hand on his breast, said, he never wished to have such a friend, as could only excuse him by bringing in another for equal share of his guilt.  Sir John Cotton replied; he did not wonder that Mr. Fox (who had spoken with great warmth) was angry at hearing his friend in place, compared to one out of place.  Do but figure how Doddington must have looked and felt during such dialogues!  In short, it ended in Mr. Pultney’s rising, and saying, he could not be against the latter words, as he thought the former part of the motion had been proved . and wished both parties would join in carrying on the war vigorously, or in procuring a good peace, rather than in ripping open old sores, and continuing the heats and violences of parties.  We came to no division-for we should have lost it by too many.

Thursday evening.

I had written all the former part of my letter, only reserving room to tell you, that they had carried the secret committee-but it is put off till next Tuesday.  To-day we had nothing but the giving up the Heydon election, when Mr. Ppultney had an opportunity (as Mr. Chute and Mr. Robinson would not take the trouble to defend a cause which they could not carry) to declaim upon corruption:  had it come to a trial, there were eighteen witnesses ready to swear positive bribery against Mr. Pultney.  I would write to Mr. Chute, and thank him for his letter which you sent me, but I am so out of humour at his brother’s losing his seat, that I cannot speak civilly even to him to-day.

It is said, that my Lord’s Grace of Argyll has carried his great point of the Broad Bottom-as I suppose you will hear by rejoicings from Rome.  The new Admiralty is named; at the head is to be Lord Winchilsea, with Lord Granard,(491) Mr. Cockburn, his Grace’s friend, Dr. Lee, the chairman, Lord Vere Beauclerc;(492) one of the old set, by the interest of the Duke of Dorset, and the connexion of Lady Betty Germain, whose niece Lord Vere married; and two Tories, Sir John Hind Cotton and Will.  Chetwynd,(493) an agent of Bolingbroke’s-all this is not declared yet, but is believed.

This great Duke has named his four aid-de-camps-Lord Charles Hay; George Stanhope, brother of Earl Stanhope; Dick Lyttelton, who Was page; and a Campbell.  Lord Cadogan is not dead, but has been given over.

We are rejoicing over the great success of the Queen of Hungary’s arms, and the number of blows and thwarts which the French have received.  It is a prosperous season for our new popular generals to grow glorious!

But, to have done with politics.  Old Marlborough has at last published her Memoirs; they are digested by one Hooke, (494) who wrote a Roman history; but from her materials which are so womanish, that I am sure the man might sooner have made a gown and petticoat with them.  There are some choice letters from Queen Anne, little inferior in the fulsome to those from King James to the Duke of Buckingham.