264 LETTERS TO GILBERT WHITE 



of Improvement. What say You to this Eain ? I hope You 

 rejoyce in it like a Duck. I live in hope of seeing You, for I 

 have not heard of your passing this Way yet. You may always 

 get Intelligence of Us at Mr Waller's, & every Body knows 

 Mr Waller. 



Dr Warton's Brother has hopes, I find, of succeeding poor 

 Dr Huddesford at Trin : Coll. 



Farewell. I can see to write no more. Love fm all here. 

 I am, my dear Gil, Ever afftely Your's, 



J. Mulso. 



Letter 167. 

 Revd. Mr White, Meonstoke. 



at Selbourne near Alton, Hants. June 13, 1776. 



Dear Gil : 



I arrived here with my family yesterday ; which I signify 

 to You, that You may know that I am more in your Neighbour- 

 hood. But before I set out, I reed the Account of the Death of 

 Mr Monkton of Easton, by Dr Smith & Others. I therefore 

 dispatched Letters to the Bp. — to my Brother — to Oxford, — in 

 Order to get things in Forwardness to succeed him. Will You 

 beleive me when I tell You that I did this wth fear & trembling ? 

 The Man, preparing himself for so full a Clerical Preferment, is 

 no more than "a puny Insect, shivering at a Breeze". I have 

 only to pray that if I get into this Preferment which I told You 

 was promised to me, I may behave Myself worthy of the many 

 Favours of Providence ; and that they may indeed be Blessings 

 from him, & not Tryals & Curses. This affair will naturally, at 

 a decent Time, set me in Motion : but I must wait for Summons. 



I am just returned from a Tour to Blandford in Dorsetshire 

 wth Mr Nott, •& helped to fill the Duty of his Church ye first 

 Sunday. The Edifice is beautiful!, but, tho' without crouding 

 Galleries, is very hard to speak in. The Town is good ; the 

 Situation sweet, & the Country about it a Variety of soft Downs 

 & rich Bottoms. But I beleive You know the Spot better than 

 I do. We dined at Salisbury .going & coming, & we took Wilton 

 in our way back. Did not You desire me to take Notice of 

 Something at Ld Pembroke's, either in the Family Picture, or 

 in Something else ? pray refresh my Memory ; if it was You, I 

 will endeavour to give You an answer, tho' we were much 

 press'd in Time ; For we could not set out from Blandford 'till 

 Nine, we were to see Ld Pembroke's, to dine at Salisbury & to 

 join the Ladies at Winton at Tea, & go to ye Play. All which 

 we did. 



I am the better for my Excursion. But alass, I find on my 

 Eeturn that Age has so seized on my Coach Horse that John 



