LONDON,February 24,1758
MY DEAR FRIEND:I received yesterday your letter of the 2d instant,with the inclosed;which I return you,that there may be no chasm in your papers.I had heard before of Burrish's death,and had taken some steps thereupon;but I very soon dropped that affair,for ninety-nine good reasons;the first of which was,that nonody is to go in his room,and that,had he lived,he was to have been recalled from Munich.But another reason,more flattering for you,was,that you could not be spared from Hamburg.Upon the whole,I am not sorry for it,as the place where you are now is the great entrepot of business;and,when it ceases to be so,you will necessarily go to some of the courts in the neighborhood (Berlin,I hope and believe),which will be a much more desirable situation than to rush at Munich,where we can never have any business beyond a subsidy.Do but go on,and exert yourself were you are,and better things will soon follow.
Surely the inaction of our army at Hanover continues too long.We expected wonders from it some time ago,and yet nothing is attempted.
The French will soon receive reinforcements,and then be too strong for us;whereas they are now most certainly greatly weakened by desertion,sickness,and deaths.Does the King of Prussia send a body of men to our army or not?or has the march of the Russians cut him out work for all his troops?I am afraid it has.If one body of Russians joins the Austrian army in Moravia,and another body the Swedes in Pomerania,he will have his hands very full,too full,I fear.The French say they will have an army of 180,000men in Germany this year;the Empress Queen will have 150,000;if the Russians have but 40,000,what can resist such a force?The King of Prussia may say,indeed,with more justice than ever any one person could before him,'Moi.Medea superest'.
You promised the some egotism;but I have received none yet.Do you frequent the Landgrave?'Hantex vous les grands de la terre'?What are the connections of the evening?All this,and a great deal more of this kind,let me know in your next.
The House of Commons is still very unanimous.There was a little popular squib let off this week,in a motion of Sir John Glynne's,seconded by Sir John Philips,for annual parliaments.It was a very cold scent,and put an end to by a division of 190to 70.
Good-night.Work hard,that you may divert yourself well.