scurvy reward after making the peace.  Mr. Villiers, you know, has been much gazetted, and had his letters to the King of Prussia printed; but he is a very silly fellow.  I met him the other day at Lord Granville’s, where, on the subject of a new play, he began to give the Earl an account of CoriolanUS, with reflections on his history.  Lord Granville at last grew impatient, and said, “Well! well! it is an old story; it may not be true.”  As we went out together, I said, “I like the approach to this house."’(1494) “Yes,"said Villiers, “and I love to be in it; for I never come here but I hear something I did not know before.”  Last year, I asked him to attend a controverted election in which I was interested; he told me he would with all his heart, but that he had resolved not to vote in elections for the first session, for that he owned he could not understand them—­not understand them!

Lord St. John(1495) is dead; he had a place in the custom-house of 1200 pounds a year, which his father had bought of the Duchess of Kendal for two lives, for 4000 pounds.  Mr. Pelham has got it for Lord Lincoln and his child.

I told you in my last a great deal about old Somerset’s will:  they have since found 150,000 which goes, too, between the two daughters.  It had been feared that he would leave nothing to the youngest; two or three years ago, he waked after dinner and found himself upon the floor; she used to watch him, had left him, and he had fallen from his couch.  He forbade every body to speak to her, but yet to treat her with respect as his daughter.  She went about the house for a year, without any body daring openly to utter a syllable to her; and it was never known that he had forgiven her.  His whole stupid life was a series of pride and tyranny.

There have been great contests in the Privy Council about the trial of the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford:  the Duke of’ Bedford and Lord Gower pressed it extremely.  The latter asked the Attorney-General(1496) his opinion, who told him the evidence did not appear strong enough:  Lord Gower said, “Mr. Attorney, you Seem to be very lukewarm for your party.”  He replied, “My lord, I never was lukewarm for my party, nor ever was but Of one party.”  There is a scheme for vesting in the King the nomination of’ the Chancellor of that University,(1497) who has much power—­and much noise it would make!  The Lord Chancellor is to be High Steward of Cambridge, in succession to the Duke of Newcastle.

The families of Devonshire and Chesterfield have received a great blow at Derby, where, on the death of John Stanhope, they set up another of the name.  One Mr. Rivett, the Duke’s chief friend and manager. stood himself, and carried it by a majority of seventy-one.  Lord Chesterfield had sent down credit for ten thousand pounds.  The Cavendish’s. however, are very happy, for Lady Hartington(1498) has produced a son.(1499)