LETTEB CVII 179 



tho' he blamed you to me, he defended you to Him. As I could 

 not but express a great Surprize at your not being better in that 

 Person's good Graces, (not having ever suspected it,) I asked 

 my Ld if he knew the Cause : He said, very well ; It was given 

 him by himself ye first Time he spoke to Him about You : You 

 did not vote for ye Bp of Durham at Oxford.* My Uncle being 

 better informed in this affair before ye next day at the House, 

 went up to him & told him that You did vote for him ; to which 

 he answer'd to this Purpose, " that it was in so ling'ring, cold, 

 & disobliging a manner, that he could not but beleive you dis- 

 inclined to any Services of that Nature." Now what my Uncle 

 thought faulty, was, that knowing his Pride & Expectations you 

 did not enter with a more sanguine Shew into his Intentions, 

 if You enter'd into them at all. I answer'd for you, that You 

 had taken ye Journey on Purpose, that you thought voting was 

 all that my Ld wanted fm You, which You had done : and that 

 if you did not come in 'till late, He who was an Oxford man 

 could not but know, how exceeding disagreable it was to stand 

 the Brunt of a Majority in your College of ye opposite Party, as 

 I supposed you must, longer than was needful ; that you had 

 always express'd the highest Eespect for my Ld & his family, 

 as ye Patrons & friends of your Uncle & his family ; & I was 

 sure that tho' you might not know ye ways of great men enough, 

 to behave quite to their Expectations, you had such a Principle 

 of Gratitude in You, that You would always carry your Eespect 

 for your Benefactors as far as you could understand the Propriety 

 of it, & would never be deficient from Design. This & much 

 more I said for my friend : You will collect from ye whole what 

 one great Man may expect as well as Another. As to East Meon, 

 which is rather better than you think it, it was promised before 

 my Ld left London. 



I reed a Lr last night from my dear Bro : Ned. If he is still 

 with you, I beg You to thank him for it. I gather from it that 

 you find your Guestsf in a Variety of Entertainments, & keep 

 them constantly employed in Gallantries. They are now reduc'd, 

 by ye Departure of the Sorceresses, % to the Elegiac Strain ; and 

 must at least hang Verses on the Beeches of the Hanger & ye 

 Noar, if they do not serve themselves in ye same way. But 

 do not forget ye absent thro' your attachment to ye Present : 

 It will be high Time for you to fly your Country after so bold 



* There had been a contested election for the Chancellorship of Oxford 

 University in 1759, between the Bishop of Durham and the Earl of 

 Westmoreland, in which the latter was elected. 



+ Mr. Thomas Mulso, jun., and his wife, Mr. Edward Mulso, and Miss 

 Harriot Baker were visiting Gilbert White at this time. Henry White and 

 Basil Cane came to Selborne whenever their clerical duties permitted. 



X The three Misses Battle above mentioned. 



