its divine old mistress. If one could honour her more than one. did before, it would be to see with what religion she keeps up the old dwelling and customs, as well as old servants, who you may imagine do not love her less than other people do. The garden is just as sir John Germain brought it from Holland; pyramidal yews, treillages, and square cradle walks with windows clipped in them. Nobody was there but Mr. Beauclerc and lady Catherine, and two parsons: the two first suffered us to ransack and do as we would, and the two last assisted us, informed us, and carried us to every tomb in the neighbourhood. I have got every circumstance by heart, and was pleased beyond my expectation, both with the place and the comfortable way of seeing it. We staid here till after dinner to-day, and saw Fotheringhay in our way hither. The castle is totally ruined." The mount, on which the keep stood, two door-cases, and a piece of the moat, are all the remains. Near it is a front and two projections of an ancient house, which, by the arms about it, I suppose was part of the palace of Richard and Cicely, duke and duchess of York. There are two pretty tombs for them and their uncle duke of York in the church, erected by order of queen Elizabeth. The church has been very fine, but is now intolerably shabby; yet many large saints remain in the windows, two entire, and all the heads well painted. You may imagine we were civil enough to the queen of Scots, to feel a feel of pity for her, while we stood on the very spot where she was put to death; my companion, I believe, who is a better royalist than I am, felt a little more. There, I have obeyed you. To-morrow we see Burleigh and Peterborough, and lie at Ely; on Monday I hope to be in town, and on Tuesday I hope much 5 Lady Betty Germain. [Ed.] 8 6 Afterwards duke of St. Albans, and father to the present duke. [Or.] Aubrey Beauclerk, esq., M.P. for Thetford, only son of lord Vere of Hanworth. He married, May 1763, lady Catherine Ponsonby, and succeeded to the dukedom of St. Albans as fifth duke, in 1787, upon the death of his cousin. He died in 1802, and was succeeded by his eldest son Aubrey, sixth duke, who was again succeeded by his eldest son. William the late, and eighth duke, was second son of the above named Aubrey. [Ed.] 7 James I., it is said, ordered it to be destroyed in consequence of its having been the scene of the trial and execution of his mother, Mary queen of Scots, who was beheaded there, 8th February 1587. [Ed.] 8 Mr. Cole. [Or.] more to be in the gallery at Strawberry-hill, and to find the gilders laying on the last leaf of gold. Good night. Yours ever. To GEORGE MONTAGU, Esq. I CONTINUE. Hockerill, Monday night, July 25, Vol. 2d. You must know we were drowned on Saturday night. It rained, as it did at Greatworth on Wednesday, all night and all next morning, so we could not look even at the outside of Burleigh; but we saw the inside pleasantly; for lord Exeter, whom I had prepared for our intentions, came to us, and made every door and every lock fly open, even of his magazines, yet unranged. He is going through the house by degrees, furnishing a room every year, and has already made several most sumptuous. One is a little tired of Carlo Maratti and Lucca Jordano, yet still these are treasures. The china and japan are of the finest ; miniatures in plenty, and a shrine full of crystal vases, filigree, enamel, jewels, and the trinkets of taste, that have belonged to many a noble dame. In return for his civilities, I made my lord Exeter a present of a glorious cabinet, whose drawers and sides are all painted by Rubens. This present you must know is his own, but he knew nothing of the hand or the value. Just so I have given lady Betty Germain a very fine portrait, that I discovered at Drayton in the woodhouse. I was not much pleased with Peterborough; the front is adorable, but the inside has no more beauty than consists in vastness. By the way, I have a pen and ink that will not form a letter. We were now sent to Huntingdon in our way to Ely, as we found it impracticable, from the rains and floods, to cross the country thither. We landed in the heart of the assizes, and almost in the middle of the races, both which, to the astonishment of the virtuosi, we eagerly quitted this morning. We were hence sent south to Cambridge, still on our way northward to Ely, but when we got to Cambridge we were forced to abandon all thoughts of Ely, there being nothing but lamentable stories of inundations and escapes. However, I made myself amends with the university, which I have not seen these four-and-twenty years, and which revived many youthful scenes, which, merely from their being youthful, are forty times pleasanter than any other ideas. You know I always long to live at Oxford: I felt that I could like to live even at Cambridge again. The colleges are much cleaned and improved since my days, and the trees and groves more venerable; but the town is tumbling about their ears. We surprised Gray with our appearance, dined and drank tea with him, and are come hither within sight of land. I always find it worth my while to make journeys, for the joy I have in getting home again. A second adieu. DEAR SIR, TO THE REV. MR. COLE. Wednesday is the day I propose waiting on you; what time of it the Lord and the roads know; so don't wait for me any part of it. If I should be violently pressed to stay a day longer at Mr. Montagu's, I hope it will be no disappointment to you: but I love to be uncertain, rather than make myself expected and fail. DEAR SIR, TO THE REV. MR. COLE. Yours ever. Strawberry-hill, Aug. 8, 1763. You judge rightly, I am very indifferent about Dr. Shorton, since he is not Dr. Shorter. It has done nothing but rain since my return; whoever wants hay, must fish for it; it is all drowned, or swimming about the country. I am glad our tour gave you so much pleasure; you were so very obliging, as you have always been to me, that I should have been grieved not to have had it give you satisfaction. I hope your servant is quite recovered. The painters and gilders quit my gallery this week, but I have not got a chair or a table for it yet; however, I hope it will have all its clothes on by the time you have promised me a visit. To DR. DUCAREL. SIR, Strawberry-hill, Aug. 8, 1763. I have been rambling about the country, or should not so long have deferred to answer the favour of your letter. I thank you for the notices in it, and have profited of them. I am much obliged to you too for the drawings you intended me; but I have since had a letter from Mr. Churchill, and he does not mention them. TO THE HON. H. S. CONWAY. Strawberry-hill, Aug. 9, 1763. My gallery claims your promise; the painters and gilders . finish to-morrow, and next day it washes its hands. You talked of the 15th; shall I expect you then, and the countess,' and the contessina,2 and the baroness ?3 Lord Digby is to be married immediately to the pretty miss Fielding; and Mr. Boothby, they say, to lady Mary Douglas. What more news I know I cannot send you; for I have had it from lady Denbigh and lady Blandford, who have so confounded names, genders, and circumstances, that I am not sure whether prince Ferdinand is not going to be married to the hereditary prince. Adieu! Yours ever. P.S. If you want to know more of me, you may read a whole column of abuse upon me in the Public Ledger of Thursday last; where they inform me that the Scotch cannot be so sensible as the English, because they have not such good writers. 1 Of Ailesbury. [Or.] 2 Miss Anne Seymour Conway. [Or.] 3 Elizabeth Rich, second wife of George lord Lyttelton. [Or.] 4 Henry Digby, seventh lord Digby in the peerage of Ireland, was created, 13th August 1765, baron Digby of Sherborne, in the county of Dorset, having previously married, on the 5th September 1763, Elizabeth second daughter of the hon. Charles William Fielding, son of Basil fourth earl of Denbigh, who died 19th January 1765. [Ed.] Alack! I am afraid the most sensible men in any country do not write. I had writ this last night. This morning I receive your paper of evasions, perfide que vous êtes! You may let it alone, you will never see any thing like my gallery-and then to ask me to leave it the instant it is finished! I never heard such a request in my days!—Why, all the earth is begging to come to see it as Edging says, I have had offers enough from blue and green ribands to make me a falbala-apron. Then I have just refused to let Mrs. K * * * and her bishop be in the house with me, because I expected all you-it is mighty well, mighty fine!-No, sir, no, I shall not come; nor am I in a humour to do any thing else you desire: indeed, without your provoking me, I should not have come into the proposal of paying Giardini. We have been duped and cheated every winter for these twenty years by the undertakers of operas, and I never will pay a farthing more till the last moment, nor can be terrified at their puffs; I am astonished you are. So far from frightening. me, the kindest thing they could do would be not to let one have a box to hear their old thread-bare voices and frippery thefts; and as for Giardini himself, I would not go cross the room to hear him play to eternity. I should think he could frighten nobody but lady Bingley by a refusal. TO THE EARL OF STRAFFORD. MY DEAR LORD, Strawberry-hill, August 10, 1763. I have waited in hopes that the world would do something worth telling you: it will not, and I cannot stay any longer without asking you how you do, and hoping you have not quite forgot me. It has rained such deluges, that I had some thoughts of turning my gallery into an ark, and began to pack up a pair of bantams, a pair of cats, in short, a pair of every 5 Harriot Benson, daughter and heiress of Robert lord Bingley, was married 12th July 1731, to George Fox Lane, esq. M.P. for York, who was advanced to the dignity of a peer on the 4th May 1762, by the title of baron Bingley, county York, with limitation to his heirs male by the said lady. [Ed.] |