Sir, As you have been so good as to favour me with your assistance, I flatter myself you will excuse my begging it once more.  I am told that you mentioned to Dr. Jortin a Lord Mountjoy, who lived in the reign of Henry viii. as an author.  Will you be so good as to tell me any thing you know of him, and what he wrote.  I shall entreat the favour of this notice as soon as possibly you can; because my book is printing off, and I am afraid of being past the place where he must come in.  I am just going out of town, but a line put into the Post any night before nine o’clock will find me next morning at Strawberry Hill.

432 Letter 272
To The Hon. H. S. Conway.(908)
Arlington Street, July 8, 1758.

You have made me laugh; do you think I found much difficulty to persist in thinking as well of you as I used to do, though you have neither been so great a Poliorcetes as Almanzor, who could take a town alone, nor have executed the commands of another Almanzor, who thought he could command the walls of a city to tumble down as easily as those of Jericho did to the march of Joshua’s first regiment of Guards?  Am I so apt to be swayed by popular clamour.  But I will say no more on that head.  As to the wording of the sentence, I approve your objection; and as I have at least so little of the author in me as to be very corrigible, I will, if you think proper, word the beginning thus:—­

“In dedicating a few trifles(909) to you, I have nothing new to tell the world.  My esteem still accompanies your merit, on which ’it was founded, and to which, with such abilities as mine, I can only bear testimony; I must not pretend to vindicate it.  If your virtues,” etc.  It shall not be said that I allowed prejudice and clamour to be the voice of the world against you.  I approve, too, the change of “proposed” for “would have undertaken;” but I cannot like putting in “prejudice and malice.”  When One accuses others of malice, one is a little apt to feel it; and if I could flatter myself that such a thing as a Dedication would have weight, or that any thing of mine would last, I would have it look as dispassionate as possible.  When after some interval I assert coolly that you was most wrongfully blamed, I shall be believed.  If I seem angry, it will look like a party quarrel still existing.

Instead of resenting your not being employed in the present follies, I think you might write a letter of thanks to my Lord Ligonier, Or to Mr. Pitt, or even to the person who is appointed to appoint generals himself,(910) to thank them for not exposing you a second year.  All the puffs in the newspapers cannot long stifle the ridicule which the French will of course propagate through all Europe on the foolish figure we have made.  You shall judge by one sample:  the Duc d’Aiguillon has literally sent a vessel with a flag of truce to the Duke of Marlborough, with some teaspoons which, in his hurry, he left behind