Floyd, and Lord Frederick and I dined at Colonel Kane's, who is
settled in the Stable Yard, and in a damned good house, plate,
windows cut down to the floor, elbowing his Majesty with an enormous
bow window. The dog is monstrously well nipped; he obtrudes his
civilities upon me, malgre que j'en ai, and will in time force me
not to abuse him. He would help me to-day to some venison, and how
he contrived it, I don't know, but for want of the Graces he cut one
of my fingers to the bone, that I might as well have dined at a
cut-fingered ordinary.

I am diverted with your threats that I shall have short letters,
because you are plagued with Northumberland disputes. You say that
you have every post letters to write, and so you will have them to
write for some time, for the Devil take me if I believe that you
have wrote or will write one of them. A good ronfle for that, an't
please your Honour, with about twenty sheets of paper spread about
upon the table, and on each of them the beginning of a letter.

You know me very well also in thinking that my heart fails me as the
time of my going to Gloucester approaches. I made a very stout
resistance a fortnight ago, notwithstanding Harris's importunate
summons, and now he plainly confesses in a letter which I received
from him to-day, that my coming down upon that pretended meeting
would have been nugatory, as he calls it. The Devil take them; I
have wished him and his Corporation in Newgate a thousand times. But
there will be no trifling after the end of this next week. The
Assizes begin on Monday sevennight. Then the Judges will be met, a
terrible show, for I shall be obliged to dine with them, and be in
more danger from their infernal cooks than any of the criminals who
are to be tried, excepting those who will be so unfortunate as to