324 THE WENTWORTH PAPERS.
Westminster. Whether it will be the same thing next week is yet a dispute. 1 saw a gentleman that din'd lately at Duke d'Aumont's, and after all hath been said of his mag- nificence, I begin to think our nation is improv'd and they degenerated. I believe you were sory for the death of Mr. Harrison, who was thought a very ingenious man ; one must confess you have one that outweighs him. Lady Portland hath been kept here much longer then she intended by one of her sons falling ill who is something better, but not yet recover'd. I have neither marriages to tell you of except Mr. Stanhope's, nor deaths, only of one Mr. Pyne of Ireland, kill'd in a duel lately in Chelsea fields by one Mr. Biddulph, who is also much wounded
[Peter Wentworth.]
London, March 20, 17 13. Dear Brother,
This day I had the favour of yours of the 28th, and do believe you have been fatigued enough with writing, and be glad to find your computation prov'd true that general peace wou'd be sign'd in 8 or 10 days, tho' we have some impatient here that think that a long time, and others that are so malicious as to assure that it will be much longer a coming. What the Tories are jealous and angry at is, of a meeting 'tis said my Lord Treasurer had at my Lord Halifax's with Lord Summers, Lord Orford, Lord Wharton and Lord Cooper, &c. Their reasoning upon't is, the Peace is not so good as to stand the test of nice inquiry, and they are to be bust {sic, hushed }), or that 'twas to compound with them not to produce some letters that have been intercepted to encourage the Dutch to hold out, if they will promise to approve of all that's to be laid before them ; and they fall a railing at this sort of trimming as if the thing were really so. Others tell you the Whigs are cunning men who see we shall have a glorious peace and are come in of themselves to approve of all, and were it not so, since they see it must be, they will agree to anything, so that they may come in again,
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