Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: divers reflections on all I have seen and known in a long life?but I will not. Adieu, till to-morrow?not that I expect to be able to tell you more of the Administration then. If you do not hear again by Friday’s post, you will conclude that nothing is settled. You have known longer inter- ministeriums. Tuesday, after dinner. The evening comes on, and I must go out, without being able to tell you more than I wrote last night. Because they do not know, the town has guessed many successors?as Lord Shelburne, the Dukes of Richmond, Portland, and Devonshire, and Lord Gower. The first and last may be candidates: I believe none of the Dukes are. From my late letters you may perceive that there might be still a sixth person in question, but who certainly will not be, ?I mean, not successor: but you must have patience; and it is better not to be surprised, whatever you shall hear. I shall be much surprised, if nothing happens to surprise you. Adieu! LETTER CCCLXXIX. Berkeley Square, July 7th, 1782. I Do not pretend to be a prophet; at least, I confess I am one of that wary sort, who take care to be very sure of what will happen before they venture to foretell. I ordered you to expect to be surprised? no very wise way of surprising! In truth, I did foreseethat Lord Rockingham’s death would produce a very new scene; and so it has: but is it possible to give an account of what is only beginning ? The few real facts that have actually happened are all that one can relate with certainty. They will open wide fields of conjectures to you, and, at your distance, probably not very just ones; nor, as I affect no sagacity, shall I offer you a clue that may lead you as much out of the way. Lord Rockingham died on Monday. On Tuesday it was known amongst the Ministers, that Lord…
