(222) Daughter of Scroop, Duke of Bridgewater, by the Lady Rachel Russel, sister of the Duke of Bedford.  Lady Diana Egerton was afterwards married to Lord Baltimore.

94 Letter 36 To Sir Horace Mann.  Arlington Street, March 13, 1751.

You will be expecting the conclusion of Mr. Murray’s history, but as he is too great a hero to submit, and not hero enough to terminate his prison in a more summary, or more English way, you must have patience, as we shall have, till the end of the session.  His relations, who had leave to visit him, are excluded again:  rougher methods with him are not the style of the age:  in the mean time he is quite forgot.  General Anstruther is now the object in fashion, or made so by a Sir Harry Erskine, a very fashionable figure in the world of politics, who has just come into Parliament, and has been laying a foundation for the next reign by attacking the Mutiny-bill, and occasionally General Anstruther, who treated him hardly ten years ago in Minorca.  Anstruther has mutually persecuted and been persecuted by the Scotch ever since Porteous’s affair, when, of all that nation, he alone voted for demolishing part of Edinburgh.  This affair would be a trifle, if it had not opened the long-smothered rivalship between Fox and Pitt:  for these ten days they have been civilly at war together; and Mr. Pelham is bruised between both.  However, this impetuosity of Pitt has almost overset the total engrossment that the Duke of Newcastle had made of all power, and if they do not, as it is suspected, league with the Prince, you will not so soon hear of the fall of the Bedfords, as I had made you expect.  With this quantity of factions ind infinite quantity of speakers, we have had a most fatiguing session, and seldom rise before nine or ten at night.

There have been two events, not political, equal to any absurdities or follies of former years.  My Lady Vane(223) has literally published the memoirs of her own life, Only suppressing part of her lovers, no part of the success of the others with her:  a degree of profligacy not to be accounted for; she does not want money, none of her lovers will raise her credit; and the number, all she had to brag of, concealed!  The other is a play that has been acted by people of some fashion at Drury Lane, hired on purpose.  They really acted so well that it is astonishing they should not have had sense enough not to act at all.  You would know none of their names, should I tell you; but the chief were a family of Delavals, the eldest of which was married by one Foote, a player, to Lady Nassau Poulett,(224) who had kept the latter.  The rage was so great to see this performance that the House of Commons literally adjourned at three o’clock on purpose:  the footman’s gallery was strung with blue ribands.  What a wise people! what an august Senate! yet my Lord Granville once told the Prince, I forget on occasion of what folly, “Sir, indeed your Royal Highness is in the wrong to act thus; the English are a grave nation.”