I dined to-day in the City, and then went to christen Will Frankland's
child; Lady Falconbridge was one of the godmothers; this is a daughter
of Oliver Cromwell, and extremely like him by the picture I have seen.
My business in the City was to thank Stratford for a kindness he has
done me. I found Bank stock fallen thirty-four to the hundred, and was
mighty desirous to buy it. I had three hundred pounds in Ireland, and I
desired Stratford to buy me three hundred pounds in Bank stock and that
he keep the papers, and that I would be bound to pay him for them; and,
if it should rise or fall, I should take my chance and pay him interest
in the meantime. I was told money was so hard to get here, and no one
would do this for me. However, Stratford, one of the most generous men
alive, has done this for me: so that three hundred pounds cost me three
hundred pounds and thirty shillings. This was done a week ago, and I can
have five pounds for my bargain already. I writ to your Mother to desire
Lady Giffard would do the same with what she owes me, but she tells your
mother she has no money. I would to God, all you had in the world was
there. Whenever you lend money, take this rule, to have two people
bound, who have both visible fortunes; for they will hardly die
together; and, when one dies, you fall upon the other, and make him add
another security. So, ladies, enough of business for one night. Paaaaast
twelve o'clock; nite, nite deelest MD. I must only add, that, after a
long fit of rainy weather, it has been fair two or three days, and is
this day grown cold and frosty; so you must give poor little Presto
leave to have a fire in his chamber morning and evening too; and he will
do as much for you. Shall I send this to-morrow? Well I will, to oblige
MD. 'Tis late, so I bid you good-night.
CHELSEA, June, 1711.
I went at noon to see Mr. Secretary at his office, and there was Lord
Treasurer; so I killed two birds, etc., and we were glad to see one
another and so forth. And the Secretary and I dined at Sir William
Wyndam's, who married Lady Catherine Seymour, your acquaintance, I
suppose. There were ten of us at dinner. It seems, in my absence, they
had erected a Club, and made me one; and we made some laws to-day, which
I am to digest and add to, against next meeting. Our meetings are to be
every Thursday. We are yet but twelve; Lord Keeper and Lord Treasurer
were proposed; but I was against them, and so was Mr. Secretary, though
their sons are of it, and so they are excluded; but we design to admit
the Duke of Shrewsbury. The end of our Club is to advance conversation
and friendship, and to reward deserving persons with our interest and
recommendation. We take in none but men of wit or men of interest; and
if we go on as we begin, no other Club in this town will be worth
talking of. This letter will come three weeks after the last, so there
is a week lost; but that is owing to my being out of town.
Well, but I must answer this letter of our MD's. Saturday approaches,
and I han't written down this side. Oh, faith, Presto has been a sort of
lazy fellow: but Presto will remove to town this day se'night: the
Secretary has commanded me to do so: and I believe he and I shall go
some days to Windsor, where he will have leisure to mind some business
we have together. To-day our Society (it must not be called a Club)
dined at Mr. Secretary's: we were but eight. We made some laws, and then
I went to take my leave of Lady Ashburnham, who goes out of town
to-morrow.
Steele has had the assurance to write to me that I would engage my Lord
Treasurer to keep a friend of his in an employment. I believe I told you
how he and Addison served me for my good offices in Steele's behalf; and
I promised Lord Treasurer never to speak for either of them again.
We have plays acted in our town; and Patrick was at one of them, oh, oh.
He was damnably mauled one day when he was drunk, by a brother-footman,
who dragged him along the floor on his face, which looked for a week
after as if he had the leprosy, and I was glad enough to see it. I have
been ten times sending him back to you; yet now he has new clothes and a
laced hat, which the hatter brought by his orders, and he offered to pay
for the lace out of his wages.
I must rise now and shave, and walk to town, unless I go with the Dean
in his chariot at twelve: and I have not seen that Lord Peterborough
yet. The Duke of Shrewsbury is almost well again, but what care you? You
do not care for my friends. Farewell, my dearest lives and delights: I
love you better than ever, if possible, as hope saved, I do, and ever
will. God almighty bless you ever, and make us happy together! I pray
for this twice every day; and I hope God will hear my poor hearty
prayers. Remember, if I am used ill and ungratefully, as I have formerly
been, 'tis what I am prepared for, and I shall not wonder at it. Yet I
am now envied, and thought in high favour, and have every day numbers of
considerable men teasing me to solicit for them. And the Ministry all
use me perfectly well; and all that know them say they love me. Yet I
can count upon nothing, nor will, but upon MD's love and kindness. They
think me useful; they pretended they were afraid of none but me, and
that they resolved to have me; they have often confessed this: yet all
this makes little impression on me--Pox of these speculations! They give
me the spleen; a disease I was not born to. Let me alone, sirrahs, and
be satisfied: I am, as long as MD and Presto are well. Little wealth,
and much health, and a life by stealth: that is all we want; and so
farewell, dearest MD; Stella, Dingley, Presto, all together; now and for
ever all together. Farewell again and again.
LONDON, July, 1711.
I have just sent my 26th, and have nothing to say, because I have other
letters to write (pshaw, I began too high) but to-morrow I will say
more, and fetch up this line to be straight This is enough at present
for two dear saucy naughty girls.
Morning. It is a terrible rainy day. Patrick lay out all last night, and
is not yet returned: faith, poor Presto is a desolate creature; neither
servant, nor linen, nor anything.
I was at Court and Church to-day: I am acquainted with about thirty in
the drawing-room, and I am so proud I make all the Lords come up to me;
one passes half an hour pleasant enough. We had a dunce to preach before
the queen to-day, which often happens. Windsor is a delicious situation,
but the town is scoundrel. The Duke of Hamilton would needs be witty,
and hold up my train as I walked upstairs. It is an ill circumstance
that on Sundays much company always meet at the great tables. The
Secretary showed me his bill of fare, to encourage me to dine with him.
"Poh," said I, "show me a bill of company, for I value not your dinner."
In my conscience. I fear I shall have the gout. I sometimes feel pains
about my feet and toes: I never drank till within these two years, and I
did it to cure my head. I often sit evenings with some of these people,
and drink in my turn; but I am resolved to drink ten times less than
before; but they advise me to let what I drink be all wine, and not to
put water in it. Tooke and the printer stayed to-day to finish their
affair. Then I went to see Lord Treasurer, and chid him for not taking
notice of me at Windsor. He said he kept a place for me yesterday at
dinner, and expected me there; but I was glad I did not go, because the
Duke of Buckingham was there, and that would have made us acquainted;
which I have no mind to.
I have sent a noble haunch of venison this afternoon to Mrs. Vanhomrigh;
I wish you had it sirrahs. I dined gravely with my landlord, the
Secretary. The queen was abroad to-day to hunt; but finding it disposed
to rain, she kept in her coach, which she drives herself, and drives
furiously, like Jehu, and is a mighty hunter, like Nimrod. Dingley has
heard of Nimrod, but not Stella, for it is in the Bible. Mr. Secretary
has given me a warrant for a buck; I can't sent it to MD. It is a sad
thing, faith, considering how Presto loves MD, and how MD would love
Presto's venison for Presto's sake. God bless the two dear Wexford
girls!
There was a drawing-room to-day at Court; but so few company, that the
queen sent for us into her bedchamber, where we made our bows, and stood
about twenty of us round the room, while she looked at us round with her
fan in her mouth, and once a minute said about three words to some that
were nearest to her, and then she was told dinner was ready, and went
out.
LONDON, Dec. 1, 1711.
To-morrow is the fatal day for the Parliament meeting, and we are full
of hopes and fears. We reckon we have a majority of ten on our side in
the House of Lords; yet I observe Mrs. Masham a little uneasy. The Duke
of Marlborough has not seen the queen for some days past; Mrs. Masham is
glad of it, because she says he tells a hundred lies to his friends of
what she says to him: he is one day humble, and the next day on the high
ropes.
This being the day Parliament was to meet, and the great question to be
determined, I went with Dr. Freind to dine in the City, on purpose to be
out of the way, and we sent our printer to see what was our fate; but he
gave us a most melancholy account of things. The Earl of Nottingham
began and spoke against a peace, and desired that in their address they
might put in a clause to advise the queen not to make a peace without
Spain; which was debated, and carried by the Whigs by about six voices:
and this has happened entirely by my Lord Treasurer's neglect, who did
not take timely care to make up his strength, although every one of us
gave him caution enough. Nottingham has certainly been bribed. The
question is yet only carried in the Committee of the whole House, and we
hope when it is reported to the House to-morrow, we shall have a
majority.
This is a day that may produce great alterations and hazard the ruin of
England. The Whigs are all in triumph; they foretold how all this would
be, but we thought it boasting. Nay, they said the Parliament should be
dissolved before Christmas, and perhaps it may: this is all your d----d
Duchess of Somerset's doings. I warned them of this nine months ago, and
a hundred times since. I told Lord Treasurer I should have the advantage
of him; for he would lose his head, and I should only be hanged, and so
carry my body entire to the grave.
I was this morning with Mr. Secretary: we are both of opinion that the
queen is false. He gave me reasons to believe the whole matter is
settled between the queen and the Whigs. Things are now in a crisis, and
a day or two will determine. I have desired him to engage Lord Treasurer
to send, me abroad as Queen's Secretary somewhere or other, where I will
remain till the new Ministers recall me; and then I will be sick for
five or six months, till the storm has spent itself. I hope he will
grant me this; for I should hardly trust myself to the mercy of my
enemies while their anger is fresh.
Morning. They say the Occasional Bill is brought to-day into the House
of Lords; but I know not. I will now put an end to my letter, and give
it into the post-house with my own fair hands. This will be a memorable
letter, and I shall sigh to see it some years hence. Here are the first
steps towards the ruin of an excellent Ministry; for I look upon them as
certainly ruined; and God knows what may be the consequence.--I now bid
my dearest MD farewell; for company is coming, and I must be at Lord
Dartmouth's office by noon. Farewell, dearest MD; I wish you a merry
Christmas; I believe you will have this about that time. Love Presto,
who loves MD above all things a thousand times. Farewell again, dearest
MD.
LONDON, Dec. 20, 1711.
I was with the Secretary this morning, and, for aught I can see, we
shall have a languishing death: I can know nothing, nor themselves
neither. I dined, you know, with our Society, and that odious Secretary
would make me President next week; so I must entertain them this day
se'night at the Thatched House Tavern: it will cost me five or six
pounds; yet the Secretary says he will give me wine.
Saturday night. I have broken open my letter, and tore it into the
bargain, to let you know that we are all safe: the queen has made no
less than twelve Lords to have a majority; nine new ones, the other
three peers' sons; and has turned out the Duke of Somerset. She is
awaked at last, and so is Lord Treasurer: I want nothing now but to see
the Duchess out. But we shall do without her. We are all extremely
happy. Give me joy, sirrahs. This is written in a coffee-house.
LONDON, Feb. 26, 1712.
I was again busy with the Secretary. I dined with him, and we were to do
more business after dinner; but after dinner is after dinner--an old
saying and a true, "much drinking, little thinking." We had company with
us, and nothing could be done, so I am to go there again to-morrow.
To-day in the morning I visited upwards: first I saw the Duke of Ormond
below stairs, and gave him joy of being declared General in Flanders;
then I went up one pair of stairs, and sat with the duchess; then I went
up another pair of stairs, and paid a visit to Lady Betty; and then
desired her woman to go up to the garret, that I might pass half an hour
with her, for she was young and handsome, but she would not.
Tell Walls that I spoke to the Duke of Ormond about his friend's
affairs. I likewise mentioned his own affair to Mr. Southwell. But oo
must not know zees sings, zey are secrets; and we must keep them flom
nauty dallars. I was with Lord Treasurer to-day, and hat care oo for
zat? Monday is parson's holiday, and oo lost oo money at cards; ze
devil's device. Nite, nite, my two deelest logues.