1810.) Original Letters to and from James Elphinston. 
great amount passed between them, and 
on the sudden demise of the latter, as 
may be easily supposed, the Duke was 
& considerable loser, Gn the death of 
his mother, the debts incurred by him 
were supposed, although very consider- 
able, to be liquidated, either wholly, or 
at least, toa very considerable amount, 
by the falling in of her jointure; but 
he unhappily had acquired certain habits 
of expense, which always kept his for- 
tune in a state cf embarrassment. 
It is believed, however, he never was 
addicted to play; and as to the turf, his 
Grace did not appear on it with any de- 
' Bree of eclat, for a stud was never kept 
either for, or by him, so that the utmost, 
we believe, was merely the naming of a 
horse. But he was accustomed, now and 
then,.to pay the debts of a near relative, 
who, we imagine, formerly frequented 
Newmarket, and had been, during the 
greater part of his life, in difficulties. As 
the wsible head of the opposition for a 
long series of years, frequent calls were; 
doubtless, made on his purse : the election 
for Cumberland ;" the contest with Sir 
James Lowther, or rather with the 
Crown, and his household €XpEllses, 
which were always conducted on a libe- 
ral, and, perhaps, extravagant scale, all 
contributed to make him pocr, and to 
Keep him suv. On the other hand, the 
sums received as salary are to be de- 
ducted; but after all, these were so 
trifling, as not to amount to, perhaps, 
one-fifteenth of his political expenditure, 
While a very young man, the Duke 
of Portland became an invalid, and old, 
as it were, by anticipation. His constitu. 
tion, many years since, was so enfeebled, 
as to require a strict and sober regimen, 
From this, wine, except in small quan- 
ties, was excluded, and flesh meat to- 
tally prohibited. Notwithstanding this, 
his health had been for some time pre- 
carious and uncertain; for although the 
gout, which had been the primitive dis- 
ease, was either cured, or, at least, mo- 
dified, another, anda more dangerous 
malady, made its appearance. ‘This 
proved to be the stone, which became 
So extremely painful, as well as alarming, 
as to induce him to submit to an opera- 
tion. This was accordingly performed 
by Messrs. Home and Wilson, two emi- 
nent surgeons, in the spring of 1806; 
and is said to have been renewed some 
little time before his demise, 
_ His Grace, long before it became so 
fashionable a pursuit, had addicted him- 
Self, to agriculture, and imptoved’ se- 
Montury Mac. No. 193. 
593 
He 
veral thousand acres of ground. 
also planted a large tract of country, ‘ 
formerly a barren waste, ia the immedi- 
ate. vicinity of ‘Velbeck Abbey, Note 
tinghamshire, consisting of a picturesque 
series of hill and dale. Some of the 
Spanish chesnuts, in the lime grounds, 
are upwards of fourteen feet in girth, 
and a few of the oaks have been ese 
timated at nearly thirty; particularly the 
green dale oak, still existing, which, 1m 
1724, had a hole cut through its body, 
large enough to admit a coach. 
__ «As to the political character of his 
Grace, and the talents which he displayed 
in support of it, his death is too recent, 
to be able to indulge on these themes 
with any degree of propriety. It is im- 
possible, however, to contemplate the 
Subject, without recollecting the memo- 
table saying of the Chancellor Oxiesterna 
to his son, when he persuaded him to 
undertake the office of Prime Minister of 
Sweden ! 
—aIr— 
ORIGINAL LETTERS, 
Alluded to in the memoirs of MR. EL- 
PHINSTON, zn Our last NUMBER». Come 
municated by R. C. DALLAS, ESQ. 
Letter to MRS. STRAHAN. 
How shall I impart to you, what must 
fill you at once with pleasure and with 
pain ?—the happy departure of our dear, 
dear, mother, who was last night, about 
seven, delivered from the longest encrease@ 
of constant suffering, that ever perhaps 
exercised the patience of a mortal, 
‘But, in all God was gracious. Iter 
patience persisted, and obtained the 
victory. For about a week past, excess 
of distress and of weakness, with an utter 
inability of rest or sustenance, sometimes 
deprived our dear mother of her wonted. 
distinctness, Bat in the main, her 
consciousness of innocence, the humble 
confidence she had immoveably placed 
in the goodness of God, her Croator and 
Redeemer, preserved her almost cheerful 
in the midst of pain, till at length she 
seemed to have blunted the sting of 
death himself; and with the most edify- 
ing, and most amiable serenity, she 
resigned her spirit into the hands of 
God, who gave it: but, not without 
blessing you, and your's, and me, a few 
hours before, in the most solemn manner 
her enfeebled power could express. She 
received the holy communion on Sunday 
morning, as her last and best viaticurz 
(er provision), having taken litile other 
refreshmnent some days; éxcept perhaps 
a little jelly, or a mouthful of wine and 
 waler. 
af 
