of Lord Holland; both of which have been granted.  Charles Townshend is paymaster, and Lord Weymouth viceroy of Ireland; so Lord Northumberland remains on the pav`e, which, as there is no place vacant for him, it was not necessary to stipulate.  The Duchess of bedford, with colours flying, issued out of her garrison yesterday, and took possession of the drawing-room.  To-day their majesties are gone to Woburn; but as the Duchess is a perfect Methodist against all suspicious characters, it is said, to-day, that Lord Talbot is to be added to the list of proscriptions, and now they think themselves established for ever.—­Do they so?  Lord Temple declares himself the warmest friend of the present administration;—­there is a mystery still to be cleared up,—­and, perhaps, a little to the mortification of Bedford-house.—­We shall see.

The Duke of Cumberland is retired to Windsor:  your brother gone to Park-place:  I go to Strawberry to-morrow, lest people should not think me a great man too.  I don’t know whether I shall not even think it necessary to order myself a fit of the gout.(836) I have received your short letter of the 16th, with the memorial of the family of Brebeuf;—­now my head will have a little leisure, I will examine it,. and see if I can do any thing in the affair.  In that letter you say, you have been a month without hearing from any of your friends.  I little expected to be taxed on that head:  I have written you volumes almost every day; my last dates have been of April 11th, 20th, May 5th, 12th, and 16th.  I beg you will look over them, and send me word exactly, and I beg you not to omit it, whether any of these are missing.  Three of them I trusted to Guerchy, but took care they should contain nothing which it signified whether seen or not on t’other side of the water, though I did not care they should be perused on this.  I had the caution not to let him have this, though by the eagerness with which he proffered both to-day and yesterday, to send any thing by his couriers, I suspected he wished to help them to better intelligence than he could give them himself.  He even told me he should have another courier depart on Tuesday next; but I excused myself, on the pretence of having too much to write at once, and shall send this, and a letter your brother has left me, by mr.  Craufurd, though he does not set out till Sunday; but you had better wait for it from him, than from the Duc de Choiseul.  Pray commend my discretion—­you see I grow a consummate politician; but don’t approve of it too much, lest I only send you letters as prudent as your own.

You may acquaint Lady Holland with the dismission of her lord, if she has not heard it, he being at Kingsgate.  Your secretary(837) is likely to be prime minister in Ireland.  Two months ago the new Viceroy himself was going to France for debt, leaving his wife and children to be maintained by her mother.(838)

I will be much obliged to you, my dear lord, if you will contrive to pay Lady Stanhope for the medals; they cost, I think, but 4 pounds 7 shillings or thereabout—­but I have lost the note.