Miss de Visme [6] has not yet arrived. She has made great havoc among the Staffordshire beaux. Your old Square Flame, Miss Calcraft [7] is in a few months to come out a raging belle. She is amazingly admired by the few who have seen her. London is pronounced dullissimo, so pray continue to amuse yourself in Edinburgh, which by your account must be the gayest and pleasantest place in the world. We are much obliged to the Duchess of Gordon for giving you so happy an opportunity of announcing the beautiful, or extraordinary presents we may expect to receive--perhaps Scotch husbands--who knows! Pray don't be dilatory. Miss Glyn is smarter, gayer, and a greater flirt than ever. A last attempt--may it succeed! _Mrs Spencer-Stanhope to John Spencer-Stanhope._ _February 26th, 1808._ Yesterday I had the pleasure of your gay, wild epistle. You remind me of the French prisoner who was asked how he spent his time. He answered--"We breakfast, then dance; dine, dance again; sup--_encore la danse!_" This I begin to suspect is a Scotch life, and very good for bile, provided the dinners are such as the prisoner partook of. You seem to be the happiest of the happy and the gayest of the gay. Peter was quite shocked you had not mentioned Walter Scott. Have you ever met with him? Great expectations are formed of his poem. Campbell and Rogers are both going to publish poems. _March 11th, 1808._ I believe I have not written to you since your sisters were at the Argyle Rooms, [8] which they liked extremely, but where they had small opportunity of exhibiting their new steps. There was first an Operetta, then a supper, and afterwards an attempt at a dance; but the stupid English voted it not _ton_, and there were only about fifteen couples who ventured to defy this opinion--Marianne and Mr Macdonald one of them. Anne remained a spectator. As the dancing did not seem to be approved, Mr Greville said, for the future there should be none except upon ball nights. _March 16th, 1808._ We were at the Opera on Saturday and at the Argyle Rooms on Monday. At the latter place we had only a concert and supper--thin and I thought dull. The men are always in the house and have little time for anything but politicks. The King is, I understand, quite provoked with the Opposition, and says that their present method of proceeding is different to any that has ever been in his reign. They depend upon wearing out the Constitutions of the Ministers. Your father told Lord Castlereagh he was certain it was all owing to his pale face and therefore he ought to put on a little rouge. The Lords sending back the Bill on the orders of Council had given great spirits to the Opposition.