THE COUNTESS'S SPEECH TO HER SON RODERIGO, upon her first seeing him, after he was wounded in a late duel. As it was presented by the author, on Monday the first day of February, 1731. to the right honourable William Pultney, Esq; at his house in Arlington-Street, near St. James's. To which is prefixed, some curious observations on boys challenging their betters. The second edition.

Folio, pp. 8; with the leaf of 'curious observations' at the end; disbound. 'Second edition': apparently a re-impression of an edition published in the first week of February 1731. This is a satire on John Hervey, 2nd Lord Hervey of Ickworth, and his notorious quarrel with William Pulteney, that ended in a duel in what is now Green Park, in which both men were wounded. As a young man Hervey had been a close friend of Pulteney, but the relationship ended when Hervey entered Parliament and became an ally of Walpole. With Pulteney a leader of the Opposition, the friction between the two increased, and led to an abusive exchange of pamphlets early in 1731. In this rather comic poem Hervey's mother, Elizabeth, Countess of Bristol, is represented as pleading with her son to stop publishing provocative tracts: Prithee, fond boy, such vain attempts give o're, Lest thou again shou'd'st welter in thy gore. Forgive, dear Child, a Mother's anxious Cares, For much thy Mother for her Jacky fears, Give writing Pamphlets o'er, and say thy Pray'rs. But hold, I had forgot, 'tis almost eight, And I make Company at Ombre wait. This said, she drank some Nants, in haste arose, Kiss'd her dear Boy, and left him to repose. Hervey was also at about this time involved in an even more spectacular quarrel with Pope, which revolved around the affections of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. 'Hervey was a clever and unprincipled man, of loose morals and sceptical opinions. He was an effective though somewhat pompous speaker, a ready writer, and a keen observer of character. His wit and charm of manner made him a special favourite of women. Effeminate in appearance as well as in habits, he is described by the Duchess of Marlborough as having 'a painted face, and not a tooth in his head'' (DNB). Foxon C445. All the early editions or issues are rare: ESTC and Foxon locate two copies of the first (Harvard and Huntington: the two Harvard records are, as usual, the same copy), three of this re-impression (BL, Clark and Yale) and four of the third, apparently with a few lines added (BL, Congregational Library, Bodleian and Illinois). Foxon suggests that this poem could have been written by someone named Robert Drury, who also published a poem in praise of Pulteney at about the same time, also with Robert Walker (Foxon D445). …