BLACKHEATH, June 27, 1758.
MY DEAR FRIEND: You either have received already, or will very soon
receive, a little case from Amsterdam, directed to you at Hamburg. It is
for Princess Ameba, the King of Prussia’s sister, and contains some books
which she desired Sir Charles Hotham to procure her from England, so long
ago as when he was at Berlin: he sent for them immediately; but, by I do
not know what puzzle, they were recommended to the care of Mr. Selwyn, at
Paris, who took such care of them, that he kept them near three years in
his warehouse, and has at last sent them to Amsterdam, from whence they
are sent to you. If the books are good for anything, they must be
considerably improved, by having seen so much of the world; but, as I
believe they are English books, perhaps they may, like English travelers,
have seen nobody, but the several bankers to whom they were consigned: be
that as it will, I think you had best deliver them to Monsieur Hecht, the
Prussian Minister at Hamburg, to forward to her Royal Highness, with a
respectful compliment from you, which you will, no doubt, turn in the
best manner, and ‘selon le bon ton de la parfaitement bonne compagnie’.
You have already seen, in the papers, all the particulars of our St.
Malo’s expedition, so I say no more of that; only that Mr. Pitt’s friends
exult in the destruction of three French ships of war, and one hundred
and thirty privateers and trading ships; and affirm that it stopped the
march of threescore thousand men, who were going to join the Comte de
Clermont’s army. On the other hand, Mr. Fox and company call it breaking
windows with guineas; and apply the fable of the Mountain and the Mouse.
The next object of our fleet was to be the bombarding of Granville, which
is the great ‘entrepot’ of their Newfoundland fishery, and will be a
considerable loss to them in that branch of their trade. These, you will
perhaps say, are no great matters, and I say so too; but, at least, they
are signs of life, which we had not given them for many years before; and
will show the French, by our invading them, that we do not fear their
invading us. Were those invasions, in fishing-boats from Dunkirk, so
terrible as they were artfully represented to be, the French would have
had an opportunity of executing them, while our fleet, and such a
considerable part of our army, were employed upon their coast. BUT MY
LORD LIGONIER DOES NOT WANT AN ARMY AT HOME.
The parliament is prorogued by a most gracious speech neither by nor from
his Majesty, who was TOO ILL to go to the House; the Lords and Gentlemen
are, consequently, most of them, gone to their several counties, to do
(to be sure) all the good that is recommended to them in the speech.
London, I am told, is now very empty, for I cannot say so from knowledge.
I vegetate wholly here. I walk and read a great deal, ride and scribble a
little, according as my lead allows, or my spirits prompt; to write
anything tolerable, the mind must be in a natural, proper disposition;
provocatives, in that case, as well as in another, will only produce
miserable, abortive performances.
Now that you have (as I suppose) full leisure enough, I wish you would
give yourself the trouble, or rather pleasure, to do what I hinted to you
some time ago; that is, to write short memoirs of those affairs which
have either gone through your hands, or that have come to your certain
knowledge, from the inglorious battle of Hastenbeck, to the still more
scandalous Treaty of Neutrality. Connect, at least, if it be by ever so
short notes, the pieces and letters which you must necessarily have in
your hands, and throw in the authentic anecdotes that you have probably
heard. You will be glad when you have done it: and the reviving past
ideas, in some order and method, will be an infinite comfort to you
hereafter. I have a thousand times regretted not having done so; it is at
present too late for me to begin; this is the right time for you, and
your life is likely to be a busy one. Would young men avail themselves of
the advice and experience of their old friends, they would find the
utility in their youth, and the comfort of it in their more advanced age;
but they seldom consider that, and you, less than anybody I ever knew.
May you soon grow wiser! Adieu.