Royal
Highness the Duke of York is to be Commander-in-chief; Fitzpatrick,
Secretary at War; and there are to be four Field-Marshals;
consisting of the Regent himself, of the Dukes of York and
Gloucester, and General Conway. These Field-Marshals--of whom three
never saw a shot fired, and the fourth of whom has not served for
six-and-twenty years, except in the very peaceful situation of
Commander-in-chief in England for a few months at the end of the
war--make a pretty curious promotion. Faucitt is to continue,
notwithstanding a positive promise of the Duke of Portland's to
General Vaughan, for the sake of securing his vote and his
brother's. They are to make all the Colonels Major-Generals, down
to Lord Rawdon. The list of the Prince's aides-de-camp you will
have seen in the papers.

Lord Spencer is declared for Ireland.

The accounts from Bath say that Fox is better, and will recover.

The town and neighbourhood of Buckingham have voted an unanimous
Address to Pitt, without any of us knowing a word about it. It is
signed by near two hundred persons, as Jemmy tells me, for I have
not seen it.

I am living in hourly fear of having a meeting called in the
county, which would be a troublesome and useless thing, though, I
understand, the sense of the yeomanry is entirely with us. I hear
nothing of their intentions in case of a dissolution, but much
doubt, from what I hear, whether they will think of doing more than
ousting Aubrey, which they may do very peaceably; for by what I
hear, he would not have ten votes.

I have, at length, decided not to think of the Bolton Street house,
at least for the present year, as the repairs necessary to make it
habitable amount to so large a sum. Perhaps, if I was to be
re-elected after a dissolution it might be worth my while; but that
is, as you will easily suppose, a very doubtful contingency. Is it
not a singular thing that it should be doubtful at all, and that
there should be any chance of beating them in the new Parliament on
such a question as that?

Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.

I open this letter again, to let you know that I have just received
an account of Sir Thomas Halifax's death, which happened this
morning. This circumstance is not a little perplexing to me,