(858) Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, in a letter to her daughter, dated Venice, April 3, says, "Sir James Grey was universally esteemed during his residence here: but, alas! he is gone to Naples. I wish the maxims of Queen Elizabeth were revived, who always chose men whose birth or behaviour would make the nation respected, people being apt to look upon them as a sample of their countrymen. If those now employed are so— Lord have mercy upon us! How much the nation has suffered by false intelligence, I believe you are very sensible of; and how impossible it is to obtain truth either from a fool or a knave." Works, Vol. iii. P. 155.-E.
(859) The Earl of Bristol was at this time British Minister at the court of Turin. He was appointed ambassador extraordinary to the court of Spain in the following June.-E.
411 Letter 253 To Dr. Ducarel. Arlington Street, January 12, 1758.
I have the pleasure to let you know, that his grace the Archbishop(860) has, with the greatest politeness and goodness, sent me word, by the dean of Exeter, that he gives me leave to have the illumination copied, on a receipt either at your chambers, or at my own house, giving you a receipt for it. As the former would be so inconvenient to me as to render this favour useless, I have accepted the latter with great joy; and will send a gentleman of the exchequer, my own deputy, to you, Sir@ on Monday next, with my receipt, and shall beg the favour of you to deliver the MS. to him, Mr. Bedford. I would wait On you myself, but have caught cold at the visit I made you yesterday, and am besides going to Strawberry Hill, from whence I propose to bring you a little print, which was never sold, and not to be had from any body else; which is, the arms of the two Clubs at Arthur's;(861) a print exceedingly in request last year. When I have more leisure, for at this time of the year I am much hurried, I shall be able, I believe, to pick you out some other curiosities; and am, Sir, etc.
(860) Dr. Matthew Hutton. He died in the following April, and was succeeded in the archbishopric by Dr. Secker.
(861) Designed by Mr. Walpole's friend, Lord Edgecumbe, and engraved by Grinion.
412 Letter 254 To Sir Horace Mann. Arlington Street, Feb. 9, 1758.
One would not have believed that I could so long have wanted something to form a letter; but I think politics are gone into winter-quarters: Mr. Pitt is in bed with the gout, and the King of Prussia writing sonnets to Voltaire; but his Majesty's lyre is not half so charming as his sword: if he does not take care, Alexander will ride home upon his verses. All England has kept his birthday; it has taken its place in our calendar next to Admiral Vernon's(862) and my Lord Blakeney's; and the people, I believe, begin to think that Prussia is some part of' Old England. We had bonfires and processions, illuminations and French horns playing out of windows all night.
In the mean time there have been some distant grumblings of a war with Spain, which seem blown over: a new Russian army in March has taken its place. The Duke of Richelieu is said to be banished for appropriating some contributions(863) to his own use: if he does not take care to prove that he meant to make as extravagant a use of them as ever Marquis Catiline did, it will be a very bourgeoise termination of such a gallant life! By the rage of expense in our pleasures, in the midst of such dearness and distress, one would think we had opportunities of contributions too! The simple Duke of St. Albans,(864) who is retired to Brussels for debt, has made a most sumptuous funeral in public for a dab of five months old that he had by his cookmaid. But our glaring extravagance is the CONSTANT high price given for pictures: the other day at Mr. Furnese's(865) auction a very small Gaspar sold for seventy-six guineas; and a Carlo Maratti, which too I am persuaded was a Giuseppe Chiari, lord Egremont bought at the rate of two hundred and sixty pounds. Mr. Spencer(866) gave no less than two thousand two hundred pounds for the Andrea Sacchi and the Guido from the same collection. The latter is of very dubious originality: my father, I think, preferred the Andrea Sacchi to his own Guido, and once offered seven hundred pounds for it, but Furnese said, "Damn him, it is for him; he shall pay a thousand." There is a pewterer, one Cleeve, who some time ago gave one thousand pounds for four very small Dutch pictures. I know- but one dear picture not sold, Cooper's head of Oliver Cromwell, an unfinished miniature; they asked me four hundred pounds for it! But pictures do not monopolize extravagance; I have seen a little ugly shell called a Ventle-trap sold for twenty-seven guineas. However, to do us justice, we have magnificence too that is well judged. The Palmyra and Balbec are noble works to be undertaken and executed by private men.(867) There is now established a Society for the encouragement of Arts, Sciences, and Commerce, that is likely to be very serviceable;(868) and I was pleased yesterday with a very grand seigneurial design of the Duke of Richmond,(869) who has collected a great many fine casts of the best antique statues, has placed them in a large room in his garden, and designs to throw it open to encourage drawing. I have offered him to let my eagle be cast.
Adieu! If any thing happens, I will not, nor ever do wait for a regular interval Of Writing to you.