I am happy you have found out I am not to be feared; I am
afraid I must improve myself much before you will find I am to be
loved. If you will give affection for affection _tout simple_ I
shall get it from you....”
Mention is made of Emin’s joining the King of Prussia, so he was known
to Mrs. Carter, probably through Lord Lyttelton.
“I have the pleasure of hearing infinite commendations of Epictetus
every day; from such as are worthy I taste a particular pleasure;
from the multitude I take it in the gross, as it makes the sum of
universal fame. Some praises I heard a few days ago at the Bishop
of London’s I put in the first class.”
[Page heading: LORD LYTTELTON TO DR. MONSEY]
A most amusing letter from Lord Lyttelton to Dr. Monsey of July 24 now
occurs, in which he returns a letter of Mrs. Montagu’s to the doctor,
and summons him to a duel of words in her praise on Hagley turf. He
teases Dr. Monsey with the idea of her going north, and advises him “to
quit Lord Godolphin to follow love, follow him over the Cheviot Hills
and down to the coal-pits at Newcastle.” After a great deal of chaff it
ends, “Your most affectionate, humble Servant,--LYTTELTON.”
[Page heading: MRS. MONTAGU’S SYMPTOMS]
This frightened Monsey, so on July 30 he writes from St. James’s and
gives her strings of advice as to her health.
“I know the generality of Physicians will be cautious of blooding
you, as being what is called nervous; I know nothing of nerves in
the usual sense of the word, if indeed it has any precise meaning
at all, it is used by the wise to quiet fools, and by fools to
cover ignorance.” Then he adds in high fever she may be blooded,
“5, 6 or 7 ounces, and if you flag a blister! will set matters to
right. I say nothing of vomits, you can’t bear ’em, but you will
gentle purging, your lemon mixture and contrayserva with a little
saffron, be cautious of hot medicines, but do not wholly throw them
away, as to spasms and cramps they are such Proteuses, one does not
know how to catch or hold them, Valerian and Castor are in such
reputation for vanquishing those Hussars.... Assafœtida you can’t
bear, I wish you cou’d ... if feverish 3 spoonfuls of a decoction
of the bark by boyling one ounce and half in a quart of water to a
pint, and if your stomach flags put in from 5 to 10 drops of Elixir
of Vitriol, so arm’d a common cold will not have courage to attack
you.”
Finally he consigns her to a Dr. Ramsay’s care, should she require a
physician!
On August 1 Mrs. Boscawen wrote from Hatchlands a long letter
describing a visit to London. Her letters are sprightly, but too much
larded with French words and phrases; the end is interesting--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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