I had no account of you at all yesterday, but in Mrs. Damer’s letter, which was rather better than the preceding; nor have I had any letter before post to-day, as you promised me in hers.  I had, indeed, a humorous letter from a puss that is about your house,(904) which is more comfortable; as I think she would not have written cheerfully if you had not been in a good way.  I would answer it, but I am grown a dull old Tabby, and have no “Quips and cranks and wanton wiles” left; but I shall be glad to see her when she follows you to town, which I earnestly hope will not pass Saturday.  My horses will be with you on Friday night.

The House of Commons sat till half an hour after three this morning, on Mr. Pitt’s loan to the Emperor; when it was approved by a majority of above two hundred.  Mr. Fox was more temperate than was expected; Mr. Grey did not speak; Mr. Sheridan was very entertaining:  several were convinced and voted for Mr. Pitt, who had gone down determined against it.  The Prince came to town t’other day ill, was blooded twice, but has now a strong eruption upon his skin, which will probably be of great service to him.  Sir Charles Blagden has been with the Duchess of Devonshire, and found her much better than he expected.  Her look is little altered:  she suffers but little, and finds herself benefited by being electrified.

I have received a compliment to-day very little expected by a superannuated old Etonian.  Two tickets from the gentlemen of Westminster School, for their play on Monday next.  I excused myself as civilly and respectfully as I could, on my utter impossibility of attending them.  Adieu!  I hope this will be the last letter I shall write before I See you.(905)

(904) This was written by Miss Salon, in the name of a kitten at Little Strawberry Hill, with whose gambols Lord Orford had been much amused.-M.B.

(905) Very soon after the date of the above letter, the gout, the attacks of which were every day becoming more frequent and longer, made those with whom Lord Orford was living at strawberry Hill very anxious that he should remove to Berkeley Square, to be nearer assistance, in case of any sudden seizure.  As his correspondents, soon after his removal, were likewise established in London, no more letters passed between them.  When not immediately suffering from pain, his mind was tranquil and cheerful.  He was still capable of being amused. and of taking some part in conversation:  but, during the last weeks of his life, when fever was superadded to his other ills, his mind became subject to the cruel hallucination of supposing himself neglected and abandoned by the only persons to whom his memory clung, and whom he desired always to see.  In vain they recalled to his recollection how recently they had left him, and how short had been their absence:  it satisfied him for the moment, but the same idea recurred as soon as he had lost sight of them.  At last, nature sinking under the exhaustion of weakness, obliterated all ideas but those of mere existence, which ended, without a struggle, on the 2d of March 1797.-M.B.