31.  Trimnel, Bishop of Norwich,[11] who was with this Lord Sunderland at Moor Park in their travels, preached yesterday before the House of Lords; and to-day the question was put to thank him, and print his sermon; but passed against him; for it was a terrible Whig sermon.  The Bill to repeal the Act for naturalising Protestant foreigners passed the House of Lords to-day by a majority of twenty, though the Scotch lords went out, and would vote neither way, in discontent about the Duke of Hamilton’s patent, if you know anything of it.  A poem is come out to-day inscribed to me, by way of a flirt;[12] for it is a Whiggish poem, and good for nothing.  They plagued me with it in the Court of Requests.  I dined with Lord Treasurer at five alone, only with one Dutchman.  Prior is now a Commissioner of the Customs.  I told you so before, I suppose.  When I came home to-night, I found a letter from Dr. Sacheverell, thanking me for recommending his brother to Lord Treasurer and Mr. Secretary for a place.  Lord Treasurer sent to him about it:  so good a solicitor was I, although I once hardly thought I should be a solicitor for Sacheverell.

Feb. 1.  Has not your Dean of St. Patrick received my letter? you say nothing of it, although I writ above a month ago.  My printer has got the gout, and I was forced to go to him to-day, and there I dined.  It was a most delicious day:  why don’t you observe whether the same days be fine with you?  To-night, at six, Dr. Atterbury, and Prior, and I, and Dr. Freind, met at Dr. Robert Freind’s[13] house at Westminster, who is master of the school:  there we sat till one, and were good enough company.  I here take leave to tell politic Dingley that the passage in the Conduct of the Allies is so far from being blamable that the Secretary designs to insist upon it in the House of Commons, when the Treaty of Barrier[14] is debated there, as it now shortly will, for they have ordered it to be laid before them.  The pamphlet of Advice to the October Club begins now to sell; but I believe its fame will hardly reach Ireland:  ’tis finely written, I assure you.  I long to answer your letter, but won’t yet; you know, ’tis late, etc.

2.  This ends Christmas,[15] and what care I?  I have neither seen, nor felt, nor heard any Christmas this year.  I passed a lazy dull day.  I was this morning with Lord Treasurer, to get some papers from him, which he will remember as much as a cat, although it be his own business.  It threatened rain, but did not much; and Prior and I walked an hour in the Park, which quite put me out of my measures.  I dined with a friend hard by; and in the evening sat with Lord Masham till twelve.  Lord Treasurer did not come; this is an idle dining-day usually with him.  We want to hear from Holland how our peace goes on; for we are afraid of those scoundrels the Dutch, lest they should play us tricks.  Lord Mar,[16] a Scotch earl, was with us at Lord Masham’s:  I was arguing with him about the stubbornness and folly of his countrymen; they are so angry about the affair of the Duke of Hamilton, whom the Queen has made a duke of England, and the House of Lords will not admit him.  He swears he would vote for us, but dare not, because all Scotland would detest him if he did:  he should never be chosen again, nor be able to live there.