LONDON,February 27,1759
MY DEAR FRIEND:In your last letter,of the 7th,you accuse me,most unjustly,of being in arrears in my correspondence;whereas,if our epistolary accounts were fairly liquidated,I believe you would be brought in considerably debtor.I do not see how any of my letters to you can miscarry,unless your office-packet miscarries too,for I always send them to the office.Moreover,I might have a justifiable excuse for writing to you seldomer than usual,for to be sure there never was a period of time,in the middle of a winter,and the parliament sitting,that supplied so little matter for a letter.Near twelve millions have been granted this year,not only 'nemine contradicente',but,'nemine quicquid dicente'.The proper officers bring in the estimates;it is taken for granted that they are necessary and frugal;the members go to dinner;and leave Mr.West and Mr.Martin to do the rest.
I presume you have seen the little poem of the "Country Lass,"by Soame Jenyns,for it was in the "Chronicle";as was also an answer to it,from the "Monitor."They are neither of them bad performances;the first is the neatest,and the plan of the second has the most invention.I send you none of those 'pieces volantes'in my letters,because they are all printed in one or other of the newspapers,particularly in the "Chronicles";and I suppose that you and others have all those papers among you at Hamburg;in which case it would be only putting you to the unnecessary expense of double postage.
I find you are sanguine about the King of Prussia this year;I allow his army will be what you say;but what will that be 'vis-a-vis'French,Austrians,Imperialists,Swedes,and Russians,who must amount to more than double that number?Were the inequality less,I would allow for the King of Prussia's being so much 'ipse agmen'as pretty nearly to balance the account.In war,numbers are generally my omens;and,I confess,that in Germany they seem not happy ones this year.In America.Ithink,we are sure of success,and great success;but how we shall be able to strike a balance,as they call it,between good success there,and ill success upon the continent,so as to come at a peace;is more than I can discover.
Lady Chesterfield makes you her compliments,and thanks you for your offer;but declines troubling you,being discouraged by the ill success of Madame Munchausen's and Miss Chetwynd's commissions,the former for beef,and the latter for gloves;neither of which have yet been executed,to the dissatisfaction of both.Adieu.
