I was sent a Ticket to
Lord Mayor’s Ball last Monday. It
was held at Guild hall, &and there was the
greatest Crowd of people there I e-
ver saw at any publickpublic place. There
is one Room, where the Mayor and
Aldermen sit &and dine, &and where they
invite Gentlemen of their Acquain-
tance. I happened to be asked,
&and had a place accordingly, where
I expected to hear such Healths
given as are toasted by the Magi-
strates of EdrEdinburgh on the King’s Birth-
Day, which this was; but indeed it
was quite otherwise. I neither heard
King, Prince, Princess nor Duke toast-
ed; but there was the Duke of Beau-
fort, Earl of Orrory, the Vice Chan-
cellor of Oxford, &and some others; after
which they went to general Toasts,
such as, more Friends &and less need
of them, success to good Intentions,
Every one his own, Oppression to all
Oppressors, &and the like. At last one
Alderman Benn (lately Mayor) rose
up, &and called out he could drink no long-
er, but before he went off he would give (1459)
give a Toast he loved as his Soul; &and
that he might be heard he Stood upon
a Chair made all the Company full
Bumpers (&and I am sure there were
some hundreds in the Room) then he
roared out, Here is Prosperity to the
Tory Interest in the City of London.
The Toast was not only drank; but
they clapped &and hussaedhuzzahed for a great
while. I was struck, &and expected
some Squabble would follow; but no-
thing happened, except that (soon af-
ter the HuzzaHuzzah ceased) a man, whom
none there knew, &and is said to be a
Spy, jumped upon the Table, snatch-
ed a Glass, &and called out, Here is
Damnation to all Jacobites! He
had scarce spoke it, when there
was a general Cry, Kick him out;
which (I assure you) was done in a
Moment. He was tumbled from
the Table, &and not only kicked out of
the Room we sat in, but (what is
more) without either Hat or Wig, &and
his CloathsClothes all tore, without any
one appearing on his side. If such
a Thing had happened with you on
his Majesty’s Birth-Day, the loyal Ca-
valier would rather have been kiss’dkissed (1460)
kiss’dkissed than kick’dkicked for damning Ja-
cobites. And indeed I am very much
surprised, he was so treated here;
but I assure you, it is as true as
strange, for I was a Witness to
every word I have written.
What I write you of the Ball gives
great Umbrage at Court. Parties be-
gin to run mighty high, &and both sides
speak with great Courage.
I supp’dsupped with a Gentleman last
night, who left the Prince the 8th
of OctrOctober. He would not say where he
was; but is come here with his Leave,
&and says, he knows where to find him
on the 20th of DecrDecember. He is very well,
&and safe, wanting for nothing. This
you may believe, as the Gentleman
I speak of is a man of Consequence.