LONDON, _Dec._ 15, 1711.
I PUT in my letter this evening myself. I was to-day inquiring at the
Secretary’s office of Mr. Lewis how things went: I there met Prior, who
told me he gave all for gone, etc., and was of opinion the whole Ministry
would give up their places next week: Lewis thinks they will not till
spring, when the session is over; both of them entirely despair. I went
to see Mrs. Masham, who invited me to dinner; but I was engaged to Lewis.
At four I went to Masham’s. He came and whispered me that he had it from
a very good hand that all would be well, and I found them both very
cheerful. The company was going to the opera, but desired I would come
and sup with them. I did so at ten, and Lord Treasurer was there, and
sat with us till past twelve, and was more cheerful than I have seen him
these ten days. Mrs. Masham told me he was mightily cast down some days
ago, and he could not indeed hide it from me. Arbuthnot is in good hopes
that the Queen has not betrayed us, but only has been frightened, and
flattered, etc. But I cannot yet be of his opinion, whether my reasons
are better, or that my fears are greater. I do resolve, if they give up,
or are turned out soon, to retire for some months, and I have pitched
upon the place already: but I will take methods for hearing from MD, and
writing to them. But I would be out of the way upon the first of the
ferment; for they lay all things on me, even some I have never read.
16. I took courage to-day, and went to Court with a very cheerful
countenance. It was mightily crowded; both parties coming to observe
each other’s faces. I have avoided Lord Halifax’s bow till he forced it
on me; but we did not talk together. I could not make less than
fourscore bows, of which about twenty might be to Whigs. The Duke of
Somerset is gone to Petworth, and, I hear, the Duchess too, of which I
shall be very glad. Prince Eugene, {362} who was expected here some days
ago, we are now told, will not come at all. The Whigs designed to have
met him with forty thousand horse. Lord Treasurer told me some days ago
of his discourse with the Emperor’s Resident, that puppy Hoffman, about
Prince Eugene’s coming; by which I found my lord would hinder it, if he
could; and we shall be all glad if he does not come, and think it a good
point gained. Sir Andrew Fountaine, Ford, and I dined to-day with Mrs.
Van, by invitation.
17. I have mistaken the day of the month, and been forced to mend it
thrice. I dined to-day with Mr. Masham and his lady, by invitation.
Lord Treasurer was to be there, but came not. It was to entertain Buys,
the Dutch Envoy, who speaks English well enough: he was plaguily politic,
telling a thousand lies, of which none passed upon any of us. We are
still in the condition of suspense, and I think have little hopes. The
Duchess of Somerset is not gone to Petworth; only the Duke, and that is a
poor sacrifice. I believe the Queen certainly designs to change the
Ministry, but perhaps may put it off till the session is over: and I
think they had better give up now, if she will not deal openly; and then
they need not answer for the consequences of a peace, when it is in other
hands, and may yet be broken. They say my Lord Privy Seal sets out for
Holland this week: so the peace goes on.
18. It has rained hard from morning till night, and cost me three
shillings in coach-hire. We have had abundance of wet weather. I dined
in the City, and was with the printer, who has now a fifth edition of the
_Conduct_, etc.: it is in small, and sold for sixpence; they have printed
as many as three editions, because they are to be sent in numbers into
the country by great men, etc., who subscribe for hundreds. It has been
sent a fortnight ago to Ireland: I suppose you will print it there. The
Tory Lords and Commons in Parliament argue all from it; and all agree
that never anything of that kind was of so great consequence, or made so
many converts. By the time I have sent this letter, I expect to hear
from little MD: it will be a month, two days hence, since I had your
last, and I will allow ten days for accidents. I cannot get rid of the
leavings of a cold I got a month ago, or else it is a new one. I have
been writing letters all this evening till I am weary, and I am sending
out another little thing, which I hope to finish this week, and design to
send to the printer in an unknown hand. There was printed a Grub Street
speech of Lord Nottingham; {363} and he was such an owl to complain of it
in the House of Lords, who have taken up the printer for it. I heard at
Court that Walpole {364a} (a great Whig member) said that I and my
whimsical Club writ it at one of our meetings, and that I should pay for
it. He will find he lies: and I shall let him know by a third hand my
thoughts of him. He is to be Secretary of State, if the Ministry
changes; but he has lately had a bribe proved against him in Parliament,
while he was Secretary at War. He is one of the Whigs’ chief speakers.
19. Sad dismal weather. I went to the Secretary’s office, and Lewis
made me dine with him. I intended to have dined with Lord Treasurer. I
have not seen the Secretary this week. Things do not mend at all. Lord
Dartmouth despairs, and is for giving up; Lewis is of the same mind; but
Lord Treasurer only says, “Poh, poh, all will be well.” I am come home
early to finish something I am doing; but I find I want heart and humour,
and would read any idle book that came in my way. I have just sent away
a penny paper to make a little mischief. Patrick is gone to the burial
of an Irish footman, who was Dr. King’s {364b} servant; he died of a
consumption, a fit death for a poor starving wit’s footman. The Irish
servants always club to bury a countryman.
20. 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’nnight at the Thatched House Tavern, {364c} where we dined to-day: it
will cost me five or six pounds; yet the Secretary says he will give me
wine. I found a letter when I came home from the Bishop of Clogher.
21. This is the first time I ever got a new cold before the old one was
going: it came yesterday, and appeared in all due forms, eyes and nose
running, etc., and is now very bad; and I cannot tell how I got it. Sir
Andrew Fountaine and I were invited to dine with Mrs. Van. I was this
morning with the Duke of Ormond; and neither he nor I can think of
anything to comfort us in present affairs. We must certainly fall, if
the Duchess of Somerset be not turned out; and nobody believes the Queen
will ever part with her. The Duke and I were settling when Mr. Secretary
and I should dine with him, and he fixes upon Tuesday; and when I came
away I remembered it was Christmas Day. I was to see Lady —, who is just
up after lying-in; and the ugliest sight I have seen, pale, dead, old and
yellow, for want of her paint. She has turned my stomach. But she will
soon be painted, and a beauty again.
22. I find myself disordered with a pain all round the small of my back,
which I imputed to champagne I had drunk; but find it to have been only
my new cold. It was a fine frosty day, and I resolved to walk into the
City. I called at Lord Treasurer’s at eleven, and stayed some time with
him.—He showed me a letter from a great Presbyterian parson {365} to him,
complaining how their friends had betrayed them by passing this
Conformity Bill; and he showed me the answer he had written, which his
friends would not let him send; but was a very good one. He is very
cheerful; but gives one no hopes, nor has any to give. I went into the
City, and there I dined.
23. Morning. As I was dressing to go to church, a friend that was to
see me advised me not to stir out; so I shall keep at home to-day, and
only eat some broth, if I can get it. It is a terrible cold frost, and
snow fell yesterday, which still remains: look there, you may see it from
the penthouses. The Lords made yesterday two or three votes about peace,
and Hanover, of a very angry kind to vex the Ministry, and they will meet
sooner by a fortnight than the Commons; and they say, are preparing some
knocking addresses. Morrow, sirrahs. I’ll sit at home, and when I go to
bed I will tell you how I am.—I have sat at home all day, and eaten only
a mess of broth and a roll. I have written a _Prophecy_, {366a} which I
design to print; I did it to-day, and some other verses.
24. I went into the City to-day in a coach, and dined there. My cold is
going. It is now bitter hard frost, and has been so these three or four
days. My _Prophecy_ is printed, and will be published after Christmas
Day; I like it mightily: I don’t know how it will pass. You will never
understand it at your distance, without help. I believe everybody will
guess it to be mine, because it is somewhat in the same manner with that
of “Merlin” {366b} in the _Miscellanies_. My Lord Privy Seal set out
this day for Holland: he’ll have a cold journey. I gave Patrick half a
crown for his Christmas box, on condition he would be good, and he came
home drunk at midnight. I have taken a memorandum of it, because I never
design to give him a groat more. ’Tis cruel cold.
25. I wish MD a merry Christmas, and many a one; but mine is melancholy:
I durst not go to church to-day, finding myself a little out of order,
and it snowing prodigiously, and freezing. At noon I went to Mrs. Van,
who had this week engaged me to dine there to-day: and there I received
the news that poor Mrs. Long {366c} died at Lynn in Norfolk on Saturday
last, at four in the morning: she was sick but four hours. We suppose it
was the asthma, which she was subject to as well as the dropsy, as she
sent me word in her last letter, written about five weeks ago; but then
said she was recovered. I never was more afflicted at any death. The
poor creature had retired to Lynn two years ago, to live cheap, and pay
her debts. In her last letter she told me she hoped to be easy by
Christmas; and she kept her word, although she meant it otherwise. She
had all sorts of amiable qualities, and no ill ones, but the indiscretion
of too much neglecting her own affairs. She had two thousand pounds left
her by an old grandmother, {367a} with which she intended to pay her
debts, and live on an annuity she had of one hundred pounds a year, and
Newburg House, which would be about sixty pounds more. That odious
grandmother living so long, forced her to retire; for the two thousand
pounds was settled on her after the old woman’s death, yet her brute of a
brother, Sir James Long, {367b} would not advance it for her; else she
might have paid her debts, and continued here, and lived still: I believe
melancholy helped her on to her grave. I have ordered a paragraph to be
put in the _Postboy_, {367c} giving an account of her death, and making
honourable mention of her; which is all I can do to serve her memory: but
one reason was spite; for her brother would fain have her death a secret,
to save the charge of bringing her up here to bury her, or going into
mourning. Pardon all this, for the sake of a poor creature I had so much
friendship for.
26. I went to Mr. Secretary this morning, and he would have me dine with
him. I called at noon at Mrs. Masham’s, who desired me not to let the
_Prophecy_ be published, for fear of angering the Queen about the Duchess
of Somerset; so I writ to the printer to stop them. They have been
printed and given about, but not sold. I saw Lord Treasurer there, who
had been two hours with the Queen; and Mrs. Masham is in hopes things
will do well again. I went at night again, and supped at Mr. Masham’s,
and Lord Treasurer sat with us till one o’clock. So ’tis late, etc.
27. I entertained our Society at the Thatched House Tavern to-day at
dinner; but brother Bathurst sent for wine, the house affording none.
The printer had not received my letter, and so he brought up dozens
apiece of the _Prophecy_; but I ordered him to part with no more. ’Tis
an admirable good one, and people are mad for it. The frost still
continues violently cold. Mrs. Masham invited me to come to-night and
play at cards; but our Society did not part till nine. But I supped with
Mrs. Hill, her sister, and there was Mrs. Masham and Lord Treasurer, and
we stayed till twelve. He is endeavouring to get a majority against next
Wednesday, when the House of Lords is to meet, and the Whigs intend to
make some violent addresses against a peace, if not prevented. God knows
what will become of us.—It is still prodigiously cold; but so I told you
already. We have eggs on the spit, I wish they may not be addled. When
I came home to-night I found, forsooth, a letter from MD, N. 24, 24, 24,
24; there, do you know the numbers now? and at the same time one from
Joe, {368a} full of thanks: let him know I have received it, and am glad
of his success, but won’t put him to the charge of a letter. I had a
letter some time ago from Mr. Warburton, {368b} and I beg one of you will
copy out what I shall tell you, and send it by some opportunity to
Warburton. ’Tis as follows: The Doctor has received Mr. Warburton’s
letter, and desires he will let the Doctor know where {368c} that
accident he mentions is like soon to happen, and he will do what he can
in it.—And pray, madam, let them know that I do this to save myself the
trouble, and them the expense of a letter. And I think that this is
enough for one that comes home at twelve from a Lord Treasurer and Mrs.
Masham. Oh, I could tell you ten thousand things of our mad politics,
upon what small circumstances great affairs have turned. But I will go
rest my busy head.
28. I was this morning with brother Bathurst to see the Duke of Ormond.
We have given his Grace some hopes to be one of our Society. The
Secretary and I and Bathurst are to dine with him on Sunday next. The
Duke is not in much hopes, but has been very busy in endeavouring to
bring over some lords against next Wednesday. The Duchess caught me as I
was going out; she is sadly in fear about things, and blames me for not
mending them by my credit with Lord Treasurer; and I blame her. She met
me in the street at noon, and engaged me to dine with her, which I did;
and we talked an hour after dinner in her closet. If we miscarry on
Wednesday, I believe it will be by some strange sort of neglect. They
talk of making eight new lords by calling up some peers’ eldest sons; but
they delay strangely. I saw Judge Coote {369a} to-day at the Duke of
Ormond’s: he desires to come and see me, to justify his principles.
29. Morning. This goes to-day. I will not answer yours, your 24th,
till next, which shall begin to-night, as usual. Lord Shelburne has sent
to invite me to dinner, but I am engaged with Lewis at Ned Southwell’s.
Lord Northampton and Lord Aylesbury’s sons {369b} are both made peers;
but we shall want more. I write this post to your Dean. I owe the
Archbishop a letter this long time. All people that come from Ireland
complain of him, and scold me for protecting him. Pray, Madam Dingley,
let me know what Presto has received for this year, or whether anything
is due to him for last: I cannot look over your former letters now. As
for Dingley’s own account of her exchequer money, I will give it on
t’other side. Farewell, my own dearest MD, and love Presto; and God ever
bless dearest MD, etc. etc. I wish you many happy Christmases and new
years.
I have owned to the Dean a letter I just had from you, but that I had not
one this great while before.