duct has not, nor shall have, any other bias than that which brought me forward into my present situation. I shall be in London on Saturday, and hope to find the favour of a line there from your Ladyship; to whom I have the honour to be, with the truest esteem and the most profound respect, Madam, Your Ladyship's most obedient and most humble servant, GRAFTON. THE COUNTESS OF CHATHAM TO THE DUKE OF MY LORD, GRAFTON. Hayes, October 8, 1768. I AM extremely honoured by your Grace's most obliging letter, which I received this morning by the post. I hope your Grace will believe I must be always highly flattered with receiving a visit from you, but I should think myself inexcusable if I suffered your Grace to have the trouble of coming to Hayes, without first apprizing you, that the very weak state of my Lord's health puts it absolutely out of my power to convey to him the communication of any business; and I beg to add, that being conscious how unequal I am to judge of political matters, the whole I can say to your Grace, is to express, as I beg leave to do in this letter, my real good wishes for the honour of his Majesty and for the success of his affairs, which are in your Grace's hands. If, notwithstanding, your Grace should still continue to let me have the honour of seeing you, according to your obliging intention, I shall hope for that honour about noon on Sunday next. I have the honour to be, with the highest esteem and greatest respect, Your Grace's, &c. &c. H. CHATHAM.(1) (1) The following imperfect memorandum of a conversation. with the Duke of Grafton is in the handwriting of Lady Chatham : "October 9, 1768. "Does your Ladyship think Lord Chatham will resign?''My Lord's health is very bad.' "I struggle through immense difficulties, from the hope of restoring to Lord Chatham's hands the whole of business, which you know I continued only in that view,' &c. "I must confess, from the length of my Lord's illness, and the manner in which the gout is dispersed upon his habit, that I believe there is but small prospect of his ever being able to enter much again into business.' * * * * "With regard to that, though my Lord's health is too weak to admit of any communication of business, I am able to tell your Grace from my Lord himself, having mentioned to him the reports of Lord Shelburne's removal, that it will never have his consent nor concurrence, as thinking it quite contrary to the King's service. He has a great regard and friendship for him, and thinks his abilities make him necessary, in the office he is in, to the carrying on of his Majesty's business. My Lord would think either most unhappy and very unfortunate for his Majesty's service.'”* This last remark seems to refer to something dropped by the Duke, with reference to the dismissal of Sir Jeffrey Amherst and the Earl of Shelburne, THE EARL OF CHATHAM TO THE DUKE OF GRAFTON [From a draught in Lady Chatham's handwriting.] MY LORD, Hayes, Wednesday, October 12, 1768. My extremely weak and broken state of health continuing to render me entirely useless to the King's service, I beg your Grace will have the goodness to lay me, with the utmost duty, at his Majesty's feet, together with my humblest request that his Majesty will be graciously pleased to grant me his royal permission to resign the privy seal. May I be allowed at the same time to offer to his Majesty my deepest sense of his Majesty's long, most humane, and most gracious indulgence towards me, and to express my ardent prayers for his Majesty. Though unable to enter into business, give me leave, my Lord, not to conclude without expressing to your Grace, that I cannot enough lament the removal of Sir Jeffrey Amherst and that of Lord Shelburne.() I will add no more to your Grace's present trouble, than to desire your Grace will accept my sincerest acknowledgments of all your goodness to me. I beg your Grace to believe me, with the highest esteem and respect, Your Grace's, &c. &c. &c. CHATHAM. (1) Upon the removal of Lord Shelburne, which took place in the beginning of January, Lord Weymouth was appointed secretary of state for the southern department, in his stead, and the Earl of Rochford succeeded Lord Weymouth as secretary of state for the northern. THE DUKE OF GRAFTON TO THE EARL OF CHATHAM. MY LORD, Grosvenor Square, October 12, 1768. I FEEL too much concern in the idea of any circumstance that can induce your Lordship to retire from your situation in the King's service, from the prejudice it will bring on his Majesty's affairs, that if I had no other reasons, I should even on this consideration beg leave to represent my sentiments on an event so unhappy for this country. But, my Lord, having myself given way some time ago to your entreaties to me to remain in my present post, when your health was at least as bad as it now is, I have some right to claim from you a return of the same conduct, when I see, as your Lordship was pleased then to say, that nothing could be so truly serviceable to his Majesty's affairs. Allow me to recall this conversation and assurance from your Lordship to your recollection, and on the ground of it to entreat your Lordship not to deprive his Majesty of that support, which even the hopes of your recovery gives to his government. Your Lordship's letter laments a circumstance which I mentioned to Lady Chatham as one appearing to me to be necessary, and on which I intended humbly to submit my opinion to his Majesty. I lament it also, as Lord Shelburne was recommended by your Lordship; yet give me leave to say, that, in the same situation, your Lordship would give the same advice as that which my honour, as well as my duty to the King, will call me to give. I could heartily have wished to have had an opportunity of explaining to your Lordship many important subjects, and amongst them how much Sir Jeffrey Amherst misconstrued the intentions of his Majesty and of his servants towards him; but your Lordship's health depriving me of that satisfaction, I could only impart to Lady Chatham in general the earnest wish I shall ever have for your recovery, and that I have ever been and shall always remain, with the truest attachment, esteem, and respect, my Lord, Your Lordship's most obedient, faithful, and most humble servant, GRAFTON. P. S. Your Lordship will observe, that I must postpone the obedience I owe to your commands, in hopes of seeing that what I have said in this letter has had some weight with your Lordship. THE EARL OF CHATHAM TO THE DUKE OF GRAFTON. [From a draught in Lady Chatham's handwriting.] MY LORD, Hayes, Thursday, October 13, 1768. I AM truly sensible how real an honour your Grace does me in the wish you are so good as to |