thither, till the
neighbourhood should have lost its habits of depredation, and he seemed
to be satisfied. He invited me, very kindly and cordially, to try the
air of Beckenham; and pleased me very much by his affectionate attention
to Miss Vesy. There is much good in his character, and much usefulness
in his knowledge.

Queeney seems now to have forgotten me. Of the different appearance of
the hills and valleys an account may, perhaps, be given, without the
supposition of any prodigy! If she had been out, and the evening was
breezy, the exhalations would rise from the low grounds very copiously;
and the wind that swept and cleared the hills, would only, by its cold,
condense the vapours of the sheltered valleys.

Murphy is just gone from me; he visits me very kindly, and I have no
unkindness to complain of.

I am sorry that sir Philip's request was not treated with more respect,
nor can I imagine what has put them so much out of humour; I hope their
business is prosperous.

I hope that I recover by degrees, but my nights are restless; and you
will suppose the nervous system to be somewhat enfeebled. I am, madam,
your, &c.

LII.--To MRS. THRALE.

London, October 9, 1783.

Two nights ago, Mr. Burke sat with me a long time; he seems much pleased
with his journey. We had both seen Stonehenge this summer, for the first
time. I told him that the view had enabled me to confute two opinions
which have been advanced about it. One, that the materials are not
natural stones, but an artificial composition, hardened by time. This
notion is as old as Camden's time; and has this strong argument to
support it, that stone of that species is nowhere to be found. The other
opinion, advanced by Dr. Charlton, is, that it was erected by the Danes.

Mr. Bowles made me observe, that the transverse stones were fixed on the
perpendicular supporters by a knob, formed on the top of the upright
stone, which entered into a hollow, cut in the crossing stone. This is a
proof, that the enormous edifice was raised by a people who had not yet
the knowledge of mortar; which cannot be supposed of the Danes, who came
hither in ships, and were not ignorant, certainly, of the arts of life.
This proves, likewise, the stones not to be factitious; for they that
could mould such durable masses, could do much more than make mortar,
and could have continued the transverse from the upright part with the
same paste.

You have, doubtless, seen Stoneheng