not reached you; for nothing is more pleasant than to believe what one wishes. I wish to be your friend; I wish you to be mine; I wish you may not be tired with this; I wish to hear from you soon; and all this, in order to be my own flatterer.

I will believe—

I never write my name.

I hope you have no aversion to blots.

Since I wrote this, the Duke of Queensberry bids me tell you, that if you have occasion for the money you need only draw upon him, and he will pay the money to your order. He will take care to have the account of interest settled, and made up to you. He will take this upon himself, that you may have no trouble in this affair.

FROM THE COUNTESS OF KERRY.

Lixnaw, March 4, 1732-3.

THE kind concern and friendly remembrance of the most esteemed Dean of St. Patrick's, has raised in me a satisfaction and pleasure that I had almost given up, having been resolved a good while humbly to content myself in a state of indolence and indifference; and if I could avoid the pains of body and mind, not to seek farther after those points in life, I so long and vainly pursued; but you have invaded my tranquillity in a manner I must not only forgive, but pay my acknowledgments for, since at the same time you make a melancholy representation of my misfortunes, you strike a light for me

from another quarter from whence to raise hope. I most heartily rejoice in what you tell me of Mr. Fitzmaurice, who has indeed given me an undeniable mark of taste, by the sense he has of the honour you do him in letting him into your society, from whence it is impossible to come without some good influence. For my part, I grieve at the interval that necessity seems to call for, to interrupt such advantage, and it is my study to find an occasion indispensable that he may return; * and as I think to be a member of our senate-house, is the best way to lead a young man into the world, I have been watching a good while for some gap in that body, that he might step into. There seems now to offer one on the death of Sir Ralph Gore, that may not be impracticable, since it is a very small borough, entirely belonging, as I am informed, to the Bishop of Clogher, who, I dare say, is above disposing of it for court favour only, or to the highest bidder; practices much in fashion of late. Might I not then presume upon your friendship with the bishop, to recommend this young man as an honest one at present, and whom he might devote to his service by so great and seasonable an obligation, beside paying an acknowledgment that in gratitude is due, although the person were never so well qualified; thus much sure I may say without censure. If I have taken too great liberty in recommending this matter to you, forgive me, and impute it to my zeal in endeavouring to take all opportunities to turn this lad into the world, that I may see what figure he will be likely to make hereafter. But if I do not succeed in this, or any other attempt, I thank Providence sincerely, I can now boast I have attained philosophy enough to take everything with patience as it comes, by no

* It is presumed, from his travels.-D. S.

means thinking myself too good to be the sport of higher powers; and my Christian duty will not permit me to look for reasons. As little wisdom as I have bought, I wish I had had it sooner; now it is too late, la farce est joué, and my curtain almost drawn; so that if I could, I would no more traffic with the world upon my own account: friendship only is what I still must always value; yours, surely, is more than comes to my share.

You are very good to inquire after my eyes; they are, indeed, well beyond my expectation; but are to me like the miser's gold, hoarded up as imaginary treasure that one wants, at the same time that one possesses; for so much as this letter I have not taxed them a long time. I shall, with attention, observe all you recommend to me in the way of passing my time; and do daily see reason to respect la bagatelle; yet are there some places where that is too insipid to be made any use of. I have an excellent chaplain, that I employ in reading, and my domestic. Handicrafts and gardening do the rest. As for quadrille, it is a part of entertainment only for strangers. What shall I say for taking up so much of your time? Forgive, dear Dean, your most real and faithful humble servant,

A. KERRY.

TO THE DUCHESS OF QUEENSBERRY.

MADAM,

March 20, 1832-3.

I HAD lately the honour of a letter from your grace, which was dated just a month before it came to my hand, and the ten days since, I have been

much disordered with a giddiness, that I have been long subject to at uncertain times. This hindered me from an acknowledgment of the great favour you have done me. The greatest unhappiness of my life is grown a comfort under the death of my friend,* I mean, my banishment in this miserable country; for the distance I am at, and the despair I have of ever seeing my friends, farther than by a summer's visit; and this, so late in my life, so uncertain in my health, and so embroiled in my little affairs, may probably never happen; so that my loss is not so great as that of his other friends, who had it always in their power to converse with him. But I chiefly lament your grace's misfortune, because I greatly fear, with all the virtues and perfections which can possibly acquire the highest veneration to a mortal creature from the worthiest of human kind, you will never be able to procure another so useful, so sincere, so virtuous, so disinterested, so entertaining, so easy, and so humble a friend, as that person whose death all good men lament. I turn to your letter, and find your grace has the same thoughts. Loss of friends has been called a tax upon life, and what is worse, it is then too late to get others, if they were to be had, for the younger ones are all engaged. I shall never differ from you in anything longer than till you declare your opinion; because I never knew you wrong in anything, except your condescending to have any regard for me; and therefore, all you say upon the subject of friendship, I heartily allow. But I doubt you are a perverter; for sure I was never capable of comparing the loss of friends with the loss of money. I think we never lament the death of a friend upon his own account, but merely on account of his friends, or the

* Mr. Gay.-H.

public, or both; and his, for a person in private life, was as great as possible. How finely you preach to us who are going out of the world, to keep our spirits, without informing us where we shall find materials! Yet I have my flatterers too, who tell me, I am allowed to have retained more spirits than hundreds of others who are richer, younger, and healthier than myself; which, considering a thousand mortifications, added to the perfect ill-will of every creature in power, I take to be a high point of merit, as well as an implicit obedience to your grace's commands. Neither are those spirits (such as they be) in the least broken by the honour of lying under the same circumstances, with a certain great person, whom I shall not name, of being in disgrace at court. I will excuse your blots upon paper, because they are the only blots that you ever did, or ever will make in the whole course of your life. I am content upon your petition, to receive the duke and your grace for my stewards for that immense sum; and in proper time I may come to thank you, as a king. does the commons for your loyal benevolence. the meanwhile, I humbly entreat your grace, that the money may lie where you please, till I presume to trouble you with a bill, as my lord duke allows me.

In

One thing I find, that you are grown very tetchy since I lost the dear friend who was my supporter; so that perhaps you may expect I shall be very careful how I offend you in words, wherein you will be much mistaken; for I shall become ten times worse after correction. It seems Mr. Pope, like a treacherous gentleman, shewed you my letter wherein I mentioned good qualities that you seem to have. You have understroked that offensive word, to shew it should be printed in italic. What could I say more? I never saw your person since you were a girl, except once in the dark (to give you a bull of