April 1762.

I am perfuaded in my own mind, there are no unfriendly intentions therein (to G. Britain); which affurances your Lordfhip directed me not to reject, in case they were propofed, but to admit of them ad referendum, to be tranfmitted to my own ; court; provided, "they were given upon his Catholic Majefty's Royal word, fignified in writing, either by the Spanish e fecretary of state to me, or by the Conde de Fuentes to your Lordship, and not otherwife."

In lieu whereof, I have only procured the copy of Gen. Wall's dispatch to the Conde de Fuentes. Your Lordship will there observe, that, in confequence of my repeated inftances, the Spanish minifter has directed M. de Fuentes to give an anfwer to my notes, to the King's fecretary of state, by word of mouth, or in writing, if it was necessary.

Ditto to ditto, Dec. 7. & 9. Rec. Fan. 9. [After recapitulating what he had faid to Gen. Wall, Lord Bristol adds,] It was not pollible to liften with a more obliging attention, than M. Wall did, to all I have juft mentioned. He never interrupted me, but anfwered me friendly, when I appealed to him upon any point. Your Lordship will, no doubt, obferve, how much I have here waved touching upon any fubject that could be laid hold of as offensive, or that might even collaterally tend to irritate the Spanish mini fter, according to what was prefcribed to me; which was, to avoid mixing any thing in my converfation, which could have a tendency to indifpofe Gen. Wall. Indeed, I must do his Excellency the jutice to fay, there never appeared the finallest degree of warmth, or the least inclination towards any harshness, during our whole conference. He reasoned candidly with me, and minutely; he faid, the Spanish ambaffador had orders to make the profeffions of the Catholic King's friendship towards his Majefty, which he had accompanied with the letter he prefented: He owned how cautious we had been, to avoid attacking thofe poffellions belonging to our enemies which had any connections with the Spanish territory; and agreed with me concerning the publicity of what had paffed in his Majesty's councils, upon the change of the English miniftry; not forgetting to mention what had given rife to the late refignation of the feals [xxiii. 547.]. M. Wall then faid, the copy he had delivered to me, of his own difpatch to the

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Count of Fuentes, was the only answer he could give to my inquiries about the treaty; that, as to the intention of Spain, with regard to G. Britain, which I then preffed to be informed of, he added, I must be fenfible, it was not in his power to give an immediate anfwer, from not being fufficiently authorised to do it; but promifed that he would acquaint his Catholic Majefty with my fresh folicitations, and would not fail communicating, faithfully, all I had expreffed, concerning the King's fentiments and difpofition.

You will, perhaps, my Lord, be furprifed to find, I have, in this vifit, only dwelt in general terms, concerning the intention of Spain, with regard to England: I beg of you to fufpend forming any judgment about my conduct therein, till I have explained my motive for acting in that manner. I perceived Gen. Wall's tone to be of fo conciliating a nature; he expreffed his wifhes fo strongly, that fome method might be found out for an amicable adjustment of our differences; and was fo far from dropping the leaft word that could make me imagine Spain intended to act hoftilely against us, that I began to flatter myself, I might obtain the categorical anfwer I was or→ dered to demand, without the Spanish minister's fufpecting my ultimate orders. When I was going out of his room, he took me by the hand, and faid, with a fimile, he hoped; but there he stopped. I asked him what he hoped, that I might alfo hope, and that all might concur in the fame hopes: but his Excellency only then bowed, and took his leave of me.

Your Lordship will, no doubt, have remarked, that, from the time of Potter's departure with my dispatches of the 2d pait, the style of the Spanish minifter has been foftening gradually. What had occafioned the great fermentation during that period at this court, the effects of which I felt from Gen. Wall's animated difcourfe at the Efcurial, was, the notice having, about that time, reached the Catholic King, that the change which had happened in the English adminiftration, was relative to measures proposed to be taken against this country: Hence arole that fudden wrath and paffion, which, for a fhort time, affected the whole Spanifh court; as it was thought most extraordinary here, that the declaring war against the Catholic King, fhould ever have been moved in his Majefty's councils, fince the Spaniards have always

looked

looked upon themselves as the aggrieved party; and, of course, never could imagine, that the English would be the first to begin a war with them.

Dec. 9. I received, late in the evening of the 7th, a note from M. Wall, defiring me to return to him on the next morning, the 8th; which I punctually complied with. His Excellency faid, he had not been able to ftir out; but, having received his Catholic Majesty's commands in relation to our conference on the 6th, he would not delay communicating them to me. They confifted in the King of Spain's being sensible of all the affurances of friendship, and marks of attention, which had been conveyed through my means: but I was to be informed, That, with regard to the treaty, and the intentions of Spain, M. Wall's difpatch to the Count of Fuentes, (copy of which had been delivered to me), was the only anfwer the Catholic King judged it expedient to give. I preffed the Spanish minifter to open himself more fully upon this most important fubject; as I thought it impoffible fo concife an answer could be given to all I had urged to his Excellency. Unfortunately, Gen. Wall had not been able to fee his Catholic Majefty; and therefore having only wrote, and received a written anfwer, that account ed, in fome measure, for its being fo laconic.

I then reminded the Spanish minifter of the preffing endeavours I had employed at our last meeting, to obtain a fatisfactory answer; alledging, that, as I had not been able to obtain a communication of the treaty, nor the alternative which I had propofed, I was now neceffitated to come to a more particular explanation of what I had mentioned in general concerning Spain's intention with regard to G. Britain; therefore I was commanded to declare to his Excellency, that my court expected to have a categorical anfwer to the following questions: "Whether the Catholic King intended to join the French, our enemies, or propofed acting hoftilely?. or would, in any manner, depart from his neutrality?" adding, "That Spain's refufing to comply with giving this fatisfaction, would be deemed an aggreffion on the part of the court of Madrid, and a declaration of war."

I cannot defcribe the furprise M. Wall expreffed at hearing this. He only brought out thefe words: "What is to follow? You have then orders to withdraw from

hence." I told him, he must easily imagine what would enfue, if Spain did not difavow any intentions to take part with our declared enemies; for I was ordered to fignify, That fuch a refusal would be looked upon, by his Majefty, in no other light, than as an abfolute declaration of war.

He told me, the categorical answer I was ordered to require, was fuch an attack upon the Catholic King's dignity, that it was impoffible for him to give any advice to his fovereign upon fo delicate a fubject; which dignity could not be imagined to be less dear to kings, than a common decorum was to fubjects: he at terwards mentioned writing to his Catholic Majefty what had paffed between us, and conveying the substance of my instructions in that manner, as he was not able to go himself, and relate them verbally. You may be affured, my Lord, I remonftrated ftrongly against his staying in his chair at home, and his not going in perfon to offer his advice, and to declare his opinion, in words, when it must be fo much wanted. I intreated his Excellency to reflect, that the lives of thousands, the ruin of thousands of thoufands, and the diftreffes of whole nations, were now depending upon the final refolution of the Spanish councils; for as I had conferred with no other minifter than himself, where were those who could be fuppofed to be able to make a faithful report, or lay the proper ftrefs, and repeat all the arguments, I had been ordered to employ, to fhew the expediency and the neceflity of fuch an answer as I had required, if any fuch perfons could be found willing to undertake it? I urged to the Spanish minifter, the abfolute neceffity of his being carried out, at all events, to the Buen Retiro, and there to fet forth the fatal confequences that must inevitably attend Spain's not giving me a precife answer: befides, I inforced to Mr Wall, all that the world would infer, whatever his friends must think, or his enemies would fay, upon his ftaying in his own house, and only writing to his Catholic Majefty, where the fate of fo many countries were involved in the decifion of the prefent affair: I recommended to him, for the fake of humanity in general, not to let any raih or precipitated measure be taken; but, after duly weighing the infinite importance of thefe queftions, to let me receive fuch answers, as, might enable the two crowns

to

tar from pit-coal to advantage; and in the manner he does it, when the tar or pitch is extracted, the remainder of the coal is charred in the best perfection, fo as to make the very best of fires for fmelting metals from all kinds of ores, and alfo the very beft firing for making or drving of malt.

The tar, or pitch, thus extracted, bids fair to be the best pitch ever known for the bottoms of fhips, to preserve them against worms; because it cleaves fo clofe to the wood, that it gives, in a imanner, an iron coat to it; through which, in my opinion, worms can hardly penetrate; particularly as it raifes no blifters, as other pitch or paint on fhips bottoms does, through which no dangerous vermine can make their way into the timber.

From the experiments I have made, I can aver with truth, that the coal, when the tar or pitchy fubftance is drawn from it, makes the beft fireing I have ever feen, (fuperior to wood-charcoal), for fmelting lead, tin, and copper, from their respective ores. I am perfuaded, by this means, improvements may be made in the art of melting, not only with respect to preserving the malleability in the metal, but alfo to produce more in quantity; becaufe coals from whence the tar has been drawn, cause an immediate intenfe equal heat, which fluxes the ore with quicknefs to the highest degree of fluidity; by which means the metals fooner fubfide, and at the fame time are guarded from exhaling by their own drofs. D. W. LINDEN.

1

An original letter from the lote Duchefs of Somerjet, on the death of Lord Beauchamp. Should have answered your first letter, good Mrs, before I received the fecond, but that I had unfortunately loft the direction; nor am I fure I fhall addrefs it near the right poft-town; but I muft run that risk. I am forry to find that your illness feems rather to increase than diminith; yet the difpofition of mind with which you receive this painful dif penfation, feems to convert your fufferings into a blefling: while you refign yourfelf to the will of God in fo patient a manner, this difeafe feems only the chaftifement of a wife and merciful being, who chafteneth, not for his own pleasure, but for our profit. Were I not convinced of this great truth, I fear I muft Jong fince have funk under the burden of forrow, which God faw fit to wean my

foolish heart from this vain world with, and fhew me how little all the grandeur and riches of it avail to happiness. He gave me a fon, who promised all that the fondeft parents could hope: an honour to his family, an ornament to his country; with a heart early attached to all the duties of religion and society, with the advantage of Itrong and uninterrupted health, joined to a form, which, when he came into Italy, made him more generally known by the name of the Englifh angel than by that of his family. I know this account may look like a mother's fondness. Perhaps it was too much fo once; but, alas! it now only ferves to fhew the uncertainty and frailty of all human dependence. This justly beloved child was fnatched from us before we could hear of his illness: that fatal disease, the finall pox, feized him at Bologna, and carried him off the evening of his birth-day, on which he had completed nineteen years. Two pofts before, I had a letter from him, wrote with all the life and innocent chearfulness inherent to his nature; the next but one came from his afflicted governor, to acquaint his unhappy father, that he had loft the most dutiful and best of fons, the pride and hope of his declining age. He bore the stroke like a wife man and a Chriftian; but never forgot, nor ceafed to figh for it. A long feries of pain and infirmity, which was daily gaining ground upon him, fhewed me the word, which appeared fufpended over my head by an almost cobweb-thread, long before it dropt. As to my bodily pains, I blefs God they are by no means infupportable at present: I rather suffer my flesh, and confumes my fpirits by a a languid state of weakness, which waftes gentle decay, than any frightful fuffering; and am fpending that remains of nature which was almoft exhaufted in continued care and anxiety for the fufferings of a perfon dearer to one than one's felf. My daughter, who is very good to me, has fent me her youngest fon, just turned of four years old, to amufe me in my folitude, because he is a great favourite of mine, and fhews a great deal of his poor uncle's difpofition, and fome faint likeneis of his perfon. It is high time to releafe you from fo long a letter: but there are fome fubjects, on which my tears nor pen know not how to stop when they begin to flow. I am, dear Madamı, Your fincerely affectionate friend, [Roy, Mag.]

F. SOMERSET,

SIR,