XLVI. EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. TO J. HOLROYD, ESQ.

Boodle's, Wednesday Evening, March 16th, 1774.

I was this morning with ***. He was positive that the attempt to settle the preliminaries of arbitration by letters, would lead us on to the middle of the summer, and that a meeting was the only practicable measure. I acquiesced, and we blended his epistle and yours into one, which goes by this post. If you can contrive to suit to it your Oxford journey, your presence at the meeting would be received as the descent of a guardian angel.

Very little that is satisfactory has transpired of America. On Monday Lord North moved for leave to bring in a bill to remove the customs and courts of justice from Boston to New Salem; a step so detrimental to the former town, as must soon reduce it to your own terms; and yet of so mild an appearance, that it was agreed to, without a division, and almost without a debate. Something more is, however, intended, and a committee is appointed to inquire into the general state of America. But administration keep their secret as well as that of freemasonry, and, as Coxe profanely suggests, for the

same reason.

Don't you remember that in our pantheon walks we admired the modest beauty of Mrs. ****? Eh bien! alas! she is * * You ask me with whom? With ****, of the guards; both the *****s; **** a steward of 's, her first love, and half the town besides. A meeting of ****'s friends assembled about a week ago, to consult of the best method of acquainting him with his frontal honours. Edmund Burke was named as the orator, and communicated the transaction in a most eloquent speech.

N. B. The same lady, who, at public dinners, appeared to have the most delicate appetite, was accustomed, in her own apartment, to feast on pork steaks and sausages, and to swill porter till she was dead drunk. *** is abused by the *** family, has been bullied by ***, and can prove himself a Cornuto, to the satisfaction of every one but a court of justice. O rare matrimony!

XLVII. THE SAME TO THE SAME.

March 29th, 1774.

America. Had I written Saturday night, as I once intended, fire and sword, oaths of allegiance and high treason tried in England, in consequence of the refusal, would have formed my letter. Lord North, however, opened a most lenient prescription last night; and the utmost attempts towards a new settlement seemed to be no more than investing the governors with a greater share of executive power, nomination of civil officers, (judges, however, for life,) and some regulations of juries. The Boston port bill passed the Lords last night; some lively conversation, but no division.

Bentinck-street.-Rose Fuller was against the Boston port bill, and against his niece's going to Boodle's masquerade.

He was

laughed at in the first instance, but succeeded in the second. Sappho and Fanny very indifferent (as mamma says) about going. They seem of a different opinion. Adieu.

XLVIII. EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. TO J. HOLROYD, ESQ.

April 2nd, 1774.

Dear Holroyd,-You owe me a letter; so this extra goes only to acquaint you with a misfortune that has just happened to poor Clarke, and which he really considers as such, the loss of a very excellent father. The blow was sudden; a thin little man, as abstemious as a hermit, was destroyed by a stroke of apoplexy in his coach, as he was going to dinner. He appeared perfectly well, and only two days before had very good-naturedly dined with us at a tavern, a thing he had not done for many years before. I am the only person Clarke wishes to see, except his own family; and I pass a great part of the day with him. A line from you would be kindly received.

Great news, you see, from India. Tanjore four hundred thousand pounds to the company. Sujah Dowlah six hundred thousand. Adieu.

XLIX. THE SAME TO THE SAME.

April 13th, 1774.

At length I am a little more at liberty. Godfrey Clarke went out of town this morning. Instead of going directly into Derbyshire, where he would have been overwhelmed with visits, &c. he has taken his sister, brother, and aunts, to a villa near Farnham, in which he has the happiness of having no neighbourhood. If my esteem and friendship for Godfrey had been capable of any addition, it would have been very much increased by the manner in which he felt and lamented his father's death. He is now in very different circumstances than before; instead of an easy and ample allowance, he has taken possession of a great estate, with low rents and high incumbrances. I hope the one may make amends for the other: under your conduct I am sure they would, and I have freely offered him your assistance, in case he should wish to apply for it.

In the mean time I must not forget my own affairs, which seem to be covered with inextricable perplexity. *** as I mentioned about a century ago, promised to see * and his attorney, and to

oil the wheels of the arbitration. As yet I have not heard from him. I have some thoughts of writing myself to the jockey, stating the various steps of the affair, and offering him, with polite firmness, the immediate choice of chancery or arbitration.

For the time, however, I forgot all these difficulties, in the present enjoyment of Deyverdun's company; and I glory in thinking, that, although my house is small, it is just of a sufficient size to hold my real friends, male and female; among the latter my lady holds the very first place.

We are all quiet.-American business is suspended, and almost forgot. The other day we had a brisk report of a Spanish war.

It

was said they had taken one of our Leeward Islands. It since turns out, that we are the invaders, but the invasion is trifling.

Bien obligé non (at present) for your invitation. I wish my lady and you would come up to our masquerade the third of May. The finest thing ever seen. We sup in a transparent temple that costs four hundred and fifty pounds.

L.-EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. TO J. HOLROYD, ESQ.

April 21st, 1774.

Dear Holroyd, I begin to flag, and though you already reproach me as a bad correspondent, I much fear that I shall every week become a more hardened sinner. Besides the occasional obstructions of Clarke and Deyverdun, I must entreat you to consider, with your usual candour, 1. The aversion to epistolary conversation, which it has pleased the demon to implant in my nature. 2. That I am a very fine gentleman, a subscriber to the masquerade, where you and my lady ought to come, and am now writing at Boodle's, in a fine velvet coat, with ruffles of my lady's choosing, &c. 3. That the aforesaid fine gentleman is likewise an historian; and, in truth, when I am writing a page, I do not only think it a sufficient reason for delay, but even consider myself as writing for you, and that much more to the purpose than if I were sending you the little tattle of the town, of which indeed there is none stirring. With regard to America, the minister seems moderate, and the house obedient.

last letter, by some unaccountable accident, had never reached me; so that yours, in every instance, amazed me. I immediately dispatched to him groans and approbation.***, however, gives me very little uneasiness. I see that he is a bully, and that I have a stick. But the cursed business of Lenborough, in the midst of study, dissipation, and friendship, at times almost distracts me. I am surely in a worse situation than before I sold the estate, and what distresses me is, that

"His ego nec metas rerum, nec tempora pono."

Both Deyverdun and Clarke wish to be remembered to you. The former, who has more taste for the country than could wish to visit you, but he sets out in a few days for the Continent with Lord Middleton. Adieu.

LI. THE SAME TO THE SAME.

May 4th, 1774.

Dear Holroyd,-Last night was the triumph of Boodle's. Our masquerade cost two thousand guineas; a sum that might have fertilized a province, (I speak in your own style,) vanished in a few hours, but not without leaving behind it the fame of the most splendid and elegant fête that was perhaps ever given in a seat of the arts and opulence. It would be as difficult to describe the magnificence of the scene, as it would be easy to record the humour

of the night. The one was above, the other below, all relation. I left the Pantheon about five this morning, rose at ten, took a good walk, and returned home to a more rational entertainment of Batt, Sir John Russell, and Lascelles, who dined with me. They have left me this moment; and were I to enumerate the things said of Sheffield, it would form a much longer letter than I have any inclination to write. Let it suffice, that Sir John means to pass in Sussex the interval of the two terms. Every thing, in a word, goes on very pleasantly, except the terrestrial business of Lenborough. Last Saturday se'nnight I wrote to * to press him to see and urge the arbitration. He has not condescended to answer me. All is a dead calm, sometimes more fatal than a storm. For God's sake send me advice. Adieu.

LII.—EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. TO MRS. GIBBON, BATH.

Boodle's, May 24th, 1774.

Dear Madam,-Do you remember that there exists in the world one Edward Gibbon, a housekeeper in Bentinck-street? If the standard of writing and of affection were the same, I am sure he would ill deserve it. I do not wish to discover how many days (I am sure I ought to use another word) have elapsed since the date of my last, or even of your last letter; and yet such is the sluggish nature of the beast, that I am afraid nothing but the arrival of Mrs. Bonfoy, and the expectation of Mr. Eliot, could have roused me from my lethargy. The lady gave me great satisfaction, by her general account of your health and spirits, but communicated some uneasiness, by the mention of a little encounter, in the style of one of Don Quixote's, but which proved, I hope, as trifling as you at first imagined it. For my own part, I am well in mind and body, busy with my books, (which may perhaps produce something next year, either to tire or amuse the world,) and every day more satisfied with my present mode of life, which I always believed was calculated to make me happy. My only remaining uneasiness is Lenborough, which is not terminated. By Holroyd's advice, I rather try what may be obtained by a little more patience, than rush at once into the horrors of chancery. But let us talk of something else. Mrs. Porten grows younger every day. You remember, I think, in Newman-street, an agreeable woman, Miss W ****. The under secretary is seriously in love with her, and seriously uneasy that his precarious situation precludes him from happiness. We shall soon see which will get the better, love or reason. I bet three to two on love.

Guess my surprise, when Mrs. Gibbon of Northamptonshire suddenly communicated her arrival. I immediately went to Surreystreet, where she lodged; but though it was no more than half an hour after nine, the saint had finished her evening devotions, and was already retired to rest. Yesterday morning (by appointment) I breakfasted with her at eight o'clock, dined with her to-day at two in Newman-street, and am just returned from setting her down. She is, in truth, a very great curiosity: her dress and figure exceed

any thing we had at the masquerade her language and ideas belong to the last century. However, in point of religion she was rational, that is to say, silent. I do not believe that she asked a single question, or said the least thing concerning it. To me she behaved with great cordiality, and in her way, expressed a great regard.

Mrs. Porten tells me, that she has just written to you. She ought to go to a masquerade once a-year. Did you think her such a girl? I am, dear madam, most truly yours.

LIII.-EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. TO J. HOLROYD, ESQ.

Boodle's, May 24th, 1774.

I wrote three folio pages to you this morning, and yet you complain. Have reason, and have mercy; consider all the excellent reasons for silence which I gave you in one of my last, and expect my arrival in Sussex, when I shall talk more in a quarter of an hour than I could write in a day. A propos of that arrival; never pretend to allure me, by painting in odious colours the dust of London. I love the dust, and whenever I move into the Weald, it is to visit you and my lady, and not your trees. About this day month I mean to give you a visitation. I leave it to Guise, Clarke, and the other light horse, to prance down for a day or two. They all talk of mounting, but will not fix the day. Sir John Russell, whom I salute, has brought you, I suppose, all the news of Versailles. Let me only add, that the mesdames, by attending their father, have both got the small-pox. I can make nothing of ***, or his lawyer. You will swear at the shortness of this letter.-Swear.

LIV. THE SAME TO THE SAME.

Saturday evening, August 27th, 1774.

***

By your submission to the voice of reason, you eased me of a very heavy load of anxiety. I did not like your enterprise. * ****. As to papers, I will show you that I can keep them safe till we meet. What think you of the Turks and Russians? Romanzow is a great man. He wrote an account of his amazing success to Mouskin Pouskin here, and declared his intention of retiring as soon as he had conducted the army home; desiring that Pouskin would send him the best plan he could procure of an English gentleman's farm. In his answer, Pouskin promised to get it; but added, that at the same time he should send the Empress a plan of Blenheim. A handsome compliment, I think. My lady and Maria, as usual.

LV. THE SAME TO THE SAME.

Since Heberden is returned, I you; I mean the turnpike road. sense can be embraced is, without

Bentinck-street, Sept. 10th, 1774. think the road lies plain before The only party which in good delay, to bring my lady to Ben