Private Letters of Edward Gibbon (1753-1794) Volume 1 (of 2)

101.

To his Stepmother

    Grosvenor Street, Tuesday evening.

Dear Madam,

THE LORD MAYOR IN THE TOWER.

I write a very few lines with a very bad pen at a very late hour, to say that my cold is a great deal better, that I hope you will get some company at Beriton, were it even Miss Higgons, that I hope William has got the better of his gout, and that we are all in confusion with the Idea of sending a Lord Mayor to the Tower. I hope Bricknall is returned and that he goes on with vigour.

    I am, Dear Madam,
    Most truly yours,
    E. G.

102.

To his Stepmother

    Boodle's, March 29th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

I have let slip some posts without writing, and I can hardly say why I have done so. Nothing of business has occurred; I am sure you are well convinced how much I interest myself in your health, your amusements, how much I wish you had some company at Beriton. Why cannot you get the Roberts from the Isle of Wight?

As to my own cold it has at length been tired of keeping me company. The news of the town are great. You know that two wild beasts have been sent to the Menagerie in the Tower,[Footnote_138_138 - On March 14, 1771, the House of Commons ordered that the printer of the London Evening Post be taken into the custody of the sergeant-at-arms. He was arrested by the messenger of the House under the Speaker's warrant; but was discharged from custody, and the messenger committed, by the city magistrates. For this breach of privilege Alderman Richard Oliver, M.P. for the City, was committed to the Tower by order of the House of Commons, March 25, 1771. Thu Lord Mayor, Brass Crosby, was committed on March 27.] but such beasts are hardly worth speaking of. – Tregus of course goes on breaking in the colt, and I hope with regard to that and everything else at Beriton you will be so good as to issue your orders, and to believe me

    Most truly yours,
    E. Gibbon.

103.

To his Stepmother

    Pall Mall, April 13th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

I am much obliged to you for the Certificate, but it came too late to be of any service to my poor Chaise. Whilst I was in the country, a regular process in the Exchequer (a matter of form) was commenced, and the date of the payment in the Country was too late. Mr. G. Scott whom I consulted read me a lecture on the heinous sin of cheating Government, and the business ended in my paying the tax with all its arrears, sixteen pounds.

Mrs. Denton's invitation gives me great pleasure, as I am persuaded that Bath, if you can settle there in a manner agreeable to yourself, will be a very proper and a very convenient place. I must add, though I hope there is no occasion to say it, that nothing in my power shall be wanting to make it so.

MASQUERADE AT SOHO.

Are all the poor sheep at Havant dead of the rot? We are frightened in town with the apprehensions of famine, and it is said there is no probability of a tolerable harvest. Wheat in that melancholy prospect must be rising, and I should think – but I have no sort of business to think – and am sure you will give your order with a much more enlightened zeal for our Interest than I could possibly do myself.

Mrs. Eliot is in town, I dined with them last Sunday. They say, as usual, every thing that is proper on every occasion. The next day (Monday) I dined with Sir Matthew [Featherstonhaugh], and last night I passed in a gay varied scene called a Masquerade at Soho.[Footnote_139_139 - The Soho masquerades were given at Carlisle House by Mrs. Theresa Cornelys, whom Walpole calls "the Heidegger of the age." It was here that, the year before, the Duke of Gloucester appeared as Edward IV. with Lady Waldegrave as Elizabeth Woodville.] There will be another next week, at the Haymarket, and yet we have had no Earthquake.

    I am, dear Madam,
    Most truly yours,
    E. G.

104.

To his Stepmother

    Pall Mall, April 27th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

It is very near eleven o'clock, and you know that I am a very dry Writer. I only wish to tell you that I am well, and that I hope you are so.

How do you like Sir John Dalrymple?[Footnote_140_140 - Sir John Dalrymple published in 1771 the two first volumes of his Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland. His style was parodied by Dr. Johnson, who said, "Nothing can be poorer than his mode of writing; it is the mere bouncing of a schoolboy!"] I hope Bricknall is not idle, and should think it high time for him to have done.

    I am, dear Madam,
    Most truly yours,
    E. G.

105

To his Stepmother

    Pall Mall, May the 4th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

I am rather vexed than disappointed at the delays of the formal Mr. Bricknall. All men of business are like him when they know you cannot easily get out of their hands. Mr. Newton in town, tho' far preferable to old Southouse, is full of delays and avocations. I press him as much as I can to get through the Writings, and hope you will be so good as to do the same both in your own name and in mine with the aforesaid Bricknall.

You know that the country merely in itself has no charms for me, and I do not see that as yet my presence can be of any use. I therefore propose staying here the remainder of the month; towards the middle of it I shall see my friend Holroyd, who is obliged upon some particular business to make the tour of Ireland, Scotland and Yorkshire,[Footnote_141_141 - Mr. Holroyd owned property in Ireland, and at Greave Hall, near Ferrybridge, in Yorkshire.] but who will certainly be at Beriton, as the active little man writes me word, by the end of June. By that time I hope we may persuade Mr. Scott to make us a visit, which may in many respects be of use. In the mean time I am only concerned at the solitary life you lead there, and though nobody that I know possesses more resources against the complaint of Ennui, yet I could wish you had more living company than Sir John Dalrymple. Surely Mrs. or at least Miss Roberts could come over. In the mean time I have sent you Robertson's book,[Footnote_142_142 - William Robertson (1721-1793) published in 1758 his History of Scotland during the Reigns of Queen Mary and James VI., and in 1769 his History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles the Fifth.] in which I think you will find much entertainment and information.

Mrs. Eliott, with whom I dined yesterday, told me she had just wrote to you. I suppose she acquainted you with the doubtful tho' pleasing suspense they are in since Colonel Nugent's death.[Footnote_143_143 - Lieutenant-Colonel Nugent, of the 1st Foot Guards, son to Viscount Clare, and groom of the bedchamber to the king, died at Bath, April 26, 1771. The Eliots were connected with Lord Clare through the Craggs family.] We are amazing friends, and I am actually employed in fishing out intelligence for them, by the means of my connections with Lord Berkeley.

    I am, with best Wishes to William,
    Dear Madam,
    Most truly yours,
    E. G.

106.

To his Stepmother

    May the 13th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

THE PRICE OF WHEAT.

I believe I must write to that old fellow Mr. Bricknall who cannot measure the Estate, pour trois raisons; however in time he must finish it, and we are so far engaged with him, that there is no retreating. As to the Wheat, I think that there can be no doubt about selling at the present advanced price, but in that and every thing else I beg you would use your own judgment, and that you would be convinced how much I think myself obliged to you for using it. With regard to the Servants I could not avoid giving Richard a Livery, and think that the other servants ought to have theirs, at least of the slightest kind.