To the Hon. Henry Seymour Conway*
Arlington Street, June 29th, 1744.
THAT you may not think I employ my time as idly as the great men I have been talking of, you must be informed, that every night constantly I go to Ranelagh; which has totally beat Vauxhall. Nobody goes anywhere else — everybody goes there. My Lord Chesterfield is so fond of it,* that he says he has ordered all his letters to be directed thither.
If you had never seen it, I would make you a most pompous description of it, and tell you how the floor is all of beaten princes — that you can’t set your foot without treading on a Prince of Wales or Duke of Cumberland. The company is universal: there is from his Grace of Grafton* down to children out of the Foundling Hospital* — from my Lady Townshend* to the kitten* — from my Lord Sandys* to your humble cousin.
Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway (1721-1795) was Horace Walpole’s cousin, a soldier who was engaged in the ongoing War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), and had fought at the near-disaster at Dettingen. Conway subsequently became Secretary of State for the Southern Department (i.e. Foreign Secretary) and Secretary of State for the Northern Department (i.e. Home Secretary), and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.
Philip Stanhope (1694-1773), 4th Earl of Chesterfield, an energetic politician who was a key player in Sir Robert Walpole’s fall from power as de facto Prime Minister in 1742. He spent some years in self-imposed exile in France, where he became friendly with Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (1689-1755) and François-Marie Arouet (1694-1778), better known as Montesquieu and Voltaire.
The Foundling Hospital was founded in 1739 by merchant Thomas Coram to take in illegitimate children, foster them and as they grew up find them apprenticeships in useful trades. The hospital was home to fine art and music, and is best remembered for the annual charity concert organised by George Frideric Handel at which he conducted his oratorio ‘Messiah’ to raise funds.
Charles FitzRoy (1683-1657), 2nd Duke of Grafton, was a grandson of Charles II and a principal fund-raiser for the Foundling Hospital. His son Augustus FitzRoy served as Prime Minister from 1768 to 1770.
Audrey Ethelreda Townshend, née Harrison, wife of Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend (1700-1764). Lady Townshend was known as a wit.
Walpole’s friend Richard Edgcumbe (1716–1761), 2nd Baron Edgcumbe, had conceived a passion for a young lady known to us only by her pet name, the Kitten. By September of that year, however, he was writing to Walpole to lament that they had had a falling out, which proved irreparable.
Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys (1695-1770) had succeeded Sir Robert Walpole as Chancellor of the Exchequer, when Walpole fell from power in 1742. He was MP for Winchester for over twenty years.
About the Author
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Cant. Side. We.
2 Ago. Little. Your.
3 Company. Love. You.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Statements, Questions and Commands Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in a sentence. Try to include at least one statement, one question and one command among your sentences. Note that some verbs make awkward or meaningless words of command, e.g. need, happen.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Call. 2 Man. 3 Water. 4 Beat. 5 Fire. 6 Cost. 7 Love. 8 Time. 9 Lie.
Variations: 1. use a minimum of seven words for each sentence 2. include negatives, e.g. isn’t, don’t, never 3. use the words ‘must’ to make commands 4. compose a short dialogue containing all three kinds of sentence: one statement, one question and one command
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Company. 2. Pound. 3. Beat. 4. Building. 5. Degree. 6. Lie. 7. Time. 8. Water. 9. Cost.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
bys (6+1)
bays. boys. buoys. buys. byes. obeys.
bayous.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
