Athenæum, Feb. 25. 1850.
"Paris, July 28. 1771.
"Dear S'r.
"I have received no letter from my brother, and consequently have no
answer to make to him. I shall only say that after entering into a
solemn engagement with me, that we should dispose of the places
alternately, I can scarce think him serious, when he tells you he has
made an _entirely_ new arrangement for ALL the places, expects I shoud
concur in it; and after that, is so good as to promise he will dispose
of no more without consulting me. If He is so absolutely master of all,
my concurrence is not necessary, _and I will give none_. If he chuses to
dispose of the places without me, That matter with others _more
important_, must be regulated in another manner,--and it is time they
shoud, when no agreement is kept with me, and I find objections made
which, upon the fullest discussion and after allowance of the force of
my arguments and right, had been given up twenty years ago.
"With regard to your letter, S'r, some parts of it are, I protest,
totally unintelligible to me. Others, which I think I do understand,
require a much fuller answer than I have time to give now, as the post
goes out to-morrow morning. That answer will contain matter not at all
fit for the Post, and which I am sure you woud not wish shoud be handled
there; for which reason I shall defer it, till I can give my answer at
length into your own hands. It will, I believe, surprize both you and my
brother; and show how unkindly I have been {274} treated after doing
everything to accommodate both. As to the conditions which you say, S'r,
you intend to exact from my brother, you will undoubtedly state them to
him himself; and cannot expect I should meddle with them or be party to
them. Neither you nor he can imagine that I am quite so tame an idiot as
to enter into bonds for persons of _his_ recommendation. If the office
is _his_, he must be answerable for it, and for all the persons he
employs in it. I protest against every thing that is not my own act--a
consequence he perhaps did not foresee, when he chose, contrary to his
agreement with me, to engross the whole disposition. I have always known
clearly what is my own right and on what founded; and have acted
strictly according to my right, and am ready to justify every step of my
conduct. I have sufficiently shown my disposition to peace, and appeal
to you yourself, S'r, and to my brother, whether either can charge me
with the least encroachment beyond my right; and whether I have not
acquiesced in every single step that either has desired of me. Your
letter, S'r, and that you quote of my brother, have shown how necessary
it is for me to take the measure I am determined to take. I would have
done any thing to oblige either you or my brother, but I am not to be
threatened out of my right in any shape. I know when it is proper to
yield and when to take my stand. I refused to accept the place for my
own life when it was offered to me: when I declined _that_, it is not
probable that I would hold the place to the wrong of anybody else; it
will and _must_ be seen who claims any part or prerogatives of the place
unjustly; my honour demands to have this ascertained, and I will add,
that when I scorned a favour, I am not likely to be intimidated by a
menace.
"I say all this coolly and deliberately, and my actions will be
conformable. I do not forget my obligations to you, dear S'r, or to your
dead brother, whose memory will ever be most dear to me. Unkind
expressions shall not alter the affection I have for you and your
family, nor am I so unreasonable, so unjust, or so absurd as not to
approve your doing every thing you think right for your own interest and
security and for those of your family. What I have to say hereafter will
prove that these not only are but _ever have been_ my sentiments. I
shall then appeal to your own truth whether it is just in you to have
used some expressions in your letter, but as I mean to act with the
utmost circumspection and without a grain of resentment to _anybody_, I
shall say no more till I have had full time to weigh every word I shall
use, and every step I mean to take. In the meantime I am,
"Dear S'r,
"Yr obliged humble serv't,
"HOR. WALPOLE.
"P.S. My refusal of the patent for my life has shown what value I set
upon it; but _I will_ have justice, especially for my character, which
no consideration upon earth shall prevent my seeking. It must and shall
be known whether I enjoy the place to the wrong of any man living. You
have my free consent, S'r, to show this letter to whom you please; I
have nothing to conceal, and am ready to submit my conduct to the whole
world."
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