ttle ball for a dozen children of her age, because it is
the birthday of one of his own.

Arnold's being behind the King's chair when the Address came up has
given great offence. They will not suffer soon an enemy to the
Americans to come into the guard room. I think that Arnold might as
well have paired off with Laurens;(212) it would have conciliated
matters much more.

. . . Poor Lady H(ertfor)d['s] civilities in inviting so many of the
Opposition to her Ball, afford a great deal of mirth. Charles did
not go; he has not leisure for those trifles. Hare and Lord Robert
have the drudgery of dealing between them. Your kinsman Walker is a
cul de plomb at the table, and has lost, I believe, both his eyes
and fortune at it. He seems so blind as not to see the card which is
before him. Keene seems to have surrendered in his mind this
forteresse, so I take for granted that he knows how little a while
it will last.

I wish I could know at this moment for a certainty what is to become
of you and me. I talked long with Gregg about this when Storer had
left us. It is my opinion, from all I hear of your circumstances and
my own, that we shall be both reduced to 2,000 a year each, and as
great as the inequality is between us in all other respects, in that
we shall be equal, and the alternative is to submit to the terms
imposed by the new people, which may be very humiliating to us both.
If you are not an object of their justice, of their esteem, and
respect, you will, I am sure, not consent to be one of their mercy
only. I shall feel the deprivation of two parts out of three of my
income, but I hope that I shall have enough left for Mie Mie's
education, and to supply possible losses to her in other respects.
If I do that, and am lodged up two pair of stairs in a room at half
a guinea a week, as I was when I lodged with Lord Townshend and Lord
Buckingham in 1744 or 5, I will never utter an impatient word about
le retour de mon sort, whatever injustice may have been done me. If
the storm falls upon you only, I am willing that you should avail
yourself of anything in my situation, by which you can be assisted.
But I shall never bear with patience the insults which I know would
be offered to you, if these people had their terms, in their full
extent.

The King, I hear, is in good spirits, and went yesterday to Windsor
to hunt, so I hope he knows that he is in a better situation than I
fancy him to be. If it is not so, and he can