the late ones with having done much worse than nothing.
Their writers abuse one another most scurrilously, but sometimes with
wit. I look upon this to be 'peloter en attendant partie', till battle
begins in St., Stephen's Chapel. How that will end, I protest I cannot
conjecture; any farther than this, that if Mr. Pitt does not come into
the assistance of the present ministers, they will have much to do to
stand their ground. C-----T------will play booty; and who else have they?
Nobody but C-----, who has only good sense, but not the necessary talents
nor experience, 'AEre ciere viros martemque accendere cantu'. I never
remember, in all my time, to have seen so problematical a state of
affairs, and a man would be much puzzled which side to bet on.

Your guest, Miss C-----, is another problem which I cannot solve. She no
more wanted the waters of Carlsbadt than you did. Is it to show the Duke
of Kingston that he cannot live without her? a dangerous experiment!
which may possibly convince him that he can. There is a trick no doubt in
it; but what, I neither know nor care; you did very well to show her
civilities, 'cela ne gute jamais rien'. I will go to my waters, that is,
the Bath waters, in three weeks or a month, more for the sake of bathing
than of drinking. The hot bath always promotes my perspiration, which is
sluggish, and supples my stiff rheumatic limbs. 'D'ailleurs', I am at
present as well, and better than I could reasonably expect to be, 'annu
septuagesimo primo'. May you be so as long, 'y mas'! God bless you!

LETTER CCLXXXI

LONDON, October 25, 1765

MY DEAR FRIEND: I received your letter of the 10th 'sonica'; for I set
out for Bath to-morrow morning.

If the use of those waters does me no good, the shifting the scene for
some time will at least amuse me a little; and at my age, and with my
infirmities, 'il faut faire de tout bois feche'. Some variety is as
necessary for the mind as some medicines are for the body.

Here is a total stagnation of politics, which, I suppose, will continue
till the parliament sits to do business, and that will not be till about
the middle of January; for the meeting on the 17th December is only for
the sake of some new writs. The late ministers threaten the present ones;
but the latter do not seem in the least afraid of the former, and for a
very good reason, which is, that they have the distribution of the loaves
and fishes. I believe it is very certain that Mr. Pitt