(467) Mr. Walpole tinges his approbation of Lord George’s politics by this allusion to Minden, where his lordship had not “led up the Blues."-C.

(468) Miss Anna Maria Draycote, married in April, 17()3, to Earl Pomfret.  To taste Mr. Townshend’s jest, one must recollect, that in the finance of that day the duties of tonnage and poundage held a principal place.-C.

(469) Governor Vansittart, contrary to the advice of his council, had deposed the Nabob Meer Jaffier, and transferred the sovereignty to his son-in-law, Cossim Ali Cawn.  The latter, however, soon forgot his obligations to the English; and in consequence of some aggressions on his part, a deputation, consisting of Mesrs Amyatt and Hay, members of council, attended by half a dozen other gentlemen, was sent to the new Nabob.  While this deputation was on its return, hostilities broke out, and these gentlemen were put to death as they were passing the city of Mor”, Moreshedabad.  About the same here the English council at Patna and their attendants were made prisoners, and afterwards cruelly massacred.  These events necessitated the deposition of Cossim, and Jaffier was accordingly, after a short campaign, restored.-C. (468) Charles, afterwards second Duke of Dorset.-E.

(470) John Damer, member for Dorchester.  Lord Milton had married Lord George’s youngest sister, Lady Caroline.-E.

(471) The Prince and Princess landed safely at Helvoet on the 2d of February.-E.

(472) Simon Fanshawe, Esq. member for Grampound.  He had married a lady of his own name.

Letter 192 To The Earl Of Hertford.  Arlington Street, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 1764. (page 283)

My dear lord, You ought to be Witness to the fatigue I am suffering, before you can estimate the merit I have in being writing to you at this moment.  Cast up eleven hours in the House of Commons on Monday, and above seventeen hours yesterday—­ay, seventeen at length,- -and then you may guess if I am tired! nay, you must add seventeen hours that I may possibly be there on Friday, and then calculate if I am weary.(473) In short, yesterday was the longest day ever known in the House of Commons—­why, on the Westminster election at the end of my father’s reign,(474) I was at home by six.  On Alexander Murray’s(475) affair, I believe, by five—­on the militia, twenty people, I think, sat till six, but then they were only among themselves, no heat, no noise, no roaring.  It was half an hour after seven this morning before I was at home.  Think of that, and then brag of your French parliaments!(476)

What is ten times greater, Leonidas and the Spartan minority did not make such a stand at Thermopylae, as we did.  Do you know, we had like to have been the majority?  Xerxes(477) is frightened out of his senses; Sysigambis(478) has sent an express to Luton to forbid Phrates(479) coming to town to-morrow:  Norton’s(480) impudence has forsaken him; Bishop Warburton is at this moment reinstating Mr. Pitt’s name in the dedication to his sermons, which he had expunged for Sandwich’s;(481) and Sandwich himself is—­at Paris, perhaps, by this time, for the first thing I expect to hear to-morrow is, that he is gone off.