(67) Sir Hugh Smithson.

(68) The Duke of Somerset was eventually created Earl of Northumberland with remainder to Sir Hugh Smithson, and Earl of Egremont with remainder to Sir Charles Wyndham.-D.

40 Letter 11 To Sir Horace Mann.  Strawberry Hill, Aug. 17, 1749.

I hear of nothing but your obliging civilities to the Barrets:(69) I don’t wonder you are attentive to please; my amazement is, when I find it well distributed:  you have all your life been making Florence agreeable to every body that came there, who have almost all forgot it—­or worse.  But Mr. and Mrs. Barret do you justice, and as they are very sensible and agreeable, I am persuaded you will always find that they know how to esteem such goodness as yours.  Mr. Chute has, this morning received here a letter from Mr. ]Barret, and will answer it very soon.  Mr. Montagu is here too, and happy to hear he is so -well, and recommends several compliments to your conveyance.

Your brother mentions your being prevented writing to me, by the toothache:  I hate you should have any pain.

You always let us draw upon you for such weight of civilities to any body we recommend, that if I did not desire to show my attention, and the regard I have for Count LorenZi,(70) yet it would be burning ingratitude not to repay you.  I have accordingly been trying to be very civil to the Chevalier; I did see him Once at Florence.  To-morrow I am to fetch him hither to dinner, from Putney, where the Mirepoix’s have got a house.  I gave Madame her father’s simple\ letter, of which she took no more notice than it deserved; but Prince Beauvau(71) has written her a very particular one about me, and is to come over himself in the winter to make me a visit:  this has warmed their politesse.  I should have known the Ambassadress any where by the likeness to her family.  He is cold and stately, and not much tasted here.  She is very sensible; but neither of them satisfy me in one point; I wanted to see something that was the quintessence of the newest bon ton, that had the last bel air, and spoke the freshest jargon.  These people have scarce ever lived at Paris, are reasonable, and little amusing with follies.  They have brought a cousin of’ his, a Monsieur de Levi, who has a tantino of what I wanted to see.  You know they pique themselves much upon their Jewish name, and call cousins with the Virgin Mary.  They have a picture in the family, where she is made to say to the founder of the house, “Couvrez vous, Mon cousin.”  He replies, “Non pas, ma tr`es sainte cousine, je scai trop bien le respect que je vous dois."(72)

There is nothing like news:  Kensington Palace was like to have made an article the other night; it was on fire:  my Lady Yarmouth has an ague, and is forced to keep a constant fire in her room against the damps.  When my Lady Suffolk lived in that apartment, the floor produced a constant crop of mushrooms.  Though there are so many vacant chambers, the King hoards all he can, and has locked up half the palace since the queen’s death:  so he does at St. James’s, and I believe would put the rooms out on interest, if he could get a closet a year for them!  Somebody told my Lady Yarmouth they wondered she could live in that unwholesome apartment, when there are so many other rooms:  she replied, “Mais pas pour moy.”