Lady Montagu to Lady Pomfret-House of Lords stormed by a mob of Ladies.

were Lady Huntingdon, the Duchess of Queensbury, the Duchess of Ancaster, Lady Westmoreland, Lady Cobham, Lady Charlotte Edwin, Lady Archibald Hamilton and her daughter, Mrs. Scott, Mrs. Pendarvis, and Lady Francis Saunderson. I am thus particular in their names, since I look upon them to be the boldest assertors, and most resigned sufferers for liberty, I ever read of. They presented themselves at the door at nine o'clock in the morning, where Sir William Saunderson respectfully informed them that the Chancellor had made an order against their admitttance. The Duchess of Queensbury, as head of the squadron, pished at the ill-breeding of a mere lawyer, and desired him to let them up the stairs privately. After some modest refusals, he swore by G- he would not let them in. Her Grace, with a noble warmth, answered by G- they would come in, in spite of the Chancellor and the whole House. This being reported, the peers resolved to starve them out; an order was made that the doors should not be opened till they had raised their siege. These amazons now showed themselves qualified for the duty even of foot soldiers; they stood there till five in the afternoon, without either sustenance or intermission, every now and then playing vollies of thumps, kicks, and raps against the door, with so much violence that the speakers in the House were scarce heard. When the Lords were not to be conquered by this, the two Duchesses (very well apprised of the use of stratagems in war) commanded a dead silence of half an hour; and the Chancellor, who thought this a certain proof of their absence (the Commons also being very impatient to enter), gave order for the opening of the door; upon which they all rushed in, pushed aside their competitors, and placed themselves in the front rows of the gallery. They stayed there till after

Lady Russell to Lord Russell-Family News.

eleven, when the House rose, and during the debate gave applause, and showed marks of dislike, not only by smiles and winks (which have always been allowed in these cases), but by noisy laughs and apparent contempts; which is supposed the true reason why poor Lord Hervey spoke miserably. I beg your pardon, dear madam, for this long relation; but it is impossible to be short on so copious a subject; and you must own this action to be very well worthy of record, and I think not to be paralleled in any history, ancient or modern.

Yours, &c.,

XI.-FAMILY NEWS.

Lady Russell to Lord Russell.

TUNBRIDGE WELLS, 1678.

After a toilsome day, there is some refreshment to be telling our story to our best friends. I have seen your girl well laid in bed, and ourselves have made our suppers upon biscuits, a bottle of white wine, and another of beer, and mingled my uncle's whey with nutmeg and sugar. None are disposing to bed, not so much as complaining of weariness. Beds and things are all very well here; our want is yourself and good weather. But now I have told you our present condition; to say a little of the past, I do really think, if I could have imagined the illness of the journey, it would have discouraged me; it is not to be expressed how bad the way is from Seven Oaks; but our horses did exceeding well, and Spencer very diligent, often off his horse to lay hold of the coach. I have not much more to say this night; I hope the quilt is remembered; and Frances must remember to send more biscuits, either when you come or

Lady Russell to Lord Russell-Message of Love.

soon after. I long to hear from you, my dearest soul, and truly think your absence already an age. I have no mind to my gold plate; here is no table to set it on; but if that does not come, I desire you would bid Betty Forster send the silver glass I use every day. In discretion, I haste to bed, longing for Monday, I assure you. From your R. RUSSELL.

Past ten o'clock.-Lady Margaret says we are not glutted with company yet; you will let Northumberland know we are well; and Allie.

XII.-MESSAGE OF LOVE.

Lady Russell to Lord Russell.

STRATTON, 1681--Thursday morning.

A messenger bringing things from Ailesford this morning, gives me the opportunity of sending this by post. If he will leave it at Frimley, it will let you know we are all well; if he does not, it may let such know it as do not care, but satisfy no one's curiosity on any other point; for having said thus much, I am ready to conclude, with this one secret, first, that as thy precious self is the most endearing husband, I believe, in the world, so I am the most grateful wife, and my heart most gladly pas sionate in its returns. Now you have all for this time,

From your

R. RUSSELL.

Boy is asleep, girls singing abed. Lord Marquis sent a compliment yesterday, that he heard one of the girls had the measles; and if I would remove the rest, he would leave his house at an hour's warning. I hope you deliver my service to Mr. James.

For the Lord Russell, to be left at Frimley.

Joseph Spence to his Mother-Andrey, an Adept or Alchemist.

XIII.-ANDREY, AN ADEPT, OR ALCHEMIST-CURIOUS ANECDOTE OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS.

Joseph Spence to his Mother.

TURIN, August 25, 1740.

DEAR MOTHER: If the history of Florio was too melancholy

for you (as I fear it was), I am now going to give you an account of some people that may be too mysterious for you, such as some persons will scarce believe ever were, or ever will be in the world; however, one of them I have very lately met with; and I must give you an account of him whilst 'tis fresh in my memory.

Have you ever heard of the people called adepts? They are a set of philosophers superior to whatever appeared among the Greeks and Romans. The three great points they drive at is to be free from poverty, distempers, and death; and if you will believe them, they have found out one secret that is capable of freeing them from all three. There are never more than twelve of these men in the whole world at a time; and we have the happiness of having one of the twelve at this time at Turin. I am very well acquainted with him; and have often talked with him of their secrets, as far as he is allowed to talk to a common mortal, of them.

His name is Andrey, a Frenchman, of a genteel air, but with a certain gravity in his face that I never saw in any Frenchman before. The first time I was in company with him, as I found he had been a great traveller, I asked him whether he had ever been in England, and how he liked the country? He said that he had, and that he liked it more than any country he had ever been in. The last time I was in England, added he, there were eleven philosophers there. I told him I hoped there

Joseph Spence to his Mother-Andrey, an Adept or Alchemist.

might be more than eleven in England. He smiled a little and said, "Sir, I don't talk of common philosophers, I talk of adepts; and of them, I saw in England what I never saw anywhere else: there were eleven at table; I made the twelfth and when we began to compare our ages all together, they made somewhat upward of four thousand years." I wondered to hear a grave man talk so strangely, and asked him, as seriously as I could, how old he might be himself. He said that he was not quite 200, but that he was one of the youngest at the table. He said that the secret of carrying on their lives as long as they pleased was known to all of them, and that some of them perhaps might remove out of this world, but that he did not think any one of them would die; for if they did not like this globe, they had nothing to do but to go into another whenever they pleased. How soon that might be he did not know, but St. John and the travelling Jew, he said, had stayed in it above 1,700 years; and some of his friends, perhaps, might stay as long. He said the great elixir, of which he had some in his pocket, made him look no older than forty; that he was afraid of no distemper, for that would cure him immediately; nor of want, because it would make him as much gold as he pleased. He said many other things as strange and as surprising as what I have told you.

I was talking of him and his gold-making to our Minister here, who, upon this, told me a very odd story, which he had from Marechal Rhebender, General of the King of Sardinia's forces at present. The general, who comes from those parts, says, that when Gustavus Adolphus was going to make war with the emperor, he found himself at a loss for money sufficient for so great an undertaking. He was very melancholy upon it, and every thing was at a stand, when one morning a very old