er does not,
or will not, understand what is said to him. You will forgive me
troubling you so often with this business; the importance of it is the
best excuse; in short,

'--'tis joy or sorrow, peace or strife.
'Tis all the colour of remaining life.'

I can foresee nothing else to make me unhappy, and, I believe, shall
take care another time not to involve myself in difficulties by an
overplus of heroic generosity.

"I am, dear sister, ever yours, with the utmost esteem and affection. If
I get over this cursed affair, my style may enliven."

[June, 1721.]

"I have just received your letter of May 30th, and am surprised, since
you own the receipt of my letter, that you give me not the least hint
concerning the business that I writ so earnestly to you about. Till that
is over, I am as little capable of hearing or repeating news, as I
should be if my house was on fire. I am sure, a great deal must be in
your power; the hurting of me can be in no way his interest. I am ready
to assign, or deliver the money for L500 stock, to whoever he will name,
if he will send my letters into Lady Stafford's hands; which, were he
sincere in his offer of burning them, he would readily do. Instead of
that, he has writ a letter to Mr. W. [Wortley] to inform him of the
whole affair: luckily for me, the person he has sent it to assures me it
shall never be delivered; but I am not the less obliged to his good
intentions. For God's sake, do something to set my mind at ease from
this business, and then I will not fail to write you regular accounts of
all your acquaintance."

[July (?), 1721.]

"I cannot enough thank you, dear sister, for the trouble you give
yourself in my affairs, though I am still so unhappy to find your care
very ineffectual. I have actually in my present possession a formal
letter directed to Mr. Wortley to acquaint him with the whole business.
You may imagine the inevitable eternal misfortunes it would have thrown
me into, had it been delivered by the person to whom it was intrusted. I
wish you would make him sensible of the infamy of this proceeding, which
can no way in the world turn to his advantage. Did I refuse giving the
strictest account, or had I not the clearest demonstration in my hands
of the truth and sincerity with which I acted, there might be some
temptation to this baseness; but all he can expect by informing Mr.
Wortley is to hear him repeat the same things I assert; he will not
retrieve