16.  I thought to have finished this yesterday; but was too much disturbed.  I sent a letter early this morning to Lady Masham, to beg her to write some comforting words to the poor Duchess.  I dined to-[day] with Lady Masham at Kensington, where she is expecting these two months to lie in.  She has promised me to get the Queen to write to the Duchess kindly on this occasion; and to-morrow I will beg Lord Treasurer to visit and comfort her.  I have been with her two hours again, and find her worse:  her violences not so frequent, but her melancholy more formal and settled.  She has abundance of wit and spirit; about thirty-three years old; handsome and airy, and seldom spared anybody that gave her the least provocation; by which she had many enemies and few friends.  Lady Orkney, her sister-in-law, is come to town on this occasion, and has been to see her, and behaved herself with great humanity.  They have been always very ill together, and the poor Duchess could not have patience when people told her I went often to Lady Orkney’s.  But I am resolved to make them friends; for the Duchess is now no more the object of envy, and must learn humility from the severest master, Affliction.  I design to make the Ministry put out a proclamation (if it can be found proper) against that villain Maccartney.  What shall we do with these murderers?  I cannot end this letter to-night, and there is no occasion; for I cannot send it till Tuesday, and the crowner’s inquest on the Duke’s body is to be to-morrow, and I shall know more.  But what care oo for all this?  Iss, poo MD im sorry for poo Pdfr’s[14] friends; and this is a very surprising event.  ’Tis late, and I’ll go to bed.  This looks like journals.  Nite.

17.  I was to-day at noon with the Duchess of Hamilton again, after I had been with Lady Orkney, and charged her to be kind to her sister in her affliction.  The Duchess told me Lady Orkney had been with her, and that she did not treat her as gently as she ought.  They hate one another, but I will try to patch it up.  I have been drawing up a paragraph for the Postboy, to be out to-morrow, and as malicious as possible, and very proper for Abel Roper,[15] the printer of it.  I dined at Lord Treasurer’s at six in the evening, which is his usual hour of returning from Windsor:  he promises to visit the Duchess to-morrow, and says he has a message to her from the Queen.  Thank God.  I have stayed till past one with him.  So nite deelest MD.[16]

18.  The Committee of Council is to sit this afternoon upon the affair of the Duke of Hamilton’s murder, and I hope a proclamation will be out against Maccartney.  I was just now (’tis now noon) with the Duchess, to let her know Lord Treasurer will see her.  She is mightily out of order.  The jury have not yet brought in their verdict upon the crowner’s inquest.  We suspect Maccartney stabbed the Duke while he was fighting.  The Queen and Lord Treasurer are in great concern at this event.