© University of Edinburgh and the Arts & Humanities Research Council
In this conversational letter to the diplomat Mitchell, Millar typically blends political updates with news of their many mutual friends. Detailed letters like this were greatly valued by recipients, especially if they were absent from home for long periods. This group might include diplomatic staff like Mitchell, British merchants living abroad, and military personnel.
Dear
You may be surprised at not hearing from me since y Mitchell was in Pall Mall, probably at Millar’s house, on 7 March. He had returned to Berlin by the end of May. See The season at Tunbridge Wells, a fashionable spa 45 miles southwest of London, ran from June to August. See William Strahan (1715–85), eminent and influential printer, was Millar’s business partner and longtime friend. He had been apprenticed in Edinburgh under the bookseller and publisher James McEuen’s printer, John Mosman, from 1729–36; McEuen had been Millar’s master. In 1736 Strahan relocated to London as a printer for Millar’s longtime collaborator, the bookseller William Bowyer. Strahan had been in contact with Benjamin Franklin from as early as 1740, when his friend and employee David Hall emigrated to Philadelphia and joined one of Franklin’s printing companies. Strahan was an executor of Millar’s will, and had named his son Andrew Strahan (1750–1831) after Millar. William Pitt, brilliant orator and Whig politician, had a long and distinguished career as a leading government and opposition member of the House of Commons and later in the House of Lords. He had resigned in 1761 but had been asked to assemble a new governing ministry, or “cabinet-council”, on 7 July. The official announcement that Pitt would be created Earl of Chatham, and thus hold an eventual seat in the House of Lords, was made on 4 August; it was swiftly denounced as the creation of “Lord Cheattem”. See Millar may be making a distinction between Pitt’s ideological service to his “country”, and his political duties to serve the monarch, bearing in mind Pitt’s condemnation of John Wilkes’s Richard Grenville-Temple (1711–79), former Lord of the Admiralty (1756–57), visited Pitt’s house on 16 June, asking to choose his own Treasury Board and to find places for his associates on the council. The two men argued throughout the day, ending in Pitt’s decision to terminate their political connections—and a brief pamphlet war ensued. Temple was strongly associated with Wilkes and his anti-Scottish attacks. See John Perceval, Earl of Egmont (1711–72), First Lord of the Admiralty (1763–66), resigned from Pitt’s ministry on 12 August, for reasons normally associated with his antipathy to Pitt rather than for policy differences. Despite Bute’s decision to end British subsidies to Prussia in 1761, Mitchell tried unsuccessfully to persuade Frederick the Great of Britain’s ongoing support, consistent with Pitt’s policy since the first Treaty of Westminster (1756). Millar’s reference to Frederick’s heroism may have been ironic; Mitchell had recognized the symbolic importance of token support when he urged the Earl of Holdernesse, then Secretary of State, to send English horses: “trifles, your lordship knows, sometimes operate on the greatest of minds.” See Prince Ferdinand (1721–92), Frederick the Great’s brother-in-law, enjoyed great popularity in Britain. In June 1766, Frederick sided with an insubordinate colonel in one of Ferdinand’s regiments, leading directly to Ferdinand’s resignation and to deepening concerns in Britain over the costly alliance with Prussia. On the “irresistible admiration at the heroism of his Prussian majesty” in Britain, see By 1766, Frederick was governing Prussia through measures that included a new taxation system: “the strictness and evening extortion [was] meted out to the public while irregularities committed by officials went undiscovered and unpublished.” It also forced industrial resettlement, which created widespread resentment and deepened poverty. See George III was in residence at Richmond Lodge (toward the south end of Kew Gardens) between 23–29 August, and had likely arrived at the start of the month. See John Stuart, Earl of Bute (1713–92), George III’s childhood tutor, and Prime Minister from 1761–63. He had kept a house (later called Cambridge Cottage) at Kew Green since 1755. By the summer of 1766, Bute was reproaching the king for excluding him from Pitt’s ministry, hence Millar’s curiosity over whether Bute and the king remained on good terms. See In 1762, George III had purchased Buckingham House, St James’s, which was soon known as the Queen’s House. St James’s Palace, Westminster, the royal family’s principal residence. o wentMemoirs and Papers of Sir Andrew Mitchell, K. B. (London: Chapman and Hall, 1850)sith, i.e., since.The English Spa: A Social History, 1560–1815 (London: Athlone P, 1990)r Strahant his own reflections. you will see how scurrilous ye Writers have been in ye abuse of their Idol e People no bar.no bar, i.e., notwithstanding. t great faults, but by accepting a PeerageThe Elder Pitt (London: Longman, 1998)North Briton during the 1763–64 parliamentary session, as an “illiberal, unmanly, and detestable” attack on Scotland and the Scots. In March, Pitt had “praised my Lord Bute and said though he did not wish to see him minister yet it was shameful to proscribe his relations and his friends.” See The Elder PittPitt the Elder (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1992)c I still hope will be for the honr of the Nation. his breaking wt The Life of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (London: Longmans, Green, 1913)t his neck – c he is madly fond of – I am not judge how far German connections is of use to us, but this I am certain r HeroMemoirs and Papers of Sir Andrew MitchellFrederick the Great, King of Prussia (London: Allen Lane, 2000)t d FerdinandA Short View of the Political Life and Transactions of a Late Right Commoner (London: W. Griffin, 1766)Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (Leipzig: Dunder & Humblot, 1877)Frederick the Great of Prussia: Absolutism and Administration (London: Thames and Hudson, 1975)mselves by past examples. as to what Politicks is passing or what Jostling there is now I know no more tho’ here than yo do at t his family here The Correspondence of King George the Third, ed. J. Fortescue (London: Macmillan, 1927)d Frederick the Great, William Pitt and Lord Bute: The Anglo-Prussian Alliance, 1756–63 (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1991)t the family. I fancy they are only allowed to come to e Queens houset James’tt of Freinds wc I think more agreeable.
I heared from Arthur Forbes of Craigievar, fourth baronet (1709–73), MP for Aberdeenshire (1732–44), had two older and six younger children, from two marriages. He was Mitchell’s friend and cousin, and had offered his parliamentary seat to Mitchell in 1747. As Mitchell’s closest surviving kinsman, Forbes would be the sole inheritor of his estate in 1771. r Arthur Forbest some more of his Children he brings up next month for their Education and He thinks of taking a house at ts such an one I have heared for them.heared for, i.e., to be informed of.
John Pringle (1707–82), military physician, MD (1730), Physician-General (1744), Fellow of the Royal Society (1745), and Physician to the Queen (1761). He was made a baronet in 1766. George Lewis Scott (1708–80), royal tutor, mathematician, Millar’s associate on the Society for the Encouragement of Learning, and his friend since the 1730s. From 1749, Scott was a tutor to the future George III, then aged 11. In 1751, he married Sarah Robinson (1720–95), whose anonymous first novel Franklin and Pringle left London on 14 June 1766 to travel to the spa at Pyrmont (now Bad Pyrmont), Lower Saxony. The earliest evidence of Franklin’s relationship with Millar dates to 3 May 1753, when Franklin decided not to send a proof of a manuscript to Edward Cave because he did not want to disappoint Millar. See r John Pringler ScottA History of Cornelia (1750) Millar had published. Despite the couple’s bitter and blatant estrangement from 1752, Millar continued to publish her works, including the two-volume novels A Journey through Every Stage of Life (1754) and The History of George Ellison (1766), as well as her historical compilation The History of Gustavus Ericson (1761). It may have been through George Scott’s acquaintance with the budding polemicist Thomas Paine (1737–1809) that the latter was introduced to Benjamin Franklin during his visit to London in 1772. See James Thomson: Letters and Documents (Lincoln: U of Kansas P, 1958)t r Franklynr t us here last week. r Johnr Franklynt their journey and The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, ed. L. W. Labarse (New Haven: Yale UP, 1969)re subjects groaned under such oppression. We all wished you happy wt us as none is more happily beloved by their friends than yrself.
The final volume of Hume’s William Murray, Earl of Mansfield (1705–93), politician and Lord Chief Justice. Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773), retired Secretary of State yet still active in the House of Lords. Hume’s account of this famous row was published in October in French and the next month in English. See t History of England appeared in 1762; new editions, including revisions, were published consequently. Hume did not compose further volumes, despite urging from Millar and others. Mossner has concluded “that Hume was impatient to continue the History is certainly not true, although the previous autumn [1768] he had received His Majesty’s permission to inspect the papers in the various government archives.” See The Life of David Hume (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1980) Rousau’s ungratefull crazy Treatmt of him.his Temper: Hume was famously temperate, despite his notoriety as an irreligious skeptic. The international scandal which arose over the public quarrel between Hume and Rousseau was ongoing; Hume’s final letter to Rousseau was dated 22 July, and Hume continued to receive letters on the matter from France into the autumn. See The Letters of David Hume (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1932)New Letters of David Hume (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1954)Life of David HumeRousseau’s Dog: Two Great Thinkers At War In The Age of Enlightenment (London: Faber, 2007)d MansfieldA Concise and Genuine Account of the Dispute between Mr Hume and Mr Rousseau, with the Letters that Passed between Them during Their Controversy (London: T. Becket and P. A. de Hondt, 1766)e least hurt his stomackhis stomack, i.e., affected his spleen or caused emotional upset.e feild of Victory wt him, and ye company seemed inclined to c made e Truth is they are so dissipated and engaged that they cannot find time.
Our friend Patrick Murdoch (d. 1774), clergyman and scientific writer, their longtime friend. Dr Robert Smith (bap.1689–1768), mathematician and Newton’s longtime disciple, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1719 under Newton’s presidency. By 1766 failing health had inhibited Smith’s academic abilities, but not his interestsr Murdoch. Murdoch’s edition of Newton’s works was never published, possibly due to his own deteriorating health.tout loss of Time an Edit: of Sr Isaac Newtons works. I much doubt of its success as yt great author is little read and less understood. The only chance of success is ye Vanity of Mankind, to have such an author in their Library and this I have found upon more occasions than one an usefull engine.
Although John Gray (d.1769) had been rector of Marischal College, Aberdeen, since 1762 (a largely ceremonial position), he lived near London on Richmond Hill, three miles from Millar’s home at Kew Green. He had probably known Millar since 1726, during the latter’s earliest days in London. He was credited by Millar’s friends Patrick Murdoch and Robert Symmer (d.1763) with clarifying Newton’s philosophy for the poet James Thomson, who published Andrew Reid (d. ca. 1767), editor and translator of historical and mathematical works, including William Robertson, MD (1708–91), surgeon to the royal household at Richmond. Millar had known Robertson from his earliest days in London, at which time Robertson was the poet James Thomson’s neighbour. See A Poem Sacred to the Memory of Sir Isaac Newton in 1727. Gray was a capable scholar who collaborated with Andrew Reid (see note 32) on a four-part abridgment of the Royal Society’s Philosophical Transactions from 1720–32 (London: W. Innys and R. Manby, 1733). Gray also worked with William Guthrie (1708–70) on a 12–vol. General History of the World, from the Creation to the Present Time (London: J. Newbery et al., 1764–67). o saw him. he is now under cure of an American yt our friend ^The Elements of the Theory and Practice of Chymistry (London: A. Millar, 1758), which reached a fifth edition in 1787.James ThomsonThe Bee 6 (1791)The History and Antiquities of Richmond (Richmond: Hiscoke & Son, 1894)r J: Pringle
John Carmichael, Earl of Hyndford (1701–67) solicited and received numerous investitures, including a royal grant to add the Silesian eagle to his coat of arms, despite his ineptitude as Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Prussia (1741–44) during the War of Austrian Succession. See Great Britain and Prussia in the Eighteenth Century (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1923)tout honrs or Riches. but what is better. Honest man
There is not a day passes but you are remembered here by some freind or other and by none more sincerely than
We stay The fashionable season at Bath took place from September to December; unlike other English spas, Bath featured hot springs and an unrivalled range of indoor entertainments. See r abt ye Midle and then for y,The English SpaVoices of Eighteenth-Century Bath (Bath: Ruton P, 1995)t wc time wt continual keeping fires in ye rooms we hope it will be quite safe for us to go to. Where none can be welcomer than yourself.
Tho’ I left y James Ferguson (1710–76), scientific author. On this series of public lectures, see e r to r Cadellt Truth say not one minute have I t enought at Wheelwright of the Heavens: The Life and Work of James Ferguson, FRS (London: Vade-Mecum P, 1988)e dissenting minr to collect for,to collect for, i.e., to collect donations for lectures. Ebenezer Johnston (1716–81) was an eminent dissenting minister who gave talks at Bath; his own parish was at Lewes, Sussex. See Gentleman’s Magazine 2 (1787)t Xmas and tho’ he said he never succeded there.succeeded, i.e., succeeded in raising a sufficient number of paid tickets for his lectures.o 50 and I am sure I can for s Millar
Robert Lowth (1710–87) was consecrated Bishop of St David’s on 17 May 1766, then named Bishop of Oxford in July—but he would not be translated there until 16 October. See Charles Moss (1711–1802) would be consecrated Bishop of St David’s in October; Millar is revealing knowledge of ecclesiastical appointments that have not been made public. See the Neither the Prince of Wales, George Augustus (1762–1830) nor Prince Frederick (1763–1827), who held the title of Bishop of Osnabrück, was educated by Lowth. See William Warburton (1698–1779), who was implacable in his attacks on Hume, had been consecrated Bishop of Gloucester on 20 January 1760. See See Psalm 133:1: “how good and how pleasant r Lowtho left us.Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the Late Right Reverend Robert Lowth (London: W. Brent, 1787)Annual Register . . . for 1766st t Davidse last Annual Register . . . for 1766Monarchy and Religion, ed. M. Schaich (Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006)very great, i.e., great friends.e other Hedretox.Hedretox, i.e., heterodox, lacking in religious convictions, the principal cause of Warburton’s opposition to Hume and his many publications (see note 44).e BpLiterary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century (London: J. Nichols, 1812)t Brethren.it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” On the famous rows between Lowth and Warburton, see Robert Lowth (Boston: Twayne, 1978)Literary Anecdotes
I was greatly y Possibly a Peter Marchand (d.1766), gentleman, whose executors included Samuel Gray (ca.1694–1766), a botanist and Millar’s neighbour in Pall Mall. Possibly a Daniel Leckie of Kensington, London, whose provision in the 1765 will of the Bath actor John Quin (1693–1766) was considered, by the e better of Tunbridge Waters and find my self realy well. better than I have reason to expect as rs Millaroily freind, i.e., obsequious. Probably Millar’s close friend, Patrick Murdoch (c.1700–1774), who provided the biographical preface to The Poetical Works of James Thomson (London: A. Millar, 1762). See James Thomsone clay as well as me. r MarcheadAnnual Register . . . for 1766 80, to be “a very foolish promise”. Quin may have had connections to the poet James Thomson. r Srr Most Obligd Hum Srvt
t 1766