[From Letters of Bishop Hildesley]

Letter LXXVI

Bishopscourt, Monday morning, 10) Nov 1768.

My good sir,

In the introduction to your second favor, viz., of the 8th, you say you never heard of my getting safe home till Norris returned, which I presume was on Saturday, viz., the very next day after I had finished my course :—Sooner, I think, you couldn't well hear.

All the deposits by Corkill came safely to hand.

The important nuptials which you seem to think were notified to me; No, sir, there lies your mistake, they were imparted to a higher station not less than his Majesty's representative whom I imagined sufficiently pointed out, when I noticed to you that I thought a great indecorum in the total omission of any sort of title of respect in any one line of a very long letter.

Could you possibly think me so ridiculously vain and foolsh, to complain of want of sufficient respect to myself? when I told you (as I did) that you would likely hear of it from other hands,— what? That a long letter to the Bishop had no Lordships in it! I hope I could not be capable of letting such a notice come from under my hand.

I intended to have communicated my compliments of congratulation to Mr Arthur on his daughter's happy nuptials, so soon as I should learn that either directly or indirectly the notification was by his order or desire; otherwise I was not obliged to know it, and consequently not to compliment upon it. However as he is gone, that ceremony is precluded; and it will be time enough to observe it, when I next see or hear from him: neither of which may probably ever happen. I am in the meantime obliged to him for his offer of service at Dublin, which you may signify as opportunity offers. But, I pray you once more to correct your imagination about my complaint of want of respectful titles in a letter to me. Most of that sort are rather over Larded [or Lorded] which if possible is far worse than no sort of titles. When I write to the Archbishop as I have sometimes occasion and as I lately had, upon recelving a present of his volume of sermons, Suppose I should in my acknowledgments write thus,"I have now the pleasure to thank your Grace, for the honour your Grace . has done me by the present: I lately received from your Grace, of your Grace's Sermons, than which nothing, your Grace may be assured, could come more acceptably from your Grace, than what your Grace has heen most gracously pleased to bestow on your Grace's most obliged Servant" This youll say would be an instance of the over do

And I must own, too, that it is not quite easy sometimes to hit the proper medium

One thing I may venture almost to be sure of, that no one even really titled, much less one only courtesy-titled, ever complained of was supposed to complain in scriptis of the little respect paid him for want of his being Lordshipped, but the present Bp. of M.

Pray now, Dear Sir, revise my letter again, if in being, and see if you cannot find a supposition, at least, of a personage, to whom the letter I refer to might be addressed, especially as I was just come from Castletown :—and that I never could call a man, impolite because he did not Lord me. I was so ashamed of my letter to you bearing such a construction, that I was almost ready to send over a messenger on purpose to release it.

The boxes and the paper parcels came to hand to-day morning, and you have herewith a taste of the latter to use and dispose of ag you see proper. One at least I presume you will offer up in your congregation next Sunday.

I have just received an order from the Society with full power to treat and agree with the Whitehaven Printer for printing 1,000 apostolical Epistles in the same size and letter as the Gospels. But whether 'twill be expedient to have that work now set about in these short winter days Mr Printer himself must: be judge. Im the meantime as I am not sure there is a separate notice sent to the printer, and I have not time now to write, I must desire you to signify as much by a line or two to Shepherd or our Brother Sewel.

I have several letters to write which cannot be ready by the time the packet is intended to sail. Among others one to Sir John Thorold who presses much for the Deputies to be up early, which he writes as from the consequence of a visit he lately made to the Speaker.

I am glad to hear my landlord Birket has thought of crossing the water, and sorry he has not found it convenient to go before, but of this he is best judge. Perhaps the weather was cold. My best wishes attend and follow him, be the coalition sooner or later. I have no notion— "hold your pen Bishop and say - or write no more on that tender point—mind and meddle with your own business," Mrs Moore your servant.

Mrs Black, better! better! better! I desire in every letter. No more at present [as the old style is] from Yrs. M.S.M.