From Albury she had brought Lydia’s second daughter, Bessie—
“Not so handsome as her sister whom you have seen, but she is fair and well shaped, very sensible and of a sweet disposition, and though but ten years of age, reads and writes well, and has made a great progress in arithmetic.”
To this letter Gilbert West answers on May 30—
“Mr. Pitt, as you will easily imagine from your own experience, received and entertained us with great politeness, and something still more pleasing and solid, with every mark of friendship and esteem. He had provided for me a wheeling chair, by the help of which I was enabled to visit every sequestered nook, dingle and bosky bower from side to side in that little paradise opened in the wild, and by the help of my imagination doubled the pleasure I received from the various Beauties of Art and Nature, by recalling and participating the past pleasure of a certain person,[12] some of whose remarks and sayings Mr. Pitt repeated with a secret pride, and I heard with equal admiration and delight. The weather indeed was not so favourable to us as we could have wished.... Molly[13] indeed, who has an insatiable ardour in viewing a fine place, and an almost implicit faith in Mr. Pitt’s taste and judgment, stole out often by herself, and in defiance of wind or rain walked many times over the enchanting round.... Kitty[14] has seemed to be inspired with an unusual flow of spirits, which not only emboldened her to undertake, but enabled her also to complete the tour, which I was forced to make in my chair, attended by her, Molly, and Mr. Pitt.”
[12] Mrs. Montagu, who had been on a visit to Mr. Pitt.
[13] Miss West, his sister.
[14] Mrs. West.
In the reply occurs the following passage:—
“I am very glad you and Mrs. West went over every part of South Lodge, as you see with more judgment you must see with more pleasure than I did, and I think there can hardly be a finer entertainment not only to the eyes but to the mind, than so sweet and peaceful a scene. I was surprised to hear Mr. Pitt say he had never spent an entire week there, this shows one that a person who has an active mind and is qualified for the busy scene of life, need not fear any excess in the love of retirement.”
CAPTAIN ROBERT ROBINSON — “CHINESE POMP”