dearing, both on accountof the bestower and of the benefits. All I mean by this is only to show how much without reserve I am, when I profess myself, honoured Sir,

Your most obliged and

most devoted Servant,

W. GLOUCEster.

P.S. Give me leave, Sir, to congratulate you on the success at Martinico. (') I do it with singular propriety; for it is the effect of an impulse (I hope not yet ceased), which your glorious administration had imparted to the whole political machine.

SIR RICHARD LYTTELTON TO MR. PITT.

Rome, April 14, 1762.

MY DEAR SIR, I CANNOT forbear congratulating you on the glorious conquest of Martinico, which, whatever effect it may have in England, astonishes all

(1) Shortly before the resignation of Mr. Pitt, an expedition had been projected against Martinico; and the war being concluded in North America, we were enabled to draw from thence a considerable part of the army. General Monckton commanded the land forces, and Admiral Rodney the fleet; the former consisting of twelve thousand men, the latter of eighteen ships of the line. On the 7th of January the armament arrived before the island; on the 16th effected their landing at Cas Navire ; and on the 12th of February the whole island surrendered.

Europe, and fills every mouth with praise and commendation, with applause and admiration, I may say, of the noble perseverance and superior ability of the planner of this great and decisive undertaking, and the heroic ardour and constancy of the combined forces in the achievement. (') His Holiness (2) yesterday told Mr. Weld (3), a Roman Catholic Dorsetshire gentleman, who was presented to him, that were not the information such as left no possibility of its being doubted, the news of our success could not have been credited; and that so great was the national glory and reputation all over the world, that he esteemed it the highest honour to be born an Englishman. And, indeed, the French and Spanish factions had ridiculed the undertaking, and pronounced the attempt to be ruinous and impracticable. My letters from England say, that

(1) "The single eloquence of Mr. Pitt," says Horace Walpole, in a letter to Mr. Montagu, "can, like an annihilated star, shine many months after it has set. I tell you it has conquered Martinico. If you will not believe it, read the Gazette, read Monckton's letter: there is more martial spirit in it than in half Thucydides, and in all the grand Cyrus. Do you think Demosthenes or Themistocles ever raised the Greek stocks two per cent. in four and twenty hours? I shall burn all my Greek and Latin books: they are histories of little people. The Romans never conquered the world, till they had conquered three parts of it, and were three hundred years about it: we subdue the globe in three campaigns; and a globe, let me tell you, as big again as it was in their days."

(2) Clement the Thirteenth.

(3) Edward Weld, Esq., of Lulworth Castle, uncle of the present Cardinal Weld. He died in 1775, and his widow married Thomas Fitzherbert, Esq., of Swinnerton, whom she survived, and was well known in society as Mrs. Fitzherbert.

Mr. Pitt's friends declare, this is the last act of his administration that he is to derive any honour from. I should think this the language of his enemies at home, for abroad all mankind will give him credit for the consequences of this great event; and great is the universal expectation of what must follow from the further operations of a force from so many causes irresistible, and so happily collected at this season. (1)

But, Sir, if this be the end of your administration, I shall only say, finis coronat opus. I am ever, dear Sir,

most entirely and faithfully yours, RICHARD LYTTELTON.

THE EARL OF TYRAWLY (2) TO MR. PITT.

SIR,

Lisbon, April 15, 1762.

It is impossible for me to forget any thing that can give you ease or pleasure, and consequently I remember we had some time ago a dissertation upon the use and benefit of Portuguese wooden stirrups. I beg now to illustrate by example the comfort of

(1) The surrender of Martinico naturally drew on the surrender of all the dependent islands. Granada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent shortly after followed its example.

(2) The earl, who had formerly resided with high reputation as ambassador at the court of Lisbon, now united the different characters of plenipotentiary and general.

of that accoutrement. I have taken the liberty of sending you a pair of them, which will be left at Hayes. If you usually chevauchez long, you should chevaucher plus court, and set your foot flat upon them as upon the ground, and you will find, by the play of the stirrup-leather, that your heel will drop lower than the toe into an easier posture.

The Spaniards threaten us hard in the memorials they give to this court: we, on our parts, do not bate them an ace. In the mean time, they draw very slowly towards the frontiers, and we are assembling troops to oppose them. (') I believe that ten thousand well disciplined troops upon the frontiers of either might take their choice whether they would come to Lisbon or march to Madrid; but I am also of opinion, that neither army will give themselves the trouble of so long a march, for I am much mistaken if all this does not end in a cup of mild beer. (2) I am, Sir, with great truth and regard,

Your, &c.,

TYRAWLY.

(1) In the preceding month, the Spanish army had advanced towards the frontiers of Portugal, the commerce of corn between the two kingdoms had been prohibited, and every thing threatened a sudden invasion. In the midst of these hostile preparations, the French and Spanish ministers presented a joint memorial to the court of Lisbon, which was followed by several others. The purport of these memorials was to persuade the King of Portugal to enter into the alliance against England.

(2) The dispute between the two kingdoms had a very different result. In a week from the date of this prediction, the King of

MR. PITT TO THE EARL OF TYRAWLY.

[Hayes, 1762.]

MY LORD,

CAPTAIN O'HARA did me the honour of a visit yesterday at Hayes, and was so good as to bring with him the wooden stirrups used in Portugal, of which your Excellency's infinitely obliging letter had apprised me some days before. Though I have long known, by very pleasing experience, that politeness and every agrément of society may stand for the name of Lord Tyrawly, yet I could not, without extreme presumption, have ventured to flatter myself with such an instance of kind remembrance and friendship, especially in the midst of that scene which at present engages your Excellency's cares, and demands all your ability. I have no doubt that your Excellency will give a good account of the Spaniards. (') In the mean

Portugal, in his answer to the third memorial of the French and Spanish ambassadors, declared, that "it would affect him less to let the last tile of his palace fall, and to see his faithful subjects spill the last drop of their blood, than to sacrifice, together with the honour of his crown, all that Portugal held most dear, and to submit, by such extraordinary means, to become an unheard-of example to all pacific powers; who would no longer enjoy the benefit of neutrality, whenever a war should be kindled between other powers with which the former were connected by defensive treaties." On the 27th of April, the ambassadors of the two crowns were ordered to leave the kingdom; and on the 23d of May, war was declared by Portugal against Spain.

(1) The King of Portugal having made urgent solicitation for assistance, a large body of British troops, under the com