MihaElla > Recent Status Updates

And I am resolved, when I come over, MD shall be acquainted with Lady Kerry: we have struck up a mighty friendship; and she has much better sense than any other lady of your country. We are almost in love with one another: but she is most egregiously ugly; but perfectly well-bred, and governable as I please.

I drink little, miss my glass often, put water in my wine, and go away before the rest, which I take to be a good receipt for sobriety. Let us put it into rhyme, and so make a proverb—


“Drink little at a time;
Put water with your wine;
Miss your glass when you can;
And go off the first man.”

When I find you are happy or merry there, it makes me so here, and I can hardly imagine you absent when I am reading your letter, or writing to you. No, faith, you are just here upon this little paper, and therefore I see and talk with you every evening constantly, and sometimes in the morning, but not always in the morning, because that is not so modest to young ladies.—

An old gentlewoman died here two months ago,and left in her will, to have eight men and eight maids bearers, who should have two guineas apiece, ten guineas to the parson for a sermon, and two guineas to the clerk. But bearers, parson, and clerk must be all true virgins; and not to be admitted till they took their oaths of virginity: so the poor woman still lies unburied, and so must do till the general resurrection

April 1. The Duke of Buckingham's house fell down last night with an earthquake, and is half swallowed up; won't you go and see it?—An April fool, an April fool, oh ho, young women. Well, don't be angry. I will make you an April fool no more till the next time; we had no sport here, because it is Sunday, and Easter Sunday.

My dream is out: I was a-dreamed last night that I ate ripe cherries.

I had something to say, but cannot call it to mind. (What was it?)

🤭 Sounds familiar enough! Glad for such an amiable companion..

Yes, Ford is as sober as I please: I use him to walk with me as an easy companion, always ready for what I please, when I am weary of business and Ministers. I don't go to a Coffee-house twice a month. I am very regular in going to sleep before eleven.

I could talk till to-morrow upon these things, but they make me melancholy. I could not but observe that lately, after much conversation with Mr. Harley, though he is the most fearless man alive, and the least apt to despond, he confessed to me that uttering his mind to me gave him ease.

This kingdom is certainly ruined as much as was ever any bankrupt merchant. We must have peace, let it be a bad or a good one, though nobody dares talk of it. The nearer I look upon things, the worse I like them. I believe the confederacy will soon break to pieces, and our factions at home increase…

An't I silly? faith, your letters would make a dog silly, if I had a dog to be silly, but it must be a little dog.

How inconstant I am! I can't imagine I was ever in love with her.
Well, I'm going; what have you to say? I DO NOT CARE HOW I WRITE NOW. I don't design to write on this side; these few lines are but so much more than your due; so I will write LARGE or small as I please. O, faith, my hands are starving in bed; I believe it is a hard frost. I must rise, and bid you good-bye. Farewell.

it rained like a dog;so I took coach,for want of better exercise,and dined privately with a hang-dog in the City.The days are now long enough to walk in the Park after dinner; and so I do whenever it is fair. This walking is a strange remedy: Mr. Prior walks, to make himself fat, and I to bring myself down; he has generally a cough, which he only calls a cold; we often walk round the Park together. So I'll go sleep.

—Come, what are you doing? How do you pass your time this ugly weather? Gaming and drinking, I suppose: fine diversions for young ladies, truly! I wish you had some of our Seville oranges, and we some of your wine. We have the finest oranges for twopence apiece, and the basest wine for six shillings a bottle. They tell me wine grows cheap with you.

—Poor Stella's eyes! God bless them, and send them better. Pray spare them, and write not above two lines a day in broad daylight. How does Stella look, Madam Dingley? Pretty well, a handsome young woman still. Will she pass in a crowd? Will she make a figure in a country church?—

I was this morning with poor Lady Kerry, who is much worse in her head than I. She sends me bottles of her bitter; and we are so fond of one another, because our ailments are the same;
[…] I walked into the City to dine, because of the walk, for we must take care of Presto's health, you know, because of poor little Stella. But I walked plaguy carefully, for fear of sliding against my will; but I am very busy.

You gave me all your love, which you didn't know what to do with, and I gave you mine, which overwhelmed me.
Is there anything more in life? For me it is everything. Unless the bitterness of separation intervenes, absurd as a mask on a human face...

Ei da, oameni buni inarmati cu un creion rosu si cu creier de iaurt, -- da! imi place sa bat campii! Incercati-o si voi, de asemeni, cu inima voastra fara vlaga, ca o balega de vaca; la primul contact cu iarba, in flacari, a acestui pamant, va veti arde dindaratul. Caci campiile pe care le iubeste fantezia mea, dracul le-a arat cu coada lui strasnica si Dumnezeu le-a fecundata cu fierbintea lui samanta.

Învinși sunt toți oamenii care se află către sfârșitul vieții în dezacord sentimental cu cei mai buni semeni ai lor. Sunt unul dintre acești învinși.

I must talk politics.I protest I am afraid shall all be embroiled with parties.The Whigs,now they are fallen,are the most malicious toads in the world.We have had now a second misfortune,the loss of several Virginia ships.I fear people will begin to think that nothing thrives under this Ministry:& if the Ministry can once be rendered odious to the people,the Parliament may be chosen Whig or Tory as the Queen pleases

Morrow, little dears. O, faith, I have been dreaming; I was to be put in prison. I do not know why, and I was so afraid of a black dungeon; and then all I had been inquiring yesterday of Sir Andrew Fountaine's sickness I thought was of poor Stella. The worst of dreams is, that one wakes just in the humour they leave one..

there was much company,& I was not merry at all. Mr. Harley made me read a paper of verses of Prior's. I read them plain, without any fine manner;& Prior swore, I should never read any of his again; but he would be revenged, and read some of mine as bad. I excused myself, and said I was famous for reading verses the worst in the world; and that everybody snatched them from me when I offered to begin. So we laughed

I wonder I never write politics to you: I could make you the profoundest politician in all the lane…

😂🤣

What is this? faith, I smell fire; what can it be? this house has a thousand stinks in it. I think to leave it on Thursday, and lodge over the way. Faith, I must rise, and look at my chimney, for the smell grows stronger, stay—I have been up, and in my room, and found all safe, only a mouse within the fender to warm himself, which I could not catch.

Pshaw, I must be writing to these dear saucy brats every night, whether I will or no, let me have what business I will, or come home ever so late, or be ever so sleepy; but an old saying, and a true one,


"Be you lords, or be you earls,
You must write to naughty girls.”

Which would you rather, a short letter every week, or a long one every fortnight? A long one; well, it shall be done, and so good-night. Well, but is this a long one? No, I warrant you: too long for naughty girls.

Whenever you lend money, take this rule, to have two people bound, who have both visible fortunes; for they will hardly die together; and, when one dies, you fall upon the other, and make him add another security

👻🤭

And how could you write with such thin paper? (I forgot to say this in my former.) Cannot you get thicker? Why, that's a common caution that writing-masters give their scholars; you must have heard it a hundred times. 'Tis this:


"If paper be thin,
Ink will slip in;
But, if it be thick,
You may write with a stick.”

Morning by candlelight.
You must know that I am in my nightgown every morning between six and seven, and Patrick is forced to ply me fifty times before I can get on my nightgown; and so now I will take my leave of my own dear MD for this letter, and begin my next when I come home at night. God Almighty bless and protect dearest MD. Farewell, etc.
This letter's as long as a sermon, faith!

I was weary of their company, and stole away at five, and came home like a good boy, and studied till ten,and had a fire, O ho! and now am in bed. I have no fireplace in my bed-chamber; but 'tis very warm weather when one's in bed. Your fine cap, Madam Dingley, is too little, and too hot: I will have that fur taken off; I wish it were far enough; and my old velvet cap is good for nothing. Is it velvet under the fur?