In the meantime, my Lord of Bath and Lord Hervey, who seem deserted by every body else, are grown the greatest friends in the world at Bath; and to make a complete triumvirate, my Lord Gower is always of their party:  how they must love one another, the late, the present, and the would-be Privy Seal!

Lord Hyndford has had great honours in Prussia:  that King bespoke for him a service of plate to the value of three thousand pounds.  He asked leave for his Majesty’s arms to be put upon it:  the King replied, “they should, with the arms of Silesia added to his paternal coat for ever.”  I will tell you Sir ]Robert’s remark on this:  “He is rewarded thus for having obtained Silesia for the King of Prussia, which he was sent to preserve to the Queen of Hungary!” Her affairs begin to take a little better turn again; Broglio is prevented from joining Maillebois, who, they affirm, can never bring his army off, as the King of Poland is guarding all the avenues of Saxony, to prevent his passing through that country.

I wrote to you in my last to desire that the Dominichin and my statue might come by a man-of-war.  Now.  Sir Robert, who is impatient for his picture, would have it sent in a Dutch ship, as he says he can easily get it from Holland.  If you think this conveyance quite safe, I beg my statue may bear it company.

Tell me if you are tired of ballads on my Lord Bath; if you are not, here is another admirable one,(727) I believe by the same hand as the others; but by the conclusion certainly ought not to be Williams’s.  I only send you the good ones, for the newspapers are every day full of bad ones on this famous earl.

My compliments to the Princess; I dreamed last night that she was come to Houghton, and not at all `epuis`ee with her journey.  Adieu!

P.S.  I must add a postscript, to mention a thing I have often designed to ask you to do for me.  Since I came to England I have been buying drawings, (the time is well chosen, when I had neglected it in Italy!) I saw at Florence two books that I should now be very glad to have, if you could get them tolerably reasonable; one was at an English painter’s; I think his name was Huckford, over against your house in via Bardi; they were of Holbein:  the other was of Guercino, and brought to me to see by the Abb`e Bonducci; my dear child, you will oblige me much if you can get them.

(727) Sir Charles Hanbury Williams’s ode, beginning “What Statesman, what Hero, what King-.”  It is to be found in all editions of his poems.-D.

294 Letter 88
             To Sir Horace Mann. 
Arlington Street, Nov. 1, 1742.