There are two codicils, one in favour of his servants, and the other of’ his dogs, cats, and creatures; which was a little unnecessary, for lady Cardigan has exactly his turn for saving every thing’s life.  As he was making the codicil, One of his cats jumped on his knee; “What,” says he, “have you a mind to be a witness too!  You can’t, for you are a party concerned.”  Lord Stafford is going to send his poor wife with one maid and one horse to a farm-house in Shropshire for ever.  The Mirepoix’s are come; but I have not yet seen them.  A thousand compliments to your sisters.

(61) Sir Samuel Grimston, Bart. left an heiress, who married Sir Capel Luckyn, bart.  Their son changed his name to Grimston, and was created a baron and a Viscount.

(62) This window is now in St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster.

(63) John, Duke of Montague.

38 letter 10
To Sir Horace Mann. 
Arlington Street, July 24, 1749.

You and Dr. Cocchi have made me ashamed with the civilities you showed to my book-I hope it blushed!

You have seen the death of the Duke of Montagu(64) in all the papers.  His loss will be extremely felt! he paid no less than 2700 pounds a year in private pensions, which ought to be known, to balance the immense history of his places; of which he was perpetually obtaining new, and making the utmost of all:  he had quartered on the great wardrobe no less than thirty nominal tailors and arras-workers. — This employment is to be dropped; his others are not yet given away.  My father had a great opinion of his understanding, and at the beginning of the war was most desirous of persuading him to be Generalissimo; but the Duke was very diffident of himself, and, having seen little service, would not accept it, In short, with some foibles, he was a most amiable man, and one of the most feeling I ever knew.  His estate is 17,000 pounds a year; the Duchess of Manchester must have four of it; all the rest he has given, after four thousand a year to the Duchess-dowager shall fall in, to his other daughter Lady Cardigan.  Lord Vere Beauclerc(65) has thrown his into the list of vacant employments:  he resigned his lordship of the admiralty on Anson’s being preferred to him for vice-admiral of England; but what heightened the disgust, was Lord Vere’s going to a party to visit the docks with Sandwich and Anson, after this was done, and yet they never mentioned it to him.  It was not possible to converse with them upon good terms every day afterwards.  You perceive our powers and places are in a very fluctuating situation:  the Prince will have a catalogue of discontented ready to fill the whole civil list.  My Lord Chancellor was terrified the other day with a vision of such a revolution; he saw Lord Bath kiss hands, and had like to have dropped the seals with the agony of not knowing what it was for—­it was only for his going to Spa.  However, as this is an event which the Chancellor has never thought an impossible one, he