his month: but we do not intend to be the dupes of that
_finesse_, if it is one, but shall remain on our guard. One must hope
that winter will produce some negotiation; and that, peace. Indeed, as
war is not declared, I conclude there is always some treating on the
anvil; and, should it end well, at least this age will have made a step
towards humanity, in omitting the ceremonial of proclamation, which
seems to make it easier to cease being at war. But I am rather making
out a proxy for a letter than sending you news. But, you see, even
armies of hundred thousands in Germany can execute as little as we; and
you must remember what the Grand Conde, or the great Prince of Orange--I
forget which--said, that unmarried girls imagine husbands are always on
duty, unmilitary men that soldiers are always fighting. One of the Duke
of Marlborough's Generals dining with the Lord Mayor, an Alderman who
sat next to him said, "Sir, yours must be a very laborious
profession."--"No," replied the General, "we fight about four hours in
the morning, and two or three after dinner, and then we have all the
rest of the day to ourselves."

The King has been visiting camps,--and so has Sir William Howe, who, one
should think, had had enough of them; and who, one should think too, had
not achieved such exploits as should make him fond of parading himself
about, or expect many hosannahs. To have taken one town, and retreated
from two, is not very glorious in military arithmetic; and to have
marched twice to Washington, and returned without attacking him, is no
addition to the sum total.

Did I tell you that Mrs. Anne Pitt is returned, and acts great grief for
her brother? I suppose she was the dupe of the farce acted by the two
Houses and the Court, and had not heard that none of them carried on the
pantomime even to his burial. Her nephew gave a little into that mummery
even to me; forgetting how much I must remember of his aversion to his
uncle. Lord Chatham was a meteor, and a glorious one; people discovered
that he was not a genuine luminary, and yet everybody in mimickry has
been an _ignis fatuus_ about him. Why not allow his magnificent
enterprises and good fortune, and confess his defects; instead of being
bombast in his praises, and at the same time discover that the
amplification is insincere? A Minister who inspires great actions must
be a great Minister; and Lord Chatham will always appear so,--by
comparison with his predecessors and s