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built of timber and covered with slate: but friend Shanahan is a mere stone-cutter, and is as much afraid of a tree as a man going to be hanged; he is quite out of his depth when one talks of timber; yet the roof of Ballyscullin House is an exception, and does him infinite honour. Don't forget to give a flap to James Jones, but without betraying me. I would fain make the county of Derry look like a gentleman, though so few condescend to live in it; and nothing can give it that air better than a strutting steeple and spire, with its arms akimbo, like our church of Ballykelly.

Believe me, Sir, with the truest respect, your faithful, humble servant,

BRISTOL..

LORD AUCKLAND TO MR. BERESFORD.

Beckenham, Nov. 17th, 1793.

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MY DEAR BERESFORD,-I this day received yours of the 11th. The death of poor Lady Westmoreland has been much lamented in the circle of our society and communications; it will be a severe loss to her children : she was certainly an excellent woman, and amidst her affluence, splendour, and youth and beauty, preserved an unsullied character in these dangerous and malignant times. From her death, and from that of the Duke of Rutland, it appears that Viceroyalty is as mortal as any other of our short-lived functions.

The general state of Ireland is, I think, even by your

a Sarah Child, Lady Westmoreland, married John, tenth Earl of Westmoreland 1782; died 1793.

account, and you are not apt to be sanguine, considerably mended. I agree with you, however, that the Irish will go to the devil as decidedly and as rapidly as the French are doing if the present war should take a calamitous turn; I trust, however, that this will not be the case. It must be confessed that the campaign has had a lame and impotent conclusion. But when we recollect that in February last Dumourier's army was within a few miles of the Hague, and Custine's in Germany, and that our armies are now on the frontiers of France, both in Flanders and in the Mediterranean, we have, upon the whole, no reason to complain. And if we can through the winter maintain our barrier against the Jacobin multitudes, it is a reasonable speculation that they will devour and destroy each other, because they will have nothing else to devour and destroy. There are several symptoms in favour of this hope; would to God that there were more!

So far as I can form a sudden and rough judgment on the point which regards your situation, I incline to think, for many obvious reasons, that you would act wisely in remaining at the head of the Revenue Board, with an honorary seat at the Treasury. You say nothing of Mrs. Beresford and your children; we willingly infer from your silence that "all is well."

You desire me to tell you about myself; it is not difficult: I never stir from this place, which we are improving in many respects, and which is become a family possession; it is now mine, at least till 1854-long enough as the world goes! We shall remain here till the middle of January, when we settle for the session in

Old Palace Yard, in the house of Sir George Jackson, which I lately bought. As to other views, I do not in my conscience know that I have any. I propose very soon to resign my embassy; my income will then be far below the sort of establishment which I am obliged to keep; but there is no embarrassment in my circumstances, and if England is not destroyed by the Jacobin volcanoes (which I trust will not happen), my family is sufficiently secured by the peerage. I therefore, holding myself ready to serve if required, ask for nothing, and speculate on nothing; I do not mean even to accept the ambassador's pension, to which I have so fair a claim. In the meantime, I am on a footing of perfect cordiality and friendship with His Majesty's principal Ministers; I sometimes see them here and I often hear from them. "Submitto divis cætera."

In other respects, we have abundance of society, and are somehow always busy. Our eldest daughters are grown into well-looking young women. They and their mother ride with me every day. We are all in good health, which is the best of all things.

No more at present. Believe me, my dear Beresford, very affectionately yours,

AUCKLAND.

THE DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND* TO MR. BERESFORD.

Bourbon en Roussillon, December 9th, 1793.

DEAR SIR,-I return you many thanks for your letter of the 17th June, which I received here only yesterday;

Hugh Percy, second Duke of Northumberland, son of Hugh,

1793]

TO MR. BERESFORD.

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and for your kind present, of which I trust the Duchess has reaped the benefit at Lisbon; and I beg that you will rest assured that I am properly sensible of your friendship and attention.

You will, perhaps, be surprised to receive a letter from me dated from here, but I must inform you that, finding myself very well, and a body of Portuguese troops being ordered to join the Spanish army, I obtained His Majesty's permission to accompany them, being desirous of seeing the Spanish troops, and likewise having a curiosity to observe the method of carrying on the operations of a campaign in a mountainous country—an opportunity of which I might, perhaps, never again have. We are here in the midst of the Pyrenean mountains, and I own I find it very cold work keeping the field at this season of the year. We have already beaten both their right and their left wings in the course of about twelve days, notwithstanding that the enemy's army is about double our numbers. We have taken in this time several batteries from them, together with forty pieces of artillery, all of them situated upon spots that appeared inaccessible to anything but goats. The Spaniards, however, attack these with fixed bayonets, regardless of either their cannon or grape-shot. Indeed, I must do them the justice to say, that the Spaniards are as intrepid and gallant troops as ever I saw in my life. Permit me to beg that you will make my best respects first Duke, and Lady Elizabeth Percy, Baroness Percy, daughter of Algernon, Duke of Somerset, a General in the army and Colonel of the Horse Guards (Blues); married, first, 1764, Lady Ann Stuart, daughter of John, third Earl of Bute; secondly, 1779, Frances Burrell; died 1817.

acceptable to Mrs. and Miss Beresford; and that you will believe me to be, with great esteem,

Your ever faithful servant,

NORTHUMBERLAND.

LORD AUCKLAND TO MR. BERESFORD.

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Beckenham, Dec. 31st, 1793.

MY DEAR BERESFORD,-I understand that Mr. (Sylvester) Douglas has accepted the Secretaryship. Lady Catherine is peculiarly connected in friendship with Lady Auckland, and we cannot too strongly recommend them both to Mrs. Beresford and to you. He will set out on Monday next. She must previously be brought to bed. I shall see him next Saturday, and will write again to you next week. Many happy new years to you and to yours.

Believe me ever affectionately yours,

AUCKLAND.

LORD AUCKLAND TO MR. BERESFORD.

Palace Yard, Feb. 1st, 1794.

MY DEAR BERESFORD,-I am at present confined to my house, in consequence of the sudden death of my

The Right Hon. Sylvester Douglas, son of John Douglas and Catherine Gordon; born 1743; bred to the law; M.P. for Fowey 1795; for Midhurst 1796; for Plympton 1801; for Has

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