Kitabı oku: «Private Letters of Edward Gibbon (1753-1794) Volume 1 (of 2)», sayfa 12

96.
To his Stepmother

Saturday night, half an hour past nine, '71.

Dear Madam,

HIS DETENTION IN LONDON

Till this moment, it was my firm intention to set out to-morrow morning at seven o'clock. An unforeseen business has just arisen which will put off my journey till Wednesday. Messieurs Scott and Porten who are both with me desire their compliments. Thursday night I returned from Bucks, well, much tired, but hugely pleased with my Expedition.

I am, dear Madam,

Ever yours,

E. G.

97.
To his Stepmother

Pall Mall, February the 2nd, 1771.

Dear Madam,

I have advanced with some care and some success in gaining an Idea of the Bucks Estate. The Tenants are at Will, and from a compairison with my rents with the neighbouring ones, particularly Lord Verney,¹³⁷ there is great probability that my Estate is very much underlet. My friend Holroyd, who is a most invaluable Counsellor, is strongly of that opinion.

I am at a loss what to say about Mrs. Lee's letter, as I do not well understand what you mean by her mistake, but if the account is fair and can be conveniently paid from the farm money, I think it would be right to satisfy her. However a short delay can make but little difference.

I am sorry to hear that William has the gout. My best wishes to him, respects to Mrs. Williams & compliments to the Calf.

I am, dear Madam,

Most truly yours,

E. G.

98.
To James Scott, Esq

Pall Mall, February 4th, 1771.

Dear Sir,

After passing the Christmas at Beriton, I returned to town about three Weeks ago. The friendly part you have taken in my affairs, would render me inexcusable, if I omitted to acquaint you with what has been done, as well as to consult you in relation to what ought to be done.

With regard to the Goslings I have paid them a full year's interest to last November. Seven hundred and forty-seven Pounds is a severe pull, and I told Clive in a jocose manner but with great truth, that if he was tired of being my Landlord, I was most heartily so of being his tenant.

WAYS AND MEANS

In my last I expressed an inclination of parting with Lenborough rather than with Beriton, but in these complicated affairs, so many opposite reasons combat each other that I now incline to execute, if possible, the original plan. We always knew the Bucks to be a most desirable Estate, but I am now convinced that it is a very improvable one. My Lands are let at twenty-three per acre, those of Lord Verney in the same parish and intermixed with mine let for nine & twenty. See the difference. 23½, 29; £636, £785. And this account I had too from John Harris, who seems frightened out of his Wits, for fear I should raise the rents; which it is always in my power to do, as the Tenants are only at will, and without any leases. But I shall soon know things more exactly, as a very trusty and able man is sent down to value the Estate.

The Hampshire Estate on the other hand receives a great drawback from the Woods and Manour; the former produce no interest, nor can I afford to wait the slowness of their growth; the latter, tho' extremely valuable to a Sportsman and Country Gentleman, would be to me only a source of vexation, expence, lawsuits, quarrels, &c. &c. &c.

In order then to proceed in that line, it was necessary to get all those Writings, which old Southouse has kept these two years without any receipt, that we might examine whether we had a good saleable title. The old Gentleman has shewn a reluctance in the restoring them which was very far from pleasing. The best and perhaps the true motive is his carelessness of business, and frequent stay in the Country, but even that was a sufficient reason for taking my business out of his hands. I am strongly recommended by Mr. Porten and other friends to employ Mr. Newton, a man of character and ability, who has great experience in the branch of buying and selling Estates. I shall not take that or any other step of consequence without your praevious approbation, and in case you have not any person in view I should directly employ Newton. Southouse refuses to deliver up the Copy of our Deed of trust, which was designed for the trustees, without your order. Would it be disagreable to you, to send us a line by the return of the post, directing him to deliver up the Deed to your brother Trustee?

As soon as I have put this business in train I shall return for some time to Beriton, to compleat the surveys and other things begun there. I say nothing of Mrs. G., as I presume you correspond with her.

I am, Dear Sir, with every wish for your health and amusement,

Most truly yours,

E. G.

99.
To his Stepmother

Pall Mall, February 12th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

If the weather with you is only half as uncomfortable as it is in town, Beriton must indeed be a most dismal place. We are cut in two with the cold, and buried in the deepest snow that ever I saw in London. This circumstance makes my presence with you the less necessary, as it would not be possible for Bricknall or any body else to do anything in the surveying way. As soon as I see a possibility I shall write to him to undertake it, and shall beg Hugonin to assist him with his directions. The Woods (an account of which he has given me) amount to £3500. It was about what I expected. I had a letter from Hugonin, to whom I excused me not attending the Court. He desires to become my tenant for a field. I am ignorant of circumstances, but think he would not ask anything improper.

The business of settling the Beriton title, with the Lawyer here, seems to be now the most urgent affair. I hope, but cannot promise, that by the end of next week it may be sufficiently advanced to allow me to come down. I most truly pity poor Mrs. W., and should think that if Beriton is so insupportable to her, she might come up by herself in the Machine. I hope her spirits, your health and Patton's gout are all better.

Will you be so good as to order Tregus up to town with the horse. He must bring him to Wisdom's Livery Stable, Park Lane, Hyde Park Corner, who is prepared to receive him.

I am, dear Madam,

Most truly yours,

E. G.

100.
To his Stepmother

Pall Mall, February 25th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

Things advance so very slowly, that I propose to run down to Beriton for a fortnight, and shall certainly be with you Wednesday. It is therefore unnecessary to say any more at present, than that I beg you would not wait dinner for me, as it is very uncertain whether I shall arrive before Evening.

I am, Dear Madam,

Most truly yours,

E. G.

101.
To his Stepmother

Grosvenor Street, Tuesday evening.

Dear Madam,

THE LORD MAYOR IN THE TOWER.

I write a very few lines with a very bad pen at a very late hour, to say that my cold is a great deal better, that I hope you will get some company at Beriton, were it even Miss Higgons, that I hope William has got the better of his gout, and that we are all in confusion with the Idea of sending a Lord Mayor to the Tower. I hope Bricknall is returned and that he goes on with vigour.

I am, Dear Madam,

Most truly yours,

E. G.

102.
To his Stepmother

Boodle's, March 29th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

I have let slip some posts without writing, and I can hardly say why I have done so. Nothing of business has occurred; I am sure you are well convinced how much I interest myself in your health, your amusements, how much I wish you had some company at Beriton. Why cannot you get the Roberts from the Isle of Wight?

As to my own cold it has at length been tired of keeping me company. The news of the town are great. You know that two wild beasts have been sent to the Menagerie in the Tower,¹³⁸ but such beasts are hardly worth speaking of. – Tregus of course goes on breaking in the colt, and I hope with regard to that and everything else at Beriton you will be so good as to issue your orders, and to believe me

Most truly yours,

E. Gibbon.

103.
To his Stepmother

Pall Mall, April 13th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

I am much obliged to you for the Certificate, but it came too late to be of any service to my poor Chaise. Whilst I was in the country, a regular process in the Exchequer (a matter of form) was commenced, and the date of the payment in the Country was too late. Mr. G. Scott whom I consulted read me a lecture on the heinous sin of cheating Government, and the business ended in my paying the tax with all its arrears, sixteen pounds.

Mrs. Denton's invitation gives me great pleasure, as I am persuaded that Bath, if you can settle there in a manner agreeable to yourself, will be a very proper and a very convenient place. I must add, though I hope there is no occasion to say it, that nothing in my power shall be wanting to make it so.

MASQUERADE AT SOHO.

Are all the poor sheep at Havant dead of the rot? We are frightened in town with the apprehensions of famine, and it is said there is no probability of a tolerable harvest. Wheat in that melancholy prospect must be rising, and I should think – but I have no sort of business to think – and am sure you will give your order with a much more enlightened zeal for our Interest than I could possibly do myself.

Mrs. Eliot is in town, I dined with them last Sunday. They say, as usual, every thing that is proper on every occasion. The next day (Monday) I dined with Sir Matthew [Featherstonhaugh], and last night I passed in a gay varied scene called a Masquerade at Soho.¹³⁹ There will be another next week, at the Haymarket, and yet we have had no Earthquake.

I am, dear Madam,

Most truly yours,

E. G.

104.
To his Stepmother

Pall Mall, April 27th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

It is very near eleven o'clock, and you know that I am a very dry Writer. I only wish to tell you that I am well, and that I hope you are so.

How do you like Sir John Dalrymple?¹⁴⁰ I hope Bricknall is not idle, and should think it high time for him to have done.

I am, dear Madam,

Most truly yours,

E. G.

105
To his Stepmother

Pall Mall, May the 4th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

I am rather vexed than disappointed at the delays of the formal Mr. Bricknall. All men of business are like him when they know you cannot easily get out of their hands. Mr. Newton in town, tho' far preferable to old Southouse, is full of delays and avocations. I press him as much as I can to get through the Writings, and hope you will be so good as to do the same both in your own name and in mine with the aforesaid Bricknall.

You know that the country merely in itself has no charms for me, and I do not see that as yet my presence can be of any use. I therefore propose staying here the remainder of the month; towards the middle of it I shall see my friend Holroyd, who is obliged upon some particular business to make the tour of Ireland, Scotland and Yorkshire,¹⁴¹ but who will certainly be at Beriton, as the active little man writes me word, by the end of June. By that time I hope we may persuade Mr. Scott to make us a visit, which may in many respects be of use. In the mean time I am only concerned at the solitary life you lead there, and though nobody that I know possesses more resources against the complaint of Ennui, yet I could wish you had more living company than Sir John Dalrymple. Surely Mrs. or at least Miss Roberts could come over. In the mean time I have sent you Robertson's book,¹⁴² in which I think you will find much entertainment and information.

Mrs. Eliott, with whom I dined yesterday, told me she had just wrote to you. I suppose she acquainted you with the doubtful tho' pleasing suspense they are in since Colonel Nugent's death.¹⁴³ We are amazing friends, and I am actually employed in fishing out intelligence for them, by the means of my connections with Lord Berkeley.

I am, with best Wishes to William,

Dear Madam,

Most truly yours,

E. G.

106.
To his Stepmother

May the 13th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

THE PRICE OF WHEAT.

I believe I must write to that old fellow Mr. Bricknall who cannot measure the Estate, pour trois raisons; however in time he must finish it, and we are so far engaged with him, that there is no retreating. As to the Wheat, I think that there can be no doubt about selling at the present advanced price, but in that and every thing else I beg you would use your own judgment, and that you would be convinced how much I think myself obliged to you for using it. With regard to the Servants I could not avoid giving Richard a Livery, and think that the other servants ought to have theirs, at least of the slightest kind.

I am, dear Madam,

Most truly yours,

E. G.

107.
To his Stepmother

Pall Mall, June the 1st, 1771.

Dear Madam,

I have deferred writing to you for some posts, in expectation of hearing of Mrs. Eliott's visit, who I find from Mr. E – was still with you on Tuesday. The hour of eleven (the common excuse) only allows me time to say that I am well, and propose being at Beriton in eight or ten days.

I hope the eternal Bricknall is not idle, and must intreat you to quicken him. If Mrs. E. is still with you, I beg you would present my love and compliments. I am this instant come from a very agreeable dinner in Spring Gardens.

I am, dear Madam,

Most truly yours,

E. G.

108.
To his Stepmother

June 11th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

I know you will excuse short letters, and that you are persuaded that the expression of my love and regard are very unnecessary. It was my intention to have been at Beriton next Sunday, but the Scotch affair of Mr. Lockwood & myself has just intervened. The final Deeds I have sent to King's Cliffe this post, nor can I leave town till Mrs. Eliott has returned them from Cornwall. I hope that before Sunday Sevennight, I may have the pleasure of assuring you how truly

I am, your

E. G.

109.
To his Stepmother

Pall Mall, Saturday Evening, June 22nd, 1771.

Dear Madam,

Mrs. Hester Gibbon makes some very unmeaning difficulties about signing the Scotch Papers. I hope notwithstanding that Mr. Lockwood will be able to clear these up to her, and that it will be in my power, as it really is in my inclination, to dine at Beriton next Thursday. Unless you have any objection to it, I propose inviting Mr. Scott, as his company may be agreeable, and his advice of use to us.

I am, dear Madam,

Most truly yours,

E. G.

Your Commissions shall be taken care of.

110.
To his Stepmother

Pall Mall, June 25th, 1771.

Dear Madam,

I only write two lines to desire that you would not be surprized if you do not see me Thursday. I have neglected so many little things that I fear they will require another day. Friday you may depend on seeing or hearing from me. I hope the former, as I am extremely desirous of being at Beriton.

Most truly yours,

E. G.

111.
To his Stepmother

Sheffield Place, August the 2nd, 1771.

Dear Madam,

MR. HOLROYD AT BERITON.

I got here Tuesday Evening, and find great satisfaction in a pleasant place, and a friend's Company. According to the present plan, we, family and all go to Brighthelmstone next Sunday. From thence Holroyd and myself shall set off and arrive at Beriton, Wednesday, or more probably Thursday. Should anything on his side occasion any further delay, I will apprize you of it by Wednesday's post.

I hope Mr. Scott is arrived in good health and good spirits. Present him with my best Compliments and every proper Apology, for my running away at the very time when we expected his Company.

I am, Dear Madam,

Most truly yours,

E. Gibbon.

112.
To J. B. Holroyd, Esq

August 18th, 1771.

Dear Holroyd,

I am glad you are returned. I detest your races. I abhor your assizes. Supposing therefore that all will be ended, and you at Sheffield place again by Saturday the 27th instant, I propose being with you, the Wednesday or Thursday following, with a design of passing a few days in your chateau, and from thence, bringing you away in triumph to my cottage. Till when we bid you heartily farewell.

Gibbon.

113.
To his Stepmother

1771.

Dear Madam,

WARM DEFENCE OF HIS HONOUR.

I am much obliged to your friendship, for the advice you have given me with regard to my future conduct, and shall always pay the most sincere deference to it. Both prudence and inclination will engage me to get rid of the farm as soon as such a complicated piece of business can be transacted. With respect to my expences they shall always be proportioned to my income, and I am already preparing to discharge a cook, a groom, and other unnecessary Servants. There is one part of your letter which has given me, Dear Madam, very great uneasiness. You say that you have heard from undoubted authority that my own imprudences had so much embarrassed me, as to oblige me to make a concession which otherwise I might not have done. Were I conscious of these imprudencies, I should fairly acknowledge them, and endeavour by future behaviour to make some amends for past follies. But an innocent person has a right to speak a very different language. I know my own innocence, and without any vain protestations of it, I will at once come to such facts as must either establish it, or else expose me not only as a prodigal, but as a man devoid of honour and veracity. I therefore solemnly affirm the truth of the following facts.

1. When I returned from Switzerland about twelve years and a half ago, my father told me his affairs were a good deal embarrassed, and desired that I would joyn in cutting off the entail and in raising £10,000. I was then a raw lad of one and twenty, unacquainted with law or business, and desirous of obliging my father. He then gave me three hundred a year, a moderate allowance to which his eldest son would have had a natural claim, had no such transaction intervened.

2. Upon and within that allowance, I have constantly lived, except during two years and a half that I was abroad the second time. Whilst I was abroad I spent about seven hundred a year, a sum which, with the unavoidable expences of travelling, barely supports the appearance of an English gentleman.

3. I have never on any occasion received from my father any pecuniary inducements to consent to any step whatsoever, except once, four hundred pounds, near £100 of which were arrears of my allowances, and about the same sum I returned to my father when he wanted it very much.

4. I have never lost at play a hundred pounds at any one time; perhaps not in the course of my life. Play I neither love nor understand.

5. I have never taken up any money for myself, in any way whatever.

6. Neither at my father's death nor at any other period have I ever had any other debts than common tradesmen's bills, which are paid from one year to another, and even those to a very trifling amount.

I have tried to answer a general charge, as far as a general charge can be answered. But for our mutual satisfaction, let me intreat you, Dear Madam, to communicate that part of my letter to the persons from whom you received your intelligence. Desire that without sparing me they would contradict by facts any of those which I have advanced, or that they would mention any which I have suppressed. If they are unable to do this, your candour must allow that they were either weakly deceived, or wicked Deceivers. As I neither know nor wish to know who they are, Charity induces me to believe the former rather than to suspect the latter.

I think, Dear Madam, you will excuse my warmth. I should deserve the imputation could I submit to it with patience. As long as you credit it, you must view me in the light of a specious Hypocrite, who meanly cloaked his own extravagancies under his father's imprudence, and who ascribed to filial piety what had been the consequence of folly and necessity. As long as you credit it, I must be deprived of the esteem of a person, whose good opinion and friendship it will ever be my wish and study to deserve.

114.
To his Stepmother

10 minutes after Eleven, Saturday Night, 1771.

Dear Madam,

I have only time to tell you (being this moment come home) that I have received Arnold's draught, that I go into Bucks, Tuesday, shall return here Thursday, for Holroyd is in a violent hurry, and hope to be at Beriton Sunday. Should there happen any alteration I will write. Mes compliments à la vache Espagnole, et le White Calf.

I am,

Ever yours,

E. G.

115.
To J. B. Holroyd, Esq

October 6, 1771.

*Dear Holroyd,

I set down to answer your Epistle, after taking a very pleasant ride. —A Ride! and upon what?– Upon a horse. – "You lye!" – I don't. I have got a droll little Poney, and intend to renew the long-forgotten practice of Equitation, as it was known in the World before the 2nd of June of the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three. As I used to reason against riding, so I can now argue for it; and indeed the principal use I know in human reason is, when called upon, to furnish arguments for what we have an inclination to do.*

I am obliged to you, for looking me out this Lancashire Man, who may assuredly be of use, and no less so for your intercession with Gosling or Clive. If he and his Partner will condescend to receive my Tribute, I am in no violent hurry to dispose of the Place, which under Mrs. Gibbon's management is certainly no losing Game. She thanks you for your Papers, and has delivered the Roster to Mr. Luff, who, though it is new, likes it hugely.

FARMER GIBBON

*What do you mean by presuming to affirm, that I am of no use here? Farmer Gibbon of no use! Last week I sold all my Hops, and I believe well, at nine Guineas a hundred, to a very responsible Man. Some people think I might have got more at Weyhill Fair, but that would have been an additional expence, and a great uncertainty. Our quantity has disapointed us very much; but I think, that besides hops for the house, there will not be less than 500l.; – no contemptible Sum of thirteen small Acres, and two of them planted last year only. This week I let a little Farm in Petersfield by auction, and propose raising it from 25l. to 35l. pr. annum: and Farmer Gibbon of no use!

To be serious; I have but one reason for resisting your invitation and my own wishes; that is, Mrs. Gibbon I left nearly alone all last Winter, and shall do the same this. She submits very chearfully to that state of solitude; but, on sounding her, I am convinced that she would think it unkind were I to leave her at present. I know you so well, that I am sure you will acquiesce in this reason; and let me make my next Visit to Sheffield-Place from town, which I think may be a little before Christmas. I should like to hear something of the precise time, duration, and extent of your intended tour into Bucks. Adieu.*