(930) Sir Stephen Fox.

(931) Sir C. Hanbury Williams.

(932) Having cured himself of a nervous colic by the use of tar-water, the bishop this year published a book entitled “Philosophical Reflections and Enquiries concerning the Virtues of Tar-water.’,-E.

372 Letter 139
To Sir Horace Mann. 
June 11, 1744.

Perhaps you expect to hear of great triumphs and victories; of General Wade grown into a Duke of Marlborough; or of the King being in Flanders, with the second part of the battle of Dettingen-why, ay:  you are bound in conscience, as a good Englishman, to expect all this -but what if all these 10 paeans should be played to the Dunkirk tune?  I must prepare you for some such thing; for unless the French are as much their own foes as we are our own, I don’t see what should hinder the festival to-day(933) being kept next year a day sooner.  But I will draw no consequences; only sketch you out our present situation:  and if Cardinal Tencin can miss making his use of it, we may burn our books and live hereafter upon good fortune.

The French King’s army is at least ninety thousand strong; has taken Menin already, and Ypres almost.  Remains then only Ostend; which you will look in the map and see does not lie in the high road to the conquest of the Austrian Netherlands.  Ostend may be laid under water, and the taking it an affair of time.  But there lies all our train of artillery Which cost two hundred thousand pounds; and what becomes of our communication with our army?  Why, they may go round by Williamstadt, and be in England just time enough to be some other body’s army!  It turns out that the whole combined army, English, Dutch, Austrians, and Hanoverians, does not amount to above thirty-six thousand fighting men! and yet forty thousand more French, under the Duc d’Harcourt are coming into Flanders.  When their army is already so superior to ours, for what can that reinforcement be intended, but to let them spare a triumph to Dunkirk?  Now you will naturally ask me three questions:  where is Prince Charles? where are the Dutch? what force have you to defend England?  Prince Charles is hovering about the Rhine to take Lorrain, which they seem not to care whether he does or not, and leaves you to defend the -Netherlands.  The Dutch seem indifferent, whether their barrier is in the hands of the Queen or the Emperor and while you are so mad, think it prudent not to be so themselves.  For our own force, it is too melancholy to mention:  six regiments go away to-morrow to Ostend, with the six thousand Dutch.  Carteret and Botzlaer, the Dutch envoy extraordinary, would have hurried them away without orders; but General Smitsart, their commander, said, he was too old to be hanged.  This reply was told to my father yesterday:  “Ay,” said he, “so I thought I was, but I may live to be mistaken!” When these troops are gone, we shall not have in the whole island above six thousand