(741) Mr. Pitt.
356 Letter 207 To Sir Horace Mann. Arlington Street, Dec. 23, 1756.
I KNOW I can no more add to your concern than to my own, by giving you the last account of your dear brother, who put a period to our anxious suspense in the night between the 20th and 21st. For the five last days he had little glimmerings of amendment, that gave hopes to some of his friends, terror to me, who dreaded his sensibility coming to Itself! When I had given up his life, I could not bear the return of his tenderness! Sure he had felt enough for his friends—yet he would have been anxious for them if he had recovered his senses. He has left your brothers Edward, James, and Foote,(742) his executors; to his daughters 7500 pounds a-piece, and the entail of his estate in succession—to a name I beg we may never mention, 700 pounds a-year, 4000 pounds and his furniture, etc. Your brother James, a very worthy man, though you never can have two Gals. desired me to give you this account—' how sad a return for the two letters I have received from you this week! Be assured, my dear Sir, that nothing could have saved his life. For your sake and my own I hurry from this dreadful subject-not for the amusement of' either, or that I have any thing to tell you: my letter shall be very short, for I am stabbing you with a dagger used on myself!
Mr. Pitt has not been able to return to Parliament for the gout, which has prevented our having one long day; we adjourn to-morrow for a fortnight; yet scarce to meet then for business, as a call of the House is not appointed till the 20th of January; very late indeed, were any inquiries probable: this advantage I hope will be gained, that our new ministers will have a month's time to think of their country.
Adieu! my dear Sir, this letter was necessary for me to write-
-I find it as necessary to finish it.
(742) Mr. Foote married the second sister of Mr. Mann; as his brother, a clergyman, afterwards did the third.
356 Letter 208 To Sir Horace Mann. Arlington Street, January 6, 1757.
I live in dread of receiving your unhappy letters! I am sensible how many, many reasons you have to lament your dear brother; yet your long absence will prevent the loss of him from leaving so sharp a sting as it would have done had you seen as much of him as I have of late years! When I wrote to you, I did not know his last instance Of love to you;(743) may you never have occasion to use it!
I wish I could tell you any politics to abstract your thoughts from your concern; but just at present all political conversation centres in such a magazine of abuse, as was scarce ever paralleled. Two papers, called the "Test" and "Contest," appear every Saturday, the former against Mr. Pitt, the latter against Mr. Fox, which make me recollect-,' "Fogs" and "Craftsmen" as harmless libels. The authors are not known; Doddington(744) is believed to have the chief hand in the "Test,"(745) which is much the best, unless virulence is to bestow the laurel. He has been turned out by the opposite faction, and has a new opportunity of revenge, being just become a widower. The best part of his fortune is entailed on lord Temple if he has no son; but I suppose he would rather marry a female hawker than not propagate children and lampoons. There is another paper, called "The Monitor,"(746) written by one Dr. Shebbeare, who made a pious resolution of writing himself into a place or the pillory,(747) but having miscarried in both views, is wreaking his resentment on the late Chancellor, who might have gratified him in either of his objects. The Parliament meets to-morrow, but as Mr. Pitt cannot yet walk, we are not likely soon to have any business. Admiral Byng's trial has been in agitation above these ten days, and is supposed an affair of length: I think the reports are rather unfavourable to him, though I do not find that it is believed he will be capitally punished. I will tell you my sentiments, I don't know whether judicious or not: it may perhaps take a great deal of time to prove he was not a coward; I should think it would not take half an hour to prove he had behaved bravely.
Your old royal guest King Theodore is gone to the place which it is said levels kings and beggars; an unnecessary journey for him, who had already fallen from one to the other; I think he died somewhere in the liberties of the Fleet.(748)