convenient. You would, by your own confession, want a companion; and she
is "par pluribus," conversing with her you may "find variety in one."

At Mrs. Ord's I met one Mrs. B--, a travelled lady, of great spirit, and
some consciousness of her own abilities. We had a contest of gallantry,
an hour long, so much to the diversion of the company, that at Ramsay's,
last night, in a crowded room, they would have pitted us again. There
were Smelt, and the bishop of St. Asaph, who comes to every place; and
lord Monboddo, and sir Joshua, and ladies out of tale.

The exhibition, how will you do either to see or not to see! The
exhibition is eminently splendid. There is contour, and keeping, and
grace, and expression, and all the varieties of artificial excellence.
The apartments were truly very noble. The pictures, for the sake of a
skylight, are at the top of the house; there we dined, and I sat over
against the archbishop of York. See how I live, when I am not under
petticoat government. I am, &c.

London, May 1, 1780.

XLIV.--To MRS. THRALE.

London, June 9, 1780.

DEAR MADAM,--To the question, Who was impressed with consternation? it
may, with great truth, be answered, that every body was impressed, for
nobody was sure of his safety.

On Friday, the good protestants met in St. George's fields, at the
summons of lord George Gordon, and marching to Westminster, insulted the
lords and commons, who all bore it with great tameness. At night, the
outrages began, by the demolition of the mass-house by Lincoln's inn.

An exact journal of a week's defiance of government, I cannot give you.
On Monday, Mr. Strahan, who had been insulted, spoke to lord Mansfield,
who had, I think been insulted too, of the licentiousness of the
populace; and his lordship treated it, as a very slight irregularity. On
Tuesday night, they pulled down Fielding's house and burnt his goods in
the street. They had gutted, on Monday sir George Saville's house, but
the building was saved. On Tuesday evening, leaving Fielding's ruins,
they went to Newgate, to demand their companions, who had been seized,
demolishing the chapel. The keeper could not release them, but by the
mayor's permission, which he went to ask; at his return, he found all
the prisoners released, and Newgate in a blaze. They then went to
Bloomsbury, and fastened upon lord Mansfield's house which they pulled
down; and as for his goods, they totally burnt them. They have since
gone to C