with me this morning. As she went out and wanted her clogs, she turned to me, and said, “J remember at the playhouse, they used to call Mrs. Oldfield's chair! Mrs. Barry's clogs! and Mrs. Bracegirdle's pattens!" I did, indeed, design the letter of this post for Mr. Chute; but I have received two such charming long ones from you of the 15th and 20th of May, (N. S.) that I must answer them, and beg him to excuse me till another post; so must the Prince, Princess, the Grifona, and Countess Galli. For the Princess's letter, I am not sure I shall answer it so soon, for hitherto I have not been able to read above every third word; however, you may thank her as much as if I understood it all. I am very happy that mes bagatelles (for I still insist they were so) pleased. You, my dear child, are very good to be pleased with the snuff-box. I am much obliged to the superior lumières of old Sarasin about the Indian ink: if she meant the black, I am sorry to say I had it into the bargain with the rest of the Japan: for the coloured, it is only a curiosity, because it has seldom been brought over. I remember Sir Hans Sloane was the first who ever had any of it, and would on no account give my mother the least morsel of it. She afterwards got a good deal of it from China; and since that, more has come over; but it is even less valuable than the other, for we never could tell how to use it; however, let it make its figure. I am sure you hate me all this time, for chatting about so many trifles, and telling you no politics. I own to you, I am so wearied, so worn with them, that I scarce know how to turn my hand to them; but you shall know all I know. I told you of the meeting at the Fountain tavern: Pultney had pro mised to be there, but was not; nor Carteret. As the Lords had put off the debate on the Indemnitybill, nothing material passed; but the meeting was very Jacobite. Yesterday the bill came on, and Lord Carteret took the lead against it, and about seven in the evening it was flung out by almost two to one, 92 to 47, and 17 proxies to 10. To-day we had a motion by the new Lord Hillsborough, (for the father is just dead,) and seconded by Lord Barrington, to examine the Lords' votes, to see what was become of the bill: this is the form. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, and all the new ministry, were with us against it; but they carried it, 164 to 159. It is to be reported to-morrow, and as we have notice, we may possibly throw it out; else they will hurry on to a breach with the Lords. Pultney was not in the house; he was riding the other day, and met the king's coach; endeavouring to turn out of the way, his horse started, flung him, and fell upon him: he is much bruised; but not at all dangerously. On this occasion, there was an epigram fixed to a list, which I will explain to you afterwards: it is not known who wrote it, but it was addressed to him: Thy horse does things by halves, like thee; Hurt'st friend and foe, thyself and me, The king and constitution. The list I meant: you must know, some time ago, before the change, they had moved for a committee to examine and state the public accounts: it was passed. Finding how little success they had with their secret committee, they have set this on foot, and we were to ballot for seven commission ers, who are to have a thousand a year. We bal loted yesterday: on our list were Sir Richard Corbet, Charles Hamilton, (Lady Archibald's brother,) Sir William Middleton, Mr. West, Mr. Fonnereau, Mr. Thompson, and Mr. Ellis. On theirs, Mr. Bance, George Grenville, Mr. Hooper, Sir Charles Mordaunt, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Pitt, and Mr. Stuart. On casting up the numbers, the four first on ours, and the three first on their list, appeared to have the majority: so no great harm will come from this, should it pass the Lords, which it is not likely to do. I have now told you, I think, all the political news, except that the troops continue going to Flanders, though we hear no good news yet from Holland. If we can prevent any dispute between the two houses, it is believed and much hoped by the court, that the secret committee will desire to be dissolved if it does, there is an end of all this tempest! : I must tell you an ingenuity of Lord Raymond, an epitaph on the indemnifying bill-I believe you would guess the author: Interr'd beneath this marble stone doth lie, The Bill of Indemnity; To show the good for which it was design'd, My Lady Townshend made me laugh the other night about your old acquaintance, Miss Edwin; who, by the way, is grown almost a Methodist. My Lady says she was forced to have an issue made on one side of her head, for her eyes, and that Kent advised her to have another on the other side for symmetry. There has lately been published one of the most impudent things that ever was printed; it is called The Irish Register, and is a list of all the unmar. ried women of any fashion in England, ranked in order, duchesses-dowager, ladies, widows, misses, &c. with their names at length, for the benefit of Irish fortune-hunters, or, as it is said, for the incor porating and manufacturing of British commodi. ties. Miss Edwards is the only one printed with a dash, because they have placed her among the widows. I will send you this, Miss Lucy in Town, and the Magazines, by the first opportunity, as I should the other things, but your brother tells me you have had them by another hand. I received the cedrati, for which I have already thanked you' but I have been so much thanked by several people to whom I gave some, that I can very well afford to thank you again. As to Stosch expecting any present from me, he was so extremely well paid for all I had of him, that I do not think myself at all in his debt: however, you was very good to offer to pay him. As to my Lady Walpole, I shall say nothing now, as I have not seen either of the two persons since I received your letter, to whom I design to mention her; only that I am extremely sorry to find you still disturbed at any of the little nonsense of that cabal. I hoped that the accounts which I have sent you, and which, except in my last letter, must have been very satisfactory, would have served you as an antidote to their legends; and I think the great victory in the House of Lords, and which, I assure you, is here reckoned prodigious, will raise your spirits against them. I am happy you have taken that step about Sir Francis Dashwood; the credit it must have given you with the king, will more than counterbalance any little hurt you might apprehend from the cabal. I am in no hurry for any of my things; as we shall be moving from hence as soon as Sir Robert has taken another house, I shall not want them till I am more settled. Adieu! I hope to tell you soon that we are all at peace, and then I trust you will be so! A thousand loves to the Chutes. How I long to see you all! P. S. I unseal my letter to tell you what a vast and probably final victory we have gained to-day. They moved, that the Lords flinging out the bill of indemnity, was an obstruction to justice, and might prove fatal to the liberties of this country. We have sat till this moment, seven o'clock, and have rejected this motion by 245 to 193. The call of the house, which they have kept off from fortnight to fortnight, to keep people in town, was appointed for to-day. The moment the division was over, Sir John Cotton rose and said, "As I think the inquiry is at an end, you may do what you will with the call." We have put it off for two months. There's a noble postscript! The same to the same. Thursday, 6 o'clock. You will hardly divine where I am writing to you in the Speaker's chamber. The house is examining witnesses on the Westminster election, which will not be determined to-day; I am not in haste it should, for I believe we shall lose it. A great fat fellow, a constable, on their side, has just deposed, that Lord Sundon and the high constable took him by the collar at the election, and threw him down stairs. Do you know the figure of Lord |