The Plastic Age by Percy Marks (best fiction books to read TXT) 📕

Out This Century.

Horry Tells Me That A Scheme Has Been Formed,  Of Replacing Charles,

But That Lord North Will Not Hear Of It. I Should Certainly Myself

Have The Same Repugnance. But As I Love Charles More Than I Do The

Other,  I Wish That,  Or Anything Which Can Put Him Once More In a Way

Of Establishment. I Shall However Not Have Any Hopes Of That,  Till

He Is Less Intoxicated Than He Is With The All Sufficiency,  As He

Imagines,  Of His Parts. I Think That,  And His Infinite Contempt Of

The Qu'En Dira-T-On,  Upon Every Point Which Governs The Rest Of

Mankind,  Are The Two And (Sic) Chief Sources Of All His Misfortunes.

Ste,  They Tell Me,  Has Come To A Resolution Of Selling Holland

H(Ouse) As Soon As Possible,  And Of Rebuilding Winterslow. If Lady

Holland Had Not Died Just As She Did,  I Believe That I Should Have

Had Him And Lady Mary Here For Some Days,  Which I Should Have Liked

Very Well.

I Have Got A Prize In barbot'S Lottery,  As It May Be Conty Has Told

You. I Left A Man In London,  When I Came Away,  With A Commission To

See That Justice Was Done Me,  And To Send My Pye,  If I Should Have

One,  Into Kent. Mine Is A Quatre Perdrises (Sic); So I Have No

Reason To Complain Of Conty'S Lotteries,  For I Have Had A Prize In

Both Of Them.

If You Intend To Buy A Ticket In The State Lottery,  I Should Be Glad

To Have A Share Of It With Lady C(Arlisle),  Lord Morpeth,  And Little

Caroline,  That Is,  One Ticket Between Us Five. Three Of My Tenants

Joined For One In The Lottery Two Or Three Years Since,  And They Got

A 20,000 Pound Prize. I Made A Visit To One Of Them The Other Day,

Whose Farm Is Not Far Off,  And He Had Made It The Prettiest In The

World; And He Has Three Children To Share His 10,000,  For One Moiety

Of This Ticket Was His.

Pray Make My Very Best Compliments To Lady C. And Lady J.,(116) And

Give My Hearty Love To Caroline; And As For The Little Marmot,  Tell

Him That If He Treats His Sister With Great Attention I Shall Love

Him Excessively,  But S'Il Fait Le Fier,  Because He Is A Viscount And

A Howard,  I Shall Give Him Several Spanks Upon His Dernere. Make

Storer Write To Me,  And Make Ekins Read Atterbury Till He Can Say

Him By Heart.

(116) Lady Juliana Howard Was Lord Carlisle'S Youngest Sister. She

Died Unmarried.

By The End Of August,  Selwyn Had Escaped From Gloucester And Was

Again Among His Friends And In His Favourite Haunts In London.

[1774,] Aug. 25,  Thursday Night,  Almack'S.--Here Are The Duke Of

Roxb[Urgh],  Vernon,  James,  And Sir W. Draper At Whist; Boothby,

Richard,  And R. Fletcher At Quinze. I Dined To-Day At The Duke Of

Argyle'S(117) At A Quarter Before Four. He And The Duchess Went To

Richmond At Six. The Maccaroni Dinner Was At Mannin'S. My Eyes Are

Still Very Painful To Me At Night,  And I Do Not Know What I Shall Do

For Them. I Hear Of No News; That Of The Duchess Of Leinster'S(118)

Match Is Very Equivoque; And Extreme Their Drawing-Room.

I (Am) In constant Expectation Of Being Sent For Again To

Gloucester,  And Begin (Sic) A Canvas. I Think If I Prevent It,  And

An Opposition,  I Shall Be Very Vain Of My Conduct. There Is Nothing

So Flattering As The Shewing People Who Thought That They Could Dupe

You,  That You Know More Of The Matter Than They Do. I Know Too

Little To Be Active,  But Have Prudence Enough To Take No Steps While

I Am In The Dark Upon The Suggestion Of Others Who Cannot Possibly

Interest Themselves For Me. But I Really Think It Will Be A Miracle

If This Is Not A Troublesome And Expensive Election To Me. However,

I Will Not Anticipate The Evil By Groaning About It Before It

Happens. . . .

The Duke Of Newcastle Is To Bring Will Hanger Into Parliament,  But

What Is To Pay For His Chair To Go Down To The House The Lord Knows;

They Tell Me That There Is Absolutely Not A Shilling Left.

(117) John,  Fifth Duke Of Argyll (1723-1806). He Had Married For His

Second Wife The Duchess Of Hamilton,  Nee Gunning,  The Famous Beauty.

(118) Lady Amelia Mary (1731-1814),  Daughten,  Neer Of Charles,  Second Duke

Of Richmond,  As Celebrated For Her Beauty And Charm As Her Sisters,

Lady Holland,  Lady Louisa Connolly,  And Lady Sarah Bunbury,  The

Reference Is Evidently To Her Approaching Second Marriage To Mr.

Ogilvy.

The Correspondence Of 1775 Begins With The Frequent Story Of Charles

Fox'S Debts. It Has Been Well Said Of Carlisle,  That Each Fresh

Instance Of Prodigality In Fox "Affected His Generous Heart With

Anxiety For The Character,  The Health,  And The Happiness Of His

Friend Before He Found Time To Compute And Lament Its Calamitous

Influence On His Own Fortunes."(119) Selwyn'S Solicitude For The

Welfare Of His Friend Urged Him,  As We See In The Following Letter,

To Something Like Impatient Expostulation On His Forbearance And

Good Nature.

(1775?) (Beginning Wanting.) . . . Gregg Wants Me To Dun Charles. He

Lost Last Night 800 Pounds,  As Brooks Told Me To-Day. He Receives

Money From More The Attorney. He Forestalls All He Is To Receive,

And Unless The Importunity Begins With You,  Mine Will Avail Nothing.

Besides,  I Fairly Own That I Cannot Keep My Temper. My Ideas,

Education,  And Former Experience,  Or Inexperience,  Of These Things,

Make Me See Some Things In The Most Horrible Light Which You Can

Conceive,  And I Am Far From Being Singular. Pray Write A Letter To

Charles,  A Tella Fin Que De Raison; Otherwise There Will Be No

Ability Left,  And Then It Will Be To No Purpose.

What Management You Choose To Have With Him Is More Than I Can

Comprehend. I Can Conceive The Intimacy Between You. Your Delicacy

Of Temper,  Ten Thousand Nuances De Sentiments. But I Can Never

Conceive That All Feeling,  All The Principle,  &C.,  Should Be Of One

Side Only. If You Don'T Press It,  He Will Not Think It Pressing,  And

Will Say So; That Must Depend Upon What You Choose To Reveal. He May

Not Think You Want It,  Or May Think That All Mire In Which He

Wallows Is As Indifferent To You As To Him. Je Me Perds Dans Toutes

Ces Reflections. My God,  If They Did Not Concern You,  I Should Not

Care Who Were The Objects Of Them.

(119) "The Early History Of Charles James Fox," P. 460.

1775,  Aug. 1,  Tuesday Afternoon,  From Your Own House,  Below Stairs.

--I Came From Richmond This Morning On Purpose To Meet Gregg Here To

Dinner,  And We Have Had Our Leg Of Mutton Together; A Poor Epitome

Of Roman Greatness. I Believe,  As Lord Grantham Told Me,  Few Have

So Little Philosophy As I Have. You Have A Great Deal,  Having A Much

More Manly Understanding. . . .

I Have Been Misunderstood About Stavordale,  Because Just What You

Tell Me You Approve Of Is What I Meant To Propose,  Or If I Had Any

Conception Beyond It,  It Was From A Sudden Thought Which I Retract.

I Have Said A Few Words To Charles,  But I Do Not Find That He Has

More Intercourse With Him Than You Have. He Says That There Can Be

No Doubt Of The Validity And Payment Of The Debt,  And There Is No

Anticipation Of It. But It Is Not To Be Expected That Charles Should

Think More Of Stavordale'S Debt Than His Own. He Lost In Three

Nights Last Week 3,000,  As He Told Me Himself,  And Has Lent Richard

God Knows What; The Account,  And Friendship,  And Want Of It,  Between

Them Is As Incomprehensible To Me As All The Rest Of Their History.

It Is A Mystery I Shall Never Enquire Into,  When What Concerns You

Is Out Of The Question. I Never Heard Of The Same Thing In all The

First Part Of My Life,  And It Shall Be My Own Fault If I Hear Any

More Of It.

I Rode Over Yesterday To Lord Besborough'S At Roehampton,  On Purpose

To See Lord Fitzwilliam,(120) And Had A Long Discourse With Him In

The Garden. He Was Excessively Pleased With The Account Which I Gave

Him Of The Present State Of Your Affairs,  Together With Your Manner

Of Expressing Yourself About Them. Every Word Which Dropped From Him

Discovered The Real Interest Which He Took In Whatever Concerned

You,  And His Affection For You. He Is A Very Valuable Young Man.

Hare Went Away Without Being Certain That He Was To Go To Castle H.

He Will Excuse Me If I Don'T Rely Upon His Resolute Was To Gat

Gates Had So Splendidly Started. Nu Delta Was In The Throes Of One Of

Those Changes So Characteristic Of Fraternities.

Hugh Spent His Last College Vacation At Home,  Working On The Farm,

Reading,  Occasionally Dancing At Corley Lake,  And Thinking A Great Deal.

He Saw Janet Harton,  Now Janet Moffitt,  Several Times At The Lake And

Wondered How He Could Ever Have Adored Her. She Was Still Childlike,

Still Dainty And Pretty,  But To Hugh She Was Merely A Talking Doll,  And

He Felt A Little Sorry For Her Burly,  Rather Stupid Husband Who Lumbered

About After Her Like A Protecting Watch-Dog.

He Met Plenty Of Pretty Girls At The Lake,  But,  As He Said,  He Was "Off

Women For Good." He Was Afraid Of