Mr. Fitzherbert, dined with him at Hayes yesterday; that they expressed themselves with great regard towards you, and said that they foresaw alterations must be, and hoped these would be moderate, and made as little disgustful as might be, and particularly as respecting the Duke of Newcastle Lord John said, he hoped, as he was to be laid aside, it might be on a bed of roses, not on a bed of thorns. Mr. Walpole thinks he sees a good disposition in the old Whigs of his acquaintance towards such measures as you may think necessary. I am, Sir,

Your ever faithful and

obedient servant,

T. NUTHALL.

to Mr. Holroyd, written in February 1772, relates the following amusing anecdote: "To-day the House of Commons was employed in a very odd way. Tommy Townshend moved, that the sermon of Dr. Nowell, who preached before the House on the 30th of January (id est, before the Speaker and four members), should be burnt by the common hangman, as containing arbitrary, Tory high-flown doctrines. The House was nearly agreeing to the motion, till they recollected that they had already thanked the preacher for his excellent discourse, and ordered it to be printed. Nowell's bookseller is much obliged to the right honourable Tommy Townshend." appears however, by the Journals, that the thanks to the Doctor were ordered to be expunged therefrom; and on the 2d of March, Mr. Frederick Montagu moved for leave to bring in a bill to repeal the observance of that day altogether; which was rejected by 125 to 97.

SIR ANDREW MITCHELL (1) TO MR. PITT.

SIR,

Pall-Mall, April 11, 1766.

As Lord Cardross is so obliging as to promise to deliver this letter into your own hands, I shall write with the greater freedom. Ever since my return from Berlin, I have languished for an opportunity of seeing you alone, as well to have returned you my most sincere thanks for your goodness and great indulgence to me, whilst you were minister, and this country flourished, as to have acquainted you with many things that passed during my mission to the Hero King, your friend; who speaks of you, on every occasion, with the strongest expressions of esteem and gratitude.

After having been recalled, somewhat abruptly, in the month of June last, I was invited by the present ministers to accept of a new commission to the King of Prussia, and accordingly was named

(1) In the preceding December, this excellent man and faithful public servant had been created a knight of the bath. He died at Berlin in 1771, leaving a most valuable collection of letters, written from and to him, from his arrival at Berlin in 1756 (with the exception of one or two years) until the period of his death. By an able report, drawn up by Sir Henry Ellis in 1826, it appears that this collection was purchased by the trustees of the British Museum, in March 1810, of Sir William Forbes, for four hundred pounds; immediately after which, it being understood that George the Third had expressed a wish that they might not see the light, in a published form, during his own reign, they were ordered to be locked up and entrusted to the care of Mr. Planta only. They are now bound up in sixty-eight volumes.

I

by his Majesty, his minister plenipotentiary. must, however, on this occasion fairly tell you, in confidence, the principal motive that induced me to accept of this honourable commission was, that I hoped to have received my instructions from you. I am disappointed; the public are disappointed they wished and expected to see you once more a minister, to render this country respectable abroad, and quiet at home.

The day of my departure is fixed for the 28th of this month. Your state of health, and the situation of public affairs, have prevented my having the happiness of having any conversation with you. Though I have called often at your door in town, I would not presume to intrude upon you in your retirement; I therefore give you this trouble to desire to know when and where I can have the honour of seeing you with the least inconvenience to yourself. My time is entirely at your disposal, and I am persuaded the first question that will be put to me by the King of Prussia, will be," when did you see Mr. Pitt, my faithful and steady friend ?" &c., &c., &c. In such circumstances, you will pardon the liberty I now take; which affords me the pleasure of assuring you, that I shall ever have the honour to be, with the greatest respect and attachment, Sir,

Your most obliged and

most humble servant,

ANDR. MITCHELL.

MR. PITT TO SIR ANDREW MITCHELL.

DEAR SIR,

Hayes, Sunday night, April 13, 1766.

I was honoured yesterday with your very obliging letter, and am truly sensible of the kind marks of friendship which it contains. The partial retrospect you are so good as to make is not a little flattering to me; nor is the expectation you had the friendly disposition to form on my subject, less so. I must not allow myself to think the public receive any disappointment, on that score: enough for me to be indulged in the vanity of believing that you, my dear Sir, have not been without some degree of regret on the occasion. I will only add, with regard to this matter, that it was all along evident to me, that all expectations of the kind you allude to, never had a real foundation; and had it been my good fortune to have had an opportunity of conversing freely with you, no part of the delusion would have reached you.

I propose being in town to-morrow, and shall, with very particular satisfaction, profit of the leave you are so good as to give me, to propose an hour for the honour and pleasure of seeing you. In the mean time, I will trouble you no farther than to assure you of the invincible and great consideration with which I am, dear Sir,

Your most obedient and

affectionate humble servant,

WILLIAM PITT.

PRINCE CHARLES OF BRUNSWICK TO MR. PITT.

MONSIEUR,

Douvres, ce 12o d'Avril, 1766.

JE profite des derniers momens qui me restent en Angleterre pour vous dire mes adieux, et pour vous prier de me continuer l'honneur de votre souvenir.

Après avoir fait une tournée en France et en Italie, je compte, si aucun accident ne m'arrive, de vous rendre mes devoirs à l'assemblée du Parlement de l'année prochaine, et de vous renouveller alors de bouche les sentimens d'estime et de haute considération, avec lesquelles je serai jusqu'à la fin de mes jours, Monsieur, votre très humble, et très obéissant serviteur.

CHARLES,

PRINCE HÉRÉditaire de BRUNSWIC.

VISCOUNT TOWNSHEND (1) TO MR. PITT.

SIR,

Audley Square, April 21, 1766.

I HAD the honour to call at your door, to thank you for the justice you did me in your sentiments my intentions towards the militia, when my

of

(1) The hon. George Townshend. See Vol. I. p. 181. He had succeeded to the peerage, on the death of his father, in 1764.