Historical sketches of the reign of George second, Volume 1William Blackwood, 1869 |
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Common terms and phrases
affairs beauty believe Binfield Caroline character Charles Chesterfield Court creature crowd curious death doubt Dr Johnson Dr Maty England English everything evident eyes faithful fashion father favour fortune French friends genius George give hands heart Highland honour hope Horace Horace Walpole human Jacobite kind King labour Lady Mary Lady Mary Pierrepont less letters lived Lord Chesterfield Lord Hervey Lord Mahon madam Majesty melancholy ment mind Minister nation natural ness never noble notwithstanding numbers once opposition Parliament party passion perhaps pleasure poet poor Pope Pope's Prince Prince of Wales Princess Queen Queen Caroline reign royal says Lord scene seems Sir Robert Walpole soul South Sea Company South Sea Scheme spectator spirit Stanhope Stuart talk tell tender things tion touch turned Twickenham Walpole's wife William Trumbull woman women wonderful Wortley writes young youth
Popular passages
Page 241 - There, interspersed in lawns and opening glades, Thin trees arise that shun each other's shades. Here in full light the russet plains extend : There wrapt in clouds the bluish hills ascend. Ev'n the wild heath displays her purple dyes, And 'midst the desert fruitful fields arise, That, crown'd with tufted trees and springing corn, Like verdant isles, the sable waste adorn.
Page 300 - vails the vain knight-errant's brand ? — O Douglas for thy leading wand ! Fierce Randolph for thy speed ! O for one hour of Wallace wight, Or well-skilled Bruce, to rule the fight, And cry " Saint Andrew and our right...
Page 284 - Lochiel — who, my father has often told me, was our firmest friend — may stay at home and learn from the newspapers the fate of his Prince !
Page 250 - He used to encourage me much, and used to tell me, that there was one way left of excelling : for though we had several great poets, we never had any one great poet that was correct; and he desired me to make that my study and aim.
Page 207 - The smallpox, so fatal and so general amongst us, is here entirely harmless by the invention of ingrafting, which is the term they give it. There is a set of old women who make it their business to perform the operation every autumn, in the month of September, when the great heat is abated. People send to one another to know if any of their family has a mind to have the smallpox ; they make parties for this purpose, and when they are met (commonly fifteen or sixteen together), the old woman comes...
Page 255 - twixt reading and bohea, To muse, and spill her solitary tea, Or o'er cold coffee trifle with the spoon, Count the slow clock, and dine exact at noon: Divert her eyes with pictures in the fire, Hum half a tune, tell stories to the squire; Up to her godly garret after seven, There starve and pray, for that's the way to heaven.
Page 207 - The children or young patients play together all the rest of the day, and are in perfect health to the eighth. Then the fever begins to seize them, and they keep their beds two days, very seldom three. They have very rarely above twenty or thirty [pocks] in their faces, which never mark; and in eight days' time they are as well as before their illness.
Page 132 - I quoted Martial; and when I had a mind to be a fine gentleman, I talked Ovid. I was convinced that none but the ancients had common sense; that the classics contained everything that was either necessary, useful, or ornamental to men; and I was not without thoughts of wearing the toga virilis of the Romans, instead of the vulgar .and illiberal dress of the moderns.
Page 31 - You may strut, dapper George, but 'twill all be in vain ; We know 'tis Queen Caroline, not you that reign — You govern no more than Don Philip of Spain. Then if you would have us fall down and adore you, Lock up your fat spouse, as your dad did before you.