I behave well, always well, but you have a little infirmity,—tactility, or touchiness. Pray guard against this; it grows upon you; and do not be angry with me for telling you this, for that would be an odd way of proving you were innocent of the charge.
Lord Grey is well; the King firm; the Bill will pass, partly by the defalcation of its opponents, partly by the creation of peers. Cholera will spread all over England. Read nothing about it, and say nothing about it; but when you are in the cold stage, send for one of my letters and place it near your heart, and your foolish doctor will ascribe your recovery to himself.
I had no idea Mrs. Partington would make such a fortune; I sent my speech to nobody, but it was co-
332 | MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. |