one thing upon which this Court value themselves, and make a merit of to me. They say it is their influence over the King of the Two Sicilies (because he married their daughter), that has prevented his marching against our Allies in Lombardy; but such counters as these are never taken in payment. Thus far I got Mr. Stephens to copy almost word for word a letter I wrote to Lord Chesterfield, by the same messenger that brings you this; and therefore it should not be shown to everybody; but I hope it will divert Lord Ilchester and the Duke of Marlborough. If it had been wrote to you in my own way, I could have made you laugh heartily. You observe that Monsieur Bruhl, like all First Ministers, keeps the lowest company. I wish I dared write all I could; but things are not yet ripe. The first opportunity, you shall have a packet of curiosities. I am ever entirely yours, C. HANBURY WILLIAMS. * * * Dresden, 27th August, 1745, N. S. FOOTNOTES: [89] Supposed to be Dr. Sherlock. [90] This alludes to an interview between Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox, May 9, 1755. See Melcombe’s Diary, p. 319; and Mr. Fox’s Letter to Lord Hartington of May 13, 1755, in Appendix to Waldegrave. [91] See Appendix, vol. i. [92] It is perhaps more reasonable, and certainly more charitable, to suspect Sir Charles of credulity, and his female informant of malignity, than to believe the tales of incest and licentious effrontery reported in this letter. On the other hand, it must be acknowledged that the general state of manners in German Courts, in the middle of last century, by no means disprove such imputations.--E. [93] This passage, written in 1747, is remarkable; for Mr. Saul’s “_scheme_” was proved to be “_practicable business_” in the course of a few years.--E. END OF VOL. II. T. C. Savill, Printer, 4, Chandos-street, Covent-garden. TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources. Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained: for example, everybody, every body; meantime, mean time; partizan; catched; meaned; honester; tragical; subtilty; Pensylvania; Massachusets.