21. I was to−day with my printer, to give him a little pamphlet I have written, but not politics. It will be out by Monday. If it succeeds, I will tell you of it; otherwise, not. We had a prodigious thaw to−day, as bad as rain; yet I walked like a good boy all the way. The Bishop of Dromore still draws breath, but cannot live two days longer. My large book lies flat. Some people think a great part of it ought not to be now printed. I believe I told you so before. This letter shall not go till Saturday, which makes up the three weeks exactly; and I allow MD six weeks, which are now almost out; so oo must know I expect a rettle vely soon, and that MD is vely werr;[25] and so nite, dee MD.
22. This is one of our Court days, and I was there. I told you there is a Drawing−room, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The Hamiltons and Abercorns have done teasing me. The latter, I hear, is actually going to France. Lord Treasurer quarrelled with me at Court for being four days without dining with him; so I dined there to−day, and he has at last fallen in with my project (as he calls it) of coining halfpence and farthings, with devices, like medals, in honour of the Queen, every year changing the device. I wish it may be done. Nite MD.
23. The Duke of Ormond and I appointed to dine with Ned Southwell to−day, to talk of settling your affairs of Parliament in Ireland, but there was a mixture of company, and the Duke of Ormond was in haste, and nothing was done. If your Parliament meets this summer, it must be a new one; but I find some are of opinion there should be none at all these two years. I will trouble myself no more about it. My design was to serve the Duke of Ormond. Dr. Pratt and I sat this evening with the Bishop of Clogher, and played at ombre for threepences. That, I suppose, is but low with you. I found, at coming home, a letter from MD, N.37. I shall not answer it zis bout, but will the next. I am sorry for poo poo Ppt. Pray walk hen oo can. I have got a terrible new cold before my old one was quite gone, and don’t know how. Pay. . . . [26] I shall have DD’s money soon from the Exchequer. The Bishop of Dromore is dead now at last. Nite, dee MD.
24. I was at Court to−day, and it was comical to see Lord Abercorn bowing to me, but not speaking, and Lord Selkirk the same.[27] I dined with Lord Treasurer and his Saturday Club, and sat with him two hours after the rest were gone, and spoke freer to him of affairs than I am afraid others do, who might do more good. All his LETTER 58.[1]
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friends repine, and shrug their shoulders; but will not deal with him so freely as they ought. It is an odd business; the Parliament just going to sit, and no employments given. They say they will give them in a few days. There is a new bishop made of Hereford;[28] so Ossory[29] is disappointed. I hinted so to his friends two months ago, to make him leave off deluding himself, and being indiscreet, as he was. I have just time to send this, without giving to the bellman. Nite deelest richar MD. . . . dee MD MD MD FW FW FW ME ME
ME Lele Lele Lele.
My second cold is better now. Lele lele lele lele.
LETTER 59.[1]
LONDON, Jan. 25, 1712−1713.
We had such a terrible storm to−day, that, going to Lord Bolingbroke’s, I saw a hundred tiles fallen down; and one swinger fell about forty yards before me, that would have killed a horse: so, after church and Court, I walked through the Park, and took a chair to Lord Treasurer’s. Next door to his house, a tin chimneytop had fallen down, with a hundred bricks. It is grown calm this evening. I wonder had you such a wind to−day? I hate it as much as any hog does. Lord Treasurer has engaged me to dine again with him to−morrow. He has those tricks sometimes of inviting me from day to day, which I am forced to break through. My little pamphlet[2] is out: ’tis not politics. If it takes, I say again you shall hear of it. Nite dee logues.
26. This morning I felt a little touch of giddiness, which has disordered and weakened me with its ugly remains all this day. Pity Pdfr. After dinner at Lord Treasurer’s, the French Ambassador, Duke d’Aumont, sent Lord Treasurer word that his house was burnt down to the ground. It took fire in the upper rooms, while he was at dinner with Monteleon, the Spanish Ambassador, and other persons; and soon after Lord Bolingbroke came to us with the same story. We are full of speculations upon it, but I believe it was the carelessness of his French rascally servants. ‘Tis odd that this very day Lord Somers, Wharton, Sunderland, Halifax, and the whole club of Whig lords, dined at Pontack’s[3] in the City, as I received private notice.
They have some damned design. I tell you another odd thing; I was observing it to Lord Treasurer, that he was stabbed on the day King William died; and the day I saved his life, by opening the bandbox,[4] was King William’s birthday. My friend Mr. Lewis has had a lie spread on him by the mistake of a man, who went to another of his name, to give him thanks for passing his Privy Seal to come from France.[5] That other Lewis spread about that the man brought him thanks from Lord Perth and Lord Melfort (two lords with the Pretender), for his great services, etc. The Lords will examine that t’other Lewis to−morrow in council; and I believe you will hear of it in the prints, for I will make Abel Roper give a relation of it. Pray tell me if it be necessary to write a little plainer; for I looked over a bit of my last letter, and could hardly read it. I’ll mend my hand, if oo please: but you are more used to it nor I, as Mr. Raymond says. Nite MD.
27. I dined to−day with Lord Treasurer: this makes four days together; and he has invited me again to−morrow, but I absolutely refused him. I was this evening at a christening with him of Lord Dupplin’s[6]
daughter. He went away at ten; but they kept me and some others till past twelve; so you may be sure ’tis late, as they say. We have now stronger suspicions that the Duke d’Aumont’s house was set on fire by malice. I was to−day to see Lord Keeper, who has quite lost his voice with a cold. There Dr. Radcliffe told me that it was the Ambassador’s confectioner set the house on fire by boiling sugar, and going down and letting it boil over. Yet others still think differently; so I know not what to judge. Nite my own deelest MD, rove Pdfr.
28. I was to−day at Court, where the Spanish Ambassador talked to me as if he did not suspect any design in burning d’Aumont’s house: but Abbe Gaultier, Secretary for France here, said quite otherwise; and that d’Aumont had a letter the very same day to let him know his house should be burnt, and they tell several other circumstances too tedious to write. One is, that a fellow mending the tiles just when the fire broke out, saw a LETTER 59.[1]
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pot with wildfire[7] in the room. I dined with Lord Orkney. Neither Lord Abercorn nor Selkirk will now speak with me. I have disobliged both sides. Nite dear MD.
29. Our Society met to−day, fourteen of us, and at a tavern. We now resolve to meet but once a fortnight, and have a Committee every other week of six or seven, to consult about doing some good. I proposed another message to Lord Treasurer by three principal members, to give a hundred guineas to a certain person, and they are to urge it as well as they can. We also raised sixty guineas upon our own Society; but I made them do it by sessors,[8] and I was one of them, and we fitted our tax to the several estates. The Duke of Ormond pays ten guineas, and I the third part of a guinea; at that rate, they may tax as often as they please. Well, but I must answer oor rettle, ung oomens: not yet; ’tis rate now, and I can’t tind it. Nite deelest MD.
30. I have drank Spa waters this two or three days; but they do not pass, and make me very giddy. I an’t well; faith, I’ll take them no more. I sauntered after church with the Provost to−day to see a library to be sold, and dined at five with Lord Orkney. We still think there was malice in burning d’Aumont’s house. I hear little Harrison[9] is come over; it was he I sent to Utrecht. He is now Queen’s Secretary to the Embassy, and has brought with him the Barrier Treaty, as it is now corrected by us, and yielded to by the Dutch, which was the greatest difficulty to retard the peace. I hope he will bring over the peace a month hence, for we will send him back as soon as possible. I long to see the little brat, my own creature. His pay is in all a thousand pounds a year, and they have never paid him a groat, though I have teased their hearts out. He must be three or four hundred pounds in debt at least, the brat! Let me go to bed, sollahs.Nite dee richar MD.