peace. The dismission of a most popular administration, a leaven
of Bute, whom, too, he can never trust, and the numbers he will
discontent, will be considerable objects against him.
For my own part, I am much pleased, and much more diverted.
I have nothing to do but to sit by and laugh ; a humour you know
I am apt to indulge. You shall heftr fit)m me again soon.
1064. TO SIR HORACE MANN.
Ariington Street, Jtdy 11, 1766.
I HOPE you have minded me, and are prepared. Nay, if you did
but calculate, you must have expected a revolution. Why, it was a
* On the 7tli, tha King addressed a letter to Mr. Pitt {Chatham Correspondence, ii.
486), expressing a desire to hare his thooglitB liow an able and dignified ministry
might be formed, and requesting him to oome to town for tluit purpose. — Wbioht.
^ " Here are great bustles at court," writes Lord Chesterfield, on the 11th, "and a
great change of persons is certainly Tery near. My conjecture is, that, be the new
settlement what it will, Mr. Pitt will be at the head of it. If he is, I presume, qu'il
aura mis de I'eau dans son vin par rapport 2k Mylord Bute : when that shall oome tO'
be known, as known it certainly will soon be, he may bid adieu to his popularity.** —
Wbioht.
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^10 HORACE WALPOLE'S LBTTBES. [1766.
year yesterday that the Ministers had held their places. Surely yon
^d not think that Secretaries of State and Lords of the Treasury
are of more importance, or ought to be more permanent than church-
wardens ! If you did, you do not know my Lord Bute. As Petu-
lant says of Millamant and her lovers, he makes no more of making
ministers than of making card-matches.
The late Ministers — ^I talk of those who were in of&ce three days
ago, stuck to their text ; that is, would not bow the knee to the idol
that keeps behind the veil of the sanctuary. They were content to
have shown some civilities to one or two of his family, and asked
the King if there was anybody his Majesty wished particularly to
have placed ? It was now too late : the answer was " No ! " On
Sunday last, without any commimication to the Ministers, the Chan-
cellor [Northington], who can smell a storm, and who has probably
bargained for beginning it, told the King that he would resign. The
Ministers saw this was a signal of something, though they did not
know what ; and having found of late that they could obtain no
necessary powers for strengthening themselves, determined to resign.
They should have done so on Wednesday ; but the old obstacle,
Newcastle, and one or two more, prevailed to defer their resolutioD
till to-day. Mr. Conway alone had determined, when he should
quit, to recommend sending for Mr. Pitt. To their great surprise,
when they severally went into the closet, the King, sans /o^ohj
declared that he had sent for Mr. Pitt. Mr. Conway replied, that
he was very glad of it, and hoped it would answer. To him much
graoiousness was used ; he was told that it was hoped never to see
an administration of which he should not be part. This looks as if
the plan was arranged, and that he was to remain ; for a cool leave,
very cool, was taken of all the rest.
You have now the sum total of all I know, except that, half an
hour ago, I heard Mr. Pitt was arrived. What his list will be is a
profound secret. Probably, it will be picked and culled from all
quarters. If the symptom of an arrangement being settled, which
I mentioned above, had not appeared, I should say, " Stay, this is
not the first time that Mr. Pitt has been sent for, and gone back
re in/ectd,*' Oh! but though they are not cured of sending for
him, he may be cured of going back. Well, but on the other side,
his scheme of breaking all parties may not succeed — pray don't
think I mean that the constituents of parties are all men of honour,
and will not violate their connections. No; but the very self-interest
that would tempt them to desert may at last keep them together.
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17G6.1 TO SIB HORACE MANN. 511
Men will find out that the tenure of places is too precarious. It
grows not worth while to let themselves be dragged through every
kennel for the salary of a single year.
There may be another difficulty. Will Mr. Pitt propose Lord
Temple for the Treasury? Will he take itP Will he accept
without George Grenville P And will the latter serve under both ?
Can these three act together ? Will Grenville be endured when Mi\
Pitt is called, only to avoid being forced to call for Grenville ? Oh, I
oould ask you, or you may ask me, twenty other questions, that
I cannot answer, and that a few days will. What will popularity
say to the union of Pitt and Bute P Will Mr. Pitt's fortune salve
that P Will it please the nation to see him sacrifice a most popular
administration to the favourite, who fall, because they withstood the
favourite P Truly, I do not yet know; but one thing I do know, that
Mr. Pitt must disoblige so many more than he can content, that by
this day twelvemonth I may probably send you another revolution.
As to you, my dear Sir, I am not apprehensive for you. This is
not one of those state-quakes that reach to Foreign Ministers.
Mr. Pitt is not a man of vengeance ; nor, were he, could ho
have any animosity to you. Had the former Ministry returned
I would not have warranted you; the favour you received fix)m
Mr. CJonway may have been noted down in their black book, and
the Red Eiband would have added another dash. In all cases you
had better not say much in answer to this. The new plan may
blow up before it takes place, and what might succeed it, is impos-
sible to guess. I will write to you again as soon as anything is
settled, or if the machine faUs to pieces in the erection.
You will soon see at Florence the son of Madame de Boufflcrs, to
whom I have been desired to give a letter. As I conclude the new
French minister,* who is much connected with his mother, will be
at Florence before his arrival, he will not have great occasion for
your civilities. However, for once I will beg you rather to exceed
in them, for particular reasons. His mother is the mistress, and
very desirous of being the wife, of the Prince of Conti. She is a
sgavante, phUosophe, author, bei esprit, what you please, and has been
twice in England, where she has some great admirers. She was
v^ery civil to me at Paris, and at the same time very unpleasant, for
being a protectress of Rousseau, she was extremely angry, and made
the Prince of Conti so, at the letter I wrote to him in the name of
' MoDtieiur De Barbuitane.— Walfolb.
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^
5:2 HORACE WALPOLB*S LETTERS [17««.
the King of Prussia. It was made up, but I believe not at aL
itii^given, for it is unpardonable to be too quick-sighted, and to detect
anybody's idol. Rousseau has answered all I thought and said of
him, by a most weak and passionate answer to my letter, which
showed I' had touched his true sore ; and since, by the most abomi-
nable and ungrateful abuse of Mr. Hume, the second idol of Madame
de Boufflers, to whom she had consigned the first. This new
behaviour of Rousseau will not justify me in her eyes, becaui«
it makes me more in the right ; therefore I should wish, as the only
proper return to a woman, to be of use to her son. Adieu !
1065. TO SIR HORACE MANN.
AriingUm Street, Jtdy 11, 1766.
The Gomte de Boufflers, who does me the honour of carrying this
letter, is the gentleman for whom I have already told you I interest
myself so much. His birth and his rank, added to the uncommon
merits and talents of the Countess, his mother, will everywhere
procure him the proper distinctions. If Madame de Boufflers has
done me the honour of asking what she is pleased to call a recom-
mendatory letter of her son to you, you may be sure I had not the
vanity of accepting such an honour with any other view than to
procure you so agreeable an acquaintance. You are too just to merit
of all nations to estimate it by countries ; and yet if you can find a
way of being more civil than ordinary, I must b^ that art may be
employed for the amusement and service of Monsieur de Boufflers
while he is at Florence. Madame de Boufflers has done so much
honour to England and Englishmen, that you will be a very bad
representative of both if you do not endeavour to pay some of our
debts to her son. Adieu ! my dear Sir.
ifiNT) OF VOL. IV
PKINTBD BY BALLANTYNB, HANSON AND 00^
LONDON AND BOrNBURCH
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