27 
before the Archbifhop of York, publicly 
declared that he would not accept of a 
bifhopric, if offered to him, I jeeringly 
told him that I fuppofed his antipathy to 
2 bifhopric had fubfided. He being alfo 
the firft promoter of the York affoci- 
ations, (which I never approved,) I 
added that I fuppofed he intended to ufe 
that fool W * * * as a tool of popu- 
larity. For W * * * is fo ftupid that 
hhe cannot even write Englifh; and the 
firft York affociation paper, which is 
written by W ***, is neither fenfe 
nor grammar. 
To return to Lord H. He was fo ob- 
noxious to the court that, when his mo- 
ther lately died, the queen did not fend a 
mefiage to his countefs, to fay that fhe 
would call on her; though this be al- 
ways done in etiquette to a countefs, and 
as conftantly refufed. 
Lord and Lady H. never went near the 
court. But when Fox’s India bill came 
to the Houfe of Lords, Lord H. pro- 
bably by Mafon’s fuggeltions, remained 
to the very laft of the queftion, and much 
diftinguifhed himfelf againft it. ‘The 
confequence was, that a few days after, 
Lord H. called on me, to fay that the 
king had fent him a meflage, requeiting 
his acceptance of the embafly to Spain: 
and he concluded with begging my ad- 
vice on the occafion. I told him at once 
that, fince the king had fent fuch a 
meffage, I thought it was in fact begging 
pardon: *¢ and, my lord, [ think you 
mutt go to court, and return thanks for 
the offer, as you da nor accept it.” But 
lo and behold! in a day or two Lady H. 
was made lady of the bed-chamber to the 
queen; and Lord H. was conftantly dang- 
Jing inthe drawing-room. i 
Soon after Mafon, in ancther letter, 
afked me what I thought of Lord H.’s 
becoming fuch a courtier, &c. I was 
really fhocked to fee a man, who had pro- 
feffed fo much, treat fuch a matter. fo 
lightly ; and returned a pretty fevere an- 
{wér. Among other matters I {aid ironi- 
cally, that, fince Lord H. had given his 
cap-and-dagger ring to little mafter, he 
(Mafon) need no longer wonder at my 
fove for my buft of Caligule. For Lerd 
H. ulfed formerly always to wear a 
feal-ring, with the cap of liberty be- 
tween two daggers, when he went to 
court: but he gave it to a little boy upon 
his change. And I, thongh a warm 
friend of*republicanifm *, Have a fmall 

* Such were Mr. Walpole’s precife words in 
4785 '—alempors muytquter, ef mes mutamur in 
Hlis. xf an a * - Mi er iy " oe 
Walpoliana, No. VI. 
In confequence - 
[Oa. 
buft of Caligula in bronze, much ad- 
mired for its fine workmanfhip. ¥ 
The cenfequence of thefe differences 
has been, that we call on each other, but 
are on the coldeft terms. 
I ought to have mentioned that Mr. 
Mafon, in his latter epiftle to me, con- 
doled with me on the death of my bro- 
ther, by which I loft 1400]. a year. In 
my .anfwer F told him there was ne 
room for condolence in the affair, my 
brother having attained the age of fe- 
venty-feven: and I myfelf being an old 
man of fixty-eight, fo that it was time 
for the old child to give over buying of 
baubles. JI added, that Mr. Mafon weil 
knew that the place had been twice of- 
fered to me for my own life, but I had 
refufed, and left it on the old footing of 
my brother’s. 
Mafon too has turned a kind of a 
courtier, though he was formerly fo noted, 
that, being one of the king’s chaplains, 
and it being his turn to preach before the 
royal family, the queen ordered another 
to perform the office. But when this 
fubftitute began to read prayers, Mafon 
alfo began the fame fervice. He did not 
fay whether he praceeded ; but this I had 
from his own mouth, and as it happened 
in the chapel at St. James’s, it is furpriz- 
ing the town did not know it. Maton 
in confequence refigned the chaplainthip. — 
Mafon has fix or eight hundred a year, 
arifing from. a living to which he was 
prefented by the Earl of Holdernefs, ‘and 
from his York prebend. In my lait letter 
to him, I atked if fupernumerary church- 
offices were not among the articles of Mr, 
Pitt’s reform? I do‘think that Mafon 
changed his fentiments fram a filly hope 
of feeing his favourite fcheme, of parlia- 
mentary reform, profper ui Mr. Pitt’s 
hands, but which that giddy boy after- 
wards fo notorioufly juggled. I never- 
thelefs muft regard the change as flat 
apoftacy, for Pitt was thes acting in 
formal oppofition to the conftitution of 
his country, being the only minifter who 
ever withftood the Houfe of Commons. 
CIX, FOX’s INDIA BILL. 
In my opiaion Mr. Fox’s India bill 
was not only innocent but falutary, In 
a converfation with Fox, I obferved that 
all the arguments brought againft that 
bill, of its forming a new power in the con- 
ftitution, &c. had been formerly urged, 
as appears from Burnet, againft the con- 
ftituting of a‘ board of irad¢ in William’s 
reign: a meafure which was, howeyer, 
carried into effet, and has not been-at-~ 
tended with one bad confequence. - 
Pe ac ae . Pye rane £48 
coat 
~ 
