least glimmering of a necessity: but I am sure you will agree with me, that, on the representation I have here made to you, it is not proper for your friends to appear solicitous about you.

The city talk very treason, and, connecting the suspension at Stade with this disappointment,(840) cry out, that the general had positive orders to do nothing, in order to obtain gentler treatment of Hanover. They intend in a violent manner to demand redress, and are too enraged to let any part of this affair remain a mystery.

I think, by your directions, this will reach you before you leave Bevismount: I would gladly meet you at Park-place, if i was not sure of seeing you in town a day or two afterwards at farthest; which I will certainly do, if you let me know.

Adieu!

(839) On Rochfort.

(840) "In all these complicated machines," writes Lord Chesterfield to his son, on the 4th of this month, "there are so many wheels within wheels, that it is always difficult and sometimes impossible, to guess which of them gives direction to the whole. Mr. Pitt is convinced that the princ.i.p.al wheel, or if you will, spoke in the wheel, came from Stade."-E.

404 Letter 246 To George Montagu, Esq.

Arlington Street, Oct 18, 1757.

You never begged news at a worse time; for though I should tell you much, I have neither time nor inclination, This sounds brusque, but I will explain it. With regard to the expedition, I am so far easy about Mr. Conway that he will appear with great honour, but it is not pleasant to hear him complicated with others in the mean time. He cannot speak till forced. In short, there are twenty delicacies not for a letter. The big event is, the Duke's resignation. He is not so patient as Mr. Conway under unmerited reproach, and has thrown up every thing, regiment and all. You and I wish for a Fronde, but I don't expect one. At worst it will produce M'emoires de la Fronde. I rejoice that all your family is well, and beg my compliments to them. For this time you must excuse a very short letter; I am only in town for this evening to meet Mr. Conway, and I s.n.a.t.c.h a moment, that you might not think me neglectful of you, which I certainly never will be.

Adieu!

404 Letter 247 To Sir Horace Mann.

Arlington Street, Oct. 24, 1757.

It is impossible not to write to you upon the great event(841) that has happened, and yet it is difficult to know how to write upon it. Considering your situation, it is improper to make harsh comments: Europe, I suppose, will not be so delicate. Our ministers have kept the article out of our own papers; but they have as little power over foreign gazettes, as weight with foreign powers. In short, the Duke is arrived, was very ill received, and without that, would have done, what he did immediately, resign all his commissions. He does not, like his brother,(842) go into opposition. He is even to make his Usual appearances. He treated Munchausen,(843) who had taken great liberties with his name, with proper severity--I measure my words extremely, not for my own sake, but yours.

General Mordaunt has demanded an inquiry. The form is not settled yet; nor can it be soon, as Sir Edward Hawke is gone upon a cruise with the fleet. I put a quick end to this letter; I have no more facts to tell you; reflections you will make yourself. In the uncertainty of this reaching you, it is better to say no more. Adieu!

(841) The Duke of c.u.mberland's resignation of the command of the army.

(842) Frederick Prince of wales.

(843) The minister for Hanover.

405 Letter 248 To Sir Horace Mann.

Arlington Street, Nov. 20, 1757.

I do not like to find that our correspondence is certainly deranged. I have received but one letter from you for a great while; it is of October 8th, and complaining on your side too.

You say my last was Sept. 3d. Since that I wrote on the 29th, on the 13th, and 24th of last month. I have omitted a month, waiting to see if you got my letters, and to have something decisive to tell you. Neither has happened, and yet I know you will be unhappy not to hear from me, which makes me write now. Our Parliament was suddenly put off to the first of next month), on news that the King Of Prussia had made a separate peace with France;- as the Speech was prepared to ask money for him, it was necessary to set it to a new tune; but we have been agreeably surprised with his gaining a great victory over the Prince de Soubize;(844) but of this we have only the first imperfect account, the wind detaining his courier or aide-de-camp on the other side still. It is prodigious how we want all the good news we can ama.s.s together! Our fleet dispersed by a tempest in America, where, into the bargain, we had done nothing, the uneasiness on the convention at Stade, which, by this time, I believe we have broken, and on the disappointment about Rochfort, added to the wretched state of our internal affairs; all this has reduced us to a most contemptible figure. The people are dissatisfied, mutinous, and ripe for insurrections, which indeed have already appeared on the militia and on the dearness of corn, which is believed to be owing to much villany in the dealers. But the other day I saw a strange sight, a man crying corn, "Do you want any corn?" as they cry knives and scissors. To add to the confusion, the troubles in Ireland, which Mr. Conway had pacified, are broke out afresh, by the imprudence of the Duke of Bedford and the ambition of the primate.(845) The latter had offered himself to the former, who rejected him, meaning to balance the parties, but was insensibly hurried into Lord Kildare's,(846) to please mr. Fox. The primate's faction have pa.s.sed eleven resolutions on pensions and grievances, equal to any in 1641, and the Duke of Bedford's friends dared not say a word against them.(847) The day before yesterday a messenger arrived from him for help; the council will try to mollify; but Ireland is no tractable country. About what you will be more inquisitive, is the disappointment at Rochfort, and its consequences. Sir John Mordaunt demanded an inquiry which the city was going to demand. The Duke of Marlborough, Lord George Sackville, and General Waldegrave have held a public inquest, with the fairness of which people are satisfied; the report is not to be made to the King till to-morrow, for which I shall reserve my letter. You may easily imagine, that with all my satisfaction in Mr. Conway's behaviour, I am very unhappy about him: he is more so; having guarded and gained the most perfect character in the world by the severest attention to it, you may guess what he feels under any thing that looks like a trial. You will see him more like himself, in a story his aide-de-camp, Captain Hamilton,(848) tells of him. While they were on the isle of Aix, Mr. Conway was so careless and so fearless as to be trying a burning-gla.s.s on a bomb--yes, a bomb, the match of which had been cut short to prevent its being fired by any accidental sparks of tobacco.

Hamilton s.n.a.t.c.hed the gla.s.s out of Mr. Conway's hand before he had at all thought what he was about. I can tell you another story of him, that describes all his thought for others, while so indifferent about himself. Being with my Lady Ailesbury in his absence, I missed a favourite groom they used to have; she told me this story. The fellow refused to accompany Mr.

Conway on the expedition, unless he would provide for his widow in case of accidents. Mr. C., who had just made his will and settled his affairs, replied coolly, "I have provided for her." The man, instead of being struck, had the command of himself to ask how? He was told, she would have two hundred pounds. Still uncharmed, he said it was too little!

Mr. Conway replied he was sorry he was not content; he could do no more; but would only desire him to go to Portsmouth and see his horses embarked. He refused. If such goodness would make one adore human nature, such ingrat.i.tude would soon cure one!

Mr. Fox was going to write to you, but I took all the compliments upon myself, as I think it is better for you to be on easy than ceremonious terms. To promote this, I have established a correspondence between you; he will be glad if you will send him two chests of the best Florence wine every year. The perpetuity destroys all possibility of your making him presents Of it. I have compounded for the vases, but he would not hear, nor must you think of giving him the wine, which you must transact with your brother and me. The best of Florence which puzzled James and me so much, proves to be Lord Hertford's drams. We have got something else from Florence, not your brother James and I, but the public: here is arrived a Countess Rena, of whom my Lord Pembroke bought such quant.i.ties of Florence, etc. I shall wonder if he deals with her any more, as he has the sweetest wife(849) in the world, and it seems to be some time since La Comtessa was so. Tell me more of her history; antique as she is, she is since my time.. Alas! every thing makes me think myself old since I have worn out my eyes, which, notwithstanding the cure I thought Mr. Chute had made upon them, are of very little use to me. You have no notion how it mortifies me: when I am wis.h.i.+ng to withdraw more and more from a world of which I have had satiety, and which I suppose is as tired of me, how vexatious not to be able to indulge a happiness that depends only on oneself, and consequently the only happiness proper for people past their youth! I have often deluded you with promises of returning to Florence for pleasure, I now threaten you with it for your plague; for if I am to become a tiresome old fool, at least it shall not be in my own country. In the mean time, I must give you a commission for my press. I have printed one book, (of which two copies are ready for you and Dr. Cocchi,) and I have written another - it is a Catalogue of the Royal and n.o.ble Authors of England. Richard 1. it seems was, or had a mind to pa.s.s for, a Proven'cal poet; nay, some of those compositions are extant, and you must procure them for me: Crescimbeni says there are some in the library of San Lorenza at Florence, in uno de' Codici Provenzali, and others nel 3204 della Vaticana.(850) YOU Will oblige and serve me highly if you can get me copies. Dr. Cocchi certainly knows Crescimbeni's Commentary on the Lives of the Proven'cal Poets.(851)

I shall wind up this letter, Which is pretty long for a blind man without spectacles, with an admirable bon-mot. Somebody asked me at the play the other night what was become of Mrs.

Woffington; I replied, she is taken off by Colonel Caesar.

Lord Tyrawley said, "I suppose she was reduced to aut Caesar aut Nullus."

The monument about which you ask you shall see in a drawing, when finished; it is a simple Gothic arch, something in the manner of the columbaria: a Gothic columbarium is a new thought of my own, of which I am fond, and going(852) to execute one at Strawberry. That at Linton is to have a beautiful urn, designed by Mr. Bentley, as the whole is, with this plain, very true inscription, "Galfrido Mann, amicissimo, optimo, qui obiit--H. W. P."

Thank you for the King of Prussia's letter, though I had seen it before. It is lively and odd. He seems to write as well with Voltaire as he fights as well without the French--or without us.

Monday night.

The report is made, but I have not yet seen it, and this letter must go away this minute. I hear it names no names, says no reason appears why they did not land on the 25th, and gives no merit to all Mr. Conway's subsequent proposals for landing. Adieu!

(844) The battle of Rosbach.

(845) Dr. Stone, Archbishop of Armagh.

(846) Lady Kildare was sister of Lady Caroline Fox.

(847)) Walpole, in his Memoires of George II., states that "the Duke of Bedford, on the death of the King's sister, the Queen Dowager of Prussia, who had privately received a pension of eight Hundred pounds a-year out of the Irish establishment, had obtained it for his wife's sister, Lady Waldegrave."-E.

(848) Afterwards Sir William Hamilton, appointed, in 1764, envoy to the court of Naples, where he resided during the long period of thirty-six years; and where, "wisely diverting," in the language of Gibbon, "his correspondence from the secretary of state to the Royal Society and British Museum, he pa.s.sed his time in elucidating a country of inestimable value to the naturalist and antiquarian." He returned to England in 1800, and died in 1803.-E.

(849) Elizabeth, sister of the Duke of Marlborough.